JP2008277084A - Push button structure in electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve an operation feel in a push button member by making an operation stroke great in a comparatively simple structure in which high sizing precision is not necessary and at the same time evading breaking of a switch due to excessive pushing in load. <P>SOLUTION: The vicinity of a top side in a boss part 43 in an operation plate part 5Ab is pushed by having a boss part 3c change its position due to the displacement of a push button part 3a in the push button member 3. A rubber cushion 12 is brought into contact with a tact switch 11 making it work by having the operation plate part 5Ab sag to be bent and pushed in. Since the push button part 3a is provided with a moving possible range so that a further operation stroke can be made, the operation plate part 5Ab continues to move in a direction coming closer to the tact switch 11 while making the rubber cushion 12 deform. When the pushing in action is stopped, the operation plate part 5Ab is pushed back by spring force of a coil spring 7 and the push button part 3a is returned to a former position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a push button structure in an electronic device.

Conventionally, when a switch having a small operation stroke, such as a micro switch or a tact switch, is operated by pressing with a push button member, a hinge is formed on a synthetic resin plate of a casing above the switch, and the hinge is By providing a cantilever-like operation plate as the base end, a pressing boss projecting at the center of the inner surface of the operation plate directly above the switch, and an operation unit at the tip of the outer surface of the operation plate, the operation stroke of the push button member A device that increases the operational sensation is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-54220 (2nd page, 14th line to 3rd page, 7th line and FIG. 1)

  In the case of the one described in Patent Document 1, there may be a deviation in the position where the switch is provided. In that case, when the amount of deviation increases, the amount of pressing of the pressing boss of the operation plate by the pressing operation of the push button member becomes longer than the operation stroke of the switch, and the switch may be damaged. For this reason, in order to avoid breakage of the switch, high dimensional accuracy is required for the size and assembly of the switch.

  The present invention has a relatively simple structure that does not require high dimensional accuracy, enhances the operation feeling of the push button member by increasing the operation stroke, and can prevent the switch from being damaged due to the pushing load. The purpose is to provide a structure.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an electronic apparatus in which a switch having a small operation stroke is provided inside the casing, and a push button member for operating the switch is provided on the front side of the casing corresponding to the switch. In the push button structure, an elastic material is disposed with a gap with respect to the switch, and the push button member is configured to press the switch via the elastic material, It is possible to deform at least a dimension corresponding to the difference between the operation stroke and the gap. Here, the “switch with a small operation stroke” is a switch with a small stroke allowed for the switch movable part after the switch is actuated, and corresponds to a tact switch, a micro switch, or the like.

  If it does in this way, if a pushbutton member is pushed, a switch will be pushed in via an elastic material, and the said switch operates. At this time, the push button member continues the operation stroke even after the switch is actuated, but the subsequent operation stroke is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the elastic material and eventually reaches the stroke limit of the push button member. As a result, not all of the pushing load of the push button member is applied to the switch, and breakage is avoided.

  Therefore, with a relatively simple structure that does not require high dimensional accuracy, it is possible to increase the operational feeling of the push button member by increasing the operation stroke of the push button member, and to avoid breakage of the switch due to the pushing load. Therefore, it is possible to achieve both the enlargement of the operation stroke of the push button member and the avoidance of the breakage of the switch having a small operation stroke by utilizing the deformation of the elastic material in the compression direction.

  In this case, as described in claim 2, the casing includes an operation plate portion supported in a cantilever shape between the switch and the push button member, and the operation plate portion is provided on the back surface side. A protrusion corresponding to the switch, the elastic member is attached to the protrusion, and the switch is operated via the operation plate portion and the elastic member when the push button member is pressed. Has been.

  In this way, when the push button member is pushed, the protrusion on the back side of the push button member pushes the operation plate portion, so that the elastic material pushes the switch and the switch is activated.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that a coil spring is provided between the operation plate portion and the casing, and the push button member has a protruding portion that contacts the front surface side of the operation plate portion on the back surface side. .

  In this manner, when the pressing of the push button member is released, the operation plate portion and the push button member are returned to their original positions by the spring force of the coil spring.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the elastic member has a substantially conical tip portion and a cylindrical base end portion, and the tip of the tip portion is a flat surface corresponding to the switch. It is desirable.

  In this way, the flat surface at the tip of the elastic material comes into contact with the switch by the pressing of the push button member, so that the pressing load is received by the flat surface, so that it is easy to deform.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the push button member may have a protruding portion on the back side, and the elastic material may be provided at the tip of the protruding portion.

  In this way, an elastic material can be provided with a simple configuration, and breakage can be avoided.

