TWI393036B - A method for controlling a cursor and an operating device - Google Patents

Description

Method for controlling cursor and operating device thereof

The invention relates to a method for controlling a cursor and an operating device thereof, in particular to a method for detecting a moving direction of a cursor by detecting a position of a pressure and an operating device thereof.

Today, the function of communication equipment is becoming more and more complex, just like a personal multimedia portable device. In order to cope with the operation of various functions such as surfing the Internet, listening to music, and taking pictures, the human-machine interface of the communication device is also complicated and becomes unfriendly to the user.

For example, a conventional communication device often uses a direction key as a primary operating device. The conventional direction includes a double direction key and a four direction key, and provides a user operation to control the cursor to move up, down, left, and right in the screen. However, such a simple cursor movement mode can no longer meet the needs of a new generation of human-machine interface.

Nowadays, there are more touch screens for communication devices, which allow users to click on the image directly on the screen. However, compared to the traditional LCD screen, the touch screen is complicated to manufacture and costly.

In order to maintain low cost and at the same time achieve the goal of quickness and simplification of operation, the present invention proposes an omnidirectional direction key to meet the needs of human interface improvement in today's communication devices.

The method for detecting pressure in the present invention for controlling a cursor and an operating device thereof are mainly for improving direction keys in a conventional communication device to simplify a complicated human-machine interface. The operating device of the present invention utilizes at least three conductive elastic protrusions symmetrically disposed on the second surface of the operation panel. When the first surface of the operation panel is subjected to a pressure, at least one of the conductive elastic protrusions is subjected to a dispersion pressure. Pressed on a circuit substrate. At this time, its electric resistance changes with the magnitude of the dispersion pressure and changes its electrical conductivity. The operating device detects the changed electrical conductivity and calculates the position of the pressure at the pressing point of the first surface, thereby controlling the moving direction of the cursor omnidirectionally.

The operating device for detecting pressure in the present invention includes an operation panel, a circuit substrate, a processing unit and at least three conductive elastic protrusions. The circuit substrate has at least three electrical contacts. The operation panel is located above the circuit substrate and includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The conductive elastic protrusions are made of conductive rubber and are disposed on the second surface and respectively correspond to electrical contacts of the circuit substrate.

The processing unit has a voltage analog-to-digital converter, a pressure conversion program, and a directional operation program, and is electrically coupled to the electrical contacts.

When the first surface is subjected to a pressure, at least one of the conductive elastic projections is subjected to a dispersion pressure and is pressed against the circuit substrate. The conductive elastic protrusion changes its resistance according to the magnitude of the pressure, and changes the corresponding electrical conductivity.

The processing unit uses a voltage analog digital converter to detect all the changed electrical conductivity and convert it into digital information to generate a conductive electrical information. The pressure conversion program generates a dispersion pressure information according to the conductivity information conversion, so that the direction calculation program calculates the position of the pressure on the pressure point of the first surface by a plurality of distributed pressures, and then controls the movement direction of the cursor according to the position. .

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the operating device has four conductive elastic projections that are symmetrically disposed on the second surface in a diamond shape. When the user applies the pressure to the first surface, the two conductive elastic projections are usually subjected to a dispersion pressure to be applied to the circuit substrate.

Therefore, compared with the prior art, the direction key of the communication device can only control the cursor moving up, down, left, and right in the screen, and the method for detecting the pressure to control the cursor and the operating device thereof can be The position of the pressure point applied to the operation panel by the pressure of the conductive elastic member caused by the deformation of the conductive deformation member is detected, and the position of the pressure point on the operation panel is controlled to control the movement direction of the cursor. Move to the pressure point.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the invention is set forth below for the benefit of those skilled in the art.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the operating device for detecting pressure to control the cursor is applicable to a communication device such as a mobile phone as a human-machine interface input device for simplifying operation. The operating device comprises an operation panel, a circuit substrate, a processing unit and four conductive elastic protrusions. It must be particularly noted that the three conductive elastic projections achieve the object of the present invention.

The following is a detailed description with the drawings. Please refer to FIG. 1A. FIG. 1A is a partial structural diagram of an operating device in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The operation panel 1 includes a first surface 11 and a second surface 12 opposite to the first surface 11. The operation panel 1 is located above the circuit substrate 2, and its second surface 12 faces the circuit substrate 2. The four conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d (3c, 3d are not drawn) are separately disposed on the second surface 12. The four conductive elastic protrusions 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d (3c, 3d are not drawn) may be formed of conductive rubber, and between the conductive elastic protrusions and the circuit substrate 2 in a state where the operation panel 1 is not stressed. All have a gap.

The circuit board 2 has a circuit thereon. Please refer to the second figure, which is a circuit diagram of a circuit substrate in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the circuit forms four branch circuits connected in parallel with each other, and the branch circuits are respectively connected to the reference resistors 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, wherein the reference resistors 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d have different resistance values. The branch circuits further have electrical contacts 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d corresponding to the four conductive elastic protrusions 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, in both The branch circuit is turned on when electrically connected to each other.

