JPH1145632A - Operation device for electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation device for electronic apparatus wherein operating buttons are arranged along a curved surface or an inclined shape operation surface to equally project the operating buttons from the operation surface and also to equally light up. SOLUTION: Mounting parts K4, K5, K6 of an auxiliary metal fitting K formed by bending a flat plate are mounted being in contact with end surfaces of bosses 10c, 10d, 10e extending from an operation surface toward the X2 direction. In this case, a substrate 15 can be mounted in an inclined state along an operation surface 10A to make a distance between the substrate 15 and the operation surface 10A approximately the same by mounting the substrate 15 to support parts K1, K2, K3. Therefore, characters, etc., displayed on operating buttons 13 can be equally lit up as distances from lighting parts on the substrate 15 to the operating buttons 13 are the same. Also, operability is improved as projecting amounts of the operating buttons 13 can be made constant.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation device for an electronic device having a plurality of operation buttons arranged on an operation surface, and more particularly to an electronic device having operation buttons arranged on an inclined or curved operation surface. The present invention relates to a device for operating a device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an on-vehicle electronic device, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an operation surface of the electronic device shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows an in-vehicle electronic device such as a navigation system, a cassette tape deck or a CD,
Various types of disk devices such as MD and DVD.
This electronic device includes an operation panel 1 and a housing 2, and the front surface of the operation panel 1 is an operation surface 1A. The operation surface 1A is provided with various operation buttons, a rotary variable knob, and the like. This type of electronic device is generally installed such that the housing 2 is buried in a dashboard or the like in a vehicle and the operation surface 1A is exposed.

As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of through holes 1a are formed in the operation surface 1A, and a push button type operation button 3 is inserted into the through holes 1a. A boss 1B extending in the X2 direction is integrally formed on the inner surface of the operation surface 1A, and the substrate 5 is fixed to an end surface of the boss 1B with a screw. The board 5 is provided with a push-type changeover switch 6 (switching means 6). A pressing portion 3a extending in the illustrated X2 direction is formed at a rear portion of the operation button 3, and a pressing surface 6a of the switching means 6 faces an end surface of the pressing portion 3a. By pressing the operation button 3 in the X2 direction, ON and OFF of the switching means 6 can be switched.

[0004]

The operation panel 1 is formed by injection molding of a resin using a mold. At this time, since the molds are separated in the X1 and X2 directions, the main part of the operation panel 1 has a structure extending in the X1-X2 direction. In particular, the boss 1B cannot be formed by nesting or the like, and has a structure inevitably extending in the X2 direction along the mold separating direction.
As a result, the direction of the substrate 5 fixed to the end surface of the boss 1B is the Z1-Z2 direction, and the pressing direction of the operation button 3 for pressing the switching means 6 such as a switch mounted on the substrate 5 is the X2 direction (horizontal direction). Direction).

On the other hand, the shape of the operation surface 1A of the operation panel 1 is determined in consideration of aesthetics and the like, and in order to make it easy for a driver or the like to see from obliquely above, for example, as shown in FIG.
It may be formed in a curved surface or an inclined surface shape inclined with respect to the −Z2 direction. When the pressing direction of the operation button 3 is in the X2 direction, that is, the horizontal direction, with respect to such an inclined operation surface 1A, the depth dimension between the rear end surface of the operation button 3 and the pressing surface 6a of the switching means 6 varies. Occurs. For example, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the depth dimension L1 is short in the case of the upper operation button 3 and the switching means 6, and the depth dimensions L2 and L3 gradually increase downward. On the surface of the operation button 3, a character display section such as “PLAY” or “STOP” is formed, and the illumination member 8 such as an LED provided on the substrate 5 is used to control the operation button 3 via the light guide member 7. The character display is illuminated brightly. However, as described above, when the variation in the depth dimension is large, the light guide member 7
Due to the difference in thickness, the amount of light reaching the operation button 3 also varies. Therefore, the characters on the surface of the operation button 3 have uneven brightness as a whole, and the appearance of the electronic device as a whole is spoiled.

