JP2005072300A - Variable resistor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive variable resistor having position precision concerning the variable resistor used for temperature control or the like of a car air conditioner. <P>SOLUTION: An operation position in an operation range corresponding to linearity deviation of resistance change characteristics can be specified on the basis of a switch signal by arranging in C-shape a signal pattern 19 and a common pattern 20 as a switch means for switching a state of at least one or more times output signal, in the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristics of a resistance element 18 in a parallel state on the outer periphery by making the resistance element 18 to be concentric to a resistance substrate 12 providing the resistance element 18 and a conductor 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a variable resistor used in various electronic devices, and particularly used for temperature control of a car air conditioner.

  In recent years, variable resistors are often used for temperature control of car air conditioners. However, as equipment becomes more sophisticated and accurate, it can be set in small increments with high positional accuracy and low cost. A resistor is desired.

  A conventional rotary variable resistor used for such temperature control will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 11 is a front sectional view of a conventional variable resistor, and FIG. 12 is a plan view of the resistor substrate.

  In FIG. 11, 1 is provided with a through-hole 1A in the center, and the periphery of the through-hole 1A is a recess made of an insulating resin, 2 is combined with the recess of the case 1, and the terminal 3 is fixed. The resistance board 4 is a cylindrical operation shaft provided with a flange portion 4A below. The resistance substrate 2 and the flange portion 4A of the operation shaft 4 are housed in the recess of the case 1, and the upper portion of the recess is disposed above the recess. A cover 5 made of a thin metal plate is attached to the case 1 so as to cover it.

  And the cylindrical inner peripheral surface of the operating shaft 4 is rotatably fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 1B that protrudes around the through-hole 1A of the case 1 and is disposed below the concave portion disposed in the recess. A slider 6 is attached to the lower surface of the flange portion 4A.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the resistance substrate 2 is formed in an annular shape, and the upper surface thereof has a C-shaped resistance element 7 and a highly conductive material concentric with the inner peripheral position of the resistance element 7. And the terminal 3 (3A, 3B, 3C) is connected to lead-out portions 7A and 8A led out from both ends of the resistance element 7 and part of the conductor 8. ing.

  As schematically shown in the figure, the slider 6 is slidably disposed on the resistance element 7 and the conductor 8 as the flange portion 4A rotates.

  The conventional rotary variable resistor is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described next.

  When the operation shaft 4 is rotated, the slider 6 attached to the lower surface of the flange portion 4A slides on the resistance element 7 and the conductor 8 formed on the upper surface of the resistance substrate 2.

  A resistance value corresponding to the position of the slider 6 is obtained between the terminal 3A connected to the lead-out portion 7A of the resistance element 7 and the terminal 3C connected to the lead-out portion 8A of the conductor 8.

  Usually, a constant voltage V0 is applied between the terminals 3A and 3B connected to the lead-out portions 7A at both ends of the resistance element 7, and the voltage is obtained between the terminal 3A and the terminal 3C connected to the lead-out portion 8A of the conductor 8. The output voltage V1 is used to control a device (not shown) to be used.

  The relationship between the operation position of the operation shaft 4 and the output voltage V1 is a resistance change characteristic, and the output voltage ratio is expressed as a percentage of V1 / V0.

  Here, FIG. 13 shows a resistance change characteristic diagram of a conventional rotary variable resistor used for device control.

  In FIG. 13, the horizontal axis represents the rotation angle of the operating shaft 4, the vertical axis represents the output voltage ratio V1 / V0 (%), the one-dot chain line shows the prescribed resistance change characteristic, and the solid line shows the measurement. Resistance variation characteristic.

  This actual resistance change characteristic has a difference from the prescribed resistance change characteristic due to the influence of component parts and manufacturing variations, and the maximum difference is indicated by a broken line in FIG. , Linearity deviation (%).

