JPH1173854A - Multidirectional input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent the release of an operation lever even when a multidirectional input device is miniaturized. SOLUTION: A spherical receiving face 3a is formed on a cover body 3 fitted to the opening end of a housing, the sliding face 6a of a driving body 6 spline-connected to an operation lever 7 is brought into pressure contact with the receiving face 3a by the elastic force of a coil spring 14, and the operation lever 7 and the driving body 6 are tiltably held. The cover body 3 is formed with a base material 4 made of a synthetic resin and a metal sheet 5 inserted into the base material 4, and a curve section 5a formed on the inner peripheral section of the metal sheet 5 and curved upward is exposed along the receiving face 3a, and thereby mechanical strength of the receiving face 3a and its vicinity is sharply increased, and the operation lever 7 and the driving body 6 are prevented from being released from the receiving face 3a of the cover body 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multidirectional input device for outputting a position detection signal in accordance with a tilting direction of an operation lever, and more particularly to a structure for holding an operation lever.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-161259, a housing having an open upper surface, a cover attached to an open end of the housing, and a housing and a cover are provided inside the housing. There has been proposed a multidirectional input device including a movable contact and a plurality of fixed contacts disposed thereon, and an operation lever for moving the movable contact toward and away from each fixed contact.
The operation lever projects upward through the lid,
A driving body is spline-coupled to the operation lever.
The driving body has a hemispherical sliding surface, and this sliding surface is pressed against a spherical receiving surface formed on the lid by the urging force of a spring.

In such a multi-directional input device, the operating lever is held at a neutral position by an upward biasing force from a spring. When the operating lever is at the neutral position, the movable contact is separated from all the fixed contacts. doing. on the other hand,
When the operation lever is tilted in any direction from the neutral position, the driving body rotates while being guided by the receiving surface of the lid in conjunction with the operation lever, and the movable contact comes into contact with the fixed contact located in the tilt direction. Further, when the tilting operation force to the operation lever is removed, the driving body and the operation lever return to the neutral position by the urging force of the spring, so that the movable contact is separated from all the fixed contacts again.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional multidirectional input device, if the lid attached to the opening end of the housing is formed of a conductive metal material, the static electricity flowing through the lid is internally charged. In general, the lid is formed of an insulating synthetic resin because a complicated insulating process for interrupting the movable contact is required. However, when the lid is formed of synthetic resin as described above, if the receiving surface of the lid becomes smaller due to the miniaturization of the multi-directional input device, the mechanical strength of the receiving surface holding the driving body decreases. However, there is a problem that the operation lever and the driving body come off from the lid.

[0005]

The present invention employs a laminated structure of a synthetic resin base material and a metal plate inserted into the base material as a lid for tiltably holding the operation lever. By forming a receiving surface by exposing a part of the metal plate, the receiving surface holds the hemispherical sliding surface provided on the operation lever in a tiltable manner. With this configuration, the mechanical strength of the receiving surface is greatly increased by the metal plate, despite the fact that the outer surface of the lid is formed of a synthetic resin that does not require insulation treatment. Therefore, the operation lever can be reliably prevented from falling off.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a multidirectional input device according to the present invention, an operating lever having a hemispherical sliding surface, a lid having a receiving surface for holding the sliding surface in a tiltable manner, A biasing member that presses a moving surface against the receiving surface, and a multidirectional input device that outputs a position detection signal according to the tilting operation by tilting the operation lever in an arbitrary direction; The body was composed of a synthetic resin base material and a metal plate inserted into the base material, and a part of the metal plate was exposed along the receiving surface.

Although the sliding surface can be provided integrally with the operating lever, it may be formed on a driving body spline-connected to the operating lever. In this case, the operating lever is pushed by using the driving body as a guide member. Can be operated.

[0008] Further, mounting legs protruding from the lid are formed on the metal plate, and the lid and a member arranged thereunder are integrated using the mounting legs, whereby the metal plate of the lid is fixed. It can also be used as a member, and the number of parts can be reduced.

[0009]

Embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a non-operation state of the multidirectional input device according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a tilt operation state of the multidirectional input device.

