Modular scroll wheel with integral detent
Contents
1. 11 is an enlarged top view of the follower arm and a portion of the carriage DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An improved scroll wheel assembly according to the present invention is shown in FIGS 1 11 With reference to 10 15 20 25 30 35 45 50 55 60 65 4 FIG 2 the upper case as well as buttons 8 and 12 have been removed for purposes of illustration Located within mouse 1 and attached to lower case 20 is a printed circuit board 44 Printed circuit board 44 electrically interconnects various mouse components and also provides an internal structure to which other components may be attached Scroll wheel 14 has an attached axle 22 Axle 22 rotates within axle guides 58 see FIG 3 defined within carriage 56 The mouse of FIGS 1 11 is used only by way of example Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is likewise applicable to other mouse designs Such persons will also appreciate that the invention is likewise applicable to trackballs keyboards and other input devices having or capable of having a scroll wheel FIG 3 is an exploded front perspective view of an embodiment of the improved scroll wheel assembly accord ing to the present invention The upper case of the mouse has been removed for clarity and various circuit components also omitted for purposes of clarity Most of the lower case of the mouse has also been removed with portion 20 representing a sma2. 851497 0000 date of first availability and or disclosure prior to or believed to be prior to application filing date Photo C photograph of scroll wheel from mouse manu factured by A4tech Co Ltd Taipei Taiwan date of first avaliability and or disclosure prior to or believed to be prior to application filing date Photo D second photograph of scroll wheel from mouse manufactured by A4tech Co Ltd Taipei Taiwan date of first availability and or disclosureprior to or believed to be prior to application filing date Photo E photograph of scroll wheel from mouse manu factured by KYE Systems Taipei Taiwan date of first availability and or disclosure prior to or believed to be prior to application filing date Photo F photograph of scroll wheel from RAZER Boomslang mouse available from Kam LLC Taiwan date of first availability and or disclosure prior to or believed to be prior to application filing date cited by examiner Primary Examiner Vijay Shankar Assistant Examiner Leonid Shapiro 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Banner amp Witcoff Ltd 57 ABSTRACT A single piece component rotatably supports a scroll wheel and includes an integral follower arm extending into a well within which the scroll wheel rotates Formed on a circum ferential surface of the scroll wheel are regularly spaced detents or other structures forming regularly spaced regions of alternating height Located
3. No 6 987 505 B1 Web page reviewing TurboRing lt http www macworld com 2000 10 reviews turboring html gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Jun 3 2002 Web page from Van s Hardware lt http www vanshardware com reviews 2001 october 011002 TurboRing 011002 TurboR ing htm gt published Oct 2 2001 Web page reviewing TurboRing lt http www keyalt com pointdevices turboring htm gt publication date unknown but prior to Apr 2 2002 Web page for Micro TRACTM lt http www microspeed com products pd600s html gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Apr 2 2002 Web page for Kid TRAC model PD 2808 lt http www microspeed com products kidtrac html gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Apr 2 2002 Web page for Kid TRAC User s Manual lt http www microspeed com pages support manuals kidtracm html gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Apr 2 2002 Web page for Ateck A4 RFW 33 Radio Wireless PS 2 Mouse lt http www shop store yahoo com 4itech a4rfradwirps html gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Jun 28 2002 Web page for Sakar Yahool 4D Internet Scroll Mouse and Sakar Optical Mouse w Email alert Metallic Silver USB y lt http www slarp com products Input Devices Mice and Trackballs gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Jun 28 2002 Web
