JPH07117876B2 - Pointing control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pointing control device for moving a pointer or a cursor on a display of a computer to an arbitrary position on the display, and can be incorporated in a keyboard portion of a desktop computer and a portable small computer. In a pointing device for moving a pointer or a cursor on a display of a computer to an arbitrary position on the display for the purpose of good operability, a support and a support located on the support A slider having a dome shape slidable in an arbitrary direction relative to each other, and a detection means for detecting a movement amount of the slider per unit time, and a pointer or a pointer based on the detection result of the detection means. Configure to move the cursor.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a pointing control device for moving a pointer or cursor on a computer display to an arbitrary position on the display.

Conventionally, as data input / output means in data processing, while displaying data in characters and figures on the screen of a display such as a computer CRT, input means such as a digitizer, mouse, light pen, trackball, etc. are used in addition to the keyboard. Then, a method of creating data while interactively operating is used. For example, it is often used in CAD for graphic data processing and in the field of simulation.

In recent years, also in the field of data processing and OA, as an input / output device for data, an OS that processes by interactive operation that requires the use of a pointing device in addition to a keyboard,
The number of application software is increasing due to its operability.

On the other hand, in the computer device,
From a computer of a desktop type with an independent keyboard and a display to a laptop type, a notebook type, and a palmtop type in which a computer body, a keyboard, and a display are integrated, there is a trend toward lightweight and compact size that is convenient to carry.

In the pointing device, the usage environment has been expanded, and in addition to the conventional operation by desktop installation, as a portable device, with the computer on the knee or palm,
A pointing device is required to be available. For this reason, the pointing device does not require an installation area like conventional mice and digitizers,
It is required to be incorporated in a computer device. Further, even in the conventional desktop computer, there is a demand for reducing the installation area on the desk, and therefore it is necessary to incorporate it in the computer device. In the case of a portable device, since the power source is mainly a battery, each device needs to have low power consumption.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional pointing device incorporated in a computer apparatus is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1A, a bar 1 connected to a sensor (not shown) is provided on a keyboard 1 of the device, and by moving the bar left and right, a pointer or a cursor on the display is moved left and right through the sensor. By moving the bar 2 back and forth, the pointer or cursor on the display can be moved up and down.
See 1-503418). In addition, those shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C are the shaft 4 of the J key or F key 3 of the home key.
4 sensors 7 such as tension gauges are provided between the lower member 5 and the housing 6 (see FIG. 6B), or sensors such as tension gauges are provided on the four faces of the shaft 4 having a square cross section as shown in FIG. 7, the pointer or cursor on the display is moved left and right by pressing the key top 8 to the right or left, and the pointer or cursor on the display is moved up and down by pressing the key top 8 back and forth. You can do it. At the time of the above operation, it is necessary to simultaneously press a control key (not shown). When the key top is pressed vertically, normal characters can be input. (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,577) [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the pointing device incorporated in the conventional computer device shown in FIG. 19 (a), the bar 2 has a considerable area of the keyboard 1. There is a problem that it occupies a large size. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 19 (b) and (c), when pressure is applied to the key top 8 in the left / right direction and the front / rear direction, it is necessary to adjust the pressure in a delicate manner, which is not convenient. is there.

In view of the above conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pointing control device which can be incorporated in a keyboard portion of a desktop computer and a small portable computer and has good operability.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, a pointing control device of the present invention is a pointing control device for moving a pointer or a cursor on a display of a computer to an arbitrary position on the display, and an upper surface supporting a slider has a dome shape. Eggplant support 13 and the support
A slider 10 located above 13 and having a lower surface having a shape along the dome shape of the support 13 and slidable in an arbitrary direction and having a permanent magnet 18 in a part thereof, and below the slider 10. A plurality of magnetoelectric conversion elements 14, 14 'arranged to detect the magnetic field of the permanent magnet 18, and a unit time of the slider 10 from the output of the magnetoelectric conversion elements 14, 14' by the movement of the permanent magnet 18 moving together with the slider 10. And a circuit for moving a pointer or a cursor by calculating the amount of movement per hit.

