Joystick device and electronic device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a rocker device and an electronic device. The rocker device includes: a housing provided with a through hole penetrating in the thickness direction; a rocker movably disposed in the through hole, with a gap formed between the outer peripheral surface of the rocker and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole; and a flexible member connecting the rocker to the housing, the flexible member covering the gap. The technical solution of the present invention can reduce the occupied space, eliminate the risk of dust and water ingress, extend the service life, and at the same time can also improve the integrity and aesthetics of the product.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of joysticks, and particularly to a joystick device and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Currently, for electronic devices with joysticks on the market (such as traditional game controllers and VR controllers), generally, the joystick rotates around two rotation axes, and the position signal is output by relying on the rotation of the axis or toggling a sliding rheostat. At the same time, a spring is installed on the joystick. When the joystick deflects, the joystick is in a point contact with the fixed plane, in an unbalanced state. Under the action of the spring, the joystick has a tendency to return to the middle position. The above joystick has a complex structure, occupies a large space, and a relatively large hole needs to be opened on the housing for the joystick to pass through. A relatively large gap is formed between the joystick and the housing, posing a risk of dust and water ingress, having a short service life, and also being not aesthetically pleasing. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The main object of the present invention is to propose a joystick device, aiming to reduce the occupied space, eliminate the risk of dust and water ingress, extend the service life, and at the same time improve the integrity and aesthetics of the product.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the joystick device proposed by the present invention includes:

[0005] A housing provided with a through hole penetrating in the thickness direction;

[0006] A joystick movably disposed in the through hole, with a gap formed between the outer peripheral surface of the joystick and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole; and

[0007] A flexible member connecting the joystick and the housing, the flexible member covering the gap.

[0008] In one embodiment, the housing, the joystick, and the flexible member are integrally formed by two-color injection molding.

[0009] In one embodiment, the flexible member is made of a thermoplastic elastomer material.

[0010] In one embodiment, the flexible member includes a base portion covering the outer surface of the joystick, a wrinkled portion disposed on the outer peripheral edge of the base portion and covering the gap, and an extension portion disposed on the outer peripheral edge of the wrinkled portion and covering the outer surface of the housing.

[0011] In one embodiment, the joystick device further includes a position detection assembly for detecting the position information of the joystick.

[0012] In one embodiment, the position detection component includes a circuit board, a magnetic induction sensor, and a magnetic member. The circuit board is located inside the housing and is spaced apart from the rocker. The magnetic induction sensor is fixed to a side of the circuit board away from the rocker, and the magnetic member is fixed to the rocker. The magnetic induction sensor cooperates with the magnetic member to detect the position information of the rocker.

[0013] In one embodiment, a sink for accommodating the magnetic member is provided on a side of the rocker close to the circuit board.

[0014] In one embodiment, the rocker device further includes a stopper. The stopper is located on a side of the circuit board away from the rocker, and a key is provided at a portion of the circuit board opposite to the stopper.

[0015] In one embodiment, the rocker device further includes an elastic reset member disposed between the circuit board and the rocker.

[0016] In one embodiment, the elastic reset member includes two elastic rings arranged crosswise. The rocker is correspondingly disposed at the cross portion of the two elastic rings, and a support foot abutted against the circuit board is provided on a side of each elastic ring away from the rocker.

[0017] The present invention also provides an electronic device including the rocker device as described above.

[0018] The technical solution of the present invention is to dispose the rocker in the through hole of the housing, and a gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the rocker and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole. The rocker is connected to the housing through a flexible member. Since the flexible member can produce a certain elastic deformation under an external force, when the user turns the rocker, one side of the flexible member is compressed and the other side is stretched. When the rocker is no longer turned, the elastic force of the flexible member recovering from the deformation provides the reset force for the rocker. In this way, the rocker can have a certain degree of freedom of movement in all directions relative to the housing, and can also be automatically reset under the action of the flexible member to realize the use function of the rocker. The overall structure is simpler and occupies less space. At the same time, by covering the gap between the housing and the rocker with the flexible member, it is possible to prevent dust and water from entering the interior of the housing through this gap and affecting the electronic components inside the housing, eliminate the risk of dust and water ingress, extend the service life, and the gap between the housing and the rocker cannot be seen from the outside, effectively improving the integrity and aesthetics of the product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings.

