JP2010198986A - Rotation operation structure of input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide 'a rotation operation structure of an input device' capable of selectively carrying out two kinds of rotation operations in a narrow area, and smoothly carrying out continuation of the operations, and yet, with an operating knob not a hindrance. <P>SOLUTION: An operating body 4 equipped with a shaft part 6 penetrating a long-hole opening 11 fitted to an operating panel 1 and an operating knob 5 covering the opening 11 is elastically biased and retained with a pair of leaf springs 8, 9 for free rotation and slide movement toward a length direction of the opening 11, so that the operating body 11 is to be selectively arranged by the slide movement at a first operating position toward one end of the opening 11 in a length direction and a second operating position toward the other end. Then, at each of the first and the second operating positions, a rotation position change of the operating body 4 is detected by rotation detection means such as optical sensors 31, 32, and that, the operating body 4 is to be detected by slide position detection means such as an optical sensor 33 whether or not it is at the first operating position or the second operating position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotation operation structure of an input device in which a predetermined function adjustment can be performed by rotating an operation knob disposed on the front surface of an operation panel, and in particular, different function adjustments can be performed at adjacent operation positions. The rotational operation structure of the input device.

  In an input device in which an operation knob for rotating operation is arranged on the front surface of the operation panel, the shaft portion integral with the operation knob is normally pivotally supported by a fixed member such as a bearing member through the opening of the operation panel. Has been. When the user manually rotates the operation knob, the rotation position change of the shaft portion is detected by rotation detection means such as an encoder or a variable resistor mounted on the circuit board in the apparatus. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-147881 A

  By the way, in an input device in which a plurality of operation knobs, operation keys, liquid crystal display units, etc. are distributed on an operation panel, downsizing and multi-function are promoted or the display area of the liquid crystal display unit is increased. Securing space for the operation knobs and operation keys becomes increasingly difficult. In particular, the operation knob for rotating operation cannot be set to have a very small outer diameter, so that if two operation knobs having different uses are arranged adjacent to each other, a large arrangement space is inevitably required. Therefore, in order to enable two types of rotational operations with different applications within a limited narrow area of the operation panel, the conventional input device, for example, has a first operation knob having a center hole and a slightly larger diameter. In addition, a rotational operation structure has been adopted in which a slightly small-diameter second operation knob that penetrates through the center hole and projects toward the front is coaxially incorporated so that it can be operated independently of each other. According to such a rotation operation structure, the first and second operation knobs are coaxially arranged, so that the space factor for the operation panel is improved, and the user can connect the first operation knob and the second operation knob. Two types of function adjustments can be performed by selectively rotating.

  However, in the conventional rotary operation structure in which the first and second operation knobs are arranged coaxially, the second operation knob incorporated on the inner peripheral side of the first operation knob protrudes greatly from the operation panel to the front. In particular, when the input device is a vehicle-mounted device, the second operation knob becomes a protrusion, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of safety. In addition, although the first operation knob and the second operation knob are arranged coaxially but have different outer diameters, immediately after one operation knob is rotated, the other operation knob is operated to rotate. In this case, there is a problem that the continuous operation is difficult to perform smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a state of the art, and the object thereof is to selectively perform two types of rotation operations within a narrow region, and to smoothly perform the continuous operations. An object of the present invention is to provide a rotation operation structure of an input device in which a knob does not get in the way.

  The present invention holds an operating body having a shaft portion penetrating a long hole-like opening provided in an operation panel and an operating knob covering the opening so as to be rotatable and slidable in the longitudinal direction of the opening. The operating body can be selectively placed by sliding movement at a first operating position near one end in the longitudinal direction of the opening and a second operating position near the other end. The rotation detection means detects the rotation position change of the operating body at each of the first operation position and the second operation position.

