JP2000250707A - Wireless mouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make satisfactory operability for both right-handed and left-handed users and to enable cost-down by supporting a light emitting element constituting a transmission part so as to oscillate in horizontal direction. SOLUTION: An infrared light emitting element 15 is loaded on an auxiliary substrate 16 different from a substrate 14. The auxiliary substrate 16 is pivoted so as to oscillate around a rotary shaft 11a in respect to the base of a case 11 and by sliding a guide pin 16a protruded downward in a guide groove 11b provided on the base of the case 11, the auxiliary substrate 16 and the infrared light emitting element 15 can be oscillated around the rotary shaft 11a. The guide pin 16a is constituted so as to be protruded from the guide groove 11b into a recessed part 11c provided on the base of the case 11. The user slides the guide pin 16a along with the guide groove 11b with fingers or the like so that the direction of radiating an infrared signal from the infrared light emitting element 15 of a wireless mouse 10 can be set corresponding to his own convenient hand.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless mouse such as an infrared mouse.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a coordinate information input device of a computer or the like, a wireless mouse using infrared rays or the like has been known. Such a wireless mouse,
For example, it is configured as shown in FIGS. FIG.
In FIG. 4 and FIG. 4, the wireless mouse 1 is mounted on a mouse pad (not shown), and is accommodated in a case 2 and a ball (not shown) rolled on the surface of the mouse pad. And a rotation detection unit similarly accommodated in the case 2 and detecting the direction and amount of rotation of the ball, and a plurality (two in the illustrated case) disposed on the surface of the case 2
And a transmission unit (shown in FIG. 4) configured on a substrate 3 (see FIG. 4) accommodated in the case 2 and transmitting input information of the rotation detection unit and the operation buttons 2a and 2b as infrared signals. Zu), and is included.

[0003] Here, the transmitting unit controls the driving of the infrared light emitting element 4 based on input signals from the rotation detecting unit and the operation buttons 2 a and 2 b to generate an infrared signal, and is arranged in front of the mouse 1. The receiving unit (not shown) is configured to emit light. On the other hand, the receiving unit receives an infrared signal from the infrared light emitting element 4 of the transmitting unit of the mouse 1 by the infrared receiving unit, converts the infrared signal into an electric signal, appropriately processes the signal, and then connects the connection cable. Through a computer.

According to the wireless mouse 1 having such a configuration, by moving the case 2 of the mouse 1 on the mouse pad, the ball rotates with the movement of the mouse 1 itself, and the direction and amount of rotation of the ball. Is detected by the rotation detection unit. The detection signal and the operation signals of the operation buttons 2a and 2b are converted into infrared signals by the infrared light emitting element 4 of the transmission unit, and transmitted to the reception unit. Thereby, based on the rotation direction and the amount of rotation of the ball by the operation of the mouse 1, coordinate information is input to a computer or the like, and various commands by operating the operation buttons 2a and 2b are performed.

[0005]

By the way, in such a wireless mouse 1, the infrared light emitting element 3 of the transmitting section is operated by the transmitting section and the operation buttons 2a and 2b as shown in FIG. The switches 3a and 3b are fixedly mounted on the substrate 3 on which the switches 3a and 3b are mounted. For this reason, the irradiation direction of the light emitted from the infrared light emitting element 3 is uniquely determined.
When operating the device, it is necessary to be conscious that infrared light emitted from the infrared light emitting element 4 is always irradiated toward the receiving unit. For this reason, there is a problem that the user cannot concentrate on the input operation using the mouse 1.

On the other hand, a wireless mouse 5 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 5 is also known. In FIG. 5, a wireless mouse 5 is a mouse provided with a wheel 5a, and its infrared light emitting element 6 is arranged so as to emit infrared light obliquely near the left end of the front end of the case 2. I have. Thus, when a user whose dominant hand is the right hand operates such a wireless mouse 5, the mouse 5
When the infrared light emitting element 6 is moved to the right
Since the infrared light emitted from the light source is emitted obliquely leftward, the mouse 5 can be operated relatively easily.

