JP2003263234A - Apparatus for applying sense of force - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for applying sense of force, capable of obtaining a force sense of a touch as predicted, without unintended variations of rotary torques of an operation knob. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus comprises a rotatable driving body 6, an armature 7 attached to the driving body 6, and electromagnetic coil 3 opposed to an axis line direction of the driving body 6 and a guide means formed on a circumference of a circle with a predetermined radius from the rotary center of the driving body 6 so as to guide the driving body 6 along with a rotary direction. The guide means is composed of a guide part 6d provided with the driving body 6, and a support member 4 opposed to the guide part 6d in the axis line direction and enabled to abut on the guide part 6d. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a force sense imparting device, and more particularly to a force sense imparting device having an operation portion capable of providing a smooth rotation feeling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional force sense imparting device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a conventional force sense applying device.

The base 51 is made of insulating resin and has a hole 51 in the center.
It has an annular shape having a.

The printed wiring board 52 mounts various electric parts (not shown) necessary for the force sense applying device, and is attached to the lower surface of the base 51.

The electromagnetic coil 53 is formed by winding a coil around an iron core and arranging it in an annular shape. The electromagnetic coil 53 has a hole 53a in the center, and the electromagnetic coil 53 is installed on the base 51.

The driving body 54 is made of an insulating resin and has a shaft portion 54.
a, a disc portion 54b, a ring-shaped portion 54c, and a shaft portion 5
4a is rotatably fitted in the hole 53a of the electromagnetic coil 53.

The armature 55 has an iron plate and has a disk shape having a hole 55a in the center. The armature 55 has a disk portion 54b of the driving body 54 on one surface thereof.
Is attached to the lower surface of the armature via an armature return spring 56. The other side of the armature 55 is the electromagnetic coil 5
It faces the upper surface of 3 through a space.

The engaging member 57 is made of an insulating resin, has a container shape with an opening, and comprises a ring-shaped side wall 57a and a bottom plate portion 57b. The side wall 57a of the engaging member 57 is provided on the driving body 5
The ring-shaped portion 54c of No. 4 is fitted so as to wrap it from the outside, and the engaging member 57 and the driving body 54 are coupled to each other.

The operating shaft 58 is made of metal and is attached and fixed to the center of the bottom plate portion 57b of the engaging portion 57. Operating axis 58
A large diameter portion 58a is formed in the.

The rotary encoder 59 is composed of a rotating body and a fixed body (not shown). The rotating body is fixedly attached to the operation shaft 58, and the fixed body is provided with a projection 59a.

The operating knob 60 is made of an insulating resin and has a shaft hole (not shown) at the center. The upper end of the operation shaft 58 is fitted in the shaft hole of the operation knob 60.

The panel plate 61 is made of a metal plate, the surface of which is coated and has holes 61a. Panel board 61
The operation shaft 58 is inserted through the hole 61a, and the large diameter portion 58a of the operation shaft 58 is in contact with the surface of the panel plate 61. The protrusion 59 a of the fixed body of the rotary encoder 59 is fitted into a hole (not shown) of the panel plate 61, and the fixed body of the rotary encoder 59 is fixed to the panel plate 61. Further, the rotary encoder 59 is arranged in the axial direction of the operation shaft 58 so that the panel plate 6
1 and the engaging member 57.

Next, the operation of the conventional force sense imparting device will be described. When the operation knob 60 is rotated to rotate the operation shaft 58, the driving body 54 is rotated via the engaging portion 57. At this time, the operating shaft 58 rotates the rotating body of the rotary encoder 59 and sends a signal of the rotation angle of the rotating body to a control unit (not shown) mounted on the printed wiring board 52. The control unit gives an instruction to send a predetermined current to the electromagnetic coil 53 according to the rotation angle of the rotating body. The electromagnetic coil 53 that receives the current attracts the opposing armature 55. The armature 55 receives an attractive force from the electromagnetic coil 53, but at this time, the armature return spring 56 extends in the thickness direction thereof,
Are attracted to the upper surface of the electromagnetic coil 53.

