FR2820543A1 - MULTIPLE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH THREE MAIN SWITCHING WAYS AND A MONOBLOCK ACTUATOR - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention proposes a triple electrical switch (10) comprising a contact-carrier casing (12) which delimits at least two switch housing (20A, 20B, 20C) each one of which receives a tripping device (22A, 22B, 22C) which is elastically deformable in order to establish an electrical connection between two fixed contacts, and comprising a common actuating plate (46) which is mounted in an articulated manner in order to rock, about a horizontal axis (70AB, 70BC, 70CA), towards an actuating position in which it acts individually on a tripping device by the intermediary of an associated actuating stud (40A, 40B, 40C), characterized in that it comprises three switch housings (20A, 20B, 20C) arranged in a triangle formation, and in that the axis of articulation of the plate (46) passes through the other two studs.

Description

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"Multiple electrical switch with three main switching channels and integral actuator"
The present invention relates to an electrical switch.

 The invention relates more particularly to a multiple electrical switch, in particular with tactile effect, of small dimensions.

 The invention relates to an electrical switch making it possible, by means of a single actuating member, to carry out separate electrical switching operations with a view in particular to controlling a function of an electronic device following, for example, choices made by selection from a menu or list on a display screen.

 Such a function must for example be ensured in a portable telephone set, for example of the GSM type, which in particular comprises means allowing for example the user to memorize in a register a series of telephone numbers which he can then call directly without having to dial the correspondent's number on the keyboard.

 To this end, the telephone includes a display screen on which the user can scroll, for example in two opposite scrolling directions, the list of correspondents with each his previously stored number.

 According to a known design, this scrolling display operation requires two electrical switches on one or the other of which the user presses, by separate pulses or continuously, to scroll the list in one or the other. of the two scrolling directions.

 Once the user has selected the correspondent he wishes to call, he must then confirm this selection and

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 initiate the automatic dialing call operation by acting on a third electrical switch.

 This design therefore requires in principle to provide three electrical switches which, according to a first known design, are made in the form of separate components which must be mounted on a printed circuit board of the telephone.

 Such a solution is therefore particularly costly in that it uses a large number of components, in that it requires mounting the components, for example by the technique of the flat transfer, on the printed circuit board and in what it requires, for each switch, to use a separate actuation button.

 In addition, the function of selection then validation for the call of a memorized number must present for the user the greatest possible ergonomics.

 Indeed, it is particularly desirable that the user can handle his telephone set with one hand, that is to say with the hand with which he holds his phone.

 Recent developments and the rapid evolution of telecommunications means, such as portable radiotelephones, portable computers and other devices making it possible in particular to electronically store data, require the use of electromechanical components of increasingly reduced dimensions and, in particular in the area mentioned above, to allow the scanning of menus, the movement of a symbol on a screen and, more generally, the combination in a single component of several electrical switching functions.

 In the case of menu scanning and selection switching, in particular for applications on mobile phones, the basic combination mentioned

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 previously using three electrical switching channels has proven to be essential.

 Many efforts have been made to generally make so-called "multiple" electrical switches in the form of a single electromechanical component making it possible to ensure, by means of a single actuating member, up to 'with eight scan switching operations and a selection switching operation.

 Among the various solutions proposed for integrating the switching elements in a single switch, it can be seen that the designs are of the type comprising a lower insulating contact-carrying case which delimits at least two switching housings, each of which has a bottom in which are disposed at the at least two fixed contacts and which receives a tripping member, of generally domed shape, which is elastically deformable from a rest position, substantially in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the bottom of the housing, to establish an electrical connection between the two fixed contacts, and of the type comprising a common upper actuating member in the general form of a common actuating plate which is hinged relative to the housing, from a rest position, towards which it is resiliently returned and in which it extends in a horizontal plane substantially parallel to the fon ds of the housings, for tilting, around a horizontal axis, towards an angular actuation position in which it acts individually on a triggering member by means of an associated actuation pad which is arranged under the underside of the common actuating plate, facing this triggering member, and which comprises a lower end portion which, in the plate's rest position,

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 is in vertical support on a convex central zone facing said triggering member.

