CN2456224Y - Optical trackball device - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical trace ball device is composed of a casing with keys and a circular hole, a trace ball body in said hole, and an optical unit in said casing and with light emitting element for projecting light onto said trace ball body and reflecting part of light back to the surface of trace ball body. The scattering of the projected light by the smooth surface of the sphere is avoided, and the image on the surface of the sphere cannot be correctly captured and identified.

Description

Optical trackball device

The utility model relates to an optical trackball device.

The structure of the traditional optical trackball device 1, please refer to shown in Figure 1, mainly includes an upper casing 10 and a base 11, the upper casing 10 and the base 11 can be assembled into one, and the trackball is installed therein. The electronic components and circuits required for the normal operation of the device 1, and at least one button 12 and a circular opening 14 are provided at the appropriate position of the upper casing 10, and the size of the circular opening 14 is just enough to install a track Ball 20, and make the upper half of the track ball 20 protrude from the upper casing 10, for the user to touch the track ball 20, make it rotate according to the user's instructions, so that the device 1 is adjacent to the track ball 20 An optical device 30 installed at the installation position can capture the image reflected by the partial surface of the trackball 20, and then calculate the moving distance and direction of the trackball.

The structure of this traditional optical trackball device 1 has been disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,288,993 and No. 5,703,356. Please refer to FIG. to the trackball 20, and continuously capture the images presented on the partial surface of the rotating trackball 20 by means of an image capture element 32 thereon, and analyze and judge the captured images, and compare The difference between the captured image in real time and the previously captured image is used to calculate the moving distance and direction of the trackball, so that the cursor displayed on the computer monitor connected to the trackball device 1 can be moved according to the The speed and direction of the trackball move synchronously on the display. Therefore, whether the image captured by the trackball device 1 is correct or not will become an important factor directly affecting the synchronization between the trackball and the cursor.

Since the trackball device 1 is used for the user to control the position of the cursor on the display, does the trackball 20 rotate smoothly? Is it possible for the user to control it freely? That is to say, it has become the focus of the trackball device manufacturing and design industry. In general manufacturing and design, in order to make the trackball not easy to deform and easy to rotate, it is made of opaque hard plastic material to avoid deformation, and it is processed to have an extremely smooth surface to avoid deformation as much as possible. May reduce friction, making it turn more smoothly.

However, in this way, the surface of the trackball becomes too smooth, and the light source projected on the surface of the trackball by the light-emitting element 31 forms a scattering effect, causing the image capture element 32 to rotate the trackball 20. When continuously capturing images on a local surface, only strong reflections are captured, and the captured images cannot be analyzed and judged. Therefore, it is often impossible to accurately calculate the moving distance and direction of the trackball. The problem that the standard cannot be synchronized.

In view of the above-mentioned problem that the trackball and the cursor cannot be synchronized, although some enterprises use a special printing method to print black dots 21 arranged at equal intervals and evenly distributed on the surface of the trackball 20, please refer to Figure 2 As shown, in order to reduce the reflectivity of the surface of the trackball 20, the ability of the image capture element 32 to recognize the partial surface image of the rotating trackball 20 is increased. However, this method not only requires extremely high manufacturing costs, but also The ability to enhance the ability of the image capture unit 32 to recognize the image on the surface of the trackball 20 also has certain limitations depending on the smoothness of the surface of the sphere.

In view of the fact that the traditional trackball device often cannot accurately calculate the moving distance and direction of the trackball, and the problem of synchronization between the trackball and the cursor occurs, I have finally developed and designed a utility model after long-term research and experiments. A structural improvement of an optical trackball device.

The purpose of this utility model is to provide an optical trackball device that can accurately calculate the moving distance and direction of the trackball, ensure the synchronization between the trackball and the cursor, and has low friction and is easy to control and rotate.

The above-mentioned purpose of the utility model is achieved by the following technical solutions.

An optical trackball device, the trackball device is composed of an upper casing and a base, and electronic components required for its normal operation are installed in it, and the device also includes: at least one button, the The button is located on one end of the upper casing; a trackball; it is characterized in that:

The trackball is a circular sphere made of transparent material, which is uniformly mixed with tiny fragments with reflective properties, and its size is just enough to be installed in a circular opening provided on the upper casing. The lower half of the track ball is accommodated in the housing and is supported by a plurality of rolling elements provided on the base, and the upper half protrudes from the upper housing so that the track ball can be rotated arbitrarily;

An optical device, the optical device is embedded in a proper position in the device, and is composed of a light emitting element and an image capturing element, the light emitting element can just project light onto the trackball, and pass through into the transparent sphere, so that the tiny fragments mixed in it reflect part of the light source back to the surface of the trackball, so that the image capture element can continuously and clearly capture the reflected image, and then accurately calculate The moving distance and direction of the trackball.

In addition to the above-mentioned necessary technical features, the following technical content may also be added during the specific implementation process:

The trackball is a circular sphere made of a translucent material uniformly doped with tiny fragments with reflective properties.

These transparent or translucent materials are hard materials formed by evenly stirring and mixing resin, tiny fragments with reflective properties, and hardening agent, and then hardened.

The tiny pieces can be glitter powder.

The tiny pieces can be mica powder.

The tiny pieces can be pearl powder.

One end of the trackball device adjacent to the keys can be provided with a wheel with page turning function.

The utility model has the advantages of:

1. The transparent or translucent material used is a hard material, so that the trackball has an extremely smooth surface after processing, which is not only difficult to deform, but also has the advantages of small friction and easy control and rotation.

