Patent Publication Number: US-2007115259-A1

Title: Receiving structure for receiver of wireless mouse

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates a receiving structure for a receiver of a wireless mouse, especially to an accommodating slot on the mouse. The accommodating slot with an elastic moveable vertical pin of an arm on a enter line of a bottom plate thereof corresponds to a consecutive front and rear stopping plates on a bottom plate of a receiver. When vertical pin contacts with the front and rear stopping plate, it moves elastically and then turns back automatically. Thus the receiver inserted into the accommodating slot of the mouse is locked automatically. By pressing the receiver inwards, the receiver is bounced out of the accommodating slot. Therefore, the present invention has simple structure with the effect of easily plugging in/out the receiver.  
      The trend of design of electronic products available now is becoming light, think, and compact and a single product with multiple functions such as Personal Digital Assistant. In order to meet users requirements, the PDA has more and more functions except basic functions such as, name books, translation machines, calculators, notebooks and playing games, it also integrates with wireless transmission, networking, mobile phones, fax machines, digital cameras and handwriting input.  
      Therefore, the PDA is not only PDA, it also works as palm top computer. Moreover, computers have a plurality of peripherals such as mouse with or without wires, keyboard, card readers or printers. In order to reduce cost and meet users&#39; needs, manufactures simplify the structure of the devices or integrate various devices into one. For example, refer to the PCT Patent Abstract for the International Publication Number WO 00/46659, on Aug. 10, 200, DATA INPUT DEVICE AND COMPUTER SYSTEM, A mouse  11  mounted thereon with an IC card reader/writer  30  for reducing cable connections to the computer to provide the small, light-weight easy-to-carry computer.  
      Moreover, PCT Patent Abstract for the International Publication Number WO 98/48390 (published on Oct. 29, 1998)—“DEVICE FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING INFORMATION CONNECTABLE TO AN ELECTRONIC COMPUTER”—A device  10  connectable to a computer  16  to perform both the function of recorder/reader  12  of banking cards  15  and the function of “mouse” or pointing device  11 . The device  10  comprises a slot  19  for the insertion of “smart card”  15  and a plurality of buttons  24 ,  25 . Or Taiwanese Utility Patent publication No 499009, published on Aug. 11, 2002, an improved computer mouse features on that a data reader  17  on top of the inner space of the mouse consists of a locking slot  17  with a flat opening. A connecting device for a memory card  2  is disposed inside the locking slot  17  for connection with an input interface  12  and reading data of the memory card  2 . In accordance with above description, an opening is disposed on a housing of a mouse and a slot extends from the opening towards inner space of the mouse for connection with other computer peripherals such as memory cards. For example, a groove  19  disclosed inside the Patent WO 98/48390, or a locking slot  17  disclosed in the Taiwanese patent publication No 499009 is considered as prior art of a slot of the computer mouse.  
      Furthermore, Taiwanese utility patent publication No. 560653, published on Nov. 1, 2003, “wireless input device for receiving receiver” (also US patent Pub. No. US 2005/0073499 A1), Taiwanese utility patent publication No. 555094, published on Sep. 21, 2003,” wireless device for receiving receiver”, and Taiwanese utility patent publication No. 545648, published on Aug. 1, 2003,” wireless input device for receiving receiver” (also US patent Pub. No. US 2003/0179177 A1) are all related to an improved mouse that has a receiver for wireless mouse instead of a slot inside the mouse.  