The upper and lower portions of the operation button 3 have uneven amounts projecting from the surface of the operation surface 1A. As shown in FIG. 5, the upper end 3A of the operation button 3 moves extremely forward from the operation surface 1A. Protrudes and generates a step. Therefore, the appearance of the arrangement of the operation buttons 3 on the operation surface 1A deteriorates. Further, the operation surface 1A is curved or inclined so that the driver or the like can easily see from obliquely above, but the pressing direction of the operation button 3 remains in the X-axis direction. Therefore, since the direction in which the operation button 3 is viewed is different from the direction in which the operation button 3 is actually operated, there is a problem that the operation is difficult or the operation is uncomfortable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. An operation button is arranged along an operation surface having a curved surface or an inclined surface, and the amount of projection of the operation button from the operation surface is made uniform. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an operation device of an electronic device which can make illumination uniform.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an inclined surface inclined with respect to an imaginary plane perpendicular to a bottom surface or a side surface of a housing.
Or an operation surface whose tangent line is a curved surface inclined with respect to the virtual plane, a plurality of operation buttons operably exposed from the operation surface, a substrate provided inside the operation surface, and the substrate A switching means attached and operated by the operation button, a boss integrally provided inside the operation surface and extending in a direction perpendicular to the virtual plane, and an auxiliary fitting fixed and supported by the boss are provided. , The auxiliary bracket includes:
An attachment portion attached to the end surface of the boss in parallel with the virtual plane, and a support portion inclined in the same inclination direction as the operation surface are provided, and the substrate is attached in an inclined posture supported by the support portion. It is characterized by being carried out.

In the above, it is preferable that the mounting portion and the supporting portion of the auxiliary fitting are formed integrally with each other.

[0010] For example, it is preferable that the switching means attached to the substrate is a pressing switch, and the pressing direction of the operation button is perpendicular to the substrate.

In addition, the recording medium insertion opening is opened on the operation surface, and the end face of the substrate is located inside the edge of the insertion opening, and the auxiliary metal fittings appear inside the insertion opening. A bent portion may be provided to cover an end surface of the substrate.

In the electronic device operating device according to the present invention, even when the operating surface is an inclined surface or a curved surface, it is possible to provide a substrate on the back side of the operating surface in the same direction as the operating surface. The distance between each operation button and the substrate can be made substantially constant. Thereby, the pressing direction of each operation button provided along the operation surface is perpendicular to the substrate provided on the back of the operation surface, and the difference in the distance between the operation button and the switching means and the lighting member is minimized. Can be. Therefore, there is no large difference in the brightness of the display characters of the operation buttons, the protrusion amount of the operation buttons, and the like, and it is possible to eliminate the problems such as the aesthetic appearance of the entire electronic device and the discomfort when the operation buttons are pressed. .

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a left side sectional view of an electronic apparatus operating device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a right end side sectional view like FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an auxiliary fitting and a substrate. The appearance of the electronic device according to the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG.
An operation panel 10 is provided on a front surface of the housing 2, and a front surface of the operation panel 10 is an operation surface 10A. Operation surface 10
A is provided with various operation buttons 13, a variable control knob such as a volume, a cassette insertion slot 10b, a display, and the like. When the operation device of the electronic apparatus according to the present invention is cut along the line II in FIG. 4, a sectional view as shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

In FIG. 1, reference symbol P indicates an imaginary plane perpendicular to the bottom surface or side surface of the housing 2 (see FIG. 4). The virtual plane P is a plane parallel to the YZ plane in FIG. The operation surface 10A is an inclined surface or a curved surface inclined with respect to the virtual plane P. Operation surface 10
A has a plurality of through holes 10a formed therein, and the operation buttons 13 are fitted into the respective through holes 10a.
Note that the pressing direction of each operation button 13 is a normal direction to the substrate 15 described later (a direction perpendicular to the substrate 15). A plurality of bosses 10c, 10d, and 10e extending in the X2 direction are formed integrally with the operation panel 10 on the back surface of the operation surface 10A. A thread groove extending in the X1 direction is formed on an end face of each boss.

The operation panel 1 is formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin, and its molds are separated in directions X1 and X2. Therefore, as described above, the top, bottom, and side surfaces of the operation panel 10 and the bosses 10c and 10c
The direction in which d and 10e extend is X1- along the mold separating direction.
X2 direction. However, the through-hole 10a into which the operation button 13 is inserted is inclined with respect to the X1-X2 direction by using an insert so that the through-hole 10a is oriented perpendicular to the substrate 15 as described above. The bosses 10c, 10d, 10e
An auxiliary metal fitting K is attached to an end surface of the light emitting device, and a light guide member 20 is interposed between the back surface of the operation surface 10A and the substrate 15. The light from the illuminating member 18 provided on the substrate 15 can be transmitted through the light guiding member 20 to illuminate the back of the operation button 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of switching means 16 are provided on the substrate 15, and an illuminating member 18 such as an LED is provided at a position close to the switching means 16. The switching means 16 is a push-type switch. Further, the switching means 16 may be a slide operation type or rotation operation type electronic component. The substrate 15 has a cutout 15a, a cutout 15b, a hook 15c, and a through hole 15d. The substrate 15 is held by an auxiliary fitting provided on the X2 side in the figure and indicated by reference numeral K. The auxiliary metal fitting K holding the substrate 15 is formed by punching a metal plate having a thickness that is not easily bent by artificial force.
Thereafter, the metal plate is bent and formed by press working.

