JP4693888B2 - pointing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointing device installed in a data processing apparatus such as a personal computer.

  In a digital data processing apparatus equipped with a display and a keyboard, such as a personal computer or a word processor, a pointing device as an auxiliary input device that indicates coordinate data on the display by manually inputting analog information by an operator What is provided is well known. In particular, in a portable small data processing apparatus, a pointing device is integrated into the processing apparatus casing, or a separate pointing device such as a mouse can be attached to and detached from the processing apparatus casing via a cable and a connector. A configuration that is connected and used is common.

  As this kind of pointing device, a base, an operation unit supported by the base so as to be swingable around a fulcrum set on the base, a magnet carried on one of the base and the operation unit, A device including a magnetoelectric conversion element (generally a Hall element) carried on the other of the base and the operation unit and an elastic member that urges the operation unit to an initial position on the base is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). In this pointing device, the operator swings the operation unit by hand against the bias of the elastic member, and changes the relative positional relationship between the magnet and the magnetoelectric conversion element to change the output voltage of the magnetoelectric conversion element. Thus, analog information corresponding to the swing direction and swing angle of the operation unit can be input.

  When the above-described magnetoelectric conversion element type pointing device is integrally incorporated in the housing of a small data processing device, the pointing device is usually in a state where the operation unit is exposed on the top surface of the housing adjacent to the keyboard of the processing device. Is installed. At this time, in order not to impair the portability of the processing apparatus, the protruding height of the operation unit from the upper surface of the housing is made as low as possible. In particular, in order to promote thinning of the processing apparatus, it is required to reduce the height of the pointing device itself, that is, to reduce the dimension from the bottom surface of the base portion to the upper end surface of the operation portion as much as possible.

  On the other hand, such a built-in pointing device is inherently forced to perform an input operation in a very limited area, and has been improved in operability as the above-mentioned height reduction is promoted. There is concern over further decline. Therefore, when using the thinned data processing apparatus, if the operator preferentially determines the operability of the pointing device, a detachable pointing device that is not related to the dimensions of the processing apparatus is often used. In particular, when a data processing apparatus is used in a portable manner, a normal mouse having an operation ball exposed on the back surface has a configuration similar to that of a conventional integrated built-in pointing device because it is difficult to secure an operation place. There has been proposed a configuration in which a pointing device is detachably attached to a housing of a processing apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-49292 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-139013

  In order to reduce the height of a conventional magnetoelectric conversion element type pointing device, it is required to reduce the dimension corresponding to the height at the time of assembly of each component (that is, in the height direction). However, with regard to the elastic member generally made of rubber or coil spring for biasing the operation part to the initial position, if the dimension in the height direction is reduced to zero, the spring force generated at the time of elastic deformation is insufficient, and as a result There is a concern that it is difficult to operate the operation unit accurately and stably. Furthermore, if the dimension in the height direction of each component is reduced, the distance between the outer surface of the operation unit exposed on the upper surface of the housing of the processing apparatus and the magnet is inevitably shortened, and as a result, the operation unit is passed through. There is a problem that magnetic leakage to the outside easily occurs.

  Further, for example, the conventional detachable pointing device described in Patent Document 2 has a housing that houses an operation unit and a detection unit that detects the operation of the operation unit, and a data processing device that connects a cable extending from the housing with a connector. And the housing is used at a desired position on the housing of the processing apparatus. In such a configuration, the electrical connection and mechanical attachment work of the pointing device becomes complicated, and the cable is extended around the data processing apparatus in the attached state, and therefore, the portability and workability of the processing apparatus may be impaired. There is.

The purpose of the present invention is a pointing device used in a device in which the data processing apparatus, the electrical connection and mechanical mounting of the processing apparatus can be easily carried out, moreover portability and operability of the apparatus It is an object of the present invention to provide a pointing device that does not impair the performance.

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1, an operation unit, comprising a detection unit for detecting an operation of the operating unit, in freely mounted Ru pointing device removably to the data processing apparatus, operation a housing for accommodating the parts and detection unit is arranged adjacent to the operation unit and the detection unit, a connector portion that is pivotally connected to the housing, and connectable to the connector unit to the interface unit of the data processing device , provided in the housing, comprising an engaging engagement portion to the housing of the data processing apparatus, when the connector portion is connected to the interface unit of the data processing device, the connector portion is rotatably housing while supporting, Pointi, wherein the engaging portion by the rotation of the housing relative to the connector portion is configured to engage the housing of the data processing device To provide a Gudebaisu.

