U.S. patent application number 12/694279 was filed with the patent office on 2011-07-28 for joystick controller.
Invention is credited to Chu-Keng Lin.
Application Number | 20110183759 12/694279 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44309370 |
Filed Date | 2011-07-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110183759 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Chu-Keng |
July 28, 2011 |
Joystick Controller
Abstract
A joystick controller includes a printed circuit board defining
a plurality of pads thereon, a restraining assembly fastened above
the printed circuit board, a switch button slidably mounted onto
the restraining assembly with a locking post stretching into the
restraining assembly, and a connecting member slidably mounted
between the restraining assembly and the printed circuit board and
further restrained by the restraining assembly. The connecting
member has a base board, a plurality of contact portions protruded
under the base board, and a locking axle protruded on the base
board. The locking axle is inserted into the restraining assembly
and then locked to a bottom end of the locking post so that the
connecting member can be driven to slide in a restrained range by
the restraining assembly through smoothly pushing the switch button
so as to make the contact portions electrically contact the
corresponding pads of the printed circuit board.
Inventors: |
Lin; Chu-Keng; (Taipei,
TW) |
Family ID: |
44309370 |
Appl. No.: |
12/694279 |
Filed: |
January 27, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/38 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 2300/1043 20130101;
G06F 3/0338 20130101; A63F 13/22 20140902; A63F 13/24 20140902 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/38 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A joystick controller, comprising: a printed circuit board
defining a plurality of pads thereon spaced from one another; a
restraining assembly fastened above the printed circuit board; a
switch button slidably mounted onto the restraining assembly with a
locking post stretching into the restraining assembly; and a
connecting member slidably mounted between the restraining assembly
and the printed circuit board and further restrained by the
restraining assembly, the connecting member having a base board, a
plurality of contact portions protruded under the base board and
spaced from one another, and a locking axle protruded on the base
board, the locking axle being inserted into the restraining
assembly and then locked to a bottom end of the locking post of the
switch button so that the connecting member can be driven to slide
in a restrained range by the restraining assembly through smoothly
pushing the switch button so as to make the contact portions
electrically contact the corresponding pads of the printed circuit
board.
2. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
contact portions have four uniformly arranged into a circle, and
the pads are designated as four pairs uniformly arranged into a
circle, when adjacent or opposite two of the contact portions
contact corresponding adjacent or relative two of the pads, the
other two adjacent or opposite contact portions will not contact
another two adjacent or relative pads.
3. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
peripheral edge of the base board of the connecting member
uniformly protrudes outward to form a plurality of connecting arms
symmetrically arranged and spaced from one another, each of the
contact portions is protruded under one corresponding connecting
arm.
4. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
bottom end of the locking post of the switch button defines a
locking structure which includes a polygonal locking cavity opened
in a bottom end surface of the locking post and a plurality of
locking fillisters opened in inner walls of the locking cavity, the
locking axle of the connecting member has a polygonal cross-section
and each corner of a top end thereof is cut away to form a buckling
corner, the top end of the locking axle is locked in the locking
cavity of the locking post and the buckling corners are buckled in
the corresponding locking fillisters.
5. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
switch button includes a top board, a bottom board parallel to and
spaced from the top board, and a connecting pillar connected
between the top board and the bottom board, the locking post is
protruded oppositely to the connecting pillar under the bottom
board, the bottom board is slidably disposed on the restraining
assembly.
6. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
restraining assembly includes a shell, a restraining body and two
slide members, the shell has a top plate with a hole opened
therein, a plurality of side plates are extended downward from
peripheral edges of the top plate and connected with one another to
define a receiving chamber thereamong, the restraining body is
fastened in the receiving chamber of the shell and defines a square
restraining cavity in a bottom surface thereof and a guiding window
in a top surface thereof which communicates with a middle of the
restraining cavity and further faces the hole of the shell, each of
the slide members is of rectangular shape with a slide chute opened
therein along a longwise direction thereof, the length of the slide
member is equal to the side length of the restraining cavity, the
two slide members are perpendicularly and slidably disposed in the
restraining cavity of the restraining body with overlapped parts of
the two slide chutes facing the guiding window, the locking post of
the switch button passes through the hole to stretch into the
receiving chamber, and the locking axle of the connecting member
successively passes upward through the overlapped parts of the two
slide chutes and the guiding window to be locked to the bottom end
of the locking post.
7. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
locking axle of the connecting member has a square cross-section
with the same side length as the width of the slide chute of the
slide member so as to make the locking axle just slide under
restraining of the slide chutes and the guiding window but not
rotate.
8. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
restraining assembly further includes an elastic component which is
clipped between the restraining body and the top plate of the shell
and further worn around the locking post of the switch button
against the side plates so as to provide a repositioning elastic
force for the switch button.
9. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 8, wherein the
elastic component is a spring of Archimedes spiral shape.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a signal input device for
an electronic product, and more particularly to a joystick
controller adapted for a notebook computer, a mobile phone, a video
game and the like.