4. US 6 987 505 B1 1 MODULAR SCROLL WHEEL WITH INTEGRAL DETENT ENGAGING SPRING TAB FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to scroll wheels on mice trackballs and other user input devices BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In many computers user input e g cursor control screen scrolling etc is often achieved by way of a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball A typical computer mouse 1 is shown in FIG 1 Mouse 1 has a case 16 having a bottom case 20 and an upper case 18 As a user slides mouse 1 across a planar or substantially planar surface motion detectors and encoders within case 16 may convert the two dimensional movement of the mouse across the surface into horizontal and vertical motion of a cursor pointer or other object on a computer screen Mouse 1 has two buttons 8 and 12 which a user can click or double click to select something on a computer screen Other mice may have fewer or additional buttons or other features Mouse 1 may be connected to a computer or other device by a cord 5 through which mouse 1 may receive power and communi cate with a computer or other device Alternatively mouse 1 could be battery powered and communicate via a wireless connection Mouse 1 also has a scroll wheel 14 Scroll wheel 14 is located such that the mouse user can comfortably turn the scroll wheel with a finger The mouse and or computer may be configured such that turning the wheel causes the scree
5. carriage having first and second sides defining a wheel well within which the scroll wheel rotates and an integral follower arm on the first side of the carriage the follower arm having a follower on an end of the follower arm extending into the wheel well from the first side of the carriage the follower being in contact with the circumferential surface and biased to resist deflection as the scroll wheel rotates wherein the scroll wheel further comprises first and second faces and wherein an opening is defined in the first face so as to expose the circumferential surface wherein the carriage is molded wherein the scroll wheel further comprises an integral axle wherein the carriage further comprises first and second axle guides respectively formed within the first and second sides of the carriage rotatable holding the axle wherein the follower faces radially outward with respect to the axle and wherein the circumferential surface faces radially inward and wherein the regularly spaced regions of alternating height comprise a sinusoidally shaped series of peaks and troughs and wherein the follower arm has substantially no preload when the scroll wheel is rotated to a position in which the follower is substantially centered within one of the troughs 7 The modular scroll wheel of claim 6 wherein the scroll wheel and the carriage are formed from dissimilar plastic materials 8 The modular scroll wheel of claim 6 wherein
6. into the other axle guide Each axle guide 58 supports axle 22 for rotation and is slightly larger in diameter than the portion of axle 22 that fits therein so as to allow rotation of axle 22 and wheel 14 Carriage 56 further has an integral follower arm 67 and follower 66 Follower arm 67 projects inwardly towards scroll wheel 14 and is used to provide indexed wheel motion After assembly and as shown in FIG 4 follower 66 located on the inwardly projecting end of follower arm 67 is in contact with the inner circumferential surface 50 As wheel 14 is rotated within the wheel well 57 formed by carriage 56 follower 66 is alternatively forced out of and allowed to descend into detents 52 As follower 66 is forced out of a detent 52 it is pushed radially inward against a radially outward bias of the spring force of follower arm 67 In this manner indexed rotation of scroll wheel 14 is obtained and scroll wheel 14 is prevented from rotating except when such rotation is desired FIG 9 is a perspective view of carriage 56 without scroll wheel 14 FIG 10 is an enlarged view of the region 10 of FIG 9 and shows exemplary dimensions for follower 66 and arm 67 Dimensions may vary depending on material US 6 987 505 B1 5 scroll wheel size and other factors As shown in FIG 11 which is a top view of the region shown in perspective in FIG 10 the face 80 of arm 67 facing toward the detents may be straight when the follower 66 is cent
7. to resist deflection as the scroll wheel rotates Other features and advantages of the invention are set forth below in the detailed description or will be apparent to persons skilled in the art in light of that description BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is perspective outer view of a computer mouse having a scroll wheel FIG 2 is a front perspective view with the upper case removed of the mouse of FIG 1 FIG 3 is an exploded front perspective view of a scroll wheel carriage and other internal components of the mouse of FIG 1 FIG 4 is an assembled front perspective view of a scroll wheel carriage and other internal components of the mouse of FIG 1 FIG 5 is another assembled front perspective view of a scroll wheel carriage and other internal components of the mouse of FIG 1 but from a different angle than that of FIG 4 FIG 6 is another exploded front perspective view of a scroll wheel carriage and other internal components of the mouse of FIG 1 but from a different angle than that of FIG 3 FIG 7 is a top view of a scroll wheel carriage and other internal components of the mouse of FIG 1 FIG 8 is a cut away view taken along lines 8 8 of FIG 7 FIG 8A is an enlarged view of a region of FIG 8 that has been rotated 90 counterclockwise FIG 9 is a perspective view of a scroll wheel carriage according to the invention FIG 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a region of FIG 9 FIG
