JPS593827A - Key switch - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a key switch for moving a cursor.

Conventionally, among the means for changing the display position on the CRT screen,
There is one in which four cursor movement key switches indicating up/down and left/right movement directions are arranged for easy operation in accordance with the human sense of direction. This is the most popular type of console for general-purpose computers because it is cheap and simple.

To change the display position on the screen using such key switches, for example, press the Up key with an upward arrow to move the cursor vertically upwards, then press the Left key to move the cursor horizontally to the left. It will be done.

Whether or not the mechanism consisting of these multiple direction designation keys matches the finger operations based on the sense of direction designation of the operator looking at the screen is to be examined, for example, when playing a game using a personal computer that has recently become popular. You'll understand when you go there. In order to quickly move the cursor on a maze partitioned into rectangular shapes, a user is required to be quite skilled in operating the cursor movement keys.

That is, although the cursor moving means consisting of the four keys has a rational functional configuration, it cannot be said that it necessarily matches the finger operations resulting from the sense of direction designation of the operator looking at the screen. In addition, when operating the cursor by sequentially adjusting the direction of movement of the cursor toward the desired display position, it is necessary to visually select the key switch, press it, etc., and therefore it is difficult to move the cursor smoothly. It is difficult and takes time to set the cursor position.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the gaps in the prior art, and its purpose is to obtain a control signal for moving a cursor, for example, by operating a single key top. A key that allows the operator to select the direction of cursor movement by sliding it horizontally, and also allows the operator to easily change the speed of cursor movement by pressing the top of the key in the vertical direction. It is located where the switch is provided.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a key switch that matches the natural movement of the fingers resulting from the operator's direction designation sense and is configured to extract more information from the movement of the fingers.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a personal computer equipped with a cursor moving key switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, inside the main body 1 of this personal computer, a CPU 13 that controls cursor movement, a ROM 15 that stores a control program, and a RAM 14 that is used by the CPU 13 are housed. The section is provided with a display section 2 and a keyboard section 3. Note that FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of the keyboard section 3 including the cursor movement keys 4.

Next, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the operation of the key tops when moving the cursor k on the display section 2 to the position of point (a) along the dotted line as shown in FIG. 3 will be explained. Fourth
In the plan view of the cursor movement key 4 shown in the figure, place your finger near the center (point B) of the key top 5, or apply a sliding force to the edge in the upper left direction (arrow A) as if pinching it with multiple fingers. Then, the cursor starts moving toward point (a) on the display section 2. Here, if the distance to point (a) is long and you want to move the cursor quickly, slide the key top 5 upward to the left and add a pressing blade near the center (point B). Good. The cursor speed is increased, and when the pressing blade is removed when the cursor approaches point (a), the cursor returns to its original moving speed.

Next, when the cursor k reaches the position of point (a), if the sliding force is removed, the cursor comes to rest at the position of point (a) and ends its movement.

The movement of the cursor by such key top operations is closely related to the structure of the cursor movement keys 4 of the embodiment described below. FIG. 5(A) is a sectional view showing the structure of the cursor movement key. In the figure, a spherical motion-conducting pole 7 and a leaf spring contact 8 are provided around the slide portion 6. Further, the leaf spring contact 8 includes leaf spring contacts 81 and 82 which are spaced apart by an insulator 9 as shown in FIG. 6(A). These leaf spring contacts8. and 82
When a horizontal force is applied to the key top 5, the slide portion 6 is moved and comes into contact as shown in FIG. 6(B). FIG. 5(D) shows 4 included in the cursor movement keys 4.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of two leaf spring contacts 8 and one leaf spring contact 11. FIG. In the figure, assuming that the X and Y axes are orthogonal to each other, for example, leaf spring contacts 8x and 8X' arranged on the X axis are associated with horizontal cursor movement on the display unit 2. The leaf spring contacts 8Y and 8Y' arranged on the Y axis are also associated with vertical cursor movement. Now, by sliding the key top 5 in any direction, one or two leaf spring contacts 8
The CPU 13 reads information based on this contact, and controls the direction of movement of the cursor. Similarly, a spherical motion conduction pole 10 and a leaf spring contact 11 are provided on the lower side of the key top 5 which is attached to the slide part 6 so as to be able to freely slide up and down.
As shown in FIG. 7(A), plate spring contacts 11.1 are spaced apart by an insulator 12. and 112. These leaf spring contacts l11 and 112 come into contact as shown in FIG. 7(B) when a pressing blade is applied to the key top 5 from above. Furthermore, the arrangement of this leaf spring contact 11 is on the intersection of the X and Y axes in FIG. 5(D),
It is provided to respond to a pressing blade on the X axis perpendicular to this, and by pressing the key top 5 in the slid state, the leaf spring contact 11 comes into contact, and information based on this contact is read by the CPU 13. This controls the cursor to move faster.

