RU2586569C2 - Non-contaminated nonspottable "mouse" pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: instrument making.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to pointing devices. Device comprises a body of a special trihedral prismatic shape with optimally selected angle of inclination of lateral faces relative to horizontal line, with special, particularly dust-and/or dirt-repellant, surface coating, with installed in/on it intensifiers self-cleaning process, including vibrators and capable of self-cleaning from dust settling chipset, sensors of approach of the user and/or one or several video cameras, track the position of the user's hand, in/on its body there are at least two propulsors and at least one facility of rotation, as well as providing their operability of drives, which enable to "mouse" independently move forward, back, left, right diagonal, turn and turn at one point relative to bearing surface and/or the user, thus providing "mouse" without contact with human skin move for brush hand of the user when it interacts with a computer, to which "mouse" is connected.

EFFECT: prevention of hand fatigue.

1 cl, 1 dwg

Description

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

Known pointing devices are “mice,” having in their design a housing that carries and holds all the other structural elements of the “mouse,” with which a human user can move such a “mouse” relative to a supporting surface (a special rug, table, etc.) .d.), as well as buttons (or sensors), with which you can give commands to the personal computer to which the “mouse” is connected, thus controlling its operation (Mueller S. Modernization and repair of PCs, 17th edition. - M .: "William", 2008. - S. 1068-1077. Kolesnichenko O. et al. PC Hardware, 6th edition. - St. Petersburg: "BHV - Petersburg", 2010. - S. 559-571). At the same time, the case does not contain any structural elements (propulsors, drives, etc.), due to which the “mouse” could independently move relative to the supporting surface and perform turns, and during the use of such “mice” human skin contact is assumed -user with the outer surface of the case and buttons (or sensors), which over time leads to their inevitable contamination.

The disadvantage of these pointing devices "mouse" is that their bodies and buttons (or sensors) as a result of the lack of isolation from human skin are gradually dirty, and also covered with dust deposited from the air, which causes unpleasant sensations during use, contrary to hygiene standards (and requires cleanliness), contributes to the slow destruction of body materials and buttons (or sensors) (plastic, as a rule) and their surface coatings (paints, varnishes, electroplating, etc.), and moving the “mouse” after the user's palm during his work at the computer without direct physical contact and / or its subsequent self-cleaning of contaminants are not provided for by the designs of the above-mentioned “mice”.

As a prototype, a pointing device "mouse" is selected, having a body and buttons (or sensors) and itself ensuring their non-contamination with an air cushion, creating the necessary gap between the skin of the hand of a human user working with the "mouse" and these design elements of the "mouse" "in places of contact with the skin and protecting against the effects of contaminants (fat, sweat and microorganisms), as well as self-cleaning itself from dust deposited on it from the air using the appropriate geometric shape (prismatic for example), surface coating of the case (dust- and / or dirt-repellent) and intensifiers of the self-cleaning process (vibrators, etc.) (Russian application for invention 2013114972 "Non-contaminated pointing device" mouse "").

The disadvantage of this “mouse” prototype is the need for the user to grab its body with only three fingers, which must necessarily lie on special side protrusions on the body, which can also create an air cushion between themselves and human skin, which (such a grip) in itself is enough uncomfortable, and with prolonged use can cause decent fatigue of the hand.

The objective of the invention is to increase the ease of use of the "mouse" and to prevent fatigue of the hand due to the elimination of the need to capture the "mouse" and move it relative to the supporting surface (which gives the brush a natural position and relaxation), since the "mouse" using the built-in movers , their drives and the corresponding control system itself will be able to follow the hand of a human user (without direct contact with it) during his work at the computer.

