MXPA96001652A - Method and apparatus for improved positioning device for computed - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for an improved computer signaling device is provided. The present invention facilitates the positioning of the computer cursor and includes a pointing device for providing input signals coordinates and a gain control device for providing gain signals wherein the gain is defined as the ratio of the movement of the cursor to the length of the Y axis and the X axis in relation to the corresponding amount of movement of the movement device along the Y axis and the X axis. The coordinate input signals and the gain signals are received by the processor. The processor operates to execute a program that scales the input signals as a function of the gain value determined from the gain signal. The processor then produces the scaled coordinate input signals in a way that simulates a mouse output. The signaling device may be any peripheral computer device capable of providing input signals co-ordinates indicating an amount of movement along the Y axis and the X axis. The gain control device is any device capable of providing gain signals. to a process

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AN IMPROVED COMPUTER SIGNALING DEVICE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to peripheral computer devices, and particularly to an improved computer pointing device with a gain control device for quickly adjusting the resolution of the cursor movement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The pointing devices are commonly used today in conjunction with programs and programming systems or software to control the cursor position of a computer and to control the operation of a computer. The cursor of the computer moves in relation to the movement of the pointing device under the control of programs and programming or software systems. One such typical signaling device is a computer mouse. The computer mouse is a manually operated device that requires the user to remove their hand from the keyboard once the cursor position needs to be changed. Like all manually operated signaling devices, the mouse may also be restricted to users with a limited range of manual movement. Experiments have been done with pointing devices operated with the feet that perform functions identical to those of the mouse. Such a device is commonly known as "topo". Furthermore, other pointing devices can be operated with the eye, the head or other parts of the body other than the hands. However, all technologies that do not use the hand to operate the pointing device tend to suffer from the disadvantage that the small motor skills of the hand are better than those of the other parts of the body. In other words, the manually operated mouse allows the user to position the cursor more accurately than other pointing devices. This does not mean, however, that the positioning accuracy of the mouse can not be improved. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for an improved computer pointing device that increases the accuracy of cursor positioning and movement range. A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for making the operation of a computer more efficient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention, a peripheral computer device for providing a computer with signals that control the movement of a computer cursor teaches the use of gain control means, wherein the gain is defined as the ratio of the movement of the cursor to along the y axis and the x axis in relation to the corresponding amount of movement through the pointing means along the y axis and the x axis. The peripheral computer device comprises the signaling means and the gain control means. The signaling means provides input signals coordinates in response to the detected movement of the signaling means. The gain control means provides gain signals which can then be used to scale the coordinate input signals. In one embodiment of the invention, the gain control means includes a variable resistor and a pedal mechanism. The variable resistor comprises a resistor which is manipulated by the pedal mechanism to vary the magnitude of the gain signals emanating from the gain control means. The peripheral computer device may also include a plurality of switches for transmitting signals of the switching state indicative of the commands corresponding to the current position of the computer cursor. The input signal coordinates, the gain signals and the signals of the switching state can be received by the first processing means. The first processing means perform one of two functions: they process the signals or send them to the second processing means to be processed. Regardless of whether the signals are processed by the second or first processing means, the result is the output of the coordinate input signals in a way that simulates a mouse output. In the preferred embodiment, the processing means first determine a gain value of the gain signals and scale the input signals as a function of the gain value to arrive at the desired output, i.e. the scaled coordinate output signals of such that they simulate a mouse output. The signals of the switching state are included in the output.