 This is particularly the case for the complex design described and represented in document FR-A-2. 770.022 which uses an actuating member common to the various "individual" switches, the common actuating plate of some of the switches is linked to a vertical control rod to constitute a control lever.

 This design is not suitable for the basic combination of a multiple switch with three main switching channels for which it is desirable to have a component of reduced total height of generally flat shape and the control of which the triggering of each of the three switching channels can be ensured in a simple and reliable manner, even when the triggering force, of generally vertical orientation, is generally offset with respect to the triggering member to be controlled, while retaining a stable tactile effect and a substantially constant triggering force.

 To this end, the invention provides a multiple switch of the type mentioned above, characterized in that it comprises three switching housings arranged in a triangle, and in that the horizontal axis of articulation of the common actuation plate, for the individual actuation of each of the three triggering members, passes through the two lower end portions of the two actuating pads associated respectively with the other two of the three triggering members.

 According to other characteristics of the invention: - the lower end portion of each actuating pad is frustoconical or hemispherical and determines a lower actuating point resting on the convex central zone opposite the 'associated triggering device;

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 - The lower end portions of the three actuating pads are substantially coplanar; - in the rest position of the common actuation plate, each lower portion of an actuation pad is in elastic support on the central zone opposite the associated trigger member which is elastically prestressed according to the vertical direction; - the bottoms of the three switching housings are substantially coplanar; - The upper face of the common actuation plate comprises three control blocks, each of which is arranged substantially in line with an associated actuation pad to constitute an individual control button for the triggering member associated with said pad. actuation; each triggering member is of the elastically deformable type from a stable rest position to provide the user with a tactile effect of its triggering; - the actuating force to obtain the triggering of one of the three triggering members is greater than the actuating force of the other two triggering members; - The insulating lower case has a flat horizontal support and articulation surface for a convex spherical part of a switch control button; the common actuation plate comprises a window formed between two of the three control blocks, through which protrudes, vertically upwards, a block of the insulating lower case, the upper face of which delimits said flat horizontal support surface and hinge for the switch control button; - each control block is delimited vertically upwards by an upper face parallel to the general plane of

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- le commutateur présente une symétrie générale de conception par rapport à un plan vertical médian passant par la médiatrice du troisième côté du triangle isocèle ; - la plaque commune d'actionnement est une pièce moulée en matière plastique. the common actuation plate, and, in the rest position of the common actuation plate, the upper faces of the three control blocks and the upper face of said block are substantially coplanar; - the three switching housings are arranged in an isosceles triangle;

- The switch has a general design symmetry with respect to a median vertical plane passing through the perpendicular bisector of the third side of the isosceles triangle; - the common actuation plate is a molded plastic part.

 Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows for the understanding of which reference will be made to the appended drawings in which: - Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view from above of the main components d 'A preferred embodiment of a multiple electrical switch according to the teachings of the invention; - Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to that of Figure 1 in which the switch is shown in the assembled position of its various components; - Figure 3 is a perspective view from below of the common actuation plate shown in Figure 1; - Figure 4 is a sectional view through the vertical median plane of symmetry passing through line 4-4 of Figure 2; and - Figure 5 is a sectional view through a vertical plane passing through line 5-5 of Figure 2.

 To facilitate understanding of the description and of the claims, a vertical orientation will be adopted from the bottom upwards, without limitation, considering FIG. 1.

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 The switch 10 mainly comprises a lower housing 12 which is delimited by a horizontal flat lower face 14 which is designed to bear on the upper face of a printed circuit board (not shown) and by a horizontal flat upper face 16.

