JP4040918B2 - Trackball type input device and portable information terminal - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a so-called trackball type input device, and more particularly, to a trackball type input device in which a rotation operation of a ball is limited to two orthogonal directions and a click feeling is given to an operator with respect to the rotation in the two directions.
[0002]
The present invention also relates to a portable information terminal including the trackball type input device.
[0003]
[Prior art]
As a user input interface, a trackball type input device that is rotatable in any direction is known. In the trackball type input device, the rotation detection encoder provided on the bottom of the ball detects the amount and direction of rotation when the operator rotates the ball by touching the exposed part of the ball, which is the operating body, with a finger of a hand. To do. The detected rotation amount and direction are transmitted as electrical signals to the connected electronic device, and, for example, the cursor on the screen of the electronic device moves in the transmitted direction.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In portable information terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) that have become widespread these days, operations for browsing and selecting a large number of discrete menu items are required as the size and functionality of the mobile information terminals increase. In general, in such menu browsing / selection operations, the movement direction of the cursor (or selected item) by the input device may be only one direction in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction or only two directions orthogonal to each other. Not a few.
[0005]
A trackball type input device with no restrictions on the direction of operation can easily operate an arbitrary amount of movement in any direction, but on the other hand, since the ball rotates easily, only a specific amount of movement in a specific direction. It is difficult to operate, feedback is difficult to obtain for discrete inputs such as menu selection as described above, and input operability is difficult to say.
[0006]
Therefore, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2001-216085, 2001-255997, 2001-265528, and 2001-290596, an encoder that contacts a ball and transmits rotation is disclosed. A configuration is disclosed in which a click feeling is given to the operator as a tactile sensation when the ball is rotated by devising the outer peripheral shape of the shaft.
[0007]
However, in the configuration disclosed in each of the above publications, there is no restriction on the rotation operation of the ball, and the ball can rotate in any direction as its original function. Even when the movement direction to be performed is limited to one direction or two directions orthogonal to each other, a click feeling is generated even when the ball is rotated in a direction other than the limited direction.
[0008]
If the operator can sense that the cursor has moved to the next item (or the next item has been selected) by obtaining a click feeling, the limited 1 or the above The feeling of clicking that occurs when rotating in directions other than the two directions is unnecessary and even has the opposite effect. That is, when the moving direction is limited as in the menu selection described above, it is preferable that the click feeling can be obtained only in the limited direction.
[0009]
Therefore, it is conceivable to limit the rotation operation of the ball so that a click feeling can be obtained only when the ball rotates in a predetermined direction. As a configuration for restricting the rotation operation of the ball in the trackball type input device, for example, one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-161112 can be cited. However, this configuration focuses on restricting the rotation operation of the ball to three directions at intervals of 120 °, and the click feeling is appropriate in, for example, menu selection in which the movement direction is limited to the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction. Therefore, the rotation operation is not limited to one direction or two directions orthogonal to each other.
[0010]
Thus, in the conventional trackball type input device, for example, in the menu selection screen in which items are arranged in one direction or two orthogonal directions employed in a portable information terminal, the one direction or two orthogonal directions There is a problem that it is difficult to give the operator a click feeling only for the rotation operation.
[0011]
A jog dial type input device is also known as another user input device. Certainly, since the jog dial type input device usually gives a click feeling according to the rotation angle, it is possible to easily input an arbitrary movement amount in one direction of up and down or left and right. Therefore, it can be said that it has good operability for discrete input such as menu selection.
[0012]
However, the jog dial type input device can only input a movement amount in one direction inherently and is difficult to expand in a two-dimensional direction. Therefore, the operability in menu selection in which items are arranged in two orthogonal directions still remains as a problem.
[0013]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and provides a trackball type input device capable of obtaining comfortable operability in menu selection in which items are arranged in two orthogonal directions. For the purpose.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
One aspect of the present invention includes an exposed portion that can be touched by a user, a spherical input unit that is rotated by an operation by the user, and a detection unit that detects a rotation amount of the input unit in two orthogonal directions. A trackball type input device having tactile feedback giving means for giving tactile feedback to a user operating the input means according to rotation of the input means, and slits provided in the two orthogonal directions And a cover part provided on the exposed portion so as to cover the exposed portion of the input means, and a user can operate the input means only through the slit. It is.
