JP2006209975A - Slide switch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slide switch capable of providing stable sliding contact operation with reduced wear caused by sliding friction, reducing work in manufacture, and capable of being manufactured at low cost. <P>SOLUTION: The slide switch 3 comprises a case 4, a sliding mechanism 6, a coil spring 7 and a metallic movable contact element 9. The case 4 has a lid 8 covering the top part of a box having a bottom. Fixed terminals 51 to be connected to an external connection terminal are implanted on both sides of the bottom surface of the box. The sliding mechanism 6 has a sliding body 61 housed in the case 4, the sliding body 61 having a pressing part 612 protruding from a front-end wall of the case 4. An end of the coil spring 7 is mounted to a rear end portion of the sliding body 61 while the other end is fixed to a rear wall face inside the case 4 in a state in which the entire coil spring 7 is under compression all the time so as to allow the pressing part 612 to protrude. The contact element 9 is slidably attached integrally to the sliding body 61 in the case 4, and moves to come in contact with the fixed terminals 51 at the same time as the pressing part 612 is pushed to move the sliding body 61 against the coil spring 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a slide switch.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an exploded perspective view of a conventional slide switch. FIG. 2 shows an example of a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional slide switch.

  The slide switch 1 includes an insulating material case 11 formed of a substantially rectangular bottomed box having an open upper surface, a sheet-like lid 15 covering the upper surface of the case 11, and an axial direction (longitudinal direction) in the case 11. And a sliding mechanism 13 slidably housed.

  In the case 11, fixed terminals 12 that are electrically connected to the external connection terminals 17 are implanted on both sides of the bottom surface 111 in the axial direction. A guide groove 114 for reciprocating sliding of the sliding mechanism 13 is formed in the center of the bottom surface 111. The case 11 is provided with a notch 115 at the front edge near the lid 15.

  The sliding mechanism 13 includes a plastic sliding body 130, a pressing member 131, and a spring guide portion 133. The plastic sliding body 130 is loosely fitted in the groove 114 of the case 11 so as to be slidable back and forth along the axial direction. The pressing member 131 protrudes from the notch 115 of the case 11 integrally and continuously with one end of the sliding body 130. The spring guide portion 133 is integrally and continuously extended with the other end portion of the sliding body 130 and extends in the form of a rod to the other end side of the case 11 and is covered with the coil spring 14.

  The sliding body 130 of the sliding mechanism 13 has one end fixed to both sides of the sliding body 130 and the other end bent into a V-shape with an elastic metal piece contacting and leaving the fixed terminal 12 by sliding of the sliding body 130. A movable contact piece 132 is provided.

  The coil spring 14 is externally fitted to the guide portion 133, and the rear end thereof is pressed against the rear end wall 116 in the case 11 so that the tip of the coil spring 14 is in contact with the sliding body 130 and the movable contact piece 132 is normally kept open from the fixed terminal 12. ing.

  In this switch, when the pressing member 131 is pushed backward, the sliding body 130 is slid in the guide groove 114 in the case 11 and the coil spring 14 is compressed, the movable contact piece 132 is slidably contacted with the fixed terminal 12 and the electric power is supplied. Conductive. When the pressing member 131 is released, the movable contact piece 132 is separated from the fixed terminal 12 and is electrically turned off by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 14.

  In the conventional slide switch, the pressing member 131 can be pushed to bring the movable contact piece 132 into electrical contact with the fixed terminal. Therefore, the switch can be switched, but there is still a problem that requires improvement. .

  The sliding mechanism 13 with the movable contact piece 132 fixed is produced by first assembling and positioning the metal movable contact piece 132 on the mold wall of the mold, and then injecting plastic into the mold and cooling it. Is done. The amount of time required for assembly molding increases accordingly, and the manufacturing cost increases. In addition, the movable contact piece may be deformed by an external force at the time of assembly, resulting in a decrease in yield.

  Wear of the member due to sliding friction in the guide groove 114 of the sliding body 130 shortens the service life of the switch.

  As shown in FIG. 2, since a gap W is formed between the guide groove 114 and the sliding body 130 in order to improve the sliding between the guide groove 114 and the sliding body 130, the movable contact piece 132 is fixed to the guide groove 114. The state of surface contact with the terminal 12 may not be stable.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a slide switch that has less wear due to sliding friction and can stably perform a sliding contact operation.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a slide switch that can be manufactured at a low cost with reduced manufacturing labor.

