Using modern optical computer mice, most people can’t even imagine how their older ones looked and worked in the workshop. This article contains basic information, having become familiar with which anyone can find out what are the main milestones in the development of computer manipulators and find out the structure of the main types of mechanical mice.
Ancestor
The story should start from the hoary antiquity, when computers still occupied entire rooms, and were controlled exclusively with the help of special commands written in the programming language and entered directly into the system using the input device, the keyboard, which existed at that time. Naturally, such a method did not imply any aesthetics, and the then operating system was something similar to what we can see when entering the BIOS.
Since computers at that time were used exclusively by a narrow circle of computer scientists, there was no need to create a more simplified, casual control system for the device. But time passed, computers more and more poured into the daily lives of people, and the question of simplifying the use of this machine became more acute.
Everything changed on December 9, 1968, when the world's first computer manipulator, created by Douglas Engelbart, was introduced to the world . It was on this day that the computer, still mechanical, mouse was “born”.
Operating principle
If you look at the working prototype of the very first mouse, you will immediately understand that this fifty-year-old “rodent” has little in common with modern manipulators: the angular body, which is a simple rectangle with smooth edges, is just one button located, for some reason, in the upper right corner of the case, the connection cable grows from the back of the case, and not from the front, as in our time. In general, there are many differences. However, the operating principle of Engelbart's mechanical mouse has become a reference for many years.
The mechanical part itself was located under the body, presented in the form of two metal rollers protruding from the lower base of the body and located perpendicular to each other (one moved along the X axis and its partner along the Y axis), as well as an electronic device that reads the movements of the rollers and converts this data into an electrical signal.
Contrary to obvious differences, the mechanical mouse in the photo above is the direct progenitor of every modern mouse.
Unfortunately, this device, of course, was not convenient enough in comparison with modern counterparts, but at that time this human-machine interface was a breakthrough and therefore the only one.
Optical-mechanical mouse
Progress, as everyone knows, does not stand still and moves forward by leaps and bounds. Of course, he got to computer tailed. Gradually, the wooden case was replaced by a plastic one, more ergonomic and aesthetic, later the now-known second button appeared, which was responsible for auxiliary actions, and then the wheel, however, the main innovation was the replacement of the roller system with the so-called ball system. Such a solution has greatly improved the sensation of using this mechanical mouse for a computer.
Ball mouse device
Rodents of this design were very common in the 80-90s of the last century, so many users most likely managed to catch these devices and even work with them. However, few people thought about the construction of this miracle of technical thought, and for many this remains a mystery to this day.
As can be judged by the name given to the mouse by users, it is based on a ball. It is located mainly in the center of the lower plane of the mouse. For better adhesion to the work surface, an impressive layer of rubber has always been applied to it. Inside the housing there was a whole system of readers, including rollers tightly pressed to the surface of a rubberized ball. Moving the mouse around the table, the ball rotated along two axes, and its movement was reported to the rollers, which, in turn, transmitted rotations to miniature shafts, at one end of which there was an impeller. It served as a kind of switch in the circuit of the LED and photocell. While rotating, it interrupted, then again missed a signal with a certain frequency, which was perceived, respectively, as zero and one. Based on these data, calculations were built that allow you to project mouse movements on the table plane with cursor movements on the screen plane.
Further evolution
Alas, the device of a ball mechanical mouse had a number of minuses. For example, dirt and dust often stuck to the rubber coating of the axial ball, which often led to glitches, also due to the abundance of rotating parts, the correct life of the device was reduced by several times.
Therefore, it came as no surprise to anyone that such a model was supplanted by her more modern optical sister, which possessed a much larger number of advantages.