Patent Publication Number: US-2010110009-A1

Title: Computer Mouse

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority from Hong Kong Short Term Patent Application No. 08112026.5 filed Oct. 31, 2008, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF PATENT APPLICATION 
     The present application relates to a computer mouse with a finger printer scanner. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Computer mice and fingerprint scanners are common equipments to be used in connection with a computer. They are separate equipments that work independently. When these two equipments are required, they have to be connected one by one to the computer through different electrical wires and interfaces. A computer usually comes with a keyboard and a computer mouse. The computer mouse can be connected to the computer through an electrical wire. If needed, a separate fingerprint scanner will have to be connected to the computer through another electrical wire. This makes wiring and connection of equipments to a computer rather complicated. Furthermore, since an interface is required for each equipment to be connected to the computer, there may not be enough ports provided on the computer. 
     Therefore, there is a need to provide a single hand-held device that combines a computer mouse and a fingerprint scanner. 
     The above description of the background is provided to aid in understanding a computer mouse, but is not admitted to describe or constitute pertinent prior art to the computer mouse disclosed in the present patent application, or consider any information as material to the patentability of the claims of the present application. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present patent application is directed to a computer mouse. The computer mouse includes a housing having hollow for receiving a finger of a user, a control module inside the housing for detecting signals and controlling transmissions of the signals, and a fingerprint scanning module coupled to the control module for detecting fingerprints and transmitting fingerprint signals to the control module. The fingerprint scanning module includes a fingerprint scanner positioned in the hollow of the housing. 
     A side view of the hollow may be close loop shaped, such as D-shaped, or open loop shaped, such as C-shaped. 
     In one embodiment, the hollow of the housing is a through-hole extending from one side of the housing to an opposite side of the housing. 
     The fingerprint scanning module may be a radio frequency fingerprint scanning module. 
     The computer mouse may further include a data storage module coupled to the control module for storing data. In one embodiment, the data storage module and the fingerprint scanning module, when detached, are capable of wireless communication with the control module. 
     The computer mouse may further include an optical mechanism module coupled to the control module. 
     The computer mouse may further include an interface coupled to the control module for connecting the computer mouse to a periphery device. In one embodiment, the interface is a USB interface. In another embodiment, the interface is an IEEE interface. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Specific embodiments the computer mouse disclosed in the present application will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the computer mouse according to an embodiment disclosed in the present application; 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the computer mouse according to an embodiment disclosed in the present application; 
         FIG. 2   a  is a side view of the computer mouse shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the computer mouse according to another embodiment disclosed in the present application; 
         FIG. 3   a  is a side view of the computer mouse shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a circuit diagram of the computer mouse; 
         FIG. 5  is a circuit diagram of a radio frequency fingerprint scanner of the computer mouse; 
         FIG. 6  is a circuit diagram of a radio frequency fingerprint sensor of the radio frequency fingerprint scanner; and 
         FIG. 7  is a circuit diagram of a USB interface of the computer mouse. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to a preferred embodiment of the computer mouse disclosed in the present application, examples of which are also provided in the following description. Exemplary embodiments of the computer mouse disclosed in the present application are described in detail, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that some features that are not particularly important to an understanding of the computer mouse may not be shown for the sake of clarity. 
     Furthermore, it should be understood that the computer mouse disclosed in the present application is not limited to the precise embodiments described below and that various changes and modifications thereof may be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims. For example, elements and/or features of different illustrative embodiments may be combined with each other and/or substituted for each other within the scope of this disclosure and appended claims. 
     It should be noted that throughout the specification and claims herein, when one element is said to be “coupled” or “connected” to another, this does not necessarily mean that one element is fastened, secured, or otherwise attached to another element. Instead, the term “coupled” or “connected” means that one element is either connected directly or indirectly to another element, or is in mechanical or electrical communication with another element. 
       FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of the computer mouse combining a computer mouse and a fingerprint scanner according to an embodiment disclosed in the present application. A USB disk drive may also be included in the computer mouse. 
     In this embodiment, the computer mouse may include a housing  100 , a control module  101  mounted within the housing  100 , a data storage module  102  coupled to the control module  101 , an optical mechanism module  103  coupled to the control module  101 , a fingerprint scanning module  104  coupled to the control module  101 , and an interface circuit  105  coupled to the control module  101 . The combination of a computer mouse, a fingerprint scanner and a USB disk drive in a single computer mouse can reduce the number of separate equipments needed and reduce the occupation of interface resources available on a computer. 
     As depicted in  FIGS. 2 and 2   a,  the computer mouse can be in the form of a computer mouse with a fingerprint scanner incorporated therein. A USB disk drive can also be incorporated in the computer mouse. The computer mouse has a hollow  110  integrally formed in the housing  100  for receiving a finger of a user. According to the illustrated embodiment, the finger-receiving hollow  110  is a through hole extending from one side of the housing  100  to an opposite side of the housing  100 , and the side view of the hollow  110  is D-shaped. In other embodiments, the side view of the hollow  110  is O-shaped, rectangular shaped or other close loop shaped. The fingerprint scanning module  104  includes a fingerprint scanner  104 ′. The fingerprint scanner  104 ′ may be provided inside the finger-receiving hollow  110  with a fingerprint scanning surface being disposed substantially along a peripheral wall defining the finger-receiving hole  110 . The fingerprint scanning surface may be facing upwards or in any position convenient for fingerprint scanning. 
