A method of controlling a two-hand held controller with an analog pressure sensor(s) for controlling video game machines and imagery thereof, and other electronically generated imagery. The method for communicating an on/off simple-switch output signal to hardware or to software, which is expecting to receive such a simple binary signal as is typically generated by some type of on/off switch or switching device. In this invention the on/off signal is generated by circuitry which has as its input an analog sensor having pressure-sensitive variable-conductance material. Such an analog input sensor may be operated by depressing a button/trigger/4-way rocker or the like. The on/off signal, or information packet containing such a signal, is communicated at a variable rate in time. The communication rate being determined by the level of pressure applied to the input device.

A pointing device is provided which facilitates the assembly, achieves downsizing and has a long life. Magnetic sensors 21 are placed symmetrically two by two along an X axis and Y axis on a printed circuit board 24. A switch 28 is placed on a silicone resin 23 side surface of the printed circuit board 24 to provide a switch function achieved by depressing a magnet cover 25 toward the magnet 22. The pointing device, a device for outputting coordinate values of an input point, can not only output the coordinate values, but also make a decision by the switch function. A silicone resin 23 is easy to deform caused by an external force, and returns its initial state without the applied external force as soon as the external force is removed.

A capacitive trackpoint device employs three capacitive sensors rather than four to increase sensitivity while reducing power consumption. Use of capacitive rather than resistive sensors provides a more sensitive and consistent signal with respect to pressure and a greater dynamic range than can be obtained from a resistive or strain gauge sensor, while use of larger area capacitive sensors for a given total area reduces the power requirements for reading the sensors both by having fewer capacitive sensors to read and by reducing the oscillating frequency. Because a more sensitive sensor is utilized, sampling of the signal may be made for a shorter time during periods of inactivity. The overall reduction in power consumption is particularly important for battery operated, hand-held input devices. Use of three sensors rather than four allows sampling of only two in a power-saving mode during periods of inactivity. Normalized force signals measured from the sensing electrodes are translated into displacement-type signals in at least two independent directions through simple trigonometric computations, with the normalized, translated signals being transformed to conventional displacement signals for a pointing device. The reduced power consumption is especially significant for infrared remote control devices of the type employed to control a set-top box, in which battery life is an important consideration.

A ballistics subsystem is coupled to a force sensor of an isometric input device. The ballistics subsystem augments control by applying a dual gain transfer function that smoothly transitions from separate gain factors for low and high force inputs. When applied in a cursor device, such as a joystick or force pad, pointer movement is coupled to input force, not input displacement. Traditionally, an array of miniature strain gauges is used to measure the input force. A more recent method optimized for very low cost uses an array of capacitive sensors. Regardless of what physical mechanism is used to measure input force, customized algorithms are generally used to establish the feel and usability of an isometric joystick. The invention comprises several new methods for optimizing the use of an isometric joystick as a cursor-positioning device, altering the transfer function gain to take advantage of asymmetry, detecting selection and deselection, and combined selection and deselection. A method is also described to perform real time suppression of unwanted cursor motion related to selection.

A device for entering data into a computer and for manipulation of a cursor. The device includes a joystick, a conductive spring and at least one capacitive force sensor. The conductive spring is capable of being deflected by force applied to the joystick which is measured by the capacitive force sensor.