This aspect will be specifically explained below by taking an example in FIG.

When you place your finger near the center of the key top 5 (point B) and slide the key top 5 in the direction of A, force is applied to both leaf spring contacts 8x and 8Y in FIG. 5(D), causing both contacts to close. Contact.

The CPU 13 reads this contact information and moves the cursor k on the display section 2 vertically upward and horizontally to the left almost simultaneously. In this state, if you apply an increasing force in the vertical downward direction to the finger placed near the center of the key top 5 (the 5th
Figure C), the leaf spring contact 11 makes contact. The CPU 13 reads this contact information and works to increase the moving speed of the cursor on the display section 2. Furthermore, when you release your finger from the key top 5 in this state, the key top 5 returns to its original position due to the spring effect of each leaf spring contact, each contact is released, and the movement of the cursor ends accordingly. . Next, the leaf spring contacts 8 and 11 are opened.

The means for detecting closure will be explained with reference to FIG.

The CPU 13, which controls cursor movement, periodically contacts the leaf spring contact 8.
It is configured to check the terminal 8t2 of the terminal 8t2. When the cursor movement key 4 is pressed in the horizontal direction, the leaf spring contacts 8I and 8
2 is closed, the terminal 8t2 is connected to the grounded terminal 8.
outputs Ov to be short-circuited to t. However, if it is not closed, due to the action of the pull-up resistor R, +
It is 5v. Therefore, by checking the output terminal 8t2, it can be easily determined whether the contact is closed or not.

Therefore, by monitoring the terminals 8t2 of the four sets of leaf spring contacts, it is possible to detect in which direction the cursor k is moved. Similarly, by monitoring the terminal 11t2, it is possible to detect whether the cursor k is moved quickly.

In the above explanation, even if the display unit 2 and the cursor movement keys 4 are configured in a separate housing from the main body of the device,
Also, the operation conduction poles 7 and 10 and the leaf spring contacts 8 and 11
Needless to say, a commercially available switch may be used instead.

As described above, according to the present invention, with a key switch having a single key top, it is possible to extract all the natural finger movements that an operator can normally perform as different electrical output information. In other words, information for determining the movement direction can generally be extracted from the sliding movement of the finger placed on the key top on the plane where the key switch is installed, and from the direction perpendicular to the plane. By making it possible to respond to finger presses, for example, when a cursor moved on a CRT screen reaches the desired character or position, this can be used as a synchronization signal to quickly notify the CPU. Alternatively, as described in the above embodiment, it is also possible to use it as a selection signal for changing the cursor movement speed. Although the configuration of the key switch is simple as described above, it can produce extremely large effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a perspective view of a personal computer equipped with a cursor moving key switch according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the keyboard portion of FIG. 1; The figure is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the cursor movement key according to the present invention. 5(A), 5(B) and 5(C) are cross-sectional views of one embodiment of the cursor movement key according to the present invention, FIG. 5(D) is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 6(A) , (B) and FIG. 7(A). (B) is a partial detailed view of the leaf spring contact; FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a personal computer equipped with a cursor moving key switch according to the present invention; FIGS. 9(A) and (B) are FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a terminal structure of a leaf spring contact. Here, 1.4 is a cursor movement key, 5 is a key top part, 6 is a slide part, 7 and 10 are movement conduction balls, and 8.1
1 is a leaf spring contact, and 9 and 12 are insulators.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A key switch comprising a single key top and displacement sensing means arranged at right angles to each other to produce different electrical outputs in response to horizontal and vertical displacements of the key top.