JP2012208870A - Mounting structure of pointing stick - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mounting structure of a pointing stick that is hardly influenced by a difference in a coefficient of thermal expansion of each component, reduces thickness while securing strength and further achieves sharing of components.SOLUTION: A mounting structure of a pointing stick comprises: a pointing stick main body 10; a mounting member capable of mounting legs disposed extending on the pointing stick main body; a pedestal member 40 that has a capacity capable of accommodating a circuit board and is provide with through-holes through which mounting screws 90 can pass; and mounting screws for fastening a base plate that has screw holes and the pedestal member 40. The pointing stick main body is fastened to the base plate by the following steps of: causing the legs disposed extending thereon to pass through through-holes of the mounting member; holding the legs between the pedestal member disposed at a lower side of the mounting member and the base plate disposed at an upper side of the mounting member while heat-depositing and fixing the tips of the legs to the mounting member; and inserting the mounting screws from a bottom surface side of the pedestal member.

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointing stick mounting structure used for cursor movement control on a display such as a notebook computer.

  In recent years, for example, with the spread of notebook computers (notebook personal computers), a pointing device equipped with a pointing stick has been used to control cursor movement on the display (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The notebook personal computer having the pointing stick does not need to use a mouse when moving the cursor on the display. Therefore, space is saved from the viewpoint of work space without taking a place on the desk, it is easy to use at home or office, and it is used when moving by public transportation means such as airplane or train It is said that it is easy to use.

  Such a pointing stick is used not only for use in a notebook computer but also for movement control of a cursor or the like on a display in a home game machine.

JP-A-8-211982

  The prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a structure in which a base plate of a pointing stick is fixed by a holder member and a support portion of a support lid. However, according to this prior art, there is a problem in the fixing structure in which the base plate of the pointing stick is fixed by the holder member and the support portion of the support lid. Distortion due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the parts may occur, and may be superimposed as an output error when detecting the operating amount of the pointing stick.

  Further, according to this prior art, there is no space in the pointing stick for accommodating a calculation unit that detects and calculates the amount of operation of the pointing stick, a related electronic component, and a circuit board on which these components are mounted. Therefore, when such a circuit board and electronic component are accommodated inside the pointing stick, a special support lid and a holder member provided with the accommodation space must be provided separately, so that the components can be shared. Incurs high costs without being able to.

  The object of the present invention is to be hardly affected by the difference in thermal expansion coefficient of each component constituting the mounting structure of the pointing stick and the combined state, and while ensuring a sufficient strength even in a thin state, It is an object of the present invention to provide a pointing stick mounting structure that can share components for different specifications by having a space for accommodating a control circuit board for calculating and controlling the operation amount of the pointing stick.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a pointing stick mounting structure according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided.
A pointing stick used for cursor position control of a keyboard device or the like,
A pointing stick body,
A mounting member capable of mounting a leg extending from the pointing stick body;
A base member having a volume capable of accommodating a circuit board and provided with a through-hole through which a screw can pass; and
A mounting plate for fastening the base plate having the screw hole and the base member, and the pointing stick main body includes:
While passing the leg portion extended to the pointing stick body through the through hole of the mounting member, the tip is thermally welded and fixed to the mounting member,
Sandwiched between a base member disposed on the lower side of the mounting member and a base plate disposed on the upper side of the mounting member;
A mounting screw is inserted from the bottom side of the base member and fastened to the base plate.

  According to the attachment structure of the pointing stick according to the first aspect, the attachment member that fixes the pointing stick body in the attached state of the pointing stick is firmly fixed so as to be sandwiched between the base plate and the base member. As a result, only the output value corresponding to the operating amount of the pointing stick is detected by the strain gauge, and the strain caused by the difference in structural expansion and thermal expansion coefficient that occurs when other components are joined is output by the strain gauge. Hard to detect as. Therefore, it becomes possible to always accurately detect the operation amount of the pointing stick.

  In addition, the base member can be shared by having a space for storing an arithmetic circuit for calculating the operation amount of the pointing stick and a circuit board on which electronic components related to the arithmetic circuit are mounted.

  The pointing stick mounting structure according to claim 2 of the present invention is the pointing stick mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the base member is provided with a seat capable of accommodating the head of the mounting screw. It is characterized by.

