Operation device and acoustic device

Abstract

This operation device is provided with: an operation element that is provided so as to be able to move; a mobile body that is provided on the movement path of the operation element and that is movable; and a plurality of contact parts that are held by the mobile body. The contact part that enters the movement path of the operation element is switched by the movement of the mobile body. Among the plurality of contact parts, at least one contact part has a different coefficient of restitution from the other contact parts.

Description

Operating device and acoustic device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an operating device and an acoustic device.

[0002] An operating device provided with an operator movable by a user's operation is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an operating device provided in an acoustic device and called a cross fader. In the operating device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the operator moves linearly. The operating device is provided with an abutting portion (stopper) that abuts on the moving operator and defines the moving range of the operator.

[0003] For the operator, the user may require that the repulsive force received by the operator from the abutting portion is small in order to surely stop the operator at the position where it abuts on the abutting portion, or may require that the operator receives a certain amount of repulsive force from the abutting portion in order to quickly move in the opposite direction after abutting.

[0004] The user can, for example, adjust the repulsive force received by the operator when it abuts on the abutting portion to meet his or her own requirements by replacing the abutting portion.

[0005] Japanese Patent No. 6412653

[0006] However, replacing the abutting portion requires the work of attaching and detaching the abutting portion, and there are users who feel burdened by the work involved in replacing the abutting portion. Also, there are cases where the stored replacement abutting portion is lost, or the abutting portion is dropped and lost during the replacement work, and the abutting portion may not be replaced.

[0007] An object of the present disclosure is to obtain an operating device that can easily and surely switch the abutting portion against which the operator abuts.

[0008] The operating device according to the present disclosure includes an operator provided movably, a moving body provided in the moving path of the operator and made movable, a plurality of abutting portions held by the moving body, and the abutting portion that enters the moving path of the operator is switched by the movement of the moving body. Among the plurality of abutting portions, at least one abutting portion has a different coefficient of restitution from other abutting portions.

[0009] According to this disclosure, it is possible to obtain an operating device that can easily and reliably switch the contact portion to which the operator contacts.

[0010] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the operating device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 2 is a front view of the operating device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the support housing from the upper front at an angle. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the support housing from the upper rear at an angle. Figure 5 is a front view of the operator. Figure 6 is a plan view of the operator. Figure 7 is a plan view of the moving body. Figure 8 is a perspective view of the operating device. Figure 9 is a magnified view of the contact portion. Figure 10 is a plan view of the operating device with the biasing plate omitted. Figure 11 is a perspective view of the rack gear. Figure 12 is a perspective view showing the moving body, the rear gear, the rack gear, the front gear, and the switching operation unit extracted. Figure 13 is a perspective view of the front gear from the rear. Figure 14 is a rear view of the front gear. Figure 15 is a plan view of the biasing plate. Figure 16 is a plan view of an acoustic device equipped with the operating device according to Embodiment 1.

[0011] An operating device and an acoustic device according to one embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0012] [Embodiment 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the operating device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 2 is a front view of the operating device according to Embodiment 1. The operating device 1 is provided with an operating element 11 that can move in a straight line. Here, we define the X-axis as extending parallel to the direction of movement of the operating element 11. In the following description, the positive direction along the X-axis will be referred to as the right, and the negative direction will be referred to as the left. We also define the Y-axis perpendicular to the X-axis. In addition, the positive direction along the Y-axis will be referred to as the front, and the negative direction will be referred to as the rear. We also define the Z-axis perpendicular to the X-axis and the Y-axis. In addition, the positive direction along the Z-axis will be referred to as the up, and the negative direction will be referred to as the down.

[0013] The operating device 1 comprises a support housing 12, an operating element 11, a movable body 13, a rear gear 14, a rack gear 15, a front gear 16, a switching operation unit 17, and a biasing plate (biasing unit) 18.