[0015]
In this aspect, the spherical input means is, for example, a ball, the two orthogonal directions are, for example, the XY directions, and the tactile feedback is, for example, a click feeling.
[0016]
According to this aspect, the rotation operation of the ball is restricted to two directions orthogonal to each other, and in order to give the operator a click feeling with respect to the rotation in the two directions, the two orthogonal directions (that is, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction) are provided. A trackball type input device suitable for menu selection in which items are arranged can be provided.
[0017]
Another aspect of the present invention is a portable information terminal including the trackball type input device according to the above aspect, wherein the trackball type input device includes the input unit, the detection unit, and the tactile feedback providing unit. And a block including the cover part, a block accommodating part for accommodating the block so that the user can rotate the block around the vertical axis through the cover part, and the user holds the portable information terminal with one hand A stopper portion for locking the rotation of the block at a predetermined position for the right hand and the left hand so that the slit has an angle that can be easily operated by the thumb of the hand holding the portable information terminal. Is a portable information terminal characterized by
[0018]
According to this aspect, even if the user holds the portable information terminal with any hand, the direction of the slit can be changed to a direction that can be easily operated with the thumb of the hand holding the terminal. The operability of such a trackball type input device is improved.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0020]
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1A is a simplified diagram of a trackball type input device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Here, for convenience of explanation, a simplified configuration in which only the trackball input unit is provided in the housing 101 is shown, but as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the trackball type input device according to the present embodiment is shown. 100 may include components other than the trackball input unit (for example, a click button, a numeric keypad, an interface for connecting to other devices, and the like). The trackball type input device 100 according to the present embodiment may be a part of a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA, and is a single user input device used by being connected to a fixed information terminal such as a personal computer. It may be.
[0021]
The trackball input unit includes a ball 102 which is an operation body for inputting, and a cover 104 provided with a slit (groove) 103. As illustrated, the slit 103 is provided in two orthogonal directions. Since the operator can touch the ball 102 only through the slit 103, the rotation operation of the ball 102 is limited to two directions in which the slit 103 is provided.
[0022]
That is, in the trackball type input device according to the present embodiment, the ball 102 rotates only in these two directions in actual operation. Therefore, by providing the slit 103 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, the rotation operation of the ball 102 can be limited to the XY directions.
[0023]
The housing 101 and the cover 102 integrated therewith are preferably made of a flexible material such as soft plastic. Further, FIG. 1 shows a case where the cover 104 is integrated with the housing 101 of the trackball type input device 100, but as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the cover 104 is a separate part, The housing 101 may be assembled with, for example, an adhesive, a double-sided tape, or a screw. In this case, it is good also as a structure which can be attached or detached.
[0024]
Further, it is preferable to subject the front and back surfaces of the cover 104 to friction reduction processing such as Teflon (R) processing. Thereby, the frictional force between the fingertip of the operator and the ball 102 is reduced, and the ball 102 is smoothly rotated. Conversely, it is preferable to subject the surface of the ball 102 to friction increasing processing such as protein processing. As a result, the fingertip of the operator is easily caught on the ball 102. The friction reduction / increase processing is more preferably employed at the same time.
[0025]
The slit width of the slit 103 is set such that at least a part of the fingertip of a human hand touches the ball 102 and the operator can rotate the ball 102 by the contact. However, in order to achieve the purpose of limiting the rotation operation of the ball to the two directions in which the slit 103 is provided, the slit is wide enough to allow the operator to rotate the ball 102 in directions other than the direction in which the slit is provided. The width must not be adopted.
[0026]
Further, FIG. 1A shows a case where the slit 103 is provided in a cross shape on the cover 104, but as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the operator only has two directions orthogonal to the ball 102 through the slit 103. If it can be rotated, the shape seen from above may not be a cross. In addition, FIG. 1A shows the case where the slit 103 is provided only in the cover 104 portion. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the slit 103 is smoothly extended to the housing 101 portion. The extended portion may be a guide for guiding the fingertip of the operator to the slit 103. This case is shown in FIG. Such an extension can be provided in any direction, and its length can also be designed arbitrarily.
