JP2001135196A - Sliding switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the thickness of a sliding switch while simplifying the construction of a device. SOLUTION: In the sliding switch in which energizing and shutting are switched between a pair of electrodes 6a, 6b by changing the attitude of an operated-portion energizing spring member SP with the sliding movement of an operated portion 3, a middle portion 4c exists between a pair of side supporting portions 4a, 4b, in mutually parallel attitude and in array in the sliding direction, of the spring member SP whose cross section shaped in a directional view perpendicular to the sliding direction of the operated portion 3 is changed in attitude in the range of existance of the side supporting portions 4a, 4b in viewing from the sliding direction with the sliding movement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operated member slidably held between an energizing operation position for energizing a pair of electrodes and an interrupting operation position for interrupting energization between the pair of electrodes. A member and a spring member for urging the operated member in a sliding direction of the operating member, and energizing and blocking between the pair of electrodes by a change in a posture of the spring member accompanying the sliding movement of the operated member. The present invention relates to a slide operation type switch configured to switch between and.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an operator slides a member to be operated against a biasing force of a spring member, such a slide operation type switch has a state in which a current is applied between a pair of electrodes and a state in which the current is cut off. The state switches between and the switch on / off changes. Conventionally, in order to configure the switch in a slide operation type, a configuration as shown in a cross-sectional view in a side view of FIG. 8A and a cross-sectional view in a plan view of FIG. The slide operation type switch shown in FIG. 8 includes a metal leaf spring 100 curved in a dish shape as a spring member in a vertical position, and the leaf spring 100 is connected to one electrode 101 of a pair of electrodes. Operated member 1
02 is slid against the urging force of the leaf spring 100, the leaf spring 100 comes into contact with the other electrode 104 provided on the side wall inside the housing 103, and the switch is turned on (that is, The operating member 102 is located at the above-described energizing operation position). In the conventional example shown in FIG.
The operated member 102 is configured as a four-way switch that slides in any of the four directions.
When the position 2 is at the neutral point in FIG. 8, it is the above-mentioned shutoff operation position.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, since the leaf spring is arranged in a vertical posture, the vertical width of the slide operation type switch becomes large, and the other electrode is operated by the other electrode. Since the electrode is located on an extension of the movement locus of the member, a configuration for holding the other electrode at that position is required, and the configuration becomes complicated. For example, in the case shown in FIG.
Must be embedded in the housing 103 by insert molding or the like. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the thickness of a slide operation switch while simplifying the device configuration.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the operator slides the operated member against the urging force of the spring member, the posture of the spring member changes due to elastic deformation. By utilizing the change in the posture of the spring member, the state is switched between a state in which electricity is supplied between the pair of electrodes and a state in which the electricity is interrupted. The cross-sectional shape of the spring member when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the sliding movement direction of the operated member is such that the sliding movement is caused by the sliding movement between a pair of side supporting portions in a substantially parallel posture and aligned in the sliding moving direction. It is formed in a shape in which there is an intermediate portion that moves while changing the position of the side support portion in the direction view. That is, a change in the position of the intermediate portion generates a biasing force on the operated member, and the switch can be turned on and off by using the change in the position of the intermediate portion.

[0005] By forming the cross-sectional shape of the spring member as described above, the intermediate portion changes the position of the existence range of the side support portion, so that the intermediate portion is out of the existence range in the slide movement direction. Compared to a configuration that changes posture
A space for allowing the posture change of the intermediate portion can be reduced. Further, as compared with the configuration in which the spring member changes its posture in the sliding movement direction, the electrode can be disposed on the support portion of the spring member, and the configuration for supporting the electrode can be simplified. Accordingly, the device configuration can be simplified, and the slide operation switch can be made thinner.

Further, by providing the structure of the second aspect, the spring member is formed such that a center portion of the intermediate portion in the slide movement direction is bent, and has a substantially M-shaped cross section in the slide movement direction. Since it is formed to form a shape, with the sliding movement of the operated member,
A bent portion at the center of the intermediate portion in the sliding direction largely moves in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sliding direction. The switch can be turned on and off using the large movement of the bent portion, so that the switch can be turned on and off reliably.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the spring member is formed of a conductive material, and the side support is one of a pair of electrodes formed on a printed circuit board. And a state in which the intermediate portion is separated from a state in which the intermediate portion is in contact with the other electrode of the pair of electrodes formed on the printed circuit board as the operated member slides. Is switched to
That is, the spring member itself forms an energizing path for turning on and off the switch, so that a pair of electrodes can be formed on one printed circuit board. Therefore, the arrangement configuration of the pair of electrodes can be simplified, and the configuration of the slide switch can be further simplified.

