JP2001266695A - Operating panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operating panel having high waterproof function and capable of preventing deformation of a panel sheet. SOLUTION: The panel is provided with the panel sheet 1 having operating parts 11 which is elastically deformable by a pushing operation, a supporting body 3 having an operating hole 31 which is positioned on the back side of the panel sheet 1 and opened corresponding to the operating part 11, and a vent hole 32 which is positioned on the back side of the panel sheet 1 and formed by piercing a circuit board 2 having a switch 22 in a position corresponding to each of the operating parts 11; and an elastic member 4, which has operating axis parts 41 activating each of the switches 22 corresponding to the pushing operation of the operating part 11, and by which the operating hole 31 is closed from the back side of the supporting body 3. A vent passage 33 is provided on the front side of the supporting body 3 for communicating the operating hole 31 and the vent hole 32, and a pressure absorbing member 6 having a pressure absorbing part 61 for absorbing change of air pressure is provided on the vent hole 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is applied to a special vehicle or ship such as a construction machine, a vehicle such as an automobile, or an electronic device such as a remote controller or a copying machine. The present invention relates to an operation panel configured to operate a device by performing a pressing operation with a fingertip.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an apparatus employing this kind of operation panel is used for a special vehicle such as a construction machine, a ship, or the like, and therefore, has a highly airtight structure so that water and pride do not enter the inside of the apparatus. Has adopted.

[0003] In particular, in the above-mentioned apparatus, a circuit board is generally housed therein, and an operation panel used in an environment, such as rain, prevents infiltration of rainwater or the like from an operation section. It is necessary to provide an operation unit in consideration of airtightness. Therefore, there is a device in which the operation unit is formed of a single elastic thin sheet panel to improve the airtightness of the device (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-7162).
issue).

However, even with such a structure using a panel sheet, the thin panel sheet may be damaged or cracked, and water or dust may enter the inside of the apparatus from the scratched or cracked portion. In addition, there is a possibility that the circuit board may be damaged. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, a circuit board E having a switch D from the front side (upper side in the figure) is provided with an operation hole B penetrating through a support body A constituting the device, which is closed with an elastic member C from the back side. There is known a device that prevents water or the like from entering the inside of the device and has a double waterproof structure together with the panel sheet F.

[0005]

However, in this structure, a space closed by the support A, the elastic member C and the panel sheet F is formed, and the air existing in this space expands due to the temperature change of the outside air. , May be contracted, the contracted air may cause the operation part of the panel sheet to be depressed or the elastic member to be pushed up, and the operation feeling transmitted to the fingertip during the pressing operation is different from the normal In addition, the pressure of the expanded air may cause problems such as the panel sheet F extending completely and not returning to its original shape, or the panel sheet F being peeled off from the support A.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an operation panel which has high waterproofness and prevents damage such as deformation of a panel sheet.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a panel sheet having an operation portion which can be elastically deformed by a pressing operation, an operation hole located on the back side of the panel sheet and opened corresponding to the operation portion. A support having a ventilation hole formed therethrough and formed on the back side of the panel sheet, a circuit board having a switch at a position corresponding to the operation unit, and operating the switch in response to a pressing operation of the operation unit An elastic member that has an operation shaft portion and closes the operation hole from the back side of the support, and has a pressure absorbing unit that connects the operation hole and the ventilation hole and absorbs a change in air pressure in the ventilation hole; A pressure absorbing member is provided.

Further, the pressure absorbing member has a waterproof property,
It is fixed to the support in a watertight state.

Further, the pressure absorbing member is formed integrally with the elastic member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An operation panel according to the present invention has a panel sheet 1 having an operation section 11 which can be elastically deformed by a pressing operation, and an operation section 11 located on the back side of the panel sheet 1.
And a circuit board 2 having a switch 22 at a position corresponding to the operation unit 11, a support body 3 having an operation hole 31 opened corresponding to the above, and a ventilation hole 32 formed through the rear side of the panel sheet 1. An elastic member 4 having an operation shaft 41 for operating the switch 22 in response to a pressing operation of the operation unit 11 and closing the operation hole 31 from the back side of the support 3. An air passage 33 is provided between the air inlet 31 and the air hole 32, and the air hole 32 is provided with a pressure absorbing member 6 having a pressure absorbing portion 61 for absorbing a change in air pressure. With this configuration, the pressure of the expanded air is high, and the pressure of the expanded air can be absorbed by the pressure absorbing portion 61, so that deformation of the panel sheet 1 can be prevented.