  According to the rotational operation structure of the present invention, the rotatable operation body can be selectively arranged at the first operation position and the second operation position by sliding movement, and the same operation body is arranged in the first operation position. Two types of function adjustments can be made depending on whether the rotary operation is performed at the position or the second operation position, so that the space factor of the operation body with respect to the operation panel is improved, and the miniaturization and multi-functionalization of the input device are promoted. It becomes easy to do. In addition, since it is easy for the user to continuously rotate and slide the operating body while holding the operation knob, two types of function adjustment can be performed smoothly and continuously, and good operability is expected. it can. Further, since this operation body does not require the operation knob to protrude largely in front of the operation panel, the operation knob does not get in the way, and is therefore suitable as a rotation operation structure for an in-vehicle input device.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the operating body for rotational operation which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention is arrange | positioned in the 1st operation position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which this operation body is arrange | positioned in the 2nd operation position. It is an external view of this operation body. It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment state of a pair of leaf | plate spring which hold | maintains this operation body and can be engaged / disengaged by planar view. It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment state of this leaf | plate spring by a side view. It is an external view of this leaf | plate spring. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of this operation body and an optical sensor.

  The rotary operation structure according to the present invention includes an elongated opening provided in the operation panel, an operation knob disposed on the front surface of the operation panel and covering the opening, and a shaft portion penetrating the opening. A holding means for holding the operating body so as to be rotatable and slidably movable in the longitudinal direction of the opening; a rotation detecting means for detecting a rotational position change of the operating body; and the operating body being closer to one end in the longitudinal direction of the opening. Slide position detecting means for detecting which of the first operation position and the second operation position near the other end is disposed, and the operation body slides and moves the first operation position and the first operation position. The operation position can be selectively arranged at two operation positions, and the rotation position change of the operation body is detected at each of the first operation position and the second operation position.

  When the rotatable operating body can be selectively arranged at the first operating position and the second operating position by sliding movement, the same operating body is placed in the first operating position and the second operating position. Since two types of function adjustment can be performed depending on which position is rotated, the space factor of the operation body with respect to the operation panel is improved. In addition, since it is easy for the user to continuously rotate and slide the operating body while holding the operation knob, two types of function adjustment can be performed smoothly and operability is improved. In addition, since the operation knob does not need to protrude greatly in front of the operation panel, the operation knob does not get in the way and is suitable for in-vehicle use. In addition, since the long hole-shaped opening provided in the operation panel is always covered with the operation knob, it is not exposed to the outside.

  In the above configuration, when the holding means is a leaf spring that elastically biases the shaft portion of the operating body, the biasing force of the leaf spring that rotatably holds the operating body at the first operation position or the second operation position. By applying a sliding operation force against the user, the leaf spring is pushed and deflected, and the operating body can be slid. Therefore, a simple structure that holds the operating body in a rotatable and slidable manner is realized. it can.

  Further, in the above configuration, the first elastic piece and the second elastic piece that are engaged with and disengaged from the operation body at the time of the rotation operation and cause a click feeling are provided, and each of the peripheral surfaces of the shaft portion of the operation body is provided on the outer peripheral surface. When two types of click generation units having concavities and convexities along the direction are provided and the operating body is arranged at the first operation position, the first elastic piece elastically contacts one of the click generation units and operates. When the body is disposed at the second operation position, if the second elastic piece is in elastic contact with the other click generation unit, the operation body is in either the first operation position or the second operation position. The click feeling during the rotation operation differs depending on whether it is placed on the screen, so that the user can check with a blind touch which operation position is placed by the touch transmitted to the finger. Become. In this case, the holding means includes a pair of leaf springs that elastically urge the shaft portion of the operating body, and one of the leaf springs is formed as a first elastic piece, and the other leaf spring is It is preferable that the extended portion be the second elastic piece because the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified.

  In the above configuration, the first operation position and the second operation position partially overlap each other, and the rotation detection unit detects a change in the rotation position of the operation body existing in the overlapping portion. Since the rotation position change can be detected by the common rotation detection means when the operation body is arranged at either the first or second operation position, the number of rotation detection means can be reduced. Is preferable.

