JPH0194422A - Pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately and smoothly input position coordinates and moving quantity by keeping a contact with a turning sphere and fitting in a member to clean the surface of the sphere at the holding part of the sphere freely attachably and detachably. CONSTITUTION:A freely opening and closing hatch 11 is provided at the upper part of the main body of a mouse 1, and a pressure bar spring 12 is fitted to the lower surface side of the hatch 11. On the other hand, a sphere 2 is held freely rotatably by a sphere holder 13, a through hole 14 is drilled at a part equivalent to the lower part of the hatch 11 on the holder 13, and a cleaning member 15 to keep contact with the surface of the sphere 2 is idly fitted into the through hole 14. When the hatch is made into a closing state, since the cleaning member 15 is inclined to the upper surface of the sphere 2 by the pressure bar spring 12, the dusts which stick to the sphere 2 and are rolled into the sphere 2 can be wiped off by the tip part of this cleaning member 15, and the sphere 2 can be cleaned automatically during a scanning action without decomposing the main body of the mouse 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a pointing device, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a pointing device that moves on a flat plate and moves a sphere in the X-axis and y-axis directions by rolling a sphere. and pointing devices that can input coordinates.

(Prior Art) Conventionally known pointing devices of this type include a mouse (registered trademark name) shown in FIG. 6, and a trackball (registered trademark name).
There is. In the example of a mouse, as shown in Figure 6, there is a ball 2 made of metal, rubber, or plastic that can roll freely on the underside of the mouse.
is held in a partially exposed state, and three bearings 3 are provided around the periphery for keeping the sphere 2 in contact with a flat surface (not shown). In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the sphere 2 also has a rotating body 4 that rotates in contact with the sphere 2.
A and 4B are respectively mounted on mutually orthogonal axes 5A and 5B, and the freely oriented rolling of the sphere 2 or the rotation of the axes 5^ and 5 through these two rotating bodies 4A and 4B
It is decomposed and transmitted to B.

68 and 6B are disks with slits attached to the respective shafts 48 and 4B, and 7A and 7B are composed of an LED 8 and a phototransistor 9, and the rotation of the disks 6A and 6B is read through the slits. These photosensors 7A and 7B read the amount of rotation of the sphere 2 in two directions, respectively.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, with the above-mentioned conventional mouse, if there is garbage such as eraser scraps or paper scraps on the flat surface of the desk or other surface on which the mouse is operated, the sphere will engulf the garbage, causing the movement of the sphere to become cluttered. However, the drawback of reduced operability was eliminated.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate such conventional drawbacks, and to enable accurate and smooth input of position coordinates and deflection amount without the normal rotation of the rolling elements being hindered by dust or the like. The purpose is to provide a pointing device.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve this object, the present invention exposes a part of the held sphere, keeps its surface parallel to the flat plate, and brings the sphere into contact with the flat plate. In a pointing device that is capable of rolling the ball and reading the position coordinates from the amount of rolling, a member that maintains contact with the rolling ball and cleans the surface of the ball is removably installed in the holding part of the ball. This is a characteristic feature.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, since the member for cleaning the sphere is installed inside the sphere holding part, the cleaning member wipes away dust from around the sphere, and the sphere is rolled smoothly and accurately to perform manual operation. be able to.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail and specifically below based on the drawings.

Fig. 18 and Fig. 1B show an embodiment of the present invention.
is provided, and a pressing spring 12 is attached to the lower surface side of the hatch 11. On the other hand, the sphere 2 is held in a rollable manner by a sphere holder 13 as shown in FIG. A cleaning member 15 that maintains contact with the surface of the spherical body 2 is loosely fitted into the spherical body 14 . Therefore, when the hatch 11 is closed, the cleaning member 15 is biased against the upper surface of the sphere 2 by the pressing spring 12, so that the tip of the cleaning member 15 removes the debris that has adhered to or been caught in the sphere 2. The sphere 2 can be wiped off automatically during the scanning operation without disassembling the mouse 1 body.

Figures 2A (a), (b) to 2E (a), (b) show examples of various forms of the cleaning member 15, of which Figures 2A (a) and (b) This is an example in which the tip of the member 15 is a brush 158, and (a) in Fig. 2B.
and (b) are examples in which the felt 15B is attached to the tip, (a) and (b) in FIG. 2C are examples in which the sponge material 15C is attached to the tip, and (a) and (b) in FIG.
B) shows an example in which a rubber plate 150 is attached to the tip.

In addition, (a) and (b) in FIG. 2E are examples in which the rubber plate 15D at the tip is cross-shaped and Y-shaped, and is not limited to the above-mentioned example. , sphere 2
Any material and shape may be used as long as it has a material and shape that allows dirt to be easily wiped off the surface as it rolls.

Figures 38 and 3B show other embodiments of the invention,
In this example, the cleaning hatch lid 21 is detachably attached to the upper part of the mouse case, and when it is engaged, the cleaning member 15 is biased toward the sphere 2 by the holding plate spring 22 provided on the lower surface side. This is how it was done.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show still another embodiment of the present invention, in which a threaded portion 14A is formed in the through hole 14 in place of the above-described hatch structure, and an adjustment screw type screw is formed in the threaded portion 14A. By screwing together the screw member 31, the cleaning member 15 can be adjusted to maintain contact with the sphere 2 by the end of the screw member 31.

5A and 5B show an example in which the present invention is applied to a trackball 10. In this example, only the mounting position of the cleaning hatch 11 is changed, and the other parts are the same as those shown in FIG. 1A.
This is the same as the example shown in FIGS. 1B and 1B, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a part of the held sphere is exposed, its surface is kept parallel to the flat plate, the sphere is brought into contact with the flat plate and rolled, and the amount of rolling is calculated from the amount of rolling. In a pointing device that can read position coordinates, a member that cleans the surface of the sphere by maintaining contact with the rolling sphere is removably installed in the sphere holding part, so the surface of the sphere can be kept clean at all times. , it is possible to prevent functional deterioration of the pointing device due to dirt.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a sectional view showing an example of the structure of a mouse according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2A (A), (
B) to 2E (A) and (B) are perspective views showing various embodiments of the two poisonous members used in the present invention, and FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views showing the configuration of other embodiments of the present invention. FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views and sectional views showing the structure of still another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5A and 5B are an example of the structure of a rack ball according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is an external view of a conventional mouse, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing the main internal structure of a conventional mouse. 1... Mouse, IA... Case top lid, 2... Sphere, 3... Bearing, 4A, 4B... Rotating body, 6A, 6B... Disc, 7^, 7B-... Photosensor, 10...Trackball, 11...Cleaning hatch, 12...Press spring, 13...Holder, 14...Through hole, 14^...Threaded portion, 15... Cleaning member, 15^... Brush, 15B-... Felt, 15G... Sponge, 150... Rubber blade, 31-... Screw member. Figure 1A Figure 1 niho'''f Cross-sectional view of row A Figure 111 ^ I
UN9χ・1 (・) Reduced b-i Figure 3B Figure 5A Figure 5B 74 of the mouse of non-transformation ΣExhibiksha t-, +Map Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A part of the held sphere is exposed, its surface is kept parallel to the flat plate, and the sphere is rolled in contact with the flat plate, and the position coordinates can be read from the amount of rolling. A pointing device according to the present invention, characterized in that a member that maintains contact with the rolling sphere and cleans the surface of the sphere is removably housed in a holding portion of the sphere.