According to the present invention, in a pointing device that is used by being detachably attached to a data processing apparatus, electrical connection and mechanical attachment to the processing apparatus can be performed quickly and without impairing the portability and workability of the processing apparatus. It becomes possible to carry out easily.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar components are denoted by common reference numerals.
1 is an exploded perspective view of a pointing device 10 according to the related art of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of the pointing device 10, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pointing device 10 during assembly, and FIG. It is (a) top view at the time of the assembly of (b), and (b) side view. The pointing device 10 can be advantageously used as a low profile auxiliary input device for indicating coordinate data on a display in a small portable data processing device such as a personal computer or a personal word processor.

  The pointing device 10 includes a base portion 12 and an operation portion 16 that is supported by the base portion 12 so as to be swingable about a fulcrum 14 set on the base portion 12. The base 12 includes a circuit board 18 on which electronic components such as a CPU (not shown) are mounted, and first and second frame bodies 20 and 22 fixedly attached to the circuit board 18 in a combined state. A plurality (four in the illustrated embodiment) of magnetoelectric conversion elements (Hall elements) 24 are mounted at predetermined positions on the surface of the circuit board 18. The magnetoelectric transducers 24 are positioned inside the combined frame bodies 20 and 22.

  The first frame body 20 is a thin plate-like member that integrally includes a substantially annular outer peripheral portion 26 and a central portion 28 that extends inside the outer peripheral portion 26, and the hemisphere that constitutes the fulcrum 14 at the central portion 28. Shaped grooves are formed. The second frame body 22 integrally has a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall portion 30 and a plurality (three in the illustrated embodiment) of flange portions 32 that are locally extended radially inward of the peripheral wall portion 30. The peripheral wall portion 30 and the flange portion 32 define a recess that accommodates the first frame body 20. An outward claw 34 is formed at a predetermined position on the outer surface of the outer peripheral portion 26 of the first frame body 20. An inward claw 36 that can engage with the claw 34 is formed at a predetermined position on the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion 30 of the second frame body 22. The first and second frame bodies 20 and 22 are fixedly combined with each other by engaging their claws 34 and 36 in a snap-type manner. In this specification, “snap-type engagement” indicates a form in which corresponding engagement elements engage with each other with one or both elastic deformation and elastic recovery.

  In the first frame body 20, one projection 38 is formed on the back side of the groove of the central portion 28 constituting the fulcrum 14, and one projection 40 is formed on the corresponding side of the outer peripheral portion 26. The protrusions 38 and 40 are respectively inserted into positioning holes 42 and 44 provided on the surface of the circuit board 18, so that the first and second frame bodies 20 and 22 combined with each other are formed on the circuit board 18. Positioned at a predetermined position. At this time, the plurality of magnetoelectric transducers 24 mounted on the circuit board 18 are dispersed in the circumferential direction around the fulcrum 14 in the opening between the outer peripheral portion 26 and the central portion 28 of the first frame body 20. Arranged. Further, the second frame body 22 is fixed to the circuit board 18 with bolts (not shown).

  The operation unit 16 includes a cover 46 that allows an operator to contact a hand or a finger, and a holder 48 that is fixedly assembled to the cover 46. The cover 46 integrally includes a substantially disc-shaped end wall portion 50 and a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall portion 52 that extends in the axial direction from the outer edge of the end wall portion 50, and is formed by the end wall portion 50 and the peripheral wall portion 52. A recess that can receive the second frame body 22 of the base 12 is defined. On the outer surface of the end wall portion 50 of the cover 46, an operation surface 54 that is smoothly ergonomically bent is formed. In addition, a plurality (three in the illustrated embodiment) of locking pieces 58 each having an inward claw 56 at the tip are projected from the inner surface of the end wall portion 50 of the cover 46. The locking pieces 58 are disposed substantially concentrically on the peripheral wall portion 52 apart from the peripheral wall portion 52.

  The holder 48 integrally includes a substantially disk-shaped bottom wall portion 60 and a plurality (three in the illustrated embodiment) of flange portions 62 that extend locally from the outer edge of the bottom wall portion 60 in the radial direction. The bottom wall portion 60 of the holder 48 has a cylindrical wall 64 erected on one surface thereof, and a substantially disk-shaped magnet 66 is accommodated in a recess 65 defined by the bottom wall portion 60 and the cylindrical wall 64. Is done. The plurality of flange portions 62 of the holder 48 are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the bottom wall portion 60. Auxiliary walls 68 extending substantially parallel to the cylindrical wall 64 are provided between the bottom wall portion 60 and the flange portions 62, respectively. The outward claw 70 is formed in the outer edge area | region which does not have the flange part 62 of the bottom wall part 60, respectively. The cover 46 and the holder 48 are fixedly combined with each other by engaging the claw 56 of each of the former locking pieces 58 and each of the latter claw 70 in a snap-type manner. At this time, each auxiliary wall 68 of the holder 48 is disposed between the adjacent locking pieces 58 of the cover 46.

