JP2009117164A - Switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a switch device securely include an operation knob for the rotating operation with a waterproof capability. <P>SOLUTION: The switch device includes: a first housing 10 for housing an operation knob 55 with a portion of which is protruding; a second housing 30 that is fitted to the first housing 10 to house a substrate 49; and a cover 43 that is fitted to the housings 10, 30 and has an opening 45 where a portion of the operation knob 55 is protruding. A drainage part 15 to drain the water permeating from the opening 45 is provided at the first housing 10, and a shutoff part (sidewall 13d, second wall part 47, and rotational axis 57) for preventing the water from permeating into the second housing 30 is provided between the first housing 10 and the second housing 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a switch device disposed on an instrument panel in a vehicle interior of a vehicle.

  In a vehicle, a plurality of switch devices are attached to an instrument panel in a vehicle interior, and in recent years, the attachment positions are diversified. And since the switch apparatus attached to the vicinity of a door may get wet when the door opens and closes when it is raining, it is required to have a waterproof function.

  Information on prior art documents that are installed indoors and have a waterproof function in a switch device that may be exposed to water includes the following.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 01-166938

  This Patent Document 1 describes a switch device for adjusting the field of view (mirror direction) of a door mirror or a fender mirror mounted inside a vehicle cabin and mounted outside the vehicle. In this switch device, an operating body is disposed on the front side of the case so as to swing up and down and right and left around a central axis. A rubber link member is disposed between the switch element that detects the operation, and the link member prevents water from entering the housing.

  However, in the switch device (leveling switch device) for adjusting the height of the optical axis of the headlight, the waterproof structure described in Patent Document 1 cannot be adopted because the height is adjusted by rotating the operation knob. In the switch device having the operation knob that performs the rotation operation in this way, the switching accuracy of the switch can be improved by arranging the contact point coaxially with the rotation axis of the operation knob. However, in such a switch structure, if a countermeasure against water from the operation knob side is applied, there is a problem that the switch device becomes large and the structure becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to reliably provide a waterproof function to a switch device having an operation knob for performing a rotation operation.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a switch device according to the present invention includes a first housing that accommodates an operation knob in a state in which a part protrudes, a second housing that fits into the first housing and accommodates a substrate. A switch device that includes a cover that fits into a protruding end of the operation knob in the first and second housings and has an opening that protrudes a part of the operation knob. In addition, a drainage unit that drains water that has entered through the opening of the cover is provided, and a blocking unit that prevents water from entering the second housing is provided between the first and second housings.

  In the switch device, when the protruding portion of the operation knob is flooded, the switch device enters the first housing from the opening of the cover as in the conventional case. However, in the present invention, since the blocking portion is provided between the first and second housings, water can be prevented from entering the second housing in which the substrate is disposed. Further, the water that has entered the first housing from the opening can be drained to the outside from the drain. Therefore, it is possible to surely prevent problems such as electric leakage and malfunction due to the electrical components being exposed to water.

  In this switch device, it is preferable that a movable contact for switching the contact of the substrate in conjunction with the operation of the operation knob is disposed in the second housing so as to be separated from the operation knob with the blocking portion interposed therebetween. . In this way, it is possible to reliably prevent the movable contact from getting wet even if the inside is flooded.

  Further, the blocking portion includes a first wall portion provided in the first housing, a second wall portion formed on an inner surface of the cover, the edge of which is opposed to the first wall portion, and a space between these wall portions. It is preferable to comprise a rotating shaft projecting from the operation knob inserted through the formed insertion portion. In this way, when the switch device is assembled, the operation knob can be easily assembled to the first housing. Further, at the same time as assembling the switch device with simple man-hours, it is possible to add a waterproof function that shuts off the first and second housings.

  In this case, it is preferable that one end of the rotating shaft is pivotally supported by a first bearing hole formed in the first housing, and the other end is pivotally supported by a second bearing hole formed in the substrate. . If it does in this way, the precision of the contact position between a movable contact and the contact (electrode) of a board | substrate can be made high.

  In the switch device of the present invention, even if water enters the first housing from the opening of the cover, water can be prevented from entering the second housing in which the substrate is disposed by the blocking portion. Moreover, the water that has entered the first housing can be drained to the outside from the drainage section. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of electric leakage and malfunction due to the electrical components being wet.

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

  1 to 4 show a switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This switch device is generally configured such that a substrate 49, an operation knob 55, and a movable contact 62 are arranged inside an exterior body composed of a first housing 10, a second housing 30, and a cover 43. . In the switch device of the present embodiment, the vertical position shown in FIG. 1 (A) is the actual normal mounting direction, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view in a state of being laid down.

  The first housing 10 accommodates an operation knob 55 and an LED for night illumination (not shown), and is located on the left side in the drawing as shown in FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B. A front part disposing part 11 and a terminal disposing part 27 on the right side in the figure projecting from the back part of the part disposing part 11 are provided. Among them, the component placement portion 11 is generally a box shape with an opening at one end, provided with a partition wall 12 extending in the front-rear direction therein, and further partitioned into an operation knob placement portion 13 and an LED placement portion 23. It is.

