My workplace has not yet upgraded to optical mice, and so at least monthly we must use a pin or unfolded paper-clip to lift off that annoying little band of roller smegma. With a particularly nasty buildup, this can take several minutes, and the %#@!*&^ thing still isn't really clean.
The Mouse Mate is a pen sized, battery powered mechanical cleaner. In its head are two contra-rotating brushes, one spinning just a little faster than the other so that, when applied to the rollers in a castrated mouse, the dirty roller is slowly rotated and cleaned. A miniature fan sucks away the dislodged smegma into a filter.
Sexy transparent Dyson model for the super rich, basic plastic and blah design for the government purchasing office.-- ConsulFlaminicus, Aug 09 2004 Roller scrapers http://www.halfbake...a/Roller_20scrapers [phoenix, Oct 05 2004] +1 for 'castrated mouse'-- po, Aug 09 2004 This will remove the perverse satisfaction I take from scratching at mouse smegma with my fingernails; but on balance my loss is probably society's gain. [+]-- DocBrown, Aug 09 2004 There used to be a device you could set your mouse on that would do this for you. I can't find it now. Either way, cleaning the mouse still takes time (and time=money).
With the cost of optical mice equal to that of mechanical mice, it's surely worth your money to upgrade (or do you pay your people a pittance?) Alternately, clean/replace the mouse pads periodically.-- phoenix, Aug 09 2004 Thank you [Tabs], for making my day!-- gnomethang, Aug 09 2004 It's called CLEAN YOUR MOUSE PAD once in a while.-- jintag, Aug 09 2004 Are there any other alphabetic types of rings besides "o"?-- phundug, Aug 09 2004 Buy an optical mouse. They're cheap now, and you never have to clean them.-- Freefall, Aug 09 2004 Yeah, I doubt this device could be made for less than the $10 an optical mouse costs.-- eulachon, Aug 09 2004 [phundug] D-ring binders?-- RayfordSteele, Aug 09 2004 [phundug] My computer contains a lot of Y-rings.-- Detly, Aug 10 2004 PHONEtic rings? <Wrings hands in shame> Actually if the cleaner had one wheel, but angled so that it moved almost parallel to the roller, then the cleaning effect would also gradually turn the roller. Two cleaning wheels not required.-- Ling, Aug 10 2004 //I doubt this device could be made for less than the $10 an optical mouse costs// I think you will find a USD10 retail unit is possible, and one unit could look after an army of clogged mice. A client of mine recently sourced from China, at USD1.75 per unit, a gizmo incorporating infra red sensor, on board programmed chips reading humidity, temperature and atmospheric pressure and a speaker alarm, all in a sturdy, screwed and sealed case.
//Two cleaning wheels not required// The idea of two cleaning wheel brushes is to flick the dirt up into the body of the Mouse mate, rather than out into the mouse body as would happen with a single wheel brush.-- ConsulFlaminicus, Aug 10 2004 random, halfbakery