When the operating knob 60 is rotated in this state, since the armature 55 is attracted to the electromagnetic coil 53, a frictional force is generated and the rotational torque for rotating the operating knob 60 increases. . In this way, a predetermined rotation torque is obtained by the predetermined current stored in the control unit according to the rotation angle of the operation knob 60. When the electromagnetic coil 53 is de-energized, the electromagnetic coil 53 loses the attractive force for attracting the armature 55. Therefore, the armature return spring 56 contracts, the armature 55 moves away from the upper surface of the electromagnetic coil 53, and the rotary knob 60 moves the armature 55. It rotates without friction.

When the rotary knob 60 is rotated in the clockwise (CW) direction by using the above principle, the rotational torque increases as the rotational angle increases, and conversely, the rotational torque increases as the rotational angle increases. Thus, it is possible to provide the force sense imparting device that can obtain the feel of the operation knob 60 that reduces the rotation torque. It is also possible to provide a force sense imparting device that increases / decreases the rotation torque according to the increase in the rotation angle of the operation knob 60 to give a click feeling.

[0016]

However, in the force imparting device described above, the driving body 54 is tilted due to the backlash of the operating shaft 58, and the armature 55 is replaced by the electromagnetic coil 5.
A state occurs in which the armature 55 does not uniformly contact the upper surface of the armature 3, and in some cases the armature 55 partially contacts and does not contact the electromagnetic coil. In such a state, there is a problem that the rotational torque of the operation knob 60 is inevitably uneven, and it is not possible to obtain a sense of force as expected.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a force-feeding device capable of obtaining a force-feeling as planned without causing any inconsistent rotation torque of the operating knob.

[0018]

A force-applying device of the present invention comprises a rotatable driving body, an armature attached to the driving body, and an electromagnetic coil facing the armature and the driving body in the axial direction. Guide means formed on a circumference having a predetermined radius from the center of rotation of the drive body and for guiding the drive body in the rotation direction, wherein the guide means is a guide provided on the drive body. And a support member that faces the guide portion in the axial direction and can contact the guide portion. With this configuration, the guide means suppresses the inclination of the driving body, so that the rotational torque of the operating knob does not have an inconsistent unevenness, and a force sensation with a desired feel can be obtained.

Further, the guide portion and the support member forming the guide means are always in contact with each other. With this configuration, the guide means can always guide the driving body, so that the rotational torque of the operating knob does not have any inconsistent unevenness, and the force sensation can be obtained as expected.

Further, the guide portion and the support member forming the guide means are brought into contact with each other by a suction force of the electromagnetic coil from a state of being separated from each other. With this configuration,
There is no inconsistent unevenness in the rotating torque of the operating knob, and the force sensation with the expected feel can be obtained.

Further, one of the guide portion and the support member has a projection, and this projection abuts the other. With this configuration, the contact area between the guide portion and the support member is reduced, and the frictional force due to the sliding contact of the guide means can be reduced, so that the influence on the rotational torque due to the sliding contact of the guide means can be reduced.

The protrusion is formed in a ring shape. With this configuration, the frictional force due to the sliding contact of the guide means in the rotation direction becomes uniform.

The guide means is formed in a ring shape at a position outside the outer diameter of the electromagnetic coil. With this configuration, since the position of the guide means is separated in the radial direction of rotation of the operation knob, it is possible to guide in a stable state.

Further, a rotary encoder is constituted by the encoder scale provided on the disc-shaped portion of the driving body, and the light emitting element and the light receiving element provided so as to face the encoder scale. The rotation angle of the driver is detected. With this configuration, since the encoder scale is provided in the disc-shaped portion of the driving body, the thickness of the operation shaft in the axial direction can be reduced in the entire device.

Further, the encoder scale is provided on the outer peripheral side surface of the disc-shaped portion. With this configuration,
Since the encoder scale is provided on the outer peripheral side surface of the disk-shaped portion of the driving body, the thickness of the operation shaft in the axial direction can be further reduced as a whole.

