JP2002073271A - Inclinable stick type indicating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inclinable stick type indicating device capable of outputting an analog signal corresponding to the tilting stroke quantity of an operation stick that can freely be erected and tilted and also generating various indication signals by applying a pressing down operation to the operation stick. SOLUTION: An operation stick 2 is provided with; an outer shaft 21 which is supported in a freely erectable and tiltable way and is also energized so as to restore a standing state, and an inner shaft 22 which is held inside the outer shaft 21 in a freely slidable way, energized upward and united with a knob and further has a gimbal mechanism which operates in interlock with the tiling operation of the stick 2 and break down the tilting stroke quantity of the stick 2 into the displacement magnitude along two orthogonally crossing axes; a tilting displacement magnitude detector for generating a signal corresponding to the displacement magnitude along the two axes by the gimbal mechanism; and a sliding direction detector for interlock with the sliding of the shaft 22 relative to the shaft 21 and generating and outputting an electric signal corresponding to its sliding direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tilting stick type pointing device suitable as, for example, an operating lever for video game software employing a three-dimensional image expression technique, and more particularly to a tilting stroke of an operating stick. The present invention relates to a tilting stick type pointing device capable of generating and outputting an analog signal corresponding to an amount and additionally generating and outputting a variety of instruction signals by adding up and down operations of an operation stick.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the contents of an instruction signal generated and output by this type of a tilting stick type pointing device include a front-back direction instruction signal, a left-right direction instruction signal, and an oblique direction instruction signal. It is limited to a plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the stick. Therefore, in the case of adopting it as an operation lever for video game software employing a three-dimensional image expression technique, it is necessary to separately provide a push button type pointing device.

For example, the movement of a character in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the diagonal direction on the screen is associated with the front-rear direction operation, the left-right direction operation, and the diagonal operation of the operation stick. Further, the movement of the character in the depth direction on the screen is associated with a combination of the front-back operation of the operation stick and the pressing operation of the push button.
Therefore, there is a problem that the operation is complicated because both hands are required to operate the two types of pointing devices.

As a solution to the above problem, it is conceivable that the operation stick itself can be pushed down and raised. With such a configuration, the operation stick itself replaces the function of the conventional push button switch, so that all direction indications on the screen can be performed by one-handed operation.

Conventionally, in a general tilting stick type pointing device, a tiltable operation stick is fixed to a mounting base via a free bearing at an intermediate portion in a longitudinal direction, and is always coaxially fitted with the stick. It is elastically maintained in a neutral state (standing state) by the urging force of the inserted coil spring.

[0006] Behind the mounting base, a plurality of microswitches constituting a tilt detector are arranged in a point-symmetric manner so as to surround an operation stick in an upright state.

These microswitches are selectively turned on or off in conjunction with the tilting operation of the operation stick.
F, whereby a multi-bit electrical signal indicating the tilt of the operation stick is generated and output as an instruction signal.

In the conventional stick-type pointing device having the conventional structure, in order to enable the operation stick to be pushed down and pulled up, it is conceivable to support the universal bearing itself so as to be able to move up and down by a predetermined stroke.

However, if such a structure is adopted, in order to maintain the relative positional relationship between the microswitch group constituting the tilt detector and the operation stick irrespective of the vertical movement of the operation stick, Move the micro switch group up and down together with the operation stick,
Alternatively, it is necessary to add microswitch groups one by one in the vertical direction in accordance with the depressed position and the raised position, and the cost is increased due to the complexity of the structure and the increase in the number of parts.

Further, in the conventional microswitch group, the O switch is selectively operated in conjunction with the tilting operation of the operation stick.
N or OFF binary signal is output.
It is not configured to generate an analog signal corresponding to the amount of tilt stroke of the operation stick, and a complicated structure in which microswitches are set at four positions in front, back, left, and right has been adopted.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to generate and output an analog signal corresponding to the amount of tilt stroke of an operation stick. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tilting stick type pointing device capable of generating more various pointing signals.

