JP2001035324A - Operation force transmission structure through operation lever for combination switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a combination switch, having a simpler structure, constituted to transmit an operation force on an operation lever. SOLUTION: A transmission lever 30 is protruded to transmit operation force for moving a link member 23 in different directions on the base end side with an outer shaft 24a protruded from an inner shaft 24b on an operation lever 24. An engaging edge 33 is protruded to engaged with the transmission lever 30 with an appropriate allowance on the link member 23. A part to be engaged with the engaging edge 33 on the tip side of the transmission lever 30 is bent to a degree equivalent to a snap angle in the direction for canceling the snap angle. The dimensions for the transmission lever 30 and the link member 23 are set to allow a free lighting operation in any positions for dimmer operation, and which does not prevent dimmer operation at any position for the lighting operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a combination switch which is arranged, for example, in the immediate vicinity of a steering wheel and is combined with switches for activating electric components arranged in various parts of a vehicle. The present invention relates to a structure for transmitting an operation force of an operation lever of a combination switch, which is configured to transmit an operation force of an operation lever for selectively intermittently operating a contact with a simpler structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a combination switch that is configured so that the operation of electric components mounted on various parts of a vehicle can be performed at a centralized location is incorporated in a steering shaft connected to a steering wheel of a vehicle. For example, a combination switch 1 shown in FIG. 4 has a casing 2 having a steering shaft insertion space in the center, and a mechanism such as an EXH & retarder, a wiper, a washer, a hazard, an into time is operated in the casing 2. The electrode units 3 and 4 incorporating the electrodes (fixed electrode and movable electrode) constituting the switches are mounted, and the switch operation between the fixed electrode and the movable electrode in these electrode units 3 and 4 is performed in a specific direction and stroke. And a switch (fixed electrode, movable electrode) for operating a mechanism such as a first operation lever 5 which is turned on / off by turning, a lane change, a cornering, a dimmer & passing, a lighting, an auto cruise, a fog and the like. ) Is turned on / off by operating switches in specific directions and strokes. And a second operating lever 6 so as to FF. A movable lever 7 is attached to the housing 2 so as to swing and oscillate in a state of being biased by a spring force so as to surround the insertion space, and the first or second operation is performed on the movable lever 7. The base ends of the levers 5 and 6 are swingably mounted. These first and second operation levers 5,
6, for example, the second operation lever 6 has a built-in rotation shaft 8 that is rotatable coaxially around an axis, and both ends of the rotation shaft 8 are connected to the distal end side of the second operation lever 6. It protrudes from the base end side. On the tip side of the second operation lever 6,
An operation knob 9 is provided at the end of the rotation shaft 8, and a dimmer lever 10 is provided at a base end side of the second operation lever 6, and a lighting lever 11 is provided at an end of the rotation shaft 8 (FIG. 5). ), Each displacement is picked up by the relay member 12 (see FIG. 6), and a pressing member (not shown) provided on the electrode unit 4 is pressed by the concave / convex contact surface provided on the relay member 12 to form a plurality of displacements. The operating circuit is opened and closed by selectively contacting the fixed electrode and the movable electrode. With such a structure, it is possible to operate a wide variety of electrical components as described above while sitting in the driver's seat, and it can be said that the operability is dramatically improved.

[0003]

However, by moving the second operating lever 6 in different directions, the operating force is applied to the relay member 12 via the two levers, namely, the dimmer lever 10 and the writing lever 11. Since the transmission is performed, it is important to finely set the connection points and the connection members so that the operation force is smoothly transmitted at any operation position. It was inevitable that the structure would be correspondingly complicated, as the arrangement was also important. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above background, and has a structure in which an operation force transmission structure is further simplified, and a switching operation force can be transmitted with a simpler structure. It is intended to provide a transmission structure.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention combines a switch for operating the electric components disposed in various parts of a vehicle while penetrating a shaft of a steering wheel. In the combination switch configured as above, the operation lever is mounted on the switch housing so that it can be displaced in a plurality of different directions and strokes, and the fixed switch constitutes a switch for activating electric components disposed in various parts of the vehicle. An electrode unit incorporating an electrode and a movable electrode is mounted.These electrode units use a pressing member for intermittently connecting the fixed electrode and the movable electrode by a switch operation through a contact between the fixed electrode and the movable electrode in the unit. A contact surface for selectively abutting against the pressing member to respond to the pressing member, and a relay member including the movable electrode. Mountable, the relay member,
Oscillating displacement is enabled by one transmission member provided at the end of the operation lever on the mounting side, and the operation lever is displaced in a plurality of different directions and strokes to oscillate the relay member via the transmission member. Then, the fixed electrode and the movable electrode in the electrode unit are pressed by selectively contacting the contact surface of the relay member with the pressing member, and the fixed electrode and the movable electrode are intermittently connected. Start, stop, and switch operations of products. In the above-described configuration, the operation lever has a built-in rotation shaft that is rotatable coaxially around the axis. A transmitting member is protruded to allow the relay member to be displaced in the longitudinal direction to the electrode unit, and to be pivoted so as to be pivotable, while the relay member is provided with a plurality of different operating levers. An engagement portion for picking up an operating force displaced by a direction and a stroke by the transmission member is provided, and the transmission member and the engagement portion are connected to each other in a specific operation so that other operations are not hindered. And

