JP2011187168A - Operation switch and portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a degree of satisfaction of a user by providing an operation switch capable of providing a center switch and excellent in operability. <P>SOLUTION: An operation unit includes an operation switch 10 with a plurality of two-stepped dome switches 51 arranged on a circuit 60, and a controller 82 determining a detecting signal of the operation switch 10. Each of the two-stepped dome switches 51 includes a first contact 54 contacting and current-conducting through sinking of a depression operation, and a second contact 52 contacting and current-conducting through further sinking of the depression operation than that of the first contact 54. The two-stepped dome switches 51 are arranged nearly in a circular shape on the circuit 60, and the controller 82 determines, when it sequentially obtains detection signals of the first contact 54 of the adjoining two-stepped dome switches 51, that the switches are in a slide rotating operation, and determines, when it receives detection signals of the second contact 52 of the two-stepped dome switches 51, that the two-stepped dome switches 51 are in a depression operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation switch used for a mobile device such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) and a digital camera, or an HMI (Human Machine Interface) such as a remote controller, and a mobile terminal equipped with the operation switch. In particular, the present invention relates to an operation switch capable of multi-function input used for searching and determining music, image data, and contents.

  Conventionally, an input mechanism of a video recording apparatus in which a rotation input operation and a direction input operation are performed with the same input operation switch has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). This known technology has been filed on the assumption that it will be used for optical disc equipment about 10 years ago.

  In this prior known example, a switch for realizing rotation detection and multidirectional input detection is described in the embodiment of the tactile switch.

  However, in this structure, there is a problem in that it is only possible to distinguish whether the signal of the tactile switch pressed through the key top is a rotation signal or a direction signal by a menu or the like. For this reason, it is considered very difficult to use.

  In addition, since the Yajiro Bay system is centered on the axis, the center key cannot be arranged. For this reason, it is considered that a center key is provided and the center key cannot have a determination function, and that operability is difficult.

JP 2001-216079 A

  In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an operation switch excellent in operability in which a center switch can be provided, and to improve user satisfaction.

The present invention is an operation unit including an operation switch in which a plurality of dome switches are arranged on a circuit unit, and a determination unit for determining a detection signal of the operation switch, the dome switch being depressed by a pressing operation. A first contact that is energized by contact and a second contact that energizes the contact at a deeper depth than the subsidence where the first contact is energized, and a plurality of the dome switches are arranged side by side on the circuit unit. When the detection means continuously acquires the detection signal of the first contact of the adjacent dome switch, the determination means determines that the operation is a slide operation, and receives the detection signal of the second contact of the dome switch. The operation unit is configured to determine that the operation is a switch pressing operation.

  The sliding operation can be an operation in which the user slides the finger on the surface while touching the finger, or an operation in which the user slides while pressing an appropriate member with the finger. As the slide operation, an appropriate operation input such as a slide rotation operation or a slide movement operation can be accepted.

The circuit portion can be configured by an appropriate member having a circuit, such as a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate, or a wiring portion provided with appropriate wiring.
By this invention, the operation switch excellent in the operativity which can provide a center switch can be provided.

  As an aspect of the present invention, each of the dome switches includes a plurality of pressing operation units each including an operation plane and a pressing unit that presses the dome switch on the back side of the operation plane when the operation plane is pressed. It can be arranged oppositely.

  Thereby, contact energization by the 1st contact of a dome switch and contact energization by the 2nd contact can be performed stably. In particular, if the surface of the pressing operation unit is configured to be wider than the dome switch, it is possible to expand a region that can respond to a user's touch operation and the like, and to provide a good operational feeling.

  Further, as an aspect of the present invention, a holder having a substantially disc shape and a central hole and a plurality of grooves extending radially from the hole is provided, and a portion between the grooves of the holder is used as the pressing operation portion. it can.

  Thereby, the several press operation part provided in one holder can each press the corresponding dome switch independently, and can improve a detection precision.

  Further, as an aspect of the present invention, the dome switch is arranged in a substantially circular shape, and includes a rotating body that covers the operation plane side of all the pressing operation portions and rotates in the substantially circular direction. In addition, a pressing protrusion that presses the pressing operation unit one by one in accordance with a slide rotation operation as the sliding operation to bring the first contact of the dome switch into contact with the detection unit can be provided.

