JP4159575B2 - pointing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for moving a pointer or cursor to an arbitrary position on a display device of a computer, and more particularly to a pointing device that is less likely to malfunction due to vibration and that reliably returns the pointer or cursor to a predetermined position.

  In recent years, operation systems and application systems that use a pointing device with excellent operability in addition to a keyboard as a data input means in a computer or the like and process data by an interactive operation via a screen are increasing.

  Conventionally, a pointing device such as a mouse or a digitizer has been used for a desktop type computer. However, with the advent of a laptop type or a notebook type computer, the pointing device is also diversifying.

  That is, a pointing device such as a desktop operation type mouse or digitizer needs to secure an operation space when used, and a portable computer such as a laptop type or a notebook type cannot secure an operation space when used.

  Therefore, various pointing devices such as a trackball type that can be miniaturized for a portable computer and does not require an operation space for use, and a type that detects an inclination angle difference by inclining an operation part having various shapes have been developed. .

  On the other hand, various pointing devices are also used in an amusement computer called a game machine or the like, and the pointing device used for such an application is required to have characteristics different from those of an apparatus used for a portable computer or the like.

  For example, in an amusement computer, a pointing device is attached to a terminal device that can be operated by hand, and it can be operated on a sofa or floor, regardless of age, from infants to adults, making the terminal device lightweight and inexpensive. It is desirable to be able to do it.

  In addition, the pointer or cursor on the display screen does not move due to vibration applied to the terminal device or changes in the angle that supports the terminal device, and automatically returns to a predetermined position when released from the pointing device. It is required to be able to do it.

  Accordingly, there is a demand for the development of a pointing device that has high return accuracy of the pointer or cursor and that is less likely to malfunction due to vibrations or changes in the support angle.

  FIG. 8 is a side view showing an example of a conventional pointing device, FIG. 9 is a side view showing another conventional pointing device, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional example of a slider recovery mechanism.

  A conventional pointing device used in an amusement computer or the like has an operating rod 11 as shown in FIG. 8, and a close winding is mounted between the base of the operating rod 11 and a support frame 12 that supports the operating rod 11. They are connected via a coil spring 13.

  For example, a coordinate detection unit 14 including a light emitting element 15 and a light receiving element 16 is disposed below the operation rod 11 and the support frame 12, and the light receiving element 16 mounted on the printed circuit board 17 is the lower end of the operation rod 11. It is mounted so as to face the light emitting element 15 mounted on the.

  The light receiving element 16 opposed to the light emitting element 15 is composed of, for example, a CCD having a large number of light receiving portions arranged in a matrix. When the operating rod 11 is pushed in an arbitrary direction, the closely wound coil spring 13 is bent and the operating rod is bent. The axis of 11 is tilted, and the irradiation direction of the light emitting element 15 changes.

  As a result, the light from the light emitting element 15 enters a specific light receiving portion on the light receiving element 16 corresponding to the inclination direction and the inclination depth of the operation rod 11, and the inclination direction and the inclination depth of the operation rod 11 are obtained. An electric signal is output from the light receiving unit on the light receiving element 16 interposed at the coordinate position corresponding to.

  However, when operating the terminal device on a sofa or the like, it is necessary to operate the terminal device and the pointing device with both hands, and the terminal device equipped with the pointing device has a large outer shape and a heavy weight, so it is difficult for infants to handle. Have difficulty.

  In addition, since the pointing device has a heavy operating rod and the center of gravity is greatly biased from the support point by the closely wound coil spring toward the tip side, the inclination of the operating rod changes with the change in the support angle of the terminal device, and the impact applied to the terminal device The operation rod may vibrate.

  In addition, after tilting the operation rod in any direction, release the hand to release the operation rod to the origin by the action of the closely wound coil spring, but the operation rod does not return to the origin when the tilt range is very small. There was a problem that the return accuracy of the pointer or cursor was lowered.

