JP2003050669A - Pen type inputting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pen type inputting device for a computer suitable for various uses where fine correction or input is required. SOLUTION: In a pen type inputting device, a 6 mm ϕ transmitting ball 11 and a 6 mm ϕ contact ball 10 are arranged at the lower part of a 12 mm ϕmain ball 12 at the tip end part, and an X axis detecting roller 13 is mounted on the 12 mm ϕ main ball 12 so as to be brought into slide contact so that an X axial rotary encoder 17 can be driven. Also, a Y axis detecting roller and a driver pulley 18 are arranged so as to be brought into slide contact with the 12 mm ϕ main ball 12 so that the movement of the 6 mm ϕ contact ball 10 in the Y direction can be transmitted via a Y axis drive belt 19 to a Y axis rotary encoder 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a so-called mouse used as a pointing device of a computer. A general mouse is used for functions such as moving a pointer on a computer screen by changing the amount of movement in the X and Y directions, which is artificially placed on a mouse pad or the like, into an electric signal and selecting various functions. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a mouse is a type of computer input device named because its shape resembles a mouse, and the usage pattern is to grasp a mouse and move it on a flat surface such as a mouse pad to make a pointer. Move and select necessary functions. This kind of shape is not inconvenient in normal use, but may be inconvenient when inputting or editing arbitrary handwritten characters or figures.

[0003]

When a general mouse is used for inputting handwritten characters or correcting graphics, photographs, etc., it is not suitable for smooth movement such as inputting with a pen. A pointing device that allows you to input with a pen feel is preferable for applications that require fine correction and input,
An existing input device called a pen-type mouse has room for improvement in terms of performance and appearance, and does not provide the necessary usability.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a pen type input device which is used as a pointing device of a computer and is a form of a so-called mouse. In order to make the mouse a small pen type, the mouse ball and the rotary encoder that detect the XY axis directions must be downsized, and the resolution must be lowered. Since the relative position for accurately extracting the movement amount of the Y-axis is uniquely determined from the contact position of the ball, it is not possible to use a pen type in the conventional structure in which each axis roller and rotary encoder are integrated. Is less suitable than the mechanical constraints. In view of such a background, the present invention provides a pen type input device having a function equivalent to the resolution of a general mouse while being small and lightweight. The main technologies are: a) The ball for detecting the amount of movement is made smaller than the diameter of the ball that is normally used, and the rotation amount of the detection roller is rotaryed using pulleys and belts without directly connecting the detection roller in each XY direction to the rotary encoder. By enlarging and transmitting it to the encoder, it has a structure that can compensate for the decrease in detection resolution due to the small diameter ball and obtain the required resolution. (B) A mechanism that can freely change the rotation direction of the X-axis detection roller arranged at a predetermined position by separating the X-axis detection roller and the pulley and connecting them with a spring coil as a universal joint. Therefore, the rotary encoder can be arranged regardless of the position of the movement amount detecting ball. Therefore, by arranging the X-axis rotary encoder and the Y-axis rotary encoder on the same axis, the light source of the photointerrupter can be made one, thereby further reducing the size. To achieve high efficiency and low power consumption. C) The small ball does not directly contact the mouse pad,
The structure is such that the amount of movement in each of the XY directions is transmitted through two smaller balls, and the two smaller balls are installed in an independent housing that holds them, and the balls below the horizontal axis of the main unit 45 Arranged at an angle of degree or an appropriate angle. D) The housing, which is independent from the main body, is slightly pushed out by a spring when not in use. When the main body is pressed against a mouse pad etc. during use, two smaller balls built in and a smaller diameter for movement detection The ball was in close contact, the rotation of the leading ball was smoothly transmitted to the small diameter ball, and the operation switch attached to the main body was closed. Etc. By comprehensively combining these, as a result, it is possible to provide a pen-type input device with extremely small size and sufficient performance and low power consumption.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention belongs to a form of a mouse as a pointing device. These devices were devised as one of the means to move the pointer to an arbitrary position on the computer screen.The original ideal form is a pen type input device, but due to its detection mechanism structure, the current mouse type mouse is used. Is the mainstream. The present invention integrates various miniaturization techniques and embodies a pen type input device which is a kind of ideal form.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a specific pen type input device including all the functions of each part of the present invention. FIG. 1-1 is a side view of the entire mechanism as viewed from the side. Two smaller balls forming a part of the main part of the present invention and an independent housing for holding the balls are arranged at 45 degrees below the horizontal axis of the main body. And the relative positional relationship between the operation switch (3) and the AA batteries (4) and (5). FIG. 1-2 is a top view showing that a general mouse has left clicks (1) and right clicks (2). 1-3 are front views thereof.

