JPH0449719Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention relates to an X-Y direction input device, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a novel X-Y direction input device, such as a mouse or trackball, which can be used as an input device such as a joystick in a television game device.

[Prior art]

In a television game device, a direction input device such as a joystick must be operated in order to move a character displayed on a television screen according to the game.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

On the other hand, a mouse, a track ball, etc., which are originally used for inputting coordinate positions on the XY plane, are easy to operate, so it is conceivable to use them as direction input devices for game devices.
However, the mouse is unsuitable as a direction input device for a game device, as it requires a wide operation surface because it can only input a movement distance corresponding to the distance actually moved by the mouse.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-42023 proposes a mouse that can obtain a large displacement even with a small movement distance by modifying the amount of displacement of the mouse.

However, this mouse only outputs the modified displacement amount as distance data, and does not provide a direction signal like the direction input device of a game device, so it is still unsuitable as a direction input device. It is.

Therefore, the main purpose of this invention is to provide a novel X-Y direction input device that uses a rotating body and can input direction instructions with a small amount of movement.

[Means for solving problems]

This invention consists of a housing in which a hole is formed in a part, a rotating body rotatably supported in the housing and housed in a state in which a part of the body protrudes from the hole;
A first pulse generating means that generates pulses as the rotating body rotates in the X-axis component direction, a second pulse generating unit that generates pulses as the rotating body rotates in the Y-axis component direction, and the rotating body A first circuit that outputs a signal indicating movement in the positive direction in response to rotation in the positive direction of the X-axis direction, and outputs a signal indicating movement in the negative direction in response to rotation in the negative direction. The direction determining means outputs a signal indicating movement in the positive direction in response to rotation of the rotating body in the positive direction of the Y-axis direction, and outputs a signal indicating movement in the negative direction in response to rotation in the negative direction. second direction determining means for outputting a signal indicating;
The first counting means calculates a value corresponding to the amount of movement in the X-axis direction by counting the pulses from the first pulse generating means, and by counting the pulses from the second pulse generating means. a second counting means for calculating a value corresponding to the amount of movement in the Y-axis direction;
The direction determining means outputs a positive or negative direction signal, and the count value of the first counting means is a predetermined first value.
In response to the value being greater than or equal to the value of , the first movement direction determining means and second direction determining means output signals in the positive or negative direction for determining that the movement is in the X-axis component direction. and second movement direction determining means for determining that the movement is in the Y-axis component direction in response to the count value of the second counting means being equal to or greater than a predetermined first value; and a direction signal output means, the direction signal output means generates a movement signal in the positive or negative direction of the X-axis of the rotating body based on the determination result of the first movement direction determination means and the output of the first direction determination means. and continuously generate a movement signal of the rotating body in the positive or negative direction of the Y axis based on the judgment result of the second movement direction judgment means and the output of the second direction judgment means. , during the continuous output of movement signals in the positive or negative direction of the X-axis or Y-axis, there is a different second or first direction determining means output, and the first or second counting means is different from the first one. X-Y direction input, characterized in that output of a movement signal in the positive or negative direction of the X-axis or Y-axis is stopped in response to counting a movement amount of a second value smaller than the second value. It is a device.

[Effect]

When the X-Y direction input device is placed on a flat surface,
A part of the rotating body rotatably supported by the housing contacts the flat surface, and when the housing or the rotating body is moved in this state, the rotating body is rotated. and,
Pulses output in accordance with the rotation of the rotating body are applied to the direction signal output means. From the direction signal output means, when the rotating body rotates in a certain direction or more,
A direction signal is output indicating that the Y direction input device is moving in that direction.

[Effect of idea]

According to this invention, a direction signal is output when the rotating body rotates in the same direction for a certain amount or more, so a direction instruction can be input even if the amount of movement is small.
A novel XY directional input device is thus obtained which can also be used, in particular, as a directional input device for, for example, a video game device.

When used in a television game device, if the character on the television screen is moved in the same direction every time a signal from the direction signal output means is detected, even when instructing the character to move, the housing or rotating body can be moved. Just move it a little. Therefore, even when this XY direction input device is used as an input device for a game device, the space for moving the housing or the rotating body may be small.

The above-mentioned objects, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 is an illustrative cross-sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of this invention. A mouse 10, which is an example of an XY direction input device, includes a housing or case 12 that includes an upper case 12a and a lower case 12b. The case 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that can be operated with one hand, and in order to make the case 12 easier to grip, slopes or slopes are formed at necessary locations, and corners are chamfered. Such a case 12 is fixed as one body with screws after fitting the fitting part of the lower case 12b to the fitting part of the upper case 12a.

