WO2018042716A1

WO2018042716A1 - Operation device

Info

Publication number: WO2018042716A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/008269
Authority: WO
Inventors: 真一郎鳥居; 高井　大輔; 萩原　康嗣; 譲川名; 俊彦齊藤; 渉佐藤; 恵介丹治
Original assignee: アルプス電気株式会社
Priority date: 2016-08-31
Filing date: 2017-03-02
Publication date: 2018-03-08

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an operation device in which a pleasant operation sensation is provided when an operation unit is operated, and further, vibrations generated at a force generating unit can be easily transmitted to a thumb operating the operation unit. [Solution] A support base 40 is attached to an upper case 12 of a casing 11 so as to be suspended therefrom. An input unit 20 and a force generating unit 30 are fixed to a first surface 41a and a second surface 41b of a mounting part 41 of the support base 40, respectively. A coupling part 42 formed on the lower side of the support base 40 is fixed to the upper case 12 via elastic members 55, 56, 57. Vibrations generated at the force generating unit 30 are easily transmitted to an operation unit 15 via the input unit 20 which is disposed directly above the force generating unit 30. On the other hand, the vibrations are rarely transmitted to the casing 11.

Description

Operating device

The present invention relates to an operating device in which an input unit and an operating unit for operating the input unit are mounted on a case that can be held by hand.

A game controller is known as an operation device in which an input unit and an operation unit for operating the input unit are mounted on a case that can be held by a hand.

In the game controller described in Patent Document 1, an operation lever that protrudes upward from the housing, a cross key, and four key tops arranged at intervals in the front, rear, left, and right are arranged as operation units. Yes. When operating this game controller, place your thumb on the top of the control lever and tilt the control lever back and forth or left or right, or slide your finger back and forth and left or right on the cross key It is necessary to press or to find and press one of the four key tops with a finger.

JP 2000-218041 A

In the game controller described in Patent Document 1, when any one of the operation lever, the cross key, and the key top is operated, it is necessary to move each finger to search for each. Therefore, this game controller is not suitable for operating in a blind state while gazing at the display screen. Furthermore, it is not suitable for blind operation of a so-called virtual reality display device that performs a blind operation using a display device mounted on the face.

Also, in operations such as virtual reality, it is desirable to perform intuitive operations to the extent that force is applied to the fingers without moving the fingers too much. However, the game controller described in Patent Document 1 needs to move a finger greatly when operating any one of the operation lever, the cross key, and the key top, and can perform the above intuitive operation. Can not.

The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an operating device that can be intuitively operated by the operator's intention and is suitable for blind operation.

The present invention provides an operation device provided with a housing that can be held by a hand, an input unit supported in the housing, and an operation unit that operates the input unit.
The input unit includes a plurality of deformation units that generate distortion by a force applied to the operation unit, and a strain detection element that detects distortion of each of the deformation units,
A force generation unit that applies force to the input unit and a control unit that operates the force generation unit based on a detection signal obtained by the input unit are provided.

In the operating device according to the present invention, a support base on which the input unit and the force generation unit are mounted is provided in the housing, and the support base is supported by the housing via an elastic member. It is preferable.

In the operating device according to the present invention, the support base includes a first surface and a second surface that are in a front-back relationship with each other, and a coupling portion that is located away from the first surface and the second surface. The input portion is fixed to the first surface, the force generating portion is fixed to the second surface, and the coupling portion is coupled to the housing via the elastic member.

In this case, it is preferable that the coupling portion is provided at a position away from the first surface and the second surface on the side opposite to the arrangement side of the input portion.

In the operating device of the present invention, an upper support portion and a lower support portion that is located farther from the input portion than the upper support portion are provided in the housing, and the coupling portion is the upper support. Between the lower support portion and the lower support portion,
A first elastic member is provided between the coupling portion and the lower support portion, a second elastic member is provided between the coupling portion and the upper support portion, and the first elastic member is the second elastic member. Those having a higher elastic coefficient than the elastic member are preferred.

