JP2006156012A - Push switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push switch device capable of bearing a heavy load even in a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The push switch device is equipped with a push switch 4 having a shaft 6 sliding in the shaft direction and generating a signal by the sliding of the shaft 6, a case 2 to which a substrate 3 on which the push switch 4 is mounted is fixed, a push knob 5 having a fitting part 7 fitting to the shaft 6 and generating a signal in the push switch by sliding the shaft 6 by the pushing operation, a spring member 15 arranged between the push knob 5 and the case 2, and bending by the pushing operation to the push knob 5 to conduct buffer action, and a stopper part 17 installed in the push knob 5, and coming into contact with the case 2 when pushing operation force to the push knob 5 exceeds the bending limit of the spring member 15, and stopping the move of the push knob 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a push switch device used in a device such as an on-vehicle audio or air conditioner.

  In equipment devices such as car audio and in-vehicle air conditioners, a push switch device is incorporated in which a push switch generates a signal when a push knob is pressed.

  As such a push switch device, as described in Patent Document 1, switching is performed by sliding a push switch such as an encoder switch mounted on a substrate supported by a case and a shaft of the push switch. A push knob for performing, and an elastic spacer arranged to be sandwiched between the push knob and the shaft of the push switch. One end of the push knob is rotatably attached to the case via a rotation shaft, and an end portion opposite to the rotation shaft is an operation portion, and this operation portion faces the shaft of the push switch.

In the push switch device having this structure, when a pressing operation is performed on the operation portion of the push knob, the shaft slides in the axial direction and the push switch generates a signal. When the push knob is pressed, the elastic spacer is bent to reduce the operating force and transmit it to the shaft. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the push switch from being damaged or broken when a relatively large operating force is applied.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-40000

  However, in a push switch device used in a device such as a car audio or an in-vehicle air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1, the load resistance is about 10 kgf, and when a large load of 30 kgf or more is applied, the bending limit of the elastic spacer Therefore, a large load is transmitted to the shaft and transmitted from the shaft to the push switch. For this reason, there is a problem that the push switch is damaged or broken due to a load exceeding a specified load acting on the push switch.

  On the other hand, it is possible to endure a heavy load by increasing the strength of each member constituting the switch device. In this case, the entire switch device is not only enlarged, but also the entire switch device. As a result, the weight of the product becomes large and lacks practicality.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a push switch device having a structure capable of withstanding a heavy load without using a member having a high strength. .

  The push switch device of the invention according to claim 1 has a shaft that slides in the axial direction, a push switch that generates a signal by sliding the shaft, a case on which a substrate on which the push switch is mounted is fixed, A push knob that has a fitting portion to be fitted to the shaft and that is operated to press and slide the shaft to generate a signal to the push switch, and is arranged between the push knob and the case, to the push knob A spring member that is bent by the pressing operation and cushions and the push knob is provided, and when the pressing operation force to the push knob exceeds the bending limit of the spring member, the push knob moves by contacting the case And a stopper for stopping the operation.

  A second aspect of the invention is the push switch device according to the first aspect, wherein the spring member is disposed between the push knob and the push switch.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the push switch device according to the first aspect, wherein the spring member is disposed between the substrate and the case.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the push switch device according to the first aspect, wherein the stopper portion is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the push knob on the outer peripheral side with respect to the fitting portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an excessive load acts on the push switch because a shock acting by the spring member being bent is transmitted by the pressing operation to the push knob and transmitted to the shaft of the push switch. There is nothing. Further, when a large load that exceeds the bending limit of the spring member is applied to the push knob, the stopper portion provided on the push knob comes into contact with the case. This contact stops the further movement of the push knob, so that the sliding of the shaft facing the push knob stops. Thereby, the load more than withstand load does not act on a push switch, and it can prevent the failure | damage and failure of a push switch.

