JPH11175248A - Coordinate information input device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] The object of the present invention is to provide a coordinate information input device capable of realizing higher resolution with a simple configuration. A movable member for inputting coordinate information, a detecting unit for detecting a movement of the movable member as a rotation amount in XY directions,
13, 14, and 15, the X-axis and the Y-axis in which each of the detection units rotates around the X-axis or the Y-axis according to the movement of the movable member, respectively.
Rotating shafts 12 and 13 and FG magnet disks 16 and 1 attached to the respective rotating shafts and circumferentially magnetized
7 and magnetic sensors 18 and 19 disposed opposite to the periphery of each FG magnet disk, respectively.
The coordinate information input device 10 is configured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to input of coordinate information such as a mouse, a trackball, and a joystick for inputting information relating to an XY coordinate position in a computer system, a word processor, a game machine using a computer, and the like. It concerns the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, for example, a joystick has been known as such a coordinate information input device. Such a joystick is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 7, the joystick 1 is rotatable around a stick-shaped movable member 2 whose lower end is swingably supported and a rotation axis extending in the XY directions through a fulcrum at the lower end of the movable member 2. Oscillating members 3 and 4 and detectors 5 and 6 provided on one side of the oscillating members 3 and 4, respectively.

The movable member 2 can be swung in any direction by a user's hand operation. The swinging members 3 and 4 have an intermediate portion curved upward in an arc shape, and include slits 3a and 4a provided along the longitudinal direction. These slits 3a, 4a
When the movable member 2 is engaged, the arm is swung around the X axis or the Y axis following the swing of the movable member 2.

The detectors 5 and 6 are provided with disks 5b and 6b provided with a large number of radially extending slits 5a and 6a attached to the ends of the rocking members 3 and 4, respectively. And detectors 7 and 8 composed of light emitting and receiving elements arranged so as to sandwich the area of the slits 5a and 6a of 6b. Thereby, when the swing members 3 and 4 are swung by the inclination of the movable member 2, the detection units 5 and 6
Means that the disks 5b and 6b rotate, and the disk 5b
The slits 5a, 6a provided in b, 6b turn on and off the optical path from the light emitting elements 7a, 8a of the detectors 7, 8 to the light receiving elements 7b, 8b. Accordingly, the detection signals of the light receiving elements 7b and 8b at this time have a pulse waveform, and by counting the number of pulse waveforms, the inclination angle of the movable member 2 in the XY directions is detected, and the movable angle of the movable member 2 is determined by the width of the pulse waveform. The inclination speed of the member 2 is detected.

The joystick 1 constructed as described above
According to the above, the operator first grips the movable member 2 with the palm,
The movable member 2 is tilted in a desired direction. As a result, the direction and angle of inclination of the movable member 2 are detected by the detection units 5 and 6 via the swinging members 3 and 4, and the joystick 1 is used as coordinate information signals in the X and Y directions, respectively.
For example, to the computer itself. Thus, the CR connected to the computer body
On the screen of a display device such as T, the movable member 2
The cursor and the like can be moved in accordance with the inclination direction and the inclination angle of.

Further, two sets of detectors 5, 6 are provided for each disk 5
As shown in FIG. 9, when the detectors 5 and 6 are disposed at the positions A and B so that the on / off phases are shifted by 90 degrees with respect to the detectors 5 and 6 at positions A and B, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, when the output signals A and B are clockwise, the output signal B has a phase 90
The output signal B is delayed by 90 degrees as compared with the output signal A when the counterclockwise rotation is performed. Therefore, by comparing the phases of the output signals A and B, for example, the output signal B at the time when the output signal A rises on is obtained.
, It is also possible to detect the rotation direction of the disks 5b, 6b.

[0007]

However, in the joystick 1 constructed as described above, the detecting units 5, 6 are provided with the slits 5a, 5b provided in the disks 5b, 6b.
The detection density or resolution is determined by the circumferential density or pole pitch of 6a. Therefore, in order to increase the resolution, the pole pitch may be increased.
The slits 5a, 6a are formed in the discs 5b, 6b.
There is a limit in terms of the strength of the material of 6b itself, and there is a problem that the detection resolution cannot be increased much.

[0008] Such a problem occurs not only in the joystick described above, but also in a coordinate information input device such as a mouse or a trackball provided with a similar detection unit.
It is known to occur as well.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coordinate information input device which realizes higher resolution with a simple configuration.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the above object includes a movable member for inputting coordinate information, and a detector for detecting the movement of the movable member as a rotation amount in the XY directions. In the coordinate information input device, each detection unit is attached to each of the X and Y rotation axes that rotate around the X or Y axis in accordance with the movement of the movable member, respectively, and is attached to each of the rotation axes and extends in the circumferential direction. This is achieved by a coordinate information input device, comprising: a magnetized FG magnet disk; and a magnetic sensor disposed opposite to the periphery of each FG magnet disk.

In the coordinate information input device according to the present invention, preferably, the movable member has a stick shape, and each of the rotating shafts is rotatably engaged with the movable member.

