JPH06324800A - Pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a stick type pointing device for freely moving a cursor on a display screen extremely small and compact and to extremely simplify the signal processing. CONSTITUTION:Two sheets of piezo-electric ceramic (piezoelectric bodies) 11 and 12 piled up and down and arranged so as to let polarizing directions be orthogonal to each other are adhered to a bottom plate member 13 and moreover is adhered similarly to the lower surface of a stick member 14 provided with a stick-like operation part. Electrodes are respectively printed on the upper and lower surfaces of the respective piezoelectric bodies 11 and 12 and a part of the electrodes pulled out to a side surface (lead wire pull-out part) is connected through an FPC 15 to a signal processing circuit. When stress in a cursor moving direction is applied to the stick member 14, conversion to electric signals is performed by the two sheets of the piezoelectric bodies 11 and 12 and the cursor is moved on the display screen based on it.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stick type pointing device used for computer-related products such as personal computers and word processors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in computer-related products such as personal computers and word processors,
A keyboard is mainly used as a means for inputting data, but recently, a so-called mouse such as a CRT (cathode ray tube) that can freely move a cursor on a display screen, a trackball, a joystick, or the like. A pointing device is used, and processing functions for position (coordinate) information and display information on the screen can be performed by a simple operation.

In recent years, small and lightweight personal computers and word processors that are easy to carry have become common, and in order to make the most of these features, very small pointing devices are also available. Has been converted. As such a small pointing device, for example, a stick type device is shown in FIG. That is, the stick-shaped support column 41 having a rectangular cross-sectional shape and the bottom plate 42 are integrally molded of a resin having elasticity, and one strain gauge 43 is attached to each side face of the support column 41, and a total of four strain gauges 43 are attached. FPC (flexible printed wiring board)
It is connected to the signal processing circuit via 44.

[0004] The operator of the computer supports the pillar 41.
By pushing the tip end of the column laterally with a finger, the support column 41 and the strain gauge 43 are distorted, and the resistance value at that time is output as an electric signal, and the cursor on the display screen can be freely moved through the signal processing circuit. You can
Then, as shown in FIG. 5, a rubber cap is usually put on the tip of the support column 41, and the cap is used by being embedded in the keyboard so that only the cap tip is exposed.

[0005]

In the case of the stick type pointing device having the above structure, the strain gauge is adhered to the stick-shaped column 41 to be deformed together with the column 41, and the resistance value is changed according to the deformation amount. The width of the support column 41 must be larger than the width of the strain gauge 43 in order to generate an electric signal, which limits the miniaturization of the stick itself. In addition, since variations in the shape of the stick member and the mounting state of the strain gauge affect the strain of the strain gauge when there is no load, that is, the initial resistance value, a complicated signal processing circuit is required to correct this. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and enables further miniaturization as compared with the case where a strain gauge is used, and variations in the shape of the stick and the mounting state of the conversion element. It is an object of the present invention to provide a stick type pointing device capable of outputting a stable electric signal by a simple signal processing circuit without considering the above.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a pointing device of the present invention comprises two piezoelectric bodies for converting stress applied to a stick into an electric signal for controlling cursor movement on a display screen. And those 2
The piezoelectric bodies are stacked with their polarization directions orthogonal to each other.

[0008]

The pointing device of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure can generate a necessary and sufficient voltage even if the piezoelectric body is very small or thin, and the two piezoelectric bodies are superposed. Since it is configured as described above, it is possible to assemble the device itself in a very small and compact form without taking up space in the lateral direction. Further, when stress is applied, a voltage is generated, but the voltage is gradually attenuated, so that the voltage is not generated in the unloaded state and is not affected by the shape of the stick or the mounting state of the piezoelectric body.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pointing device according to the present invention, in which two piezoelectric ceramics (piezoelectric bodies) 11 and 12 each polarized in the direction of an arrow sandwich an insulating sheet 16 therebetween to polarize. Overlaid and adhered on the bottom plate member 13 so that the directions are orthogonal to each other,
A stick member 14 that is equal to or thinner than the cross section of each of the piezoelectric bodies 11 and 12 is integrally bonded to the upper surface of the piezoelectric body 11. Electrodes are printed on the upper and lower surfaces of the piezoelectric bodies 11 and 12, respectively, and a part of the electrode (lead wire lead portion) extended to the side surface is connected to the signal processing circuit via the FPC 15.