Advantageously, the present invention is also a peripheral computer device, to be used in combination with the signaling means, which provides gain signals to the processor to quickly adjust the resolution of the movement of the cursor. This peripheral computer device is connected to a processor and comprises gain control means and output means. The gain control means allow users to manipulate the magnitude of the gain signals. The output means is connected to the gain control means and transmits the gain signals from the gain control means to the processor. In the preferred embodiment, the gain control means includes a variable resistor having a manipulable resistance for varying the magnitude of the gain signals and the output means is an analog / digital converter that transforms the gain signals into a form digital. An intermediate amplifier can be interposed between the variable resistor and the analog / digital converter to provide the appropriate input to the analog / digital converter. The computer peripheral device may include its own processing means to receive the gain signals from the output means and the input signals coordinate of the signaling means. The processing means will transmit the received signals either in their original form to other processing means for processing or to process the signals themselves to output scaled coordinate signals in a manner that simulates a mouse output. Also, according to the present invention, there is a method for facilitating the movement of the cursor of the computer using gain control means to increase the user's control over the pointing means. This comprises the steps of receiving a first and second set of input signals Coordinates of the signaling means; determining an amount of change along the y-axis and the x-axis of the first and second sets of coordinate input signals; receiving gain signals from the gain control means; calculate a gain value using the gain signals; and scale the amount of change along the y-axis and the x-axis as a function of the gain value. The method may also include the step of manipulating the gain control means to vary the magnitude of the gain signals. The manipulation of the gain control means can be achieved by depressing and releasing a pedal mechanism. In addition to the scaling of the coordinate input signals, the method can also include the step of obtaining the scaled amount of change along the y axis and the x axis in a way that simulates a mouse output. Those and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be better understood with respect to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic diagram describing one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a graph describing an example of a relationship between the amount of gain and the hexadecimal value for the gain signal; Figures 3 and 4 are flowcharts that describe an example of processing means for transforming the stream in series to stimulate a computer mouse; Figure 5 is a flowchart that describes an example of a sig_alarm routine that executes after an interruption occurs; Figure 6 is a flow chart describing an example of a mouse routine for the Logitek® mouse referred to in Figures 3 and 4; Figures 7, 8 and 9 are the flow charts described in Figures 3 and 4 with included alarm routines; and Figure 10 is a side view of a pedal mechanism for varying the gain signal of the gain control device of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As shown in Figure 1, a hands-free mouse unit 02 is connected via a serial line 06 to a first serial port 14 on a computer 04. The hands-free mouse unit 02 transmits the position signals of cursor to the computer 04 and comprises a pointing device 20, a gain control device 30, a plurality of push buttons 40 and a processor 50. The hands-free mouse unit 02 transmits the signals that are subsequently converted by the means processing within the computer 04 in a way that simulates a mouse output, and subsequently transmitted by the processing means to the mouse port 16 on a keyboard 10 connected to the computer 04 where they are subsequently processed by a mouse driver program . The signaling device 20 can be any of a number of products that provide input signals coordinates that indicate an amount of movement along the y-axis and along the x-axis in response to the physical movement of the pointing device 20. Note that some signaling devices 20 provide coordinate input signals indicating changes in density (i.e., elevation) and yaw or oscillation (i.e., azimuth), which can be converted to a corresponding amount of movement along the y-axis the x axis. Typical signaling devices are mice, tracking balls, moles, tracking or eye tracking technology, control levers and position trackers, such as mechanical, optical, magnetic and acoustic. Such devices and their technology are well known in the art. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the signaling device 20 employed is an alternating current magnetic position scanner manufactured by Polhemus called 3Space® Isotrak®. The 3Space® Isotrak® comprises a source 22, a detector 24 and a control unit 26. The source 22 is constructed of three mutually perpendicular emitting coils, not shown, which generate three perpendicular rotating magnetic fields. The detector 24 is constructed of three mutually perpendicular sensing coils, not shown. The three magnetic fields generated from the source 22 induce three currents in each of the three sensing coils. The current induced in each sensing coil will vary depending on its distance and angle of the source 22. This provides the basis for the control unit 26 to calculate the relative yaw and density or oscillation values. These values are then transmitted from the control unit 26 to the processor 50. The density and yaw values are then used to calculate a movement amount corresponding to the 3Space® Isotrak® along the y axis and the x axis, respectively. The calculation process comprises the following steps: (1) determining a? Density and? Yaw, which are different between the first and second set of density and yaw values, respectively; and (2) multiply the sine function by? density and? yaw by a predetermined distance D (ie, it is assumed that the distance of the detector 24 is from the monitor of a computer, it is not shown). The magnetic position tracker technology briefly described above is well known in the art.