[Action]

While providing the permanent magnet 18 on the dome-shaped slider 10,
Magnetic resistance elements 14 and 14 'are provided below the housing, and the magnetic resistance elements 14 and 14' detect the magnetic flux from the permanent magnet 18 of the slider 10 to detect the moving direction and the moving distance of the slider 10. it can.

Further, since the slider 10 can be operated with a finger, it can be miniaturized, can be incorporated in a keyboard of a computer device, and is easy to operate.

〔Example〕

1 and 2 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an assembled sectional view, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view.
In both figures, 10 is a slider,
Is an elastic member 11 and a dome-shaped member 12 having a hole 12a in the center.
And consists of. 13 is a housing for slidably supporting the slider 10, 14 and 14 'are magnetoresistive elements, 15 is a switch, 16
Is a key top of the switch, 17 is a magnetoresistive element 14, 14 '
Further, a printed circuit board on which the switch 15 is mounted, 18 is a permanent magnet provided on the slider 10, and 19 is a case of the device.

The elastic member 11 of the slider 10 may be made of an elastic material such as rubber in order to improve the touch feeling of the finger.
In addition, the elastic member 11 and the dome-shaped member 12 are combined to form an elastic member.
A permanent magnet 18 is embedded in the lower central portion of 11. This permanent magnet 18 is made of a plastic magnet and is an elastic member.
May be integrated with 11. The housing 13 has a dome shape and has a large hole 13a formed in the center thereof, and supports the slider 10 slidably. The magnetoresistive elements 14 and 14 'and the switch 15 are mounted on a printed circuit board 17 and fixed and arranged below the slider 10.

It should be noted that the elastic member 11 of the slider 10 is provided with a crater-shaped recess 10a at the center as shown in FIG. 3 (a) or as shown in FIG. 3 (b) in order to improve the touch feeling of the finger. A small protrusion 10b may be provided at the center so that the origin position of the slider can be easily recognized. Further, as a means for stopping the origin position of the slider 10, FIG. 4 (a)
Alternatively, as shown in (b), the protrusion 10c is formed on the lower surface of the slider 10.
Is provided, and when the slider 10 is at the origin position, this protrusion
The base 20 may be provided with the column 20 having the recess 20a that engages with the portion 10c.

As a case shape for improving operability,
As shown in the figure, when you move the slider 10 to the limit with your finger, you can easily recognize that it is the limit, and the slider 10 should not hurt when you pinch it or move it suddenly. Indentation 19a at the edge of the hole in the exposed case 19
May be provided.

The present embodiment thus constructed is used as shown in FIG. FIG. 1A shows an example in which the pointing control device 25 of the present embodiment is mounted on the keyboard portion 24 of a portable small computer 23. The pointing control device 25 is a keyboard as shown in FIG. When the palm is placed on the upper home position and the keys are operated, the keys are arranged in a position that is easy to operate. FIGS. 9A and 9B show a case where the thumb is used for easy operation, which is arranged in front of the keyboard unit 24.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an operation with a finger of the pointing control device of this embodiment. FIG. 7A shows a case of operating the thumb, and the thumb 26 is operated by placing it in the recess 10a at the center of the slider 10. FIG. 7B shows a case where a finger other than the thumb, for example, an index finger is used, and the slider is used as in the case of FIG.
The index finger 27 is placed in the recess 10a of 10 and the slider 10 is operated as shown in FIG. In this way, when operating the slider 10 with a finger other than the thumb, it is better to arrange the pointing control device at the back side of the keyboard in order to improve operability.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a method of detecting the displacement of the slider, where (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a top view.