[0027]
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of electrical signals in the trackball type input device 100. In order to detect the rotation of the ball 102, the trackball type input device 100 includes rotation detection encoders 201 and 202, and encoder shafts 203 and 204 that are respectively connected to these encoders and come into contact with the ball 102. The directions in which the encoder shafts 203 and 204 are provided are orthogonal to each other. Here, for convenience, the rotation detection encoder 201 and the encoder shaft 203 are used for the X-axis direction, and the rotation detection encoder 202 and the encoder shaft 204 are used for the Y-axis direction.
[0028]
When the operator rotates the ball 102, the rotation is transmitted to the encoder shafts 203 and 204, and the encoder shafts 203 and 204 also rotate according to the rotation of the ball 102. In this way, the rotation of the ball 102 is separated into rotation in the X-axis direction and rotation in the Y-axis direction.
[0029]
The rotations of the encoder shafts 203 and 204 are converted into electric signals representing the amount of rotation by the rotation detection encoders 201 and 202, respectively, and transmitted to the microcontroller 205. The microcontroller 205 converts each rotation amount into a movement distance of the cursor (or other pointer) on the screen in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction and outputs them to the outside of the apparatus. Here, the microcontroller 205 may be provided outside the trackball type input device 100. Further, if the trackball type input device 100 is a part of the portable information terminal, the output is transmitted to, for example, a main processor of the portable information terminal, and the trackball type input device 100 is a single user input device. If so, for example, it is transmitted to the connected personal computer.
[0030]
Further, the trackball type input device 100 is further provided with a switch 206. Although shown in a plan view in FIG. 2 for convenience, the switch 206 is actually provided below the ball 102 as will be described later. Then, the entire ball 102 is pushed downward by the operator, and the ball 102 is pushed by the switch 206, so that ON / OFF is switched.
[0031]
The switch 206 is used, for example, for “click” or “decision” of a selected item on the menu screen. The output of the switch 206 is processed by the microcontroller 205 and output outside the apparatus.
[0032]
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the internal structure of the trackball type input device 100. As shown in the drawing, the encoder shafts 203 and 204 are provided so as to be in contact with the ball 102 at an unexposed portion thereof and orthogonal to each other. Here, the directions in which the encoder shafts 203 and 204 are provided generally correspond to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.
[0033]
In addition, the switch 206 is provided with a slight gap immediately below the ball 102 with the switch surface facing upward. Here, in this embodiment, since the cover 104 has flexibility, as shown in FIG. 4, the operator presses the ball 102 together with the cover 104 with the fingertip to turn ON / OFF the switch 206. Can be controlled. Here, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the cover 104 is made of a non-flexible material in a rigid manner, and the operator places only the ball 102 downward by providing the slit 103 with sufficient width to allow the fingertip to enter. It is also possible to have a structure that can be pressed. However, since the size of the fingertip is different for each person, it can be said that the present embodiment in which the cover is pressed together is more preferable.
[0034]
The encoder shafts 203 and 204 are each provided with a mechanism for giving the operator a click feeling according to the rotation of the ball 102. The tension balls 301 and 302 are urged by the tension springs 303 and 304 directly upward with respect to the encoder shafts 203 and 204, respectively. The encoder shafts 203 and 204 respectively have depressions 305 and 306 provided at corresponding positions on the outer periphery so as to accommodate at least a part of the tension balls 301 and 302, respectively.
[0035]
Here, FIG. 5 is also referred to. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a surface cut along AA shown in FIG. The tension balls 301 and 302 are in contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the encoder shafts 203 and 204 at normal times, respectively, but when the depressions 305 and 306 are just below the rotation of the encoder shafts 203 and 204 (see FIG. 5). State), and the energizing force upward of the tension springs 303 and 304 partially enters the recesses 305 and 306, respectively. When the encoder shafts 203 and 204 are further rotated, the tension balls 301 and 302 come out of the recesses 305 and 306, respectively, and come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the encoder shaft where the recesses are not provided.
[0036]
Here, the depths of the recesses 305 and 306 need to be such that they do not hinder the smooth rotation of the encoder shafts 203 and 204 when the tension balls 301 and 302 enter.
[0037]
Here, the shape of the recesses 305 and 306 can be freely designed according to what kind of click feeling is desired to be given to the operator. For example, in FIG. 6, when the cross section is round as shown in (a), a natural click feeling is shown, and when the cross section is flat as shown in (b), a smooth click feeling is shown in (c). Thus, if the cross section is square, a hard click feeling can be given respectively.