FIG. 2 shows the position of the main body during actual use,
And the relative angle of each main mechanism with respect to the horizontal position.

FIG. 3 shows an XY axis movement detecting section. Figure 3-1
Is a detailed view of only the part related to X-axis movement detection.
φ6mm contact ball (10), φ6mm transmission ball (1
1), φ12 mm main ball (12), X-axis detection roller (13), rotation direction changing spring coil (14), X
Axial drive pulley (15), X-axis drive belt (1
6), each part of the X-axis rotary encoder (17). FIG. 3-2 is a detailed view of only the portion related to the Y-axis movement detection. The φ6 mm contact ball (10), φ6
mm transmission ball (11), φ12 mm main ball (1
2), a Y-axis detection roller, a drive pulley (18) directly connected to the Y-axis detection roller, a Y-axis drive belt (19), and a Y-axis rotary encoder (20).

FIG. 4 is an operation diagram of the operation switch. Figure 4-
1 is an operation switch open state diagram showing a state in which the operation switch (3) is opened when not in use, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is an operation switch closed / connection state diagram showing a state in which the operation switch (3) is closed and in use.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the periphery of the operation switch.
6mm contact ball (10) and φ6mm transmission ball (1
Drive ball housing (7) holding 1), housing stopper (8), operation switch pusher (9), spring (6), operation switch (3), φ1
Each of the 2 mm main balls (12) is shown in a disassembled state.

The gripping angle of a pen by a general person is about 45 degrees with reference to a plane such as a horizontal desk. Assuming gripped at this angle, φ6mm contact ball (10), φ6mm transmission ball (11) and φ12mm
The angle of a straight line passing through each center point of the main ball (12) is arranged to be 90 degrees from the horizontal plane. The relative position of the X-axis detection roller at this time is 12 mm in the main ball (1
It is located on a horizontal line with respect to the center point of 2) and the relative position of the Y-axis detection roller is located on a vertical line with respect to the center point of the φ12 mm main ball (12). In this state, each detection roller can accurately detect each movement amount.

The detected amount of movement of the Y-axis is transferred to the Y-axis rotary encoder (2) via the Y-axis drive belt (19) by the drive pulley (18) directly connected to the Y-axis detection roller.
The rotation is transmitted to 0). Here, by appropriately selecting the diameter ratio of the driven pulley and the drive pulley (18) coaxial with the Y-axis rotary encoder (20), φ
The diameter of the 12 mm main ball (12) can be apparently enlarged. That is, it is possible to maintain a resolution equivalent to that when a mouse ball having a size used for a general mouse is used.

The amount of X-axis movement detected by the X-axis detection roller (13) does not go directly to the drive pulley, but is set at an arbitrary position by the rotation direction changing spring coil (14) used as a universal joint. The X-axis drive belt (16) is guided by the shaft drive pulley (15) to drive the X-axis drive belt (16), and this is transmitted to the X-axis rotary encoder (17). The diameter ratio of the driven pulley coaxial with the X-axis drive pulley (15) and the X-axis rotary encoder (17) here is the same as that of the Y-axis.

With each of these mechanical structures, it becomes possible to dispose the X-axis rotary encoder (17) and the Y-axis rotary encoder (20) coaxially, and the position of an optical detection device such as a photo interrupter is also close to each other. Since they can be arranged, it is possible to unify the light sources, which have been conventionally separately installed, into one, and as a result, it has been possible to realize extremely small size, space saving, and power saving.