8. 2003 Ledbetter et al 2003 0076303 4 2003 Huppi 2003 0095096 5 2003 Robbin et al 2003 0107547 6 2003 Kehlstadt et al 2004 005 1392 3 2004 Badarneh 2004 0150623 8 2004 Ledbetter et al 2005 0104854 A1 5 2005 Su et al FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS JP JP 07 092939 04 1995 JP JP 2000 200147 7 2000 EP EP 1258019 B9 11 2002 therefor Item 56 should read under OTHER PUBLICATIONS in column 1 line 1 above Photo A photograph of scroll wheel from LOGITECH cordless optical mouse P N 851497 0000 date of first availability and or disclosure prior to or believed to be prior to application filing date insert lt http www mside net microscrollii html gt MSIDE net showing Micro Scroll II mouse from Micro 2 sheets Dec 2000 lt http www contourdesign com rollerbar htm gt Contour Design RollerBar Mousing Station Optical Technology 2 sheets Jan 2001 and 1 sheet press release dated Nov 29 2000 lt http www mousetrapper dk gt Mouse Trapper product description 12 color sheets including original Danish language and English translation as performed by Translation Experts Ltd Service date of product release unknown but believed to be prior to Jan 8 2002 Web page reviewing Kensington TurboRing Trackball lt http www avault com hardware print_review asp review turboring gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Jun 3 2002 CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 3 of 4 U S Pat
9. 570 108 B2 5 2003 Lin 200 6 B 2005 0104854 AI 5 2005 Su et al and insert 4 712 101 12 1987 Culver 4 720 703 1 1988 Schnarel Jr et al 5 063 289 11 1991 Jasinski et al 5 235 868 8 1993 Culver 5 404 152 4 1995 Nagai 5 446 481 8 1995 Gillick et al 5 477 508 12 1995 Will 5 521 617 5 1996 Imai et al 5 530 455 6 1996 Gillick 5 771 038 6 1998 Wang 5 774 075 6 1998 Palalau et al 5 808 568 A 9 1998 Wu oo 341 20 5 910 798 6 1999 Kim 5 912 661 A 6 1999 Siddiqui 345 166 5 952 997 9 1999 Hu 5 956 018 9 1999 Pejic et al 5 959 614 9 1999 Ho 5 963 197 10 1999 Bacon et al 6 075 575 6 2000 Schein et al 6 097 372 8 2000 Suzuki 6 128 006 10 2000 Rosenberg et al 6 132 118 10 2000 Grezeszak 6 188 393 B1 2 2001 Shu 345 184 6 198 473 3 2001 Armstrong 6 204 838 3 2001 Wang 6 300 939 10 2001 Decker et al 6 323 844 11 2001 Yeh et al 6 337 679 1 2002 Chou CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 2 of 4 U S Pat No 6 987 505 B1 Item 56 Cont 6 340 800 1 2002 Zhai et al 6 340 966 B1 1 2002 Wang etal 345 163 6 348 912 2 2002 Smith 6 353 429 B1 3 2002 Long 6 359 611 3 2002 Chan 6 424 355 7 2002 Watanabe et al 6 519 003 2 2003 Swayze 6 522 321 B1 2 2003 Chen et al 345 163 6 534 730 3 2003 Ohmoto et al 6 570 108 B2 5 2003 A sl 200 6 B 6 608 616 8 2003 Lin 6 697 050 2 2004 Shinohe et al 6 809 275 10 2004 Cheng et al 2003 0025673 2
10. 61 titled Z Encoder Mechanism and owned by assignee of this invention describes a configuration in which the detents are located on the axle of the scroll wheel A metal spring attached to a printed circuit board within the mouse biases a follower into contact with the detents An improvement upon this configuration is described in U S Pat No 6 353 429 titled Detented Optical Encoder and also owned by the assignee of this invention Specifically instead of a metal 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 spring biased into contact with the axle detents a plastic bracket contacts the axle near one of its rotational hubs and biases the axle upward so as to provide z switch function ality A follower located within the portion of the bracket cradling the axle is thereby simultaneously biased into contact with the detents Further improvements are possible however For example the configuration described in the 7429 patent requires assembly of at least 4 parts to provide indexed rotation Because each of these parts like all mechanical components will have dimensional tolerances a tolerance stack up of the assembly results This toler ance stack up can potentially result in a rotational torque that may vary from mouse to mouse unless relatively small tolerances are maintained This can increase manufacturing expense In another configuration regularly spaced radially extending in