The multidirectional switch according to the embodiment includes a housing having an open upper surface. The housing includes a base 1 made of synthetic resin and a wafer 2 made of synthetic resin. The wafer 2 forms an outer shell of a rotary switch to be described later, and the base 1 and the wafer 2 are integrated by fitting concave and convex portions. A lid 3 having a spherical receiving surface 3 a is attached to the upper open end of the wafer 2. The lid 3 is made of a synthetic resin base material 4 and a metal plate 5 inserted into the base material 4. It is composed of The inner peripheral portion of the metal plate 5 is drawn upward in a curved shape, and by exposing the curved portion 5a along the receiving surface 3a, the mechanical strength of the receiving surface 3a and the vicinity thereof is greatly reduced. Has been enhanced. A mounting leg 5b is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the metal plate 5 so as to protrude to the outside of the base member 4. The mounting leg 5b is bent toward the lower surface of the base 1 so that the lid 3 and the housing below the lid 3 are bent. (Base 1 and wafer 2) are integrated. A driving body 6 made of synthetic resin is inserted into a receiving surface 3a of the lid 3, and a hemispherical sliding surface 6a that rotates along the receiving surface 3a is formed on the driving body 6. A metal operating lever 7 is inserted into the driving body 6, and the driving body 6 and the operating lever 7 can be tilted integrally. However, the two 6, 7 are spline-coupled so that they can be relatively moved in the axial direction. It has become.

A central fixed contact 8, a common contact 9, and a peripheral fixed contact 10 are disposed on the inner bottom surface of the base 1.
These contacts 8, 9, 10 are led out as terminals. A movable contact plate 11 is mounted on the common contact 9, and a contact piece 11 a which can be separated from and separated from the central fixed contact 8 is formed at the center of the movable contact plate 11. Movable contact plate 11
A click rubber 12 is interposed between the control lever 7 and the operation lever 7. When the operation lever 7 is pushed, the click rubber 12 buckles and presses the contact piece 11a. A plurality of peripheral fixed contacts 10 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, for example, eight.
A movable body 13 made of a conductive metal is arranged above the zero. The inner peripheral edge of the movable body 13 is engaged with the driving body 6, and the outer peripheral edge of the movable body 13 has a plurality of, for example, eight projections 13.
a are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. Base 1
A conductive coil spring 14 between the inner bottom surface of the
The movable body 13 is pressed against the lower surface of the driving body 6 by the urging force of the coil spring 14, and the movable body 1
3 and the common contact 9 are always electrically connected via the coil spring 14.

An operation ring 15 made of a synthetic resin is rotatably held inside the wafer 2.
And the operation ring 15 constitute a rotary switch. A plurality of pattern contacts 16 are arranged on the inner bottom surface of the wafer 2 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, and these pattern contacts 16 are led out as terminals. A plurality of, for example, eight notches 1 are provided in the upper portion of the inner peripheral surface of the operation ring 15.
5a, and each protrusion 13a of the movable body 13
Are inserted into these notches 15a, respectively. Further, a slider 17 is attached to the lower surface of the operation ring 15, and the slider 17 slides on the pattern contact 16 group. Further, a cam ridge (not shown) is formed on the upper surface of the operation ring 15, and the click plate 18 attached to the lower surface of the lid 3 is disengaged from the cam ridge to generate a click feeling (a moderation feeling). It is supposed to be.

In the multidirectional input device constructed as described above, when the operating lever 7 held at the neutral position in FIG. 1 is tilted in an arbitrary direction, the sliding surface of the driving body 6 that tilts integrally with the operating lever 7. 6 a rotates while being guided by the receiving surface 3 a of the lid 3, and pushes down the movable body 13 against the coil spring 14. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower end of the movable body 13 comes into contact with the peripheral fixed contact 10 located in the tilting direction, and the movable body 13 is moved between the peripheral fixed contact 10 and the common contact 9.
For example, if an output signal between the common contact 9 and each of the peripheral fixed contacts 10 is taken into the microcomputer, the operation lever 7 is determined depending on which of the peripheral fixed contacts 10 outputs the ON signal. Can be determined. In this case, since each projection 13a of the movable body 13 moves within the notch 15a of the operation ring 15, the operation ring 1
5 does not hinder the tilting operation of the operation lever 7. Also,
When the tilting operation force on the operating lever 7 is removed, the movable body 13 rises due to the elastic force of the coil spring 14, and the driving body 6 and the operating lever 7 return to the neutral position in FIG. Is separated from the peripheral fixed contact 10 and is turned off.