When the permanent magnet 18 fixed to the slider moves to arbitrary coordinates on the X-axis and the Y-axis as the slider moves, the magnetoresistive elements 14 and 14 ′ each have a resistance value due to the magnetic resistance effect due to the change in magnetic flux from the permanent magnet 18. Changes. In this case, if the magnetoresistive elements 14 and 14 'are arranged so that the respective magnetic detection directions are in the directions of the arrows, the displacement of the slider in the X and Y directions can be detected from the respective changes in the magnetic resistance.

By accelerating the displacement amount at this time, the pointer or cursor on the computer display can be moved. Details of this control will be described later.

In an actual operation, when the slider is largely moved with a finger, the pointer or cursor on the display of the computer is largely moved, and when the slider is slightly moved, the pointer or cursor can be minutely controlled to be moved. The operator is feedback-controlled by a series of operations such as moving the pointer or the cursor on the display by the action of the finger, visually confirming the position on the display, and adjusting the finger again, so the operability is sufficiently good.

9A and 9B are views showing another example of the slider displacement detection mechanism, wherein FIG. 9A is a perspective view and FIG. 9B is a plan view of a magnetoresistive element.

In FIG. 8A, reference numeral 18 denotes a permanent magnet provided on the slider, and its magnetizing direction is vertical (in the case of FIG. 8, it is magnetized horizontally). 14 ″ is a magnetoresistive element, which is disposed directly below the permanent magnet 18. As shown in FIG. 2B, the magnetoresistive element 14 ″ has barber pole type magnetoresistive patterns 28 _{-1 to} 28 _-4 on the substrate. It is formed on 29, and two facing each other are connected in series. And the terminal
If a voltage is applied between A and B and between CDs, the permanent magnet 18 is displaced by a magnetic flux acting differentially on the magnetoresistive patterns connected in series, and a voltage proportional to the displacement of the permanent magnet 18 is generated. Output from the V _AB or V _CD pin.

As described above, the detection mechanism using the magnetoresistive change using the magnetoresistive element has advantages such as low power consumption and a simple structure.

In addition to using the magnetoresistive element, a rotary encoder used for detecting the amount of movement of a mouse or the like can be used. FIG. 10 is a simple perspective view of a device to which this rotary encoder is applied.

X and Y encoders 40 and 41 are provided on the housing 13, and supporting rollers 42 are provided so as to have the same height as the encoders 40 and 41. These encoders 40,41
The slider 10 is provided so that three points of the supporting roller 42 and the supporting roller 42 contact each other. In such a device, when the slider 10 is moved in an arbitrary direction, the X, Y encoders 40, 41 rotate and the amount of movement can be detected.

In addition, in this embodiment, a click button is provided in order to have a similar function as a substitute for other pointing devices such as a mouse, a trackball, and a digitizer.
By pressing the central portion of the elastic member 11 in FIG. 1, the switch 15 can be pressed through the key top 16 having a large area regardless of the position of the slider 10.

Further, as means for pushing down the switch 15, as shown in FIG. 11, a housing 13 is provided with a switch pushing plate 13b, and the housing 13 is supported in a floating state on a base 21 by a spring 30 so that the slider 10 There is also a method of pressing the switch 15 via the housing 13 by pressing.

Acceleration control of the slider will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 12 is a control circuit diagram, 43 is a detector for detecting the amount of movement of the slider 10 (the figure shows the embodiment of FIG. 9), 44 is an A / D converter, and 45 is an MPU. Is.

Detection unit that detects changes in magnetic resistance, encoder rotation, etc.
The X-axis movement signal and the Y-time movement signal output from 43 are amplified, digitally converted by the A / D converter 44, and then acceleration-controlled by the MPU 45 and output. A flowchart for performing this acceleration control is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 13 (a), first, the output voltage on the X-axis side that is output according to the amount of movement of the slider 10 on the X-axis side is measured,
Remember this. Next, similarly, the output voltage associated with the amount of movement on the Y-axis side is measured and stored.