  Thereby, the rotating body can be actually rotated and rotated. Further, when the rotation operation is performed, the adjacent dome switches always detect in order, so that the rotation operation can be reliably detected.

  As an aspect of the present invention, a center switch that detects a pressing operation at a substantially central position is disposed on the circuit unit, and the dome switch can be disposed in a circumferential shape surrounding the center switch.

The circumferential shape may be a substantially circular shape, a substantially elliptical shape, or a substantially polygonal shape (appropriate polygonal shape such as a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, an octagon, a dodecagon, a dodecagon, or the like). It can be set as an appropriate shape to enclose.
As a result, for example, an operation instruction by sliding around the center switch, such as selection by a rotation operation, can be received, and an operation instruction such as a determination by a pressing operation by the center switch can be received.

  Further, the present invention is an operation switch in which a plurality of dome switches are arranged on a circuit unit, and the dome switch includes a first contact that contacts and energizes when depressed by a pressing operation, and the first contact contacts and energizes. The dome switch can be an operation switch that is arranged in a shape of four or more substantially circularly on the circuit portion.

  Thereby, the operation switch which can detect rotation can be provided at low cost. That is, when the control unit of the hardware equipped with the operation switch detects a detection of the first contact of the adjacent dome switch, it executes a program for determining that the operation is a rotation operation. Can be provided at low cost.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal including the operation unit, a control unit that executes a control operation according to an input signal input by the operation unit, and an output unit that outputs information according to a control signal of the control unit. can do.
Thereby, the portable terminal which can receive rotation operation can be provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an operation switch excellent in operability in which a center switch can be provided, and to improve the satisfaction of the user.

The front view of the digital camera provided with the operation switch. The external appearance perspective view of an operation switch. The exploded perspective view which looked at the switch body from the upper part. The exploded perspective view which looked at the switch main part from the lower part. The perspective sectional view of a switch body. Explanatory drawing of a two-stage dome switch. The block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera provided with the operation switch. Explanatory drawing explaining operation of an operation switch. The flowchart of the operation | movement performed in response to the detection signal of a peripheral switch. The exploded perspective view which looked at the operation switch of Example 2 from the upper part. The disassembled perspective view which looked at the operation switch of Example 2 from the downward direction. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an operation switch according to a second embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the rotary operation body of the operation switch of Example 2. FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective cross-sectional view of an operation switch according to a second embodiment.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a digital camera 1 having an operation switch 10. The digital camera 1 is provided with a shutter button 3 for starting shooting on the right side of the upper surface, and a camera lens on the rear surface (not shown).

  A display device 2 is provided on the front surface of the digital camera 1, and an operation switch 10 is provided adjacent to the right side thereof. The operation switch 10 is used as a switch for setting shooting conditions of the digital camera 1 and a switch for selecting a stored photograph. A menu button 4 for displaying a menu screen or the like on the display 2 is provided above the operation switch 10, and a playback button 5 for displaying a photographed image is provided below the operation switch 10. .

  Next, the configuration of the operation switch 10 will be described. 2 is an external perspective view of the operation switch 10, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the operation switch 10 as viewed from above, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the operation switch 10 as viewed from below, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the two-stage dome switch 51. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation switch 10 is configured by attaching a planar ring-shaped surface sheet 11 to the surface of the switch body 12. This surface sheet 11 is comprised with the rubber sheet etc., and the presser passage hole 11a is provided in the center. The top sheet 11 covers the entire surface of the holder 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the switch body 12 includes a holder 20, a pusher 30, a dome sheet 40, a switch group 50, and a substrate 60 in order from above.

  The holder 20 is soft such as POM resin (POM: polyoxymethylene), ABS resin (ABS: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PC (polycarbonate), or a mixed resin thereof that can be deformed by being pressed by the user. The material is formed in a substantially disc shape, and a pusher insertion hole 24 is penetrated in the axial direction of the central portion of the disc shape. A flange 28 is provided on the outer periphery of the holder 20, and mounting legs 29 are provided at four locations on the outer side of the flange 28. The four mounting leg portions 29 are disposed at 90 ° positions (up and down, left and right), and slightly protrude downward.