In one embodiment of the invention, the detector 24 is placed on the head of a user for hands-free operation. By varying the angle of the head, the user can manipulate the cursor on the monitor of the computer. To increase user control over any pointing device 20, the present invention includes a gain control device 30. The "Gain" is defined as the ratio of the movement of the cursor along the y-axis to the x-axis in relation to the corresponding amount of movement of the pointing device 20 along the y axis and the x axis. The gain control device 30 includes, but is not limited to one of the following devices that allow users to manipulate the magnitude of a gain signal: an optical axis encoder; an accelerometer; an electrolytic inclinometer; a manometer; an extended etro; a photocell and a light source that move together or separately. One embodiment of the gain control device 30 comprises the following electrical components connected in series: the power supply 32 to the fixed resistor 34 to the variable resistor 36 to the intermediate amplifier 38 to the analog / digital converter 39. The gain control device 30 the processor 50 supplies a voltage signal in the form of a binary digit. In this mode, the voltage signal is used as the gain signal. By varying the resistance of the variable resistor 36, the user can quickly control the magnitude of the voltage fed to the intermediate amplifier 38. The intermediate amplifier 38 is designed with a high input impedance and low output impedance to minimize the load on the voltage variable and to provide a suitable "drive" to the analog / digital converter 39. The intermediate amplifier 38 transforms the voltage signal into a low output impedance for the analog / digital converter 39 where it is subsequently fed in the form of a binary digit to the processor 50 and later used to calculate a gain value. The preferred embodiment of the invention uses a pedal mechanism 37, as shown in Figure 10, to vary the impedance of the variable resistor 36 for hands-free operation. The pedal mechanism 37 comprises an upper portion 37a, a lower portion 37b, a spring 37c and an articulation 37d. The upper portion 37a and the lower portion 37b are hinged or hinged together at or near the point A by the joint 37d and are separated at point B by the spring 37c which is interposed between the upper portion 37a and the lower portion 37b , allowing the pedal mechanism 37 to move between an upper and a lower position. The variable resistor 36 is positioned within the pedal mechanism 37 in such a way as to allow the user to vary the resistance of the variable resistor 36 by manipulating the pedal mechanism 37 between the upper and lower positions. The gain control device 30 allows users to quickly manipulate the gain of the pointing device 20 so that small movements can be made with ease by lowering the gain and rapid movements can be achieved immediately by raising the gain. As mentioned at the beginning, the resistance of the variable resistor 36 can be varied using the pedal mechanism. For each position of the pedal mechanism 37, there is an associated gain signal. By depressing the pedal mechanism 37 the resistance is increased and an increased gain signal is produced to be transmitted. In the preferred embodiment, the relationship between the value of the gain and the gain signal (expressed in the hexadecimal notation from the analog / digital converter 39) is linear by segments, as shown in Figure 2. Other relations. A slight depression of the pedal mechanism 37 allows the user to decrease the gain and increase the positioning accuracy of the cursor. This compensates users with poor motor skills. The increase in depression of the pedal mechanism 37 increases the gain, allowing the user to reposition the cursor larger distances quickly with small movements of the pointing device 20. This is particularly advantageous for users who have a limited range of movement with the part of the body that operates the pointing device 20. Most users use large gain and small gain facilities depending on the amount of movement desired. Additionally in the relationship of Figure 2 provides the gain control device 30 with a "clutch" function for Recentering operations. The "clutch" function is similar to capturing a conventional computer mouse off the surface and re-centering it without changing the position of the cursor. This gives the user the freedom to move the pointing device 20 without repositioning the cursor. The "clutch" function is achieved by assigning a gain value of zero to a range of hexadecimal values less than or equal to a predetermined value. This default hexadecimal value is known as "minped". As shown in figure 2 the "minped" is equal to the hexadecimal value "Of".