The problem is solved due to the fact that in the non-contaminated, non-seizable pointing device is a "mouse", containing a housing of a special (prismatic) shape with a special surface coating (dust- and / or dirt-repellent) and with intensifiers (accelerators, improvers) installed in / on it, self-cleaning (by vibrators, etc.), as well as buttons (or sensors) made capable of creating an air cushion between each other and the skin of the human user’s hand, and a chipset that controls the operation of the mouse and interacts with it action with a personal computer, it is provided to install a pair of movers that allow the "mouse" to independently move relative to the support surface and / or user forward, backward, left, right, turn in place relative to the support surface, etc., as well as the installation of appropriate drives that ensure the operability of these movers, thereby providing the ability to "mouse" to precisely follow the palm of the user moving relative to the supporting surface when he (while working on a computer Ehr) you need to move the "mouse" cursor with the "mouse" on the monitor screen. Movers (and their drives) are installed and operate completely inside the mouse housing, and mover drives are connected to its chipset and, powered by electric power, are controlled by its commands. The chipset itself, powered by a computer to which the mouse is connected, either through a wired interface or from batteries located in the mouse (in the case of a wireless interface), generates commands for the drives (thanks to its built-in software) based on the data supplied him proximity sensors (proximity) of the user's hand (mounted on the body), depending on the displacement or rotation of this hand relative to the body of the "mouse".

The technical essence and principle of operation of the proposed pointing device "mouse" are illustrated in the drawing, which shows a longitudinal section of the "mouse" (left side view) with the movers, their drives, the mechanism for turning the case in a horizontal plane and proximity sensors installed inside its body. The simplest arrangement of hand proximity sensors on the mouse body is also shown in the drawing (top right).

The proposed pointing device "mouse" consists of a housing 1, a printed circuit board 2 fixed inside it (on which, in fact, all the electrical and electronic components of the mouse structure are located, including the components of the chipset 3 soldered on it - the microcontroller, etc.), two electromagnets 4 (fixedly attached to the printed circuit board 2 so that their cores peeped out from the bottom of the mouse housing 1 and served as front and rear supports of the housing 1 (in addition to the side supports), and in their upper part served as rotation axes for the leads washed gears 5, which can be rotated in a horizontal plane), two driven gears 5, on which two drives 6 of an eccentric pair 7, rotating in a vertical plane, are fixedly mounted from above (and driving, in fact, the mouse in motion relative to the supporting surface due to rotation of centrifugal forces), as well as the rotation mechanism 8 of the mouse housing 1 in the horizontal plane (with the pinion gear 9 on the output shaft) and the proximity sensors 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the human user installed in the rear of the housing 1 " mouse "on its upper side. The mouse case 1, like that of the prototype device, can be in the form of a trihedral prism, on the lower edge of which there should be a mouse movement tracking unit (optomechanical or LED / laser). To ensure self-cleaning from settling dust, the housing 1 may have a surface coating similar to, for example, a coating of spectacle polymer lenses (dust and / or dirt-repellent), obtained, for example, by vacuum spraying, and the angle of inclination of its side faces relative to the horizontal (optimally selected ) should result in the natural precipitation of the deposited dust by gravity. The intensifiers of the self-cleaning process (vibrators, for example) can be drives of 6 pairs of eccentrics 7, which create decent vibration (as a rule) during their operation, or other means described in the Russian patent application 2013114972 "Non-contaminated mouse pointing device". Chipset 3, consisting of hardware and firmware (software), receiving data from various mouse controls (buttons, a motion tracking unit, hand proximity sensors 10, 11, 12 and 13, etc.) and processing them , generates the appropriate control actions and transmits them (if necessary) via a computer interface to which the “mouse” is connected via wired (PS / 2, for example, or USB) or wireless (working, for example, in the standard 2.4-GHz radio frequency band) "connected, and through the same interface (or installed (inside the "mouse" of the batteries) receives power for its own functioning and powering the remaining components of the structure. Electromagnets 4, driven gears 5, drives 6 of rotating eccentric pairs 7, rotation mechanism 8 with pinion gear 9, rotation angle sensor 15 (if needed) can be arranged, can be powered by electricity, work and be controlled as described in the Russian application for invention 2012146529 "Pointing device" mouse "with a lightweight grip" with the only difference being that two electromagnets 4, driven gears 5 and 6 drives are used in the construction, and four eccentrics 7. This is necessary in order to ensure that the “mouse” not only moves forward and backward and turns left and right, but also moves sideways (and also diagonally), as well as the ability to turn in place, which allows it to accurately follow the moving relative to the supporting surface palm of a human user. The rotation mechanism 8 in the design can be used only one (like the angle sensor 15), then the driving gear 9 rotates both driven gears 5 in the same desired direction at once, and the electric motor power of this mechanism should be appropriate. Apparently, proximity sensors 10, 11, 12, and 13 on the mouse housing 1 should be installed, obviously, at least six pieces (the simplest arrangement diagram (top view) is shown in the drawing), all of them should be located at the top of the housing 1 in its rear part (here, approximately between the sensors 11 and 12, there should also be buttons (or sensors) of the mouse, not shown in the drawing). Sensors 12 and 13 are dual (consisting of left and right). Characteristics of a typical hand proximity sensor: HSDL - 9100, manufacturer - Avago Technologies, analog, infrared, reflective type (emitter is an infrared LED, the receiver is a photodiode), dimensions - 2.7 * 2.75 * 7.1 mm, object detection - at a distance of up to 60 mm, the temperature range is -40 ... +85 degrees Celsius, a colored polycarbonate with an absorption coefficient of not more than 10% is used as an infrared narrow-band filter (to protect from sunlight or a bright lamp), the field of application is consumer electronics, honey Qing and industrial equipment. Proximity sensors 10, 11, 12 and 13 are connected to the printed circuit board 2 and they are powered from it. A human user brings his hand to the "mouse" from the side of sensors 10, 11, 12 and 13 (that is, from above from the top), and, triggering, they signal the corresponding position of the human hand to chipset 3, whose hardware component and firmware produce the necessary control actions and, coordinating the work of the structural elements described above and moving (and turning) the housing 1 in the required manner relative to the supporting surface, make the "mouse" move after the moving palm of the user without direct contact of the housing 1 with her. Some of the proximity sensors (12, for example) or all of them can probably be located on the buttons (or sensors) of the mouse (or even combined with sensors), if that would be more profitable from the point of view of production and / or operation " mice ", which, of course, is left to the discretion of the manufacturer. The supporting surface for the "mouse" in this case will be a piece of ferromagnetic material, that is, for example, a "rug" of rubberized steel sheet.