Next, a method of manufacturing the pointing device shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

First, a piezoelectric ceramic (piezoelectric body) containing PZT (lead zirconate titanate) as a main component is cut into a size of about 2 mm × 2 mm × 1 mm as shown in FIG. Polarize. When applied to a pointing device, the vibration mode of the piezoelectric body uses a mode in the slip direction as shown in FIG. 2, that is, a so-called "thickness slip vibration" mode. That is, when stress in the directions of arrows 26 and 27 is applied to the upper and lower surfaces of the piezoelectric body polarized in the direction of arrow 25 in the figure, an electric field is generated in the direction of arrow 28, and the generated voltage is used as an electric signal. In this case, the arrow 26,
When stress is applied in the opposite direction to 27, an electric field in the opposite direction is generated, and similarly a voltage is also generated in the opposite direction.

Electrodes 21 and 22 and lead wire lead portions 23 and 24 connected to the electrodes 21 and 22 are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the piezoelectric bodies 11 and 12 and part of the side surfaces thereof by using a silver paste to screen the electrodes. Print or apply and bake.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the insulating sheet 1 is provided between the resin bottom plate member 13 and the stick member 14.
Two piezoelectric bodies 11 and 12 are overlapped and bonded to each other via 6 so that their polarization directions are orthogonal to each other, and one end of the FPC 15 is connected to each lead wire lead portion 23 and 24. This is embedded in a part of the keyboard so that the bottom plate member 13 is fixed as in the conventional example shown in FIG.
When the other end of the PC 15 is connected to the signal processing circuit, it functions as a stick type pointing device.

That is, when the operator pushes the tip of the operation portion (stick) of the stick member 14 in the direction in which the cursor on the CRT is desired to be moved, the stress applied to each piezoelectric body 11, 12 is applied to each piezoelectric body 11, 12. A voltage corresponding to the stress component in the polarization direction is generated and sent to the signal processing circuit as an electric signal. Therefore, by the two piezoelectric bodies 11 and 12 whose polarization directions are orthogonal to each other, stress on the surface of the stick member 14 perpendicular to the operating portion (stick), that is, stress on the operator in all directions in the front, rear, left, and right directions. Can be detected.

Further, the piezoelectric bodies 11 and 12 generate a voltage when stress is applied relatively rapidly as when operated by an operator, but when stress is slow such as thermal expansion and contraction, for example. Since the attenuation is larger and almost no voltage is generated, the shape of the stick member 14 and the piezoelectric body 1
It is not affected by variations in the mounting state of 1 and 12. Therefore, a complicated signal processing circuit for correcting such an influence is not necessary, and the voltage generated in each piezoelectric body 11 and 12 is detected only through the very simple signal processing circuit, and the cursor is moved to the computer main body. It can be sent as an electric signal for movement control.

[0017]

As is clear from the above description, the pointing device of the present invention uses a piezoelectric body that can generate a necessary and sufficient voltage even if it is very small or thin. Moreover, since the two piezoelectric bodies are used in a stacked manner, the device itself can be made very small and compact, and it is not affected by the shape of the stick or the mounting state of the piezoelectric body in the unloaded state. The circuit configuration for processing can be extremely simple.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pointing device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a vibration mode of a piezoelectric body.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process of assembling the pointing device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a conventional pointing device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a personal computer incorporating a pointing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Piezoelectric Ceramics (Piezoelectric Body) 12 Piezoelectric Ceramics (Piezoelectric Body) 13 Bottom Plate Member 14 Stick Member 15 FPC 16 Insulating Sheet 21 Electrode 22 Electrode 23 Lead Wire Lead-out Part 24 Lead Wire Lead-out Part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A stick type pointing device connected to a computer, comprising two piezoelectric bodies for converting stress applied to the stick into an electric signal for controlling cursor movement on a display screen, and the two piezoelectric bodies. 2. The pointing device, wherein the piezoelectric bodies are stacked with their polarization directions orthogonal to each other. 2. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the two piezoelectric bodies are configured to convert the stress applied to the stick into an electric signal by utilizing the thickness shear vibration mode.