In the coordinate information input device according to the present invention, preferably, the movable member has a ball shape, and each of the rotating shafts is in contact with a surface of the movable member.

[0013] In the coordinate information input device according to the present invention, preferably, the magnetic sensor is a Hall element.

In the coordinate information input device according to the present invention, preferably, the magnetic sensor has two Hall elements, and each Hall element has a position shifted by 90 degrees with respect to the pole pitch of the FG magnet disk. It is arranged in.

In the coordinate information input device according to the present invention, preferably, the magnetic sensor is an MR element.

In the coordinate information input device according to the present invention, preferably, the magnetic sensor is configured such that the magnetic sensor detects magnetism at a position where the phase is shifted by 90 degrees with respect to the pole pitch of the FG magnet disk. It is.

[0017]

According to the above arrangement, the movement of the movable member, that is, the rotation of the stick-shaped movable member in the joystick, or the rotation of the ball in the mouse or trackball is detected by the detection section in the X and Y directions, respectively. It is output as a direction coordinate information signal. At this time, the detection unit is a magnetic sensor, preferably a Hall element or a magnetic sensor disposed opposite to the periphery of the FG magnet disk of the detection unit which is rotated in the X and Y directions by the movement of the movable member. The MR element detects the magnetism of the magnetized portion of the FG magnet disk and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the pole pitch of the magnetized portion. Therefore, the amount of movement of the movable member in the X and Y directions can be detected by counting the waveform of the detection signal of the magnetic sensor. Here, the FG magnetization of the FG magnet disk can be formed with a narrower pole pitch than this slit as compared with a conventional disk having a large number of slits extending in the radial direction in an optical detection unit. Become. Therefore, higher resolution can be obtained.

The magnetic sensor has two Hall elements, and each Hall element is arranged at a position shifted by 90 degrees in phase with respect to the pole pitch of the FG magnet disk, or Is an MR element configured to detect magnetism at a position where the phase is shifted by 90 degrees with respect to the pole pitch of the FG magnet disk, when two detection signals from the Hall element or the MR element are detected. By comparing the phases, the rotation direction of the FG magnet disk of the detection unit is detected.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a joystick to which a coordinate information input device according to the present invention is applied. A joystick 10 has a stick-shaped movable member 11 whose lower end is swingably supported.
And a swing member 1 rotatably supported around a rotation axis extending in the X and Y directions through a fulcrum at the lower end of the movable member 11.
2 and 13 and detectors 14 and 15 provided on one side of the swinging members 12 and 13.

The movable member 11 can be swung in an arbitrary direction by a user's hand operation.

The rocking members 12 and 13 have intermediate portions,
It is curved upward in an arc shape, and has slits 12a and 13a provided along its longitudinal direction. The slits 12a and 13a are configured to swing around the X axis or the Y axis following the swing of the movable member 11 when the movable member 11 is engaged.

The above configuration is the same as that of the conventional joystick.
Has a different configuration in that the detection units 14 and 15 are configured as follows.

The detectors 14 and 15 are provided opposite to the FG magnet disks 16 and 17 attached to the ends of the swinging members 12 and 13 and the peripheral edges of the FG magnet disks 16 and 17 respectively. And the magnetic sensors 18 and 19 formed. FG magnet discs 16 and 17
Is an FG-magnetized disk made of a magnetic material such as ferrite, that is, a magnetic disk in which S and N poles are alternately arranged along the periphery.

As shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic sensors 18 and 19 each comprise a pair of Hall elements 18a and 18b and 19a and 19b utilizing the Hall effect. Here, the pair of Hall elements 18a and 18b (or 19a and 19b) are FG magnet disks 16 and 1 respectively.
7 are arranged such that the phases are shifted from each other by 90 degrees with respect to the FG magnetization pole pitch. It is apparent that each of the Hall elements 18a, 18b, 19a, 19b may be a Hall IC.

Thus, when the swing members 12 and 13 are swung by the inclination of the movable member 11, the detecting unit 1
The FG magnet disks 16 and 17 rotate the FG magnet disks 16 and 17, and the magnetic flux of the magnetized portions on the periphery of the FG magnet disks 16 and 17 acts on the magnetic sensors 18 and 19. Therefore, the detection signals of the magnetic sensors 18 and 19 are, as shown in FIG.
A pulse waveform corresponding to the magnetic flux density of the FG magnetization of No. 17 is obtained. By counting the number of pulse waveforms, the inclination angle of the movable member 11 in the XY directions is detected, and the width of the movable member 11 is determined by the width of the pulse waveform. The inclination speed will be detected. Further, for example, the magnetic sensor 1
8, 19 Hall elements 18a, 18b or 19a,
By comparing the phases of the detection signals of 19b, the rotation direction of the FG magnet disk 16 or 17 can be detected, and the movement direction of the movable member 11 can be determined.

