JP2000294073A - Push-button device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push-button device capable of lessening the overhang dimension to the front of the panel of a machine body while an excellent sealing is well secured. SOLUTION: In a panel hole 7 provided in a front face panel 3 of a machine body 1, a button case member 11 is inserted from the front of the panel 3 and arranged in such a way as covering the panel hole 7. In this button case member, a push-button operating member 20 is internally installed in such a way as movable force and aft caused by elastic deformation of the member 20. A push-button cover 24 is fitted to the front surface of the push-button operating member and confronted to a front face opening 11a in the button case member 11, and the pushing operation with the cover 24 is transmitted to behind the panel through an actuating member 22, which thereby opens and closes a switch circuit 31 installed behind the panel. The gap to the inner surface on the front face side inside the button case member 11 is made practicable to be sealed by the push-button operating member 20, and also a seal member P to seal the panel hole 7 is installed between the panel 3 and button case member 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button device such as a product selection switch mounted on a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, vending machines are installed not only indoors but also outdoors exposed to the weather. Therefore, for example, a push button device installed on the front panel of the body as a product selection switch is required to have a sufficient sealing property so that rainwater or the like does not enter into the body, particularly the switch portion.

Conventionally, as a seal structure of a push button device in such a vending machine, for example, May 3, 1996
As disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2506507 (Japanese Utility Model Application No. 63-96530), which is registered as of date 0, a sealing means using silicone rubber has been proposed.

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3-127977 proposes an assembling means of a push button device for inserting a rear portion of a switch from a front side of a panel into a panel hole formed in a front panel of the body and fixing the switch. .

[0005]

However, in the above-described push button device in the conventional vending machine, for example, in the push button device described in Utility Model Registration No. 2506507, the push button device is protruded greatly from the front of the panel. Due to the mounting structure, in recent years, the installation of the aircraft on the road has been severely restricted in recent years, and it is difficult to reduce the depth dimension of the entire aircraft including the push button device.

On the other hand, the push button device described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3-127977 has an assembly structure in which the rear portion of the switch is inserted and fixed from the front side of the panel, so that the switch protrudes forward. Although the dimensions can be reduced, there is a problem that rainwater or the like infiltrates into the inside of the fuselage and the electric system and the drive system are likely to have troubles due to poor sealing performance between the assembly members.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a push button device capable of reducing the size of the protrusion of the fuselage in front of the panel while ensuring excellent sealing performance. The purpose is to:

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a push button device mounted in a panel hole formed in a panel on a front surface of an airframe. The push button device, a button case member which is inserted into the panel hole and is provided from the front side of the panel to cover the panel hole, and has a front and rear opening,
A push button operating member provided inside the button case member so as to be movable in the front-rear direction by elastic deformation thereof, and capable of sealing between the button case member and a front inner surface of the button case member; A push button cover fitted to the front surface of the button case member and facing the front opening side of the button case member; and an operating member for transmitting a pressing operation by the push button cover to a rear side of the panel via the push button operating member. And a switch arranged behind the panel so as to be opened and closed by the operating member, and a seal member for sealing the panel hole is provided between the panel and the button case member. It is characterized by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the push button operating member is provided so as to cover a front opening of the button case member from behind, and the button case It is characterized in that it is tightly fixed by a fitting member fitted and assembled from the rear side of the member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the push button operating member is
It has an elastic body formed of an elastic resin and can be elastically deformed in the front-rear direction, and the operating member is integrally formed on a back side of the elastic body in a rod shape.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the present invention, the button case member is fitted through a panel hole to a fixing member assembled from a rear side of the panel. And sealingly fixed to the front surface of the panel by sandwiching the sealing member in the panel hole.

[0012] The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 1, 2, and 3.
The invention described in 3 or 4 is characterized in that the button case member is formed by chamfering a peripheral portion of a flange member formed to project from a front opening end thereof into a tapered shape.

That is, the push button device according to the present invention comprises:
A button case member is inserted into the panel hole opened in the panel on the front of the fuselage so as to cover the panel hole from the front side of the panel, and the push button operation member is elastically deformed in this button case member in the front-rear direction. A push operation by a push button cover which is fitted to the front surface of the push button operation member and faces the front opening side of the button case member at the rear side of the panel via the operation member. The operating member opens and closes a switch arranged behind the panel by means of the operating member, while the push button operating member enables sealing between the front inner surface of the button case member and the panel and the button case member. To have a sealing member for sealing the panel hole between the front opening side of the button case member and the panel hole. Penetration of such et rainwater is reliably prevented, moreover, due to the low number of parts of the assembly member disposed in front of the panel, it is possible to reduce the protrusion dimension of the panel in front of the aircraft.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the entire structure of a vending machine equipped with a push button device according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an airframe.

