JP4258810B2 - mouse - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mouse that is widely used as one of means for inputting information to a personal computer or the like, and more particularly to a mouse with a built-in power generation function.

  In a personal computer or the like, the mouse has a position coordinate input function for transmitting the movement as position coordinate information, an operation information input function for transmitting operation information by operating a click button provided on the upper surface thereof, and the like, an information input auxiliary means Or it has come to be widely used as a main means. In general, a mouse is wired to the computer body with a wiring cord, but in recent years, a mouse that is equipped with a wireless transmission function such as an infrared transmitter inside the mouse and is designed to be cordless (wireless) has been put on the market. . In such a cordless mouse, it is necessary to incorporate a battery as a driving power source of the mouse.

However, such a cordless mouse with a built-in battery has the disadvantages that it takes time to replace the battery when a primary battery is used, and it takes time to charge even if a secondary battery is used. Therefore, in a mechanical mouse that detects the position coordinates of the mouse itself by the rotation of the mouse ball exposed on the bottom surface, pay attention to the rotational force of the mouse ball and place a power transmission roller along the mouse ball. Various methods for generating electricity by obtaining a rotational force according to the rolling of the mouse ball and generating a power by driving a power generation device such as a power generation motor based on the rotational force have been conventionally proposed (for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document). 2, Patent Document 3). In such a power generation device built-in mouse, it is possible to operate the electronic device in the mouse or to charge the power storage unit or the secondary battery with electricity generated by itself, which greatly reduces the above disadvantages. Can be reduced.
JP-A-7-225649 JP 2000-56922 A JP 2002-268823 A

  Normally, a mouse is used in a mode in which an operator places his palm from the top of the mouse, attaches thumb and ring finger to both sides of the mouse, and slides on the mouse pad using the wrist. Not very much. Therefore, it cannot be said that the amount of movement (rolling amount) of the mouse ball is large, and in the method of generating power depending on the rolling power of the mouse ball, how can the rolling power be efficiently used for power generation operation? Is essential.

  However, the methods of Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above and other conventional methods are unlikely to be equipped with a mechanism that can fully utilize the rolling power with a small amount of mouse balls for the power generation operation, and there is a concern that the power generation amount is insufficient. The Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mouse having a mechanism that can more efficiently convert the kinetic energy of a mouse ball into electrical energy.

  The mouse according to claim 1 of the present invention is a mouse having a mouse ball rotatably arranged, and is driven by a power transmission rotating body that rotates following contact with the mouse ball, and a rotational force of the power transmission rotating body. The power generation unit is composed of a crank mechanism, a power generation coil, and a permanent magnet that is arranged to pass through the power generation coil in the axial direction, and the permanent magnet can reciprocate relatively inside the power generation coil. And a relative reciprocating motion in the power generation unit is performed using a crank mechanism of the power generation unit as a power source.

  The mouse according to claim 2 is the mouse according to claim 1, wherein the power generation coil is attached to the outer periphery of the cylindrical body, and the permanent magnet is disposed in the cylindrical body so that the permanent magnet can move forward and backward. However, the crank mechanism of the power generation unit is used as a power source.

  Furthermore, the mouse according to claim 3 is the mouse according to claim 1, in which a plurality of cylindrical bodies on which the power generation coils are mounted are juxtaposed, and permanent magnets are arranged inside the cylindrical bodies so as to be able to advance and retreat, respectively. A common drive shaft is integrally connected, and the power generated by the crank mechanism of the power generation unit is configured to be applied to the common drive shaft.