The φ12 mm main ball (12) does not rotate by directly contacting a pad or the like, but is provided separately by φ6 mm.
Rotation is indirectly given by the contact ball (10) and the φ6 mm transmission ball (11). With such a structure, the detection tip can be made to have an apparently small diameter, and the overall appearance can be made closer to a pen type. The main body of each ball is a metal or non-metal hard material, but has the same structure as a normal mouse ball whose surface is covered with a material having a high friction coefficient. In addition, since each ball is applied with pen pressure called pen pressure, which is seen when the pen is used, sufficient pressure is applied to each ball so that they do not slip with each other, and the rotation of the φ6 mm contact ball (10) is accurate. To φ12
mm to the main ball (12).

By making the drive ball housing (7) holding the φ6 mm contact ball (10) and the φ6 mm transmission ball (11) movable, it is detected that the pen pressure is applied, that is, the use state is reached. The function to close the operation switch (3) was added. This function is effective when the pen-type input device is made cordless. In the present invention, the mechanism design is made on the assumption that the pen-type input device is cordless. As a cordless method, wireless transmission of detection data is generally used, but in most other transmission methods, a battery is built in and used as a power source. In this case, a battery saving function for saving the consumption of the battery is incorporated, but normally, a monitoring operation called a watchdog mode function for grasping the circuit operation status is performed within an extremely short time. This monitoring operation is continued for 24 hours, and is also performed during a time when it is not used at all, such as midnight. The battery consumption due to this monitoring operation is practically non-negligible, and when designing for a usable time of several months, the built-in battery requires at least an AAA battery or more. However, in the case of the pen type structure, in consideration of its convenience, the type of battery that can be built in is inevitably a single 5 battery. Therefore, in the present invention, when the software-like monitoring operation that is currently performed is completely rejected and is not in the operating state,
In other words, by adding a hardware operation monitoring device that makes it possible to determine by a mechanical switch that the pen is not being pressed by writing pressure and eliminates the reactive current consumption when not in use, the AA dry battery Even two of them can be used for a long time.

If the input device is not made cordless, it is not necessary to add the two AAA batteries (4) and (5) and the operation switch (3), but the structure for maintenance and inspection is φ6 mm. The contact ball (10) and the φ6 mm transmission ball (11) need to have a structure that can be disassembled and cleaned from the drive ball housing (7).

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a specific external appearance according to the present invention. Fig.1-1 is a side view of the main ball (12) with a diameter of 12 mm as the center and below the horizontal line passing through it.
Φ6mm contact ball (10), φ6mm on the angle line
A transmission ball (11) and an X-axis detection roller (13) are arranged. The operation switch (3) and the two AA batteries (4) and (5) are necessary when the input device according to the present invention is made cordless by means of wireless transmission or the like. It is unnecessary when connecting to the main body. FIG. 1-2 is a top view showing a left click (1) and a right click (2) which are indispensable for an input device such as a general mouse. 1-3 are front views thereof.

FIG. 2 shows the position of the main body during actual use,
And the relative angle of each main mechanism with respect to the horizontal position, assuming that the main body is grasped at an angle of 45 degrees, the peripheral arrangement centering on the φ12 mm main ball (12) is correctly vertical or horizontal. Indicates that it is located. All the figures after this figure are based on the actual use state assuming that the main body is grasped at an angle of 45 degrees.

FIG. 3 shows an XY-axis movement amount detector. Figure 3-
Reference numeral 1 is an excerpt of only the portion related to the detection of the X-axis movement amount. The φ6 mm contact ball (10), the φ6 mm transmission ball (11), the φ12 mm main ball (12), the X-axis detection roller (13), the rotation direction. Conversion spring coil (1
4), an X-axis drive pulley (15), an X-axis drive belt (16), and an X-axis rotary encoder (17). Figure 3-2 shows only the part related to the detection of the Y-axis movement amount.
0), φ6 mm transmission ball (11), φ12 mm main ball (12), Y-axis detection roller and drive pulley (18) directly connected thereto, Y-axis drive belt (19), Y
It is composed of each part of the shaft rotary encoder (20).