  Further, in the invention according to the first aspect, it is possible to withstand a heavy load without using a material having high strength as a constituent member of the switch device.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the spring member is disposed between the push knob and the push switch, the operating force to the push knob is directly transmitted to the spring member. For this reason, the bending timing of a spring member is early, and operativity can be improved.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the spring member is disposed between the substrate and the case, it is not necessary to dispose the spring member on an operation portion such as a push knob. For this reason, operation parts, such as a push knob, can be made small and compact.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the stopper portion is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the push knob, so that the stopper portion can come into contact with the case at a portion away from the shaft. For this reason, no load is applied to the shaft, and the push switch can be more reliably prevented from being damaged or broken.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In each embodiment, the same member is assigned the same reference numeral.

[First Embodiment]
1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the whole, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a switch operation, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views showing an operation.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the push switch device 1 of this embodiment includes a case 2, a substrate 3, a push switch 4, and a push knob 5.

  The case 2 constitutes a chassis of a device device such as a car audio or an in-vehicle air conditioner, or constitutes a support member such as an instrument panel on which these device devices are arranged, and therefore has a large load resistance. is doing.

  A wiring pattern (not shown) is formed on the substrate 3 and is supported by the case 2 by being attached to the case 2. A push switch 4 is mounted on the substrate 3 while being connected to the wiring pattern.

  For example, an encoder switch is used as the push switch 4. The push switch 4 has a shaft 6 protruding upward, and generates a signal when the shaft 6 slides in the axial direction. Therefore, a contact point facing the shaft 6 is arranged below the shaft 6 inside the push switch 4.

  In this embodiment, the push switch 4 corresponds to the multipoint push knob 5 shown in FIG. 2 and can be switched in response to a pressing operation to the plurality of operation portions 5 a on the outer peripheral side of the push knob 5. It has a simple structure. Although not shown in the figure, for example, an arcuate conductive leaf spring is disposed in an inverted state at the lower end portion of the shaft 6 and a plurality of contacts corresponding to the operation portion 5a are made to face the arcuate leaf spring. Can be used.

  A fitting shaft 7 as a fitting portion that is a constituent member of the push knob 5 is fitted to the shaft 6 of the push switch 4. The shaft 6 and the fitting shaft 7 of the push switch 4 are engaged with each other at the step portion 8. When the fitting shaft 7 moves in the axial direction, the shaft 6 slides in the axial direction via the step portion 8. The above-described signal is generated by this sliding.

  The push knob 5 includes a knob body 10, a guide shaft 11 provided inside the knob body 10, and the fitting shaft 7 described above. In this case, the fitting shaft 7 is provided at the center portion of the knob body 10.

  The knob body 10 is pressed at the time of switching, and is formed so that the cross section has an umbrella shape. The knob body 10 is integrally formed with an operation portion 5a extending in four directions on the outer peripheral side. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation portion 5 a extends so as to be positioned in four directions orthogonal to the axial center of the knob body 10, and includes the knob body 10 by a pressing operation to each operation portion 5 a. The entire push knob 5 is tilted in the pressing direction of the operation portion 5a, and by this tilting, the corresponding contact of the push switch 4 is closed via the shaft 6 to generate a signal (see FIG. 3).

  In order to allow the push knob 5 to tilt, a distribution pin 12 made of a screw is screwed onto the fitting shaft 7 at the center of the knob body 10. The head 12 a of the sorting pin 12 has an arc shape, and the lower surface of the spacer 13 inserted into the knob body 10 is in contact with the head 12 a. Thereby, the knob main body 10 can be tilted around the arc-shaped head portion 12a.

  In addition to such a tilting operation, the knob body 10 can also be pressed to the central portion in the axial direction, and the shaft 6 is axially moved by the pressing operation to the central portion in the axial direction. And the push switch 4 generates a signal by this sliding.

  The guide shaft 11 is fixed inside the knob body 10 so as to be positioned around the fitting shaft 7. On the inner diameter side of the guide shaft 11, a cylindrical portion 11 a that is fitted to the outer surface of the fitting shaft 7 and slides along the outer surface of the shaft 7 is formed.

