JP4617218B2 - Multi-directional input device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-directional input device for an automobile that enables a parallel movement operation, a rotation operation, and a push-in operation.

  FIG. 9 is a main cross-sectional view showing a conventional multidirectional input device. As shown in FIG. 9, in the conventional multi-directional input device, a tilt / push operation knob 203 is attached to the case 201 so as to be tiltable and pushable, and a rotary knob 204 is attached so as to be rotatable. The operation of the corresponding contact or the like is performed by the operation.

  By the tilting operation of the tilting / pushing operation knob 203, the tilting member 205 tilts and the contact operates. By the rotation operation of the rotation knob 204, the rotating body 207 rotates in conjunction with the rotation detection. By the pushing operation of the tilting and pushing knob 203, the pushing member 209 is pushed in the axial direction and the contact is operated.

  However, in the conventional structure, when the tilt operation knob 203 is moved from the tilt operation or push operation to the rotation operation of the rotation knob 204, the knobs 203 and 204 have to be changed.

JP 2005-122294 A JP 2005-122289 A JP 2005-122290 A

  The problem to be solved is that it is necessary to change the knob when moving from the tilting operation and the pushing operation to the rotating operation.

The present invention enables a parallel movement operation, a rotation operation, and a push-in operation to be performed without changing, so that a knob provided for a parallel movement operation, a rotation operation, and a push-in operation with respect to the case, and a rotation with respect to the case are provided. A parallel operation unit that supports the knob so that it can be translated, rotated, and pushed in, while being regulated, a push rod provided with a display unit, and a circular guide provided between the push rod and the display unit A groove, and an interlocking engagement portion that engages with the guide groove, engages in the knob rotation axis direction, and is capable of relative rotation and relative movement in the knob rotation radius direction. to allow the relative movement of the relative rotation and the knob rotational radial as well as a relatively movable in the knob rotational axis relative to the translation operation, rotating operation, pairs either pushed And wherein the operating the the detection unit.

The multi-directional input device according to the present invention includes a knob that can be translated, rotated, and pushed into the case, and the knob is translated, rotated, and pushed while receiving rotation restrictions on the case. A parallel operating part that can be supported, a push rod provided with a display part, a circular guide groove provided between the push rod and the display part, and a knob that fits into the guide groove and rotates the knob An interlocking engagement portion that engages in the axial direction and is relatively movable in the relative rotation and radial direction of the knob rotation is provided, and the push rod is relatively movable in the knob rotation axis direction with respect to the case, to allow the relative movement in the knob rotational radial direction, the parallel movement operation, rotating operation, for operating the detection unit corresponding with one of the pressing operation, parallel transfer without Mochikaeru knob Operation, rotating operation, it is possible to perform pushing operation.

  The purpose of enabling the parallel movement operation, the rotation operation, and the push-in operation to be performed without changing is realized by the parallel operation unit and the push rod.

[Multi-directional switch structure]
1 to 8 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multidirectional switch, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the multidirectional switch, and FIG. 3 is a knob and an upper case of the multidirectional switch. 4 is a plan view of the multi-directional switch with the knob and the upper case removed, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 2, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. In the following description, the rotation axis direction of the knob is the knob rotation axis direction, the rotation radius direction is the knob rotation radius direction, and the rotation circumferential direction is the knob circumferential direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the multidirectional switch 1 which is the multidirectional input device according to the embodiment of the present invention has a knob 3 protruding from the case 5, and a push rod 7 and a parallel operation on the case 5 side. The unit 9 and the rotor 11 are provided.

  The knob 3 is provided so as to be able to perform a parallel movement operation, a rotation operation, and a push-in operation with respect to the case 5, and is configured to operate a corresponding detection unit by any operation. The knob 3 is formed so that the grip portion 13 can be gripped by, for example, a palm, a translucent transparent cover 15 is attached to the top portion, and a flange 17 rotates as an interlocking engagement portion at an inner end portion. It is provided in the shape. The cover 15 is configured to cover a display unit described later.

  The case 5 includes a lower case 19 and an upper case 21 and is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view. The lower case 19 is detachably coupled and fixed to the upper case 21 attached to the vehicle side by screws or the like.

