JP2005191029A - Operation button and electrical apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize mounting of an operation button, even in an operation switch to be mounted in the housing of an electrical apparatus, without using screw and to further realize stable mounting, without plays. <P>SOLUTION: The operation buttons 24a, 24b include supports 29a, 29b standing erect from a base 28 and hinges 30a, 30b provided to protrude from the upper ends of the supports 29a, 29b to a front surface side and thinned in a boundary from the base 28. Mounting ribs 32, 32 are provided at least on both sides of the base 28. A substantially L-shaped hook 33 is formed at the distal end of the mounting rib 32, and a slit groove 34 is cut in from the back surface side. Arms 35, 35 having stoppers 36, 36 formed at the distal end are extended rearward of the base 28, and further, arms 31a, 31b extended rearward for pressing the switch are provided at the upper ends of the supports. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation button that can be easily attached without using a set screw and that can prevent interlocking of adjacent buttons, and an electric device including the operation button.

  In many cases, a front panel of an electric device is provided with buttons necessary for operation, and a switch provided on the circuit board is turned on and off by pressing the button. Then, the circuit board is attached to the chassis, and the operation button is attached by being aligned with a switch provided on the circuit board. However, it is required to simplify the attachment structure.

  FIG. 8 shows the most common conventional operation button mounting structure. The operation button 1 is attached to the back side of the front panel 2 of the cabinet, and the operation button 1 is screwed at the four corners of the frame 3 thereof. Screws are made in a state in which the frame 3 is supported by the bosses 4, 4... Protruding on the back side of the front panel 2. Accordingly, a gap corresponding to the length of the boss 4 is formed between the front panel 2 and the front panel 2.

  By the way, the operation button 1 has two button portions 5 and 5 in the rectangular frame 3, and the button portions 5 and 5 are connected to the frame 3 through hinge portions 6 and 6. Then, the arms 8 and 8 are extended rearward from the boards 7 and 7 of the button portions 5 and 5, and the tip ends of the arms can contact the switches 10 and 10 provided on the circuit board 9. That is, if the button portions 5 and 5 are pressed from the front, the arms 8 and 8 are bent downward, and the tip presses the switches 10 and 10.

  FIG. 9A is a front view from the inside where the operation button 1 is attached to the front panel 2, FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 9A, and FIG. B sectional views are shown respectively. As is clear from each sectional view, the frame 3 is screwed to the bosses 4, 4... Extending rearward from the front panel 2, and the button 11 formed so as to protrude from the substrate 7 of the button portion 5 to the front side is It fits into a hole 12 formed in the front panel 2. Therefore, when the button 11 is pressed from the front, the hinge portion 6 connected to the frame 3 is bent and deformed, and the tip of the arm contacts the switch 10.

  By the way, although the operation button 1 is screwed to the back side of the front panel 2 and does not come off, the screwing operation is troublesome. FIG. 10 shows a case where the operation button 1 and the circuit board 9 are attached. The operation button 1 is screwed to the front panel 2 and then the circuit board 9 is attached. Four screws are used to screw the operation button 1 shown in the figure, and if the operation button 1 has more buttons 11, 11,..., More screws are required. Become.

  And in an electric device such as a television receiver, the operation button is relatively lower on the front side and has a small space between the bottom plate and the screw holes of the bosses 4, 4... Provided behind the front panel. The operation of screwing the screws is not easy and the man-hours are inevitably high.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-299567, “Push Button Link Mounting Structure” is a mounting structure in which a push button device used in an electric device such as a television receiver is fixed to a housing without using screws. Yes. That is, the through hole provided in the connecting portion of the push button chain formed by connecting a plurality of push buttons to the positioning pin and the guide rib projecting on the inner surface side of the housing and the end portion of the first rib are respectively inserted and fitted. Further, by inserting the end of the printed board into the slits of the first and second ribs provided in the connecting part of the button series, the switch pressing part provided in the button series and a plurality of switches arranged on the printed board Are fixed in correspondence with each other.

  As described above, since the push button train can be fixed to the housing without using a screw, it is possible to reduce the cost associated with the reduction in the number of parts and the work time associated with the reduction of the screwing and the fusion process. Further, the positional deviation between the switch pressing portion of the push button series and the switch mounted on the substrate can be eliminated, and the clearance between the switch pressing portion and the switch can be kept constant.