At the top of the decorative panel 3 of the door 2 which is provided on the front (outer surface) of the body 1 so as to be openable and closable, a money slot 4 for coins or bills is provided.
A change return port 5 and a product outlet 6 are provided. In addition, on the inner side of the upper part of the decorative panel 3 of the door 2, sales sample products S are displayed in a plurality of stages, and each of the sample products S is provided with a push button device 1 as a product selection switch.
0 is attached to each stage.

The decorative panel 3 of the door 2 includes FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of panel holes 7 are opened in parallel in each stage in the horizontal direction, and a push button device 10 is mounted in each of the panel holes 7.

The push button device 10 has a cylindrical button case member 11 inserted in correspondence with each of the panel holes 7, and an opening end side of a front opening portion 11a of each of the button case members 11. , A flange member 12 is integrally formed so as to protrude. The flange member 12 is composed of a band-shaped plate 121 extending in series along each panel hole 7 of the decorative panel 3. This strip-shaped plate 121
Each button case member 11 is formed to protrude rearward on the rear side of the button case member.
Is formed integrally and continuously with the band-shaped plate 121, and the surface peripheral portion 121a of the band-shaped plate 121 is chamfered in a tapered shape.

Each of these button case members 11 is inserted into each panel hole 7 from the front of the decorative panel 3 of the body 1 in a watertight manner via a sealing member P, and has a front inner peripheral portion. An annular holding piece 13 is protruded, and a pair of upper and lower locking holes 14, 14, 15, 1
5 are provided at the front and rear portions, respectively.

In the button case member 11, a fitting member 1 is provided.
6 are arranged by fitting from the rear side of the decorative panel 3, and a pair of upper and lower check claws 17, 17 are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the fitting member 16.
By detachably engaging the engaging holes 17 provided in the button case member 11 with the engaging members 17, the fitting member 16 can be assembled into the button case member 11. Insert holes 1 in the center and both left and right
8, 19 and 19 are respectively provided so as to penetrate.

A push button operating member 20 is arranged on the button case member 11 in front of the fitting member 16. The push button operating member 20 has an elastic body 21 having a parasol-shaped cross-sectional shape made of a translucent elastic resin such as silicon rubber. The elastic body 21 can be moved in the front-rear direction by its elastic deformation. It is assembled.

That is, the elastic body 21 forming the push button operating member 20 has a top surface 21a having a flat front surface,
On its back side, a rod-shaped operating member 22 formed to extend rearward at a central portion, and a pair of thick body-shaped light guide members 23 formed to extend right and left of the operating member 22.
A and 23B are provided integrally.

The operating member 22 provided on the elastic body 21
The light guide members 23 </ b> A and 23 </ b> B are inserted into the right and left insertion holes 19 and 19 of the fitting member 16, respectively. In particular, the inner peripheral surfaces of the insertion holes 19, 19 are formed around the light guide members 23A, 23B and the light guide members 23A, 23B and light emitting members 32A, 32 described later.
B is formed so as to cover the periphery of the gap with B in a cylindrical shape, so that light L of the light emitting members 32A and 32B described later is
It serves as a reflector to guide the light more efficiently.

The outer peripheral edge 21b of the elastic body 21 is
The holding member 13 protruding from the inner peripheral portion of the button case member 11 on the front opening portion 11a side and the fitting member 16 fitted from the rear opening portion 11b side of the button case member 11 in a watertight manner. Thereby, the button case member 11 is tightly fixed and assembled so as to prevent infiltration of rainwater or the like into the interior of the decorative panel 3 from the front opening 11a of the button case member 11.

Further, on the top surface 21a of the elastic body 21 forming the push button operating member 20, a push button cover 2 made of a transparent hard resin material having a cap shape is provided.
The push button cover 24 faces the outside from the front opening 11 a of the button case member 11, and is moved backward against the elastic force of the elastic body 21 by the pressing operation, whereby the operating member 22 is moved. Is moved toward the circuit board 30 described later.

On the other hand, a housing member 25 is inserted and fitted on the outer peripheral portion of the button case member 11 from the rear side of the decorative panel 3, and the rear inner peripheral body portion and the front outer peripheral body portion of the housing member 25 are arranged. Are provided with a pair of upper and lower check claws 26, 26 and a check claw 27A, respectively. The check claws 26, 26 of the front side outer body part are provided with locking holes 15, provided on the rear side outer body part of the button case member 11, respectively.
By detachably engaging with the button 15, the housing member 25 can be assembled to the button case member 11 such that the housing member 25 is located behind the push button operating member 20 with the fitting member 16 interposed therebetween.

