RU2624544C1 - Modular pointing device "mouse" - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: information technology.

SUBSTANCE: device contains the compact rectangular case and with the space from above designed for the user fingers, the "mouse" controls, the chipset and the wired or wireless interface. The case consists of the interconnected casing modules, which are the unified component parts of the case, carrying on/in itself the front vertical protuberance and the U-shaped stud, for which the case is moved relative to the support surface, and one or more "mouse" controls and miniature projectors with the image output on the support surface and/or the user hand. The chipset consists of one or more interconnected components, located in the case modules and is structurally configured to include inside itself one or more memory devices with the software keyboard for the data input into the computer, to which the "mouse" is connected and/or game programs, and/or "mouse" drivers.

EFFECT: creation of the modular pointing device, consisting of the interconnected case modules that allow changing the mouse functionality.

1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of digital data processing using electrical devices, in particular, to constructions of pointing devices moved by a user (“mice”, trackballs, “feathers”, joysticks), and to constructions of accessories for them, can be used in the manufacture of peripheral devices for personal computers.

Known pointing devices "mouse" (analogues), containing in their design a housing that carries on / in itself all the other structural elements of the "mouse", for which a human user can move such a "mouse" relative to the supporting surface (special rug, desktop and etc.), as well as buttons, a wheel, a sensor, etc. scrolling, chipset, motion tracking unit and a wired or wireless interface with which you can move the mouse cursor on the monitor screen and issue commands to the personal computer to which the mouse is connected, thus controlling its operation (Mueller C. Modernization and repair PC, 17th edition. - M .: Williams, 2008. - S. 1068-1077. Kolesnichenko O. et al. Hardware PC, 6th edition. - St. Petersburg: BHV-Petersburg, 2010. - S. 559-571) . At the same time, the cases of the “mice” are quite large in size and weight, as they are designed to be gripped by the entire hand, are not combined with the bodies of the microcontrollers, they carry, probably for convenience of use, very large and massive controls (large buttons, sensors) , weighty scroll wheels, sometimes metal, etc.), and the controls of the "mice" (as well as their functionality) cannot be adapted to the specific requirements of users (unchanged), cannot be modernized, and are often not repairable.

The disadvantage of these pointing devices "mouse" (analogues) is that their bodies and controls (buttons, wheels, sensors, etc. scrolling) do not differ in compactness, lightness and simplicity of design, which increases material consumption and, as a result, cost “mice” and at the same time reduces the reliability of operation and the convenience of their operation (due to the need to constantly hold the wrist in the same unnatural position), the fact that their controls (and functionality) are designed for mass, average statistical ELSE and immutable throughout the life of the "mouse", and that their governments are generally not repairable (unless the plug-in special micro sockets) and are not intended for further modernization.

As a prototype, a compact pointing device “mouse” was selected, consisting, inter alia, of: 1) a case smaller in size and weight than the cases of “mice” -analogs, and having the shape of, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped moving along a supporting surface only with two fingers of a human user (index and middle), with recesses (holes or grooves) located on top of it and / or devices for attaching to human fingers (vertical comb, suction cups and / or magnets), for which movement of the case is made; 2) controls that function like either the “mouse” analog buttons (and located on / in the recesses of the case and / or devices for attaching to the user's fingers), or a wheel, a sensor, etc. scrolling “mice” -analogs (and located on top of the “mouse” body in front and behind the recesses); 3) a chipset made in the form of one integrated circuit, the case of which is simultaneously the case of the entire pointing device and contains all its internal structural elements (Russian application for the invention 2016109732 "Compact pointing device" mouse ").

The disadvantages of this "mouse" prototype are the design balance of its controls (and functionality) for undemanding, mass users and their immutability over the entire life of the "mouse", which narrows the scope and reduces the usability, non-repairability and non-modernization of controls and internal electronic components of the “mouse”, the fitness of the “mouse” to move exclusively with two fingers of the user's hand, as well as the absence of at least some built-in keyboard in the design atura, small and uncomplicated games, mouse drivers, etc. software, alarms and data output devices.

