JP2007026699A - Lever device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lever device capable of surely evading an electric failure such as disconnection from occurring because of a long term use and capable of suppressing a manufacturing cost even if an operation part capable of pressing operation in a protruding end side of an operation lever has been formed. <P>SOLUTION: This is equipped with a lever device main body 1 in which a first rocking shaft L1 to support the operation lever 2 is formed, a second rocking shaft L2 extending in a direction nearly perpendicular to the first rocking shaft L1, a switching member 3 which is supported by the second rocking shaft L2, in which the operation part 3a capable of pressing operation has been formed at the tip, and in which the operation part 3a is positioned at the side face of the protruding end side of the operation lever 2, a base end part 3b formed in the base end of the switching member 3 being interlocked with rocking of the switching member 2 and capable of generating magnetism, and a hole IC element 6 to detect the magnetism of the base end part 3b of the switching member 3 with non-contact in a state of rocking by a pressing operation of the operation part 3a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever device that supports an operating lever in a swingable manner and has an operating portion that can be pressed on a side surface of a protruding end of the operating lever.

  Usually, a forklift is provided with a plurality of lever devices for operating the operation of the fork. By swinging the operation lever of the desired lever device, for example, the fork of the forklift is raised or lowered, or The fork can be inclined. Among these, as a lever device for operating the inclination of the fork, an operation button is formed on the protruding end side of the operation lever, and by pressing the operation button, the inclined fork is immediately in a horizontal state (initial state) What can be said has been proposed.

  In the conventional lever device having the operation buttons as described above, a predetermined switch is formed on the protruding end side of the operation lever, and the switch and the fixed side of the lever device (the lever device main body side) are electrically connected by wiring. Connection was made. Thus, when the operation button is pressed, the switch is turned on, and an electric signal is transmitted to the lever device main body side through the wiring, and the fork is controlled to be in an initial state (horizontal state) based on the electric signal. can do. In addition, since this prior art does not relate to the literature known invention, there is no prior art document information to be described.

  However, in the above-described conventional lever device, since the wiring for electrically connecting the switch formed at the protruding end of the operation lever and the lever device main body is disposed in the operation lever, There is a problem that the wiring may be disconnected due to long-term use.

  In addition, since the switch that electrically turns on and off by pressing the operation button is formed on the operation lever, in particular, when it is installed on a thing used outdoors such as a forklift, it is inundated with rain, etc. As a result, the electrical lever is liable to cause an electrical failure, and in order to avoid this, the operation lever must be provided with waterproof means for the switch, which increases the manufacturing cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even when an operation portion that can be pressed is formed on the projecting end side of the operation lever, electrical problems such as disconnection may occur due to long-term use. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lever device that can surely avoid such a situation and can reduce the manufacturing cost.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever device main body formed with a first swing shaft that swingably supports the operation lever, and formed in the operation lever in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first swing shaft. An extended second swing shaft and an operation portion supported by the second swing shaft and freely swingable are formed at the tip, and the operation portion is formed on a side surface of the operation lever on the protruding end side. A switch member that is positioned; a base end portion that is formed at the base end of the switch member and interlocks with the swing of the switch member; and that is capable of generating magnetism; Magnetic detecting means for detecting the magnetism of the base end portion of the switch member in a state of being swung by operation in a non-contact manner;

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the lever device according to the first aspect, the base end portion is formed in an arc shape in which at least the back surface follows the swinging locus of the operation lever.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the magnetism of the base end portion of the switch member that is swung by the pressing operation of the operation portion is detected in a non-contact manner by the magnetic detection means formed on the switch device body, Wiring extending from the operation unit can be made unnecessary, and it is possible to reliably avoid the occurrence of electrical problems such as disconnection due to long-term use. At the same time, a switch that is disposed on the operation lever and detects the operation of the operation unit is not required, and a waterproof means for the switch is not required on the operation lever. Therefore, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the base end portion is formed in an arc shape that follows at least the back surface of the operation lever, the operation portion can be operated even if the operation lever is swung to any angle. The distance between the base end portion of the switch member and the magnetic detection means that is swung by the pressing operation can be always constant, and the pressing operation of the operating portion can be detected more reliably.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
The lever device according to the present embodiment is configured to be mounted on a forklift and operate a fork, and as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a lever device main body 1 that supports an operation lever 2 in a swingable manner. And a switch member 3 in which an operation portion 3a is formed on the protruding end side (upper side) of the operation lever 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a cover member that covers the upper portion of the lever device body 1 and is not shown for convenience in the drawings subsequent to FIG.

  The lever device body 1 is formed with a first swing shaft L1 that supports the operation lever 2 so as to swing freely. The first swing shaft L1 extends in the left-right direction of the lever device main body 1, and when operated in the front-rear direction while gripping the protruding end side of the operation lever 2 at the neutral position, the spring S1 formed of a torsion spring (FIG. 3). It can be swung back and forth against the urging force of (see). Note that when the longitudinal force on the operation lever 2 is loosened, the operation lever 2 returns to the neutral position by the biasing force of the spring S1.

  A potentiometer 1 a for detecting the swing of the operation lever 2 is disposed on the side surface of the lever device main body 1. That is, the resistance value of the potentiometer 1a is changed as the operating lever 2 is swung back and forth around the first swinging axis L1, and the electric signal is changed to the vehicle body side (specifically, not shown) of the forklift. Therefore, the fork (not shown) included in the forklift can be tilted at an arbitrary angle based on the electric signal.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a substrate 5 on which a predetermined circuit is formed is disposed on the upper portion of the lever device body 1, and a Hall IC element 6 as a magnetic detection means is formed on the substrate 5. Has been. The Hall IC element 6 is for non-contact detection of magnetism at a base end portion 3b of the switch member 3 to be described later, and can generate a predetermined electrical signal when magnetism is detected.