The inner side of the flange 28 in the holder 20 is formed one step higher in the upper part of the drawing (on the pressing operation side), and this one step higher part is equally divided by eight radially arranged slots 23 to provide eight pressings. The operation unit 21 is integrally formed.
The pressing operation portion 21 is provided with a lightening hole 22 on the base side near the flange 28, and is connected to the flange 28 at both lateral portions of the lightening hole 22. As a result, when the pressing operation unit 21 receives a pressing operation, the pressing operation unit 21 can easily bend and deform toward the two-stage dome switch 51. Can communicate.

  The illustrated upper surface (pressing operation side) of the pressing operation unit 21 is a plane, and the illustrated upper surfaces of all the pressing operation units 21 are arranged on the same plane.

  A concave concave portion 21a is provided on most of the lower surface (two-stage dome switch 51 side) of the pressing operation portion 21 in the figure. That is, the inner portion of the pressing operation portion 21 other than the end portion on the pusher 30 side and the end portion of the flange 28 is formed thin.

  The pusher 30 side end of the pressing operation unit 21 is formed with a concave bottom surface (two-stage dome switch 51 side) and a pusher guide 25, and both end portions between the pusher guide 25 and the concave part 21a. A locking projection 26 is provided on the surface.

  In addition, a pressing protrusion 27 is provided at the center of the recess 21a so as to protrude on the lower surface in the figure (on the two-stage dome switch 51 side). The pressing protrusion 27 is provided at a position facing the center position that is the apex of the two-stage dome switch 51. Further, the pressing protrusion 27 protrudes toward the two-stage dome switch 51 from the locking protrusion 26. Thus, when a pressing operation is performed, the two-step dome switch 51 can be accurately pressed and detected by the pressing protrusion 27, and even if it is pressed more strongly than necessary, it is locked by the locking protrusion 26 and damaged. Can be prevented.

  The pusher 30 is formed in a disc shape from a synthetic resin material, and is inserted into the pusher insertion hole 24 of the holder 20. A flange 32 is provided on the outer periphery of the disk shape. The flange 32 engages with the pusher guide 25 of the holder 20 and the pusher 30 is prevented from coming off.

  At the center of the lower surface of the pusher 30 shown in the figure, a pressing protrusion 33 is provided corresponding to the pressing position, and the pressing protrusion 33 presses the first-stage dome switch 55.

  The dome sheet 40 is configured by adhering a double-sided tape to the lower surface side of the PET material, and is formed in a substantially disk shape having the same size as the holder 20. On the outer periphery of the dome sheet 40, mounting convex portions 49 are provided at four locations. The four mounting projections 49 are arranged at 90 ° positions (up and down, left and right). The mounting convex portion 49 is formed in a shape in which a PET member on the upper surface side is cut off to expose the upper surface of the double-sided tape, and the mounting leg portion 29 of the holder 20 is mounted on the upper surface of the mounting convex portion 49.

  In the center of the dome sheet 40, a first-stage dome accommodating portion 43 is provided, and eight two-stage dome accommodating portions 42 are arranged in a circle at equal intervals around the first-stage dome accommodating portion 43.

  A two-stage dome switch accommodating space 44 is provided below the two-stage dome accommodating portion 42 in the figure. The two-stage dome switch accommodating space 44 is a recess that is slightly larger than the two-stage dome switch 51, and the two two-stage dome switch accommodating spaces 44 are communicated with each other by an air path space 45. As a result, when being deformed by being pressed from above in the drawing, the internal air can be retreated to the adjacent two-stage dome switch accommodating space 44 through the air path space 45 and can be pressed without resistance.

  A first-stage dome switch accommodating space 46 is provided below the first-stage dome accommodating portion 43 in the figure. The first-stage dome switch accommodating space 46 is a concave portion that is slightly larger than the first-stage dome switch 55, and four air path spaces 47 are provided around it. As a result, when being deformed by being pressed from above in the drawing, the internal air can be retreated to the four air path spaces 47 and can be pressed without resistance.

  The lower surface of the dome sheet 40 is provided with an adhesive, and a two-stage dome switch 51 housed in the two-stage dome switch housing space 44 is bonded around the apex, and the first stage dome switch housing space 46 is filled. The accommodated one-stage dome switch 55 is bonded around the apex. The periphery of the first-stage dome switch 55 and the second-stage dome switch 51 is configured to be adhered to the surface of the substrate 60 without any gaps except for the air path spaces 45 and 47 so that foreign matter or the like is not mixed therein.