The mouse pointing device described above is used as follows. Immediately after turning on the personal computer to which the “mouse” is connected, and therefore turning on the “mouse” itself, its chipset 3 (its hardware component and firmware), having analyzed the data from the rotation angle sensor (built into the rotation mechanism or mechanisms 8 or installed separately - 15) and built-in position sensors of the output shafts of the actuators 6 of the eccentrics 7, generates the necessary control actions on the rotation mechanism 8 and the actuators 6 to set the actuators 6 and the eccentrics 7 to the position corresponding to the beginning of work (I.e., when the longitudinal axis of the actuators 6 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the "mouse" and the cams 7 facing downwards). Further, after loading the operating system and other required software into the computer, the human user puts his palm to the “mouse” to start moving the “mouse” cursor around the screen, from the top to the back and puts his fingers (index and middle) on the buttons "mice" also located in the back of case 1 (somewhere between proximity sensors 11 and 12) and creating an air cushion between themselves and the skin of a human hand, as described in Russian patent application 2013114972 "Non-contaminated pointing device" mouse "" (assumptions It is noted that the height of the housing 1 or the height of the mouse buttons relative to the support surface is not very large and the user’s hand rests on the support surface behind the mouse, and only human fingers are located on its buttons). Exposure of the mouse buttons through the airbags prevents direct physical contact with them (which ensures the buttons are not contaminated), and if contactless sensors (infrared or ultrasonic, for example) are used instead of the buttons, then the airbags can act as limiters of the vertical movement of human fingers, again preventing them from directly contacting the sensors. If the human palm has taken a conditionally neutral position relative to the mouse case 1, then the response distance is not overcome for all proximity sensors, but only for three of them - 11, 12 left and 12 right, and in this situation, obviously, in movement "mouse" will not be necessary at all. If the human user shifts his palm slightly forward relative to the supporting surface (and the mouse housing 1), then in addition to the proximity sensors 11 and 12 that have already worked, the sensor 10 also works, which forces the chipset 3 to generate such a control action on the electromagnets 4 and drives 6 of eccentrics 7 so that the entire “mouse” moves forward (until the sensor 10 exits the triggered state) and accordingly follows the user's palm that has shifted in the forward direction. Electromagnets 4 and rotating pairs of eccentrics 7 in the described design of the “mouse” play the role of propulsors, due to which the “mouse” can move and rotate, and linking the on and off of the electromagnets 4 with the position of the eccentrics 7 relative to the horizontal (to ensure movement) can be carried out, for example , just as described in Russian patent application 2012146529 "Pointing device" mouse "with a lightweight grip." If a human user shifts his palm a little back relative to the supporting surface (and the mouse body 1), then the sensor 11 leaves the number of proximity sensors that have previously worked (stops transmitting a signal about its operation), which forces the chipset 3 to generate such a control action on the electromagnets 4 and drives 6 of the eccentrics 7 so that the entire “mouse” moves backward (before the start of the new activation of the proximity sensor 11) and accordingly follows the user's palm that has shifted in the rear direction. If the human user shifts his palm slightly to the left relative to the supporting surface (and the mouse’s body 1), then the proximity sensor 12 on the right goes out of the number of previously used proximity sensors, and the left sensor 13, on the contrary, works, which forces the chipset 3 to work out such a control the impact on the rotation mechanism 8, electromagnets 4 and actuators 6 of the eccentrics 7, so that the entire “mouse” moves to the left (until the proximity sensor 12 works on the right and the sensor 13 leaves the triggered state) and follows the left shift m toward the user hand. To allow the "mouse" to move sideways (as well as diagonally), you obviously need to turn the actuators 6 (using gears 5 and 9 and the rotation mechanism 8) in the corresponding direction (and at the appropriate angle) relative to the longitudinal axis of the housing 1 and force the eccentrics 7 rotate (preferably synchronously) in the same direction. If the human user shifts his palm slightly to the right relative to the supporting surface (and the mouse’s body 1), then the left proximity sensor 12 leaves the number of proximity sensors that previously worked, and the right sensor 13, on the contrary, works, which forces the chipset 3 to work out control action on the rotation mechanism 8, electromagnets 4 and actuators 6 of the eccentrics 7 so that the entire “mouse” moves to the right (before the proximity sensor 12 works on the left and the right sensor 13 exits the triggered state) and follows the shifted right direction with the palm of the user. If a human user, while working with the “mouse,” slightly rotates his palm relative to the body of the “mouse,” in addition to the proximity