JP2005063230A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device allowing easy and proper item selection operation. <P>SOLUTION: An operator grasping a casing 2 slidingly operates an operation button 3 of an operation member 12 exposed from a window hole 2a by a thumb to move a cursor 43 inside an item selection screen to a desired selection item 40. The front end face of a finger hook projection part 2c projectingly provided on the rear face of the casing 2 is disposed with an operation knob 4, and a changeover of the item selection screen such as page feeding or a scroll is performed when pressingly operating the operation knob 4 by a forefinger to turn on a push switch 29. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device that an operator holds and uses with one hand. In particular, the present invention relates to an item selection screen (selection target and display item) displayed on a display screen of a device main body such as a home television (TV) or a personal computer. A desired selection item (for example, processing such as storage or reproduction presented as a selection target, file name of image or music data to be reproduced, etc.) The present invention relates to a remote control input device suitable for use in selecting an item to be processed.

  Conventionally, as this type of remote control input device, a trackball and a cross key are provided on the upper surface of a casing that can be held by an operator with one hand, and the operator selectively operates the trackball and the cross key. By doing so, what is configured to select a desired menu item from the menu screen of the device body is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Here, the trackball inputs information for freely moving the cursor display position within the menu screen, and the cross key inputs information for moving the cursor display position within the sequential movement area of the menu screen. The trackball is placed at the center of the cross key for ease of use. A numeric keypad for inputting channel designation information is also provided on the upper surface of the casing.

In the remote-control input device schematically configured as described above, for example, when selecting a menu item at a position distant from the cursor display position on the menu screen, the operator moves the trackball in an arbitrary direction with his / her thumb or the like. If the rotation operation is performed, the cursor display position is freely moved according to this operation, so that the cursor position can be quickly moved to the menu item position to be selected. On the other hand, when selecting a menu item near the cursor display position, if the operator slides the cross key in either the up / down / left / right direction with the thumb of the operator, etc., the cursor position is closest to this operation. Since the menu item is sequentially moved while being constrained by the menu item, a desired menu item can be reliably selected.
JP-A-9-251350 (page 4-5, FIG. 5)

  In the conventional remote control input device described above, the operator can freely move the cursor position by, for example, rotating the trackball by appropriately operating the trackball and the cross key disposed on the casing. You can move the cursor position step by step with the adjacent menu by sliding the four-way controller or by stepping the cursor. In this way, depending on the distance of the menu item to the cursor display position, etc. There is a problem that the operability is poor because two different types of input means (trackball and cross key) must be properly used. In particular, when performing menu screen switching operations such as page turning and scrolling by placing the cursor on an icon or scroll bar, the amount of movement of the cursor increases, so the operator needs to rotate the trackball continuously. There was also a problem that the operability was bad from this point.

  The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an input device capable of easily and accurately performing an item selection operation.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides a casing that an operator can hold with one hand, an operation member that is exposed from a window hole formed on the upper surface of the casing and is slidable in a plane, and A position detecting means for detecting the absolute position of the operating member in the window hole; and a displacement detecting means for detecting the attitude of the casing. The detection signal of the position detecting means is transmitted to the device main body and displayed on the item selection screen. The display position of the cursor is moved at the same time, and the detection signal of the displacement detection means is transmitted to the device body to perform the switching operation of the item selection screen.

  In the input device configured as described above, the operator holding the casing slides the operation member exposed from the window hole with the thumb to move the cursor position in the item selection screen to a desired selection item position. In addition, it is possible to change the item selection screen such as page turning and scrolling by simply changing the orientation of the casing without removing the thumb from the operation member, so that the item selection operation can be performed easily and accurately. be able to.

  In the above configuration, it is preferable to use a tilt sensor that detects a plurality of tilt directions of the casing as the displacement detection means, and in particular, a tilt sensor that detects at least two contradicting tilt directions of the front, rear, left, and right directions of the casing. In some cases, the item selection screen can be easily switched between the forward direction and the reverse direction by tilting the casing in the opposite direction of the front-rear direction or the left-right direction.

  In the above configuration, the item selection screen is switched by the displacement detection means only when the second operation member is disposed on the lower surface side of the casing and the changeover switch is operated by operating the second operation member. It is preferable to allow the operation to prevent an erroneous operation that the item selection screen is switched against the operator's will during the normal item selection operation. In this case, if the movement of the cursor by the position detecting means is prohibited during the operation of the second operation member, even if the operation member moves with the movement of the thumb during the switching operation of the item selection screen, the item selection is performed. Since the display position of the cursor does not change on the screen, a desired selection item can be easily selected after the switching operation of the item selection screen such as page turning and scrolling is completed.

  Further, in the above configuration, a finger hooking protrusion that extends linearly from a position almost directly below the window hole toward the rear end face is formed on the back surface of the casing, and a second operation member is disposed on the front end face of the finger hook protrusion. Preferably, when such an arrangement is adopted, the operation of sliding the operating member with the thumb and the pressing operation of the second operating member with the index finger can be performed independently and reliably with the operator holding the casing with one hand. It can be carried out.

  Further, in the above configuration, the operation member has an operation button protruding from the window hole, and is provided with a pressure detection means for detecting that the operation button is pressed, and the detection signal of the pressure detection means is selected as a selection item. When the confirmation command signal is transmitted to the device body, a series of operations of moving and confirming the cursor position to a desired selection item position can be performed by blind touch without bothering to confirm the position of the operation member. Therefore, the operability can be further improved.

  In the input device of the present invention, the operator holding the casing can move the cursor position in the item selection screen to a desired selection item position by sliding the operation member exposed from the window hole with the thumb. In addition, since the item selection screen such as page turning and scrolling can be switched only by changing the orientation of the casing without removing the thumb from the operation member, the item selection operation can be performed easily and accurately. .

  1 is a perspective view of a remote control input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the input device, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the input device, and FIG. 4 is a back view of the input device. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the input device, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a position detection mechanism provided in the input device, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an internal mechanism of the position detection mechanism, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of first and second moving bodies provided in the position detection mechanism, FIG. 10 is a rear view of the first and second moving bodies, and FIG. 11 is provided in the input device. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the tilt sensor, FIG. 13 is an external view of a menu selection device including the input device, and FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the usage state of the input device. 15 is a block diagram of the menu selection device, and FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the signal selection means. Over DOO, FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a switching operation of the item selection screen.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the remote control input device 1 according to this embodiment includes a synthetic resin casing 2 having a rectangular window hole 2 a on the upper surface, and a casing 2 described later. The operation button 3 of the operation member that is a component of the position detection mechanism is exposed from the window hole 2a.

  The casing 2 is set to a size that can be gripped by an operator's palm, and is formed in an elongated shape in plan view as a whole. However, the width dimension of the rear end face (left end in FIG. 3) is set to be shorter than the width dimension of the front end face (right end in FIG. 3) of the casing 2, and the casing 2 moves from the center toward the rear end. The taper shape becomes smaller in width. A recess 2b is formed at the substantially central portion of the upper surface of the casing 2, and the window hole 2a is formed at the inner bottom of the recess 2b. Further, a stepped finger hooking protrusion 2c is formed on the back surface of the casing 2, and the finger hooking protrusion 2c extends linearly from the rear end surface of the casing 2 to a position almost directly below the window hole 2a. The front end surface of the finger hooking projection 2c is formed in a curved surface shape, and an operation knob (second operation member) 4 for pressing a push switch described later is disposed on the curved surface portion. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the casing 2 is P, the central axis P passes through the center of the window hole 2 a and the finger hooking projection 2 c, and the casing 2 is left and right with respect to the central axis P. It has a symmetrical shape.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the casing 2 is composed of an upper case 2A and a lower case 2B, and these two cases 2A and 2B are joined and integrated with each other using means such as snap coupling and screwing. It has become. The window hole 2a and the recess 2b are formed in the upper case 2A, and the finger hooking projection 2c is integrally formed in the lower case 2B. Further, a position detection mechanism 5 including the operation button 3 is housed inside the casing 2, and this position detection mechanism 5 is mounted on the printed circuit board 7 together with the remote control light emitting unit 6 and the tilt sensor 28, and the push button described above. The switch 29 is mounted on the back side of the printed circuit board 7.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, the position detection mechanism 5 includes a bottom-shaped support body 8 having an open upper surface, a cover 9 that covers the open upper end of the support body 8, the support body 8 and the cover. 9 includes a first and second movable bodies 10 and 11 disposed between 9 and an operation member 12 for driving the first and second movable bodies 10 and 11.

