Mechanical motion sensor and low-power trigger circuit

• US 20050104853A1
• Filed: 11/13/2003
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Minebea Company Limited (MinebeaMitsumi Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minebea Company Limited (MinebeaMitsumi Inc.)
• Inventors: Fauble, Charles Lee, Takeda, Toshisada, Rice, Dean Larry Jr., Sitalasai, Chatree, Guo, John
• Application Number:
  US10/714,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20050104853A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3259 Power saving in cursor control device, e.g. mouse, joystick, trackball
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A wake-up system for an input device having a circuit board inside it has a motion sensor mounted on the printed circuit board inside the input device. The motion sensor has a motion signal output and the wake-up system further include a detection circuit connected to the motion signal output. The detection circuit has a wake-up signal output. The input device can be an optical wireless mouse. The motion sensor may be a mechanical motion sensor such as a tilt sensor having a ball contact and stationary contacts. The stationary contacts may be printed directly on the printed circuit board. The ball contact and stationary contacts form an electrical switch and are gold-plated. The ball contact is conductive. The motion sensor may be sealed to avoid corrosion. The detection circuit detects a change of state of whether the electrical switch formed by the ball contact and stationary contact is opened or closed. A first embodiment can amplify the motion signal from the motion sensor and a second embodiment can detect a low signal from the motion sensor. Also disclosed is a method of waking up an input device such as a mouse and an input device comprising the wake-up system.

Claims

1. A system for a device having a printed circuit board inside it, comprising:

a motion sensor mounted on said printed circuit board inside said device, said motion sensor having a motion signal output; and

a detection circuit connected to said motion signal output and having a trigger signal output.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said system is a wake-up system.

3. The wake-up system of claim 2, wherein said trigger signal output is a wake-up signal output.

4. The wake-up system of claim 2, wherein said device is an input device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said motion sensor is a mechanical motion sensor.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said motion sensor is a tilt sensor.

7. The wake-up system of claim 4, wherein said input device is a mouse.

8. The wake-up system of claim 7, wherein said mouse is an optical mouse.

9. The wake-up system of claim 4, wherein said input device is wireless.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein said tilt sensor comprises an electrical switch comprised of:

a ball contact; and

at least one stationary contact on said printed circuit board.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said stationary contact is printed on said printed circuit board.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein said stationary contact has a hole in the center.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the stationary contact has an inclined surface toward its center.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the sensitivity of said tilt sensor is adjustable during manufacture.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the sensitivity of said tilt sensor is adjusted by the size of the hole.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the sensitivity of said tilt sensor is adjustable by the size of the ball contact.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the sensitivity of said tilt sensor is adjustable by the weight of the ball contact.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the sensitivity of said tilt sensor is adjustable by the conductivity of the ball contact.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein said tilt sensor comprises plural stationary contacts.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the plural stationary contacts are arranged as pieces of a pie.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein there are 2 stationary contacts.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein there are 4 stationary contacts.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein there are 6 stationary contacts.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein there are 8 stationary contacts.

25. The system of claim 10, wherein said ball contact is a conductive ball.

26. The system of claim 10, wherein the ball contact is gold-plated.

27. The system of claim 10, wherein said stationary contact is gold-plated.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein said motion sensor further includes a housing and said housing is sealed.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein said housing is sealed with an O-ring.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein said housing is sealed with an adhesive.

31. The system of claim 1, wherein said motion sensor comprise an electrical switch and said detection circuit detects a change in state of whether said switch is opened or closed.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein said detection circuit comprises:

a motion detector that determines if there is a change in the opened or closed state of a motion sensor switch; and

a signal processing circuit having a latch circuit that creates a signal of a particular level for a period of time to generate a wake-up signal.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the motion detector of said detection circuit comprises two invertors for amplifying and converting a motion signal pulse from the motion sensor.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the motion detector of said detection circuit comprises a single inverter that can detect a low signal from the motion sensor.

35. An input device comprising:

a printed circuit board;

a motion sensor mounted inside the input device on the printed circuit board, said motion sensor having a motion signal output; and

a detection circuit responsive to said motion signal and having a wake-up signal output.

36. A method of waking-up an input device having a printed circuit board inside it, comprising:

mounting a motion sensor directly on said printed circuit board;

outputting a motion signal from said motion sensor;

providing a detection circuit responsive to said motion signal; and

outputting a wake-up signal from said detection circuit to circuitry of said input device to wake-up said input device.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein said input device further comprises a microprocessor and said microprocessor wakes-up the input device in response to said wake-up signal from said detection circuit.