  Therefore, in order to eliminate the lever-like operating rod which is the biggest obstacle in solving the above problems from the pointing device, the inventors have proposed a pointing device having a dome-shaped slider (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

  The pointing device proposed by the inventors is composed of a slider 21 and a housing 22 as shown in FIG. 9, and the dome-shaped slider 21 has a rubber member 23 and a large hole in the center, and is below the rubber member 23. The dome-shaped member 24 is overlapped.

  On the other hand, the housing 22 on which the slider 21 is slidably supported has an upper surface facing the lower surface of the slider 21 formed in a dome shape, and a magnet holding portion 25 protruding downward from the center of the rubber member 23 at the center of the housing 22. A large hole into which can be inserted is provided.

  The detection mechanism of the inclination direction and the inclination depth of the slider 21 is composed of a permanent magnet 26 and a magnetoelectric conversion element 27 embedded in the magnet holding part 25, and the magnetoelectric conversion element 27 disposed around the permanent magnet 26 is mounted. The printed circuit board 28 is disposed so as to face the magnet holder 25.

  The switch element 29 mounted in the center of the printed circuit board 28 is provided for the click operation of the pointing device. When the center part of the slider 21 is pressed, the magnet holding part 25 provided in the center of the rubber member 23 is lowered to switch Element 29 is pressed.

  The pointing device shown in FIG. 9 does not have a recovery mechanism that returns the center of the slider 21 to a predetermined position when the hand is released, but FIG. 10 shows a slider proposed by the inventors in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-117787. It is a structural example of the mechanism to be restored.

  10A, the slider recovery mechanism shown in FIG. 10A has a garter belt-like spring 33 spanned between a plurality of hooks 31 provided on the slider 21 and a plurality of hooks 32 provided on the housing 22 so that the slider 33 has a tensile strength. It is a method to recover.

  In addition, the slider recovery mechanism shown in FIG. 10B is configured such that a linear spring 33 is individually provided between the plurality of hooks 31 and 32 provided on the slider 21 and the housing 22 in place of the garter belt-like spring 33. This is a method of restoring the spanning slider.

  That is, when the slider 21 moves, the tensile strength of the spring 33 in the moving direction decreases and the tensile strength of the spring 33 on the opposite side increases. As a result, when the slider 21 is released, the slider 21 is pulled back to a predetermined position where the tensile strengths of the springs 33 are balanced with each other.

  Further, the slider recovery mechanism shown in FIG. 10C connects the center of the slider 21 and the base member 34 via the closely wound coil spring 35, and when the released slider 21 is released, the closely wound coil spring is used. This is a method of restoring the slider by the restoring force of 35.

The pointing device shown in FIG. 9 is combined with any one of the slider recovery mechanisms shown in FIG. 10 to realize a pointing device that has the same function as the pointing device shown in FIG. 8 and can be reduced in size and weight. it can.
Japanese Patent Publication No.7-117876

  However, in any of the slider recovery mechanisms shown in FIG. 10, the spring is interposed between the slider and the housing or the base member, and is held in place by the recovery force of the spring that directly acts on the slider when the slider is in a free state. Mechanism.

  In this way, in the mechanism in which the restoring force of the spring acts directly on the slider, the operability is impaired when the initial pressure of the spring is increased, and when the initial pressure is decreased, the spring resonates due to the impact applied to the terminal device and moves the slider. There is a case where

  In addition, when the movement range is large, the slider returns to a predetermined position by the action of the spring when the slider is released. However, when the movement range is very small, the slider does not return to the predetermined position and the return accuracy of the pointer or cursor is lowered. There was a problem.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device that has high return accuracy of a pointer or cursor and that is less likely to malfunction due to vibrations or changes in support angle.

  FIG. 1 is a divided perspective view showing a pointing device of the present invention. Throughout the drawings, the same object is represented by the same symbol.