Further, an operating shaft movable in the axial direction is provided at the center of the driving body, and a switch is provided at the lower end of the operating shaft, and the switch is operated by the movement of the operating shaft. With this configuration, the sense of force can be changed by operating the switch.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of a force sense applying device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a force sense applying device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a supporting member that constitutes a guide means of a first embodiment of the force sense applying device of the present invention, and FIG. The side view of the support member which comprises the guide means of 1st Embodiment of the force sense provision apparatus of this invention is each shown.

The base 1 is made of an insulating resin and has an annular shape having a hole 1a in the center.

The printed wiring board 2 is mounted with various electrical parts (not shown) necessary for the force sense applying device in addition to the switch 2a, and is attached to the lower surface of the base 1.

The electromagnetic coil 3 is formed by winding a coil around an iron core and arranging it in an annular shape. It has a circular hole 3a in the center,
The electromagnetic coil 3 is installed on the base 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the support member 4 is made of an insulating resin and has a ring shape having a circular hole 4a in the center and a protrusion 4b on the outer periphery. The support member 4 is installed on the base 1 and surrounds the outer circumference of the electromagnetic coil 3,
The electromagnetic coil 3 is housed in the circular hole 4 a of the support member 4.

The printed wiring board 5 is mounted with a light receiving element and a light emitting element 5a of a rotary encoder, and is attached and fixed to the tip of the projection 4b of the supporting member 4.

The driving body 6 is made of insulating resin and has a cylindrical shaft portion 6a,
It is composed of a disk portion 6b, a ring-shaped portion 6c, and a guide portion 6d,
The outer peripheral surface of the cylinder shaft portion 6 a is rotatably fitted in the circular hole 3 a of the electromagnetic coil 3. An operating shaft 6e is provided in the tubular shaft of the tubular shaft portion 6a so as to be movable in the axial direction, and the operating shaft 6e is a coil spring engaged between an inner concave portion of the tubular shaft portion 6a and a step portion of the operating shaft 6e. The spring is biased upward by 6f, and the protrusion is suppressed by a stopper 6g fitted inside the ring-shaped portion 6c of the driving body 6. Further, a ring-shaped protrusion 6i is provided on the lower surface of the disc-shaped guide portion 6d, and the protrusion 6i abuts on the upper surface of the support member 4, and when the driving body 6 rotates, the protrusion 6i slides on the upper surface of the support member 4. The guide portion 6d and the support member 4 are in contact with each other and serve as guide means for suppressing the inclination of the driving body 6. An encoder scale 6h is formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the guide portion 6d, and the encoder scale 6h and the light receiving element and the light emitting element 5a mounted on the printed wiring board 5 face each other to form a rotary encoder.

The armature 7 has an iron plate and has a disk shape having a hole 7a in the center. One surface of the armature 7 is attached to the lower surface of the disk portion 6b of the driving body 6 via an armature return spring 7b.
The other surface of the armature 7 faces the upper surface of the electromagnetic coil 3 through a space when the electromagnetic coil 3 is not energized.

The engaging member 8 is made of insulating resin, has a container shape with an opening, and is composed of a ring-shaped side wall 8a and a bottom plate portion 8b. The side wall 8a of the engaging member 8 is fitted so as to wrap the ring-shaped portion 6c of the driving body 6 from the outside, and the engaging member 8 and the driving body 6 are coupled to each other.

The operating shaft 9 is made of an insulating resin, is hollow and has a cylindrical shape, and is integrally attached and fixed to the center of the bottom plate portion 8b of the engaging member 8. A large diameter portion 9a is formed on the operation shaft 9.

The operation knob 10 is made of an insulating resin and has a pressing portion 10a at the center of the top. From the pressing portion 10a, the operating portion 10b extends downward through the tube of the operating shaft 9 and extends to the lower portion of the engaging member 8, and the lower end of the operating portion 10b has the operating shaft 6 at its lower end.
It is in contact with the upper end of e.

