JPH0330911Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to an X-Y direction input device, and relates to an X-Y direction input device suitable for, for example, a figure input device of a graphic display device.

[Background of the idea]

A graphic display device basically consists of a display screen, a display controller, a data channel, and various input devices.

Various forms of this input device have been known, but one of them is a device that detects the direction and amount of movement by moving the casing in an arbitrary direction on the base. mouse"
An X-Y direction input device called (trade name) has been developed.

Such an X-Y direction input device includes a rotatably arranged sphere (hereinafter abbreviated as sphere) made of, for example, a steel ball, and a first sphere that is in contact with the sphere and rotates by the rotational force of the sphere. a driven roller,
a second driven roller that is in contact with the sphere and rotates by the rotational force of the sphere and whose axial direction is substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the first driven roller; and the amount of rotation of the first and second driven rollers. first and second rotation amount detection means each consisting of rotary electric components such as variable resistors and encoders, each of which is individually detected;
It basically consists of a casing that accommodates these spheres, first and second driven rollers, first and second rotation amount detection means, and the like.

An opening is provided in the lower surface of the casing, and a part of the sphere protrudes downward through the opening, and by holding the casing and rolling the sphere in any direction on a predetermined base, the first and second spheres can be moved. The two driven rollers each rotate in a predetermined direction. The rotation direction and rotation amount of these driven rollers are
The second rotation amount detection means extracts each component in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction as a voltage or digital signal, and these signals are input to a display device.

In this way, the first driven roller and the second driven roller must be arranged in the casing so that their axial directions are substantially perpendicular to each other. After the second driven roller and the first and second rotary electric components are assembled in advance into the housing at predetermined positions, the housing is screwed to the casing.

On the other hand, in the case of such an X-Y direction input device,
A push switch is usually provided for deleting part of the display pattern on the display device, moving it to another display position, or performing various signal processing such as switching and controlling. The push switch was installed at a predetermined position in the casing by soldering it to a relatively hard switch board made of phenolic resin or the like, and then screwing the switch board to the casing. Then, after screwing the casing and switch board to the predetermined positions of the casing,
Lead wires are soldered to the lead terminals of the first and second rotary electric components and the terminal portions of the switch board, respectively, to electrically connect them.

However, with this conventional technology, the casing and the switch board must be screwed to the casing, and after that, soldering work is required to establish electrical continuity between the rotary electrical components and the switch board within a narrow space inside the casing. The drawback is that the assembly work is extremely complicated. Also,
There was a risk that the lead wires would come into contact with the sphere and prevent the sphere from rotating properly, or in the worst case, the lead wires would be cut by the sphere.

[Purpose of invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an X-Y direction input device that eliminates the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, is easy to assemble, and can maintain good rotation of a rotated sphere.

[Summary of the idea]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a storage body and a plurality of positioning parts for storing and holding the components of the frictional force applying means in the casing, and a first
By connecting the second rotary electric component and the switch board via a flexible printed circuit board, the first and second rotary electric components, the printed circuit board, and the first and second driven The rollers are made into a unit in advance, and this unit body is engaged and held in each positioning part, and the part connecting the first and second rotating electrical parts of the printed circuit board is placed on the outer periphery of the storage body in an upright state. It is distinctive in that it did so.

[Example of idea]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an entire graphic display device including an X-Y direction input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

On the table 1 are a display device 2 having a screen, a controller, a data channel, etc., an input device 3 having function keys, and an input device 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
is placed. Note that the input device 4 is operated on a dedicated sheet 5 placed on the table 1,
By this operation, for example, the cursor 7 displayed on the screen 6 of the display device 2 can be moved to an arbitrary position.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the components of the input device 4, FIGS. 3 to 5 are explanatory diagrams of the main components of the input device 4, FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the upper case, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the lower case, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the detection section.

As shown in these figures, the casing 8 forming the outer shell of the input device 4 consists of a lower case 9 and an upper case 10 made of ABS resin or the like, and these cases 9 and 10 are connected to screws (not shown). It is designed to be joined and integrated by.

