JP2008046982A - Optical mouse - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cope with a problem of requirement for a laser mouse having high safety and high detection precision. <P>SOLUTION: A semiconductor laser diode outputting a laser beam of visible light (having a wavelength of 380-780 nm) is used as a light source installed in a laser mouse 1. An output laser beam can be visually checked, and risk of erroneous exposure to the laser beam of eyes of a user can be prevented. This can be a laser mouse of high precision and high resolution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical mouse that detects movement using light, and more particularly, to a so-called laser mouse that uses a semiconductor laser as a light emitter that emits light.

A mouse which is one of input devices for a computer is classified into two types: a ball mouse and an optical mouse. Since the ball mouse has a structure for detecting the movement by reading the rolling of the sphere, there is a drawback that dust or the like is easily contained in the rotating portion and is vulnerable to wear and dust.
On the other hand, the optical mouse has improved the disadvantages of the ball mouse to some extent and has no weakness against wear or dust, but an optical mouse using a red LED that is currently mainstream (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). In this case, there is a problem that the movement detection accuracy, that is, the sensitivity is poor, and the operation is difficult on an operation surface having a small contrast.

Therefore, as an optical mouse, a so-called laser mouse using a semiconductor laser (laser diode) as a light source has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 3) and has been put into practical use.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-181597 JP 2004-340950 A JP 2005-50349 A

In a conventional laser mouse, the oscillation wavelength of a laser diode used as a light source is 830 to 860 nm, and the output laser light is infrared and cannot be seen by the user, so the user's eyes are exposed to the laser beam. Even if it is done, there is a problem that it is not preferable in terms of safety.
Moreover, the smoothness (unevenness) of the surface of a general office desk or the like has an RMS (root mean square roughness) of about several tens of nanometers, and a conventional laser mouse was used on the surface of such a smooth desk. In some cases, the detection accuracy is slightly insufficient.

The present invention has been made based on such a background, and a main object is to provide a laser mouse as an optical mouse with high safety.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a laser mouse as an optical mouse that has a high detection accuracy when the mouse is moved and has high sensitivity.

  The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object includes a light emitter (5) and a light receiver (6) in a casing (2), and irradiates light from the light emitter (5). In the optical mouse that receives the reflected light reflected by the object (10) outside the housing by the light receiver (6) and performs a predetermined process based on the received light, the light emitter (5) An optical mouse comprising an output semiconductor laser. The alphanumeric characters in parentheses indicate corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.

According to this configuration, since the semiconductor laser that outputs visible light is mounted as a light source, the light used to detect the movement of the housing is visible light (wavelength of 380 nm to 780 nm), and the semiconductor laser The irradiated laser beam can be visually recognized, and the danger that the user accidentally exposes the eye to the laser beam can be prevented.
In addition, the wavelength of visible light is 380 to 780 nm as described above, and the wavelength is shorter than that in the case of using infrared rays, and the detection accuracy is improved even on a smooth operation surface like a normal office desk. It can be kept good and can be used without inconvenience.

The invention according to claim 2 is the optical mouse according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor laser outputs visible light having a wavelength of 600 nm or less.
In this configuration, since the wavelength of the semiconductor laser is visible light of 600 nm or less, it is possible to provide a high-precision and high-resolution optical mouse using visible light in a shorter wavelength region of visible light. it can. That is, an optical mouse (laser mouse) that can be comfortably operated even on a glossy surface or opaque glass that cannot be handled by a conventional optical mouse can be obtained.