Further, the pressure absorbing member 6 has waterproofness and is fixed to the support 3 in a watertight state. With this configuration, even when the panel sheet 1 peels off from the support body 3 due to aging or the like, the ventilation holes 32 are exposed, and water or the like enters the ventilation holes 32, the water is absorbed by the pressure absorbing member 6. Infiltration can be suppressed.

Further, the pressure absorbing member 6 is formed integrally with the elastic member 4. With this configuration, the number of components can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and an operation panel can be provided at low cost.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An operation panel for controlling and operating a construction machine will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an operation panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a panel sheet and a support according to the first embodiment.

The operation panel comprises a panel sheet 1, a circuit board 2, a support 3, an elastic member 4, and a pressure absorbing member 6. The support 3 is composed of an upper case 3a and a lower case 3b.
And a hard circuit board 2 made of glass epoxy resin is housed in a space formed by the panel sheet 1 on the front surface of the upper case 3a and the upper case 3a and the lower case 3b.

The panel sheet 1 is made of a synthetic resin, polyethylene terephthalate, is in a flexible plate state, and has four raised convex operating portions 11 which can be pressed by an operator by embossing in advance. Become.
On the front side of the panel sheet 1, a display unit 12 including symbols, characters, and the like indicating the functions of the operation unit 11 is provided.
1, an adhesive sealing material (not shown) is applied to a surface portion other than the operation unit 11 on the rear surface side of the panel sheet 1 and is attached to a front surface of a support 3 described later.

The circuit board 2 is for electrically controlling the construction machine. The circuit board 2 has printed wiring and electronic components 21 (not shown), and a switch 22 is provided at a position corresponding to the operation unit 11 of the panel sheet 1. ing. In this embodiment, the switch 22 is a tact switch. The circuit board 2 urges a corresponding mechanical control according to an electrical change due to opening and closing of the switch 22.

The support 3 is made of a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate, and has an operation hole 31, a ventilation hole 32, and a ventilation path 33 formed on the front side of the support 3. The operation holes 31 penetrate from the front side to the back side of the support 3, and are formed four so as to face the operation unit 11.
In this embodiment, the operation holes 31 and the ventilation holes 32 and the operation holes 31 are formed so as to face one panel sheet other than the other.
3 to allow the operation hole 31 and the ventilation hole 32 to be ventilated.
2 is formed in a groove shape so as to be connected.

The supporting member 3 is accommodated in the supporting member 3 together with the circuit board 2 and a holding member 5 made of a synthetic resin material and having an opening 51 penetrating a portion of the supporting member 3 facing the operation hole 31. The member 5 is fixed so as to be in close contact with the upper case 3a by fixing the circuit board 2 with screws 7. The holding member 5 can be fixedly held on the upper case 3a by a method such as engagement by a hook (not shown), heat welding, ultrasonic welding, or the like.

The elastic member 4 is made of an elastic and waterproof material such as silicon rubber, and has an operation shaft 41 and a fixed leg 42 surrounding the entire periphery of the operation shaft 41. The movable shaft 43 connecting the operation shaft 41 and the fixed leg 42 is formed to be thin, so that the operation shaft 41 is easily bent up and down. The operation shaft portion 41 transmits the pressing of the operation portion 11 to the switch 22, and is provided so as to be located in the operation hole 31 of the support 3 so as to face the operation portion 11. The fixed leg portion 42 fixes the elastic member 4 to the support 3, and is sandwiched between the support 3 and the holding member 5 so that the rear side (the lower side in FIG. 1) of the operation hole 31 is an elastic member. 4 closes without gaps and is sealed in a watertight state.

The pressure absorbing member 6 is made of a material having elasticity such as silicon rubber and waterproof, similarly to the elastic member 4, and has a pressure absorbing portion 61 which is deformed by a change in pressure. It is fixed in a watertight state by being sandwiched between the support 3 and the holding member 5 at the 32 holes of the body 3. The pressure absorbing portion 61 is usually in an elliptical cylindrical state, and is deformed into a cylindrical shape when expanded by receiving pressure.

