JP2008546136A - Electric switching device placed under the steering wheel of an automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

The device of the present invention comprises at least one blister type electrical switching element (40) and at least one control element (paddle) (50), the control element (50) comprising a blister type electrical switching element ( 40) can be actuated by the user to change the shape, for example to generate an electrical switching effect. The device according to the invention is also arranged between the control element (50) and the blister electrical switching element (40) and can move relative to the control element (50) when the applied force exceeds a threshold. A button (60) is provided.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to the field of electrical switches or switches. In particular, the present invention relates to an electrical switch device disposed below a steering wheel of an automobile.

  As for the structure of the electrical switching device, many have been proposed.

  For example, an apparatus is known that includes a conductive band that can be deformed or moved by friction or tapping and that changes the switching state opposite to a set of conductive tracks.

  Also, one known switching means comprises a blister-type element that is a substantially dome-shaped element, the blister-type element having a concave surface in a stationary state, and temporarily in at least partially facing concave surfaces. It is deformed so that the switching action can be exhibited.

  The switching means based on this blister type element has great potential. Specifically, in brief, the blister-type element has the advantage of long life in addition to the automatic return to the rest position spontaneously.

  However, it is clear that in some operating environments this blister type element is very fragile. Therefore, its use has been greatly limited in the past, and switching under the steering wheel of an automobile has not existed virtually.

  The cause is considered to be difficult to control the mechanical force acting on this type of switching device in the field of certain automobiles.

  This force varies depending on each driver, the location of the switching device, the driving environment that changes with time, and the driver's condition.

  An object of the present invention is to propose a new electric switching device that gives a possibility of expanding the use environment of the blister type electric switching device.

  The above objective is accomplished by an electrical switching device according to the present invention. The electrical switching device has at least one blister electrical switching element and at least one blister electrical switching element that is actuated by a user and is suitable for generating an electrical switching effect. A button that is provided between the control element and the blister type electrical switching element and that is movable relative to the control element when the force acting on the blister type electrical switching element is greater than a threshold value. It is characterized by having.

  According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the button can be deformed when the applied force is greater than the threshold.

  The button is preferably elastically deformable. As a variant, a spring may be provided between the control element and the button element.

  Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are not limiting.

  FIG. 1 shows a switching lever 10 that is designed to be positioned below the handle.

  The switching lever 10 includes a body 12, and the body 12 can incorporate a number of electrical switching functions. A detailed description of the shape and structure of the body 12 is omitted. In the following description, only the structure of the electrical switching device that is the subject of the present invention will be described in detail.

  This device includes a housing 20 fixed to the body 12, and this housing 20 is provided with a printed circuit 30 and any device equivalent thereto, such as a network of metal conductive tracks. The printed circuit 30 supports at least one blister type electrical switching element 40. As a material of the blister type electric switching element 40, for example, metal or any material functionally equivalent to this can be used.

  The blister type electrical switching element 40 is dome-shaped and has the shape of a spherical cap. In the stationary state, the concave surface of the blister type electrical switching element 40 faces the printed circuit 30. When this switching element 40 operates on its convex surface under the action of a downward force indicated by arrow F in FIG. 2, the concave surface of the blister type electrical switching element 40 is inverted. Therefore, the upper surface of the concave surface inside the blister type electrical switching element 40 is in contact with the conductive electrical element on the surface of the printed circuit 30, and switching between these elements is performed to change the connection state.

  Further, the apparatus according to the present invention includes a paddle 50 that is a control element mounted on the body 12 so as to be movable with respect to the housing 20 and the blister type electric switching element 40. The paddle 50 is preferably provided so as to be able to move freely in translational motion or any other complex motion relative to the body 12 of the switching lever 10. In operation, it is essential to generate a mechanical force F on the blister type electrical switching element 40.

  The paddle 50 is returned to a stationary position by appropriate elastic means, and details of this elastic means are omitted in the accompanying drawings and the following description.

  According to the invention, a button 60, also called a force limiter, is provided between the paddle 50 and the blister type electrical switching element 40.

  The button 60 may serve as a return device for the paddle 50.