  In the above configuration, various contact-type or non-contact-type detection means can be applied as the rotation detection means and the slide position detection means, but both the rotation detection means and the slide position detection means are optical sensors. In addition, it is preferable to provide a reflector for reflecting the light emitted from the optical sensor on the bottom surface of the shaft portion of the operating body because the structure is not complicated and the reliability of detection is easily improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The input device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a casing formed by combining an operation panel 1 and a bottom plate 2, a circuit board 3 installed in an internal space of the casing, an operating body 4 for rotating operation, and a diagram. An operation key (not shown), a liquid crystal display unit, and the like are schematically configured. Various electronic components including optical sensors 31 to 33 are mounted on the circuit board 3.

  The operation body 4 is a molded product made of a synthetic resin or the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation body 4 includes a disk-shaped operation knob 5 and a columnar shaft portion 6. The operation knob 5 is disposed on the front surface of the operation panel 1, and a long hole-shaped opening 11 opened in the operation panel 1 is always covered with the operation knob 5 (see FIG. 4). The shaft portion 6 protrudes from the central portion of the bottom surface of the operation knob 5 and penetrates the opening 11 of the operation panel 1. On the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 6, two types of click generating portions 6a and 6b are formed at two locations shifted in the axial direction, each having continuous irregularities along the circumferential direction. Each of these click generators 6a and 6b has a concave portion or a convex portion with an equal pitch over the entire circumference, but as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, one click generator 6a is connected to the other click generator 6b. In comparison, the irregularities are formed at a narrow pitch. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, a reflector 7 for reflecting light emitted from the optical sensors 31 to 33 is provided on the bottom surface of the shaft portion 6. The reflector 7 includes a reflective portion 7a made of silver or the like formed at a plurality of outer peripheral portions and a central portion of the bottom surface of the shaft portion 6, and a non-reflective portion 7b such as black formed in the remaining region of the bottom surface. And is composed of.

  The operating body 4 is attached to the operation panel 1 in a retaining state by fitting a retaining ring 10 to the distal end portion of the shaft portion 6 inserted through the opening 11. Is also suppressed. Further, by elastically biasing the operating body 4 with a pair of leaf springs 8 and 9 fixed to the back side of the operating panel 1, the operating body 4 can rotate with respect to the operating panel 1 and the longitudinal direction of the opening 11. It is held so that it can slide. And by this sliding movement, the operating body 4 is moved to the first operating position (position shown in FIG. 1) near one end in the longitudinal direction of the opening 11 and the second operating position (position shown in FIG. 2) near the other end. They can be selectively arranged, and different function adjustments can be made depending on which of the first and second operation positions the operator 4 is rotated. Note that the opening 11 of the operation panel 1 is always covered with the operation knob 5 and thus is not exposed to the outside.

  The leaf spring 8 is bent into a shape as shown in FIG. 6, and the leaf spring 9 is also bent into a shape similar to this (see FIG. 4). That is, the leaf springs 8 and 9 are respectively extended with elastic pressing pieces 8a and 9a which are long and have a large amount of bending, and elastic engagement pieces 8b and 9b which are short and have a small amount of bending.

  The operation panel 1 is provided with an annular wall 12 projecting inward so as to surround the long hole-shaped opening 11. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the annular wall 12 has a pair of horizontally elongated windows 12 a that extend substantially parallel to the long axis of the opening 11 and face each other, and the opening 11 has a distal end side and a proximal end side. A pair of small window portions 12b extending substantially parallel to the short axis is established. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the bent portions of the elastic pressing pieces 8a and 9a of the leaf springs 8 and 9 are inserted into the opening 11 through different horizontal window portions 12a, and the leaf springs 8 and 9 are inserted. The bent portions of the elastic engagement / disengagement pieces 8b and 9b are inserted into the opening 11 through different small window portions 12b. Therefore, the shaft portion 6 of the operating body 4 is supported at three points by the elastic pressing pieces 8a and 9a and the elastic engagement / disengagement piece 8b at the first operation position shown in FIG. 1, and at the second operation position shown in FIG. The elastic pressing pieces 8a and 9a and the elastic engagement / disengagement piece 9b are supported at three points, so that the operating body 4 can be rotated without causing shaft shake at any operation position.

