Can a mouse do that?

Let's look at an interesting patent issued in 2003. Before I give it all away, I want you to think about your mouse – yes, the one connected to your computer, not the one running around the floor. Now think about what other functions you may want to integrate with your mouse. As the music for Jeopardy is playing in your mind – I hope you wrote down – printer! Now this is not from some mad inventor who just happened to notice that nobody had done this yet – this is from Casio!

Abstract: A mouse device for use as an input device of a computer is provided that includes a housing in which recording paper is loadable, and a printer unit provided within the housing for printing on the recording paper print information received from the computer. The printer unit includes a paper loading section in which the recording paper is loaded, a platen roller for feeding the recording paper loaded in the loading section, a print head for printing on the recording paper fed by the platen roller, and a discharge port through which the recording paper is discharged after printing by the platen roller out of the housing while taking a substantially vertical attitude.

Now, I am intrigued. What is recording paper? Does this distinguish it from paper that somehow cannot be written on. The only clue we get is in claim 9 that states—The mouse device according to claim 1, wherein: said print head comprises a thermal head; and the recording paper comprises heat-sensitive paper that is coloured by heat produced by said thermal head.

Maybe this might be more useful as a label maker or something like that but maybe someone already beat them to the Dymo/mouse combination.

Brian Bailey