11. a United States Patent Koo US006987505B1 US 6 987 505 B1 Jan 17 2006 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 MODULAR SCROLL WHEEL WITH INTEGRAL DETENT ENGAGING SPRING TAB 75 Inventor James Y Koo Renton WA US 73 Assignee Microsoft Corporation Redmond WA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 52 days 21 Appl No 10 158 996 22 Filed Jun 3 2002 51 Int Cl G09G 5 08 2006 01 52y US CL etes 345 163 345 156 345 157 345 158 345 164 345 165 345 166 345 167 58 Field of Classification Search 345 163 167 345 156 158 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 808 568 A 9 1998 Wu secet 341 20 5 912 661 A 6 1999 Siddiqui 345 166 6 188 393 B1 2 2001 Shu 345 184 6 340 966 B1 1 2002 Wang etal 345 163 6 353 429 B1 3 2002 Long 6 522 321 B1 2 2003 Chenetal 345 163 6 570 108 B2 5 2003 Lin oo e 200 6 B 2005 0104854 A1 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Photo A photograph of scroll wheel from LOGITECH cordless optical mouse P N 851497 0000 date of first availability and or disclosure prior to or believed to be prior to application filing date 5 2005 Su et al Photo B second photograph of scroll wheel from LOG ITECH cordless optical mouse P N
12. ary 2010 po ok Ca pps David J Kappos Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
13. dentations are molded into or otherwise formed in a side of a scroll wheel in a spoke like arrangement A follower piece is biased into contact with the spoke like indentations on the side of the wheel The follower piece may be a molded extension of a carriage or other structure supporting a wheel axle or it may be a separate member that is attached to the carriage A potential disadvantage of this configuration however is the variability in torque required to rotate the wheel in one direction versus the other In the case of a separate member attached to the carriage an additional part is required resulting in additional assembly steps cost and potential tolerance stacking problems In yet another configuration the indentations are not formed in the side of the wheel in a spoke like arrangement Instead a series of ridges and or depressions are formed on an inner circumference of the wheel A follower is biased radially outward into contact with the ridges and or depressions However known scroll wheels implementing this configu ration utilize a separate biasing member that is not an integral part of the carriage supporting the wheel axle A scroll wheel having circumferential detents that are acted upon by a biased follower integrally formed as part of the carriage would result in advantageous savings in assem bly steps and expense Such a design would also facilitate greater control over the fit of the components and allow greater per
14. dvanced Elastomer Systems of Akron Ohio may be overmolded or otherwise used to form an outer surface 15 of wheel 14 Carriage 56 may also be molded from a plastic for example Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene ABS The described materials are exemplary however and other mate rials and combinations are with thin scope of the invention A small amount of lubricant_can be added to the connec tions between axles 22 and axle guides 58 and between follower 66 and detents 52 FIG 7 is a top view of one embodiment of the invention installed on a mouse circuit board 44 with certain compo nents omitted Although shown in certain figures as located directly opposite the pivots 68 switch tab 74 could be located elsewhere For example switch tab 74 could be on 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 one side of carriage 56 shown as item 74 in FIG 7 Circuit board 44 may also house components for tracking mouse movement across a surface such as LED 91 and receptor 92 Alternatively mechanical encoder wheels and a captive rolling ball could be used as could other motion tracking devices FIG 8 is a cutaway view taken along the line of sight 8 8 of FIG 7 Various components have been com pletely or partially removed so as to more clearly reveal detents 52 and follower 66 As shown in FIG 8 a scroll wheel in one embodiment of the invention may have eigh teen 18 evenly spaced detents 52 distributed on in