  When the operating body 4 is disposed at the first operating position (see FIG. 1), the elastic engagement / disengagement piece 8b of the leaf spring 8 is in elastic contact with the click generating portion 6a of the shaft portion 6, so that the operating body With the rotation of 4, the elastic engagement / disengagement piece 8 b is engaged / disengaged with the click generation unit 6 a to cause a click feeling. Similarly, when the operating body 4 is disposed at the second operating position (see FIG. 2), the elastic engagement / disengagement piece 9b of the leaf spring 9 is in elastic contact with the click generation portion 6b of the shaft portion 6. As the operating body 4 rotates, the elastic engagement / disengagement piece 9b is engaged / disengaged with the click generation unit 6b to generate a click feeling. As described above, the click generation unit 6a is formed with a narrower pitch than the click generation unit 6b, so that the operation body 4 is arranged at the first operation position and at the second operation position. The click feeling generated during the rotation operation differs from that when the operation is performed.

  When the operating body 4 is slid from one of the first and second operating positions to the other, the user gives the operating body 4 a slide operating force that resists the urging force of the elastic pressing pieces 8a and 9a. As a result, the elastic pressing pieces 8a and 9a bend in the direction of being pushed out from the opening 11, so that the shaft portion 6 can be slid by a necessary amount. At that time, even if the user does not slide the operation body 4 to the selected operation position, the operation body 4 can be reliably arranged at the operation position by the elastic return force of the elastic pressing pieces 8a and 9a.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the first operation position and the second operation position partially overlap each other, and the optical sensors 31 and 32 detect changes in the rotational position of the operation body 4 existing in the overlapping portion. It has become. In other words, the optical sensors 31 and 32 are mounted on the circuit board 3 at two locations facing the center line that bisects the long axis of the opening 11, and the operating body 4 has the first operating position and the second operating position. Regardless of the operation position, the annular outer periphery of the reflector 7 is always set to face the optical sensors 31 and 32. Accordingly, in any of the first and second operation positions, the reflection unit 7a and the non-reflection unit 7b are alternately opposed to the optical sensors 31 and 32 in accordance with the rotation of the operation body 4, and the presence or absence of reflected light. Is detected, and pulse signals having different phases are output from both the sensors 31 and 32 based on the detection result, so that the rotational position change (rotation amount and direction) of the operating body 4 can be detected.

  Further, when the operating body 4 is arranged at the first operating position, the reflecting portion 7a existing at the center of the reflector 7 is set so as to face the optical sensor 33. It can be determined whether or not the operating tool 4 is disposed at the first operating position depending on whether or not the reflected light is detected. That is, based on the detection result of the optical sensor 33, it can be determined whether the operating body 4 is disposed at the first operating position or the second operating position. Accordingly, the first function adjustment (for example, music selection by a CD player) can be performed by rotating the operation body 4 disposed at the first operation position, and the operation body 4 disposed at the second operation position. The second function adjustment (for example, the volume adjustment of the CD player) can be performed by rotating the, and the continuous operation of these two types of function adjustment can be performed smoothly. In addition, you may provide the detection means which detects directly that the operation body 4 is arrange | positioned in the 2nd operation position.

  As described above, the rotation operation structure of the input device according to the present embodiment is configured so that the rotatable operation body 4 can be selectively disposed at the first operation position and the second operation position by the slide movement. Since two types of function adjustments can be performed depending on whether the operation body 4 is rotated at the first operation position or the second operation position, the space factor of the operation body 4 with respect to the operation panel 1 can be increased. Therefore, it is easy to promote downsizing and multi-functionalization of the input device. In addition, since it is easy for the user to continuously rotate and slide the operating body 4 while holding the operation knob 5, two types of function adjustment can be performed smoothly and smoothly. Sex can be expected. Moreover, since it is not necessary to project the operation knob 5 largely in front of the operation panel 1, the operation knob 5 does not get in the way and is suitable for in-vehicle use.