2. The transparent or translucent material is uniformly mixed with tiny fragments or particles with reflective properties, so that when the light-emitting element projects the light source to the track sphere, most of the light source can penetrate the sphere first, and then the Small fragments or particles reflect part of the light source back to the surface of the sphere, so that the image capture device can continuously and clearly capture the reflected image, accurately calculate the moving distance and direction of the trackball, and effectively solve the problem of trajectory The problem that the ball and the cursor cannot be synchronized.

In order to further understand and understand the features such as the shape, structure, device and efficacy of the present utility model, the embodiments are given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the detailed description is as follows:

Description of drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional optical trackball device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the optical device and the trackball in a conventional optical trackball device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the optical device and the trackball in the optical trackball device of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged schematic diagram of the relationship between the optical device and the trackball in the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the reaction of the track sphere to the projected light in the utility model.

The basic structure of the trackball device of the present utility model is the same as the aforementioned traditional optical trackball device, as shown in Fig. The electronic components and circuits required for the normal operation of the device, and at least one button 12 and a circular opening 14 are provided at an appropriate position of the upper casing 10, and the size of the circular opening 14 is just enough to install a trackball 20, and the lower half of the trackball 20 is accommodated in the casings, and is supported by a plurality of rolling elements 40 (such as: bearings or steel balls, etc.) set on the base 11, as shown in Figure 3 , the upper part of which protrudes from the upper casing 10 for the user to touch the trackball 20 to make it roll according to the user's instructions, so that an optical device adjacent to the installation position of the trackball 20 in the device 1 The device 30 can capture the image reflected by the partial surface of the trackball 20, and then calculate the moving distance and direction of the trackball. In the present utility model, the end of the trackball device adjacent to the buttons can be provided with a runner 50 with the function of turning pages or changing lines. This will not be repeated.

The main feature of the present utility model is that, as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the sphere 20 is a sphere made of a transparent or translucent material, which is uniformly mixed with glitter powder or other tiny Fragments or particles 22, so that a light-emitting element 31 in the optical device 20 can just project the light source onto the trackball 20, and penetrate into the transparent or translucent sphere 20, so that the tiny fragments or particles with reflective properties 22 to reflect part of the light source back to the spherical surface of the trackball 20, so that an image capture element 22 in the optical device 20 can continuously and clearly capture the reflected image, and then accurately calculate the trackball The moving distance and direction of 20 can effectively prevent the smooth surface of the sphere from scattering the projected light source, causing the image capture element to fail to correctly capture and identify the image on the surface of the sphere.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the production of the sphere 20 is to uniformly mix a transparent or translucent resin with a tiny filler 22 with reflective properties, the filler can be glitter powder, Small fragments or particles with reflective properties such as mica powder and pearl powder; then, add an appropriate amount of hardener to the uniform mixture of the resin and the filler, and then stir it evenly with a stirring device; after stirring evenly , and then pour them into the mold in sequence; after they are hardened and cooled, the semi-finished products that have been hardened and formed are taken out of the mold, and cut into blocks of appropriate volume according to the required size of the trackball; The end angles of the divided blocks are ground off, and processed by a ball machine or a lathe to the shape and size required to approach a sphere, and then ground by a grinder to grind it into a sphere: finally, the Polish the surface of the sphere to make it smooth, and then wax the surface. In this way, a transparent or translucent sphere with a smooth and bright surface and evenly mixed with tiny fragments with reflective properties can be obtained.

Because, according to the trackball 20 that the utility model is made, its material is the hard material that is transparent or translucent, so after finishing processing, will have extremely smooth surface, not only not easily deformed, and possess frictional force little, extremely The advantages of easy control and rotation, in addition, the tiny fragments or particles 22 with reflective properties uniformly mixed in the transparent or translucent material, when the light emitting element 31 projects the light source to the track ball 20, refer to Figure 5 , most of the light source 70 can penetrate the sphere first, and then part of the light source 71 is reflected back to the surface of the sphere 20 by the tiny fragments or particles 22, so that the image capture element 32 can continuously and clearly capture the The reflected image can accurately calculate the moving distance and direction of the trackball, so it can effectively solve the problem that the trackball and the cursor cannot be synchronized.

The above is only the best specific embodiment of the utility model, and the structural features of the utility model are not limited thereto, any changes or modifications that can be easily conceived in the field of the utility model if they are familiar with this skill, All can be included in the technical solution of this case.

Claims (7)

1, a kind of optics Trackball device, this Trackball device is made up of a upper shell and a base, and wherein and electronic component is installed, this device still comprises: at least more than one button, these buttons are provided in a side of on the end of this upper shell; One trace ball; It is characterized in that:

This trace ball is the circular spheroid that a transparent material is made, evenly mix up the small fragment that the reflective characteristic of tool is arranged in it, its size just can be mounted in the round hole set on this upper shell, the Lower Half of this trace ball is to be placed in this housing, and supported by a plurality of rolling elements set on this base, its first half then protrudes from this upper shell;

One optical devices, these optical devices are the appropriate positions that are embedded in this device, and are made up of a light-emitting component and an image capture element.

2, a kind of optics Trackball device as claimed in claim 1, it is characterized in that: this trace ball is the circular spheroid of being made by a trnaslucent materials, evenly mixes up the small fragment that the reflective characteristic of tool is arranged in it.

3, a kind of optics Trackball device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that: these transparent or semitransparent materials are to be mixed by uniform ingredients such as the small fragment of resin, the reflective characteristic of tool and rigidizers, and the hard material through hardening and forming.

4, a kind of optics Trackball device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, it is characterized in that: this small fragment can be glitter powder.

5, a kind of optics Trackball device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, it is characterized in that: this small fragment can be mica powder.

6, a kind of optics Trackball device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, it is characterized in that: this small fragment can be pearl powder.

7, a kind of optics Trackball device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that: an end of contiguous these buttons of this Trackball device can be provided with a runner with page-turning function.

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