  The switch group 50 includes one single-stage dome switch 55 disposed in the center and two-stage dome switches 51 disposed in a circle at regular intervals around the first-stage dome switch 55. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the single-stage dome switch 55 has an inverted dish shape and a central contact 56 is the apex, and a common contact 57 provided on the outer periphery is positioned at the lower end and always contacts the contact 64b. The contact 56 is spaced apart from the contact 64a with a sufficient gap (clearance) in a normal state where the pressing operation is not performed.

  As shown in the front view of FIG. 6 (A), the two-stage dome switch 51 has a shape obtained by cutting out four substantially circular outer peripheries, and has two common contacts 53 and two first contacts on the outer periphery. 54 is provided, and a second contact 52 is provided at the center. The two common contacts 53 are symmetrically opposed to each other with the second contact 52 interposed therebetween. The two first contacts 54 are symmetrically opposed to each other with the second contact 52 interposed therebetween. The two common contacts 53 and the two first contacts 54 are alternately arranged by 90 degrees. The central curved portion where the second contact 52 of the two-stage dome switch 51 is provided functions as a reversing spring. For this reason, when the apex of the two-stage dome switch 51 is pressed down for a predetermined stroke, the curved portion around the dome switch 51 becomes a reversing spring and the unevenness is switched, and the second contact 52 is changed to the second contact 62c (see FIG. 3) below it. Contact.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6B showing the AA cross section of FIG. 6A, the two-stage dome switch 51 has the central second contact 52 as the apex and the two common contacts 53 at the lower ends. Is always in contact with the contact 62b (see FIG. 3).

  In the normal state where the pressing operation is not performed, as shown in FIG. 6C showing an enlarged view of the BB portion of FIG. 6B, the two first contacts 54 are connected to the first contact 62a. They are separated by a small gap (clearance).

  Further, the center second contact 52 is spaced apart from the second contact 62c with a sufficient clearance (clearance) in a normal state where the pressing operation is not performed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate 60 is a rigid rigid substrate, and has a central fixed contact 64 (64a, 64b) at the center and peripheral fixed contacts 62 (62a, 62b, 62c) on the eight sides around the center. have. The substrate 60 also includes an output terminal 65 that outputs a detection signal.

  On this substrate 60, a one-stage dome switch 55 is mounted in correspondence with one central fixed contact 64, and a two-stage dome switch 51 is mounted in correspondence with eight peripheral fixed contacts 62. Covered with a dome sheet 40, dome switches 51 and 55 are affixed to fixed positions of the substrate 60. Accordingly, the central switch S1 installed corresponding to the pressed position where the pusher 30 is pressed down, and the eight switches installed corresponding to the positions where the holder 20 is touched or pressed down and capable of detecting a rotation operation. Peripheral switch S2 is configured.

  In the operation switch 10 configured as described above, the pressing operation portion 21 is held apart upward by the attachment leg portion 29. For this reason, when pressed by the user from above, the pressing operation unit 21 tilts in the pressing direction. Further, in a normal state, the pressing protrusion 27 is in contact with or very close to the apex of the peripheral switch S2, so that the peripheral switch S2 slightly sinks even if it is lightly touched by the user. To enable detection of the first signal at the first contact. Accordingly, a light touch such as a rotation operation can be detected.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the operation unit 80 including the operation switch 10 configured as described above, and the digital camera 1 including the operation unit 80.

  The digital camera 1 is connected to the control unit 82 and is provided with a low-pass filter 81, operation buttons 3, 4, 5, a power supply unit 86, a display 2, a flash 83, a camera unit 84, and a storage unit 85.

  The operation switch 10 is connected to the low-pass filter 81. When the low-pass filter 81 receives a signal due to instantaneous energization (for example, 1 μs or less) from the first-stage dome switch 55 or the second-stage dome switch 51 of the operation switch 10, this signal is cut to prevent detection. Only a signal due to energization for a longer time is transmitted to the control unit 82. This prevents malfunctions when the operation switch 10 is momentarily pressed down due to a collision or the like.

The operation buttons 3, 4, 5 (the shutter button 3, the menu button 4, and the playback button 5 shown in FIG. 1) transmit a pressing signal that is pressed by the user to the control unit 82.
The power supply unit 86 supplies power to each unit.

  The display device 2 displays an image in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 82. This image can be an image captured by the camera unit 84, an image captured and stored in the storage unit 85, a menu image, or the like.

