JP2011175938A - Operation input device and electronic apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation input device that prevents water entry into a housing. <P>SOLUTION: An elastic waterproof material 40 is arranged between a printed circuit board 20 and an operation ring 50. A thick-wall 47 provided at the outer-peripheral edge of the elastic waterproof material 40 is sandwiched by the upper surface of a base 10 and the ceiling surface of a housing 80. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation input device, and more particularly to an operation input device incorporated in a mobile phone, a PDA, a television, and a video electronic device.

  Conventionally, as an operation input device, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a disk-shaped rotary operator 10, a case member 11 that rotatably supports the rotary operator 10, and the rotary operator 10 are opposed to each other. The circuit board 12 arranged in the manner described above and a contact connection structure comprising a fixed contact 13 and a movable contact 14 are provided. A rubber-like sheet 15 is provided between the rotary operation element 10 and the circuit board 12, and the rubber-like sheet 15 includes A tilting pressing part 42 that is tiltably supported with respect to the circuit board 12 via a tilting support part 49, and the contact connection structure is spaced at positions corresponding to both ends of the tilting pressing part 42 on the circuit board 12. The rotary operation element 10 is rotated, and the tilting pressing part 42 is supported by the circuit board 12 via the tilting support part 49 and tilts to the rotation direction side of the rotary operating element 10. Arranged on the rotation direction side Rotary input device is a movable contact 14 so as to press the fixed contact 13 side that.

JP 2006-032118 A

However, in the rotary input device described above, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the contact type jog holds an elastic member between the rotary operation unit and the substrate to ensure waterproofness. For this reason, in spite of the demand for higher waterproof performance in recent years, only measures for waterproofing of electric circuit boards have been taken, and water has been submerged into the housing (housing) where the input device is assembled. It cannot be prevented.
An object of the present invention is to provide an operation input device that can prevent water from entering the housing.

  In the operation input device according to the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, a printed circuit board having a plurality of push button switches is attached and integrated on an upper surface of a base fixed in a housing having an operation hole on a ceiling surface. The operation dial is rotatably supported on the upper surface of the operation ring disposed above the printed circuit board, while the operation dial is operably exposed from the operation hole of the housing, and the operation dial is rotated. An operation input device that detects a change in a magnetic field based on a rotation operation of the operation dial with a magnetic detection sensor mounted on the printed circuit board, and is an elastic waterproof material between the printed circuit board and the operation ring The thick portion provided on the outer peripheral edge of the elastic waterproof material is sandwiched between the upper surface of the base and the ceiling surface of the housing. .

  According to the present invention, the thick portion of the elastic waterproof material is sandwiched and fixed between the upper surface of the base and the ceiling surface of the housing. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a mounting hole in the elastic waterproof material itself, and it is possible to prevent water from entering the housing, thereby obtaining an operation input device having high waterproofness. In particular, even when an external force is applied to the operation dial, the base is difficult to bend, so that the waterproof property is not destroyed.

As an embodiment of the present invention, an annular waterproof rib may be provided on the upper surface of the elastic waterproof material, and the outer peripheral edge of the operation ring may be in close contact with and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the annular waterproof rib.
According to this embodiment, it becomes a double seal structure, and waterproofness improves further.

As another embodiment of the present invention, the annular waterproof rib of the elastic waterproof material has a cross-sectional key shape, and an annular waterproof groove that can be engaged with the annular waterproof rib is formed on the upper edge of the operation ring. Also good.
According to the present embodiment, the contact area between the annular waterproof rib and the operation ring is increased, and the creeping distance is increased, so that the waterproof property is further improved and the operation ring is not likely to be detached from the elastic waterproof material.

As another embodiment of the present invention, the back surface of the operation cover which is a part of the housing having the operation hole in the operation input device is covered with a waterproof sheet member extending from the outer peripheral edge of the elastic waterproof material. In addition, an annular waterproof rib of the elastic waterproof material may be sandwiched between the upper surface edge of the operation ring and the ceiling surface of the operation cover.
According to this embodiment, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are reduced, the productivity is improved, and an operation input device having higher waterproofness can be obtained.

