JP2942098B2 - Multi-directional input device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-directional input device for controlling an image on a display by operating a single operation lever, and more particularly to a multi-directional input device suitable for use in a vehicle-mounted navigation system or a copy machine. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional example of this type of multidirectional input device, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-31038, four push switches mounted at equal intervals of 90 degrees on a printed circuit board are used. The operation lever is swingably supported with the center position of the push switch group as a fulcrum, and the cursor position on the display is determined based on the ON signal of the push switch selectively pressed and driven by the operation lever. And so on are known. That is, in this conventional example, when the operator tilts the shaft portion of the operation lever protruding out of the housing formed by combining the printed board and the upper case, one or two push rods arranged in the tilt direction are tilted. Since the switch is driven to be pressed by the operation lever, four to eight control signals can be selectively extracted according to the tilt direction. Therefore, 1
The image or the cursor on the display can be moved in a desired direction only by operating one of the operation levers. For example, a map in a navigation system or a cursor in a personal computer can be easily moved.

[0003]

The above-described conventional multidirectional input device merely selects a control signal according to the tilt direction of the operation lever. Therefore, when controlling a different function, for example, a map of a navigation system is required. When performing enlargement / reduction, an operation member different from the operation lever must be operated. However, the operating lever and other operating members must be placed at some distance from each other due to restrictions on the operating space and design.
When attempting to control a plurality of types of functions in succession, the operator has to move his / her finger in a complicated and large manner, resulting in a problem that operability is extremely deteriorated.
These problems are not limited to navigation systems, but also apply to personal computers that use conventional multi-directional input devices. For example, in the case of personal computers, page turning is performed separately from the operation lever for moving the cursor. And an operation member for determining the setting conditions are required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide a multi-directional input device excellent in operability in which a plurality of functions can be controlled by operating a single operation lever. Is to do.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an insulating substrate having a plurality of conductive patterns arranged at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction, and mounted on the insulating substrate. A plurality of pushbutton switches, a rotor rotatably supported on the insulating substrate, a slider sliding on the conductive pattern on the bottom surface, and having a fulcrum at the upper end; A return spring that urges the rotor, and is supported swingably and rotatably at a fulcrum of the rotor,
An operation lever having a drive unit opposed to each of the push button switches, and a rotation transmission unit for transmitting a rotational force of the operation lever to the rotor, wherein the drive unit is configured to rotate the operation lever when the operation lever is tilted in a specific direction. When the push button switch is pressed and driven and the operation lever is rotated, the rotor is rotationally driven via the rotation transmitting means.

[0006]

When the operation lever is tilted in an arbitrary direction with the fulcrum of the rotor as a fulcrum, a specific push button switch arranged in that direction is pressed and driven by a drive section of the operation lever, and a control signal output from the push button switch is provided. , The image or the cursor on the display can be moved in the tilting direction of the operation lever. Further, when the operating lever is rotated, the rotating force is transmitted to the rotor via the rotation transmitting means, so that the rotor rotates against the elastic force of the return spring, and the slider provided on the rotor is insulated. Conduction or interruption between the conductive patterns on the substrate. Therefore, for example, enlargement / reduction of an image or page feed can be performed based on a control signal output from each conductive pattern.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a multidirectional input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the multidirectional input device,
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an insulating substrate on which a push button switch is mounted, and FIG.
5 is a bottom view of the lower case incorporating the return spring, FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the rotor, FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the operation lever, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of the upper case. Is the lower case, 3 is the upper case, 4 is the operation lever, 5 is the rotor, 6
Is a return spring, 7 is a push button switch, 8 is a conductive pattern, 9
Denotes a slider, and 10 denotes a light guide.

As shown in FIG. 3, one common contact 8a and four switching contacts 8b forming a conductive pattern 8 are provided on the surface of the insulating substrate 1, and each switching contact 8b is connected to the common contact 8a. Are intermittently arranged on a circle centered at. On the surface of the insulating substrate 1, four push button switches 7 are soldered at equal intervals of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction, and the common contact 8a is located at the center of the push button switches 7. I have. The push button switch 7
When the upper stem 7a is pushed in against a return spring (not shown) inside, a movable contact (not shown) comes into contact with a fixed contact to turn on. The common contacts 8a, the switching contacts 8b, and the solder lands of the push button switch 7 are led out through a routing pattern (not shown).

A lower case 2 is mounted on the insulating substrate 1, and both are integrated by a plurality of screws (not shown). As is clear from FIG. 4, a bearing cylinder portion 11 is suspended from the center of the lower case 2, and a crescent-shaped ridge 12 having a crescent shape in a plan view is suspended around the bearing cylinder portion 11. A return spring 6 composed of a torsion coil spring is disposed between the bearing cylinder 11 and the jetty 12. Both ends 6a and 6b of the return spring 6 are defined around the jetty 12. The lower case 2 is engaged with the spring receiving portions 2a and 2b, respectively, across the annular guide groove 12.

