JP2008021528A - Push switch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push switch which assures sense of moderation, without using a circular-dome movable contact, and employs the switch contact configuration which allows the switch outline width to be reduced as a push switch intended for use in the input operation section of various electronic equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The push switch uses a movable strip 50, which is composed of a narrow and almost linear elastic metal plate and is formed at a lower side opening as a dog-legged shape, while providing a contact at the front edge of a secondary elastic arm 52. The bottom side of a concave 31 on a case 30, where the contact section is sliding, is tied to the top of a secondary fixed contact 42, arranged horizontally at the predetermined height position via an inclined plane 35. When the bent part of the movable strip 50 is depressed by the operation of a push button 60; since the angle of the dog-legged shape becomes widen, and the contact section climbs up the inclined plane 35, to move to the top of the secondary fixed contact 42; such a configuration assures sense of moderation at the angle switching position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a push switch used in an input operation unit of various electronic devices.

  Many input operation units in various electronic devices are input by pressing an operation button. The input operation section is usually equipped with various push switches whose switch state is switched by pressing operation, and in particular, there is a push switch that provides a modest feel during operation so that it can be detected by touch. Many are used.

  Such a conventional push switch will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional push switch, and FIG. 6 is a top view thereof.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a case made of a resin provided with a recess having an upper surface opening, and the outer shape thereof is formed in a square shape in a top view. The outer fixed contact 2 and the central fixed contact 3 are fixed to the bottom surface of the recess by insert molding, and terminals connected to the contacts are led out from the side walls of the case 1, although not shown. Yes.

  Then, a circular dome-shaped movable contact 5 is disposed on the outer fixed contact 2 with the lower end of the outer periphery, and the lower surface of the central portion faces the central fixed contact 3 with a gap.

  Further, a push button 7 is placed on the central portion of the movable contact 5 so as to be movable up and down, and the operation portion 7A of the push button 7 is located at the center of the cover 9 assembled to the case 1 so as to cover the opening of the case 1. It protrudes upward from the hole 9A.

  The conventional push switch is configured as described above.

  In the operation, when a push-down operation to the push button 7 is performed, a push-down force is applied to the central portion of the movable contact 5 via the push button 7, and when the magnitude exceeds a predetermined size, the movable contact 5 The center part of the slidable reversal operation with a moderate feeling, and the lower surface thereof contacts the center fixed contact 3. As a result, the outer fixed contact 2 and the central fixed contact 3 are electrically connected via the movable contact 5, and a switch ON state is established in which the corresponding terminals are short-circuited.

  When the operating force is removed, the movable contact 5 self-restores to the original upward convex shape and pushes back the push button 7, and the lower surface of the central portion is separated from the central fixed contact 3 and the switch OFF shown in FIG. It returned to the state.

  The above-mentioned conventional push switch is mounted and used in an input operation unit of various electronic devices. However, as the size and thickness of various electronic devices progresses, the area of the input operation unit is gradually narrowed. In many cases, the conventional push switch is required to have a small mounting area or a narrow width.

  The conventional push switch is suitable because it provides good moderation feel and high contact reliability, but it uses a movable contact 5 having a circular dome shape as its contact structure. For this reason, there is a limit to narrowing the outer shape of the switch, and it has become an urgent task to develop a push switch having a contact structure that can provide a modest feel and can be narrowed.

  On the other hand, there are also push switches that are often mounted in various mechanical detection mechanisms for detecting the presence or absence of a recording medium such as a tape or a tray, and one example thereof is the one shown in the sectional view of FIG. Is mentioned.

  The conventional push switch has, for example, a pair of fixed contacts 12 fixed to the bottom surface of a resin case 11 as shown in FIG. The movable piece 14 formed by bending is accommodated and disposed in a slightly bent state.

  The movable piece 14 is incorporated in a fixed state in which one end side is held by the case 11, and the tip of the elastic arm 15 on the other end side serving as a contact portion to each of the fixed contacts 12 is formed in a bifurcated manner. The contact portion is in elastic contact with the bottom surface formed on the flat horizontal surface of the case 11.

  The fixed contact 12 is horizontally fixed at a slightly lower position with respect to the bottom surface of the case 11 in order to eliminate the influence of resin burrs or the like when the insert molding is fixed. In FIG. 7, the step is easily enlarged. It is said that.

  An operating body 17 for applying a pressing force from the bent portion of the movable piece 14 is rotatably engaged with the upper end of the case 11.