  The control unit 82 receives a detection signal received from the operation switch 10 and a pressing signal indicating that the operation buttons 3, 4, and 5 are pressed, and executes a control operation of each unit. As a constituent element of the operation unit 80, the control unit 82 performs the pressing of the central switch S1, the touch of the peripheral switch S2, the rotating operation of the peripheral switch S2, and the pushing operation of the peripheral switch S2 according to the detection signal received from the operation switch 10. Has the function to judge. The control unit 82 having this function, the operation switch 10, and the low-pass filter 81 constitute an operation unit 80.

The flash 83 emits strobe light in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 82.
The camera unit 84 captures an image in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 82 and transmits the captured image to the control unit 82.

  The storage unit 85 reads and writes data according to the control signal of the control unit 82. The data may be appropriate data such as photographed image data photographed by the camera unit 84 and a program for displaying a menu screen.

  With this configuration, the digital camera 1 operates in accordance with the operation of the operation switch 10 and the operation buttons 3, 4, 5, and is used for shooting such as illumination by the flash 83, shooting by the camera unit 84, and display of a shot image on the display 2. Necessary operations can be performed.

Next, an operation when the operation switch 10 is operated by a user using the digital camera 1 will be described.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the operation switch 10.

  FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the operation switch 10. As indicated by the shaded arrows in this perspective view, one central switch S1 can detect a one-step pressing operation, and each of eight peripheral switches S2 can detect a two-step pressing operation. This two-step detection of the peripheral switch S2 can detect a touch that is light enough to be touched in the first step, and can detect a press that is firmly pressed in the second step.

  FIG. 8B shows a timing chart of the detection signal when the rotation operation is performed by the first stage touch operation of the eight peripheral switches S2. Here, S2-1a to S2-8a in the figure indicate eight peripheral switches S2.

  When the user touches the upper surface of the operation switch 10 so as to draw a circle, the eight peripheral switches S2 detect pressing in order and sequentially output the first signal. For this reason, the control part 82 can discriminate | determine that it is rotation operation, if the 1st signal is detected in order from adjacent peripheral switch S2. The clockwise and counterclockwise rotation operations can be detected by the order of the peripheral switch S2 that detects the first signal.

  FIG. 8C shows a timing chart of detection signals when a first-stage touch operation and a second-stage press operation are performed on one peripheral switch S2. When one of the eight sides on the upper surface of the operation switch 10 is strongly pressed, the peripheral switch S2 first detects the first stage as shown in S2-1a, and then the second step as shown in S2-1b. Stage detection is performed. When the pressing is stopped, the second stage OFF detection is performed, and then (or almost simultaneously) the first stage OFF detection is performed.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing operations performed by the digital camera 1 and the control unit 82 of the operation unit 80 in response to a detection signal from the peripheral switch S2.
When one or more first contacts 54 in one peripheral switch S2 contact the first contact 62a and receive a first signal when energized (step S1: Yes), the controller 82 corresponds to the first signal. An initial operation is executed (step S2). This initial operation may be an appropriate operation such as turning on the display 2 that has been turned off after entering the sleep mode.

  When the control unit 82 receives the second signal by the contact energization of the second contact 52 from the same peripheral switch S2 (step S3: Yes), the control unit 82 executes the second signal detection operation (step S4). This second signal detection operation can be an appropriate operation such as, for example, a direction detection in which the direction of the peripheral switch S2 detected to be pressed is input, or a menu screen corresponding to the peripheral switch S2 detected to be pressed.

  When pressing of the second contact 52 is not detected (step S3: No) and a rotation operation is detected (step S5: Yes), the control unit 82 executes a rotation detection operation (step S6). Here, the rotation operation may be detected when the first signal described with reference to FIG. 8B is continuously detected. As the rotation detection operation, for example, an operation of continuously changing an image displayed on the display device 2 (an already captured image or the like) to the next image, or an operation of enlarging (zooming) or reducing in the shooting state. Thus, an appropriate operation can be performed.

  When the rotation operation is not detected (step S5: No) and the contact OFF of the currently detected peripheral switch S2 is detected (step S7: Yes), the control unit 82 ends the process. Until contact OFF is detected (step S7: No), after performing steps S4 and S6, the process returns to step S3 and is repeated.

