The present invention relates to an input device with an illuminated roller, and more particularly to an input device with an illuminated roller by using a flexible printed circuit and light emitting diodes to illuminate the roller.
An input device with a roller (e.g. a roller mouse) is a widely-used computer peripheral device. Conventionally, the roller of the input device is operated to control scrolling of an operating window of a computer screen. Recently, the roller has an illuminating function to prompt the user. For example, a mouse with an illuminated roller is disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. TW470910 (=U.S. Pat. No. 6,992,653), which is entitled “Pointing device with a rollable device and light source”. Hereinafter, this conventional mouse will be illustrated with reference to
Please refer to
Although the conventional mouse 1 has an illuminated roller, there are still some drawbacks. For example, since the electrode wire 125 is employed to deliver electricity, the electrode wire 125 is readily subject to deformation under the weight of the light source 124 after a long-term use period. As such, the connection between the electrode wire 125 and the second electrically-conductive wire 12112 is adversely affected, and the electricity fails to be transmitted to the electrode wire 125 through the second electrically-conductive wire 12112. In addition, the illuminating function of the light source 124 is deteriorated, and the use life of the mouse 1 is shortened.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an input device with an illuminated roller in order to prolong the use life thereof.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input device with an illuminated roller. The input device includes an upper cover, a lower base, and an illuminated roller module. The upper cover has a roller opening. A printed circuit board is accommodated within the lower base. The illuminated roller module is disposed within the lower base, and partially protruded out of the roller opening of the upper cover. The illuminated roller module includes a roller, a supporting member, an encoder and an illuminating device. The roller includes a first ring-shaped part, a roller surface and a rotating shaft. The rotating shaft is penetrated through the roller surface. A first receptacle is formed within the first ring-shaped part. The supporting member includes a second ring-shaped part and a supporting surface. The second ring-shaped part is disposed within the first receptacle of the first ring-shaped part. The first ring-shaped part is rotatable with respect to the second ring-shaped part. A recess is formed within the second ring-shaped part. A perforation is formed in the supporting surface. A supporting slice is protruded from the supporting surface for fixing the supporting member within the lower base. The encoder is used for generating an encoding signal. The encoder has a shaft hole and is connected to a conductive wire. The encoder is positioned in the recess within the second ring-shaped part. The rotating shaft of the roller is inserted into the shaft hole. The conductive wire is penetrated through the perforation and is connected with the printed circuit board. The illuminating device is disposed within the second ring-shaped part of the supporting member, and includes a flexible printed circuit and plural light emitting diodes. The plural light emitting diodes are mounted on the flexible printed circuit for illuminating the illuminated roller module. An end of the flexible printed circuit is penetrated through the perforation and is connected with the printed circuit board.
In an embodiment, the recess of the supporting member is defined by a rectangular sidewall, and the flexible printed circuit is positioned in the second ring-shaped part by enclosing the rectangular sidewall.
In an embodiment, a switch element is disposed on the printed circuit board and aligned with a first side of the lower base, and arranged under the rotating shaft of the roller. When the roller is pressed down, the switch element is triggered by the rotating shaft.
In an embodiment, the roller and the supporting member are made of transparent material.
In an embodiment, the illuminated roller module further comprises a roller rim, which is sheathed around the first ring-shaped part of the roller.
In an embodiment, the roller surface and the supporting surface are coated with reflective paint or attached by opaque pads.
In an embodiment, the input device is a mouse.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illuminated roller module for generating an encoding signal. The illuminated roller module includes a roller, a supporting member, an encoder, and an illuminating device. The roller includes a first ring-shaped part, a roller surface and a rotating shaft. The rotating shaft is penetrated through the roller surface. A first receptacle is formed within the first ring-shaped part. The supporting member includes a second ring-shaped part and a supporting surface. The second ring-shaped part is disposed within the first receptacle of the first ring-shaped part. The first ring-shaped part is rotatable with respect to the second ring-shaped part. A recess is formed within the second ring-shaped part. A perforation is formed in the supporting surface. A supporting slice is protruded from the supporting surface. The encoder is used for generating the encoding signal. The encoder has a shaft hole and is connected to a conductive wire. The encoder is positioned in the recess within the second ring-shaped part. The rotating shaft of the roller is inserted into the shaft hole. The conductive wire is penetrated through the perforation. The illuminating device is disposed within the second ring-shaped part of the supporting member, and includes a flexible printed circuit and plural light emitting diodes. The plural light emitting diodes are mounted on the flexible printed circuit. An end of the flexible printed circuit is penetrated through the perforation.
In an embodiment, the recess of the supporting member is defined by a rectangular sidewall, and the flexible printed circuit is positioned in the second ring-shaped part by enclosing the rectangular sidewall.
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention provides an input device with an illuminated roller. In accordance with a key feature of the present invention, plural light emitting diodes are mounted on a flexible printed circuit (FPC) in order to obviate the drawbacks encountered from the prior art.
Please refer to
In this embodiment, a switch element 341 is disposed on the printed circuit board 34 and aligned with a first side 323 of the lower base 32. In addition, the switch element 341 is arranged under the rotating shaft 3313 of the roller 331. In a case that the illuminated roller module 33 is pressed down, the switch element 341 is triggered by the rotating shaft 3313 to issue a roller button signal.
Moreover, the recess 3323 within the second ring-shaped part 3321 is used for fixing the encoder 333. In this embodiment, the recess 3323 is defined by a rectangular sidewall 33231. The encoder 333 has a shaft hole 3331 and a conductive wire 3332. The rotating shaft 3313 running through the roller surface 3312 is inserted into the shaft hole 3331. As a consequence, the encoder 333 generates a corresponding encoding signal upon rotation of the roller 331. The encoding signal is outputted from the encoder 333 through the conductive wire 3332.
The illuminating device 334 of the illuminated roller module 33 is also disposed within the second ring-shaped part 3321. The illuminating device 334 comprises a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 3341 and plural light emitting diodes 3342. The plural light emitting diodes 3342 are mounted on the flexible printed circuit 3341. In this embodiment, the flexible printed circuit 3341 is positioned within the second ring-shaped part 3321 by enclosing the rectangular sidewall 33231.
For allowing the light beams emitted by the illuminating device 334 to pass through the illuminated roller module 33, the roller 331 and the supporting member 332 are preferably made of transparent material. In addition, for preventing the illuminated roller module 33 from generating unnecessary scattered light beams, the roller surface 3312 and the supporting surface 3322 are coated with reflective paint (not shown) or attached by opaque pads 33222. In this situation, most of the light beams pass through the first ring-shaped part 3311 and the second ring-shaped part 3321.
In the above embodiments, the illuminated roller module 33 is applied to a mouse. Nevertheless, the illuminated roller module 33 may be applied to any other input device such as a keyboard or a joystick.
From the above description, the present invention provides an input device with an illuminated roller. Since a flexible printed circuit with light emitting diodes is installed in a supporting member with a perforation, illuminating function is achieved without hindering from rotation of the illuminated roller. Moreover, since the encoder is integrated into the illuminated roller module, the overall volume of the illuminated roller module will be minimized and the drawbacks of using electrode wire to deliver electricity will be overcome.
While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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099102539 | Jan 2010 | TW | national |