JP2011123787A - Pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

A pointing device with high operability is provided.
A central portion of a surface is formed by a curved surface having a concave shape, and a bent portion is bent to the upper surface of the main body and a lower portion of the main body on the surface side. It has a cursor operation element for inputting positional information in a two-dimensional direction provided, and two click operation elements for performing a click operation provided on the surface of the lower part of the main body. The problem is solved by providing a pointing device.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointing device.

  As an apparatus for inputting information in an electronic device such as a computer, there are a keyboard, a trackball, a mouse, and the like.

  The keyboard can input various information in detail, but a large area is required to install the keyboard. For this reason, a mouse or the like is mainly used in combination as means for easily inputting graphical information.

  However, since the mouse is used by moving on a flat plate such as a desk, a flat plate or the like is required to obtain the function as a mouse, and the use environment is limited.

  For this reason, the pointing device described in patent documents 1 to 3 is proposed as an apparatus which inputs information easily, without depending on use environment.

JP-A-10-301706 JP 2002-215324 A JP 2008-40628 A

  By the way, in the pointing device as described in the cited documents 1 to 3, it is possible to easily input and output information. However, when the use of a plurality of fingers is required or the position of the fingers is fixed. Therefore, there are cases where it is difficult to use for operation, and it is not sufficient from the viewpoint of comfort of operation.

  Further, when it is difficult to move a plurality of fingers due to a failure or the like, or when it is difficult to perform a large operation, the conventional input device may not be able to cope with it sufficiently.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to provide a pointing device that can input information by a slight movement of one finger without using a plurality of fingers and is easy to operate. It is the purpose.

  The present invention is formed by a curved surface having a concave shape at the center of the surface, and a bent portion is bent to the upper surface of the main body and the lower portion of the main body on the surface side, and on the surface of the upper surface of the main body. It has a cursor operation element for inputting positional information in a two-dimensional direction provided, and two click operation elements for performing a click operation provided on the surface of the lower part of the main body. .

  In the present invention, the cursor operator and the click operator are operated by a thumb, the cursor operator is operated by the fingertip of the thumb, and the two click operators are operated by the abdomen of the thumb. It is characterized by doing.

  In the invention, it is preferable that the shape of the main body is symmetrical with respect to the direction in which the thumb extends.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that a shape connecting the center of the cursor operator and the centers of the two click operators with a line is an isosceles triangle.

  Further, in the present invention, the surface shape of the key top of the click operator is a shape in which an outer portion in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the thumb extends protrudes from the surface shape of the main body. .

  In the present invention, by applying a force in the surface direction on the surface of the main body to the key top of the click operator, the position of the key top is displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the main body, The click operation is performed by pressing a switch provided on the back surface of the key top.

  Further, according to the present invention, the shape of the key top of the click operator is an ellipse or an ellipse having a long axis perpendicular to the direction in which the thumb extends, or a long side in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the thumb extends. It is the substantially rectangular shape which has.

  In the bent portion, the angle of the surface of the upper part of the main body with respect to the surface of the lower part of the main body is 5 ° to 25 °.

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that the surface of the main body portion is subjected to embossing or embossing.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the main body part has a wireless transmission part for transmitting information inputted in the cursor operator and the click operator.

  According to the present invention, since it is possible to input information by a slight operation of one finger without moving a plurality of fingers, it is possible to provide a pointing device that is easy to operate without depending on an operation environment or the like. it can.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the pointing device according to the first embodiment. The back side perspective view of the pointing device in a 1st embodiment Front side perspective view of the pointing device according to the first embodiment Top view of the pointing device according to the first embodiment Side view of the pointing device according to the first embodiment Front view of the pointing device according to the first embodiment Sectional drawing cut | disconnected in the broken line 7A-7B in FIG. Operation explanatory diagram of the pointing device in the first embodiment (1) Operation explanatory diagram of the pointing device in the first embodiment (2) Side view of the click operator 12 Top view of the click operator 12 Cross section of the main part of the click operator 12 Explanatory drawing of the click operator 12 Side view of the click operator 13 Top view of click operator 13 Cross section of the main part of the click operator 13 Top view of the pointing device in the second embodiment Top view of another pointing device according to the second embodiment Top view of a pointing device according to a third embodiment

  The form for implementing this invention is demonstrated below.

[First Embodiment]
A pointing device according to the first embodiment will be described. The pointing device according to this embodiment can be operated with one finger, mainly the thumb.

  A pointing device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 shows a top perspective view of the pointing device according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 shows a back side perspective view, and FIG. 3 shows a front side perspective view. 4 shows a top view of the pointing device in this embodiment, FIG. 5 shows a side view, FIG. 6 shows a front view, and FIG. 7 is cut along a broken line 7A-7B in FIG. A cross-sectional view is shown.

  The pointing device in the present embodiment has a cursor operator 11 and click operators 12 and 13 in the main body unit 10.

  The main body 10 has a structure in which the entirety is a bent portion 14 and is bent on the surface portion 18 side of the main body portion 10 in a dogleg shape with a bending angle θ. A main body lower portion 16 is formed. In the present embodiment, the main body 10 is formed with a length of about 80 mm and a width of about 50 mm. A connection cord 20 is connected to the lower portion 16 of the main body, and a connection terminal 21 is provided at the end of the connection cord 20 so that it can be connected to a personal computer (not shown). The near side region 17 to which the connection cord 20 is connected in the lower body portion 16 is formed so as to have a convex curve shape on the connection cord 20 side.

  Further, the surface portion 18 of the main body 10 is formed by a curved surface having a recessed central portion on the surface of the main body 10. This corresponds to the shape of the human thumb corresponding to the shape of the surface portion 18, and does not hinder the movement of the human thumb and is easy to adapt. On the other hand, the back surface portion 19 of the main body portion 10 is formed flat, and the surface of the back surface portion 19 is subjected to anti-slip processing. Specifically, a material such as rubber is applied as an anti-slip treatment. The main body 10 is made of a resin material such as ABS resin, and the surface of the main body 10 is subjected to embossing or embossing so that the feeling of touching the main body 10 can be applied to the hand without a sense of incongruity. Has been.

  The cursor operation element 11 is provided on the surface portion 18 of the main body upper part 15, and when a force is applied to the cursor operation element 11 in the two-dimensional direction of up, down, left and right (four directions), the screen of a personal computer (not shown) is displayed. The pointer or cursor displayed above can be moved in a two-dimensional direction, up, down, left and right.

  The click operators 12 and 13 are provided side by side on the surface portion 18 of the main body lower portion 16 and can perform a right click operation and a left click operation with a mouse or the like. By pressing 13, left-click and right-click operations are performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the pointing device in the present embodiment is operated by a human thumb 30 on the surface portion 18 side of the main body portion 10. At this time, the cursor operator 11 comes into contact with the fingertip portion of the thumb 30 and is operated by the fingertip portion of the thumb 30. The click operator 12 is configured to perform a click operation by moving the belly portion of the thumb 30 to the left side or applying a force to the left side by the belly portion of the thumb 30. Further, the click operator 13 is configured to perform a click operation by moving the belly portion of the thumb 30 to the right side or by applying a force to the right side by the belly portion of the thumb 30. Note that the pointing device in this embodiment can also perform a click operation by applying a force in the downward direction (+ Z direction shown in FIG. 6 and the like).

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, in the pointing device according to the present embodiment, the main body 10 is bent at the bending portion 14 toward the surface portion 18 by the bending angle θ so that the pointing device can be easily adapted to the shape of the human thumb. It has a structure. That is, the surface of the main body upper portion 15 is bent at the bending angle θ with respect to the surface of the main body lower portion 16. The bending angle θ is preferably an angle adapted to the shape of the fingertip portion of the human thumb. Specifically, the bending angle θ is preferably 5 ° to 25 °, more preferably 10 ° to 21 °, and still more preferably. 15 ° to 21 °. In the present embodiment, the angle θ is formed to be about 18 °.

  In addition, since the pointing device in the present embodiment operates the cursor operation element 11 and the click operation elements 12 and 13 with a human thumb, the arrangement and the like are limited. That is, the cursor operator 11 is operated by the fingertip of the thumb, and the click operators 12 and 13 are operated by the belly portion of the thumb. For this reason, it is preferable that the centers of the click operators 12 and 13 are arranged so as to be on the same Y axis, and are formed at substantially the same distance from the center of the cursor operator 11. In other words, the shape formed by connecting the center of the cursor operator 11 and the centers of the click operators 12 and 13 with a line is an isosceles triangle as shown by a two-dot chain line A shown in FIG. It is preferable that Moreover, it is preferable that the shape of the main-body part 10 is formed symmetrically about the direction in which the thumb extends as an axis.

  The length in the direction in which the thumb extends from the center of the click operators 12 and 13 to the center of the cursor operator 11, that is, the length a in the X direction is preferably 16 mm to 24 mm, and more preferably 16 mm to 22 mm. Is preferred. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the length a is formed to be about 19 mm. Further, since the distance b between the center of the click operator 12 and the center of the click operator 13 is operated by the belly portion of the person's thumb, it is preferably a value around the width of the person's thumb. For this reason, the distance b is preferably 11 mm to 21 mm, and more preferably 13 mm to 19 mm. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the distance b is formed to be about 16 mm.

  Next, the click operators 12 and 13 will be described. As described above, the click operators 12 and 13 are operated by moving the belly part of the person's thumb 30 or by applying force to the belly part of the person's thumb 30. For this reason, the surface of the click operation element 12 protrudes in the surface portion 18 of the main body 10 from the outer portion in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the thumb extends (+ Y-axis direction) with respect to the curved surface having a recessed central portion on the surface. It has a different shape.

  The click operator 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 13, the click operator 12 has a key top 41 provided immediately above the switch component 40 and a hinge 42 connected to the key top 41. The hinge 42 is connected to the fixed portion 43 at the connection portion 44, and a contact portion for contacting and pressing the switch component 40 is provided on the back surface of the key top 41, that is, the surface on which the switch component 40 is provided. 47 is provided. Further, the surface 45 of the key top 41 has a structure inclined downward from the outer side toward the center, that is, a structure inclined in the + Z direction from the + Y direction to the −Y direction. Further, the surface 45 of the key top 41 has a protruding portion 46 having a shape protruding in the −Z direction on the + Y direction side.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the surface 45 of the key top 41 has a protruding portion 46 that protrudes in the −Z direction on the + Y direction side of the concave curved surface of the main body lower portion 16. When force is applied in the + Y direction on the surface 45 of the key top 41 by the belly portion, the hinge 42 bends with the connection portion 44 as an operation fulcrum, and the entire position of the key top 41 is displaced in the + Z direction. As a result, the contact portion 47 provided below the key top 41 comes into contact with the switch component 40 and presses the switch component 40 to perform a click operation.

  For this reason, in the click operator 12, the position of the key top 41 can be displaced in the + Z direction only by the force applied in the + Y direction without applying a force in the + Z direction, and the click operation can be performed. That is, a click operation can be performed by an operation of tilting or moving the belly portion of the thumb without performing an operation such as pressing with the thumb. Therefore, a left click operation can be performed by a slight operation of the thumb. In the pointing device in the present embodiment, the click operation can be performed also by applying a force in the + Z direction.

  Similarly to the click operator 12, the surface of the click operator 13 is perpendicular to the direction in which the thumb extends (−) with respect to the curved surface having a concave central portion on the surface 18 of the main body 10. The outer portion in the (Y-axis direction) has a protruding shape.

  The click operator 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. Similar to the click operator 12, the click operator 13 has a key top 51 provided immediately above a switch component (not shown) and a hinge 52 connected to the key top 51. The hinge 52 is connected to the fixed portion 53 at the connection portion 54, and a contact portion 57 for contacting and pressing the switch component is provided on the back surface of the key top 51, that is, the surface on which the switch component is provided. ing. Further, the surface 55 of the key top 51 has a structure inclined downward from the outer side toward the center, that is, a structure inclined in the + Z direction from the −Y direction to the + Y direction. Further, the surface 55 of the key top 51 has a protruding portion 56 having a shape protruding in the −Z direction on the −Y direction side.

  Similarly to the click operator 12, the click operator 13 can perform a click operation by an operation of tilting or moving the belly portion of the thumb. Therefore, a right click operation can be performed by a slight operation of the thumb.

  As described above, in the pointing device according to the present embodiment, the cursor operation and the two click operations can be easily performed by a minute operation of one thumb, and the operability can be improved.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The pointing device in the present embodiment is different from the pointing device in the first embodiment in the shape of the click operator.