  The button 60 is supported by a paddle 50 that faces the blister type electrical switching element 40. However, it is preferable that the button 60 is mounted in a freely movable manner with respect to the paddle 50 so that the button 60 can be self-aligned and face the blister type electric switching element 40.

  The button 60 is made of an elastic material that can be deformed when subjected to a force greater than a threshold so as not to damage the blister-type electrical switching element 40.

  As a modified example or an additional matter, an elastic member 70 which is a constituent element in many examples is provided between the paddle 50 and the button 60.

  A load is applied to the spring as the elastic member 70 in advance.

  The button 60 is a constituent requirement in many variations. It is also preferable to have a disc 62 that is slightly dome-shaped and bulges in the direction of the blister-type electrical switching element 40. The disc 62 is arranged at the center of the upper surface of the blister type electric switching element, and is arranged on the upper surface of the body 64 supported on the inner concave curved surface of the disc 62 and is appropriately fixed to the paddle 50. To interact with 52, teeth 66 are provided.

  As understood from FIG. 2, when stationary, the periphery of the disk 62 abuts on the bearing 54 connected to the paddle 50. The tooth 66 is also called a clip, and a part of the tooth 66 is disposed in the groove 53 of the sheath 52 to hold the button 60 on the paddle 50.

  The operation of the apparatus is roughly as follows.

  From a stationary state, the button 60 moves in a direction in contact with the blister type electric switching element 40 or in the direction of the blister type electric switching element 40 due to elasticity. The blister-type electrical switching element 40 itself swells in the direction of the printed circuit 30 and is therefore arranged at a distance from this circuit.

  During operation of the paddle 50, the button 60 presses the blister electrical switching element 40 and deforms it. In order to generate the electrical switching effect, the connection state of the track on the opposite side on the printed circuit 30 is changed by changing the configuration of the switching element 40. At the end of operation, the paddle 50 returns to the rest position. Therefore, the blister type electric switching element 40 spontaneously recovers to its original position.

  On the other hand, when a force greater than the threshold is applied to the paddle 50, the button 60 is deformed to limit the force acting on the blister-type electrical switching element 40, thus preventing its damage.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the blister type electric switching element 40 may be made of metal, or may be made of silicone filled with conductive particles or other suitable materials.

  A part of the button 60 may be made of metal or a thermoplastic material. The paddle 50 and the housing 20 are preferably made of a thermoplastic material.

  Of course, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and can be extended to any variation according to its spirit.

It is sectional drawing of a part of switching lever in this invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the electrical switching device suitable for the switching lever in the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 switching lever 12 body 20 housing 30 printed circuit 40 blister type electrical switching element 50 paddle (control element)
52 Cima 53 Groove 54 Bearing 60 Button 62 Disk 64 Body 66 Tooth 70 Elastic member (spring)

Claims (8)

An electrical switching device that performs switching below the steering wheel of an automobile,
At least one blister-type electrical switching element (40);
At least one control element (50) that is actuated by a user and causes a change in shape of the blister-type electrical switching element (40) suitable for generating an electrical switching effect;
Provided between the control element (50) and the blister electrical switching element (40), and can move relative to the control element (50) when the force acting on the blister electrical switching element (40) is greater than a threshold value. A button (60),
The electric switching device according to claim 1, wherein the button (60) includes a dome-shaped disk (62) that swells in a dome shape and protrudes in a convex shape in the direction of the blister-type element (40).   2. The electrical switching device according to claim 1, wherein the button (60) is elastically deformable.   The electrical switching device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the button (60) is formed as a deformable structure when a force larger than a threshold is applied to the button (60).   The electric switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elastic member (70) to which a load is applied in advance is provided between the control element and the button (60).   5. The disk (62) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the disk (62) comprises a holding device arranged on the blister type electrical switching element (40) and holding the control element (50). Electrical switching device.   6. The electrical switching device according to claim 1, wherein the disk (62) is arranged on the control element (50) via its periphery.   The electrical switching device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the holding device comprises teeth (66).   8. The electrical switching device according to claim 1, wherein the button (60) is arranged in the center of the blister electrical switching element (40).

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