Computer input device with digit support and natural position actuators

Computer input device with finger support and natural position starter

This creation describes the computer input device; and more clearly describes the computer mouse.

With the gradual generalization of graphical computer interfaces, such as those provided by Washington's Ledermont and Microsoft's Windows 98, the computer mouse has become an important tool for interacting with computers. Even so, some work has been done to improve the mouse to minimize the fatigue of the user's hand while allowing the user to have the highest accuracy when positioning a cursor on the screen.

For example, current computer mice do not provide sufficient support for the computer user's little finger and ring finger. In particular, when a user places his index finger and middle finger on the main mouse button and the sub-mouse button, respectively, there is no mouse in the prior art for the distal phalanx of the ring finger and the little finger of the user (ie, The finger) provides vertical support. Instead, when a user places the middle finger on the sub-button to hold a mouse, the user's ring finger is used to knead the substantially vertical sides of the mouse, and the little finger is left to traverse the The working surface is towed.

Some of the prior art mice provide support to the ring finger only when the user places their ring finger on the secondary button. In most instances, this positioning causes the user to simultaneously relax the middle finger and the ring finger to activate the secondary button.

As the importance of the mouse has increased, manufacturers have recently begun to add more brakes to their mice. In particular, manufacturers have added brakes to these sides of their mouse. The brakes are in the form of the side buttons, wherein the side buttons are pressed by the user's thumb, and the current design of the side buttons emphasizes placing the side button directly under the user's thumb, It is very similar to placing the top button under the user's finger. Although this natural design makes it easy to activate the button, the design prevents the "kneading" of the mouse during mouse movement.

The mouse manufacturer has also begun to include a pressable and rotatable roller on the top of its mouse to perform the scrolling function. The surfaces of the rollers are typically smooth or have been implanted with wide spaced ridges or ridges. While these designs have provided sufficient performance, they do not provide an optimized surface friction range for rotation.

If so, a modified mouse is needed that provides support for the user's hands and fingers while allowing the buttons to be kneaded and to activate the mouse. In addition, an improved mouse wheel is needed to improve the friction between the user's finger and the roller.

A mouse has a sufficient width to support the distal phalanx of a user's ring finger and little finger while the user's middle finger is placed on a secondary button of the mouse. The mouse also provides at least one side button that positions the side button so that the user's thumb does not touch the side button during "kneading" the mouse, but the button can be easily used. In addition, the mouse provides a roller with a plurality of ribs to increase friction between the user's fingers and the roller.

It is intended to provide a short, general description of a suitable computing environment in conjunction with Figure 1 and the related discussion in which the present authoring can be performed in the computing environment. Although not specifically required, the general content of the computer-executable instructions (such as a program module) executed on a personal computer will explain the creation or at least a part of the creation. As usual, program modules include routines, objects, components, data structures, etc., perform special tasks or perform special summary data types. In addition, those who are familiar with the art will be aware of other computer system architectures, including handheld devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, Road PC, mini computer, mainframe computer...etc. The authoring can also be practiced in a decentralized computing environment in which work is performed by remote processing devices that are linked by a communications network. In a decentralized computing environment, program modules can be located in regional and remote memory storage devices.

Referring to Figure 1, a representative system for performing the present creation includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a conventional personal computer 20 and including a processing unit (CPU) 21, a system memory 22, and a System bus bar 23, wherein system bus bar 23 couples different system components, including system memory 22 coupled to processing unit 21. The system bus bar 23 can be any of the following bus bar structure types, including a memory bus bar or memory controller, a peripheral device bus bar, and an area utilizing any of the various bus bar structures. Bus bar. The system memory 22 includes a read only memory (ROM) 24 and a random access memory (RAM) 25. A basic input/output (BIOS) 26 is stored in the ROM 24, where the BIOS 26 includes the basic routine and assists in the transfer of information between components within the personal computer 20, such as during startup. The personal computer 20 further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading or writing in a hard disk (not shown); a disk drive 28 for reading and writing in the removable disk 29 And an optical disc drive 30 for reading and writing on a removable optical disc 31 (such as a CD-ROM or other optical medium). The hard disk drive 27, the magnetic disk drive 28, and the optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus bar 23 via a hard disk drive interface 32, a disk drive interface 33, and a disk drive interface 34, respectively. The disk drives and the associated computer readable medium provide non-volatile storage, data structures, program modules and other materials for computer readable instructions to the personal computer 20.