The auxiliary fitting K has support portions K1, K2,
K3, mounting portions K4, K5, K6, bent portions K7, and hooks K8 are formed. The support portions K1, K2, K3 are formed so that all of them are on the same plane. On the other hand, the mounting portions K4, K5 and K6 are
2 and K3, respectively, and the mounting portions K4 and K5
And K6 are parallel to each other, and the support portions K1, K
2, K3. In particular, since the mounting portion K5 is bent to have an L-shaped cross section, the rigidity is high. In addition, the mounting portion K2 includes the auxiliary metal fitting K and the substrate 15.
A screw hole Ka for screwing is formed, and a mounting portion K4,
Auxiliary fitting K is attached to bosses 10c, 10d, and K5 and K6.
Mounting holes Kb, Kc and K for mounting on 10e
d are respectively drilled.

As shown in FIG. 1, with the hook 15c at one end of the substrate 15 hooked on the hook K8 of the auxiliary bracket K, the notch 15a is approached in the direction of the auxiliary bracket K (X2 direction). By doing so, the substrate 15 can be brought into contact with the support portions K1, K2, K3 of the auxiliary fitting K. On this occasion,
The mounting holes Kc are exposed from the cutout portions 15a and the cutout holes 15b, respectively. Then, the screw 19 shown in FIG. 3 is inserted into the through hole 15d, and the screw hole Ka formed in the support portion K2 is formed.
, The substrate 15 is held by the auxiliary fitting K.

The auxiliary fitting K is composed of bosses 10c, 10d,
10e, the bosses 10c,
All end faces of 10d and 10e are ZY planes (virtual plane P)
And the mounting portions K4, K5 and K6 are all formed on the same plane. Therefore, boss 1
0c, 10d and 10e are attached to mounting portions K4, K5 and K6.
To the mounting holes Kb, Kc, Kd. The pair of bosses 10d are inserted into the cutout portions 15a and the cutout holes 15b, respectively, and come into contact with the mounting holes Kc of the mounting portion K5. In this state, as shown in FIG. 1, the fixing screw 31 is inserted into the mounting holes Kb, Kc, Kd and screwed into the screw grooves formed on the end faces of the bosses 10c, 10d, 10e. The auxiliary metal fitting K holding 15 is fixed to the back surface of the operation panel 10.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate 15 is mounted in an inclined posture (inclination angle θ) with respect to the virtual plane P. This inclination angle is substantially parallel to the inclination angle of the operation surface 10A. That is, by using the auxiliary metal fitting K, the bosses 10c, 10d, and 10e are
Attachment portions K4, K5, K6 parallel to the virtual plane P are mounted, and the screwing direction of the fixing screw 31 is X1 perpendicular to the virtual plane P.
The substrate 15 is installed along the direction of inclination of the operation surface 10A, regardless of the direction.

When the substrate 15 is mounted in an inclined position, each switching means 16 on the substrate 15 can be directed to the direction in which the through hole 10a is formed. Therefore, each operation button 13
Can be made in the same direction as the normal direction to the pressing surface 16a of the switching means 16, and when the operation button 13 is pressed, the switching means 16 can be reliably pressed, and the operation feeling is also improved. . Further, the direction in which the operation button 13 protruding from the operation surface 10A is viewed can be the same as the direction in which the operation button 13 is actually operated. Further, since the substrate 15 can be mounted in an inclined posture, the difference in the distance between the substrate 15 and each operation button 13 can be reduced, and this can be made constant depending on the design. Therefore, the operation button 13
It is not necessary to provide a large difference in the length of the pressing portion 13a,
It is also possible to make the length of the pressing portion 13a constant. In this case, a common component can be used as the operation button 13, and the operation feeling can be made uniform for each operation button 13. Further, since the distance between the illuminating member 18 provided in front of the substrate 15 and the operation button 13 or the difference in the thickness dimension of the light guiding member 20 can be reduced, the operation button is transmitted through the light guiding member 20 from the illuminating member 18. The difference in the amount of illumination light provided to the control buttons 13 is reduced, and the brightness of the characters displayed on each operation button 13 can be kept constant.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the shape of the operation surface 10A is not a uniformly continuous inclined surface or curved surface (a discontinuous surface), each perforation hole 10a is formed. It is preferable that the average inclination angle of the tangent lines m1, m2, and m3 with respect to the existing surface is the inclination angle θ of the substrate 15. That is, the inclination angle θ of each switching means 16 is set to the individual tangents m1, m
Although it is ideal to match with 2, m3, it is difficult in practice and its necessity is poor. Therefore, if the average of the tangents m1, m2, and m3 is the inclination angle θ, and the pressing direction of the operation button 13 is set to a direction perpendicular to the inclination angle θ, the pressing direction of each operation button 13 is an average ideal direction. Can be in a state. Further, since the auxiliary fitting K is formed by bending a flat plate, the auxiliary metal fitting K has a higher strength against an external force than a flat plate and is less likely to be deformed. Therefore, since the substrate 15 can be reinforced, even when the operation button 13 is strongly pressed, the substrate 15 is not deformed, so that the switching unit 16 can be reliably pressed. Become.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic device operating device according to the present invention taken along line II-II in FIG. At the top of FIG. 2, a cassette insertion slot 10b as a recording medium insertion slot is shown. An opening / closing door 21 is rotatably provided on a shaft 22 inside the cassette insertion slot 10b. Usually, the door 21 is located at
The cassette insertion slot 10b is in a closed state. When the cassette tape C is pushed in the X2 direction, the opening / closing door 21 is turned to the counterclockwise direction.
Can be inserted as it is inside.

