JPH1011211A - Mouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mouse enhanced in the degree of the freedom of the design of appearance and which dust or the like hardly enters, by arranging a pair of operation switches at a main body bottom surface part and arranging them so as to bring head parts into contact with a desk serving also as a part of plural holding parts. SOLUTION: A right switch 3a and a left switch 3b are arranged on the front side of the main body bottom surface part 6 and arranged so as to bring the ground point of a left holding leg 4a onto a line segment 7 for connecting the ground point of the right switch 3b and the ground point of a ball 2. Also, they are arranged so as to bring the ground point of a right holding leg 4b onto the line segment 8 for connecting the ground point of the left switch 3a and the ground point of the ball 2. That is, the head parts of the switches 3a and 3b are brought into contact with the desk serving also as a part of the left and right holding legs 4a and 4b. Thus, the degree of the freedom of the design of the appearance is improved and this mouse to which the dust or the like hardly enters is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mouse which is an input device used for an information processing device such as a computer or a word processor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the progress of information processing apparatuses, many methods have been adopted for performing input and operations using a position input device in accordance with instructions on a guide screen of a display device. In such position input, a mouse is a typical device and is widely used. Hereinafter, a conventional mouse input will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 shows a general appearance of a conventional mouse. (For the sake of explanation, in FIG. 4, the upper body 21 is shown removed upward from the lower body 24, and the parts are not shown in detail, and only the outline is shown.) 24, a ball 26 which comes out of a hole 25 near the center of the body 24 and comes into contact with the floor is held inside the body.
The X-direction ball rotation detection unit 28 and the Y-direction ball rotation detection unit 27, which interlock with the ball, detect the rolling due to the friction of the ball 26 with the surface of the desk when the ball 1 is moved with the fingers. The amount of movement and the direction of movement are converted into an input signal by the conversion circuit 29 and input to the information processing device through the connection cable 32. The upper body 21 is provided with a right operation key 22 and a left operation key 23 which are movable parts. By pressing each operation key with a finger, the right switch 30 and the left switch 31 are respectively pressed to determine a position and other positions. Is set to perform a special operation.

At present, various improvements have already been developed and provided for a mouse, such as using an optical sensor instead of a ball as a means for detecting a position, or performing wireless input without a connection cable. .

[0005] As a special example, there is a mouse in which a person without a fingertip or a person with a handicap can make an input without using an operation key. As shown in JP 83533,
It has been published. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a mouse operation method according to the above publication. This is the ball 12 and the cable 13
The input of the execute button 14 arranged on the inclined portion 15 on the bottom of the mouse is performed by tilting the main body 11, and the mouse including the plurality of execute buttons is disclosed in detail in the above publication. Have been.

[0006]

However, the basic operation of operating a conventional general mouse by pressing an operation key is the same, and the degree of freedom is low because the design of the appearance is restricted by the operation key. . From the viewpoint of manufacturing cost, the operation key portion, which is a movable part and requires durability, occupies a certain ratio. Further, the design of the conventional general operation key portion has a drawback that a gap is easily formed on the upper side, and dust and moisture easily enter the inside.

In order to solve such a problem, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-83533 is considered to eliminate the need for operation keys and solve the problem. When applying, the following problems remain. (1) The mouse must be moved with the execution button always floating above the desk, which is inferior in operability. (2) In order to avoid erroneous input, the inclined portion 15 must have a large angle to some extent. Therefore, when the main body 11 is inclined, the position detecting portion of the ball 12 greatly moves, and the input position is shifted. (3) The inconveniences of (1) and (2) are particularly remarkable when there are a plurality of execution switches 14, and some countermeasures are required in terms of mechanism. The original purpose of the invention according to this publication was developed for persons with finger impairment, and it is thought that it would be effective in such cases, but for use for ordinary position input, From the points described above, there are problems in operability and input accuracy.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems while having substantially the same operability as the above-mentioned conventional general mouse, that is, a mouse having a high degree of freedom in appearance design, being inexpensive to manufacture, and durable. The purpose is to provide a mouse that has excellent properties and is hard to get into dust.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the mouse of the present invention, a switch which is conventionally installed upward inside the main body and which has been depressed and input via an operation key provided on the upper side of the main body. Is installed downward on the bottom surface of the main body, and the switch is directly input by pressing it on a desk.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings based on embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the appearance of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a side view, and FIG. 1B is a rear view. A part of the ball 2 is protruded from a hole near the center of the bottom surface portion 6 of the main body, and is housed inside the mouse with a gap that freely rotates in contact with a surface on a desk. A right switch 3a and a left switch 3b are arranged on the front side of the main body bottom portion 6 as shown in the figure, and the left holding leg 4a is connected to a line 7 connecting the ground point of the right switch 3b and the ground point of the ball 2. As shown in the figure, the right holding leg 4b and the ground point of the left switch 3a and the grounding point of the ball 2 are placed on the line segment 8 connecting the grounding point of the ball 2 so that the ground point of the right switch leg 3b and the ground point of the ball 2 come. ing. The left switch 3a and the right switch 3b are push switches having a constant input pressure. The button tip has a shape having a convex curved surface, and the button tip is made of a material such as plastic, which is slippery and hard to wear. The left holding leg 4a and the right holding leg 4b are made of a solid material which has a convex curved surface for making contact with a surface on a desk and is fixed to the bottom surface portion 6 of the main body, and which, like the switch, is slippery and hard to wear. .