A cord (not shown) is pulled out from the end of the case 12, and the cord is connected to a microcomputer to be described later.

Furthermore, as will be described later, the internal space of the case 12 houses a sphere that rotates according to the movement of the mouse 10, a rotary encoder that detects the rotation of the sphere, and a device that processes the output of the rotary encoder. .

Furthermore, on a part of the outer surface of the upper case 12a,
A group of various switches (8 shown in Figure 1) similar to the controller of the home video game machine (product name "Family Computer") sold by the applicant
6) buttons are provided. An actuating plate 14 is provided on the upper wall inside the upper case 12a, and this actuating plate 14 holds the button in an exposed state on the outer surface and controls the operation of the button by an internal circuit (not shown). ).

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, on the lower side of the substrate 16, there is a
An X-axis rotary encoder 18 for detecting movement of the Y-direction input device and a Y-axis rotary encoder 20 for detecting movement in the Y-axis direction are provided. Although not shown, the X-axis rotary encoder 18 and the Y-axis rotary encoder 20 include a slit disk, a light emitting element for irradiating light onto the slit disk, and a light receiving element for receiving the light. include.

Rotating shaft 22 of rotary encoder 18 for X-axis
are rotatably supported at both ends by bearings 24a and 24b, respectively. Further, a roller 26 is integrally provided on the rotating shaft 22. When the sphere 28 is rotated by moving the mouse 10, the roller 26 transmits a rotation amount corresponding to the amount of movement of the X-coordinate component on the plane to the X-axis rotary encoder 18. Similarly, the rotating shaft 30 of the Y-axis rotary encoder 20 is rotatably supported at both ends by bearings 32a and 32b. When the sphere 28 is rotated by moving the mouse 10, a roller 34 provided integrally with the rotation shaft 30 transfers an amount of rotation corresponding to the amount of movement of the Y-coordinate component to the Y-axis rotary encoder 20.
to communicate.

Note that in place of the rotary encoders 18 and 20, other pulse generating means that generate pulses in accordance with the rotation of the rotating body may be used.

The rotation axes 22 and 30 are arranged in a 90° offset relationship, as shown in FIG. The contact portion between the roller 26 and the sphere 28 and the roller 34
The contact portion between the sphere 28 and the sphere 28 always maintains an angle of 90° with respect to the diametrical direction of the sphere 28.

A swinging member 36 is swingably supported on the lower surface of the substrate 16, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. That is, the upper end of the swinging member 36 is swingably supported by a shaft 38 supported by bearings 40a and 40b fixed to the lower surface of the substrate 16. Therefore, the swinging member 36 is connected to the swinging shaft 38
It is made swingable in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 (direction of arrow B in FIG. 4) about .

As shown in FIG. 4, the swinging member 36 is provided with a hollow part in the middle, and the shaft 4 passes through this hollow part.
2 is fixed. A sphere 28 is attached to the shaft 42.
A roller 44 is rotatably supported to maintain constant contact with and apply a contact force.

A protrusion into which one end of the coil spring 46 is fitted is formed on the lower part of the swinging member 36 on the outside, that is, on the left side in FIG. The other end of the coil spring 46 is supported by a member 48 integrally formed with the lower case 12b. Therefore, the coil spring 46
The elastic force acts as a force that always pushes the swinging member 36 toward the sphere 28. That is, roller 4
4 is constantly pressed against the sphere 28 by the elastic force of the coil spring 46.

The sphere 28 indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2 shows the state when the mouse 10 is placed on a flat surface. At this time, the portion of the sphere 28 that contacts the plane becomes substantially flush with the lower surface of the lower case 12b. However, when the mouse 10 is lifted, the sphere 28 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the lower case 12b as shown by the dashed line due to its own weight. Then, the center of the shaft 42 of the roller 44 is
Since it is located above the center of the sphere 28, the roller 44 rotates, and the swinging member 36 swings slightly to the right according to the elastic force of the coil spring 46. That is, when the sphere 28 is in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, the contact position of the roller 44 is at the maximum diameter portion of the sphere surface. However, when the sphere 28 is in the state shown by the one-dot chain line, the roller 4
The diameter of the portion where 4 makes contact is slightly smaller than that shown by the solid line, and the lower end of the swinging member 36 is displaced inward, that is, to the right in FIG. 4, by that amount.

Due to such displacement of the swinging member 36, the fourth
As shown in the figure, the switch 50 provided on the right side of the swinging member 36 is turned on. The switch 50 is provided on the lower case 12b and includes a movable contact 50a and a fixed contact 50b. And the movable contact 50a
is pushed by the swinging member 36 and comes into contact with the fixed contact 50b. That is, when the mouse 10 is placed on a flat surface, the movable contact 50a is separated from the fixed contact 50b. However, when the mouse 10 is lifted, the sphere 28 falls downward as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2, so the movable contact 50a comes into contact with the fixed contact 50b. That is, when the switch 50 is turned on, it detects that the mouse 10 has been lifted from the moving plane.

The lower case 12b is provided with a hole 52 having a smaller radius than the radius of the sphere 28 in order to make a part of the spherical surface of the sphere 28 protrude as shown by the dashed line in FIG.
is formed. When the mouse 10 is placed on a flat surface, the lower surface of the lower case 12b is provided with the mouse 10 by cooperation with a part of the spherical surface of the sphere 28.
A protrusion 54 for horizontally arranging the 0 is formed.

In addition, in FIG. 2, the lower case 12b and the board 1
The internal space partitioned by 6 contains electronic components for processing signals input to a microcomputer, which will be described later.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing this embodiment.
Mouse 10 outputs digital data corresponding to the distance traveled to microcomputer 56 in response to latch signal LATCH and clock pulse CLOCK applied from microcomputer 56.

The output of the X-axis rotary encoder 18 is waveform-shaped by a waveform shaping circuit 58 and input to a pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 60 having a decoder function. Pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 6
0 generates a pulse according to the signal given from the rotary encoder 18, and the mouse 1
It is determined whether 0 is moving in the positive direction (forward) or the negative direction (retreat) on the X-axis, and the direction determination result is output. The generated pulse is then input to the clock terminal CLOCK of the X counter 62. On the other hand, the direction determination output from the pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 60 is sent to the X counter 62.
It is input to the up-down terminal DOWN/UP.

Similarly, the output of the Y-axis rotary encoder 20 is also waveform-shaped by a waveform shaping circuit 64 and input to a pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 66 . The output pulses of the pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 66 are input to the clock terminal CLOCK of the Y counter 68. The direction determination output as a result of determining whether the mouse 10 is moving in the positive or negative direction of the Y-axis is sent to the up-down terminal of the Y counter 68.
Input to DOWN/UP.

When the direction discrimination outputs from the pulse generation and direction decoder circuits 60 and 66 are at a high level, the X counter 62 and Y counter 68 are incremented (up-counted) for each pulse applied to the clock terminal CLOCK, and the direction discrimination output is low. At level, it is decremented (counted down) every pulse. Therefore, X counter 6
2 and the Y counter 68 generate data according to the moving direction and distance of the mouse 10 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

The output of the NOR gate 70 is applied to the clear input terminal CLR of the X counter 62 and the Y counter 68. An inverted reset pulse generated when the mouse 10 is turned on is input to one input of the NOR gate 70, and an inverted output terminal of the latch signal differentiator 72 is input to the other input. The input terminal of the latch signal differentiation circuit 72 receives the latch signal LATCH from the microcomputer 56.
is given. The latch signal differentiating circuit 72 outputs a pulse with a predetermined time width in response to the latch signal LATCH changing from high level to low level. Therefore, the NOR gate 70 outputs a clear signal only when a pulse is applied from the latch signal differentiation circuit 72 while the reset pulse is applied. With this clear signal,
Both X counter 62 and Y counter 68 are cleared. That is, the X counter 62 and the Y
The counter 68 is cleared each time the microcomputer 56 finishes acquiring (latching) the distance data.

The count values of the X counter 62 and Y counter 68, for example, 8-bit digital data, are
It is applied to shift registers 74 and 78, which act as parallel to serial converters, and to a signal conversion circuit 76, which will be explained in detail later. A serial input terminal of shift register 74 receives data from a serial output terminal of shift register 78. Therefore, in response to the latch signal LATCH and clock pulse CLOCK from the microcomputer 56, the digital data (the value of the X counter 62) loaded into the shift register 74 and the shift register 78
The digital data (value of Y counter 68) loaded into the shift register 80 is applied as serial data to the serial data input terminal of the shift register 80 via an inverter.

Further, a signal from the switch 50 is further applied to the serial input terminal (left 1st bit) of the shift register 78. Therefore, the input terminal of this shift register 78 is given a low level when the mouse 10 is lifted, and is given a high level when the mouse 10 is placed on the movement plane.

The signal conversion circuit 76, as described in detail later,
Based on the 8-bit digital data provided from the counter 62 and the Y counter 68, it is converted into a direction signal, and the output thereof is provided to a flag register 82 such as a flip-flop.

Note that the flag register 82 is reset when the mouse 10 is lifted and the switch 50 is turned on.

The flag output from the flag register 82, i.e.
The RIGHT, LEFT, UP and DOWN signals are
The bits are applied to the shift register 80 in parallel. The 4-bit output of the switch group 86 (including the A button, B button, select button, and start button) is also input into the shift register 80 in bit parallel. Therefore, in response to the latch signal LATCH from the microcomputer 56, the shift register 80 outputs button (switch) data and flag data bit serially using the first 8 bits, and then outputs button (switch) data and flag data in the X direction using the next 8 bits. The next 8 bits output the moving distance data in the Y direction, and the last 1 bit outputs the state of the ball switch 50. Therefore, the microcomputer 56 outputs the latch signal.
Outputs 25 clock pulses following LATCH and captures 25 bits of serial data.

Note that the moving distance data in the X direction and Y direction is actually 7 bits, but the last 1 bit of each has a pulse generation and decoder circuit 60.
and direction bits from 66 are added and output as a total of 8 bits of data.

The signal conversion circuit 76 and flag register 82 will be explained in detail below.
The following explanation assumes that only movement in the X-axis direction, that is, movement or stopping of the television screen in the right direction (RIGHT) or left direction (LEFT), is determined. However, it should be pointed out in advance that movement in the Y-axis direction, that is, upward (UP) or downward (DOWN) direction of the television screen, or stoppage, can also be determined by the same circuit configuration.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram specifically showing the signal conversion circuit and flag register in FIG. 1.
The 8-bit data d0 to d7 provided from the X counter 62 is input to a decoder 88 shown in detail in FIG. 6, which will be described later. The 1-bit data d7 indicating whether the X coordinate is positive or negative is input to a positive/negative determining circuit 90 and a direction determining circuit 92. The decoder 88 decodes the supplied 8-bit data into 1-bit data indicating that the mouse 10 is stopped, or 1-bit data indicating that the mouse 10 is moving in the X-axis direction. It is converted and provided to the direction determination circuit 92. The positive/negative determination circuit 90 determines, based on the supplied 1-bit data,
Determine whether the mouse is moving in the positive direction (forward state) or in the negative direction (backward state), and convert the determination result to 1
It is applied to the direction determination circuit 92 as bit data.

The direction determining circuit 92 converts the data provided from the decoder 88 and the positive/negative determining circuit 90 into direction determining data indicating whether the movement is left or right. That is, the direction determination circuit 92 outputs data indicating movement to the right from one output terminal, and data indicating movement to the left from the other output terminal.

Two output terminals of direction determination circuit 92 are connected to corresponding D-flip-flops 94 and 96, respectively.
are connected to the data inputs D of the respective terminals. D-Trigger input terminal T of flip-flops 94 and 96
is provided with the count pulses of the pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 60. D-Reset terminal R of each of flip-flops 94 and 96
A reset pulse is applied from the NOR gate 84 shown in FIG. In this manner, the direction determination output of direction determination circuit 92 is held in D-flip-flop 94 or 96.

FIG. 6 is a specific logic circuit diagram showing FIG. 5 in more detail. Decoder 88 includes a decoder 98 and a plurality of gates 100-114. That is, decoder 98 receives 8-bit data d0 to d7, and outputs OR gates 100 and 10.
2 receives 5-bit data d2 to d6, AND
Gate 104 receives 8-bit data d0-d7. The outputs of OR gates 100 and 102 are
are applied to one input of AND gates 108 and 110, respectively, and 1-bit data d7 is applied to the other input of these AND gates 108 and 110.
is given.

When the count value of the X counter 62 is "2" or "3", the decoder 98 assumes that the mouse 10 is stopped or at rest, and outputs a high level from one of the outputs. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the count value of the X counter 62 is "2" or "3" in absolute value, the OR gate 106 outputs a high level signal indicating that it is stopped or in a stationary state. .

The output of the AND gate 108 becomes high level when the count value is moved by "4" or more in the positive direction. The output of the AND gate 110 becomes high level when the count value is moved in the negative direction by more than "-5". On the other hand, the output of the AND gate 104 becomes high level when the count value of the X counter 62 is "-4". Therefore, OR gate 1
12 outputs a high level when the count value is moved by "-4" or more in the negative direction. Therefore,
The OR gate 114, which receives the outputs of the two gates 108 and 112 as two inputs, outputs a high-level signal indicating movement when the absolute value of the count value of the X counter 62 is moved by "4" or more. become.

In this way, OR gate 106 or 11
4 outputs a signal indicating stop or movement.

On the other hand, the positive/negative determination circuit 90 uses the AND gate 11
6 to 120 and an OR gate 122. One input of AND gates 116 and 118 receives 1-bit data d7 indicating the moving direction of mouse 10 from X counter 62. The remaining two inputs of AND gates 116 and 118 and the two inputs of AND gate 120 are
Outputs Q _L and Q _R of D-flip-flops 94 and 96 constituting flag register 82 are provided as is or inverted, respectively.

The outputs of these AND gates 116-120 are
of the direction determination circuit 92 via the OR gate 122.
As one input of AND gates 124 and 128,
Alternatively, they are inverted and provided as one input to the AND gate 130, respectively. The direction determination circuit 92 is
It is composed of four AND gates 124 to 130, two OR gates 132 and 134, and an inverter 135.

Next, the relationship between the moving direction and moving distance of the mouse 10, that is, the count value of the X counter 62 or Y counter 68, and determination will be specifically explained. In this embodiment, if the count value of each counter 62, 68 is "1", no determination is made because there is a risk of erroneous detection due to shaking or vibration of the user's hand. Also, if the count value is "4" or more, mouse 1
It is determined that 0 has been moved. In the case of "2" or "3" in the middle, it is determined that the user instructs to move in a certain direction, then moves slightly in the opposite direction and then instructs to stop or stand still. This is because, once the mouse 10 is moved so that the count value becomes "4" or more, the determination result is retained even if the movement is stopped, so the movement detection output continues. Therefore, when the user wants to stop the robot, the robot is instructed to stop or stand still by moving back a little in the opposite direction (by a distance corresponding to the count value "2" or "3").

First, when the mouse 10 is placed on a flat surface, the sphere 28 is pushed upward and the switch 50 is turned off. In response, D-flip-flops 94 and 96 are reset and the output Q _R
and Q _L become high level, AND gate 1
20 outputs a high level.

After that, when the mouse 10 is moved to the left (negative direction), the data d7 becomes high level, and when the count value moves by "-4", the output Q _L of the D-flip-flop 96 switches to low level. .
Then, the output of AND gate 120 becomes low level. Similarly, when the mouse 10 is moved to the right (positive direction), the data d7 becomes low level, and when the count value moves by "4", the output Q _R of the D-flip-flop 94 is switched to low level. Instead, the output of AND gate 120 becomes low level.

If the orientation of the mouse 10 is suddenly changed while moving to the left or right, the output of the data d7 will also change immediately. That is, the data d7 switches from high level to low level when the moving direction changes from left to right, and switches from low level to high level when the moving direction changes from right to left. Therefore, when the mouse 10 is moved to the left or right by the absolute value of the count "4" or more, the AND gate 1
All outputs from 16 to 120 are low level, but when changed from left to right, AND gate 1
The output of AND gate 118 immediately becomes high level, and conversely, when it is changed from right to left, the output of AND gate 118 immediately becomes high level. These high levels are maintained for a period when the count value is "4" in absolute value.

The absolute value of the count value of the X counter 62 is "2" or "3" when the mouse 10 moves to the left or right.
When the output of the AND gate 124 is moved, the output of the OR gate 106 is at a high level, the output of the OR gate 114 is at a low level, and the output of the OR gate 122 is at a high level, so the output of the AND gate 124 is at a high level. The output of AND gate 124 is OR gate 1
32 to a D-flip-flop 96 and is read in synchronization with the count pulses of the pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 60 (FIG. 1). However, since the D-flip-flop 96 is reset in the initial state and is already at a high level, there is no change in its output _QL .

Next, when the count value of the X counter 62 reaches "4" by moving the mouse 10 further to the right, the output of the OR gate 106 becomes a low level, and the output of the OR gate 114 becomes a high level. Become. Then, the output of AND gate 124 becomes low level, and the output of AND gate 126 becomes high level. Therefore, AND gate 124
Even if the output signal QL becomes low level, the high level of the AND gate 126 is applied to the other input of the OR gate 132 via the OR gate 134, so the output Q _L of the D-flip-flop 96 remains at the high level.

On the other hand, when the output of the AND gate 126 becomes high level and the output of the OR gate 134 becomes high level, this high level is inverted to a low level by the inverter 135, and the count pulse of the pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 60 is inverted. The data is read into the D-flip-flop 94 in synchronization with . In response, the output Q _R of the D-flip-flop 94 switches from high level to low level. That is, when the mouse 10 is moved to the right by a count value of "4", the output of the D-flip-flop 94 is
Q _R becomes low level and is output as signal RIGHT.

When the output Q _R of the D-flip-flop 94 becomes low level, the output of the AND gate 120 of the positive/negative determination circuit 90 becomes low level, so that the output of the OR gate 122 becomes low level. At this time,
Since the data d7 is at a low level, the AND gate 130 is at a high level. That is, when the mouse 10 is moved to the right by a count value of "4" or more, a high level is applied to the OR gate 134 from the AND gates 126 and 130.

Next, a description will be given of a case where the mouse 10 is moved to the right by a count value of "4" or more and then the moving direction is suddenly changed to the left, that is, the operation of a stop instruction. When the moving direction is changed to the left, the data d7 becomes high level, so that the output of the AND gate 118 of the positive/negative determination circuit 90 immediately becomes high level. Therefore, when the count value of the X counter 62 becomes "-2" or "-3",
The output of OR gate 106 becomes high level,
The output of AND gate 128 becomes low level.
Therefore, the outputs of AND gates 126 to 130 all become low level, and this low level is inverted by inverter 135, and D-flip-flop 9
4's output Q _R returns to high level. Therefore, during the periods when the count value of the X counter 62 is "-2" and "-3", the outputs Q _R and Q _L of the D-flip-flops 94 and 96 are both at high level, and the mouse 10 is stopped or stationary. A status signal indicating that the device is present is output.

Conversely, when the mouse 10 is moved significantly to the left (negative direction) from the stopped state, the count value becomes "-4".
The operation when the above occurs will be explained. When the count value reaches "4", the output of the AND gate 124 becomes low level. However, since data d7 is at a high level, the outputs of AND gates 126 and 130 are still kept at a low level. Also, the AND gate 128 and the OR gate 11
Since the high level is given from 4, there is no change in the low level of the output. Then, OR gate 1
32 are both low level, and the D-flip-flop 96 is read with a low level in response to the count pulse, and the output is
Q _L changes to low level. That is, mouse 1
When 0 is moved to the left by "-4" in the count value, the output Q _L of the D-flip-flop 96 becomes low level, and the signal LEFT (hereinafter, when a bar is added at the top of the signal, a symbol is added after "/". In this example, it is output as "signal/LEFT".

Also, a case will be described in which the mouse 10 is moved to the left by more than "-4" and then moved to the right.
Since the data d7 becomes low level, the AND gate 116 of the positive/negative determination circuit 90 immediately becomes high level. When the count value of the X counter 62 becomes "2" or "3", the output of the OR gate 106 becomes high level. At this time, the moment the direction is changed, the AND gate 116 becomes high level.
Since the OR gate 122 is at a high level, the AND gate 124 is at a high level. Therefore, when the count value reaches "2" or "3" after the direction is changed, the AND gate 124
Since the high level of is applied to the D-flip-flop 96 via the OR gate 132, the output Q _L of the D-flip-flop 96 returns to the high level. Therefore, it is determined that the movement of the mouse 10 in the left direction has been stopped. The outputs Q _R and Q _L of the D-flip-flops 94 and 96 are both at a high level, and a status signal indicating that the mouse 10 is stopped or at rest is output.

As yet another embodiment for achieving the above operation, the circuits shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 can be considered.

While the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and 6 received digital data from the X counter 62 of FIG. 1, the embodiment of FIG. receive.

That is, the pulses of pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 60 are passed through AND gates 136 and 13.
is applied to one input of 8. The direction determination signal is
It is applied to the other input of AND gate 138, and is inverted by inverter 140 and applied to the other input of AND gate 136. Therefore, when mouse 10 is moved to the right (positive direction), pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 60
The pulse is applied to up counter 142 via AND gate 136.

When the mouse 10 is moved to the left, the pulses in the pulse generation and direction decoder circuit 60 are ANDed.
It is applied to down counter 146 via gate 138.

The respective count values of up counter 142 and down counter 146 are applied bit-parallel to corresponding decoders 144 and 148. Decoders 144 and 148 both have count values of up counter 142 and down counter 146 of "4" in absolute value.
When this happens, the signal SET is set to high level and the corresponding D-flip-flops 150 and 1
52 data input D, and also outputs a clear signal CLR to each NOR gate 156.
and 154 to one input. The other input of these NOR gates 154 and 156 is as shown in FIG.
A reset pulse from NOR gate 84 is provided.

When the mouse 10 is moved to the right by a count value of "4" or more, a signal is obtained from the decoder 144, which causes the D-flip-flop 150 to be activated in response to a pulse from the pulse generation and decoder circuit 60. Output/Q _R (i.e. signal/
RIGHT) switches to low level. At the same time, the output of the other D-flip-flop 152
If _QL is low, it is reset to high.

Conversely, the mouse 10 moves to the left with the count value “-
When moved more than 4", a signal is obtained from decoder 148 which, in response to pulse generation and a pulse from direction decoder circuit 60,
D-flip-flop 152 output/Q _L (signal/
LEFT) switches to low level. At the same time, the output of the other D-flip-flop 150/
If Q _R is low, it is reset to high.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a signal conversion circuit according to another embodiment. In this embodiment, the circuit configuration is further simplified compared to that in FIG. In FIG. 8, the terminal IN of the upshift register 158 and the downshift register 160 has a voltage
Vcc is given. Upshift register 158
For example, the fourth bit terminal A from the input side is connected to one input terminal of a NOR gate 162 via an inverter. A reset pulse is applied to the other input terminal of NOR gate 162. Therefore, since the output of the NOR gate 162 is connected to the clear terminal CLR of the downshift register 160, when the reset pulse becomes low level while the terminal A of the upshift register 158 is at a low level, the downshift register 160 For example, the fifth bit from the input side of the terminal B becomes high level.

For example, the 4th bit terminal A from the input side of the downshift register 160 is connected via an inverter.
connected to one input terminal of the NOR gate 164;
A reset pulse is applied to the other input terminal of NOR gate 164. Therefore, since the output of the NOR gate 164 is connected to the clear terminal CLR of the up-shift register 158, when the reset pulse becomes low level while the terminal A of the down-shift register 160 is at a low level, the up-shift register 158 is cleared. For example, 5 from the input side of
The bit-th terminal B becomes high level.

Then, until the mouse 10 is moved to the left and five count pulses are applied to the down register 160, the output B remains at a low level and the signal /RIGHT becomes a high level. On the other hand, until the mouse 10 is moved to the right and five count pulses are applied to the upshift register 158, the output B of the upshift register 158 remains at a low level, and the signal /LEFT remains at a high level.

When the mouse 10 is further moved to the left and five pulses are applied to the downshift register 160, the upshift register 158 changes to the downshift register 1 when four pulses are applied.
The upshift register 158 is cleared by the signal at the terminal A of the upshift register 158, and the terminal B of the upshift register 158 remains at a low level. On the other hand, when the fifth pulse is applied to the downshift register 160, its terminal B changes to high level and the signal /LEFT becomes low level, providing a signal indicating leftward movement.

Further, when the mouse 10 is moved to the right and five pulses are applied to the upshift register 158, the downshift register 160 is changed to the upshift register 1 at the time when four pulses are applied.
It is cleared by the signal at terminal A of downshift register 160, and terminal B of downshift register 160 remains at low level. On the other hand, when the fifth pulse is applied to the upshift register 160, its terminal B changes to high level, the signal /RIGHT goes to low level, and a state signal indicating that the mouse 10 is moving to the right is obtained. It will be done.

Reversing the direction of the mouse 10 while moving to the right or left will cause the signal RIGHT and /LEFT
Both become low level, and a signal indicating that the mouse 10 is stopped or at rest is obtained.

When five pulses are input to upshift register 158 or downshift register 160 with subsequent continuous movement in the reversed direction of movement, the signals / RIGHT or /LEFT becomes low level.

