The present invention refers to a self- supplied mouse equipped with harvester device for generating electricity.

Devices are known in the art, in different application environments, which are characterized by the use of "energy harvesting" technologies adapted to obtain the necessary energy for operating the devices themselves directly from external sources (solar energy, thermal energy, kinetic energy from vibrations, etc.) present in the surrounding environment in which such devices operate, as disclosed, for example, in US5347186, WO2011051800, TO2011A000843 , TO2011A000844 ,

TO2012A000527.

In particular, among the various energy sources which can be used, vibrations represent an innovative and advantageous energy source for making harvester devices with inertial mass, characterized by a rigid structure inside which there is a body partially free of moving, not integrally anchored to the rigid structure itself. The internal mass and the frame of these devices, when they are subjected to mechanical stresses, move with a relative motion one with respect to the other, and this movement is useful for driving a transducer and obtaining a conversion from kinetic energy into electric energy.

Harvester devices are also known, which are capable of transforming the kinetic energy provided by vibrations into electric energy by exploiting different operating types depending on the frequency contents of vibrations themselves and based, for example, on the piezoelectric principle, on the electrostatic principle (by using capacitors with plane parallel faces) or on the electromagnetic principle (exploiting electromagnetic induction phenomena) .

In such specific technical field,

US20020118173, KR100845814, TW201020866,

CN101034325, C 102830820 disclose solutions which deal with self-supplied mouse. In particular:

- US20020118173 discloses a mechanical (ball) mouse which uses a generator of the rotary type coupled with the ball of the mouse itself to generate electric energy useful for supplying the device;

KR100845814 discloses a wireless mouse equipped with three energy harvester devices, in which two are of the rotary type, and the third is a linear generator arranged vertically and composed of a magnet which can move inside a guide related to a fixed winding;

TW201020866 discloses a wireless optical mouse self-supplied through an electromagnetic rotary generator integral with the mouse ball: such generator is composed of two magnets inserted in the ball and a coil inserted inside the support which bears the ball;

CN101034325 discloses a wireless optical mouse integrating one or more energy generative devices of the rotary type;

CN102830820 discloses a self-supplied mouse coupled with its related mouse-pad: in such device the generation of electric energy occurs through a relative motion between mouse and its related mouse-pad during the manual use of the mouse itself. The prior art however does not propose any mouse in which the electric generation for supplying the mouse itself occurs through an harvester device of the magnetic-mechanical type, in particular with horizontal arrangement of the harvester device inside the mouse.

Therefore, object of the present invention is solving the above prior art problems by providing a self-supplied mouse equipped with a magnetic- mechanical electric energy harvester device.

Another object of the present invention is providing a mouse equipped with an optimized harvester device with horizontal arrangement, in particular aligned with the X movement axis of the mouse itself.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention, as will result from the following description, are obtained with a self- supplied mouse equipped with magnetic-mechanical harvester device for generating electricity as claimed in Claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non- trivial variations of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

It is intended that all enclosed claims are an integral part of the present description. The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, provided as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the mouse according to the present invention;

Figures 2 to 5 show perspective and partially sectioned views of some alternative embodiments of a component of the mouse according to the present invention; and

Figure 6 shows an electric diagram of a component of the mouse according to the present invention.

With reference to the Figures, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown and described. It will be immediately obvious that numerous variations and modifications (for example related to shape, sizes, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) could be made to what is described, without departing from the scope of the invention, as appears from the enclosed claims .

With reference to the Figures, it can be noted that the mouse 1 according to the present invention, or another similar electronic device, comprises at least one magnetic-mechanical harvester device 2 for generating electric current supplying the mouse 1 itself; in particular, such harvester device 2 comprises :

- at least one mobile magnetic element 4 axially sliding along at least one translation axis A-A coaxial with at least one sliding guide 6 composed, for example, of at least a cylindrical room containing therein such mobile magnetic element 4 ;

- at least one first spiral-type winding 16, or at least one of such first 16 and such second 17 spiral-type windings, made of electrically conductive material, such as a solenoid, a coil or other suitable winding, adapted to concatenate the magnetic flux created by such mobile magnet 4, such spiral -type windings being preferably arranged symmetrically with respect to a balance position of such mobile magnet 4 and suitably separated by at least one spacer ring 10 and suitably connected in series or counter- series, by winding the spiral in a common way, for example clockwise, or in a different way, for example counterclockwise;

- force optimizing elements 8, such as for example elastic elements lie helical or conical springs, and/or fixed permanent magnets or other suitable ones, arranged in the side ends of such sliding guide 6.

Moreover, as shown in particular in Figures 4 and 5 , the harvester device 2 can comprise at least one third spiral- type winding 18 and at least one fourth spiral -type winding 19, made of electrically conductive material, adapted to concatenate the magnetic flux created by such mobile magnetic element 4, such spiral-type windings 18 and 19 being symmetrically arranged respectively with respect tog spiral-type windings 17 and 16 and suitable separated therefrom by spacer rings 14 and 12; such spacer rings 12 and 14 can exclusively have the purpose of separating the windings 17, 18 and 16, 19 as shown in Figure 5, or, if made of ferromagnetic material as shown in Figure 4, make further balance positions for the mobile magnet 4 making the system multi-stable .

