JPH09280982A - Three-dimensional load sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to output a three-dimensional coordinate signal by providing a mounting base having a cantilever and a first strain detector between-the free end and fixed end of the beam, and a sub-shaft or an operating unit in contact with the free end of the beam. SOLUTION: A first strain detector 23 is formed by printing between the free end 24 and the fixed end 25 of a cantilever beam 22 of a mounting base 21 having the beam 22, a main shaft 26 having a through hole 28 therein formed by printing second strain detectors 29, 30 and third strain detectors 31, 32 on the upper surface is press fitted fixedly into the surface. A sub-shaft 35 is inserted into the hole 28, and assembled fixedly so that the through hole 34 of an operating unit 33 is engaged with the shaft 35. The shaft 35 is projected to the upper surface of the unit 33. The shaft 26 is deformed by the force applied to the unit 33, the resistances of the detectors 29, 30, 31, 32 are changed, and the load is detected as X-axis, Y-axis signals. When the shaft 35 is pressed, the end 24 of the beam 22 is pressed, and the load is detected as the signal of the Z-axis signal due to the resistance change of the detector 23 to input the three-dimensional signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a three-dimensional load sensor used for position input of multimedia devices such as personal computers, portable terminals, electronic notebooks, and game devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, as a two-dimensional coordinate input device,
As a GUI (Graphical User Interface) operation input device such as a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as “personal computer”), a pointing device has been attracting attention as an important input device. Unlike the mouse, one of the pointing devices is required to develop a load sensor that does not require a plane for operating.

A conventional load sensor is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-24445.
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59 is known.

A conventional load sensor will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional load sensor.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a mount made of a plate. 2 is fixed to the upper surface of the mounting base 1 and the strain detecting element 3 is provided on the side surface.
It is a spindle provided with a detection unit 4 in the form of a quadrangular prism having. Reference numeral 5 denotes a columnar operation portion provided on the upper portion of the main shaft 2.

The operation of the conventional load sensor constructed as above will be described below. Due to the force applied to the operation unit 5, the main shaft 2 is deformed by a component force perpendicular to the main shaft 2, and the strain detecting element 3 expands and contracts according to this deformation, and the resistance value changes. This strain detecting element 3 has one set that is symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the main shaft 2, and these two sets of strain detecting elements 3 are arranged at right angles to each other. You can An arithmetic processing device such as a personal computer detects the direction and magnitude of the load applied to the operation unit 5 by inputting signals of two coordinate axes and generates a signal for moving a pointer on a display (not shown). Then
The position of the pointer was fixed.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, there is a problem that a three-dimensional coordinate signal cannot be output because only the direction and magnitude of the two-dimensional load parallel to the mounting base 1 can be detected. Was.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a three-dimensional load sensor capable of outputting a three-dimensional coordinate signal.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has a cantilever, and an attachment having a first strain detecting element between a free end and a fixed end of the cantilever. It is configured to have a base and an auxiliary shaft or an operating portion that comes into contact with the free end of the cantilever of the mounting base.

According to the present invention, a three-dimensional load sensor that outputs a three-dimensional coordinate signal can be obtained.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is
A mounting base having a cantilever and a first strain detecting element between a free end and a fixed end of the cantilever; and a through hole provided on the upper surface of the mounting base and having a through hole therein. A prismatic main shaft having a concave portion on the surface facing the cantilever,
Second strain sensing elements and third strain sensing elements, which are alternately provided on the side surfaces of the spindle, are arranged in the through holes of the spindle and are in contact with the free ends of the cantilever beams, and the spindle. And a processing means for inputting the detection signals from the first, second and third strain detecting elements and performing three-dimensional processing.

The invention according to claim 2 has a mounting base having a cantilever and a first strain detecting element between the free end and the fixed end of the cantilever, and the mounting base. A prismatic main shaft provided on the upper surface of the table, second strain sensing elements and third strain sensing elements provided alternately on the side surfaces of the spindle, and a cantilever of the mounting table on the upper surface of the spindle. A sub-shaft having a protrusion protruding toward the upper surface of the first shaft, the first shaft, the second shaft,
And a processing means for receiving a detection signal from the third strain detecting element and performing three-dimensional processing.

