JP2001052389A - Structure of operating dial - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the operability by permitting the rotary operation in two approximately orthogonal directions. SOLUTION: In the structure of an operating dial 1 for performing a specified switch operation in combination of a rotating operation with finely shifting operations in directions orthogonal to a rotary axis, the operating dial is disposed on a box 2 having an opening 4 for exposing at least, a part of the outer peripheral face 1a and at least, a part of a flat part 1b nearer to the outer periphery. This allows one to rotate the operating dial in two approximately orthogonal directions during touching the outer peripheral face of the operating dial or the flat part 1b nearer to the outer periphery, thus improving the operability.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a novel operation dial structure. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for improving operability by setting a direction of touching an operation dial to two directions substantially orthogonal to each other when performing a rotation operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, characters are
There is an operation dial called a jog dial for selecting a mode or the like and confirming the selected content by pushing in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis.

The conventional jog dial can be operated only from one direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, from the upper side, that is, the outer peripheral surface b of the jog dial a is touched from the direction of the arrow A, rotated in the direction of the arrow B, and then pushed in the direction of the arrow A to operate, as shown in FIG. So that the plane portion d of the jog dial c
Is operated in the direction of the rotation axis, that is, by pushing in the direction of the arrow C by rotating in the direction of arrow D.

[0004]

However, the conventional jog dials described above all have a problem that they can only be rotated from one direction, resulting in poor operability.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve operability by enabling a rotating operation from two directions that are substantially orthogonal to each other.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the structure of the operation dial according to the present invention is such that at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the operation dial is provided on the housing where the operation dial is disposed. An opening for exposing at least a part of the plane portion to the outside is formed.

Therefore, in the structure of the operation dial of the present invention, the operation dial can be rotated by touching the outer peripheral surface or the flat portion near the outer periphery in two directions substantially orthogonal to each other, and the operability is improved.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the structure of the operation dial of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The operation dial 1 is supported by an upper cover 2 of a housing of an electronic device on which the operation dial 1 is mounted.

The upper cover 2 is formed as a synthetic resin molded product, and has a substantially semi-circular opening 4 formed on a substantially flat operation dial arrangement surface 3 as a whole. A substantially semicircular portion 5 following the rear of the opening 4 is a cover that covers the upper side of the operation dial 1, and the cover 5 is inclined backward and downward with respect to the operation dial placement surface 3. On the upper surface of the lower edge of the opening 4, there is formed a sliding surface 7 which is one step lower through a step 6.

A dial support plate 8 is supported by the top cover 2. A support shaft 9 is erected on the dial support plate 8, and the operation dial 1 is rotatably supported on the support shaft 9. Restriction pieces 8a, 8a protrude from both left and right ends of the dial support plate 8, and the restriction pieces 8a, 8a are formed on the top cover 2 and surround portions other than the portion protruding from the opening of the operation dial 1. In the recesses 11, 11 formed near the opening 4 of the wall-shaped part 10 thus formed. The front and rear widths of the recesses 11 and 11 are slightly larger than the front and rear widths of the restriction pieces 8a and 8a, and the dial support plate 8 can move in the front and rear direction by the shape difference. Then, the closing plate 12 is attached to the upper surface cover 2 so as to cover the lower side of the wall-shaped portion 10, thereby preventing the dial support plate 8 from dropping downward. Note that the dial support plate 8 is disposed so as to be parallel to the cover 5. Therefore, the operation dial 1 supported by the dial support plate 8 is arranged in a state inclined with respect to the dial arrangement surface 3.

The operation dial 1 has a part of the outer peripheral surface 1 a and a part of the upper flat part 1 b near the outer periphery exposed through the opening 4. Further, a portion near the outer periphery of the flat portion 1c on the lower side of the operation dial 1 faces the sliding surface 7.

On the opposite side of the opening 4 of the wall-like portion 10, there are formed grooves 13 which open downward and face each other. A link spring 14 is supported by the grooves 13, 13. The linking spring 14 is formed of a leaf spring material, and is bent to have an inverted trapezoidal shape when viewed from the side. Linkage spring 1
4 are formed at the rear end with projecting pieces 14a, 14a projecting to the side, and the projecting pieces 14a, 14a
Is inserted into. Further, a pressing projection 14b that is projected downward is formed at the center in the front-rear direction. The front end 14c is elastically contacted with the rear end of the dial support plate 8. As a result, the dial support plate 8 is biased forward, that is, toward the opening 4. And the closing plate 1
A so-called pedal switch 15 is disposed at a position facing the pressing projection 14b of the second linking spring 14. The pedal switch 15 is a movable part 1 formed in a dome shape by an elastic body.
The movable contact 15b is formed inside the movable contact 5a.
5b, a fixed contact 15c is formed facing the movable portion 15b.
5a is deformed to be crushed and the movable contact 15b comes into contact with the fixed contact 15c.
As a returns to the original dome shape, the movable contact 15b is separated from the fixed contact 15c.

An encoder 16 for detecting the rotation angle of the operation dial 1 is provided on the dial support plate 8.