The invention described in claim 3 is the optical mouse according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the light emitter includes two or more semiconductor lasers (51, 52).
According to this configuration, two or more semiconductor lasers (both are semiconductor lasers that output visible light) are used, and the two semiconductor lasers simultaneously irradiate the surface of the desk or the like. An optical mouse (laser mouse) that can be used with high accuracy and high sensitivity even on various usage surfaces such as a printing desk.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining the configuration of a laser mouse according to an embodiment of the present invention. The laser mouse 1 includes a housing 2, and a flat bottom plate 3 is provided on the lower surface of the housing 2. On the bottom plate 3, an electronic circuit board 4 is disposed substantially parallel to the bottom plate 3 so as to be accommodated in the housing 2. On the electronic circuit board 4, a semiconductor laser diode 5 as a light emitter and a laser light sensor 6 as a light receiver are mounted. Laser light L ₁ output from the semiconductor laser diode 5 is irradiated below the bottom plate 3 through a transmission hole 7 formed in the electronic circuit board 4 and a small hole 8 formed in the bottom plate 3. The laser light L ₁ is reflected by, for example, the surface 10 of the desk 9 on which the laser mouse 1 is placed, and the reflected light L ₂ is transmitted through the small holes 8 formed in the bottom plate 3 and the electronic circuit board 4. 11 is received by the laser light sensor 6.

The laser light sensor 6 includes, for example, a photodiode for light reception and a processing circuit for processing a signal that is photoelectrically converted when the photodiode receives light. Alternatively, the laser light sensor 6 is provided with an image processing circuit that continuously captures images of the reflected light L ₂ , processes the images, and converts image changes into movement information of the laser mouse 1. Also good.

The laser light sensor 6 receives the reflected light L ₂ , calculates the amount, direction, speed, etc. of the movement of the housing 2 based on the reflected light L ₂ , and converts it into the movement of the mouse pointer in the connected computer. The laser light sensor 6 itself is a known member.
In FIG. 1, 12 is a wheel, and 13 is a leg pad provided at four corners of the outer bottom surface of the bottom plate 3. As is well known, the wheel 12 detects the amount of rotation in the one-dimensional vertical direction and associates it with the amount of movement of some operation (for example, the amount of scrolling for scrolling information that does not fit in the computer screen). It is a member. The leg pad 13 is a member provided for stably arranging the housing 2 on the surface 10 of the desk 9 and moving it smoothly.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the wavelength of laser light output from the semiconductor laser diode 5 in the laser mouse 1 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the visible light ranges from 380 nm of blue purple to 780 nm of red, and the wavelength is less than 380 nm is ultraviolet, and the wavelength is more than 780 nm is infrared. can not see.

In this embodiment, the laser light output from the semiconductor laser diode 5 is visible light, more preferably visible light having a wavelength of 600 nm or less. Thus, if the laser light output from the semiconductor laser diode 5 is visible light, the laser light L ₁ output from the small hole 8 of the bottom plate 3 can be visually recognized when the laser mouse 1 is used. It is possible to prevent light from entering the eye accidentally.

Further, among visible light, when visible light having a wavelength of 600 nm or less is used, even if the surface 10 of the desk 9 is an extremely smooth surface, laser light having a short wavelength is Since the contrast is reliably detected, the laser mouse 1 with high accuracy and high sensitivity can be obtained.
The semiconductor laser diode 5 that can be used in this embodiment can be composed of, for example, an InGaN compound semiconductor. It is possible to adjust to an arbitrary oscillation wavelength within a range of 380 to 780 nm by adjusting the doping amount of In.

The composition of the compound semiconductor is not limited to the above-described InGaN, and a semiconductor laser diode that can be used in the present invention can also be configured by an InGaAs compound semiconductor. Also in this case, the wavelength of the laser beam to be output can be adjusted to a desired wavelength by adjusting the In doping amount.
FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of a laser mouse 20 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and shows a schematic view with the housing 2 removed.