[0003] 2. The Related Art
[0004] At present, joystick controllers have been widely used in
electronic products, such as notebook computers, mobile phones and
video games, to control the movement of a cursor or an image on a
monitor. A conventional joystick controller generally includes a
shell which is used to receive electronic and mechanical parts
therein, and a lever mounted in the shell with a top end thereof
stretching out of the shell. There is a sensor disposed on a bottom
of the joystick controller. In use, the lever is firstly shaken at
a certain angle, and then the sensor senses a shake displacement of
the lever and further transforms the shake displacement into a
corresponding displacement signal so as to control the movement of
the cursor or the image on the monitor.
[0005] However, with the miniaturization of the electronic
products, the joystick controller is also miniaturized more and
more with a tiny lever. As a result, the tiny lever is apt to be
damaged under the repeated shaking that shortens the use life of
the joystick controller. Furthermore, a slight shake displacement
may happen when the tiny lever is shaken. As a result, it causes
that the slight shake displacement may not be sensed by the sensor
or is sensed by the sensor with a bias. As a result, the
conventional joystick controller has an insensitive controlling to
the movement of the cursor or the image on the monitor. Therefore,
a joystick controller capable of overcoming the foregoing problems
is required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a joystick
controller. The joystick controller includes a printed circuit
board which defines a plurality of pads thereon spaced from one
another, a restraining assembly fastened above the printed circuit
board, a switch button slidably mounted onto the restraining
assembly with a locking post stretching into the restraining
assembly, and a connecting member which is slidably mounted between
the restraining assembly and the printed circuit board and further
restrained by the restraining assembly. The connecting member has a
base board, a plurality of contact portions protruded under the
base board and spaced from one another, and a locking axle
protruded on the base board. The locking axle is inserted into the
restraining assembly and then locked to a bottom end of the locking
post of the switch button so that the connecting member can be
driven to slide in a restrained range by the restraining assembly
through smoothly pushing the switch button so as to make the
contact portions electrically contact the corresponding pads of the
printed circuit board.
[0007] As described above, the joystick controller of the present
invention can achieve many kinds of connections between the contact
portions of the connecting member and the pads of the printed
circuit board by means of smoothly pushing the switch button to
drive the connecting member to slide in the restrained range by the
restraining assembly on the printed circuit board, instead of
shaking a lever in the prior art. So the joystick controller has a
longer use life. Furthermore, the movement of the cursor or image
on the monitor is controlled by means of the contact portions
contacting the corresponding pads, instead of a sensor sensing a
shake displacement of the lever in the prior art. Therefore, the
joystick controller can achieve a more sensitive and reliable
controlling to the movement of the cursor or image on the
monitor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in
the art by reading the following description, with reference to the
attached drawings, in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a sectional perspective view of a joystick
controller in accordance with the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the joystick controller of
FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a switch button of the
joystick controller of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the switch button of
the joystick controller of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a connecting member of the
joystick controller of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a shell of the joystick
controller of FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a restraining body of the
joystick controller of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a printed circuit board of
the joystick controller of FIG. 1; and
[0017] FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are views showing that the joystick
controller of FIG. 1 is in use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a joystick controller of the
present invention includes a printed circuit board 7, a connecting
member 2, a restraining assembly 8, and a switch button 1 capable
of driving the connecting member 2 to slide in a restrained range
by the restraining assembly 8 on the printed circuit board 7. A top
surface of the printed circuit board 7 defines four pairs of pads
71 uniformly arranged into a circle and spaced from one another
(shown in FIG. 8).
[0019] Referring to FIGS. 2-4, the switch button 1 includes a
disc-shaped top board 10, a disc-shaped bottom board 12 parallel to
and spaced from the top board 10, and a connecting pillar 11
vertically connected between the top board 10 and the bottom board
12. A middle of the bottom board 12 protrudes oppositely to the
connecting pillar 11 to form a columned locking post 13 with a
locking structure being defined at a free end thereof. The locking
structure includes a polygonal locking cavity 131 opened in a
middle of a free end surface of the locking post 13, and a
plurality of locking fillisters 132 uniformly opened in inner walls
of the locking cavity 131 and further penetrating outward through
the locking post 13.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the connecting member 2 has
a base board 21 disposed levelly. A peripheral edge of the base
board 21 uniformly protrudes outward to form four connecting arms
22 symmetrically arranged and spaced from one another. A bottom
surface of each of the connecting arms 22 protrudes downward to
form a hemispheric contact portion 23. A middle of the base board
21 protrudes upward to form a pillared locking axle 24 with two
polygonal end surfaces. Each corner of a top end of the locking
axle 24 is cut away to form a buckling corner 25 corresponding to
the locking fillister 132 of the switch button 1.
