JP2006331326A - Pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pointing device in which the abrasion of its key base, holding member and elastic deformable body can be prevented, and stable output characteristics can be achieved. <P>SOLUTION: An elastic deformable body 33 having conductivity is disposed on a substrate 21 on which electrodes 22-24 are formed. A key base 37 is disposed on the elastic deformable body 33 in a state that it is held by a holding member 27 so that it can be swung. Arrangements are made so that the change in the electrostatic capacitance which accompanies the change in the distances between the electrode 23 and the elastic deformable body 33 is outputted when the key base 37 is swung by the operation of an operation key 39 on the key base 37. In between the holding member 27 and the key base 37, there are separately disposed a first regulatory structure 42 for regulating the movement of the key base 37 in a plane perpendicular to the axis line passing through the central part of the key base 37 and a second regulatory structure 43 for regulating the swinging of the key base 37 around the axis line. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointing device that can be used as an input device of an electronic device such as a mobile phone, a personal computer, or a game machine, and that can select and execute a plurality of directional operations.

Conventionally, as this type of pointing device, for example, devices having configurations as disclosed in Patent Literature 1, Patent Literature 2, and Patent Literature 3 have been proposed.
That is, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the operation buttons are arranged on the tablet sheet so as to be swingable. The operation button is entirely composed of a central operation key portion, a thin elastic connection portion formed on the outer periphery of the operation key portion, and a ring-shaped support portion formed on the outer periphery of the elastic connection portion. Has been. The operation button is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position on the tablet sheet by sandwiching the ring-shaped support portion of the operation button together with the tablet sheet between the housing and the rigid plate.

  Further, in the configuration described in Patent Document 2, a conductive elastic deformable body is disposed on a substrate on which an electrode is formed so as to be swingable and deformable. An operation key is arranged on the elastic deformable body, and when the elastic deformable body is oscillated and deformed by the operation of the operation key, the capacitance changes according to the interval between the elastic deformable body and the electrode, The change in capacitance is output.

Further, in the configuration described in Patent Document 3, an elastic deformable body having conductivity is disposed on a substrate on which electrodes are formed, and a key base is shaken by a holding member having a square frame shape on the elastic deformable body. It is arranged in a state where it can be moved. In this case, due to the square plate-like key base fitting structure with respect to the holding member, movement of the key base in a plane orthogonal to the axis passing through the center of the key base, and rotation of the key base around the axis Are both regulated. When the key base is swung, the elastic deformation body is rocked and deformed, and the capacitance changes according to the interval between the elastic deformation body and the electrode, and the change in the capacitance is output. It has come to be.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-244796 JP 2002-304247 A JP 2002-313187 A

However, these conventional pointing devices have the following problems.
That is, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, a ring-shaped support portion is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the operation key portion of the operation button via a thin elastic coupling portion, and the entire operation button is positioned and fixed on this support portion. ing. For this reason, the operation key portion is in a state of being constrained via the elastic connection portion, and the elastic connection portion is deformed against the elasticity when swinging the operation key portion. Not only is this not good, but if it is operated many times or if an excessive force is applied to the elastic connecting part, the elastic connecting part may be damaged, and in some cases, the function as a pointing device may be lost. was there.

  Moreover, in the structure of patent document 2, unlike the structure of the said patent document 1, since an operation key is independent and there is no elastic connection part which restrains an operation key, while a feeling of operation improves, There is no problem with such problems as breakage of the elastic connection. However, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, since the operation key is an independent configuration, it may move, such as rotating, but a configuration for restricting the movement is not disclosed. For this reason, there is a possibility that the operation key may be brought into frictional contact with the elastic deformation body due to rotation or the like, and the elastic deformation body may be worn out or damaged at an early stage. In such a case, the elastic deformation body is included. It is difficult to obtain stable output characteristics due to fluctuations in the surrounding electrostatic capacity.

