JP2002279848A - Knob and audio equipment and manufacturing method of knob - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide knob and an audio equipment in which the quality is improved and the manufacturing efficiency of the knob is high by eliminating constraint of layout and shape of the knob, and the manufacturing method of the knob. SOLUTION: The knob 1 has an injecting port for injecting resin at the back of the top ceiling of the knob.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a knob arranged on a panel of an audio device or the like, an audio device having the knob, and a method of manufacturing the knob.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many pressing knobs are arranged on a panel of an audio device or the like. FIG.
It is a right sectional view around the conventional knob. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the knob of FIG. 5 viewed from the back side of the panel. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG.
1 is mounted from the back side of the panel 12 so as to be exposed in the front direction. On the back side of the knob 10, a boss 13 that is convex in the back direction of the panel 12 is provided. The boss 13 is provided at a position where the switch 15 on the substrate 14 disposed on the back side of the panel 12 is pressed.

[0003] When manufacturing the knob 10 made of resin,
A high-temperature resin is injected from a tank into a mold having a hollow shape of the knob 10. Since the resin is fed from the tank kept at a high temperature into a mold at a low temperature, the resin gradually cools while flowing through the mold and becomes in a state of high viscosity. In this case, if the resin injection port is provided at a location far from the boss 13,
The resin enters first from the boss 13 far from the injection port.
Therefore, the resin that has formed the large-volume boss 13 over time and has reached the injection port is already sufficiently cooled and in a highly viscous state. As a result, a resin boundary line (hereinafter referred to as a weld line) is formed between the high-viscosity resin that has reached the injection port by forming the boss 13 and the low-viscosity resin that has just been injected from the injection port. .

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a knob 10 on which a weld line 18 is formed. The arrow in the knob 10 indicates the flow of the resin near the location where the weld line 18 is formed. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the weld line 18 is formed on the hinge 17, there is a risk that the hinge 17 is broken when a force is applied to the hinge 17 which is a movable portion. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the weld line 18 is formed on the knob top 11, there is a problem that characters and figures drawn on the knob top 11 are distorted. Such adverse effects have a great adverse effect on the quality of audio equipment.

[0005] In order to prevent the above-mentioned adverse effects, usually, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, a method of forming a knob 10 by injecting a resin near the boss 13 or from the boss 13 itself is adopted. To inject resin from near the boss 13, a resin injection port (this is
20 (referred to as a side gate). Meanwhile, boss 1
To inject resin from itself 3, a resin injection port (this is called a submarine gate) 21 is provided in the boss 13. When these methods are adopted, the resin is injected from the thick boss 13 first. Therefore, a resin is injected into a thin portion other than the boss 13 in a short time after the boss 13 is formed. Therefore, it is difficult to form a weld line on the hinge 17 or the knob top surface 11.

[0006]

However, when the side gate 20 or the submarine gate 21 is provided as described above, there are the following problems. When the side gate 20 is attached, unnecessary side gates 20 are cut after the knob 10 is formed. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, a gate remaining 22 occurs on the outer periphery of the knob 10. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange other knobs avoiding the remaining gate 22, and there is a problem that the arrangement of the knobs on the panel is restricted. There is also a restriction that there is nothing near the boss 13 so as not to hinder the cutting of the side gate 20.

When the submarine gate 21 is provided, the submarine gate 21 itself is not left on the knob 10, so that the arrangement of the knob on the panel is not restricted.
However, as shown in FIG. 10, since it is necessary to secure the space (width T1, length T2) of the submarine gate 21, it is difficult to adopt a structure in which a part of the knob 10 is adjacent to the boss 13 in the vicinity. . Therefore, there is a problem that the shape of the knob 10 is restricted.

On the other hand, when the seesaw knob 30 shown in FIG. 11 is formed, the other boss 32 is formed even if a resin is injected from the vicinity of one boss 31 or from the boss 31 itself using a side gate or a submarine gate. You need time to do it. For this reason, there is a danger that a weld line is generated on the knob top surface 33 or the hinge 34.
Further, in order to prevent the formation of weld lines, it is necessary to devise molding conditions and knob shapes, or to add a trial molding step, so that there is a problem that the efficiency of knob production is reduced.

[0009] Such a decrease in the quality of the knob, restrictions on the arrangement and shape of the knob, and a decrease in the manufacturing process of the knob have an adverse effect on the quality and cost of audio equipment provided with the knob.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a knob, an audio device, and a method of manufacturing a knob which can improve the quality of the knob, eliminate the restrictions on the arrangement of the knob and the shape of the knob, and have a high knob manufacturing efficiency. And

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a knob having an inlet for injecting a resin on the back surface of the knob top surface. As described above, since the resin inlet is provided on the knob top surface, the resin spreads from the injection port to the knob top surface. Therefore, the possibility that a weld line is formed on the top surface of the knob is reduced.