[0008] Further, by providing the structure of the fourth aspect, the pair of electrodes is supported so as to be relatively movable in the approaching / separating direction. A state in which the intermediate portion presses the pair of electrodes to bring the pair of electrodes into contact with each other as the operated member is slid and operated, and the pair of electrodes separated from the pair of electrodes. The state can be switched to a state in which they are separated from each other. Therefore, there is no restriction on the material used as compared with the case where the spring member is configured as an energizing path,
Further, regarding the contact between the spring member and the electrode, it is only necessary to consider the mechanical pressing action, and it is not necessary to consider stabilizing the electrical contact between the spring member and the electrode, so that the design becomes easy. .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the slide operation switch is provided with at least four spring members each of which is constituted by a leaf spring, and is operated in four directions along the orthogonal axis. As a result, at least four sets of electrodes are individually separated and configured as a four-way slide switch. Concerning such a four-way switch, the leaf spring urges the operated member from four directions so that the respective energizing directions are along the orthogonal axis within a plane in which the operated member slides, Further, the leaf springs disposed on both sides of the operated member are arranged so that the biasing directions thereof are opposite to each other. On the other hand, the operated member has the leaf spring parallel to any one of the orthogonal axes. A guided surface that comes into contact with the side support portion is formed corresponding to each leaf spring. Therefore, when no external slide operation force acts on the operated member, the operated member is located at the neutral point where the urging forces of these leaf springs are balanced.

When a slide operation force is applied to the operated member from the outside, the guide surface formed on the side support portion of each leaf spring comes into contact with the guided surface of the operated portion, and each leaf spring is moved. Sliding movement of the operated member in a direction orthogonal to the biasing direction by each is permitted, and the inclination of the operated member from the sliding movement direction is restricted. Therefore, even if the operated member is slid in the arbitrary direction from the neutral point, the member is guided by the guide surface of each leaf spring, so that the member is slid in a stable posture in which the inclination from the orthogonal axis is suppressed. In addition, the energization and the interruption of the pair of electrodes are switched in the direction corresponding to the sliding movement among the four directions along the orthogonal axis. Thus, a four-way slide switch having a thin and simple configuration and capable of stably performing a slide operation in an arbitrary direction can be provided. Since the spring member is constituted by a leaf spring, the side support portion can be formed by simply bending the leaf spring, for example, and the surface of the operated portion side of the side support portion is used as it is as a guide surface. it can.

In addition, with the configuration described in claim 6, the leaf spring is formed integrally with the base frame arranged so as to surround the operated member. The spring members that are urged from the directions can be manufactured collectively, so that the configuration can be simplified and the assembling work can be simplified.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the slide switch of the present invention is applied to a four-way slide switch will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 which is a cross-sectional view, a four-way slide switch FS having an external appearance shown in FIG. , A spring member S for urging the operated member 3 in the sliding movement direction thereof
P is stored. The spring member SP includes four leaf springs 4 for urging the operated member 3 from four directions such that the respective urging directions are along the orthogonal axis (shown as XY axis in FIG. 3).
It is constituted by.