In the operating device having the above configuration, a shaft body extending downward is fixed to the upper support portion inside the housing, and the lower support portion is provided at a lower end portion of the shaft body. The shaft body can be configured to be inserted into the formed hole.

In this case, it is preferable that a third elastic member is provided between the hole and the shaft, and the third elastic member has a higher elastic coefficient than the second elastic member.

The operation device of the present invention preferably has a configuration in which the operation surface of the operation unit is located at substantially the same height as the surface of the housing.

In the operation device of the present invention, the input unit includes a plurality of deformation units that generate distortion due to a force applied to the operation unit, and a strain detection element that detects distortion of each deformation unit. Therefore, the movement of the operation unit itself does not increase, and the input operation can be performed with the strength of the operation force applied to the operation unit. Therefore, it is possible to perform a sensitive and accurate input operation with an intuitive hand operation. For example, it is possible to perform an input operation of slightly moving the housing while giving an operation force to the operation unit with the thumb.

In the input section, the movement of the operation section when operating force is applied is slight, and it is practically hardly moved as compared with conventional operation levers and key tops. Therefore, by providing a force generation unit such as a vibration generator and applying the generated force to the operation unit via the input unit, the operator can understand that the operation unit is operated with a thumb or the like. Become.

Therefore, it becomes suitable for blind operation of the operating device in the virtual reality display device.

In addition, by providing an elastic member between the support base on which the input unit and the operation unit are mounted, and the housing, vibrations and other forces generated from the force generation unit are not transmitted to the housing so much that the operation is mainly performed. It will be transmitted to the part. This makes it easier to feel the reaction force with the thumb or the like.

Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the usage method of the operating device of embodiment of this invention, Explanatory drawing which shows the other usage method of the operating device of embodiment of this invention, The disassembled perspective view which shows the principal part of the operating device of embodiment of this invention, Sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the operating device of embodiment of this invention by the IV-IV line | wire shown in FIG. The perspective view which shows the structure of the input part currently used for the operating device, Explanatory drawing schematically showing the structure of the force generator used in the operating device, A block diagram of a circuit associated with the operating device;

1 and 2 show a usage example of the operating device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
In the usage example shown in FIG. 1, the operating device 10 is held and used with one hand, and the device main body 1 is operated. The operating device 10 and the device main body 1 are coupled by a cord or by wireless communication. The apparatus main body 1 has a display device 2. The display device 2 is a color liquid crystal display panel or an electroluminescence display panel. The apparatus main body 1 is a personal computer, a demonstration display apparatus having a relatively large display screen, or the like.

In the usage example shown in FIG. 2, the operating device 10 is held and used with one hand, and the device main body 3 is operated. The apparatus main body 3 has a mask type main body 4 to be mounted in front of the eyes and a strap 5 for mounting the mask type main body 4 on the head. The mask type main body 4 is provided with a display device 6. The display device 6 is installed in front of the operator's eyes and is visible. The operating device 10 and the device body 3 are connected by a cord 7. Alternatively, the operation device 10 and the device body 3 are coupled by wireless communication.

2, it is possible to display a so-called virtual reality image on the display device 6.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the casing 11 of the operating device 10 is formed in a size that can be held with one hand. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing 11 is configured by joining an upper case 12 and a lower case 13. The upper case 12 and the lower case 13 are made of a synthetic resin material.

In the upper case 12, an opening 12a is formed on the upper surface of the tip, and an operation unit 15 is disposed inside the opening 12a. The operation surface 15a which is the surface of the operation unit 15 has a concave curved surface shape. The operation surface 15 a is located at substantially the same height as the surface of the upper case 12. When the housing 11 is held with one hand, it is easy to place the thumb on the operation surface 15a that does not protrude so much from the upper case 12, and it is easy to guide the thumb to the concave operation surface 15a. Therefore, even in the blind operation as in the usage example of FIG. 2, the operating device 10 can be held with one hand and the thumb can be immediately placed on the operating surface 15a.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a support base 40 is provided inside the housing 11. The support base 40 is made of a synthetic resin material. The support base 40 has a mounting portion 41 formed on the Z2 side, which is the side close to the opening 12a of the upper case 12. The mounting portion 41 has a first surface 41a facing the Z2 direction and a second surface 41b facing the Z1 direction. The first surface 41 a and the second surface 41 b are in a relationship of front and back surfaces in the plate portion constituting the mounting portion 41. The input unit 20 is fixed to the first surface 41a, and the force generating unit 30 is fixed to the second surface 41b.