In order to achieve the above object, a slide switch according to the present invention includes a bottomed box having an open top and a lid that covers the top of the bottomed box, and is fixedly connected to an external connection terminal. A case where terminals are planted on both sides of the bottom of the bottomed box;
A sliding mechanism having a plastic sliding body that is slidably housed in the front and rear with respect to the inside of the case, and a pressing portion that is disposed on the sliding body and protrudes from a front end wall of the case;
A coil spring in which one end is always attached to the rear end of the sliding body and the other end is fixed to the rear wall surface in the case so that the entire pressing portion protrudes from the case.
A metal movable contact element that is attached to the sliding body so as to be slidable integrally, and that moves when the pressing portion is pressed against the coil spring and moves to contact the fixed terminal. It is characterized by.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, there is little abrasion by sliding friction, and the slide switch which can perform a sliding contact operation stably can be provided.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a slide switch that can be manufactured at a low cost with reduced manufacturing labor.

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

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the slide switch 3 includes a case 4, a sliding mechanism 6, a coil spring 7, a sheet-like lid 8, and a movable contact element 9. The slide switch 3 is open at the top, and the sliding mechanism 6 and the movable contact element 9 are slidably fitted in a box-shaped case 4 having a substantially rectangular bottom 41. It is formed so as to cover the top of.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the case 4 includes a sliding groove 44 for sliding the movable contact element 9 along the length of the bottom surface 41. On both side edges of the sliding groove 44, oblique edges 442 with chamfered edges are formed. For this reason, the sliding contact area between the case 4 and the sliding mechanism 6 can be reduced.

  On both sides of the bottom surface 41, fixed terminals 51 are respectively implanted so as to be exposed to the groove surface of the sliding groove 44. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rear portion of the bottom surface 41 is provided with an external terminal 52 that extends integrally from the fixed terminal 51 to the outside and is electrically connected to an external electronic device. A recessed notch 4221 is formed in the front end edge 422 near the lid 8 of the case 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the rear wall 423 of the case 4 is preferably formed with a shallow recess 4231 corresponding to the notch 4221.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lid 8 includes a flat plate portion 81 that covers the upper portion of the case 4, and a protruding edge 82 that is bent downward from both sides of the flat plate portion 81. A locking hole 820 is formed in the protruding edge 82. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, overhanging portions 450 that engage with the locking holes 820 of the lid 8 are formed on the outer peripheral walls 45 on both sides of the case 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the movable contact element 9 is formed so as to be in sliding contact with the fixed terminal 51 in the case 4 by pressing a conductive member such as a metal plate. The movable contact element 9 is folded back from a flat plate portion 91 having a through-hole 911 and a rear end portion 92 formed in a bifurcated shape of the flat plate portion 91 and can be elastically contacted and separated from each of the fixed terminals 51. A contact portion 920. A contact point 921 protruding in a curved shape is formed at the tip of the contact portion 920. These contact points 921 are urged and slidably contacted with the fixed terminals 51 disposed on the bottom surface 41 of the case 4.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the sliding mechanism 6 includes a sliding body 61 having a sliding contact portion 614 slidably straddling on both oblique edges 442 of the sliding groove 44 in the case 4. These sliding contact portions 614 are rounded with chamfered corners. For this reason, the contact area between the sliding body 61 and the oblique edges 442 on both sides of the sliding groove 44 in the case 4 can be further reduced.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a pressing portion 612 that protrudes in a rod shape from a notch 4221 of the front end wall 422 of the case 4 is formed at the front end of the sliding body 61. As shown in FIG. 3, a mounting portion 613 is formed on the rear portion of the sliding body 61 so as to project in a protruding shape toward the recess 4231 side of the rear wall surface 423 of the case 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the sliding body 61 is formed with a protrusion 611 protruding from the lower surface so as to be fitted in the through hole 911 of the flat plate portion 91 of the movable contact element 9. For this reason, the movable contact element 9 can be appropriately fixed to the sliding mechanism 6.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the protrusion 611 of the sliding body 61 is first inserted into the through hole 911 of the movable contact element 9. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the protrusion 611 is crushed and deformed. Therefore, the protrusion 611 is pressure-bonded to the through hole 911. That is, the movable contact element 9 is fixed to the sliding mechanism 6.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tip 71 of the coil spring 7 is attached to the rear portion of the sliding body 61, that is, the attachment portion 613 provided at the rear portion, and the end 72 is attached to the recess 4231 of the rear wall surface 423 in the case 4. Has been. For this reason, the coil spring 7 always moves the movable contact element 9 away from the fixed terminal 51 in the normally open state.

  The slide switch 3 according to this embodiment can be manufactured by the process shown in FIG.

