Wheel actuator provides force feedback to mouse wheel
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Introduction To provide user-friendly control over scrolling,
zooming, and similar functions when using a mouse, mouse wheels
were developed and are commonly adapted. Some types of mouse
wheels are fitted with a detent mechanism. A detent mechanism
provides evenly spaced physical detent positions, as well
as discrete positions to which the mouse wheel can be moved.
For some functions in a graphical user interface, the force
feedback provided by a conventional detent mechanism is insufficient.
In particular, during isometric scrolling the scrolling speed
of a document increases as the wheel moves away from the central
position. However, a conventional detent mechanism does not
allow the user to feel how far the wheel has rotated. A new
method for providing force feedback to a mouse wheel is needed.
Description To provide force feedback to a mouse wheel,
the use of a wheel actuator is proposed. A sensor and a wheel
actuator are rigidly secured on a suitable base. When the
user's finger rotates the mouse wheel, the sensor measures
the direction and the turning angle of the wheel and sends
these wheel signals to the computer. In the computer, a software
driver processes the wheel signals and sends force commands
to the driver. The driver converts the force commands into
a feedback force applied to the shaft. In particular, the
software driver can model a spring force. The spring force
can provide increasing resistance to the rotation of the wheel
in any direction. The further the wheel is rotated, the greater
is the effort that has to be applied to rotate the wheel any
further. As a result, the user can feel how far the wheel
has rotated. Thus, a wheel actuator provides force feedback
to a mouse wheel.
Additional information The software driver can model various types
of forces, including (for example) damping forces, inertial
forces, friction forces, jolts, and vibration.