In the support base 40, a coupling portion 42 is formed at a position closer to the Z1 side than the mounting portion 41, that is, at a position away from the input portion 20 and the operation portion 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the coupling portion 42 has a flange shape. The support base 40 is provided with an intermediate portion 43 that connects the mounting portion 41 and the coupling portion 42. The intermediate part 43 is a vertical wall provided on both sides in the X direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the support base 40 is attached to the inner surface of the upper case 12 in which the opening 12 a is formed, and is fixed so as to be suspended toward the lower case 13.
On the upper inner surface of the upper case 12, an upper support portion 12b is formed so as to surround the opening portion 12a or sandwich the opening portion 12a. A fixing screw 50 is attached to the upper support portion 12b. The fixing screw 50 includes a shaft body 51 and a lower support portion 52 that is a screw head. The upper case 12 has a female screw hole 12c formed in the Z2 direction from the upper support portion 12b, and a male screw portion 51a formed at the tip of the shaft body 51 is screwed into the female screw hole 12c. The lower support portion 52 and the upper support portion 12b, which are screw heads, face each other with an interval in the Z1-Z2 direction.

A hole 42a is formed in the coupling portion 42 of the support base 40 so as to penetrate vertically. The shaft body 51 of the fixing screw 50 is inserted through each hole portion 42a in the Z2 direction, and the male screw portion 51a of the shaft body 51 is screwed into the female screw hole 12c, whereby the coupling portion 42 is connected to the upper support portion 12b. And the lower support portion 52.

As shown in FIG. 3, holes 42 a are formed at eight positions at a fixed pitch in the coupling portion 42 of the support base 40. Eight fixing screws 50 inserted through the respective holes 42a are also provided. However, in FIG. 3, only two fixing screws 50 are shown for the sake of illustration.

A first elastic member 55 is interposed between the lower surface of the coupling part 42 formed on the support base 40 and a total of eight lower support parts 52, and the upper surface of the coupling part 42 and the upper support part 12b A second elastic member 56 is interposed therebetween. Further, a third elastic member 57 is mounted in each hole portion 42a. The first elastic member 55, the second elastic member 56, and the third elastic member 57 are each ring-shaped and have a center hole, and the shaft body 51 of the fixing screw 50 is connected to each

elastic member

55, 56, 57. Is inserted through the center hole.

The elastic coefficient of the first elastic member 55 is set higher than the elastic coefficient of the second elastic member 56. In this specification, when the force F is applied to the coupling portion 42 and the entire first elastic member 55 is compressed and distorted in the Z1-Z2 direction, and the force F is applied to the coupling portion 42, the second elastic member 55 is compressed. F / τ is defined as an elastic coefficient, where τ is the amount of strain in the Z1-Z2 direction of each elastic member when the entire member 56 is compressed and distorted in the Z1-Z2 direction. That is, the elastic coefficient is equal to a value obtained by multiplying the Young's modulus σ / τ, where σ is the stress acting on the elastic member, by the cross-sectional area of the

elastic members

55 and 56 on the XY plane.

The first elastic member 55 and the second elastic member 56 are made of synthetic rubber or the like, and the hardness of the first elastic member 55 is higher than that of the second elastic member 56. At least one of the first elastic member 55 and the second elastic member 56 may be formed of a compression coil spring or a leaf spring. In this case, the elastic modulus is a spring constant.

In any case, in the first elastic member 55 and the second elastic member 56, when the force F having the same magnitude in the Z1-Z2 direction is applied from the coupling portion 42, the first elastic member 55 has the second elasticity. The member 56 is configured to be less distorted than the member 56.