[0010] Between the insulating substrate 1 and the lower case 2,
The rotor 5 is rotatably held. This rotor 5
Is provided with a disk-shaped holding body 14 and a cylindrical shaft body 15 protruding upward from the center of the holding body 14, and the shaft body 15 is inserted through the bearing cylinder 11 and is provided outside the lower case 2. Has reached the top. A fulcrum 16 is formed at the upper end of the shaft 15 and is conically depressed. Four cruciform first projections 17 are provided around the fulcrum 16. On the other hand, on the periphery of the holding body 14, the engagement
8 is formed, and a stopper 20 is formed so as to protrude radially outward from the center of the notch 19. The engaging projection 18 is rotatably disposed in the guide groove 12 of the lower case 2, and is provided at both ends 6 a and 6 b of the return spring 6.
Are located in the notches 19 and the both end surfaces 1 of the engagement projections 18
8a and 18b. As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of recesses 21 are formed on the bottom surface of the holding body 14, and the sliders 9 are held in these recesses 21, respectively. Both sliders 9 are bent in a U-shape,
A pair of contacts 9a and 9b are formed at the bent portion. When the rotor 5 rotates, one contact 9a of both sliders 9 slides on the common contact 8a, and the other contact 9b
Slides on the outside of the common contact 8a to move the switching contact 8
b.

An operation lever 4 is swingably and rotatably supported on the rotor 5. This operation lever 4
Has a shaft portion 22 and a hemispherical portion 2 continuous with a lower portion of the shaft portion 22.
3 and a skirt-shaped driving portion 24 extending obliquely downward from the lower peripheral edge of the hemispherical portion 23, and a knob 25 is press-fitted into the upper end of the shaft portion 22. As shown in FIG. 6, a conical engagement protrusion 26 is formed at the center of the back surface of the hemisphere portion 23, that is, at the lower end of the shaft portion 22, and around the engagement protrusion 26, a cross-shaped concave groove 27 is formed. , Four second protrusions 28 are formed. The engaging protrusion 26 is mounted on the fulcrum 16 of the rotor 5, and the first protrusion 17 of the rotor 5 is inserted into the concave groove 27 and engages with the second protrusion 28. Therefore, the operation lever 4 has the lower end of the engagement protrusion 26 as the swing fulcrum and the rotation center. In a non-operation state, the return spring (not shown) in each push button switch 7 moves the lower end of the peripheral edge of the drive unit 24 to the lower end. By supporting the shaft portion 22 from below, the shaft portion 22 is kept in an upright posture without rattling in any direction.

An upper case 3 is placed on the lower case 2, and both are integrated by a plurality of screws (not shown). As shown in FIG. 7, a through hole 29 is formed in the center of the top surface of the upper case 3, and the shaft portion 22 of the operation lever 4 is inserted through the through hole 29 to be above the outside of the upper case 3. Has reached. Also, on the top surface of the upper case 3, four display units 30 are provided at equal intervals of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction, and these display units 30 function as pointers indicating the positions of the push button switches 7. I do. The display unit 30 is made of a light-transmitting synthetic resin material, and is integrated with the upper case 3 made of a light-shielding synthetic resin material by a two-color molding method, a press-fitting method, or the like. Further, a light guide 10 is provided on the back surface of the lower case 3, and when a light source (not shown) is turned on, the light illuminates each display unit 30 via the light guide 10, and the light is darkened at night or the like. The display unit 30 can be visually observed at any place.

In the multidirectional input device configured as described above, when the operator tilts the knob 25 of the operation lever 4 by a predetermined amount in an arbitrary direction, one or two push button switches 7 located in the tilting direction are activated. The stem 7a is the driving unit 24
Is turned on by being pushed into the lower end of the peripheral edge of the switch, so that each push button switch 7 can be selectively turned on by selecting the tilting direction of the operation lever 4.

Further, the operator operates the knob 2 of the operation lever 4.
5 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise by a predetermined amount, the rotational force of the second protrusion 28 is increased by the first protrusion 1.
7 is transmitted to the rotor 5 by abutment, and the rotor 5 rotates in the same direction in conjunction with the operation lever 4. When the rotor 5 rotates, the engagement protrusions 18 correspond to the rotation direction.
One of the end faces 18a, 18b compresses one of the ends 6a, 6b of the return spring 6 toward the center of the notch 19, and during the rotation, the respective contact points 9b of both sliders 9 The control lever 4 is in contact with the switching contact 8b.
Is selected, the conduction between the common contact 8a and each switching contact 8b is selectively conducted, and the conductive pattern 8 is turned on. The rotation angle of the rotor 5 is regulated by the stopper 20 abutting on one of the spring receiving portions 2a and 2b.