The four-branch circuit is electrically connected to a voltage analog-to-digital converter 41 to measure the voltage division of the reference resistors 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d of the conduction branch circuit when the branch circuit is turned on.

Please refer to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, which are schematic diagrams showing the distribution of conductive elastic protrusions in the first application example and the second application example in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the top view of FIG. 3A, in the first application example of the present invention, the four conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are symmetrically disposed on the second surface 12 under the operation panel 1 in a diamond shape. As shown in FIG. 3B, in the second application example of the present invention, the operating device of the present invention has only three conductive elastic protrusions 3a, 3b, 3c, and the conductive elastic protrusions 3a, 3b, 3c are positive. The second surface 12 under the operation panel 1 is symmetrically disposed in a triangular shape.

In the above two application examples, the arrangement of the conductive elastic protrusions can make the conductive elastic protrusions 3a, 3b, 3c withstand a relatively uniform dispersion pressure when the operation panel 1 is subjected to a pressure F applied by the user, which is beneficial to the subsequent operation. Calculation of the sum of the dispersed pressures.

Please refer to the fourth figure, which is a functional block diagram of the operating device in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The processing unit 4 includes a voltage analog-to-digital converter 41, a pressure conversion program 42 and a directional operation program 43.

The processing unit 4 can be a processor or a control board having a related electronic component such as a processor, and is electrically coupled to the electrical contacts 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, respectively. The voltage analog-to-digital converter 41 detects that the conductive elastic protrusion 3a is electrically connected to the corresponding electrical contact 21a, and after the branch circuit is turned on, all the changed electrical conductivity is converted into digital information to generate a conductive property. News. The pressure conversion program 42 and the direction calculation program 43 calculate the pressure F applied to the pressing point position of the first surface 11 by using the conductive electrical information.

Please refer to Figure A again. As shown, the conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b are disposed on the second surface 12 of the operation panel 1 with respect to the first surface 11, and correspond to the electrical contacts 21a, 21b of the circuit substrate 2.

Please refer to the first B picture, and please refer to the second picture. The first B diagram is a schematic diagram of the operation of the operating device in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. B, when one of the pressing points of the first surface 11 is subjected to the pressure F, the operation panel 1 is pressed down so that the conductive elastic projections 3a and 3b under the pressing point are respectively subjected to a dispersion pressure and pressed. On the circuit board 2. At this time, the conductive elastic protrusions 3a, 3b are electrically connected to the electrical contacts 21a, 21b to turn on the two branch circuits.

The conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b are deformed in accordance with the magnitude of the dispersion pressure they are subjected to, thereby changing the contact area with the electrical contacts 21a, 21b. As the contact area is larger, the resistance value of the conductive elastic protrusions 3a, 3b formed in the corresponding branch circuit is smaller, and the corresponding conductive property is also changed, for example, partial pressure. On the circuit, the conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b can be regarded as variable resistors due to their deformable characteristics.

Please refer to the fourth figure at the same time as the second picture. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the voltage analog digital converter 41 measures the partial voltage of the reference resistor 5a on the branch circuit and converts it into digital information to produce conductive electrical information. According to Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (KVL), when the branch circuit has two resistors, the sum of the voltage dividers is the total voltage. Therefore, the partial pressure of the reference resistor 5a is measured, and the partial pressure of the conductive elastic projection 3a on the branch circuit can be converted to estimate the voltage division ratio of the conductive elastic projection 3a and the reference resistor 5a.

According to the principle of series circuit, the voltage divider system is proportional to the resistance value. Therefore, the voltage dividing ratio of the conductive elastic projection 3a and the reference resistor 5a is the resistance ratio of the conductive elastic projection 3a to the reference resistor 5a. Since the resistance value of the reference resistor 5a is a fixed known value, the resistance value when the conductive elastic projection 3a is subjected to the dispersion pressure can be obtained by this.

The pressure conversion program 42 calculates the dispersion pressure of the conductive elastic projection 3a by substituting the resistance value of the conductive elastic projection 3a in accordance with the known resistance characteristic table. Next, the direction calculation program 43 calculates the angle between the dispersion pressure vectors of the conductive elastic projections 3a and 3b by a trigonometric function, and calculates the pressure F to be pressed against the pressing point of the first surface 11. In this way, the position of the pressing point can be controlled according to the moving direction of the cursor.

The method of controlling a cursor of the present invention is applied to the above-described operating device. When the pressing point of the first surface 11 is subjected to the pressure F, the one of the conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d located below the pressing point is pressed against the circuit substrate 2.

Please refer to the fifth figure, which is a simplified flow chart of a method for detecting pressure to control a cursor in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is assumed that the force is between the conductive elastic protrusion 3a and the conductive protrusion 3b relatively close to the conductive protrusion 3b. At this time, the conductive elastic protrusion 3a and the conductive protrusion 3b are deformed according to the magnitude of the pressure F to change the resistance value (step S101), and changing the corresponding electrical conductivity.