As shown in FIG. 13 (b), the MPU is provided with a table for outputting the count number indicating the acceleration corresponding to the voltage values of the X axis and the Y axis. For example, when the voltage value on the X-axis is 2 and the voltage value on the Y-axis is 8, the count numbers 10 and 40 are output, and the movement signal per unit time is 10 on the X-axis.
Output, 40 times on the Y axis, and the cursor is controlled.

When the cursor movement is realized by performing the acceleration control in this way, the movement amount of the slider 10 can be small, and thus there are advantages that the operation is easy and the device can be downsized.

14 and 15 are views showing a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 14 is an assembled sectional view, and FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view.

In both figures, 10 is a dome-shaped slider, on the lower surface of which a permanent magnet 18 and a plurality of protrusions 32 for hooking the garter spring are provided. Reference numeral 13 denotes a housing which slidably supports the slider and has a large hole in the center thereof, and a frame 33 for catching the garter spring and pressing the switch is provided on the lower surface of the housing. Also the housing
13 is supported on a base 21 in a floating state by a plurality of springs 30. Reference numeral 17 denotes a printed circuit board fixed to the base 21, on which the magnetoresistive elements 14 and 14 'and the switch 15 are mounted. A garter spring 34 is alternately hooked and attached to the protrusion 32 of the slider and the frame 33 of the housing so that the slider 10 can be returned to the origin. Although not shown in the drawing, a crater-shaped recess or protrusion may be provided on the upper portion of the slider 10 as in the first embodiment, and the displacement detecting means of the slider may be that described in FIG. In addition, the permanent magnet 18
The slider 10 may be bonded, embedded, attached with a plastic magnet, or magnetized at the lower part of the slider center. Also, the garter spring 34 is a frame of the housing.
It can be easily assembled by a method in which it is hooked on the spring hooking portion 33 and lifted to the upper surface of the housing 13 and hooked on the protrusion 32 of the slider 10.

As a means for returning the slider 10 to the origin, there is a method shown in FIG. 16 in addition to the girder spring. The one shown in FIG. 10A is one in which a compression spring 35 is inserted between the slider 10 and the base 21, and the slider 10 is restored when the spring 35 bent by the movement of the slider 10 returns to its original state. It is designed to let you. The one shown in FIG. 2B is a plurality of tension springs that pull the slider 10 in all directions.
The one provided with 36, the one shown in FIG.
With rubber 37 between the circumference of the housing and the housing 13,
In each case, the slider 10 is restored by the restoring force of the springs 35, 36 or the rubber 37.
Can be returned to the origin.

The present embodiment thus constructed operates as shown in FIG. In the figure, the thumb is used to operate the slider 10 back and forth and to the left and right, but the displacement of the slider can be detected by the magnetoresistive elements 14 and 14 'as in the first embodiment. If you release your finger from the slider 10, the slider will automatically return to the origin by a return means such as a garter spring. If the slider 10 is pushed down, the housing 13
The switch 15 can be closed by pressing the switch 15 via.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is a view showing the lower surface of the slider, (b) is a partial cross-sectional view of the slider, (c) is a perspective view of the housing, (d).
FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which a slider is supported by a housing.

The structure of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first or second embodiment, except that the plurality of protrusions are radially formed on the lower surface of the slider 10 as shown in FIGS. 18 (a) and 18 (b). In addition to providing 38, the housing 13 is provided with an annular projection 39 at the edge of the hole as shown in FIGS. 7 (c) and 7 (d), and the contact portions of both are point contact at a plurality of places as shown in FIG. That is.