[0014] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the support housing from diagonally above and in front. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the support housing from diagonally above and in rear. The support housing 12 is a member that supports and holds the aforementioned operator 11, the movable body 13, the rear gear 14, the rack gear 15, the front gear 16, and the switching operation unit 17.

[0015] The support housing 12 is provided with rails 121 extending horizontally from left to right in the central part in the left-right direction. The operator 11 is supported by the rails 121. The operator 11 is able to move left and right by being supported by the rails 121.

[0016] A first shaft 122a and a second shaft 122b are formed on the top surface 122 of the support housing 12. The first shaft 122a and the second shaft 122b are provided on both the left and right sides, flanking the rail 121.

[0017] The first shaft 122a is formed to protrude upward from the top surface 122. The first shaft 122a is a shaft that rotatably supports the movable body 13.

[0018] The second shaft 122b is formed to protrude upward from the top surface 122. The second shaft 122b is formed at a position further away from the rail 121 than the first shaft 122a. The second shaft 122b is the shaft that rotatably supports the downstream gear 14.

[0019] Figure 5 is a front view of the operator. Figure 6 is a top view of the operator. As described above, the operator 11 is supported by the rail 121 of the support housing 12. The operator 11 is also capable of moving linearly from side to side while supported by the rail 121. The operator 11 comprises a gripping portion 111 that the user directly touches and operates, and a base portion 112 provided below the gripping portion 111. The gripping portion 111 protrudes above the top surface 122 of the support housing 12. The base portion 112 is provided with protruding portions 112a that extend to the left and right.

[0020] Figure 7 is a plan view of the movable body. The movable body 13 is provided on both the left and right sides of the rail 121, but its structure is the same on both sides. The movable body 13 is a disc-shaped member. An insertion hole 131 is formed in the center of the movable body 13 through which the first shaft 122a formed in the support housing 12 is inserted. By inserting the first shaft 122a through the insertion hole 131 of the movable body 13, the movable body 13 is rotatably attached to the top surface 122 of the support housing 12. The movable body 13 has an annular projection 135 that protrudes upward from around the insertion hole 131.

[0021] Gear teeth are formed on a portion of the outer circumference of the moving body 13. In other words, a portion of the moving body 13 is a gear. Furthermore, on the portion of the outer circumference of the moving body 13 where no teeth are formed, a plurality of protrusions 132 are formed that project radially outward. The plurality of protrusions 132 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the moving body 13.

[0022] A contact portion 133 is provided between each of the protrusions 132. The contact portion 133 is held in place by being sandwiched between the protrusions 132. A claw portion 132a is formed at the tip of each protrusion 132, projecting toward the adjacent protrusion 132. The claw portion 132a is formed in a tapered shape, with its width in the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the movable body 13 (radial direction) becoming thinner toward the adjacent protrusion 132. The claw portion 132a prevents the contact portion 133, which is held between the protrusions 132, from falling out radially outward.

[0023] As the moving body 13 rotates, one of the multiple contact portions 133 enters the movement path of the operator 11, which moves in the left-right direction, particularly the movement path of the protruding portion 112a. The protruding portion 112a formed on the operator 11 comes into contact with the contact portion 133 that has entered the movement path. In the following description, the contact of the protruding portion 112a with the contact portion 133 will also be simply referred to as the operator 11 coming into contact with the contact portion 133. Figure 8 is a perspective view of the operating device with the operator moved to the left. The operator 11 is restricted from moving any further when it comes into contact with the contact portion 133. Because the moving body 13 is provided on both the left and right sides of the rail 121, the range of movement of the operator 11 in the left-right direction is defined by the contact portion 133.