The invention according to claim 3 is a mounting base having a cantilever and a first strain detecting element between the free end and the fixed end of the cantilever, and the mounting base. Second and third strain detecting elements provided so as to be orthogonal to the upper surface of the table, and through holes provided inside the upper surface of the mounting table so as not to contact the second and third strain detecting elements. A main shaft having a main shaft, a sub-shaft disposed in a through hole of the main shaft and abutting on a free end of the cantilever and projecting from an upper surface of the main shaft; It comprises a processing means for receiving a detection signal from the detection element and performing three-dimensional processing.

The invention according to claim 4 is a mount having a cantilever and a first strain detecting element between the free end and the fixed end of the cantilever, and the mount. Second and third strain detecting elements provided so as to be orthogonal to the upper surface of the table, and a spindle provided on the upper surface of the mounting table so as not to contact the second and third strain detecting elements, An operating portion having a protrusion on the upper surface of the main shaft that abuts the cantilever of the mounting base,
And a processing means for receiving the detection signals from the first, second and third strain detecting elements and performing three-dimensional processing.

The invention described in claim 5 is the same as claim 1.
Or the main axis of the invention described in 2 is a 4n prism (n is a natural number)
It consists of

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, a load sensor according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded perspective view of a three-dimensional load sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective perspective view thereof.

In the figure, reference numeral 21 is a plate-like elastic mounting base made of a resin such as phenol, glass epoxy or the like or a ceramic or the like having a cantilever 22 at the substantially center thereof. Two
Reference numeral 3 is a first strain detecting element which is provided between the free end 24 and the fixed end 25 of the cantilever 22 and which is a strain gauge for detecting the z-axis direction. Reference numeral 26 is a quadrangular prism-shaped main shaft made of resin, ceramic or the like having a recess 27 on the upper surface of the mounting base 21 on the side facing the cantilever 22 and having a through hole 28 inside thereof. Reference numerals 29 and 30 denote second strain detection elements which are provided on opposite side surfaces of the main shaft 26 and which are strain gauges for detecting the x-axis direction. Reference numerals 31 and 32 denote third strain detection elements, which are provided on opposite side surfaces of the main shaft 26 where the second strain detection elements 29 and 30 are not provided, and which are strain gauges for detecting the y-axis direction. Reference numeral 33 denotes an operating portion which is provided at an upper portion of the mounting base 21 of the main shaft 26 facing each other, and has an operating portion through hole 34 having the same shape as the through hole 28 of the main shaft 26 therein, and which is made of soft rubber or the like. Reference numeral 35 denotes a cantilever beam 22 of the mount 21 by inserting the through hole 28 of the main shaft 26 and the operation portion through hole 34 of the operation portion 33.
The auxiliary shaft is made of a resin material such as polybutylene phthalate and is provided so as to come into contact with and project from the upper surface of the operating portion. 36 is the first, second, and third strain detection elements 2
3, 29, 30, 31, 32 are electrically connected to the first, second, and third strain detection elements 23, 29, 30, 31,
It is a processing means for inputting 32 detection signals and processing it into a three-dimensional output signal, and may be provided on the upper surface of the mounting base 21 or other than the mounting base 21.

The assembling method of the three-dimensional load sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention configured as above will be described below.

Cantilever 2 of mount 21 having cantilever 22
The first strain sensing element 23 is printed and formed between the free end 24 and the fixed end 25 of the second strain sensing element 23, and the second strain sensing elements 29 and 30 and the third strain sensing element 3 are previously formed on the upper surface of the first strain sensing element 23.
The main shaft 26 having a through hole is press-fitted and fixed in the inside formed by printing 1, 32. And the through hole 2 of the main shaft 26
The auxiliary shaft 35 is inserted into the shaft 8, and the operating part 33 having an adhesive applied to the lower surface from above is assembled and fixed so that the operating part through hole 34 of the operating part 33 fits with the auxiliary shaft 35. At this time, the auxiliary shaft 35 is provided so as to protrude from the upper surface of the operation portion 33.

