JP2000172435A - Mobile input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To put operating means together and to make operation smooth by providing an input device main body with an input mechanism that inputs operation information of an operating means which can be operated in all directions. SOLUTION: A mouse 1 is in a character shape imaging a duckling, its mouse main body 2 is so sized that it can nearly be put in a palm, and the body of the duckling is simulated in a shape obtained making an egg slightly flat. Then a swing lever 6 provided with a spherical head part 5 simulating the head of the duckling at the upper end is erected from the front part of the mouse main body 2 and run through a cross-shaped hole 2a formed in the upper wall of the front part of the mouse main body 2 to provide an input mechanism which is swung to the front and rear, and right and left by operating the head part 5 as the operating means which can be operated in all directions with fingers. Consequently, the usability is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile input device, such as a so-called mouse, capable of inputting movement information by moving an input device main body on a flat plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 12, a conventional mouse 01 has a cable 03 extending from a front end of a mouse body 02 having a mouse shape that fits in a palm. A left button 04 and a right button 05 are arranged side by side on the front upper surface of the mouse body 02 in a left-right pair, and a mouse wheel 06 is provided between the buttons 04 and 05.

A mouse ball partially projects from the back of the mouse main body 02. When the mouse 02 is slid on a flat plate, the mouse ball rolls, and the mouse ball rolls in the left and right direction and in the front and rear direction. The movement is measured by an X-axis sensor and a Y-axis sensor using a rotary encoder or the like, and the movement information of the mouse 02 is detected and output to a computer. The mouse pointer moves on the screen of the display controlled by the computer based on the movement information of the mouse 02.

[0004] When the left button 04 and the right button 05 are pressed, different signals are generated and output to the computer, and one operation related to the location indicated by the mouse pointer is executed. When the mouse wheel 06 is rotated back and forth, the screen scrolls and the screen is enlarged and reduced.

[0005]

When a plurality of operations are to be performed as described above, a large number of operation means are required, and it is troublesome to operate the large number of operation means, which hinders a smooth operation. There is. In addition, the cable extending from the mouse body is too long and is inconvenient to handle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to consolidate operation means to facilitate work and to adjust the length of a cable, thereby making it easy to move. The point is to provide an expression input device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a mobile input device capable of inputting movement information by moving an input device main body on a flat plate. An input mechanism capable of inputting operation information of operation means operable in all directions is a movable input device provided in the input device main body.

In a mobile input device capable of inputting movement information, an input mechanism provided in the input device main body can input operation information of operation means operable in all directions. Since a single operation can instruct a plurality of operations and is easy to use, the operation can be performed smoothly without the trouble of operating a large number of operation means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile input device capable of inputting movement information by moving an input device main body on a flat plate. An input mechanism that can be used is a mobile input device provided in the input device main body.

[0010] An input mechanism provided in the input device main body can input operation information of operation means operable forward, backward, left and right, so that four operations can be instructed by one operation means. Therefore, the operation can be performed smoothly without the trouble of operating a large number of operation means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the mobile input device according to the second aspect, the operating means is a cross key provided on an upper surface of the input device main body, and the front, rear, left and right portions of the cross key are provided. Is pressed.

The main body of the input device is placed in the palm of the hand, and one finger can be pressed against the cross key to perform front-rear, left-right and right-hand operations, and four operations can be instructed with one finger, which is convenient. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the mobile input device according to the first or second aspect, the operating means is a lever that is swingably provided on the input device main body. It is characterized by swinging operation.

The input device main body is housed in the palm of the hand, and one finger can be used to swing operation by touching the lever, and a plurality of operations can be instructed with one finger, which is convenient.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the mobile input device according to the fourth aspect, the input mechanism detects the swing direction and the swing amount of the lever and performs input. A large amount of information can be input by operating one lever.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the mobile input device according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the case of the input device main body is formed in the shape of the body of the character, and the lever is formed in the shape of the head of the character. It is characterized by being formed in.

Since the lever that swings from the main body of the input device is provided upright, the main body of the input device is formed in the shape of the body of a character such as an animal, and the lever is formed in the shape of a head.
An attractive character can be formed, and an input can be performed by an operation of moving the body and swinging the head, thereby making the input operation interesting.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile input device capable of inputting information of the movement by moving the input device main body on a flat plate, wherein a cable extending from the input device main body is input. This is a mobile input device provided with a winding means that can be wound inside the apparatus main body.