[0038]
Furthermore, it is preferable that the tactile feedback based on the click feeling is given as a unit of movement between items so that the operator can sense the movement between items in the menu selection based on the click feeling. Therefore, the number of depressions per round provided on the outer circumference of the encoder shafts 203 and 204 can be freely designed according to the setting of menu selection (for example, the movement distance between items). An example of the arrangement of the depressions on the outer periphery of the encoder shaft is shown in FIG. (A) shows one depression per round, (b) shows two depressions per round, and (c) shows a cross section of the encoder shaft when three depressions are provided per round. When a movement distance corresponding to one rotation of the encoder shaft is input, there is a click feeling once in the case of (a), twice in the case of (b), and three times in the case of (c). Each is given to the operator. That is, when the movement distance corresponding to one rotation of the encoder shaft corresponds to one item movement (moving to the next item), as shown in FIG. If it corresponds to (moving to the item), as shown in (b), the number of depressions per round is set as shown in (c) if it corresponds to the movement between items 3 times (moving to the next item). It is preferred that
[0039]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the rotation operation of the ball is limited in the XY direction, and the operator is given a click feeling every time the selected item is moved. Therefore, the item is arranged in the XY direction. It is possible to provide a trackball type input device suitable for menu selection.
[0040]
(Embodiment 2)
Next, a trackball type input device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. About the trackball type input device which concerns on this embodiment, the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted about the structure similar to the apparatus which concerns on above-mentioned Embodiment 1. FIG.
[0041]
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the trackball type input device is employed as a part of a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone. More specifically, when the user holds the portable information terminal with one hand and is used as a part of the portable information terminal that is assumed to operate the trackball type input device with the thumb of the holding hand. Assuming
[0042]
Due to the structure of the human hand, the horizontal axis in which the thumb can move is inclined with respect to the horizontal axis. Therefore, when the trackball type input device is operated with one thumb of the hand holding the portable information terminal as described above, the slit itself provided in the XY directions according to the present invention is aligned with the direction in which the thumb can easily move. It is preferable from the viewpoint of operability that it is inclined from the horizontal and vertical directions.
[0043]
Therefore, the trackball type input device according to the present embodiment tilts the slit provided in the XY directions from the horizontal / vertical direction of the terminal itself so that it is suitable for the operation with the thumb, and the portable information terminal is moved to the right hand. It can be changed depending on whether it is held with a left hand or a left hand.
[0044]
The trackball type input device according to the present embodiment covers the exposed portion of the ball with a cover provided with a slit, restricts the ball line operation by the operator to the direction of the slit, and the operator according to the rotation of the ball This is similar to the apparatus according to the first embodiment in that a click feeling is given to the device.
[0045]
The configuration of the trackball type input device according to this embodiment will be specifically described below with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8A, in this embodiment, the ball 102, the rotation detection encoders 201 and 202, and the encoder shafts 203 and 204 are provided inside the inner rotor 801. The inner rotor 801 is housed in a cylindrical hole 802 provided in the housing 101 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis. The cover 803 provided with the slit 103 is integrated with the outer wall of the inner rotor 801.
[0046]
As shown in FIG. 8B, a concave rotor-side stopper 804 is provided on the outer wall of the inner rotor 801 (omitted for convenience in FIG. 8A). Two convex housing side stopper portions 805 that are paired with this are provided at the right hand position and the left hand position on the inner periphery of the hole 802, and the inner rotor 801 is locked at each position. In addition, the rotor-side stopper portion 804 is formed in the same hole so that it does not rotate to the right from the left hand position and to the left from the right hand position, that is, the left and right maximum rotation positions coincide with the right hand position and the left hand position. A convex portion 806 is provided on the inner periphery of 802. As is apparent to those skilled in the art, these illustrated shapes are merely examples of the present embodiment.
[0047]
FIG. 8B shows a state in which the left hand position is set as an example. When the terminal 103 is gripped with the left hand, the slit 103 provided in the two orthogonal directions is tilted to the right from the vertical / horizontal direction of the casing itself. The operability when inputting in the horizontal direction 103 is improved.