Still another object of the present invention is to enable the operation stick to be moved up and down in addition to the above-described generation and output of an analog signal corresponding to the tilt stroke amount of the operation stick. An object of the present invention is to provide a tilting stick type pointing device that can generate more various instruction signals by generating and outputting an electric signal corresponding to the above, and has a simple structure, high operation reliability, and can be manufactured at low cost.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation stick supported so as to be capable of being turned upside down and urged to return to an upright state, and a tilting operation of the operation stick. And a detector that generates and outputs an electric signal in conjunction with the operation stick, wherein the operation stick is supported so as to be able to move up and down and is urged to return to an upright state. An outer shaft and an inner shaft that is slidably held in the outer shaft and urged upward, and is integrated with the grip ball, and further operates in conjunction with the tilting operation of the operation stick. A gimbal mechanism for decomposing the tilt stroke amount of the operation stick into orthogonal two-axis displacement amounts, and a tilt displacement amount detector for generating a signal corresponding to the two-axis displacement amounts by the gimbal mechanism; Serial in conjunction with the sliding of the inner shaft relative to the outer shaft to the sliding direction detector for generating and outputting an electrical signal corresponding to the sliding direction, characterized in that it consists of.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, if the operation stick is tilted, the gimbal mechanism operates in conjunction with the tilting operation of the operation stick, and the gimbal mechanism tilts the operation stick. The stroke amount is decomposed as a displacement amount of two orthogonal axes, and the tilt displacement amount detector generates and outputs a signal corresponding to the tilt stroke amount of the operation stick.

Further, in the operation stick, the inner shaft is held in the outer shaft so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and the inner shaft is always urged upward to be integrated with the grip ball. By holding down and pressing down, an electric signal can be output as an instruction signal.

Therefore, if the operation stick is tilted at the same time when the gripping ball is grasped with the hand and pressed down, the output of the electric signal by the sliding operation of the inner shaft and the signal corresponding to the tilt stroke of the operation stick are simultaneously generated. Can be output.

The invention described in claim 2 of this application is characterized in that the sliding direction detector is a detector that detects that the sliding amount has reached a specified value and outputs a binary signal. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a binary signal can be easily generated and output by grasping the grip ball and pressing down the operation stick.

The invention described in claim 3 of this application is characterized in that the sliding direction detector is a detector that detects a sliding amount and generates and outputs an analog signal or a pulse train signal.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the gripping ball is gripped and the operation stick is pushed down, an analog signal or a pulse train signal corresponding to the pushing stroke can be generated and output. .

In the invention described in claim 4 of the present application, the gimbal mechanism operates in conjunction with the tilting operation of the operation stick, and swings along two orthogonal axes in accordance with the amount of tilt stroke of the operation stick. Two independent guides, an arcuate ratchet integrated with each guide, and a pinion meshed with the arcuate ratchet and mounted coaxially with the drive shaft of the rotary tilt detector. Features.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the two orthogonally interlocking members are interlocked with the tilting operation of the operation stick.
The guide swings along the axis, an arcuate ratchet integrated with the guide rotates by a predetermined angle, and rotates a pinion that meshes with the guide to generate a signal corresponding to the tilt stroke amount of the operation stick. Can be detected.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a sliding direction detector for generating and outputting an electric signal in conjunction with sliding of the inner shaft is constituted by a micro switch, and the micro switch is opened and closed. By hinge lever,
The inner shaft is always urged upward.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the inner shaft is constantly urged upward by the elastic force of the hinge lever, and in this state, the microswitch does not detect a signal. Then, the microswitch detects an electric signal by depressing the hinge lever in response to the urging force of the hinge lever.

[0025]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the tilting stick type pointing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tilting stick type pointing device, and FIG. 3 is a cross section showing the configuration of the tilting stick type pointing device. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a tilting operation of the operation stick in the tilting stick type pointing device. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the tilting stick type pointing device. FIG. 6 is an operation stick in the tilting stick type pointing device. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a lower end side of the robot and a sliding direction detector.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the tilting stick type pointing device according to the present invention in an assembled state. The tilting stick type pointing device 100 is usually mounted on a frame of a video game machine in a horizontal posture. It has an appearance in which the operation stick 2 protrudes upward from the center of the mounting base 1 to be mounted.

The operation stick 2 is capable of performing a tilting operation in all directions around it with a predetermined stroke in the same manner as the conventional operation stick, and outputs an analog signal corresponding to a tilting stroke amount accompanying the tilting operation of the operation stick 2. The feature is that it can be output. In addition, the operation stick 2 can be pressed downward by grasping the grip ball 3, and when the operation stick 2 is pressed down, an electric signal different from an analog signal obtained by tilting the operation stick 2 is output. It is configured to be able to.

Next, the tilting stick type pointing device 10
0 and the assembly structure thereof will be described in detail with reference to an exploded perspective view of FIG. 2 and a cross-sectional view of FIG.

