JPH06309095A - Position input device and input device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] The present invention relates to a position input device used in an information processing device such as a personal computer, and provides an inexpensive position input device capable of detecting the direction and magnitude of force. [Structure] On one of the upper and lower two films 9 and 12 facing each other, one film 9 is provided with four independent electrodes 1 to 4 arranged in four directions, and the other film 1 is provided.
2 is provided with one common electrode 10 so as to face all four electrodes 1 to 4, and the electrodes arranged between the independent electrodes 1 to 4 and the common electrode 10 and the common electrode 10 in the thickness direction Pressure-sensitive rubber 1 which is a pressure-sensitive element whose resistance value changes with pressure
3a to 13d and a pressing plate 14 provided with convex portions in four directions for pressing the pressure sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d arranged in four directions on the film, and swingable on the pressing plate 14. It has an operating lever 15 for pushing the provided pressing plate 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a position input device such as a pointing device used in an information processing device such as a personal computer and a word processor and a home game device, and an input device using the position input device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional device will be described with reference to a pointing device using a strain gauge shown in FIGS. According to the figure, 23 is a rod-shaped stick, and 24a, 2
Reference numerals 4b, 25a, 25b are strain gauges attached to the four surfaces of the stick 23.

Four strain gauges 24a, 24b, 25a,
As shown in FIG. 17 (c), 25b is a series of strain gauges 24a and 24b in the X-axis direction and gauges 25a and 25b in the Y-axis direction.
5b are respectively connected in series.

Next, the operation of the pointing device will be described. The force applied to the stick 23 is X.
The resistance of the strain gauges 24a, 24b, 25a and 25b is changed by the strain by distorting the stick 23 in the axial direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively. Therefore, by measuring the voltages Vx and Vy, the direction of the applied force is X. It is possible to detect the amount of change in the X-axis and the amount of change in the Y-axis by combining the amounts of change in the Y-axis.

[0005]

However, since the strain gauge is used in the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is expensive. In addition, there is a problem that the operation feeling such as not giving a feeling of actual operation and compactness cannot be achieved.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a compact position input device which is capable of detecting the direction and magnitude of force and is inexpensive and excellent in operability. .

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has four independent electrodes arranged in four directions on one surface of each of the upper and lower films facing each other, and electrodes formed from the electrodes. With the lead wire wired,
On the other film, 1 so that it faces all four electrodes.
One common electrode and a lead wire extending from the common electrode, and a pressure-sensitive element whose resistance value changes depending on the pressure in the thickness direction between the electrode and the common electrode arranged between the upper and lower film electrodes and the common electrode. , Placed on top and bottom film,
And a pressing plate provided with convex portions for pressing each of the pressure sensitive elements in four directions on the surface facing the upper and lower films, and arranged on the pressing plate and pressing the pressing plate in the direction in which the force is applied. A position input device is configured with the operation lever.

[0008]

Therefore, according to the present invention, the resistance value of the pressure-sensitive element, which is changed by the force applied to the operation lever having the above-mentioned configuration, applied to the pressure-sensitive element in four directions through the convex portion of the pressing plate, is used as the electrode. It is read from the lead line of the common electrode, and since it has a structure in which the pressure sensitive element is sandwiched between the upper and lower films, it has an effect of being thin, easy to manufacture, and inexpensive to produce.

[0009]

1 to 9 show the structure and equivalent circuit of a pointing device which is an embodiment of the position input device of the present invention.

