JP2000082353A - Switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a switch which can exert a high sealing function and which nevertheless can enhance the producibility and reduce the costs. SOLUTION: A body case 2 furnished with a switch mechanism 1 is installed in the opening of a cover case 3, and the fitting part of the body case 2 to cover case 3 and leads 13, 14, 15 protruded from the body case 2 or the leadout part for conductors of lead terminals 6A, 7A, 8A are sealed with a sealing member 4 formed by secondarily molding a resin material while a mounting hole 19 is formed at the time of secondary molding of this sealing member 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to small switches such as micro switches and reed switches.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as a waterproof micro switch for preventing water and dust from entering the inside, as shown in FIG. 14, a case body 42 having a snap action type switch mechanism 41 is separately provided. After being fitted into the opening 44 of the molded cover case 43, the cover case 4
A molding material 45 such as an epoxy resin is injected and cured into the opening 44 of the main body case 42 and the cover part 43 and the lead-out part of the lead terminal 46 projecting from the bottom surface of the main body case 42. Some are configured to be sealed.

[0003]

The sealing means using a resin molding material requires several hours for curing, so that the productivity must be low, and the material mixing of the resin molding material, It takes time to manage the filling amount, etc.,
This was one of the factors that hindered productivity. In addition, the resin molding material has a higher material cost than the resin material used for molding the case body and the cover case, which has led to an increase in cost.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and it is possible to improve productivity and reduce costs while achieving a high sealing function. The aim is to provide a possible switch.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, in the switch according to the first aspect of the present invention, a main body case having a switch mechanism is fitted into an opening of the cover case, and a fitting portion between the main body case and the cover case; The lead-out portion of the conductor protruding from the case is sealed by a sealing member formed by secondary molding of a resin material.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the switch according to the first aspect, wherein the sealing member has a mounting hole formed by secondary molding.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the switch, the conductor is formed of a lead wire connected to a lead terminal protruding from the main body case, and a connecting portion between the lead terminal and the lead wire is sealed. It is embedded in the stop member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a switch, wherein the switch mechanism, the main body case supporting the switch mechanism, and the lead-out portion of the conductor protruding from the switch mechanism are formed by a cover formed by secondary molding of a resin material. It is characterized by being enclosed and sealed by a case.

A switch according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the switch according to the fourth aspect, wherein the cover case is provided with a mounting hole formed by secondary molding.

According to the structure of the first aspect of the present invention, after the switch mechanism is assembled to the main body case, the main body case is fitted into the opening of the cover case, and then,
The cover case is loaded into a mold, a resin material is injected into the mold, and a sealing member is injection-molded. A fitting portion between the body case and the cover case, and a lead wire or lead protruding from the body case. A lead-out portion of a conductor such as a terminal is sealed by the sealing member that has been subjected to the secondary molding.

According to the configuration of the second aspect of the present invention, by providing the core in the mold for secondary molding the sealing member, it is possible to simultaneously form the switch mounting hole in the sealing member.

According to the structure of the third aspect of the present invention, the sealing member is formed by secondary molding the fitting portion between the main body case and the cover case and the joining portion of the lead terminal and the lead wire by soldering or the like. Can be simultaneously sealed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the mold is mounted while the switch mechanism is positioned and held in the main body case, a resin material is injected into the mold, and the cover case is injection-molded. Then, the main body case and the lead-out portion of the conductor protruding from the switch mechanism are surrounded and sealed by a cover case formed by secondary molding.

According to the configuration of the invention according to claim 5, the switch mounting hole can be formed in the cover case at the same time by providing the core for the mold for secondary forming the cover case.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Some embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a waterproof micro switch as Embodiment 1 of a switch according to the present invention. This micro switch is
A resin main body case 2 having a snap action type switch mechanism 1, a resin cover case 3 in which the main body case 2 is fitted and supported, and a resin sealing provided at the bottom of the main body case 2 The switch mechanism 1 is made up of a member 4, and the switch mechanism 1 is operated to switch contacts by pushing an operation button 5 provided on the upper surface of the cover case 3.

The switching mechanism 1 includes three fixed terminal fittings 6 inserted into the main body case 2.
7, 8; a movable piece 9 for switching contacts;
And a curved spring piece 10 for snapping up and down. The movable piece 9 has a V-shaped engaging groove 11 at the base end of the movable piece 9 on an engaging piece 6a formed on the fixed terminal fitting 6 as a common terminal.
And the base end of the curved spring piece 10 is attached to the other engagement piece 6b formed on the fixed terminal fitting 6 by V.
The free end of the curved spring piece 10 is engaged and supported by the free end side portion of the movable piece 9 while being engaged and supported via the shape engagement groove 12. Lead terminals 6A, 7A, 8A extending from the fixed terminal fittings 6, 7, 8 protrude from the bottom of the case, and lead wires 13, 14, 15 as conductors for connection to an external circuit are provided. Each lead terminal 6A, 7A, 8
A is connected by soldering.