  The operation of another conventional push switch having the above-described configuration is as follows. When the operating body 17 is pressed, the operating body 17 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. As the movable piece 14 rotates, the tip of the elastic arm 15 moves horizontally from the bottom surface of the case 11 to the plurality of fixed contacts 12 to turn on the switch, and when the operating force is removed, the movable piece 14 rotates. The piece 14 or the like was rotated in the opposite direction to the above and returned to the switch OFF state shown in the sectional view of FIG.

As prior art document information related to the invention of this application, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are known.
JP 2004-263274 A JP 2005-026035 A

  Among the conventional push switches described above, the former is suitable for the input operation unit because it can provide a good moderation feel, but as described above, there is a limit to narrowing the outer shape of the switch structurally. The latter was able to be configured with a narrow switch outer shape, but it was not suitable for the input operation part because it was a configuration that could not feel moderation, and a new push switch that combines the advantages of both Development was urgent.

  The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and it is possible to obtain a moderation feel without using a conventional circular dome-shaped movable contact, and it is possible to cope with a narrow switch outer shape. An object of the present invention is to provide a push switch provided with

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a resin case, a pair of fixed contacts fixed to the bottom surface of the case, and a narrow linear shape bent at a substantially central position in the longitudinal direction. A movable piece made of an elastic metal plate that is formed in a shape and has a tip of an elastic arm that extends downward contacts the corresponding fixed contact and conducts between the fixed contacts; and a push button that pushes down the movable piece, The tip of the elastic arm of the movable piece slides on the bottom surface of the case by the push-down operation to the push button, and the bottom surface of the case that is slid and moved is higher in the direction of the sliding movement. The push switch is configured to reach a horizontal surface having a predetermined height via an inclined surface portion.

  If it is the said structure, when a pressing operation is carried out, it can be made into the specification which the tip of an elastic arm climbs the inclined surface part of the said case, then moves to the horizontal surface of predetermined height, and slides and moves. Since the force required when the tip of the elastic arm slides on the inclined surface is small, the force required to move to the horizontal surface of the predetermined height and thereafter is small. Although the movable piece is adopted, the difference in the force at the switching position of the angle can be felt as a moderation feeling (click feeling). In other words, this configuration has an effect that it is possible to realize a push switch that can provide a moderation feel without using a circular dome-shaped movable contact and can easily cope with a narrow switch outer shape.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a movable piece formed in the shape of a square with a lower opening is used, and the first elastic arm on one end side of the movable piece has a corresponding fixed shape. It is controlled so that it does not move in the case in a normal contact state with the contact point, and it is bent slightly in the direction in which the angle of the above-mentioned character is widened by a push button arranged on the bent part of the movable piece, and the state The tip of the second elastic arm on the other end side of the movable piece is configured to be positioned on the inclined surface portion of the bottom surface of the case. In addition to the operation of the invention according to claim 1, the movable piece is stabilized. It has the effect | action that it can comprise in what was arranged.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a push switch having a switch contact portion configuration that can provide a moderation feel without using a conventional circular dome-shaped movable contact and can cope with a narrow switch outer shape. The advantageous effect that it can be realized is obtained.

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

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a push switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof, FIG. 3 is a top view of a state in which a movable piece is accommodated in a concave portion of a case which is the main part, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the same operation state.

  In the figure, reference numeral 30 denotes a resin case formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape having a recess 31 with an open top surface. The concave portion 31 is formed in a shape in which a linear portion 31A having a rectangular shape in a top view and a rectangular wide portion 31B are connected and integrated on one end side of the longitudinal portion of the linear portion 31A. The straight portion 31 </ b> A is formed at the center position along the longitudinal direction of the case 30, and the wide portion 31 </ b> B is formed corresponding to one end side of the case 30.

  The first fixed contact 41 is located at the position of the wide portion 31B in the recess 31, and the second fixed contact 42 is located at the other end of the linear portion 31A opposite to the side connected to the wide portion 31B. The terminals are fixed by insert molding, and the corresponding terminals are led out from the side walls of the case 30.

  The first fixed contact 41 and the second fixed contact 42 are fixed to the case 30 so as to be in a horizontal relationship with the wiring board surface to be mounted, and the exposed upper surface height positions are matched.

  The height position of the bottom surface of the recess 31 between the first fixed contact 41 and the second fixed contact 42 is formed as a flat portion 32 that is one step lower than the above-described contacts, and the flat portion 32 and the second fixed contact. A bottom surface portion between the second fixed contact 42 and the bottom surface portion 42 is formed by an inclined surface portion 35 connected to the height position of the second fixed contact 42.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes a first elastic metal plate that is narrow and substantially linear, bent into a square shape with a lower opening at a substantially central position on the longitudinal direction side, and extended obliquely downward with the bent portion as the center. The movable piece includes the elastic arm 51 and the second elastic arm 52.