The objective of the invention is the replacement of a monolithic, non-separable body of the "mouse" with constant, unchanged over the entire period of its operation controls (and functionality), moved exclusively by two fingers of the human hand, on a design of interconnected housing modules, moved one, two three, etc. with your fingers, which can carry / contain on / in itself, in addition to various controls of a different device and purpose, a chipset, a motion tracking unit and a wired or wireless interface, also additional microcontrollers or single-chip micro-computers, alarms that measure user-defined time intervals, additional data input devices, storage devices, data output and user feedback devices, additional communication interfaces, etc., which allows connecting Deleting, moving and replacing the housing module, change the functionality of the "mouse" (adjust it to the requirements of a particular user), simple and easy to repair "mouse" and its subsequent upgrades.

The problem is solved due to the fact that in a compact pointing device "mouse" containing a monolithic, non-separable, movable exclusively with two fingers of a human user, the case is smaller in size and weight than the cases of "mouse" -analogs, having a rectangular shape and located on / there are recesses (holes or grooves) and / or devices for attachment to human fingers (vertical comb, suction cups and / or magnets), for which it is moved, controls (microswitches , pressure sensors, color sensors, sensors, touch panels and optocouplers), functioning either as buttons of “mouse” analogs (and located on / in the recesses of the case and / or devices for attaching to the user's fingers), or as a wheel, sensor and etc. scrolling of “mice” -analogs (and located on top of the “mouse” body in front of and behind the recesses), a chipset made in the form of one integrated circuit, the case of which is also the case of the entire pointing device and contains all its internal structural elements, optical a movement tracking unit, which is part of the chipset, and a wired or wireless interface, a mouse housing is provided in such a design that it can consist of one or more housing modules connected to each other (un of certified parts), each of which is capable of carrying on / in itself various, including, if necessary, narrow, specialized purpose controls and various internal electronic components (chipset components), in particular a storage device with a virtual (software implemented) keyboard , small and uncomplicated games, mouse drivers, etc. etc. software (moreover, the module housings are simultaneously the chassis of the integrated circuits of the chipset components), instead of one vertical ridge, suction cups and / or magnets, can have several vertical protrusions (more precisely, three on each of the housing modules), and can also move relative to the supporting surface by one , two, three or more fingers of a human user (depending on the number of modules of which it consists). The unification of housing modules consists in the proximity of their overall and weight characteristics, uniformity of external design (rectangular shape, the presence of vertical protrusions in front and sides, etc.), the same mounting dimensions and standardity of the used fasteners that fasten the modules to each other, and inter-circuit interfaces interaction (including case connectors). Housing modules can be connected to each other (to add / replace controls and chipset components and, accordingly, expand / change the functionality of the “mouse”) using, for example, screws, nuts and a U-shaped pin, which acts as backs (rear walls) recesses of the body in the design of the mouse-prototype, as well as the corresponding holes, which ensures sufficient rigidity and strength of the composite body of the mouse during operation. Removal and rearrangement of housing modules can be performed to rid the mouse of unnecessary, redundant controls and chipset components (narrowing the functionality), reduce the size and weight of the mouse, and increase its usability. Mouse controls, which function like a wheel, a sensor, etc. scrolling of “mice” -analogs, can, in contrast to the “mouse” -prototype, be located on exactly the same individual case modules (one or several) as the rest of the mouse controls, or can be on the same module with them, which allows the user's fingers to act on them in a similar way. Instead of the recesses located on the mouse prototype case, the proposed pointing device uses an empty space intended for human fingers, limited by vertical protrusions (front and two side) made on the body of each module and a U-shaped hairpin, in the center of which usually one or several mouse controls inherent / inherent in this module are located. The connection of the individual chipset components located inside the housing modules into a single system is ensured by standardized connectors located on both sides of the housing modules, through which not only the signals are transmitted between the chipset components, but also the electronics of the modules are energized, for example, from the main module, that is, that has a built-in source (single or main) power supply - a battery and / or wired interface for connecting to persons real computer. On the main housing module, an optical mouse tracking unit and a wired or wireless interface for connecting it to a computer can also be installed. If the “mouse” is operated in a minimal composition (that is, it consists of only one housing module - the main one, with a power source and an interface), then its movement relative to the supporting surface can be performed with just one finger of the user's hand, for example, with the index finger, and its control can be it is automatically switched by its chipset / microcontroller to an operating mode similar, for example, to the operation of the left button of the “mouse” analogs, which in most cases is enough for tolerable human interaction ka with the operating system of a personal computer. In addition, the proposed modular pointing device "mouse" is characterized in that its chipset or microcontroller may contain a memory device of sufficient capacity with a virtual (software) keyboard recorded in it, which allows you to enter text data, small and uncomplicated game programs, drivers " mice "for various operating systems and / or their versions, if they are required" mice ", etc. etc. software. In addition, the proposed modular pointing device "mouse" is characterized in that its case modules and, accordingly, the chipset can contain / carry additional integrated circuits, including microcontrollers or single-chip micro-computers for various purposes, alarms, measuring user-defined time intervals, additional data input devices (keyboards, touch panels, etc., etc.), data output devices and user feedback (LEDs, displays, miniature projectors with image output to the supporting surface and / or user's hand, heaters / coolers, vibrators, odor generators, etc.), additional communication interfaces, etc.

