EP3912178B1 - Push-button arrangement with identification of a switching state - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a push-button switch arrangement in which different switching states are visibly marked depending on the switch position.

In the case of a push-button switch arrangement, a standard may require that different states of a push-button switch in the arrangement be clearly visible to a viewer. The pushbutton switch arrangement can be designed, for example, as an emergency stop switch with which one or more electrical contacts between two conductors can be separated.

A pushbutton switch arrangement of this type usually has various components that can be assembled according to a modular system. The components of a pushbutton switch arrangement include, for example, a generally mushroom-shaped actuation head which is placed on a key guide. The key guide can be designed as a hollow body and has a plunger in its interior, which is displaceably arranged in the key guide by means of the actuating head.

The pushbutton switch arrangement is mounted on a housing body which has a contact element inside. The contact element can be designed, for example, as a switch for closing (normally open) or as a switch for opening (normally closed) or as a combination of normally closed and normally open. When the actuating head is actuated by an operator, for example when the actuating head is pressed in or twisted, the plunger is displaced inside the key guide. The plunger acts on the contact element Interior of the housing body, so that an electrical contact is separated in the case of the contact element being designed as an opener or is closed in the case of the contact element being designed as a make contact.

In US 3,729,607 A An overcurrent switch is described in which a pressure switch consisting of an actuating head and a button guide is attached to a housing via an adapter. Colored bands are arranged on the key guide to identify switching states.

In EP 2 413 341 a pushbutton with a display of switching states is described, the display being arranged in an actuating head. The actuating head is displaceably arranged over a housing.

Other pressure switches that are attached to a housing via an adapter are in US 3,356,816 A and US 5,408,061 A described.

One aim of the present invention is to provide a push-button arrangement in which different switching states are clearly visible to an operator, the push-button arrangement being flexible in use and being able to be manufactured with little manufacturing effort.

Such a push-button arrangement with identification of switching states is specified in claim 1.

The pushbutton switch arrangement includes a pushbutton switch with an actuating head for actuating the pushbutton switch and with a key guide. Furthermore, the pushbutton switch arrangement has an adapter device for attaching the pushbutton switch on a housing body. The housing body can be provided to accommodate a contact element. The contact element can be used to open and/or close an electrical contact. The key guide has a solid-colored material made of a plastic, the color of which differs from a color of the actuating head and a color of the adapter device.

A solid-colored plastic material is understood to mean a plastic that has a raw polymer to which color granules (color batch) are mixed as an additive. The raw polymer is an uncolored plastic that is initially transparent, for example. The color granulate is a plastic additive in the form of granules containing colorants. A previously uncolored or transparent one

Plastic can therefore consistently take on the color determined by the color additive. Alternatively, a solid-colored plastic material can be produced by using a colored plastic. Subsequent painting of the colorless (transparent) plastic or subsequent gluing of a colored film onto a colorless plastic material in order to give the plastic material a color can therefore be omitted.

According to a possible embodiment of the push-button switch arrangement, the actuating head can have a mushroom-shaped upper part and a tubular lower part. The key guide can be arranged at least partially inside the tubular lower part. When actuating the pushbutton switch from a non-triggered original state to a triggered state, the actuation head can be pressed in or screwed in. When the pushbutton switch is triggered, the actuating head can lock in position using a locking mechanism. Such a mechanism is in WO 01/69619 A1 described.

The actuating head can be moved from the triggered position back into the non-triggered position by pulling or twisting. Any combination of pulling and rotating movements is possible. The pushbutton switch can be switched into the triggered state, for example, by pressing the actuating head and then back into the non-triggered state by turning the actuating head.

The push-button switch is designed in such a way that when the push-button switch is not triggered, an area of the key guide, the solid-colored material of the key guide, protrudes from under the actuation head and is therefore visible when the pushbutton switch arrangement is attached to the base body. In the push-button switch arrangement according to the invention, it is provided that the key guide is covered by the actuating head when the push-button switch is triggered in such a way that the area of the key guide, the solid-colored material of the key guide, is no longer visible when the push-button switch arrangement is attached to the base body is.