  First, as shown in step S901, the lid 8 is formed by pressing. The lid 8 having a flat plate portion 81 that covers the upper portion of the case 4 and a protruding edge 82 that is bent downward from both sides of the flat plate portion 81 and has a locking hole 820 is punched and formed.

  Next, as shown in step S902, the sliding mechanism 6 and the movable contact element 9 are formed. When the sliding mechanism 6 is formed, the pressing portion 612 and the attaching portion 613 are projected from the front and rear portions of the sliding body 61 by molding, and the protrusion 611 is formed into a required shape on the lower surface. When the movable contact element 9 is formed, a flat plate portion 91 having a through hole 911 and a contact portion that is bent back and extended from a rear end portion 92 formed in a bifurcated shape of the flat plate portion 91 by pressing. 920 is formed. After electroplating the movable contact element 9, the protrusion 611 of the sliding mechanism 6 is fitted into the through hole 911 of the movable contact element 9 and is crushed and locked (see FIGS. 6 and 7).

  Subsequently, as shown in step S903, the case 4 in which the fixed terminals 51 and the external terminals 52 are disposed is formed. A terminal member composed of the fixed terminal 51 and the external terminal 52 is formed by pressing. After electroplating the terminal member, the terminal member is placed in a mold and the case 4 is formed by molding. In this case, the fixed terminals 51 are respectively implanted on both sides of the bottom surface of the terminal member so as to be exposed on the groove surface of the sliding groove 44. Then, an external terminal 52 extending from the fixed terminal 51 to be electrically connected to the external electronic device is formed on the rear portion of the case 4.

  Finally, as shown in step S904, the molded lid 8, the sliding mechanism 6 movable contact element 9, and the case 4 are assembled together with the coil spring 7 (see FIG. 1). Thereafter, an inspection test is performed to obtain the slide switch 3 (product).

  Of course, such an assembly process can be automated.

  Next, the operation of the slide switch 3 having such a structure will be described with reference to the longitudinal sectional views shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the contact 921 of the movable contact element 9 is separated from the fixed terminal 51 by the action of the tensile elasticity of the coil spring 7 and the switch 3 is turned off. When the pressing part 612 of the sliding mechanism 6 is pressed from this state, the movable contact element 9 slides on the oblique edge 442 in the case 4 along the sliding groove 44 as shown in FIG. For this reason, the coil spring 7 is compressed by the mounting portion 613 of the sliding mechanism 6, and the contact 921 of the movable contact element 9 comes into contact (electrically connected) with the fixed terminal 51. Then, the switch 3 becomes conductive and is turned on.

  When the pressing operation of the pressing part 612 of the sliding mechanism 6 is released, the sliding body 61 and the movable contact element 9 are pushed back together by the elastic return force of the coil spring 7 from the compressed state by the mounting part 613 of the sliding mechanism 6. It is. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, the contact 921 is separated from the fixed terminal 51. That is, it returns to the off state.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the following can be said.

  For example, the metal movable contact element 9 and the plastic sliding mechanism 6, for example, are separately manufactured and then attached again. For this reason, when forming the sliding mechanism as in the conventional switch, the movable contact piece is preliminarily made by attaching a member made of a different material, such as the conventional switch sliding mechanism and the movable contact piece, and molding them while simultaneously connecting them. It does not have to be built into the mold. Therefore, it is possible to save time and effort for mounting the metal movable contact element in advance, and to reduce the manufacturing cost.

  In the slide switch, the movable contact element 9 includes a flat plate portion 91 having a through hole 911 and a contact portion 920 whose tip is folded downward from the flat plate portion 91 and elastically contacts and separates from the fixed terminal 51. And. By forming a protrusion 611 that protrudes from the lower surface of the sliding body 61 of the sliding mechanism 6 and fits the through hole 911 of the flat plate portion 91 of the movable contact element 9, the movable contact element 9 is attached to the sliding mechanism 6. It can be fixed appropriately.

  Further, in the slide switch 3, the sliding body 61 of the sliding mechanism 6 is in sliding contact, and guides the movable contact element 9 to move it in contact with or away from the fixed terminal 51. 44 is formed. In order to reduce sliding friction with both side portions of the sliding body 61, at least both contact portions that are in sliding contact with the side edges of the sliding groove 44 are chamfered correspondingly at both edges of the sliding grooves 44. It is formed to be a slope. For this reason, the switch 3 can also be reduced in size.

  In the slide switch 3, the sliding body 61 of the sliding mechanism 6 is provided with a projecting portion 613 for mounting one end of the coil spring 7 projecting toward the rear end side of the case 4. A recess 4231 for positioning the other end of the coil spring 7 is provided on the rear wall surface in the case 4. For this reason, the reciprocating sliding of the sliding mechanism 6 can be further stabilized.