Joystick 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention
0 is configured as described above. At the time of operation, the operator grips the movable member 11 with the palm and tilts the movable member 11 in a desired direction. Accordingly, the swing members 12 and 13 rotate around the X axis and the Y axis, respectively, following the inclination of the movable member 11, and the amount of rotation is determined by the detection unit 1.
4, 15 and output to, for example, a computer. In this case, the detection units 14 and 15 have their pole pitches determined by the FG magnetization pitches of the FG magnet disks 16 and 17 and are compared with the slit disks of the conventional optical detection unit. Then, since a narrower pole pitch can be realized, higher resolution can be obtained.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment in which the coordinate information input device according to the present invention is applied to a joystick. That is, in FIG. 5, the joystick uses the magnetoresistive effect instead of the magnetic sensors 18 and 19 composed of the hall elements 18a, 18b, 19a and 19b as compared with the joystick 10 shown in FIGS. MR
The configuration is different only in that elements 21 and 22 are provided. Here, the MR elements 21 and 22 are respectively FG
The magnetic flux density of the magnetized portions of the FG magnet discs 16 and 17 is detected by the magnetoresistance effect at a position where the phase is shifted by 90 degrees with respect to the FG magnetization pole pitch of the magnet discs 16 and 17. It is configured to have a pattern.

According to the joystick having such a configuration, the operator grips the movable member 11 with his / her palm and moves the movable member 1
1 is tilted in the desired direction. Accordingly, the swing members 12 and 13 rotate around the X axis and the Y axis, respectively, following the inclination of the movable member 11, and the amount of rotation is detected by the detection units 14 and 15, for example. Output to a computer or the like. In this case, the detection signals based on the two patterns of the MR elements 21 and 22 are as shown in FIG.
Since the phases are shifted from each other by 90 degrees, by comparing these phases, the FG magnet disk 1
The rotational directions of the movable members 6 and 17 are detected, and the moving direction of the movable member 11 can be determined.

In the embodiments described above, the embodiments in which the present invention is applied to the joystick 10 have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to other coordinate information input devices such as a mouse and a trackball. It is clear that can be applied.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the movement of the movable member, that is, the rotation of the stick-shaped movable member of the joystick or the rotation of the ball of the mouse or trackball is detected by the detection section in the XY directions. Are output as coordinate information signals in the X and Y directions, respectively. At this time, the detection unit is a magnetic sensor, preferably a Hall element or a magnetic sensor disposed opposite to the periphery of the FG magnet disk of the detection unit which is rotated in the X and Y directions by the movement of the movable member. The MR element detects the magnetism of the magnetized portion of the FG magnet disk and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the pole pitch of the magnetized portion. Therefore, the amount of movement of the movable member in the X and Y directions can be detected by counting the waveform of the detection signal of the magnetic sensor. Here, the FG magnetization of the FG magnet disk can be formed with a narrower pole pitch than this slit as compared with a conventional disk having a large number of slits extending in the radial direction in an optical detection unit. Become. Therefore, higher resolution can be obtained.

Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an extremely excellent coordinate information input device which realizes a higher resolution with a simple configuration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a joystick to which a coordinate information input device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a disk of a detection unit in the joystick of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view illustrating a configuration of a detection unit in the joystick in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing an output signal of each Hall element in the detection unit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of a detection unit in another embodiment of the joystick according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing each output signal of an MR element in the detection unit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a conventional joystick.

8 is a schematic side view illustrating a configuration of a detection unit in the joystick in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of a detection unit in FIG. 8;

10 is a graph showing output signals of the respective detectors in the detection unit of FIG. 9 when clockwise and counterclockwise.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 joystick (coordinate information input device) 11 movable member 12, 13 rocking member 12 a, 13 a slot 14, 15 detector 16, 17 FG magnet disk 18, 19 magnetic sensor 18 a, 18 b, 19 a, 19 b Hall element 21, 22 MR element

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A coordinate information input device comprising: a movable member for inputting coordinate information; and a detecting unit for detecting a movement of the movable member as a rotation amount in the X and Y directions. An X rotation axis and a Y rotation axis that rotate around the X axis or the Y axis in response to the movement of the FG magnet disk attached to each rotation axis and magnetized in the circumferential direction; And a magnetic sensor disposed opposite to the periphery of the plate. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movable member has a stick shape, and each of the rotating shafts is rotatably engaged with the movable member.
The coordinate information input device according to 1. 3. The coordinate information input device according to claim 1, wherein the movable member has a ball shape, and each of the rotating shafts is in contact with a surface of the movable member. . 4. The coordinate information input device according to claim 1, wherein said magnetic sensor is a Hall element. 5. The magnetic sensor according to claim 1, wherein two Hall elements are provided, and each Hall element is arranged at a position where the phase is shifted by 90 degrees with respect to the pole pitch of the FG magnet disk. The coordinate information input device according to claim 4, which performs the operation. 6. The coordinate information input device according to claim 1, wherein said magnetic sensor is an MR element. 7. The magnetic sensor according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic sensor is an MR element configured to detect magnetism at a position where the phase is shifted by 90 degrees with respect to the pole pitch of the FG magnet disk. 7. The coordinate information input device according to 6.