However, since the button is sandwiched between the casing and the substrate, the backlash of the button occurs when a gap is generated between the casing and the button or between the button and the substrate. Further, since the button is sandwiched between the casing and the substrate, the button is in an unstable state until the substrate is attached, and the button may come off during the assembling work process, and workability is lowered. On the other hand, since the buttons are attached to the housing in a floating state, the interlocking with the adjacent buttons occurs, the quality is deteriorated, and malfunction occurs. Since ribs are formed on the bottom surface of the housing and the button shape is complicated, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the mold becomes high.
"Push button chain mounting structure" according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-299567 "Attachment structure of a key press device" according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-165064 "Electronic device operating device" according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-53472

  As described above, the conventional operation button mounting structure has the above-described problems. The problems to be solved by the present invention are these problems, and the operation buttons can be stably attached without rattling without using a set screw, and can be prevented from interlocking with adjacent operation buttons. And an electric device including an operation button.

  In the present invention, a button hole is formed at the operation button mounting position on the front portion of the housing, and a plurality of locking holes for positioning the button are provided on the bottom surface. The operation button is formed with a button portion for operation, a support portion extending downward from the button portion, and a rib for pushing a switch attached to the substrate extending rearward of the button portion. A base portion is formed below the button portion, and the base portion and the support portion of the button portion are connected by a hinge. Note that the base portion may be formed with a single button portion or a plurality of support portions, and may be formed with a plurality, and the present invention is not limited.

  A rib that extends backward and sandwiches the substrate is formed at the base, and a substantially L-shaped hook that extends downward is formed at the tip of the rib. The base is further provided with a stopper projection extending downward through an elastically deforming arm, and the hook of the operation button is passed through the locking hole on the bottom surface of the housing and slid forward. The button fits into the button hole, and the stopper at the tip of the arm is locked in the locking hole on the bottom surface of the housing at a predetermined position, and the mounting of the operation button is completed.

  The electric device according to the present invention can be attached with one touch without using a screw when attaching the operation button, the workability is improved, and the attached operation button is stable without rattling. That is, the hook provided at the base of the operation button is locked in the positioning locking hole formed on the bottom surface of the housing, and the stopper is engaged with the locking hole on the bottom surface of the housing, so that the attached operation button is released. Absent.

  And since the base part of an operation button is stably fixed without looseness to a housing | casing, when pressing a button, the interlocking of the adjacent button is prevented and a stable operation is guaranteed without a malfunction. In addition, a mounting rib having a slit groove is provided in the base, and the board is inserted into the slit groove so that the board is positioned and a gap between the switch attached to the board and the tip of the switch pressing arm. Is kept constant, and malfunction can be prevented.

  FIG. 1 is a specific example showing the appearance of a television receiver. The television receiver is provided with a screen 21 on the front, speakers 22 and 22 on both sides of the screen 21, and four buttons 24a, 24b,. 2 and 3 show a corner portion of the housing of the television receiver, the operation buttons are attached to the bottom surface 26 of the housing 25, and the buttons 24a, 24b,... It fits in the button holes 27a, 27b.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the operation buttons, where (a) represents the front side and (b) represents the back side. As shown in the figure, four buttons 24a, 24b,... Are provided at equal intervals, and these buttons 24a, 24b,... Are provided on the front side of the support portions 29a, 29b,. Protrusively formed. The hinges 30a, 30b,... Are formed at the lower ends of the support portions 29a, 29b,.

  Therefore, if the buttons 24a, 24b,... Are pressed from the front side, the support portions 29a, 29b,... Can be bent and deformed via the hinges 30a, 30b,. The switch pressing arms 31a, 31b,... Extend behind the support portions 29a, 29b,... And the switch pressing arms 31a, 31b,.・ The tip of the tip is lowered to press the switch attached to the board.

  The mounting ribs 32, 32... Extend rearward on both sides and the center of the base portion 28, and L-shaped hooks 33, 33. The mounting ribs 32, 32,... Are provided with slit grooves 34, 34,. At the base portion 28, arms 35, 35 are extended rearward, and stoppers 36, 36 projecting downward are formed at the ends of the arms. As described above, the operation buttons including the buttons 24a, 24b,..., The support portions 29a, 29b, .., the mounting ribs 32, 32,. 3, it is attached to the bottom surface 26 of the housing 25.

