CN107305819B - Electronic switch with force feedback - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an electronic switch with a force feedback function, which comprises a base, an actuating piece and a magnetic field generating module. The actuator is movably connected to the base and includes a magnetic unit. The magnetic field generating module is arranged on the base. The magnetic field generating module applies a magnetic repulsion force to the magnetic unit, and provides a reverse feedback force when the actuating piece approaches the base.

Description

Electronic switch with force feedback

technical field

The present invention provides an electronic switch, especially an electronic switch with force feedback function, which can be applied to keyboard keys and digital stylus.

Background technique

With the advancement of technology, the traditional keyboard and mouse are difficult to meet the requirements of various applications. Therefore, various input interfaces with different functions have been developed, such as touch pads, touch balls and stylus pens. The stylus usually uses resistive touch technology, capacitive touch technology or optical touch technology to detect the displacement of the stylus on the work surface. Some styli are also equipped with pressure sensors to detect The pressure applied by the user on the stylus pen is used to convert the lines corresponding to the thick and thin handwriting; however, these traditional stylus pens cannot realize pen pressure control. Therefore, how to overcome this difficulty and develop a stylus that can adjust the pen pressure control and convert corresponding handwriting lines according to the pen pressure control is one of the development goals of the related touch industry.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides an electronic switch with force feedback function and can be applied to keyboard keys and digital stylus to solve the above problems.

The patent application scope of the present invention discloses an electronic switch with a force feedback function, which includes a base, an actuator and a magnetic field generating module. The actuator is movably connected to the base, and the actuator includes a magnetic unit. The magnetic field generating module is arranged on the base. The magnetic field generating module exerts a magnetic repulsion force on the magnetic unit, and provides a reverse feedback force when the actuator is close to the base.

The patent scope of the present invention also discloses that the actuator is separated from the base, and the actuator approaches or moves away from the base in a one-way manner. The magnetic field generation module uses an electromagnetic unit to generate the magnetic repulsion force corresponding to the magnetic unit, and the magnetic field generation module changes an input current of the electromagnetic unit to adjust the magnitude of the magnetic repulsion force. The magnetic field generation module utilizes a permanent magnet unit corresponding to the magnetic unit to generate the magnetic repulsion force.

The scope of the patent application of the present invention further discloses that the electronic switch further includes a binding piece and an elastic element. The restraint is connected to the base. The restraint has a stopper, and the actuator is movably arranged between the restraint and the base. Both ends of the elastic element are respectively connected to the actuator and the magnetic field generating module for driving the actuator to abut against the stopper. The electronic switch further includes a limiting part, which is connected to the base and arranged in the restraining part, and the actuating part is movably accommodated in the limiting part. The limiting member is a sleeve structure, or a clamping structure with a loose fitting feature.

The patent scope of the present invention further discloses that the electronic switch further includes a pressure detector and an arithmetic processor. The pressure detector is arranged on the base, and correspondingly obtains the value of the external force exerted on the actuator according to the change of the distance between the actuator and the base. The arithmetic processor is electrically connected to the pressure detector, and outputs a control signal according to the detection result of the pressure detector. The pressure detector can be a light detection module, an electromagnetic induction module or a capacitance detection module.

The electronic switch of the present invention can provide a reverse feedback force according to the preset use situation, simulating the hysteresis effect of button pressing or the soft and hard changes of the stroke pressure of the stylus, so as to diversify the product functions and strengthen the market competitiveness.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are structural schematic diagrams of the electronic switch in different operating states according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of different types of limiters in other embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are structural diagrams of the electronic switch in different operating states according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

6 to 8 are structural schematic diagrams of pressure detectors according to different embodiments of the present invention.