  Further, in the configuration described in Patent Document 3, a structure for restricting movement in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the key base by a square plate-like key base fitting structure with respect to the square frame-shaped holding member, and the axis It also serves as a structure that regulates rotation around the center. That is, the contact surface between the inner peripheral surface of the holding member and the outer peripheral surface of the key base prevents the orthogonal movement and rotation of the key base. For this reason, when the key base is swung, the contact surface between the key base and the holding member comes into frictional contact with a large stroke, and the outer peripheral portion of the key base and the like are severely worn. For this reason, backlash occurs between the key base and the holding member, or the operational feeling is reduced. In addition, the wear powder or wear particles generated by the wear of the key base and the holding member enter between the key base and the elastic deformation member, act like abrasive grains, and the elastic deformation member and the like are worn. There is a possibility that stable output characteristics cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device that can suppress wear of the key base, the holding member, and the elastic deformation body during the swing operation of the key base, and can obtain stable output characteristics. is there.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an elastic deformable body having conductivity is disposed on a substrate on which electrodes are disposed, and a key base is held on the elastic deformable body. When the key base is swung by the operation of the operation key on the key base, the positional relationship between the electrode and the elastic deformable body changes, and accordingly A pointing device configured to output an electrical signal, wherein movement between the holding member and the key base other than rotation of the key base in a plane perpendicular to an axis passing through the center of the key base is performed. The first restricting means for restricting and the second restricting means for restricting the rotation of the key base around the axis are provided separately.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the first restricting means is a circular restricting surface formed on the inner peripheral surface of the holding member and the outer peripheral surface of the key base. And

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the second restricting means is an uneven fitting structure formed between the holding member and the key base. Features.

(Function)
In the first aspect of the present invention, when the key base is swung, the first restricting means restricts movement other than rotation in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the key base, and the second restricting means restricts the key. Rotation around the base axis is restricted. In this case, the first restricting means and the second restricting means are not combined and are separately disposed separately. For this reason, the positional relationship between the first and second restricting means can be set as appropriate, and a large frictional contact portion can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to suppress wear of the key base, the holding member, and the elastic deformable body, and to obtain stable output characteristics.

  In the second aspect of the invention, since the circular restriction surface is only provided on the holding member and the key base, the structure of the first restriction means is simple, and the movement of the key base is reliably restricted by the restriction surface. can do.

  In the third aspect of the invention, since the concave / convex fitting relationship is only provided between the holding member and the key base, the structure of the second restricting means is simple and the rotation of the key base is reliably restricted. be able to.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress wear of the key base, the holding member, the elastic deformable body, and the like, and to obtain stable output characteristics.