  The surface of the bottom wall portion 60 of the holder 48 opposite to the cylindrical wall 64 extends in a substantially conical shape from the outer edge toward the center, and a substantially hemispherical protrusion 72 is formed at the raised central portion. When the operation unit 16 is assembled to the base 12, the holder 48 is positioned in a positional relationship in which the plurality of flange portions 62 are shifted laterally with respect to the plurality of flange portions 32 of the second frame body 22 of the base 12. The second frame body 22 is inserted inside the peripheral wall portion 30. At the same time, the second frame body 22 is received in the concave portion between the end wall portion 50 and the peripheral wall portion 52 of the cover 46 fixed to the holder 48, and the protrusion 72 of the holder 48 is moved to the first frame. It is slidably fitted into the groove constituting the fulcrum 14 provided in the central portion 28 of the body 20 without rattling. In this way, the holder 48 is supported by the first frame body 20 integrally with the cover 46 and the magnet 66 so as to be swingable in all 360 ° directions around the fulcrum 14. In this state, the magnet 66 is disposed to face the plurality of magnetoelectric transducers 24 on the circuit board 18 with a predetermined interval.

  The pointing device 10 further includes a leaf spring 74 that acts as an elastic member that biases the operation unit 16 to the initial position on the base 12. The leaf spring 74 has a first portion 76 that engages with the base portion 12, and a plurality (three in the illustrated embodiment) of second portions 78 that extend integrally from the first portion 76 and engage with the operation portion 16. And have. The leaf spring 74 is a thin plate-like member formed by punching from a spring steel plate, for example, and its first portion 76 extends in a substantially annular shape around the fulcrum 14 and is connected to the first frame body 20 of the base 12 and The two frame bodies 22 are fixedly supported. The plurality of second portions 78 of the leaf spring 74 are respectively arcuately extended along the first portion 76 at equal circumferentially spaced positions of the first portion 76, and at their free ends, the holder 48 of the operation unit 16. The plurality of flange portions 62 are respectively supported. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the leaf spring 74 is not loaded, the first portion 76 and the second portion 78 are disposed on substantially the same plane. From this state, when an external force is applied to each second portion 78, each second portion 78 is elastically deformed and exhibits springiness with respect to the external force.

  A through hole 80 is formed in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the first portion 76 and each second portion 78 of the leaf spring 74. Correspondingly, the second frame body 22 of the base 12 is formed with positioning projections 82 on the inner surfaces of the plurality of flange portions 32. The plate spring 74 has the first portion 76 of the second frame body 22 and the second frame body 22 in the state in which the projections 82 of the second frame body 22 are inserted into the through holes 80. By being sandwiched between the plurality of flange portions 32, the base portion 12 is assembled.

  As described above, when the operating portion 16 is assembled to the base portion 12, the second portions 78 of the leaf springs 74 are arranged at their free ends on the upper surfaces of the flange portions 62 of the holder 48, that is, on the side away from the circuit board 18. Engage with the surface. At this time, each component is dimensioned so that all the second portions 78 are placed in a state of being slightly elastically deformed upward under the load from the corresponding flange portions 62 (FIG. 3). As a result, the plurality of second portions 78 of the leaf spring 74 exerts a substantially equal spring force on each of the plurality of flange portions 62 of the holder 48 in the downward direction, that is, in the direction of approaching the circuit board 18. Under the spring force, the operation unit 16 including the cover 46 and the holder 48 is stably held at the initial position integrally with the magnet 66. In the initial position, the end wall portion 50 of the cover 46 is disposed substantially parallel to the circuit board 18, and the plurality of magnetoelectric conversion elements 24 on the circuit board 18 are substantially all from the magnets 66 on the operation unit 16. Placed at a distance.