When not using a mobile input device,
By winding the cable inside the input device main body, the cable is not bothersome, and when used, it can be easily pulled out and the usability can be improved.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the mobile input device according to the seventh aspect, the winding means comprises an urging mechanism for constantly urging the cable in a winding direction. The urging force is regulated by the regulating means, and the length of the cable extending from the input device main body to the outside is adjusted.

If the cable extending from the input device main body and connected to the computer main body is too long, it is troublesome to operate the input device, and if it is too short, it is difficult to operate the input device. The input device can be easily used by appropriately winding the cable inside the cable and setting the cable to an optimum length by restricting the winding by the restricting means while leaving an appropriate length.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The mobile input device according to the present embodiment is a so-called mouse, and the mouse 1 is connected to a notebook personal computer C.
1 is shown in FIG. A connection terminal 4 at the end of a cable 3 extending from the mouse body 2 is connected to a connector provided on a side surface of the notebook personal computer C.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mouse 1 has a character shape that resembles a duckling, and the mouse body 2 has a size such that the mouse body 2 fits in the palm of the hand and the egg is somewhat flattened. A swing lever 6 having a spherical head 5 simulating a duck's head is provided upright from the front of the mouse main body 2. The mouse body 2 imitating the body of a duck has feathers on both sides, and the head 5 has eyes and a beak.

The swinging lever 6 stands upright through a cross-shaped hole 2a formed in the front upper wall of the mouse body 2.
The head 5 can be swung back and forth and left and right by operating a finger (see FIGS. 3 and 4), and an input mechanism for the operation is provided. A cable 3 extends from a circular hole 2b at the front end of the mouse body 2. An unlocking lever 7 that swings along the surface of the mouse main body 2 is provided at a position deviated rightward and upward from the circular hole 2b of the mouse main body 2.

The bottom wall 8 of the mouse main body 2 has a flat lower surface, and slide pads 9 and 10 are adhered at a predetermined thickness before and after the bottom wall 8 (see FIG. 7). A hole 8a is formed, and a mouse ball 11 is provided rotatably so that a part thereof protrudes from the circular hole 8a. A roller is in contact with the mouse ball 11, and the amount of rotation of the roller is detected by a rotary encoder.
An axis sensor 12 and a Y-axis sensor 13 are provided. The X-axis sensor 12 detects the rolling of the mouse ball 11 in the left-right direction, and the Y-axis sensor 13 detects the rolling in the front-rear direction.

In the mouse body 2, a take-up reel 15 which can take up the cable 3 so as to surround the mouse ball 11, the X-axis sensor 12, the Y-axis sensor 13 and the like is rotatable about the vertical axis. It is provided in. Take-up reel
Numeral 15 is urged by a spring in a direction in which the cable 3 wound around the reel is taken up.

The cable 3 which has entered the inside of the mouse main body 2 through the circular hole 2 b at the front end is guided to the right by the guide piece 16 and is wound around the take-up reel 15. A locking claw 17 is swingably provided facing the guide piece 16, and the locking claw 17 is fixed at a base end portion to a support shaft 18 rotatably supported in a vertical direction, The sawtooth-shaped claw at the tip can be turned integrally with the support shaft 18 to be separated from and brought into contact with the guide piece 16.

In FIG. 7 where the mouse body 2 is viewed from the back, the cable 3 passes between the guide piece 16 and the locking claw 17.
When the locking claw 17 swings clockwise, the claw can pinch and fix the cable 3 between the guide claw 17 and the locking claw 17.
Is biased clockwise by a spring (not shown). When the locking pawl 17 is pivoted counterclockwise against the spring, the pawl pressing the cable 3 against the guide piece 16 is released to release the cable 3 and release the locking.

Since the support shaft 18 integral with the locking claw 17 penetrates the upper wall of the mouse body 2 and is fixed to the base end of the locking release lever 7, the locking release lever 7 is swung. The locking pawl 17 can be swung through the support shaft 18 by a moving operation to release the locking of the cable 3. Reel 15 urged in the winding direction
When the cable 3 is to be wound, the locking claw 17 acts to lock the cable 3 with the guide piece 16.

When the cable 3 extending from the mouse main body 2 to the outside is grasped and pulled out, the locking claw 17 does not act and the cable 3 can be pulled out against the urging force of the spring of the reel 15. When the cable 3 is released from the cable 3, the cable 3 is pulled by the urging force of the reel 15, but the locking claw 17 acts as described above to lock the cable 3 with the guide piece 16. Therefore, if the cable 3 is pulled out to a required length and released, the cable 3 is locked in that state. When the lock release lever 7 is operated to release the lock, the cable 3 is automatically pulled in by the urging force of the reel 15.