      However, as to common mouse, no matter mechanical type (scroll ball) or optical type, the small volume is disposed with basic parts-circuit devices such as circuit board and transmitter, sensor (mechanical or optical type), input devices such as buttons or roller and power supply such as battery holder. Thus the design of a slot for receiving other computer devices such as receiver needs to be with simple structure, durability, and easily plugging in/out for meeting users&#39; requirements. The above utility patent publication No, 560653, No. 555094 and No. 54564, the parts for slots and receivers inside wireless mouse are quite lot and the connections between the parts are also complicated. Thus it is easy to get damage after being used for a long time. Refer to Patent publication No. 560653, the receiver is plugged into the bottom of the mouse by two-stage operation and this made users inconvenient. Therefore, there is a need to improve the design of the accommodation space inside a wireless mouse for receiving the receiver.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a receiving structure for a receiver of a wireless mouse that has an accommodating slot for receiving a receiver disposed on rear end of an upper cover thereof. And a vertical pin on an arm is arranged on center line of a bottom plate of the accommodating slot. The vertical pin moves elastically and turns back automatically while being forced. Two consecutive front and rear stopping plates corresponding to the vertical pin are disposed on bottom of the receiver while two sloped guiding surfaces in opposite directions are arranged on the front and rear stopping plates respectively. A bar is arranged on lateral side between the front and rear stopping plates. When the receiver inserts into the accommodating slot, the sloped guiding surface of the front stopping plate presses the pin to move along the sloped guiding surface, away from the central line. When the pin moves to rear end of the sloped guiding surface, it turns back automatically and locks into the arc of the front stopping plate. Thus the receiver is locked inside the accommodating slot. Furthermore, press the rear surface of the receiver towards the accommodating slot, the rear stopping plate forces the vertical pin to move along the other sloped guiding surface, far away from the center line. The vertical pin passes the bar on lateral side between the front and rear stopping plates and stops over the locking area inside the arc of the front stopping plate. Therefore, the receiver leaves the front stopping plate completely and is bounced out of the accommodating slot by elasticity of the elastic member. The structure is simplified and the receiver is easily plugged in/out.  
      It is another object of the present invention to provide a receiving structure for a receiver of a wireless mouse that has a limit switch on the base of the mouse, corresponding to front side of the accommodation slot. The limit switch is connected with the battery power source inside the wireless mouse so as to control on/off of the power source. When the receiver is inserted and locked inside the accommodation slot of the mouse, the connecting part on front end of the receiver contacts and presses the limit switch so as to turn off the power source of the mouse. Thus the purpose of electricity saving is achieved.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide a receiving structure for a receiver of a wireless mouse that has a lid controlled by an elastic pivotal axis is disposed on an opening of an accommodation slot of the wireless mouse. When the receiver inserts into the slot, the lid is pivoted inwards and opened automatically. While pulling the receiver out of the slot, the lid automatically pivots back and covers the opening of the accommodation slot for dustproof and aesthetic effects. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a mouse of an embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a mouse and a receiver of an embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is an upper cover of the mouse in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 3A  is an enlarged view of part A in  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 3B  is an enlarged view of part B in  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing the receiver in  FIG. 3  locks inside the accommodation slot of the mouse in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 5A  to  FIG. 5D  are schematic drawings showing movement of vertical pin inside the accommodation slot of mouse in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing the receiver in  FIG. 4  bouncing outwards from the accommodation slot in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a schematic drawing showing the upper cover and the base separated with each other in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERED EMBODIMENT  
      Refer to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 3A  &amp;  FIG. 3B , a receiving structure for a receiver of a wireless mouse in accordance with the present invention includes a wireless mouse  1  and a receiver  2 . In usage, the receiver  2  is inserted into a main frame of computer while the wireless mouse  1  sends input signal into the receiver  2  by the batteries therein so as to achieve the purpose of remote control. The wireless mouse  1  consists of an enclosing  10  having an upper cover  11  and a base  12 , circuit devices such as circuit board and transmitter, sensor (mechanical or optical type), input devices such as buttons or roller and power supply such as battery holder for providing the transmitter electricity . . . and so on. The wireless mouse  1  of the present invention can be a mechanical mouse or an optical mouse, the later is preferred.  