[0020] Figure 1 Schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the rocker device of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 For Figure 1 Exploded structural diagram of the rocker device in

[0022] Figure 3 For Figure 1 Cross-sectional structural diagram of the rocker device in

[0023] Explanation of the reference numerals in the accompanying drawings:

[0024] Label Name Label Name 100 Joystick device 133 Extension part 11 Housing 14 Circuit board 101 Through hole 15 Magnetic induction sensor 12 Joystick 16 Magnetic part 13 Flexible part 17 Stopper 131 Base part 18 Button 132 Pleated part 19 Elastic reset part

[0025] The realization, functional features and advantages of the object of the present invention will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specific embodiments

[0026] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] It should be noted that if there are directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...) involved in the embodiments of the present invention, the directional indications are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement conditions between components in a specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0028] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention, such descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, if "and / or" or "and / or" appears throughout the text, its meaning includes three parallel scenarios. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes scenario A, or scenario B, or the scenario where both A and B are satisfied simultaneously. In addition, the technical solutions between various embodiments can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the ability of those of ordinary skill in the art to implement. When the combination of technical solutions results in contradictions or inability to implement, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0029] The present invention provides a rocker device 100.

[0030] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 , in an embodiment of the present invention, the rocker device 100 includes a housing 11, a rocker 12, and a flexible member 13. The housing 11 is provided with a through hole 101 penetrating along the thickness direction. The rocker 12 is movably disposed in the through hole 101, and a gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the rocker 12 and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 101. The flexible member 13 connects the rocker 12 and the housing 11, and the flexible member 13 covers the gap.

[0031] Specifically, the housing 11 and the rocker 12 can be made of hard plastic material, which can have a certain structural strength, and the flexible member 13 can be made of soft plastic material, which can have a certain elastic deformation ability. The housing 11 is provided with a through hole 101 that penetrates the inner side and the outer side of the housing 11 along the thickness direction of the housing 11. The rocker 12 is placed in the through hole 101, and the diameter of the rocker 12 is smaller than the diameter of the through hole 101, so that a gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the rocker 12 and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 101. The housing 11 and the rocker 12 are connected by the flexible member 13. Among them, the flexible member 13 can be connected to the housing 11 and the rocker 12 respectively by means of bonding, or the flexible member 13 can be integrally formed with the housing 11 and the rocker 12 by means of two-color injection molding. By providing the flexible member 13, it can play a role in connecting the housing 11 and the rocker 12; it can also play a role in enabling the rocker 12 to have a certain degree of freedom of movement and at the same time providing a restoring force for the rocker 12; in this way, without setting other complex rotating structures and restoring structures between the rocker 12 and the housing 11, the movement and reset functions of the rocker 12 can be realized, the overall structure is simpler, and the occupied space is smaller; in addition, the flexible member 13 can also play a role in covering the gap between the housing 11 and the rocker 12, preventing dust and water from entering, and improving the aesthetics of the product.

[0032] In the technical solution of the present invention, the rocker 12 is arranged in the through hole 101 of the housing 11, and a gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the rocker 12 and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 101. The rocker 12 is connected to the housing 11 through the flexible member 13. Since the flexible member 13 can produce a certain elastic deformation under an external force, when the user toggles the rocker 12, one side of the flexible member 13 is compressed and the other side is stretched. When the toggling of the rocker 12 stops, the elastic force of the flexible member 13 recovering its deformation provides the restoring force for the rocker 12. In this way, the rocker 12 can have a certain degree of freedom of movement in all directions relative to the housing 11, and at the same time, it can automatically reset under the action of the flexible member 13 to realize the use function of the rocker 12. The overall structure is simpler and occupies less space. At the same time, by covering the gap between the housing 11 and the rocker 12 with the flexible member 13, it can prevent dust and water from entering the interior of the housing 11 through this gap and affecting the electronic components inside the housing 11, eliminating the risk of dust and water ingress, prolonging the service life, and the gap between the housing 11 and the rocker 12 cannot be seen from the outside, effectively improving the integrity and aesthetics of the product.

[0033] In one embodiment, the housing 11, the rocker 12 and the flexible member 13 are integrally formed by two-color injection molding. Specifically, two-color injection molding refers to the molding process of injecting two different materials into the same set of molds, so that the injected parts are formed by two materials. Among them, the housing 11 and the rocker 12 are injection molded with hard plastic materials, and the flexible member 13 is injection molded with soft plastic materials. By integrally injection molding the two materials with different hardnesses, the connection between the housing 11, the rocker 12 and the flexible member 13 is more stable and reliable, and the integrity and aesthetics of the product can be further improved.