  Inside the lower case 19, a step portion 23 (FIGS. 5 to 7) for fixing the substrate is provided. The top plate 25 of the lower case 19 is provided with a slide slit 27 (FIG. 5) and through holes 29 and 31 (FIG. 6). A guide tube 33 is provided at the center of the top plate 25, and a pair of restricting walls 35 and 37 (FIGS. 3 and 4) are provided to face each other so as to surround the guide tube 33. Each restriction wall 35, 37 is provided with a guide protrusion 39 as a guide part for restricting the parallel movement of the parallel operation part 9 in eight directions. When the rotor 11 moves in parallel with the knob 3, the guide protrusion 39 guides the rotor 11 in any of the eight directions A to H of FIG. 2 and restricts the parallel movement of the parallel operation portion 9 in eight directions. The knob 3 can be translated in eight directions.

  A leaf spring 41 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is attached as an elastic member between the guide protrusions 39. The leaf spring 41 is in elastic contact with the outer periphery of a second slider, which will be described later, of the parallel operation unit 9 and biases the parallel operation unit 9 to position the knob 3 to the neutral position before the operation. The leaf spring 41 gives a sense of moderation to the parallel movement operation of the knob 3 via a second slider and the rotor 11 described later by a reversing operation.

  The upper case 21 is provided with a cylindrical portion 40 at the center.

  The push rod 7 (FIGS. 5 to 7) is relatively movable and rotationally engageable with the case 5 in the knob rotational axis direction, and the knob 3 is engaged with the knob rotational axis direction and relatively rotatable. Yes.

  The push rod 7 includes a pair of flanges 45 and 47 at both ends of a main body cylinder portion 43 having a circular cross section. The main body cylinder portion 43 is supported by the guide cylinder 33 of the lower case 19 so as to be relatively movable in the knob rotation axis direction. Between the main body cylinder part 43 and the guide cylinder 33, for example, rotation prevention and retaining are performed by snap fitting of a protrusion and a slit. One flange 45 is provided integrally with the main body cylinder portion 43 and is located in the top plate 25 of the lower case 19. The other flange 47 is fixed to the main body cylinder portion 43 by press-fitting or bonding, for example, and is located outside the guide cylinder 33.

  A rubber contact 49 corresponding to the pushing operation is in contact with the flange 45 of the push rod 7 as a detection unit. The rubber contacts 49 are elastically bent when the pressing force is received from the push rod 7 to operate the contacts. The rubber contacts 49 are provided on the substrate 51 at four positions in the knob circumferential direction with a 90 ° arrangement. The substrate 51 (FIGS. 5 to 7) is attached to the step portion 23 of the lower case 19.

The substrate 51 is provided with an LED 53 as an illuminating device facing the tube portion 43. The substrate 51 is provided with a position detection sensor 55 (FIG. 6) as a detection unit that detects the parallel movement of the parallel operation unit 9 in response to the parallel movement operation. The position detection sensor 55
The rubber contact 49 is disposed on the outer peripheral side so as to face the through hole 29 of the lower case 19. The position detection sensor 55 is constituted by an optical sensor used for a mouse of a personal computer, for example. The position detection sensor 55 can be replaced with a magnetic type or a contact type. The substrate 51 is further provided with a rotation sensor 57 (FIG. 6) corresponding to the rotation operation of the knob 3 as a detection unit.

  Accordingly, a single substrate 51 having a detection unit that operates separately by the parallel movement operation, rotation operation, and push-in operation of the knob 3 is provided.

  If a plurality of substrates can be provided, the rotation sensor 57 can be replaced with a photo sensor provided on the side wall of the upper case 21 or the like.

  The parallel operation unit 9 (FIGS. 3 to 7) is provided so as to be operable in the knob rotating radius direction while being restricted in rotation with respect to the case 5, and includes first and second sliders 59 and 61 (FIGS. 5 to 5). 7).

  The first slider 59 is formed on the top plate 25 of the lower case 19 so that the inner and outer peripheral shapes are circular. A first slide protrusion 63 (FIG. 5) is provided on one side of the first slider 59, and a slide groove 65 (FIG. 6) is provided on the other side. The slide groove 65 is provided in a direction perpendicular to the slide slit 27 of the lower case 19. The first slider 59 is provided such that the first slide protrusion 63 fits into the slide slit 27 of the lower case 19 and is movable in one direction with respect to the lower case 19 of the case 5. .

  The second slider 61 has a circular inner step and a stepped cross section. The second slider 61 is provided with a rotation fitting portion 69 on one side and a second slide protrusion 71 on the other side. The second slide protrusion 71 is fitted in the slide groove 65 of the first slider 59, and the second slider 61 is provided on the first slider 59 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the one direction. ing. The second slider 61 is provided with a shaft support hole 67 on one outer peripheral portion.

