Mouse cleaning apparatus and method

Abstract

An improved mouse cleaning apparatus having a cleaning ball for temporary insertion into the cavity formed on the underside of the mouse. In one embodiment, the cleaning ball includes a core which is encased within an outer shell of polymeric material such as a foamed rubber compound. This core may be metallic, polymeric, or made of another sufficiently dense material, and is provided to ensure that the cleaning ball is sufficiently heavy to properly roll in response to movement of the mouse across a mouse pad or the like. The core may alternatively be covered with absorbent fibers, which may be synthetic or organic in nature, rather than a polymeric coating. In another embodiment, the cleaning ball is made entirely of a polymeric or elastomeric material having sufficiently high weight and/or density or is sufficiently compressed such that a weighted core is not required. The apparatus further comprises a mouse cleaning pad to provide a suitable planar surface upon which to roll the mouse during cleaning operations. The upper surface of the mouse pad is preferably textured to provide a surface having a relatively high coefficient of friction for the cleaning ball. An improved cleaning method, and various methods for manufacturing mouse cleaning balls are also described.