Below, one Embodiment of this invention is described based on FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, in the pointing device of this embodiment, a plurality of ground-side electrodes 22 a and power-side electrodes 22 b are arranged at predetermined intervals on the same circumference on the upper surface of the substrate 21 made of an insulating material. The first electrode portion 22 is configured by the ground side electrode 22a and the power source side electrode 22b. On the inner peripheral side of the first electrode portion 22, four fan electrodes 23a are formed concentrically with the first electrode portion 22 on the upper surface of the substrate 21, and the second electrode portion 23 is formed by these fan electrodes 23a. It is configured. Inside the second electrode portion 23, on the upper surface of the substrate 21, an annular ground side electrode 24a and a disk-shaped power source side electrode 24b are formed concentrically with the second electrode portion 23. The ground electrode 24a and the power supply electrode 24b constitute a third electrode portion 24. Moreover, each electrode part 22-24 is formed by patterning copper foil by etching, and the ground side electrode 22a and the power supply side electrode 22b of the first electrode part 22 are in a state where the copper foil is exposed. Yes. The second electrode portion 23 is subjected to insulation treatment with a resist on the copper foil, and a part of the inner peripheral side of the ground side electrode 24a of the third electrode and the power source side electrode 24b expose the copper foil, Other portions are insulated with a resist. A pair of positioning holes 26 are formed in the substrate 21 so as to be located outside the first electrode portion 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, 6, and 7, a synthetic resin holding member 27 is fixed to the upper surface of the substrate 21. A circular first holding portion 28 is formed in a recessed manner on the lower surface side of the center of the holding member 27, and a second holding portion 29 having a smaller diameter than the first holding portion 28 is formed in a recessed shape on the upper surface side of the center. Has been. A through hole 29 a is formed between the bottom surface of the second holding part 29 and the top surface of the holding member 27. A pair of first positioning pins 30 protrude from the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the holding member 27, and a pair of second positioning pins 31 protrude from the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface. The holding member 27 is positioned at a predetermined position on the substrate 21 by fitting the first positioning pin 30 into the positioning hole 26 of the substrate 21. A positioning hole (not shown), in which a metal cover 32 is formed in a part of the upper portion of the substrate 21, is fitted to the second positioning pin 31 of the holding member 27, so that the outer periphery of the holding member 27 and other electrical equipment It is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position covering the product 25 and the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a disk-shaped elastic deformable body 33 is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 21 in a state of being housed and held in the first holding portion 28 of the holding member 27. The elastic deformable body 33 is formed to have conductivity, elasticity, and flexibility by kneading a conductive material such as carbon with a base material of silicone rubber, for example. An annular projection 34 is formed on the outer side of the lower surface of the elastic deformable body 33 so as to correspond to the ground side electrode 22a and the power source side electrode 22b of the first electrode portion 22 on the substrate 21 so as to be able to contact and separate. ing. On the inner peripheral side of the protrusion 34, an annular inclined surface 35 is formed on the lower surface of the elastic deformation body 33 so as to correspond to the second electrode portion 23 on the substrate 21 so as to be able to approach and separate. And the elastic deformation body 33 deform | transforms, and when the protrusion 34 contacts the ground side electrode 22a and the power supply side electrode 22b, those electrodes 22a and 22b are short-circuited. Further, the elastic deformable body 33 is deformed so that the interval between the inclined surface 35 and the second electrode portion 23 on the substrate 21 is changed, and the inclined surface 35 is changed with the change in the interval. And the capacitance on the substrate 21 changes.

  A dome-shaped contact plate 36 is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 21 so as to be positioned between the lower surface of the elastic deformable body 33 and the upper surface of the substrate 21 in a state of being connected to the ground-side electrode 24 a of the third electrode portion 24. Has been. Then, by deforming the contact plate 36 so as to be recessed downward, the contact plate 36 comes into contact with the power supply side electrode 24b of the third electrode portion 24 and short-circuits between the electrodes 24a and 24b of the third electrode portion 24. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. 6 to 8, a disk-shaped key base 37 made of synthetic resin can swing in the second holding portion 29 of the holding member 27 on the elastic deformation body 33. A stepped portion 37a located in the through hole 29a is formed in a projecting manner at the center of the upper surface of the key base 37. A mounting boss 38 protruding upward from the through hole 29a is provided. An operation key 39 is fitted on the mounting boss 38 of the key base 37 and is secured by a stop pin 40. A rubber operation portion 41 is provided on the upper surface of the operation key 39.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the operator presses a part of the outer periphery of the upper surface of the operation portion 41 of the operation key 39 and swings the key base 37 in an arbitrary direction, the elasticity is increased. The deformable body 33 is elastically deformed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. 6 to 8, a first restricting structure 42 as a first restricting means and a second restricting means as a second restricting means are provided between the holding member 27 and the key base 37. The regulation structure 43 is separately arranged in a separated state. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the first restricting structure 42 restricts movement M <b> 1 other than rotation of the key base 37 in a plane orthogonal to the axis C <b> 1 passing through the center of the key base 37. As shown in FIG. 3, the second restricting structure 43 restricts the rotation M2 of the key base 37 around the axis C1.