15. ered within a trough i e within a detent As the dotted line shows arm 67 flexes backward when force is exerted on follower 66 As shown if FIGS 2 6 carriage 56 may be mounted for pivotal movement within a mouse or other structure Car riage 56 may include pivots 68 Pivots 68 fit within pivot guides 70 formed in posts 72 and are retained therein for pivotal movement In the depicted embodiment snap fit pivot guides are shown as with axle guides 58 however alternative arrangements are possible Posts 72 are attached to or formed as a part of lower case 20 Carriage 56 thereby pivots about an axis A passing through pivots 68 and pivot guides 70 Located at the opposite end of carriage 56 is switch tab 74 Switch tab 74 acts upon microswitch 76 when the user exerts downward force on wheel 14 switch tab 74 is thereby pressed against microswitch 76 and actuates same Microswitch 76 can be a self biased switch such as a metallic beam switch a metallic disc switch or other type self biasing switch which will support the car riage when not being pressed down by a user As is known in the art these types of switches are mechanically biased to an off state and are only on when an external force is exerted on the switch Although not shown carriage 56 could alternatively be biased upward by a separate spring or resilient member In such an alternative configuration switch 76 would not need to be self biased FIG 6 is an e
16. formance consistency among the scroll wheels in different nice For these and other reasons advantages can be obtained from further refinements in scroll wheel design SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention improves upon existing scroll wheel designs by providing a single component that rotat ably supports the scroll wheel and which has an integral follower arm extending into a well within which the scroll wheel rotates Formed on a circumferential surface of the scroll wheel are regularly spaced detents or other structures forming regularly spaced regions of alternating height Located on an end of the follower arm is a follower which rests within the detents As the scroll wheel rotates and the follower is pushed out of a detent the follower arm biases the follower radially into the surface on which the detents are located By integrally forming the follower and follower arm as part of the same component that houses and rotatably supports the scroll wheel the number of components is reduced reducing tolerance stack up and providing other advantages The carriage may further be pivotably attached to a mouse or other structure and a tab formed on the carriage In this manner the scroll wheel can also function as an externally depressible button In one embodiment a modular scroll wheel assembly includes a scroll wheel sized for movement by a finger of a US 6 987 505 B1 3 human user The scroll wheel has a circumferential
17. ll part of the lower case 20 FIG 4 is similar to FIG 3 but in an assembled condition Scroll wheel 14 may but need not include an outer surface 15 that is textured to allow for easier movement by the user In the depicted embodiment scroll wheel 14 includes a hub 49 that is substantially open on at least one face and has an exposed inner circumferential surface 50 exposed by the opening in that face Evenly spaced along inner circumferential surface 50 are a series of peaks and troughs forming detents 52 The series of peaks and troughs may include a sinusoidally shaped series of peaks and troughs Axle 22 is attached to wheel 14 which attachment may be strengthened by spokes 54 Wheel 14 axle 22 and spokes 54 may be molded so as to form a single integral component After assembly a portion of scroll wheel 14 rests within carriage 56 Carriage 56 is a single integral piece which can be molded Carriage 56 includes axle guides 58 on both sides of carriage 56 Each axle guide 58 may be formed between a pair of uprights 60 extending from and integral to carriage 56 Although both axle guides 58 are shown in the drawings as having a snap in configuration formed by an angled inlet between uprights 60 other axle guide con figurations are possible For example one axle guide 58 could be an enclosed hole e g without a gap between the uprights 60 into which one end of axle 22 is inserted with the other end of axle 22 being snapped
18. m 10 wherein the carriage is pivotably coupled to the housing and further comprising a switch actuating tab extending from the carriage and a switch located within the housing such that external force upon the scroll wheel pivots the carriage and pushes the tab against the switch 12 The computer mouse of claim 11 wherein the scroll wheel further comprises an integral axle and the carriage further comprises first and second axle guides respectively formed within the first and second sides of the carriage that rotatably hold the axle 13 The computer mouse of claim 12 wherein the switch is self biased 14 The computer mouse of claim 13 wherein the fol lower faces radially outward with respect to the axle and wherein the circumferential surface faces radially inward 15 The computer mouse of claim 14 wherein the regularly spaced regions of alternating height comprise a sinusoidally shaped series of peaks and troughs and wherein the follower arm has substantially no preload when the scroll wheel is rotated to a position in which the follower is substantially centered within one of the troughs 16 The computer mouse of claim 15 wherein the scroll wheel and the carriage are formed from dissimilar plastic materials 17 The computer mouse of claim 15 wherein the scroll wheel further comprises an overmolded rubber like material forming an outermost circumferential surface 18 The computer mouse of claim 15 wherein the a
