JPH1165758A - Mouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mouse properly corresponding to each kind of operation without making the operation complicate, and to increase the kind of output signals from the mouse by a simple operation. SOLUTION: The top end of a lever 10 is projected between two push buttons 4 and 5 arranged at the right and left parts of a mouse, wherein the lever 10 is supported so as to be freely rotatable with an axis as a center. Also, a ball 2 which is rotated according to a horizontal movement of the mouse is provided inside a transparent cover at a front position of the push buttons 4 and 5. Also, a third push button may be provided on the side face of the mouse. Or, a pair of switches can be provided with an interval through the axis in the longitudinal direction of the mouse.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mouse in which convenience in operation is considered.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A mouse is one type of input device such as a computer. In general, a conventional mouse has a configuration in which a ball is supported by a hole formed on a bottom surface formed of one plane, and a button is provided on an upper surface in front of the ball.
Then, move the mouse cursor on the screen by rotating the ball by moving the bottom in parallel on the desk surface and operating the button at the position after the movement to input the position of one point on the screen Is the basis of

[0003]

By the way, when various operations are performed by a computer or the like, the screen is scrolled over a wide range to obtain the displayed information or perform a predetermined input operation as appropriate. There are things. In such a case, with the conventional mouse, it is necessary to perform an operation such as moving the mouse cursor to a scroll bar every time the screen is scrolled again after the input operation or the like is completed. For this reason, the conventional mouse has a problem that the operation is complicated depending on the form of operation, which may lead to a decrease in work efficiency and an increase in user fatigue.

[0004] That is, the conventional mouse is simple and easy to use, only the movement and position input. On the other hand, if the simple operation is to cope with any operation, the overall operation is complicated and difficult to use. It can be that. Therefore, in order to improve the convenience of the mouse, it is necessary to output signals of various contents by a simple operation mode equivalent to the conventional one.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is possible to increase the types of output signals from a mouse by a simple operation, and to appropriately handle various operations without complicating the operation. The aim is to provide a mouse that can do this.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mouse, comprising: an operation unit provided to be movable in the front-rear direction of the mouse; And a switch to be set. The mouse according to claim 2, wherein the mouse has two push buttons arranged side by side, and an upper end of the operation unit projects from an upper surface of the mouse via a space between the two push buttons. I do. The mouse according to claim 3 is characterized in that the operation unit is supported so as to be rotatable around an axis provided in the left and right direction of the mouse. A mouse according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a ball which is rotated by a movement of the mouse in a plane direction is provided at a position forward of the push button, and the ball is accommodated inside a transparent cover. The mouse according to claim 5 is characterized in that a third push button is provided on a side surface. The mouse of claim 6 is
A pair of the switches is provided at a distance from each other in the front-rear direction of the mouse via the shaft.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a mouse according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is a top view, (b) is a left side view, and (c) is a right side view.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a housing constituting the lower half of the mouse. The bottom surface of the housing 1 includes a first operation surface 1a and a second operation surface 1b extending obliquely upward from a front end thereof. A hole 1c is formed in the center of the boundary between the first operation surface 1a and the second operation surface 1b over both operation surfaces.
A ball 2 for detecting a moving operation is supported by the hole 1c and partially exposed.

A recess 1e is provided in the side wall 1d of the housing 1 at a position slightly behind the center as shown in the figure. The depression 1e is formed by a smooth curved surface slightly depressed toward the inside of the mouse from the first operation surface 1a to the middle of the side wall 1d, and is provided on both the left and right side walls 1d. Although not shown, an encoder for detecting the rotation of the ball 2, a switch for detecting the operation state of each button described later, and a signal corresponding to the detection result are generated in the housing 1 (in the mouse). A predetermined circuit or the like for outputting the signal is provided, and means (generally, a connection line; a wireless mouse, a transmitter, etc.) for supplying the signal to an external device such as a computer are also provided.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a clear cover attached to the upper part of the front part of the housing 1, the upper surface of which is convex so as to cover the ball 2. The clear cover 3 is formed of a material such as a transparent acrylic resin, so that an operator can observe the ball 2 from outside. Also, the mounting portions on the housing 1 side and the clear cover 3 side are respectively provided with predetermined concave and convex portions to be fitted to each other, and the clear cover 3 is detachably attached to the housing 1 via the fitting portions. Have been.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a left button, and 5 denotes a right button. Each of the switches is provided above a switch (not shown) provided inside the mouse behind the ball 2 and, when depressed, a switch below each switch. ON / OFF,
Accepts user input. A small gap is provided between the left button 4 and the right button 5 in the front-rear direction of the mouse. Through this gap, the lever 10 projects from the upper surface of the mouse as shown in the figure. Left button 4
The right button 5 and the right button 5 respectively have concave portions 4a, 5a gradually depressed toward the protruding portion of the lever 10. still,
Details of the configuration of this part will be described later.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a side button provided on the left side wall portion 1d. Like the above-mentioned button, when the button is pressed, a switch provided inside is turned on / off, and an input by a user is accepted. Reference numeral 7 denotes a rear cover, which is attached to the rear of the housing 1.