  The above problems include the housing 5 that can be mounted on the printed circuit board 80, the holder 61, the slider 71, and the coil spring 72 incorporated in the housing 5, the dome-shaped operation portion 63 in which the support shaft 62 is supported by the holder 61, and an arbitrary And a displacement amount detector for detecting the amount of inclination. The displacement amount detector is a permanent magnet 81 embedded in the center of the holder 61 and a magnetoelectric device mounted on the printed circuit board 80. The housing 5 includes a bearing recess 54 and a guide wall 52, and the holder 61 includes a hemispherical protrusion 64 that can be fitted into the bearing recess 54, and a pressing rib 65. The slider 71 has a cylindrical body 73 slidable along the guide wall 52 and a pressing portion 75 capable of coming into contact with the pressing rib 65 of the holder 61. The slider 71 includes the housing 5 and the slider 71. The dome-shaped operation unit 6 is energized by a coil spring 72 sandwiched between 71 and 71. When the holder 61 is tilted through 3, the displacement detector detects the tilt direction of the holder 61, and when the dome-shaped operation unit 63 is released, the holder 61 is restored by the action of the coil spring 72. Achieved.

  The dome-shaped operation unit supported by the housing via the holder can be smaller and lighter than conventional operating rods, and the pointing device and terminal device are smaller and lighter, so that the terminal device can be used even for infants who are weak. Easy to operate.

  In addition, the holder is pressed against the housing by a coil spring through a slider that is in contact with a position away from the shaft core, and the tilt of the shaft core changes or is applied to the terminal device as the support angle of the terminal device changes. The shaft core does not vibrate due to the impact.

  Furthermore, the slider that presses the holder against the housing is urged by the coil spring and slides linearly along the guide wall. When the holder is upright, the initial pressure of the coil spring is equal from the hemispherical protrusion. It is applied uniformly to the peripheral edge at a distance.

  When the holder is tilted in any direction, even if the tilt is slight, the force applied to the peripheral portion through the slider becomes unbalanced, and when the hand is released from the dome-shaped operation portion, the force applied to the peripheral portion Since the holder core moves in the direction in which the two are balanced, the holder shaft reliably returns.

  That is, it is possible to realize a pointing device that has a high return accuracy of the pointer or cursor and that is less likely to malfunction due to vibrations or changes in the support angle.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a pointing device that has a high return accuracy of a pointer or cursor and is less likely to malfunction due to vibration or the like.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 2 is a side sectional view showing the holder in an upright state, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the tilted state of the holder, FIG. 4 is a divided perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a lowered state in another embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pointing device of the present invention includes a housing 5, an operation mechanism 6, a pressure mechanism 7, and a coordinate detection unit 8, and the operation mechanism 6 includes a holder 61 and a support shaft 62 mounted in the housing 5. It consists of a dome-shaped operation part 63 supported by a holder 61.

  The pressurizing mechanism 7 includes a slider 71 and a conical coil spring 72 which are incorporated inside the housing 5 to erect the holder 61, and the coordinate detection unit 8 is a permanent magnet 81 embedded in the center of the holder 61 and the housing 5. The magnetoelectric conversion element 82 is disposed under the magnetic field.

  The housing 5 includes a guide wall 52 and a first spring seat 53 that are concentrically projected on the upper surface of the base 51, and a hemispherical bearing recess 54 disposed in the center of the guide wall 52. A plurality of support claws 55 that are locked to the printed circuit board 80 are provided on the lower surface of 51.

  A top-like holder 61 having a conical lower surface that can be tilted in an arbitrary direction has a hemispherical protrusion 64 formed at the center of the lower surface, and when installed in a space surrounded by the guide wall 52, the hemispherical protrusion The operating mechanism 6 is supported by inserting the tip of 64 into the bearing recess 54.

  The holder 61 has an annular pressing rib 65 formed on the upper surface along the outer periphery and a mounting hole 66 formed in the center of the pressing rib 65, and the dome-shaped operating portion 63 is a support shaft extending inward from the center. 62 and a finger-hanging convex portion or concave portion 67 formed at the outer center.