Referring again to Figure 1, the present invention includes push buttons 40 to provide various instructions with respect to the current position of the cursor. The push buttons 40 are interposed between the electrical power supplies 44 and the parallel ports 42 of the processor 50 and comprise a resistor 46 and a switch 48 that have a positive "on" position and a positive "on" position. The switch 48 remains in the positive "on" position unless it is depressed by the user. The positive "off" position, a voltage (approximately 5 volts) indicative of the state of the switch is transmitted in a single byte to the processor 50. In the positive "on" position, a voltage of approximately zero is transmitted. Alternatively, the keyboard buttons or verbal buttons (used with a word recognition program) could be used to perform the functions of the push buttons 40. The signals transmitted from the push buttons 40, the control unit 26 and the converter analog / digital 39 have associated values and are stored in the processor 50 until they are retrieved by the computer 04. The present invention includes processing means within the computer 04 that operate to execute a program stored in the associated memory to retrieve the values above mentioned and then extract them in another form of byte array that simulates a mouse output. Figures 3, 4 and 6 are flow diagrams illustrating processing means. Figures 3 and 4 represent a flow chart of a main routine and Figure 6 shows a flow diagram of a subroutine called by the main routine. As shown in Figure 3, the main routine begins by declaring the definitions and storage location in step 3a and initializing or assigning initial values to both serial lines 06 and 08 in step 3b. Step 3c marks the beginning of a cycle which continuously processes information from processor 50. This cycle is executed approximately 20 i times per second. In step 3d, the routine transmits a "read" command to the processor 50 and retrieves the values of the bytes of the current push buttons 40 and the hexadecimal value of the analog / digital converter 39. The current byte and the hexadecimal values are saved as "buttons" and "pedal", respectively, in step 3e. Step 3f carries out a check to determine whether the position of the push buttons 40 has changed since the last execution of the cycle by comparing the "buttons" with the "buttons", that is, the values of the bytes previously stored for the push buttons 40 , and if the push buttons 40 are currently depressed. The values of the "sbotones" were initially set to zero in step 3a. If (1) any of the "buttons" differs from the "sbotones" or the "buttons" they are not equal to zero and (2) if the "pedal" is less than or equal to the "minped" (which has been set at step 3a), then the routine proceeds to step 3g and calls the mouse routine described in Figure 6 to produce the value in bytes as if it were transmitted by a mouse. If any of the conditions are false, the main routine continues until step 3h. In the mouse routine, the content of the "buttons" will be entered into a byte array. The mouse routine described in Figure 6 produces a byte array that simulates a Logitek® mouse output. It should be understood that the other mouse marks could have been easily simulated. The mouse routine begins with the initialization or assignment of initial values to the byte array in step 6a. Step 6b proceeds to enter the content of the "buttons" in the byte array depending on which push buttons 40 are pressed. The mouse routine continues until step 6c where you enter the values for? Y and? X. Unless the mouse routine is called by step 41, the values for both? and for? x could be zero. Step 6d feeds the array of bytes to computer 04 through mouse port 16 where the byte array is processed by the mouse controller. The control then returns to the call routine. Step 3h proceeds to update the "sbotones" with the content of the "buttons" for future reference. The next sequence of steps has to do with the positioning of the cursor. In step 3i, a "read" command is transmitted to the processor 50 to retrieve the current values of density and yaw or oscillation. For easy handling, step 4a reshapes and extends the sign of current density and yaw signals as "cdensity" and "clogged." Step 4b decides whether any action should be taken with the computer cursor based on those values. If the "pedal" is less than or equal to the "minped" the routine assumes that the user performed the recentering operations and advances to step 4c so that he can update the previously saved density and yaw values, ie, "sdensity" and "sguiñada", respectively, with their current values, for future references. The routine then returns to the beginning of the cycle in step 3c. Otherwise, if the "pedal" is greater than the "minped" the routine assumes that the user is repositioning the cursor and proceeds to step 4d. Step 4d determines the gain value based on the hexadecimal value of the "pedal" and a predetermined relationship between