Wireless mouse component parts. In terms of optical mice...

The mouse is one of the tools that can be connected to a computer to manipulate the cursor. The cursor, a flickering rectangle of light on the screen, indicates where the operator's next action will be located. When a letter is typed, it appears on the screen at the location marked by the cursor. The cursor control keys allow the operator to move the cursor across the screen, up and down.

But the rotating mouse on the operator's desk (below) can move the cursor around the screen in any direction at the speed of a hand. Buttons on the mouse allow the operator to select options from the OSD or draw lines on the screen.

There are two types of mice - mechanical and optical; any easily fits in the human palm. When a mechanical mouse (right) moves across a surface, its internal mechanism measures the distance, direction of movement, and tells the computer to repeat that movement on the monitor. The optical mouse (bottom left) performs this task using light rays to determine the direction of the mouse on the grid. The joystick (bottom right) serves as a control mechanism in many video games.

Mouse movement and cursor

Connected to the keyboard by electrical wires, the mouse causes the cursor to imitate its movements on the screen at any distance and direction. Therefore, when moving the mouse, the operator must look at the screen. Since the mouse can move in any direction, forming curved and diagonal lines, it is an excellent drawing tool.

How an optical mouse "sees"

The optical mouse is arranged on a special grid. As the mouse moves over the grid, light from the LED, a Light Emitting Diode, enters the grid. The lenses and mirror send beams to a sensor, or photodetector, which marks the coordinates of the lines passed.

How a mechanical mouse works

On the inside of a mechanical mouse, there is a brake ball associated with slotted discs (brown) that rotates as the mouse is moved. An LED on each disk emits light, while a photodiode, on the other hand, counts the pulses of light passing through the slots in the rotating disk. These pulses are converted into cursor movement on the screen.

Inside the joystick

Like a mouse, a joystick detects movements in two directions and coordinates signals. The handle passes through the movable axle (center) and enters the right hand corner of the lever (bottom). Two electronic devices, called variable resistors, send signals that change the positions of the axis and lever and cause the cursor to move.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Computer mice or mice, they are called differently, there are a huge number. According to their functional purpose, they can be divided into classes: some are designed for games, others are for ordinary work, and others are for drawing in graphic editors. In this article I will try to talk about the types and design of computer mice.

But for starters, I propose to go back a few decades, just at the time when they came up with this complex device. The first computer mouse appeared back in 1968, and was invented by an American scientist named Douglas Engelbart. The mouse was developed by an American agency space research(NASA), which gave a patent for the invention to Douglas, but at one point lost any interest in the development. Why - read on.

The world's first mouse was a heavy wooden box with a wire, which, in addition to its weight, was also extremely inconvenient to use. For obvious reasons, they decided to call it "mouse", and a little later they artificially came up with a decoding of this kind of abbreviation. Yep, now the mouse is nothing more than a "Manually Operated User Signal Encoder", that is, a device with which the user can manually encode a signal.

Without exception, all computer mice include a number of components: body, printed circuit board with contacts, mikriks (buttons), scroll wheel(s) - all of them are present in one form or another in any modern mouse. But you are probably tormented by the question - what then distinguishes them from each other (besides the fact that there are gaming, non-gaming, office, etc.), why did they come up with so many different types, see for yourself:

1. Mechanical
2. Optical
3. Laser
4. Trackball mice
5. induction
6. Gyroscopic

The fact is that each of the above types of computer mice appeared at different times and uses different laws of physics. Accordingly, each of them has its own disadvantages and advantages, which will certainly be discussed later in the text. It should be noted that only the first three types will be considered in most detail, the rest will not be so detailed, in view of the fact that they are less popular.

Mechanical mice - traditional ball models, relatively large, requiring constant cleaning of the ball for effective work. Dirt and small particles can get between the rotating ball and the body and need to be cleaned. It won't work without a mat. About 15 years ago it was the only one in the world. I will write about it in the past tense, because it is already a rarity.

At the bottom of the mechanical mouse there was a hole that covered a swivel plastic ring. Under it was a heavy ball. This ball was made of metal and covered with rubber. Under the ball were two plastic rollers and a roller, which pressed the ball against the rollers. When moving the mouse, the ball rotated the roller. Up or down - one roller rotated, to the right or left - the other. Since gravity played a decisive role in such models, such a device did not work in zero gravity, so NASA abandoned it.