19. n image to scroll upwards or downwards The scroll wheel may be configured to perform other functions such as moving a screen object in a z direction changing the zoom or other attributes of a screen image scrolling horizontally and innumerable other functions A scroll wheel may also be configured to act as an additional button when pressed by the user To prevent the scroll wheel from rotating undesirably e g when the user is moving the mouse but not turning the wheel to provide a desired tactile sensation for the user and to provide a means of indexing wheel rotation into discrete increments some type of restraint is typically imposed on scroll wheel rotation Acommon restraint consists of a series of regularly spaced ridges detents or other structures on a surface of the wheel or its axis and a follower biased into contact with the detents As the wheel rotates the follower is biased to resist movement out of a detent and the torque necessary to continue rotating the wheel increases slightly As the user increases the applied torque i e continues to turn the wheel the follower rides over a ridge or other structure separating two detents whereupon the needed torque decreases until the follower is biased into the next detent In this way the user can easily gauge and make relatively uniform scrolling movements Existing mice scroll wheels restrain wheel rotation through a variety of configurations U S Pat No 5 912 6
20. ner circumferential surface 50 FIG 8A is an enlarged view of region 8A of FIG 8 and has been rotated 90 counterclock wise for clarity FIG 8A shows dimensions for the embodi ment of FIG 8 but the dimensions shapes and positioning of the components may vary as desired Follower 66 has a shape generally matching the trough shape Fatigue on follower 66 and the follower arm 67 may be reduced if there is substantially no preload upon the follower In other words when the scroll wheel is assembled and follower 66 is substantially centered within a detent 52 no significant force is exerted on follower 66 or arm 67 by wheel 14 As is clear from the above description the invention provides numerous advantages over other scroll wheel con figurations Contained within a single part are the guides within which the scroll wheel axles rotate the follower and the follower arm Because there are a minimum number of parts tolerances can be more easily and accurately main tained This in turn enhances consistency in scroll wheel performance from mouse to mouse Reducing the number of parts also reduces assembly time and expense The invention further provides a consistent feel for a user rotating the scroll wheel in either direction In other words the forward and reverse rotational torque is more closely equal than is the case in other designs Although an example of carrying out the invention has been described those skilled in the art will a
21. on an end of the follower arm is a follower which moves in and out of the detents as the scroll wheel rotates with the arm biasing the follower against movement out of the detents The carriage may also include pivots for relative movement of the carriage and scroll wheel assembly with respect to a housing and a tab for actuating a switch 20 Claims 10 Drawing Sheets U S Patent Jan 17 2006 Sheet 1 of 10 US 6 987 505 B1 FIG 1 Sheet 2 of 10 US 6 987 505 B1 Jan 17 2006 U S Patent ES 2 AS VAREN CIA t ES ECC Q j y i ES D Gees 72 FIG 2 US 6 987 505 B1 Sheet 3 of 10 Jan 17 2006 U S Patent wt r 76 70 68 FIG 3 US 6 987 505 B1 Sheet 4 of 10 Jan 17 2006 U S Patent 49 Vy oR FI Ma 50 52 bh S 8 AD Zi WV SY WH v VOS o N G 4 m U S Patent Jan 17 2006 Sheet 5 of 10 US 6 987 505 B1 FIG 5 U S Patent Jan 17 2006 Sheet 6 of 10 US 6 987 505 B1 FIG 6 U S Patent Jan 17 2006 Sheet 7 of 10 US 6 987 505 B1 FIG 7 U S Patent Jan 17 2006 Sheet 8 of 10 US 6 987 505 B1 66 WC Bx 0 25mm Detent Depth Ca MMA El SS FIG 8A US 6 987 505 B1 Sheet 9 of 10 Jan 17 2006 U S Patent v Q mi em U S Patent Jan 17 2006 Sheet 10 of 10 US 6 987 505 B1 66 Lo an m so oe oe oe Mp o ur w m ye oe FIG 11