The electronic device according to the present invention has a configuration in which an operation dial is operably incorporated from an operation hole of the housing.
According to the present invention, there is an effect that an electronic device having high waterproofness can be obtained.

1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of an operation input device according to the present invention. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views taken along line AA and BB of the operation input device shown in FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the first embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the first embodiment viewed from a different angle. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3. It is the disassembled perspective view seen from the downward direction of 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. 6A is a plan view of the operation input device shown in FIG. 3, and FIGS. 6B, 6C, and 6D are a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB, a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC, and a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 7A and 7B are perspective views of the elastic waterproof material of the first embodiment. 8A is a plan view of the elastic waterproof material shown in FIG. 7, and FIGS. 8B and 8C are a cross-sectional view taken along line BB and a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 8A. 9A, 9B and 9C, 9D are a perspective view of a housing according to the first embodiment, a cross-sectional perspective view thereof, a perspective view viewed from below, and a cross-sectional perspective view thereof. It is a perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the operation input apparatus which concerns on this invention. 11A and 11B are cross-sectional views taken along lines AA and BB of the operation input device shown in FIG. 12A is a plan view of the elastic waterproof material shown in FIG. 11, and FIGS. 12B and 12C are a partial enlarged sectional view taken along line BB and a partial enlarged sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 12A. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of an electronic apparatus according to the invention. 14A and 14B are cross-sectional views taken along lines AA and BB shown in FIG. 15A, 15B, and 15C are a plan view of the single operation board shown in FIG. 13, a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 15A, and a bottom view. 16A, 16B, and 16C are a plan view, a front view, and a bottom view showing the elastic waterproof material of the electronic device shown in FIG. 17A and 17B are enlarged sectional views taken along lines AA and BB shown in FIG. 16A.

An embodiment of an operation input device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The operation input device according to the first embodiment includes a base 10, a flexible printed circuit board 20, and a central dome-shaped movable contact on the lower surface as shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, particularly FIG. 4. A resin film cover 30 with the push button switch 31a and the four push button switches 31b to 31e attached thereto, an elastic waterproof material 40, an operation ring 50 assembled to the elastic waterproof material 40, and a slide on the operation ring 50 An operation dial 60 that is rotatably mounted via a moving seat 58, a push button 70 that is fitted into the fitting hole 61 of the operation dial 60, and a housing 80 that houses the aforementioned components (FIG. 1). It consists of

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the base 10 is made of a substantially rectangular thin metal plate and has a pair of jig holes 11 a and 11 b on its diagonal and a fixing hole 12 around it. is there. Further, the base 10 has mounting holes 13 at the corners thereof, and a connection hole 14 at the center of one side thereof.

  The printed circuit board 20 is made of a flexible insulating sheet, and a central conductive portion 21a is provided at the center thereof, and the four conductive portions 21b to 21b are arranged at equal pitches on the same circumference around the central conductive portion 21a. 21e is arranged. The central conductive portion 21a and the conductive portions 21a to 21e are composed of a substantially C-shaped fixed contact portion and a fixed contact portion disposed in the substantially C-shaped fixed contact portion. The printed circuit board 20 is provided with a pair of jig holes 23a and 23b with the central conductive portion 21a in between, and a surface mounted with a pair of magnetic detection sensors 24a and 24b made of Hall elements. Further, the printed circuit board 20 has a notch 25 formed at the outer peripheral edge thereof, and a connecting portion 26 extends from the outer peripheral edge thereof.