  According to the mouse configured as described above, the power transmission rotating body is brought into contact with the mouse ball to extract the rotational force from the rotational motion of the mouse ball, and this is replaced with a linear motion such as a piston operation by the crank mechanism to generate power. Since the power source is configured as a power source, a relatively large power can be obtained even with a slight mouse ball rolling. Therefore, more efficient power generation can be performed as compared with the conventional method. In particular, by adopting a crank mechanism, it is possible to achieve a configuration in which a plurality of power generating units are simultaneously operated with a common drive shaft, as in the configuration according to claim 3, with a relatively simple configuration. There is an advantage that it is possible to generate a capacity.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing an example of a mouse with a power generation function according to the present invention. The mouse according to the present embodiment includes a mouse ball 1 for detecting position coordinate information of the mouse, a power transmission rotator 2 that rotates following contact with the mouse ball 1, and a rotational force of the power transmission rotator 2. 2 composed of a power generation unit M comprising a crank mechanism 3 driven by the motor, power generation coils 51, 52, and permanent magnets 41, 42 arranged to pass through the power generation coils 51, 52 in the axial direction. Two power generation units G1 and G2 are provided. In addition, a rotation amount detection unit, a rotary encoder, and various electronic circuits for achieving the original function of the mouse are naturally provided. However, these are not characteristic features of the present invention and are not shown.

  The power transmission rotating body 2 is arranged so as to be in direct contact with the outer periphery of the mouse ball 1, and rotates on the axis of the power transmission roller 21 by the rolling of the mouse ball 1. It consists of a fixed gear 22. In this embodiment, an example in which one power transmission roller 21 is arranged is shown. However, a plurality of (for example, X-axis and Y-axis directions) power transmission rollers 21 are arranged on the outer periphery of the mouse ball 1 so that the mouse ball 1 It is desirable to be able to extract the power regardless of the direction of rolling.

  The crank mechanism 3 includes a large-diameter gear 31 coupled so as to rotate in conjunction with the gear 22 and a crankshaft 30 that is rotated by the rotation of the gear 31. The crankshaft 30 includes two crank arm portions 30a and 30b formed by bending the shaft, and the connecting rods 321 and 322 rotate with respect to the substantially central portions of the crank arm portions 30a and 30b. It is attached movably. Accordingly, the connecting rods 321 and 322 are configured to perform a linear advance / retreat operation as the crankshaft 30 rotates.

  Cylindrical permanent magnets 41 and 42 are attached to the far ends of the connecting rods 321 and 322, respectively. And these permanent magnets 41 and 42 are arrange | positioned so that the advance / retreat operation | movement which penetrates the hollow part of the power generation coils 51 and 52 which consist of a winding body of an electroconductive wire can be performed. The power generation coils 51 and 52 are provided with lead terminals (not shown) for deriving a current generated by the advance / retreat operation of the permanent magnets 41 and 42.

  In such a configuration, when the user operates the mouse and the mouse ball 1 rolls, the power transmission roller 21 is driven and rotated in accordance with the rolling, and the gear 22 fixed to the rotating shaft also rotates. Due to the rotation of the gear 22, the large-diameter gear 31 that is coupled to the gear 22 is also rotated. As a result, the rotation speed is changed according to the gear ratio between the gear 22 and the gear 31 to rotate the crankshaft 30. Will be. When the crankshaft 30 is rotated, the connecting rods 321 and 322 that are rotatably attached to the crank arm portions 30a and 30b perform linear advance and retreat operations, and thus are attached to the connecting rods 321 and 322. The permanent magnets 41 and 42 that are in turn perform advancing and retreating operations that repeatedly pass through the hollow portions of the power generating coils 51 and 52.

