JPH07287637A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an input device where an operator can operate the two-dimensional cursor on the display device of a computer equipment easily and without fatigue and the improvement of working efficiency can be expected. CONSTITUTION:This device has a hollow part 2D where a bottom surface 2F is formed into a concave sphericality and a surrounding wall 2E is formed at a center vertical line symmetry location, and is provided with a body 2 which is freely tilted, a rolling sphere body 6 which is kept at the bottom surface 2F of the hollow part so that the body may be freely rolled, plural contact detection means 5A to 5D arranged at the surrounding wall 2E, the bottom surface 2B of a body autonomous means keeping the body 2 in an autonomous state, a flat part 2C, a heavy bob 4 and means 7A to 70 supplying the signal from each of the contact detection means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an input device, and more particularly to an input device capable of interactively inputting by moving the position of a two-dimensional cursor displayed on a display device of a computer device. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, ones that have been widely used as pointing devices for this type of computer equipment are:
There are mice and joysticks. FIG. 3 shows an outline of the basic configuration of the mouse. The mouse is roughly classified into a mechanical type and an optical type. Here, the function will be described by taking a mechanical type as an example.

As shown in this figure, a mechanical mouse 100 is formed in an integral housing 101, and a work table 1 is provided through a spherical rolling element 102 provided at the bottom thereof.
You can move it on 03. Then, the movement is decomposed into the X direction and the Y direction which are orthogonal to each other, and the respective movement amounts are detected by a rotary encoder or the like. Here, 104 rotates according to the movement in the X direction, and according to the rotation amount. A pulse generator for generating pulses, similarly 105 is a pulse generator for detecting the amount of movement in the Y direction, and 106 is an operation button for command input.

FIG. 4 also shows a basic configuration example of a joystick which is a computer input device.
The joystick 200 is provided with a casing 201 installed on the work table 103 and an operating handle 202 swingably held by the casing 201. A sensor provided at the position is detected in the tilt direction and the two-dimensional cursor position is moved on a computer display (not shown). 203 is an operation button for command input.

[0005]

However, in the input device of the conventional computer equipment as described above, for example, in the case of the former mouse type, the operation input can be easily performed with one hand, but the movement amount of the two-dimensional cursor position is large. Therefore, the operator needs to move the mouse 100 back and forth, left and right on the work table 103 many times, which causes a lot of fatigue of the wrist and the arm, and a troublesome work is required.

In the case of the latter joystick 200, the operation is only required to incline the operating handle 202 in accordance with the moving direction of the two-dimensional cursor position on the computer display, but the operator uses the work table 103 as the main body.
It is necessary to fix it to or to operate the operating handle 202 by supporting it with one hand, which causes a problem in operability. In any case, the conventional example has advantages and disadvantages,
As an input device that can be used to input a two-dimensional cursor position used in a computer or an engineering workstation, there is a demand for an input device that takes advantage of the advantages of both a mouse and a joystick.

An object of the present invention is to pay attention to such a conventional problem, and in order to solve the problem, an operator can easily move a two-dimensional cursor position on a display device of a computer device, and
An object of the present invention is to provide an input device that can be operated without fatigue and is expected to improve work efficiency.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the present invention has a bottom surface formed in a concave spherical shape, and a peripheral wall formed in a symmetrical position with respect to a vertical line including the center of the bottom surface. A housing having a hollow portion, which is held tiltable on a desk by gripping an outer shell portion from above, a rolling sphere which is held rollable along the bottom surface of the hollow portion, A plurality of contact detection means disposed on the peripheral wall, capable of contacting the rolling sphere rolling along the bottom surface when the housing is tilted, and means for sending a signal from each contact detection means ,
A case self-sustaining means for keeping the case self-sustaining so that the rolling sphere is kept at the center position of the bottom surface when the grip is released, and the rolling is performed by grasping and tilting the case. The sphere is brought into contact with at least one of the plurality of contact detecting means, a detection signal from the contact detecting means that has come into contact is sent to the host computer, and the two-dimensional cursor on the display device is moved in the tilting direction of the housing. It is characterized by doing so.