However, according to the wireless mouse 5 having such a configuration, the operability is poor when the user whose dominant hand is the left hand operates. Therefore, for a left-handed user, it is necessary to configure a left-handed wireless mouse in which the infrared light emitting element 6 is arranged to emit infrared light obliquely near the right end of the front end of the case 2. There is. In this case, it is necessary to manufacture two types of wireless mice, so that there is a problem that the cost of parts increases.

On the other hand, it is possible to provide a plurality of infrared light emitting elements so as to substantially increase the irradiation angle of the infrared signal from the transmission unit. There is a problem that a light emitting element is required, component costs are increased, current consumption is increased, and running costs are increased.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless mouse which has good operability for both right-handed and left-handed users and can reduce the cost.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a transmitter comprising a coordinate information input section and a light emitting element for transmitting a coordinate information input signal input by the coordinate information input section as an optical signal. This is achieved by a wireless mouse, characterized in that the light-emitting elements constituting the transmitting section are supported so as to be swingable in the horizontal direction.

In the wireless mouse according to the present invention, preferably, the light emitting element is swingably mounted on a substrate on which the transmitting unit is mounted.

[0012] In the wireless mouse according to the present invention, preferably, the light-emitting element is fixed on a swingable auxiliary board separate from the board on which the transmitting section is mounted.

According to the above construction, the light emitting element of the transmitting section of the wireless mouse is preferably supported on the board on which the transmitting section is mounted so as to be swingable, or a swingable auxiliary separate from the board. By being fixed on the substrate, it is supported so as to be able to swing in the horizontal direction.If the user is right-handed, the light emitting element is swung to the left so that the irradiation range of the light emitting element is on the left. When the user is left-handed, the light emitting element is swung to the right, and the irradiation range of the light emitting element is changed to the right.

With this, the user sets the irradiation range of the optical signal emitted from the light emitting element of the transmitting section obliquely forward toward the opposite side to the dominant hand, whether the user is right-handed or left-handed. And good operability can be obtained. In this case, the wireless mouse itself is suitable for both right-handed and left-handed people, so it is only necessary to manufacture one kind of wireless mouse, and only one mold and one production line are required, and the mass production effect is further improved. Can reduce costs. Also, since it can be composed of only one light emitting element,
Parts costs and running costs can be reduced as compared with a wireless mouse in which the irradiation angle of an infrared signal is widened by a plurality of light emitting elements.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an embodiment of a wireless mouse according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a wireless mouse 10 is placed on a mouse pad (not shown) and a case 11
A ball (not shown) accommodated in the mouse pad and rolled on the surface of the mouse pad; a rotation detector similarly accommodated in the case 11 and detecting the direction and amount of rotation of the ball; A plurality (two in the illustrated case) of operation buttons 12 and 13 provided on the front surface, and a rotation detection unit and coordinate input of the operation buttons 12 and 13 formed on a substrate 14 housed in a case 11. A transmitting unit (not shown) built in to transmit information as an infrared signal.

Here, the transmitting unit drives the infrared light emitting element 15 based on input signals from the rotation detecting unit and the operation buttons 12 and 13 to generate an infrared signal, and is arranged in front of the mouse 10. The receiving part (not shown) is configured to emit light.

On the other hand, the receiving section receives the infrared signal from the infrared light emitting element 15 of the transmitting section of the mouse 10 by the infrared receiving section and converts it into an electric signal.
After being appropriately processed, it is output to a computer or the like via a connection cable.

In this case, the infrared light emitting element 15 is mounted on an auxiliary board 16 separate from the board 14 on which the operation switches 12a and 13a operated by the transmission section and the operation buttons 12 and 13 are mounted. . The auxiliary substrate 16 is pivotally supported on the bottom surface of the case 11 so as to be able to swing around a rotation axis 11 a, and a guide pin 16 a protruding downward is provided on the bottom surface of the case 11. By sliding in the guide groove 11b, the auxiliary substrate 16
The infrared light emitting element 15 is configured to be able to swing around the rotation axis 11a. The guide pin 16a
Is configured to protrude from the guide groove 11b within a concave portion 11c provided on the bottom surface of the case 11.