  By inserting the tip of the support shaft 62 extending inward from the center of the dome-shaped operation portion 63 into the mounting hole 66, the operation mechanism 6 is completed, and the dome-shaped operation portion 63 has a convex or concave portion 67 at the outer center. It can be tilted in any direction by moving it with a finger.

  In the pressurizing mechanism 7 that erects the holder 61 by pressurizing, the slider 71 is fitted into the guide wall portion 52 of the housing 5, and the conical coil spring 72 that presses the slider 71 against the holder 61 and erects the housing 61. And the slider 71.

  That is, the slider 71 includes a cylindrical body 73 that can slide in the vertical direction along the guide wall portion 52 of the housing 5, and the cylindrical body 73 is provided with a second spring seat 74 at the outer lower end, At the upper end, a pressing portion 75 that abuts on the pressing rib 65 formed on the upper surface of the holder 61 is provided.

  The conical coil spring 72 abuts the small diameter side against the second spring seat 74 and the large diameter side against the first spring seat 53 for easy assembly, and is equidistant from the hemispherical protrusion 64. The initial pressure of the conical coil spring 72 is uniformly applied to the pressing rib 65 to erect the holder 61.

  The permanent magnet 81 of the coordinate detection unit 8 is embedded in a mounting hole 66 into which a dome-shaped operation unit 63 provided in the holder 61 is inserted, and magnetoelectric conversion such as a Hall element for detecting the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 81 is provided. An element 82 is mounted on a printed circuit board 80 under the housing 5.

  The magnetoelectric transducers 82 are arranged on the X axis and the Y axis with the orthogonal coordinate axes, i.e., directly below the hemispherical bearing recess 54 as the origin, and when the holder 61 is tilted, the holder 61 is moved by the magnetic change of the permanent magnet 81. The direction of inclination and the depth of inclination can be detected.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the slider 71 urged by the conical coil spring 72 and slid along the guide wall 52 is pressed against the holder 61 so that the initial pressure of the conical coil spring 72 is equidistant from the hemispherical protrusion 64. The holder 61 is erected by being uniformly applied to the pressing rib 65.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the holder 61 is tilted, the force applied to the pressing rib 65 of the holder 61 via the slider 71 becomes unbalanced, and when the hand is released from the dome-shaped operating portion 63, the force is applied to the pressing rib 65. The holder 61 moves in a direction in which the applied force is balanced and reliably returns.

  Although the above embodiment is a pointing device suitable for an application in which output data is processed as an analog signal, the output data of the pointing device may be processed as a digital signal in a game or the like that operates at high speed.

  In this way, the pointing device that processes output data as a digital signal is effective only in the direction of movement of the operation unit, and the amount of movement is ignored. Therefore, the moving distance for outputting data is short, and it is quick when released. Is required to be restored.

  Another embodiment of the present invention is a pointing device that can be used for both applications by operating a lever as shown in FIG. 4. The printed circuit board 80 of the above embodiment is mounted on the lowering mechanism 9 and the lifting mechanism 9 on the lower surface. A switch unit 10 is attached.

  The elevating mechanism 9 has a stator part 91 mounted on a printed circuit board 80 and a rotor part 92 rotatably supported by the stator part 91. The stator part 91 has an attachment part 93 and an attachment part fixed to the printed circuit board 80. A plurality of fixed cams 94 are arranged around the 93 and arranged in a circular shape.

  Further, the rotor portion 92 that is inserted into the attachment portion 93 and is rotatably held includes a through hole 95 and a rotation lever 96 that protrudes from the side surface, and a support groove 97 that supports the switch unit 10 is formed on the upper surface. A plurality of moving cams 98 arranged in the circumferential direction are provided on the lower surface.