 In top view, the switch 10 has a general design symmetry with respect to a vertical plane of symmetry PS passing through the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

 The switch 10 is a multiple switch with at least three individual and independent switching channels, that is to say that it comprises three individual switches 18i.

The three individual switches 18i are generally of similar design and they will not all be described in detail, each respective component of one of the switches 18i being designated by the same reference numbers followed by the corresponding index "i", c ' ie "A, B or C"
The multiple switch 10 thus comprises three individual switches 18A, 18B and 18C each of which comprises a switching housing 20A, 20B, 20C in which is arranged a tripping member 22A, 22B, 22C on which an actuating pad is capable of act to cause a change in state of the triggering member, that is to say of the corresponding switching channel.

 As can be seen in the figures, the three switches 18i are arranged in a triangle, here in an isosceles triangle at "A"; that is to say that the three generally vertical axes 24A, 24B and 24C passing substantially through the centers of the three triggering members 22A, 22B and 22C constitute the three vertices of a triangle.

 The three housings 20i are formed in the bottom 26 of the lower housing 12, the upper face of which is open and each housing is thus also open vertically upwards.

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 Each housing 20i is delimited by a peripheral wall of generally rectangular outline and by a flat, horizontal bottom bottom 30i. The three bottoms 30i are substantially coplanar and parallel to the horizontal upper face 16 which is itself parallel to the lower face 14.

 According to a known design, the lower housing 12 is produced by overmolding of an insulating plastic material around different conductive elements among which different fixed contact elements.

 Thus, the bottom 30i of each housing 20i has a central fixed contact 32i which belongs to a conductive element which has a connection end 34i which extends outside the housing 12, from a vertical lateral face, to allow mounting of the switch on a printed circuit board, for example according to the technique of the flat transfer of the components.

 The bottom 30i also includes another fixed contact 36i which is connected to a connection terminal 38i.

 The housing 20i is dimensioned to receive a triggering member 22i, of known general design, which is an element of conductive material of generally domed shape, here by way of example of rectangular contour, which bears against the bottom by its lateral edge lower rectangular contour, and in particular with the fixed contact 36i, and whose central apex, axis 24i, can extend, at rest, above the central fixed contact 32i so as to optimize the tactile effect resulting from the use of rectangular lateral triggering members of known general design.

 It will be noted here that the triggering member 22A received in the housing 20A of the switch 18A is "double", that is to say that it is constituted by the superposition of two identical and superimposed rectangular domes.

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 The concavity of the triggering member 22i is turned towards the bottom 30i and the member 22i is capable of being deformed, against its own elasticity, in a substantially vertical direction of triggering parallel to the axis 24i, to establish an electrical connection between the fixed contacts 32i and 36i. The triggering member 22i changes state suddenly, beyond a determined triggering stroke, so as to transmit to the user a tactile sensation of its triggering.

 In accordance with the teachings of the invention, each stud 40i for actuating a triggering member is of frustoconical shape, or hemispherical by way of variant not shown, the lower end of which is a pellet 42i of very small diameter which constitutes a actuation point which is generally centered with respect to the upper zone 44i, here rectangular and generally planar of the associated tripping member 22i, that is to say that the actuation point is generally centered on the axis trigger 24i.

 In accordance with the teachings of the invention, the three actuating pads 40i belong to a common actuating member constituted by a common actuating plate 46.

 The actuation plate 46 is here a part produced by plastic molding delimited by two parallel upper 48 and lower 50 faces and it comprises several cutouts or recesses which give it a generally triangular appearance including in particular a branch or transverse leg of apex 52A and two basic side branches or legs 52B and 52C.

 Each branch 52i carries an actuation pad 40i which extends vertically under the underside 50 of the common actuation plate 46.

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 Each upper control block 54i is here in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped block delimited vertically upwards by a flat horizontal upper face 56i.

 Thus, the three control blocks are in the form of three control keys 54i each comprising an upper control face 56i on which a user can apply, directly or indirectly, an actuating force Fi to actuate the associated individual switch 18i.

