JPS61187027A - Mouse pad for optical mouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it unnecessary that the first line pattern is constituted with a semitransparent film whose thickness is difficult to control, by forming the first line pattern with reflective element patterns having a high reflection factor and the rest of a light-transmissive part. CONSTITUTION:Many minute circular reflective element patterns 70 having a high reflection factor are gathered to form the first line pattern 7X. A detecting element of an optical system detects an apparent reflection factor determined by a ratio of the area of these minute element patterns 70 having a high reflection factor to that of the rest of the light-transmissive part. Consequently, the aggregation of minute reflective element patterns 70 seems to have the same function as the semitransparent film when it is seen from the side of an optical mouse body consisting of a light source and the detecting element.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a mouse pad for an optical mouse for moving a cursor projected on a CRT (cathode ray tube) surface.

(Prior Art) There is a cursor position indicator called a mouse as a device for freely moving a cursor on a CR7 screen in the XY axis directions. By moving this mouse vertically and horizontally on a flat plate called a mouse pad, you can
Axial movement can be given to the cursor.

As an optical mouse, for example, a patent application published in 1980-
Optical mice such as those described in No. 500777 are known. This optical mouse uses a light-emitting element to detect horizontal and vertical checkered stripes of different colors, such as a green line pattern in the X-axis direction and a red line pattern in the Y-axis direction, written on the mouse pad. It is read by a line detection means consisting of an element and instructs the cursor to move in the X and Y axis directions. In this conventional optical mouse, there are two
It uses colored lines, and in order to identify and read them, it is necessary to prepare two light sources or filters with different colors. Furthermore, in order to form lines of two different colors on the same plane and detect them distinctively, a time-division process is performed in which the light source and the light-receiving element are synchronized and light emission and detection are alternately repeated.

Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the device is complicated and expensive.

Therefore, the present applicant previously filed a patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 58-229500) for an optical mouse that solved the problems of the conventional optical mouse. Figure 7 is the patent application 1986-2.
An example of the optical mouse of No. 29500 is shown. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 indicates a mouse and 5 indicates a mouse pad. The mouse 1 includes a housing 2 shaped like an upside-down bowl, a bottom plate 3 that closes the opening of the housing 2, a line reading device 4 attached to the bottom plate 3, and a circuit board for processing electrical signals from the line reading device 4. (not shown). On the other hand, the pad 5 has a transparent substrate 6,
It is constituted by line patterns 7x and 7Y made up of thin parallel lines formed on the front and back sides of the substrate 6, respectively. The line pattern 7X is for instructing the cursor to move in the X-axis direction, and is printed, coated, or It is provided by vacuum evaporation or the like. The line pattern 7Y is for instructing the cursor to move in the Y-axis direction, and is formed on the back side of the board 6 in the same manner as the line pattern 7χ, but its direction is 90 degrees different from the line pattern 7X. It is provided.

The housing 2 includes two line reading devices 8X,
8Y is built in by being fixed to the bottom plate 3. Each of the line reading devices 8X and 8Y is a light source 9X that illuminates the line patterns 7X and 7Y, respectively.

9Y, the same pattern 7, the light receiving element 10X, IOY, which detects 7Y, the same pattern 77X, 7Y (7
) Consists of lenses 11χ and 11Y for forming a real image on the light receiving element 10X and IOY, respectively, and supporting members 12X and 12Y that support each of the light sources, the light receiving element, and the lens in a predetermined positional relationship. .

Light emitting diodes with sharp directivity and high brightness are used as the light sources 9x and 9Y, and the wavelength thereof may be in the visible light or near-infrared light region.

The focus of lens IIX is on the front surface of the pad with line pattern 7χ, and that of lens IIY is on the back surface of the pad with line pattern 7Y.

Therefore, when reading the line pattern 7x through the lens IIX, the line pattern 7Y is located at a position away from the focal plane of the lens IIX, so that the line pattern 7v prevents the reading of the line pattern 7χ. Nothing happens. Similarly, lens IIY
When reading the line pattern 7Y, the line pattern 7X is located outside the focal plane of the lens IIY, so the reading of the line pattern 7Y is not hindered by the line pattern 7X.