Referring to FIG. 3, the laser mouse 20 includes a bottom plate 3 made of a substantially flat plate, and an electronic circuit board 4 disposed on the bottom plate 3 so as to be substantially parallel to the bottom plate 3. On the electronic circuit board 4, two semiconductor laser diodes 51 and 52 and one laser light sensor 6 are mounted. The two semiconductor laser diodes 51 and 52 irradiate the surface of the desk with laser beams L ₁₁ and L ₁₂ through the small holes 8 of the bottom plate 3 at slightly different irradiation angles, respectively, and reflect on the surface of the desk and the like. The reflected lights L ₂₁ and L ₂₂ are received by the laser light sensor 6 through the small hole 8. At this time, the wavelengths of the laser beams output from the semiconductor laser diodes 51 and 52 are different from each other (for example, the laser beam ₁₁ is 405 nm and the laser beam ₁₂ is 650 nm), so that the surface of the reflecting desk is extremely smooth. Even when the contrast is low, it is possible to accurately detect the amount of movement of the laser mouse 20 based on the two reflected waves L ₂₁ and L ₂₂ .

Alternatively, the output laser beams of the two semiconductor laser diodes 51 and 52 may interfere with each other, and the movement of the laser mouse 20 may be detected based on a change in the interference pattern. Even in this case, the movement detection accuracy of the laser mouse 20 can be improved, and the laser mouse 20 with high sensitivity can be obtained.
FIG. 4 is an illustrative view of a longitudinal section showing a configuration of a laser mouse 30 according to still another embodiment of the present invention. 4, parts that are the same as or correspond to the components shown in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers.

The feature of the laser mouse 30 shown in FIG. 4 is that it can also be used as a laser pointer. Therefore, the output path of the laser beam L ₁ output from the semiconductor laser diode 5 can be switched.
Specifically, the mirror 31 is disposed on the laser light output path of the semiconductor laser diode 5. The mirror 31 is swingable about a fulcrum 32. The fulcrum 32 is provided with a coiled spring or the like that urges the mirror 31 in a direction (shown by a broken line in FIG. 4) although not shown. Yes. An operation member 33 is provided, for example, below the rear part of the housing 2. The operation member 33 includes an action portion 35 that acts on the mirror 31, and the operation member 33 is normally biased downward (side indicated by a solid line in FIG. 4) by a coil spring 36. In this state, the laser light L ₁ output from the semiconductor laser diode 5 is reflected by the mirror 31 and reflected by the surface 10 of the desk 9 through the small hole 8, and the reflected light L ₂ is reflected by the laser light sensor. 6 is received. Therefore, it functions as a mouse like the laser mouse 1 described in FIG.

On the other hand, when using the laser mouse 30 as a laser pointer, the operator moves the operation member 33 upward with a finger or the like. As the operating member 33 moves, when the operating portion 35 is separated from the state in which it acts on the mirror 31, the mirror 31 is rotated about the fulcrum 32 by the urging force of the above-described chord spring and becomes a substantially horizontal position. Then, the laser light L ₁ output from the semiconductor laser diode 5 travels straight without being reflected by the mirror 31, is output from the output hole 37 formed at the lower rear portion of the housing 2, and is used as a laser pointer. Can do.

When the operator removes his / her finger from the operation member 33, it returns to a state where it can be used as a laser mouse again.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining a configuration of a laser mouse according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the laser mouse shown in FIG. 1, it is a figure for demonstrating the wavelength of the laser beam which a semiconductor laser diode outputs. It is a top view for demonstrating the structure of the laser mouse which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, and is an illustration figure of the state from which the housing | casing was removed. It is an illustration figure of the longitudinal section which shows the structure of the laser mouse which concerns on further another embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 20, 30 Laser mouse (optical mouse)
2 Housing 5, 51, 52 Semiconductor laser diode 6 Laser light sensor L ₁ , L ₁₁ , L ₁₂ Laser light L ₂ , L ₂₁ , L ₂₂ Reflected light

Claims (3)

Optical that includes a light emitter and a light receiver in the housing, irradiates light from the light emitter, receives the reflected light reflected by an object outside the housing with the light receiver, and performs predetermined processing based on the received light In the expression mouse,
The optical mouse includes a semiconductor laser that outputs visible light.   The optical mouse according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor laser outputs visible light having a wavelength of 600 nm or less.   The optical mouse according to claim 1, wherein the light emitter includes two or more semiconductor lasers.

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