JPH01244522A - Operation input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the direction and the extent of movement independently of each other and to prevent the friction loss by turning an arm, to which a rotating body is rotatably attached, around a turning shaft and detecting the direction of movement by this extent of turning and detecting the extent of movement by the extent of rotation of the rotating body. CONSTITUTION:A body which can be held by a hand, an arm 20 which is attached turnably by a turning shaft 17 supported in the body, a detecting means 26 which detects the turning position of the arm 20 to the turning shaft, a rotating body 22 which has the center of rotation set off the turning shaft 17 and is attached to the arm 20, and a means 29 which detects the extent of rotation of the rotating body 22 are provided. An operator holds the body in the same manner as a pencil or a pen and moves the rotating body 22 while bringing it into contact with a plane. Thus, an operation input device is obtained which is almost free from the friction loss and can detect the extent and the direction of movement with high precision.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Use] The present invention relates to an operation input device for inputting data to a computer or the like.

KSummary of the Invention The present invention provides an arm that is rotatably supported.
A rotating body is installed at a position offset from the rotation axis of the arm, and the direction is detected by the rotation position of the arm, and the amount of movement is detected by the amount of rotation of the rotating body. This invention relates to a compact operation input device that solves the drawbacks of trackballs, such as the shortcomings of trackballs and uncertainties in minute movements, and enables accurate detection of direction and amount of movement, and that can be used in the same way as holding a pen. The present invention is intended to improve the performance of inputting data to a computer, and to provide a novel structure never seen before.

K. Prior Art] Conventionally, in order to perform multiple inputs to a computer, a sixth
A mouse as shown in Figures and Figure 7 was used.

The mouse has a sphere 2 disposed within a body 1, and rotary axes 3 and 4 are disposed perpendicular to each other so as to touch the sphere 2. .4 is attached to the end of the disk 5.6 by the lens 9.10, and the X-axis is detected by the sensors 9 and 10. The direction and the amount of rotation of the sphere 2 in the Y-axis direction are detected.

Another human operated device is the 1-Rack Ball shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. This trackball has a J: sea urchin sphere 2 protruding from the top surface of the body 1, and d
5. The rotational force of this sphere 2 (a pair of rotations 1i[113,4 (thus detected J: The knots 7.8 of the disk 5.6 installed in the section are respectively detected by the sensors 9.10 (a).
'3, so that the amount of rotation in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction can be detected.

[Problems to be Solved by the K Invention] In conventional mice and trackballs, the outer surface of the sphere 2 can be adjusted by directly manipulating the body 1 or the sphere 2 housing the sphere 2, as described above. The amount of rotation of the rotating shaft 3.4, which is arranged in contact with the slit 7.8, is detected by a sensor 9.10 via a disk 5.6 on the right side of the slit 7.8.

Therefore, the 1-4 design has the disadvantage that both the mouse and the 1-4 ball are prone to slipping or friction loss, and it is not always possible to obtain an appropriate signal. There were also limitations on the number of sensors that could be installed to determine the direction obtained from mechanical motion.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and it does not cause friction loss/V.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a human-operated device capable of detecting the displacement IJm and the direction of movement with high precision.

[Means for Solving Problem K] The present invention includes a body that can be held in the hand, a pivot shaft supported by the body, and a pivot shaft that can be rotated by the pivot shaft. The arm is rotated about a center of rotation relative to the pivot axis, and the arm is rotated about a center of rotation relative to the pivot axis. The apparatus is equipped with a rotary body mounted on the rotary body and means for detecting the amount of rotation of the rotary body.

K effect] Therefore, if you hold the body as you would hold a pencil or pen and move the rotating body while touching it on a flat surface, the direction of movement is detected by detecting the rotation position of the arm, and the movement starts from the rotation H3 of the rotating body. amount will be detected.

K Embodiment) 1 FIG. 4 shows nine operation input devices according to an embodiment of the present invention, and this manual operation device includes a body 15 that can be held in the hand like a pencil or pen. 45, the distal end side of this body 15 is a spherical portion 16. The lower surface of the spherical portion 16 is open, and a pivot shaft 17 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided inside the spherical portion 16. The rotating shaft 17 is arranged so that it becomes almost vertical when the body 15 is held in a hand and tilted approximately 40 degrees. 19 is rotatably taken (=I
I'm being kicked. The sleeve 19 is rotatably supported by an arm 20, and the arm 20 rotatably supports a rotating body 22 via a pin 21.

As shown in FIG.
are arranged at equal intervals. The optical sensor 26 is adapted to detect a shutter 27 fixed to the sleeve 19. That is, the optical sensor 26 is configured in a U-shape and includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and detects whether or not the shutter 27 has blocked light going from the light emitting element to the light receiving element. . In addition, the rotating body 22
A detected portion 28 is formed at an intermediate position in the width direction on the outer circumferential surface of the sensor. The detected portion 2ε3 is formed by a white and black striped pattern extending in the circumferential direction, and this striped pattern 28 is detected by an optical sensor 29. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the body 15 is provided with a pair of input switches 31 and 32. These switches 311, 32 are used, for example, to input the star 1 position and the stop position. Furthermore, this input device is connected to a computer (not shown) via a cord 33.

In the above configuration, the body 15 is held in the hand like a pencil or a pen, and the rotating body 22 attached to the tip side of the body 15 is moved in a predetermined direction while being in contact with a flat surface. Then, as is clear from FIG. 1, the bin 21 constituting the center of rotation of the rotating body 22 is offset by e with respect to the center of rotation of the pivot shaft 17. Therefore, based on the same principle as casters, the arm 20 pivots about the pivot shaft 17 depending on the direction of movement.

Since the arm 20 is fixed to the sleeve 19 and the shutter 27 is fixed to the sleeve 19, the rotational position of the arm 20 is determined by the optical sensor 2 via the shutter 27.
6. That is, when the body 15 is held in the hand and a predetermined operation is started, the optical sensor 26 detects the direction of movement as the arm 20 rotates.

After this, if you hold the body 15 by hand and move it a predetermined amount,
This amount of movement is converted into a zero-rotation motion of the rotating body 22. The rotational momentum of the rotating body 22 is detected by measuring the detected portion 28 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating body 22 using a sensor 29. That is, the rotation angle of the rotating body 22 is detected by the sensor 2.
9, the amount of movement of the operation input device is detected. Therefore, this input device allows the direction and amount of movement to be input directly to the computer through the code 33.

Conventional mice and rack balls perform input based on the contact rotation of the ball, which tends to cause friction loss, or slip carbon, making it difficult to always obtain a stable pulse signal, and due to dust, etc. It had a weak point where it was susceptible to dirt. However, the input device according to this embodiment has an arm mechanism that can swing freely with a vertical angle, so that the direction of movement and the amount of movement are detected separately. The above applications will be expanded. Furthermore, by increasing the number of detection elements of the sensors 26 and 29, it becomes possible to perform more detailed detection, and the accuracy of input becomes higher. This also makes it possible to expand the processing range of the software. Since it has a unique design as shown in FIG. 4 and can be constructed compactly, it can be used as a pointing device for laptop computers and word processors.

Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.

As is clear from FIG. 5, in this modification, the rotating body 22 is configured not as a disc but as a sphere, and the body 1
It has a shape that matches with the spherical part 16 of No. 5. Note that the input mechanism is the same as in the above embodiment, so its explanation will be omitted. According to this modification, it is possible to further improve the design of the operation input device.

K Application Examples] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to one illustrated embodiment and its modified examples, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments or modified examples, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention. can be changed. For example, in the above embodiment, the rotational position of the arm 20 and the amount of rotation of the rotating body 22 are optically detected by the sensors 26 and 29, but these rotations are not necessarily detected by optical means. It is not necessary to carry out this process, and it is possible to replace it with capacitance, magnetic detection, mechanical detection, or other various detection means.

K Effects of the Invention I As described above, the present invention allows you to hold the body in your hand without moving it.
The arm to which the rotating body is rotatably attached turns around the pivot axis, and the direction of movement is determined by the amount of rotation, and the amount of movement is detected from the amount of rotation of the rotating body. It is. Therefore, it becomes possible to detect the direction of movement and the amount of movement separately, and it becomes difficult for friction to occur.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the main part of an operation input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the main part, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main part of the turning direction detection section, and FIG. 55 is an enlarged front view of main parts of a modified operation input device, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional mouse, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. , FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the trackball, and FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view thereof. The names of the main parts in the drawings are as follows. 15...Body 17...Swivel shaft 18...Ball bearing 20 ・ ・ ・ Foot 21 ・ Bin 22 ・Rotating body 26 ・Hikaron 1 no. 27 ・Shutter 28 ・...Detected part 29...Sensor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A body that can be held in the hand,
a pivot shaft supported by the body, an arm rotatably attached to the pivot shaft, a detection means for detecting a pivot position of the arm with respect to the pivot shaft, and a rotation offset with respect to the pivot shaft. An operation input device comprising: a rotating body rotatably attached to the arm about a center; and means for detecting the amount of rotation of the rotating body.