  Between the slide slit 27 and the first slide projection 63, the slide groove 65, and the second slide projection 71, a space for fitting a grease reservoir or oil-containing plastic can be provided.

  A display unit 73 is provided at the tip of the push rod 7. The display unit 73 is obtained by fixing a transparent illumination plate 77 formed of a translucent material to the hollow holder 75 by press-fitting or bonding, and displays characters, direction indications, and the like on the illumination plate 77. . The display unit 73 has a holder 75 fixed to the tip of the push rod 7 by press-fitting or bonding, and a circular guide groove 79 is provided between the push rod 7 and the display unit 73. In this state, an optical path penetrating from the LED 53 to the illumination plate 77 of the display unit 73 is formed by the hollow portion 81 of the display unit 73 and the hollow unit 83 of the main body cylinder unit 43, and the illumination plate 77 of the display unit 73 is illuminated by the LED 53. Perform bright display.

  In the guide groove 79, the flange 17 of the knob 3 is relatively rotatable and is engaged in the knob rotation axis direction. The inner diameter of the flange 17 is larger than the outer diameter of the main body cylinder portion 43, and there is a gap between them, so that the flange 17 can move relative to the guide groove 79 in the knob rotation radius direction.

  The rotor 11 is provided so as to be relatively rotatable with respect to the parallel operation unit 9, and the knob 3 is relatively movable and rotationally engaged with the rotor 11 in the knob rotation axis direction. The rotor 11 has a circular inner and outer periphery, a rotation receiving cylinder 85 provided on one side, and a rotation fitting cylinder 87 provided on the other side. A pair of rotational mode support portions 86 (FIG. 7) is provided on the inner periphery of the rotation receiving cylinder 85. An outer cylinder part 89 is provided on the outer periphery of the rotor 11, and an internal gear 91 is provided on the inner periphery of the outer cylinder part 89.

  In the rotor 11, the rotation fitting cylinder 87 is fitted to the rotation fitting portion 69 of the second slider 61 so as to be relatively rotatable. The knob 3 is rotationally engaged with the rotation receiving portion 85 of the rotor 11 so as to be relatively movable in the knob rotation axis direction.

  The external gear 95 of the shaft 93 is meshed with the internal gear 91 of the rotor 11. The shaft 93 is rotatably supported in the shaft support hole 67 of the second slider 61. A flexible cable 97 is fixed to the shaft 93. The cable 97 is pulled out from the through hole 31 of the lower case 19 toward the substrate 51, and is inserted into the rotation sensor 57 so as to be relatively movable in the knob rotation axis direction. Rotating engagement. Therefore, the rotation operation of the knob 3 is transmitted to the rotation sensor 57 by the rotor 11, the internal and external gears 91 and 95, the shaft 93, and the flexible cable 97, and the rotation is detected.

  A rotational mode engagement portion 99 (FIG. 7) is provided between the rotational mode support portion 86 of the rotor 11 and the second slider 61.

  The rotational mode engagement portion 99 provides rotational moderation to the rotor 11 with respect to the second slider 61. The rotation mode engagement portion 99 includes a ball 103 urged by a coil spring 101 and a moderation mountain 105 with which the ball 103 engages. The balls 103 urged by the coil spring 101 are accommodated in the accommodation holes 107 formed in the rotational mode support portion 86 of the rotor 11 which is one of the rotor 11 and the second slider 61, respectively. The second slider 61, which is the other, is formed continuously in the circumferential direction, and each ball 103 is in elastic contact with the moderation mountain 105. The coil spring 101 and the ball 103 can be provided on the second slider 61, and the moderation mountain 105 can be provided on the rotor 11.

[Translation operation]
The grip portion 13 of the knob 3 can be gripped with a palm, and can be translated into any of the eight directions A to H in FIG. By this operation, the flange 17 of the knob 3 relatively moves in the knob rotating radius direction in the guide groove 79 on the push rod 7 side. Therefore, the display unit 73 is stationary at a fixed position regardless of the parallel movement operation of the knob 3.

  The knob 3 is translated in parallel by the relative movement, and the operating force is transmitted to the rotor 11 through the rotation receiving cylinder 85. An operating force is transmitted from the rotor 11 to the second slider 61 via the rotation fitting cylinder 87 and the rotation fitting portion 69.

  The operating force is sequentially transmitted from the second slider 61 to the first slider 59 and the lower case 19, and the first slider 59 is guided and slid by the slide slit 27 and the first slide protrusion 63. At the same time, the second slider 61 slides relative to the first slider 59 by the slide groove 65 and the second slide protrusion 71.