 The three actuation points 42i are coplanar in a horizontal plane parallel to that of the body of the plate 46 which, in the assembled and rest position of the plate 46, is horizontal.

 In this assembled position, each actuation point 42i is in vertical support on the corresponding associated zone 44i by exerting on the triggering member a very slight prestress or preload against the proper elasticity of the triggering member 22i.

 To define this rest position of the plate and assemble all the components of the switch 10, the latter comprises an upper closure plate 58 or closure cage, of generally rectangular shape which here comprises vertical lateral tabs folded and / or crimped 60 for close the lower case like a crimped cage.

 The vertical upward position of the actuating plate 46 is thus defined by the abutment of its upper face 48 against portions facing the lower face 62 of the closure plate 58.

 The closure plate 58 naturally includes three windows 64i, each of which allows the passage of the corresponding control key 54i carried by the common actuation plate 46 and each of which thus projects vertically

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 upwards beyond the upper face 66 of the closure plate 58.

 The closure plate, when it is metallic, may include an additional tab 67 for connecting it to the electrical ground of the printed circuit board which carries the switch 10.

 The operation of the multiple switch 10 is as follows.

 When the user wishes to modify the state of an individual switching channel, that is to say by actuating one of the individual switches 18i, he presses the upper face 56i of the associated control key 54i. This actuating force, when it is greater than the triggering force of the associated triggering member 22i, causes the state of the latter to change.

 During actuation, the common actuation plate 46 generally switches around a substantially horizontal tilting or articulation axis passing through the actuation points of the two other actuation pads.

 Thus, by way of example, the control of the individual switch 20A is obtained by acting on the key 54A-56A, which causes the plate 46 to tilt around the axis 70BC passing through the points 42B and 42C, c ' is to say around an axis corresponding generally to the side of the triangle opposite to the top of index "A".

 When the user releases his effort on the key 54i considered, the triggering member returns to its stable state of rest, each triggering member 22i thus constituting an elastic return means of the actuating plate 46 towards its resting position .

 The single-piece actuator constituted by the common actuation plate 46 thus makes it possible to actuate each

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 individual switch, even if the actuating force is offset or offset with respect to the corresponding axis 24i, and this with a stable tactile effect or sensation and a constant force.

 The tactile effect is then independent of the point of application of the force, that is to say that, wherever it is "pressed" on the pads 56A, 56B or 56C, the effect or tactile sensation is identical due to the one-piece design of the actuator 46.

 The switch 18A, thanks to its two superimposed domes, has a higher tripping force and it can for example constitute the selection or validation switch, while the other two switches 18B and 18C are menu scroll switches.

 The triple switch 10 also allows, without departing from the scope of the invention, to combine the simultaneous actuation of two individual switches, or even of the three switches 18i.

 The closure plate 58 also includes a window 72 which is located centrally between the two windows 54B and 54C and which allows the passage of a fixed block 74, here produced integrally by molding with the body of the lower housing 12, which is delimited vertically upwards by a flat and horizontal upper face 76 which is preferably coplanar with the upper faces 56i of the control keys 54i, when the common actuation plate 46 is in its rest position.

 The upper face 76 then constitutes a flat bearing face for a common button (not shown) for controlling the triple switch 10. the lower part of the control button is then a convex hemispherical part which allows, in the assembled position of the device electronic (eg telephone), the button to be connected to the switch by a ball joint type connection.

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 It can also be seen in the figures that the lower insulating housing 12 has a central through hole 78 which frees up surface on the printed circuit board for other components which, if their height requires it, can also extend through a window 80 of the upper closure plate.