  The pointing device in the present embodiment will be described based on FIG.

  The pointing device in the present embodiment includes a cursor operation element 111 and click operation elements 112 and 113 in the main body 110. The shapes of the click operators 112 and 113 in the present embodiment are oval or elliptical. The oval or elliptical shape of the click operators 112 and 113 is arranged so that the direction perpendicular to the + X direction in which the thumb (not shown) extends, that is, the Y direction has a long diameter. By forming the click operators 112 and 113 in such a shape, it is possible to prevent a difference in operability due to a difference in the thickness of the thumb. That is, anyone can comfortably operate the pointing device without depending on the thickness of the thumb.

  Further, the click operator can be formed in other polygonal shapes. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, the click operation elements 112a and 113a are formed in a rectangular shape having a long side in the Y direction, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the + X direction that is the direction in which the thumb extends. Anyone can operate the pointing device comfortably without depending on the thickness of the screen.

  The main body 110, the cursor operator 111, the click operators 112, 112a and 113, 113a in the present embodiment are the same as the main body 10, the cursor operator 11, the click operators 12 and 13 in the first embodiment. The contents other than those described above are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described. The pointing device in this embodiment is a wireless-structured pointing device.

  The pointing device in the present embodiment will be described based on FIG. The pointing device according to the present embodiment includes a cursor operator 211, click operators 212 and 213, and a wireless transmission unit 260 in the main body 210.

  The wireless transmission unit 260 is for communicating information with a wireless reception unit provided in a personal computer (not shown) by wireless communication such as infrared rays. The wireless transmission unit 260 is preferably provided at an upper end of the main body where the cursor operator 211 is provided. This is because communication is not hindered by a hand or the like when performing the operation. With such a configuration, the pointing device can be more comfortably operated without being restricted by the operating environment.

  Note that the main body 210, the cursor operator 211, and the click operators 212 and 213 in the present embodiment have the same functions as the main body 10, the cursor operator 11, and the click operators 12 and 13 in the first embodiment. The contents other than those described above are the same as in the first embodiment.

  As mentioned above, although the form which concerns on implementation of this invention was demonstrated, the said content does not limit the content of invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main body part 11 Cursor operation element 12 Click operation element 13 Click operation element 14 Bending part 15 Main body upper part 16 Main body lower part 17 Front side area 18 Front surface part 19 Back surface part 20 Connection cord 30 Thumb 40 Switch parts 41, 51 Key tops 42, 52 Hinge 43, 53 Fixing part 44, 54 Connection part 45, 55 Surface 46, 56 Protruding part 47, 57 Contact part

Claims (10)

A body portion having a structure in which a central portion of the surface is formed by a curved surface having a concave shape, and is bent into a body upper portion and a body lower portion on the surface side at a bent portion;
A cursor operator for inputting position information in a two-dimensional direction provided on the upper surface of the main body;
Two click operators for performing a click operation provided on the lower surface of the main body;
A pointing device comprising:   The cursor operator and the click operator are operated by a thumb, and the cursor operator is operated by a fingertip of the thumb, and the two click operators are operated by an abdomen of the thumb. The pointing device according to claim 1.   The pointing device according to claim 2, wherein the shape of the main body is symmetrical with respect to the direction in which the thumb extends.   4. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein a shape obtained by connecting a center of the cursor operator and a center of each of the two click operators with a line is an isosceles triangle. 5.   5. The surface shape of the key top of the click operator is a shape in which an outer portion in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the thumb extends is protruding with respect to the surface shape of the main body. The pointing device according to any one of the above.   By applying a surface force on the surface of the main body to the key top of the click operator, the position of the key top is displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the main body, and is provided on the back surface of the key top. The pointing device according to claim 5, wherein the click operation is performed by pressing a switch.   The shape of the key top of the click operator is an ellipse or an ellipse having a long axis perpendicular to the direction in which the thumb extends, or a substantially rectangular shape having a long side in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the thumb extends. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein:   8. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein an angle of a surface of the upper part of the main body with respect to a surface of the lower part of the main body is 5 ° to 25 ° in the bent portion. 9.   9. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the main body is textured or embossed. 10.   The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the main body portion includes a wireless transmission unit for transmitting information input in the cursor operation element and the click operation element.

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