With the above configuration, the main body bottom portion 6 has a gap with the surface on the desk when placed on the desk, so that the ball 2 rolls freely when moved. Also, left switch 3
a and the input signal of the right switch 3b are input signals similar to those of the depression of the right operation key 22 and left operation key 23 of the conventional mouse in FIG. 4 described above, and the same as the signal conversion circuit 29 in FIG. It is assumed that the data is converted by a circuit and input to the information processing device through the connection cable 5 shown in FIG.

Due to the above arrangement of the above components, for example, when the front left shoulder of the mouse is pressed with a finger, the left switch 3a hits the desk surface and dents, and passes through the ground point of the right switch 3b and the ground point of the left holding leg 4a. The body is tilted around the line segment 7. At this time, the contact point of the ball 2 with the floor is on the line segment 7 and does not move, so that an operation signal can be input at that position. The operation when the front right shoulder is pressed is also symmetrically the same as above, and the input is performed by tilting around the line segment 8.

FIG. 1 (c) is a view of the mouse as viewed from the front. When the front left shoulder is pushed as described above, the mouse 1
And the body bottom surface portion 6 is tilted about a line connecting the ground point of the right switch 3b and the ground point of the ball 2 as an axis.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the arrangement of components on the bottom surface of the main body of the embodiment when there is one operation switch. Front holding leg 4
The c and the rear holding leg 4d are made of the same material as the holding leg of FIG. 3 described above. However, the shape of the rear holding leg 4d is as shown in FIG. May be deformed.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the arrangement of components on the bottom surface of the main body of the embodiment when there are three operation switches. In this case as well, the same switches and sliding parts as described above are used, and in terms of arrangement, the left switch 3a, the right switch 3b, the center switch 3c, and the rear holding leg 4d are arranged as shown in the figure. When the upper part of the central switch 3c is pressed, the main body is tilted about the line connecting the left switch 3a, the ball 2 and each ground point of the left switch 3b, and performs an input to move the upper part of the left switch 3a or the right switch 3b. When the button is pressed, the main body is tilted about a line connecting the center switch 3c, the ball 2, and each of the grounding points of the rear holding leg 4d to perform input.

As another embodiment, for example, the left switch 3a and the right switch 3b in FIG. 3 can be used as a single operation switch mouse instead of holding legs. Alternatively, by replacing the left holding leg 4a and the right holding leg 4b with switches in FIG. 1, the mouse can be used as a mouse having three or four operation switches.

In any of the above cases, the mechanical embodiment using the ball 2 has been described.
The same applies to the case of the optical type, if the ground point of is used as the detection point of the optical sensor. In the above embodiment, the connection cable 5 is used.
However, the operation is the same even if a wireless type is used without using this.

[0019]

As described in the above embodiments, according to the mouse of the present invention, since no operation keys are required on the main body, the restrictions on the external design are greatly reduced, and the operability is problematic. Since various designs can be applied within a range that is not in the range, for example, it is also possible to make the main body into a shape resembling a vehicle or an animal.

Further, since the number of movable parts is small, it is possible to easily provide a mouse with low manufacturing cost and excellent durability.

Further, according to the present invention, since there is no gap on the main body, the sealing performance is high, and there is also an effect that damage due to dust, spilled water, etc. can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram in a case where two switches are arranged in front of a bottom surface of a main body of a mouse.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram when one switch is arranged in front of a bottom surface of a mouse main body.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a case where three switches are arranged in front of a bottom surface of a mouse body.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of the appearance and internal structure of a conventional mouse.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a conventional mouse for a person with a handicapped finger having an execute button arranged on the bottom of the main body, in which one switch is arranged on the bottom of the main body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 On main body 2 Ball 3a, 3b, 3c Right switch 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d Holding leg 5 Connection cable 6 Bottom part of main body

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electronic device comprising: a mechanical or optical position input unit; an operation switch for inputting an operation signal to an information processing apparatus at a certain position; and a holding leg for maintaining a gap between a bottom surface of the main body and a desk. In addition, in a wired or wireless mouse, the operation switch is arranged on a bottom surface of the main body such that a head of the mouse also serves as a part of the holding leg and is in contact with a desk. 2. The mouse according to claim 1, wherein a ground point or a position input point of the position input unit is arranged on a central axis of a tilt of the main body when the operation switch is pressed.