  The rotor portion 92 inserted into the attachment portion 93 is pressed against the stator portion 91 by a spring 99 interposed between the printed circuit board 80 and the rotor portion 92 is raised and rotated when the rotation lever 96 is rotated in one direction. When the lever 96 is rotated in the opposite direction, the rotor portion 92 is lowered.

  On the other hand, the switch unit 10 includes a ring-shaped substrate 101 mounted in the support groove 97 and at least four switch elements 102. The switch element 102 includes, for example, an actuator 103 made of rubber and a short-circuit electrode 104 fixed to the actuator 103. Have

  A pole 105 is attached to each actuator 103 of the switch element 102 mounted on the substrate 101 in correspondence with the coordinate axis, and the substrate 101 has a pair of electrodes at positions facing the short-circuit electrode 104 fixed in the actuator 103, for example. It has 106.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, through holes 56 and 83 are formed in the housing 5 and the printed circuit board 80 at positions corresponding to the poles 105. As shown in FIG. The tip of the pole 105 thus brought into contact with the edge of the dome-shaped operation unit 63.

  When the dome-shaped operation unit 63 is operated, the dome-shaped actuator 103 made of rubber is pressed and deformed via the pole 105, and a click action is fed back to the operator, and at the same time, the pair of electrodes 106 are short-circuited by the short-circuit electrode 104. .

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the rotor portion 92 is lowered, the protruding tip of the pole 105 sinks below the upper surface of the housing 5, and the dome-shaped operation portion 63 is inclined to a position where it abuts on the upper surface of the housing 5. The actuator 103 is not pressed.

  Still another embodiment of the present invention is a pointing device which can be used for both applications by operating a lever as shown in FIG. 7, and the printed board 80 of the above embodiment is mounted on the lower and upper mechanisms 90 and 90 on the lower surface. A switch unit 10 is mounted.

  The elevating mechanism 90 includes a rotor portion 112 and a stator portion 113 that are attached to the lower surface of the printed circuit board 80 via an attachment portion 111. The stator portion 113 is inserted into the attachment portion 111 and rotated to the lower end of the attachment portion 111. It is supported by a rotor portion 112 that is movably mounted.

  A boss 114 formed in the center is fitted into the lower end of the mounting portion 111 and is rotatably mounted, for example, by a screw or the like. The rotor portion 112 includes an L-shaped rotation lever 115 and a boss 114 protruding from the side surface. A plurality of moving cams 116 are arranged so as to surround and be arranged on the circumference.

  The stator portion 113 has a through-hole 118 and a protrusion 119 that are fitted in the mounting portion 111 and the groove 117 and are slidably held up and down, and a support groove 120 that is provided on the upper surface and supports the switch unit 10. A plurality of fixed cams 121 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the lower surface.

  The stator portion 113 inserted into the attachment portion 111 is pressed against the rotor portion 112 by a spring 99 between the printed circuit board 80 and when the turning lever 115 is turned in one direction, the stator portion 113 is raised and rotated in the opposite direction. When it is moved, the stator portion 113 is lowered.

  The rotor portion 92 inserted into the attachment portion 93 is pressed against the stator portion 91 by a spring 99 interposed between the printed circuit board 80 and the rotor portion 92 is raised and rotated when the rotation lever 96 is rotated in one direction. When the lever 96 is rotated in the opposite direction, the rotor portion 92 is lowered.

  In the lifting mechanism 9, when the rotor portion 92 is rotated, the pole 105 moves in the circumferential direction and the through holes 56 and 83 cannot be used as a guide. However, in the lifting mechanism 90, the pole 105 does not move even when the rotor portion 112 is rotated. The through holes 56 and 83 can be used as a guide without moving.

  As a result, when the dome-shaped operation unit 63 is operated, the pole 105 surely presses the dome-shaped actuator 103 made of rubber, and the click action generated by the dome-shaped actuator 103 is reliably fed back to the operator.

