A very necessary and convenient attribute, a computer user, at any level. The pioneer of computer technology delivered a huge inconvenience, the lack of a mouse, they also have advantages, they have a good command of the keyboard.

Purpose and operation of a computer mouse.

To begin with, we need to determine exactly what the main purpose of the computer mouse is, its functionality and control methods.

A computer mouse is a special mechanical device for entering information into a computer. Yes, not great skills in owning it, significantly simplify the life and work of the user, who work in operating systems with a graphical shell.

Working and owning it is very simple. It comes down to driving the mouse on a smooth surface, as it were, to the rug. Synchronously with it, on the display, the cursor moves, we direct it to the icons and perform the necessary actions.

Plus, on a computer mouse, there are a couple of function buttons and a scroller with a push function. The main control is reduced to clicking the left mouse button, double-clicking.

Scroller scrolling a text document, clicking on it, simplifies rewinding.

Pressing the right button brings up a hidden context menu, it reflects all sorts of available actions.

The principle of operation of an optical computer mouse.

Throwing away excess words and phrases, a computer mouse can be compared to a video camera. She makes a huge number of frames in one minute, about ninety thousand.

It is important to note that a computer optical mouse does not need a special mat, it works great on any surface. Its unpretentiousness and reliability, has earned the authority and sympathy of users.

In her device, a regular LED is included, as the rules are red, but other colors are also found. This radiation, reflected from the surface, this reflection, will focus on a special sensor.

The signal from the sensor, all frames in turn, goes to the computer processor. The incoming signal is processed and analyzed, it analyzes each image, and compares how much it has moved.

Based on the received data, he understands where to send the mouse cursor, according to the received coordinates. These manipulations occur at high speeds of shooting and processing, so everything seems smooth to us.

What is the difference between a laser computer mouse and an optical mouse?

Let's start with the principle of operation, a laser computer mouse, it is almost identical to optical, with the exception of some points.

The main difference is that instead of an LED, a laser is used, this significantly increased its life, it is absolutely not whimsical in choosing a work surface.

We continue the listing of its advantages and advantages. Very low electricity consumption, saving is always necessary. In addition to this, she works much more accurately than her brothers.

The glow of the mouse laser is almost invisible to the human eye, so it will not interfere and spoil your vision.

It all comes down to choosing a laser computer mouse; superiority is evident.

I won’t tell about a ball (mechanical) mouse, it is not reliable, it must be constantly cleaned, it has become obsolete.

A computer mouse is a manipulator for controlling a computer. 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 of operating systems with a graphical interface, the mouse was not so widespread. Computer control was carried out by entering commands through the keyboard, and work on the computer required high qualifications. In principle, the graphical interface can be dispensed with with a single keyboard, but this will require learning the necessary key combinations for control, which is unacceptable for the average user, and the mouse is a very simple device, and learning how to work with it is not difficult. 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 mouse, or wirelessly - the so-called wireless mouse.

The principle of the mouse.

The basic principle of a computer mouse is to convert motion to a control signal. When you move the mouse on the surface (most often the table), it generates an electronic signal that indicates 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 laserwhich have higher positioning accuracy.

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

IN laser mouse, a laser is used as an optical source, which allows to increase 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 - sensory, induction, gyroscopic mice, which have a different principle of converting motion into a control signal.

Computer mouse is a very useful and convenient device for entering graphic information.

Currently, almost every personal computer is equipped with this device. The Windows operating system and all programs designed to work in its environment are entirely mouse-oriented. In fact, all actions in Windows, except for typing, can be done without using the keyboard, using only one mouse. Moreover, in the absence of a mouse, working with Windows is much more difficult and slows down.

Structurally, the mouse is a streamlined plastic box in which are placed:

massive rubberized ball rotating when moving the mouse on a smooth surface;

two or three buttons;

a mechanism for converting the rotation of the ball into electrical signals;

electronic circuit for receiving and processing data on the state of the mouse (mouse coordinates and button position).

The flexible cable connects the mouse to the system unit of the computer. Sometimes infrared rays are used to connect a computer to a mouse instead of a cable. In this case, the mouse wire is absent and does not interfere with operation.

The figure shows the internal structure of the mouse. The following required mouse components are marked in the figure:

1. Photo emitter

2. Photo receiver

3. Ball (usually for better adhesion to the surface of the table it is covered with rubber.)

4. Rotating roller

5. Pinch wheel

6.button

7.Cable

8. The controller (special chip)

Currently the most common wholesale mechanical mice . Their popularity is primarily due to their low cost. The rotation of the rubberized metal ball during the movement of such a mouse is transmitted to two rollers. One of them is located along the mouse, and the second - across. This is the "mechanics". The rotation of the rollers is converted into an electrical signal using optoelectronic sensors consisting of an LED and a receiver, between which a disk with slit-like slots is mounted on the roller. When the disk rotates, the LED beam either passes through the slots or is interrupted, and pulses are formed at the output of the receiver. The built-in microprocessor counts them and generates a digital code coming through the interface to the PC, where it is processed by the driver. The optomechanical mouse has two unreliable elements. Firstly, it is a mechanism that turns the movement of the ball into the rotation of the sensor disks. Secondly, the connecting cable, which is constantly subjected to bending during operation.