The technical essence and principle of operation of the proposed modular pointing device "mouse" are illustrated by the drawing, on which it is depicted on the supporting surface (left and top views) in its usual, working position.

The proposed modular pointing device "mouse" consists of a housing 1, which is one or more interconnected housing modules, smaller in size and weight than the cases of "mice" -analogues, and having a rectangular shape and located in / on it "recesses "and vertical protrusions, beyond which it is moved relative to the supporting surface. All housing modules are unified components of the mouse’s composite housing 1 and can be added to it (to expand the functionality), be removed from it (to narrow the functionality, if necessary), rearranged (if necessary, to improve usability) and replaced with the same ones (during repair) or different from them (when changing the functionality and upgrading the "mouse"). Each case module can carry on / in itself the most diverse (both widely used and highly specialized) mouse controls (2, 3, 4, etc.), as well as various components of its composite chipset 5, which it allows you to adjust the “mouse” to the requirements of almost any user and adapt it for any area of use, and, like the “mouse” prototype, the module cases are also the case of integrated circuits of the corresponding components, combined into a single “mouse” chipset. Housing modules can be connected to each other using, for example, screws 6 (with nut) and 7, U-shaped studs 8 (also with nuts) and corresponding holes in the modules, which provides composite mouse case 1 with the necessary rigidity and strength operation, and also easy assembly / folding, if necessary. All standard controls, that is, functioning like the left and right buttons (these are 2 and 3) and the wheel, sensor, etc. scrolling (this is 4) of the “mice” of analogs proposed by the “mouse” are located on housing modules of similar size and weight, and the controls of a narrow, specialized purpose, if used in the “mouse”, can be on excellent modules from the usual appearance and device, that is, having, for example, increased length, width, height, more buttons, sensors, etc., but, of course, having the same mounting dimensions and housing connectors. As the "recesses" of the housing 1 in the proposed "mouse" there is an empty space intended for mounting the user's fingers on top of the housing modules, limited by three vertical protrusions (front and two side) located on the modules and a U-shaped pin 8, for which the movement is made corps. If there is a need to transfer the “mouse” above the supporting surface by a certain distance, then the user simply clamps the lateral vertical protrusions of the housing modules between the fingers of his hand (index and middle, middle and ring, etc.) and makes the mouse lift and transfer her to another place. Fastening the U-shaped pin 8 to the "mouse" with the help of nuts allows you to adjust the length of the empty space on top of the housing modules, adjusting it to the thickness of the user's fingers. If the "mouse" is operated as part of one, two, three, etc. case modules, that is, moves one, two, three, etc. fingers of a human hand, then the U-shaped pin 8 is replaced with a similar one (since it is easily removable), but of a corresponding length and shape. The controls of the proposed “mouse”, like the “mouse” prototype, can be microswitches, pressure sensors, color sensors, sensors (capacitive or resistive type) or entire touch panels from such sensors, optocouplers (reflective or slotted) and even used in "mice" -analogs scroll wheel (small), and to simplify and reduce the cost of construction, the impact on them of the user's fingers can be direct. The mouse controls should be located on the upper side of the housing modules (directly under the user's fingers), one or more on each module (depending on their purpose) and should have reliable protection against accidental, erroneous finger exposure. In addition to conventional housing modules with standard (in terms of quantity and purpose) mouse controls, naturally, any other housing modules with various controls, including a narrow, specialized purpose, can be manufactured. It can be case modules, for example, with controls designed exclusively for use on the Internet, computer games, with full keyboards (calculator, for example, type for entering large arrays of numerical data) and so on. etc., which depends only on the imagination of the manufacturers of housing modules and the needs of users of these “mice”. The connection of the individual components of the composite chipset located inside the case modules, if the “mouse” consists of more than one (main) module 9, into a single, connected system is ensured by standardized (the same for all modules) case connectors consisting of a socket and a plug with the appropriate device, the number and location of contacts placed on both sides of each of the housing modules, as well as standard interfaces for inter-circuit interaction. Standardization of case connectors allows not only to add new case modules to the mouse housing, but also to swap already included in it, thereby increasing the usability of the mouse. Through the contacts of the housing connectors, not only the digital signals are transmitted between the internal electronic components of the housing modules (chipset components), but the modules are also supplied with electric power. The power supply can be, for example, the main housing module 9, having a built-in battery and / or receiving power through a wired interface 10, through which it is connected to a personal computer. The standard interfaces for inter-circuit interaction in the design of the proposed pointing device “mouse” can serve, for example, the peripheral serial interface SPI / Microwire, used both for interfacing microcontrollers with peripheral devices with SPI (sensors, analog-to-digital converters, storage devices, etc. .p.), and for interfacing microcontrollers with each other, I ² C bus port, UART interface or any other suitable. If the mouse controls are ordinary contacts working for closing / opening (for example, in microswitches), or pressure / color sensors, then they could be connected directly to the parallel input (or I / O) port of the microcontroller or through its analog-to-digital converter, which should be taken into account by the