  Due to these two sliding operations, the rotation is restricted when the second slider 61 moves relative to the lower case 19 in the knob rotation radial direction. By this rotation restriction, the knob 3 includes the directions A to H. Only a translation operation can be performed in any direction of the radius of rotation. Further, the rotational mode engagement portion 99 between the rotor 11 and the second slider 61 can be effectively functioned.

  During the parallel movement operation, even if the operation direction is slightly deviated from the directions A to H, the outer periphery of the rotor 11 contacts one of the pair of guide protrusions 39 positioned in the operation direction and slides in the knob circumferential direction. With this slide, the operation direction is corrected so that the outer periphery of the rotor 11 is in contact with the pair of guide protrusions 39 in the operation direction. Therefore, the knob 3 can be easily and accurately translated to any of A to H.

  By this parallel movement operation, the position detection sensor 55 detects the position of the second slider 59 in the through hole 29.

  When the second slider 59 is moved as shown in FIG. 8 by the parallel movement operation, the leaf spring 41 is deformed in the operation direction, and reverses in the middle thereof. By this reversal, the reaction force against the operation of the knob 3 is sharply reduced, and a sense of moderation can be given to the operation of the knob 3.

  When the operating force of the knob 3 is released, the inversion of the leaf spring 41 automatically returns, and a restoring force can be applied to the second slider 59. Therefore, the second slider 59 surely moves to the neutral position before the parallel movement operation, and the knob 3 automatically returns to the original position before the operation.

[Rotation operation]
When the grip portion 13 of the knob 3 is gripped and rotated, the flange 17 of the knob 3 relatively rotates around the knob rotation axis in the guide groove 79 on the push rod 7 side. Accordingly, the display unit 73 is stationary at a fixed position regardless of the rotation operation of the knob 3.

  The knob 3 is rotated by the relative rotation, and the rotational operation force is transmitted to the rotor 11 via the rotation receiving cylinder 85. The rotation is transmitted from the rotor 11 to the rotation sensor 57 through the internal and external gears 91 and 95, the shaft 93, and the flexible cable 97, and the rotation sensor 57 detects the rotation.

  When the knob 3 is rotated, the rotor 11 rotates relative to the second slider 61, so that the ball 103 urged by the coil spring 101 gets over the moderation mountain 105 to obtain a sense of moderation. it can.

[Push-in operation]
When the knob 3 is pushed in, a pushing force is transmitted from the flange 17 of the knob 3 to the flange 47 of the push rod 7 so that the push rod 7 is pushed into the guide tube 33 and moves. Accordingly, the display unit 73 moves in the pushing direction integrally with the pushing operation of the knob 3.

  The rubber contact 49 is crushed through the flange 45 by the movement of the push rod 7. As a result, the rubber contact 49 operates and the contact is turned on, and the pushing operation can be detected.

  When the operator releases his hand from the knob 3, the pressing force of the rubber contact 49 is removed, and the knob 3 is pushed up by the elastic return force of the rubber contact 49 to return. A return spring for returning the knob 3 can be provided separately. It is possible to give a feeling of moderation to the rubber contact 49 to give the operator a feeling of moderation when pushing the knob.

[illumination]
When the LED 53 emits light, light passes through the push rod 7 and the hollow portions 83 and 81 of the display unit 73 and directly reaches the illumination plate 77. With this light, the illumination plate 77 can be brightly displayed, and characters and the like of the illumination plate 77 can be confirmed through the cover 15.

At this time, the display unit 73 stops at a fixed position regardless of the parallel movement operation and the rotation operation of the knob 3, and moves together by the pushing operation of the knob 3, so that the position of the display unit 73 is substantially fixed and the display unit 73 is displayed. The part 73 can be easily confirmed.
[Effect of Example]
A parallel movement operation, a rotation operation, and a push-in operation can be performed without changing the knob 3.

  The knob 3 is a parallel movement operation, and it is not necessary to have a structure in which the tilting operation approximates to the parallel movement, and the overall size can be further reduced.

  Since the rubber contact 49, the position detection sensor 55, and the rotation sensor 57 are provided on the single substrate 51 as detection units that operate separately by the parallel movement operation, rotation operation, and push-in operation of the knob 3, the number of parts is small and the assembly is performed. Parts management can be facilitated and the overall size can be made more compact.