  When operating the pointing device 10, the operator operates the cover 46 of the operation unit 16 with fingers, and swings around the fulcrum 14 on the base 12 against the bias of the leaf spring 74. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the relative positional relationship between the magnet 66 and each magnetoelectric transducer 24 changes in accordance with the swing direction and swing angle of the cover 46. As a result, the plurality of magnetoelectric transducers 24 output different voltages. A change in the output voltage of each magnetoelectric conversion element 24 due to the swinging motion of the cover 46 is processed as analog information by a CPU (not shown) on the circuit board 18 and converted into digital coordinate data, and a connector provided on the circuit board 18. The data is output to the processing mechanism of the data processing device (not shown) via the unit 84 (FIG. 1). In this manner, for example, the character or cursor on the display of the data processing apparatus can be moved in a desired direction by a desired distance in accordance with the swing direction and swing angle of the cover 46 of the operation unit 16.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the cover 46 is swung in the desired direction from the initial position, the plurality of second portions 78 of the leaf spring 74 are swung by the plurality of flange portions 62 of the holder 48. The movement shifts from an equilibrium elastic deformation state to a biased elastic deformation state corresponding to the swing direction. That is, the operation unit 16 is always urged toward the initial position by the spring force that the plurality of second portions 78 of the leaf spring 74 tries to restore to the equilibrium state. As a result, the operation unit 16 swings in an accurate and smooth manner corresponding to the operation of the operator's fingers, and quickly returns to the initial position as soon as the operator removes the fingers from the cover 46.

  As described above, in the pointing device 10, the thin plate spring 74 is used as an elastic member for urging the operation unit 16 to the initial position, and thus the dimension of the assembled pointing device 10 in the height direction can be easily reduced. can do. In addition, since each of the second portions 78 of the leaf spring 74 extends in an arc shape around the fulcrum 14 along the first portion 76, the circumferential direction of the leaf spring 74 is extremely small despite its extremely small size. The second portions 78 extending in a desired length in the direction can exert a spring force that is necessary and sufficient to stably operate the operation portion 16. Therefore, the pointing device 10 can be further reduced in height without impairing the operability of the operation unit 16, and the data processing apparatus can be further thinned when used integrally with the casing of the data processing apparatus. Can be promoted.

  The leaf spring 74 of the pointing device 10 can have various shapes other than those described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a leaf spring 74 having a second portion 78 ′ extending in a U shape from the base end side connected to the first portion 76 can be employed. In this case, the second portion 78 ′ is configured to engage the flange portion 62 of the holder 48 at its free end region 79. According to such a configuration, the entire length of the second portion 78 ', which is a spring acting portion, can be easily increased, so that a larger spring force can be obtained.

Incidentally, the leaf spring noted above, the arrangement is the arrangement of the magnet and the electric transducer reverse configuration, i.e. to install the magnet at the base, magnetoelectric transducer installed in the operation portion is configured to displace In addition, the pointing device can be used effectively, and similarly exhibits a special effect.

  The pointing device 10 further includes a yoke 86 that is installed in the operation unit 16 above the magnet 66 and forms a magnetic path. The yoke 86 is a dish-like member formed by drawing from a sheet metal material such as a magnetic steel plate, and has a substantially cylindrical end wall portion 88 and a substantially cylindrical shape extending in the axial direction from the outer edge of the end wall portion 88. The peripheral wall portion 90 is integrally formed. The yoke 86 is attached to the holder 48 in which the magnet 66 is accommodated in the recess 65 by inserting the peripheral wall portion 90 between the cylindrical wall 64 of the holder 48 and each auxiliary wall 68. At this time, the end wall portion 88 of the yoke 86 is disposed adjacent to the magnet 66 on the side away from the magnetoelectric conversion element 24. Since the yoke 86 forms a magnetic circuit by the magnet 66 along the end wall portion 88 and the peripheral wall portion 90, the yoke 86 acts to reduce magnetic leakage to the outside through the cover 46, and the magnetic field is applied to the circuit board. 18 so as to be directed in the direction approaching the plurality of magnetoelectric transducers 24 on 18. Therefore, even in the pointing device 10 whose height is reduced by the above-described effect of the plate spring 74, magnetic leakage to the outside through the operation unit 16 can be reduced as much as possible.

Note that the pointing device yoke noted above, if a pointing device using a magneto-electric transducer, which is not limited to the pointing device that uses a leaf spring as an elastic member, to use other elastic member such as rubber or a coil spring Can also be used effectively, and also have exceptional effects.

Pointing device 10 described above is to solve the problem of operability decreases and magnetic leakage are those that can achieve low profile, as Kumikomishiki pointing device incorporated integrally in the housing of the thin data processing device, It can be used particularly advantageously. However, depending on the intention of the operator, a removable pointing device that is detachably mounted on the data processing apparatus may be required. 7 to 10 show a pointing device 100 according to the implementation embodiments of the present invention having the configuration of such a detachable.