A slider 13 made of Teflon (trade name), nylon, silicone resin, or the like, which has a small coefficient of friction against the surface of the pad 5, is fixed to the lower surface of the housing 2. When placing the slider 13 at each vertex of one triangle, that is,
When using the three-point support method, the mouse body does not wobble relative to the pad, so you can always move the mouse body in the correct posture.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the mouse band for an optical mouse as described above, the first line pattern 7X provided on the upper surface side of the transparent substrate 6 has a reflectance of about 50%. The second line pattern 7Y provided on the lower surface side of the substrate 6 is adjusted and configured to be a semi-transparent film with a reflectance of about 90%. The reason why the first line pattern 7X is made into a semi-transparent film is to prevent the image of the first line pattern 7X from entering the detection optical system of the second line pattern 7Y on the lower surface side, thereby preventing reading errors. . These line patterns 7X, 7Y are generally formed by vacuum evaporation of aluminum.

The line pattern of the mouse pad is formed by vacuum evaporation of aluminum using the following procedure.

First, an acrylic resin plate, which is the substrate of a mouse pad, is placed in a large vacuum evaporation apparatus, and an evaporation source is provided on the side facing the substrate. A mask is placed in close contact with the surface of the substrate facing the evaporation source so that a line pattern is deposited. Further, the evaporation source is generally constructed in advance by wrapping a thin aluminum wire around the evaporation source made of a thin tungsten wire. Then, a low voltage and large current is applied to the thin tungsten wire to generate heat, and the heat evaporates the aluminum. The very small evaporated aluminum particles fly in all directions, and an aluminum film is formed on the substrate according to the mask pattern. The thickness of this film is determined by various conditions such as distance to the evaporation source, angle, and evaporation time. In addition, the reflectance of an aluminum thin film formed by vapor deposition increases proportionally as the film thickness increases, and once the thickness exceeds a certain level, the reflectance does not increase.
It is generally known that the reflectance is saturated at about 90%.

However, the substrate of a mouse pad has a relatively large surface, such as A-row 4-size, and it is impossible due to the principle of vapor deposition to form a line pattern with the same film thickness over this large surface. . That is, the aluminum evaporated from the evaporation source varies in the direction and amount of evaporation due to differences in temperature distribution on the tungsten thin wire and differences in the melting state of aluminum. Therefore, especially for semi-transparent films, variations in film thickness lead to variations in reflectance, so the reflectance may vary each time it is deposited.
Even within the same surface of the mouse pad substrate, the reflectance varies locally (on the other hand, when the film thickness exceeds a certain level, the reflectance saturates at about 90% as mentioned above, and the variation in reflectance Therefore, in conventional mouse pads for optical mice, the reflectance of the first line pattern composed of a semi-transparent film has large variations, resulting in a high defect rate during the manufacturing process and poor product quality. was also unstable.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mouse pad that can be used in the optical mouse disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-229500, which solves the problems of the conventional P optical mouse, and which has a low defect rate in the manufacturing process and is stable. Our goal is to provide high quality mouse pads.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A mouse pad for an optical mouse according to the present invention includes a first parallel thin light-reflecting line provided on a first plane of a translucent substrate. The line pattern is characterized in that it is formed by a minute elemental pattern with high reflectance and a light-transmitting portion of the remainder of this elemental pattern.

(Function) Since the first line pattern is formed by a reflective element pattern with high reflectance and the rest of the transparent part, when viewed from the mouse side that has a light source and a detection element, the first line pattern is The one-line pattern appears to have the same function as a semi-transparent membrane. The film thickness of the reflective element pattern may be set to such a film thickness that the reflectance is saturated.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which the mouse pad 5 includes a transparent substrate 6 and a first parallel line formed on each of the front and back surfaces of the substrate 6. It is composed of a line pattern 7x and a second line pattern 7Y. The board 6 is made of, for example, an A-row 4-size acrylic resin. The first line pattern 7x is
This is for instructing movement in the axial direction, and a light reflective material such as aluminum is provided on the surface of the substrate 6, that is, the upper surface on which the mouse moves, by means of printing, coating, vacuum deposition, etc. . 2nd line pattern 7
Y is for instructing the cursor to move in the Y-axis direction, and is provided on the bottom surface of the substrate 6 in the same manner as the line pattern 7x, but with its direction 90 degrees different from the line pattern 7X. ing.

The optical reflectance of the first line pattern 7X is adjusted to about 50%, and that of the second line pattern 7Y is adjusted to about 90%. The optical reflectance mentioned here means the reflectance for the wavelength of light emitted by a light source used in an optical mouse, such as a light emitting diode.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the first line pattern 7X, and FIG. 3 shows it further enlarged.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first line pattern 7X is formed by assembling a large number of small circular reflective element patterns 70 with high reflectance.

In FIG. 2, the two-dot chain line 7A indicates the element pattern 70.
This line virtually indicates the outline of the first line pattern 7x formed by a set of lines.