In the structure of the operation dial described above,
Touch the outer peripheral surface 1a of the operation dial 1 from the arrow E direction,
Also, the upper flat portion 1b of the operation dial 1 from the direction of arrow F
By touching a position near the outer periphery of the control dial 1, the operation dial 1 can be rotated. In some cases, the operation dial 1 can be rotated by touching a corner 1d where the outer peripheral surface 1a and the upper flat surface 1b intersect in the direction of arrow G between the directions of arrow E and arrow F. As described above, since the rotation can be performed by touching the operation dial 1 from at least two directions (arrow E direction and arrow F direction) that are substantially orthogonal to each other, the operation direction is not limited, and the operability is improved. For example, when the positional relationship between the device having the operation dial 1 and the operator is different depending on the operation purpose (such as at the time of shooting and at the time of playback in a video camera), the rotation operation is performed from the direction in which the user can easily operate in each positional relationship. be able to. When a portion of the operation dial 1 near the outer periphery of the upper flat portion 1b is touched from the direction of the arrow F, a force in a direction of tilting the support shaft 9 is applied. Since it is received by contacting the sliding surface 7, no extra load is applied to the support shaft 9.

Further, as described above, since the operation dial 1 is arranged to be inclined with respect to the operation dial arrangement surface 3, the two directions (the direction of the arrow E and the direction of the arrow F) are obtained.
This makes it easy to perform a rotating operation from the outside, and also allows downsizing of a device having the operation dial 1. Of course, even when the operation dial is arranged so as to be horizontal with respect to the operation dial arrangement surface, the effect of improving operability by enabling operation from two directions is not lost.

Then, for example, when desired contents (for example, characters, modes, etc.) are selected by rotating the operation dial 1, the selected contents are determined by pressing the operation dial 1 in the direction of arrow E. . That is,
When the operation dial 1 is pressed in the direction of arrow E, the regulating piece 8
The dial support plate 8 moves in the direction of arrow E against the urging force of the link spring 14 by the difference in shape between the a and 8a and the recesses 11 and 11. The front end 14c of the linking spring 14 is pressed by the movement of the dial support plate 8 in the direction of arrow E, and the linking spring 14 is deformed so that the central portion having the pressing projection 14b moves downward, and the pressing projection 14b is The movable portion 15a of the 15 is pressed, whereby the movable contact 15b and the fixed contact 15c come into contact with each other, and the above-mentioned selection is determined.
When the pressing of the operation dial 1 in the direction of arrow E is released, the movable portion 15a of the pedal switch 15 and the link spring 1
4 return to their original shapes, and the dial support plate 8 is moved in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow E by the urging force of the linking spring 14.

It should be noted that the shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the specific embodiments to be carried out when carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Should not be interpreted restrictively.

[0019]

As is apparent from the above description, in the structure of the operation dial of the present invention, a predetermined switch operation is performed by a combination of a rotation operation and a minute movement operation in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis. In the structure of the operation dial, an opening for exposing at least a part of an outer peripheral surface of the operation dial and at least a part of a flat portion close to the outer periphery is formed in a housing in which the operation dial is disposed. It is characterized by.

Therefore, in the structure of the operation dial of the present invention, the operation dial can be rotated by touching the outer peripheral surface or the flat portion near the outer periphery in two directions substantially orthogonal to each other, and the operability is improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the housing is slidable in contact with the flat portion of the operation dial at the opening opposite to the flat portion exposed from the opening of the operation dial. Since the moving surface is formed, when rotating by touching the flat portion near the outer periphery, the force is received on the sliding surface, so the load on the shaft receiving the operation dial is small, and there is no concern about strength. .

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, since the rotation axis of the operation dial is provided to be inclined with respect to the dial arrangement surface of the housing on which the operation dial is arranged, it is substantially provided. Operation from two orthogonal directions is facilitated, and also contributes to downsizing of a device having an operation dial.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 2 to 4 show an embodiment of the structure of the operation dial of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of a device provided with the operation dial.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part of a device provided with an operation dial.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the structure of a conventional operation dial.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the structure of the conventional operation dial.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Operation dial, 1a ... Outer peripheral surface, 1b ... Plane part, 1c
... flat part (opposite side of 1b), 2 ... top cover (casing),
3 ... operation dial arrangement surface, 4 ... opening, 7 ... sliding surface

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A structure of an operation dial in which a predetermined switch operation is performed by a combination of a rotation operation and a minute movement operation in a direction orthogonal to a rotation axis, wherein a housing in which the operation dial is disposed is provided. An operation dial structure, wherein an opening is formed to expose at least a part of an outer peripheral surface of the operation dial and at least a part of a flat part close to the outer periphery to the outside. 2. The housing has a sliding surface in which the flat portion of the operation dial abuts and slides on the opposite side of the flat portion exposed from the opening of the operation dial. The structure of the operation dial according to claim 1. 3. The structure of the operation dial according to claim 1, wherein a rotation axis of the operation dial is provided to be inclined with respect to a dial arrangement surface of the housing on which the operation dial is arranged. 4. The structure of the operation dial according to claim 2, wherein a rotation axis of the operation dial is provided to be inclined with respect to a dial arrangement surface of the housing on which the operation dial is arranged.