  The support body 8 is formed in a square shape in plan view, and a rectangular first and second fixed contact plates 13 and 14 that are paired on the inner bottom surface are disposed, and independent on each side. Four fixed contacts 15 each including a plurality of sliders are provided. Assuming XY orthogonal coordinates with the center of the inner bottom surface of the support 8 as the origin, the first and second fixed contact plates 13 and 14 are opposed to each other via an insulating gap extending in the X-axis direction. The fixed contacts 15 face each other on the X axis, and the remaining two fixed contacts 15 face each other on the Y axis. The first and second fixed contact plates 13 and 14 and each fixed contact 15 are led out to the outside of the support 8 as terminals 16, and these terminals 16 are soldered to lands (not shown) of the printed circuit board 7. Yes.

  The first and second moving bodies 10 and 11 are stacked so as to be orthogonal to each other, and the first moving body 10 is formed with a long hole 10a extending in the Y direction. A long hole 11a extending in the direction is formed. Further, sliders 10b are integrated at both ends of the first moving body 10, and the first moving body 10 can move in the X direction on the inner bottom surface of the support 8 with both sliders 10b as guide portions. . Similarly, a slider 11b is integrated at both ends of the second moving body 11, and the second moving body 11 can move in the Y direction on the inner bottom surface of the support 8 using both sliders 11b as guide portions. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a resistance substrate 17 is attached to one slider 10b of the first moving body 10, and a switch substrate 18 is attached to the other slider 10b. A pair of current collecting patterns 17b are arranged in parallel on the resistance board 17 via a resistance pattern 17a, and a resistance value change corresponding to the sliding contact position between the resistance board 17 and the corresponding slider of the fixed contact 15 is provided. Is output from the terminal 16. The switch board 18 is provided with U-shaped conducting portions 18c at both ends, and a switching signal is generated by contact between the sliders of the fixed contact 15 corresponding to the switch board 18 with the conducting portion 18c. Output from terminal 16. The same resistance board 17 and switch board 18 are attached to both sliders 11b of the second moving body 11, and these resistance board 17 and switch board 18 are in contact with the fixed contacts 15 provided on the support body 8, respectively. doing.

  The operation member 12 is disposed at the intersection of the long holes 10a and 11a of the first and second movable bodies 10 and 11, and as shown in FIG. 9, the operation member 12 includes a shaft portion 12a and a cross leg portion. 12b. The shaft portion 12a protrudes upward from the center of the cross leg portion 12b, and the aforementioned operation button 3 is press-fitted and fixed to the upper end of the shaft portion 12a (see FIG. 8). The operation button 3 is formed in a staircase shape that gradually becomes thinner toward the outside from the most projecting central portion, and is designed so that the palm of the operator's thumb is difficult to slip. The cruciform leg portion 12b is formed in a cross shape in plan view, and both end portions in the X direction are inserted into the elongated holes 11a of the second moving body 11 with the first moving body 10 sandwiched in the width direction. Both end portions of the first movable body 10 are inserted into the long holes 10a of the first movable body 10 with the second movable body 11 sandwiched in the width direction. Therefore, for example, when the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 is operated in the X direction, the cross leg portion 12b moves in the X direction along the elongated hole 11a of the second moving body 11, and accordingly the first moving body. 10 moves in the X direction. When the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 is operated in the Y direction, the cross leg portion 12b moves in the Y direction along the long hole 10a of the first moving body 10, and accordingly, the second moving body 11 is moved. Moves in the Y direction. Further, when the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 is operated in an oblique direction including both the X direction and the Y direction, the cross leg portion 12b is inserted into the long holes 10a and 11a of the first and second moving bodies 10 and 11. Along with this, the first and second moving bodies 10 and 11 move in an oblique direction in the XY plane.

  A rectangular upper holding plate 19 is disposed on the cross leg portion 12b of the operating member 12, and the shaft portion 12a of the operating member 12 extends upward through the upper holding plate 19 so as to be movable up and down. Further, a rectangular lower holding plate 20 is disposed below the intersecting portion of the first and second moving bodies 10 and 11, and the four corners of the upper holding plate 19 and the lower holding plate 20 are the first and second corners. The second moving bodies 10 and 11 are connected via four guide columns facing each other across the width direction. Thereby, the three members of the operation member 12, the upper holding plate 19 and the lower holding plate 20 are integrated with the first and second moving bodies 10 and 11 without causing rotation or inclination on the XY plane. Move to.