[0024] Furthermore, if the movable body 13 rotates while the protruding portion 112a is in contact with the contact portion 133, the claw portion 132a formed at the tip of the convex portion 132 of the movable body 13 may get caught. In this case, the movable body 13 may not be able to rotate, or even if it can be rotated, the protruding portion 112a or the claw portion 132a may be damaged. In this embodiment 1, since the claw portion 132a is formed in a tapered shape, even if the movable body 13 rotates while the protruding portion 112a is in contact with the contact portion 133, the protruding portion 112a can smoothly ride up onto the claw portion 132a. Therefore, even if the movable body 13 rotates while the protruding portion 112a is in contact with the contact portion 133, problems such as the movable body 13 not being able to rotate or the protruding portion 112a or the claw portion 132a being damaged are less likely to occur.

[0025] There are various user requirements regarding the behavior of the operator 11 when it comes into contact with the contact portion 133. For example, in order to reliably stop the operator 11 at the position where it comes into contact with the contact portion 133, it may be required that the repulsive force the operator 11 receives from the contact portion 133 be small, or it may be required that the operator 11 receive a certain amount of repulsive force from the contact portion 133 in order to quickly move in the opposite direction after contact.

[0026] In the operating device according to Embodiment 1, the repulsive force applied to the operator 11 can be varied by rotating the movable body 13 and switching the contact portion 133 that enters the movement path of the protruding portion 112a. To this end, each of the contact portions 133 is configured to have a different coefficient of restitution when the operator 11 comes into contact with it. For example, the contact portions 133 may have different coefficients of restitution by being formed from different materials. For example, the contact portions 133 may be made of resin or rubber.

[0027] Furthermore, the coefficients of restitution may differ if the contact portions 133 are formed in different shapes. For example, the cross-sectional shape of some of the contact portions 133 may be semicircular. Figure 9 is a magnified view of the contact portion. As shown in Figure 9, by forming a gap 134 between the moving body 13 and the contact portion 133, the coefficient of restitution may be adjusted by making it easier to deform the contact portion 133 when the operator 11 makes contact.

[0028] Unlike the operating device 1 according to Embodiment 1, if the device is configured so that the coefficient of restitution can be changed by replacing the contact portion 133, there are problems such as the replacement work being burdensome for the user or the loss of the replacement contact portion 133. On the other hand, in the operating device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the contact portion 133 that the operator 11 contacts can be easily and reliably switched simply by rotating the movable body 13 without replacing the contact portion 133.

[0029] Figure 10 is a plan view of the operating device with the biasing plate omitted. As shown in Figure 10, the rear gear 14 is provided on both the left and right sides of the rail 121, but its structure is the same on both sides. The rear gear 14 is a disc-shaped gear with multiple teeth formed on its outer circumference. A through hole 141 is formed in the center of the rear gear 14 through which a second shaft 122b formed in the support housing 12 is inserted. By inserting the second shaft 122b through the through hole 141 of the rear gear 14, the rear gear 14 is rotatably mounted on the top surface 122 of the support housing 12. The rear gear 14 mounted on the top surface 122 of the support housing 12 meshes with the gear portion of the movable body 13 which is mounted on the top surface 122 of the support housing 12. Therefore, the movable body 13 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the rear gear 14.

[0030] Figure 11 is a perspective view of the rack gear. As shown in Figure 11, the rack gear 15 is a rod-shaped member. As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 10, the rack gear 15 is mounted on the support housing 12 so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the left-right direction. The rack gear 15 is movable from side to side while mounted on the support housing 12.

[0031] The rack gear 15 has teeth that mesh with the downstream gear 14 located on the left side and teeth that mesh with the downstream gear 14 located on the right side. As a result, when the rack gear 15 moves from side to side, both downstream gears 14 located on the left and right sides rotate. In addition, the rack gear 15 has teeth that mesh with the upstream gear 16, which will be described later, and these teeth are formed facing downwards.

[0032] Figure 12 is a perspective view showing the movable body, the downstream gear, the rack gear, the upstream gear, and the switching operation unit. As shown in Figure 12, the upstream gear 16 is a gear that meshes with the rack gear 15. The upstream gear 16 is provided so that its axis of rotation extends in the front-to-back direction. The rotation of the upstream gear 16 causes the rack gear 15 to move from side to side, and the movable body 13 also rotates.

