JPH048890B2 - - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a key switch, and more particularly to a key switch capable of outputting multi-purpose signals by operating a single key top.

Prior Art A key switch that can output multi-purpose signals by operating a single key top can improve the efficiency of screen editing operations if it is used, for example, to quickly select and execute various functions with a blind touch while looking at the display screen. It is connected, and it is especially effective when used to move the cursor. The present inventor has proposed several such key switches so far.

For example, in order to move the cursor on a two-dimensional screen, it is sufficient to have signals indicating at least four movement directions: up, down, left, and right, but there are also signals indicating the four directions of movement: upper right, lower right, upper left,
Adding a means to move directly in the lower left direction 8
If directional movement is possible, more convenient and efficient cursor movement control can be performed.

When controlling the movement of the cursor in eight directions by operating a single key top switch that the present inventor has proposed up to now, the key top operation is performed by operating the key top in eight divided positions and directions. In order to increase operating efficiency and prevent finger fatigue even after long periods of use, it is desirable for the key top to operate reliably even with a small amount of operation, but conversely, precision is also required in the position and direction of operation. will be done. In other words, if operations are not performed in accurate positions and directions divided into eight parts, the result will be erroneous cursor movement. Accuracy of cursor movement control is particularly important when reaching a destination location.

Furthermore, in the single key-top switch proposed so far, for example, four independent displacement detection means are provided to control cursor movement, and two adjacent displacement detection means are activated simultaneously to move the cursor in a diagonal direction. It was something that was done by detecting this. Therefore, as mentioned above, it is of course necessary to perform accurate pointing operations, especially in diagonal directions, and even if the operations are performed accurately, if there are variations in the sensitivity characteristics of the four displacement detection means, the result will still be a cursor error. Easy to cause movement errors. Furthermore, this type of switch is likely to occur due to fatigue of the switch components over time.

Purpose The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art. The purpose of this is a key switch that can output multi-purpose signals by operating a single key top, and has redundancy in the operation position and direction when obtaining the desired signal, and the amount of operation. The object of the present invention is to provide a key switch that is small but has a structure that operates reliably, and allows highly reliable instruction operations without fatigue even when used for a long time.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Representative embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a personal computer using an embodiment of the key switch according to the present invention as a key switch for moving a cursor. Inside the main body 1 of this personal computer, as shown in FIG.
and ROM11 are stored. Further, a display section 2 and a keyboard section 3 are provided externally.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of the keyboard section 3 including the key switch (hereinafter referred to as cursor moving key switch) 4 of the embodiment. In the figure,
Reference numeral 13 denotes a typewriter keyboard section consisting of ordinary letter, numeric and symbol keys, etc., and 14 a function keyboard section for selecting and executing various functions. These function keys are ``DEL'' for deleting characters, ``INS'' for inserting characters, ``CLR'' for clearing the screen, and ``HOME'' for returning the cursor to its home position. .

Next, a case will be described in which the cursor K on the display section 2 is moved to the left or upward as shown in FIG. 3A according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the operation of the cursor moving key switch ₄ shown in FIG. A move is made. Also,
The operation for moving the cursor K to the upper left or lower left as shown in FIG. 3B is performed at the upper left part (point C) of the key top ₄₁ in the operation explanatory diagram of the cursor moving key switch 4 shown in FIG. 4A. Alternatively, by pressing down on the lower right portion (point D) from above, the cursor K is moved to the upper left or lower right.

The structure of this cursor moving key switch 4 is shown in FIG. To give a brief explanation of the drawings, Figures 5A, B, and C are cross-sectional views for explaining the operation of the portion cut at the left and right side of the operation display main part of Figure 4A. , FIG. 5D is a plan view of the structure corresponding to FIG. 4A. Also the fourth
Figure B is an operation explanatory diagram in which Figure ₄ A has been rotated 45 degrees to the left in order to show the cross-sectional views of the structures below the pressing points C and D of key top 41 in Figures 5 E, F, and G. It is. A plan view of the structure corresponding to FIG. 4B is shown in FIG. 5H.

