JPH0449207B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pointing devices.

[Conventional technology]

A joystick is a device for manipulating characters (space ships, people, cursors, etc.) projected on a video screen in a desired direction. The operating directions include four directions, eight directions, etc., and when playing a game, the operating directions are determined to be four directions or eight directions depending on the game.

By the way, as shown in the bottom view in FIG. 6, a normal joystick has four microswitches 21a, 22a, 23a, 2 on a housing 10a.
4a are arranged in a square shape, and a stick 30a made of iron or the like is tilted only in four directions (up, down, left, and right) in the arrangement, and is operated in a desired direction to correspond to the one of the micro switches that is turned on. The character moves in the direction.

For example, if only the micro switch 21a corresponding to the upward direction is turned on (the state shown in FIG. 6), the character will move upward, downward, left,
If only one of the right micro-switches is turned on, the character moves in the direction corresponding to the turned-on micro-switch, and eventually moves in one of the up, down, left, and right directions. This is a 4-way joystick.

In the case of an 8-direction joystick, the above-mentioned stick is inclined in an oblique direction in addition to the above-mentioned four directions,
The character moves in a direction corresponding to this tilt direction. In order to move the character diagonally in this way, it is sufficient to turn on two switches at the same time, and the character moves in the direction corresponding to the direction of the two microswitches that are turned on at the same time. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the right micro switch 24a and the top micro switch 21a are turned on at the same time (they may be turned on with a slight time lag), The character moves.

Therefore, a joystick that can be controlled in eight directions can be used in a four-way game.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, when an 8-direction joystick is used in a 4-direction game, the movement of changing the moving direction of the character is not quick.

In other words, if the stake is tilted diagonally,
This means that two microswitches are pressed at the same time, and the character moves in the direction corresponding to the microswitch that was pressed earlier. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, suppose that both the upper micro switch 21a and the right micro switch 24a are pressed, and the upper micro switch 21a is pressed a little faster. In this case, the character moves upward, and in this state, even if the stick is tilted to the right as shown in Fig. 7, as long as the upward micro switch 21a is pressed, the character moves upward, but does not move to the right. . In this case, first turn off the upper micro switch 21a, then turn off the right micro switch 21a.
4a, and if an 8-way joystick is used in a 4-way game, there is a problem in that the operation for switching the moving direction of the character is complicated and not quick.

If you want to play a 4-way game after using an 8-way joystick, you may consider removing the 8-way joystick from the gaming computer and attaching a 4-way joystick. However, this method has the problem that the joystick must be removed for each type of game (for each direction of the game), and the removal work is complicated.

Also, Utility Application No. 56-30293 (Utility Application No. 57-143635)
No. 1) describes a multi-contact lever switch using a micro switch with a removable guide chip for changing the direction, and Utility Model Application No. 61-80208 (Utility Model Application No. 62-192530) describes a plate with holes. A switch assembly is described that switches between 4 and 8 directions by rotating the switch, but since these are screwed, screws are required to switch between 4 and 8 directions. There is a problem in that it is absolutely necessary and the screwing work is complicated.

Furthermore, Utility Application No. 1986-20597 (Utility Application No. 1983-
No. 138142) describes a switch direction designation switching mechanism that switches between 4 and 8 directions by rotating the guide frame.
Since it is necessary to use two sheets, there is a problem that the structure is complicated.

To provide a pointing device which can be easily switched to correspond to an eight-way game and a four-way game using one pointing device, and which has a simple structure. The purpose is to

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides a plate-shaped member having a substantially square window and rotating about the axis of the stay, and by tilting the stay, it is possible to press only one of the microswitches. Direction regulating means for regulating the direction of the plate-like object are provided at the first position and at the second position where two of the microswitches can be pressed at the same time, and this direction regulating means
It consists of a spring that biases the pin against the plate-like object, and a hole provided in the flange of the casing that engages with the pin.

[Effect]

The present invention provides a plate-shaped member having a substantially square window and rotating about the axis of the stay, and by tilting the stay, it is possible to press only one of the microswitches. Direction regulating means for regulating the direction of the plate-like object are provided at the first position and at the second position where two of the microswitches can be pressed at the same time, and this direction regulating means
It consists of a spring that biases the pin against the plate-shaped object and a hole provided in the flange of the housing that engages with the pin, so you can use one pointing device to When switching to correspond to a directional game and a 4-directional game,
The switching operation is easy, and the pointing device has a simple structure.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a front view of the above embodiment.

In the above embodiment, four microswitches 21, 22, 23, 24 are attached to the housing 10,
These microswitches 21 to 24 are arranged in a square shape, and the stake 30 can freely tilt within this arrangement.

Further, the housing 10 is provided with a flange 11, and the flange 11 is provided with holes 12 and 13.

Further, a plate 40 having a substantially square window 41 and rotating about the axis of the stake 30 is provided. This plate 40 is held down by a cover 50 shown in FIG. The plate 40 also includes a knob 42, a pin 43 that fits and slides on the plate 40, and a pin 43 that fits and slides on the plate 40.
A spring 44 biases the pin 43 against zero.