[0034] Furthermore, the flexible member 13 is made of a thermoplastic elastomer material. A thermoplastic elastomer has the elasticity of rubber at room temperature and can be plastically molded at high temperatures. The structural characteristic of a thermoplastic elastomer is that it consists of resin segments and rubber segments with different chemical bonds. The resin segments form physical cross-linking points by intermolecular forces, and the rubber segments are high-elasticity chain segments that contribute elasticity. In this way, the flexible member 13 can not only ensure the stable connection between the rocker 12 and the housing 11, but also provide a good elastic restoring force for the movement of the rocker 12. For example, in this embodiment, the flexible member 13 can be made of TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethanes thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber) material, and TPU has excellent characteristics of high tension, high tensile strength, toughness and aging resistance.

[0035] Please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3, Further, the flexible member 13 includes a base portion 131 covering the outer surface of the rocker 12, a pleated portion 132 provided on the outer periphery of the base portion 131 and covering the gap, and an extension portion 133 provided on the outer periphery of the pleated portion 132 and covering the outer surface of the housing 11. Among them, both the base portion 131 and the extension portion 133 are in a flat state and are respectively attached to the outer surfaces of the rocker 12 and the housing 11, making the appearance surface of the product smoother and more beautiful; the pleated portion 132 presents a pleated state and can achieve a large deformation amount, so that the rocker 12 has a large movement stroke. For example, in this embodiment, the pleated portion 132 is an arc-shaped structure recessed toward the gap. Of course, in other embodiments, the pleated portion 132 may also present other non-planar shapes (such as corrugated or serrated, etc.). In order to facilitate the user to control the rocker 12, the outer surface of the rocker 12 is set higher than the outer surface of the housing 11.

[0036] On the basis of the above embodiment, the rocker device 100 further includes a position detection component, and the position detection component is used to detect the position information of the rocker 12. When the user toggles the rocker 12, the position information of the rocker 12 can be detected by the position detection component, and the detection information is fed back to the control system of the rocker device 100, which is beneficial for the control system to grasp the position information of the rocker 12 in real time and issue corresponding instructions. Among them, there are various ways to realize the position detection of the rocker 12 through the position detection component. For example, contact detection or non-contact detection can be adopted.

[0037] Among them, the contact detection can specifically output a position signal by the movement of the rocker 12 to toggle a slide rheostat. Since the slide rheostat changes the access resistance by the metal elastic piece sliding on the carbon film, with the increase of the use time, the surface of the carbon film is inevitably scratched and some tiny carbon particles fall off. These small particles will cause the signal to be unstable, which is manifested as drift in the game and has a low service life. To solve the above problems, in this embodiment, the position detection component is preferably non-contact detection.

[0038] As Figure 3 shown, in one of the embodiments, the position detection component includes a circuit board 14, a magnetic induction sensor 15 and a magnetic member 16. The circuit board 14 is located inside the housing 11 and is spaced from the rocker 12. The magnetic induction sensor 15 is fixed on the side of the circuit board 14 away from the rocker 12, and the magnetic member 16 is fixed on the rocker 12. The magnetic induction sensor 15 cooperates with the magnetic member 16 to detect the position information of the rocker 12.

[0039] Specifically, the magnetic member 16 can be fixed to the bottom of the rocker 12. The magnetic induction sensor 15 can be a Hall sensor disposed on the circuit board 14. The magnetic member 16 and the magnetic induction sensor 15 are respectively located on opposite sides of the circuit board 14. When the rocker 12 moves, the magnetic member 16 can move together with the rocker 12. The magnetic induction sensor 15 senses the change in the magnetic field, and thus can determine the position information of the magnetic member 16 (i.e., the position information of the rocker 12), and feedback the position information to the control system. Since the magnetic induction sensor 15 and the magnetic member 16 are in non-contact cooperation, no physical contact and friction will occur during the entire detection process, which can avoid the drift phenomenon caused by unstable signals, and the detection result is more accurate and reliable, and can avoid wear and improve the service life.