As described above, the mouse has the first and second operation surfaces on the bottom surface, and the housing 1 composed of the bottom surface and the side wall 1d and the like has the clear cover 3, the left button 4, and the right button 5 And the rear cover 7 is covered. The ball 2 is located before the left button 4 and the right button 5, and the ball 2 is covered by a removable clear cover 3.

Next, the configuration of the portion where the lever 10 protrudes will be described. FIG. 2 shows only the left button 4 and the right button 5. The recess 4 in these buttons 4, 5
Notches 4b, 5b are formed at side edges (edges facing each other) of portions corresponding to the lowermost portions of the levers a, 5a, respectively, and the lever is inserted through a penetrating portion formed by the notches 4b, 5b. 10 penetrates from the inside of the mouse to the outside.

The lever 10 is integrally connected to a lever support 11. The lever support 11 includes a pair of bearings 1 provided vertically on the bottom surface of the housing 1.
2 rotatably supported about a horizontal axis.
Hereinafter, the lever 10, the lever support 11, the bearing 1
2 will be described in detail.

The structure of the lever 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. (A) is a front view of the lever 10, (B) is a side view thereof, and (C) is a rear view thereof. The lever 10 includes an operating portion 10a at the tip and a plate-like supporting portion 10b connected to the operating portion 10a, and is made of, for example, a plastic molded product. The operation unit 10a has a curved upper surface and a lower surface that is flat in a range excluding a connection point with the support unit 10b. The operation unit 1
0a is attached so that the lower surface thereof gradually increases from the front side to the rear side of the mouse as shown in (b), corresponding to the gradient of the upper surface of the mouse. The lower end of the support portion 10b is cut out as shown in (a) or (c) and is divided into two forks, so that it can be easily elastically deformed. 10c is used for attachment to the lever support 11 described later.
An engagement protrusion 10d is provided on an outer side of each elastic deformation portion 10c.
Are formed to engage with a lever support 11 described later.

The structure of the lever support 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. (A) is a plan view of the lever support 11,
(B) is the same side view. FIG. 5 is a side view of the bearing 12. The lever support 11 includes the lever 1
A shaft 1 is rotatably supported by the bearing 12 on both sides of the base 11b.
1c are provided. In addition, these shafts 11c
Are arranged with their axes aligned. The cylindrical portion 11a
Is inserted in a state where the support portion 10b is elastically deformed so that the elastic deformation portions 10c approach each other.
The engagement projection 10d is adapted to engage with an engagement recess (not shown) on the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 11a. Further, on the bottom surface of the lever support 11, projections 11d for operating the switch SW are spaced from each other in the front-rear direction of the mouse as shown in FIGS. Location).

The bearing 12 is formed integrally with the housing 1 and protrudes from the bottom of the housing 1.
The upper portion of the housing 1 is formed in a forked shape as shown in FIG. 5, and the forked portion is provided with the shaft 11c.
Is formed therein. Further, a slit 12b is formed so as to be easily deformed when the shaft 11c is attached to and detached from the bearing portion 12 so as to expand the concave portion 12a.

The lever 10, the lever support 11, and the bearing 12 are assembled as follows. That is, the shafts 11c, 11c of the lever support 11 are removed in a state where the upper cover 7 and the like are removed and the upper surface of the housing 1 is opened.
Into the recesses 12a of the bearings 12, respectively. At this time, the concave portion 12a is deformed to be elastic while expanding the slit 12b, and is pushed outward in the left-right direction in FIG. 5, and after the shaft 11c is inserted to a predetermined position, it is restored by elasticity, and Hold. As a result, the lever support 11 is rotatably supported by the bearing 12.
Next, after attaching each cover and the like to the upper surface of the housing 1, the support portion 10b of the lever 10 is inserted into the inside of the mouse through the space between the notches 4b, 5b of the buttons 4, 5, and the lever support 11 Is inserted into the cylindrical portion 11a of the cylindrical portion 11a, the engaging protrusion 10d is engaged with the engaging concave portion (not shown) on the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 11a.
And are integrated.