  The pointing device 100 includes an operation unit 102, a detection unit 104 that detects the operation of the operation unit 102, and a connector unit 106 that is disposed adjacent to the operation unit 102 and the detection unit 104. The pointing device 100 is detachably attached to a data processing apparatus to be described later via the connector unit 106. Although the operation unit 102 is illustrated as an assembly, the operation unit 102 is substantially the same as the operation unit 16 of the pointing device 10 described above, except that a dome 110 having a rod-shaped portion 108 is provided instead of the flat cover 48. It has an internal structure. Therefore, illustration and description of the internal structure of the operation unit 102 are omitted.

  The detection unit 104 includes a circuit board 112 on which electronic components such as a CPU (not shown) are mounted, and a plurality of magnetoelectric conversion elements 114 mounted at predetermined positions on the circuit board 112. The circuit board 112 and the magnetoelectric conversion element 114 have substantially the same configuration as the circuit board 18 and the magnetoelectric conversion element 24 of the pointing device 10 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted. The dome 110 is supported on a frame body 116 fixed to the circuit board 112 so as to be swingable about a fulcrum (not shown). The frame body 116 corresponds to the first and second frame bodies 20 and 22 in the pointing device 10.

  In this manner, the pointing device 100 can have a basic configuration substantially the same as that of the pointing device 10 described above. However, since the pointing device 100 having a detachable configuration has few dimensional restrictions, other elastic members such as rubber and coil springs can be used instead of the plate spring 74 described above.

  The pointing device 100 further includes a pair of upper and lower housings 118 and 120 that house the operation unit 102 and the detection unit 104. The housings 118 and 120 are combined with each other to firmly support the circuit board 112 to which the frame body 116 is fixed, and a part of the dome 110 including the rod-shaped portion 108 is externally provided through the opening 122 provided in the upper housing 118. Make it protrude. Concave portions 124 and 126 having cylindrical curved portions are formed on the outer surfaces of both housings 118 and 120, respectively. The concave portions 124 and 126 form a receiving portion 128 that receives the connector portion 106 by smoothly connecting the curved portions to each other when the housings 118 and 120 are combined. As shown, the receptacle 128 has an arcuate cross-sectional shape that is larger than a semicircle.

  The connector unit 106 includes, as an example, a connector 130 having a rectangular connection portion according to the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard, and a casing 132 that houses the connector 130 in a fixed manner with the connection portion exposed. The connector 130 is connected to the circuit board 112 of the detection unit 104 via a cable or a lead wire (not shown). The casing 132 is a cylindrical assembly having a substantially arcuate cross-sectional shape corresponding to the shape of the receiving portion 128 of both the housings 118, 120, and its cylindrical outer peripheral surface portion is opposed to the cylindrical curved surface portion of the receiving portion 128. Or contacted and received by the receiving portion 128.

  In the receiving portions 128 of both housings 118 and 120, a pair of parallel protrusions 134 extending in the circumferential direction are formed on the curved surface portions of the respective concave portions 124 and 126. Correspondingly, a pair of grooves 136 extending in the circumferential direction in parallel to each other is formed in the cylindrical outer peripheral surface portion of the casing 132 of the connector portion 106. The connector portion 106 is received by the receiving portion 128 in a state where the pair of protrusions 134 of the receiving portions 128 of the housings 118 and 120 are fitted in the pair of grooves 136 on the outer surface of the casing 132, respectively. As a result, the connector portion 106 is coupled to the housings 118 and 120 so as to be rotatable along the protrusions 134 within the receiving portion 128 and so as not to fall off the receiving portion 128.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the pointing device 100 is used by being detachably attached to a housing 142 of a data processing apparatus 140 such as a personal computer or a personal word processor. The data processing device 140 is shown as a portable device that collectively includes a keyboard 144 and a display 146, and the connector unit 106 of the pointing device 100 is placed at a predetermined position on the side surface of the housing 142 that houses the keyboard 144. An interface unit 148 to be connected is installed.

  The pointing device 100 is detachably attached to the data processing device 140 via the connector part 106 and the interface part 148. At the time of attachment, the connector part 106 includes housings 118 and 120 in which the operation part 102 and the detection part 104 are built. Acts to support. According to such a configuration, the electrical connection and mechanical attachment of the pointing device 100 to the data processing apparatus 140 are completed simply by connecting the connector unit 106 to the interface unit 148. Can be implemented. In addition, in the pointing device 100, since the connector portion 106 is incorporated in the housings 118 and 120 in advance, the cable is not extended around the processing apparatus in the mounted state unlike the conventional detachable pointing device. The portability and workability of the processing apparatus are not impaired.