      The present invention features on that:  
      An accommodating slot  13  with an opening  131  is disposed on rear part of the upper cover  11  of the wireless mouse  1 . The accommodating slot  13  is formed by the opening  131  on rear plane of the upper cover  11  extends insides the upper cover  11  horizontally. The width and depth of the accommodating slot  13  depends on the shape of the receiver  2 . Moreover, a lid  14  controlled by an elastic pivotal axis is disposed on edge of the opening  131  of the slot  13 . When the receiver  2  inserts into the slot  13  through the opening  131 , the lid  14  is pivoted inwards as shown in  FIG. 2 . And a rear surface  211  of a main body  21  of the receiver  2  matches on the surface of the opening  131 . While pulling the receiver  2  out of the slot  13  through the opening  131 , the lid  14  automatically pivots back and covers the opening  131  for dustproof and aesthetic effects, as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
      Refer to  FIG. 3  &amp;  FIG. 3B , a bottom plate  15  is arranged on the bottom of the slot  13 . The bottom plate  15  made from plastic is fixed on the inside the upper cover  11  to define the bottom area of the slot  13  so that the receiver  2  attaches on the bottom plate  15  while inserting into the accommodating slot  13 . An arm  16  with certain length extending backwards is arranged on a center line of the bottom plate  15 . A vertical pin  161  is installed at the rear end of the arm  16 . The vertical pin  161  projects toward the inner space of the accommodating slot  13  vertically and the head part of the vertical pin  161  is preferred a sphere. By the elasticity of the arm  16 , the vertical pin  161  moves while being forced and then turns back automatically. Moreover, an elastic member  17  is arranged on front end of the accommodating slot  13 . When the receiver  2  inserts into and locks with the accommodating slot  13 , a connecting part  20  of the receiver  2  contacts the elastic member  17  and presses it to retract backwards so that the reaction force of the elastic member  17  becomes the return (bounce) force of the receiver  2 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 3  &amp;  FIG. 3A , the receiver  2  consists of the connecting part  20  and the main body  21 . Two consecutive front and rear stopping plates  22 ,  23  corresponding to the pin  161  are disposed on bottom of the main body  21 . Two sloped guiding surfaces  221 ,  231  in opposite directions are arranged on the front and rear stopping plates  22 ,  23  respectively. The rear end of the sloped guiding surface  221  of the front stopping plate  22  forms an arc  222 , working as a stopping point of the vertical pin  161 . Moreover, a bar  232  is arranged on the arc  222 , on the same side with the sloped guiding surface  231  of the rear stopping plate  23 . The bar  232  extends from the rear end of the sloped guiding surface  231  to the corresponding side of the sloped guiding surface  221  so that the bar  232  forms a party line between the inner area and outer area of the arc  222 . The slope of the inner area of the bar  232  is a gentle slope while the slope of the outer area is a steep slope. Thus the vertical pin  161  is easy to move from the gentle slope to the steep slope area, passing through the bar  232  while it is difficult to move back. The procedures of plugging in and pulling out the receiver  2  from the wireless mouse  1  are described as followings:  
      When the receiver  2  is plugged into the accommodating slot  13  of the wireless mouse  1 , as shown in  FIG. 5A , the connecting part  20  of the receiver  2  contacts and presses the elastic member  17  to move backwards. Now the sloped guiding surface  221  of the front stopping plate  22  also leans against the pin  161  and presses it to move outwards along the sloped guiding surface  221 , away from the central line.  
      Refer to  FIG. 5B , when the receiver  2  continues to move inside the accommodating slot  13 , the sloped guiding surface  221  of the front stopping plate  22  pushes the vertical pin  161  to move along the sloped guiding surface  221  elastically, over the rear end of the sloped guiding surface  221 . Now the elastic member  17  makes the receiver  2  to have larger return force and the vertical pin  161  automatically turns back towards the central line by means of the elasticity of the arm  16 , thus leaving the rear end of the sloped guiding surface  221  and moving into the arc  222  of the front stopping plate  22 . Refer to  FIG. 5C , by the bounce force that the elastic member  17  acts on the receiver  2 , the vertical pine  161  turns into and locks inside the arc  222  of the front stopping plate  22  so as to make the receiver  2  unable to move back, locked inside the accommodating slot  13 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . Refer to  FIG. 5D  &amp;  FIG. 6 , when the receiver  2  is pulled out from the accommodating slot  13 , press or pull the rear surface  211  of the receiver  2  moving towards the accommodating slot  13  so as to make the receiver  2  moving forward a certain distance. Thus the other sloped guiding surface  231  of the rear stopping plate  23  forces the vertical pin  16  to move far away from the center line, toward the other direction. The vertical pin  16  passes the bar  232  on lateral side and stops on outer side of the bar  232  thus it is over the locking area inside the arc  222  of the front stopping plate  22 . Therefore, the receiver  2  is not locked inside the accommodating slot  13  and is bounced out of the accommodating slot  13  by elasticity of the elastic member  17 .  
      Refer to  FIG. 7 , a limit switch  30  with an elastic switch  31  is disposed inside the base  12  of the wireless mouse  1 , corresponding to the lateral side on front end of the accommodating slot  13  of the upper cover  11 . The limit switch  30  is connected with a power source of the mouse  1  for control of the on/off of the power source. When the elastic switch  31  is pressed down, the power source is turned off while the power is on when the elastic switch  31  turns back elastically. Moreover, when the receiver  2  inserts inside the accommodating slot  13  of the upper cover  11 , being locked as shown in  FIG. 4  &amp;  FIG. 5C , the connecting part  20  on front end of the receiver  2  just contacts the elastic switch  31  so that the power is off and the elasticity is saved.