  As shown in FIG. 7, an elastic tongue piece 20a is integrally formed on each side of the lower holding plate 20, and each elastic tongue piece 20a is attached to the sliders 10b and 11b of the first and second movable bodies 10 and 11, respectively. Opposite. Thereby, the impact force when the elastic tongue piece 20a contacts the sliders 10b and 11b with the movement of the operation member 12 is relieved. Also, first and second sliding contacts 21 and 22 are attached to the lower four corners of the lower holding plate 20, and a pair of first first and second contacts regardless of the position of the lower holding plate 20 with respect to the inner bottom surface of the support 8. The sliding contact 21 is always in contact with the first fixed contact plate 19, and the pair of second sliding contacts 22 are always in contact with the second fixed contact plate 20. Furthermore, a dome-shaped movable contact 23 is placed at the center of the upper surface of the lower holding plate 20, and the top of the movable contact 23 is in elastic contact with the protrusion 12c formed on the lower surface of the cross leg 12b. The movable contact 23 is always in contact with the pattern conducting to both the second sliding contacts 22, but can be brought into contact with and separated from the pattern conducting to both the first sliding contacts 21. Is biased upward by the elasticity of the movable contact 23. Therefore, regardless of the position of the operation member 12 with respect to the inner bottom surface of the support 8, when the shaft portion 12a is pressed downward, the movable contact 23 is buckled and inverted by the pressing force, and the first and second sliding contacts 21 and 22 are brought into conduction through the movable contact 23.

  The cover 9 is integrated with the support 8 by snap coupling or the like, and a rectangular opening 9a coinciding with the window hole 2a of the casing 2 described above is formed on the upper surface thereof. The shaft portion 12a of the operating member 12 protrudes above the cover 9 through the opening 9a and the window hole 2a, and the shaft portion 12a freely moves in the XY direction within a rectangular area defined by the opening 9a. be able to. Inside the cover 9, first to third blindfold plates 24, 25, 26 and a support plate 27 are disposed so as to overlap each other. The support plate 27 is formed in a frame shape having a square hole 27a in the center, and the support plate 27 is fixed to the four corners of the support body 8 from above the first and second moving bodies 10 and 11, respectively. The sliders 10 b and 11 b are prevented from floating from the inner bottom surface of the support plate 27.

  The first to third blindfold plates 24, 25, and 26 are disposed between the cover 9 and the support plate 27, and the uppermost first blindfold plate 24 is movable only in the Y direction and has a central portion. Is formed with an elongated long hole 24a along the X direction. The intermediate second blindfold plate 25 is formed in a rectangular shape larger than the opening 9a, and a through hole 25a into which the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 is fitted is formed at the center. The lowermost third blindfold plate 26 can move only in the X direction, and a longitudinally long hole 26a extending in the Y direction is formed at the center thereof. The shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 is inserted through the vertically long hole 26a, the through hole 25a, and the horizontally long hole 24a, and the second blindfold plate 25 moves integrally with the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 in the XY direction. However, the first blindfold plate 24 moves in the Y direction only when the shaft portion 12a contacts the long side of the laterally long hole 24a, and the third blindfold plate 26 has the shaft portion 12a that contacts the long side of the longitudinally long hole 26a. Move in the X direction only when touching. As described above, the first to third blindfold plates 24, 25, and 26 move independently of each other as the operation member 12 moves in a plane, so that the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 is positioned at any position within the opening 9a. Even if there is, the opening 9a is always closed by the first to third blind plates 24, 25, and 26.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the inclination sensor 28 described above includes a bottom plate 31 and an upper plate 32 that are joined and integrated via an intermediate member 30, and a conductive steel ball 33 that is housed therein. It consists of and. The intermediate member 30 is made of an insulating synthetic resin material, and four fixed contacts 34 are insert-molded. Each fixed contact 34 is exposed at the four corners of a square cavity 30a formed in the intermediate member 30, and is led out from the joint between the bottom plate 31 and the upper plate 32 to be a terminal 34a. Both the bottom plate 31 and the top plate 32 are made of an insulating synthetic resin material. A mortar-shaped recess 31a is formed on the inner bottom surface of the bottom plate 31, and a mortar-shaped recess 32a is also formed on the top surface of the top plate 32. ing. The steel ball 33 is placed in the recess 31a of the bottom plate 31, and when the tilt sensor 28 is in a horizontal state, the steel ball 33 is stably held at the center position of the recess 31a and is separated from each fixed contact 34. ing. When the tilt sensor 28 is tilted in an arbitrary direction, for example, in the direction of arrow A, the steel ball 33 rolls from the central portion of the recess 31a toward the right side and comes into contact with the two fixed contacts 34 located in the same direction. The fixed contact 34 is in a conductive state. Similarly, when the tilt sensor 28 tilts in the directions of arrows B, C, and D, the steel ball 33 rolls in the tilt direction from the center of the recess 31a and contacts the two fixed contacts 34. The sensor 28 can detect inclinations in the directions of arrows A, B, C, and D4.