Further, in another invention, the above-mentioned injection port is a knob arranged at the center of the back surface of the knob top surface. Because of this, the resin flows more evenly on the knob top surface,
Weld lines are hardly possible.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned injection port is a knob having a boss projecting in the rear direction of the knob top surface. Therefore, as long as the boss into which the resin is injected is cut after the molding, the function of the knob is not affected, and the arrangement of other knobs is not restricted at all. In particular, the degree of freedom in the shape near the boss for pushing the switch (switch boss) is improved.

In another aspect of the invention, a knob having a shape of a seesaw knob that alternately presses both ends of the above-described knob top surface is provided. Therefore, even if there are bosses (switch bosses) at both ends of the knob for pressing the switch, no weld line is formed on the top surface of the knob or the hinge, and the degree of freedom of the shape around the switch boss is improved.

Another aspect of the present invention is an audio apparatus provided with a knob having an injection port for injecting a resin into a rear surface of a knob top surface. For this reason, the quality of the knobs on the panel of the audio device is improved, and the quality of the audio device is also improved because various knobs can be freely arranged. In particular, audio equipment is often provided with a knob that allows light from the back side of the panel to pass through the character portion on the knob top surface. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the operability and quality of an audio device can be improved without distortion of the character of a knob top.

Further, another invention is a method of manufacturing a knob by injecting a resin from an injection port provided on the back surface of the knob top surface and molding. As described above, since the resin inlet is provided on the knob top surface, the resin spreads from the injection port to the knob top surface. Therefore, the possibility that a weld line is formed on the top surface of the knob is reduced.

Further, another invention is a method of manufacturing a knob in which an injection port is provided at the center of the back surface of the above-mentioned knob top surface, and a resin is injected from the injection port and molded. For this reason, since the resin flows more evenly on the knob top surface, a weld line is hardly formed.

Further, another invention is a method of manufacturing a knob in which the above-described injection port is formed as a boss that is convex in the direction opposite to the top surface of the knob, and resin is injected from the boss to mold. For this reason, there is no restriction on the arrangement of the other knobs. In particular,
The degree of freedom in the shape near the boss pressing the switch (switch boss) is improved.

Further, another invention is a method of manufacturing a knob having a step of removing a boss after injecting and molding a resin. For this reason, even if the boss into which the resin is injected is lengthened, the function of the knob will not be affected if the boss into which the resin is injected is cut after molding.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the structure of the knob and the method of manufacturing the knob will be described using a seesaw knob attached to an audio device as an example. However, the present invention is also applicable to an embodiment relating to a seesaw knob attached to a device other than the audio device or a knob other than the seesaw knob.

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view showing a knob according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The knob 1 of the present invention includes a knob top surface 2, a gate boss 3 serving as a resin injection port, and switch bosses 4 and 5 for pressing a switch. The gate boss 3 is provided substantially at the center of the rear surface of the knob top surface 1.

When resin is injected from the gate boss 3, the resin flows as indicated by the arrow in the figure. That is, the resin
It flows from the gate boss 3 to the knob top surface 2 and then to the switch bosses 4 and 5. The knob top surface 2 is thinner and smaller in volume than the switch bosses 4 and 5. Therefore, the injected resin fills the switch bosses 4 and 5 and the gate boss 3 on the left and right while filling the knob top surface 2 from below.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing the transition of the resin in the initial stage, the middle stage and the final stage of the injection of the resin.
In the figure, the filled portions are portions filled with resin. As is clear from this figure, the knob top surface 2
Regardless of the time of injection, it is always filled with resin. Therefore, the high-viscosity resin does not collide with the low-viscosity resin on the knob top surface 2. If a weld line is formed, the location is the gate boss 3. However, if the gate boss 3 is cut after molding, a knob without a weld line is completed.

The gate boss 3 does not always need to be cut. If the gate boss 3 is the same length as the switch bosses 4 and 5, the gate boss 3 may not hinder the pressing operation of the switch. However, even if a weld line is formed on the gate boss 3, there is no problem since the gate boss 3 is not a place that can be seen from outside or a place where force is applied.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view and a plan view showing a knob according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The knob 1 has a knob top surface 2 and switch bosses 4 and 5 for pressing a switch.
, Hinges 6, and light shielding members 7, 7. In FIG. 3A, a portion shown by a dashed line is a gate boss 8 for injecting a resin. Since the gate boss 8 is cut after molding, it is not normally present on the seesaw knob. Therefore, only the remaining gate 8a shown in FIG. 3B exists in the seesaw knob.