Further, the substrate 15 is provided inside the operation surface 10A.
Are attached by an auxiliary metal fitting K, and a bent portion K7 of the auxiliary metal fitting K extends in the direction of the cassette insertion opening 10b so as to cover the end of the substrate 15 and the upper end of the light guide member 20. Therefore, when the cassette tape C is inserted, it is possible to prevent dust and dirt adhering to the cassette tape C, the door 21 and the like from entering the surface of the substrate 15 inside the electronic device. Further, the bent portion K7 of the auxiliary fitting K can prevent static electricity remaining on the cassette tape C or the user's finger from directly entering the substrate 15. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence rate of malfunctions and failures.

Further, since the bent portion K7 covers the end of the substrate 15 and the upper end of the light guide member 20, it is possible to make the substrate 15, the light guide member 20 and the like difficult to see from the cassette insertion slot 10b. In particular, it is effective for maintaining an aesthetic appearance in an electronic device (a cassette deck or the like) in which reproduction is performed when the opening / closing door 21 is open. If a standard material whose surface is black-plated is used for the auxiliary metal fitting K, the labor for painting can be saved. Further, in the above description, the shapes of the substrate and the auxiliary metal fittings are shown in FIG. 3, but the present invention is not limited to such shapes, and can be implemented in various various shapes.

[0026]

According to the present invention described in detail above, since the substrate can be reinforced by the auxiliary metal fittings, the strength against external force can be increased.

Further, since the direction in which the operation surface is viewed can be made to coincide with the direction in which the operation button is pressed, uncomfortable feeling at the time of operation is eliminated and operability can be improved.

Furthermore, since characters and the like displayed on the operation buttons are illuminated with a constant brightness, it is possible to enhance the beauty of the electronic device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an operation device of an electronic device according to the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the operation device of the electronic apparatus, which is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an auxiliary fitting and a substrate.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a vehicle-mounted electronic device;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an operation surface of a conventional electronic device,

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Operation panel 10A Operation surface 10a Through hole 10b Insertion opening 10c, 10d, 10e Boss 13 Operation button 15 Substrate 16 Switching means 18 Lighting member 20 Light guide member 21 Opening / closing door K Auxiliary fitting K1, K2, K3 Supporting parts K4, K5 K6 mounting part K7 bending part K8 hook

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An operation surface that is inclined with respect to a virtual plane perpendicular to the bottom surface or side surface of the housing, or a curved surface whose tangent line is inclined with respect to the virtual plane, and is operable from the operation surface. A plurality of operation buttons exposed to the outside, a substrate provided inside the operation surface, switching means attached to the substrate and operated by the operation buttons, and the virtual device integrally provided inside the operation surface. A boss extending in a direction perpendicular to the plane and an auxiliary fitting fixed and supported by the boss are provided, and the auxiliary fitting is attached to an end face of the boss in parallel with the virtual plane, An operation device for an electronic device, comprising: a support portion inclined in the same inclination direction as the operation surface; and the substrate is mounted on the support portion in an inclined posture. 2. The operating device for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion and the supporting portion of the auxiliary fitting are formed integrally and bent. 3. The operating device for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the switching means attached to the substrate is a pressing switch, and a pressing direction of the operation button is a direction perpendicular to the substrate. 4. A recording medium insertion opening is opened on the operation surface, and an end face of the substrate is located inside an edge of the insertion opening, and the auxiliary metal fittings appear inside the insertion opening. 2. A bent portion for covering an end face of the substrate.
4. The operating device for an electronic device according to any one of claims 3 to 3.