JP4557599B2 - Pointing device and terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a reduced profile at a level of favorably mountable on a small terminal device and stable operation of an operating part, in a pointing device having the operating part capable of being tilted and displaced. <P>SOLUTION: The pointing device 10 is provided with a base 12, the operating part 14 supported on the base 12 so as to be tilted and displaced, an elastic part 16 for returning the operating part 14 according to tilting displacement to an original point position, a magnetoelectric conversion device 18 installed on the base 12, and a magnet 20 installed on the operating part 14. The base 12 is provided with a base plate part 22 where the magnetoelectric conversion device 18 is installed, and a case part 24 designating an internal space 12a housing a disk portion 44 of the operating part 14 in cooperation with the base plate part 22. The case 24 engages with the peripheral edge of the disk portion 44 of the operating part 14 housed in the internal space 12a and forms a supporting point F of the tilting displacement of the operating part 14 at an engagement spot therefor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&amp;NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointing device. The present invention further relates to a terminal device equipped with a pointing device.

  In a digital data processing apparatus equipped with a display and a keyboard, such as a personal computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA), an analog information (for example, a fingertip movement direction or movement distance) is input by an operator's manual operation. It is well known that a pointing device as an auxiliary input device for designating coordinate data such as cursor movement data is incorporated in a housing of a data processing device (particularly a keyboard). In recent years, this type of built-in pointing device has been installed for the purpose of realizing more multifunctional terminal devices, even in hand-held small terminal devices such as mobile phones and remote control switches for AV equipment. Tend to be.

  The pointing device mounted on this type of small terminal device itself is thin (low profile) that can reduce the protruding part from the housing as much as possible so as not to impair the portability and handheld operability of the terminal device. ) It is required to have a structure. And as such a pointing device that can be easily thinned, it has first and second detection elements arranged so as to be relatively movable in close proximity to each other, and these first and second detection elements A structure having a non-contact detection structure that outputs a signal based on a moving direction and a moving distance in accordance with relative movement is adopted.

  For example, Patent Document 1 is supported as a non-contact type first and second detection element by a hall element (magnetoelectric conversion element) mounted on a circuit board and an operation unit that can swing and displace with respect to the circuit board. A pointing device comprising a magnet is disclosed. The operating portion has a disc portion and a pedestal protruding from the center of the disc portion, and the upper housing is mounted in a state where the tip of the pedestal is placed in a recess provided in the lower housing that supports the circuit board. Is swingably accommodated. A plurality of magnets and hall elements are disposed on the disk portion of the operation unit and the circuit board at positions facing each other. In addition, an elastic member that returns the operation unit to the origin position of the swing displacement is installed between the disk portion of the operation unit and the circuit board or the upper housing. In this pointing device, the operator tilts the operation unit in an arbitrary direction on the circuit board, thereby changing the relative positional relationship between the magnet and the magnetoelectric transducer, thereby changing the output voltage of the magnetoelectric transducer. Analog information corresponding to the swing direction and swing angle of the operation unit can be input.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, instead of the above-described swinging structure, a curved surface of a dome-shaped support member provided on a circuit board on which a magnetoelectric conversion element is mounted using a dome-shaped slider that supports a magnet as an operation unit. A pointing device in which a slider is movably disposed along the same is disclosed. In this pointing device, the operator can change the relative positional relationship between the magnet and the magnetoelectric transducer by moving the slider in an arc shape in an arbitrary direction on the support member. Patent Document 2 further discloses a configuration in which a switch mechanism is provided between the circuit board and the slider, and the operator operates the switch mechanism by pushing the slider toward the circuit board. According to this configuration, in addition to inputting analog information, a click operation can be performed in association with a pointer on a display of a target device, for example, by pressing a slider.

  The above-described magnetoelectric conversion element type pointing device generally has a small amount of movement of an operation member necessary for inputting coordinate data and relatively low power consumption. Therefore, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, an AV remote controller, etc. It can be particularly advantageously mounted on various handheld terminal devices. Patent Document 3 discloses a configuration in which a magnetoelectric conversion element type pointing device is mounted on a mobile phone. In this mobile phone, the operation unit of the pointing device has a rubber base that carries a permanent magnet, and this rubber base is integrally formed on a key mat having a plurality of keys as main functional elements of the phone. . The rubber base has a support on the lower surface opposite to the permanent magnet, and this support is placed on a dome (switch) installed on the circuit board to form a swing fulcrum of the operation unit.

JP-A-8-339258 Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-117875 JP 2002-150904 A

  The pointing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above is configured such that the pedestal of the operation unit is placed on the recess provided in the lower housing, and the swing center of the operation unit is formed on the recess. During the swinging, the disk portion of the operation portion exhibits a behavior such that when the desired portion is brought close to the circuit board, the opposite side of the pedestal is separated (floating) from the circuit board. Therefore, the operating portion can swing within the operating range until the floating side of the disc portion is restrained by the upper housing. In such a configuration, since the swing angle of the operation unit depends on the distance between the disk portion of the operation unit and the upper housing, pointing is performed for the purpose of securing the swing angle necessary for proper operation of the operation unit. There is a limit to the reduction in the height dimension of the device (that is, a reduction in height).

  Further, the pointing device disclosed in Patent Document 2 described above employs a configuration in which the slider is moved in an arc along the curved surface of the dome-shaped support member, so that the support member and the slider are engaged with each other. It is necessary to form a curved surface having a required curvature and area at the site. The presence of such a curved surface tends to make it difficult to reduce the external dimensions (particularly in the height direction) of the pointing device to a level at which it can be mounted on a small terminal device.

  Further, the pointing device disclosed in Patent Document 3 described above is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of reducing the height because the support column of the operation unit forms a swing fulcrum on the circuit board, as in the structure of Patent Document 1. It is. In addition, since the permanent magnet is carried on the rubber base integrated with the key mat of the mobile phone, the operation of the permanent magnet becomes unstable when the operation unit is swung, resulting in the reliability of the detection signal. There is a risk that it will be difficult to secure.