In order to be able to mount the pushbutton switch with the actuating head and the key guide as flexibly as possible on different housing bodies, the pushbutton switch arrangement has the adapter device for attaching the pushbutton switch to the housing body in which the contact element is arranged. Another area of the key guide, which is arranged below the area of the key guide that is covered by the actuating head when the push button switch is triggered, is covered by the adapter device regardless of the state of the push button switch. The interaction of the actuating head and adapter device can ensure that the colored plastic material of the key guide is completely hidden from view when the button switch is triggered.

The housing body has a hole into which the pushbutton switch is inserted. The adapter device makes it possible for the same push button switch to be inserted into housing bodies with different holes. The adapter device compensates for a difference between the outer diameter of the key guide and the inner diameter of the bore in the housing body.

The adapter device preferably has the same color as the housing body. In the non-triggered state of the button, the button guide colored in a different color is therefore visible to an operator next to the actuating head under the actuating head and above the uniformly colored assembly of the housing body and the adapter device. If the pushbutton switch arrangement is designed, for example, as an emergency stop switch, the actuating head is colored red, the key guide has a green-colored plastic material and the adapter device has a yellow-colored plastic material. The yellowing may correspond to a yellowing of the housing body.

When the actuating head is actuated, for example when the actuating head is pressed in the axial direction or when the actuating head is rotated, the lower part of the actuating head covers the area of the solid-colored key guide that was previously visible in the non-triggered state, so that the green color of the key guide is no longer visible to an operator is visible. The two-color design of the red-colored actuating head and the yellow-colored assembly consisting of the housing body and adapter device visually signals to an operator that the push-button switch has been triggered.

In addition to the key guide or the adapter device, the actuating head can also be made of a solid-colored material made of plastic.

By using a solid-colored plastic material for the various components, including the key guide, additional processing steps can be avoided, for example There is no need to subsequently print the button guide, in the case of an emergency stop switch with green color, or to cover the button guide with a colored film, for example a green film.

• Figur 1 eine Ausführungsform einer Tastschalter-Anordnung mit einem Tastschalter und einer Adaptereinrichtung;
• Figur 2A eine perspektivische Ansicht einer Vorrichtung mit einer Tastschalter-Anordnung und einem Gehäusekörper zur Aufnahme eines Kontaktelements im nicht-ausgelösten Zustand;
• Figur 2B eine Querschnittsansicht einer Vorrichtung mit einer Tastschalter-Anordnung und einem Gehäusekörper zur Aufnahme eines Kontaktelements im nicht-ausgelösten Zustand;
• Figur 3A eine perspektivische Ansicht einer Vorrichtung mit einer Tastschalter-Anordnung und einem Gehäusekörper zur Aufnahme eines Kontaktelements im ausgelösten Zustand;
• Figur 3B eine Querschnittsansicht einer Vorrichtung mit einer Tastschalter-Anordnung und einem Gehäusekörper zur Aufnahme eines Kontaktelements im ausgelösten Zustand;
• Figur 4 Ausführungsformen einer Tastschalter-Anordnung mit verschiedenen Adaptereinrichtungen zum flexiblen Befestigen eines Tastschalters auf einem Gehäusekörper zur Aufnahme eines Kontaktelements;
• Figur 5A eine perspektivische Ansicht einer Vorrichtung mit einer Tastschalter-Anordnung und einer ersten Ausführungsform eines Gehäusekörpers zur Aufnahme eines Kontaktelements; und
• Figur 5B eine perspektivische Ansicht einer Vorrichtung mit einer Tastschalter-Anordnung und einer zweiten Ausführungsform eines Gehäusekörpers zur Aufnahme eines Kontaktelements.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to figures which show exemplary embodiments of the pushbutton switch arrangement and a device with the pushbutton switch arrangement. Show it:

• Figure 1 an embodiment of a pushbutton switch arrangement with a pushbutton switch and an adapter device;
• Figure 2A a perspective view of a device with a push-button switch arrangement and a housing body for receiving a contact element in the non-triggered state;
• Figure 2B a cross-sectional view of a device with a push-button switch arrangement and a housing body for receiving a contact element in the non-triggered state;
• Figure 3A a perspective view of a device with a push-button switch arrangement and a housing body for receiving a contact element in the triggered state;
• Figure 3B a cross-sectional view of a device with a push-button switch arrangement and a housing body for receiving a contact element in the triggered state;
• Figure 4 Embodiments of a pushbutton switch arrangement with various adapter devices for flexibly attaching a pushbutton switch to a housing body for receiving a contact element;
• Figure 5A a perspective view of a device with a push-button switch arrangement and a first embodiment of a housing body for receiving a contact element; and
• Figure 5B a perspective view of a device with a push-button switch arrangement and a second embodiment of a housing body for receiving a contact element.

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a pushbutton switch arrangement 1 according to the invention with identification of switching states. The pushbutton switch arrangement has a pushbutton switch 100. The key switch 100 comprises an actuation head 110 for actuating the key switch and a key guide 120. The actuation head 110 has an upper part 111 and a lower part 112. The lower part 112 is designed as a cylindrical or tubular hollow body. The key guide 120 is at least partially arranged in the hollow body of the lower part 112 of the actuating head 110. Furthermore, the pushbutton switch arrangement 1 includes an adapter device 200 for attaching the pushbutton switch 100 to a housing body for receiving a contact element for opening and/or closing an electrical contact.

The key guide 120 has a solid-colored material, in particular a solid-colored plastic, the color of which differs from a color of the actuating head 110 and a color of the adapter device 200.

The Figures 2A and 3A each show a perspective view of a device 2 with the pushbutton switch arrangement 1 and a housing body 300, on which the pushbutton switch 100 is mounted using the adapter device 200. Figure 2B shows a cross-sectional view of the perspective view of the device 2 Figure 2A in the non-triggered state. Figure 3B shows a cross-sectional view of the perspective view of the device 2 from Figure 3A in the triggered state.

Inside the housing body 300 there is a contact element, not shown in the figures, which is designed, for example, as a switch for opening (normally closed) or as a switch for closing (normally open) an electrical contact. The pushbutton switch 100 can be switched from the non-triggered state to the triggered state by operating the actuation head 110.

According to a possible embodiment, the pushbutton switch 100 can be designed such that in the triggered state of the pushbutton switch, an electrical contact between two conductors in the contact element can be separated if the contact element is designed as an opener and the pushbutton switch arrangement 1 is attached to the housing body 300 . In this case, the electrical contact between the two conductors is closed in the non-triggered state of the pushbutton switch 100.

According to a further possible embodiment, the pushbutton switch 100 can be designed such that in the triggered state of the pushbutton switch, an electrical contact between two conductors in the contact element can be closed if the contact element 400 is designed as a normally open contact and the pushbutton switch arrangement 1 is on the housing body 300 is attached. In such an embodiment, the electrical contact between the two conductors is separated in the non-triggered state of the pushbutton switch 100.

According to the two embodiments mentioned above, the pushbutton switch arrangement can be designed as an emergency stop button/switch. The emergency stop button/switch is a switching element on machines, vehicles and systems. It is used to quickly put them in a safe state in the event of danger or to avert danger. When triggered, the power supply is interrupted. However, other embodiments are also possible in which the pushbutton switch arrangement is designed, for example, as a stop switch. The stop switch is suitable for switching off a machine or system.

The key guide 120 is designed as a tubular hollow body. A plunger (not shown) is arranged in the hollow body of the key guide 120, which is displaced in the hollow body of the key guide 120 when the actuating head 110 is actuated, in particular when the actuating head 110 is pressed in or rotated. The plunger acts on the contact element 400 inside the housing body 300 in such a way that the electrical contact between the conductors is separated or closed depending on the design of the contact element as an opener or closer.