The panel plate 11 is made of a metal plate, the surface of which is coated and has holes 11a. Panel board 11
The operation shaft 9 is inserted into the hole 11 a of the panel 11 and the large diameter portion 9 a of the operation shaft 9 is in contact with the surface of the panel plate 11. The panel plate 11 includes a large diameter portion 9 a of the operating shaft 9 and the engaging member 8 of the operating shaft 9.
And the operation shaft 9 is locked and held in the axial direction.

Next, the operation of the force sense applying device of the present invention will be described. When the operation knob 10 is rotated to rotate the operation shaft 9, the driving body 6 is rotated via the engaging portion 8 and the driving body 6 is rotated.
The ring-shaped projection 6i of the guide portion 6d also rotates while sliding on the support member 4. At this time, the encoder scale 6h provided on the outer peripheral side surface of the guide portion 6d of the driving body 6 rotates, and a signal of the rotation angle of the driving body 6 is output by the light emitting element and the light receiving element 5a facing the encoder scale 6h. It is sent to the control unit (not shown) mounted on the printed wiring board 2 via 5. The control unit gives an instruction to send a predetermined current to the electromagnetic coil 3 according to the rotation angle of the driving body 6. The electromagnetic coil 3 receiving the current attracts the opposing armature 7. The armature 7 receives an attractive force from the electromagnetic coil 3, but at this time, the armature return spring 7b extends in the thickness direction thereof, and the armature 7 moves to the electromagnetic coil 3
Adsorbed on the upper surface of.

When attempting to rotate the operating knob 10 in this state, since the armature 7 is attracted to the electromagnetic coil 3, friction between the armature 7 and the electromagnetic coil 3 depending on the attractive force of the electromagnetic coil 3 is generated. A force is generated, and the rotational torque for rotating the operation knob 10 changes. Further, since the ring-shaped projection 6i of the guide portion 6d of the driving body 6 makes sliding contact with the top of the support member 4, the inclination of the driving body 6 is suppressed, and the inevitable frictional force unevenness caused by the inclination of the driving body 6 is prevented. It can be lost. In this way, according to the rotation angle of the operating knob 10, a predetermined rotation torque can be obtained by the predetermined current stored in the control unit. When the power supply to the electromagnetic coil 3 is stopped, the electromagnetic coil 3 loses the attraction force for attracting the armature 7.
The armature return spring 7b contracts, the armature 7 separates from the upper surface of the electromagnetic coil 3, and the rotary knob 10 is in a state where there is no frictional force of the armature 7.

Using the above operation, for example, the rotary knob 1
When 0 is rotated in the clockwise (CW) direction, the rotation torque increases as the rotation angle increases, and conversely, the rotation torque decreases as the rotation angle increases. It is possible to provide the obtained force sense applying device. Further, it is possible to increase or decrease the rotation torque according to the increase in the rotation angle of the operation knob 10 to give a click feeling. In addition, the switch 2a is pressed by the pressing portion 10 of the operating knob 10.
Press a to turn on / off the rotary knob 1.
The attracting force of the electromagnetic coil 3 can be increased or decreased over the entire rotation angle of 0.

Next, a second embodiment of the force sense applying device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the second embodiment of the force sense imparting device of the invention. The same parts as those of the force sense applying device according to the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The second embodiment of the force application device of the present invention is as follows.
In the first embodiment, the armature return spring 7b is provided, the armature 7 is pulled, and the protrusion 6i of the guide portion 6d slides on the support member 4, while the armature return spring 7b is removed and the armature 7 is driven. With the body 6 fixed and the electromagnetic coil 3 not energized,
The distance between the support member 4 and the protrusion 6i of the guide portion 6d is approximately the same as the distance between the armature 7 and the upper surface of the electromagnetic coil 3.