  A spring member 15 is disposed between the push knob 5 and the case 2. In this embodiment, the spring member 15 is disposed between the flange portion 7 a formed at the lower end portion of the fitting shaft 7 and the guide shaft 11, so that the spring member 15 is moved between the push knob 5 and the push switch 4. Arranged between. As the spring member 15, a coil spring is used, and a buffering action that absorbs the operation force by bending in the axial direction by a pressing operation to the push knob 5 is performed. Accordingly, the pressing operation force acting on the push knob 5 is alleviated by the spring member 15 and then transmitted from the fitting shaft 7 to the shaft 6, whereby the shaft 6 slides in the axial direction and the push switch 4 is switched. Is done.

  Each of the operation portions 5a extends from the knob body 10 so as to spread outward, and a lower end portion thereof is a lowermost portion of the knob body 10 and faces the upper surface of the case 2 (see FIG. 1). ). Grooves 18 are formed in portions corresponding to the respective operation portions 5a on the upper surface of the case 2, and when the push knob 5 is tilted in the direction of the operation portion 5a by the pressing operation to the one operation portion 5a, The lower end portion of the operation portion 5 a enters the groove portion 18 and comes into contact with the bottom surface of the groove portion 18. FIG. 3 shows this tilted state. When the lower end portion of the operation portion 5a comes into contact with the bottom surface of the groove portion 18, the push knob 5 does not tilt any further, so that the pressing operation to the operation portion 5a can be performed. finish.

  In addition to the above, the push knob 5 is integrally provided with a stopper portion 17. The stopper portion 17 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the knob body 10 on the outer peripheral side of the fitting shaft 7 and is provided so as to correspond to each operation portion 5a. The stopper portion 17 is provided by hanging downward from a portion corresponding to each operation portion 5 a on the inner surface of the knob body 10. The stopper portion 17 is provided so as to be located inward of each operation portion 5 a, and the lower end portion thereof faces the upper surface of the case 2. Then, when the push knob 5 is pressed, the knob 5 approaches the case 2 and the stopper portion 17 comes into contact with the upper surface of the case 2. The movement of the push knob 5 can be stopped by this contact.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  When a pressing operation is performed on one operation portion 5a in the push knob 5, the entire push knob 5 is tilted in the direction of the operation portion 5a as shown in FIG. By this tilting, the fitting shaft 7 and the shaft 6 are disengaged from the step portion 8, and the shaft 6 is displaced so as to be pushed from the lateral direction by the inner surface portion of the fitting shaft 7. Due to this displacement, the push switch 4 generates a signal because the contact corresponding to the operation portion 5a is closed. The tilting of the push knob 5 stops when the lower end portion of the operation portion 5a enters the corresponding groove portion 18 in the case 2 and comes into contact with the bottom surface. Thereby, the pressing operation to the operation unit 5a is completed.

  FIG. 4 shows a case where a large load (for example, 30 kgf or more) is applied to the push knob 5.

  When the load is initially applied or when an allowable load is applied, the spring member 15 is bent to perform a buffering action to absorb the load. For this reason, at this time, no pressing force acts on the shaft 6, so that no signal is generated from the push switch 4.

  When the load P is larger than the deflection limit of the spring member 15, as shown in FIG. 4, the knob body 10 descends and approaches the case 2, and the stopper portion 17 contacts the upper surface of the case 2. . This abutment prevents the push knob 5 from being lowered further. Therefore, the fitting shaft 7 does not slide the shaft 6, and a large load P is not transmitted from the shaft 6 to the push switch 4. As a result, the push switch 4 can be reliably prevented from being damaged or broken. In such an embodiment, it is not necessary to use a material having high strength as a constituent member, and it can withstand a heavy load, and can be reduced in size and weight.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the push switch device 30 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the push switch device 30 of this embodiment, a plurality of spring members 15 made of coil springs are arranged between the substrate 3 and the case 2. The case 2 has an arrangement surface 21 on the side corresponding to the push knob 5 and a base surface 22 that supports the arrangement surface 21, and the substrate 3 is attached to the arrangement surface 21 side, so that the base 3 is separated from the base surface 22. It is in a floating state.