the two values. An example of such a relationship is illustrated in Figure 2. Step 4d then proceeds to calculate the? And for the computer cursor. The value of? Y (or? X) represents the scaled amount of relative motion along the y-axis (or the x-axis). This value is determined by calculating the density, that is, the difference between the "density" and the "density" (or "yaw", that is, the difference between the "clogged" and the "scuffed"), converting the density ( or? yaw) to a corresponding amount along the y-axis (or the x-axis) and using the gain value to scale the momentum, however, the "noise" of the 3Space® Isotrak® can create density readings and false yaw which will cause the routine to generate a value of? and (and / or? x) different from zero even though the detector 24 and the source 22 are completely stationary.The result is a cursor that oscillates undesirably on the screen A routine mode includes a low-pass filter routine to correct the "noise" problem and stabilize the computer's cursor using the average value of? and instead of the value of? and current. the movement of the computer's cursor, step 4d d First determine if the user opted to use the low pass filter routine. If so, the routine proceeds to step 4f which calculates an? And averaging based on the? And current of a predetermined number of? And s. The value of? And average will be used to reposition the cursor. The routine continues until step 4g where it sets the? And maximum, as required by the operating system. Steps 4h-k compute? X for the computer's cursor in the same way that steps 4d-g compute? Y. After calculating? And y? X (o? Y and? X average), step 41 calls the mouse routine. The values for? Y and? X are entered into the byte array in step 6c and then fed to the mouse port 16 by step 6d causing the cursor to be collected. The control returns to the main routine where step 4m updates the "sdensity" and the "sguiñada" with the content of the "cdensidad" and the "cguiñada". The routine then cycles to return to step 3c where it can process the next set of processor 50 signals. Other versions of the main routine can be included with delay alarms to correct the "suspension" problems that may occur when no there is a response to the commands to "read" to steps 3d and 3i. One such modality is shown in Figures 7-9. This mode uses system calls and is executable on a UNIX® operating system. The delay alarm operates on the principle that the "read" command must be completed within a specific time interval or else the system alarm will cause an interruption to occur. After the interruption occurs, a series of programming declarations will notify the routine that the delay alarm has expired. The serial lines 06 and 08 will then be closed and the main routine restored. Step 7a starts by initializing or assigning initial values to the delay alarm. This gives the instruction to the operating system that the routine "sig_alarma," as shown in Figure 5, is the routine to execute in the case of an interruption. Step 7b proceeds to verify if the delay alarm expired using "setjmp" to save the stacking environment of the "read-alarm" for later use by "longjmp". A value of "0" will always be returned in the initial cycle. As long as the returned value remains "0" and is not changed by the "sig_alarm" routine, it is considered that the delay alarm has not expired. If the delay alarm has not expired, the routine proceeds to step 7d, where it adjusts the system alarm to elapse after a predetermined time interval. If the 3g time is completed punctually, the routine continues until step 7d where the system alarm is canceled before the interruption can occur. In other circumstances the system alarm could cause an interruption. After the interruption occurs, the "sig_alarm" routine in Figure 5 is executed. Step 5a of the "sig_alarm" routine uses the "longjmp" to reset the saved environment to "read_alarm" by the last call of "setjmp". This then causes the execution to continue as if the "setjmp" call had returned to a value of "1". When step 7b subsequently checks the returned value, it will read "1" and conclude that the delay alarm has expired. In such a case the routine proceeds to step 7c and advances to the reset routine in Figure 9. In steps 9a and 9b of the reset routine, the first and second serial lines 06 and 08 are closed and then the routine main is restarted. Similarly, steps 8a-d are identical in their function to steps 7b-e and are used to confirm successful "read" commands for the density and yaw values in step 3i. In another embodiment of the invention, the processing means described above are within the processor 50 and the array of bytes is fed directly to the port of the mouse 16 or to the computer 04. Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred version of it other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred version contained herein. It is noted that in relation to this date the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims (20)