     The fingerprint scanner  104 ′, serving as an equipment of the computer mouse, is hidden inside the finger-receiving hollow  110 . As a result, the fingerprint scanner  104 ′ can be protected from damage and contamination by hard or sharp objects, water, dust, etc. The finger-receiving hollow  110  can make the computer mouse lighter and is suitable for both left-handed and right handed users. 
     In this embodiment, the housing  100  may be shaped and sized to accommodate therein the control module  101 , the data storage module  102 , the optical mechanism module  103 , the fingerprint scanning module  104 , and the interface circuit  105 . The housing  100  may be made of plastic or any suitable material. 
       FIGS. 3 and 3   a  illustrate another embodiment of the computer mouse with a fingerprint scanner incorporated therein. A USB disk drive can also be incorporated in the computer mouse. The computer mouse has a hollow  1110  integrally formed in the housing  1100  for receiving a finger of a user. According to the illustrated embodiment, the finger-receiving hollow  1110  is a through hole extending from one side of the housing  1100  to an opposite side of the housing  1100 , and the side view of the hollow  110  is C-shaped or other open loop shaped. A fingerprint scanner  1104 ′ may be provided inside the finger-receiving hollow  110  with a fingerprint scanning surface being disposed substantially along a peripheral wall defining the finger-receiving hole  1110 . The fingerprint scanning surface may be facing downwards or in any position convenient for fingerprint scanning. 
     The fingerprint scanner  1104 ′, serving as an equipment of the computer mouse, is hidden inside the finger-receiving hollow  1110 . As a result, the fingerprint scanner  1104 ′ can be protected from damage and contamination by hard or sharp objects, water, dust, etc. The finger-receiving hollow  1110  can make the computer mouse even lighter than the one in  FIG. 2  and is suitable for both left-handed and right handed users. 
     In this embodiment, the housing  1100  may be shaped and sized to accommodate therein the control module  101 , the data storage module  102 , the optical mechanism module  103 , the fingerprint scanning module  104 , and the interface circuit  105 . The housing  1100  may be made of plastic or any suitable material. 
     Although it has been shown and described that the finger-receiving hollow is a through hole extending from one side of the housing to the other side of the housing, it is understood by one skilled in the art that the finger-receiving hole may extend from a front end of the housing to a rear end of the housing, or from a top surface of the housing to a bottom surface of the housing. It is also understood by one skilled in the art that the finger-receiving hollow can be a blind hole or a recess extending inwards from an outer surface of the housing. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the control module  101  is employed to control the operation of the entire computer mouse. The control module  101  may include a board with electrical circuits formed thereon. The control module  101  can be fixedly mounted inside the housing  100 . The control module  101  may include circuits for detecting signals and controlling the transmission of the detected signals. 
     For example, the control module  101  may transmit and receive data to and from the data storage module  102 . The control module  101  can receive and process fingerprint signals transmitting from the fingerprint scanning module  104  and send the fingerprint signals through the interface circuit  105  to a periphery device such as a computer. The control module  101  can make comparison with the data stored in the data storage module  102  so as to complete fingerprint identification and determine whether read and/or write operations are permitted. 
     The data storage module  102  is used for storing data. The data storage module  102  may be in the form of a flash storage device or any other conventional data storage device. The data storage module  102  together with a USB interface may form a USB disk drive for storing data. 
     The data storage module  102  may be detachably coupled to the control module  101 . When detached, the data storage module  102  may be capable of wireless communication with the control module  101 . A user can read and/or write data through the control of the control module  101 . 
     The optical mechanism module  103  may be coupled to the control module  101  to realize the function of a computer mouse. The optical mechanism module  103  can employ any conventional technology of a computer mouse and is therefore not described in detail herein. A circuit diagram of the optical mechanism module  103  of a computer mouse is shown in  FIG. 4 . The optical mechanism module  103  can operate independently after the data storage module  102  and the fingerprint scanning module  104  are detached from the control module  101 . 
     The fingerprint scanning module  104  can also be detachably coupled to the control module  101 . When detached, the fingerprint scanning module  104  may be capable of wireless communication with the control module  101 . The fingerprint scanning module  104  can be employed to detect fingerprints and transmit fingerprint signals to the control module  101  for processing. 
     The fingerprint scanning module  104  may use a flexible circuit as a sensor for detecting fingerprints. In the illustrated embodiment, the fingerprint scanning module  104  is a radio frequency fingerprint scanning module. A circuit diagram of the radio frequency fingerprint scanning module  104  is shown in  FIG. 5 , and a circuit diagram of a radio frequency fingerprint sensor of the radio frequency fingerprint scanning module  104  is shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     The interface circuit  105  may be coupled to the control module  101  and provides an interface between the computer mouse of the present patent application and a periphery device such as a computer. The interface  105  may be universal serial bus (USB) interface or any standard interfaces set by IEEE. A circuit diagram of a USB interface of the computer mouse is shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     While the computer mouse in the present application has been shown and described with particular references to a number of preferred embodiments thereof, it should be noted that various other changes or modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appending claims.