The operation of the second embodiment of the force sense imparting apparatus of the present invention described above will be described. When the operation knob 10 is rotated to rotate the operation shaft 9, the driving body 6 is rotated via the engaging portion 8 and the encoder scale 6h is rotated, and the light emitting element and the light receiving element 5a facing the encoder scale 6h cause the driving body 6 to rotate. The signal of the rotation angle passes through the printed wiring board 5 to the printed wiring board 2
Is sent to a control unit (not shown) mounted on the. The control unit gives an instruction to send a predetermined current to the electromagnetic coil 3 according to the rotation angle of the driving body 6. The electromagnetic coil 3 receiving the current attracts the opposing armature 7. The armature 7 receives an attractive force from the electromagnetic coil 3 and is attracted to the upper surface of the electromagnetic coil 3. At this time, since the armature 7 is fixed to the driving body 6, when the armature 7 is attracted onto the electromagnetic coil 3, the driving body 6 also moves in the direction of the electromagnetic coil 3 and the guide portion 6d of the driving body 6 is moved. The projection 6i of the above contacts the upper surface of the support member 4.

When attempting to rotate the operating knob 10 in this state, since the armature 7 is attracted to the electromagnetic coil 3, friction between the armature 7 and the electromagnetic coil 3 depending on the attractive force of the electromagnetic coil 3 is generated. As force is generated,
The ring-shaped projection 6i of the guide portion 6d is brought into sliding contact with the top of the support member 4, whereby the inclination of the driving body 6 is suppressed and the driving body 6 is prevented.
Unnecessary unevenness of frictional force caused by the inclination of can be eliminated.

[0046]

The rotatable driving body, the armature attached to the driving body, the electromagnetic coil facing the armature and the driving body in the axial direction, and the circumference having a predetermined radius from the rotation center of the driving body. The guide means is formed on the upper side and guides the drive body along the rotational direction. The guide means is provided on the drive body, and the guide means faces the guide portion in the axial direction and contacts the guide portion. It consists of possible support members.

With the above structure, the guide means suppresses the inclination of the driving member, so that the rotational torque of the operating knob does not have an inconsistent unevenness, and a force sense having a desired feel can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a force sense imparting device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a support member that constitutes the guide means of the force applying device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a support member that constitutes guide means of the first embodiment of the force sense imparting device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the force sense applying device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional force sense applying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 base 2,5 Printed wiring board 2a switch 3 electromagnetic coil 4 Support members 5a Light receiving element and light emitting element 6 driver 6d guide part 6e, 9 operation axis 6h encoder scale 6i protrusion 7 Armature 7b Armature return spring 8 Engagement member 10 Operation knob 10a pressing part

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A rotatable drive body, an armature attached to the drive body, an electromagnetic coil facing the armature and the drive body in an axial direction, and a predetermined radius from a rotation center of the drive body. The guide means is formed on the circumference and guides the drive body along the rotational direction, and the guide means is provided with a guide portion provided on the drive body, and opposes the guide portion in the axial direction. A force sense imparting device comprising a support member capable of contacting the guide portion. 2. The force sense imparting device according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion and the support member forming the guide means are always in contact with each other. 3. The force sense imparting device according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion and the support member forming the guide means are brought into contact with each other by a suction force of the electromagnetic coil while being separated from each other. 4. The force sense imparting device according to claim 1, wherein one of the guide portion and the support member has a projection, and the projection abuts on the other. 5. The force sense imparting device according to claim 4, wherein the protrusion is formed in a ring shape. 6. The force sense imparting device according to claim 1, wherein the guide means is formed in a ring shape at a position outside the outer diameter of the electromagnetic coil. 7. A rotary encoder is composed of an encoder scale provided on the disc-shaped portion of the drive body, a light emitting element provided facing the encoder scale, and a light receiving element. The force sense imparting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rotation angle of the driving body is detected. 8. The force sense applying device according to claim 7, wherein the encoder scale is provided on an outer peripheral side surface of the disc-shaped portion. 9. An operating shaft, which is movable in the axial direction, is provided at the center of the driving body, and a switch is provided at the lower end of the operating shaft, and the switch is operated by the movement of the operating shaft. The force sense imparting device according to claim 1.