Multi-way input device
AssigneeAlps Electric Co., Ltd.
InventorKatsutoshi Suzuki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to the present invention there is provided an input device capable of making input in three-dimensional directions in conformity with the human's operating sense and easy to operate. The input device is provided with, in addition to first and second switches disposed on a substrate and a third switch disposed on the substrate in a direction in which it can be pushed in the surface direction of the substrate, a fourth switch capable of being pushed axially of a shaft. An actuator used in the device has a slide-contact surface which is part of a predetermined spherical surface, and in the interior of a housing there is provided a slide-contact surface for sliding contact with the slide-contact surface of the actuator. An operating member used in the device has a shape bridging the upper and lower ends of a stick.
Claims10
A multi-way input device comprising:
- an upper housing having a first recess formed in a bottom surface thereof;
- a lower housing having a second recess formed in a top surface thereof and opposed to the first recess;
- an actuator supported rotatably within said first and second recesses and provided with a vertically extending rotatable shaft;
- an operating member engaged with said rotatable shaft and adapted to rotate in three-dimensional directions of X, Y and Z axes together with rotation of said actuator;
- a first switch for detecting the rotation in the X-axis direction of said operating member;
- a second switch for detecting the rotation in the Y-axis direction of said operating member;
- and
- a third switch for detecting the rotation in the Y-axis direction of said operating member.
A multi-way input device comprising:
- a housing having an outer surface and defining an inner chamber including a plurality of projections, the housing also defining first and second holes passing through the outer surface to the chamber;
- an actuator rotatably mounted within the chamber, the actuator including a shaft having first and second ends respectively extending through the first and second holes formed in the housing;
- a first plurality of switches connected to the actuator;
- and
- an operating member movably disposed adjacent the outer surface of the housing and fixedly connected to the first and second ends of the shaft;
- wherein movement of the operating member relative to the housing causes actuation of at least one of the plurality of switches by at least one of the plurality of projections.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.