  When the item selection operation is executed using the remote-control input device 1 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 13, the operator holds the casing 2 with one hand (for example, the right hand) and holds it on the device main body 35. In this state, the operation button 3 exposed from the window hole 2a of the casing 2 is slid with the thumb to move the cursor position on the display screen 36 of the device body 35 to a desired selection item position.

  At that time, as shown in FIG. 14 (a), the operator's palm abuts against a taper portion that becomes narrower sequentially from the center portion of the casing 2 toward the rear end side. The axis of the thumb can be naturally aligned with the axis P), and the thumb can be moved without difficulty in the direction intended by the operator. Further, as shown in FIG. 14 (b), the casing with the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger applied to the finger-hanging protrusion 2c protruding from the back surface of the casing 2, and the index finger being hung on the curved shape of the front end of the finger-hanging protrusion 2c. 2 can be moved freely without difficulty, and the major axis direction of the casing 2 can be grasped sensuously by the extending direction of the finger hooking projection 2c. Therefore, the operator can surely perform the slide operation and push operation of the operation button 3 by the blind touch with the thumb, and can also press the operation knob 4 with the index finger while keeping the posture of the casing 2 stably. . Since the casing 2 has a symmetrical shape with respect to the central axis P, the same can be said when the operator holds the casing 2 with the left hand and uses it.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the device main body 35 includes a controller 37 composed of a microcomputer, and this controller 37 controls an item selection screen displayed on a display screen 36 composed of a CRT, LCD or the like. In addition, a remote control light receiving unit 38 is provided on the front surface of the device main body 35, and the remote control light receiving unit 38 receives an optical command signal transmitted from the remote control light emitting unit 6 of the remote control type input device 1 and outputs it to the controller 37. Then, the controller 37 executes processing such as movement of the cursor position based on the optical command signal. On the other hand, the remote control input device 1 is provided with a position detection means 39, a displacement detection means 40, and a signal selection means 41. The signal detected by the position detection means 39 and the displacement detection means 40 is selected by the signal selection means 41. One is selected. Further, the remote control input device 1 includes a press detection unit 42, and the signal detected by the press detection unit 42 and the signal selected by the signal selection unit 41 are transmitted from the remote control light emitting unit 6 as an optical command signal. .

  Here, the position detection means 39 detects the absolute position of the operation member 12 in the opening 9a (or the window hole 2a), and the detection signal is transmitted from the remote control light emitting unit 6 as display position information of the cursor. That is, as described above, the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 can be operated in the XY direction within the rectangular area defined by the opening 9a. When one moving body 10 moves in the X direction, both sliders 10b of the first moving body 10 move in the X direction on the inner bottom surface of the support 8, and during this time, the resistance substrate 17 attached to one slider 10b. Slides with respect to one fixed contact 15, and the switch board 18 attached to the other slider 10 b slides with respect to another fixed contact 15. As a result, the X-coordinate position signal of the operation member 12 is detected from the fixed contact 15 that is in sliding contact with the resistance substrate 17, and the operation member 12 reaches the end position of the X coordinate from another fixed contact 15 that is in sliding contact with the switch substrate 18. An X-coordinate end signal is detected indicating that this has occurred.