Although the representative environment described herein uses the hard disk, the removable disk 29, and the removable optical disk 31, it should be known to those skilled in the art that the representative work can also be performed. Other types of computer-readable media are used in the environment, where the computer-readable media stores a computer-accessible material such as a magnetic cassette, a flash memory card, a digital video disk, and a white nuolicassette, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), etc.

A plurality of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, disk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operating system 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules 37, and program data 38. A user can input commands and information into the personal computer 20 via the area input device 0, such as a keyboard 40, indicator device 42, and a microphone 43. Other input devices (not shown) may include a joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner or the like. The and other input devices are often coupled to the processing unit 21 via a serial port interface 46, wherein the serial port interface 46 is coupled to the system bus bar 23; however, the other input devices can also be coupled to other interfaces via On the processing unit 21, it is like a sound card, a parallel port, a game box or a universal serial bus (USB). A supervisor 47 or other type of display element is also coupled to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as a video interface card 48. In addition to the supervisor 47, the personal computer can typically include other peripheral output devices, such as a speaker 45 and a printer (not shown).

The personal computer 20 can be logically coupled to one or more remote computers (such as a remote computer 49) for operation in a network environment. The remote computer 49 can be another personal computer, a palm-sized device, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer-to-peer device, or other network node, and typically includes the above-described plurality or All of the components associated with personal computer 20, although only one memory storage device 50 is illustrated in FIG. The logical connections depicted in Figure 1 include a local area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network (WAN) 52 in the office, the enterprise's extensive network of computer networks, and the international Internet. The system is very common.

When the personal computer 20 is used in a LAN network environment, the personal computer 20 is connected to the local area network 51 via a web interface or interface card 53. When the personal computer 20 is used in a WAN environment, the personal computer 20 typically includes a data machine 54 or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network 52 (like the international Internet). The data machine 54 can be internal or external, which is coupled to the system bus 23 via a serial port interface 46. In a network environment, the program modules described in the personal computer 20 or related portions thereof may be stored in the remote memory storage devices. It will be appreciated that the network connections described are representative and other means for establishing a communication link between the computers may be utilized. For example, a wireless communication link can be established between one or more portions of the network.

In the system of the present creation, the indicator device 42 is a mouse, such as the mouse 100 of Figures 2-7. Figure 2 provides a prospective inspection of the mouse 100 in which a user's hand is placed on the mouse to illustrate the general alignment of the mouse features by the user's hand. Figure 3 provides a subsequent expected inspection of the mouse 100, which is also placed on the mouse by a user's hand.

In Figures 2 and 3, the mouse 100 includes a main button 102, a sub button 104, and a pushable and rotatable roller 106. With respect to the buttons and the depressible scroll wheel, when the buttons or scroll wheels are pressed, the switches respectively connected to the buttons and the scroll wheels are off. In one system, the outer surface of the roller 106 is constructed of an elastomeric material such as Santoprene or Krayton.

The mouse 100 also includes a housing 118 having a metacarpophalangeal ridge support 114 extending from the index finger to the little finger below the metacarpophalangeal ridge of the user's hand. In a general definition, the metacarpophalangeal ridge is the junction between the metacarpal bone of the hand and the nearest phalanx of the fingers.