design of the housing connectors. The optical mouse tracking unit, which usually consists of a light source (LED or low-power laser), a light guide, a focusing lens, and an optical sensor (which is part of the mouse’s chipset or microcontroller 5), is advantageously located on the main body module 9 ( on its underside). Such an arrangement of this unit makes it possible to operate the “mouse” from just one housing module (and with minimal functionality), moving it along the supporting surface with one finger of the hand. The use of housing modules with additional displacement tracking blocks in the design of the mouse can increase the reliability of the functioning of the mouse on problematic support surfaces and / or expand its functionality. So, additional blocks for tracking movement can be used, for example, to perform scrolling, change the resolution of the main optical sensor, select macro commands, etc. To interact with a personal computer, the “mouse” can have a wired one, through which power is simultaneously supplied (PS / 2, for example, or USB), or wireless (working, for example, in the standard 2.4-GHz radio frequency band for such devices) ) interface 10. If a mouse is connected to a personal computer via a USB interface 10, then a USB hub (hub) can be built into it, which allows additional peripheral USB devices to be connected to a computer (via this mouse), so how USB hubs provide Additional device connection points. One of these additional USB peripherals can be a storage device of the appropriate capacity installed inside the proposed mouse, for example, a solid-state drive connected to a USB hub integrated in the mouse and containing, for example, flash memory capable of working in a personal computer software - a virtual (software-implemented) keyboard, small and uncomplicated game programs, mouse drivers, if they are needed, and so on. software. After connecting such a "mouse" to a personal computer, it becomes possible not only the usual interaction of the user with the computer, but also the operating system of the computer, having detected the USB storage device built into the "mouse" (using, for example, Plug and Play technology, if USB operation is supported by system logic chips, ROM BIOS drivers, and the computer’s operating system itself), provides user access to it and allows it to run the software contained in the data storage device software, including a virtual keyboard. A user, when launching, when required, a virtual keyboard, for example, by pressing a special button on the “mouse”, entering the necessary data into the clipboard of the computer’s operating system and then pasting it from the clipboard into any other programs running on the computer, can do without without a real (hardware implemented) keyboard, usually connected to each personal computer. In the same way (from the storage device inside the "mouse") various game programs, installers of "mouse" drivers and any other software can be launched. The composite mouse chipset, the components of which can theoretically be found in all case modules, except for the main microcontroller located in the main module 9 and providing the basic functionality of the pointing device, may contain many other additional structural components that significantly increase the number of built-in functions " mice. " Such structural components can be: 1) additional integrated circuits, including microcontrollers, required by mouse controls, such as pressure sensors, color sensors, etc. Such sensors can be combined into a single unit with the corresponding integrated circuits that form a digital code at the output, which, of course, is more convenient when building microprocessor systems. If semiconductor strain gauges with micromechanical resistances deposited on a silicon substrate are used in the mouse design, the amplification and signal processing circuits can be placed directly on the same semiconductor crystal; 2) systems on a chip (chip), that is, single-chip micro-computers (including multi-core), similar in functionality to a single-board industrial computer, for various purposes, which can be used in the proposed “mouse”, for example, for recognition of gesture, facial and voice commands user (together, of course, with accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, proximity and gesture sensors, video cameras, microphones, etc. built into the same case modules), to organize the work of alarms that can ignalizirovat about after a user-specified period of time using a computer (could have time to man stood up and warmed up to finish the game, etc.), etc. For example, the Huawei Watch smartwatch (typical for the smartwatch market) uses a Qualcomin Snapdragon 400 chip system (4 cores at 1.2 GHz), and there are also: RAM - 512 MB; read-only memory - 4 GB; built-in interfaces - Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; display (round, touch) - 400 × 400 pixels; built-in sensors (with a microphone and speaker) - accelerometer, gyroscope; operating system - Android Wear. With a further reduction in the size of such systems on a chip, lowering their energy consumption and increasing productivity, it will become possible to use them as part of the proposed “mouse” chipset to expand its functionality, as well as to increase usability; 3) additional data input devices (these are a variety of sensors, touch panels, keyboards of various designs and purposes, including narrowly specialized ones, etc.); 4) data output and user feedback devices (LEDs and displays, including those mounted on the cable sheath of the wired mouse interface or worn / wrapped around / around it, but controlled by the chipset, miniature projectors with direct image output on the supporting surface and / or skin of the user's hands, heaters / coolers, vibrators, odor generators, etc.) designed to inform the current state of the “mouse” itself and / or what is happening inside the computer and its software (for example, about changing the resolution of the optical sensor, choosing a macro, events in a computer game, etc.), as well as special-purpose devices (for example, silencers of mobile phones so that they do not distract from work or playing, etc. .d.); 5) additional communication interfaces for using the “mouse” as, for example, a remote control for household appliances (TVs, DVD-players, game consoles, etc.), automation of the “smart home”, etc. etc.

The modular pointing device “mouse” described above is used as follows. After turning on the personal computer to which the “mouse” is connected, turning on the “mouse” itself (supplying power, etc.) and loading the operating system and the rest of the required software into the computer, the human user installs the “mouse” in the “recesses” of the housing 1, then there are in empty spaces on top of the housing modules, your fingers, for example the index, middle and ring, positioning the rest of the hand, as when using the "mouse" prototype, behind the pointing device. Since the ends of human fingers should, in theory, be firmly inserted into the housing modules due to the vertical protrusions and the U-shaped pin 8 on them (which the user achieves by pre-fitting by unscrewing the front nuts on the pin, shifting the pin forward or backward and tightening the nuts again ), then the movement of the mouse housing 1 relative to the support surface with the fingers does not cause difficulties and thus allows you to move around the monitor screen (naturally, by means of the movement tracking unit, h Ipset or microcontroller 5 and mouse interface 10) mouse cursor. If there is a need to move the housing 1 to a certain (small) distance, then the user simply clamps between the fingers of his hand the lateral vertical protrusions of the housing modules and thus transfers the "mouse". To use the “mouse” to give the computer commands similar to clicking on the buttons (left and right) of the “mouse” analogs, the user needs to exert influence on the corresponding controls (2, 3, etc., etc.) with the “mouse” if they are present in the current composition of the housing 1. Impact (pressing) on the controls 2, 3, etc. does not exclude the simultaneous movement of the "mouse" relative to the supporting surface, therefore, good sliding of the supports of the housing 1 (Teflon, etc.) should be ensured. To use the "mouse" to give the computer commands similar to affecting the wheel, sensor, etc. scrolling of “mice” -analogs, the user must influence the control 4, etc. organs if case modules with them are present in the composition of the "mouse". Moreover, one of the paired controls 4 provides scrolling (and so on. Etc., depending on the context of use of the "mouse") in one direction, and the second in the opposite direction. These controls should be placed on the housing modules, obviously, at some distance from each other so that the user's finger can be relaxed between them, without causing accidental, erroneous influences. As a result, moving the "mouse", for example, with three fingers on the supporting surface and performing the corresponding command actions on its controls, interact with the personal computer in the same way as with the help of "mice" -analogs. When using some non-standard controls in the “mouse”, the execution of command actions on them is completely predetermined by their design, quantity, purpose, etc., and therefore should be determined by the manufacturer of the “mouse” and / or the housing module on which they are installed. If the user suddenly wants to expand, narrow, or change the functionality of the “mouse” (due to the insufficiency, redundancy, or inefficiency of the existing functions provided by the current set of case modules), he can add, remove, or replace the case modules included in the “mouse” . To add another housing module to the “mouse”, you need to remove the U-shaped pin 8, having previously unscrewed the front nuts on it, attach a newly installed module on the left or right to the housing 1, so that its plug / socket is connected to the socket / plug of the housing the connector of the corresponding module (and the contacts are reliably closed, providing power supply and high-quality signal transmission between the modules), connect the newly installed and existing case modules with screws 6 (with nut) and 7, using their connecting holes, and then reinstall on the expanded housing 1 a similar U-shaped pin 8, but of a corresponding (increased) length and desired shape. To remove an existing case module from the “mouse”, you need to remove the U-shaped pin 8, having previously unscrewed the front nuts on it, remove / unscrew the screws 6 (with nut) and 7 from / from the connecting holes of the corresponding case modules, disconnect from the case 1 remove the module by separating the plug / socket from the socket / plug of their case connectors, and install back on the narrower case 1 a similar U-shaped pin 8, but with the corresponding (reduced) length and the desired shape. If the operation of the “mouse” with the current location of the housing modules in it is not quite convenient for the user, for example, due to insufficient mobility of some fingers, etc., then he can first remove some of the modules and then attach them to the “mouse” "again, but in a different, more convenient sequence for him. The rearrangement of the housing modules and, consequently, the controls of the "mouse" allows you to increase the usability of the pointing device without changing its functionality. If during the operation of the “mouse” some of its functions, implemented by various housing modules, turn out to be unclaimed or ineffective, then the user can exchange them (together with the corresponding modules) for others that are really useful for him or more effective. In addition, the timely replacement of worn and obsolete housing modules allows you to maintain the "mouse" in a constantly working and adequate state of the art.