  The embodiment has been specifically described so far with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and all the embodiments performed without departing from the scope of the invention are described. Including.

As described above, the slide switch of the present invention has the following advantages. That is,
(1) Since the metal movable contact element and the plastic sliding mechanism are formed separately and then attached, members having different materials, such as the sliding mechanism of the conventional switch and the movable contact piece, are previously incorporated in the mold. Since it is not necessary to perform molding while connecting them simultaneously, it is possible to save time and labor for positioning the metal movable contact element in the mold in advance, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and increasing the yield rate.

  (2) Since the edges of both sides of the sliding body are chamfered and rounded, the sliding contact area with the slanted edge in the case is greatly reduced, sliding friction is reduced, and the durability of the members is improved. A switch that can be made can be obtained.

  (3) Since the movable contact element is slid along the sliding groove and the sliding body is slid along the oblique edge, the push slide operation can be performed more stably. A switch that performs sliding contact / separation operation more stably than the conventional product can be obtained.

The exploded perspective view of the conventional slide switch. The cross-sectional view of the conventional slide switch. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing a slide switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. The schematic perspective view which shows the state which assembled the slide switch which concerns on one embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the slide switch according to the embodiment, taken along line VV in FIG. 4. Schematic which shows the fixed state of the sliding mechanism and movable contact element in the slide switch which concerns on one embodiment. Schematic which shows the fixed state of the sliding mechanism and movable contact element in the slide switch which concerns on one embodiment. The flowchart which shows an example of the manufacturing process of the slide switch which concerns on one embodiment. The schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state by which the slide switch which concerns on one Embodiment was turned off. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a slide switch according to an embodiment is turned on. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

4 ... case, 41 ... bottom surface, 422 ... front end edge, 4221 ... notch, 423 ... rear wall surface, 4231 ... recess, 44 ... sliding groove, 442 ... slope edge, 45 ... outer peripheral wall, 450 ... overhang portion 51 ... fixed Terminal, 52 ... External terminal 6 ... Sliding mechanism, 61 ... Sliding body, 611 ... Protrusion, 612 ... Pressing portion, 613 ... Mounting portion, 614 ... Sliding contact portion 7 ... Coil spring, 71 ... Tip, 72 ... Terminal 8 ... Sheet 81: flat plate portion, 82: projecting edge, 820 ... locking hole 9 ... movable contact element, 91 ... flat plate portion, 911 ... through hole, 92 ... rear end portion, 920 ... contact portion, 921 ... contact point

Claims (7)

A case in which a bottomed box having an open top and a lid covering the top of the bottomed box is provided, and fixed terminals electrically connected to external connection terminals are implanted on both sides of the bottom surface of the bottomed box; ,
A sliding mechanism having a plastic sliding body that is slidably housed in the front and rear with respect to the inside of the case, and a pressing portion that is disposed on the sliding body and protrudes from a front end wall of the case;
A coil spring in which one end is always attached to the rear end of the sliding body and the other end is fixed to the rear wall surface in the case so that the entire pressing portion protrudes from the case.
A metal movable contact element that is attached to the sliding body so as to be slidable integrally, and moves when the pressing portion is pressed against the coil spring and simultaneously contacts the fixed terminal. A slide switch characterized by   2. The slide switch according to claim 1, wherein a notch opening for projecting the pressing portion from the front end of the case is provided at a front end edge near the lid of the case.   The movable contact element includes a flat plate portion having a through hole and a contact portion whose tip is folded downward from the flat plate portion and elastically contacts and separates from the fixed terminal. The slide switch according to claim 1 or 2.   The slide switch according to claim 3, wherein the sliding mechanism includes a protrusion that protrudes from a lower surface of the sliding body and fits a through hole of the flat plate portion of the movable contact element.   On the bottom surface of the case, a sliding body of the sliding mechanism is slidably contacted, and a sliding groove is provided along a longitudinal direction that guides the movable contact element and moves it so as to contact and separate from the fixed terminal. The slide switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the slide switch is provided.   The said sliding groove | channel is provided with the inclined surface by which the corner | angular surface was chamfered in the both edges corresponding to the mutual contact part which slidably contacts at least with the side edge of the said sliding groove | channel, respectively. Slide switch. The sliding body of the sliding mechanism includes a projecting portion that protrudes toward the rear end side of the case, attaches one end of the coil spring, and a recess that positions the other end of the coil spring on the rear wall surface in the case. The slide switch according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the slide switch is provided.

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