  Since the magnetic field change is continuously applied to the power generation coils 51 and 52 by the forward and backward movement of the permanent magnets 41 and 42, a voltage is generated at the lead ends of the power generation coils 51 and 52. In this way, in the power generation units G1 and G2, power generation is performed starting from the rolling of the mouse ball 1, and the obtained power is sent to the power supply circuit of the mouse and supplied to the charging circuit. It is used for charging or charging to a secondary battery.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a mouse having a power generation function as described above. First, the mouse has an X-axis rotation amount detection unit 711 that decomposes the rolling of the mouse ball 1 into rotation amounts in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively, as a function of detecting positional coordinate information that is an original function of the mouse. And an Y-axis rotation amount detection unit 712, an X-axis rotary encoder 721 and a Y-axis rotary encoder 722 that convert the rotation amounts detected by the X-axis / Y-axis rotation amount detection units 711 and 712 into pulses. Yes. In addition, a click button 75 for inputting various operation information, which is another essential function of the mouse, is also provided. The outputs of the X-axis and Y-axis rotary encoders 721 and 722 and the operation output of the click button 75 are sent to the control circuit 73. The control circuit 73 generates a predetermined position information signal (movement amount information signal), Operation information signals are generated, and these signals are output to the output circuit 76. In the output circuit 76, the signal is converted into a signal that can be wirelessly transmitted (including infrared transmission) and transmitted to a computer (not shown) via the transmitter 77.

  Further, the mouse is provided with a power supply circuit 74. The power supply circuit 74 is provided with a charging circuit 741 and is provided with a battery 742 made of a secondary battery or the like that can be charged as necessary. A power generation unit G (for example, the power generation units G1 and G2 shown in FIG. 1) is electrically connected to the power supply circuit 74, and the power generated by the power generation unit G is input thereto. Accordingly, the charging circuit 741 and / or the battery 742 of the power supply circuit 74 is charged by the input from the power generation unit G, and the control circuit 73 and the output circuit 76 described above are driven by the power supply circuit 74 operated in such an operation. Is done. In this way, a mouse can be realized that does not require power supply from the computer body and is cordless, and that does not require battery replacement or separate charging.

  Next, a more specific embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a top view of a mouse according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. The mouse ball 1 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the mouse case 10, and two power transmission rollers 211 and 212 as power transmission rotating bodies contact the contact portions C 1 and C 2 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the mouse ball 1, respectively. It is arranged to have. Both ends of the power transmission roller 211 are rotatably supported by two shaft support portions 251 and 252, and the rotational force is transmitted through the contact portion C <b> 1 by the rolling of the mouse ball 1, and the power transmission roller 211 is rotated around the rotation shaft. It is driven and rotated. Similarly, the power transmission roller 212 is also rotatably supported at both ends by two shaft support portions 261 and 262, and is driven to rotate around the rotation axis by a rotational force applied through the contact portion C2.

  Gears 221 and 222 are respectively attached to one end portions of the power transmission rollers 211 and 212, and the gears 221 and 222 are also rotated by the rotation of the power transmission rollers 211 and 212. The power transmission rollers 211 and 212 serve as driving power sources for the power generation unit as will be described later. However, the sensing units for detecting the rotation amount for detecting the position coordinate information described above (the X axis / Y axis described above). The rotation amount detection units 711 and 712) may also be used. Further, on the side opposite to the side where the power transmission rollers 211 and 212 are disposed, the driven roller 23 for tension control is rotated by the shaft support portions 271 and 272 so as to have the mouse ball 1 and the contact portion C3. It is arranged to be movably supported. The driven roller 23 may also have a sensing function for detecting the rotation amount for detecting the position coordinate information.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an actual arrangement state of such power transmission rollers 211 and 212 and the driven roller 23. In FIG. 4, a dome-shaped storage portion 11 for storing the mouse ball 1 is formed at a substantially central portion of the mouse case 10, and the mouse ball 1 is partly attached to the storage portion 11 from the bottom surface. It is held so as to protrude. A plurality of window portions 111 are provided in the storage portion 11, and the mouse ball 1 is exposed in the window portion 111.

  The power transmission rollers 211 and 212 are arranged so as to come into contact with the mouse ball 1 exposed in the window 111. The driven roller 23 is arranged so that the mouse ball 1 and the power transmission rollers 211 and 212 are in stable contact with each other so that the mouse ball 1 is constantly pressed toward the power transmission rollers 211 and 212. It is configured.