  In this way, the dome-shaped operation unit supported on the housing via the holder can be made smaller and lighter than conventional operation rods, and the pointing device and the terminal device can be made smaller and lighter. The terminal device can be easily operated.

  In addition, the holder is pressed against the housing by a coil spring through a slider that is in contact with a position away from the shaft core, and the tilt of the shaft core changes or is applied to the terminal device as the support angle of the terminal device changes. The shaft core does not vibrate due to the impact.

  Furthermore, the slider that presses the holder against the housing is urged by the coil spring and slides linearly along the guide wall. When the holder is upright, the initial pressure of the coil spring is equal from the hemispherical protrusion. It is applied uniformly to the peripheral edge at a distance.

  When the holder is tilted in any direction, even if the tilt is slight, the force applied to the peripheral portion through the slider becomes unbalanced, and when the hand is released from the dome-shaped operation portion, the force applied to the peripheral portion Since the holder core moves in the direction in which the two are balanced, the holder shaft reliably returns.

  That is, it is possible to realize a pointing device that has a high return accuracy of the pointer or cursor and that is less likely to malfunction due to vibrations or changes in the support angle.

It is a division | segmentation perspective view which shows the pointing device of this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows the erect state of a holder. It is a sectional side view which shows the inclination state of a holder. It is a division | segmentation perspective view which shows the other Example of this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows the time of the raise in another Example. It is a sectional side view which shows the time of the fall in another Example. It is a sectional side view which shows another Example of this invention. It is a side view which shows an example of the conventional pointing device. It is a side view which shows the other conventional pointing device. It is a figure which shows the prior art example of a slider recovery mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

5 Housing 6 Operating mechanism 7 Pressurizing mechanism 8 Coordinate detection unit 9, 90 Elevating mechanism 10 Switch unit
51 Base 52 Guide wall
53 First spring seat 54 Bearing recess
55 Supporting claw 56 Through hole
61 Holder 62 Support shaft
63 Domed control section 64 Hemispherical protrusion
65 Pressing rib 66 Mounting hole
67 Concave portion 71 Slider
72 Conical coil spring 73 Tubular body
74 Second spring seat 75 Press part
80 Printed circuit board 81 Permanent magnet
82 Magnetoelectric transducer 83 Through hole
91 Stator section 92 Rotor section
93 Mounting part 94 Fixed cam
95 Through hole 96 Rotating lever
97 Support groove 98 Moving cam
99 Spring 101 Board
102 Switch element 103 Actuator
104 Short-circuit electrode 105 pole
106 Electrode 111 Mounting area
112 Rotor 113 Stator
114 Boss 115 Rotating lever
116 Moving cam 117 Groove
118 Through hole 119 Protrusion
120 Support groove 121 Fixed cam

Claims (4)

A housing that can be mounted on a printed circuit board, a holder, a slider, and a coil spring incorporated in the housing, a dome-shaped operation unit whose support shaft is supported by the holder, and an inclination direction of the holder that is inclined in an arbitrary direction And a displacement detector for detecting the amount of inclination,
The housing has a bearing recess and a guide wall, the holder has a hemispherical protrusion that can be fitted into the bearing recess, and an annular pressing rib, and the slider A cylindrical body that is slidable along the wall, and a pressing portion that can come into contact with the pressing rib of the holder;
When the slider is biased by the coil spring sandwiched between the housing and the slider and the holder is tilted via the dome-shaped operation portion, the tilt amount of the holder is changed by the displacement detector. A pointing device, wherein the holder is restored by the action of the coil spring when the dome-shaped operation unit is detected and released.   The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the dome-shaped operation portion includes a concave portion or a convex portion at an outer central portion.   The coil spring according to claim 1 is a conical coil spring in which the large diameter side abuts on a first spring seat provided in the housing and the small diameter side abuts on a second spring seat provided in the slider. And pointing device.   2. A pointing device according to claim 1, comprising a permanent magnet buried in the center of the holder and a magnetoelectric conversion element mounted on a printed circuit board.