  The first restricting structure 42 includes a restricting inner peripheral surface 44 as a circular restricting surface formed by the inner peripheral surface of the second holding portion 29 of the holding member 27 and a circular shape formed on the outer peripheral surface of the key base 37. And a regulating outer peripheral surface 45 as a regulating surface. As shown in FIG. 2, the regulation outer peripheral surface 45 of the key base 37 is brought into contact with and engaged with the regulation inner peripheral surface 44 of the holding member 27, so that the key base 37 is in a plane orthogonal to the axis C <b> 1. Movement M1 other than rotation is regulated. In this case, as shown in the circular region of FIG. 1, the restriction outer peripheral surface 45 of the key base 37 is formed in a tapered shape having a smaller diameter toward the upper part, and the interference between the restriction surfaces 44 and 45 is caused when the key base 37 swings. To avoid.

  The second restricting structure 43 includes four restricting recesses 46 formed at equal intervals on the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 29 a of the second holding portion 29 of the holding member 27 and the outer periphery of the stepped portion 37 a of the key base 37. And four restricting convex portions 47 formed at regular intervals. Here, gaps S are respectively formed between the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 29a and the outer peripheral surface of the stepped portion 37a, and between the inner bottom portion of the restricting concave portion 46 and the outer end portion of the restricting convex portion 47. . Then, as shown in FIG. 3, when the restriction convex portion 47 of the holding member 27 is fitted into the restriction concave portion 46 of the key base 37, the rotation M <b> 2 around the axis C <b> 1 of the key base 37 is restricted. It is like that.

Next, the operation of the pointing device configured as described above will be described.
In this pointing device, as shown in FIG. 9A, when a part of the outer periphery of the upper surface of the operation portion 41 of the operation key 39 is pressed and the key base 37 is swung, the elastic deformable body 33. Is elastically deformed, and the projection 34 on the lower surface thereof is brought into contact with the ground side electrode 22a and the power source side electrode 22b of the first electrode portion 22 on the substrate 21 corresponding to the operation position, thereby short-circuiting them. As a result, a signal for specifying a short-circuit state is output by the action of a control device (not shown), and the presence or absence of an operation can be recognized. For example, power saving (sleep mode) of the control device is canceled. When the operation key 39 is pressed, the distance between the inclined surface 35 of the elastic deformation body 33 corresponding to the operation position and the second electrode portion 23 on the substrate 21 changes according to the amount of the pressing operation. The capacitance changes with the interval change, and the change in the capacitance is output. Thereby, the operation direction and the operation amount can be recognized.

  When the key base 37 is swung by the operation key 39, the first restricting structure 42 including the restricting inner peripheral surface 44 and the restricting outer peripheral surface 45 causes the movement other than rotation in a plane perpendicular to the axis C1 of the key base 37. M1 is regulated. At the same time, the rotation M <b> 2 centering on the axis C <b> 1 of the key base 37 is restricted by the second restriction structure 43 including the restriction recess 46 and the restriction protrusion 47. Therefore, frictional contact between the key base 37 and the elastic deformable body 33 and the holding member 27, and between the elastic deformable body 33 and the substrate 21 can be prevented, and wear thereof can be prevented.

  In this case, the first restricting structure 42 and the second restricting structure 43 are not configured to be used separately, and are separately disposed separately, so that a large frictional resistance is generated in the restricting portions of the restricting structures 42 and 43. There is nothing. That is, for example, in FIG. 3, when an operation is performed such that the vicinity of the position P1 of the operation key 39 is pushed down, the key base 37 is positioned around the position P1, as shown in the schematic principle diagram of FIG. The outer periphery moves with the largest stroke Q2.