[0048]
As is apparent from the figure, when the user grips the terminal with the right hand, this time, the inner rotor 801 is rotated to a position where the slit 103 is inclined to the left side, and the rotor-side stopper 804 is moved to the other housing-side stopper 805. Engage with.
[0049]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the direction of the slit can be changed to the direction in which the user can easily operate with the thumb of the hand holding the terminal, even when the user holds the portable information terminal with any hand. Therefore, the operability of the trackball type input device according to the present invention is improved.
[0050]
In the first and second embodiments described above, the configuration that gives the click feeling to the rotation of the ball by using the depression provided in the tension ball, the tension spring, and the encoder shaft has been described. As will be apparent, the mechanism for providing the click feeling is not limited as long as the rotation operation of the ball is limited to two directions orthogonal to each other and the click feeling can be given to the operator with respect to the rotation in the two directions. Things can be used.
[0051]
For example, it is possible to adopt a structure in which a convex portion is provided on the encoder shaft side and a tension plate is pressed against this portion. This structure has an advantage that the encoder shaft can be easily processed and a simple configuration can be adopted.
[0052]
Also, instead of the mechanical click feeling imparting method as described above, “ActiveClick that can add a click feeling to a touch panel” by Fukumoto and Sugimura; Information Processing Society of Japan Interaction 2001 Proceedings; March 2001; pp 25-26 Alternatively, the “Active Click” method may be adopted to provide a click feeling. In this case, there exists an advantage which can control arbitrarily the presence or absence of a click, and a unit rotation angle.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a trackball type input device capable of obtaining comfortable operability in menu selection in which items are arranged in two orthogonal directions.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 (a) is a simplified diagram showing a trackball type input device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
(B) It is a simplified diagram which shows another one aspect | mode of the trackball type input device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of an electric signal in the trackball type input device according to the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an internal structure of the trackball type input device according to the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a state before an operator presses a switch of the trackball type input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
(B) It is a figure which shows the state which the operator is pushing the switch of the trackball type | mold input device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. 3 of the trackball type input device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing various shaft cross-sectional aspects relating to the recess shape of the rotation detection encoder in the trackball type input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing various shaft cross-sectional aspects regarding the number of depressions of the rotation detection encoder in the trackball type input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8A is a simplified cross-sectional view of a trackball type input device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
(B) It is a simplified top view of the trackball type input device concerning Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 Trackball type input device 101 Housing 102 Ball 103 Slit 104 Cover 201, 202 Rotation detection encoder 203, 204 Encoder shaft 205 Microcontroller 206 Switch 301, 302 Tension ball 303, 304 Tension spring 305, 306 Recess 801 Inner rotor 802 Hole 803 Cover 804 Rotor side stopper 805 Housing side stopper 806 Convex

Claims (5)

A portable information terminal equipped with a trackball type input device,
The trackball type input device comprises:
A spherical input means having an exposed portion that can be touched by the user and rotating by an operation by the user;
Detecting means for detecting the amount of rotation of the input means in two orthogonal directions;
Tactile feedback giving means for giving tactile feedback to a user operating the input means in accordance with rotation of the input means;
A cover having slits provided in two orthogonal directions and provided on the exposed portion so as to cover the exposed portion of the input means, and allowing a user to operate the input means only through the slit; ,
A block including the input means, the detection means, the haptic feedback giving means, and the cover portion;
A block accommodating portion for accommodating the block so that a user can rotate the block around a vertical axis through the cover portion;
When the user holds the portable information terminal with one hand, the block is rotated at a predetermined position for the right hand and the left hand so that the slit is at an angle that can be easily operated with the thumb of the hand holding the portable information terminal. A portable information terminal comprising: a stopper portion that is locked by The portable information terminal according to claim 1,
The trackball input device is further provided on the bottom surface of the block receiving portion is pressed by the block when the block is pushed down by the user, characterized a switch means for ON / OFF is switched, that A portable information terminal. The portable information terminal according to claim 2, wherein
The trackball type input device comprises:
Wherein the cover portion does not have a flexible,
Portable information terminal when the entire block from the top of the cover portion is pressed down, the switch means is switched, configured, it is characterized. The portable information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A portable information terminal, wherein a friction reduction treatment is applied to the front surface or the back surface of the cover portion. The portable information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A portable information terminal characterized in that a friction increasing treatment is applied to the surface of the input means.

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