Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Sony Corporation

Yasuhiro Yoritsune

Jun Sato

Takumi Nishimoto

Masaki Sawada

Akira Matsumoto

Kenji Kataoka

Tomonori Hasegawa

Hirohito Suzuki

Yusuke Morinishi

A rotary manipulation type electronic device permits users to obtain a feel of manipulation during rotational manipulations and produces clicking sounds of manipulations to thereby obtain an audiological sense of manipulations. The rotary manipulation type electronic device has a base body with which a rotary body is rotatably combined. An operative element is disposed such that movement of the operative element is restricted by an inside wall of a terminal leading portion of the base body and by leg portions of a leaf spring. Engagement portions engaging an uneven portion of a top surface of a flange portion of the rotary body protrude from the operative element. The leaf spring is brought into elastic contact with the top surface of the operative element.

Rotary manipulation electronic device

A switching device having a central actuator and two outer actuators disposed separately from the central actuator on two sides, wherein the central actuator is a cylindrical dial () supported rotatably and depressibly by a pair of spindle bearings () included in a base plate; the base plate () supporting the dial () is fitted in a frame; the outer actuators are pivotable in a direction approximately perpendicular to a direction in which the three actuators are arrayed and about a pivot approximately perpendicular to a direction in which operating surfaces of the outer acutators are pushed to press a contact () disposed on the frame; and each of the outer actuators has a to-be-supported piece () extending to a position where the outer actuator deviates from a lateral edge of the dial () in the rotating direction as viewed from the front. The outer actuator is pivotally attached at the end of the to-be-supported piece () to the frame () and has a center axis crossing the pair of spindle bearings of the central actuator.

Switching device

A rotary encoder has housing case provided with common electrode and signal electrode disposed to an area narrower than the entire circumference, or an angular range of generally &#xbd; of the circumference in concentrical with central hole of housing case, and sliding contact in a confronting manner to the electrodes, the sliding contact provided with four combinations of contacts points arranged at four equally divided angular positions, or every 90 degrees along the same circumference about the rotary axis, each of the combinations comprises contact point on inner side for connectively sliding on common electrode and two contact points on outer side for connectively sliding on signal electrode. The rotary encoder of this structure can reduce the cost by decreasing a width of material needed for fabrication of electrodes, and decrease distances for contact points to slide on electrodes, to thereby improve durability to sliding abrasion.

Rotary encoder

Growing community of inventors

Okayama, Japan

Yasuhiro Yoritsune