Inventors:
Thomas Henry Tichy - Albuquerque NM, US
Steven L. Steinbrunner - Coldwater OH, US
Eric B. Taylor - Decatur IN, US
Assignee:
CTS Corporation - Elkhart IN
International Classification:
G09G005/08, G06F019/00
US Classification:
345157, 345161, 345163, 463 30, 463 37
Abstract:
An apparatus for filtering or suppressing a tactile feedback to a user of a computer cursor control device such as a pointing stick is provided. A pzt material is first mounted to a semi-rigid material such as by bonding the pzt material to a metal substrate. When an ac signal is applied to this assembly it vibrates. By coupling this mechanical vibration to the pointing stick, the user can sense the feedback. This can be used, for example, to provide a tactile feedback when the user depresses the pointing stick to cause a “mouse click. ” In order to prevent unwanted cursor movement on the display, a suppression circuit is provided that filters out the spurious signals or completely deactivates cursor movement during activation of the tactile feedback.