The operation of the three-dimensional load sensor having the above-mentioned structure according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

Due to the force applied to the operating portion 33, the main shaft 26 is deformed by a component force perpendicular to the axial direction of the main shaft 26, and the second strain detecting elements 29, 30 and the third strain detecting element 29, 30
The strain detecting elements 31 and 32 expand and contract, and the resistance value changes.
Since the second and third strain detection elements 29, 30, 31, 32 are arranged adjacent to the main shaft 26, the deformation of the main shaft 26 is divided into two coordinates, x-axis and y-axis. be able to. That is, the second strain detection elements 29, 3
The load is detected by using the voltage difference due to the resistance value change of 0 as a signal in the x-axis coordinate axis direction and the voltage difference due to the resistance value change of the third strain detection elements 31 and 32 as a signal in the y-axis coordinate axis direction. Then, the processing means 36 receives a signal input from the x-axis and y-axis coordinate axes, and moves a pointer on a display (not shown) according to the direction and magnitude of the load applied to the operation unit 33.
Then, when the upper portion of the counter shaft 35 is pushed downward, the counter shaft 25 pushes the free end of the cantilever 22, so that the first strain detecting element 23 is deformed below the mount 21. Due to this deformation, the resistance value of the first strain detection element 23 becomes high, and the auxiliary shaft 3
The load applied to 5 can be detected. The resistance value change of the first strain detecting element 23 is input to the processing means 36, and z
By outputting a signal in the axial direction, input of a three-dimensional signal can be realized.

In the first embodiment, the main shaft 26 has a quadrangular prism shape, but it has a 4n prism shape (n is a natural number).
The second strain detecting elements may be arranged adjacent to each other.

(Second Embodiment) A three-dimensional load sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
It is the see-through disassembled perspective view of the load sensor for dimensions.

In the figure, reference numeral 41 is a plate-like elastic mounting base made of a resin such as phenol, glass epoxy or the like, or a ceramic having a cantilever 42 in the approximate center. Four
Reference numeral 3 is a first strain detecting element which is provided between the free end 44 and the fixed end 45 of the cantilever 42 and which is a strain gauge for detecting the z-axis direction. Reference numeral 46 denotes a square columnar elastic spindle provided on the upper surface of the mount 41. 47 and 48 are spindles 4
6 is a second strain detection element formed of a strain gauge provided on opposite side surfaces of 6 to detect the x-axis direction. Reference numerals 49 and 50 denote third strain detecting elements, which are strain gauges provided on the opposite side surfaces of the main shaft 46 where the second strain detecting elements 47 and 48 are not provided and which detect the y-axis direction. Reference numeral 51 denotes an operation section made of soft rubber or the like, which is provided on an upper portion of the mounting base 41 of the main shaft 46 that faces the main shaft 46. Reference numeral 52 denotes a projecting portion 53 which covers the operating portion 51 and projects toward the upper surface of the cantilever 42 of the mounting base 41.
It is a sub-shaft made of a resin such as polyethylene terephthalate. 54 is the first, second, and third strain detection elements 4
3, 47, 48, 49, 50 are electrically connected, and the first, second and third strain detecting elements 43, 47, 48, 49,
It is a processing means for inputting 50 detection signals and processing it into a three-dimensional output signal, which may be provided on the upper surface of the mounting base 41 or other than the mounting base 41.

A method of assembling the three-dimensional load sensor having the above-described configuration according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Cantilever 4 of mount 41 having cantilever 42
The first strain detecting element 43 is formed by printing between the second free end 44 and the fixed end 45, and the second strain detecting elements 47, 48 and the third strain detecting element 49 are formed on the upper surface of the first strain detecting element 43 in advance. , 5
The main shaft 46 formed by printing 0 is press-fitted and fixed.
Then, the operation unit 51 is provided above the main shaft 46. After that, the sub shaft 52 is provided so as to cover the operation unit 51. At this time, the protruding portion 53 of the auxiliary shaft 52 is provided so as to protrude toward the upper surface of the cantilever 42 of the mounting base 41.

In the operation of the three-dimensional load sensor of the second embodiment, the auxiliary shaft 35 of the first embodiment and the protruding portion 53 of the auxiliary shaft 52 of the second embodiment have the same action. Therefore, the description will be omitted.