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of an operating force transmitting structure using an operating lever in a combination switch according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a combination switch 20.
Is shown. The combination switch 20 has a housing 21 that is inserted close to the steering wheel while penetrating a shaft (not shown) of the steering wheel. The housing 21 has mounted thereon an electrode unit 22 incorporating fixed electrodes and movable electrodes (not shown) constituting switches for operating electrical components provided in various parts of the vehicle. 22 is
Through the contact between the fixed electrode and the movable electrode in the unit,
A pressing member (to be described later) for intermittently connecting the fixed electrode and the movable electrode by an external force is provided, and a fixed contact surface (not shown) for selectively abutting the transmission member to actuate the transmission member, or a movable electrode (not shown) (Not shown) is attached so as to be swingable. That is, the combination switch 20 moves the relay member 23 by an operation lever (described later) to start, stop, and switch the operation of the electrical component.

The housing 21 has a space (not shown) for inserting a steering shaft (not shown) at the center thereof, and the operation lever 2 is protruded to both sides with the space being inserted therebetween.
4 are provided. One of the operation levers 24 is operated by a switch in a specific direction and stroke to operate a mechanism such as an EXH & retarder, a wiper, a washer, a hazard, and an int time. The other operation lever 24
Is turn, lane change, cornering, dima &
In order to activate mechanisms and functions such as passing, lighting, auto cruise, fog, etc., specific directions,
The switch is operated by a stroke.

The structure for mounting the other operation lever 24 to the housing 21 will now be described in detail. The operation lever 24 has a hollow outer shaft 24a and an inner shaft 24b that is rotatably inserted coaxially with the outer shaft 24a.
And The outer shaft 24a is attached to a base frame member 25 that is provided so as to be able to pivot and swing so as to surround the insertion space in the housing 21. An operation knob 26 is attached to the inner shaft 24b on the tip side of the outer shaft 24a. The proximal end side of the inner shaft 24b protrudes from the outer shaft 24a. In this case, the inner shaft 24b is
Regulating member 2 attached to the front end side of the so as to close the opening
7, the rotation range is regulated. That is, a regulating ridge 28 is engraved on a side of the regulating member 27 facing the operation knob 26, and a ball 29 held by spring force is pressed against the surface of the regulating member 28 facing the operation knob 26. Contact. And the outer shaft 2 of the inner shaft 24b
A transmission lever 30 for transmitting an operation force to move the relay member 23 in a different direction is provided on a base end side protruding from the base 4a.

The relay member 23 is formed in a substantially elliptical shape, is displaced in the longitudinal direction through an elongated hole 31, and is pivotally fixed by a pin 32. Further, an engagement edge 33 which engages with the transmission lever 30 with an appropriate play at a position distant from the position where the elongated hole 31 is formed.
(See FIG. 2).

The transmission lever 30 is mounted in the vicinity of the mounting portion at right angles to the inner shaft 24b of the operation lever 24. The engagement portion of the transmission lever 30 with the engagement edge 33 on the distal end side has a snap angle in the direction to cancel the snap angle on the distal end side so that the snap operation (dimmer operation) is not hindered by the engagement edge 33. It is bent at the same angle. At this time, the operating force of the snap operation of the operation lever 24 can be transmitted to the relay member 23 by displacing the relay member 23 in the longitudinal direction about the elongated hole 31 via the engagement edge 33. Further, an operation (lighting operation) of rotating the inner shaft 24b of the operation lever 24 around the axis is pivoted about the elongated hole 31 through the engagement edge 33 so that the relay member 23 is pivoted. The switch is transmitted by selectively pressing the pressing element 34 disposed on the electrode unit 22 by the fixed contact surface on the back surface of the relay member 23. The transmission lever 30 and the relay member 23 as described above are
The lighting operation can be freely performed at any position of the dimmer operation, and the dimensions are set such that the dimmer operation is not hindered at any position of the lighting operation.

The operation force transmission structure of the combination switch according to the present invention using the operation lever is configured as described above. Next, the operation procedure and operation will be described. The dimmer operation and the lighting operation by the operation lever 24 are performed via the transmission lever 30 while the relay member 23 is displaced in the longitudinal direction around the elongated hole 31.
The operating force is transmitted by swinging the relay member 23 about the elongated hole 31, thereby selectively pressing the pressing element 34 disposed on the electrode unit 22, thereby allowing the fixed electrode in the unit to move. Through the contacts between the electrodes, fixed electrodes,
The switching of the switch is performed by intermittently connecting the movable electrodes, and the respective operations can be performed.