22. page for ICONCEPTS 70152 lt http www panweb1 com products computer mouse 70152 htm gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Jun 28 2002 Web page for Yahoo 8D Internet Mouse lt http www panweb1 com products computer mouse 8dinternetmouse htm gt publication date unknown but believed to be prior to Jun 28 2002 The Title Pg Item 56 should read under OTHER PUBLICATIONS line 7 delete avaliability and insert availability therefor The Title Pg Item 56 under OTHER PUBLICATIONS in column 2 line 11 delete disclosureprior and insert disclosure prior therefor CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 4 of 4 U S Pat No 6 987 505 B1 On Sheet 9 of 10 please replace FIG 10 with the following figure V 06m FIG 10 In column 2 line 18 delete arrangement and insert arrangement therefor In column 2 line 43 delete nice and insert mice therefor In column 5 line 60 delete lubricant can and insert lubricant can therefor In column 7 line 9 in Claim 3 after claim 2 insert In column 7 line 38 in Claim 6 delete surface and insert surface therefor In column 7 line 39 in Claim 6 delete molded and insert molded therefor In column 7 line 45 in Claim 6 delete rotatable and insert rotatably therefor Signed and Sealed this Nineteenth Day of Janu
23. ppreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described device that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims As but one example the detents could alternatively be located on an inner circumferential surface that is on a portion of the scroll wheel axle inside of the wheel hub with the follower facing radially inward As another example the detents could be molded or otherwise formed on the outermost surface of the scroll wheel the carriage modified and the follower oriented to face radially inward As yet another example the axle could alternatively be molded as two half axles extend ing from either side of the carriage into the wheel well with depressions molded into the scroll wheel for those half axles As set forth above the scroll wheel of the invention can be incorporated into other mouse designs into other pointing devices e g trackballs and other input devices e g keyboards These and other modifications are within the scope of the invention which is to be limited only by the claims What is claimed is 1 A modular scroll wheel assembly comprising a scroll wheel sized for movement by a finger of a human user having a circumferential surface having regularly spaced regions of alternating height located thereon and a single piece carriage supporting and rotatably holding the scroll wheel the single piece carriage having first and second
24. sides defining a wheel well within which the scroll wheel rotates and an integral follower arm on the first side of the carriage the follower arm having a follower on an end of the US 6 987 505 B1 7 follower arm extending into the wheel well from the first side of the carriage the follower being in contact with the circumferential surface and biased to resist deflection as the scroll wheel rotates 2 The modular scroll wheel assembly of claim 1 wherein the scroll wheel further comprises first and second faces and wherein an opening is defined in the first face so as to expose the circumferential surface 3 The modular scroll wheel assembly of claim 2 wherein the carriage is molded 4 A modular scroll wheel assembly of claim 3 wherein the scroll wheel further comprises an integral axle and the carriage further comprises first and second axle guides respectively formed within the first and second sides of the carriage rotatably holding the axle 5 The modular scroll wheel assembly of claim 4 wherein the follower faces radially outward with respect to the axle and wherein the circumferential surface faces radially inward 6 A modular scroll wheel assembly comprising a scroll wheel sized for movement by a finger of a human user having a circumferential surface having regularly spaced regions of alternating height located thereon and a single piece carriage supporting and rotatably holding the scroll wheel the
25. surface with regularly spaced regions of alternating height located on that surface The modular scroll wheel assembly further includes a single piece carriage that supports and rotatably holds the scroll wheel The carriage has first and second sides that define a wheel well within which the scroll wheel rotates An integral follower arm is disposed on the first side of the carriage the follower arm has a follower in contact with the circumferential surface and is biased to resist deflection as the scroll wheel rotates An embodiment of a computer mouse according to the invention includes a housing sized and configured for manual movement by a user across a surface so as to permit a corresponding movement of a screen object on a computer display The housing has a bottom case and an upper case coupled to the bottom case and at least two depressible buttons movably attached to the upper case The mouse further includes a scroll wheel having a circumferential surface with regularly spaced regions of alternating height located around that circumferential surface A single piece carriage rotatably supports the scroll wheel such that a portion of the scroll wheel extends outside of the housing The carriage includes first and second sides forming a wheel well within which the scroll wheel rotates and an integral follower arm on the first side of the carriage A follower on an end of the arm is in contact with the circumferential surface and is biased