The wireless mouse 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, and the case where it is used will be described below. First, the user sets the irradiation direction of the infrared signal by the infrared light emitting element 15 of the wireless mouse 10 according to his or her dominant hand. This is because the user slides the guide pin 16a of the auxiliary board 16 protruding from the guide groove 11b along the guide groove 11b with a finger or the like in the recess 11c provided on the bottom surface of the wireless mouse 10. This is done by having Thereby, for example, when the user is right-handed, the infrared light emitting element 15 is swung so that the front end of the case 11 emits the infrared signal forward toward the left side, and the irradiation angle is set.

After the setting is performed in this manner, the ball is rotated with the movement of the mouse 10 itself by moving the case 11 of the mouse 10 on the mouse pad, and the rotation direction and the rotation amount are rotated. Detected by the detection unit. The detection signal and the operation signals of the operation buttons 12 and 13 are converted into an infrared signal by the infrared light emitting element 15 of the transmission unit and transmitted to the reception unit. This allows
Based on the direction and amount of rotation of the ball by the operation of the mouse 10, coordinate information is input to a computer or the like, and various commands by operating the operation buttons 12 and 13 are performed. Thus, by operating the case 11 of the wireless mouse 10, desired coordinate information can be input to the personal computer or the like.

In this case, the irradiation angle of the infrared signal emitted from the infrared light emitting element 15 of the wireless mouse 10 can be set in a desired direction by swinging the auxiliary substrate 16 around the rotation axis 11a. Even if the user is right-handed or left-handed, it is possible to set the irradiation direction in which the user himself can operate most easily, and the operability is improved. Therefore, in the wireless mouse 10, there is no need to prepare two types for right-handed and left-handed use, and it is not necessary to provide a plurality of light-emitting elements, and good operability can be obtained in any case. .

In the above embodiment, the infrared light emitting element 15 is mounted on the auxiliary substrate 16 which is swingably supported with respect to the case 11, but is not limited thereto. It is only necessary to be swingably supported with respect to 11, and for example, it may be swingably supported on the substrate 14.

In the above embodiment, the wireless mouse 10 is configured as a so-called two-button mouse, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a three-button mouse and a mouse with wheels. It is clear.

Further, in the above embodiment, the wireless mouse 10 using infrared rays has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a wireless mouse using other types of light. It is clear.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the light-emitting element of the transmitting section of the wireless mouse is preferably swingably supported on the board on which the transmitting section is mounted. By being fixed on a separate swingable auxiliary substrate, it is supported swingably in the horizontal direction,
When the user is right-handed, the light-emitting element is swung to the left to change the irradiation range of the light-emitting element to the left, and when the user is left-handed, the light-emitting element is swung to the right. Thus, the irradiation range of the light emitting element is changed to the right. With this, the user can set the irradiation range of the optical signal emitted from the light emitting element of the transmission unit obliquely forward toward the side opposite to the dominant hand, whether the user is right-handed or left-handed. And good operability can be obtained.

In this case, since the wireless mouse itself is suitable for both right-handed and left-handed people, it is sufficient to manufacture one kind of wireless mouse, and only one mold and one production line are required. Further, the cost can be reduced by the mass production effect. In addition, since a single light emitting element can be used, the parts cost and the running cost can be reduced as compared with the case of a wireless mouse in which the irradiation angle of an infrared signal is widened by a plurality of light emitting elements.

Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an extremely excellent wireless mouse which has good operability for both right-handed and left-handed users and can reduce the cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a wireless mouse according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a main part of the wireless mouse of FIG. 1,
(A) is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view, and (B) is a partially enlarged bottom view.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of an example of a conventional wireless mouse.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of the wireless mouse of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of another example of a conventional wireless mouse.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Wireless mouse 11 Case 11a Rotation axis 11b Guide groove 11c Depression 12,13 Operation button 14 Substrate 15 Infrared light emitting element 16 Auxiliary substrate 16a Guide pin

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A wireless mouse comprising: a coordinate information input unit; and a transmission unit including a light emitting element that transmits a coordinate information input signal input by the coordinate information input unit as an optical signal. A wireless mouse, wherein the constituent light emitting elements are supported swingably in a horizontal direction. 2. The wireless mouse according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting element is swingably mounted on a substrate on which a transmitting unit is mounted. 3. The wireless mouse according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting element is fixed on a swingable auxiliary substrate separate from a substrate on which the transmitting unit is mounted.