  FIG. 5 shows a plan view, a front view, a side view, an AA sectional view, and a BB sectional view of the operation button. FIG. 6 shows a bottom surface 26 and a front surface 23 of the casing 25 to which the operation buttons are attached. Button holes 27a, 27b,... Through which the buttons 24a, 24b,. As shown in FIG. 2, the buttons 24a, 24b,... Are fitted by attaching the operation buttons.

The bottom surface 26 is provided with elongated locking holes 37, 37,... For rectangular positioning and rectangular locking holes 38, 38, and operation buttons are provided in the locking holes 37, 37,. The hooks 33, 33,. FIG. 7 shows an operation button attaching process.
(a) shows a case where the hook 33 formed at the tip of the mounting rib 32 is fitted into the locking hole 37. In this case, the stopper 36 at the end of the arm is not located at the same location as the locking hole 38.
(b) shows the case where the hook 33 is fitted into the locking hole 37, but the stopper 36 cannot be fitted into the locking hole 38, and is bent and deformed as shown in FIG.
(c) shows a state in which the hook 33 is locked in the locking hole 37 and the stopper 36 is locked in the locking hole 38.

  If the operation button is moved in the arrow direction from the state (b), the hook 33 is locked in the locking hole 37 and the stopper 36 is fitted in the locking hole 38. Here, since the width of the locking hole 37 is substantially the same as the thickness of the hook 33, there is no backlash in the left-right direction. The hook 33 is not lifted or moved to the front side when the hook 33 is locked in the locking hole 37, and further, the stopper 36 is locked to the locking hole 38 and is prevented from moving backward. Therefore, the operation button is fixed at a predetermined position.

  In this way, the operation button is attached at a predetermined position without using a screw. The front side of the circuit board is inserted into and supported by the slit grooves 34, 34,... Formed in the mounting ribs 32, 32,. When the switch mounted on the circuit board has an appropriate gap between the switch pressing arm tip and the buttons 24a, 24b,... Are pressed, the support portions 29a, 29b,. The tips of the arms 31a, 31b,... Are lowered so that the switch can be pressed accurately.

The perspective view of a television receiver. The front side perspective view at the time of attaching an operation button to a housing | casing. The rear side perspective view at the time of attaching an operation button to a housing | casing. It is a specific example which shows an operation button, (a) is a front side perspective view, (b) is a back side perspective view. Operation button plan view, front view, side view, AA sectional view, BB sectional view A part of the chassis to which the operation buttons can be attached. The process of attaching operation buttons to the housing. The perspective view which shows the conventional operation button attachment structure. The front view and sectional drawing of the conventional operation button mounting structure. Conventional operation button installation method.

Explanation of symbols

21 screens
22 Speaker
23 Front side
24 button
25 housing
26 Bottom
27 Button hole
28 base
29 Support
30 Hinge
31 Switch pressing arm
32 mounting ribs
33 hook
34 Slit groove
35 arms
36 Stopper
37 Locking hole
38 Locking hole

Claims (2)

In the operation switch attached to the housing of the electrical equipment, a button is provided at the upper end of the support portion that stands up from the base portion, and a hinge having a reduced thickness is formed at the boundary with the base portion. Mounting ribs are provided at least on both sides, and an approximately L-shaped hook is formed at the tip of the mounting rib, and a slit groove is cut from the back side, and an arm with a stopper formed at the tip is extended to the rear of the base, and further supported An operation button having a switch pressing arm extending rearward at the upper end of the unit. In electrical equipment with an operation switch attached to the housing, the operation switch is provided with a button protruding from the front at the upper end of the support that stands up from the base, and a thin hinge is formed at the boundary with the base. In addition, mounting ribs are provided on at least both sides of the base, and an L-shaped hook is formed at the tip of the mounting rib and a slit groove is cut from the back side, and an arm having a stopper formed at the tip is provided at the rear of the base. In addition, a switch pressing arm that extends backward is provided at the upper end of the support part. The above button is fitted in a button hole that penetrates the front surface of the housing, and a locking hole is formed in the bottom surface of the housing. Provided with an operation button characterized in that the hook formed at the tip of the mounting rib is fitted and locked in one locking hole, and a stopper is fitted and locked in the other locking hole. Electric Equipment.

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