At the time of the dimmer operation, the operation lever 24 can perform a snap operation by being displaced so that the outer shaft 24a is bent with respect to the base frame member 25. Then, the transmission lever 30 at the distal end of the inner shaft 24b is displaced to follow, and the relay member 23 can be displaced in the longitudinal direction around the elongated hole 31 via the engaging edge 33 by the distal end of the transmission lever 30.

On the other hand, during the lighting operation, the outer shaft 24a
The inner knob 24b can be operated to rotate the operation knob 26 under the regulation by the regulation member 27 on the distal end side of. As a result, the transmission lever 30 at the tip of the inner shaft 24b is rotationally displaced, and by swinging the relay member 23 about the elongated hole 31, the relay is transmitted to the relay member 23 and the switch is switched. (See FIG. 3).

As described above, the snap operation and the rotation operation of the operation lever 24 can be performed by one transmission lever 30 and the relay member 23.
By using only the transmission structure with one engagement edge 33, the switching operation can be picked up in two directions, and can contribute to the function as a combination switch.
The operation lever 24 is held together with the base frame member 25 so as to be able to be articulated with respect to the housing in order to blink the direction indicator lamp at the time of turn, lane change, and cornering. 24 can be displaced about the axis of the steering shaft as a center. In any position (turn, cornering, lane change) of the operation lever 24, the transmission lever 30 is provided near the center of the shaft. Dimmer operation and lighting operation can be executed without any trouble. Although only the connection structure of the operation lever 24 has been shown and described above, the same connection structure can be applied to the operation lever 24 that operates a mechanism such as EXH & retarder, wiper, washer, hazard, and inttime. Of course.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the combination switch disposed near the steering wheel of the vehicle and capable of centrally operating various mechanisms of the vehicle, the connecting structure between the operation lever and the switch contact can be further simplified. The switch operation is rational and smooth operation is possible.

[0015]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic main part configuration explanatory view showing one embodiment of a combination switch in a vehicle to which an operation force transmission structure using an operation lever according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic enlarged perspective view of an essential part showing a configuration of an operation force transmission structure using an operation lever in the combination switch shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a schematic plan view for explaining an operation function of an operation force transmission structure using an operation lever in the combination switch shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of a main part showing an example of a current combination switch.

5 is an external perspective view of an operation lever of the combination switch shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view for explaining an operation force transmission structure of an operation lever in the combination switch shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 20 combination switch 21 housing 22 electrode unit 23 relay member 24 operating lever 24a outer shaft 24b inner shaft 25 base frame member 26 operating knob 27 restricting member 28 restricting hill 29 ball 30 transmission lever 31 long hole 32 pin 33 engaging edge

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A combination switch comprising a steering wheel shaft that penetrates a shaft and a combination of switches for activating electrical components disposed in various parts of a vehicle. An operation lever is mounted so that it can be displaced in the direction and stroke, and an electrode unit incorporating a fixed electrode and a movable electrode that constitutes a switch for operating electrical components arranged in various parts of the vehicle is mounted.These electrode units are A pressing member for intermittently connecting the fixed electrode and the movable electrode by a switch operation through a contact between the fixed electrode and the movable electrode in the unit, and selectively contacting these pressing members to actuate the pressing member. A relay member having a contact surface and a movable electrode is attached so as to be capable of swinging displacement, and the relay member is attached to the operation lever. The swinging displacement is enabled by one transmission member provided at the transmission side end portion, the operation lever is displaced in a plurality of different directions and strokes, and the relay member is swingably displaced via the transmission member, and the The fixed electrode and the movable electrode in the unit are selectively pressed by bringing the contact surface of the relay member into contact with the pressing member to intermittently connect the fixed electrode and the movable electrode, thereby starting the operation of electrical components in various parts of the vehicle. ,
An operation force transmission structure using an operation lever in a combination switch, wherein a stop and a switching operation are performed. 2. The operation lever has a built-in rotation shaft that is rotatable coaxially around an axis, and the tip of the rotation shaft is protruded from the mounting side of the operation lever. A transmitting member is protruded, and the relay member is displaceable in the longitudinal direction on the electrode unit, while being pivoted so as to be swingable, while the relay member is provided with a plurality of different operation levers. An engaging portion for picking up an operating force displaced by a direction and a stroke by the transmitting member is provided, and the transmitting member and the engaging portion are connected to each other in a specific operation so that other operations are not hindered. The operation force transmission structure of the combination switch according to claim 1, wherein the operation lever is operated by an operation lever.