A pin 43 that fits and slides on the plate 40, a spring that biases the pin 43 against the plate 40, and a collar 1 of the housing 10.
The holes 12 and 13, which are provided in the hole 1 and engages with the pin 43, are an example of direction regulating means.

This direction regulating means controls the micro switches 21 to 24 by tilting the stay 30.
The first position (the position shown in Fig. 1) allows only one of the micro switches 21 to 22 to be moved, and the second position (the position shown in Fig. 5) allows two of the micro switches 21 to 22 to be pressed at the same time. position of the state shown) and
This is a means for regulating the direction of the plate 40.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the housing 10 and microswitches 21 to 24 in the above embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing the plate 40 in the above embodiment.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

When playing an 8-direction game, it is necessary for the character to advance in 8 directions, and by tilting the stake 30, the microswitches 21 to 21 are moved.
One or two of the 24 must be turned on at the same time. To do this, set the state as shown in FIG.

In other words, by rotating the plate 40, the pin 43 of the plate 40
into the hole 12 of the housing 10. That is, pull the knob 42 shown in FIG. 4 downward in the drawing, remove the pin 43 from the hole 13, rotate the plate 40 clockwise from the state shown in FIG. In the state
Release knob 42. This causes the pin 43 to fit into the hole 12 and the window 41 in the plate 40 to be in the position shown in FIG.

In this state, if the stake 30 is tilted upward or downward, only the microswitch 21 or 22 is turned on, and if the microswitch 30 is tilted horizontally, only the microswitch 23 or 24 is turned on. This causes the character to move in any direction, up, down, left, or right. Furthermore, if the stay 30 is moved diagonally, two adjacent microswitches among the microswitches 21 and 22 are turned on at the same time, and the upper left, lower left, upper right,
The character moves in the lower right direction.

On the other hand, when executing a 4-way game after executing an 8-way game, from the state shown in FIG.
The orientation of the plate 40 is changed to the state shown in FIG.
In this case, the knob 42 is pulled and the pin 43 provided at the end thereof is fixed in the hole 13. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the window 41 of the plate 40 is brought into the state shown in FIG. Only one of them can be turned on. However, even if an attempt is made to tilt the stake 30 in a diagonal direction, the window 41 prevents the tilt in the diagonal direction, making it impossible to press the two microswitches at the same time. In other words, in this state, it becomes a joystick for four directions.

In the above embodiment, the joystick can be switched from 8 directions to 4 directions, and conversely from 4 directions to 8 directions, with a simple operation.

The orientation of plate 40 is approximately 45 degrees between the conditions shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the surface of the collar 11 through which the pin 43 passes or contacts when rotating the plate 40 is a flat surface, but this surface may be a convex curved surface 11a. In this way, the knob 42 can be moved to the fourth position.
In the figure, when the plate 40 is rotated by pulling it downward to switch between four directions and eight directions, the switching operation becomes smooth. That is, pull the knob 42 down and release the plate 4.
0 is rotated approximately 45 degrees, the above surface is a convex curved surface 1
1a, the plate 40 can be easily rotated even if the knob 42 is released from the finger in the second half of the rotation angle. Therefore, the switching operation described above becomes smooth.

In the above embodiment, the plate 40 has a substantially circular shape, but it may have another shape. Further, although the knob 42, pin 43, and spring 44 are used as means for fixing the plate 40 in a predetermined direction, other means may be used to fix the plate 40 in a predetermined position. Furthermore, the method of installing the microswitches 21 to 24 may be different from that of the above embodiment.

Further, although the above embodiment has been described with reference to a joystick, the present invention is not limited to a joystick for playing games, but can be broadly considered as a pointing device as one of the input means of a computer.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, using one pointing device, it is easy to switch the operation to correspond to an 8-way game and a 4-way game, and the structure of the pointing device is simple. play.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a bottom view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the casing and the microswitch in the above embodiment. Figure 3 shows
It is a figure which shows the board in the said Example. FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing a state in which the direction of the plate is changed in the above embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional example. 7th
The figure shows a state in which the direction of inclination of the stake in the conventional example is changed. 10... Housing, 12, 13... Hole, 21-24... Micro switch, 30... Stake, 40... Board,
41...window.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A device comprising four microswitches fixed to a housing, and a tiltable stick supported by the housing, and by tilting the stick, one of the switches can be activated. In a pointing device that presses one or two of the microswitches, a plate-like object is provided with a substantially square window and rotates about the axis of the stick; A direction regulating means for regulating the direction of the plate-like object between a first position where only one of the microswitches can be pressed and a second position where two of the microswitches can be pressed simultaneously; It is composed of a pin that fits and slides on a plate-like object, a spring that biases the pin against the plate-like object, and a hole that is provided in the flange of the casing and that engages with the pin. A pointing device comprising: a direction regulating means; and a pointing device. 2. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the collar through which the pin passes or contacts when rotating the plate-shaped object is a convex curved surface.