  Returning to FIG. 3, a crank mechanism is connected to the gears 221 and 222 of the power transmission rollers 211 and 212, and the rotational force of the power transmission rollers 211 and 212 is converted into a linear reciprocating operation. In this embodiment, the crank mechanism for the power transmission roller 211 includes a shaft 301 with a gear 311, a crank wheel 341 attached to the shaft 301, and an articulated link connected to a pin 342 protruding from the side surface of the crank wheel 341. The plate 371 includes a slider frame 38 with a slide groove 381 for constituting a slider crank mechanism, and a drive shaft 39 that slides along the slider groove 381. The crank mechanism for the power transmission roller 212 is substantially the same, and includes a shaft 302 with a gear 312, a crank wheel 343 having a pin 344, a connecting plate 372, a slider frame 38, and a drive shaft 39. Yes.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view partially showing the above-described crank mechanism and power generation unit. Hereinafter, the details of the crank mechanism and the operation of the power generation unit will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5.

  The first crank mechanism section starting from the shaft 301 transmits the rotational force of the power transmission roller 211 as a drive source of the first power generation section G1. The first crank mechanism section starting from the shaft 302 transmits the rotational force of the power transmission roller 212 as a drive source for the second power generation section G2. Since both have substantially the same mechanism, the description will focus on the first crank mechanism.

  Both ends of the shaft 301 are pivotally supported by shaft support portions 351 and 352, and a gear 311 fixed to one end of the shaft 301 is engaged with a gear 221 of the power transmission roller 211. Further, the other end side of the shaft 301 extends through the shaft support portion 352, and a crank wheel 341 is fixed to the extending portion. Accordingly, when the power transmission roller 211 rotates, the shaft 301 also rotates, and the crank wheel 341 also rotates around the shaft 301 as an axis.

  A pin 342 projects from the outer side surface of the crank wheel 341, and a through-hole drilled in the rear end side of the connecting plate 371 is fitted into the pin 342 in a loosely fitted state. 371 is rotatable about the pin 342 as a fulcrum. A through hole is also provided on the distal end side of the connecting plate 371, and a U-shaped drive shaft 39 having two permanent magnets 411 and 412 attached to the end portion is inserted into the through hole. Has been.

  Further, a slider frame 38 made up of a pair of long plates arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval is disposed on the leading end side of the connecting plate 371. The slider frame 38 is perforated with a slider groove 381 formed of a long hole provided in the longitudinal direction, and the drive shaft 39 is assembled through the slider groove 381. That is, the front end side of the connecting plate 371 is dropped between the pair of slider frames 38, and the drive shaft 39 is disposed through the two slider grooves 381 and the front end side through holes of the connecting plate 371.

  On the front side of the slider frame 38, cylindrical bodies 61 and 62 with power generation coils 511 and 512 constituting the two sub power generation units G11 and G12 in the first power generation unit G1 are arranged. The cylindrical bodies 61 and 62 are made of an insulating material such as plastic, and the power generating coils 511 and 512 are formed by winding an insulated wire around the outer periphery of the cylindrical bodies 61 and 62. Alternatively, the existing insulating coils may be inserted and fixed to the cylindrical bodies 61 and 62 to form the power generating coils 511 and 512. The permanent magnets 411 and 412 that are integrally connected by the drive shaft 39 are inserted into the cylindrical bodies 61 and 62 so as to be capable of reciprocating (moving forward and backward).

  The shaft 302 that is the starting point of the second crank mechanism is pivotally supported by the pivotal support portions 361 and 362, and similarly includes a gear 312 and a crankwheel 343. A rear end side of the connecting plate 372 is rotatably attached to a pin 344 projecting from the crank wheel 343, and a drive shaft 39 is attached to the front end side. And the two sub power generation parts G21 and G22 in the 2nd power generation part G2 of the aspect similar to the above are arrange | positioned.

  Operations of the crank mechanism section and the power generation section configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the gear 311 rotates, the rotational force is transmitted to the crank wheel 341 via the shaft 301, and the crank wheel 341 also rotates. As a result, the pin of the crank wheel 341 also moves along a circular track centered on the shaft 301, and therefore the rear end side of the connecting plate 371 connected to the pin 341 also rotates according to the circular track. On the other hand, the front end side of the connecting plate is restrained by the drive shaft 39 inserted through the slider groove 381 of the slider frame 38. As a result, the drive shaft 39 is moved back and forth linearly along the slider groove 381. It becomes.