As per the Figures 2A and 2B As becomes clear, the pushbutton switch 100 is designed in such a way that a region 121 of the solid-colored material of the key guide 120, in the non-triggered state of the pushbutton switch 100, visibly protrudes below the actuating head 110 when the pushbutton switch arrangement 1 is attached to the base body 300. According to the in the Figures 2A and 2B In the illustrated embodiment of the pushbutton switch arrangement, the key guide 120 is partially in the hollow body of the pushbutton switch 100 in the non-triggered state Arranged in the lower part 112 of the actuating head 110 and the area 121 of the key guide 120, the solid-colored plastic material of the key guide 120 visibly protrudes from the hollow body of the lower part 112 of the actuating head 110 when the push-button switch arrangement 1 is attached to the base body 300.

As per the Figures 3A and 3B As becomes clear, the key switch 100 is further designed in such a way that the area 121, the key guide 120, is not visibly covered by the actuating head 110 in the triggered state of the key switch when the key switch arrangement 1 is attached to the base body 300. The area 121 of the key guide 120 is thus arranged completely in the hollow body of the lower part 112 of the actuating head 110 when the button switch 100 is triggered. As a result, the area 121 of the key guide 120, the solid-colored plastic material of the key guide 120, is directly covered by the lower part 112 of the actuating head 110.

Figure 4 shows the pushbutton switch arrangement 1 with the pushbutton switch 100 and two different adapter devices 200 and 200'. It should be noted that the pushbutton switch arrangement can also have further adapter devices. Figure 5A shows an embodiment of the device 2 with the button switch 100 and the adapter device 200 for attaching the button switch 100 to a housing body 300. The housing body 300 can have an upper housing part 320 and a lower housing part 330. Figure 5B shows an embodiment of a device 2 with the button switch 100 and the adapter device 200 'for attaching the button switch 100 to a housing body different from the housing body 300 300'. The housing body 300' may include an upper housing part 320' and a lower housing part 330'.

The adapter device 200 is designed to fasten the pushbutton switch 100 in a bore 310 in the housing body 300. For this purpose, the adapter device 200 has an adapter ring 210, which is designed to compensate for a different diameter of the bore 310 of the housing body 300 and the key guide 120. Like based on Figure 5A becomes clear, the adapter ring 210 can be inserted into the bore 310 of the housing body 300. The adapter ring 210 has a hole 211 for receiving the key guide 120. The adapter device 200 further comprises a lock nut 220 for fastening the key switch 100 to the housing body 300. The lock nut 220 prevents the key switch 100 from being rotated in any way in the borehole 310.

The further adapter device 200' can be used to attach the pushbutton switch 100 to the housing body 300', as in Figure 5B is shown. The further adapter device 200' is designed in particular to fasten the pushbutton switch 100 in a bore 310' of the housing body 300'. The diameter of the bore 310' of the housing body 300' differs from the diameter of the bore 310 of the housing body 300. The further adapter device 300' is thus designed to compensate for a different diameter of the bore 310' of the housing body 300' and the key guide 120.

The adapter ring 210, 210 'has a material made of a solid-colored plastic, the color of which differs from the color of the actuating head 110 and the color of the key guide 120. The adapter ring 210, 210 'can preferably have the same color as the housing body 300, 300 '. Different colors are possible depending on the application.

With the help of the various adapter devices, it is possible to attach the same button switch 100 to different housing bodies 300, 300 ', in particular housing bodies with different borehole sizes. It is therefore not necessary to provide a specially manufactured pushbutton switch for each housing body with a different bore. Instead, a different adapter device simply needs to be used. With the pushbutton switch arrangement described, the installation of the pushbutton switch can be flexibly adapted to housing bodies with different borehole sizes for receiving the pushbutton switch arrangement by using the adapter device.

Furthermore, by using solid-colored plastic materials, the manufacturing effort for the pushbutton switch arrangement is significantly reduced compared to an embodiment in which, for example, a colored ring is printed on an uncolored plastic material or a colored film is glued on.