26. the scroll wheel further comprises an overmolded rubber like material forming an outermost circumferential surface 9 A computer mouse comprising a housing sized and configured for manual movement by a user across a surface so as to permit a corresponding movement of a screen object on a computer display the housing having a bottom case and an upper case coupled to the bottom case and 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 at least two depressible buttons movably attached to the upper case a scroll wheel having a circumferential surface having regularly spaced regions of alternating height located thereon and a single piece carriage rotatably supporting the scroll wheel such that a portion of the scroll wheel extends outside of the housing the single piece carriage hav ing first and second sides forming a wheel well within which the scroll wheel rotates and an integral follower arm on the first side of the carriage the follower arm having a follower on an end of the arm extending into the wheel well from the first side of the carriage the follower being in contact with the circumferential surface and biased to resist deflec tion as the scroll wheel rotates 10 The computer mouse of claim 9 wherein the scroll wheel further comprises first and second faces and wherein an opening is defined in the first face so as to expose the circumferential surface 11 The computer mouse of clai
27. xle extends beyond at least one of the first and second sides of the carriage and further comprising an optical encoder wheel attached to the axle on a portion thereof extending beyond the at least one of the first and second sides of the carriage a light emitting diode located on a first side of the encoder wheel and fixed with respect to the encoder wheel and a receptor located on a second side of the encoder wheel and fixed with respect to the encoder wheel 19 The modular scroll wheel assembly of claim 1 wherein the follower arm and the remainder of the single piece carriage are made of a same material 20 The computer mouse of claim 9 wherein the follower arm and the remainder of the single piece carriage are made of a same material UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 6 987 505 B1 APPLICATION NO 10 158996 DATED January 17 2006 INVENTOR S James Y Koo Page l of 4 It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below On the Title Page Item 56 under U S PATENT DOCUMENTS delete 5 808 568 A 9 1998 Wu oo eee 341 20 5 912 661 A 6 1999 Siddiqui 345 166 6 188 393 B1 2 2001 Shu 345 184 6 340 966 B1 1 2002 Wang etal 345 163 6 353 429 Bl 3 2002 Long 6 522 321 B1 2 2003 Chen etal 345 163 6
28. xploded front perspective view of the mouse and scroll wheel from an opposite side of the mouse FIG 5 is similar to FIG 6 but in an assembled condition and showing additional components Encoder wheel 24 is attached to or formed as a part of the end of axle 22 After assembly and as shown in FIGS 2 and 5 encoder wheel 24 passes between a light emitting diode LED 42 and receptor s 46 When scroll wheel 14 is rotated the spokes of encoder wheel 24 alternatively allow and block light from LED 42 from reaching receptor s 46 thereby facilitating detection of scroll wheel rotation The details of such detection are known in the art and are not critical to the present invention The detents 52 could be configured such that when the follower 66 rests within a detent light from LED 42 reaches receptor s 46 Alternatively detents 52 could be configured so that when the follower 66 rests within a detent the encoder wheel 24 partially or completely blocks light from LED 42 from reaching receptor s 46 LED 42 and receptor s 46 can be mounted upon a bracket 26 which could in turn be mounted to circuit board 44 In one embodiment hub 49 of scroll wheel 14 axle 22 and spokes 54 may be integrally formed from any desired plastic such as an acetyl resin for example DELRIN available from E I duPont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington Del If desired a rubber like thermoplastic elastomer such as SANTOPRENE available from A
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