As prior art document information related to the invention of this application, for example, Patent Document 1 is known.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-016106

  As for the resistance change characteristics of the variable resistor, in order to improve the function and accuracy of the equipment used, the specified resistance change characteristics and the smaller the linearity deviation approximated as much as possible, the finer control is possible on the equipment side. is there.

  For example, in the resistance change characteristic shown in FIG. 13, since the linearity deviation is ± 3%, the output voltage at the operation position P is VP ± 3%, which differs from the operation position P depending on the output voltage. The identifiable operation position is the operation position Q point at which an output voltage outside the range of VP ± 3% is obtained.

  In the case of FIG. 13, since the linearity deviation is ± 3%, the width is 6%, that is, this is 100 (%) ÷ 6 (%) ≈16.7 in the effective electrical operation range. Thus, a variable resistor having positional accuracy capable of dividing the electrical operation range up to 16 divisions is obtained.

  In order to increase this positional accuracy, it is necessary to reduce the linearity deviation. However, the variable resistor that is formed by printing the above-mentioned conventional resistance element has developed a new method for improving the printing accuracy and printing. There has been a problem that secondary work such as selection of elements having a small linearity deviation from the formed resistance elements or trimming to bring them closer to a prescribed resistance change characteristic is required.

  The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and provides a variable resistor with high position accuracy and low cost without changing the forming method of the resistance element or performing secondary work. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a variable resistor having a resistance substrate including a resistance element and a conductor, and a slider provided on an operating shaft and slidingly contacting the resistance element and the conductor. In addition, switch means for switching the state of the output signal at least once within the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic of the resistance element is provided in parallel with the resistance element on the resistance substrate. This is a case where each resistance value at two adjacent operation positions is within the linearity deviation range of the specified resistance value and cannot be distinguished only by the resistance value. However, the operation position can be specified by combining the signals from the switch means, and the variable resistor with improved position accuracy can be realized at low cost without changing the accuracy of the resistance element.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the switch means includes a common pattern disposed on the resistance substrate, a signal pattern having a plurality of electrode portions, and electrodes of the common pattern and the signal pattern. And the contact portion disposed on the operation shaft that is in sliding contact with the insulating portion between the electrode portions, and the electrode portion and the insulating portion between the electrode portions have a linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic of the resistance element. Within the corresponding operation range, the same size is set with respect to the sliding direction of the contact, and the output state of the switch means is switched at least once within the operation range. Therefore, the switch means can be easily configured on the resistance substrate, and the switch means is turned on at the center position within the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic of the resistance element. Assuming that switches are off state, with the effect that those operating position accuracy is improved by equally state is obtained.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, in which the electrode portions of the signal pattern are provided in a comb-teeth shape, and has an effect that the electrode portions can be arranged in a conductive state with high reliability.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the second aspect, the insulating portion is formed by partially covering the linear conductive pattern arranged in parallel with the resistance element with an insulating layer, The exposed remaining part other than the insulating part constitutes the electrode part of the signal pattern, and even if the conductive pattern constituting the signal pattern is formed with a constant width, the electrode part can be easily formed. As a result, the dimensional increase can be suppressed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the second aspect, N signal patterns (N is a natural number of 2 or more) are arranged in parallel with respect to the resistance element, and between the signal patterns. The electrode parts are arranged by shifting the positions by 1 / N, respectively, and a variable resistor whose operation position accuracy is 2N times without changing the accuracy of the resistance element by changing the number N of signal patterns in parallel. It has the effect that it can be realized.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the switch means includes a common pattern arranged on the resistor substrate and N signal patterns (N is a natural number) having a plurality of electrode portions, Consists of contacts arranged on the operation shaft that slidably contacts the electrode portion of each common pattern and each signal pattern and the insulating portion between the electrode portions, and within the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic, The output of 2 ^N combinations of ON and OFF signals by N signal patterns or a combination of less than that can be obtained. By combining the ON and OFF signals of the signal pattern, without changing the accuracy of the resistance element, It has the effect that a variable resistor having an operation position accuracy of 2 ^N times can be realized.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the position within the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic of the resistance element can be specified using the output signal of the switch means arranged in parallel with the resistance element. With this configuration, an advantageous effect that an inexpensive variable resistor with improved operation position accuracy can be provided without changing the forming method of the resistance element or performing secondary work is obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1)
The invention according to claims 1 to 3 of the present invention will be described using the first embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a variable resistor according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a resistor substrate as the main part.