Therefore, the length of the cable 3 extending from the mouse main body 2 can be freely set, and the length of the cable 3 can be set to the most convenient length so that the mouse operation can be performed smoothly. Can be. The end of the cable 3 on the rotating reel 15 side and the X-axis sensor 12 and the Y-axis sensor 13 on the fixed side of the mouse main body 2 are electrically connected to each other by sliding contact. .

Next, an input mechanism based on the swinging operation of the swinging lever 6 provided with the head 5 at the upper end in the forward, backward, left and right directions will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, a spherical portion 6a bulging in a spherical shape is formed in the middle of the swing lever 6 in the mouse main body 2, and the support pieces 20, 21 extending from the left and right inner walls of the spherical portion 6a are formed.
Are rotatably clamped from both sides, and support the swing lever 6 so as to be swingable in all directions around the spherical portion 6a.

At the lower end of the oscillating lever 6, a disk-shaped operating panel 22 is fixedly mounted at a right angle at the center and suspended integrally. On the lower surface of the operation panel 22, spherical projections 23
Are formed respectively.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of a printed wiring board 25 stretched along the bottom wall 8, there are provided hat-shaped rubber holders 26 corresponding to the four spherical projections 23, respectively. The holder 26 has a spherical projection 23 at the upper end surface.
The operation panel 22 is supported at four front and rear positions to take a horizontal posture, and supports the swing lever 6 in a substantially vertical direction.

The hat-shaped rubber holder 26 is supported on the printed wiring board 25 by a conical eave portion, and holds the conductive movable piece 27 in a cylindrical portion thereon. Below the conductive movable piece 27, fixed contacts 28 and 29 of printed wiring are printed facing each other.

Accordingly, when the swing lever 6 is swung in any of the front, rear, right and left directions, the operation panel 22 is tilted as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The hat-shaped rubber holder 26 is pressed. The pressed hat-shaped rubber holder 26 is elastically deformed, descends the conductive movable piece 27, comes into contact with the fixed contacts 28 and 29, conducts both, and turns on the switch.

When the external force applied to the swing lever 6 is released, the hat-shaped rubber holder 26 is elastically restored, and the tilt of the operation panel 22 is returned to the original horizontal posture, so that the swing lever 6 returns to the vertical state. Return.

The mouse 1 has the above-described structure. The user holds the body of the mouse body 2 with one hand in the palm of the hand from behind and holds the head 5 with the index finger. Operate.

The operation of swinging the head 5 to the left as shown by a solid line in FIG. 3 is equivalent to a left click of a conventional mouse, and the operation of swinging to the right as shown by a two-dot chain line is a right click. Is equivalent to As shown in FIG. 4, the operation of swinging the head 5 back and forth outputs a signal instructing scrolling of the screen and the like.

As described above, a plurality of operations can be instructed by one operating means of the head 5, that is, the swinging lever 6, so that the operation is easy and the operation can be performed smoothly without troublesome operation of a large number of operating means. Can be.

The mouse body 2 is shaped like a duckling torso.
By forming the upper end of the swing lever 6 in the shape of a head, an attractive duck character can be formed, and input can be performed by an operation of moving the torso and swinging the head. The operation can be interesting.
Various other characters can be considered as characters.

In the mouse 1 according to the present embodiment, the swing lever 6 swings in four directions of front, rear, left and right with respect to the mouse body 2, but swings in all directions. The swing may be detected, and an input mechanism such as a so-called joystick for a video game may be configured.

For example, a directional light beam such as an infrared ray is emitted from the lower end of the swing lever, and an image element two-dimensionally disposed below the lower end of the swing lever detects the light beam, and detects the swing direction and swing amount of the swing lever. (Swing angle) can be detected and output to a computer as input operation information, and a large number of operation information can be input with one swing lever.

Next, the appearance of a mouse 40 according to another embodiment is shown in FIG. The mouse 40 has a vertically long shape imitating a penguin, and a mouse body 41 corresponds to the body of the penguin, and a head 42 is formed above a swing lever that protrudes upward, and the head 42 is moved forward, backward, left and right. The operation signal can be output in response to each swing operation by swinging. A cable 43 extends from the mouse body 41.

The mouse main body 41 has a mouse ball and can detect the movement of the mouse main body 41. The user grasps the mouse main body 41 from behind, moves the mouse main body 41 on a plane, and moves the head 42 with the index finger. Rocking operation.