In the present embodiment configured as described above, the slidability of the slider 10 is improved, and the hole at the center of the housing 13 can be enlarged, so that other functions can be easily added. In addition, the same effects as those of the first or second embodiment are obtained.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the slider has a dome shape, and the movement position in the X and Y directions is detected by the permanent magnet provided on the slider and the magnetoresistive element arranged below the permanent magnet. As a result, the pointing device can be made smaller and thinner, and the power consumption can be further reduced, and the pointing device can be mounted on a laptop type, a notebook type, and a palmtop type. Also, by incorporating it into the keyboard of a desktop computer, it is possible to contribute to space saving without requiring an installation area like a conventional mouse or digitizer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an assembled sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a touch feeling of a slider of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view showing an improving means, FIG. 4 is a view showing an origin position recognizing means of the slider of the first embodiment, FIG. 5 is a view showing a cover shape for improving the operability of the first embodiment, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which the pointing control device of the present invention is mounted on a keyboard portion of a small computer, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation example of the first embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a slider displacement detection method. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining another example of the slider displacement detection method, FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of using a rotary encoder for slider displacement detection, and FIG. 11 is The figure which shows the other example of the switch pressing means of 1st Example, 12 is a circuit diagram for performing acceleration control, FIG. 13 is a flowchart of acceleration control, FIG. 14 is an assembled sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 16 is an exploded perspective view of an example, Fig. 16 is a diagram showing another means for returning the slider to the origin, Fig. 17 is a diagram showing a usage state of the second embodiment, and Fig. 18 is a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a main part of an example, and FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a pointing device incorporated in a conventional computer apparatus. In the figure, 10 is a slider, 11 is an elastic member, 12 is a dome-shaped member, 13
Is a housing, 14, 14 ', 14 "are magnetoresistive elements, 15 is a switch, 16 is a keytop, 17 is a printed circuit board, 18 is a permanent magnet, 19 is a case, 20 is a pillar, 21 is a base, 30 is a spring, 32,3
7, 38 is a protrusion, 33 is a frame, 34 is a garter spring, 35 is a compression spring, 36 is a tension spring, 37 is a rubber, 38 is a radial protrusion, and 39 is an annular protrusion.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --Continued from the front page (56) References JP-A-2-115921 (JP, A) JP-A-2-234212 (JP, A) JP-A-2-115921 (JP, A) Actual Development Sho-58- 113142 (JP, U) Actual opening Sho 59-116815 (JP, U) Actual opening Sho 57-9661 (JP, U)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A pointing control device for moving a pointer or a cursor on a display of a computer to an arbitrary position on the display, the support having a dome-shaped upper surface for supporting a slider, A slider (which is located on the support (13) and has a lower surface along the dome shape of the support (13) and is slidable in an arbitrary direction and having a permanent magnet (18) in a part thereof ( Ten)
And a plurality of magnetoelectric conversion elements (14, 1) arranged below the slider (10) for detecting the magnetic field of the permanent magnet (18).
4 ') and the output of the magnetoelectric conversion element (14, 14') due to the movement of the permanent magnet (18) that moves together with the slider (10), and calculate the movement amount of the slider (10) per unit time, A pointing control device comprising a circuit for moving a cursor. 2. The pointing control device according to claim 1, wherein a crater-shaped depression (10a) is provided in a central portion of the dome-shaped slider (10). 3. The pointing control device according to claim 1, wherein a small protrusion (10) whose position can be recognized by touching the center of the upper surface of the dome-shaped slider (10) with a finger.
b) Pointing control device characterized by being provided. 4. The pointing control device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a recess (19a) is provided around a portion of the case (19) to which the pointing control device is attached, where the dome-shaped slider (10) is exposed. ) Is provided with a pointing control device. 5. The pointing control device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein an annular projection (39) is provided on the upper surface of the support (13), and the projection (39) is formed on the lower surface of the slider (10). A pointing control device characterized in that a plurality of radial projections (38) intersecting with (39) are provided, and these projections (39) (38) contact and slide. 6. The pointing control device according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, further comprising an origin position stopping means for the slider (10). 7. The pointing control device according to claim 1, further comprising a returning means for returning the slider (10) to the origin. 8. The pointing control device according to claim 1, further comprising a switch (15) which is activated by pressing a slider (10).