  Since the rotor 3 is provided so as to be relatively rotatable on the parallel operation unit 9 and the knob 3 is relatively movable in the knob rotation axis direction and is rotationally engaged, the rotation of the knob 3 is easily transmitted to the single substrate 51 side. Thus, the rotation sensor 57 can reliably detect the rotation of the knob 3 without difficulty, and the unification of the substrates 51 can be easily realized.

(Example 1) which is a perspective view of a multidirectional switch. (Example 1) which is a top view of a multidirectional switch. (Example 1) which is the state of the state which removed the knob and upper case of the multidirectional switch. (Example 1) which is the top view of the state which removed the knob and upper case of the multidirectional switch. (Example 1) which is the VV arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. (Example 1) which is the VI-VI arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. (Example 1) which is VII-VII arrow sectional drawing of FIG. (Example 1) which is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. 6 which shows parallel movement operation. It is principal sectional drawing of a multidirectional switch (conventional example).

Explanation of symbols

1 Multidirectional switch (Multidirectional input device)
3 Knob 5 Case 7 Push rod 9 Parallel motion part 11 Rotor 15 Cover 17 Flange (interlocking engagement part)
39 Guide protrusion (guide part)
41 Leaf spring (elastic member)
49 Rubber contact (detector)
51 Substrate 53 LED (lighting fixture)
55 Position detection sensor (detection unit)
57 Rotation sensor (detector)
59 First slider 61 Second slider 73 Display section 79 Guide groove 81, 83 Hollow section (optical path)
97 Cable 99 Rotation mode engagement portion 101 Coil spring 103 Ball 105 Moderation mountain

Claims (13)

A knob provided for parallel movement operation, rotation operation, push-in operation with respect to the case,
A parallel operation unit that supports the knob so that the knob can be moved in parallel, rotated, and pushed, while receiving rotation restriction on the case;
A push rod with a display ,
A circular guide groove provided between the push rod and the display unit;
The knob is provided with an interlocking engagement portion that fits in the guide groove, engages in the knob rotation axis direction, and is relatively rotatable and relatively movable in the knob rotation radius direction,
The push rod is relatively movable in the knob rotation axis direction with respect to the case and allows relative rotation and relative movement in the knob rotation radius direction,
A multi-directional input device, wherein a corresponding detection unit is operated by any one of the parallel movement operation, the rotation operation, and the push-in operation. The multi-directional input device according to claim 1,
A multi-directional input device, wherein the case is provided with a single substrate provided with the detection units. The multidirectional input device according to claim 2,
A multidirectional input device comprising a rotor which is provided in the parallel operation portion so as to be relatively rotatable, and wherein the knob is relatively movable in the knob rotation axis direction and is rotationally engaged. The multidirectional input device according to claim 2 or 3,
A lighting device is provided on the substrate,
Providing an optical path penetrating from the illuminator to the display unit;
The multidirectional input device characterized in that the display unit performs bright light display by illumination of the illumination tool. The multidirectional input device according to claim 1 or 4,
The display unit is housed in the knob;
A multi-directional input device , wherein the knob is provided with a transparent cover that covers the display unit . The multi-directional input device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
A rotation sensor that detects a rotation operation of the knob is provided on the substrate as the detection unit,
A multidirectional input device comprising a flexible cable for transmitting a rotation operation of the knob to the rotation sensor to detect rotation . The multidirectional input device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A multi-directional input device , wherein a position detection sensor for detecting a parallel movement of the parallel operation unit is provided on the substrate as the detection unit . The multidirectional input device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The multi-directional input device according to claim 1, wherein the case is provided with a guide portion for restricting the parallel movement of the parallel operation portion in eight directions . The multidirectional input device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The multi-directional input device according to claim 1, wherein the case is provided with an elastic member for biasing the parallel operation portion to position the knob to a neutral position before operation . The multidirectional input device according to claim 9 , wherein
The multi-directional input device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member gives a sense of moderation to the parallel movement operation of the knob by a reversing operation . The multidirectional input device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 ,
The parallel operation unit includes first and second sliders,
The first slider is provided so as to be movable in one direction with respect to the case, and the second slider is provided in the first slider so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the one direction. A featured multi-directional input device. The multi-directional input device according to claim 11 ,
A multi-directional input device , wherein a rotational mode engagement portion is provided between the rotor and the second slider to give a rotational mode to the rotor with respect to the second slider . The multi-directional input device according to claim 12,
The rotation mode engagement portion is a ball provided on one of the rotor and the second slider and biased by a coil spring and a moderation mountain provided on the other and engaged with the ball. Multi-directional input device.

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