With the above configuration and operation, the operation unit 80 can realize detection of a rotation operation and a direction input operation with a simple configuration.
Since the pusher 30 serving as a center switch is provided at the center, for example, an operation of determining with the pusher 30 after a rotation operation or a direction input operation can be executed.

  In addition, the rotation operation can be detected without having a physically rotating structure like a jog dial, so the number of parts can be reduced, realizing low cost, thinning (downsizing), and improved wear resistance. can do.

  Further, since the eight pressing operation portions 21 are separated by the slot 23, they can be tilted independently, and the adjacent peripheral switch S2 is interlocked when the peripheral switch S2 is touched or pressed. It is possible to prevent the press from being detected.

  Further, since the first signal and the second signal having different pressing strengths can be detected by one two-stage dome switch 51, the action point at the time of the pressing operation is determined by the pressing protrusion 27 of the pressing operation portion 21 and the two-stage dome switch 51. One point where the apex contacts can be obtained, and stable operation can be easily obtained.

  In addition, since the two-stage dome switch 51 has only the elastic force that resists the pressing operation derived from the two common contacts 53 until the first signal is output, the switch is easily turned on with a light pressing force. be able to. Then, until the second signal is output after the first signal is output, the elastic force that resists the pressing operation is derived from the two common contacts 53 and the two first contacts 54 and becomes stronger. For this reason, unless it is pressed firmly, the switch is not turned on, and the user can clearly recognize and properly use the difference between the pressing force required for the first signal and the pressing force required for the second signal.

  In addition, since the low-pass filter 81 eliminates the switch ON due to the impact, an unintended malfunction can be prevented. In particular, even if the preparatory operation is executed when the first signal is detected, it can be said that the preparatory operation is not performed if it is an impact, and thus the battery of the power supply unit 86 of the digital camera 1 is consumed. Can be prevented.

  Further, the operation switch 10 functions as a nine-way switch by the central one-stage dome switch 55 and the eight-direction two-stage dome switch 51, and also functions as a rotary switch, and thus functions as a rotary multidirectional input composite switch. be able to.

  Moreover, the operation | movement according to a rotational speed is realizable by varying an operation speed according to the speed which receives a 1st signal sequentially from adjacent peripheral switch S2.

  Further, by determining the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction according to the order of receiving the first signal from the adjacent peripheral switch S2, it is possible to realize an operation according to the rotation direction.

  In addition, although the control part 82 of the operation unit 80 was made common with the control part 82 of the digital camera 1, you may make it another structure. In this case, an independent operation unit can be configured by the separately configured control unit and the operation switch 10, and the operation unit can be more easily incorporated into the portable device.

  The mobile device provided with the operation unit 80 and the operation switch 10 is not limited to the digital camera 1 and may be a suitable device such as a mobile device such as a mobile phone or a PDA, a remote control device, or the like.

  Further, the number of peripheral switches S2 is not limited to eight, and may be an appropriate number such as four, twelve, or sixteen. In this case, the number of peripheral switches S2 is preferably an integer multiple of four.

  In addition, the holder 20 is equally divided by the eight slots 23 to integrally form the eight pressing operation portions 21. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the holder 20 is equally divided by four or more slots 23. It can be set as the structure which forms the one or more press operation part 21 integrally.

  In addition, when the first signal is detected by only one peripheral switch S2, the initial operation is executed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first signal is determined as a low-speed direction and the second signal is determined as a high-speed direction. As a determination, if the first signal is continuously detected from the adjacent peripheral switch S2, it can be used as a rotation operation.

  Further, the constant contact 62b may be eliminated. In this case, the common contact 53 of the two-stage dome switch 51 functions only as a foot that holds the height of the two-stage dome switch 51. The first signal may be detected when the two first contacts 54 of the two-stage dome switch 51 are in contact with the two first contacts 62a.

  In this case, the two-stage dome switch 51 is adhered to the two-stage dome accommodating portion 42 of the dome sheet 40 in an inclined state, and one first contact 54 is always connected to the first contact 62a. However, since the other first contact 54 is separated from the first contact 62a, the other first contact 54 can be energized to the first contact 62a by a touch operation to detect the first signal. . Therefore, the yield at the time of manufacture can be improved.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which does not provide the surface sheet 11. FIG. Even in this case, the user can touch and depress the surface of the holder 20 and can perform operation inputs such as touch, rotation, and depressing.

