Peripheral pointing devices and methods for manufacturing the same
View Patent ↗Embodiments of peripheral pointing devices and methods for manufacturing the same are generally described herein. In at least one embodiment, a peripheral device comprises a housing, one or more buttons at a first side of the housing, a displacement tracker at a second side of the housing, a keypad comprising keys at the second side of the housing; and a keypress restrictor coupled to the housing. Other examples, embodiments, and related methods are further described below.
1. A peripheral device comprising:
a housing;
one or more buttons at a first side of the housing;
a displacement tracker at the first side or a second side of the housing;
a controller comprising buttons at the second side of the housing; and
a controller restrictor coupled to the housing.
2. The peripheral device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first side of the housing is located substantially opposite to the second side of the housing.
3. The peripheral device of claim 1 , wherein:
the controller restrictor comprises at least one of:
a surface at the second side of the housing;
one or more rails configured to protrude past the buttons of the controller;
a switch configured to set the controller to at least one of a deactivated mode or an active mode;
or
a tilt sensor configured to:
enable the controller when the second side of the peripheral device substantially faces a first direction; and
disable the controller when the second side of the peripheral device substantially faces a second direction.
4. The peripheral device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first side comprises an ergonomic shape with respect to the palm of a hand; and
the second side is substantially flat.
5. The peripheral device of claim 1 , wherein:
the housing comprises an ergonomic shape configured to elevate the controller at an ergonomic view angle when the first side is laid over a flat surface.
6. The peripheral device of claim 1 , wherein:
the displacement tracker comprises at least one of:
a trackball;
a roller ball;
an optical sensor; or
a laser sensor.
7. The peripheral device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a display at the second side of the housing; and
a calculator module coupled to at least one of the display or the controller;
wherein:
the calculator module is configured to generate an output based on an input to the controller; and
the display is configured to display the output from the calculator module.
8. The peripheral device of claim 1 , wherein:
an outermost surface of the buttons of the controller is recessed relative to a surface of the second side of the housing.
9. The peripheral device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a wireless transceiver within the housing and coupled to the one or more buttons and the displacement tracker;
wherein the wireless transceiver comprises at least one of:
a cellular transceiver;
a personal area network transceiver; or
a radio frequency transceiver.
10. The peripheral device of claim 1 , wherein:
the buttons of the controller are aligned to be thumb-actionable when the peripheral device is handheld.
11. The peripheral device of claim 1 , wherein:
the controller comprises a touch-sensitive screen; and
the buttons are displayed at the touch-sensitive screen.
12. The peripheral device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:
a scroll pad at the first side of the housing; or
one or more lighted indicators at the second side of the housing.
13. A method for manufacturing a peripheral device, the method comprising:
providing a housing;
positioning one or more controls at a first side of the housing;
positioning a displacement tracker at the first side or a second side of the housing;
providing a controller with buttons coupled to the second side of the housing; and
providing a controller restricted configured to restrict actuation of one or more of the buttons:
wherein:
the one or more controls comprise at least one of:
a right button;
a left button; or
a scroll actuator;
the controller restrictor comprises at least one of:
a surface at the second side of the housing;
one or more rails configured to protrude past the buttons of the controller;
a switch configured to control activation of the controller; or
a tilt sensor configured to:
enable the controller when the second side of the peripheral device faces a first direction; and
disable the controller when the second side of the peripheral device faces a second direction.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein:
the first side is located substantially opposite to the second side.
15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
providing a display at the second side of the housing; and
providing a calculator module coupled to the display and the controller;
wherein:
the calculator module is configured to generate an output based on an input to the controller; and
the display is configured to display the output from the calculator module.
16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
providing a wireless transceiver configured to couple the peripheral device to an electronic device.
17. The method of claim 13 , wherein:
providing the controller comprises aligning the buttons to be thumb-actionable when the peripheral device is handheld.
18. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
providing a touch-sensitive screen at the second side of the housing;
wherein providing the controller comprises displaying the buttons at the touch-sensitive screen.
19. A mouse comprising:
a housing;
a left mouse button and a right mouse button located at a first side of the housing;
a displacement tracker coupled to the housing;
a numeric keypad comprising keys at a second side of the housing;
a keypress restrictor; and
a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate the mouse;
wherein:
the keypress restrictor comprises at least one of:
a surface at the second side of the housing;
one or more rails at the second side of the housing and configured to protrude past the keys of the numeric keypad;
a switch configured to control activation of the numeric keypad; or
a tilt sensor configured to:
activate the numeric keypad when the second side of the mouse faces a first direction; and
deactivate the numeric keypad when the second side of the mouse faces a second direction;
the displacement tracker comprises at least one of:
a trackball;
a roller ball;
an optical sensor; or
a laser sensor;
the wireless transceiver comprises at least one of:
a cellular transceiver;
a personal area network transceiver; or
a radio frequency transceiver; and
the keys of the numeric keypad are aligned to be thumb-actionable when the mouse is handheld.
20. The mouse of claim 19 , further comprising:
a display at the second side of the housing; and
a calculator module coupled to the display and the numeric keypad;
wherein:
the calculator module is configured to generate an output based on an input to the numeric keypad; and
the display is configured to display the output from the calculator module.
21. The mouse of claim 19 , wherein:
the numeric keypad comprises a touch-sensitive screen; and
the keys are displayed at the touch-sensitive screen.
22. The mouse of claim 19 , wherein:
the left and right mouse buttons and the displacement tracker are activated when the numeric keypad is deactivated; and
the left and right mouse buttons and the displacement tracker are deactivated when the numeric keypad is activated.