According to the figure, 1 to 4 are four independent electrodes arranged in four directions, 5 to 8 are lead lines from the electrodes 1 to 4, and 9 is electrodes 1 to 4. A lower film in which lead lines 5 to 8 are wired and a hole 9a is provided in the center, 10 is a common electrode facing all of the electrodes 1 to 4, 11 is a lead line from the common electrode 10, and 12 Is an upper film having a common electrode 10 and a lead wire 11 extending from the common electrode 10 and a hole 12a in the center, and 13a to 13d are formed by pressures in the thickness direction provided between the electrodes 1 to 4 and the common electrode 10, respectively. It is four pressure-sensitive rubbers that are pressure-sensitive elements whose resistance value changes, and the upper film 12, the lower film 9 and the pressure-sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d constitute a contact portion.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a spherical convex portion 14a that pushes the pressure-sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d from above the upper film 12, respectively.
Is a pressing plate provided with, and 15 is an oscillatingly supported operation lever that is arranged on the pressing plate 14 and pushes the pressing plate 14 in the direction in which the force is applied. Two protrusions 14b, which also serve as a rotation stopper and a stopper, are provided on the rear surface forming the protrusion 14a, and the operation lever 15 is provided.
Is inserted into the shaft hole 16a of the upper case 16 from the opening side, and the protrusion 14b of the pressing plate 14 is covered with the protrusion 14b so as to cover the operation lever 15 from the insertion direction of the operation lever 15.
6 is inserted and locked in the pressing plate locking hole 16b of the pressing plate 1,
The shaft 14c provided at the center of the spherical convex portion 14a of No. 4 is combined with the central hole 12a of the contact portion, and the lower case 17 is connected to the opening of the upper case 16 and the shaft 14c of the pressing plate 14 to the shaft of the lower case 17. The hole 17a is fixed from the combined screw hole 17b by a mounting screw stopper 18.

The pressure sensitive elements 13a to 13d may be printed on the electrodes 1 to 4 or the common electrode 10 by using pressure sensitive conductive ink.

With the above structure, the resistance value change of each pressure sensitive rubber can be measured by measuring the resistance between the lead wire 11 and the lead wires 5 to 8 as shown in the equivalent circuit of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing that the resistance value in the thickness direction of each pressure-sensitive rubber 13 changes with the pressure in the thickness direction, and the resistance value in the thickness direction of the pressure-sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d is 10 kΩ. The pressing pressure can be known by measuring the resistance value of the pressure-sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d such that the pressing pressure is 200 g or the pressing value is 400 g when the resistance value is 5.9 kΩ. That is, the pressing force can be recognized by measuring the resistance value.

According to FIG. 4, the position input device of the present invention has a built-in A / D conversion unit, and the procedure for processing digital data obtained by the A / D conversion unit is a storage unit (ROM).
The microcomputer has a one-chip microcomputer written in, and the microcomputer corresponds to the force by which the operation lever is operated and the digital data obtained by the A / D converter as shown in FIG. It has a table for converting to movement speed.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing that the resistance value in the thickness direction of the pressure sensitive rubber 13 changes due to the force in the thickness direction, and the voltage for A / D conversion changes. Thus, the A / D conversion value as shown in FIG. 7 is obtained.
The pressing force can be known by converting this into force using a table as shown in FIG.

The operation of the pointing device of the above embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
When is pressed with force F, the forces shown in Fa to Fd corresponding to the pressed positions act on the four convex portions of the pressing plate 14. In particular, since a downward force is applied to the pressure sensitive rubbers 13a and 13b, the resistance value decreases according to the characteristics shown in FIG.

That is, by measuring the resistance values of the four pressure sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d, it is possible to know the "direction" and "magnitude of force" in which direction and with what force. it can.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the operating lever 1
5 and the pressing plate 14 are separate parts, the operation lever 15
When a weight F is applied to the operation lever 15, the operation lever 15 causes an inclination θ, but the operation lever 15 slides on the pressing plate 14 and the pressure sensitive rubber 13 directly below the convex portions 14a and 14b of the pressing plate 14.
Since the position is pressed, the position is not displaced and an appropriate operation force is applied.

When the overall shape is small as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) and an appropriate operating force is applied to the pressure sensitive rubber 13 due to the inclination of the operating lever 15, the operating lever 15 is used.
It is also possible to reduce the number of parts by integrating the pressing plate 14 with the above.

FIG. 11 shows a case in which a spacer 21 is provided between the films 9 and 12 together with the pressure sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d to set some invalid movement amount before the pressure sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d are pushed. This is to prevent an erroneous operation such as a slight touch of the lever 15.

Further, FIG. 12 shows that the pressure sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d can change the resistance in the thickness direction, and the fact that the resistance in the surface direction is extremely large and can be ignored. Provide a connecting part as shown in 1
The number of built-in man-hours is reduced to 1/4 by using one sheet.

The lower film 9 may be replaced with a rigid printed wiring board.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show another embodiment, in which the position input device of the present invention is mounted in an input device having a plurality of input keys such as a full keyboard of a personal computer. The height of the operation lever 15 is set to be the same as or slightly higher than that of the adjacent input keys 15a so that the operation can be performed very easily with the pad of the operator's finger.