First, the operation stick 2 includes an outer shaft 21 made of a metal hollow pipe, and an inner member made of a glass fiber reinforced resin that is slidably fitted in a guide hole 21a of the outer shaft 21 along the axial direction. And an outer shaft 21.
An annular convex portion 21 for locking a bearing 13 to be described later
An annular groove 21c for fixing a C-ring for fixing the b and the spring assembly 4 is formed.

The inner shaft 22 is longer than the outer shaft 21. The inner shaft 22 is provided with a male screw portion 22a at the mounting end of the gripping ball 3, and has a disk-shaped flange at the other end. A step portion 22c is formed on the upper portion 22b and abuts against the lower end of the outer shaft 21.

The grip ball 3 as an operation lever attached to the operation stick 2 has a hollow hemispherical upper half 31.
And a lower half portion 32 having a connecting portion of the operation stick 2 are welded and fixed, and a nut 33 that is screwed into the male screw portion 22a of the inner shaft 22 is inserted.

The inner shaft 22 inserted into the guide hole 21 a in the outer shaft 21 is screwed into a nut 33 provided in the gripping ball 3 with a male screw portion 22 a formed at the upper end thereof. The shaft 22 and the grip ball 3 are integrated, and the outer shaft 21
Since the clearance is set between the upper end surface 21d of the grip ball 3 and the bearing recess bottom surface 34 of the grip ball 3, the grip ball 3 and the inner shaft 22 can be pushed down corresponding to this clearance, and The inner shaft 22 is slidably held on the shaft 21. Thus, the stick assembly is constituted by the operation stick 2 and the grip ball 3.

Next, the following structure is employed as a structure for supporting the operation stick 2 having the grip ball 3 integrated thereon on the mounting base 1 so that the operation stick 2 can be turned upside down and restored to an upright state.

That is, the mounting base 1 is a bearing base 1
The bearing base 11 and the base cover 12 are both formed of an injection-molded body made of a synthetic resin.
At the four corners, there are provided screw holes 11a to be attached to a frame of a video game machine or the like, and in the center thereof, through holes 11a for inserting the operation stick 2 therethrough.
b has been established.

A bearing 13 fixed to the operation stick 2 is accommodated in the through hole 11b.
The bowl-shaped curved surface 13a on the lower side of the bearing 13 is engaged with the annular convex portion 21b of the outer shaft 21.
Slidably in contact with the pedestal surface (bearing surface) 11d of the base member, thereby forming a universal bearing.

Further, a bearing 13 is assembled to the operation stick 2 to support the operation stick 2 up and down on the universal bearing surface of the bearing base 11 and to apply a spring biasing force to a neutral state (standing state). , A spring assembly 4 is attached to the outer periphery of the operation stick 2.

In this spring assembly, the C ring 44 is engaged with the annular groove 21 c of the outer shaft 21 by sandwiching the coil spring 41 between the spring cover 42 and the spring end 43 from above and below, respectively.

Therefore, the spring cover 42 contacts the bottom surface of the bearing base 11 and the spring end 43
Since it is attached to a predetermined portion of the outer shaft 21 by the ring 44, when the gripping ball 3 is operated to tilt the operation stick 2 in all directions of front, rear, left and right, the bearing 13 and the bearing surface 11d of the bearing base 11 are good. The universal stick function is obtained, and the operating stick 2 is urged by the spring assembly 4 to always return to the upright state (neutral state).

Further, in the tilting stick type pointing device 100 according to the present invention, the gimbal mechanism is converted into a displacement along two orthogonal axes as a converting means for the omnidirectional tilting operation of the operating stick 2. The feature is that the displacement can be generated and output as an analog signal.

That is, as the gimbal mechanism, when the operation stick 2 is tilted forward, backward, left and right, in any direction, a pair of guides 5 that swing along two orthogonal axes in conjunction with the operation stick 2 are provided. It is composed of an arcuate ratchet 51 that is integrated and a pinion 6 that meshes with the arcuate ratchet 51.

More specifically, the guide 5 is made of a substantially U-shaped resin strip, and is provided with locking holes 52a in the support arms 52 on both sides, and the bearing base 11 is inserted into the locking holes 52a. Projection 11f protruding from square outer surface 11e
The guide 5 is swingably mounted along the orthogonal two axial directions on the basis of the locking holes 52a, and the guide holes 54 formed in the rocking pieces 53 between the support arms 52 are fitted.
Are positioned so as to intersect in the directions orthogonal to each other, and the outer shaft 21 is inserted into the guide hole 54.