sensors 11 and 12 that have already worked, one of the sensors 13 (left or right) may work depending on the direction of rotation of the palm . This forces the chipset 3 to develop such a control action on the rotation mechanism 8, the electromagnets 4 and the actuators 6 of the eccentrics 7, so that the entire mouse rotates in one place (before the triggered state of the above proximity sensor 13) and returns to the conditionally neutral position body 1 relative to the human palm. To ensure that the mouse rotates in one place, it is obviously necessary to rotate the drives 6 (using gears 5 and 9 and the rotation mechanism 8) ninety degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of the mouse body 1 (in one direction or another), but at this force the eccentrics 7 to rotate in not one but in opposite directions (using, for example, changing the polarity of the power supply of the electric motor of one of the drives 6). Centrifugal forces created by pairs of eccentrics 7 rotating in opposite directions, which are identical in size but opposite in direction, will rotate the housing 1 relative to the supporting surface almost in place. You can also, if required, skid the front or back of the mouse housing 1, including only one of the electromagnets 4 (and its corresponding drive 6), and use the second electromagnet 4 (just turning it on) as a kind of anchor. Self-cleaning of the “mouse” case 1 from dust, if vibration is used for this, starts immediately after turning on the drives 6 and continues throughout the entire operation session (and self-cleaning in other ways can also be performed after the “mouse” is finished, but before turning off the computer’s power ) Drives 6 and eccentrics 7 must be executed (and controlled by the chipset 3) so that the vibration created by them (in combination with slippery dust and / or dirt-repellent surface coating of the housing 1 and the inclination of its side faces) ensures that all dust settling on the housing 1 is shaken off. Self-cleaning of the mouse housing 1 by other means (as well as the non-contamination of the buttons) can be provided, for example, as with the prototype device described in the Russian patent application 2013114972 "Non-contaminated mouse pointing device". Thus, moving the palm without contact with the "mouse" body, make the "mouse" independently move relative to the supporting surface, which, in turn, allows you to move the "mouse" cursor on the monitor screen and control the personal computer to which the "mouse" is connected , in the usual, well-known mode. Materials, design, functioning parameters (developed efforts and power, speed of rotation, acceleration during acceleration and braking, response time and work, etc.), consistency among themselves, etc. parts and assemblies 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15 are selected, of course, at the discretion of the manufacturer, but in such a way as to provide the most efficient (fast, accurate, but, preferably, silent and with minimal vibration and energy consumption) the movement of the "mouse" on the supporting surface after the palm of a human user, as well as its effective self-cleaning of settling dust due to, for example, created by the movement of vibration or in another way. The above-described design of the “mouse” movers was chosen because it allows its movement when the movers and their drives are located entirely inside the “mouse” case, without deducing any structural components or their individual parts beyond its outline, which, in turn, allows you to make the case of the "mouse" monoblock and even airtight due to the absence of gaps and technological holes on its surface. A disadvantage of the above described device of the “mouse” propulsors is the need for a ferromagnetic “rug”, without which the movement of such a “mouse” would be impossible. The “mouse” can be eliminated from this drawback with the help of a design in which instead of electromagnets 4 (or in addition to them) rubber suction cups are installed, and rarefaction of air under them works similarly to the attraction of electromagnets to a ferromagnetic supporting surface. The device and operation of such suction cups can be similar, for example, to those described in Russian patent application 2012146529 "Mouse pointing device with lightweight grip." The use of suction cups would allow the mouse to move on almost any solid, even and smooth supporting surface (polished wood, plastic, glass, non-magnetic metal, etc.), which would make the mouse even more convenient to use. In the above-described mouse construction, instead of proximity sensors, you can naturally use any other device to track the position of the user's hand relative to the mouse body. You can, for example, use a video camera (or several video cameras) by installing it (them) on the mouse housing 1 in place of the sensors 11 and 12. The design and operation of such a video camera can be similar to the design and operation principle of the optical mouse tracking blocks "with the difference that it will be monitored not a change in the image of the supporting surface (as a result of the movement of the" mouse "), but a change in the appearance of the human palm (or fingers), displaced (displaced) by the user relative to the" mouse "body. Using a video camera will allow you to accurately determine the movement of the human hand, and therefore move the mouse itself with high accuracy relative to the supporting surface.