Claims (14)

 CLAIMS 1. Multiple electrical switch (10) of the type comprising a lower insulating housing (12) contact carrier which delimits at least two switching housings (20A, 20B, 20C) each of which comprises a bottom in which are arranged at least two contacts fixed (32A-36A, 32B-36B, 32C-36C) and which receives a trigger member (22A, 22B, 22C), of generally domed shape, which is elastically deformable from a rest position, substantially according to a direction (24A, 24B, 24C) perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the bottom of the housing, to establish an electrical connection between the two fixed contacts, and of the type comprising a common upper actuating member (46) in the general form of a plate d actuation which is mounted articulated with respect to the housing (12), from a rest position, towards which it is spring-loaded and in which it extends in a horizontal plane substantially parallel to the bottoms of the housings s, to tilt, around a horizontal axis (70AB, 70BC, 70CA), towards an angular actuation position in which it acts individually on a triggering member via an associated actuation pad (40A , 40B, 40C) which is arranged under the lower face (48) of the actuating plate, facing this triggering member, and which has a lower end portion which, in the rest position of the plate, is in vertical support on a convex central zone (44A, 44B, 44C) facing said triggering member, characterized in that it comprises three switching housings (20A, 20B, 20C) arranged in a triangle, and in that the horizontal axis of articulation (70BC, 70CA, 70AB) of the common actuation plate (46) for the individual actuation of each of the three triggering members passes through the two <Desc / Clms Page number 15>  lower end portions of the two actuating pads (40B-40C, 40C-40A, 40A-40B) associated respectively with the other two of the three triggering members.  2. Electric switch according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lower end portion of each actuating pad is frustoconical or hemispherical and determines a lower actuating point (42A, 42B, 42C) resting on the central area convex opposite (44A, 44B, 44C) of the associated trigger member 522A, 22B, 22C).  3. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower end portions (42A, 42B, 42C) of the three actuating pads (40A, 40B, 40C) are substantially coplanar.  4. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in the rest position of the common actuation plate (46), each lower portion of an actuation pad (40A, 40B, 40C) is in elastic support on the central area opposite (44A, 44B, 44C) of the associated triggering member which is elastically prestressed in the vertical direction.  5. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottoms (30A, 30B, 30C) of the three switching housings (20A, 20B, 20C) are substantially coplanar.  6. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper face (50) of the common actuation plate (46) comprises three control blocks (54A, 54B, 54C) each of which is arranged substantially at right of an associated actuation pad (40A, 40B, 40C) to provide a touch of <Desc / Clms Page number 16>  individual control of the trigger member associated with said actuating pad.  7. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each trigger member (22A, 22B, 22C) is of the elastically deformable type from a stable position of rest to provide the user with a tactile effect of its triggering.  8. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating force for obtaining the triggering of one (22A) of the three triggering members (22A, 22B, 22C) is greater than the force d actuation of the other two (22B, 22C) triggering members (22A, 22B, 22C).  9. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower insulating housing (12) has a flat horizontal surface (76) for support and articulation for a convex spherical part of a control button of the switch.  10. Electric switch according to claim 9 taken in combination with claim 6, characterized in that the common actuation plate (46) comprises a window (72) formed between two (54B, 54C) of the three control blocks through which protrudes, vertically upwards, a block (74) of the lower insulating housing (12) whose upper face (76) delimits said flat horizontal surface of support and articulation for the control button of the switch.  11. Switch according to the preceding claim, characterized in that, each control block (54A, 54B, 54C) is delimited vertically upwards by an upper face (56A, 56B, 56C) parallel to the general plane of the common plate d actuation (46), and in that, in the rest position of the common actuation plate, the faces <Desc / Clms Page number 17>  upper (56A, 56B, 56C) of the three control blocks and the upper face (76) of said block (74) are substantially coplanar.

 12. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the three switching housings (20A, 20B, 20C) are arranged in an isosceles triangle.  13. Switch according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it has a general symmetry of design with respect to a vertical median plane (PS) passing through the perpendicular bisector of the third side of the isosceles triangle.  14. Switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the common actuation plate (46) is a molded plastic part.