A fixing member 28 having a U-shaped cross section is fitted on the outer periphery of the housing member 25 from the rear side of the decorative panel 3. A locking hole 29 is provided on the upper side of the fixing member 28. ing. The locking hole 29 is detachably engaged with a check claw 27 provided on the front outer peripheral body of the housing member 25, so that the fixing member 28 is fitted to the button case member 11 through the panel hole 7. At the time of this assembling, the button case member 11 is sealed by inserting a seal ring P as a sealing member into the panel hole 7 so that the button case member 11 can be attached to the front surface of the decorative panel 3. It is designed to be tightly fixed from the side.

Further, in the housing member 25, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a locking portion 27B is provided, and the circuit board 30 is fitted and fixed to the locking portion 27B. The circuit board 30 includes a switching circuit 31 in which an operating member 22 provided to extend to the back side of the elastic body 21 of the push button operating member 20 corresponds to the switching circuit 31 and an elastic body 21 forming the push button operating member 20. Light guide member 23 provided
Light emitting members 32A and 32B made of light emitting diodes (LEDs) are provided at positions A and 23B, which penetrate the insertion holes 19 and 19 of the fitting member 16, respectively.

That is, the switching circuit 31 of the circuit board 30 presses the push-button cover 24 against the elastic force of the elastic body 21 of the push-button operating member 20, thereby causing the conductive member at the tip of the operating member 22 to move rearward. As a result, the switching circuit 31 is short-circuited and closed, and the opening member is released by releasing the pressing, whereby the operating member 22 elastically returns forward so as to be separated from the switching circuit 31. As a result, the switching circuit 31 is opened.

In addition to the switching mechanism for turning on the switch by short-circuiting the switching circuit 31 formed on the circuit board 30, a switch for mechanically opening and closing such as a tact switch is provided on the circuit board 30. It may be arranged above and pressed by the operating member 22.

The switching circuit 3 of the circuit board 30
1 and the light-emitting members 32A, 32B are connected to a controller (not shown) of the vending machine 1, and the controller uses the controller to display a display section 41 of a display print layer 40 indicated by a “〇” mark described later.
The light emitting member 32A corresponding to the item is turned on to display the saleable state of the product.

On the other hand, the display print layer 4 displayed as "SOLD OUT"
The light emitting member 32B corresponding to the display unit 42 of 0 is turned on to display the unsellable state of the product. When the light emitting member 32A or 32B is turned on, the light is guided toward the top surface 21a of the elastic body 21 of the push button operating member 20 located in front through the light guide members 23A and 23B.

On the top surface 21a of the elastic body 21 of the push button operating member 20, as shown in FIG. 2, a display print layer 40 is provided by, for example, print printing. It has a display section 41 of “〇” mark corresponding to the light member 23A and a display section 42 of “sold out” corresponding to the other light guide member 23B. The display portions 41 and 42 are formed by solid printing with red ink, for example, after printing out characters or patterns with black ink, and turning on one of the light-emitting members 32A and 32B to display a “〇” mark or "Sold out" is displayed in red to indicate that it is available or unavailable.

In this case, the display print layer 40 can be printed on the back side of the push button cover 24, and the display section 41 can be printed in a different color such as green and the display section 42 in red. Or each light emitting member 32
The light emitted from A and 32B can be classified into different emission colors such as green or red. In particular, when the colors of the light emitting members 32A and 32B are different from each other, since the light guide members 23A and 23B are formed corresponding to each other, the light emission color is reliably guided to the display units 41 and 42. However, the colors do not interfere with each other and do not blur.

In order to mount the above-described push-button device 10 according to the present invention on the decorative panel 3 of the body 1, FIG.
As shown in the figure, first, the push button cover 24, the push button operating member 20, and the fitting member 16 are assembled in the button case member 11 in order from the rear opening 11b side, and then the front assembly 100 is sealed. It is inserted from the front into the panel hole 7 of the decorative panel 3 via the ring member P and inserted.

On the other hand, the circuit board 3
Then, the rear assembly 200 is assembled toward the panel hole 7 from the rear side of the decorative panel 3 after fitting 0 and assembling with the fixing member 28. Then, by inserting the housing member 25 of the rear assembly 200 into the button case member 11 of the front assembly 100 and fitting the same, the front and rear assemblies 100 and 200 are assembled with the decorative panel 3 interposed therebetween. It is configured to be integrally attached.

In the above embodiment, the cap-shaped push button cover 24 is provided on the top surface 21a of the elastic body 21 forming the push button operation member 20, but the top surface 21a is made of hard resin. The push button cover 24 may be formed integrally with the elastic body 21 or by attaching a hard resin to the surface of the top surface 21a.
Can be eliminated.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention is directed to a push button device to be mounted in a panel hole formed in a panel on the front of the body, according to the first aspect of the present invention. The button device is a button case member which is inserted into the panel hole and is disposed from the front side of the panel so as to cover the panel hole, and has a front and rear opening, and the button case member is moved in the front and rear direction by its elastic deformation. A push-button operating member which is provided so as to be able to seal between the front-side inner peripheral surface inside the button case member and a front surface of the button case member which is fitted to the front surface of the push-button operating member. A push button cover facing the opening, an operating member for transmitting a pressing operation by the push button cover to a rear side of the panel via the push button operating member, and an opening member opened by the operating member; And a switching circuit arranged behind the panel so that a sealing member for sealing the panel hole is provided between the panel and the button case member. Infiltration of rainwater or the like from the front opening side and the panel hole can be reliably prevented.

Further, since most of the components are housed in the button case member, the number of components of the assembling member disposed on the front surface of the panel is small, thereby reducing the protrusion of the body to the front of the panel. be able to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the push button operating member is disposed so as to cover the front opening of the button case member from behind, and is fitted to the button case member from behind. Since it is tightly fixed by the fitting member to be attached, the front side opening of the button case member can be easily and reliably sealed, and
Since there is no need to use an adhesive, workability during maintenance such as maintenance and inspection or replacement of parts can be improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the push button operating member has an elastic body formed of an elastic resin and capable of being elastically deformed in the front-rear direction, and the operating member is formed in a rod shape on the back side of the elastic body. Since they are integrally formed to extend, the number of parts to be assembled in the entire apparatus can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the button case member is fitted to a fixing member assembled from the rear side of the panel through the panel hole, and the sealing member is sandwiched between the panel holes. The panel is tightly fixed to the front surface of the panel, so that the panel holes can be sealed easily and securely.In addition, since there is no need to use an adhesive, it can be used at the time of maintenance and inspection or parts replacement. Operability at the time of maintenance can be improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, since the button case member is formed by chamfering a peripheral portion of a flange member formed so as to protrude from an open end of a front surface thereof in a tapered shape.
The protruding portion on the front face of the decorative panel of the body becomes smooth, and the front face of the decorative panel can be safely and easily cleaned.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a state in which an embodiment of a push button device according to the present invention is mounted on a vending machine.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged explanatory view of a push button device in a portion A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part taken along line II of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part along line II-II in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Airframe (vending machine) 3 Decorative panel 7 Panel hole 10 Push button device 11 Button case member 11a Front opening 11b Rear opening 12 Flange member 12a Peripheral part 13 Nipping piece 14 Lock hole 15 Lock hole 16 Fitting member 17 Check Claw 18 Insertion Hole 19 Insertion Hole 20 Push Button Operating Member 21 Elastic Body 21a Top Surface 21b Outer Peripheral Edge 22 Operating Member 23A Light Guide 23B Light Guide 24 Push Button Cover 25 Housing Member 26 Check Claw 27 Reverse Stopper 28 Fixing member 29 Locking hole 30 Circuit board 31 Switching circuit 32A Light emitting member (light emitting diode) 32B Light emitting member (light emitting diode) P Seal ring

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Koji Yai 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Inside Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshitaka Yokota 2-5-2-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5G006 AZ09 BA01 BB03 CD03 CD07 DD05 FB06 LG03 LG05 LG07

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A push-button device to be mounted in a panel hole formed in a panel on the front of an airframe, the push-button device comprising:
A button case member which is inserted into the panel hole and is provided from the front side of the panel so as to cover the panel hole, and has a front and rear opening; A push button operating member that is made and sealable between the inner peripheral surface on the front side in the button case member, and an operating member that transmits the forward and backward movement of the push button operating member to the rear side of the panel, A switch disposed behind the panel so as to be opened and closed by the operating member, and a seal member for sealing the panel hole is provided between the panel and the button case member. Push button device to do. 2. The push button operation member is disposed to cover a front opening of the button case member from behind,
The push-button device according to claim 1, wherein the push-button device is tightly fixed by a fitting member fitted and assembled from a rear side of the button case member. 3. The push button operating member has an elastic body formed of an elastic resin and capable of being elastically deformed in the front-rear direction, and the operating member is integrally formed on a back side of the elastic body in a rod shape. 3. The push button device according to claim 1, wherein the push button device comprises: 4. The button case member is fitted to a fixing member assembled from the rear side of the panel through the panel hole, and the sealing member is sandwiched in the panel hole so that a front surface of the panel is provided. The push button device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the push button device is fixedly attached to the push button device. 5. The button case member according to claim 1, wherein a peripheral portion of a flange member projecting from an open end of a front surface of the button case member is chamfered in a tapered shape. Push button device.