In FIG. 2, it is also known that the mouse 100 includes a front side button 108, a rear side button 110, and a thumb "kneading" region 112 that is positioned below the side buttons 108 and 110. 3 illustrates that the mouse 100 also includes a support ramp 116 that provides a sloped surface to support the user's ring finger and the little finger's respective distal phalanx 117 and 119 while the user's middle finger is placed on the secondary button 104. on. Note that in the prior art mouse, the right side of the mouse is not tilted but is substantially vertical. This makes many prior art squirrels easier to lift, but the squirrels do not provide vertical support to the user's ring finger and the tip phalanx of the little finger.

Figure 4 provides a top inspection of the mouse 100, illustrating several ranges and locations that are advantageous for this creation. In Figure 4, the mouse 100 has a length 140 of between about 4.5 Inches (11.43 cm) and 5.5 Inches (13.97 cm), with one system having a length 140 of about 5.24 Inches (13.30 cm). The outer cover 118 is inclined upwardly from a front face 101 and a rear face 103 to a high point 142 which is at a distance 144 from the rear face 103 and a distance 146 from the front face 101. In the system of the present creation, the distance 144 is between 2.25 Inches (5.71 cm) and 2.75 Inches (6.98 cm), and the distance 144 is about 2.58 Inches (6.55 cm) in one system. The distance 146 is between 2.25 Inches (5.71 cm) and 2.75 Inches (6.98 cm), and the distance 146 is about 2.66 Inches (6.75 cm) in one system.

Support ramp 116 has a length 148 of between about 2.8 Inches (7.11 cm) and 3.4 Inches (8.63 cm) and has a length 148 of about 3.26 Inches (8.28 cm) in one system. The mouse 100 has a concave shape on the thumb kneading region 112 to ensure that the user's thumb engages the mouse 100 from a neutral position or from a position closer to the palm than the neutral position of the thumb. In this regard, the neutral position of the user's hand or any of the user's fingers is "when the user's hand has a balance between the flexor and extensor muscles" and "when the normal load associated with holding the object" This position is the case when the static load on the forearm muscle is small when compared. The creators have determined that the concave shape of the thumb kneading region shown in Figure 4 will generate less pressure on the user's hand during the kneading of the mouse.

A kneading width 150 is defined as a ring finger contact 152 from the thumb rolling region 112 to the support ramp 116, wherein the contact point 152 is a distal phalanx contact support slope 116 of a user's ring finger during kneading. The average point. The average point is based on the size of the hand, which ranges from the fifth percentile of a North American woman (representing a woman with a small hand to other women) to the 95th percentile of a North American male (representative) A male with a big hand for other men). Specifically, the average point is a point at which the hand of the North American adult has the same average hand size as the hand touches the mouse. In this regard, the North American adult has an average hand size of about 7.2 inches (18.29 cm) from the wrist to the middle finger. In these systems, the kneading width 150 is between 2.25 Inches (5.715 cm) and 2.95 Inches (7.493 cm), and the kneading width 150 is about 2.6 Inches (6.604 cm) in one system. .

The main button 102, the sub button 104, and the roller 16 have average contact points 154, 156, and 158, respectively. With respect to the main button 102 and the roller 106, the average contact points 154 and 158 respectively represent the point at which the average user's distal phalanx contacts the button or the roller. With respect to the secondary button 104, the average contact point 156 represents the point of the middle finger of the average hand whose distal phalanges contact the secondary button 104. Contact points 154 and 156 are at a distance 160 from the front face 101 of mouse 100. Contact point 158 is at a distance 162 from front 101. In one system, the distance 160 is approximately 1.06 Inches (2.69 cm) and the distance 162 is approximately 1.12 Inches (2.84 cm).

As shown in the previous inspection of FIG. 5, the contact point 158 is separated by a distance 164 from the contact point 156 and separated by a distance 166 from the contact point 154. In one system, the distances 164 and 166 are both about 0.63 Inches (1.60 cm). Contact points 154, 156, and 158 are raised from the working surface by distances 168, 170, and 172, respectively. In these several systems of the creation, the distance 168 is in the range of 1.1 Inches (2.79 cm) to 1.4 Inches (3.55 cm), and the distance 170 is about 1.0 Inches (2.54 cm) to 2.0 Inches (5.08). Within the range of centimeters). In one system, the distances 168, 170, and 172 are approximately 1.24 Inches (3.14 cm), 1.0 Inches (2.54 cm), and 1.31 Inches (3.32 cm), respectively. Note that any of the buttons 102 and 104 can be pressed to press the buttons, and the contact points discussed above represent an average hand whose fingers are most likely to contact the mouse.