  In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 11 denotes an insulating resin case in which the periphery of the central through hole 11A is a recess having an upper opening. In the recess of the case 11, a resistor substrate having a resistor terminal 13 fixed thereto is provided. 12, a flange portion 14A provided below the cylindrical operation shaft 14 is arranged on the upper side of the resistance substrate 12, and a cover 15 made of a thin metal plate is attached to the upper surface of the recess so as to accommodate them. ing.

  The inner peripheral surface of the operation portion 14B of the operation shaft 14 protruding upward from the central hole of the cover 15 is rotatable with the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 11B formed to protrude around the through hole 11A of the case 11. The slider 16 is attached to the lower surface of the flange portion 14A in the recess, as in the conventional variable resistor, but the lower surface of the flange portion 14A has a sliding surface. A contactor 23 is attached along with the moving element 16, and the electrical configuration provided on the upper surface of the annular resistance substrate 12 is different from the conventional one.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the resistance substrate 12 according to the present embodiment, a conductor 17 made of a highly conductive material is disposed in an annular shape at an inner peripheral position on an annular insulating substrate. A C-shaped resistance element 18 is disposed on the outer periphery concentric with the reference numeral 17.

  A lead-out portion 17A is led out from a part of the conductor 17 through the C-shaped opening of the resistor element 18 to the front end portion of the resistor substrate 12, and similarly from both ends of the resistor element 18, respectively. The derivation unit 18A is derived, and the resistor terminals 13 (13C, 13A, 13B) are electrically connected to the derivation units 17A, 18A.

  In addition, a signal pattern 19 and a common pattern 20 made of a highly conductive material are arranged in a substantially C shape on the resistor substrate 12 concentrically with the resistor element 18 and in parallel with the outer peripheral position thereof. Yes.

  The common pattern 20 is formed in a C-shape with a constant width, and the signal pattern 19 has electrode portions 19A provided in a comb-like shape at regular intervals on a conductive portion 19B having a constant width. .

  The one electrode portion 19A and one insulating portion between the electrode portions 19A are provided with the same length in the circumferential direction of the C-shape, and the electrode portions 19A and the insulating portions are alternately arranged along the conduction portion 19B. It is arranged repeatedly.

  If this comb-shaped one is used, it is simple and easy to form, and the electrode portion 19A can be placed in a conductive state with high reliability.

  Then, in both the signal pattern 19 and the common pattern 20, lead portions 19C and 20A are provided from one end in the same direction as the lead portion 18A of the resistive element 18 and the lead portion 17A of the conductor 17, A switch terminal 21 is electrically connected to each of them.

  Then, as schematically shown in FIG. 3, the slider 16 fixed to the lower surface of the flange portion 14 </ b> A of the operating shaft 14 slides elastically on the resistance element 18 and the conductor 17, and contacts 23. Are combined so that they can slide elastically on the electrode portion 19A of the signal pattern 19 and on the insulating portion therebetween and on the common pattern 20.

  The rotary variable resistor according to the present embodiment is configured as described above.

  Next, the operation will be described. When the operation shaft 14 is rotated, the slider 16 fixed to the lower surface of the flange portion 14A slides on the resistance element 18 and the conductor 17, and the contact 23 is moved. It slides on the electrode portion 19A of the signal pattern 19 and the insulating portion therebetween and the common pattern 20.