Explanation of reference numbers:

The realization of the purpose of the present invention, functional characteristics and advantages will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Detailed ways

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 . FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are structural diagrams of the electronic switch 10 in different operating states according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The electronic switch 10 includes a base 12 , an actuating element 14 , a magnetic field generating module 16 , a restraining element 18 , an elastic element 20 and a limiting element 22 . The binding member 18 is connected to the base 12 and serves as an outer cover of the electronic switch 10 . The limiting member 22 is located in the restraining member 18 for connecting the base 12 via the restraining member 18 . The electronic switch 10 can be any type of key switch, such as a key for a keyboard or a light switch for household use, so one end of the actuator 14 can be provided with a keycap 24, and the other end of the actuator 14 can be connected to the The magnetic field generating module 16; in other possible implementations, the elastic element 20 may be directly connected to the base 12. At this time, although the magnetic field generating module 16 is slightly away from the elastic element 20, the actuator 14 still needs to be aligned to exert an effective magnetic repulsion force.

The limiting member 22 of the first embodiment of the present invention is a sleeve structure, and the actuating member 14 is accommodated in the limiting member 22 in a movable manner. As the user presses the keycap 24, the actuating member 14 can be Any movement between the restraint 18 and the base 12 is possible. In other possible implementations, the limiting member 22' can be a clamping structure with a loose fit feature, as shown in Figure 3, which is designed to clamp the elastic piece of the limiting member 22', so that the clip The elastic piece is pressed against the side surface of the actuator 14 . The stopper 22' of clamping spring type can limit the movement of the actuator 14 relative to the magnetic field generating module 16 along a predetermined direction, so as to ensure that the magnetic repulsion force of the magnetic field generating module 16 can be correctly transmitted to the actuator 14. In addition, the binding member 18 has a stopper 26; when the elastic restoring force of the elastic element 20 drives the actuating member 14 to move relative to the limiting member 22 (or the limiting member 22′), the actuating member 14 will stop after a certain stroke. Connect to the stopper 26 to prevent the actuator 14 from falling out of the restraint 18 .

The magnetic field generating module 16 is disposed on the base 12 . The actuating member 14 is movably connected to the base 12 with the assistance of the binding member 18 , the elastic element 20 and the limiting member 22 . The actuator 14 includes a magnetic unit 28 ; the magnetic field generating module 16 also has a corresponding magnetic structure 30 , such as an electromagnetic unit or a permanent magnet unit. The magnetic structure 30 of the permanent magnet unit type applies magnetic repulsion to the magnetic unit 28, and the user can feel the force feedback function provided by the magnetic field generating module 16 when pressing the keycap 24; if the magnetic structure 30 of the electromagnetic unit type is used, the user The input current of the electromagnetic unit can be changed arbitrarily to further adjust the magnitude of the magnetic repulsion force, and different reverse feedback forces can be given to the user according to the operating situation.

Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 . FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are structural diagrams of the electronic switch 50 in different operating states according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The electronic switch 50 can be a kind of stylus. The structures and functions of the components of the electronic switch 50 are similar to those of the electronic switch 10 with the same name. For example, the base 52 is the base of each component of the electronic switch 50, which can be used to accommodate the power storage component. The magnetic field generating module 54 is installed on the base 52 , and the actuator 56 can move freely relative to the magnetic field generating module 54 via the limiting member 58 and the elastic element 60 . The limiting member 58 can be a sleeve structure, or a clamping structure with a loose fit, as described in the limiting member of the first embodiment. The magnetic structure 62 of the magnetic field generation module 54 applies a magnetic repulsion force to the magnetic unit 64 of the actuator 56; when the user operates the stylus, he will press the tip to move the actuator 56 into the restraint 66, and the magnetic force of the magnetic field generation module 54 The repulsive force can provide a reverse feedback force to the actuating member 56 to hysteresis the behavior of the actuating member 56, thereby controlling the softness and hardness of the pen pressure.

The second embodiment is slightly different from the first embodiment in that the binding member 66 of the electronic switch 50 is in the shape of a pen case, and the front end of the pen case has a stopper 68 . When the elastic restoring force of the elastic element 60 drives the actuating member 56 to move out of the pen housing, the stop portion 68 can be used to stop the corresponding projection 70 of the actuating member 56 to prevent the actuating member 56 from falling out of the binding member 66 completely. When the magnetic structure 62 is a permanent magnet unit, the magnetic field generating module 54 will generate a fixed amount of magnetic repulsion force to the actuator 56 . If the magnetic structure 62 is an electromagnetic unit, the magnitude of the magnetic repulsion force can be adjusted by providing different input currents; in this way, the magnetic field generating module 54 can simulate different stroke characteristics. For example: when the electronic switch 50 is executing the application program of brush writing, the magnetic field generation module 54 provides a small magnetic repulsion force, and the movable distance of the actuating member 56 becomes larger, so that the user can feel the softer brush strokes; if the electronic switch 50 executes the pen writing application program, the magnetic field generating module 54 provides greater magnetic repulsion, the movable distance of the actuating member 56 is reduced, and a harder pen stroke is fed back to the user.

While providing the force feedback function, the electronic switch 50 (stylus pen) can also generate handwriting with corresponding changes in thickness according to the strength of operating the electronic switch 50 . Therefore, the electronic switch 50 may further optionally include a pressure detector 72 and a corresponding operation detector 74 . The pressure detector 72 is usually located on the limiting member 58 close to the actuator 56 , that is, indirectly disposed on the base 52 through the limiting member 58 to obtain a power source. The pressure detector 72 is based on the change of the distance between the actuator 56 and the base 52, and correspondingly obtains the value of the external force applied to the actuator 56; The relative displacement of the actuating member 56 and the limiting member 58 is used to obtain the pressure value, but the practical application is not limited thereto. The operation detector 74 is electrically connected to the pressure detector 72, and can output a control signal according to the detection result of the pressure detector 72, so as to control an external electronic device (such as a screen) to display handwriting of corresponding thick and thin lines.

In particular, the pressure detector 72 and the calculation detector 74 of the second embodiment can also be applied to the electronic switch 10 (not shown in the figure) of the first embodiment, for example, the pressure detector 72 is set On the limit piece 22 or the constraint piece 18 of the electronic switch 10, the calculation detector 74 is electrically connected to the pressure detector 72 to obtain the detection result of the pressure detector 72, by detecting the displacement of the actuator 14 It is judged whether the user presses the keycap 24 lightly or heavily, and can input different control commands on behalf of the user in a specific operation situation; in addition, the magnetic field generation module 16 can be driven to provide corresponding reverse response according to the force of pressing the keycap 24 Feedback force is given to the actuator 14B, so that the user can feel appropriate force feedback according to the application of the electronic switch 10; generally speaking, this situation is usually applied in the situation of operating video games, but it is not limited thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 . FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 are structural schematic diagrams of pressure detectors 72 according to different embodiments of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6, the pressure detector 72 is a light detection module 72A, the surface of the actuator 56 has a reference image 76, and the light detection module 72A points to the reference image 76 on the surface of the actuator 56; When the component 56 moves relative to the magnetic field generating module 54 and the limiting component 58, the optical detection module 72A analyzes the displacement change of the reference image 76, and can obtain the value of the external force applied to the electronic switch 50 by the user to cause the actuator 56 to move. . As shown in Figure 7, the pressure detector 72 is an electromagnetic induction module 72B, which uses an induction coil or a Hall sensing unit to generate a corresponding induced current according to the magnetic field change caused by the movement of the actuator 56; the magnitude of the induced current It represents the movement range of the actuator 56 , so the value of the external force applied to the electronic switch 50 by the user can be obtained. As shown in Figure 8, the pressure detector 72 is a capacitance detection module 72C, which is arranged at a position facing the actuator 56; the capacitance plate of the capacitance detection module 72C is preferably separately located between the actuator 56 and the magnetic field generation module. On the group 54, the value of the external force is obtained according to the capacitance change caused by the movement of the actuator 56.

To sum up, the electronic switch of the present invention can preferably be applied to fields such as keyboard buttons and digital stylus pens. The actuating part of the electronic switch is connected to the keycap of the button or the tip of the stylus, and separated from the base. When the user presses the button or operates the stylus, the actuating part is limited by the limiter and moves in one direction. Approaching or moving away from the base means that the actuating part will move linearly into the restraining part, or partially protrude out of the restraining part with the help of the elastic element and/or the magnetic field generating module. The actuator has a magnetic unit, and the magnetic structure of the magnetic field generating module applies a magnetic repulsion force to the magnetic unit. Although the actuator can move closer to the restraint at will, it will be affected by the magnetic repulsion and provide resistance, so it can simulate pressing a button hysteresis force, and stroke pressure controls for writing with the stylus.

Furthermore, the pressure detector obtains the pressure exerted on the actuator, and can reflect the force of pressing the key and the thickness of the handwriting line through the control signal output by the calculation detector. Depending on the product requirements, the pressure detector can obtain the relative displacement of the actuator by means of light detection technology, electromagnetic induction technology or capacitive detection technology, and then convert the value of the external force applied to the actuator. Compared with the previous technology, the electronic switch of the present invention can provide reverse feedback force according to the preset use situation, simulate the hysteresis effect of button pressing or the soft and hard changes of the stroke pressure of the stylus, diversify the product functions and strengthen the market competitiveness .

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. An electronic switch with force feedback function, characterized in that it comprises: a base; an actuator, connected to the base in a movably manner, the actuator includes a magnetic unit; A magnetic field generating module is arranged on the base, the magnetic field generating module applies a magnetic repulsion force to the magnetic unit, and provides a reverse feedback force when the actuator is close to the base; and, an elastic element, the two ends of the elastic element are respectively connected to the actuator and the magnetic field generating module; Wherein the magnetic field generation module uses an electromagnetic unit to generate the magnetic repulsion force corresponding to the magnetic unit, and the magnetic field generation module changes an input current of the electromagnetic unit to adjust the magnitude of the magnetic repulsion force; or, Wherein the magnetic field generating module utilizes a permanent magnet unit corresponding to the magnetic unit to generate the magnetic repulsion force. 2. The electronic switch according to claim 1, wherein the actuating member is separated from the base, and the actuating member approaches or moves away from the base in a one-way movable manner. 3. The electronic switch according to claim 1, further comprising: a restraining part connected to the base, the restraining part has a stop part, and the actuating part is movably arranged between the restraining part and the base; the elastic element is used to drive the actuating part to abut against at the stop. 4. The electronic switch according to claim 3, further comprising: A limiting part is connected with the base and arranged in the binding part, and the actuating part is movably accommodated in the limiting part. 5 . The electronic switch as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the limiting member is a sleeve structure or a clamping structure with a loose fit. 6 . 6. The electronic switch according to claim 1, further comprising: A pressure detector is arranged on the base, and the pressure detector obtains the value of the external force applied to the actuator according to the change of the distance between the actuator and the base; and An operation processor is electrically connected to the pressure detector, and the operation processor outputs a control signal according to the detection result of the pressure detector. 7. The electronic switch according to claim 6, wherein the pressure detector is a photodetection module, and the photodetection module analyzes the displacement change of a reference image on the actuator, according to which Get the external force value. 8. The electronic switch according to claim 6, wherein the pressure detector is an electromagnetic induction module, and the electromagnetic induction module uses the change of the magnetic field caused by the movement of the actuator to generate a corresponding induced current, and The value of the external force is obtained according to the magnitude of the induced current. 9. The electronic switch according to claim 8, wherein the electromagnetic induction module comprises an induction coil or a Hall sensing unit. 10. The electronic switch according to claim 6, wherein the pressure detector is a capacitance detection module, which is arranged at a position facing the actuator, and the capacitance detection module is based on the position of the actuator The capacitance change caused by the movement takes the value of this external force.