In the processing unit 4, the voltage analog digital converter 41 detects the amount of change in the resistance values of the conductive elastic protrusion 3a and the conductive protrusion 3b to generate corresponding conductive electrical information (step S102). Then, the pressure conversion program 42 calculates the conductive electrical information to generate at least one distributed pressure information (step S103), so that the one-direction operation program 43 applies the pressure F to the first surface 11 by the distributed pressure information. The position of the pressure point (step S104), and the movement direction of the cursor is controlled according to the position of the pressure application point (step S105).

In summary, the operating device of the present invention utilizes at least three conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b, 3c. In the preferred embodiment, four conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d are used, which are symmetrically disposed on The second surface 12 of the panel 1 is operated. When the first surface 11 of the operation panel 1 is subjected to the pressure F, both of the conductive elastic projections 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are pressed against the circuit substrate 2 by a dispersion pressure.

At this time, the electric resistance of the two conductive elastic protrusions 3a, 3b changes with the magnitude of the dispersion pressure, and is associated with changing other conductive properties such as partial pressure. The voltage analog digital converter 41 detects the divided voltage of the above change and converts it into digital information. The pressure conversion program 42 calculates the conductive electrical information generated by the voltage analog-to-digital converter 41 and generates distributed pressure information for the direction calculation program 43 to calculate the pressure applied to the first surface 11 for the omnidirectional direction. Control the direction of movement of the cursor.

The features and spirit of the present invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. On the contrary, the intention is to cover various modifications and equivalents within the scope of the invention as claimed.

1. . . Operation panel

11. . . First surface

12. . . Second surface

2. . . Circuit substrate

4. . . Processing unit

3a. . . Conductive elastic projection

3b. . . Conductive elastic projection

3c. . . Conductive elastic projection

3d. . . Conductive elastic projection

5a. . . Reference resistance

5b. . . Reference resistance

5c. . . Reference resistance

5d. . . Reference resistance

21a. . . Electrical contact

21b. . . Electrical contact

21c. . . Electrical contact

21d. . . Electrical contact

41. . . Voltage analog digital converter

42. . . Pressure conversion program

43. . . Directional computing program

F. . . pressure

The first A is a schematic view of a partial structure of the operating device in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 1B is a schematic view showing the operation of the operating device in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a circuit diagram of a circuit substrate in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

The third A is a schematic diagram of the distribution of the conductive elastic protrusions of the first application example in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

The third B is a schematic diagram of the distribution of the conductive elastic protrusions of the second application example in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of an operating device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a simplified flow diagram of a method of detecting pressure to control a cursor in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1. . . Operation panel

11. . . First surface

12. . . Second surface

2. . . Circuit substrate

3a. . . Conductive elastic projection

3b. . . Conductive elastic projection

21a. . . Electrical contact

21b. . . Electrical contact

Claims (8)

An operation device for controlling a cursor, comprising: a circuit substrate having at least three electrical contacts thereon; a processing unit electrically coupled to the electrical contacts; and an operation panel Located above the circuit substrate and including a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, wherein the second surface is adjacent to the circuit substrate; and at least three conductive elastic protrusions are separately disposed on the first surface The two surfaces are respectively disposed corresponding to the electrical contacts on the circuit substrate; wherein, when a pressing point of the first surface is subjected to a pressure, the conductive elastic protrusions under the pressing point are pressed The circuit board is deformed to deform, and a resistance value corresponding to each of the conductive elastic protrusions is changed by deformation. The processing unit calculates a position change of the pressure application point by the amount of change of each resistance value to control a moving direction of the cursor. The operating device for controlling a cursor as described in claim 1, wherein the conductive elastic projections are made of a conductive rubber. The operating device for controlling a cursor according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit further comprises a voltage analog-to-digital converter to change resistance and change corresponding electrical conductivity when the conductive protrusions are pressed against the circuit substrate. The partial pressures of the conductive bumps are measured to generate a corresponding one of electrical conductivity information. The operating device for controlling a cursor as described in claim 3, wherein the processing unit further comprises a pressure conversion program and a direction calculation program, the pressure conversion program converting the conductive electrical information to generate the conductive elastic protruding member The distributed pressure information is obtained by the direction calculation program, and the pressure is applied to the pressure point of the first surface. A method for detecting pressure to control a cursor, which is used in an operating device according to claim 1, wherein when the pressure point of the first surface is subjected to the pressure, the conductive force at the pressure point is After the elastic protrusion is pressed against the circuit substrate and deformed, the method includes the following steps: (a) each of the conductive elastic protrusions changes each resistance value according to deformation; (b) detecting each of the conductive elastic protrusions And an amount of change in the resistance value; and (c) calculating a change in position of the pressure application point by the amount of change in each of the resistance values to control a moving direction of the cursor. The method for controlling a cursor as described in claim 5, wherein the step (b) further comprises the step (b0) of generating corresponding electrical conductivity information according to the amount of change of the resistance value. The method for controlling a cursor according to claim 6, wherein the step (c) further comprises the step (c0) of calculating the conductive electrical information by using a pressure conversion program to generate a distributed pressure information. The method for controlling a cursor according to the seventh aspect of the invention, wherein the step (c) further comprises the step (c1), wherein the pressure is applied to the first surface by using the one-direction operation program Pressure point location.