JP2007035581A - Push-button device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push-button device capable of obtaining a uniform operating feeling even if any position of a large diameter button (operating part) is pushed. <P>SOLUTION: A large diameter button part 110 comprises an operating part 111 on which an external force is applied, a contact part 113 which contacts the movable part 116a of a switch 116 and transmits the external force applied on the operating part 111 to the movable part 116a of the switch 116, and an arm 114 of plate shape which links a base 112 and the operating part 111 and rocking moves the operating part 111 with the base 112 as a fulcrum. The width (Y axis direction) of the arm part 114 is provided as same level or larger than the width (Y axis direction) of the operating part 111 to the extension direction (X axis direction) of the arm part 114. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a push button device including a button portion that presses a movable portion of a switch.

  In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 4, the button base 320 and the base 330 are connected via a holding rib 340, and the pressing portion 310 provided on the button base 320 is pushed in the direction of arrow F to provide a switch (not shown). There was a push button device 300 to actuate. The base 330 is provided with a hole, and is attached to the housing by fitting with a protrusion provided on the housing (not shown). When the pressing portion 310 is pressed in the direction of arrow F, the button base portion 320 swings about the base portion 330 (Y-axis direction) to operate the switch. However, since the pressing portion 310 is provided wide in the Y-axis direction with respect to the switch, the pressing portion 310 may be inclined with respect to the X axis in FIG. Therefore, conventionally, two thin holding ribs 340 are provided, and when the pressing portion 310 is twisted with respect to the base portion 330, the stopper 350 that contacts the substrate on which the switch is provided is provided on both sides in the width direction on the lower side of the button base portion 320. The pressing portion 310 is prevented from being twisted about the X axis with respect to the base portion 330 (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-63-301437

  However, the provision of the two thin holding ribs 340 and the stopper 350 as in the conventional embodiment is insufficient to suppress the twist of the pressing portion 310 with respect to the base portion 330. Further, the pressing portion 310 has a large diameter, in other words, the pressing portion 310 is provided not only in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the extended holding rib 340 but also in the extending direction (X-axis direction). In such a case, there is a possibility that the position of the pressing portion 310 pressed by the user in the extending direction (X-axis direction) and the position where the pressing portion 310 and the switch come into contact with each other are shifted. Therefore, the pressing portion 310 is largely inclined with respect to the Y axis, and the holding rib 340 may be greatly bent, that is, may be buckled. At this time, if the stopper 350 is pressed until it comes into contact with the substrate, the stroke of the pressing portion 310 becomes longer, and an extra pressing force is required for the longer stroke. As a result, when the user presses the pressing portion 310, there arises a problem that the operation feeling is uneven depending on the pressing position.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the problem is to provide a push button device that can obtain a uniform operational feeling regardless of which position of the large-diameter button (pressing portion) is pressed. It is.

In this specification, the holding rib (arm portion) “bends” means that when the user presses the pressing portion (operation portion), the pressing portion swings with a small inclination only to operate the switch with the base portion as a fulcrum. This means that the holding rib bends to a small extent as it swings.
On the other hand, “buckling” means that when the user presses the pressing portion, the holding rib is greatly bent as the pressing portion tilts largely about the Y axis more than the tilt when the pressing portion swings around the base portion. Or, it means bending.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a push button device including a button portion that presses a movable portion of a switch, and the button portion includes a large-diameter operation portion to which an external force is applied, The abutment part that abuts the movable part of the switch and transmits an external force acting on the operation part to the movable part of the switch, and connects the base part and the operation part, and the operation part is supported by the base part as a fulcrum. And a plate-like arm portion that swings, and the width of the arm portion is equal to or greater than the width of the operation portion with respect to the extending direction of the arm portion. It is a button device.
Here, the “large-diameter operation portion” has a large diameter with respect to the diameter of the abutting portion that is a contact point with the movable portion of the switch, and may be inclined with respect to the switch because of the large diameter. Say.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the arm portion has at least the same width as the operation portion with respect to the extending direction of the arm portion. Therefore, the arm portion increases the rigidity of the arm portion in the width direction, and can reliably prevent the operation portion from being inclined in the width direction of the arm portion. That is, the operation portion can be prevented from being twisted with respect to the base portion.

  Further, when the size of the operation portion is larger than the contact portion that contacts the movable portion of the switch, and the operation portion swings around the base portion, the base portion that is a fulcrum and the action point that is the point A force point that is an operation unit operated by the user may be located between the contact portion and the contact portion. At this time, before the contact portion which is an action point moves the movable portion of the switch to operate the switch, the arm portion is buckled in the extending direction, and the operation portion is moved in the extending direction. There is a risk of tilting. Even in such a case, the arm portion of the present invention has at least the same width as that of the operation portion in the extending direction of the arm portion and can increase rigidity. There is no risk of buckling in the extending direction. Therefore, there is no possibility that the operation part is largely inclined in the extending direction of the arm part, and a uniform operation feeling can be obtained regardless of the position of the operation part that the user presses.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the push button device is characterized in that a slit portion extends in the same direction as the extending direction of the arm portion at the center of the arm portion. It is.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the same effect as the first aspect, a slit portion is extended at the center of the arm portion in the same direction as the extending direction of the arm portion. . The rigidity of the arm portion is determined by the material, thickness, width, length, and the like of the arm portion. However, depending on the material, since a certain thickness must be maintained, some materials cannot be provided thinner than the thickness. Moreover, in order to prevent the twist of the width direction, it may be unable to provide narrower than a fixed width. In such a case, it is very difficult to adjust the rigidity of the arm. Therefore, as in this embodiment, the rigidity of the arm portion can be adjusted by extending the slit portion in the same direction as the extending direction of the arm portion. Of course, a plurality of slit portions can be provided.
Further, since the weight of the button portion can be reduced by providing the slit portion, the cost of the button portion can be reduced.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the contact portion is provided on a side opposite to the side on which the arm portion is formed of the operation portion. It is a button device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the same effect as the first or second aspect, the contact portion is provided on the opposite side of the operation portion where the arm portion is formed. ing. If the button portion is compared to this principle, a position where the user as the power point actually pushes on the operation portion can be provided between the base portion as the fulcrum and the contact portion as the action point. Therefore, the stroke of the action point is larger than the stroke of the power point. That is, even if the user presses the operation portion small, the stroke of the contact portion is large, so that the switch can be operated reliably.
Further, since the stroke of the movable part that operates the switch is not changed, the stroke of the operating part that is the power point of the movable part (action point) is compared with the case where the action point is between the fulcrum and the power point. The stroke can be made shorter than the stroke, and the amount of change in the inclination of the operation unit when the operation unit is moved from the state before the operation unit is pressed can be reduced. That is, when the user presses the operation unit, the user does not notice the amount of change in the inclination of the operation unit, and obtains the same operational feeling as when the operation unit moves parallel without a fulcrum. be able to.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a push button device including a button portion that presses the movable portion of the switch, the button portion being in contact with an operation portion to which an external force is applied, and the movable portion of the switch, A contact portion that transmits an external force acting on the operation portion to the movable portion of the switch; and an arm portion that connects the base portion and the operation portion and swings the operation portion with the base portion as a fulcrum, The contact part is a push button device provided on the side opposite to the side on which the arm part is formed of the operation part.
According to the 4th aspect of this invention, the effect similar to a 3rd aspect can be acquired.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a button portion of a push button device according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the button part 110 includes a large-diameter circular operation part 111 operated by a user, and a central part 111 a that is slightly depressed is formed at the center of the operation part 111. The center part 111 a has an effect of guiding the user to operate the center of the operation part 111. Further, a base 112 that can be fixed and positioned on a substrate 115 (see FIG. 2) or a housing (not shown) of the apparatus is provided, and the base 112 is integrated with the operation unit 111 by a plate-like arm 114. Is provided. As specific positioning means, a protrusion formed on the housing is inserted into holes 112a and 112b formed on the base 112, and fixed and positioned by caulking or the like.

  Further, a contact portion 113 is provided on the back side of the operation portion 111 so as to contact the switch 116 (see FIG. 2) on the substrate. The operation unit 111 is disposed in an opening formed in the casing and is operated by the user from the outside of the casing. When the user presses the operation unit 111 downward in the Z axis, the arm unit 114 is slightly bent, and the contact unit 113 can press the switch 116 of the substrate 115. At this time, a flange portion 117 is provided around the operation portion 111 so that the inside of the case, for example, a substrate or the like, cannot be seen through a gap between the operation portion 111 and the opening of the case from the outside of the case. . Further, on the back side of the operation unit 111, a contact unit 118 that restricts the movement of the operation unit 111 is formed. When an excessive force is applied to the operation unit 111, the contact portion 118 abuts against the substrate 115 to restrict the movement of the operation unit 111, thereby preventing the switch 116 from being damaged by applying an excessive force. it can.

  FIG. 1B shows a button part 210 of another embodiment 1, and only a slit part 114a is provided in the arm part 114 of the button part 110 of FIG. The rigidity of the arm part 114 can be adjusted by providing the slit part 114a. Since others are the same as (A), the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a side view (A), a plan view (B), and a front view (C) showing a push button device according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2A, when the operating portion 111 of the push button device 100 is pushed downward in the Z-axis direction, the contact portion 113 can push the movable portion 116a of the switch 116 on the substrate. At this time, the contact portion 113 is provided on the back side of the operation portion 111 and on the opposite side to the base portion 112. And since the arm part 114 bends slightly, the operation part 111 rock | fluctuates so that the base 112 may be used as a fulcrum.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the width of the plate-like arm portion 114 is about the same as the width of the operation portion 111 (the length in the same direction as the width direction of the arm portion 114). And (B) and (C) in the same figure shows that the operation part 111 and the contact part 113 are configured on the center line in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the arm part 114.
Here, the large-diameter operation portion 111 of the present embodiment is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of about 30 mm in order to improve operability, and the diameter of the contact portion 113 that contacts the switch 116 is formed to be about 3 mm. That is, the area of the operation unit 111 is very large with respect to the area of the contact part 113. The shape of the operation unit 111 and the configuration of the operation unit 111 and the contact portion 113 are not limited to the embodiment. The “large-diameter operation portion 111” refers to a device having a diameter of at least 15 mm and at least five times the diameter of the contact portion 113.

  The material of the arm portion 114 is a plastic material such as PS (polystyrene), ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) resin, POS (polyacetal). The thickness of the arm part 114 is about 0.5 mm to 1.2 mm. The width of the arm part 114 is about the diameter of the operation part 111 which is 15 mm to the button diameter. The length of the arm part 114 is about the diameter of the operation part 111 which is 5 mm to the button diameter. The distance from the base part 112 to the contact part 113 is “the length of the arm part 114 + the radius of the operation part 111 that is the button radius” to “the length of the arm part 114 + the diameter of the operation part 111 that is the button diameter + α”. Degree.

  The push button device 100 of the present embodiment is a push button device 100 including a button portion 110 that presses the movable portion 116a of the switch 116. The button portion 110 includes a large-diameter operation portion 111 to which an external force is applied, and a switch. 116 abuts on the movable portion 116a of the 116, and transmits the external force applied to the operation portion 111 to the movable portion 116a of the switch 116, and connects the base portion 112 and the operation portion 111, and operates the base portion 112 as a fulcrum. A plate-like arm portion 114 that swings the portion 111, and the width of the arm portion 114 is equal to or greater than the width of the operation portion 111 with respect to the extending direction of the arm portion 114 (X-axis direction). It has been.

As a result, the arm portion 114 can increase the rigidity of the arm portion 114 in the width direction (Y-axis direction), and can reliably prevent the operation portion 111 from tilting around the X axis. That is, the operation unit 111 can be prevented from being twisted with respect to the base 112.
Further, when the size of the operation unit 111 is larger than the contact portion 113 that contacts the movable portion 116a of the switch 116, and the operation unit 111 swings around the base portion 112, the base portion 112 that is a fulcrum and the action point. A power point that is the operation unit 111 operated by the user may be located between the contact unit 113 and the contact unit 113. At this time, before the contact portion 113 as the operating point moves the movable portion 116a of the switch 116 to operate the switch 116, the arm portion 114 buckles in the extending direction (X-axis direction), and the operation portion 111 is moved. May be greatly inclined in the extending direction (X-axis direction). Even in such a case, the arm portion 114 of the present invention has at least the same width as the width of the operation portion 111 (Y-axis direction) in the extending direction (X-axis direction) of the arm portion 114 and is rigid. Therefore, there is no possibility that the arm portion 114 is buckled in the extending direction (X-axis direction). Therefore, there is no possibility that the operation unit 111 is greatly inclined in the extending direction (X-axis direction) of the arm unit 114, and a uniform operation feeling can be obtained regardless of the position of the operation unit 111 that the user presses.

In the present embodiment, a slit portion 114 a is extended at the center of the arm portion 114 in the same direction as the extension direction of the arm portion 114.
As a result, the rigidity of the arm part 114 can be adjusted, and the cost of the button part 210 can be reduced.
At this time, of course, the rigidity can be adjusted by providing a plurality of slit portions 114a.