  The resin film cover 30 has a planar shape that can be coated on the printed circuit board 20, and is flat at a position corresponding to the central conductive portion 21a and the conductive portions 21b to 21e on the back surface to which the adhesive is applied. A central push button switch 31a and push button switches 31b to 31e made of a dome-shaped reversing spring are respectively attached. Further, the resin film cover 30 is provided with jig holes 33a and 33b at positions corresponding to the jig holes 23a and 23b of the printed circuit board 20, respectively. Further, the resin film cover 30 is provided with a relief portion 34 so as not to cover the magnetic detection sensors 24, 24 assembled to the printed circuit board 20, and a notch portion 35 is provided at an outer peripheral edge portion thereof. .

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the elastic waterproof material 40 is made of an elastic rubber material having a planar shape capable of covering the printed circuit board 20, and corresponds to the central conductive portion 21a and the conductive portions 21b to 21e. Further, the operation central projection 41a and the operation projections 41b to 41e are respectively projected downward. Further, the elastic waterproof material 40 is provided with the position regulating projections 42 protruding upward at an equal pitch on the same circumference around the operation central projection 41a. Further, a fitting bulging portion 44 fitted to the magnetic detection sensor 24 is projected upward on the outer peripheral side of the annular shallow groove 43 provided so as to surround the position restricting protrusion 42. The elastic waterproof material 40 has an annular waterproof rib 45 projecting upward on the outer side of the fitting bulging portion 44, and a fixing projection 46 directly below the annular waterproof rib 45 with a predetermined pitch. And projecting downward. The annular waterproof rib 45 has a substantially L-shaped cross section that increases the contact area. The elastic waterproof material 40 is integrally formed with a thick section 47 having a circular cross section at the outer peripheral edge thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the operation ring 50 has an outer peripheral shape that can be placed on the elastic waterproof material 40. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation ring 50 is formed with an annular step portion 51a capable of engaging with a caulking ring 57 on the inner peripheral edge portion of the lower surface thereof, and on the outer peripheral edge portion of the annular step portion 51a. Operation protrusions 51b to 51e are provided on the lower side at positions corresponding to the operation protrusions 41b to 41e. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation ring 50 is provided with an annular protrusion 52 on the inner peripheral edge of the upper surface, on which an annular sliding sheet 58 can be placed. Further, the operation ring 50 is provided with a pair of fitting holes 53, 53 for fitting into the fitting bulging portion 44 around the annular projection 52, and can position the click feeling magnet 59. A positioning recess 54 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the operation dial 60 has a concentric shape that can be placed on the operation ring 50, and a fitting hole 61 into which a push button 70 described later can be fitted is provided at the center thereof. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the operation dial 60 has caulking ridges 62 protruding at a predetermined pitch along the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the fitting hole 61. Further, the operation dial 60 has a large number of sliding ribs 63 radially provided at a predetermined pitch on the outer side of the caulking ridge 62, and an annular groove portion 64 is formed on the outer side thereof in a concentric circle. An annular magnet 65 is incorporated into the bottom surface of the annular groove 64 via a double-sided adhesive tape (not shown). The annular magnet 65 is obtained by alternately magnetizing N poles and S poles, and a positioning projection 65a is provided on the outer peripheral edge thereof.

  The push button 70 has an outer peripheral shape that can be fitted into the fitting hole 61 of the operation dial 60 from below to prevent the push button 70 from coming off, and an operation center protrusion 71 projects from the center of the lower surface thereof. The push button 70 has notches 72 formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof at an equal pitch. The notch 72 is engaged with the position restricting protrusion 42 of the elastic waterproof material 40 and is prevented from rotating.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the housing 80 forms a flat space by joining and integrating a cover 82 to the mounting substrate 81. In the housing 80, the operation dial 60 and the push button 70 are exposed through an operation hole 83 provided in the center of the upper surface of the cover 82. The mounting substrate 81 is provided with a fixing hole 84 and a connection hole 85.