  Further, in this embodiment, two types of click generation units 6a and 6b are provided on the shaft portion 6 of the operation body 4, and when the operation body 4 rotates at the first operation position, the elastic engagement / disengagement piece 8b is the click generation unit. When the operating body 4 is rotated at the second operation position, the elastic engagement / disengagement piece 9b is engaged with the click generation unit 6b and the click feeling is coarse. It is supposed to be born. That is, since the click feeling at the time of the rotation operation is different depending on whether the operation body 4 is arranged at the first operation position or the second operation position, the user can operate by the feeling transmitted to the fingers. It is easy to use because it is possible to confirm by blind touch which operation position the body 4 is placed. In addition, in this embodiment, the pair of leaf springs 8 and 9 respectively generate the click feeling with the elastic pressing pieces 8a and 9a that hold the operating body 4 so as to be rotatable and slidable in the longitudinal direction of the opening 11. Since the elastic engagement / disengagement pieces 8b and 9b are extended, the number of parts is small and the structure is simple.

  In the present embodiment, when the operating body 4 is arranged at either the first operation position or the second operation position, the rotation position change is detected by the common optical sensors 31 and 32. Therefore, the number of rotation detecting means can be reduced and the cost can be easily reduced.

  In this embodiment, the optical sensors 31 to 33 are employed as the rotation detection means and the slide position detection means, but other non-contact detection means (for example, a magnetic sensor) may be employed. It is also possible to employ contact-type detection means in which a slider fixed to the operating body 4 is slid with respect to the conductive pattern disposed on the circuit board 3.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation panel 2 Bottom plate 3 Circuit board 4 Operation body 5 Operation knob 6 Shaft part 6a, 6b Click generation part 7 Reflector 8, 9 Leaf spring 8a, 9a Elastic pressing piece 8b Elastic engagement / disengagement piece (1st elastic piece)
9b Elastic engagement / disengagement piece (second elastic piece)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Retaining ring 11 Opening 12 Annular wall 31, 32 Optical sensor (rotation detection means)
33 Optical sensor (slide position detection means)

Claims (6)

An operating body having a long hole-like opening provided in the operating panel, an operating knob disposed on the front surface of the operating panel and covering the opening, and a shaft portion passing through the opening; and the operating body is rotatable. A holding means for holding the opening slidably in the longitudinal direction of the opening, a rotation detecting means for detecting a rotation position change of the operating body, a first operating position near the one end in the longitudinal direction of the opening, and the like. Slide position detection means for detecting which of the second operation positions near the end is arranged,
The operating body can be selectively placed at the first operating position and the second operating position by sliding movement, and the rotational position of the operating body at each of the first operating position and the second operating position. A rotation operation structure of an input device, wherein a change is detected.   2. The rotational operation structure of an input device according to claim 1, wherein the holding means is a leaf spring that elastically biases the shaft portion.   3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first elastic piece and a second elastic piece that are engaged with and disengaged from the operation body at the time of the rotation operation, and each has an outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion. When two types of click generation units having concavities and convexities along the circumferential direction are provided and the operation body is disposed at the first operation position, the first elastic piece is one of the click generation units. When the operating body is disposed at the second operation position, the second elastic piece elastically contacts the other click generation unit. Construction.   4. The holding device according to claim 3, wherein the holding means includes a pair of leaf springs that elastically urge the shaft portion, and an extension portion of one of the leaf springs is formed as the first elastic piece, and the other one. A rotating operation structure of an input device, wherein an extended portion of a leaf spring is the second elastic piece.   5. The first operation position and the second operation position are partially overlapped with each other according to claim 1, and a rotation position change of the operation body existing in the overlapping portion is the rotation. A rotation operation structure of an input device, characterized in that it is detected by a detection means.   The rotation detection means and the slide position detection means are both optical sensors according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and light emitted from the optical sensor is emitted to the bottom surface of the shaft portion. A rotating operation structure of an input device, characterized in that a reflector for reflection is provided.

Images