  The push button device 100 according to the present embodiment is a push button device 100 including a button unit 110 that presses the movable unit 116 a of the switch 116, and the button unit 110 includes an operation unit 111 to which an external force is applied and the switch 116 is movable. The abutment portion 113 that abuts the portion 116a and transmits the external force acting on the operation portion 111 to the movable portion 116a of the switch 116 is connected to the base portion 112 and the operation portion 111, and the operation portion 111 is supported on the base portion 112 as a fulcrum. The contact portion 113 is provided on the opposite side of the operation portion 111 from the side on which the arm portion 114 is formed.

If the button part 110 is compared with the lever principle, a position where the user as the power point actually pushes on the operation part can be provided between the base part 112 as the fulcrum and the contact part 113 as the action point.
As a result, the stroke of the action point becomes larger than the stroke of the power point. That is, even if the user presses the operation unit 111 small, the stroke of the contact part 113 is large, so that the switch 116 can be operated reliably.
Furthermore, since the stroke of the movable part 116a (action point) that operates the switch 116 is unchanged, the stroke of the operation part 111 that is the force point is compared with the case where the action point is between the fulcrum and the force point. The stroke can be made shorter than the stroke of the movable portion 116a (action point), and the amount of change in the tilt of the operation unit 111 when the operation unit 111 is moved from the state before the operation unit 111 is pressed can be reduced. That is, when the user presses the operation unit 111, the user does not notice the amount of change in the tilt of the operation unit 111, and obtains the same operational feeling as when the operation unit 111 moves parallel without a fulcrum. be able to.
At this time, the shape of the arm portion 114 is not limited to a wide plate-like shape, and may be any shape.

FIG. 3 shows a side view (A) and a plan view (B) showing a push button device according to another embodiment 2 of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the contact portion 213 and the switch 216 are configured on the distal end side with respect to the operation portion 111 when the base portion 112 is set to the proximal end side in the button portion 110.
As a result, as compared with FIGS. 2A and 2B, the stroke of the movable portion 216a that operates the switch 216 is not changed, so that the stroke of the power point described above is reduced. That is, the stroke with which the user presses the operation unit 111 can be further reduced. Furthermore, the amount of change in the inclination of the operation unit 111 when the operation unit 111 is moved from the state before the operation unit 111 is pressed can be further reduced.
At this time, the shape of the arm portion 114 is not limited to a wide plate-like shape, and may be any shape.

The width of the arm portion may be approximately the same as or larger than the width of the operation portion (the length in the same direction as the width direction of the arm portion). Here, “same extent” refers to a width that can prevent twisting with the base portion by pressing any position of the operation portion in the width direction.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

The perspective view which shows the button part of the pushbutton apparatus which concerns on this invention. Side view, plan view and front view showing a push button device according to the present invention The side view and top view which show the pushbutton apparatus which concerns on this invention The perspective view which shows the pushbutton apparatus in a prior art

Explanation of symbols

100 push button device, 110 button part, 111 operation part, 111a center part,
112 base part, 112a hole part, 112b hole part, 113 contact part, 114 arm part, 114a slit part, 115 substrate, 116 switch, 116a movable part,
117 flange part, 118 contact part, 210 button part, 213 contact part,
216 switch, 216a movable part, 300 (conventional) push button device,
310 pressing part, 320 button base part, 330 base part, 340 holding rib,
350 stopper

Claims (4)

A push button device having a button part for pressing the movable part of the switch,
The button part
A large-diameter operating section to which external force is applied;
A contact portion that contacts the movable portion of the switch and transmits an external force acting on the operation portion to the movable portion of the switch;
A plate-like arm portion for connecting the base portion and the operation portion and swinging the operation portion around the base portion as a fulcrum;
The push button device is characterized in that the width of the arm portion is set to be equal to or greater than the width of the operation portion with respect to the extending direction of the arm portion.   2. The push button device according to claim 1, wherein a slit portion is extended at the center of the arm portion in the same direction as the extending direction of the arm portion.   3. The push button device according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion is provided on a side opposite to the side where the arm portion is formed of the operation portion. A push button device having a button part for pressing the movable part of the switch,
The button part
An operation unit to which external force is applied;
A contact portion that contacts the movable portion of the switch and transmits an external force acting on the operation portion to the movable portion of the switch;
An arm part for connecting the base part and the operation part and swinging the operation part around the base part;
The push button device according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion is provided on a side opposite to a side where the arm portion is formed of the operation portion.

Images