As Example 2, an operation switch 10A when an FPC is used instead of a rigid board will be described.
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the operation switch 10A as viewed from above, and FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the operation switch 10 as viewed from below.

  The operation switch 10A includes an operation body 20A, a pusher 30A, a dome sheet 40A, a switch group 50, a substrate 60A, and a base 70A in order from the top.

  The operating body 20A is formed in a disc shape with a synthetic resin material, and a pusher insertion hole 24 is penetrated in the axial direction of the central portion of the disc shape to form an annular cap shape. A locking projection 29A is provided on the outer periphery of the operating body 20A. The four locking projections 29A are disposed at 90 ° positions (up, down, left, and right), and slightly protrude downward.

  A pressing protrusion 27 protruding toward the two-stage dome switch 51 is provided on the lower surface of the operating body 20A. The pressing protrusion 27 is provided at a position facing the center position that is the apex of the two-stage dome switch 51. The portion around the pressing protrusion 27 in the operating body 20A functions as the pressing operation portion 21A, and the pressing protrusion 27 presses the lower two-stage dome switch 51 when the surface of the pressing operation portion 21A is pressed.

  The pusher 30 side end of the operating body 20A is formed in a concave shape on the two-stage dome switch 51 side, and a pusher guide 25 is provided.

  The pusher 30A is provided with a locking projection 32A on a part of the outer periphery. The locking protrusion 32A engages with the pusher guide 25 of the operating body 20A, and the pusher 30A is prevented from coming off.

  The dome sheet 40A is formed in a circular shape without the mounting projection 49 as in the first embodiment.

  The board 60A is a flexible printed wiring board, and is provided with the same peripheral fixed contact 62, central fixed contact 64, and output terminal 65 as in the first embodiment.

  The base 70A is formed of a metal disc that is slightly larger than the operating body 20A. On the outer periphery of the base 70 </ b> A, up-down guide pieces 71 having an inverted concave shape are provided upright from the four bottom surfaces. The lifting guide piece 71 engages the locking projection 29A of the operating body 20A described above in a reverse concave shape. Thereby, the pressing stroke length can be ensured. By engaging and holding the locking projections 29A on the four lifting guide pieces 71, the uppermost operating body 20A tilts in accordance with the direction pressed when pressed. Accordingly, the operation body 20A is slightly tilted as a whole of the operation body 20A, and a portion of the operation body 20A that has been depressed by a certain amount of pressing stroke presses the peripheral switch S2 and functions as a switch.

Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.
The operating body 20A of the second embodiment can also detect a rotation operation and can exhibit the same effects as the first embodiment.

  In addition, although the pusher 30A was comprised with another member from the operation body 20A, you may integrally form the pusher 30A and the operation body 20A not only in this but with the resin material. In this case, a resin spring may be provided between the pusher 30A and the operation body 20A, and the pusher 30A and the operation body 20A may be configured to be independently pressed by the presence of the resin spring.

Next, a description will be given of a third embodiment provided with a rotating operation body that physically rotates.
12 shows a perspective view of the operation switch 10B, FIG. 13A shows a perspective view of a state in which the rotary operation body 11B of the operation switch 10B is disassembled, and FIG. 13B shows the rotary operation body 11B from the back side. FIG. 14 shows a perspective sectional view of the operation switch 10B.

  In the operation switch 10B, a ring-shaped groove M is provided on the upper surface of the holder 20B, a pressing operation portion 21 is provided on the inner side of the groove M, and a lightening hole 22 is provided on the outer side of the groove M. In the groove M, a convex portion T corresponding to the pressing operation portion 21 is provided.

  The upper surface of the holder 20B is covered with a rotatable operating body 11B. The rotating operation body 11B is made of a material such as an appropriate resin that has a degree of flexibility that can be slightly deformed when pressed by the user and that has a certain degree of hardness that can retain its shape when rotating.

  A plurality of protrusions 12 are circularly arranged on the surface of the rotary operation body 11B. One pressing protrusion 13 is provided on the back surface of the rotary operation body 11B as shown in FIG. The pressing protrusion 13 is configured to fit into the groove M of the holder 20B and rotate in the groove M.

