Patents by Inventor Thomas Henry Tichy

Thomas Henry Tichy has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Tactile feedback for cursor control device
    Patent number: 6967643
    Abstract: An apparatus for providing 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: CTS Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Henry Tichy, Steven L. Steinbrunner
  • Suppression of cursor control during tactile feedback operation
    Patent number: 6873316
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2005
    Assignee: CTS Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Henry Tichy, Steven L. Steinbrunner, Eric B. Taylor
  • Suppression of cursor control during tactile feedback operation
    Publication number: 20020101838
    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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2001
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Inventors: Thomas Henry Tichy, Steven L. Steinbrunner, Eric B. Taylor
  • Tactile feedback for cursor control device
    Publication number: 20020101404
    Abstract: An apparatus for providing 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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Inventors: Thomas Henry Tichy, Steven L. Steinbrunner