On the other hand, when the operating lever 7 is pushed at the neutral position in FIG. 1, the driving body 6 and the movable body 13 do not move due to the elastic force from the coil spring 14, and only the operating lever 7 moves directly below. To press the click rubber 12. As a result, the click rubber 12 buckles and the contact piece 11a of the movable contact plate 11
When the voltage is applied to the central fixed contact 8 so that the control lever 7 is in contact with the common fixed contact 8 via the movable contact plate 11, the microcomputer controls the operating lever 7 based on the ON signal. Can be detected.

In order to operate the rotary switch, when the operation lever 7 held at the neutral position in FIG. 1 is rotated in either the forward or reverse direction, the operation lever 7 and the driving body 6 and the movable body 13 are integrated. And this rotation is
Since the operation ring 15 is transmitted to the operation ring 15 through the engagement portion of the notch 15a and the notch 15a, the operation ring 15 rotates in conjunction with the operation lever 7. As a result, a click feeling is generated by the engagement and disengagement of the click plate 18 and the cam ridge, and the slider 1
7 slides on and off the group of pattern contacts 16, so that an on / off signal corresponding to the rotation amount of the operation ring 15 (that is, the rotation amount of the operation lever 7) is output.

In the above embodiment, the operation lever 7
When tilting and rotating, the driving body 6 made of synthetic resin is pressed against the movable body 13 made of metal by the coil spring 14, but both of them are slid between the synthetic resin and the metal, so that the operation feeling can be improved. At the same time, the life can be extended.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a multi-operation switch in which a rotary switch is integrally incorporated outside the multi-directional input device has been described as an example. It goes without saying that it can be applied to the device.

Further, the switching structure of the multi-directional input device is not limited to the above-described embodiment. In short, what is necessary is just to output a position detection signal in accordance with the tilting operation of the operation lever.

[0019]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects.

An operation lever having a hemispherical sliding surface, a lid having a receiving surface for holding the sliding surface in a tiltable manner, and an urging member for pressing the sliding surface against the receiving surface. A multi-directional input device that outputs a position detection signal in accordance with the tilting operation by tilting the operation lever in an arbitrary direction, wherein the lid is made of a synthetic resin base material and When a part of this metal plate is exposed along the receiving surface, the outer surface of the lid is formed of a synthetic resin that does not require insulation treatment. In addition, since the mechanical strength of the receiving surface is greatly increased by the metal plate, even if the multi-directional input device is downsized, the operation lever can be reliably prevented from falling off.

[0021] Further, mounting legs protruding from the lid are formed on the metal plate, and the lid and a member arranged thereunder are integrated using the mounting legs, whereby the metal plate of the lid is fixed. It can also be used as a member, and the number of parts can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a non-operation state of a multidirectional input device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a tilt operation state of the multi-directional input device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 base 2 wafer 3 lid 3a receiving surface 4 base 5 metal plate 5a curved portion 5b mounting leg 6 driver 6a sliding surface 7 operating lever 8 central fixed contact 9 common contact 10 peripheral fixed contact 11 movable contact plate 13 movable body 14 Coil spring

Claims (2)

[Claims] An operating lever having a hemispherical sliding surface;
A cover having a receiving surface for holding the sliding surface in a tiltable manner, and a biasing member for pressing the sliding surface against the receiving surface, by tilting the operation lever in an arbitrary direction; A multi-directional input device that outputs a position detection signal corresponding to the tilting operation, wherein the lid is formed of a synthetic resin base material and a metal plate inserted into the base material, A multidirectional input device, wherein a part is exposed along the receiving surface. 2. The metal plate according to claim 1, wherein said metal plate has a mounting leg projecting from said lid, and said lid is integrated with a member disposed therebelow by using said mounting leg. A multidirectional input device, characterized in that: