This application claims benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-053396 filed on Mar. 10, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle input device used for, for example, function selection and function control of an in-vehicle audio system and/or an in-vehicle air conditioner.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a known in-vehicle input device includes a device that has a rocking operating knob disposed on a spoke of a steering wheel and detects the rocking (seesaw movement) of the operating knob (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-14966). In an in-vehicle input device, a storage depression accommodating the operating knob is formed in a case mounted on the spoke, and shafts provided on inner walls on opposite sides of the storage depression are engaged with shaft holes formed in the centers of side walls on both sides of the operating knob. In this way, the operating knob is supported in the case in such a manner that it rock around the central axis of the rocking, which is the straight line connecting the shafts. A circuit board provided with a plurality of switching elements is disposed on the bottom surface of the storage depression. The switching elements face the end sections of the operating knob from the back in the longitudinal direction.
In an in-vehicle input device having such a configuration, when an operator (driver) holding the steering wheel pushes one end section of the operating knob in the longitudinal direction, the operating knob rocks around the center axis to turn on a switching element. Accordingly, when items displayed on the display screen are selected on the basis of an ON signal output from the switching element, the operator can, for example, perform volume control or song selection for an in-vehicle audio system while holding the steering wheel. When the pushing force applied to the operating knob is removed, the operating knob returns to a neutral position due to a resilient force of resilient members included in the switching elements to turn off the switching elements.
In such an in-vehicle input device, an operating knob of a rocking-type switch and operating knobs of other switches such as pushing-type and turning-type switches may be disposed on a spoke of the steering wheel; for example, a rocking-type operating knob and a rotary knob, which is known as a thumb wheel, are disposed close to each other to provide multiple functions. In such a case, when the rocking-type operating knob and the rotary knob are disposed close to each other, an operator can selectively operate the rocking-type operating knob and the rotary knob with his/her thumb while holding the steering wheel. However, when two operating knobs are disposed close to each other in this way, a space large enough for the two operating knobs should be provided, and, thus, there is a problem in that it is difficult to reduce the size of the in-vehicle input device.
The present invention has been conceived in light of such problem in the related art and provides an in-vehicle input device having a reduced size even when an operating knob of rocking-type switch and an operating knob of another switch are disposed close to each other.
Accordingly, the in-vehicle input device according to the present invention includes a housing including a supporting member; a first operating knob including a supported part and supported by the supporting member in such a manner that the first operating knob rocks; and a switch operated by rocking the first operating knob, wherein the first operating knob has a notch defining an opening intersecting with a rocking axis on a first side intersecting with the rocking axis, and wherein a second operating knob corresponding to another switch is disposed in the notch.
With an in-vehicle input device having such a configuration, the notch opening to a side of the first operating knob can be efficiently used as a space in which the second operating knob is disposed. Consequently, the space efficiency is increased, and the size of the entire device can be reduced even when the operating knob of the rocking-type switch and the operating knob of another switch are disposed close to each other. To operate the first operating knob, the parts on both sides of the notch in the first operating knob may be operated with a finger, and to operate the second operating knob, the finger may be moved near the notch. Since the finger is moved by a small distance, operability can be improved.
In the configuration described above, it is desirable that the housing have a guiding member guiding the first operating knob in such a manner that the first operating knob rocks near a section on at least one of two sides of the notch in the first operating knob, and the first operating knob have a guided part engaging with the guiding member. This is desirable because the distance between the guiding members and the supporting members in the rocking axis direction or the distance between the guided parts and the supported parts can be set large, and consequently, the backlash of the first operating knob generated during operation can be efficiently suppressed, and the operating touch is improved by stabilizing the rocking of the first operating knob.
In the configuration described above, it is desirable that one of the guiding member and the guided part have a depression, and the other have a protrusion engaging with the depression because the rocking of the first operating knob is stabilized by a simple configuration.
In the configuration described above, it is desirable that another first operating knob be provided and positioned such that the notches of the two first operating knobs face each other, and the second operating knob be disposed inside the notches. This is desirable because the operator can selectively operate one of operating knobs by slightly moving his/her finger, and thus, an in-vehicle input device having excellent operability can be realized. This is extremely desirable since two first operating knobs and one second operating knob can be intensively disposed.
In this case, when the second operating knob comprises a rotary knob, and the rotation axis of the rotary knob intersects with the first side of the first operating knob, the movement of the finger rocking the first operating knobs and the movement of the finger turning the second operating knob partly overlap. Therefore, the in-vehicle input device has excellent operability.
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The other operating knob 11 disposed on the bottom in
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In the in-vehicle input device 3 having such a configuration, when the operator (driver) holding the steering wheel 1 pushes one of the operating keys 12 using his/her finger, the corresponding bulge 6b of the lower rubber sheet 6 receives the pushing force and undergoes buckling distortion; consequently, the moving contact disposed on the inner bottom surface of the bulge 6b contacts the corresponding fixed contact of the main substrate 5, and the switch positioned right below pushed operating key 12 turns on. When the pushing force applied to the operating key 12 is removed, the bulge 6b that had undergone buckling distortion automatically restores its original state (non-operating state); consequently, the switch that has been turned on is turned off, causing the operating key 12 to automatically return to the original position.
When the operator pushes the top surface of one of the operating knobs 11, this operating knob 11 rocks along the center axis, which is the straight line M-M connecting the shaft holes 11e of the operating knob 11 (see
When the operator turns the rotary knob 10 around the axis of the shaft 9, the applied turning force is transmitted to the rotor part of the rotary encoder 18 via the shaft 9; consequently, a detection signal corresponding to the amount of turning is output from the rotary encoder 18. When the operator pushes the rotary knob 10, the shaft 9 is tilted at the end on the side of the rotary encoder 18 to push the driving part of the push switch 19. As a result, the push switch 19 is turned on. When the pushing force applied to the rotary knob 10 is removed, the original state is automatically restored by the resilient force of a return spring (not shown) in the push switch 19 such that the push switch 19, which has been turned on, is turned off, and the shaft 9 automatically returns to its original position.
As described above, the in-vehicle input device 3 according to this embodiment includes the housing 4 including the supporting members 16; the operating knob 11 including the shaft holes 11e (supported parts) and supported by the supporting members 16 in such a manner that it rocks; and a switch operated by rocking the operating knob 11 (the moving contacts of the bulges 6a and the fixed contacts on the main substrate 5), wherein the operating knob 11 has notches 11a defining the opening 11A intersecting with the rocking axis (straight line M-M in
In the housing 4, the guiding members 17 guiding the operating knobs 11 in such a manner that the operating knobs rock are disposed in an area adjoining at least one side (11B) of the two sides of the notches 11a of the operating knobs 11, which is represented by the chain double-dashed line in
In the in-vehicle input device 3, since the paired operating knobs 11 are disposed in parallel such that the notches 11a face each other, and the rotary knob 10, which is another operating knob, is disposed inside the notches 11a, two rocking-type operating knobs 11 and one rotating-type rotary knob 10 can be disposed intensively, and the size of the in-vehicle input device 3 can be reduced without interfering with the operability.
Since the rotation axis of the rotary knob 10 intersect with the sides 11b of the operating knobs 11, the movement of the finger rocking the operating knob 11 and the movement of the finger turning the rotary knob 10 partly overlap. Therefore, the in-vehicle input device 3 has excellent operability.
In the embodiment described above, the guiding members 17 are disposed near the inner edges of the depression 13a opposing both sides of the notches 11a in the operating knob 11 in the housing 4, and the guided parts 11c corresponding to the guiding members 17 are disposed on the operating knob 11. Instead, however, the guiding members 17 may be disposed only on only of the sides of the notches 11a, and the guided part 11c may correspond to the guiding members 17 provided in such manner. The shapes of the guiding members 17 and the guided parts 11c are not limited to those according to the embodiment described above, and instead, the protrusion and depression of the guiding members 17 and the guided parts 11c may be reversed such that the guiding members 17 are protruding ribs and the guided parts 11c are columns having a depressed transverse section.
In the embodiment described above, the rotary knob 10 is disposed inside the notches 11a in the paired operating knob 11 disposed in parallel. Instead, the rotary knob 10 may be disposed inside the notch 11a in a single operating knob 11. Instead of such a rotating-type rotary knob 10, another type of operating knobs, such as a pushing-type or a rocking-type, may be disposed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2010-053396 | Mar 2010 | JP | national |
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2001-14966 | Jan 2001 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20110220480 A1 | Sep 2011 | US |