  When the connector 130 of the connector portion 106 conforms to the USB standard, the distance W (FIG. 10B) from the center of the connection portion of the connector 130 to the substantially flat end surface of the casing 132 may be 4.25 mm or less. desirable. In this way, it is possible to connect the connector of another peripheral device in accordance with the USB standard to the data processing device 140 in parallel with the pointing device 100.

  In order to assist the mechanical support operation by the connector unit 106 described above, the pointing device 100 may further include an engagement unit 138 that can be engaged with the housing 142 of the data processing apparatus 140. The engaging portion 138 includes a slit carved on the bottom surface of the lower housing 120 of the pointing device 100. Correspondingly, a support portion 150 that supports the lower housing 120 by detachably engaging with the engaging portion 138 of the pointing device 100 can be installed in the housing 142 of the data processing device 140. In this case, the support part 150 can be configured as a plate-like piece that can be inserted into the engaging part 138 formed of a slit. Further, in order not to impair the portability and workability of the data processing device 140, the support unit 150 is moved between the retracted position adjacent to the side surface of the housing 142 and the protruding position protruding from the side surface of the housing 142. It is desirable to have a movable structure as shown in α (FIG. 11B).

  When the pointing device 100 having the above configuration is attached to the data processing apparatus 140, the housings 118 and 120 of the pointing device 110 are supported on the housing 142 side, depending on the arrangement of the interface unit 148 on the housing 142. As shown in FIG. 11A, the connector unit 106 is connected to the interface unit 148 while the connector unit 106 is appropriately rotated in the receiving unit 128 so as not to interfere with 150. Next, the support portion 150 is disposed in the protruding position, and the support portions 150 are inserted into the engagement portions 138 by rotating the housings 118 and 120 with respect to the connector portion 106. This completes the mounting (FIG. 12).

  Note that the pointing device having the above-described connector is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment using the magnetoelectric conversion element, but a rotation input type pointing device that rotates the ball with a finger and inputs the rotation direction and rotation angle, The present invention can also be applied to a plane pressing type pointing device that inputs the moving direction and moving distance of the pressing point by abutting and sliding the finger on the sheet, and in that case also exhibits exceptional effects. .

1 is an exploded perspective view of a pointing device according to a related technique of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of the pointing device in FIG. 1. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of the assembly of the pointing device of FIG. It is (a) top view and (b) side view of the pointing device of FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pointing device shown in FIG. 1 during operation, showing (a) one swing direction and (b) another swing direction. It is a perspective view of the leaf | plate spring by a modification. By implementation embodiment of the present invention is an exploded perspective view of a pointing device. It is a perspective view at the time of the assembly of the pointing device of FIG. FIG. 9A is a side view from the direction of arrow A, and FIG. 9B is a side view from the direction of arrow B. 8A is a plan view and FIG. 8B is a bottom view of the pointing device of FIG. 7. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for mounting the pointing device of FIG. 7 on a data processing apparatus, (a) a perspective view of the pointing device and (b) a perspective view of the data processing apparatus. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pointing device is attached to the data processing apparatus of FIG. 11.

Explanation of symbols

12 base 14 fulcrum 16, 102 operation unit 18, 112 circuit board 20 first frame body 22 second frame body 24, 114 magnetoelectric conversion element 46 cover 48 holder 66 magnet 74 leaf spring 76 first part 78, 78 ′ second part 86 Yoke 104 Detection part 106 Connector part 118 Upper housing 120 Lower housing 128 Receiving part 130 Connector 132 Casing 134 Projection 136 Groove 138 Engagement part

Claims (1)

An operation unit, comprising a detection unit for detecting the operation of the operating unit, in freely mounted Ru pointing device removably to the data processing device,
A housing for housing the operation unit and the detection unit;
A connector part that is arranged adjacent to the operation part and the detection part and is pivotally connected to the housing, the connector part being connectable to the interface part of the data processing device ;
An engagement portion provided in the housing and engageable with a housing of the data processing device ;
When the connector portion is connected to the interface unit of the data processing apparatus, together with the connector part rotatably supporting said housing, said engaging portion by the rotation of the housing relative to the connector unit of the data processing device Being configured to engage the housing ,
Pointing device featuring.

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