If the movement was difficult, both rollers rotated. At the end of each plastic roller, an impeller was installed, like in a mill, only many times smaller. On one side of the impeller was a light source (LED), on the other - a photocell. When moving the mouse, the impeller was spinning, the photocell read the number of light pulses that hit it, and then transmitted this information to the computer.

Since the impeller had many blades, the movement of the pointer on the screen was perceived as smooth. Optical-mechanical mice (they are simply "mechanical") suffered from great inconvenience, the fact is that they had to be disassembled and cleaned periodically. The ball in the process of work dragged any debris into the case, often the rubber surface of the ball became so dirty that the movement rollers simply slipped and the mouse was buggy.

For the same reason, such a mouse simply needed a pad for correct operation, otherwise the ball would slip and get dirty faster.

Optical and laser mice

In optical mice, you do not need to disassemble and clean anything., since they do not have a rotating ball, they work on a different principle. AT optical mouse LED sensor is used. Such a mouse works like a small camera that scans the surface of the table and "takes pictures" of it, the camera manages to take about a thousand of such photos per second, and some models even more.

The data of these images is processed by a special microprocessor on the mouse itself and sends a signal to the computer. The advantages are obvious - such a mouse does not need a pad, it is light in weight and can scan almost any surface. Almost? Yes, everything except glass and a mirror surface, as well as velvet (velvet absorbs light very strongly).

A laser mouse is very similar to an optical mouse, but its principle of operation differs in that laser instead of LED. This is a more advanced model of an optical mouse, it requires much less power to work, the accuracy of reading data from the working surface is much higher than that of an optical mouse. Here it can work even on glass and mirror surfaces.

Actually, laser mouse is a kind of optical, since in both cases an LED is used, just in the second case it emits spectrum invisible to the eye.

So, the principle of operation of an optical mouse differs from that of a ball mouse. .

The process starts with a laser or optical (in the case of an optical mouse) diode. Diode emits invisible light, the lens focuses it to a point equal in thickness to a human hair, the beam is reflected from the surface, then the sensor catches this light. The sensor is so precise that it can pick up even small surface irregularities.

The secret is that precisely the irregularities allow the mouse to notice even the slightest movement. The pictures taken by the camera are compared, the microprocessor compares each subsequent picture with the previous one. If the mouse has moved, the difference between the pictures will be marked.

Analyzing these differences, the mouse determines the direction and speed of any movement. If the difference between shots is significant, the cursor moves quickly. But even when stationary, the mouse continues to take pictures.

Trackball mice

Trackball mouse - a device that uses a convex ball - "Trackball". The trackball device is very similar to the device of a mechanical mouse, only the ball in it is on top or on the side. The ball can be rotated, and the device itself remains in place. The ball causes a pair of rollers to rotate. The new trackballs use optical motion sensors.

Not everyone may need a device called "Trackball", in addition, its cost cannot be called low, it seems that the minimum starts from 1400 rubles.

induction mice

Induction models use a special rug that works on the principle graphics tablet. Induction mice have good accuracy and do not need to be properly oriented. An induction mouse can be wireless or inductively powered, in which case it does not require a battery like a conventional wireless mouse.

I have no idea who would need such devices that are expensive and hard to find on the open market. And why, who knows? Maybe there are some advantages over conventional "rodents"?

Computer mouse is a computer controller. The manipulator received this name for its external resemblance to a natural rodent. Today, it is an integral attribute of a PC and allows you to interact with it most effectively.

Before the advent operating systems with GUI, the mouse was not as widespread. Computer control was carried out by entering commands through the keyboard, and working on a computer required high qualifications. In principle, you can get by with a graphical interface with one keyboard, but this will require learning the necessary key combinations for control, which is unacceptable for an ordinary user, and the mouse is a very simple device, and it is not difficult to learn how to work with it. The simplest mouse has a pair of buttons and a wheel between them, with the help of which some action is performed when working with a computer. The mouse is connected to the computer using a wire - wired mice, or wirelessly - the so-called wireless mice.

The principle of the mouse.