[0021] Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the restraining
assembly 8 includes a shell 3, an elastic component 4, a
restraining body 5 and two slide members 6. The shell 3 has a
polygonal top plate 31 and a plurality of side plates 32 extended
downward from peripheral edges of the top plate 31. The side plates
32 are connected with one another to define a receiving chamber 34
thereamong. There is a circular hole 33 opened in a middle of the
top plate 31. The restraining body 5 is of polygonal board shape
corresponding to the receiving chamber 34 of the shell 3. A middle
of a bottom surface of the restraining body 5 defines a square
restraining cavity 52 of which a middle further extends upward to
penetrate through a top surface of the restraining body 5 to form a
circular guiding window 51 with the same diameter as the hole 33 of
the shell 3. Each of the slide members 6 is of rectangular board
shape with a rectangular slide chute 61 opened in a middle along a
longwise direction thereof. The length of the slide member 6 is
equal to the side length of the restraining cavity 52. In this
embodiment, the elastic component 4 is a spring of Archimedes
spiral shape.
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 1-8 again, during assembly, the switch
button 1 is mounted on the shell 3 with the locking post 13 passing
through the hole 33 to stretch into the receiving chamber 34 and
the bottom board 12 being against the top plate 31. The elastic
component 4 is received in the receiving chamber 34 of the shell 3
and further worn around the locking post 13 of the switch button 1
against the side plates 32 so as to keep the locking post 13
positioned at a center of the hole 33 when not in use and provide a
repositioning elastic force for the switch button 1 after using.
The restraining body 5 is buckled in the receiving chamber 34 of
the shell 3 and abuts against the side plates 32 with the guiding
window 51 facing the hole 33. The elastic component 4 is further
clipped between the restraining body 5 and the top plate 31 of the
shell 3. The two slide members 6 are perpendicularly and slidably
disposed in the restraining cavity 52 of the restraining body 5
with overlapped parts of the two slide chutes 61 facing the guiding
window 51. Then the connecting member 2 is slidably received in the
receiving chamber 34 of the shell 3 under the restraining body 5
and the slide members 6 by means of the locking axle 24
successively passing upward through the overlapped parts of the two
slide chutes 61 and the guiding window 51 to be locked under the
locking post 13 of the switch button 1, wherein the top end of the
locking axle 24 is locked in the locking cavity 131 of the locking
post 13 and the buckling corners 25 are buckled in the
corresponding locking fillisters 132. In the embodiment, the
locking axle 24 has a square cross-section with the same side
length as the width of the slide chute 61 of the slide member 6.
Therefore, the locking axle 24 can just slide under the restrained
range of the slide chutes 61 and the guiding window 51.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the printed circuit board 7
is further received in the shell 3 to be mounted under the
connecting member 2 so that the connecting member 2 can slide in
the restrained range by the restraining assembly 8 on the printed
circuit board 7 by means of pushing the switch button 1 so as to
make two of the contact portions 23 electrically contact
corresponding two pads 71. For example, when adjacent two of the
contact portions 23 contact corresponding adjacent two pads 71, the
other two adjacent contact portions 23 will not contact another two
adjacent pads 71; when opposite two of the contact portions 23
contact corresponding relative two pads 71, the other two opposite
contact portions 23 will not contact another two relative pads 71.
In the embodiment, the joystick controller can make the connecting
member 2 achieve eight slide directions by means of pushing the
switch button 1, that are rear, front, left, right, right-rear,
right-front, left-rear and left-front directions, wherein two
representative slide directions, such as rear and left-rear
directions, will be described in detail as following.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 9 again, push the top board 10
of the switch button 1 rearward so as to drive the connecting
member 2 to slide rearward. Accordingly, adjacent two of the
contact portions 23 electrically contact corresponding two adjacent
pads 71 respectively so as to control a corresponding movement of
an external cursor or image on a monitor.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 10 again, push the top board 10
of the switch button 1 leftward and then rearward so as to drive
the connecting member 2 to slide leftward and then rearward.
Accordingly, the opposite side of two of the contact portions 23
electrically contacts the corresponding two pads 71 respectively so
as to control another corresponding movement of the cursor or image
on the monitor.
[0026] As described above, the joystick controller of the present
invention can achieve many kinds of connections between the contact
portions 23 of the connecting member 2 and the pads 71 of the
printed circuit board 7 by means of pushing the switch button 1 to
drive the connecting member 2 to slide in the restrained range by
the restraining assembly 8 on the printed circuit board 7, instead
of shaking a lever in the prior art. So the joystick controller has
a longer use life. Furthermore, the movement of the cursor or image
on the monitor is controlled by means of the contact portions 23
contacting the corresponding pads 71, instead of a sensor sensing a
shake displacement of the lever in the prior art. Therefore, the
joystick controller can achieve a more sensitive and reliable
controlling to the movement of the cursor or image on the monitor.
Moreover, the elastic component 4 can provide a repositioning
elastic force to make the switch button 1 and the connecting member
2 repositioned when not in use.
* * * * *