  In this case, the regulation recess 46 and the regulation projection 47 do not need to regulate the movement M1 other than the rotation in the plane orthogonal to the axis C1 of the key base 37, and therefore, between the inner bottom portion and the tip portion thereof. A gap S is formed, and the inner bottom portion and the tip portion do not make frictional contact. Further, the restriction concave portion 46 and the restriction convex portion 47 closest to the position P1 are such that the side surface portion P3 slides along the extending direction of the side surface, and the friction is extremely small, and the wear hardly occurs. Absent. Furthermore, the side surface portion P3 away from the position P1 cannot avoid a certain amount of frictional contact, but as can be understood from FIG. 9B, the movement stroke Q1 is extremely small.

  Moreover, since the gap S is formed between the stepped portion 37a of the key base 37 and the through hole 29a of the holding member 27 in portions other than the regulating recess 46 and the regulating projection 47, wear can be prevented. In addition, since the regulation outer peripheral surface 45 of the key base 37 is formed in a taper shape and interference with the regulation inner peripheral surface 44 is prevented, wear of this portion can also be prevented.

As described above, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wear on the key base 37, the holding member 27, the elastic deformable body 33, and the like, and it is possible to obtain stable output characteristics even if they are continuously used for a long time.
Further, when the center portion of the upper surface of the operation key 39 is pressed, the center portion of the elastic deformable body 33 is elastically deformed, and the dome-shaped contact plate 36 is inverted downward. Thereby, the ground side electrode 24a and the power source side electrode 24b of the third electrode part 24 are connected, and a signal or the like for confirming the operation is output.

The effects of this embodiment described above are listed as follows.
-Since the key base 37 and the operation key 39 are independently arranged, the operation of the operation key 39 is not restricted by the elastic connecting portion, and the operational feeling is improved.

  Since movement other than rotation around the axis C1 of the key base 37 and rotation in a direction orthogonal to the axis can be suppressed, relative movement with frictional contact occurs between the key base 37 and the elastic deformable body 33. There is almost nothing, and wear of the key base 37 and the elastic deformable body 33, particularly the elastic deformable body 33 can be suppressed, and a stable output characteristic can be obtained.

Since wear between the key base 37 and the holding member 27 can be suppressed, mechanical durability can be improved, and stable output characteristics can be obtained as described above.
Since the wear between the elastic deformable body 33 and the substrate 21 can be suppressed, the durability can be improved and the output characteristics can be stabilized as described above.

  The above-described configuration for suppressing wear is that the first and second restricting structures 42 and 43 are only formed on the inner peripheral portion of the holding member 27 and the outer peripheral portion of the key base 37, so that the number of parts increases. No, the configuration is simple.

(Example of change)
In addition, this embodiment can also be changed and embodied as follows.
The number of second restriction structures 43 including restriction recesses 46 and restriction protrusions 47 for restricting rotation between the holding member 27 and the key base 37 is appropriately changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the second restriction structure 43 is provided every 120 degrees, as shown in FIG. 11, at one place, at two places, or at five or more places. thing.

  -The uneven | corrugated relationship of the 2nd control structure 43 shall be the reverse of the said embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, a restriction recess 46 is formed on the key base 37 side, and a restriction protrusion 47 is formed on the holding member 27 side.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the second restriction structure 43 between the holding member 27 and the key base 37 is composed of a long hole 51 formed in the holding member 27 and a restriction pin 52 formed in the key base 37. thing.

In the configuration of the embodiment and each modified example, an operation key portion is integrally provided on the key base 37.
Changing the configuration of the taper in the first restricting structure 42; For example, let the regulation inner peripheral surface 44 of the key base 37 be a downwardly opening tapered surface.

(Other technical ideas)
The technical ideas grasped from the embodiment and the modified examples, and technical ideas other than those described in the claims are listed below.

  (1) In order to avoid interference between the opposing regulating surfaces (44, 45) of the first regulating means (42) when the key base 37 is swung, a tapered surface is formed on at least one of these regulating surfaces. The pointing device according to claim 1 or 2.

If comprised in this way, interference between control surfaces can be avoided and those wear can be suppressed.
(2) Between the holding member (27) and the key base (37), except for the positions of the first restricting means (42) and the second restricting means (43), there is a gap between them (27) (37). The pointing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the technical idea (1) is provided.