In the above diagrams, first, as shown in Figure 5A,
A spherical motion conduction ball 5 and a leaf spring contact ₆ are provided around a key top 4 ₁ which is slidably attached to a key switch main body 15 (hereinafter also referred to as an electronic device main body). The leaf spring contacts 6 come into contact when a horizontal force is applied to them. Further, the information based on this contact is read by the CPU 9, thereby controlling the movement of the cursor K in the vertical and horizontal directions. For example, if the key top ₄₁ is pressed in the direction A in FIG. 4A, then the leaf spring contact _6X in FIG. A force is applied to the contact point _6X , which makes it possible to move the cursor K to the left (see Figure 5B). Next, when you release _your hand from the key top 4 ₁ , the spring force of the leaf spring contact ₆
works to return to its original position. key top 4 ₁
Finally, the four motion conducting balls 5 balance the side surface 17 at a position where it is uniformly pressed.

Similarly, in FIG. 5E, a spherical motion-conducting ball 7 and a leaf spring contact 8 (in the figure, the suffix for leaf spring contact 8 is used to specify the arrangement) are provided on the lower side of the key top ₄₁ . ing. The key top ₄₁ has a protrusion 16 erected on its lower side, and the planar lower surface 19 of the protrusion 16 comes into surface contact with the key switch main body 15, so that it is supported to freely slide in the horizontal direction. . Further, the lower surface 18 on the periphery of the key top ₄₁ is located in a position such that it is in approximately contact with the four movement conduction balls 7. Therefore, any sliding displacement applied to the key top ₄₁ has no effect on the four leaf spring contacts 8 (Fig. 5F).
reference〕. Next, when a force is applied from above to one end of the key top ₄₁ , the leaf spring contacts 8 come into contact as shown in FIG. 5G. Furthermore, information based on this contact is sent to CPU9.
The movement of the cursor K in the upper right, lower right, upper left, and lower left directions is controlled by reading. For example, when the key top 4 ₁ is pressed down from above at point _C in FIG. Therefore, a force is applied to the leaf spring contact _8XY , and by contacting the leaf spring contact _8XY , the cassole K can be moved to the upper left (see FIG. 5G). In this state, the side surface 17 of the key top ₄₁ is slightly tilted, so that even if any of the four motion conduction balls 5 in contact with the side surface 17 is pressed, none of the leaf spring contacts 6 will come into contact with it. It is adjusted so that this does not occur [see Figure 5G]. Next, when you release your hand from the key top ₄₁ , the spring force of the leaf spring contact _8XY pushes back the action conduction ball 7 that is in contact with it, and returns the key top ₄₁ to its original position.

Next, the means for detecting the opening and closing of the leaf spring contacts 6 and 8 will be explained with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the leaf spring contacts ₆ are provided at intervals with an insulator 12 between them.
and 6 ₂ included. These contacts 6 ₁ and 6 ₂
When a sliding force is applied to the key top ₄₁ , it closes as shown in FIG. 5B. Therefore, terminal 6t ₂
outputs 0 volts because it is shorted to the grounded terminal _6t1 . However, when it is not closed, the voltage is 5 volts due to the action of the pull-up resistor R.

Further, the leaf spring contacts 8 include leaf spring contacts 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ which are spaced apart by an insulator 12, as shown in FIG. 7B. These contacts 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ close as shown in FIG. 5G when a pressing force is applied to the key top 4 ₁ . Therefore, the terminal 8t ₂ is short-circuited to the grounded terminal 8t ₁ and outputs 0 volts. However, when it is not closed, the voltage is 5 volts due to the action of the pull-up resistor R.