[0033] Figure 13 is a perspective view of the front gear from the rear. Figure 14 is a rear view of the front gear. As shown in Figures 13 and 14, an angle restricting portion 161 for restricting the rotation angle of the front gear is formed on the rear surface of the front gear 16. The angle restricting portion 161 has a plurality of protrusions 161a formed radially outward from the rotation center of the front gear 16.

[0034] The spaces between the multiple protrusions 161a form recesses 161b. As shown in Figure 14, the operating device 1 is provided with an insertion biasing part 162 that is biased in the direction of being inserted into the recesses 161b. When the front gear 16 rotates with the insertion biasing part 162 inserted into the recesses 161b, the protrusions 161a push the insertion biasing part 162 downward as the angle regulating part 161 rotates. As the front gear 16 rotates further, the insertion biasing part 162 is inserted into the recess 161b adjacent to the recess 161b into which it was inserted before rotation.

[0035] Furthermore, if the rotation angle of the preceding gear 16 shifts from the state in which the insertion biasing portion 162 is inserted into the recess 161b, the protrusion 161a is pushed by the biasing force of the insertion biasing portion 162, returning the insertion biasing portion 162 to the rotation angle in which it was inserted into the recess 161b.

[0036] In this way, the rotation angle of the front gear 16 is restricted by the cooperation of the angle restricting part 161 and the insertion biasing part 162. When the front gear 16 is at the restricted rotation angle, the contact part 133 attached to the movable body 13 enters the movement path of the protruding part 112a of the operator 11. This prevents the convex part 132 formed on the movable body 13 from entering the movement path due to a shift in the rotation angle, and prevents the operator 11 from coming into contact with the convex part 132. This prevents problems such as noise generation or failure to obtain the desired repulsive force due to the operator 11 coming into contact with the convex part 132.

[0037] As shown in Figures 1 and 12, the switching operation unit 17 has a knob 171 that can be directly touched and operated by the user, and a gear 172 that is located behind the knob 171 and meshes with the preceding gear 16. The knob 171 protrudes from the front of the support housing 12. The switching operation unit 17 is rotatable around a rotation axis that extends in the front-to-back direction. When the switching operation unit 17 rotates, the gear 172 also rotates, and in conjunction with this, the preceding gear 16 and the movable body 13 rotate. Therefore, the user can easily switch the contact portion 133 that the operator 11 contacts by rotating the switching operation unit 17 by operating the knob 171, thereby rotating the movable body 13. Furthermore, as described above, the rotation angle of the switching operation unit 17 is adjusted by the angle regulating unit 161 and the insertion biasing unit 162 provided on the preceding gear 16. This eliminates the need for fine adjustment of the amount of rotation of the switching operation unit 17, thereby improving the operability of the switching operation unit 17 for switching the contact unit 133. In other words, the angle regulating unit 161 and the insertion biasing unit 162 constitute a position regulating mechanism that regulates the rotation position of the switching operation unit 17.

[0038] Furthermore, when the switching operation unit 17 is rotated, the rotation direction of the left movable body 13 and the rotation direction of the right movable body 13 are the same. Therefore, even if the arrangement order of the contact parts 133 is the same for the left movable body 13 and the right movable body 13, the order in which the contact parts 133 switch when the switching operation unit 17 is rotated can be made the same. This makes it possible to use the same components for the left movable body 13 and the right movable body 13. This reduces manufacturing costs by reducing the number of parts. In addition, it eliminates the problem of accidentally assembling the left and right movable bodies 13 in reverse during the assembly of the operating device 1.

[0039] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the biasing plate 18 is a plate-shaped member that covers the upper part of the movable body 13 and the downstream gear 14. Figure 15 is a plan view of the biasing plate. The biasing plate 18 has a hole 181 into which the annular projection 135 of the movable body 13 is inserted.