  If it does in this way, interference between a holding member and a key base can be avoided and those wear can be suppressed. Here, the second restricting means refers to a contact portion between the side surfaces of the restricting concave portion (46) and the restricting convex portion (47).

(3) An elastic deformable body (33) having conductivity is disposed on the substrate (21) on which the electrodes (22a, 22b, 23a, 23b, 24a, 24b) are disposed, and on the elastic deformable body (33). The key base (37) is swingably held by the holding member (27), and the key base (37) is swung by the operation of the operation key (39) on the key base (37). When the pointing device is configured to change the positional relationship between the electrode and the elastic deformable body and output an electrical signal corresponding thereto,
Between the holding member and the key base, a first restricting means (42) for restricting the movement of the key base in a plane orthogonal to the axis (C1) passing through the center of the key base, and the axis The second restricting means (43) for restricting the rotation of the key base around the center is provided separately.
The first restricting means comprises circular restricting surfaces (44) (45) formed on the inner peripheral surface of the holding member and the outer peripheral surface of the key base,
The second restricting means includes a concave portion (46) formed in the holding member and a convex portion (47) formed in the key base and fitted into the concave portion (46).
A pointing device in which a gap (S) is provided between the opposing surfaces of the holding member and the key base except for the first and second restricting means.

  If comprised as mentioned above, the effect | action similar to the effect | action of Claims 1-3 can be acquired. Here, the second regulating means refers to a contact portion between the side surfaces of the regulating concave portion (46) and the regulating convex portion (47).

The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the pointing device of one Embodiment. Sectional drawing in the 2-2 line of FIG. Sectional drawing in the 3-3 line of FIG. The top view which shows the board | substrate in the pointing device of FIG. The bottom view which similarly shows an elastic deformation body. The perspective view which shows a holding member seeing from a plane side. The perspective view which shows a holding member seeing from the bottom face side. The perspective view which shows a key base seeing from a plane side. (A) is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the operation state of the pointing device of FIG. 1, (b) is a model principle diagram which shows an effect | action. Sectional drawing which shows the example of a change of the control structure between a holding member and a key base. Sectional drawing which similarly shows another example of a change of a control structure. Sectional drawing which similarly shows another example of a change of a control structure. Sectional drawing which similarly shows another example of a change of a control structure.

Explanation of symbols

  21 ... Substrate, 22a, 22b, 23a, 24a, 24b ... Electrode, 27 ... Holding member, 28 ... First holding portion, 29 ... Second holding portion, 33 ... Elastic deformation body, 34 ... Projection, 35 ... Inclined surface, 36 ... Contact plate, 37 ... Key base, 39 ... Operation key, 42 ... First restricting structure as first restricting means, 43 ... Second restricting structure as second restricting means, 44 ... Regulated inner circumference as restricting surface Surface, 45 ... Restricted outer peripheral surface as a restricting surface, 46 ... Restricted concave portion, 47 ... Restricted convex portion, 51 ... Long hole, 52 ... Restricted pin, C1 ... Axis, M1 ... Move, M2 ... Rotated.

Claims (3)

An elastic deformable body having conductivity is disposed on the substrate on which the electrodes are disposed, and the key base is provided on the elastic deformable body so as to be swingable by a holding member. When the key base is swung by the operation of the pointing device, the positional relationship between the electrode and the elastic deformation body is changed, and an electrical signal corresponding to the positional relationship is output,
Between the holding member and the key base, a first restricting means for restricting movement other than rotation of the key base in a plane orthogonal to the axis passing through the center of the key base, and the axis as the center And a second restricting means for restricting the rotation of the key base to be provided. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the first restricting means is a circular restricting surface formed on an inner peripheral surface of the holding member and an outer peripheral surface of the key base. 3. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the second restricting unit is an uneven fitting structure formed between the holding member and the key base.

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