14 to 16 show another embodiment of the pointing device which is an embodiment of the position input device of the present invention. In FIG. 14, the pressing plate 14 is provided with a convex portion 14d. The pressing plate 14 is formed by fitting the portion 14d into the guide groove 19 of the main body case (not shown) and assembling it.
Positioning of the convex portion 14d and the pressure-sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d provided on the above is easily performed.

15 and 16 have the same purpose as in FIG. 14, FIG. 15 shows markings 20 provided on the case (not shown) of the main body and the pressing plate 14, and FIG. 16 shows the main body. The pressing plate 1 is placed inside the case (not shown).
4, the pressure sensitive rubbers 13a to 13d and the pressing plate 14
Are built so that they match.

[0027]

As is apparent from the above embodiment, the position input device of the present invention has a film in which independent electrodes are arranged in four directions, and another film in which a common electrode facing the independent electrodes is provided. A pressure-sensitive element disposed between the independent electrode and the common electrode, and a pressing plate having a convex portion at a position for pressing the pressure-sensitive element via the independent electrode or the common electrode, It is composed of an operating lever for operating the pressing plate and has a structure in which the pressure sensitive element is sandwiched between the upper and lower films, so that it is thin, easy to manufacture, and inexpensive to produce.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a position input device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a pressing plate, which is the main part of the same.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the same apparatus, and FIG. 3B is a side sectional view of the same apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the same.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between pressure and resistance of the pressure-sensitive rubber.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a table for converting the digital data obtained by the A / D conversion unit into the force with which the operation lever is operated.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing how the resistance value in the thickness direction of the pressure-sensitive rubber changes due to the force in the thickness direction, and the voltage for A / D conversion changes.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the same operation.

FIG. 9A is a plan view illustrating the same operation, and FIG. 9B is a side view illustrating the same operation.

FIG. 10A is a plan view for explaining the operation of the other embodiment. FIG. 10B is a side view for explaining the operation.

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of the other embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the pressure-sensitive rubber which is the main part of the present invention.

13A is a plan view of an input device having a plurality of keys equipped with the position input device of the present invention, and FIG. 13B is a side view of the same.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another embodiment showing the relationship between a film having a common electrode and a film having an independent electrode, which are the main parts.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another embodiment showing the relationship between a film having a common electrode and a film having an independent electrode, which is the main part.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of another embodiment showing the relationship between a film having a common electrode and a film having an independent electrode, which are the main parts.

17A is a top view of a strain gauge of a main part of a pointing device which is a conventional position input device. FIG. 17B is a side view thereof. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-4 electrodes 9, 12 film 10 common electrodes 13a-13d pressure-sensitive rubber 14 pressing plate 15 operation lever 15a input key 21 spacer 22 joint part

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Naotaka Tama 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A film in which independent electrodes are arranged in four directions, another film in which a common electrode facing the independent electrodes is provided, and a pressure-sensitive film arranged between the independent electrodes and the common electrode. A position input device comprising an element, a pressing plate having a convex portion at a position for pressing each of the pressure sensitive elements via the independent electrode or the common electrode, and an operation lever for operating the pressing plate. 2. The position input device according to claim 1, wherein the side not pressed by the pressing plate is a printed wiring board instead of the film. 3. The position input device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing plate and the operating lever are integrated. 4. The position input device according to claim 1, wherein a spacer is arranged between the pressure-sensitive elements so that the pressure-sensitive element is not normally pressed. 5. The position input device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein a pressure sensitive rubber is used as the pressure sensitive element. 6. The position input device according to claim 1, wherein a pressure-sensitive rubber is used as the pressure-sensitive element, and the individual pressure-sensitive elements are integrated with a connecting portion. . 7. An A / D converter connected to an independent electrode of the position input device according to claim 1, and a procedure for processing digital data obtained by the A / D converter. The written storage unit is configured by a connected calculation unit, and the storage unit converts the digital data obtained by the A / D conversion unit into the force with which the operation lever is operated or the force with which the operation lever is operated. A position input device that has a table for converting to a corresponding movement speed. 8. A plurality of input keys, and an operation lever adjacent to the input keys and set to be the same as or slightly higher than the input keys, claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, or claim 4. Alternatively, an input device provided with the position input device according to claim 5, 6 or 7.