A large-diameter opening 11 is bored in the center of the rear (left side in FIG. 4) of the lower case 9.
A peripheral wall 12 is erected around the periphery of the housing 1 . Also,
Around the opening 11, two bearing holders 13, 14 having grooves 13a, 14a and two holder holders 15, 16, which are somewhat larger than both bearing holders 13, 14, are erected. has been done. These holders 1
3, 14, 15, and 16 are for holding and positioning the driven roller and rotation amount detection means, which will be described later.
One of them, bearing holder 13 and holder holder 1
5 and the other bearing holder 14 and holder holder 16 form a pair, and the respective center lines of these pairs are arranged to be orthogonal to each other.

A storage body 17 having a cavity 17a is integrally formed in a part of the peripheral wall 12. This storage body 1
Reference numeral 7 is for storing and holding a frictional force applying means to be described later, and a pair of notches 17b are formed at the upper end thereof.

The lower case 9 also includes the holder holder 15.
and a pair of elastic protrusions 18 adjacent to the storage body 17.
are erected, and in the vicinity of both elastic projections 18 are three
A book support protrusion 19 is erected. These elastic protrusions 18 are for positioning a switch board to be described later with respect to the lower case 9, and each support protrusion 1
9 is for supporting the switch board. Furthermore, screw insertion holes 20, 21, and 22 are provided at two locations in the front and two locations in the rear of the lower case 9, respectively.

The upper case 10 is designed to have a size that can be held and operated by an operator with one hand, and a pair of insertion holes 24 are formed at the front of the curved upper wall. As is clear from FIG. 3, a plurality of welding pins 25 are erected on the inner surface of the upper wall of the upper case 10, and two switch levers 26 are connected to each other by these welding pins 25. One end is fixed to the upper case 10. This fixation is achieved by passing each welding pin 25 through a small hole in the switch lever 26, and then melting the tip of the welding pin 25. As a result, the switch lever 26 is able to rotate itself using its operating end fitting as a fulcrum. It is rotatable due to its elasticity. The operating end of the switch lever 26 is in a state of slightly protruding from the insertion hole 24 due to this fixation.

Further, screw insertion holes 27, 28, 29, 3 are provided on the inner surface of the upper wall of the upper case 10 at positions corresponding to the screw insertion holes 20, 21, 22, 23 of the lower case 9.
0 has an annular rib 31 at a position corresponding to the opening 11.
However, there is a pressing protrusion 32 at a position corresponding to the storage body 17.
However, a cylindrical protrusion 3 is located at a position corresponding to both elastic protrusions 18.
3, a pair of pressing ribs 34 are formed near the cylindrical projection 33, respectively. Furthermore, on the inner surface of the upper wall of the upper case 10, each of the holders 13, 1
4, 15, 16, one bearing holder 1
An L-shaped pressing wall 35 is formed along a center line connecting the bearing holder 14 and the holder holder 15, and a center line connecting the other bearing holder 14 and the holder holder 16.

The main components of the detection section shown in FIG. 5 are housed between the upper case 9 and the case 10.
In the same figure, a switch board 36 made of a relatively hard insulating material such as phenol resin has two positioning holes 36a formed therein corresponding to the elastic protrusions 18 of the lower case 9. Two push switches 37 and a connector 38 are soldered and fixed on the switch board 36, and these are connected by pattern wiring (not shown) formed on the back surface of the switch board 36.

In addition to switching the input device 4 itself, the push switch 37 can also be used to, for example, delete a part of the display pattern immediately above or below the cursor 7 on the display device 2, or move it to another display position. Used for various other signal processing such as switching and control. The display device 2 and the input device 4 are connected by a cord 39 and a plug 40, as shown in FIG.

Further, a flexible film substrate 43 on which a desired pattern wiring is formed is soldered to the switch substrate 36 and the first encoder 41 and second encoder 42, which are rotation amount detection means, respectively, and further, First and second driven rollers 44 and 45 are connected to first and second encoders 41 and 42, respectively. The film substrate 43 has a raised portion connecting the first and second encoders 41 and 42, and this raised portion is disposed outside the housing 17 so as to surround the housing 17. Further, the film substrate 43 is formed with an extension portion projecting from the upright portion, and this extension portion is bent in the horizontal direction and connected to the switch substrate 36. Therefore, as is clear from the above description, the first and second driven rollers 44, 45 and the first and second encoders 4 connected thereto.
1, 42, push switch 37 and connector 3
8 and the like are integrated in advance via a flexible film substrate 43, and are electrically connected to each other in an electrically conductive state.

6 and 7 show the first encoder 4
1 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of 1, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view,
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled state.

As shown in these figures, the first encoder 1
4 is a holder 46 forming the outer shell of the encoder;
, three sliders 47a, 47b, 47c, a code plate 48 having a common pattern 48a in the center and an inner peripheral pattern 48b and an outer peripheral pattern 48c around it, and a cylindrical spacer 49.
It is constituted by a locking nut 50.

The holder 46 has a flat portion 51, and the flat portion 5
An annular peripheral wall 52 is formed on one side of the 1, and a cylindrical bearing part 53 is formed on the other side, and a protrusion 53a and a positioning protrusion 53b are formed at the upper and lower positions of this bearing part 53. There is. This bearing part 53
is formed at the center position of the peripheral wall 52, and the bearing portion 5
3 is provided with an insertion hole 54 having a stepped portion. Further, a plurality of welding pins 51a are erected on the flat portion 51 at a portion separated from the peripheral wall 52, and these welding pins 51a allow each slider 4 to
One ends of 7a, 47b, and 47c are fixed to flat portion 51. Then, in this way, the welding pin 51a
The free end of each slider 47, one end of which is fixed to the peripheral wall 52, passes through a notch formed in a part of the peripheral wall 52.
It extends into the inside of 2.

On the other hand, at one end of the first driven roller 44,
An engagement shaft portion 44a having a diameter somewhat smaller than that of the main shaft portion and an insertion shaft portion 44b having a diameter even smaller than this engagement shaft portion 44a are formed. 54 from the bearing portion 53 side. The spacer 49 and the code plate 48 are sequentially fitted into the insertion shaft portion 44b of the first driven roller 44 that has been inserted into the insertion hole 54 and has reached the inside of the peripheral wall 52, and then the locking nut 50 is inserted. By locking the cord plate 48 to one end of the insertion shaft portion 44b, the code plate 48 is fixed to the first driven roller 44. At this time, the stepped portion between the main shaft portion of the first driven roller 44 and the engagement shaft portion 44 a comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole 54 , and one end of the spacer 49 comes into contact with the stepped portion inside the insertion hole 54 . Therefore, the first driven roller 44 is connected to the first encoder 41 in a state where its movement in the axial direction is restricted. Further, the code plate 48 is connected to the first driven roller 4 in a state where the distance from the flat part 51 is regulated by the spacer 49.
Fixed to 4.

By incorporating the first driven roller 44 and the code plate 48 into the holder 46 in this way, the first slider 47a is arranged in the common pattern 48a, and the second
The third slider 47b is in elastic contact with the inner peripheral pattern 48b, and the third slider 47c is in elastic contact with the outer peripheral pattern 48c, but each slider 47a, 47b,
47c has its fulcrum in a part separated from the code plate 48 as described above, so the span from the elastic part of the code plate 48 to the fulcrum can be set to be long,
Stable sliding torque can be obtained.

The first encoder 41 has the structure described above, and the second encoder 42 also has the same structure. That is, the second encoder 42 includes a holder 55 (see FIGS. 2 and 5) forming the outer shell of the encoder, three sliders supported by this holder 55, and these sliders. It basically consists of a code plate that comes into contact with the
The code plate is fixed to one end of the second driven roller 45a. Further, a bearing portion 56 is provided protruding from one side of the holder 55, and a protrusion 56a is formed at the upper portion of this bearing portion 56, and a positioning protrusion (not shown) is formed at the lower portion.

Next, the above-mentioned frictional force applying means will be explained with reference mainly to FIGS. 8 and 9.

As shown in FIG. 8, the frictional force applying means includes a rolling contact roller 57 made of synthetic resin and a rolling contact roller 57 made of synthetic resin.
The roller support member 58 supports the roller support member 58, the storage body 17 supports the roller support member 58, and a coil spring 59.

Roller support member 58 made of synthetic resin molded product
has a pair of rotating support shafts 58a on the upper side wall, a spring receiving protrusion 58b (see FIG. 9) on the lower back surface, and a center portion between the rotating supporting shafts 58a and the spring receiving protrusion 58b. A bearing portion 58c is formed at the position so as to open toward the front. Both ends of a support shaft 60 inserted into the rolling contact roller 57 are press-fitted into the bearing portion 58c, and thereby the rolling contact roller 57 is rotatably supported by the roller support member 58 with the support shaft 60 as the rotation axis. Ru.

This roller support member 58 is connected to the spring receiving protrusion 5
The coil spring 59 is inserted into the empty space 17a of the storage body 17 with one end of the coil spring 59 locked to the coil spring 8b. Then,
As shown in FIG. 9, both rotational support shafts 58a of the roller support member 58 enter into both notches 17b of the storage body 17, and the coil spring 59 is inserted into the roller support member 58.
The roller support member 58 is held in a compressed state between the roller support member 58 and the inner wall of the storage body 17, and due to its elastic force, the roller support member 58 is urged clockwise in the figure with the rotation support shaft 58a as a fulcrum. Due to this biasing force, a part of the contact roller 57 supported by the roller support member 58 slightly protrudes from the storage body 17 toward the opening 11, and a part of the roller support member 58 also partially protrudes from the storage body 17. The roller support member 58 and the rolling contact roller 57 are thereby prevented from coming off.

Next, a method of assembling the input device 4 configured as described above will be explained with reference mainly to FIGS. 10 to 12. Note that FIG. 10 is a plan view with the upper case 10 removed, and FIG. 11 is a plan view of the casing 8.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the casing 8 along the longitudinal direction.

First, as shown in FIG. 10, the metal bearings 61 and 62 are fitted and fixed into the respective grooves 13a and 14a of the bearing holders 13 and 14 provided upright in the lower case 9. Next, the first driven roller 44 and the first encoder 41, the second driven roller 45 and the second encoder 42, and the switch board 36 (see FIG. 5) that have been integrated in advance via the film substrate 43 are assembled. The first and second driven rollers 44, 45
One end is inserted into the metal bearings 61 and 62, respectively, and the first and second encoders 41 and 42 are held in the holder using their respective positioning protrusions 53b (the positioning protrusions on the second encoder 42 side are not shown). The bodies 15 and 16 are engaged and held. As a result, the first and second driven rollers 44, 45
are arranged at predetermined positions in the lower case 9 so that their axial directions are perpendicular to each other.

On the other hand, the switch board 36 is positioned at a predetermined position on the lower case 9 by fitting the two positioning holes 36a into the elastic protrusions 18 provided upright in the lower case 9, and the three support protrusions 19 placed on top. At this time, since a split groove 18a is formed in the center of the elastic protrusion 18 along the axial direction, the dimension between the two positioning holes 36a of the switch board 36 may vary due to temperature changes, machining errors during drilling, etc. Even if there is some variation, the switch board 36 can be easily fitted into the elastic protrusion 18.

The first and second driven rollers 4 described above
4, 45 and first and second encoders 4
1, 42, the work of assembling the switch board 36 into the lower case 9 side is done using a flexible film board 43.
Since the assembly can be carried out in an integrated state through the assembly, each part does not have to be separated, and there is no need for complicated soldering work after assembly, making it extremely easy to carry out.

Next, with one end of the coil spring 59 locked to the spring receiving protrusion 58b of the roller support member 58 incorporating the rolling contact roller 57, these are inserted into the empty chamber 17a of the storage body 17 to support the roller. The rotation support shaft 58a of the member 58 is supported in the notch 17b at the upper end of the storage body 17. In this case, since the upright portion of the film substrate 43 is arranged outside the storage body 17 so as to surround the storage body 17, the entrance of the storage body 17 (empty room 1
7a) is not blocked by the film substrate 43, and the work of assembling the components of the friction force applying means (roller support member 58 and col spring 59) is good. Incidentally, such assembling work can also be performed before assembling the first and second driven rollers 44, 45, etc. described above.

After the main components of the detection unit are assembled in the predetermined positions of the lower case 9 in this way, the upper case 1 is attached to the lower case 9 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.
0, and the screw insertion holes 20, 21, 22, 2
3 and the screw insertion holes 27, 28, 29, and 30 using screws (not shown), the lower case 9 and the upper case 10 are integrally joined.

Due to the integration of the lower case 9 and the upper case 10, both metal bearings 61 and 6 are included among the components of the detection section positioned at a predetermined position of the lower case 9.
2, the respective projections 53a, 56a of the first and second encoders 41, 42, and the upper walls of the holders 46, 56 are pressed by the pressing wall 35 on the upper case 10 side, and the first and second driven Rollers 44, 45
and first and second encoders 41, 42
is clamped and fixed between both cases 9 and 10. Similarly, an upper case 10 is provided on the upper surface of the roller support member 58.
The lower ends of the pressing protrusions 32 vertically abut against each other, thereby preventing the roller support member 58 from falling off from the storage body 17. Further, on the upper surface of the switch board 36, a cylindrical protrusion 33 that is fitted onto the elastic protrusion 18 is provided.
The lower ends of the pressing ribs 34 and 34 are brought into contact with each other, and the switch board 36 is clamped and fixed by the cylindrical projections 33, the pressing ribs 34, and the three supporting projections 19 erected on the lower case 9.

As mentioned above, there are two
Push switches 37 are fixed by soldering, while one ends of two switch levers 26 are fixed to the upper wall of the upper case 10, and operating parts 26a are vertically provided on the lower surface of both switch levers 26. . The lower surfaces of these operation parts 26a face the upper part of the push switch 37 when the lower case 9 and the upper case 10 are integrated, so that the operator can push the switch lever 26 protruding from the upper wall of the upper case 10. Then, the operating section 26a comes into contact with the push switch 37, and the desired switch operation is performed.

After the lower case 9 and the upper case 10 are integrated as described above, and after the lower case 9 and the upper case 10 are integrated, a steel ball is inserted into the inside of the casing 8 from the opening 11 of the lower case 9. The rotated sphere 63 is inserted, and then the lid 64 having the opening 64a is locked to the periphery of the opening 11 of the lower case 9. As a result, the rotated sphere 63 is rotatably held in the casing 8 by the annular rib 31 of the upper case 10 and the annular holding part 64b of the lid 64, and its lower end is extended downward from the opening 64a of the lid 64. In this case, since the upright portion of the film substrate 43 is arranged on the outer periphery of the storage body 17, the rotated sphere 63 and the film substrate 43 do not come into contact with each other, and the rotated sphere 63 is exposed (see FIG. 9). Good rotation of the sphere 63 can be maintained.

Next, the rotation amount detection principle of the above embodiment will be explained based on FIG. 13.

First driven roller 44 and second driven roller 45
Above, a rotated sphere 63 is rotated by a rolling contact roller 57.
are pressed together. The first driven roller 44 and the second
The axial directions of the driven rollers 45 are perpendicular to each other, and they contact the rotated sphere 63 from directions perpendicular to each other. The rolling contact roller 57 is arranged on a straight line connecting the point Q where the axes of the first and second driven rollers 44 and 45 intersect and the center O of the rotated sphere 63,
The rotated sphere 63 receives the elastic force of the coil spring 59.
is pressed against the first and second driven rollers 44 and 45 with equal force. Note that since the roller support member 58 that rotatably supports the rolling contact roller 57 is rotatably held in the storage body 17 with the rotating shaft 58a as a fulcrum, the rolling contact roller 58 is supported by the rotation of the rotated sphere 63. 57 spindle 60 and roller support member 5
The axial directions of the eight rotational support shafts 58a do not swing, and the rotated sphere 63 can always be pressed against the first and second driven rollers 44, 45 with equal force.

Further, the first and second driven rollers 44, 4
A first encoder 41 and a second encoder 42 are connected to one end of the encoder 5, with these encoders serving as rotating shafts. These first and second encoders 41 and 42 detect the amount of rotation of the first and second driven rollers 44 and 45, and convert the amount of rotation of the rotated sphere 63 into components in the X direction and the Y direction. By separately detecting the rotation state of the rotated sphere 63, it is possible to know the rotation state of the rotated sphere 63.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, according to the present invention, first,
The first and second rotating electric components connected to the second driven roller and the switch board on which the push switch is mounted are electrically and mechanically connected in advance by a flexible printed circuit board. It can be assembled into a casing in a unitized state, and the storage body can prevent the printed circuit board from coming into contact with the rotated sphere, thus eliminating the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional technology and simplifying the assembly process. Therefore, it is possible to provide an XY direction input device that can easily maintain good rotation of a rotated sphere.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

All the figures are for explaining the X-Y direction input device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
A perspective view of a graphic display device including a Y-direction input device, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the input device, FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the upper case, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the lower case, and FIG. 5 is a detection 6 is an exploded perspective view of the driven roller and encoder, FIG. 7 is an assembled cross-sectional view of the driven roller and encoder, and FIG. 8 is the rolling contact roller, support shaft, roller support member, An exploded perspective view of the storage body and coil spring,
Figure 9 is a sectional view showing their assembled state;
The figure is a plan view of the input device with the upper case removed, Figures 11 and 12 are assembled sectional views of the entire input device,
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of rotation amount detection of the input device. 4...Input device, 8...Casing, 9...Lower case, 10...Upper case, 11...Opening, 1
3, 14... Bearing holder, 15, 16... Holder holder, 17... Storage body, 17a... Vacant room, 17
b...Notch, 18...Elastic protrusion, 18a...Split groove, 19...Support protrusion, 26...Switch lever, 26a...Operation part, 32...Press protrusion, 33
... Cylindrical projection, 34 ... Pressing rib, 35 ... Pressing wall, 36 ... Switch board, 37 ... Push switch, 41 ... First encoder (rotary electric component), 42 ... Second encoder (rotating electrical component), 43... film board (printed circuit board),
44...First driven roller, 45...Second driven roller, 46, 55...Holder, 47...Slider, 48...Code plate, 49...Spacer, 50
... Locking nut, 51 ... Flat part, 52 ... Peripheral wall, 53, 56 ... Bearing part, 54 ... Insertion hole, 5
7... Roller contact roller, 58... Roller support member, 5
9... Coil spring, 60... Support shaft, 61, 62...
...metal bearing, 63...rotated sphere, 64...lid, 64a...opening.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A first driven roller that is in contact with the rotated sphere and rotates by the rotational force of the rotated sphere, and a first driven roller that is in contact with the rotated sphere and rotates by the rotational force of the rotated sphere. a second driven roller that rotates along the axis and whose axial direction is substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the first driven roller; and a frictional force applying means that presses the rotated sphere against the first and second driven rollers; a first rotating electric component connected to the first driven roller to detect the amount of rotation of the first driven roller; and a first rotating electric component connected to the second driven roller to detect the amount of rotation of the second driven roller. a switch board equipped with a push switch for performing signal processing of the first and second rotary electrical components; an operating body for operating the push switch; In an X-Y direction input device comprising a casing that accommodates a rotated sphere, a switch board, first and second driven rollers, and first and second rotating electric components, a front frictional force applying means is provided on the casing. By providing a storage body and a plurality of positioning parts for storing and holding components, and connecting the first and second rotary electric components and the switch board via a flexible printed circuit board. The first and second rotary electric components, the printed circuit board, and the first and second driven rollers are made into a unit in advance, and this unit body is engaged and held in each of the positioning portions, and the printed circuit board is An X-Y direction input device, characterized in that a portion connecting the first and second rotary electric components is disposed on the outer periphery of the storage body in an upright state.