  Accordingly, a constant voltage V0 applied between the resistor terminals 13A and 13B connected to both ends of the resistor element 18, a resistor terminal 13C connected to the lead-out portion 17A derived from the conductor 17, and the resistor terminal The output voltage (V1 / V0) by the voltage V1 obtained between 13A and the switch signal generated between the signal pattern 19 and the common pattern 20 due to the sliding of the contact 23 are connected to the signal pattern 19 and the common pattern 20, respectively. It is obtained from between the switch terminals 21 made.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the output voltage and the switch signal obtained by the above operation.

  In the figure, the horizontal axis shows the rotation angle, the vertical axis shows the resistance change characteristic of the output voltage (V1 / V0), and the lower side schematically shows the switch signal corresponding to the rotation angle. .

  As shown in the figure, the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic will be described below as an example with the same ability of ± 3%.

  In this case, the output voltage VQ at the operation position Q that can be recognized as the position closest to the operation position P in FIG. 4 is the output voltage VP ± 3% (or VP-3%) at the point P. This portion is shown in FIG. 5 partially enlarged.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, between the operation position P point and the operation position Q point, a switch ON / OFF signal is generated once each between the signal pattern 19 and the common pattern 20, and The switch signal state is switched at the center position between the operation position P point and the Q point so that the ON range and the OFF range are the same rotation angle range.

  That is, as shown in the figure, the switch signal from the operation position P to the central position is defined as a boundary between the operation position P and the operation position Q, with the central position between the P point and the Q point as a boundary. Is an ON range, and the switch signal is configured to obtain an OFF range from the center position to the operation position Q. The combination of the ON / OFF signal of the switch and the output voltage provides a resistance change characteristic. It can be recognized as two operation positions that are equally divided into two portions between the linearity deviation ranges.

  Then, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the comb-like electrode portions 19 </ b> A of the signal pattern 19 are arranged in the above-mentioned idea over at least the entire effective region of the resistance element 18, and the switch state Therefore, the accuracy of the resistance element 18 remains the same as that of the conventional device, and the operation position accuracy can be doubled without performing secondary work. .

(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment of the present invention, particularly the invention according to claim 4, will be described.

  In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part of the structure same as the structure of Embodiment 1, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view of a resistance substrate of a variable resistor according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the signal according to the second embodiment is different from that described in the first embodiment in the signal pattern of the resistor substrate 24 and the contact 26, and other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. Since it is the same, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the resistance substrate 24 according to the present embodiment, the annular conductor 17 is arranged at the innermost peripheral position, the resistance element 18 is concentrically arranged at the outer peripheral portion thereof, and the signal pattern 25 and The point that each of the common patterns 20 is formed in a C shape is the same as that according to the first embodiment.

  However, the signal pattern 25 is configured on the basis of a conductive pattern having the same width in the radial direction over the entire circumference of the C-shape.

  In other words, on the conductive pattern, a substantially rectangular insulating layer 27 shown by hatching in the figure is arranged so as to regularly cover the upper part at equal intervals to be an insulating portion, and is covered with the insulating layer 27. The remaining conductive pattern remaining portion is configured as an electrode portion 25 </ b> A of the signal pattern 25.

  The insulating layer 27 and the electrode portion 25A are the same over at least the entire effective area of the resistance element 18 in the circumferential direction of the C-shape, which is the sliding direction of the contact 26 schematically shown in FIG. The sum of the dimensions in the same direction of each of the insulating layer 27 and the electrode portion 25A is within the operating range of the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic of the resistance element 18. It corresponds.

  That is, when the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic is ± 3%, the electrode portion 25A and the insulating layer 27 are arranged with an equal length between the operation range where the resistance change characteristic changes by 6%. Has been.

  When the operation shaft (not shown) is rotated, the contact 26 slides on the common pattern 20, the electrode portion 25A and the insulating layer 27 in the circumferential direction, and contacts the electrode portion 25A. An ON signal is generated in a range where the element 26 is located, and an OFF signal is generated in a range where the contact 26 is located on the insulating layer 27.