Therefore, when the operation stick 2 is tilted, the guides 5 swing in directions orthogonal to each other, and the arcuate ratchet 51 is integrally formed with the guide 5 in the locking hole 5.
A rotation operation is performed based on 2a.

The teeth 51a of the arcuate ratchet 51 and the pinion 6 are in meshing relation, and the bracket 61 is attached to the bracket mounting boss 11g of the bearing base 11.
The bracket 61 has a variable resistor 62 constituting a potentiometer mounted on the outer surface of the bracket 61, and the pinion 6 is mounted coaxially with a drive shaft 63 of the variable resistor 62. ing.

Therefore, if the operation stick 2 is tilted in all directions of front, rear, left and right, the guides 5 arranged on two axes orthogonal to each other correspond to the amount of tilt stroke of the operation stick 2, Each guide 5 swings at a predetermined angle along two orthogonal axis directions, and the cooperative action of the teeth 51 a of the arcuate ratchet 51 and the teeth 6 a of the pinion 6 reduces the tilt stroke of the operation stick 2. A corresponding analog signal can be output from the variable resistor 62.

As described above, according to the present invention, the number of the detectors 62 is two in comparison with the conventional structure in which the microswitch is installed at four positions in correspondence with the tilting operation of the operation stick.
In addition to simplifying the structure and downsizing, the analog signal can be generated and output instead of a binary signal, so that various instruction signals can be output.

Further, in the present invention, as described above, in addition to being able to output an analog signal corresponding to the amount of tilt stroke of the operation stick 2, the grip ball 3 is depressed and the fixed outer shaft 21 is pressed. By pressing down the inner shaft 22 integrated with the grip ball 3 downward, an electric signal can be newly generated and output.

That is, as described above, the inner shaft 22 is inserted into the guide hole 21a of the outer shaft 21, and the male screw portion 22a at the upper end of the inner shaft 22 and the nut 33 inside the gripping ball 3 are screwed. The outer shaft 21 has an annular convex portion 21b having a bearing 13
, The outer shaft 21 is restricted from moving up and down. However, as described above, the inner shaft 22 has a clearance between the upper end surface 21 d of the outer shaft 21 and the bearing recess bottom surface 34 inside the gripping ball 3. It can slide for a corresponding stroke.

The biasing means for the inner shaft 22 is provided by the sliding direction detector 7 attached to the lower surface of the base cover 12. That is, the base cover 1
2 is a bearing base 11 for the bearing base 11 respectively.
Mounting boss 11h and base cover 12 mounting boss 1
The mounting base 1 is assembled by aligning 2a and joining and fixing via a screw (not shown).

Further, as the sliding direction detector 7, a switch holder 71 is mounted on the lower surface of the base cover 12, and a micro switch 72 and a hinge lever 73 are mounted on the switch holder 71 via screws 71a. .

The hinge lever 73 is in contact with the disk-shaped flange 22b at the lower end of the inner shaft 22, and the inner shaft 22 is constantly urged upward by the elastic force of the hinge lever 73.

Next, the operation of the tilting stick type pointing device 100 according to the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, if the gripping ball 3 is grasped by the hand and the operating stick 2 is tilted by a predetermined stroke, FIG. The operation stick 2 tilts in all directions based on the rotation center point indicated by the middle A, and in conjunction with this, the gimbal mechanism operates. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the sliding direction detector 7 is removed from the lower surface of the base cover 12, and the lower end side of the operation stick 2 is fitted into the guide hole 54 of the guide 5 along two orthogonal axes. The guide 5 swings along the longitudinal direction of the guide hole 54 by the tilting operation of the operation stick 2, and the arcuate ratchet 51 rotates integrally with the guide 5.
An analog signal can be output from the variable resistor 62 via the pinion 6. That is, the tilting operation of the operation stick 2 in an arbitrary direction is analogously output from each variable resistor 62 as a displacement along the X and Y directions in FIG.

Accordingly, regarding the tilting operation of the operation stick 2, not a binary signal but an analog signal can be generated and output with a simple structure, and various instruction signals can be generated and output.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship with the sliding direction detector 7 attached to the base cover 12. The spring force of the hinge lever 73 causes the inner shaft 22 of the operation stick 2 to move upward. Being energized,
In this state, the microswitch 72 is in the OFF state. However, if the grip ball 3 is pushed downward, the downward movement of the outer shaft 21 is restricted because the bearing 13 acts as a stopper. When the inner shaft 22 integrated with the inner switch 22 moves down to the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 6, the hinge lever 73 is pushed down to the position indicated by the dotted line, and the contact 72a of the micro switch 72 is turned on.