[0040] Further, a sink for accommodating the magnetic member 16 is provided on one side of the rocker 12 close to the circuit board 14. By placing the magnetic member 16 in the sink of the rocker 12, it can play a better role in installing and fixing the magnetic member 16, and at the same time can save a certain amount of external occupied space, making the whole more compact. Among them, the magnetic member 16 can be fixed to the rocker 12 by bonding.

[0041] In addition, the feel of the button in the middle of the traditional rocker is poor. Because in the traditional design, the dome switch corresponding to the rocker button is actually placed at one of the bearing positions. When pressing, it is necessary to first overcome the force of the rocker return spring. The force of the rocker return spring is generally above 7N, while the return force of the dome switch itself is only about 2N. Therefore, when pressing, the force changes from 7N to 9N, and the change amount is less than 1 / 4, so the feel is not obvious. In order to improve the pressing feel of the rocker, in one of the embodiments, the rocker device 100 further includes a stopper 17. The stopper 17 is located on the side of the circuit board 14 away from the rocker 12, and a button 18 is provided at a portion of the circuit board 14 opposite to the stopper 17. In this embodiment, when the rocker 12 is pressed downward, the button 18 can be made to touch the stopper 17 to achieve the switch function. Since there is no need to overcome the force of the return spring when pressing the rocker 12, the pressing force of the rocker 12 is more obvious, and the pressing feel of the rocker 12 can be improved.

[0042] Further, the rocker device 100 further includes an elastic return member 19 disposed between the circuit board 14 and the rocker 12. The elastic return member 19 can provide a return force for the rocker 12 in the up and down direction to achieve the rapid return of the rocker 12.

[0043] Furthermore, the elastic reset member 19 includes two elastic rings arranged crosswise. The rocker 12 is correspondingly arranged at the cross part of the two elastic rings. A support leg abutted against the circuit board 14 is arranged on one side of each elastic ring away from the rocker 12. Wherein, both elastic rings are in an oval structure, and the two elastic rings cross to form a structure similar to a cross, which can stably support and elastically reset the rocker 12. And the elastic reset member 19 is in an overall flat structure, occupying a small space.

[0044] The present invention also provides an electronic device, which includes a rocker device 100. The specific structure of the rocker device 100 refers to the above embodiments. Since this electronic device adopts all the technical solutions of the above embodiments, it has at least all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the above embodiments, which will not be elaborated here one by one.

[0045] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural transformation made by using the description and drawings of the present invention under the inventive concept of the present invention, or direct / indirect application in other related technical fields, is included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A rocker device, characterized in that, Comprising: A housing provided with a through hole penetrating in the thickness direction; A rocker movably disposed in the through hole, with a gap formed between the outer peripheral surface of the rocker and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole; and A flexible member connecting the rocker and the housing, the flexible member covering the gap; The flexible member includes a base portion covering the outer surface of the rocker, a pleated portion disposed on the outer peripheral edge of the base portion and covering the gap, and an extension portion disposed on the outer peripheral edge of the pleated portion and covering the outer surface of the housing.

2. The rocker device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The housing, the rocker, and the flexible member are integrally formed by two-color injection molding.

3. The rocker device according to claim 1, characterized in that The flexible member is made of a thermoplastic elastomer material.

4. The rocker device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, It further includes a position detection component for detecting the position information of the rocker.

5. The rocker device according to claim 4, wherein, The position detection component includes a circuit board, a magnetic induction sensor, and a magnetic member. The circuit board is located inside the housing and is spaced from the rocker. The magnetic induction sensor is fixed on the side of the circuit board away from the rocker, and the magnetic member is fixed on the rocker. The magnetic induction sensor cooperates with the magnetic member to detect the position information of the rocker.

6. The rocker device according to claim 5, characterized in that, A counterbore for accommodating the magnetic member is provided on the side of the rocker close to the circuit board.

7. The rocker device according to claim 5, characterized in that, It further includes a stopper located on the side of the circuit board away from the rocker, and a button is provided at the portion of the circuit board opposite to the stopper.

8. The rocker device according to claim 5, characterized in that, It further includes an elastic reset member disposed between the circuit board and the rocker.

9. The rocker device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The elastic reset member includes two elastic rings arranged crosswise. The rocker is correspondingly disposed at the cross portion of the two elastic rings. A support foot abuting against the circuit board is provided on the side of each elastic ring away from the rocker.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that, Comprising the rocker device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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