1. A peripheral computer device for providing signals to a computer that control the movement of a computer cursor, acterized in that it comprises: a. pointing means for providing coordinate input signals in response to the detected movement of the signaling means; and b. gain control means for providing gain signals, wherein the gain is the ratio of the movement of the cursor along the y axis to the x axis in relation to the corresponding amount of movement through the signaling means along the The y-axis and the x-axis, the gain signals are used to scale the coordinate input signals.

2. The computer peripheral device according to claim 1, acterized in that it further comprises: c. a plurality of switches for transmitting the switching state signals indicative of the commands corresponding to the current position of the computer cursor.

3. The computer peripheral device according to claim 2, acterized in that it further comprises: c. first processing means capable of receiving and transmitting coordinate input signals, gain signals and switching state signals.

4. The computer peripheral device according to claim 3, acterized in that it further comprises: d. second processing means capable of receiving the coordinate input signals, the gain signals and the switching state signals of the first processing means and produce output signals scaled coordinates and switching state signals in a form that simulates an output of mouse.

5. The computer peripheral device according to claim 4, acterized in that the second processing means are further able to determine the gain values of the gain signals and scale the input signals as a function of the gain values.

6. The computer peripheral device according to claim 1, acterized in that it further comprises: c. processing means capable of receiving the input signal coordinates and the gain signals and producing output signals scaled coordinates in a way that simulates a mouse output.

7. The computer peripheral device according to claim 1, acterized in that the gain control means includes a variable resistor and a pedal, the variable resistor has a manipulable resistance that responds to the pedal meism to cause the magnitude of the signals to vary of gain that emanates from the means of profit control.

8. The computer peripheral device according to claim 7, acterized in that the signaling means is a position tracker for the hands-free operation of the peripheral device of the computer.

9. A computer peripheral device connected to a processor, in combination with signaling means for providing input signals coordinates, wherein the computer peripheral device transmits gain signals to the processor to quickly adjust the resolution of the movement of the cursor, acterized in that it comprises: to. gain control means for manipulating the magnitude of the gain signals, wherein the gain is the ratio of the movement of the cursor along the axis and the x-axis in relation to the corresponding amount of movement through the signaling means along the y axis and the x axis; and b. output means connected to the gain control means for transmitting the gain signals to the processor.

10. The computer peripheral device according to claim 9, acterized in that the peripheral means of the computer includes a variable resistor having a manipulable resistance to vary the magnitude of the gain signals.

11. The computer peripheral device according to claim 10, characterized in that the output means is an analog / digital converter that transforms the gain signals to their digital form.

12. The computer peripheral device according to claim 11, characterized in that the gain control means includes an intermediate amplifier interposed between the variable resistor and the analog / digital converter to provide a low input impedance of the variable resistance to the analog converter / digital.

13. The computer peripheral device according to claim 9, characterized in that it further comprises: c. first processing means within the processor capable of receiving and transmitting input signals, coordinates and gain signals.

14. The computer peripheral device according to claim 13, characterized in that it further comprises: d. second processing means capable of receiving input signals, coordinates and gain signals of the first processing means and produce scaled coordinate input signals in a manner that simulates a mouse output.

15. The computer peripheral device according to claim 14, characterized in that the second processing means are further capable of determining the gain values of the gain signals and scaling the input signals co-ordinates as a function of the gain values.

16. The computer peripheral device according to claim 9, characterized in that it further comprises: c. processing means within the processor capable of receiving input signals, coordinates and gain signals and producing scaled coordinate input signals in a manner that simulates a mouse output.

17. A method for facilitating the movement of a computer cursor that uses gain control means to increase user control over the pointing means, wherein the gain is the ratio of the movement of the cursor along the y-axis and the x-axis in relation to the corresponding amount of movement along the y axis and the x axis through the signaling means, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: a. receiving a first and second set of coordinate input signals from the signaling means; b. determining an amount of change along the x axis and the y axis from the first and second set of coordinate input signals; c. receiving gain signals from the gain control means; d. calculate the gain values using the gain signals; and e. Scale the determined amount of change along the x-axis and the y-axis as a function of the gain value.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that it comprises the additional steps of: f. manipulating the gain control means to vary the magnitude of the gain signal.

19. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that manipulation of the gain control means is achieved by depressing and releasing a pedal mechanism.

20. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that it comprises the additional steps of: f. produce the amount of scale change along the x axis and the y axis in a way that simulates a mouse output. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method and apparatus for an improved computer signaling device is provided. The present invention facilitates the positioning of the computer cursor and includes a pointing device to provide input signals coordinates and a gain control device to provide signals gain where gain is defined as the ratio of the movement of the cursor along the y axis and the x-axis in relation to the corresponding amount of movement of the movement device along the y-axis and the x-axis. The input signals coordinates and the gain signals are received by the processor. The processor operates to execute a program that scales the input signals as a function of the gain value determined from the gain signal. The processor then produces the scaled coordinate input signals in a way that simulates a mouse output. The signaling device may be any peripheral computer device capable of providing input signals co-ordinates indicating an amount of movement along the y-axis and the x-axis. The gain control device is any device capable of providing gain signals to a processor. One embodiment of the gain control device includes a variable resistor for manipulating the magnitude of the gain signal. The gain control device may also include an analog / digital converter to convert the gain signal to its digital form and an intermediate amplifier to provide a low impedance input from the variable resistor to the analog / digital converter. Preferably the gain signals emanating from the control device are manipulated by means of a pedal mechanism.