  At the tip of the first elastic arm 51, there is provided a flat plate portion 51A formed in a similar wide rectangular shape that is slightly smaller than the wide portion 31B of the recess 31, and the flat plate portion 51A is located near the base. And bent to form a horizontal state as a whole. The flat plate portion 51A is set to have a width that is wider than the width of the straight portion 31A of the concave portion 31, and the widths of the first elastic arm 51 and the second elastic arm 52 other than the flat plate portion 51A are the straight lines. The width is set to be narrower than the width of the portion 31A. The tip of the second elastic arm 52 is formed in a substantially arc shape so as to be a contact portion.

  The movable piece 50 is disposed in a housed state in a recess 31 provided in the case 30. In the arrangement state, the flat plate portion 51A is inserted and arranged in the wide portion 31B of the recess 31 so that the lower surface of the flat plate portion 51A at the tip of the first elastic arm 51 is in contact with the exposed upper surface of the first fixed contact 41. Further, the other first elastic arm 51 portion and the second elastic arm 52 are inserted and arranged so as to be located in the straight portion 31 </ b> A of the recess 31. If it is the said structure, even if it is a simple combined shape, it can be implement | achieved as the movement regulation toward the horizontal direction of the 1st elastic arm 51 front end side being made reliably by the case 30. FIG.

  In addition, as a combination state of the flat plate portion 51A and the wide portion 31B of the concave portion 31, in addition to the insertion arrangement, the flat plate portion 51A may be press-fitted and held on the inner wall constituting the wide portion 31B.

  On the bent portion of the movable piece 50, a push button 60 having a flange portion 60A and an operation portion 60B protruding from the center of the upper surface is placed so as to be movable up and down. The operation portion 60B is placed on the case 30. The cover 70 protrudes upward from the central hole 70A of the cover 70 coupled to the case 30 so as to cover it.

  Here, the outer shape of the flange portion 60A accommodated and disposed in the recess 31 is substantially rectangular in a top view and is formed to project downward in the entire width thereof at each end position corresponding to the longitudinal direction side. The side portion 60C is assumed to be provided. The flange portion 60 </ b> A is slightly narrower than the linear portion 31 </ b> A of the concave portion 31, and has a dimension slightly smaller than the longitudinal dimension of the concave portion 31 in the longitudinal direction. Then, each of the outer side surfaces of the side portion 60C provided on the flange portion 60A is positioned in an opposing state with a predetermined gap between each of the inner walls of the case 30 on the longitudinal direction side of the concave portion 31, whereby the length of the push button 60 is increased. It is configured to prevent tilting on the direction side. In addition, since the side part 60C arranged on the straight part 31A side is also along the inner wall of the case 30 on the short side of the straight part 31A, the side part 60C also contributes to prevention of tilting in the direction side. It will be.

  Then, the movable piece 50 is slightly bent in the direction in which the angle of the square is widened in the arrangement state of the push button 60, and the push button 60 is biased upward by the biasing force, and the flange portion 60A. The top surface is in contact with the bottom surface of the cover 70 to prevent the push button 60 from rattling, and the stable contact state between the flat plate portion 51A at the tip of the first elastic arm 51 and the top surface of the first fixed contact 41. Is to be maintained. Further, in the above state, the contact portion at the tip of the second elastic arm 52 of the movable piece 50 is located in an elastic contact state at a substantially intermediate position of the inclined surface portion 35 of the case 30 and is movable by the urging force of the movable piece 50. The piece 50 itself is arranged in the recess 31 with little backlash and the like.

  As described above, the push switch according to this embodiment is configured, and the operation thereof will be described.

  First, when the operation portion 60B of the push button 60 is pushed downward, the push button 60 moves vertically downward while being regulated by the side portion 60C and the like, and accordingly, the bent portion of the movable piece 50 is pushed down. Here, since the movable piece 50 is regulated by the wide portion 31B of the recess 31 so that the flat plate portion 51A at the tip of the first elastic arm 51 does not move in the horizontal direction, as a result, the second elastic arm 52 moves. As the push button 60 moves downward, the angle of the dogleg of the movable piece 50 increases, and the contact portion of the second elastic arm 52 climbs the inclined surface portion 35.

  Then, the contact portion of the second elastic arm 52 slides and moves from the inclined surface portion 35 onto the second fixed contact 42 disposed in a horizontal relationship. At that time, the first fixed contact 41 and the second fixed contact 42 Is short-circuited through the movable piece 50, and the corresponding terminals are brought into conduction and the switch is turned on. Note that the contact portion of the second elastic arm 52 continues to slide on the second fixed contact 42 in response to the operation thereafter.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, according to the operation, the contact portion of the second elastic arm 52 in the movable piece 50 moves from the inclined surface portion 35 onto the second fixed contact 42 arranged in a horizontal relationship. Here, with respect to the force required when the contact portion of the second elastic arm 52 moves on the inclined surface portion 35, the force required when moving to a horizontal surface of a predetermined height and thereafter Since it can be small, the difference in force at the position where the angle is switched is felt as a moderation feel (click feel).