The elastic coefficient of the third elastic member 57 is also higher than the second elastic coefficient. The third elastic member 57 preferably has the same elastic modulus as that of the first elastic member 55, and the third elastic member 57 and the first elastic member 55 may be integrally formed.

FIG. 5 shows details of the input unit 20. The input unit 20 is a pointing stick such as a stick pointer (registered trademark), and an operation unit 22 made of synthetic resin is overlapped and fixed on a metal substrate 21. The substrate 21 is fixed to the first surface 41 a of the mounting portion 41 of the support base 40. The operation unit 22 is integrally formed with an operation shaft 23 extending in the Z2 direction at the center. The operation unit 15 is fixed to the operation shaft 23.

The operating portion 22 is formed with

deformed portions

24x and 24x extending continuously from the base portion of the operation shaft 23 in the X direction and

deformed portions

24y and 24y extending continuously from the base portion in the Y direction. Distortion detection elements 25x are provided on the lower surfaces (the surfaces facing the Z1 side) of the

deformation portions

24x and 24x, respectively, and distortion detection elements 25y are provided on the lower surfaces of the

deformation portions

24y and 24y, respectively. The

strain sensing elements

25x and 25y are strain cages.

When the operating shaft 23 is tilted in the θx direction or the θy direction by the operating body 15, distortion occurs in the deforming portion 24x or the deforming portion 24y. By detecting the amount of distortion by the

strain detection elements

25x and 25y, a detection signal relating to the operation direction of the operation body 15 is obtained.

FIG. 6 schematically shows the structure of the force generator 30. The force generation unit 30 includes a housing 31 made of metal or the like, and the housing 31 is fixed to the second surface 41 b of the mounting portion 41 of the support base 40. A rod-shaped vibrating body 32 made of a magnetic material is provided inside the housing 31. A lower elastic support member 33 a is provided between the bottom of the housing 31 and the vibrating body 32, and an upper elastic support member 33 b is provided between the ceiling of the housing 31 and the vibrating body 32. The

elastic support members

33a and 33b are leaf springs. A coil 34 is wound around the vibrating body 32, and

magnets

35, 35 are opposed to both ends of the vibrating body 32 inside the housing 31.

In the force generator 30, when an alternating drive current is applied to the coil 34, vibration is generated according to the attractive force and repulsive force between the magnetic field induced in the vibrating body 32 and the magnetic field from the magnet 35. The body 32 vibrates. This vibration force is applied from the housing 31 to the second surface 41 b of the support base 40. The vibrator 32 preferably vibrates in the Z1-Z2 direction. However, it may vibrate in the X direction.

A circuit board is accommodated in the housing 11 and various electronic circuits are mounted. Although a block diagram is shown in FIG. 7, a control unit 61 is provided on the circuit board. The control unit 61 is composed mainly of a CPU and a memory. Detection signals detected by the

strain detection elements

25x and 25y of the input unit 20 are given to the control unit 61. Further, a drive current is applied to the coil 34 of the force generation unit 30 based on the control operation of the control unit 61. In the control unit 61, an operation signal is generated based on the detection signal from the input unit 20, and the operation signal is given to the apparatus main body 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the apparatus main body 3 shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the operating device 10 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the casing 11 of the operating device 10 is held with one hand, and the operation unit 15 is operated with the thumb. The operation surface 15a which is the surface of the operation unit 15 is at the same height as the surface of the upper case 12 of the housing 11, and the operation surface 15a is a concave curved surface. Therefore, even if it is a blind operation as shown in FIG. 2, the operation part 15 can be searched easily with the thumb, and the thumb is guided so as to be in close contact with the operation surface 15a according to the concave curved surface.

When the operation unit 15 is pushed with the thumb in the X direction or the Y direction and the operation shaft 23 of the input unit 20 is tilted in the θx direction or the θy direction as shown in FIG. 5, the deformation unit 24 x or the deformation unit 24 y of the operation unit 22 is The bending and the bending are detected by the

strain detection elements

25x and 25y, the detection signal is given to the control unit 61, and the control unit 61 generates an operation signal.