The width of each line pattern 7x is approximately 0.5 mm (precisely 0.495 mm), the distance between the lines of each line pattern 7
The formation pitch is 1. It is stipulated in OI. The mutual spacing between the element patterns 70 in the width direction of the line pattern is 0.
．． 125111111% The mutual spacing between the element patterns 70 in the length direction of the line pattern is set to 0.1 mm, and the diameter of each element pattern 70 is set to 0.12 mm. To increase the resolution of an optical mouse,
The line width and interval of the line pattern may be reduced.

However, considering that the mouse is a position indicator that moves a cursor on a CRT display, the above values for the line width and spacing are appropriate. Of course, it is not limited to this value. The reflectance of each element pattern 70 is about 90%, and when it is formed by vacuum evaporation of aluminum, the film thickness can be set such that the reflectance reaches a saturation value.

According to the above embodiment, the detection element of the optical system that detects the first line pattern 7 The appearance determined by the ratio to the area of the remaining translucent part is detected as the upper reflectance line, and the second line pattern 7Y on the lower surface side of the substrate 6 passes through the gaps between the minute element patterns 70. Therefore, when viewed from the side of the optical mouse body that includes the light source and the detection element, the collection of minute reflective element patterns 70 appears to have the same function as a semi-transparent film. Therefore, the first line pattern 7X and the second line pattern 7 by the optical mouse
Y can be detected without error.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the area ratio between the portion of the reflective element pattern 70 and the remaining portion in the range constituting one first line pattern 7X is 47:53.
Assuming that the reflectance of the element pattern 70 is 90% and the reflectance of the remaining portion, that is, the reflectance on the surface of the acrylic plate serving as the substrate, is 4%, the apparent reflectance above is approximately 44.5%, which is half It is approximately the same as the reflectance of the transparent film.

The apparent reflectance of the first line pattern 7x is not necessarily limited to around 50%, and may be set freely within a range that can function as the first line pattern.

In the above embodiment, the shape of the element pattern constituting the first line pattern was circular, but the shape of the element pattern may be a square, a hexagon, or any other shape. Furthermore, the pinch of the element pattern, the area ratio between the element pattern and the remaining portion, etc. may be changed as appropriate.

In addition, the element patterns that make up the first line pattern are:
The shape may be as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. The example in Figure 4 has a width of 0 in the width direction of the line pattern.
．． Elements 71 in the form of strips of 1 mm are arranged in a striped pattern at intervals of 0.1 mm.

The example in FIG. 5 is the element pattern 71 in the example in FIG.
is divided into two along the diagonal line to form triangular element patterns 72, which are arranged at predetermined intervals.The example shown in FIG. 6 is one in which diagonal band-shaped element patterns 73 are arranged at regular intervals. In all of the examples shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the area ratio between the element pattern and the remaining portion within one line pattern is 1:1. Various other shapes of element patterns can be considered to make this area ratio 1=1.

Note that a mask for forming a line pattern consisting of minute element patterns by a vacuum evaporation method or the like is made by a photoetching method or the like, but when making a mask, it is easier to make the mask pattern as simple as possible. A mask for forming a line pattern consisting of element patterns as shown in FIG. 4 can be produced relatively easily.

The element patterns constituting the line pattern may be formed by printing, coating, or the like.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, the light-reflecting first line pattern provided on the first plane of the light-transmitting substrate is composed of a fine element pattern with high reflectance and the rest of the light-transmitting portion. Therefore, the first line pattern does not need to be composed of a semi-transparent film whose thickness is difficult to control, but can be composed of a group of elemental patterns with high reflectance whose thickness is easy to control. It is possible to reduce the defect rate in the process and provide a mouse pad for an optical mouse with stable quality.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing an enlarged line pattern portion in the same embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a further enlarged version of the same line pattern, FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing another example of a line pattern applicable to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing an example, FIG. 6 is a plan view showing yet another example of the line pattern, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an example of an optical mouse used in combination with the mouse pad of the present invention. 5-mouse pad, 6-transparent substrate, 7x...
1st line pattern, 7Y-2nd line pattern, 7
0.71.72.73 - Element pattern.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A first line pattern indicating one direction, which is made of light-reflective parallel thin lines provided on a first plane of the translucent substrate, and a first line pattern provided on a second plane opposite to the first plane, 1
and a second line pattern made of light-reflective parallel thin lines indicating a direction different from the direction of the line pattern, and the first line pattern and the second line pattern are detected by an optical mouse having a light source and a detection element. A mouse pad for an optical mouse in which the first line pattern is formed by a minute element pattern with high reflectance and a translucent portion of the remainder of the element pattern. pad.