[0009]

According to the present invention, when the operator grips the outer shell portion of the housing which is kept tiltable on the desk from the upper portion and tilts it in the direction in which the two-dimensional cursor is desired to move, it becomes hollow. The rolling sphere rolls along the bottom surface formed in the concave spherical shape of the section, and when the rolling sphere makes contact with the contact detecting means provided on the peripheral wall, a detection signal is output from the contact detecting means in contact, and its direction is changed. It is transmitted to the host computer, and the two-dimensional cursor on the display device can be moved via the host computer.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail and specifically below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a housing type input device according to the present invention. The housing 2 of the input device 1 is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape so that the operator can easily operate it with one hand, and the upper half 2A thereof is gripped by the palm of the operator. Reference numeral 2B denotes a bottom surface of the housing 2, and the bottom surface 2B is formed in a spherical shape to facilitate the tilting of the housing 2 in any direction, and a central portion of the bottom surface 2B is provided with a housing when not operated. The flat portion 2C is formed on the work table 3 so that the body 2 can be restored to the original stable state and landed. Further, 4 is a weight embedded in the flat portion 2C. By burying the weight 4 in this way, not only the input device 1 is stably landed, but also the operator after the input device releases the input device 1 from the gripped state, the housing 2 is not tilted to any side. Can be kept in a neutral state.

It should be noted that the housing 2 is formed in a hollow shape so as to substantially conform to the outer shape as shown in FIG. 1 (B). 2D
Is a hollow part having a substantially square cross section, 2E is a hollow part 2D
Inner wall portions 2F on four sides are spherical bottom surfaces (inner bottom surfaces) formed in the hollow portion 2D. Reference numerals 5A to 5D are contact detection means (contact detection sensors) arranged on the four wall portions, and 6 is housed in the hollow portion 2D and kept rotatably along the spherical inner bottom surface 2F. It is a rolling sphere. In the case of this example, the rolling sphere 6 is formed of an elastic body such as rubber,
When the input device 1 described later is operated, the contact detection means 5A to 5D in the surroundings are contacted according to the inclination of the housing 2, and signals corresponding to the contact positions are sent to the host computer (not shown) via the signal cables 7A to 7D. ) To. Reference numeral 8 is a push button provided on the upper half side wall 2G of the outer shell of the housing 2, and a host computer side is a push button capable of command input, and 9A to 9C are signal cables for sending command input from each push button 8 to the host computer. Is.

The contact detecting means described above may be any as long as it can detect the contact direction and contact pressure at the time of input by rolling of the rolling sphere 6, which will be described later, and the contact condition with the rolling sphere 6. A pressure strain sensor, a magnetic sensor, or the like can be given as an example suitable for outputting the detection signal as a physical quantity according to the inclination direction. For example, in the case of a pressure strain sensor, semiconductor strain gauges formed in a distributed form may be arranged on four sides. However, in the present embodiment, the contact detection means was provided on the four sides of the hollow portion in the box-shaped casing whose upper surface and the transverse cross section are substantially square. However, such a casing and the shape of the hollow portion are as described above. It is not limited to the shape of, but the upper half can be easily grasped by the operator,
In addition, any shape may be used as long as it can be easily tilted in any direction while being gripped.

Further, the side surface of the hollow portion provided with the contact detection means is not limited to four surfaces, and the side surface is formed symmetrically with respect to the center position of the spherical bottom surface of the hollow portion where the rolling sphere is located in the grounded state of the housing. Any configuration may be used as long as the contact detection means is provided on the side surface thereof. Therefore, if the horizontal cutting surface of the hollow portion has a regular polygonal shape, contact detection means may be arranged on each of the surfaces, and the side surface of the hollow portion is formed into a cylindrical shape having a circular shape, and contact detection is performed on the hollow side surface. It is also possible to arrange the means in a distributed manner.

Next, an input device using the input device 1 thus constructed will be described.

First, the input device 1 is placed at an arbitrary position on a flat surface on the work table 3 where the display of the host computer is easy to see. Then, the operator simply holds the upper half portion 2A of the housing 2 with the palm of one hand and tilts the housing 2 in the direction in which the two-dimensional cursor position displayed on the display is to be moved. Good. Also, the housing 2
While tilting, operate to rotate it.
It is also possible to move the dimensional cursor in an arc shape.
In these cases, in the hollow portion 2D of the housing 2, the rolling sphere 6 rolls along the spherical bottom surface 2F of the housing 1 in a tilted direction, and the contact detection sensor disposed on the inner wall portion 2E thereof. 5A ~
Touch 5D. Thus, these contact detection sensors 5
A detection signal corresponding to the tilted direction is output from A to 5D, and the two-dimensional cursor on the display can be moved in that direction via the host computer.