  The spring member 15 performs a buffering action while being disposed between the substrate 3 and the base surface 22. That is, when a large load is applied to the push knob 5, the load is transmitted from the fitting shaft 7 to the shaft 6 and is transmitted to the substrate 3 through the push switch 4. Thereby, since the spring member 15 which has troubled the board | substrate 3 bends, the push switch 4 can retract | save. This retraction prevents a large load from being applied to the push switch 4, so that the push switch 4 can be prevented from being damaged or broken.

  When the load exceeds the bending limit of the spring member 15, the knob main body 10 is lowered and approaches the case 2, and the stopper portion 17 comes into contact with the upper surface of the case 2 and the push knob 5 is further lowered. Disappear. Therefore, since the fitting shaft 7 does not slide the shaft 6, a large load is not transmitted from the shaft 6 to the push switch 4, and the push switch 4 can be prevented from being damaged or broken. Therefore, also in this embodiment, it is not necessary to use a material having high strength as a constituent member, and the size and weight can be reduced.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the push switch device 40 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In the push switch device 40 of this embodiment, a plate spring such as a wave spring or a washer is used as the spring member 41, and a spring member made of a coil spring is not used. The spring member 41 made of a leaf spring is housed in the groove portion 18 of the case 2 in a state where a plurality of spring members 41 are overlapped.

  When the operation part 5a enters the groove part 18 by the tilt of the push knob 5, the spring member 41 accommodated in the groove part 18 is pressed and bent by the tip part (lower end part) of the operation part 5a, and this bending reduces the load. Performs buffering. For this reason, since the pressing force does not act on the shaft 6, no signal is generated from the push switch 4, and damage to the push switch 4 can be prevented.

  When the load exceeds the bending limit of the spring member 41, the knob body 10 is lowered and approaches the case 2, and the stopper portion 17 comes into contact with the upper surface of the case 2 and the push knob 5 is further lowered. Disappear. Therefore, since the fitting shaft 7 does not slide the shaft 6, a large load is not transmitted from the shaft 6 to the push switch 4, and the push switch 4 can be prevented from being damaged or broken. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a material having high strength as a constituent member, and the size and weight can be reduced.

It is sectional drawing of the push switch apparatus in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the push knob at the time of switch operation. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in which the push knob inclined by operation of the push knob. It is sectional drawing explaining the state to which the big load acted on the push knob. It is sectional drawing of the push switch apparatus in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the push switch apparatus in 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,30,40 Push switch apparatus 2 Case 3 Board | substrate 4 Push switch 5 Push knob 5a Operation part 6 Shaft 7 Mating shaft 8 Step part 10 Knob main body 11 Guide shaft 12 Sorting pin 13 Spacer 17 Stopper part 18 Groove part 21 Arrangement surface 22 Base surface 41 Spring member

Claims (4)

A push switch (4) having a shaft (6) sliding in the axial direction and generating a signal by sliding the shaft (6);
A case (2) to which the substrate (3) on which the push switch (4) is mounted is fixed;
A push knob (5) having a fitting portion (7) to be fitted to the shaft (6) and sliding the shaft (6) to generate a signal to the push switch (4) by being pressed; ,
A spring member (5, 41) which is disposed between the push knob (5) and the case (2) and which is bent by a pressing operation to the push knob (5) to perform a buffering action;
The push knob (5) is provided so that the push knob (5) comes into contact with the case (2) when the pressing operation force to the push knob (5) exceeds the bending limit of the spring member (15, 41). And a stopper portion (17) for stopping the movement of the push switch device. The push switch device according to claim 1,
The push switch device, wherein the spring member (15) is disposed between the push knob (5) and the push switch (4). The push switch device according to claim 1,
The push switch device according to claim 1, wherein the spring member (41) is disposed between the substrate (3) and the case (2). The push switch device according to claim 1,
The push switch device, wherein the stopper portion (17) is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the push knob (5) on the outer peripheral side with respect to the fitting portion (7).

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