  According to the attachment structure of the pointing stick according to claim 2, by providing the seat that can accommodate the attachment screw, the head of the screw does not protrude from the base member, and the attachment structure of the pointing stick can be made thin. Can be achieved.

Further, the pointing stick mounting structure according to claim 3 of the present invention is the pointing stick mounting structure according to claim 1 or 2,
The base plate has a concave step and has a screw hole corresponding to the mounting screw.
The screw hole part is a burring process, and the tip part becomes a convex part.
The convex portion is formed so as to be fitted into the through hole of the mounting member.

  In order to reduce the size and weight of the keyboard, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the pointing stick. For this purpose, the thickness of the base plate is made as thin as possible while maintaining its strength. If a female screw is formed on the thin base plate itself, a sufficient fastening force of the screw cannot be secured.

  However, according to the attachment structure of the pointing stick according to claim 3, by providing a concave step portion on the base plate and further providing a convex portion on the concave step portion, a screw fastening hole corresponding to the mounting screw can be formed, By screwing the attachment screw into the screw fastening hole via self-tapping, the attachment screw can be firmly fastened to the base plate using burring.

  A pointing stick mounting structure according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the pointing stick mounting structure according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the housing portion of the base member is in parallel with the mounting member. A control circuit board is accommodated.

  According to the pointing stick mounting structure of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control circuit board itself is not required to be placed in a place other than the pointing stick by arranging and arranging the control circuit board in parallel in the housing portion of the base member, thereby saving space. Can be achieved.

  Further, in the conventional technique in which a pointing stick is attached to a circuit board made of a thick glass epoxy resin, it is difficult to reduce the height of the pointing stick as a whole. However, according to the attachment structure of the pointing stick according to the fourth aspect, by arranging the control circuit board in parallel to the side of the pointing stick main body, the height of the entire pointing stick can be reduced and the thickness can be reduced. .

  According to the present invention, the pointing stick mounting structure is not easily affected by differences in thermal expansion coefficient or coupling state of each component, and it is possible to maintain a sufficient strength even in a thin state, and further, pointing. By having a space for accommodating a control circuit board for calculating and controlling the amount of operation of the stick, it is possible to provide a pointing stick mounting structure that allows parts to be shared for different specifications.

It is a perspective view which shows the attachment structure of the pointing stick which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention from diagonally upward in the state which decomposed | disassembled each other components except the baseplate. It is a perspective view of the attachment structure of the pointing stick seen from the direction different from FIG. It is the perspective view of the attachment structure of the pointing stick corresponding to FIG. 1 seen from the attachment side of the pointing stick. It is sectional drawing along the direction except FPC for control circuits of the attachment structure of the pointing stick which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing along the direction which includes FPC for control circuits of the attachment structure of the pointing stick which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. 4 which shows the assembly method of the attachment structure of the pointing stick which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. 5 which shows the assembly method of the attachment structure of the pointing stick which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a pointing stick mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an attachment structure of a pointing stick according to an embodiment of the present invention, obliquely from above, in a state where other parts are disassembled except for a base plate 50. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pointing stick mounting structure viewed from a direction different from that in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pointing stick mounting structure corresponding to FIG. 1 as viewed from the side opposite to the pointing stick mounting side. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the direction excluding the control circuit FPC of the pointing stick mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the direction including the control circuit FPC of the pointing stick mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  A pointing stick mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is used for cursor position control of a keyboard device or the like, and includes a pointing stick body 10, a mounting member 20 that supports the pointing stick body 10, and a pointing device. A base member 40 having a volume capable of accommodating a control circuit flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as “control circuit FPC”) 30 together with the base 11 of the stick main body 10, and the pointing stick main body 10 on the base plate 50. And an attachment screw 90 that fixes the attachment member 20 to be supported.

  A specific configuration of the pointing stick mounting structure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The pointing stick body 10 is made of a resin material having excellent strength and moldability, such as ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) resin. It is attached to a keyboard (not shown here) via a base plate 50 (see FIG. 3), and includes an operation stick 15 for moving the cursor and a force sensor 16 (see FIG. 4) for detecting the operation content of the stick. ing. The pointing stick main body 10 has three mounting legs 12 protruding from the base 11 toward the base plate.

