Operating device

1. An operating device comprising:

a circuit board;

a frame coupled to the circuit board and maintaining the circuit board in a fixed position;

a plate-shaped operating member accessible by a user, the plate-shaped operating member including a surface and a touch sensor adapted to detect a position of the user's finger that touches the surface, the plate-shaped operating member being arranged relative to the frame to be able to move towards and away from the circuit board in response to pressing and releasing forces on the operating member by the user;

a switch mounted to the circuit board and fixed in relation to the frame, the switch being located in such a way as to detect the movement of the plate-shaped operating member towards and away from the circuit board; and

an elastic member arranged between the frame and the operating member in such a way as to bias the operating member away from the circuit board.

2. The operating device of claim 1 , wherein the elastic member is fixedly mounted to a backside of the operating member such that the elastic member directly or indirectly engages the frame in such a way as to bias the operating member away from the circuit board.

3. The operating device of claim 1 , further comprising an operating member frame located on a backside of the operating member, wherein the elastic member is fixedly mounted to the operating member frame such that the elastic member directly or indirectly engages the frame in such a way as to bias the operating member away from the circuit board.

4. The operating device of claim 1 , wherein the elastic member fixedly mounted to the frame such that the elastic member directly or indirectly engages the operating member in such a way as to bias the operating member away from the circuit board.

5. The operating device of claim 1 , wherein

the frame has such a shape as to avoid a position that matches the position of the switch, and

the operating member has, on a bottom side, a pressing section adapted to press the switch.

6. The operating device of claim 5 , wherein the operating member has an operating member frame that has the pressing section formed on the bottom side thereof.

7. The operating device of claim 1 , wherein the operating member is arranged in such a manner that a pressed portion of the surface of the operating member moves down irrespective of which portion of the surface is pressed.

8. The operating device of claim 1 , wherein one of the operating member and the elastic member has a protrusion, and the other has a hole into which the protrusion is fitted.

9. The operating device of claim 1 , further comprising a housing having an opening formed to expose the surface of the operating member, a front edge of the opening formed below the operating member, and a stopper section formed to restrict a forward movement of the operating member.

10. The operating device of claim 9 , wherein the operating member has a top panel that makes up the surface touched by a user's finger, and a stopped section with which the stopper section comes into contact is formed on the top panel.

11. The operating device of claim 9 , wherein

the operating member has a top panel that makes up the surface touched by a user's finger, and

the top panel includes a top side section to which the touch sensor is attached and a front side section that extends from the front of the top side section and makes up a front side of the operating device.

12. The operating device of claim 8 , wherein

the operating member has stopped sections, one on the left and another on the right, and

the housing has, as the stopper section, two stopper sections adapted to restrict forward movements of the left and right stopped sections, respectively.