  Similarly, when the operation member 12 is slid by the operation button 3 to move the second moving body 11 in the Y direction, both sliders 11b of the second moving body 11 move on the inner bottom surface of the support body 8 in the Y direction. During this time, the resistance board 17 attached to one slider 11 b slides with respect to one fixed contact 15, and the switch board 18 attached to the other slider 11 b slides with respect to another fixed contact 15. Move. As a result, the Y coordinate position signal of the operating member 12 is detected from the fixed contact 15 slidably contacting the resistance substrate 17, and the operating member 12 reaches the end position of the Y coordinate from another fixed contact 15 slidably contacting the switch substrate 18. A Y-coordinate end signal indicating that this has occurred is detected. Further, when the first and second moving bodies 10 and 11 are moved in an oblique direction in the XY plane by sliding the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12, an X coordinate position corresponding to the operation position of the operation member 12 is obtained. A signal, a Y coordinate position signal, an X coordinate end signal, and a Y coordinate end signal are detected.

  Further, the displacement detection means 40 detects the attitude of the casing 2, and the detection signal is transmitted from the remote control light emitting unit 6 as a command signal for executing an item selection screen switching operation such as page turning or scrolling. That is, as shown by arrows A and B in FIG. 13, when the operator tilts the casing 2 to the right or left, the steel ball 33 of the tilt sensor 28 rolls from the center of the recess 31a in the same direction. By contacting the two fixed contacts 34 positioned, the tilt direction of the casing 2 can be detected by the output of the tilt sensor 28. Therefore, when the operator tilts the casing 2 to the right, the item selection screen is paged forward, for example, and when the operator tilts the casing 2 to the left, the item selection screen is paged backward. it can. In the case of the present embodiment, among the four directions of inclination that can be detected by the inclination sensor 28, two opposite directions are used for detecting the inclination of the casing 2 in the left-right direction. It can also be used for detecting the tilt in the front-rear direction, and in this case, another switching operation such as scrolling the item selection screen in the vertical direction can be executed.

  The signal selection means 41 selectively locks the data transmission of the signals detected by the position detection means 39 and the displacement detection means 40 based on the ON / OFF signal of the push switch 29, and the push switch 29 is in the OFF state. When the push switch 29 is in the ON state, data transmission of the signal detected by the position detection means 39 is prohibited when the push switch 29 is in the ON state.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 16, when the push switch 29 is in the OFF state in step S-1, the data transmission of the signal detected by the displacement detector 40 is locked and the normal mode (step S-2) is set. . In this normal mode, the operation button 3 can be slid to move the cursor position, but the item selection screen switching operation (for example, page feed) is not performed even when the casing 2 is tilted. On the other hand, when the push switch 29 is in the on state in step S-1, the data transmission of the signal detected by the position detecting means 39 is locked (step S-3), and then the output signal of the tilt sensor 28 is determined. (Step S-4). When a signal indicating that the casing 2 is tilted is detected from the tilt sensor 28 in step S-4, page feed is sequentially performed according to the tilt direction of the casing 2 (step S-5), and the push switch 29 is turned off. When operated (step S-6), the data transmission lock of the position detecting means 39 is released at that time (step S-7) and the normal mode (step S-2) is resumed. Therefore, when the push switch 29 is turned on by depressing the operation knob 4, the casing 2 can be tilted in an arbitrary direction to page forward, but the cursor position does not move even if the operation button 3 is slid.

  Further, the press detection means 42 detects that the operation button 3 has been pushed, and the detection signal is transmitted from the remote control light emitting unit 6 as a confirmation command signal for the selection menu. That is, when the operation button 3 fixed to the upper end of the shaft portion 12a of the operation member 12 is pushed down, the top portion of the movable contact 23 is pressed by the projection 12c and buckled and reversed, so the first sliding contact 21 and the second The sliding contact 22 becomes conductive through the movable contact 23. At this time, regardless of the position of the operation button 3 in the opening 9a, the first sliding contact 21 is always in contact with the first fixed contact plate 19, and the second sliding contact 22 is connected to the second fixed contact plate. 20 is always in contact (see FIG. 7), and a pressing signal indicating that the operation button 3 has been pushed is detected. When the pressing force on the operation button 3 is removed, the movable contact 23 returns to the dome shape by its own elastic force, and the operation button 3 and the operation member 12 are pushed back to the original position accordingly.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 17A, in the state where, for example, the item selection screen relating to the recording reservation of the TV program guide is displayed on the display screen 36 of the device main body 35, the operator can use the casing 2 of the remote control input device 1. Is held with one hand and pointed toward the device main body 35. In this state, when the operation button 3 of the operation member 12 is slid without pressing the operation knob 4, the normal mode is entered and the cursor 43 is selected as desired. You can move to the item position. That is, when the operator slides the operation button 3 in any direction with the thumb, as described above, the absolute position (X coordinate position signal, Y coordinate position signal, X coordinate end signal) of the operation member 12 in the XY orthogonal coordinates. , And the Y-coordinate end signal) are detected by the position detection means 39, and these detection signals are transmitted from the remote control light emitting section 6 to the remote control light receiving section 38 of the device main body 35 via the signal selection means 41. Based on the display position information of the cursor 43 transmitted from the remote control input device 1, the cursor 43 is controlled to move to a desired selection item position in the item selection screen.