  The pointing stick body 10 is fixed to the mounting member 20 by passing the three mounting legs 12 through the leg fixing holes 21a of the mounting member 20 and thermally welding the tips thereof. Although not shown in detail here, the base 11 is provided with a diaphragm that is deformed in response to the operation of the operation stick 15, and a strain gauge is disposed on the diaphragm at an appropriate position. And the force sensor 16 is comprised with the diaphragm and the strain gauge. As a result, an output change related to the resistance value of the strain gauge on the diaphragm corresponding to the operation of the operation stick 15 is detected, and the operation content of the operation stick 15 is arranged in parallel adjacent to the mounting member 20 and mounted on the printed circuit board. It is detected by arithmetic means such as a microcomputer.

  The pointing stick body 10 and the mounting member 20 are, for example, a base member 40 disposed on the lower side of the mounting member 20 and a base plate 50 disposed on the upper side of the mounting member 20 when viewed in a state where the pointing stick body 10 and the mounting member 20 are assembled in a keyboard. In the sandwiched state, the mounting screw 90 is inserted from the bottom surface side of the pedestal member 40, and the mounting screw 90 is fastened to the base plate 50 to be firmly fixed.

  The mounting member 20 is made of, for example, a stainless steel plate having a thickness of 0.3 mm, has a rectangular shape in plan view, and is a flat stick body fixing portion 21 having a recessed central portion with respect to both ends in the longitudinal direction. The base 11 of the pointing stick main body 10 is fixed to the fixing portion. In addition, the depth of the dent of the stick body fixing portion 21 is a depth at which the upper surface of the base portion 11 does not protrude from the upper surface of the mounting member fixing portion 22 described later.

  The stick main body fixing portion 21 is formed with a leg fixing hole 21a through which three attachment legs 12 extending from the base 11 of the pointing stick main body 10 are inserted. Each end portion forms a planar mounting member fixing portion 22. The attachment member fixing portion 22 is formed with two insertion holes 22a through which the attachment screws 90 for attaching the pointing stick are inserted.

  The pedestal member 40 has a rectangular dish shape in plan view with a housing portion 41 that can house the pointing stick main body 10 in a state attached to the mounting member 20 and can accommodate the FPC 30 for control circuit. The pedestal member 40 is made of a thin metal plate such as a tin plate so that signal noise from the outside does not overlap as a pointing stick detection error.

  Further, four seat portions 42 are provided at positions where the mounting member 20 is attached to the base member 40 and corresponding to the insertion holes 22 a of the mounting member 20. The seat portion 42 is formed so as to protrude upward from the bottom surface of the pedestal member 40 (see FIGS. 1, 2, and 4), and an attachment screw 90 is inserted into an attachment screw insertion hole 42 a provided in the seat portion 42 of the pedestal member 40. When inserted, the head 91 of the mounting screw 90 does not protrude from the bottom surface of the base member 40.

  Further, the height of the seat 42 is such that when the base 11 of the pointing stick main body 10 is fixed to the mounting member 20, the welded portion 12 a of the mounting leg 12 of the stick main body is substantially in contact with the bottom surface of the base member 40. It has become.

  In the case of this embodiment, groove portions 42b for preventing screw loosening are provided in the diametrical direction at equal intervals in the circumferential direction at four locations on the seat portion 42 of the base member 40, respectively. A plurality of abutting portions 46 for fixing the pedestal member 40 to the base plate 50 are provided on the upper edges of the four side walls 45 of the pedestal member 40. In addition, a notch 47 is provided between adjacent contact portions, and the base member 40 is firmly attached to the base plate 50 at at least one or two of the plurality of contact portions 46. Each abutting portion 46 is formed with a small hemispherical bulging portion 46 a toward the base plate 50.

  Since the pedestal member 40 is provided with such a plurality of contact portions 46, when detecting the stick operation amount of the pointing stick main body 10, the external noise is cut off to improve the shielding performance.

  Further, the control circuit FPC 30 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 41 of the base member 40 in parallel with the mounting member 20. The control circuit FPC 30 is mounted with a flexible printed board 31 having a small thickness and flexibility, a detection output calculation chip 32 mounted on the surface thereof, and electronic components such as a resistor 33 and a capacitor 34 related thereto. Has been. A part of the control circuit FPC 30 is a flexible print of the control circuit FPC 30 that is electrically connected to the circuit pattern extending from the force sensor 16 of the pointing stick body 10 by solder as described above. Although not shown in detail here, the substrate 31 is connected to another flexible cable.

  The base plate 50 is made of an aluminum alloy plate having a thickness of 0.5 mm, for example. The base plate 50 is provided with four dish-like recesses 51 on the upper surface when viewed in a state of being attached to the keyboard, and the height at which the bottom of the recess 51 is fitted into the insertion hole 22a of the attachment member 20. Three low-cylindrical convex steps 52 are formed (see FIG. 3). And the attachment screw fastening hole 53 is formed so that the dent part 51 and the convex step part 52 may be penetrated.

  The base plate 50 has a stick operation opening 55 for projecting the operation stick 15 of the pointing stick main body 10 on the operation surface of the keyboard at a position surrounded by the four recesses 51.

  The protruding step 52 is formed toward the pointing stick side, and the height of the step is thinner than the thickness of the mounting member 20. Accordingly, the base 11 to which the pointing stick main body 10 is fixed when the pointing stick is assembled is firmly sandwiched between the base plate 50 and the base member 40 without being displaced between the base plate 50 and the base member 40.

  An attachment screw fastening hole 53 is formed in the recess 51 and the convex step 52 of the base plate 50. The mounting screw insertion hole 42a is also formed in the seat portion of the base member 40 as described above. As a result, the attachment screw 90 is inserted into the screw insertion hole 22a of the attachment member 20 and the attachment screw insertion hole 42a of the base member 40 while the pointing stick body 10 is sandwiched between the base plate 50 and the base member 40, and the base plate 50 The self-tapping is performed in the mounting screw fastening hole 53.

  Since the pointing stick mounting structure according to the present embodiment has such a configuration, the mounting member 20 and the base plate 50 and the pedestal member 40 sandwich a pressing force that is greater than or equal to a predetermined force acting in the axial direction of the operation stick 15. It is designed to absorb. By receiving the pressing force of the predetermined value or more with the base plate 50, excessive stress is not generated in the force sensor 16, and the force sensor 16 is structurally protected.

  Next, a specific assembly procedure of the above-described pointing stick mounting structure will be described. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing how to assemble a pointing stick mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 showing a method of assembling the pointing stick mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The three attachment legs 12 of the pointing stick main body 10 are respectively inserted into the leg fixing holes 21 a of the attachment member 20, and the protruding portions of the attachment legs 12 are thermally welded to fix the pointing stick main body 10 to the attachment member 20.

  Subsequently, a double-sided tape is affixed to an appropriate position of the base member 40, and the pointing stick main body 10 and the attachment member 20 are temporarily fixed to the base member 40. Further, the control circuit FPC 30 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 41 of the base member 40. As a result, the pointing stick main body 10 and the mounting member 20 that supports the pointing stick main body 10 and the control circuit FPC 30 are arranged in parallel in the accommodating portion 41 of the base member 40.

  At this time, it is preferable for assembly work to solder the control circuit FPC 30 of the base member 40 and the circuit of the pointing stick main body 10 in advance.

  Subsequently, the base member 40 is temporarily fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 50 while being aligned with the pointing stick mounting position of the base plate 50. At this time, workability is improved by temporarily fixing the base member 40 at a proper position using a double-sided tape or the like. Then, the screws are passed through the screw insertion holes formed in the seat portion 42 of the pedestal member 40 via the mounting screws 90, and tightened into the pedestal member mounting holes of the base plate 50.

  Next, the operation related to the above-described pointing stick mounting structure will be described. According to the attachment structure of the pointing stick according to the present embodiment, the attachment member 20 that supports the pointing stick main body 10 in the attached state of the pointing stick is fixed so as to be sandwiched between the base member 40 and the base plate 50. As a result, only the output value corresponding to the operation amount of the pointing stick main body 10 is detected by the strain gauge, and the structural distortion generated when the other parts are joined and the distortion caused by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient of each part are strong. The sensor 16 is difficult to detect as an output error. Therefore, the operation amount of the pointing stick can be detected more accurately.

  In addition, the pedestal member 40 has an accommodating circuit 41 for accommodating an arithmetic circuit for calculating the operation amount of the pointing stick main body 10 and a circuit board on which electronic components related to the arithmetic circuit are mounted, so that the pedestal member 40 can be shared. It is possible to cope with various design specifications when accommodating such a circuit board and when not accommodating the circuit board.

  In addition, since the seat member 42 that can accommodate the head of the mounting screw 90 is provided in the base member 40, the head 91 of the mounting screw 90 does not protrude from the base member 40, and the pointing stick is made thin. can do.

  Further, by providing a recess 51 in the base plate 50 and further providing a convex step 52 in the recess 51, an attachment screw fastening hole 53 corresponding to the attachment screw 90 can be formed, and the attachment screw 90 is fastened with the attachment screw. By screwing the holes 53 through self-tapping, the mounting screws 90 can be firmly fastened to the base plate 50 using burring.

  In order to reduce the thickness of the pointing stick, it is necessary to reduce the plate pressure of the base plate 50 as much as possible. However, if a female screw is formed on the thin base plate itself, a sufficient fastening force of the screw cannot be secured. However, by having the configuration as in the present embodiment, a sufficient fastening force can be secured at the self-tapped female screw portion, and the pointing stick itself can be firmly assembled.

  Further, by accommodating the control circuit FPC 30 in parallel with the base 11 of the pointing stick main body 10 and the mounting member 20 that supports the base member 40 in the pedestal member 40, the control circuit FPC 30 itself is positioned at a position other than the pointing stick mounting portion on the lower surface of the base plate. Therefore, it is not necessary to arrange them in a space, and space can be saved.

  Further, since the flexible printed circuit board 31 is used in the FPC 30 for the control circuit, the height is higher than the case where the detection output calculation chip, the related resistor, and the capacitor are mounted on the printed circuit board made of a normal glass epoxy resin. (Thickness) can be remarkably lowered (thin). As a result, the keyboard itself can be reduced in thickness.

  Unlike the present embodiment, the control circuit FPC 30 is not necessarily accommodated in the accommodating portion 41 of the base member 40. However, by providing the base member 40 with the accommodating portion 41 that accommodates the control circuit FPC 30 as in the present invention, the control circuit FPC 30 can be accommodated according to the design specifications of the pointing stick, or the control circuit FPC 30 can be accommodated in the pointing stick. It can be attached to a position other than the attachment portion of the base member 40 and not accommodated in the accommodation portion 41 of the base member 40 or can be arbitrarily selected. Accordingly, the pedestal member 40 can be shared, thereby facilitating inventory management and reducing costs.

  Needless to say, the attachment structure of the pointing stick according to the present invention can be used not only for the above-described notebook personal computer but also for movement control of a cursor on a display in a consumer game machine.

10 Pointing Stick Body 11 Base 20 Mounting Member 30 Flexible Printed Circuit Board for Control Circuit (FPC for Control Circuit)
40 Base member 41 Housing portion 42 Seat portion 45 Side wall 46 Abutting portion 50 Base plate 51 Recessed portion 52 Convex step portion 53 Mounting screw fastening hole 90 Mounting screw

Claims (4)

A pointing stick used for cursor position control of a keyboard device or the like,
A pointing stick body,
An attachment member capable of attaching a leg portion extending to the pointing stick body;
A base member having a volume capable of accommodating a circuit board and provided with a through-hole through which a screw can pass; and
A base plate having a screw hole, and a mounting screw for fastening the pedestal member,
The pointing stick body is
The leg portion extended to the pointing stick main body is passed through the through hole of the mounting member, and its tip is thermally welded and fixed to the mounting member.
Sandwiched between the base member disposed below the mounting member and the base plate disposed above the mounting member;
A pointing stick mounting structure, wherein the mounting screw is inserted from the bottom side of the base member and fastened to the base plate.   The pointing stick mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the base member is provided with a seat capable of accommodating a head of the mounting screw. The base plate is provided with a concave step and has a screw hole corresponding to the mounting screw,
The screw hole part is a burring process and the tip part becomes a convex part,
The pointing stick mounting structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a convex portion is formed so as to be fitted into the through hole of the mounting member. 4. The pointing stick mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein a control circuit board is housed in the housing portion of the base member in parallel with the mounting member. 5.

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