Therefore, if the operation stick 2 is tilted in an arbitrary direction, the amount of the tilt stroke can be output as an analog signal via the gimbal mechanism.
By pushing down the inner shaft 22 of the operation stick 2 downward, the ON / O of the micro switch 72 is turned on.
Since two modes of the FF state can be taken, variations of the instruction signal can be further diversified.

In the above embodiment, a rotary variable resistor is used for detecting the tilt amount. However, the tilt amount can be detected by a rotary incremental encoder. In this case, the tilt amount is generated and output in the form of a pulse train signal.

[0057]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a gimbal mechanism is provided to an operation stick supported on a mounting base so that the operation stick can be turned upside down, and an analog signal corresponding to the stroke amount of the operation stick is provided. And the operation stick has a dual structure of an outer shaft and an inner shaft, and the inner shaft is slidable within the outer shaft, so the displacement of the sliding direction of the inner shaft is generated as an electric output. Can output.

Therefore, by combining an analog signal corresponding to the amount of tilting stroke of the operation stick using the gimbal mechanism and an electric signal by the vertical movement of the operation stick, it is possible to generate and output various instruction signals. Have. In addition, the adoption of a gimbal mechanism allows two detectors to detect the amount of tilt stroke associated with the tilting movement of the operation stick along all directions, and four conventional micro switches in front, rear, left and right directions are provided. This has the effect that the configuration of the detector can be simplified as compared with the structure of FIG.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an upright stick type pointing device according to the present invention in an assembled state.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating components of the tilting stick type pointing device and an assembly structure thereof.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a configuration of the tilting stick type pointing device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a tilting operation of an operation stick in the tilting stick type pointing device.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing a state in which a sliding direction detector in the tilting stick type pointing device is removed.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a lower end side of an operation stick and a sliding direction detector in the tilting stick type pointing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 mounting base 2 operation stick 3 gripping ball 4 spring assembly 5 guide 6 pinion 7 sliding direction detector 11 bearing base 11b through hole 11c pedestal surface 12 base cover 13 bearing 21 outer shaft 21a guide hole 22 inner shaft 22a male screw portion 22b Flange 33 Nut 41 Coil spring 42 Spring cover 43 Spring end 44 C ring 51 Arc-shaped ratchet 52 Support arm 54 Guide hole 61 Mounting bracket 62 Variable resistor 63 Drive shaft 71 Switch holder 72 Micro switch 73 Hinge lever 100 Inverting stick type Pointing device

Claims (5)

[Claims] An operation stick is supported so as to be able to be turned upside down and is urged to restore to an upright state, and a detector that generates and outputs an electric signal in conjunction with a tilting operation of the operation stick. An up-down stick type pointing device, wherein the operation stick is supported upside down, and an outer shaft urged to restore the upright state,
An inner shaft integrated with the gripping ball, slidably held in the outer shaft and urged upward, and further operated in conjunction with the tilting operation of the operation stick; A gimbal mechanism for decomposing a tilt stroke into two orthogonal displacements, a tilt displacement detector for generating a signal corresponding to the two-axis displacement by the gimbal mechanism, and sliding of the inner shaft with respect to the outer shaft And a sliding direction detector for generating and outputting an electric signal corresponding to the sliding direction in conjunction with the sliding direction indicator. 2. The tilt stick according to claim 1, wherein the sliding direction detector is a detector that detects that the sliding amount has reached a specified value and generates and outputs a binary signal. Expression indicating device. 3. The pointing stick type pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the sliding direction detector is a detector that detects a sliding amount and outputs an analog signal or a pulse train. 4. The gimbal mechanism operates in conjunction with the tilting operation of the operation stick, and includes two independent guides that swing along two orthogonal axes in accordance with the amount of tilt stroke of the operation stick; 4. An arcuate ratchet integrated with a worm, and a pinion that meshes with the arcuate ratchet and is mounted coaxially with a drive shaft of a rotary tilt detector. An inverting stick type pointing device according to any one of the above. 5. A sliding direction detector for generating and outputting an electric signal in conjunction with the sliding of the inner shaft is constituted by a microswitch, and the inner shaft is constantly moved upward by a hinge lever for opening and closing the microswitch. The pointing stick type pointing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pointing device is energized.