In this seesaw knob, hinges 6 and 6 are provided on both sides of the knob 1. In addition, the light shielding members 7, 7 are substantially perpendicular to a panel (not shown),
It is provided on both sides of the knob 1. Both the hinges 6,6 and the light shielding members 7,7 are arranged near the switch bosses 4,5.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the gap L1 between the switch bosses 4, 5 and the light shielding members 7, 7 is narrow, and the length of the switch bosses 4, 5 protruding from the light shielding members 7, 7 is long. L2 is short. Therefore, there is no space for attaching a conventional submarine gate. In addition, when resin is injected from either one of the vicinity of the switch bosses 4 and 5, there is a risk that a weld line is formed on the knob top surface 2.

However, when the gate boss 8 is provided on the back surface of the knob top surface 2 as in the present invention, the hinges 6, 6 and the light shielding members 7, 7 can be freely attached. In addition, at the time of molding, the knob top surface 2 is always filled with the resin uniformly, so that no weld line is formed on the knob top surface 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an audio device of the present invention and an enlarged view of a knob. The audio device 9 has a knob 1 on which characters 2a and 2b are drawn on both sides of the knob top surface 2. The knob 1 was provided with a gate boss for injecting a resin at the time of molding. Therefore, no weld line exists on the knob top surface 2. Therefore, the characters 2a and 2b are not deformed by a weld line such as distortion. Therefore, the characters 2a and 2b become clear. Further, even when the characters 2a and 2b are watermarks, the light from the back side of the panel is accurately turned on in the form of the characters 2a and 2b.

The knob of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but may be variously modified.

For example, the gate bosses 3 and 8 need not be provided at the center of the rear surface of the knob top surface 2. This is because the possibility that a weld line is formed on the knob top surface 2 is low if the rear surface of the knob top surface 2 is used. However, it is preferable to provide the gate bosses 3 and 8 at the center of the back surface of the knob top surface 2.

The resin injection ports are provided at the gate bosses 3 and 8.
Other forms may be used. For example, a die having a hole on the back surface of the knob top surface 2 may be prepared, and a resin or metal resin injection pipe may be jointed to the hole to form the knob. In that case, no convex boss remains after molding.

[0033]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a knob, an audio device, and a method of manufacturing a knob which can improve the quality of the knob, eliminate the restrictions on the arrangement of the knob and the shape of the knob, and have a high knob manufacturing efficiency. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view showing a knob according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are plan cross-sectional views showing respective steps of injecting a resin during molding of the knob shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A shows an initial injection, FIG. 2B shows a middle injection, and FIG. Is shown.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a knob according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a perspective view and FIG. 3B is a plan view.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an audio device according to the present invention and an enlarged view of a part thereof.

FIG. 5 is a right sectional view around a conventional knob.

6 is a perspective view of the knob shown in FIG. 5 as viewed from the back side.

7A and 7B are diagrams showing a state in which a weld line is formed on a knob by a conventional resin injection method, wherein FIG. 7A shows a state in which a weld line is formed on a hinge and FIG. .

8A and 8B are views showing a conventional resin injection method for preventing the formation of a weld line, wherein FIG. 8A is a method for injecting resin from the vicinity of a boss (side gate method), and FIG. (Submarine gate method).

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a problem of the side gate system of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a problem of the submarine gate system of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the shape of a seesaw knob.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 knob (higher concept including seesaw knob) 2 knob top surface 3 gate boss (boss, injection port) 4 switch boss 5 switch boss 8 gate boss (boss, injection port) 9 audio equipment

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A knob having an injection port for injecting a resin on a back surface of a top surface of the knob. 2. The knob according to claim 1, wherein said inlet is arranged at the center of the back surface of said knob top surface. 3. The injection port according to claim 1, wherein the injection port is a boss that is convex in a direction opposite to a top surface of the knob.
The knob described. 4. The knob according to claim 1, wherein the knob is a seesaw knob that alternately presses both ends of the knob top surface. 5. An audio device comprising a knob having an injection port for injecting a resin into a rear surface of a knob top surface. 6. A method for manufacturing a knob, characterized in that a resin is injected from an injection port provided on the back surface of the knob top surface and molded. 7. The method for manufacturing a knob according to claim 6, wherein the injection port is provided at the center of the back surface of the knob top surface, and a resin is injected from the injection port and molded. 8. The method for manufacturing a knob according to claim 6, wherein the injection port is formed as a boss that is convex in the back direction of the knob top surface, and resin is injected from the boss to form the knob. . 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of removing the boss after injecting and molding a resin.