  After the cursor 43 is moved to the desired selection item position in this way, when the operator presses the operation knob 4 with the index finger to turn on the push switch 29, the signal selection means 41 detects the position detection means 39. Data transmission of the signal is locked, and instead data transmission of the signal detected by the displacement detection means 40 is enabled. Therefore, when the operator tilts the casing 2 in the left-right direction while pressing the operation knob 4, the item selection screen is displayed in an arbitrary direction based on the detection signal of the displacement detection means 40 that changes according to the output value of the tilt sensor 28. Can be paged to. For example, by tilting the casing 2 in the right direction (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 13), the item selection screen is paged forward to the state shown in FIGS. 17 (a) to 17 (b). By tilting leftward (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 13), the item selection screen can be paged in the reverse direction to the state shown in FIGS. 17 (b) to 17 (a).

  Thereafter, when the operator pushes the operation button 3 with the thumb, as described above, the first and second sliding contacts 21 and 22 become conductive as the movable contact 23 buckles and reverses, and the operation button A pressing signal indicating that 3 is pushed is detected by the pressing detecting means 42. As a result, the detection signal of the pressing detection means 42 is transmitted from the remote control light emitting unit 6 as a selection command confirmation command signal. In the above example, “6ch of 20: 00-21: 0” located directly under the cursor 43. Program reservation is made. As described above, since the data transmission of the position detecting means 39 is locked when the operation knob 4 is pressed, the position of the cursor 43 does not change even after the casing 2 is tilted and the page is turned. Can be performed continuously.

  As described above, in the remote control input device 1 according to the present embodiment, the operator holding the casing 2 slides the operation button 3 of the operation member 12 exposed from the window hole 2a with the thumb, so that the item selection screen is displayed. The cursor 43 can be moved to the desired selection item 40, and the item selection screen can be switched such as page feed and scrolling by simply changing the posture of the casing 2 without releasing the thumb from the operation button 3. Therefore, the item selection operation can be performed easily and accurately.

  Further, since a finger hooking protrusion 2c extending linearly from a position almost directly below the window hole 2a toward the rear end face is formed on the back surface of the casing 2, and the front end face of the finger hooking protrusion 2c has a curved shape, the operator can When the casing 2 is held with one hand, the index finger can be hung in a natural manner on the front end surface of the finger-hanging projection 2c. Then, the operation knob 4 is disposed on the front end surface of the finger hooking projection 2c, and the item selection screen switching operation by the displacement detecting means 40 is performed only when the operation knob 4 is pressed by the index finger to operate the push switch 29. Thus, it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation in which the item selection screen is switched against the operator's will during a normal item selection operation. In addition, since the movement of the cursor 43 by the position detection means 39 is prohibited during the pressing operation of the operation knob 4, even if the operation member 12 moves with the movement of the thumb during the switching operation of the item selection screen, the item selection screen Since the display position of the cursor 43 does not change on the inside, a desired selection item can be easily selected after the switching operation of the item selection screen such as page turning and scrolling is completed.

  Furthermore, a pressing detection means 42 for detecting that the operation button 3 of the operating member 12 has been pushed is provided, and the detection signal of the pressing detection means 42 is transmitted from the remote control input device 1 as a selection menu confirmation command signal. Therefore, a series of operations of moving the cursor 43 to a desired selection item position and confirming it can be performed by blind touch without bothering to confirm the position of the operation button 3, and the above-mentioned item selection screen can be enlarged. The operability can be further enhanced in combination with the display function.