Figure 6 is an inspection of the side of the thumb 100 of the mouse. In FIG. 6, a thumb contact point 174 is displayed in the thumb kneading region 112. The thumb contact point 174 is the average point of contact of the distal phalanx of the thumb when a user's thumb kneads the mouse 100. In Figure 6, the thumb contact point 174 is at a height 176 above the working surface and a distance 178 from the front of the mouse 100. In one system of the present creation, the height 176 is about 0.44 inches (1.12 cm) and the distance 178 is about 2.25 inches (5.71 cm). The height 176 is selected such that the side of the user's thumb whose distal phalanx does not contact the working surface.

Note that point 174 is below side buttons 108 and 110. This allows the user to knead the mouse 100 without risking the activation of any of the side buttons. In effect, the bottom of the button 110 is positioned at a height 180 above the working surface to provide a sufficient distance to the entire thumb of the user in the kneading region 112 so that when the distal phalanx of the thumb is When the region 112 is kneaded, the user's thumb does not touch the button 110. In the various systems of the present creation, the height 180 is in the range of about 0.69 Inches (1.75 cm) to 1.8 Inches (4.57 cm), and in one system the height 180 is about 0.79 Inches (2.00 cm).

The button 108 of Figure 6 includes a contact point 182 that is a point at which the average user's hand contacts the button 108 to activate the button. The contact point 182 is positioned at a height 184 above the working surface and a distance 186 from the front 101 of the mouse 100. In these several systems of the creation, the height 184 is in the range of from about 0.85 Inches (2.16 cm) to 1.15 Inches (2.92 cm). In one system, the height 184 is about 0.95 Inches (2.41 cm) and the distance 186 is about 1.78 Inches (4.54 cm).

Button 110 includes a contact point 188 positioned at a height 190 above the working surface and a distance 192 from front 101. In some systems, the height 190 is in the range of about 1.03 inches (2.62 cm) to 1.33 inches (3.38 cm). In one system, the height 190 is about 1.13 Inches (2.87 cm) and the distance 192 is about 1.927 Inches (4.89 cm).

The buttons 108 and 110 together form a button shape 194 which is also referred to as a formed set of buttons when a user's index finger is placed on the contact point 154 of FIG. 5 and when its thumb is placed in FIG. At the point of contact 174, the contour of a button shape 194 is drawn to substantially fit and match the natural space between the user's index finger and thumb. The front of the button 108 is at a distance 196 from the front of the mouse 100, and the rear of the button 110 is at a distance 198 from the front of the mouse 100 to provide a length 200 to the button region 194. . In the system of this creation, the distance 198 is between 2.05 Inches (5.21 cm) and 4.05 Inches (10.29 cm), and the distance 200 is between 0.8 Inches (2.03 cm) and 2.8 Inches (7.11 cm). In one system, the distances 196, 198, and 200 are approximately 1.25 Inches (3.17 cm), 3.37 Inches (8.56 cm), and 2.12 Inches (5.38 cm), respectively.

Button 110 has a button height that extends from a lower end at height 180 to a higher end at height 202. In several systems, the height 202 is in the range of about 1.4 Inches (3.56 cm) to 1.9 Inches (4.83 cm). In one system, the height 202 is about 1.5 Inches (3.81 cm) and the height 180 is about 0.788 Inches (2.00 cm) to provide a button height of about 0.712 Inches (1.81 cm) to the button 110.

Figure 6 also illustrates the high point 142 of the metacarpophalangeal ridge support 114 at a position above the height 204 of the working surface. The height 204 is between about 1.6 Inches (4.06 cm) and 1.9 Inches (4.83 cm), and in one system the height 204 is about 1.7 Inches (4.32 cm).

Figure 7 provides a side view of the mouse 100 illustrating the support ramp 116. The support ramp 116 extends from a point above the height 240 of the work surface to the work surface. In one system, the height 240 is approximately 0.75 Inches (1.91 cm). The contact point 152 in the support ramp 116 is located at a height 242 above the working surface and a distance 246 from the front of the mouse 100. In one system, height 242 and distance 246 are approximately 0.38 Inches (0.97 cm) and 1.5 Inches (3.81 cm), respectively.

The contact point 152 is on the support ramp 116 such that the slope supports the user's ring finger and the little finger's respective distal phalanx, and at the same time the side of the user's little finger's distal phalanx can contact the working surface. The support ramp 116 eliminates the dragging of the ring finger and the little finger across the work surface to improve the handling of the mouse 100. The width of the support ramp 116 allows the user to temporarily store the work surface with his little finger, if necessary, to obtain tactile information about the range as the mouse is moving over a range. It also gives the user more control when determining the speed of movement of the mouse.

The position of the contact point is also selected such that the ring finger does not interfere with the activation of the sub button 104. In particular, because the contact point 152 is sufficiently far below the ridgeline 250 of the secondary button 104, the user's ring finger does not touch the button 104. In one system, the ridge 250 is attached to a height 244 of about 0.66 Inches (1.68 cm) which causes the ridge line to be about 0.28 Inches (0.71 cm) above the contact point 152.

Figure 8 is an inspection of the side of the roller 106 under isolation. In one system, the roller 106 has an outer diameter 398 which is about 0.8 Inches (2.03 cm) to 1.2 Inches (3.05 cm) and has an outer diameter 398 of about 1.0 Inches (2.54 cm) in one system. The outer circumference has a surface consisting of a series of ribs or rounded ridges. In one system, there are 120 ribs separating the centers of the ribs in three levels around the circumference of the roller 106.

Figure 9 provides an enlarged side view of a portion 400 of one of the systems of the roller 106, detailing the two ribs 402 and 404. Each rib extends from a center 406 to two respective vertices 408 and 410, giving each rib a height 412. In one system, the height 412 is about 0.02 Inches (0.05 cm).

The cross-sectional shape of each of the ribs can be illustrated in terms of the cross-sectional shape of the rib 404, which is a combination of three adjacent curves. The first curve is a quarter circle 414 that begins at center 406 and continues to a point 416 at half its height of rib 404. The quarter circle 414 is based on a circle in which the center of the circle is about 0.16 inches (0.41 cm) above the center 406. The second curve is a semicircle 418 extending from point 416 to a point 420 on the other side of the rib 404 having a height equal to 1.5 times the height of the rib 404. The semicircle 418 is based on a circle in which the center of the circle is at a position 0.16 under below the apex 410. The third curve is another quarter circle 422 that extends from point 420 to an adjacent center 424. The quarter circle 422 is based on a circle in which the center of the circle is about 0.16 inches (0.41 cm) above the adjacent center 424.

The ribs provided on the roller 106 increase the friction between the roller and the user's finger, but do not create a surface that is uncomfortable for the user. Moreover, because the surface has a large number of ribs, the user's finger feels like touching a non-changing surface, rather than touching a surface of a wide spaced ridge or ridge as in the prior art. As such, the total number and size of the ribs of the present creation provide increased friction, making it easier to control the roller 106; it also provides an improved tactile sensation for more enjoyable use of the roller.

Although only one rib shape is shown in Figure 9, other rib shapes are also within the scope of this creation, with other rib shapes including more or less dome shapes, and having more or fewer dimples. The shape of the place.

Although the author has explained the creation of a right-handed mouse, it is known to those skilled in the art that a left-handed mouse is also within the essence of this creation. This type of left-handed mouse is a replica of the right-handed mouse.