[0040] The biasing plate 18 is biased to move laterally by a biasing spring 19. Specifically, the biasing plate 18 located on the left side is biased to move to the left, and the biasing plate 18 located on the right side is biased to move to the right.

[0041] When the biasing plate 18 is biased, the inner surface of the hole 181 engages with the annular projection 135, biasing the movable body 13 to move laterally. As shown in Figure 7, a small gap is formed between the inner surface of the insertion hole 131 of the movable body 13 and the outer surface of the first shaft 122a formed in the support housing 12. Note that in Figure 7, the gap between the inner surface of the insertion hole 131 and the outer surface of the first shaft 122a is made larger for easier understanding.

[0042] If a gap is formed between the inner surface of the insertion hole 131 and the outer surface of the first shaft 122a, the force applied when the operator 11 contacts the contact portion 133 will cause the movable body 13 to move. As the movable body 13 moves, the inner surface of the insertion hole 131 may collide with the outer surface of the first shaft 122a, potentially generating noise.

[0043] Therefore, in the operating device 1 according to Embodiment 1, a biasing force in the same direction as the force applied when the operating element 11 abuts against the abutting portion 133 is applied to the moving body 13 by the biasing plate 18 and the biasing spring 19. Even when the overhanging portion 112a of the operating element 11 is not in contact with the abutting portion 133, the moving body 13 moves due to the biasing force, and the gap between the inner surface of the insertion hole 131 and the outer surface of the first shaft 122a is eliminated. Thereby, it is possible to eliminate the noise generated when the operating element 11 abuts against the abutting portion 133.

[0044] Although an example in which the moving body 13 rotates has been described, the moving body 13 may be configured to be linearly moved so that the abutting portion 133 that intrudes into the movement path of the overhanging portion 112a can be switched.

[0045] Also, although an example in which the operating element 11 linearly moves has been described, the operating element 11 may move in a manner different from linear movement. For example, the operating element may be movable so as to fall in various directions like a joystick. Also in this case, by providing an abutting portion that can be switched by the movement of the moving body in the direction in which the operating element falls, it is possible to easily change the repulsive force when the operating element abuts against the abutting portion.

[0046] Also, the operating element may be rotatable. For example, a convex portion protruding from the operating element is formed, and a configuration in which the rotation range of the operating element is defined by the convex portion abutting against the abutting portion can be cited. Also in this case, by providing the abutting portion that intrudes into the movement path of the convex portion so as to be switchable by the movement of the moving body, it is possible to easily change the repulsive force when the convex portion abuts.

[0047] FIG. 16 is a plan view of an audio device provided with the operating device according to Embodiment 1. The audio device 100 includes two jog dials 102 on the top surface 101a of the housing 101. The jog dials 102 are arranged on both the left and right sides of the top surface 101a. In the audio device 100, an operation signal is output by the control unit or an audio signal of a music piece whose playback state is adjusted is output according to an operation by the user on the jog dial 102. The output destinations of the operation signal and the audio signal are, for example, a music playback device (not shown) connected to the audio device 100. In the music playback device, music is played back based on the input operation signal or audio signal.

[0048] The operating device 1 is used as a cross fader of the audio device 100. In the audio device 100, the music piece being played back can be switched by changing the position of the operator 11. When the operating device 1 is used as the cross fader of the audio device 100, the resistance when moving the operator 11 becomes very small. Therefore, there is a case where the operator 11 may move to an unintended position due to the repulsive force when contacting the contact portion 133. On the contrary, when it is desired to quickly move the operator 11 in the opposite direction, there may be a case where the user feels that the repulsive force when contacting the contact portion 133 is too small.

[0049] As described above, in the cross fader of the audio device 100, the repulsive force required when the operator 11 contacts the contact portion 133 varies depending on the purpose of moving the operator 11 and the preference of the user. When the operating device 1 according to Embodiment 1 is used, it is possible to easily switch to the contact portion 133 that can obtain a desired repulsive force by moving the moving body 13.

