U.S. Patent number: 4,760,618
Filed: Jun. Apr. 14, 1987
Issued: Aug. 2, 1988
Inventor: Stephen R. Chapin, Jr.
As the trackball mice of the 1980s were prone to collect dirt and dust inside their housings, users would commonly need to remove the trackball and clean the mouse's trackball chamber and sensors. In 1988, inventor Stephen R. Chapin was issued a patent for a mouse cleaning system that used a special trackball having a "hook" VELCRO surface and a pad covered with a "loop" VELCRO surface.
The mouse's regular trackball would be temporarily replaced with the VELCRO ball, and as you moved the mouse back and forth on the VELCRO pad, the ball would "scrub" the inside of the trackball chamber.
Image taken from U.S. Patent 4,760,618 - Digitized by Google
Computer mouse evolution: Patent designs from the 1970s and 1980s
by Bill Detwiler | June 18, 2010, 10:43am PDT | Image 30 of 31
Apparatus For Cleaning The Interior Of A Mouse
Apparatus For Cleaning The Interior Of A Mouse - Image 30 of 31
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About Bill Detwiler
Bill Detwiler is Head Technology Editor of TechRepublic. Previously, he worked as a Support Tech and IT Manager in the social research and energy industries.
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