The input unit 20 shown in FIG. 5 has an extremely small angle at which the operation shaft 23 tilts in the θx direction and the θy direction when an operation force is applied to the operation unit 15, and the operation unit 15 moves in the X direction and the Y direction. The amount is also slight. Actually, the

strain detection elements

25x and 25y are made to react with high sensitivity and output a detection signal only by an operation feeling that a force in the X direction or the Y direction is applied with the thumb touching the operation surface 15a of the operation unit 15. be able to. Therefore, the operator can perform an input operation by simply applying force to the thumb while viewing the display screens of the

display devices

2 and 6.

When the detection signal is obtained from the input unit 20, the control unit 61 generates an operation signal and sends the operation signal to the apparatus main body 1 or 3 via the interface 62. At the same time, the control unit 61 generates a drive signal corresponding to the operation content and the display content on the

display devices

2 and 6, and a drive current corresponding to the drive signal is applied to the coil 34 of the force generation unit 30. Simultaneously with the operation unit 15 being pushed and operated by the thumb, the vibrating body 32 in the force generation unit 30 vibrates, and this vibration is applied to the thumb via the input unit 20 and the operation unit 15. This makes it possible to confirm that the operation unit 15 has been operated with the feel of the thumb.

Further, the magnitude of the vibration force generated by the force generation unit 30 and the period of the intermittent vibration are linked to the strength of the force when the operation unit 15 is pressed and the change of the images displayed on the

display devices

2 and 6. Thus, the operator can feel the reaction force corresponding to various operation conditions on the thumb.

As shown in FIG. 4, the input unit 20 and the force generation unit 30 are mounted on the support base 40, and

elastic members

55, 56, and 57 are interposed between the support base 40 and the housing 11. . Thereby, the vibration force generated by the force generation unit 30 is easily transmitted to the operation unit 15 via the input unit 20, while the vibration force is hardly transmitted to the housing 11. Therefore, the operator can easily feel the vibration, which is an operation reaction force, on the thumb touching the operation unit 15, and the vibration is less likely to be felt with other fingers or palms holding the housing 11.

Hereinafter, this operation will be described in more detail.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the mounting part 41 of the support base 40, the input part 20 is fixed to the 1st surface 41a which has the relationship of front and back, and the force generation part 30 is fixed to the 2nd surface 41b. Therefore, the vibration force generated by the force generation unit 30 is transmitted to the input unit 20 through the mounting unit 41 at the shortest distance, and the vibration force of the force generation unit 30 is also generated by the vibration of the plate-shaped mounting unit 41. Therefore, the vibration force is effectively transmitted to the thumb touching the operation surface 15a of the operation unit 15.

On the other hand, in the support base 40, the coupling part 42 fixed to the housing 11 is located away from the mounting part 41 to which the input part 20 and the force generation part 30 are fixed in the Z1 direction. Since the vibration force generated by the force generation unit 30 reaches the coupling unit 42 located on the lower side from the mounting unit 41 through the intermediate unit 43, the vibration is attenuated at the coupling unit 42. 11 is difficult to transmit a large vibration.

Elastic members

55, 56, 57 are interposed between the coupling portion 42 of the support base 40 and the housing 11, but the first elastic member 55 located between the coupling portion 42 and the lower support portion 52 The third elastic member 57 positioned between the hole 42a and the shaft body 51 has a high elastic coefficient, high hardness, and is difficult to deform.

The input unit 20 shown in FIG. 5 is operated by pushing the operation unit 15 with a relatively large force with the thumb, but the first elastic member 55 is relatively difficult to deform. In the connection part of 41 and the fixing screw 50, it can control that the support base 40 moves large to Z1 direction. Therefore, when the operation unit 15 is pressed with the thumb, the operation feeling of pressing the operation unit 15 is not deteriorated due to the presence of the elastic member 55.

In addition, since the third elastic member 57 is also difficult to deform, it is possible to suppress the support base 40 from greatly moving in the X direction or the Y direction when the operation unit 15 is pushed and operated. When pressing 15, it is possible to prevent an uncomfortable feeling in the operation feeling.