When it is desired to stop the two-dimensional cursor at that position, the tilting of the housing 2 can be returned to the original landing state. Note that the command input by the plurality of push buttons 8 is the same as that performed in the conventional mouse or the like, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

In the embodiment described above, the bottom of the housing itself is formed into a spherical shape, the central portion is provided with a flat portion, and the weight is embedded in the flat portion, so that it is automatically stabilized by the Daruma method. Although it was made possible to restore to the position, the bottom of the hollow part was formed into a spherical concave surface, the rolling sphere was installed inside this, and the contact detection sensor was placed on the wall of the inner circumference and the weight was set. Although the configuration of the housing and the output means provided is the same, the housing itself may be held via a compass-type holding means so that the housing itself can be tilted in any direction.

With this structure, even if the work table is slightly inclined or the work table itself swings, the rolling sphere can always be kept in a stable neutral restoring position. .

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the bottom surface is formed in a concave spherical shape, and the peripheral wall is formed in a symmetrical position with respect to the vertical line including the center of the bottom surface. And a casing that is kept tiltable on the desk by gripping the outer shell from above, a rolling sphere that is kept rollable along the bottom surface of the hollow portion, and the surrounding wall. Is arranged,
A plurality of contact detection means capable of contacting the rolling sphere rolling along the bottom surface due to the tilting of the housing, a means for sending a signal from each contact detection means, and the rolling movement when gripping is released. A case self-sustaining means for keeping the case self-sustaining so that the sphere is kept at the center position of the bottom surface, and the rolling sphere is brought into contact with the plurality of contacts by gripping and tilting the case. Since at least one of the detecting means is brought into contact with the host computer and a detection signal from the contact detecting means which has made contact is sent to the host computer, the two-dimensional cursor on the display device is moved in the tilting direction of the housing. It is suitable for input work to the display device of the mechanism, such as software development and CAD or computer graphics, and contributes to improving the interactivity of the work with a simple configuration. And, it is possible to provide a user-friendly input device to the operator by a significant improvement in work efficiency and working environment.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the above-mentioned effect, the input can be easily performed even in an environment with rocking or tilting.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a configuration of an input device of the present invention by a top view (A) and a sectional view (B) taken along the line AA in (A).

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of the input device shown in FIG. 1 by a front view (A), a right side view (B) and a bottom view (C).

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing, as a conventional example, an outline of the configuration of a mouse by partially crushing it.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an outline of the configuration of a joystick as a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input device 2 Housing 2A Upper half part 2B Bottom surface 2C Flat part 2D Hollow part 2E Inner wall part 2F Spherical bottom surface (inner bottom surface) 3 Working table 4 Weights 5A to 5D Contact detection means (contact detection sensor) 6 Rolling Sphere 7A-7D, 9A-9C Signal cable 8 Push button

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A bottom surface is formed into a concave spherical shape, and a peripheral wall has a hollow portion formed at a symmetrical position with respect to a vertical line including the center of the bottom surface, and an outer shell portion is gripped from above. A housing that is kept tiltable on a desk by means of, a rolling sphere that is held so that it can roll along the bottom surface of the hollow portion, and is arranged on the peripheral wall, and the housing is tilted to the bottom surface. A plurality of contact detection means capable of contacting the rolling spheres rolling along with them, means for sending a signal from each contact detection means, and the rolling spheres kept at the center position of the bottom surface when gripping and releasing. A housing self-sustaining means for keeping the housing self-sustaining so as to be drooped, and by holding and tilting the housing to bring the rolling sphere into contact with at least one of the plurality of contact detection means. Send the detection signal from the contact detection means And, an input device, wherein a two-dimensional cursor on a display device adapted to move the tilting direction of the housing. 2. The housing self-supporting means comprises a bottom surface of a spherical outer shell of the housing, a circular flat surface formed in a central portion of the bottom surface, and a weight embedded in the flat surface. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the input device is configured by: 3. The housing self-supporting means is composed of housing supporting means for supporting the housing swingably in all directions, and a weight provided on the housing. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is maintained in the self-supporting state via means. 4. The input device according to claim 1, wherein each of the outer shell portion and the hollow portion of the housing has a substantially square cross section. 5. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the outer shell portion and the hollow portion of the housing have substantially regular polygonal or circular cross-sections. 6. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the contact detection unit is composed of a piezoelectric element. 7. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising a command sending means for sending to the host computer.