The invention allows by changing the design of the mouse housing, consisting of several separate housing modules, providing a wide variety of controls and components of the composite chipset, and moving along the supporting surface with one, two, three or more fingers of a human user’s hand, and introducing composition of the chipset / microcontroller of the “mouse” memory device with a virtual (software) keyboard, small and uncomplicated games, drivers of the “mouse”, etc. software to provide “mice” adaptability to any, most specific user requirements, maintainability and simple and easy upgradeability, to increase the convenience of its operation, including due to the proximity of the user's hand position to natural and the presence of alarms that measure user-specified time intervals, and miniature projectors that display the image on the supporting surface and / or hand of the user, as well as the reliability of operation, in particular on the “problem” supporting tops.

Claims (1)

A modular pointing device "mouse", containing a compact rectangular case with a space for the user's fingers on top, mouse controls, a chipset and a wired or wireless interface, characterized in that its case consists of one or more connected to each other housing modules, which are unified components of the housing, bearing on / in themselves at least one front vertical protrusion and a U-shaped pin, for which the housing is moved relative to of the supporting surface with one or more fingers of the user's hand, and one or more mouse controls and miniature projectors with image output to the supporting surface and / or the user's hand, and its chipset consists of one or more components connected to each other, located in housing modules, and is structurally configured to include one or more memory devices with a programmable keyboard for entering data into a computer to which the “mouse” is connected it, and / or game programs, and / or mouse drivers, if it is needed, as well as ensuring the functioning of one or more alarms that measure user-specified time intervals.

Images