As shown in FIG. 3, which is an assembly view of the four-way slide switch FS, the four leaf springs 4 are fixed to one side of each of the sides of the square base frame 5 in plan view. And are integrally formed with it. More specifically, the metal plate is pressed into a shape shown in FIG.
Accordingly, each leaf spring 4 is made of a conductive material, and forms a part of a current supply path of the switch, as described later. Each leaf spring 4 will be described with reference to an example shown in FIG. 1 which is a cross-sectional view as viewed in the Y direction in FIG. 3, and a direction perpendicular to the sliding movement direction of the operated member 3 (X direction in FIG. 1) (FIG. The cross-sectional shape of the leaf spring 4 when viewed in the Y direction (in FIG. 1) is such that an intermediate portion 4c whose posture is changed by elastic deformation is between a pair of side support portions 4a and 4b which are substantially parallel to each other and arranged in the sliding direction. The intermediate portion 4c is formed to have an existing shape, and more specifically, a middle portion of the intermediate portion 4c in the slide movement direction is bent to have a substantially M-shaped cross-sectional shape. Therefore, each leaf spring 4 urges the operated member 3 in the direction in which the pair of side support portions 4a and 4b is compressed in a state where the pair of side support portions 4a and 4b is compressed. For example, the leaf spring 4 on the right side in FIG. 1 urges the operated member 3 in the “−X” direction, and the leaf spring 4 on the left side in FIG. 1 urges the operated member 3 in the “X” direction.
The outer side support portion 4a of the pair of side support portions 4a and 4b constitutes a part of the base frame 5 and further extends downward to form a hook-like tip. ing.

An operation knob 3 is provided on the upper surface of the operated member 3.
The upper cover 1 is formed with an opening 1a for allowing the operation knob 3a to protrude outside the housing. As shown in FIG. 4, which is a perspective view of the operated member 3 as viewed from below, a flange 3b is formed near the lower end of the operated member 3 for receiving and supporting the side support 4b of the leaf spring 4. Further, at the lower end of the operated member 3, projections 3c for reducing the contact area with the printed circuit board 2 are formed at four positions corresponding to the respective vertices of the square.

The printed circuit board 2 has a pair of electrodes 6a, 6
b are provided in four sets corresponding to the four directions along the XY axis, and the switch is turned on and off by switching between a state in which power is supplied between these electrodes 6a and 6b and a state in which power supply is cut off. Will be. These electrodes 6a, 6b
Are connected to each terminal electrode 7 of a terminal portion 2a formed on one side of the printed circuit board 2 by a predetermined wiring pattern, as shown in FIG. The electrode 6a located on the outer edge side of the printed board 2 is connected to the terminal electrode 7 as a common electrode by a wiring pattern A, and each electrode 6b on the inner side of the printed board 2 is independently connected to a terminal electrode by a wiring pattern B1 to B4. 7 is connected.

The components described above are arranged vertically and assembled as shown in FIG. As an assembly procedure, for example, first, the operated member 3 is placed at the center of the four leaf springs 4 so that the lower end of the side support portion 4b of the leaf spring 4 is hooked on the upper surface side of the flange 3b. And put it on the printed circuit board 2 and cover the upper cover 1 from above. A fixing pin 1b protrudes from a lower edge of the upper cover 1. The fixing pin 1b is inserted into positioning holes 2b formed at four corners of the printed board 2, and the upper cover 1 is attached to the printed board 2. The fixing pins 1b protruding from the lower surface of the printed circuit board 2 are heated in a state where the fixing pins 1b are pressed to the side, and the ends are rounded and fixed (see FIG. 1).

In the state assembled in this way,
The upper surface 5a of the base frame 5, which holds the four leaf springs 4 integrally, comes into contact with the inner surface of the upper cover 1, and the hook-shaped portion at the lower end of the side support portion 4a of each leaf spring 4 acts as a spring. And is pressed by the electrode 6a of the printed circuit board 2. Each leaf spring 4 having a substantially M-shaped cross section is provided with a pair of side support portions 4a, 4a.
Since the operated member 3 is urged from four directions in a state where the space between the operated members 4b is slightly compressed, the urging directions of the leaf springs 4 disposed with the operated member 3 interposed therebetween are opposite to each other. Member 3
Is located at the neutral point where the urging force of each leaf spring 4 is balanced,
When the operated member 3 is located at the neutral point, the operating knob 3a of the operated member 3 is located substantially at the center of the opening 1a of the upper cover 1.