The basic principle of a computer mouse is to convert movement into a control signal. When you move the mouse over a surface (most often a table), it generates an electronic signal that tells the computer the direction of movement, distance, and speed. And on the monitor screen, the user sees the movement of a special pointer (cursor) in accordance with the movement of the mouse.

Types of computer mice.

For a long time, mechanical mice were used to control the computer, in which a rubberized metal ball was used as a motion sensor.

But progress does not stand still today, the most common computer mice are optical and laser, which have higher positioning accuracy.

AT optical mice to convert motion to electrical signal a light source (LED) located on the lower surface of the manipulator and a sensor are used. An optical mouse scans the surface on which it moves, converts the scan results and transfers them to a computer.

AT laser mouse, a laser is used as an optical source, which makes it possible to increase the positioning accuracy. In addition, the laser mouse is unpretentious to the quality of the surface on which it moves.

There are also more complex and expensive manipulators - touch, induction, gyroscopic mice, which have a different principle for converting movement into a control signal.

The mouse perceives its movement as working plane(usually - on the surface of the table) and transmits this information to the computer. A program running on a computer, in response to mouse movement, performs an action on the screen that corresponds to the direction and distance of this movement. In different interfaces (for example, in windowed ones), with the help of a mouse, the user controls a special cursor - a pointer - a manipulator of interface elements. Sometimes it is used to enter commands with the mouse without the participation of visible elements of the program interface: by analyzing mouse movements. This method is called "mouse gestures" (eng. mouse gestures).

In addition to the motion sensor, the mouse has one or more buttons, as well as additional control details (scroll wheels, potentiometers, joysticks, trackballs, keys, etc.), the action of which is usually associated with the current position of the cursor (or components of a specific interface) .

The mouse control components are very much the intent of the chord keyboard (i.e., the touch keyboard). The mouse, originally created as an addition to the chord keyboard, actually replaced it.

Additional independent devices are built into some mice - watches, calculators, phones.

Story

The first computer to include a mouse was the Xerox 8010 Star Information System minicomputer ( English), introduced in 1981. The Xerox mouse had three buttons and cost $400, which equates to about $930 in 2009 inflation-adjusted prices. In 1983, Apple released its own one-button mouse for the Lisa computer, which was reduced to $25. The mouse gained wide popularity due to its use in Apple Macintosh computers and later in Windows for IBM PC compatible computers.

Displacement sensors

In the process of "evolution" of the computer mouse, motion sensors have undergone the greatest changes.

direct drive

First computer mouse

The original design of the mouse movement sensor, invented by Douglas Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute in 1963, consisted of two perpendicular wheels protruding from the body of the device. When moving the mouse wheel, each one rotated in its own dimension.

This design had many drawbacks and was soon replaced by a mouse with a ball drive.

ball drive

In a ball drive, the movement of the mouse is transmitted to a rubberized steel ball protruding from the body (its weight and rubber coating provide good grip on the work surface). Two rollers pressed against the ball record its movements in each of the measurements and transmit them to sensors that convert these movements into electrical signals.

The main drawback of the ball drive is the contamination of the ball and the removing rollers, leading to the mouse jamming and the need for periodic cleaning (this problem was partly smoothed out by metallizing the rollers). Despite the shortcomings, the ball drive dominated for a long time, successfully competing with alternative sensor circuits. At present, ball mice have been almost completely replaced by second-generation optical mice.

There were two options for sensors for the ball drive.

Contact sensors

The contact sensor is a textolite disk with radial metal tracks and three contacts pressed against it. Such a sensor went to the ball mouse "inherited" from a direct drive.

The main disadvantages of contact sensors are contact oxidation, rapid wear and low accuracy. Therefore, over time, all mice switched to non-contact optocoupler sensors.

optocoupler sensor

Mechanical computer mouse device

The optocoupler consists of a double optocouplers- an LED and two photodiodes (usually infrared) and a disk with holes or radial slots that blocks the light flux as it rotates. When the mouse is moved, the disk rotates, and a signal is taken from the photodiodes with a frequency corresponding to the speed of the mouse movement.

The second photodiode, displaced at a certain angle or having a displaced system of holes/slots on the sensor disk, serves to determine the direction of rotation of the disk (the light on it appears/disappears earlier or later than on the first, depending on the direction of rotation).

