US5714978A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Adjacent cursor system with tactile feedback for the blind
Assignee: NEC Corp
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Filing: 1995-12-05
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Granted: 1998-02-03
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Expires: 2015-12-05
Abstract
Abstract In a pointing system for use in notifying an operator of a cursor position on a display without relying on a sense of sight, information is derived in relation to an interactive item from a plurality of positions which are adjacent to the cursor position. A tactile sense or an inner force sense is determined by a relationship of the interactive items between the cursor position and the adjacent positions. The tactile sense may be displayed by a tactile display while the inner force sense, by a movable stage controllable by braking units. An absolute coordinate system may be used to indicate a position of the tactile display or the movable stage and is in one-to-one correspondence to a coordinate system of the display.
Inventors
- 👤 Katsuhiro Yamanaka
- 👤 Osamu Iseki
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 11:35
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F3/00; G06F3/01; G06F3/016; G06F3/048; G06F3/0487; G06F3/0488; G09; G09B; G09B21/00; G09B21/001; G09B21/003; G06F2203/00; G06F2203/01; G06F2203/014
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
131 words
A method of indicating a coordinate position on a screen of a graphical user interface in an interactive system by displaying visible items on said screen together with a cursor movable on said screen, said method comprising the steps of: detecting a position of the cursor as said coordinate position in relation to said visible items; preparing a tactile sensor which is put into an active state to provide a tactile sense to a user for notifying when the cursor is close to at least one of the visible items; and stimulating a tactile element located on a surface of said tactile sensor, in dependency upon a positional relationship between the position of the cursor and at least one of the visible items to notify the user of the positional relationship.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
131 words
A method of indicating a coordinate position on a screen of a graphical user interface in an interactive system by displaying visible items on said screen together with a cursor movable on said screen, said method comprising the steps of: detecting a position of the cursor as said coordinate position in relation to said visible items; preparing a tactile sensor which is put into an active state to provide a tactile sense to a user for notifying when the cursor is close to at least one of the visible items; and stimulating a tactile element located on a surface of said tactile sensor, in dependency upon a positional relationship between the position of the cursor and at least one of the visible items to notify the user of the positional relationship.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
167 words
A pointing system for use in an interactive system to indicate a coordinate position on a screen of a graphical user interface by moving a cursor on said screen which displays visible items together with the cursor, said pointing system comprising: a position detecting unit for detecting a position of the cursor in relation to the visible items as said coordinate position to produce a position signal which is representative of the position of the cursor; a relation detecting circuit for detecting a relationship between the position of the cursor and at least one of the visible items to produce a relationship signal which is representative of a relationship between the position and at least one of the visible items wherein said relationship signal is produced as the cursor moves within a vicinity of at least one of the visible items on said screen; and a tactile display unit driven by said relationship signal for providing a tactile sense to a user determined by said relationship signal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
167 words
A pointing system for use in an interactive system to indicate a coordinate position on a screen of a graphical user interface by moving a cursor on said screen which displays visible items together with the cursor, said pointing system comprising: a position detecting unit for detecting a position of the cursor in relation to the visible items as said coordinate position to produce a position signal which is representative of the position of the cursor; a relation detecting circuit for detecting a relationship between the position of the cursor and at least one of the visible items to produce a relationship signal which is representative of a relationship between the position and at least one of the visible items wherein said relationship signal is produced as the cursor moves within a vicinity of at least one of the visible items on said screen; and a tactile display unit driven by said relationship signal for providing a tactile sense to a user determined by said relationship signal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
96 words
A pointing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said tactile display unit comprises: control unit supplied with said relationship signal for producing a control signal in relation to said relationship signal; a tactile display driven by said control signal for providing said tactile sense determined by the control signal to move the tactile sense determined by the a movement result signal representative of movement of said tactile display; and feedback means for said movement result signal to said position detecting unit to control the position of the cursor in response to the movement result signal.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
150 words
A pointing system for use in an interactive system to indicate a coordinate position on a screen of a graphical user interface by moving a cursor on said screen which displays visible items together with the cursor, said pointing system comprising: a position detecting unit for detecting a position of the cursor as a cursor position in relation to the visible items as said coordinate position to produce a position signal which is representative of the cursor position; a relation detecting unit for detecting a relationship between the cursor position and a position of at least one of the visible items within a predetermined range of the cursor position to produce a relationship signal which is representative of the relationship; and a varying unit for varying at least one of a tactile sense and an inner force sense determined by said relationship signal for notifying a user of the relationship.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
150 words
A pointing system for use in an interactive system to indicate a coordinate position on a screen of a graphical user interface by moving a cursor on said screen which displays visible items together with the cursor, said pointing system comprising: a position detecting unit for detecting a position of the cursor as a cursor position in relation to the visible items as said coordinate position to produce a position signal which is representative of the cursor position; a relation detecting unit for detecting a relationship between the cursor position and a position of at least one of the visible items within a predetermined range of the cursor position to produce a relationship signal which is representative of the relationship; and a varying unit for varying at least one of a tactile sense and an inner force sense determined by said relationship signal for notifying a user of the relationship.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-02-02 | 2001-08-04 | 2002-02-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-02-02 | 2005-08-04 | 2006-02-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-02-02 | 2009-08-04 | 2010-02-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |