JPH039064Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial application field The present invention relates to a position information input device that instructs the movement of a cursor displayed on a display or draws arbitrary figures, and in particular, the invention relates to a position information input device that instructs the movement of a cursor etc. displayed on a display or draws arbitrary figures. The present invention relates to a location information input device that can improve performance.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional position information input devices of this type include a trackball 1 as shown in FIG. 6, a mouse 2 as shown in FIG. 7, and the like. Here, in the track ball 1 shown in FIG.
Only the upper surface of the ball 4 is exposed, and the operator inputs positional information by rotating the exposed portion of the ball 4 back and forth and left and right with his fingertips. In addition, in the mouse 2 shown in FIG. 7, the rotary operation part of a ball 6 rotatably provided on the device body 5 is exposed only on the bottom surface of the device body 5, and the operator can move the entire device body 5 on the desk. Rotating the ball 6 by friction with the desk 7 by moving it back and forth and left and right on the top surface of the table 7;
I was entering location information. Note that in FIG. 7, reference numeral 8 denotes a support member protruding from the bottom surface of the main body 5 of the apparatus.

Problems that the invention attempts to solve However, in the case of Trackball 1 mentioned above,
Although the area required for operation on the top surface of the desk 7 may be small, in order to rotate the ball 4, it is necessary to rotate it back and forth and left and right with the fingertip, making it difficult to quickly input position information by linear movement. It was hot. On the other hand, with the mouse 2, it is possible to input positional information quickly by moving the main body 5 of the device linearly in an appropriate direction on the top surface of the desk 7. This requires a large area, and if the desktop area is small, the operability is reduced or it becomes difficult to use. Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve these problems, and aims to provide a position information input device that incorporates the advantages of both the track ball 1 and the mouse 2 and can improve operability depending on the location of use. shall be.

Means for Solving the Problems The means of the present invention for solving the above problems has a ball rotatably provided in the main body of the device, and the amount of rotation in two orthogonal directions due to the rotation operation of the ball is detected by electrical signals. In a position information input device that outputs a position signal by converting the ball into a position signal, the ball is provided so that its outer surface is exposed on the top and bottom surfaces of the device body so that it can be rotated, and the bottom surface of the device body has a protruding height that can be expanded and contracted. This is achieved by a position information input device characterized in that a support member is provided facing downward, and the amount of exposure of the bottom side of the ball is substantially the same when the ball is contracted.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a position information input device according to the present invention. The device main body 11 forms the outer shape of this position information input device and houses the component parts, and is formed into a rectangular box shape with an appropriate size. A ball 12 is rotatably provided at a suitable location, for example, approximately in the center of the device body 11. This ball 12 is rotated back and forth and left and right as appropriate in order to convert the amount of rotation in two orthogonal directions into electrical signals and output a position signal, and rotational axes are provided inside the device main body 11 so as to be orthogonal to each other. rotation amount detection rollers 13a, 13b (see Figure 3)
It is rotatably supported by auxiliary rollers 14a and 14b. That is, as shown in Figure 1,
The orthogonal rotation amount detection rollers 13a and 13b circumscribe the surface of the ball 12 in the lower half of the ball 12, and the auxiliary rollers 14a and 14b contact the surface of the ball 12 in the upper half of the ball 12 at opposing positions.
These rollers 13a,
The above ball 12 by 13b, 14a, 14b
is supported so that it does not move. This ball 12 is connected to the upper surface 11a of the device main body 11.
A suitable amount of the outer surface is exposed from the bottom surface 11b. That is, the upper surface 11a
and the ball 12 at the corresponding location on the bottom surface 11b.
A circular hole is bored through which only a portion of the ball 12 is exposed, and the outer surface of the ball 12 protrudes from the circular hole so as to be rotatable from the top surface 11a and the bottom surface 11b.

A support member 15 is provided on the bottom surface 11b of the device main body 11 facing downward. This support member 1
5 maintains the outer surface of the ball 12 exposed on the bottom surface 11b side so as not to contact the top surface of the desk 16, and also allows the outer surface of the ball 12 to contact the top surface of the desk 16 as necessary. It is supported by a spring 15a extending downwardly from the bottom surface 11b, and a caster 15b attached to the lower part of the spring 15a. In a normal state, the total downward protruding height H of the spring 15a and the caster 15b is larger than the amount h of exposure of the ball 12 on the bottom surface 11b side, as shown in FIG. . Therefore, at this time, the outer surface of the ball 12 does not contact the top surface of the desk 16. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the device main body 11 is pushed down from the upper surface 11a side in the direction of arrow P, the spring 15a contracts and the spring 15a contracts.
The downward protrusion height H', which is the sum of the height H' of the ball 12 and the caster 15b, is made to be equal to or smaller than the exposure amount h of the ball 12 on the bottom surface 11b side. Therefore, at this time, the outer surface of the ball 12 comes into contact with the top surface of the desk 16. Note that three or more supporting members 15 are provided around the ball 12.

Next, use of the position information input device configured as described above will be explained. First, if the area on the desk 16 on which the position information input device is operated is small, as shown in FIG.
The outer surface of the ball 12 exposed on the upper surface 11a of the ball 12 is rotated forward and backward and left and right as shown by arrows A and B with a fingertip. Then, as shown in FIG.
Rotation amount detection roller 13 circumscribing the surface of 2
a and 13b rotate, and the amount of rotation of the ball 12 in two orthogonal directions is taken out. At the tips of the rotating shafts 17a, 17b of the rotation amount detection rollers 13a, 13b, there are discs 18a, 18b with slits, respectively.
is attached, and the rotation amount detection roller 13
It rotates according to the rotations of a and 13b. On the slit discs 18a, 18b, U-shaped photo interrupters 19a, 1 are placed between the disc surfaces.
9b, the passage of light from the light emitting part provided at the tip of the U-shape to the light receiving part is interrupted by the rotation of the slitted disks 18a, 18b, and the interruption of this light is detected. Photo interrupters 19a and 19b convert the amount of rotation of the ball 12 in two orthogonal directions into electrical signals. and,
This electrical signal is output as position signals S ₁ and S ₂ ,
The points indicated by the position signals S ₁ and S ₂ are input to the central processing unit (CPU) 20 and determined, and the positions are displayed on the display 21 . This allows you to move the cursor and draw arbitrary shapes.

Next, if the area on the desk 16 on which the position information input device is operated is large, the device main body 11 is pushed down by hand in the direction of arrow P, as shown in FIG. Then, the spring 16a of the support member 15 provided on the bottom surface 11b of the device main body 11 contracts, and the downward protruding height H' of the support member 15 becomes smaller, causing the outer surface of the ball 12 exposed on the bottom surface 11b side to become smaller. The surface contacts the top surface of the desk 16. In this state, the operator moves the entire apparatus main body 11 on the top surface of the desk 16 in the directions of arrows C and D, front and back and left and right. At this time, the ball 12 is rotated back and forth and left and right as shown by arrows E and F due to friction with the top surface of the desk 16. Then, as shown in FIG.
Rotation amount detection roller 13 circumscribing the surface of 2
a and 13b rotate, and the amount of rotation of the ball 12 in two orthogonal directions is taken out. The subsequent operations are exactly the same as described above.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the second embodiment. In this embodiment, a support member 15' on the bottom surface 11b of the main body 11 is composed of a spring 15a and a bar-shaped sliding member 15b' provided below the spring 15a. In this case, it is desirable to use a material with a small coefficient of friction, such as Teflon, as the sliding material 15b'.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment. In this embodiment, the support member 15'' on the bottom surface 11b of the main body 11 is formed into a sled shape made of an elastically deformable material. In this case as well, it is desirable to use a material with a small coefficient of friction.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, in the present invention, the outer surface of the ball 12 is
and the bottom surface 1 of the device main body 11.
1b is provided with a downward supporting member 15 whose protrusion height can be expanded and contracted, so that when the operating area on the desk 16 is small, it can be operated in the same way as a conventional track ball.
In addition, if the operating area on the desk 16 is large, the mouse can be operated in the same manner as a conventional mouse. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to incorporate the advantages of both the conventional trackball and mouse, improve operability depending on the place of use, and expand the usable range.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a position information input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing the device main body in a depressed state, FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the third embodiment, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams showing conventional position information input devices, respectively. 11...Device main body, 11a...Top surface of device main body, 11b...Bottom surface of device main body, 12...Ball, 13a, 13b...Rotation amount detection roller, 1
5, 15', 15''...Support member, 15a...Spring, H, H'...Protrusion height of support member, h...Amount of exposure on the bottom side of the ball.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a position information input device that has a rotatably provided ball in the main body of the device, and outputs a position signal by converting the amount of rotation in two orthogonal directions due to the rotation operation of the ball into an electrical signal, the ball is attached to the outer surface of the device. is provided on the top and bottom surfaces of the device main body so as to be exposed and rotatable, and the bottom surface of the device main body is provided with a support member whose protruding height can be extended and contracted, and when contracted, the amount of exposure on the bottom side of the ball is approximately the same as that of the ball. 1. A position information input device, characterized in that it is provided facing downward.