Further, although the spindle 46 of the second embodiment is a quadrangular prism, it may be a quadrangular prism (n is a natural number) and the first and second strain detecting elements may be arranged adjacent to each other.

(Third Embodiment) A three-dimensional load sensor according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a see-through perspective view of a three-dimensional load sensor according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Here, the same components as those in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that the main shaft 61 has a cylindrical shape, and the second strain detecting elements 62 and 63 and the third strain detecting element are provided.
The strain detecting elements 64 and 65 are provided so as to be orthogonal to the upper surface of the mounting base 21. With such a configuration, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Fourth Embodiment) A three-dimensional load sensor according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a see-through perspective view of a three-dimensional load sensor according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Here, the same components as those in FIG. 3 of the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The difference from the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is that the main shaft 71 is cylindrical and the second strain detecting elements 72, 73 and the third strain detecting element
The strain detecting elements 74 and 75 are provided so as to be orthogonal to the upper surface of the mounting base 41. With such a configuration, the same effect as that of the second embodiment can be obtained.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, the strain detecting element is provided between the fixed end and the free end of the cantilever of the mount, and the counter shaft or the protrusion of the counter shaft is provided on the upper surface of the cantilever. Since the arrangement is provided, it is possible to provide a three-dimensional load sensor that can detect a force in a direction perpendicular to the mounting base and that inputs a three-dimensional coordinate signal.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded perspective view of a three-dimensional load sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a see-through exploded perspective view of a three-dimensional load sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a see-through perspective view of a three-dimensional load sensor according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a see-through perspective view of a three-dimensional load sensor according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional load sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Mounting Base 22 Cantilever 23 First Strain Detecting Element 24 Free End 25 Fixed End 26 Main Axis 28 Through Hole 29, 30 Second Strain Detecting Element 31, 32 Third Strain Detecting Element 35 Secondary Axis 36 Processing Means

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Akio Toda 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A mounting base having a cantilever and a first strain detecting element between a free end and a fixed end of the cantilever, and a mounting base provided on an upper surface of the mounting base and penetrating into the interior. A prismatic main shaft having a hole and a recess on the surface facing the cantilever, and second main shafts alternately provided on the side surfaces of the main shaft.
A strain detecting element and a third strain detecting element, a sub-shaft disposed in a through hole of the main shaft, abutting against a free end of the cantilever beam, and protruding from an upper surface of the main shaft; ,
A three-dimensional load sensor including a processing unit that receives detection signals from the second and third strain detection elements and performs three-dimensional processing. 2. A mounting base having a cantilever and a first strain detecting element between a free end and a fixed end of the cantilever, and a prism provided on an upper surface of the mounting base. And a second strain detecting element and a third strain detecting element alternately provided on the side surface of the spindle, and a protruding portion projecting on the upper surface of the spindle toward the upper surface of the cantilever of the mount. A three-dimensional load sensor comprising: a sub-axis having: and a processing unit that receives detection signals from the first, second, and third strain detection elements and performs three-dimensional processing. 3. A mount having a cantilever and a first strain detecting element between a free end and a fixed end of the cantilever, and a mount provided so as to be orthogonal to an upper surface of the mount. Second and third strain detecting elements, a main shaft having an inner through hole provided on the upper surface of the mounting base so as not to contact the second and third strain detecting elements, and a penetrating of the main shaft. A detection signal from the sub-shaft disposed in the hole and abutting on the free end of the cantilever and projecting from the upper surface of the main shaft, and the detection signals from the first, second, and third strain detection elements is input. A three-dimensional load sensor including a processing means for performing three-dimensional processing. 4. A mounting base having a cantilever and having a first strain detecting element between a free end and a fixed end of the cantilever, and a mounting base orthogonal to an upper surface of the mounting base. Second and third strain detecting elements, a main shaft provided on the upper surface of the mounting base so as not to contact the second and third strain detecting elements, and a piece of the mounting base on the upper surface of the main shaft. A three-dimensional load sensor comprising: an operating portion having a protruding portion that comes into contact with a cantilever beam; and processing means that receives detection signals from the first, second, and third strain detecting elements and performs three-dimensional processing. 5. The three-dimensional load sensor according to claim 1, wherein the main axis is a 4n prism (n is a natural number).