In the case of the present mouse 40, a rocking lever having a head 42 formed at the upper end is located directly above a mouse ball that partially protrudes from the bottom wall of the mouse main body 41, so that fine operations can be easily performed. At the same time, a slide pad is stuck on the lower surface of the bottom wall of the mouse body 41, not only in front and behind the mouse ball, but also on the left and right, so that a stable operation can be performed despite the vertical type.

A plurality of operations can be instructed by one operation means of the head 5, so that the operation is easy and the operations can be performed smoothly. A vertically long penguin character can be configured, and the input operation can be interesting.
Note that a take-up reel is built in the mouse main body 41, so that the cable 43 can be taken up similarly to the mouse 1 of the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a required length freely.

A mouse 50 according to another embodiment is shown in FIG.
0 is shown. In this mouse 50, a mouse body 51 has a rectangular box shape, two push button switches 52, 53 are arranged on the upper surface of the box body, a joystick 54 is projected, and a cable 55 extends from the mouse body 51. Is out.

The joystick 54 can detect and output swing in all directions, and can use the mouse for a video game or the like. Note that a take-up reel is built in the mouse main body 51 so that the cable 55 can be taken up, and the length can be freely set to a required length.

FIG. 11 shows a mouse 60 according to still another embodiment. In this mouse 60, a mouse body 61 has a horizontally long rectangular box, and two push button switches 62,
63 is provided, a cross key 64 is provided, and a cable 65 extends from the mouse body 51.

The cross key 64 can easily press the front, rear, left and right portions extending in a cross shape by slightly moving one finger in the front, rear, left and right directions and pressing it.
It can output one instruction signal and is excellent in operability like a rocking lever, and can eliminate protrusions from the mouse body like a rocking lever, which is convenient for packing and carrying. Note that a take-up reel is built in the mouse main body 61 so that the cable 65 can be taken up, and the length can be freely set to a required length.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a state in which a mouse according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a notebook personal computer.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mouse.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a plan view partially showing the internal structure.

FIG. 6 is a side view partially showing the internal structure.

FIG. 7 is a rear view partially showing the internal structure.

8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a mouse according to another embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a mouse according to another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a mouse according to still another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a conventional mouse.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mouse, 2 ... Mouse body, 3 ... Cable, 4 ... Connection terminal, 5 ... Head, 6 ... Swinging lever, 7 ... Lock release lever, 8 ... Bottom wall, 9, 10 ... Slide pad, 15 ... Take-up reel, 16 ... guide piece, 17 ... locking claw, 18 ... support shaft, 20, 21 ... support piece, 22 ... operation panel, 23 ... spherical protrusion, 25 ... printed wiring board, 26 ... hat-shaped rubber holder , 27 ... conductive movable piece, 2
8, 29: fixed contact, 40: mouse, 41: mouse, 42: head, 43: cable, 50: mouse, 51: mouse body, 52,
53 ... push button switch, 54 ... joystick, 55 ...
Cable, 60 mouse, 61 mouse body, 62, 63 push button switch, 64 cross key, 65 cable.

Claims (8)

[Claims] A mobile input device capable of inputting movement information by moving an input device main body on a flat plate, wherein an input mechanism capable of inputting operation information of operation means operable in all directions. Is provided on the input device main body. 2. A movable input device capable of inputting movement information by moving an input device main body on a flat plate, wherein an input mechanism capable of inputting operation information of operation means operable in front, rear, left and right directions. Is provided on the input device main body. 3. The mobile input device according to claim 2, wherein said operation means is a cross key provided on an upper surface of said input device main body, and presses front, rear, left and right portions of said cross key. apparatus. 4. The mobile input device according to claim 1, wherein said operating means is a lever erected on said input device main body so as to be swingable, and said lever is operated to swing. apparatus. 5. The mobile input device according to claim 4, wherein the input mechanism detects the swing direction and the swing amount of the lever and performs input. 6. The mobile input device according to claim 4, wherein a case of the input device main body is formed in a body shape of a character, and the lever is formed in a head shape of the character. . 7. A mobile input device capable of inputting information of the movement by moving the input device main body on a flat plate, wherein a cable extending from the input device main body is wound into the input device main body. A mobile input device comprising a winding means capable of performing the operation. 8. The winding means comprises an urging mechanism for constantly urging the cable in the winding direction, and the urging force of the urging mechanism is regulated by the regulating means to extend from the input device body to the outside. The mobile input device according to claim 7, wherein a length of a cable to be output is adjusted.