  In the present invention, as described above, the push button member continues the operation stroke even after the switch is operated, but the operation stroke after the operation is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the elastic material, and eventually reaches the stroke limit of the push button member. Therefore, all of the pushing load of the push button member is not applied to the switch, and breakage of the switch can be avoided.

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

  FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which an outer cover member and a push button member are removed, and FIG. 3 is an inner cover member attached to a case body. It is a top view which shows the state.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the electronic device 1, a support portion connected to the push button portion 3 a is provided so that the push button portion 3 a of the push button member 3 can be pressed at the front center portion of the outer cover member 2. 3 b is arranged so as to be located in the outer cover member 2. A boss 3c (protruding portion) protrudes on the back side of the central portion of the push button portion 3a. Further, a hook portion 3d is provided adjacent to the boss portion 3c. The hook portion 3d is locked to a locking portion 2a formed on the outer cover member 2, and the hook portion 3d, the locking portion 2a, Therefore, the push button member 3 is allowed to be pressed and the push button member 3 is prevented from being detached from the outer cover member 2.

  The case body 4 has a rectangular box shape in plan view, and a bottom plate portion 4A is provided with a through hole 4Aa of a screw 6 for fixing the inner cover member 5. A cylindrical positioning portion 4Ab into which an end of the coil spring 7 is fitted is provided near the center of the bottom plate portion 4A of the case body 4.

  The inner cover member 5 includes an upper plate portion 5A and a cylindrical portion 5B extending in a direction orthogonal to the upper plate portion 5A, and the case main body 4 and the inner cover member 5 are attached to the case main body 4. The printed circuit board 8 is sandwiched and fixed with the (cylindrical part 5B). The inner cover member 5 is integrally formed with a boss 5a having a pilot hole into which the screw 6 is screwed.

  A through hole 8a for penetrating the screw 6 is provided in the printed circuit board 8, and a tact switch 11 which is a switch having a small operation stroke is attached near the center.

  A rectangular plate-like operation plate portion 5Ab is integrally formed in a cantilever shape by inserting a cut groove 5Aa in the center of the upper plate portion 5A in the inner cover member 5, and the case body of the operation plate portion 5Ab The side located on the center side of 4 is a free end, and the opposite side is a base end portion (root portion) connected to the upper plate portion 5A. Since the recess 5Ac is formed on the back surface side of the base end portion, the thickness is reduced, and the tip end side is easily displaced. Further, on the back side of the operation plate portion 5Ab, two boss portions 5b and 5c are provided so as to protrude corresponding to the tact switch 11 and the coil spring 7.

  And the rubber cushion 12 (elastic material) is attached to the boss | hub part 5b at the front end side. The rubber cushion 12 has a generally conical tip portion 12A and a cylindrical base end portion 12B provided with a mounting hole 12Ba. The tip portion 12A of the rubber cushion 12 is a flat surface with a tip corresponding to the tact switch 11, and in a normal state, a gap S is formed between the tuck switch 11 and the tact switch 11 does not operate. It is a positional relationship. The rubber cushion 12 is configured to be deformable at least by a dimension (distance) corresponding to the difference between the operation stroke of the push button portion 3a of the push button member 3 and the gap S. Accordingly, the gap S becomes an operation stroke (of the push button portion 3a) until the tact switch 11 is operated, and the rubber cushion 12 is elastically deformed by a dimension corresponding to the operation stroke after the operation of the tact switch 11. . The extent to which the tact switch 11 is activated in the entire operation stroke of the push button portion 3a is determined by the size of the gap S.

  The printed circuit board 8 is inserted with the tact switch 11 attached from the front opening side (upper side in FIG. 2) of the case body 4, and is inserted into the mounting hole 12 </ b> Ba of the rubber cushion 12 into the boss portion 5 b so that the rubber cushion 12. The inner cover member 5 to which is attached is covered, and the screw 6 is screwed into the prepared hole of the boss portion 5A from the back side of the case body 4 through the through holes 4Aa and 8a. Thereby, the printed circuit board 8 and the inner cover member 5 are fixed to the case body 4 and integrated.

  When these are fixed, the coil spring 7 is fitted between the case body 4 and the inner cover member 5 by inserting the coil spring 7 into the positioning portion 4Ab and the boss portion 5c. Thereafter, the outer cover member 2 engaged with the push button portion 3 a is attached so as to close the opening of the case body 4.

