Looks, feels & works like a Mouse, but click Switchable to Joystick mode

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TiltMouse.pdf

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The simple explanation of how it works:

TiltMouse™ is an electro-mechanical computer input device visually resembling an ordinary mouse. TiltMouse™ provides the functionality of a mouse and a joystick in one package. TiltMouse™ surpasses both a mouse and a joystick individually within each of their own native environments.

While looking at the pictures above; imagine a regular mouse that you split in half so that the palm portion and the base that touches the table are separated. Then, insert a joystick that has the stick shortened between the two halves. The palm half will attach to the top of the shortened joystick shaft and the base of the joystick is attached to the bottom part of the mouse. 

You will still have a mouse that acts like a mouse when you push it around like you would normally push a mouse. If the attached palm portion moves when you are pushing it as a mouse, that movement is ignored.

The Joystick portion is activated by either pressing down on the whole top of the mouse or by clicking one of the mouse buttons. The top cover press technique has the added benefit of making the mouse base not slip on the table and allowing the rotate ( yaw ) to take effect.

By activating the the top and then rocking it forward and back it can control screen scrolling up and down or by rocking left and right, it can scroll the screen left and right. By rocking it at any point in-between, it can perform a diagonal scroll.

All of these features combined create a great business and game controller and work better than Microsoft's Tilt Wheel  that lacks the yaw (rotate) function.  Also, your whole hand has far more strength to quickly manipulate the control. It also has a greater range of motion allowing a more precise control of the scrolling and the cursor. Also compare to 3Dconnexion Space navigator here. Tiltmouse is an all in one device, you don't need two devices and two hands.

Full detailed text of how it works:

TiltMouse™ is an electro-mechanical computer input device visually resembling an ordinary mouse. TiltMouse™ provides the functionality of a mouse and a joystick in one package. TiltMouse™ surpasses both a mouse and a joystick individually within each of their own native environments.

The most significant feature of TiltMouse™ is its ability to enhance the speed and functionality of both business applications and games through a device that is visually and tactilely familiar. It accomplishes this by way of the additional axis control coordinated through a customizable software device manager permitting the user to activate as many of the features as desired on a per program basis.

The enhanced capability comes from its ability to provide simultaneous multi-axis control or only the independent axial control of each emulated device while maintaining a normal and comfortable mouse type grip.  Each of these controls may be configured independently through a software device manager.

Specifically, unlike most other prior art, the TiltMouse™ method of Multi Axis control comes from the use of the user’s palm rather than fingers to provide the majority of the control.

In the business arena, one of its greatest benefits is the ability to perform a vertical and/or horizontal screen scroll without the use of a conventional scroll bar. Scrolling requires the user to accurately find the scroll bar, move it without losing grasp of it, all while looking at the document and not the scroll bar. Commonly, the user will drift the mouse pointer in the wrong direction and lose control of the bar requiring the user to look away from the document to find and reacquire the scroll bar.

TiltMouse™ allows the user to leave the pointer anywhere over the document and merely rock or roll the top grip to effect the scrolling movement. By using the palm to accomplish this control function, the fingers are left in their normal control position to activate the 3 attached trigger buttons. This is an exceptional time saver and dramatically reduces mental and physical fatigue on the user when working with large documents or images that require constant movement throughout the document or image.

Using TiltMouse™, the rotate function can allow the user to cycle through a series of spreadsheet worksheets within a workbook. Other functions of similar or different functionality may be implemented using this function including advanced gaming techniques.

When playing games, TiltMouse™ provides a simpler, lower cost and lower physical effort alternative to a joy stick/pedal control. For example, TiltMouse™ could be used to provide a single point of control for flight simulator games by allowing banking, climbing, diving, rudder and throttle control all without taking the eyes off the screen to hunt for keys on the keyboard.
Finally, TiltMouse™ extends the ordinary scope of control from mouse buttons by providing a new mouse button design that allows more than triple the functions of previous mouse button controls.

TiltMouse™ provides a familiar platform with significantly improved functionality while requiring minimal training because it is so intuitive to the user.

Description Of Features

Outer Shell

The outer shell is a key component of this design because it provides the user with joystick functions actuated by the palm of the hand, conventional mouse functions and new enhanced mouse button functions in one easy to use and comfortable compact package that can provide at least 6 degrees of freedom.

Standard Mouse Component

This device uses a mouse type x-y coordinate sensor either of a standard ball and roller pickup or any of the current optical Intellimouse type technologies.