The invention allows the "mouse" (due to the built-in movers, turning means and their drives) to move behind the palm of the human user moving relative to the supporting surface in such a way as to provide him with a convenient contactless movement of the mouse body and the effect on its buttons ( or sensors), which guarantees “mice” non-contamination and eliminates the fatigue of the human hand during actual operation.

Claims (2)

1. An uncontaminated, non-seizable pointing device "mouse" containing a case of a special trihedral prismatic geometric shape with an optimally selected angle of inclination of the side faces relative to the horizontal, with a special dust and / or dirt-repellent surface coating, with intensifiers of the self-cleaning process installed in / on it, including including vibrators, and capable of self-cleaning from settling dust, the chipset, proximity sensors of the user's hand and / or one or more video cameras that track the position of the user of a designer’s hand, characterized in that at least two propulsors and at least one means of turning are installed in / on its body, as well as drives ensuring their operability, which allow the mouse to independently move forward, backward, left, right, diagonally , rotate and turn around in one place relative to the supporting surface and / or the user, thereby providing the “mouse” the opportunity to move behind the user's hand without contact with human skin when it is mutually The action with the computer, to which the "mouse" is connected. 2. The pointing device "mouse" according to claim 1, characterized in that the drives of the propulsion devices and means or means of performing rotation are controlled by the chipset of the mouse, and the chipset itself controls the drives based on data supplied to it by proximity sensors of the user's hand and / or one or several video cameras tracking the position of the user's hand, depending on the position of this hand relative to the body of the mouse.

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