The operation button 5 is vertically slidably mounted on the upper surface of the cover case 3 so as to abut on an intermediate portion of the movable piece 9 from above.
A rubber cap 16 is press-fitted between the operation button 5 and the cover case 3 to waterproof the switch operation unit.

The switching mechanism 1 having the above-described structure is configured such that the bending spring piece 1 is normally used when no external force is applied to the operation button 5.
The free end of the movable piece 9 is urged upward by the elastic restoring force of 0, and is provided on the fixed contact (normally closed contact) 7a provided on one of the fixed terminal fittings 7 and on the upper surface of the free end of the movable piece 9. Movable contact 9a
Is maintained in contact, and the lead terminal 6A and the lead terminal 7A conduct. When the operation portion of the operation button 5 is pushed to bend the intermediate portion of the movable piece 9 downward by a predetermined amount or more, the elastic restoring force of the curved spring piece 10 instantaneously biases and displaces the movable piece 9 downward. Flip,
A movable contact 7a provided on the lower surface of the free end of the movable piece 9 is brought into contact with a fixed contact (normally open contact) 8a provided on the other fixed terminal 8,
The state where the lead terminal 6A and the lead terminal 8A are electrically connected is switched. When the operation button 5 is released, the intermediate portion of the movable piece 9 returns and rises, so that the elastic restoring force of the curved spring piece 10 is reversed so as to urge the movable piece 9 upward to be displaced. Return to.

The microswitch having the above configuration is manufactured by the following procedure.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the switch mechanism 1 is first assembled by assembling the movable piece 9 and the curved spring piece 10 into the main body case 2 molded with the fixed terminal fittings 6, 7, 8 as inserts. At the same time, the operation button 5 and the rubber cap 16 are attached to the cover case 3.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Is fitted into an opening 17 formed in the lower part of the cover case 3. At this time, the opening 17
A step 17a corresponding to the upper end of the protruding portion 2a formed on the front and rear surfaces of the main body case 2 is recessed and formed on the inner surface of the main case 2, and the protruding portion 2a and the step 17a engage with each other, Positioning of the main body case 2 in the fitting direction is performed. At this time, the operation button 5 abuts on a predetermined position of the movable piece 9 of the switch mechanism 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, lead wires 13, 14, 15 are respectively connected to the lead terminals 6A, 7A, 8A projecting from the bottom surface of the main body case 2 by soldering. Lead wires 13, 14, 1 from the bottom of
5, a secondary molding die 18 is mounted around the connection portion, and the same resin material as that of the main body case 2 and the cover case 3 is injected into the cavity C in the die 18 so that the main body case 2 and the cover case 3 and the lead terminals 6A, 7A, 8
The connection between A and the lead wires 13, 14, 15 is sealed with resin.

After that, the mold 18 is disassembled to obtain FIG.
As shown in (2), a waterproof type micro switch in which the sealing member 4 is secondarily formed is completed. Here, the mold 18 is provided with a core 18 a, and a mounting hole 19 is formed simultaneously on the lateral side of the sealing member 4.

(Embodiment 2) FIGS. 5 to 7 show waterproof micro switches having different specifications.

The microswitch of this embodiment has lead terminals 6A, 7A,
The other configuration, except that the shape of the lead terminals 6A, 7A, 8A is formed in a pin shape and the sealing member 4 is secondarily molded so that the 8A can be directly mounted on various substrates, and The manufacturing procedure is the same as in the previous example, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Since the microswitch of this embodiment is mounted on a substrate, there is no need to form a mounting hole in the sealing member 4, and the fitting portion between the main body case 2 and the cover case 3 and the lead terminals 6A , 7A, and 8A are used to form the sealing member 4 having a shape enough to seal the lead-out portions.

(Embodiment 3) FIGS. 8 to 12 show an example in which the switch according to the present invention is applied to a waterproof reed switch.

As shown in FIG. 8, the switch mechanism 21 of the reed switch is configured such that a pair of electrodes 22 and 23 are sealed in a glass tube 24 so as to face each other, and each electrode terminal protrudes from both ends of the glass tube 24. Lead wire 2 to 22a and 23a
5 and 26 are connected by soldering.