  As shown in FIG. 14, a ring-shaped retaining ring 19 is provided on the back surface of the rotary operation body 11 </ b> B near the pusher 30. The retaining ring 19 is retained by the outer periphery engaging with the pusher guide 25 of the holder 20B. The pusher 30 is prevented from coming off by engaging the flange 32 with the retaining ring 19. That is, the retaining ring 19 is sandwiched between the pusher guide 25 and the flange 32 in the first embodiment.

  Since the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

  With the above configuration, when the rotary operation body 11B is physically rotated, the pressing protrusion 13 rotates and moves along the groove M. When the pressing protrusion 13 comes into contact with and protrudes from the convex portion T, the pressing operation portion 21 is moved. Is pressed downward, the first contact 54 of the peripheral switch S2 contacts the first contact 62a, and the first signal is detected. Thereby, rotation operation can be detected stably. When the rotary operation body 11B is pressed from above, the pressing operation unit 21 tilts as in the first embodiment, and when the strength exceeds a certain level, the two-stage dome switch 51 is reversed and the second signal from the second contact 52 is inverted. Is detected. Thereby, direction input and the like can be performed.

  As described above, the operation switch 10B can obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment, except that the physical rotation operation is different from that of the first embodiment.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment,
The portable terminal of the present invention corresponds to the digital camera 1 of the embodiment,
Similarly,
The output means corresponds to the display device 2,
The rotating body corresponds to the rotating operation body 11B,
The operation plane corresponds to the upper surface of the pressing operation unit 21,
The pressing portion corresponds to the pressing protrusion 27,
The dome switch corresponds to the two-stage dome switch 51,
The center switch corresponds to the one-stage dome switch 55,
The determination unit and the control unit correspond to the control unit 82,
The present invention is not limited only to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and many embodiments can be obtained.

  The present invention can be used in mobile devices such as mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and digital cameras, or HMI units (Human Machine Interfaces) such as remote controllers, and in particular, search and determination of music, image data, and content. It can be used for operation switches that can be used for multi-function input.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Digital camera, 2 ... Display, 10, 10A, 10B ... Operation switch, 11B ... Rotation operation body, 13 ... Pressing protrusion, 21 ... Pressing operation part, 27 ... Pressing protrusion, 51 ... Two step dome switch, 52 ... 2nd contact, 54 ... 1st contact, 55 ... 1 stage dome switch, 60, 60A ... Board | substrate, 80 ... Operation unit, 82 ... Control part

Claims (7)

An operation unit including an operation switch in which a plurality of dome switches are arranged on a circuit unit, and a determination unit that determines a detection signal of the operation switch,
The dome switch is
A first contact that performs contact energization by depression due to a pressing operation, and a second contact that performs contact energization by subsidence deeper than the depression by which the first contact is contact energized,
A plurality of the dome switches are arranged side by side on the circuit unit,
The discrimination means includes
When continuously detecting the detection signal of the first contact point of the adjacent dome switch, it is determined that the operation is a slide operation,
An operation unit configured to determine that the dome switch is pressed when receiving a detection signal of the second contact of the dome switch. 2. A plurality of pressing operation portions each having an operation plane and a pressing portion that presses the dome switch on the back side of the operation plane when the operation plane is pressed down are arranged to face the respective dome switches. The operation unit described. A holder having a substantially disc shape and a central hole and a plurality of grooves extending radially from the hole;
The operation unit according to claim 2, wherein a portion between the slots of the holder is the pressing operation portion. The dome switches are arranged in a substantially circular shape,
A rotating body that covers the operation plane side of all the pressing operation units and rotates in the substantially circular direction is provided,
The rotating body includes a pressing protrusion that presses the pressing operation unit one by one in accordance with a slide rotation operation as the sliding operation to bring the first contact of the dome switch into contact with the detection unit. The operation unit described. On the circuit part,
A center switch that detects the pressing operation at the approximate center position is arranged,
The dome switch is
5. The operation unit according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is arranged in a circumferential shape surrounding the periphery of the center switch. An operation switch in which a plurality of dome switches are arranged on the circuit part,
The dome switch is
A first contact that performs contact energization by depression due to a pressing operation, and a second contact that performs contact energization by subsidence deeper than the depression by which the first contact is contact energized,
Four or more dome switches are arranged in a substantially circular shape on the circuit portion. An operation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Control means for executing a control operation in accordance with an input signal input by the operation unit;
A portable terminal comprising output means for outputting information according to a control signal of the control means.

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