In addition, above, we explained the case where this invention was applied to a mouse, but this invention can be applied to X-X by rotating the sphere with the palm of the hand with the sphere facing upward
Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a so-called track ball in which coordinate data in the Y direction is input.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an illustrative cross-sectional view showing the structure of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is an illustrative plan view showing the structure of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram showing a switch operated by a sphere. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the signal conversion circuit and flag register of the embodiment of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a concrete logic circuit diagram of the block diagram shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a signal conversion circuit and a flag register according to another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a signal conversion circuit and flag register of another embodiment of the invention. In the figure, 12 is a case, 18 is an X-axis rotary encoder, 20 is a Y-axis rotary encoder, 26, 34 and 44 are rollers, 56 is a microcomputer, 62 is an X counter, and 68 is a Y axis.
Counters, 74, 78 and 80 are shift registers, 76 is a signal conversion circuit, 82 is a flag register, 88, 144 and 148 are count decoders, 90 is a positive/negative judgment circuit, 92 is a direction judgment circuit,
94, 96, 150 and 152 are flip-flops, 142 is an up counter, 146 is a down counter, 158 is an up shift register, 16
0 indicates a downshift register.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A housing in which a hole is formed in a part, a rotating body rotatably supported in the housing and housed with a part of the rotating body protruding from the hole, a first pulse generating means that generates pulses as the rotating body rotates in the Y-axis component direction; a second pulse generating unit that generates pulses as the rotating body rotates in the Y-axis component direction; A first device that outputs a signal indicating movement in the positive direction in response to rotation in the positive direction of the X-axis direction, and outputs a signal indicating movement in the negative direction in response to rotation in the negative direction. A direction determining means, which outputs a signal indicating movement in the positive direction in response to the rotation of the rotating body in the positive direction of the Y-axis direction, and outputs a signal indicating movement in the negative direction in response to the rotation in the negative direction. a second direction determining means for outputting a signal indicating the direction; a first counting means for calculating a value corresponding to the amount of movement in the X-axis direction by counting pulses from the first pulse generating means; a second counting means for calculating a value corresponding to the amount of movement in the Y-axis direction by counting pulses from the second pulse generating means; a first movement direction determination for determining that the movement is in the X-axis component direction in response to the output and the count value of the first counting means being equal to or greater than a predetermined first value; means, in response to the second direction determining means outputting a positive or negative direction signal and the count value of the second counting means being greater than or equal to a predetermined first value; a second moving direction determining means for determining whether the movement is in a direction; and a direction signal outputting means, the direction signal outputting means combining the determination result of the first moving direction determining means and the first moving direction determining means. Continuously generates a movement signal of the rotating body in the positive or negative direction of the X-axis based on the output of the direction determining means, and the determination result of the second moving direction determining means and the second direction determining means. continuously generate a movement signal of the rotating body in the positive or negative direction of the Y-axis based on the output of the second or first
In response to the direction determination means output of X
An X-Y direction input device characterized in that it stops outputting a movement signal in the positive or negative direction of the axis or the Y axis. 2. Each of the pulse generating means includes a rotary encoder driven by the rotating body, and a pulse generating circuit that generates the pulses based on a signal from the rotary encoder, Claim 1 of the Utility Model Registration Claim. The X-Y direction input device described above. 3. The first and second counting means each include two shift registers each receiving the pulse from the pulse generating circuit and individually activated by the direction determining means, and each of the two shift registers Claim 1 or 2 of the utility model registration claim, in which each specific bit output is output as the determination result.
The X-Y direction input device described in . 4 A clear signal is given from another specific bit of one shift register to the other shift register, and a clear signal is given from another specific bit of the other shift register to one shift register, thereby causing the The X-Y direction input device according to claim 3, wherein when the moving direction of the Y direction input device changes, a signal different from that which has been output up to that point is outputted. 5. The first and second counting means each include a counter capable of up-counting or down-counting according to the direction signal, and the first and second direction determining means each decode the count value from the counter. and an output holding means for holding the output from the decoding means.
-Y direction input device. 6. A switch means that is activated when the X-Y direction input device is lifted from its moving plane, and the direction signal output means is means for outputting a signal indicating a stopped state in response to a signal from the switch means. X-Y according to any one of claims 1 to 5 of the claims for utility model registration, including
Directional input device. 7.
Y direction input device. 8. A utility model according to claim 7, further comprising a switch means that is activated when the X-Y direction input device is lifted from its moving plane, and the flip-flop is reset in response to an output of the switch means. X-Y direction input device. 9. In order to rotatably support the spherical body while constantly applying a contact force to the spherical body, the switch means includes a roller biased to be swingable by a spring, and a roller that responds to the swinging of the roller. , an X-Y direction input device according to claim 6 or 8, comprising a switch that is turned on or off.