As shown in FIG. 9, the switch mechanism 21 to which the lead wires 25 and 26 are connected is positioned and held in a resin-molded main body case 27. At both ends of the main body case 27, concave portions 28, 29 for positioning and engaging the two electrode terminals 22a, 23a are provided, and guide pieces 30 for receiving and holding one lead wire 25 are provided.
The entire switch mechanism 21 is stably positioned and held.

As shown in FIG. 10, the switch mechanism 21 positioned and held in the main body case 27 is positioned and held in dies 31 and 32, and a resin of the same material as the main body case 27 is injected into an internal cavity. . By doing so, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the switch mechanism 2
1 and the body case 27 as a whole
A cover case 33 for sealing the lead-out portions of the lead wires 25 and 26 is formed secondarily. Here, a pair of mounting holes 34 are simultaneously formed in the cover case 33.

When the electrode terminals 22a and 23a are directly provided as lead terminals,
When the dedicated lead terminals connected to the a and 23a are inserted into the main body case 27, the cover case 33 is used.
It is not necessary to form the mounting holes 34 in the holes.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG.
The so-called insert molding, in which the switch mechanism 21 is directly held in the mold and the cover case 33 is formed to manufacture a waterproof type reed switch without using the 7, is also possible.

The present invention may, of course, be applied to other switches such as a photoelectric switch.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the following effects can be expected.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the sealing member is formed by performing the secondary molding process on the body case and the cover case which are fitted and connected, the sealing is performed by using the resin molding material. As a result, the curing time can be greatly reduced as compared with the above-mentioned means, and the number of steps required for managing the material composition, the filling amount, and the like can be reduced, and the productivity can be improved.
Further, since the sealing member to be secondarily molded is made of the same resin material as the main body case and the cover case, the material cost is reduced, which is effective for cost reduction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the switch mounting hole can be formed simultaneously with the secondary molding of the sealing member, the switch mounting hole can be formed, for example, as compared with the case where the mounting hole is formed in the main body case or the cover case. This facilitates setting of specifications and positions of the mounting holes, which is advantageous when a plurality of types of switches having the same function but different mounting specifications are manufactured.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the above-described effect of the first or second aspect can be obtained, and the waterproofness can be increased with the lead wire.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is no need to assemble the main body case and the cover case, and a switch excellent in waterproofness can be manufactured with high productivity.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the switch mounting hole can be formed simultaneously with the secondary forming of the cover case, the switch mounting hole can be formed as compared with the case where the mounting hole is formed in the main body case or the cover case, for example. This facilitates setting of the specifications and positions of the mounting holes, which is advantageous when a plurality of types of switches having the same function but different mounting specifications are manufactured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view showing an initial stage in a manufacturing process of a switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view at a stage when the main body case is fitted inside the cover case.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of a stage in which a mold is mounted on a cover case in which a main body case is fitted.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the completed switch according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view showing an initial stage in a manufacturing process of the switch according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional front view of a stage in which a mold is mounted on a cover case in which a main body case is fitted.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the completed switch according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an initial stage in a manufacturing process of the switch according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a stage where the switch mechanism is held in a main body case.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional side view at a stage where a mold is mounted.

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional side view of the completed switch according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an overall perspective view of the completed switch according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a modification of the manufacturing process of the switch according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Switch mechanism 2 Body case 3 Cover case 4 Sealing member 6A Lead terminal 7A Lead terminal 8A Lead terminal 13 Lead wire 14 Lead wire 15 Lead wire 17 Opening 19 Mounting hole 21 Switch mechanism 27 Main body case 33 Cover case 34 Mounting hole

Claims (5)

[Claims] A body case provided with a switch mechanism is fitted in an opening of a cover case, and a fitting portion between the body case and the cover case and a lead-out portion of a conductor protruding from the body case are defined. A switch characterized by being sealed with a sealing member formed by secondary molding of a resin material. 2. The switch according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member has a mounting hole formed by secondary molding. 3. The semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the conductor is formed of a lead wire connected to a lead terminal protruding from the main body case, and a connecting portion between the lead terminal and the lead wire is embedded in the sealing member. The switch according to 1 or 2. 4. A switch mechanism, a main body case supporting the switch mechanism, and a lead-out portion of a conductor protruding from the switch mechanism are surrounded and sealed by a cover case formed by secondary molding of a resin material. A switch, characterized in that: 5. The switch according to claim 4, wherein the cover case has a mounting hole formed by secondary molding.