  As the maximum operation stroke of the push button 60, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation button 60B of the push button 60 can be pushed in until the upper end is flush with the upper surface of the cover 70. Good.

  In the push switch of the configuration, it is important to set the stroke so that the character of the movable piece 50 does not reverse to the character of the upper opening even at the maximum operation stroke position. In order to reliably prevent the reversal, a movement restricting projection is provided on the flat surface portion 32 formed at a position one step lower than the height position of each contact point, and is brought into contact with the lower surface of the movable piece 50 to mechanically stop. It is also possible to prevent the inversion.

  When the operation of the push button 60 on the operation portion 60B is released, the movable piece 50 is self-restored to the original angular shape, and pushes up the push button 60 and contacts the second elastic arm 52. The part moves from the second fixed contact 42 to the inclined surface part 35 and returns to the switch OFF state shown in FIG.

  As described above, the push switch has a specification that allows a moderation feel during operation even though the switch contact portion is configured by using the movable piece 50 that is narrow and substantially linear. Can be realized. In other words, if the structure has a structure that can provide a moderate feeling without using a conventional circular dome-shaped movable contact, it is possible to easily cope with the narrowing of the outer shape of the switch. In addition, the thing by the said structure can be comprised by the minimum required number of parts, and since it can implement | achieve by setting the height of the part which the movable piece 50 in the case 30 slides in as the main part, increase in a number of parts It is also advantageous that no complicated manufacturing process is required.

  The switch position of the switch state is not limited to that described above, and a predetermined distance of a horizontal plane connected by climbing the inclined surface portion 35 is formed on the resin surface to delay the switch switching timing, or vice versa. The upper part of the surface part 35 may be formed by the second fixed contact 42 and the switching timing may be set earlier.

  Further, the shape of the movable piece 50 is not limited to the shape bent in a substantially square shape, and any shape can be used as long as the contact portion can be configured to climb the inclined surface portion 35 by being pushed by an operation on the push button. Furthermore, even if the contact portion moves after climbing the inclined surface portion 35, it may be formed on an inclined surface that becomes lower along the moving direction in addition to the horizontal plane.

  In addition, the fixed contact has been described as an example of the case 30 disposed on both ends of the case 30. However, the contact portion formed by arranging two independent fixed contacts side by side on the other end side of the case and forming the fork of the movable piece. It is good also as what electrically connects between the said fixed contacts by contact.

  The push switch according to the present invention has an advantageous effect that it can be realized as having a switch contact portion configuration that can provide a moderation feel without using a circular dome-shaped movable contact and can cope with a narrower switch outer shape. And is useful when configuring an input operation unit of various electronic devices.

Sectional drawing of the push switch by one embodiment of this invention Exploded perspective view Top view of a state in which the movable piece is accommodated in the concave portion of the case which is the main part Sectional view showing the operating state Cross section of a conventional push switch Top view Cross section of another conventional push switch

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 Case 31 Recessed part 31A Linear part 31B Wide part 32 Plane part 35 Inclined surface part 41 First fixed contact 42 Second fixed contact 50 Movable piece 51 First elastic arm 51A Flat plate part 52 Second elastic arm 60 Push button 60A Flange part 60B Operation Part 60C Side side part 70 Cover 70A Center hole

Claims (2)

A resin case, a pair of fixed contacts fixed to the bottom surface of the case, a narrow straight line, a shape bent at a substantially central position in the longitudinal direction, and the tip of an elastic arm extending downward Includes a movable piece made of an elastic metal plate that contacts the corresponding fixed contact and conducts between the fixed contacts, and a push button that depresses the movable piece. The tip of the arm slides and moves on the bottom surface of the case, and the bottom surface of the case that is slid and moved becomes a horizontal surface having a predetermined height via an inclined surface portion that increases in accordance with the sliding and moving direction. Push switch characterized by being configured to reach. A movable piece formed in the shape of a square with a lower opening is used, and the first elastic arm on one end side of the movable piece is normally connected to the corresponding fixed contact so as not to move in the case. The push button disposed on the bent portion of the movable piece is slightly bent in the direction in which the angle of the above-mentioned character is widened, and in this state, the tip of the second elastic arm on the other end side of the movable piece is The push switch according to claim 1, wherein the push switch is configured to be located on an inclined surface portion of a bottom surface of the case.

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