To eliminate the first drawback, instead of a ball, a number of modern mouse models use optical displacement sensor . In such mice there are no moving nodes, so they have high positioning accuracy. The first models of such devices came with a special “lined” rug. When moving, the sensor worked like a primitive scanner, converting the alternation of dark and light areas on the mat into electrical impulses. Modern optical mice can work on almost any surface - the sensor responds to the natural unevenness of the reflectivity of the material. Instead of a ball, a sensitive optical sensor is placed in it, which is able to track movement relative to the smallest textures on a sliding surface (rug, sheet of paper, etc.) that are not noticeable to the eye, not to mention scratches and other mechanical and color inhomogeneities. The specialized processor recalculates their movement in the field of view of the sensor into an increment of linear coordinates corresponding to the movement of the user's hand. Digitization of the surface under the mouse occurs at a frequency of 1,500 times per second.

The computer mouse dates back to December 9, 1968, when it was presented at the California Interactive Device Exhibition. Douglas Engelbart received a patent for this gadget 2 years later. The first computer to include a mouse was the Xerox 8010 Star Information System mini-computer, introduced in 1981. The Xerox mouse had three buttons and cost $ 400, which is equivalent to the current $ 1,000. In 1983, Apple launched its own one-button mouse for the Lisa computer, which cost was reduced by 16 times. The computer mouse gained wide popularity due to its use in Macintosh computers. How does a modern computer mouse work? This is in today's issue.

Modern mice come in two types - optical and laser. Regardless of the type, the mouse perceives its movement in the working plane (for example, on a part of the table surface) and transfers this information to the computer. A program running on a computer, in response to a mouse movement, produces an action on the screen that corresponds to the direction and distance of this movement.

The laser mouse was first published in 1998, being manufactured by Sun Microsystems. However, then it was not widespread. Unlike an optical mouse, a laser mouse can operate on mirrored and transparent surfaces such as glass, which is a significant advantage.

Since the invention, the computer mouse-type manipulator has gone a long evolutionary path from a wooden box on two wheels to a device with an electromagnetic ball and rollers inside. Then the mechanism was replaced by an optical sensor and LED. And finally, the latter was replaced by a more accurate and less energy-intensive laser.

To top it all, her tail was taken away, replacing it with a bluetooth connection. So there was a wireless laser mouse. Now it is a miniature ergonomic design, with attractive shapes and colors, light weight, extraordinary sensitivity and indispensability in working with a computer or laptop.

Laser mouse device

The laser mouse with its device resembles an optical design. The main work item consists of three parts:

• miniature;
• optical sensor in the form of a flat matrix;
• signal microprocessor capable of recognizing pattern changes.

A laser mouse differs from an optical mouse in the following characteristics:

• Accuracy. The laser device is capable of delivering up to 20 times more data on the surface scan area.
• It has low power consumption and allows you to save batteries with wireless connections.
• Does not glow in the dark. Maybe this is not so important, but sometimes the additional backlight allows you to judge the working status of the device.
• Thanks to the properties of the laser, it allows you to work even on a mirror surface.

The main and main disadvantage of laser mice is their high cost. An alternative solution when calculating the benefits of acquiring a wireless version of the device can be made with the expectation of battery savings.

Features when choosing a mouse

Arriving at a computer store, many buyers are faced with a wide variety of manufacturers and models of electronic devices. It will be much easier to decide on a purchase if you decide in advance what characteristics a laser mouse should have. First of all, these are technical specifications:

• Case materials. Here, plastic, metal, rubber, or options for combining these materials can be used.
• Type of mouse. Wired or wireless - the solution is the convenience of tinning the device’s additional power.
• Sensor Resolution An average sensor resolution of 2000 dpi should ensure comfortable use of the mouse. For gaming computers, you can purchase a device with higher characteristics of this parameter.
• The number of buttons. Here the choice depends on the user. If he intends to use the keyboard with the mouse, then you can select fewer buttons. And if it is assumed that the laser mouse can completely replace the others, then there are 7-8 button options.
• Ability to select the sensor operating mode. Allows you to work at their high-speed modes in various applications or quickly reconfigure in the event of a change in computer user.
• Availability of additional software. Modern manipulator devices generally do not need to install drivers. However, some manufacturers along with their product offer a set of programs and utilities to facilitate mouse settings or additional bonuses.
• Interface for connecting to a computer and the presence of adapters. Currently, the equipment is mainly focused on connecting via USB 2.0. But cheaper, outdated models with other plug-in options may come across.

In addition to technical characteristics, a laser mouse can differ in size, design, ergonomics. Here, the best option would be to try it in place, to feel how it fits in the palm of your hand, whether it moves freely, whether all buttons are easily accessible, how double clicks go, or how the wheel rotates. An example of high-quality laser mouse models is the A4Tech X-750F, OClick 765L, Logitech MX400, Genius Ergo555, Genius Ergo525 and Lexma AM530 (MPE).