An ON signal of the push button switch 7 and the conductive pattern 8 is output to a control circuit (neither is shown) through an external terminal, and the control circuit is turned on a display (not shown) based on the ON signal. Image is controlled. Therefore, by configuring the navigation system using the multi-directional input device and the control circuit, the operator can control a plurality of types of functions by operating one operation lever 4, and for example, a map displayed on a display. Is moved, the operating lever 4 may be tilted in that direction, and when the map is enlarged or reduced, the operating lever 4 may be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. Good.

When the above-mentioned tilting operation force on the knob 25 is removed, the drive unit 24 is lifted by a return spring (not shown) in the push-button switch 7 which is turned on.
The operation lever 4 returns to the upright position shown in FIG. 1, and all the pushbutton switches 7 are turned off. Similarly, when the above-mentioned rotational operation force on the knob 25 is removed, the rotor 5 is automatically returned to the initial position by the return spring 6, so that the operation lever 4 also engages the first projection 17 and the second projection 28. To the initial position via the common contact 8a and each switching contact 8
The state is off during the period b.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, when the operator tilts or rotates one operation lever 4, the conductive pattern 8 having four detection switches 7 and four switching contacts 8b. The ON signal is selectively output from the following, so if different types of functions can be controlled according to the operation mode, there are many different types such as image movement and enlargement / reduction. Functions can be continuously performed by operating one operation lever 4, and operability can be significantly improved. In particular, one common contact 8a and a fixed contact (conductive pattern 8) of a switch operated by a rotation operation of the operation lever 4 are intermittently arranged on the insulating substrate 1 on a circle around the common contact 8a. Since a plurality of switching contacts 8b are provided, by appropriately setting the number and arrangement pitch of each switching contact 8b, it is possible to continuously perform a multi-function which has been conventionally difficult by operating one operation lever 4. Can be. In addition, by making the operation lever 4 multifunctional, the total number of operation members can be reduced, and the switch group can be integrated, so that there is an advantage that the space factor is improved and miniaturization is facilitated.

In the above embodiment, the case where the multi-directional input device is applied to a navigation system has been described. In addition, for example, when the multi-directional input device is applied to image control on a display of a copy machine, the operation lever is tilted. Items such as density adjustment and size adjustment can be selected by operation, and item pages such as density and magnification can be turned by rotation operation. Similarly, when applied to a personal computer or NES, the cursor or character can be moved by tilting the operation lever, and page turning or scrolling can be performed by rotating. Items such as sound quality and balance can be selected by tilting the operation lever, and setting conditions can be selected by rotating the operation lever.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An operator can selectively output an ON signal from a plurality of push-button switches and conductive patterns by tilting or rotating one operation lever, so that there are various types such as image movement and enlargement / reduction. Different functions can be performed continuously by operating one operation lever, and the number and arrangement pitch of the conductive patterns can be changed relatively freely on the insulating substrate. Thus, a multi-directional input device excellent in operability can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-directional input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an insulating substrate provided in the multidirectional input device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a lower case and a return spring provided in the multidirectional input device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a rotor provided in the multidirectional input device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of an operation lever provided in the multi-directional input device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an upper case provided in the multi-directional input device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Insulating board 2 Lower case 3 Upper case 4 Operation lever 5 Rotor 6 Return spring 7 Push button switch 8 Conductive pattern 8a Common contact 8b Switching contact 9 Slider 10 Light guide 16 Support point 16 17 First projection 17 18 Engagement Protrusions 18a, 18b End surface 20 Stopper 22 Shaft 23 Hemisphere 24 Drive 26 Engagement projection 27 Depressed groove 28 Second projection 29 Through-hole 30 Display

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References Japanese Utility Model Sho 56-4125 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Sho 57-128731 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Sho 60-65944 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Hei 2 137001 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01H 25/04

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An insulating substrate having a plurality of conductive patterns arranged at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction; a plurality of pushbutton switches mounted on the insulating substrate; and a rotatable switch mounted on the insulating substrate. A rotor that is supported and has a slider that slides on the conductive pattern on the bottom surface and has a fulcrum at the upper end, a return spring that biases the rotor to the origin position, and swings on the fulcrum of the rotor And pivotably supported,
An operation lever having a drive unit opposed to each of the push button switches, and a rotation transmission unit for transmitting a rotational force of the operation lever to the rotor, wherein the drive unit is configured to rotate the operation lever when the operation lever is tilted in a specific direction. A multidirectional input device, wherein a pushbutton switch is pressed and the rotor is driven to rotate via the rotation transmitting means when the operation lever is rotated. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said rotation transmitting means comprises a first projection provided on said rotor and a second projection provided on said operation lever. Multi-directional input device.