First generation optical mice

Optical sensors are designed to directly track the movement of the working surface relative to the mouse. The exclusion of the mechanical component provided higher reliability and made it possible to increase the resolution of the detector.

The first generation of optical sensors was introduced various schemes optocoupler sensors with indirect optical coupling - light-emitting and perceiving reflection from the working surface of light-sensitive diodes. Such sensors had one thing in common - they required a special hatching (perpendicular or diamond-shaped lines) on the working surface (mouse pad). On some rugs, these hatchings were made with paints that were invisible in ordinary light (such rugs could even have a pattern).

The disadvantages of such sensors are usually called:

• the need to use a special mat and the impossibility of replacing it with another. Among other things, rugs of different optical mice often were not interchangeable and were not produced separately;
• the need for a certain orientation of the mouse relative to the mat, in otherwise the mouse did not work properly;
• mouse sensitivity to mat contamination (after all, it is in contact with the user's hand) - the sensor did not perceive shading on dirty areas of the mat;
• high cost of the device.

In the USSR, optical mice of the first generation, as a rule, were found only in foreign specialized computer systems.

Optical LED mice

Mouse with optical sensor

Second generation optical sensor chip

The second generation of optical mice has a more complex device. A special LED is installed at the bottom of the mouse, which illuminates the surface on which the mouse moves. A miniature camera "photographs" the surface more than a thousand times per second, transmitting this data to the processor, which draws conclusions about the change in coordinates. Optical mice of the second generation have a huge advantage over the first: they do not require a special mat and work on almost any surface except mirror or transparent; even on PTFE (including black). They also don't need to be cleaned.

It was assumed that such mice would work on an arbitrary surface, but it soon became clear that many models sold (especially the first widely sold devices) were not so indifferent to the patterns on the rug. In some parts of the drawing GPU can make a lot of mistakes, which leads to chaotic movements of the pointer that did not respond real movement. For mice prone to such failures, it is necessary to choose a rug with a different pattern or even with a plain coating.

Some models are also prone to detecting small movements when the mouse is at rest, which is manifested by the trembling of the pointer on the screen, sometimes with a tendency to slide in one direction or another.

Dual sensor mouse

Second-generation sensors are gradually improving, and these days, mice that are prone to failures are much less common. In addition to improving the sensors, some models are equipped with two displacement sensors at once, which makes it possible, by analyzing changes in two areas of the surface at once, to exclude possible mistakes. Such mice are sometimes able to work on glass, plexiglass and mirror surfaces (which other mice do not work on).

There are also mouse pads specifically designed for optical mice. For example, a rug that has a silicone film on the surface with a suspension of sequins (it is assumed that optical sensor defines movements on such a surface much more clearly).

The disadvantage of this mouse is the complexity of its simultaneous work with graphic tablets, the latter, due to their hardware features, sometimes lose the true direction of the signal when the pen moves and begin to distort the trajectory of the tool when drawing. When using mice with a ball drive, such deviations are not observed. To eliminate this problem, it is recommended to use laser manipulators. Also, some people refer to the disadvantages of optical mice as the glow of such mice even when the computer is turned off. Since most inexpensive optical mice have a translucent body, it lets through the red light of the LEDs, which makes it difficult to fall asleep if the computer is in the bedroom. This happens if the PS / 2 and USB ports are powered from the standby voltage line; majority motherboards allow to change it by jumper +5V<->+5VSB, but in this case it will not be possible to turn on the computer from the keyboard.

Optical laser mice

Laser sensor

In recent years, a new, more advanced type of optical sensor has been developed that uses a semiconductor laser for illumination.

Little is known about the shortcomings of such sensors, but their advantages are known:

• higher reliability and resolution
• the absence of a noticeable glow (the sensor is sufficiently weakly illuminated by a laser in the visible or, possibly, infrared range)
• low power consumption

induction mice

Graphics tablet with induction mouse

Induction mice use a special pad that works like a graphics tablet or are actually included with a graphics tablet. Some tablets incorporate a manipulator similar to a mouse with a glass crosshair, working on the same principle, but slightly different in implementation, which allows you to achieve increased positioning accuracy by increasing the diameter of the sensitive coil and moving it out of the device into the user's field of view.