It can be noted how such force optimizing elements 8 can also be composed of such spacer rings 12, 14 placed between the windings 16, 17, 18, 19.

Moreover, as shown in particular in Figures 3 and 5, the mobile element of the harvester device 2 can be obtained as stack of magnets 4 , 7 and 9 arranged in such a way that the faces with opposite polarity are adjacent, Figure 3; alternatively, the mobile element of the harvester device 2 can be obtained as stack of magnets 4, 7 and 9 arranged in such a way that the faces with the same polarity are adjacent and separated by ferromagnetic elements 20, 21, like in Figure 5.

Preferably, at least one of such harvester devices 2 is preferably arranged on such mouse 1 so that the translation axis A-A is parallel to the horizontal movement axis X of the mouse 1 itself, thereby allowing to obtain the maximum collection of energy: obviously, such harvester device 2 can alternatively be arranged in any other position, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

The harvester device 2 of the mouse 1 according to the present invention is therefore represented by a magnetic-mechanical transducer in which the force optimizing elements 8 are adapted to exert a force on the mobile magnetic element 4 which is thereby free of sliding along the sliding guide 6. Advantageously, the harvester device 2 can assume a first configuration of the mechanical type if such force exerted on the mobile magnetic element 4 is of a mechanical nature: in such case, the force optimizing elements 8 can be composed of elastic elements adapted to enable the sliding of the mobile magnetic element 4 along the sliding guide 6 when the mouse 1 is under mechanical vibration, for example during the manual sliding of the mouse 1 on the bearing surface, preferably along the direction of axis X parallel to the translation axis A-A of the sliding guide 6.

Moreover, advantageously, the harvester device 2 can assume a second configuration of the magnetic type if such force exerted on the mobile magnetic element 4 is of a magnetic nature: in such case, the force optimizing elements 8 can be composed of fixed magnetic elements and arranged so that each fixed magnetic element and the mobile magnetic element 4 are mutually oriented in order to oppose the two faces with the same polarity, in order to generate a repulsion force, enabling the repulsion between such fixed magnetic element and such mobile magnetic element 4, which is free of sliding along the sliding guide 6. Moreover, advantageously, the harvester device 2 can assume a third configuration of the mechanical-magnetic type: in such case, one of such force optimizing elements 8 is composed of an elastic element while another one of such force optimizing elements 8 is composed of a fixed magnetic element, such force optimizing elements 8 thereby exerting on the mobile magnetic element 4 respectively and simultaneously, a mechanical force and a magnetic force. The fixed magnetic element and the mobile magnetic element 4, in such case, are mutually oriented in order to oppose the two faces with the same polarity, in order to generate a repulsion force, simultaneously enabling the repulsion between such fixed magnetic element and such mobile magnetic element 4 and the mechanical action of the elastic element.

The mobile magnetic element 4, as shown in Figures 2 and 4 , or 4 , 7 and 9 , as shown in Figures 3 and 5, have physical sizes suitable for its use and alternately moves around its balance position, or its balance positions, generating a magnetic field, in which such spiral-type windings 16, 17, 18, 19 are immersed: such magnetic field creates a magnetic flux thereby concatenated on each spiral- type winding 16, 17, 18, 19 and, when there is relative movement, an electric voltage.

The mouse 1 according to the present invention further comprises managing means 11 of the operation of the harvester device 2 adapted to process the magnetic-mechanical signal transduced by the harvester device 2 into an electric signal : such harvester device 2 is therefore adapted to generate electric current and to provide the necessary supply for using the mouse 1.

In particular, as it is possible to note in Figure 6, the harvester device 2 is schematically shown as an electric voltage generator, and in particular every spiral-type winding 16, 17, 18, 19 is connected to such managing means 11. Such managing means 11 comprise:

at least one rectifying and leveling circuit 13 , composed for example of a diode bridge or another suitable one, adapted to filter and level at least one voltage value induced on every spiral-type winding 16, 17, 18, 19 and to obtain a direct current value,

means 15 for stabilizing the electric current, composed for example of at least one capacitor, a load resistance, a resistance in parallel with such capacitor, or other suitable one.

Obviously, the configuration of such managing means 11 can be optimized to maximize the performances of the harvester device 2 with advanced electronic elements of the passive, adaptive, semi-active or active types, allowing to reach high energy densities depending on the low intensity and the low frequency values which characterize the motion of the mouse 1.

The invention as described above thereby allows obtaining at least the following advantages: providing a mouse having the necessary supply for its use, provided by the harvester device for generating electricity integrated in the mouse itself;

reducing environmental impacts by replacing the primary battery of the mouse with the harvester device,- optimizing the operation of the harvester device with elastic elements which improve performances ;

allowing to reach high energetic dens values depending on the accelerations transmitted by the manual use of the mouse, which are characterized by low frequency and intensity values;

guaranteeing the adaptability and operation di such harvester device also in other electronic consumer devices .