  As in the case of the first embodiment, it can be identified as two operation positions that are divided into two equally between the linearity deviation ranges of the resistance change characteristics based on this switch signal.

  As described above, even when the resistance substrate 24 is used, a variable resistor having a double operation position accuracy can be realized in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In addition to this, according to the present embodiment. Since the signal pattern 25 can be formed only by superposing the insulating layer 27 at predetermined intervals on the conductive pattern having a constant width in the radial direction by printing or the like, the increase in the dimension in the radial direction can be suppressed.

(Embodiment 3)
A third embodiment of the present invention, particularly the invention according to claim 5 will be described.

  In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part of the structure same as the structure of Embodiment 1, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view of the resistance substrate of the variable resistor according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the embodiment according to the third embodiment is the same as that described in the first embodiment. On the other hand, the signal pattern arranged on the resistance substrate 28 and the contact 31 are different in configuration, and the other configurations are the same, so the description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the resistance substrate 28 used in the variable resistor according to the present embodiment has the conductor 17 and the resistance element 18 arranged on the inner circumference side, and the switch common pattern 20 on the outermost circumference. Is the same as that of the first embodiment, but is concentric with the resistive element 18 between the resistive element 18 and the common pattern 20, and is in an electrically independent state as a substantially C-shaped signal pattern. Two of the inner signal pattern 29 and the outer signal pattern 30 are arranged in parallel.

  The inner signal pattern 29 and the outer signal pattern 30 are each provided with electrode portions 29A and 30A in a comb-like shape over the entire C-shaped region, as described in the first embodiment. The contact 31 mounted on the operation shaft is configured to be slidable on the two signal patterns 29 and 30 and the common pattern 20.

  At this time, in the C-shaped circumferential direction that is the sliding contact direction of the contact 31, the sum of the lengths of one electrode portion 29 </ b> A of the inner signal pattern 29 and one adjacent insulating portion is a resistance change in the resistance element 18. The one electrode portion 29A and one adjacent insulating portion are set in the operation range corresponding to the range of the characteristic linearity deviation, and are arranged with equal length dimensions.

  Also, the configuration of the outer signal pattern 30 is the same as the configuration of the inner signal pattern 29, and the length of one electrode portion 30 </ b> A and one adjacent insulating portion in the C-shaped circumferential direction that is the sliding contact direction of the contact 31. The sum of the dimension is set in the operation range corresponding to the range of the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic in the resistance element 18, and the one electrode part 30A and one adjacent insulating part are arranged with the same length dimension. Has been.

  Further, the two inner signal patterns 29 and the outer signal patterns 30 are arranged such that the electrode portions 29A and the electrode portions 30A are arranged with a position shifted by 1/2 each in the C-shaped circumferential direction. It is arranged on the top.

  The variable resistor according to the present embodiment is configured using the resistor substrate 28. Next, the relationship between the resistance change characteristic of the variable resistor and the switch signal will be described with reference to FIG.

  The slanted one-dot chain line shown in FIG. 8 is the prescribed resistance change characteristic, and the range indicated by the broken lines above and below is the linearity deviation range of the resistance change characteristic. The state of the on / off signal of the signal pattern 30 is shown.

  In the figure, the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation range at the operation position P point is within the range from the operation position P point to the Q point, and the operation position is different from the P point only by the output voltage. Is a case where the operation position is out of the operation range from the operation position P to the point Q.

  However, according to the present embodiment, the switch signal state between the operation position P point and the Q point is the ON signal in the first half range and the OFF signal in the second half range by the inner signal pattern 29, Further, in the outer signal pattern 30, the electrode portion 30 </ b> A is shifted by ½, so that the off signal is in the range of ¼ and the on signal is ½ between the same operation position P point and Q point. The off signal is generated in the range of 1 and the remaining 1/4.

  As a result, there are four types of combinations of on / off signals of the respective switches by the inner signal pattern 29 and the outer signal pattern 30 between the operation position P and the Q point. It can be identified as four distinguishable operation positions.

  That is, N signal patterns in which the electrode portion and the non-electrode portion are repeatedly arranged with a half length dimension of the operation range (between the operation position P and Q points) corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic are represented. A variable resistor having a positional accuracy improved by 2N times can be realized by arranging the electrodes to be shifted in parallel by 1 / N of the length of the electrode portion.

  Note that the plurality of signal patterns may also be configured such that the electrode portion and the non-electrode portion are formed using an insulating layer, as in the second embodiment.

(Embodiment 4)
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the fourth embodiment.

  In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part of the structure same as the structure of Embodiment 1, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a plan view of the resistance substrate of the variable resistor according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the embodiment according to the fourth embodiment is the same as that described in the first embodiment. On the other hand, the signal pattern provided on the upper surface of the resistance substrate 31 and the contact 35 are different.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the resistance substrate 31 of the variable resistor according to the present embodiment includes the resistance element 18 from the inside between the conductor 17 and the resistance element 18 on the inner peripheral side and the common pattern 20 on the outermost peripheral side. The first signal pattern 32, the second signal pattern 33, and the third signal pattern 34 are concentrically arranged in parallel.

  These three signal patterns 32, 33, and 34 are electrically independent from each other, and in the same manner as described in the first embodiment, the electrode portions 32A, 33A, and 34A are respectively formed over the entire C-shape. It is formed in a comb-teeth shape at equal intervals.

  The electrode portions 32A, 33A, and 34A are set to have different length dimensions in the C-shaped circumferential direction in which the contact 35 slides.

  In addition, the insulation part comprised between 32 A of electrode parts and 32 A of electrode parts is set to the same length dimension in the circumferential direction where the contactor 35 slides, and this is repeated over the perimeter of C character. Are arranged.

  In addition, each insulating portion configured between the electrode portions 33A and 34A is also set to have the same length as the corresponding electrode portions 33A and 34A in the circumferential direction in which the contact 35 slides. It is repeatedly arranged over the entire circumference of the character.

  The configuration of these three signal patterns 32, 33, 34 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 10, the electrode portions 32A, 33A, 34A of the three signal patterns 32, 33, 34 are In the range from the operation position P point to the operation position Q point, which is the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic in the resistance element 18, the first signal pattern 32 on the inside starts an ON signal at the operation position P point. The electrode portion 32A is arranged so that an on / off signal is alternately generated every 1/8 length of the range, and the second signal pattern 33 in the middle starts an on signal at the operation position P, The electrode portion 33A is arranged so that an on / off signal is alternately generated every four lengths, and the third signal pattern 34 on the outside starts an on signal at the operation position P and is turned on every ½ length. Off signal Electrode portions 34A are arranged to occur.

  By arranging the three signal patterns 32, 33, and 34 configured in this manner in parallel with the resistance element 18 of the resistance substrate 31, the operation position P point which is an operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic In the range from the operation position Q to the operation position Q, the output position alone cannot be determined as the operation position different from the P point. The combination of the ON / OFF signals of the three signal patterns 32, 33, 34 has eight output states. Since a signal is obtained, it is possible to specify each operation position on the basis of this, assuming that the positional accuracy has improved by a factor of eight.

As described above, when N signal patterns are arranged in parallel with the resistance elements, the first signal pattern is based on any one point of the operation position in the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic. 1 / (2 ^N ) length, the second signal pattern is 2 / (2 ^N ) length, the third signal pattern is 3 / (2 ^N ) length, and the Nth signal pattern is For each N / (2 ^N ) length, electrode portions are arranged at equal intervals, and are repeatedly arranged over the entire electric operation range, so that the position accuracy can be improved by 2 ^N times. .

  In this embodiment, the first signal pattern is changed to the Nth signal pattern in order from the inside to the outside of the resistance substrate. However, N signal patterns are arranged in the radial direction. The order may be arranged in an arbitrary order.

  Furthermore, although the electrode portions of the respective signal patterns have been described as being arranged in a comb shape in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the conductive pattern is partially covered with an insulating layer. A signal pattern in which the remaining portion is formed as an electrode portion may be used. With this configuration, an increase in the radial dimension of the resistance substrate can be suppressed, so that a small size can be easily obtained.

  The variable resistor according to the present invention has an effect that the operation position accuracy can be easily improved without changing the forming method of the resistance element or performing secondary work, and can be used in the operation unit of various electronic devices. It is applicable, especially when used for temperature control of car air conditioners.

Sectional drawing of the variable resistor by the 1st Embodiment of this invention External view Plan view of the resistor board Diagram showing the relationship between the output voltage and switch signal Partial enlarged view showing the relationship between the output voltage and the switch signal for explaining the operation position accuracy The top view of the resistance board of the variable resistor by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention The top view of the resistance board of the variable resistor by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention Partial enlarged view showing the relationship between the output voltage and the switch signal for explaining the operation position accuracy The top view of the resistance board of the variable resistor by the 4th Embodiment of this invention Partial enlarged view showing the relationship between the output voltage and the switch signal for explaining the operation position accuracy Cross section of conventional variable resistor Plan view of the resistor board Resistance change characteristics

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Case 11A Through-hole 11B Cylindrical part 12,24,28,31 Resistor board 13,13A, 13B, 13C Resistor terminal 14 Operation shaft 14A Flange part 14B Operation part 15 Cover 16 Slider 17 Conductor 17A, 18A, 19C , 20A Deriving unit 18 Resistive element 19, 25 Signal pattern 19A, 25A, 29A, 30A, 32A, 33A, 34A Electrode unit 19B Conducting unit 20 Common pattern 21 Switch terminal 23, 26, 31, 35 Contact 27 Insulating layer 29 Inner signal pattern 30 Outer signal pattern 32 First signal pattern 33 Second signal pattern 34 Third signal pattern

Claims (6)

A variable resistor having a resistance substrate including a resistance element and a conductor, and a slider provided on an operating shaft and slidingly contacting the resistance element and the conductor, and in parallel with the resistance element on the resistance substrate In addition, the variable resistor is provided with switch means for switching the state of the output signal at least once within an operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic of the resistance element. The switch means is arranged on a signal pattern having a common pattern and a plurality of electrode portions arranged on the resistance substrate, and an operation shaft that is slidably contacted on the electrode portions of the common pattern and the signal pattern and an insulating portion between the electrode portions. Each of the electrode part and the insulating part between the electrode parts within the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic of the resistance element with respect to the sliding direction of the contactor. The variable resistor according to claim 1, wherein the output state of the switch means is set at an equal dimension and is switched at least once within the operation range. The variable resistor according to claim 2, wherein the electrode portion of the signal pattern is provided in a comb shape. An insulating part is formed by partially covering a linear conductive pattern arranged in parallel with a resistive element with an insulating layer, and the exposed remaining part other than the insulating part constitutes an electrode part of a signal pattern Item 3. The variable resistor according to Item 2. N signal patterns (N is a natural number greater than or equal to 2) are arranged in parallel with the resistor elements, and the electrode portions are arranged with a 1 / N position shift between the signal patterns. The variable resistor according to claim 2. The switch means includes a common pattern arranged on the resistance substrate and N signal patterns (N is a natural number) having a plurality of electrode portions, and the common patterns, the electrode portions of each signal pattern, and the insulation between the electrode portions. It is composed of contacts arranged on the operation shaft that slides on the part, and within the operation range corresponding to the linearity deviation of the resistance change characteristic, 2 ^N combinations of ON and OFF signals by the N signal patterns or The variable resistor according to claim 1, wherein an output of a combination of less than that is obtained.

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