Induction mice have good accuracy and do not need to be properly oriented. An induction mouse can be “wireless” (a tablet is connected to the computer on which it works), and have induction power, therefore, do not require batteries, like conventional wireless mice.

The mouse included with the graphics tablet will save some space on the table (provided that the tablet is constantly on it).

Induction mice are rare, expensive, and not always convenient. It is almost impossible to change a mouse for a graphic tablet to another one (for example, more suitable for the hand, etc.).

Gyro mice

In addition to vertical and horizontal scrolling, mouse joysticks can be used to alternate pointer movement or adjustments, similar to wheels.

trackballs

induction mice

Induction mice are most often powered by an induction pad or graphics tablet. But such mice are only partly wireless - a tablet or pad is still connected with a cable. Thus, the cable does not interfere with moving the mouse, but it also does not allow you to work at a distance from the computer, as with a conventional wireless mouse.

Additional functions

Some mouse manufacturers add notification functions to the mouse about any events occurring on the computer. In particular, Genius and Logitech are releasing models that notify you of the presence of unread emails in mailbox glowing LED or playing music through the mouse's built-in speaker.

There are known cases of placing a fan inside the mouse case to cool the user's hand with air flow through special holes during operation. Some gaming mice have small eccentrics built into the body of the mouse to provide a sense of vibration when shooting video games. An example of such models is the Logitech iFeel Mouse line of mice.

In addition, there are mini mice designed for laptop owners, which have small dimensions and weight.

Some wireless mice have the ability to work as a remote control (for example, Logitech MediaPlay). They have a slightly modified shape to work not only on the table, but also when held in the hand.

Advantages and disadvantages

The mouse has become the main coordinate input device due to the following features:

• Highly low price(compared to other devices like touch screens).
• The mouse is suitable for long-term use. In the early years of multimedia, filmmakers liked to show off the computers of the "future" with touch interfaces, but in reality, this type of input is rather tedious, since you have to keep your hands on weight.
• High accuracy cursor positioning. With the mouse (with the exception of some "unsuccessful" models) it is easy to hit the desired screen pixel.
• The mouse allows many different manipulations - double and triple clicks, drags, gestures, pressing one button while dragging another, etc. Therefore, in one hand, you can concentrate a large number of controls - multi-button mice allow you to control, for example, the browser without using the keyboard at all.

The disadvantages of a mouse are:

• Danger of carpal tunnel syndrome (not confirmed by clinical studies).
• To work, a flat, smooth surface of sufficient size is required (with the exception of perhaps gyroscopic mice).
• Vibration resistance. For this reason, the mouse is practically not used in military devices. The trackball requires less space to operate and does not require moving the hand, cannot be lost, has greater resistance to external influences, and is more reliable.

Mouse Grip Methods

Players distinguish between three main ways of grabbing the mouse.

• Fingers. Fingers lie flat on the buttons top part palm rests on the "heel" of the mouse. The lower part of the palm is on the table. The advantage is precise mouse movements.
• Claw-shaped. The fingers are bent and rest against the buttons only with their tips. "Heel" of the mouse in the center of the palm. The advantage is the convenience of clicks.
• Palm. The whole palm rests on the mouse, the "heel" of the mouse, as in the claw-like grip, rests against the center of the palm. The grip is more adapted to the sweeping movements of shooters.

Office mice (with the exception of small laptop mice) are usually equally suitable for all types of grip. Gaming mice, on the other hand, are usually optimized for one grip or another - so when buying an expensive mouse, it is recommended to find out your grip method.

Software support

A distinctive feature of mice as a class of devices is the good standardization of hardware

The mouse signal wire is sometimes seen as an interfering and limiting factor. Wireless mice lack this factor. However, wireless mice have a serious problem - along with the signal cable, they lose stationary power and are forced to have an autonomous one, from batteries or batteries that require recharging or replacement, and also increase the weight of the device.

Wireless mouse batteries can be recharged both outside the mouse and inside it (just like batteries in mobile phones). In the latter case, the mouse must be periodically connected to a stationary power supply via a cable, docking station or induction power pad.

v optical connection.

The first attempts were to introduce infrared communication between the mouse and a special receiving device, which, in turn, was connected to a computer port.

optical communication in practice, showed a major drawback: any obstacle between the mouse and the sensor interfered with the work.

v Radio communication.