  According to the above configuration, when the push button portion 3a of the push button member 3 is pressed, the boss portion 3c is displaced by the displacement of the push button portion 3a, and the operation plate portion 5Ab is pushed near the upper side of the boss portion 5b. It becomes. As a result, the operation plate portion 5Ab is bent and pushed in such a way that the vicinity (so-called thin hinge) thinned by the recess 5Ac is bent.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rubber cushion 12 attached to the operation plate portion 5Ab contacts the tact switch 11 to be pushed in. At this time, since the movable range for further operating stroke is provided in the push button portion 3a, the operation plate portion 5Ab continues to move while elastically deforming the rubber cushion 12 in the direction approaching the tact switch 11. When the pushing operation is stopped, the operation plate portion 5Ab is pushed back by the spring force of the coil spring 7, and the push button portion 3a is also returned accordingly, and returns to the original position.

  In the present invention, the operation plate portion 5Ab (inner cover member 5) may be omitted, and the tact switch 11 may be operated by directly pressing the tact switch 11 at the protruding portion of the push button member. Specifically, for example, it is configured as shown in FIG.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the push button member 3 ′ is provided in the central recess of the outer cover member 2 ′ so as to be able to appear and retract. The push button member 3 ′ is slidable in a central protrusion 3e inserted through the through hole 2b of the outer cover member 2 ′, and a locking hole 2a ′ of the outer cover member 2 ′ provided on both sides of the central protrusion 3e. The first coil spring 7A is provided around the central projection 3e and between the push button member 3 'and the outer cover member 2'. The central protruding portion 3e has a horizontal cross-shaped cross section, and has an upper base portion 3ea having a large size and a lower tip portion 3eb having a small size. A second coil spring 12 'as an elastic material is provided at the tip of the tip portion 3eb. The second coil spring 12 ′ is formed as a taper coil spring having a smaller diameter toward the lower end side, and is provided such that a gap S ′ is interposed between the lower end of the second coil spring 12 ′ and the tact switch 12. The second coil spring 12 'can be deformed at least by a dimension corresponding to the difference between the operation stroke of the push button member 3' and the gap S ', as in the above-described embodiment. Therefore, during the operation stroke of the push button member 3 ′ after the lower end of the second coil spring 12 ′ is contacted with the tact switch 11 and the tact switch 11 is actuated, the second coil spring 12 is reduced. 'Will be elastically deformed. The second coil spring 12 ′ has a weak spring force, so that the operation stroke of the push button member 3 ′ after the tact switch 11 is actuated can be easily absorbed by elastic deformation. Then, when the pressing of the push button member 3 ′ is released, the push button member 3 is moved by the spring force of the first coil spring 7A until the operation stroke is regulated by the engagement relationship between the hook portion 3d ′ and the locking hole 2b. 'Will return to its original state. Of course, instead of the second coil spring 12 ′, a rubber cushion can be used as an elastic material as in the embodiment shown in FIGS.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the electronic device which is one embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which removed the outer cover member and the pushbutton member. It is a top view which shows the state in which the inner cover member was attached to the case main body. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing. It is a figure similar to FIG. 1 which shows other embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic device 2, 2 'External cover member 3, 3' Push button member 3a Push button part 5 Internal cover member 5Ab Operation board part 7 Coil spring 7A First coil spring 8 Printed circuit board 11 Tact switch 12 Rubber cushion (elastic material)
12 'second coil spring (elastic material)
12A distal end portion 12B proximal end portion

Claims (5)

In the casing inside the casing, a switch having a small operation stroke is provided, while a push button member for operating the switch corresponding to the switch is provided on the front side of the casing in the push button structure in the electronic device,
An elastic material is disposed across the gap with respect to the switch, and the push button member is configured to press the switch via the elastic material,
A push button structure in an electronic apparatus, wherein the elastic material is deformable at least by a dimension corresponding to a difference between an operation stroke of the push button member and the gap. The casing has an operation plate portion supported in a cantilever shape between the switch and the push button member,
The operation plate portion has a protruding portion corresponding to the switch on the back side, and the elastic material is attached to the protruding portion,
2. The push button structure in an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the switch is operated by pressing the push button member via the operation plate portion and the elastic material. A coil spring is provided between the operation plate portion and the casing,
3. The push button structure for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the push button member has a projecting portion that contacts a front surface side of the operation plate portion on a back surface side. 4.   2. The elastic material has a substantially conical tip portion and a cylindrical base end portion, and the tip of the tip portion is a flat surface corresponding to the switch. The pushbutton structure in the electronic device in any one of -3.   2. The push button structure for an electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the push button member has a protruding portion on a back surface side, and the elastic material is provided at a tip of the protruding portion.

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