Although this work has been described in terms of special systems, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the form and details of the creation can be changed without departing from the essence and scope of the creation.

<p>20. . . personal computer</p><p>twenty one. . . Central processing unit</p><p>twenty two. . . System memory</p><p>twenty three. . . System bus</p><p>twenty four. . . Read only memory</p><p>25. . . Random access memory</p><p>26. . . Basic input/output</p><p>27. . . Hard disk drive</p><p>28. . . Disk drive</p><p>29. . . Removable disk</p><p>30. . . CD player</p><p>31. . . Portable disc</p><p>32. . . Hard drive interface</p><p>33. . . Disk drive interface</p><p>34. . . CD player interface</p><p>35. . . working system</p><p>36. . . application</p><p>37. . . Program module</p><p>38. . . Program data</p><p>40. . . keyboard</p><p>42. . . Indicator device</p><p>43. . . loudspeaker</p><p>45. . . horn</p><p>46. . . Sequence interface</p><p>47. . . Monitor</p><p>48. . . Video interface card</p><p>49. . . Remote computer</p><p>50. . . Memory storage device</p><p>51. . . Regional network</p><p>52. . . Wide area network</p><p>53. . . Interface card</p><p>54. . . Data machine</p><p>100. . . mouse</p><p>101. . . front</p><p>102. . . Main button</p><p>103. . . Behind</p><p>104. . . Secondary button</p><p>106. . . Can be pressed with a rotatable wheel</p><p>108. . . Front side button</p><p>110. . . Rear button</p><p>112. . . Thumbtack kneading area</p><p>114. . . Metacarpophalangeal support</p><p>116. . . Supporting slope</p><p>117. . . Terminal phalanx</p><p>118. . . Cover</p><p>119. . . Terminal phalanx</p><p>140. . . length</p><p>142. . . High Point</p><p>144. . . distance</p><p>146. . . distance</p><p>148. . . length</p><p>150. . . Kneading width</p><p>152. . . Ring finger touch point</p><p>154. . . Average contact point</p><p>156. . . Average contact point</p><p>158. . . Average contact point</p><p>160. . . distance</p><p>162. . . distance</p><p>164. . . distance</p><p>166. . . distance</p><p>168. . . distance</p><p>170. . . distance</p><p>172. . . distance</p><p>174. . . Finger contact point</p><p>176. . . height</p><p>178. . . distance</p><p>180. . . height</p><p>182. . . Contact point</p><p>184. . . height</p><p>186. . . distance</p><p>188. . . Contact point</p><p>190. . . height</p><p>192. . . distance</p><p>194. . . Button shape</p><p>196. . . distance</p><p>198. . . distance</p><p>200. . . distance</p><p>202. . . height</p><p>204. . . height</p><p>240. . . height</p><p>242. . . height</p><p>244. . . height</p><p>246. . . distance</p><p>250. . . Ridge line</p><p>398. . . Outer diameter</p><p>400. . . section</p><p>402. . . rib cage</p><p>404. . . rib cage</p><p>406. . . center</p><p>408. . . vertex</p><p>410. . . vertex</p><p>412. . . height</p><p>414. . . Quarter circle</p><p>416. . . point</p><p>418. . . semicircle</p><p>420. . . point</p><p>422. . . Quarter circle</p><p>424. . . Adjacent center</p>

Figure 1. This is a plan for the creation of a general-purpose computing environment. Figure 2 shows an expected inspection of a mouse, which shows that one hand holds the mouse; Figure 3 shows a slip of the creation. One of the second expected inspections of the mouse, which shows that the hand is held by the mouse; Figure 4 is a top view of a mouse; Figure 5 is a front view of a mouse. Inspect; Figure 6 is a side view of a mouse; Figure 7 is a second side of the creation of a mouse; Figure 8, for the creation of a side of the wheel under the isolation Inspection; Figure 9, is an enlarged side view of the roller of Figure 8, illustrating the ribs of the roller.