As described above, the pressure absorbing member 6 is
Is provided, when the air existing in the closed space formed by the support body 3, the elastic member 4, and the panel sheet 1 contracts due to a change in the temperature of the outside air, the pressure absorbing portion 61 is deflated. , Operation unit 31 of panel sheet 1
Can be prevented from being depressed or the elastic member 4 can be pushed up, and a constant feeling can always be given without changing the operation feeling transmitted to the fingertip during the pressing operation. In the case of expansion, the expansion of the pressure absorbing portion 61 can prevent the panel sheet 1 from being deformed and prevent the panel sheet 1 from peeling off from the support 3.

Therefore, the panel sheet 11 is highly waterproof and has high waterproofness.
It is possible to provide an operation panel for preventing deformation of the device.

Further, since the pressure absorbing member 6 is made of a waterproof material and is fixed to the support 3 in a watertight state, it is assumed that
The adhesive force of the adhesive sealing material fixing the panel sheet 1 to the support 3 is reduced due to aging or the like, so that the panel sheet 1 is peeled off, the ventilation holes 32 are exposed, or the panel sheet 1 and the support 3 Even when water infiltrates into the vent hole 32 and water or the like enters, the pressure absorbing member 6 can suppress water intrusion.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of an operation panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and the same and corresponding parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the pressure absorbing member 6 is formed on one of the plurality of elastic members 4. in this way,
Since the elastic member 4 and the pressure absorbing member 6 are integrally formed, the number of components can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and an inexpensive operation panel can be provided.

Although the pressure absorbing member 6 is formed on one of the elastic members 4 in this embodiment, a plurality of elastic members 4 and the pressure absorbing member 6 may be formed integrally.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of an operation panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and the same and corresponding parts as those in the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the operation hole 31 and the ventilation hole 32 may be the same through hole, and the operation hole 31 and the ventilation hole 32 may be connected. With this configuration, the operation hole 31 and the ventilation hole 32 can be connected to each other, and it is not necessary to form a through hole dedicated to the ventilation hole 32 in the support 3.
The support 3 can have a simple structure.

In each of the above embodiments, a plurality of operation holes 3
Although the configuration in which one pressure absorbing portion 61 is provided for 1 is adopted, as in the third embodiment, the operation hole 31 and the ventilation hole 32 are the same through hole, and for each operation hole 31, Each of the pressure absorbing portions 61 may be provided. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to form the ventilation path 33 connecting the operation holes 31 with each other, so that the support 3 can have a simple structure.

Although not shown, the elastic member 4 may have a movable portion 43 provided with a pressure absorbing portion 61.

In each of the above embodiments, a plurality of operation units 11 are provided and a plurality of operation holes 31 corresponding to the operation units 11 are provided. However, the present invention is applied to a single operation panel provided by the operation unit 11. Needless to say, this may be done.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an operation panel which can achieve the initial object, has high waterproofness, and prevents deformation of the panel sheet.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an operation panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the panel sheet and the support of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an operation panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an operation panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional operation panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Panel sheet 11 Operation part 2 Circuit board 22 Switch 3 Support body 31 Operation hole 32 Vent hole 33 Vent path 4 Elastic member 41 Operation shaft part 6 Pressure absorption member 61 Pressure absorption part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A panel sheet having an operation section elastically deformable by a pressing operation, an operation hole located on the back side of the panel sheet and opened corresponding to the operation section, and an operation hole located on the back side of the panel sheet. A support having a ventilation hole formed therethrough, a circuit board having a switch at a position corresponding to the operation section, and an operation shaft section for operating the switch in response to a pressing operation of the operation section; An elastic member for closing the hole from the back side of the support, connecting the operation hole and the ventilation hole, and providing a pressure absorbing member having a pressure absorbing portion for absorbing a change in air pressure in the ventilation hole. Operation panel featuring. 2. The operation panel according to claim 1, wherein the pressure absorbing member has a waterproof property, and is fixed to the support in a watertight state. 3. The operation panel according to claim 2, wherein the pressure absorbing member is formed integrally with the elastic member.