On the other hand, the second elastic member 56 positioned between the coupling portion 42 of the support base 40 and the upper support portion 12b has a relatively low elastic coefficient and is easily elastically deformed. Therefore, even if the vibration generated by the force generation unit 30 is transmitted to the coupling unit 42, it can be attenuated by the second elastic member 56, and the vibration is hardly transmitted to the housing 11. In addition, since the first elastic member 55 located between the coupling portion 42 and the lower support portion 52 and the third elastic member 57 mounted inside the hole portion 42a can also exhibit the vibration damping function. Due to the presence of these

elastic members

55, 56 and 57, it is possible to suppress the transmission of vibration force from the support base 40 to the upper case 12.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the fixing screw 50 extends from the upper part of the upper case 12 in the Z2 direction, and is attached so that the support base 40 is suspended by the fixing screw 50. Therefore, even if the vibration generated in the force generating unit 30 is transmitted from the coupling unit 42 to the upper case 12, the vibration is not easily transmitted to the bottom 13 a of the lower case 13. That is, the bottom portion 13 a of the lower case 13 exists at a position farthest from the transmission path from the vibration generation source of the force generation unit 30. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the operating device 10 is held with one hand, the bottom portion 13a of the lower case 13 is supported by a finger other than the thumb, but it is difficult for these fingers to feel vibration.

As described above, the vibration generated in the force generation unit 30 is easily transmitted to the thumb via the input unit 20, and on the other hand, the operation unit has a structure in which vibration is difficult to be felt by fingers and palms other than the thumb. The thumb that presses 15 can effectively feel the reaction force of the operation and the feedback force from the display image.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device main body 2 Display device 3 Device main body 4 Mask type main body 6 Display device 10 Operation device 11 Housing | casing 12 Upper case 12b Upper support part 13 Lower case 15 Operation part 15a Operation surface 20 Input part 23

Operation shaft

24x,

24y Deformation part

25x , 25y sensing element 30 force generator 32 vibrating body 40 support base 41 mounting portion 41a first surface 41b second surface 42 coupling portion 50 fixing screw 51 shaft body 52 lower support portion 55 first elastic member 56 second elastic member 57 Third elastic member 61 controller

Claims

In an operating device provided with a housing that can be held in a hand, an input unit supported in the housing, and an operation unit that operates the input unit,
The input unit includes a plurality of deformation units that generate distortion by a force applied to the operation unit, and a strain detection element that detects distortion of each of the deformation units,
An operating device, comprising: a force generation unit that applies force to the input unit; and a control unit that operates the force generation unit based on a detection signal obtained by the input unit.
The operating device according to claim 1, wherein a support base on which the input unit and the force generation unit are mounted is provided in the housing, and the support base is supported by the housing via an elastic member. .
The support base includes a first surface and a second surface that are in a front-back relationship with each other, and a coupling portion that is located away from the first surface and the second surface, and the first surface includes The operating device according to claim 2, wherein the input unit is fixed, the force generation unit is fixed to the second surface, and the coupling unit is coupled to the housing via the elastic member.
The operation device according to claim 3, wherein the coupling portion is provided at a position away from the first surface and the second surface on the side opposite to the arrangement side of the input portion.
An upper support part and a lower support part located farther from the input part than the upper support part are provided inside the housing, and the coupling part is the upper support part and the lower support part. Between
A first elastic member is provided between the coupling portion and the lower support portion, a second elastic member is provided between the coupling portion and the upper support portion, and the first elastic member is the second elastic member. 5. The operating device according to claim 3, wherein the elastic coefficient is higher than that of the elastic member.
Inside the housing, a shaft body extending downward is fixed to the upper support portion, the lower support portion is provided at the lower end portion of the shaft body, and the hole formed in the coupling portion The operating device according to claim 5, wherein the shaft body is inserted.
The operating device according to claim 6, wherein a third elastic member is provided between the hole and the shaft, and the third elastic member has a higher elastic coefficient than the second elastic member.
The operation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an operation surface of the operation unit is located at substantially the same height as the surface of the housing.