Next, a method for assembling the aforementioned component parts will be described.
First, the jig holes 11a and 11b of the base 10 are inserted into a pair of positioning pins, which are not shown, and then the jig holes 23a and 23b of the printed circuit board 20 are inserted and bonded together. . Then, the connection part 26 of the printed circuit board 20 is pulled out from the connection hole 14 of the base 10, while the magnetic detection sensors 24 a and 24 b are installed on the printed circuit board 20 to be electrically connected. Next, the jig holes 33 a and 33 b of the resin film cover 30 are inserted into the positioning pins, and are bonded and integrated with the printed circuit board 20. As a result, the central push button switch 31a and the push button switches 31b to 31e made of a dome-shaped reversing spring are opposed to the central conductive portion 21a and the conductive portions 21b to 21e, respectively, so as to be able to contact and separate.

  Then, the fixing protrusion 46 of the elastic waterproof material 40 is press-fitted and fixed to the fixing hole 12 of the base 10 from which the positioning pin has been pulled out, so that the base 10 and the elastic waterproof material 40 are connected to the printed circuit board 20. The resin film cover 30 is clamped.

  Next, the sliding sheet 58 is placed on the upper surface of the annular protrusion 52 of the operation ring 50, and the click feeling magnet 59 is fitted and fixed to the positioning recess 54. On the other hand, the annular magnet 65 is fixed to the bottom surface of the annular groove 64 of the operation dial 60 via a double-sided adhesive tape. Then, the push button 70 is fitted and positioned in the fitting hole 61 of the operation dial 60 from the lower side, the operation ring 50 is assembled, and the caulking protrusion 62 of the operation dial 60 is attached to the caulking ring 57. The hole 57a is fixed by caulking. As a result, the operation ring 50, the operation dial 60 and the push button 70 are integrated, and the operation dial 60 is rotatably supported by the operation ring 50.

  Next, the outer peripheral edge of the operation ring 50 is fitted to the annular waterproof rib 45 of the elastic waterproof material 40 assembled to the base 10 and temporarily fixed. And it fixes to the attachment board | substrate 81 of the housing 80 through the attachment hole 13 of the said base 10, pulls out the connection part 26 from the connection hole 14, and joins and integrates the cover 82 to the said attachment board | substrate 81. FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the thick portion 47 of the elastic waterproof material 40 is pressed against the ceiling surface of the cover 82 to prevent entry of water, dust and the like. Further, the tip of the annular waterproof rib 45 of the elastic waterproof material 40 is sandwiched between the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the operation ring 50 and the edge of the ceiling surface of the cover 82, and high waterproofness can be secured.

  Since the operation ring 50 is biased by the elastic waterproof material 40 and the push button 70, no rattling occurs. Further, since the push button 70 is urged by the center push button switch 31a, no rattling occurs.

Next, an operation method when the operation input device having the above-described configuration is applied to a mobile phone (not shown) will be described.
When the operation dial 60 is rotated about the axis of the operation ring 50, the operation dial 60 is rotated on the operation ring 50 via the sliding sheet 58. Along with the rotation of the annular magnet 65 attached to the operation dial 60, the pair of magnetic detection sensors 24a and 24b detect changes in the magnetic field, respectively, and detect the rotation direction and the rotation amount based on the change.

  The detection result is reflected as the movement of the scroll bar on the screen display of the monitor via a control circuit (not shown). Next, when the scroll bar reaches a desired position, pressing the push button 70 causes the reversal spring of the central push button switch 31a to be reversed by the operation central projection 71, thereby conducting the corresponding central conductive portion 21a. To output a selection command.

  Further, by pushing down the peripheral portion of the operation dial 60 and appropriately reversing the reversing springs of the push button switches 31b to 31e with the operation protrusions 51b to 51e of the operation ring 50, the corresponding conductive portions 21b to 21e are made conductive. Also good.

  In this embodiment, since it is a non-contact rotation detection method, there is an advantage that a smoother and better operational feeling can be obtained than the rotation detection method by contact according to the conventional example.