  On the other hand, the operation lever 2 is formed with a second swing shaft L2 extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first swing shaft L1 (left and right direction with respect to the lever device body 1). A switch member 3 is swingably supported on the shaft L2. An operation portion 3a is formed at the tip of the switch member 3, and the operation portion 3a is located on the side surface of the operation lever 2 at the protruding end side, and can be pressed by the operator.

  A spring S2 is disposed on the back side (right side in FIG. 3) of the operation unit 3a, and spring balls SB and springs S3 for moderation are formed on the upper end side. Accordingly, when the operation portion 3a is pressed, the moderation by the spring ball SB is obtained, and the operation portion 3a moves rightward against the urging force of the spring S2, so that the second swing axis L2 is the center. The switch member 3 is swung.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, an arcuate base end portion 3b is integrally formed at the base end (lower end) of the switch member 3, and the operation portion 3a is pressed in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. When the switch member 3 swings about the second swing axis L2, the base end portion 3b moves to the near side in the drawing and is positioned above the Hall IC element 6. Yes. That is, during normal operation (when the operation unit 3a is not operated), as shown in FIG. 5, the base end 3b is located at a position separated from the Hall IC element 6, and when the operation unit 3a is pressed, the operation shown in FIG. As shown, the base end 3b is set so as to be positioned above and adjacent to the Hall IC element 6.

  As shown in the figure, the base end portion 3b has at least a back surface (lower surface) formed in an arc shape that follows the swinging locus K of the operating lever 2, and the back surface is magnetized to magnetize it. It is configured to be able to occur. Then, when the operation portion 3a is pressed and the base end portion 3b is positioned above and close to the Hall IC element 6 as shown in FIG. 6, the Hall IC element 6 detects the magnetism of the base end portion 3b. A predetermined electrical signal can be generated.

  However, the generated electric signal is transmitted to the vehicle body side of the forklift (not shown) (specifically, the control means for controlling the fork operation), and the fork (not shown) included in the forklift is horizontally leveled based on the electric signal. It can be operated up to the state (initial position). In other words, when the operating portion 3a is pressed, the fork inclined at a predetermined angle is immediately returned to the horizontal state, which is the initial position, and the operability of the fork is improved.

  As a result, the magnetism of the base end portion 3b of the switch member 3 that is swung by the pressing operation of the operation portion 3a is detected by the Hall IC element 6 formed in the switch device body 1 in a non-contact manner. Such wiring extending from the operation unit 3a can be made unnecessary, and it is possible to reliably avoid the occurrence of electrical problems such as disconnection due to long-term use. At the same time, a switch comprising a contact or the like that is disposed on the operation lever 2 and detects the operation of the operation unit 3a is not required, and the operation lever 2 can be provided with no waterproof means for the switch. Can be suppressed.

  Further, since at least the back surface of the base end portion 3b is formed in an arc shape following the swinging locus of the operation lever 2, the pressing operation of the operation portion 3a can be performed regardless of the angle of the operation lever 2. The distance between the base end portion 3b of the switch member 3 and the Hall IC element 6 (that is, the dimension p in FIG. 6) in the state of being swung by the movement can be always constant, and the pressing operation of the operation portion 3a can be performed more reliably. Can be detected.

  Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the operation lever 2 swings in the left-right direction with respect to the lever device main body 1, and the operation portion 3a of the switch member 3 is either front or rear. You may apply to what can be pressed in the direction. Further, the base end portion 3b may generate magnetism by fixing a permanent magnet on the back surface in addition to the one that can generate magnetism by magnetization as in the present embodiment. Further, in place of the Hall IC element, other magnetic detection means capable of detecting the magnetism of the base end portion 3b in a non-contact manner may be used.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the forklift is applied to a lever device that operates the fork of the forklift (particularly, the inclination of the fork). As long as the swing axis of the operating lever and the swing axis of the switch member extending from the operating portion are substantially orthogonal, and the magnetism generated from the base end portion of the switch member is detected in a non-contact manner, The present invention can also be applied to other types of lever devices (installed in a vehicle or other devices).

  The operating lever has an operation portion that can be pressed on the side of the protruding end of the operating lever, the swinging shaft of the operating lever and the swinging shaft of the switch member extending from the operating portion are substantially orthogonal, and the base end of the switch member As long as it is a lever device that detects the magnetism generated from the part in a non-contact manner, it can also be applied to ones having different appearance shapes or other functions added.

The perspective view which shows the lever apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention Side view showing the lever device Sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. Front view showing switch member and its vicinity in the lever device Cross-sectional schematic view of the switch member (before swinging) and its vicinity in the lever device as seen from the side Cross-sectional schematic view of the switch member (after swinging) and its vicinity in the lever device as seen from the side

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lever apparatus main body 2 Operation lever 3 Switch member 3a Operation part 3b Base end part 4 Cover member 5 Board | substrate 6 Hall IC element (magnetic detection means)
L1 First swing axis L2 Second swing axis

Claims (2)

A lever device main body formed with a first swing shaft for swingably supporting the operation lever;
A second swing shaft formed on the operation lever and extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first swing shaft;
A switch member that is supported by the second swing shaft and is swingable, and an operation portion that can be pressed at the tip is formed, and the operation portion is positioned on a protruding side surface of the operation lever;
A base end portion that is formed at the base end of the switch member and interlocks with the swing of the switch member, and can generate magnetism;
A magnetic detecting means formed in the lever device main body and detecting the magnetism of the base end portion of the switch member in a state of being rocked by a pressing operation of the operating portion in a non-contact manner;
A lever device comprising:   The lever device according to claim 1, wherein at least the back surface of the base end portion is formed in an arc shape that follows the swinging locus of the operation lever.

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