In the mouse configured as described above, a signal obtained by detecting the movement of the mouse on a plane as the rotation amount of the ball 2 is processed by software,
It can be used as a cursor movement command. Also, the detection signals of the operation of the buttons 4, 5, and 6 on the upper and lower left and right sides can be used as signals of various commands by processing on software. In the illustrated case, the ball 2 is provided at a position in front of the buttons 4 and 5 at the front of the mouse, so that the ball 2 is covered with the palm or finger for operating the mouse in a normal operation state. Therefore, the operator can easily observe the rotation state of the ball 2 and the presence / absence of dust on the ball surface.

Next, the operation of the lever 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the lever 10 is in a neutral state (substantially vertical posture) when no normal operation is performed. When the operator pushes the lever 10 forward with the finger, as shown in FIG. 8, the lever 10 turns around the shaft 11c in the direction of the arrow, and as a result, the front switch SW is operated. When the operator stops pressing the lever 10,
The lever 10 is pushed back from the position in FIG. 8 by the restoring force of a spring or the like built in the switch SW, and returns to the neutral position in FIG. When the operator pulls the lever 10 backward, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the lever 10 rotates in the direction of the arrow around the shaft 11c, and the rear switch SW is operated. When the operator stops pressing the lever 10, the lever 10 is restored by a restoring force of a spring or the like built in the switch SW.
Is pushed back from the position in FIG. 8 and returns to the neutral position in FIG.
Therefore, by processing the signals output from the front and rear switches SW on software, the signals can be used, for example, as a signal for a command to scroll up and down.

The specific structure of the lever and the switch operated by the lever is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, using a lever type switch, the lever of this switch is moved from the upper surface of the mouse. The lever may be protruded, and this lever may be directly operated.

Further, the button on the upper surface may be made transparent so that a ball is provided below the button, and the position where the lever is provided may be changed to an appropriate position such as slightly backward. In this case, the component corresponding to the clear cover is not required, and the ball is positioned at the forefront of the mouse, and a transparent button is provided above the ball, as in the above embodiment. Therefore, the operator sees the ball from between the fingers on the buttons.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
The mouse has an operation unit provided to be movable in the front-back direction of the mouse, and a switch operated by moving the operation unit to at least one of the front and rear directions. Therefore, a signal supplied from this switch is processed by software. do it,
For example, by using it as a signal for scrolling the screen up and down, the mouse can have various functions and realize operability with a certain relationship between the actual operation and the movement of the screen. Can be. In the mouse of the second aspect, since the operation lever protrudes from between the two push buttons provided side by side, the operation unit can be operated with a small stroke before and after the operation of the left and right click buttons. In the mouse according to the third aspect, the operation unit is rotatably supported about an axis provided in the left-right direction of the mouse, so that the operation unit operates in the front-rear direction stably and smoothly. Can be. In the mouse of the fourth aspect, since the ball covered with the transparent cover is provided at a position in front of the push button, the ball can be observed without being obstructed by a button or a finger for an operation unit. . In the mouse according to the fifth aspect, since the third push button is provided on the side surface, more various signals can be supplied by the mouse. In the mouse according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the pair of switches is provided at a distance from each other in the front-rear direction of the mouse via the shaft.
A predetermined command can be obtained using the OFF signal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and left and right side views of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a push button unit according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view, a side view, and a rear view of the operation lever according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view and a side view of a support unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the bearing unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a method of assembling the operation lever according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the operation lever according to the embodiment in a neutral state.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the operation lever of the embodiment in a forwardly inclined state.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the operation lever of the embodiment in a rearwardly inclined state.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 Ball 3 Clear cover 4 Left button 5 Right button 4a Depression 5a Depression 4b Notch 5b Notch 6 Side button 10 Lever 10a Operation part 10b Support part
10c Elastic deformation part 11 Lever support 11a Tubular part 11b Base 11c Shaft 12 Bearing part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A mouse comprising: an operation unit provided to be movable in the front-rear direction of the mouse; and a switch operated by moving the operation unit to at least one of the front and rear directions. 2. The mouse has two push buttons provided side by side, and an upper end of the operation unit projects from an upper surface of the mouse via a space between the two push buttons. The mouse according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The mouse according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is supported so as to be rotatable around an axis provided in the left-right direction of the mouse. 4. A ball which is provided at a position in front of the push button of the mouse and which is rotated by a movement of the mouse in a plane direction, wherein the ball is accommodated inside a transparent cover. Item 4. The mouse according to any one of Items 1 to 3. 5. The mouse according to claim 1, wherein a third push button is provided on a side surface of the mouse. 6. The switch according to claim 3, wherein a pair of the switches are provided inside the mouse at an interval from each other in the front-rear direction of the mouse via the shaft. mouse.