The second embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, except that the second embodiment has a cross section on the upper surface of the elastic waterproof material 40 as shown in FIGS. 12B and 12C. A key-shaped annular waterproof rib 45 is provided in a protruding manner. And the operation ring 50 assembled | attached to the said elastic waterproof material 40 forms the annular waterproof groove 50a (FIG. 11) engaged with the said annular waterproof rib 45 in the upper surface edge part.
According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, by engaging the annular waterproof rib 45 with the annular waterproof groove 50a of the operation ring 50, the creeping distance becomes longer and the contact area increases. Therefore, there is an advantage that an operation input device having further excellent waterproofness can be obtained.
The other parts are almost the same as those of the first embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 to 17, the third embodiment is a case where the elastic waterproof material 40 is attached to the back side of the operation cover 90 of the casing of the mobile phone. In particular, the difference from the first embodiment is a case where a sheet member 48 provided with an operation projection 48a is integrally formed on the elastic waterproof material 40 as shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the operation cover 90 is provided with a large number of operation holes 91, 92, and 93, and a fitting annular groove 94 is provided on the back surface thereof so as to surround the operation holes 91, 92, and 93. It is.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the elastic waterproof material 40 is formed with an annular rib 48 b fitted in the fitting annular groove 94 at the peripheral edge thereof.
In this embodiment, there is an advantage that a highly reliable waterproof telephone can be obtained by attaching the elastic waterproof material 40 to the back side of the operation cover 90 of the housing.
The other parts are almost the same as those of the first embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  Of course, the operation input device according to the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, and may be applied to other mobile devices and other electronic devices.

10: Base 12: Fixing hole 13: Mounting hole 14: Connection hole 20: Printed circuit board 23a, 23b: Jig hole 24a, 24b: Magnetic detection sensor 30: Resin film cover 31a: Center push button switch 31b-31e: Push Button switch 33a, 33b: Jig hole 40: Elastic waterproof material 41a: Operation center protrusion 41b to 41e: Operation protrusion 42: Position restricting protrusion 44: Mating bulge 45: Annular waterproof rib 46: Fixing protrusion 47: Thick portion 48: Waterproof sheet member 48a: Operation protrusion 48b: Annular rib 50: Operation ring 50a: Annular waterproof groove 51b to 51e: Operation protrusion 59: Click feeling magnet 60: Operation dial 61: Fitting Joint hole 62: Locking protrusion 63: Annular groove 64: Sliding rib 65: Annular magnet 70: Push button 71: Acting central projection 80: Housing 81: mounting board 82: cover 90: operation cover 91, 92, 93: operation hole

Claims (5)

A printed circuit board having a plurality of push button switches is attached to and integrated with an upper surface of a base fixed in a housing having an operation hole on a ceiling surface, and an operation is performed on an upper surface of an operation ring disposed above the printed circuit board. While rotatably supporting the dial, the operation dial is operably exposed from the operation hole of the housing,
An operation input device that detects a change in a magnetic field based on a rotation operation of the operation dial with a magnetic detection sensor mounted on the printed circuit board by rotating the operation dial.
An elastic waterproof material is disposed between the printed circuit board and the operation ring, and a thick portion provided at an outer peripheral edge of the elastic waterproof material is sandwiched between the upper surface of the base and the ceiling surface of the housing. Characteristic operation input device.   The operation input device according to claim 1, wherein an annular waterproof rib projects from an upper surface of the elastic waterproof material, and an outer peripheral edge portion of the operation ring is closely attached to an inner peripheral surface of the annular waterproof rib. .   3. An annular waterproof groove that can be engaged with the annular waterproof rib is formed in an upper surface edge portion of the operation ring while the annular waterproof rib of the elastic waterproof material has a cross-sectional key shape. The operation input device described.   The operation input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the back surface of the operation cover that is a part of the housing having the operation hole is a waterproof sheet member that extends from the outer peripheral edge of the elastic waterproof material. An operation input device characterized in that an annular waterproof rib of the elastic waterproof material is sandwiched between an upper surface edge of the operation ring and a ceiling surface of the operation cover.   5. An electronic apparatus, wherein the operation input device according to claim 1 is incorporated so that an operation dial can be operated from an operation hole of a housing.

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