On the other hand, as described above, the operated member 3
The upper cover 1 while receiving the urging force of the two leaf springs 4.
And the printed circuit board 2, the movement in the vertical direction is restricted and the XY plane is slidable in any direction. The upper position of the flange 3b at which the operated member 3 contacts the four leaf springs 4 is formed as a regular quadratic prism as shown in FIG. It is a guided surface 3d guided by the side supporting portion 4b of the leaf spring 4. These guided surfaces 3
d are orthogonal axes X and X, respectively, in contact with each leaf spring 4.
The four guided surfaces 3 d of the operated member 3 are in contact with the inner guiding surfaces GS of the four side springs 4 b of the four leaf springs 4. The leaf spring 4 is hardly inclined left and right from the biasing direction thereof in a plan view.
Since S is a plane, the guide surface GS of each leaf spring 4 is
Operated member 3 in a direction orthogonal to the biasing direction of each leaf spring 4
Is allowed, and tilting from the sliding direction is restricted. Thereby, the operated member 3
Even if is slid in any direction, the change in the posture of the operated member 3 is sufficiently suppressed.

When the operator slides the operated member 3 with the operating knob 3a, the leaf spring 4 on the moving direction side of the leaf spring 4 on the left side in FIG. The space between the support portions 4a and 4b is compressed, the bent portion NB at the center of the intermediate portion 4c of the leaf spring 4 descends, and comes into contact with the electrode 6b on the inner side of the housing of the pair of electrodes. Electrodes 6a, 6
b are electrically connected to each other so that they can be energized. The position of the operated member 3 at this time is an energizing position for energizing the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b. On the other hand, when the operator releases his hand from the operation knob 3a, the operated member 3 returns to the neutral position. With this sliding movement, the bent portion NB of the leaf spring 4 rises and separates from the electrode 6b, and the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b is electrically disconnected. This neutral position is a cutoff operation position for cutting off the conduction between the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b. That is, as shown in the equivalent circuit of FIG. 5, the four pairs of electrodes 6a and 6b are moved from the neutral point of the operated member 3 in four directions along the orthogonal axes (X and Y axes). The energization and the cutoff can be switched independently. Since the operated member 3 can be slid in any direction as described above, for example, when the operated member 3 is slid at an angle of 45 ° from the X and Y axes, the two sets of electrodes 6a , 6b can be energized.

When the operated member 3 slides between the shut-off operation position and the energization operation position, the intermediate portion 4c of the leaf spring 4 where the pair of side support portions 4a and 4b is compressed as described above. The bent portion NB moves up and down.
Moves with the posture changed in the existing range of the side support portions 4a and 4b in the slide movement direction. Thus, the width of the leaf spring 4 in the vertical direction can be reduced. Note that the intermediate portion 4c of the leaf spring 4 does not need to completely fall within the existing range of the side support portions 4a and 4b when the posture of the intermediate portion 4c changes, and a part of the intermediate portion 4c may be out of the existing range. This is the same not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction. For example, the lateral width of the intermediate portion 4c is
It may be formed so as to be wider than the lateral widths of a and 4b.

[Other Embodiments] Other embodiments will be listed below. In the above embodiment, the case where the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b are formed as a wiring pattern on the printed circuit board 2 is illustrated, but the arrangement of the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b can be variously changed. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, a so-called membrane sheet 10 on which a pair of electrodes 6a and 6b are formed is bent so as to wrap the spacer 11 so that the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b form a through hole 1 formed in the spacer 11.
1a may be configured to face each other. Since the pair of electrodes is formed on the membrane sheet 10, the pair of electrodes can be relatively moved in the approaching / separating direction, and the operated member 3
With the slide movement of the intermediate part 4c, a pair of electrodes 6a,
A state in which the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b are brought into contact with each other by pressing against the pair of electrodes 6a (state of the left leaf spring 4 in FIG. 6), and a pair of electrodes 6 separated from the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b.
The state is switched to a state in which a and 6b are separated from each other.

In the above embodiment, the four leaf springs 4
Are formed integrally with the base frame 5, but the plate spring 4 may be formed separately as shown in FIG. In the above embodiment, even when the operated member 3 is located at the neutral point, the urging forces of the four leaf springs 4 act on the operated member 3, but the operated member 3 is located at the neutral point. In the state, each of the leaf springs 4 may be in the most extended state and generate no urging force.