In the assembled state of the device 2, an area of the solid-colored plastic material of the key guide 120, which is arranged below the area 121 of the key guide, is covered by the adapter ring 210, 210 ', regardless of the triggered or non-triggered position of the button switch. When the pushbutton switch is triggered, the area 121 is invisibly covered by the lower part 112 of the actuating head. Since the adapter ring 210, 210 'also covers a portion of the key guide 120 above the housing body 300 covers, the colored plastic material of the key guide 120 is not visibly covered when the button switch is triggered. In the non-triggered state of the pushbutton switch, however, area 121 of the key guide is visible. The switching state of the pushbutton switch is therefore easy for an operator to recognize.

Reference symbol list

1

Push button arrangement

2

Device with push-button switch arrangement and housing body

100

Push button switch

110

Actuating head

111

Bottom part

112

Top

120

Key guide

121

Key guide area

200, 200'

Adapter device

210, 210'

Adapter ring

220, 220'

Locknut

211, 211'

Hole to accommodate the key guide

300, 300'

Case body

310, 310'

drilling

320, 320'

upper housing part

330, 330'

lower housing part

Claims (10)

1. Push-button switch assembly having means for identifying switching states, comprising:

   - a push-button switch (100) having an actuating head (110) for actuating the push-button switch and having a push-button guide (120),

   - an adapter device (200) for fastening the push-button switch (100) to a housing body (300),

   - wherein the adapter device (200) is designed to fasten the push-button switch (100) in a bore (310) of the housing body (300),

   - wherein the adapter device (200) is designed to compensate for a different diameter of the bore (310) of the housing body (300) and the push-button guide (120),

   - wherein the push-button guide (120) comprises a plunger, which is arranged in a hollow body of the push-button guide (120) and is moved in the hollow body of the push-button guide (120) when the actuating head (110) is actuated,

   - wherein, by actuating the actuating head (110), the push-button switch (100) can be switched from a non-released state to a released state,

   - wherein the push-button switch (100) is designed such that a region (121) of the push-button guide (120) visibly protrudes beneath the actuating head (110) when the push-button switch (100) is in the non-released state,

   - wherein the push-button switch (100) is designed such that the region (121) of the push-button guide (120) is covered by the actuating head (110) in a non-visible manner when the push-button switch is in the released state,

   - wherein the push-button guide (120) comprises an integrally-colored material made of a plastics material in the region (121), the color of which material differs from a color of the actuating head (110) and a color of the adapter device (200).
2. Push-button switch assembly according to claim 1,

   - wherein the actuating head (110) comprises an upper part (111) and a lower part (112),

   - wherein the lower part (112) is designed as a cylindrical hollow body,

   - wherein the push-button guide (120) is arranged at least partially in the hollow body of the lower part (112) of the actuating head (110).
3. Push-button switch assembly according to claim 2,
   wherein a region (121) of the push-button guide (120) visibly protrudes from the hollow body of the lower part (112) of the actuating head (110) when the push-button switch (100) is in the non-released state.
4. Push-button switch assembly according to claim 3,
   wherein the region (121) of the push-button guide (120) is covered by the lower part (112) of the actuating head (110).
5. Push-button switch assembly according to any of claims 1 to 4,
   wherein the adapter device (200) comprises an adapter ring (210).
6. Push-button switch assembly according to claim 5,
   wherein the adapter ring (210) comprises a material made of an integrally-colored plastics material, the color of which differs from the color of the actuating head (110) and the color of the push-button guide (120).
7. Push-button switch assembly according to either claim 5 or claim 6,
   wherein a further region of the push-button guide (120), which is arranged below the region (121) of the push-button guide, is covered by the adapter ring (200).
8. Push-button switch assembly according to any of claims 1 to 7, having:
   a further adapter device (200') which is designed to fasten the push-button switch (100) in a bore (310') of another housing body (300'), wherein the diameter of the bore (310') of the other housing body (300') differs from the diameter of the bore (310) of the housing body (300).
9. Push-button switch assembly according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the push-button switch assembly (1) is designed as an emergency stop switch or as a stop switch.
10. Apparatus (2) having a push-button switch assembly (1) according to any of claims 1 to 9, having a housing body (300), to which the push-button switch assembly (1) is fastened.

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