[0050] Furthermore, the switching operation unit 17, which is operated when switching the contact portion 133, protrudes from the front of the housing 101. This allows the contact portion 133 to be switched simply by operating the switching operation unit 17 from the outside of the housing 101. Therefore, it is not necessary to remove the top surface 101a of the housing 101 or the like to switch the contact portion 133, making it even easier to switch the contact portion 133. In addition, since the knob 171 of the switching operation unit 17 protrudes from a different front surface than the top surface 101a from which the knob 111 of the operator 11 protrudes, the knob 171 of the switching operation unit 17 does not get in the way when operating the operator 11.

[0051] Although the sound device 100 is equipped with various controls in addition to the crossfader control 11, a description of their functions will be omitted. Furthermore, the control device 1 can be applied to controllers for game machines and other devices besides the sound device 100.

[0052] 1 Operating device, 11 Operator, 111 Knob, 112 Base, 112a Protruding part, 12 Support housing, 121 Rail, 122 Top surface, 122a First shaft, 122b Second shaft, 13 Moving body, 131 Through hole, 132 Protrusion, 132a Claw, 133 Contact part, 134 Gap, 135 Annular protrusion, 14 Rear gear, 141 Through hole, 15 Rack gear, 16 Front gear, 161 Angle regulating part, 161a Protrusion, 161b Recess, 162 Insertion biasing part, 17 Switching operation part, 171 Knob, 172 Gear part, 18 Biasing plate, 181 Hole, 19 Biasing spring, 100 Sound device, 101 Housing, 101a Top surface, 102 jog dial

Claims

1. An operating device comprising: a movable operator; a movable body provided on the movement path of the operator; a plurality of contact parts held by the movable body; and a contact part that enters the movement path of the operator is switched by the movement of the movable body, wherein at least one of the plurality of contact parts has a different coefficient of restitution from the other contact parts.

2. The operating device according to claim 1, further comprising a movable switching operation unit, wherein the movement of the switching operation unit and the movement of the movable body are linked.

3. The operating device according to claim 2, which is provided with a position regulating mechanism that restricts the position of the switching operation unit so that the contact portion enters the movement path of the operator.

4. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the movable body has a plurality of protrusions arranged in a row, and each of the plurality of contact portions is held between two of the protrusions.

5. The operating device according to claim 4, wherein a claw portion is formed at the tip of the protrusion, projecting toward an adjacent protrusion, and the claw portion is formed in a tapered shape, with its width in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the moving body becoming thinner toward an adjacent protrusion.

6. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein a gap is provided between at least one of the multiple contact portions and the moving body, resulting in a different coefficient of restitution.

7. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of contact portions is formed of a different material from the other contact portions, resulting in a different coefficient of restitution.

8. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of contact portions has a different cross-sectional shape from the other contact portions, resulting in a different coefficient of restitution.

9. The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the moving body is formed in the shape of a rotating disc, and the contact portion is held on the outer circumferential surface of the moving body.

10. The operating device according to claim 9, further comprising a biasing unit that biases the moving body in the direction of the force applied from the operator that is in contact with the contact portion.

11. The operating device according to claim 9, wherein the operator is a linearly moving operator, and the moving body is provided on both sides of the operator.

12. The operating device according to claim 11, wherein a movable body provided on one side of the operator and a movable body provided on the other side rotate in conjunction with each other.

13. The operating device according to claim 12, wherein the direction of rotation of the movable body provided on one side of the operating device and the direction of rotation of the movable body provided on the other side are in the same direction when they rotate in conjunction.

14. An acoustic device comprising a housing, a jog dial provided on the top surface of the housing, and the operating device according to claim 1, provided so that the operating element is exposed from the top surface of the housing.

15. The sound device according to claim 14, further comprising a movable switching operation unit provided on the side of the housing, wherein the movement of the switching operation unit and the movement of the movable body are linked.

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