In the above embodiment, when the operated member 3 is located at the neutral point, the conduction between the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b is cut off, and when the operated member 3 is slid and moved, the pair of electrodes 6a , 6b, the switch is set to be in an on-off state. Conversely, when the operated member 3 is slid, the energization between the pair of electrodes 6a, 6b is cut off. You may comprise so that it may be. In this configuration, for example, a pair of electrodes that are constantly urged to return to the contact side are separated by a pressing action of the bent portion NB of the leaf spring 4 accompanying the sliding movement of the operated member 3. Just do it.

In the above embodiment, the case where the slide operation type switch of the present invention is applied to a four-way slide switch is exemplified.
Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a switch that can switch between energization and cutoff of a pair of electrodes by sliding movement of the operated portion 3 in a direction other than the direction. In the above-described embodiment, the spring member SP is configured by the leaf spring 4. However, the spring member SP is formed by bending a rod-shaped metal body to have a shape equivalent to the outer edge of the leaf spring 4 in the above-described embodiment. May be.

In the above-described embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the leaf spring 4 is formed to be substantially M-shaped by bending the center of the intermediate portion 4c, but without bending the intermediate portion 4c.
The entirety of the intermediate portion 4c may be curved to urge the operated member 3 with the sliding movement. In the above-described embodiment, the four-way slide switch is configured by including the four leaf springs 4. However, the leaf spring 4 in the above-described embodiment is formed by being divided in the width direction and provided as a total of five. The above-described leaf spring 4 may constitute a four-way slide switch.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a four-way slide switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a four-way slide switch according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an assembly diagram of the four-way slide switch according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a component according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from a bottom surface side.

FIG. 5 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the four-way slide switch according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a four-way slide switch according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a leaf spring according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Description of Signs] GS Guide surface SP spring member 2 Printed circuit board 3 Operated member 3d Guided surface 4 Leaf spring 4a, 4b A pair of side support parts 4c Intermediate part 5 Base frames 6a, 6b A pair of electrodes

Claims (6)

[Claims] An operating member slidably held between an energizing operation position for energizing between a pair of electrodes and an interrupting operation position for interrupting energization between the pair of electrodes; A spring member for urging the member in the sliding direction of the member; and a switching operation between energization and cutoff between the pair of electrodes by changing a posture of the spring member accompanying the sliding movement of the operated member. Wherein the cross-sectional shape of the spring member as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the slide movement direction is substantially parallel to each other, and a pair of side support portions arranged in the slide movement direction. In between, the slide is formed in a shape in which an intermediate portion that moves while changing the existing range of the side support portion in the slide movement direction and moves along with the slide movement exists. Operated switch. 2. The slide operation type according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is formed such that a center portion of the intermediate portion in the slide movement direction is bent and the cross-sectional shape is substantially M-shaped. switch. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is formed of a conductive material, and the side support is disposed so as to contact one of the pair of electrodes formed on a printed circuit board. The configuration according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate portion is configured to be switched between a state in which the intermediate portion is in contact with the other electrode of the pair of electrodes formed on the printed circuit board and a state in which the intermediate portion is separated in accordance with the slide movement. 2. The slide-operated switch according to 2. 4. The pair of electrodes are supported so as to be relatively movable in the approaching / separating direction, and the intermediate portion presses the pair of electrodes to contact the pair of electrodes with the sliding movement. The slide operation switch according to claim 1, wherein the switch is configured to be switchable between a state and a state in which the pair of electrodes are separated from the pair of electrodes. 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is a leaf spring.
At least four leaf springs urge the operated members from four directions such that their energizing directions are along an orthogonal axis in a plane in which the operated members slide and move, and The leaf springs disposed to sandwich the operated member are disposed so that the biasing directions of the leaf springs are opposite to each other, and the operated member is parallel to one of the orthogonal axes and is laterally supported by the leaf spring. A guided surface contacting the portion is formed corresponding to each leaf spring, and the side support portion contacting the guided surface is provided on the side support portion in a direction orthogonal to a biasing direction by each leaf spring. A guide surface is formed to allow the sliding movement of the member and to restrict the member from being inclined from the sliding movement direction, and the pair of electrodes move from the neutral point of the operated member in four directions along the orthogonal axis. Can be switched on and off independently The slide operation type switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least four sets are provided. 6. The slide operation type switch according to claim 5, wherein at least four leaf springs are integrally formed with a base frame arranged so as to surround the operated member.