  On the other hand, attempts have been made to reduce the thickness of the pointing device by adopting a configuration in which the operation unit is moved in the horizontal direction with respect to the base. However, depending on the user, a configuration in which the operation unit is tilted, such as the above-described swing or arc motion, may be preferred to the configuration in which the operation unit is moved horizontally. In this specification, the term “tilt displacement” is used to express such an operation of the operation unit.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device having an operation unit that can be tilted and displaced to a level that can be suitably mounted on a small terminal device, and that can realize stable operation of the operation unit. It is to provide.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a thin terminal device having such a operability that is equipped with such a pointing device.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a base, an operation part supported on the base so as to be tiltably displaceable and descendable with respect to the base, and tilting of the operation part on the base Along with the displacement or descending displacement, an elastic part that exerts an elastic force for returning the operation part to the origin position, a non-contact type first detection element installed at the base part, and an installation part near the first detection element In the pointing device including the non-contact type second detection element, the base includes a base part on which the first detection element is installed, and an internal space that accommodates a part of the operation part in cooperation with the base part. And a case part that can be engaged with a part of the operation part accommodated in the internal space, and an engagement point between the case part and the operation part serves as a fulcrum for the tilt displacement of the operation part, Input different signals for tilt displacement and descending displacement of the operation unit. The can be performed, provided between the substrate portion of the elastic portion and the base portion further includes a switch mechanism which is closed by pressing operation of the operation unit in a direction approaching the substrate portion, the switch mechanism includes a substrate portion And a pair of fixed contacts formed on the elastic portion so as to be able to contact with and separate from the pair of fixed contacts, and capable of short-circuiting the pair of fixed contacts to each other. are spaced apart from each other on the movable contact provides a pointing device, wherein Rukoto which have a contactable annular contour both of the pair of fixed contacts.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pointing device according to the first aspect, the operation unit includes a disk portion that supports the second detection element in a concentric arrangement as the portion, and the case portion is a disk portion. A pointing device is provided that engages with the outer peripheral edge to form a fulcrum.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pointing device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the elastic portion is a hollow cylindrical main elastic portion that exhibits a uniform elastic force regardless of the tilting direction of the operation portion on the base portion. And a first connecting portion provided at one axial end of the main elastic portion and connected to the base, and a second connecting portion provided at the other axial end of the main elastic portion and connected to the operating portion. Provide a device.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a terminal device on which the pointing device according to any one of the first to third aspects is mounted.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a part of the operation part is accommodated in the internal space defined between the base plate part and the case part, and the part of the operation part is engaged with the case part. Since the location is configured to be a fulcrum for tilt displacement of the operation unit, a part of the operation unit during tilt displacement also has a fulcrum on the side opposite to the location to be brought closer to the substrate by tilting operation. The behavior of approaching the substrate portion is also shown as the top point. Therefore, the operation range of the tilt displacement of the operation unit is mainly determined by the interval between a part of the operation unit and the lower member thereof. According to such a configuration, the interval between a part of the operation unit and the upper member thereof can be eliminated without limitation, so that the leg (support) of the operation unit is placed on a lower component such as a circuit board and used as a swing fulcrum. Compared to the above configuration, the outer dimensions (particularly the height dimension) of the base can be significantly reduced. Also, compared to the conventional configuration in which the dome-shaped operation portion is supported by a curved support surface and operated in an arc shape, such a curved surface is not required between the operation portion and the base portion, so that as a whole External dimensions (especially height direction dimensions) can be significantly reduced.
In addition, a click operation function can be added to the pointing device without affecting the tilting operability of the operation unit.
In addition, since the switch mechanism can be configured to be extremely thin and simple, it is possible to promote a reduction in the height of the pointing device having a click operation function.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the tilting fulcrum is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the disk portion of the operating portion, the operating portion is tilted and displaced in the same form over 360 ° in all directions on the base. Can be made. Along with this, the second detection element is also displaced in the same form over 360 ° in all directions on the base, so that the operator uniquely corresponds to the tilt angle with the same operation feeling regardless of the tilt direction of the operation unit. Information can be entered.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, the elastic portion is connected to the base portion at the first connecting portion and connected to the operating portion at the second connecting portion, and the main elastic portion is in the tilting direction of the operating portion. Regardless of the uniform elastic force, the operation unit can be stably operated regardless of the tilting direction.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by mounting the pointing device that can be stably operated with a low profile, it is possible to promote the thinning of the casing as a whole and to provide a terminal device that is excellent in operability. .

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Corresponding components are denoted by common reference symbols throughout the drawings.
Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a pointing device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an assembled front view of the pointing device 10, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation mode of the pointing device 10. is there. The pointing device 10 is used as an auxiliary input device for instructing two-dimensional coordinate data on a display in a data processing device such as a personal computer or a personal word processor, or a small terminal device such as an electronic notebook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a mobile phone. It can be used in a configuration that is integrated into the device casing.

  The pointing device 10 moves the operation unit 14 to the original position in accordance with the base 12, the operation unit 14 supported on the base 12 so as to be tiltable with respect to the base 12, and the tilting displacement of the operation unit 14 on the base 12. The elastic part 16 which exhibits the elastic force which returns to 1st, the 1st detection element 18 installed in the base 12, and the 2nd detection element 20 installed in the operation part 14 in the vicinity of the 1st detection element 18 are provided. As described above, the pointing device 10 includes the first and second detection elements (magnetic action elements) 18 and 20 which are arranged so as to be relatively movable in close proximity to each other, and the first and second detection elements 18 are arranged. , 20 has a non-contact detection structure that outputs a signal based on a magnetic field change corresponding to the moving direction and the moving distance.

  The base portion 12 includes a substrate portion 22 on which the first detection element 18 is installed, and a case portion 24 that defines an internal space that accommodates the elastic portion 16 in cooperation with the substrate portion 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the substrate 22 is fixed to a circuit board 26 on which an electronic component such as a CPU (not shown) is mounted, and a surface 26a of the circuit board 26, and is an annular support member that supports the elastic part 16 so as to be elastically deformable. 28. The circuit board 26 is composed of, for example, a rigid (flexible) or flexible (flexible) printed wiring board, and the first detection element 18 is disposed on the annular wall 30 of the support member 28 on the back surface 26b opposite to the front surface 26a. It is mounted in the area corresponding to the inside.

  The annular wall 30 of the support member 28 has a cylindrical inner peripheral surface 30a and a prismatic (for example, octagonal column) outer peripheral surface 30b, and an annular wall 30 projecting radially inward at one end in the axial direction of the annular wall 30. A connecting portion 32 is provided. The connecting portion 32 has a plurality of grooves 32a extending on the same circumference adjacent to the inner peripheral surface 30a of the annular wall 30. A central axis of the annular wall 30 passing through the center of the inner peripheral surface 30 a constitutes a central axis P of the pointing device 10. In addition, a plurality (four in the illustrated embodiment) of locking claws 34 projecting outward are formed at a desired position on the outer peripheral surface 30b of the annular wall 30 in a circumferentially distributed arrangement. Such a support member 28 can be integrally molded from an electrically insulating resin material in a mold molding process.

  The support member 28 is fixedly assembled at a predetermined position of the circuit board 26 with, for example, a complementary fitting structure or an adhesive (not shown), with the coupling portion 32 adjacent to the surface 26a of the circuit board 26. In this state, the annular wall 30 of the support member 28 is disposed such that the inner peripheral surface 30 a and the outer peripheral surface 30 b are substantially orthogonal to the surface 26 a of the circuit board 26. In addition, the board | substrate part 22 can also be set as the structure which formed the support member integrally on the surface of the circuit board instead of the illustration structure which consists of the circuit board 26 and the support member 28 which were separate from each other.

  The case portion 24 is disposed at a desired position on the outer edge of the top plate portion 36 and the top plate portion 36 having a polygonal contour corresponding to the polygonal column contour of the outer peripheral surface 30b of the annular wall 30 of the support member 28. And a plurality (four in the illustrated embodiment) of connecting plate portions 38 that extend in a direction substantially orthogonal to 36. In the center of the top plate portion 36, a central opening 40 is formed through which a main operation portion of the operation portion 14 described later is inserted so as to be tiltable. Each connecting plate portion 38 is formed with a locking hole 42 that can receive the locking claw 34 formed on the outer peripheral surface 30 b of the support member 28. Such a case part 24 can be comprised as an integrally molded part formed through a punching and bending process from sheet metal material, for example.

  The case portion 24 is snapped by fitting the corresponding locking claws 34 of the support member 28 into the locking holes 42 of the individual connecting plate portions 38 using the elastic deformation of each connecting plate portion 38. The annular wall 30 is held and fixedly attached to the support member 28. In this state, in the case portion 24, the top plate portion 36 is disposed substantially parallel to the surface 26 a of the circuit board 26, and the central opening 40 of the top plate portion 36 is disposed concentrically with the central axis P of the pointing device 10. The Further, in this state, the case portion 24 holds the operation portion 14 so as not to drop off from the substrate portion 22 while causing the main operation portion of the operation portion 14 to protrude outward through the center opening 40.

  The operation unit 14 includes a flat disk portion 44 having a circular outline, and a columnar main operation portion 46 projecting substantially at the center of the surface 44 a of the disk portion 44. The disc portion 44 is provided with an annular projection 48 disposed concentrically on the circular cross section of the main operation portion 46 on the back surface 44b opposite to the front surface 44a, and the second detection element 20 is disposed inside the annular projection 48. A recess 48a is formed (FIGS. 3 and 4). In addition, the main operation portion 46 is formed with an operation surface 46a that contacts, for example, the fingertip of the hand when the operator performs a displacement operation on the operation unit 14 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Such an operation part 14 can be integrally molded from an electrically insulating resin material in a mold molding process.

  The disk portion 44 of the operation portion 14 has an outer diameter dimension that is substantially equal to (or slightly smaller than) the inner diameter dimension of the inner peripheral surface 30 a of the annular wall 30 of the support member 28 that constitutes the substrate section 22. Therefore, the operation unit 14 is configured such that the disk portion 44 is received by the support member 28 so as to be substantially slidable in the axial direction along the inner peripheral surface 30 a of the annular wall 30 of the support member 28. It is assembled to the part 22. In this state, the operation unit 14 can be tilted and displaced in all directions of 360 ° with respect to the annular wall 30 of the support member 28. Further, the main operation portion 46 of the operation portion 14 has a central opening of the case portion 24 of the base portion 12 while the disc portion 44 is moved in the axial direction (particularly downward displacement) or tilted relative to the support member 28 as described above. It has a size and shape so that at least a part always protrudes outward from 40.

  The operation unit 14 has a rigidity that does not substantially deform as a whole while tilting or descending on the base 12. The second detection element 20 installed in the operation unit 14 includes a single disk-shaped magnet (for example, a permanent magnet) 20. The magnet 20 is received in a recess 48a formed in the back surface 44b of the disk portion 44 of the operation portion 14, and is fixed by, for example, press-fitting or an adhesive (FIG. 3). The magnet 20 is arranged concentrically with the central axis P of the pointing device 10 when the operation unit 14 is at the origin position on the base 12, and when the operation unit 14 is tilted or lowered on the base 12, the operation unit 14 is arranged. At the same time, it is tilted or lowered.

  The first detection element 18 installed on the base 12 is composed of four magnetoelectric conversion elements (for example, Hall elements) 18. These magnetoelectric conversion elements 18 are mounted on the back surface 26 b of the circuit board 26 constituting the board portion 22 in an equally spaced manner with the central axis P of the pointing device 10 as the center. With such an arrangement configuration of the magnet 20 and the magnetoelectric conversion element 18, the pointing device 10 can output an analog information signal in a two-dimensional coordinate system.

  The elastic portion 16 is formed of a bowl-shaped member that is relatively easily elastically deformed while the operation portion 14 is tilted or lowered on the base portion 12 and exhibits a main elastic restoring force according to the displacement operation of the operation portion. A hollow cylindrical main elastic portion 50, a first connecting portion 52 provided at one axial end of the main elastic portion 50 and connected to the base 12, and an operating portion provided at the other axial end of the main elastic portion 50 14 and a second connecting portion 54 connected to the main body 14 (FIGS. 3 and 5). Such an elastic portion 16 can be integrally molded from various elastic materials such as synthetic rubber and natural rubber by, for example, a mold molding process. In particular, considering that the reflow process is performed when the pointing device 10 is mounted on the main circuit board of the mounting target device, it is advantageous to form the material from a material that does not easily deteriorate at high temperatures, such as silicon rubber. is there.

  The main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16 is concentrically disposed with respect to the central axis P of the pointing device 10 in an equilibrium state when the elastic portion 16 is properly attached to the base portion 12 and the operation portion 14, and the circuit. It has a frustoconical or dome-like contour shape that gradually decreases in diameter as it moves away from the surface 26a of the substrate 26 (FIG. 3). Therefore, the elastic portion 16 has its main elastic portion 50 elastically deformed along with the displacement operation of the operation portion 14 on the base portion 12, and particularly when the operation portion 14 is tilted and displaced, an elastic restoring force corresponding to the deformation amount is applied. It is exhibited uniformly regardless of the direction of tilt displacement (referred to herein as the tilt direction).

  The first connecting portion 52 of the elastic portion 16 is an annular element protruding in the radial direction and the axial direction from the large-diameter end of the main elastic portion 50 having a truncated cone shape. The first connection portion 52 is provided with four grooves 52a and four protrusions 52b formed between the grooves 52a at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The first connecting portion 52 is fixedly fitted to the base portion 12 by the individual protrusions 52b being fixedly fitted in the corresponding grooves 32a formed in the connecting portion 32 of the support member 28 constituting the substrate portion 22, respectively. Connected. The first connecting portion 52 fixedly connects the elastic portion 16 to the base portion 12 without being substantially deformed while the operation portion 14 is displaced on the base portion 12.

  The second connecting portion 54 of the elastic portion 16 is an annular element protruding in the axial direction from the small diameter end of the main elastic portion 50 having a truncated cone shape. In the second connection portion 54, a recess 54 a is formed on the inner side on the side away from the main elastic portion 50. The second connection portion 54 is connected to the operation portion 14 by fixedly fitting an annular protrusion 48 formed on the back surface 44b of the disc portion 44 of the operation portion 14 into the recess 54a. The second connecting portion 54 fixedly connects the elastic portion 16 to the operating portion 14 without substantially deforming while the operating portion 14 is displaced on the base portion 12.

  The elastic portion 16 is entirely accommodated in the internal space 12a defined by the substrate portion 22 and the case portion 24 of the base portion 12 in a state where the above-described various components are appropriately combined (FIG. 3). In this state, the operation portion 14 connected to the second connection portion 54 of the elastic portion 16 has the disk portion 44 accommodated in the internal space 12a of the base portion 12 and the main operation portion 46 opened in the center opening of the case portion 24. 40 protrudes outward through 40. In this state, the operator can operate the main operation portion 46 of the operation unit 14 with a finger, for example, to displace the operation unit 14 on the base 12. In the state where no operating force is applied to the operation portion 14, the surface 44 a of the disc portion 44 is brought into contact with the top plate portion 36 of the case portion 24, and is uniformly applied to the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16. It is advantageous that slight elastic deformation has occurred. According to such a configuration, rattling when the operation portion 14 is not operated is prevented under an appropriate initial elastic force exerted by the elastic portion 16.

  Next, an operation mode of the pointing device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3A, when the elastic portion 16 is in an initial equilibrium state, the central axis Q of the magnet 20 held in the recess 48 a of the operation portion 14 and the disk portion 44 is the pointing device 10. Coincides with the central axis P of In this state, the operation unit 14 is positioned at the origin position of the tilting displacement and the descending displacement on the base 12, and the disc portion 44 is brought into contact with the top plate portion 36 of the case portion 24 and parallel to the surface 26 a of the circuit board 26. And the magnet 20 is disposed at a position equidistant from the four magnetoelectric transducers 18 on the circuit board 26.

  From this origin position, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the operator presses the main operation portion 46 of the operation unit 14 diagonally with, for example, a fingertip, and tilts and displaces the operation unit 14 in an arbitrary direction α. 14 and the center axis Q of the magnet 20 are arranged at a desired angle with respect to the center axis P of the pointing device 10. During this tilting displacement, the disc portion 44 of the operating portion 14 has an outer peripheral edge region 44c in the front as viewed in the tilting direction α under the interaction between the operating force of the operator and the elastic restoring force of the elastic portion 16. While the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16 is greatly elastically deformed in the vicinity and approaches the circuit board 26, the rear outer peripheral edge region 44 d as viewed in the tilt direction α closes the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16 in the vicinity. While being slightly elastically deformed, the state of being engaged with the top plate portion 36 of the case portion 24 is maintained. Accordingly, during this time, the mutual engagement location between the top plate portion 36 of the case portion 24 and the disc portion 44 of the operation portion 14 constitutes a fulcrum F of the tilt displacement of the operation portion 14.

  During the tilting operation described above, the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16 has a different form over the entire circumference in accordance with the tilting direction and tilting angle of the operating portion 14 (that is, the tilt displacement angle with respect to the origin position). Elastic deformation occurs. As a result, the elastic portion 16 exhibits an elastic force as a resultant force of the entire main elastic portion 50 and biases the operation portion 14 in a direction opposite to the tilting direction. Therefore, the operator tilts the operation portion 14 against the elastic biasing force generated by the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16.

  When the operation unit 14 is tilted from the origin position in FIG. 3A to the position shown in FIG. 3B in this way, the relative positional relationship between the magnet 20 and each magnetoelectric conversion element 18 changes, The output voltage of the magnetoelectric conversion element 18 varies. The fluctuation of the output voltage of each magnetoelectric conversion element 18 is processed as analog information by a CPU (not shown) connected to the circuit board 26 and converted into digital coordinate data, and a connector portion (not shown) provided on the circuit board 26 is used. To the data processing circuit of the device to be mounted (not shown). In this way, for example, the cursor or pointer on the display of the device to be mounted can be moved two-dimensionally in a desired direction by a desired distance corresponding to the tilt direction and tilt angle of the operation unit 14.

  When the operator releases the tilting operation force to the operation unit 14 from the data input position in FIG. 3B, the operation unit 14 is immediately connected to the magnet 20 by the elastic restoring force generated by the main elastic part 50 of the elastic unit 16. It is displaced toward the origin position integrally. When the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16 reaches an equilibrium state and the disc portion 44 of the operation portion 14 is uniformly brought into contact with the top plate portion 36 of the case portion 24, the operation portion 14 and the magnet 20 returns to the home position. It should be noted that sudden fluctuations in the output voltage of each magnetoelectric conversion element 18 caused by the rapid movement of the magnet 20 while the operation unit 14 returns to the origin position are canceled in the processing flow in the CPU, for example, and digital coordinate data It can be configured not to convert to.

  In the pointing device 10 having the above-described configuration, the disc portion 44 of the operation unit 14 is accommodated in the internal space 12a defined between the substrate unit 22 and the case unit 24 of the base unit 12, and the case unit 24 and the operation unit 14 is configured such that the engaging portion with the disc portion 44 is a fulcrum F of the tilting displacement of the operating portion 14, so that the disc portion 44 of the operating portion 14 is tilted and the circuit board 26 is tilted. The part on the opposite side of the part to be made to approach the circuit board also behaves so as to approach the circuit board 26 with the fulcrum F as the uppermost point. Therefore, the operation range of the tilting displacement of the operation portion 14 is mainly determined by the distance between the disc portion 44 and its lower member (the first connecting portion 52 of the elastic portion 16 in the illustrated embodiment).

  According to such a configuration, the space between the disc portion 44 of the operation unit 14 and its upper member (the top plate portion 36 of the case portion 24 in the illustrated embodiment) can be eliminated without limitation, so that the lower configuration of the circuit board or the like Compared with the conventional configuration in which the legs (supports) of the operation unit are mounted on the parts and used as a swing fulcrum, the external dimensions (particularly the height direction dimension) of the base 12 can be significantly reduced. Further, even when compared with the conventional configuration in which the dome-shaped operation portion is supported by a curved support surface and operated in an arc shape, such a curved surface is not required between the operation portion 14 and the base portion 12. As a whole, the external dimensions (particularly the height dimension) can be significantly reduced.

  Here, since a fulcrum F for tilting displacement is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the disc portion 44 of the operation unit 14, the operation unit 14 is formed on the base 12 in the same form over all 360 ° directions. Can be tilted and displaced. Along with this, the magnet 20 is also displaced in the same form over 360 ° on the base 12, so that the analog uniquely corresponds to the tilt angle with the same operation feeling regardless of the tilt direction of the operation unit 14. Information can be entered.

  The elastic portion 16 accommodated in the base portion 12 is a truncated cone-shaped or dome-shaped main elastic portion 50 and is configured to exhibit a uniform elastic force regardless of the tilting direction of the operation portion 14. The outer dimensions of the base 12 in the height direction can be reduced without impairing the height. Moreover, the elastic portion 16 is connected to the base portion 12 by the annular first connection portion 52 and is connected to the operation portion 14 by the annular second connection portion 54, so that the elastic portion 16 is stable regardless of the tilting direction of the operation portion 14. And exert an elastic force. Further, the magnet 20 is supported on the rigid operation portion 14, and the disk portion 44 of the operation portion 14 is pressed against the top plate portion 36 of the case portion 24 under the urging force of the elastic portion 16. Therefore, the tilting operation of the operation unit 14 and the accompanying displacement operation of the magnet 20 become extremely stable, and a high level of reliability of the detection signal can be ensured. As described above, the pointing device 10 can be mounted on various handheld terminal devices such as an electronic notebook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a mobile phone without impairing the operability of the operation unit 14. The outer dimensions can be reduced to a reasonable level.

  In the pointing device 10 having the above-described configuration, since the support column is not interposed between the circuit board 26 of the base portion 12 and the operation portion 14, as described above, the operation portion 14 can be intentionally moved downward and displaced with respect to the base portion 12. it can. This downward displacement operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  From the state in which the operation unit 14 is at the origin position (FIG. 6A), the operator presses the main operation portion 46 of the operation unit 14 with, for example, a fingertip, so that the operation unit 14 approaches the circuit board 26 vertically. It moves to β (FIG. 6B). During the pressing operation, the disc portion 44 of the operation unit 14 is maintained substantially parallel to the surface 26a of the circuit board 26 under the interaction between the operator's operation force and the elastic restoring force of the elastic portion 16. While moving down. That is, during the pressing operation, the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16 undergoes a uniform elastic deformation over the entire circumference corresponding to the pressing operation of the operating portion 14, and the operating portion is caused by the balanced elastic restoring force 14 is urged vertically upward with respect to the circuit board 26, so that the operator moves the operation unit 14 downward while keeping the central axis Q of the operation unit 14 and the magnet 20 aligned with the central axis P of the pointing device 10. Can do.

  When the operation unit 14 is pushed down from the origin position in FIG. 6A to the position shown in FIG. 6B in this way, the relative positional relationship between the magnet 20 and each magnetoelectric transducer 18 changes, The output voltage of the magnetoelectric conversion element 18 varies. The fluctuation of the output voltage of each magnetoelectric conversion element 18 is processed as analog information by a CPU (not shown) connected to the circuit board 26 and converted into digital coordinate data, and a connector portion (not shown) provided on the circuit board 26 is used. To the data processing circuit of the device to be mounted (not shown). At this time, if the signal obtained by the downward displacement of the operation unit 14 is processed, for example, as an ON signal of a click operation related to the pointer on the display of the mounting target device, a mechanical switch mechanism is mounted in the pointing device 10. The required click operation can be realized without any problem. Alternatively, if the signal obtained by the downward displacement of the operation unit 14 is processed as the Z-axis coordinate data with respect to the X-axis / Y-axis coordinate data due to the tilt displacement described above, the pointing device 10 provides the analog indication of the three-dimensional coordinate data. can do. In such a pressing operation, if the shape of the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic portion 16 is devised so that the elastic portion 16 exhibits a non-linear elastic restoring force that is not proportional to the pressing distance of the operating portion 14. The operator can also recognize the click operation sensuously.

  When the operator releases the pressing operation force on the operation unit 14 from the lowered position in FIG. 6B, the operation unit 14 is immediately integrated with the magnet 20 by the elastic restoring force generated by the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic unit 16. Displacement toward the origin position. Then, when the disc portion 44 of the operation unit 14 is uniformly abutted against the top plate portion 36 of the case unit 24, the operation unit 14 and the magnet 20 are returned to the origin position. It should be noted that sudden fluctuations in the output voltage of each magnetoelectric conversion element 18 caused by the rapid movement of the magnet 20 while the operation unit 14 returns to the origin position are canceled in the processing flow in the CPU, for example, and digital coordinate data It can be configured not to convert to.

  FIG. 7 shows a pointing device 60 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The pointing device 60 has substantially the same configuration as the pointing device 10 according to the first embodiment described above, except for a configuration in which a switch mechanism for adding a click function is incorporated. Accordingly, corresponding constituent elements are denoted by common reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The pointing device 60 includes a base portion 12 including a substrate portion 22 and a case portion 24, an operation portion 14 supported on the base portion 12 so as to be tiltable and downwardly displaceable with respect to the base portion 12, and an operation portion 14 on the base portion 12. In response to the displacement operation, an elastic portion 16 that exhibits an elastic force for returning the operation portion 14 to the origin position, a plurality of magnetoelectric conversion elements 18 that are first detection elements installed on the base portion 12, and the magnetoelectric conversion elements 18 Is provided with a magnet 20 as a second detection element installed on the operation unit 14 and a switch mechanism 62 disposed between the base 12 and the operation unit 14. A pressing protrusion 64 protruding in the axial direction is formed on the elastic portion 16 on the opposite side of the recess 54a of the second connecting portion 54 to which the annular protrusion 48 of the disk portion 44 of the operation portion 14 is fitted. The pressing protrusion 64 is disposed concentrically with the central axis P of the pointing device 60 when the elastic portion 16 is in an equilibrium state.

  The switch mechanism 62 is mounted on the surface 26a of the circuit board 26 in the space between the elastic part 16 and the circuit board 26 constituting the board part 22 (FIG. 7A). The switch mechanism 62 includes a known opening / closing structure having a fixed contact (for example, a printing electrode) and a movable contact (for example, a dome-shaped element), and is disposed concentrically on the central axis P of the pointing device 60. That is, the movable contact of the switch mechanism 62 is positioned directly below the pressing protrusion 64 of the elastic portion 16 in an equilibrium state. The configuration of the switch mechanism 62 is arbitrary, and various types such as a mechanical switch having a movable contact carried by a spring and a membrane switch having a pair of flexible circuit boards can be adopted.

  The pointing device 60 can input an instruction to move the cursor on the display of the device to be mounted, for example, by tilting the operation unit 14 in a desired direction, like the pointing device 10 described above. Further, in the pointing device 60, the switch mechanism 62 is closed by lowering the operation unit 14, and for example, a click operation related to the pointer on the display of the mounting target device can be performed as follows.

  From the state in which the operation unit 14 is at the origin position (FIG. 7A), the operator presses the main operation portion 46 of the operation unit 14 with, for example, a fingertip, so that the operation unit 14 approaches the circuit board 26 vertically. Move to β (FIG. 7B). During this pressing operation, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the disk portion 44 of the operation unit 14 is subjected to the interaction between the operator's operation force and the elastic restoring force of the elastic unit 16. It is displaced downward while maintaining a state substantially parallel to the surface 26a. Then, at a predetermined pressing position, the pressing protrusion 64 of the elastic portion 16 is brought into contact with the movable contact of the switch mechanism 62 positioned below (FIG. 7B). Therefore, when a pressing force is further applied to the operation unit 14, the contact of the switch mechanism 62 is closed by the pressing protrusion 64 of the elastic portion 16 (FIG. 7C).

  A contact closing signal of the switch mechanism 62 is output to a data processing circuit of a mounting target device (not shown) via a connector portion (not shown) provided on the circuit board 26. Thereby, for example, a click operation can be performed in association with the pointer on the display of the target device. At this time, fluctuations in the output voltage of the magnetoelectric conversion element 18 caused by the downward displacement of the operation unit 14 and the magnet 20 are not converted into digital signals by the CPU. After that, when the operator releases the pressing operation force to the operation unit 14 from the contact closed position in FIG. 7C, the main elastic portion 50 of the elastic unit 16 is generated as described with reference to FIG. Due to the elastic restoring force, the operation unit 14 immediately returns to the origin position integrally with the magnet 20.

  Also with the pointing device 60 having the above-described configuration, the same function and effect as the above-described pointing device 10 can be obtained. That is, the switch mechanism 62 is disposed in a space that is inevitably provided in order for the elastic portion 16 to elastically deform in accordance with the tilting displacement of the operation portion 14. Therefore, if the switch mechanism 62 has a thin configuration as described above. The click function can be added without deteriorating the tilting operability of the pointing device 60 or hindering the height reduction. Note that when a dome-shaped element is used as the movable contact of the switch mechanism 62, the switch mechanism 62 itself acts to transmit the on / off operation sensuously (including auditory in some cases) to the operator. The shape of the main elastic part 50 can be simplified.

  FIG. 8 shows a modification of the pointing device 60 having a built-in switch mechanism. In this modification, the switch mechanism 62 is connected to the elastic portion 16 so as to be able to contact with and separate from the pair of fixed contacts (for example, print electrodes) 66 provided on the surface 26 a of the circuit board 26 constituting the substrate portion 22. A movable contact (for example, a printed conductive film) 68 that is provided and can short-circuit both fixed contacts 66 to each other. Therefore, when the operator depresses the main operation portion 46 of the operation unit 14 and translates the operation unit 14 in the vertical direction β from the state where the operation unit 14 is at the origin position (FIG. 8A), the predetermined depressing is performed. At the position, the movable contact 68 provided on the elastic portion 16 contacts the pair of fixed contacts 66 provided on the circuit board 26, and the contact of the switch mechanism 62 is closed (FIG. 8B).

  Here, the pair of fixed contacts 66 have a comb-shaped contour that is close to each other with a slight gap, and the movable contact 68 has a circular contour that can contact all the comb teeth of the fixed contact 66. Is preferable (FIG. 8C). According to such a contact shape, even when the operation unit 14 is in a slightly inclined posture during the pressing operation, and the movable contact 68 contacts a pair of the fixed contacts 66 at a part thereof, the fixed contacts 66 are moved. It can be surely short-circuited. Therefore, there is an advantage that the operator is not forced to perform an accurate operation of the operation unit 14 in the click operation. The movable contact 68 is advantageously formed on the end surface of the raised portion 70 (FIG. 8A) protruding in the axial direction on the opposite side of the recess 54a to the second connecting portion 54 of the elastic portion 16. According to such a configuration, when the contact is closed, the impact is mitigated by the raised portion 70 of the elastic portion 16, and at the same time, a required contact pressure can be secured between the movable contact 68 and the two fixed contacts 66.

  FIG. 9 shows another modification of the pointing device 60 having a built-in switch mechanism. In this modification, the switch mechanism 62 is connected to the elastic portion 16 so as to be able to contact with and separate from the pair of fixed contacts (for example, print electrodes) 72 provided on the surface 26 a of the circuit board 26 constituting the substrate portion 22. A movable contact (for example, a printed conductive film) 74 that is provided and can short-circuit both fixed contacts 72 to each other. Therefore, when the operator depresses the main operation portion 46 of the operation unit 14 and translates the operation unit 14 in the vertical direction β from the state where the operation unit 14 is at the origin position (FIG. 9A), the predetermined depressing is performed. At the position, the movable contact 74 provided on the elastic portion 16 contacts the pair of fixed contacts 72 provided on the circuit board 26, and the contact of the switch mechanism 62 is closed (FIG. 9B).

  Here, the pair of fixed contacts 72 are spaced apart from each other on the circuit board 26, and the movable contact 74 has a shape that can contact both of the fixed contacts 72 (for example, an annular (circular) contour shown in the figure). (FIG. 9C). According to such a contact shape, when the operation unit 14 is in a slightly inclined posture at the time of the pressing operation, and the movable contact 74 is in contact with one fixed contact 72 at a part thereof, both the fixed contacts 72 are Since the short circuit does not occur, the contact of the switch mechanism 62 cannot be closed. Therefore, when a part of the movable contact 74 is unintentionally brought into contact with one fixed contact 72 when the operation unit 14 is tilted, a problem that a click operation signal is output is avoided. In addition, when the click operation is performed, it is required to accurately translate the operation unit 14, so that an effect of preventing an erroneous operation is also achieved. Even in this configuration, the movable contact 74 is advantageously formed on the end surface of the raised portion 76 (FIG. 9D) protruding in the axial direction on the second connecting portion 54 of the elastic portion 16 on the opposite side of the recess 54a. It is.

  According to the configuration of the modification shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, since the switch mechanism 62 can be configured to be extremely thin and simple, it is possible to further promote the reduction in the height of the pointing device 60 having a click operation function.

  FIG. 10 shows a main part of a terminal device 80 according to an embodiment of the present invention on which the pointing device 10 described above is mounted. The terminal device 80 includes a circuit board 84 carrying a plurality of switches 82 as its main functional elements, a key panel 88 having a plurality of pressing elements 86 for operating the switches 82 individually, and corresponding switches 82 and pressing elements. 86 and a thin casing (only the upper casing 90 is shown) that accommodates the circuit board 84 and the key panel 88 in an overlapped state, and the pointing device 10 mounted as an auxiliary input device. Is provided. The terminal device 80 has a configuration of a mobile phone as an example, and the main part shown in the figure is a hand-held operation unit provided with function keys such as dial keys essential to the mobile phone.

  The circuit board 84 is made of, for example, a well-known rigid printed circuit board, and a plurality of switches 82 are mounted in a predetermined arrangement on the front surface 84a, and usually a large number of electronic components such as ICs are mounted on the back surface 84b. Is done. Alternatively, instead of the single circuit board 84, the circuit board 84 is configured by combining a flexible printed circuit board on which a plurality of switches 82 are mounted and a rigid printed circuit board on which electronic components such as ICs are mounted. You can also. Each switch 82 includes, for example, a pair of fixed contacts (not shown) formed on the surface of the circuit board 84 and a dome-shaped movable contact (not shown) arranged to face the fixed contacts. The switch has a configuration in which the switch is opened and closed by elastically deforming the contact in a snap-type manner and contacting / separating both fixed contacts.

  The key panel 88 is a thin plate member made of an elastic material such as synthetic rubber, and a plurality of solid columnar pressing elements 86 that can be elastically displaced individually are arranged at predetermined positions corresponding to the arrangement of the switches 82 of the circuit board 84. , Protruding from the surface 88a. The individual push elements 86 are arranged to substantially overlap the individual switches 82 on the circuit board 84. Each pressing element 86 is elastically displaced so as to sink to the circuit board 84 side on the key panel 88 when a pressing force is applied to the protruding end surface, and transmits the pressing force to the corresponding switch 82. Thus, the movable contact is elastically deformed to close the switch 82. The key panel 88 can be manufactured as an integrally molded product including a plurality of pressing elements 86, for example, by injection molding.

  The upper housing 90 is a thin-walled box-shaped member made of a resin molded product, and includes a plurality of through holes 92 through which the plurality of pressing elements 86 of the key panel 88 are inserted, and the operation of the pointing device 10. A through hole 94 through which the main operation portion 46 of the portion 14 is inserted is provided at a corresponding position. The upper housing 90 is fixedly combined with a lower housing (not shown) to form a thin housing that can be hand-held and accommodates the circuit board 84 and the key panel 88.

  The circuit board 26 constituting the board portion 22 (FIG. 1) of the base portion 12 (FIG. 1) of the pointing device 10 is integrally formed in a predetermined region of the circuit board 84 of the terminal device 80, and the support member 28 has a ring shape. A portion corresponding to the wall 30 (FIG. 1) is integrally formed in a predetermined region of the upper housing 90 of the terminal device 80. Further, the case portion 24 of the base portion 12 is integrally formed in a predetermined region of the upper housing 90 of the terminal device 80 with a portion corresponding to the top plate portion 36 (FIG. 1) having the central opening 40 (FIG. 1). The Further, the elastic portion 16 is integrally formed in a predetermined area of the key panel 88 of the terminal device 80. Therefore, the four magnetoelectric conversion elements 18 of the pointing device 10 are mounted at a position corresponding to the circuit board 26 on the back surface 84 b of the circuit board 84 of the terminal device 80. As described above, when the circuit board 84 is composed of a combination of a flexible printed circuit board on which a plurality of switches 82 are mounted and a rigid printed circuit board on which an electronic component such as an IC is mounted, the magnetoelectric transducer 18 is It can also be mounted on a rigid printed circuit board.

  The operation unit 14 of the pointing device 10 carries the magnet 20 and is disposed between the region of the elastic unit 16 provided on the key panel 88 of the terminal device 80 and the region of the case unit 24 provided on the upper housing 90. Is done. In a state where the various components of the terminal device 80 described above are properly combined, the operation unit 14 of the pointing device 10 has a main operation portion 46 that is a through hole 94 (the case portion 24 of the case unit 24) of the upper casing 90 of the terminal device 80. (Corresponding to the central opening 40) and projecting outward (FIG. 11). Therefore, as described above, the operator can tilt the operation unit 14 of the pointing device 10 in an arbitrary direction while holding the casing of the terminal device 80, and can perform a lowering operation as desired.

  As shown in the figure, the key panel 88 is provided with a protrusion corresponding to the first connecting portion 52 of the elastic portion 16 on the back surface 88b. On the other hand, the circuit board 84 is formed with a notch 96 into which the first connecting portion 52 can be fitted. Then, the first connecting portion 52 of the elastic portion 16 is fitted into the notch 96 of the circuit board 84 in a state in which various components of the terminal device 80 are appropriately combined, so that the operation portion 14 is displaced. The elastic portion 16 is configured so as to be stably elastically deformable.

  Since the terminal device 80 having the above-described configuration is equipped with the pointing device 10 that can be stably operated with a low profile, the overall thinning of the housing can be promoted and the operability is excellent.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration, and various modifications can be made within the scope described in the claims. For example, the arrangement of the magnetoelectric conversion elements 18 and the magnets 20 in the pointing devices 10 and 60 may be reversed so that the magnets 20 are installed in the base 12 and the magnetoelectric conversion elements 18 are installed in the operation unit 14. . Moreover, it can replace with the magnetoelectric conversion element 18 and the magnet 20 which are non-contact type detection elements, and can also employ | adopt an optical sensor (a light emitting element and a light receiving element).

1 is an exploded perspective view of a pointing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an assembled front view of the pointing device of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an assembly cross-sectional view of the pointing device of FIG. 1, showing (a) a state where an operation unit is at an origin position and (b) a state where the operation unit is tilted and displaced. 2A is a perspective view and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of an operation unit provided in the pointing device of FIG. 1. 2A is an upper perspective view, FIG. 2B is a lower perspective view, and FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of an elastic portion equipped in the pointing device of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an assembly cross-sectional view of the pointing device of FIG. 1, showing (a) a state where an operation unit is at an origin position, and (b) a state where the operation unit is displaced downward. FIG. 4 is an assembly cross-sectional view of a pointing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) the operation unit is at the origin position, (b) the operation unit is moved downward and (c) the switch mechanism is closed. Respectively. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the pointing device of FIG. 7, (a) a state where the operation unit is at the origin position, (b) a state where the operation unit is displaced downward, and (c) a contact structure of the switch mechanism. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another modification of the pointing device of FIG. 7, (a) a state where the operation unit is at the origin position, (b) a state where the operation unit is displaced downward, (c) a contact structure of the switch mechanism, and (d ) Each of the movable contacts provided on the elastic part is shown. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the terminal device by one Embodiment of this invention carrying the pointing device of FIG. 1, (a) The exploded perspective view seen from upper direction, (b) The exploded perspective view seen from the downward direction. It is sectional drawing which shows the pointing device mounting area | region of the terminal device of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 60 ... Pointing device 12 ... Base 14 ... Operation part 16 ... Elastic part 18 ... 1st detection element (magnetoelectric conversion element)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Magnet 22 ... Board | substrate part 24 ... Case part 26 ... Circuit board 28 ... Support member 36 ... Top plate part 40 ... Center opening 44 ... Disc part 46 ... Main operation part 50 ... Main elastic part 52 ... 1st connection part 54 ... 2nd connection part 62 ... Switch mechanism 66, 72 ... Fixed contact 68, 74 ... Movable contact 80 ... Terminal device 84 ... Circuit board 88 ... Key panel 90 ... Upper housing

Claims (4)

A base, an operation unit supported on the base so as to be tiltable and downwardly displaceable with respect to the base, and the operation unit on the base when the tilting or descending displacement of the operation unit is moved to an original position. An elastic part that exerts an elastic force to be restored to the position, a non-contact type first detection element that is installed on the base part, and a non-contact type second detection that is installed on the operation part in the vicinity of the first detection element A pointing device comprising:
The base portion includes a substrate portion on which the first detection element is installed, and a case portion that defines an internal space for accommodating a part of the operation portion in cooperation with the substrate portion,
The case portion can be engaged with the part of the operation portion accommodated in the internal space, and an engagement portion between the case portion and the operation portion serves as a fulcrum for the tilting displacement of the operation portion,
Different signal inputs can be executed for the tilting displacement and the downward displacement of the operation unit ,
A switch mechanism provided between the elastic part and the base part of the base part, and further closed by pressing the operating part in a direction approaching the base part;
The switch mechanism is
A pair of fixed contacts formed on the substrate portion;
A movable contact that is formed in the elastic part so as to be able to contact and separate from the pair of fixed contacts, and can short-circuit the pair of fixed contacts with each other;
Rukoto the pair of fixed contacts are arranged spaced apart from one another on the substrate portion, wherein the movable contact, which have a contactable annular contour both of the pair of fixed contacts,
Pointing device featuring.   The operation portion includes a disc portion that supports the second detection element in a concentric arrangement as the portion, and the case portion engages with an outer peripheral edge of the disc portion to form the fulcrum. Item 10. The pointing device according to Item 1.   The elastic portion is provided at a hollow cylindrical main elastic portion that exhibits the elastic force uniform regardless of the tilting direction of the operation portion on the base, and at one end in the axial direction of the main elastic portion. 2. The pointing device according to claim 1, comprising: a first connection portion connected to the base portion; and a second connection portion provided at the other axial end of the main elastic portion and connected to the operation portion. The terminal device carrying the pointing device of any one of Claims 1-3 .

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