Wireless Apple mouse Mighty Mouse

Radio communication between the mouse and the receiving device connected to the computer made it possible to get rid of the shortcomings of infrared communication and replaced it.

There are three generations of wireless mice. The first generation used the frequency bands intended for radio controlled toys (27 MHz). They have had low frequency interrogation (typically 20-50 Hz), unstable communication, mutual influence at a close location. Such mice had a curious problem: since the range of these mice was several meters, and organizations, as a rule, purchased the same type of equipment in batches, there were cases when the cursor on the computer screen was controlled by a mouse located even on the next floor. Such mice usually have a switch that allows you to select one of two RF channels, in most cases switching to the other channel solved the problem. Currently, first generation mice are no longer being produced.

Wireless mouse with dongle

Gigabyte Force M9 ICE Black Wireless Mouse with Laser Sensor

The second generation of radio mice used a free frequency range of 2.45 GHz and was based on highly integrated high-speed radio channels. In such solutions, it was possible to completely get rid of the "childhood diseases" of the first generation. The main disadvantage is the need for a special USB dongle, which contains the mouse receiver. Such a dongle occupies a USB slot on the computer. The loss of the dongle makes the mouse dead iron due to the incompatibility of radio communication methods different manufacturers. Mice of the second generation are the most massive at the present time.

The third generation of radio mice uses standard radio interfaces. As a rule, this Bluetooth or (much less often) other standard radio interfaces personal networks. Bluetooth mice do not need a special dongle because modern computers equipped with this interface. Another advantage of Bluetooth mice is that no special drivers are required. The disadvantage of Bluetooth is its high price and higher power consumption.

induction mice.

Induction mice most often have induction power from a special work area ("mat") or graphics tablet. But such mice are only partly wireless - a tablet or pad is still connected with a cable. Thus, the cable does not interfere with moving the mouse, but it also does not allow you to work at a distance from the computer, as with a conventional wireless mouse.

Since the end of the 20th century, the production of accessories specifically for computer game lovers has been gaining momentum. This trend has not bypassed computer mice. This subspecies differs from its usual office counterparts in greater sensitivity (up to 8200 dpi for the Razer Taipan), the presence of additional, individually adjustable buttons, a non-slip outer surface, and design. In gaming mice upper class the weight distribution is adjusted - this is necessary so that all the legs of the mouse are evenly loaded (so the mouse glides more smoothly).

Like any element of the computer, the mouse has become an object for modding.

Some mouse manufacturers add notification functions to the mouse about any events occurring on the computer. In particular, Genius and Logitech are releasing models that notify you of unread emails in your inbox by glowing an LED or playing music through the mouse's built-in speaker.

There are known cases of placing a fan inside the mouse case to cool the user's hand with air flow through special holes during operation. Some gaming mice have small eccentrics built into the body of the mouse to provide a sense of vibration when shooting video games. An example of such models is the Logitech iFeel Mouse line of mice.

In addition, there are mini mice designed for laptop owners, which have small dimensions and weight.

Some wireless mice have the ability to work as a remote control (for example, Logitech MediaPlay). They have a slightly modified shape to work not only on the table, but also when held in the hand.

v Advantages and disadvantages

The mouse has become the main coordinate input device due to the following features:

Very low price (compared to other devices like touch screens);

· The mouse is suitable for long-term use. In the early years of multimedia, filmmakers liked to show off the computers of the "future" with touch interfaces, but in reality this way of input is quite tedious, since you have to keep your hands on weight;

· High accuracy of cursor positioning. With the mouse (with the exception of some "unfortunate" models) it is easy to hit the desired screen pixel;

The mouse allows many different manipulations - double and triple clicks, drags, gestures, pressing one button while dragging another, etc. Therefore, a large number of controls can be concentrated in one hand - multi-button mice allow you to control, for example, the browser without using the keyboard at all .

The disadvantages of a mouse are:

Danger of carpal tunnel syndrome (not confirmed by clinical studies); [source not specified 365 days]

· It requires a flat, smooth surface of sufficient size (with the exception of gyroscopic mice);

Vibration resistant. For this reason, the mouse is practically not used in military devices. The trackball requires less space to operate and does not require moving the hand, cannot be lost, has greater resistance to external influences, and is more reliable.