  As a result of such a longitudinal motion being applied to the drive shaft 39, the permanent magnets 411 and 412 attached to the end of the drive shaft 39 reciprocate in the cylindrical bodies 61 and 62 in an interlocking manner. Due to the reciprocating motion of the permanent magnets 411 and 412, an induced voltage is generated in the power generation coils 511 and 512, and electric power is generated in the sub power generation units G <b> 11 and G <b> 12. Further, electric power is also generated in the sub power generation units G21 and G22 by a similar operation.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this. For example, in the present embodiment, the permanent magnets 411 and 412 are moved forward and backward, and the power generation coils 511 and 512 are fixed. However, by reversing this, the cylindrical bodies 61 and 62 with the power generation coils are used as the crank mechanism. Thus, the advancing / retreating operation is possible, and the permanent magnets 411 and 412 may be fixed. Moreover, although it was set as the structure which provides four sub electric power generation parts G11, G12, G21, and G22 in this embodiment about the electric power generation part, if there is a space margin, the number may be increased further. For example, the drive shaft 39 may have four crotch shapes, and the four sub power generation units may be driven in synchronization.

  According to the mouse with a power generation function configured in this way, the rotational power of the mouse ball 1 is converted into a linear motion to generate power, so that the operation power required for the operation of the power generation unit is higher than that of rotary power generation. There is an advantage that it is always constant (there is no problem of requiring a large operating power at the initial stage of rotation), and that the horizontal expansion of the power generation unit can be easily expanded. Therefore, the configuration is such that the rotational force of the mouse ball 1 can be efficiently utilized for power generation, and a cordless mouse with a larger power generation amount than that of the conventional product can be realized.

It is a block diagram which shows typically an example of the mechanical structure of the mouse | mouth with an electric power generation function concerning this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical constitution of the mouse | mouth with an electric power generation function concerning this invention. It is a top view of a mouse concerning a concrete embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the arrangement | positioning condition of the power transmission roller to a mouse ball. It is a perspective view which shows a crank mechanism part and an electric power generation part partially.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mouse ball 2 Power transmission rotary body 21, 211, 212 Power transmission roller 3 Crank mechanism 30 Crankshaft 301, 302 (Crank) shaft 321, 322 Connecting rod 371, 372 Connecting plate 341, 342 Crank wheel 39 Drive shaft 41, 42 411, 412 Permanent magnet 51, 52, 511, 512 Power generation coil 61, 62 Tubular body

Claims (3)

In a mouse with a mouse ball that is rotatably arranged,
A power generation unit including a power transmission rotating body that rotates following contact with the mouse ball, and a crank mechanism that is driven by the rotational force of the power transmission rotating body;
Comprising a power generation coil and a permanent magnet arranged so as to be able to pass through the power generation coil in its axial direction, and a power generation section in which the permanent magnet can relatively reciprocate inside the power generation coil,
The mouse according to claim 1, wherein the relative reciprocation in the power generation unit is performed using a crank mechanism of the power generation unit as a power source.   The power generation coil is mounted on the outer periphery of the cylindrical body, and a permanent magnet is disposed in the cylindrical body so that the permanent magnet can be moved back and forth. The movement of the permanent magnet is performed using the crank mechanism of the power generation unit as a power source. The mouse according to claim 1, wherein the mouse is used. A plurality of cylindrical bodies mounted with a power generation coil are juxtaposed, and permanent magnets are arranged in the cylindrical bodies so as to be able to advance and retreat, respectively, and these permanent magnets are integrally connected by a common drive shaft, 3. The mouse according to claim 2, wherein the power generated by the crank mechanism of the power generation unit is applied to the common drive shaft.

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