FIG. 4 is an operation diagram of the operation switch. Figure 4-
1 shows a state where the operation switch (3) is opened when not in use, and FIG. 4-2 shows a state where the operation switch (3) is closed when used.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the periphery of the operation switch.
6mm contact ball (10) and φ6mm transmission ball (1
Drive ball housing (7) holding 1), housing stopper (8), operation switch pusher (9), spring (6), operation switch (3), φ1
Each of the 2 mm main balls (12) is shown in a disassembled state.

[0023]

The present invention belongs to a form of a mouse as a pointing device. These devices were devised as one of the means to move the pointer to an arbitrary position on the computer screen.The original ideal form is a pen type input device, but due to its detection mechanism structure, the current mouse type mouse is used. Is the mainstream. The present invention embodies a pen type input device which is a kind of ideal form by integrating various miniaturization techniques. This makes it possible to perform subtle input, processing, correction, etc., which has conventionally been difficult, with a pen feeling smoothly, and also provides the convenience that even beginners and people who are distant from a computer can input with a pen feeling without discomfort. .

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance according to an embodiment of the present invention.
-1 is a side view thereof, FIG. 1-2 is a top view thereof, and FIG. 1-3 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a side view in use according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B are diagrams of an XY-axis movement detecting unit showing an embodiment of the present invention in detail, FIG. 3-1 is an X-axis movement detecting unit diagram, and FIG.
It is an axial movement detection part figure.

FIG. 4 is an operation switch operation diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4-1 is an operation switch open state diagram, and FIG. 4-2 is an operation switch closed state diagram.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the periphery of the operation switch according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

(1): Left click, (2): Right click, (3): Operation switch, (4): AA battery, (5): AA battery,
(6): Spring, (7): Drive ball housing, (8): Housing stopper, (9): Operation switch pusher, (10): φ6 mm contact ball, (1
1): φ6 mm transmission ball, (12): φ12 mm main ball, (13): X-axis detection roller, (14): rotation direction conversion spring coil, (15): X-axis drive pulley, (16): X-axis drive Belt, (17): X-axis rotary encoder, (18): Y-axis detection roller and drive pulley, (19): Y-axis drive belt, (2
0): Y-axis rotary encoder.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A detection roller for detecting the amount of movement in the front-rear direction (hereinafter referred to as the Y-axis) and the left-right direction (hereinafter referred to as the X-axis) is smaller than the ball diameter used in a general mouse, and detecting rollers in each of XY directions. By directly transmitting the rotation amount of the detection roller to the rotary encoder using a pulley and a belt without directly connecting the rotary encoder to the rotary encoder, a structure that can obtain the required resolution by compensating for the decrease in detection resolution due to the small diameter ball is obtained. Pen type input device having. 2. The X-axis detection roller and the pulley are separated, and the space between them is connected by a spring coil having a function as a universal joint, whereby the rotation direction of the X-axis detection roller arranged at a predetermined position can be freely set. Due to the mechanism that can be changed, the rotary encoder can be arranged independently of the position of the movement amount detection ball, and since the X-axis and Y-axis rotary encoders can be arranged coaxially, the light source of the photo interrupter is one. A pen-type input device having a mechanical structure that realizes further downsizing and low power consumption. 3. The small-diameter ball does not directly contact the mouse pad or the like, and has a structure in which the amount of movement in each of the XY directions is transmitted via the two smaller-diameter balls. The two smaller balls are incorporated in an independent housing that holds them, and are arranged at an angle of 45 degrees or a proper angle below the horizontal axis of the main body. The housing, which is independent of the main body, is slightly pushed out by springs, so when the main body is pressed against a mouse pad etc. during use, the two smaller balls that are built in and the small diameter ball that detects movement amount are equivalent to writing pressure. A pen-type input device having a function structure in which the rotation of the leading ball is smoothly transmitted to the small-diameter ball by the force applied to the small-diameter ball and the operation switch attached to the main body is closed.