  In the above embodiment, the position detecting means 39 for detecting the absolute position in the opening 9a of the operation member 12 is composed of a plurality of fixed contacts 15, the resistance board 17 and the switch board 18 that are in sliding contact with them. Although the contact type has been described, non-contact (optical or magnetic) position detection means may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the X coordinate end signal and the Y coordinate end signal are detected using the pair of switch boards 18 has been described. However, the X coordinate position signal Y and the coordinate position obtained from the pair of resistance boards 17 are described. It is also possible to detect the X-coordinate end signal and the Y-coordinate end signal based on the signal, and in this case, both switch boards 18 can be omitted.

  In the above embodiment, when the push knob 29 is turned on by pressing the operation knob 4, the data transmission of the position detection means 39 is locked and the detection signal of the displacement detection means 40 can be transmitted. The case of returning to the normal mode when the push switch 29 is switched from the ON state to the OFF state has been described. For example, when the ON signal is generated once from the push switch 29 in the normal mode, the data transmission of the position detection unit 39 is locked. Then, when the ON signal is generated again from the push switch 29, the normal mode may be restored.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the inclination sensor 28 capable of detecting the inclination in the four directions is used as the displacement detection unit 40 is described. However, the inclination sensor 28 only needs to detect the two opposite directions of inclination.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the remote control input device 1 used for selecting a desired selection item from the item selection screen displayed on the device main body 35 has been described. The present invention is also applicable to an input device such as a portable data terminal including a display unit and an input unit as an input device, such as another input device integrated with the apparatus main body instead of the remote control type. is there.

It is a perspective view of a remote control type input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of this input device. It is a top view of the input device. It is a back view of the input device. It is a disassembled perspective view of this input device. It is a disassembled perspective view of the position detection mechanism with which this input device is equipped. It is a top view which shows the internal mechanism of this position detection mechanism. It is sectional drawing of this position detection mechanism. It is a perspective view of the 1st and 2nd moving body with which this position detection mechanism is equipped. It is a rear view of the first and second moving bodies. It is explanatory drawing of the inclination sensor with which this input device is equipped. It is a top view which shows the internal structure of this inclination sensor. It is an external view of the menu selection apparatus containing this input device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of this input device. It is a block diagram of the menu selection device. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a signal selection means. It is explanatory drawing which shows the switching operation | movement of an item selection screen.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Remote control input device 2 Casing 2a Window hole 2c Finger hooking protrusion 3 Operation button 4 Operation knob (2nd operation member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Position detection mechanism 6 Remote control light emission part 8 Support body 9 Cover 9a Opening 10 1st moving body 11 2nd moving body 10a, 11a Long hole 12 Operation member 12a Shaft part 12b Cross leg part 17 Resistance board 18 Switch board 23 Movable Contact 28 Inclination sensor 29 Push switch 35 Device body 36 Display screen 39 Position detection means 40 Displacement detection means 41 Signal selection means 42 Press detection means 43 Cursor

Claims (7)

A casing that an operator can hold with one hand, an operation member that is exposed from a window hole formed on the upper surface of the casing and is slidable in a plane, and detects an absolute position of the operation member in the window hole Position detection means, and displacement detection means for detecting the attitude of the casing,
The detection signal of the position detection means is transmitted to the device main body to move the display position of the cursor on the item selection screen, and the detection signal of the displacement detection means is transmitted to the device main body to switch the item selection screen. An input device characterized by being made.   2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement detection means is an inclination sensor that detects a plurality of inclination directions of the casing.   3. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the tilt sensor detects at least two contradicting tilt directions among the four directions of front, rear, left and right of the casing.   4. The displacement detection according to claim 1, wherein a second operation member is disposed on a lower surface side of the casing, and the displacement detection is performed only when the second operation member is operated to operate the changeover switch. An input device characterized in that the switching operation of the item selection screen by means is allowed.   5. The input device according to claim 4, wherein movement of the cursor by the position detecting means is prohibited during operation of the second operation member.   6. The finger-hanging protrusion that linearly extends from the position directly below the window hole toward the rear end surface is formed on the back surface of the casing according to claim 4, and the second end is formed on the front end surface of the finger-hanging protrusion. An input device comprising an operation member. The pressure detection means according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the operation member has an operation button protruding from the window hole, and is provided with a pressure detection means for detecting that the operation button is pressed. The input device is characterized in that the detection signal is transmitted to the device body as a selection command confirmation command signal.

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