Mouse Buttons

TiltMouse™ is even more functional because of its unique finger actuated buttons that are pivoted in the center of the button, not at one end like regular mice. This feature doubles the basic number of single click possibilities to trigger functions. This rocking click action is also unique in the fact that by merely sliding the fingers forward and backward, both positions of the button are reachable without having to reposition the palm or interfere with any other of the basic functions. If three buttons are used, then 6 single click functions are available. If the buttons are chorded, then ~ 21 functions or more are available. If the first key pressed is considered the root function and any following keys are considered modifiers dependent on the order they are pressed, then dozens of combinations are possible. For new users the fore and back functions can be made to be the same so as not to confuse the uninitiated or children may use the rear portion because of their smaller hands. The contact surface of the for and aft positions of each button have a different texture applied to them to tactilely alert the user as to the position of their finger on the button.


Joystick Component

The joystick is directly coupled to the outer shell that is controlled by the user’s palm. Yaw, pitch and rotate are controlled by the user’s palm through a rock, roll and rotate motion. These motions and the associated mouse motions are easily applied to the device while the user’s arm and hand position remain in a relaxed position similar to a regular mouse. To prevent accidental activation of the joystick component, a switch that is integrated within the internal joystick sensor must be pressed down to allow those signals to pass. Additionally the joystick may be used to control the cursor movement if the user chooses.

Internal Sensors

Many sensor types are available to the manufacturer of this device. The mouse sensing technologies are readily available. Two techniques for the detection of the yaw, pitch and rotate are depicted in the drawings though these sensors are just a suggested mechanism. The first type implements an analog pickup mechanism that uses a commercially available mini-joystick component from Nobel USA and an optical mouse assembly available from Agilent technologies.
Lastly, the rotate function may be implemented by either a generic Hall effect device with a linear magnet or a linear coated resistor and contact assembly.

Scroll Function Software Enhancement

When doing rock and roll scrolling the software will coordinate the variable degree of rock or roll to a configurable rate of document scrolling. For example, it will correlate the number of lines scrolled per second as one tenth the percentage of the total angular range of motion of the rock or roll travel from the rest position. Another variant would be to use the previous method up to the fifty percent mark and then double the rate for each ten percent that follows up to 120 lines at 100 percent.

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Functionality
An added functional benefit of this device is its ability to allow people with certain disabilities to more easily control a computer. Its design allows it to even provide most of its functional controls to a person operating it with their foot.  Additionally, the joystick may be used to control the cursor movement if the user chooses.
This provides the additional functionality required to satisfy the U.S. Government’s directives for handicapped employees.

Game Developer Interface

Considering the wide variety of control inputs this device provides, game developers will be attracted to its capabilities especially if the API hooks i.e. DirectX, are made available to the developers.


Movement Definitions

The following chart shows a list of suggested interpretations of the various mouse button combinations. This chart provides a starting point only. With the right device driver interface, it will be limited only by the imagination of the system and game developers.

 

TiltMouse™ - Generic 3 Button Business Functions

Action

Component

Direction Description

Rocking

Top

Scroll - Left and Right

Rolling

Top

Scroll - Up and Down

Rotate

Top

Step through sheets of a workbook

 

 

 

Push

Mouse

Forward

Pull

Mouse

Backward

Side Slide

Mouse

Left and Right

 

 

 

Left Button

Button

Select Object

Mid. Button

Button

Double Click

Right Button

Button

Properties Menu

 

 

 

Back Click

 

 

Left Button

Button

Undo or Browser Back

Mid. Button

Button

User Defined or Application Specific

Right Button

Button

User Defined or Application Specific

 

TiltMouse™ - Flight Simulator Example

Action

Component

Direction Description

Rocking

Top

Ailerons –Roll Left and Right

Rolling

Top

Ailerons - Stick Up & Down

Rotate

Top

Rudder L & R

 

 

 

Push

Mouse

Increase Throttle

Pull

Mouse

Decrease Throttle

Side to Side

Mouse

TBD or User Defined

 

 

 

Left Button

Button

Autopilot or User Defined

Right Button

Button

Brakes or User Defined

Mid. Button

Button

Trim Flaps or User Defined

 

SIX Degrees of Freedom Mode Description.

Coming August 11, 2008 please stop back.

 

 

 

Copyright by Elegant Solutions Inc.  Tilt Mouse™ is a trademark of Elegant Solutions Inc.  All Rights Reserved  Updated: Sunday, September 25, 2005