The CPU 9 is configured to periodically check the terminals 6t ₂ and 8t ₂ of these leaf spring contacts 6 and 8. Alternatively, when at least one contact is closed, an interrupt is input to the CPU 9, thereby starting service to the key switch, and when all contacts are opened, an interrupt is input to the CPU 9 again. It may be configured such that the service to the key switch is terminated by the key switch. In any of the above cases, the contact information of the contacts is taken into the CPU 9 at a predetermined cycle while the key switch is being serviced.
Therefore, by monitoring the terminals _6t2 of the four sets of leaf spring contacts, it is possible to detect in which direction the cursor K is moved, up, down, left or right, and in the same way, the terminals _8t2 of the four sets of leaf spring contacts can be detected. By doing so, a cursor movement signal in an oblique direction can be detected. The leaf spring contacts are arranged at sufficient intervals so that other displacement detection means will not operate even if the key operation is somewhat ambiguous. Therefore, the operating gap of the leaf spring contact can be made smaller accordingly.

Further, if the periodically acquired contact information is the same, the CPU 9 repeatedly moves the cursor in the same direction.

In addition, as mentioned above, since the structure of the key switch 4 is symmetrical, pressing the key top 4 ₁ indicates the direction of movement (up, down, left, or right), and sliding the key top 4 ₁ in a diagonal direction moves the cursor in the corresponding diagonal direction. You may also let them do so. The operation in this case is shown in FIG. 8, which is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the key switch ₄ for moving the cursor. A movement to the left or up is performed. In addition, the operation for moving the cursor K to the upper left or lower right as shown in FIG. 3B is similar to that shown in _FIG . C) Alternatively, by pressing downward to the right (arrow D), the cursor K is moved to the upper left or lower right. The structure of this cursor moving key switch 4 is almost the same as that shown in FIG.

In the above explanation, the motion conduction balls 5 and 7
It goes without saying that commercially available switches may be used in place of the leaf spring contacts 6 and 8, or that the display section 2 and the key switch 4 for moving the cursor may be housed in a separate housing from the main body.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, multi-purpose signals can be output by operating a single keytop, and there is redundancy in the operations for outputting the desired signals. In other words, the desired signal can be reliably obtained even if the operation is performed in a somewhat ambiguous direction or position. Therefore, it is possible to provide a key switch that is less likely to output an error signal even if the switch is configured to operate with a small amount of operation. Further, for example, if the present invention is used as a key switch for moving a cursor as in the embodiment, it is particularly convenient because the switch can be constructed without losing compatibility with eight-direction cursor movement control and key top operation positions and directions. Since a reliable output signal can be obtained even with such a small amount of operation and rough blind touch operation, it is possible to provide a key switch that does not cause fingertip fatigue even when used for long periods of time and has high operational reliability. do.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a personal computer using a key switch according to an embodiment of the present invention as a key switch for moving a cursor, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the keyboard section of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 A, B, and 4A and 4B are operation explanatory diagrams of a key switch for moving a cursor according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
C and E to G are sectional views of a cursor moving key switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 5 D and H are also plan views, and FIG. 6 is a cursor moving key switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. 7A and 7B are circuit diagrams showing an example of terminal connections for detecting the opening and closing of leaf spring contacts. FIG. 8 is a cursor of an embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining another operation mode of the moving key switch. Here, 1... personal computer main body, 2
...Display part, 3...Keyboard part, 4...Key switch for cursor movement, 4 ₁ ...Key top, 5, 7...Operation conduction ball, 6, 8...Leaf spring contact, 15...Key switch body, 16...Elevated below the key top 17...side surface of the key top, 18... peripheral lower surface of the key top, 19... lower surface of the key top protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A set of a single key top and a first displacement detection means that outputs different signals in response to displacement due to a pressing force applied to different positions on the operating surface of the single key top; a second set of displacement detection means for outputting different signals in response to sliding displacement due to forces applied to slide the single key top in different directions, the first and second displacement detection means A key switch characterized in that the key switch is arranged at a position that interpolates the distance along the periphery of the single key top. 2. The key switch according to claim 1, wherein the set of first and second displacement detection means outputs a cursor movement control signal.