  The operation knob disposing portion 13 disposes the operation knob 55 so that a part of the operation knob 55 protrudes, and a rotating shaft of the operation knob 55 is provided on the side wall 13a located on the lower side in FIG. A first bearing hole 14 for rotatably supporting 57 is provided. Further, a drainage portion 15 for draining the infiltrated water so as to face the rear wall 13c is provided on the side wall 13a and the lower wall 13b which are the outer walls of the operation knob disposing portion 13. The operation knob disposing portion 13 of the present embodiment includes a side wall 13d that faces the side wall 13a provided with the first bearing hole 14, and the side wall 13d is a blocking portion that prevents water from entering the second housing 30. The 1st wall part used as the part is comprised. The side wall 13d is provided with a notch 16 extending rearward from the front end. The notch 16 has a substantially circular shaft insertion portion 17 positioned coaxially with the first bearing hole 14, and a substantially second portion that communicates with the shaft insertion portion 17 and widens toward the front edge. And an equilateral triangular fitting groove 18. Further, the side wall 13d is provided with a regulation projection 19 that regulates the rotation range of the movable contact 62 so as to project outward. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the operation knob disposing portion 13 has a rear wall 13c opened so as to be positioned at a substantially central portion, and a spring housing for receiving the pressing member 20 and the spring 21 from the opening. The part 22 is provided so as to protrude rearward.

  The LED disposing portion 23 is adjacent to the upper side of the operation knob disposing portion 13 in a state of being attached to the vehicle, and an LED mounting notch portion 24 is provided on the side wall 13d.

  The component arranging portion 11 configured as described above is provided with a positioning convex portion 25 for positioning the opening end of the cover 43 on the wall except the side wall 13d. The side wall 13a is provided with a locking claw portion 26 for locking the cover 43.

  The terminal disposing portion 27 disposes the terminal 54 mounted on the substrate 49 disposed on the second housing 30 and opens the side where the second housing 30 is disposed (side wall 13d side). . Guide groove portions 28 for positioning the second housing 30 are provided on the upper and lower wall portions 27a and 27b of the terminal arrangement portion 27, and an engagement protrusion 29 is provided to protrude outward. Further, the rear wall of the terminal arrangement portion 27 is opened except for a corner portion for positioning the second housing 30.

  The second housing 30 is fitted so as to cover the side of the side wall 13d constituting the first wall portion in the first housing 10, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 (A), (B), The housing portion 31 is provided with the substrate 49 and the movable contact 62 is disposed, and the connector portion 42 projects from the rear surface of the housing portion 31.

  The accommodating portion 31 has a substantially U-shaped cross section with an opening of a fitting surface with the first housing 10 so as to cover the entire first housing 10. The accommodating portion 31 includes a component placement portion cover portion 32 having a narrow width (vertical direction in FIG. 2) corresponding to the component placement portion 11 and a terminal placement portion cover portion having a wide width corresponding to the terminal placement portion 27. 35.

  The component arrangement portion cover portion 32 includes wall portions 32a and 32b along the upper and lower edges of the side wall 13d. In addition, the outer peripheral portion of the component placement portion cover portion 32 forms an annular shape with the positioning convex portion 25 corresponding to the positioning convex portion 25 of the component placement portion 11 in a fitted state with the first housing 10. A positioning convex portion 33 is provided. Further, the component arrangement portion cover portion 32 is provided with a locking claw portion 34 for locking the cover 43, similarly to the first housing 10.

  The terminal arrangement portion cover portion 35 includes wall portions 35 a and 35 b that are fitted so as to overlap the outer surfaces of the upper and lower wall portions 27 a and 27 b of the terminal arrangement portion 27. A guide projection 36 corresponding to the guide groove 28 is provided on the inner surface of the walls 35a and 35b. The wall portions 35a and 35b are provided with engagement holes 37 corresponding to the engagement protrusions 29. Further, the rear end of the terminal arrangement portion cover portion 35 is closed, and a plurality of terminal holes 38 for projecting the terminals 54 are provided in the closing wall 35c.

  A guide groove 39 for inserting and positioning the substrate 49 is provided on the inner surface of the accommodating portion 31. Further, an elastic attachment piece 40 is provided on the outer surface of the accommodating portion 31 so as to be engaged with an attachment portion provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle. Further, the accommodating portion 31 of the present embodiment is further provided with a penetrating portion 41 that rotatably supports a rotating shaft 57 of an operation knob 55 penetrating a substrate 49 described later.

  The connector portion 42 is for fitting a connector (not shown) connected to the control board of the vehicle, and has a rectangular tube shape projecting rearward from the closing wall 35c so as to surround all the terminal holes 38. It is.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2, the cover 43 is fitted to the front opening end from which the operation knob 55 projects with respect to the fitting body in which the pair of housings 10 and 30 are fitted. It is something to be made. The cover 43 is provided with locking holes 44 corresponding to the locking claws 26 and 34 of the housings 10 and 30. In addition, the cover 43 is provided with an opening 45 for further protruding a part of the operation knob 55 protruding from the first housing 10. On one side of the opening 45, an arcuate bulging portion 46 having substantially the same diameter as the operation knob 55 and positioned substantially flush with the protruding portion of the operation knob 55 is provided. Furthermore, the inner surface of the cover 43 is provided with a second wall portion 47 corresponding to the cutout portion 16 of the side wall 13d constituting the first wall portion, the end edges of which are opposed to each other. The second wall portion 47 has a substantially isosceles triangle shape that fits into the fitting groove portion 18 of the notch portion 16, and a circular insertion hole is formed at the tip of the second wall portion 47 with the shaft insertion portion 17. An arcuate cutout 48 is provided. In the present embodiment, the second wall portion 47 is provided so as to protrude inward from the side edge where the bulging portion 46 is provided in the opening 45.

  The substrate 49 is disposed by being inserted into the guide groove 39 of the accommodating portion 31 of the second housing 30. A pattern piece (not shown) constituting a circuit is provided on the substrate 49 by a known method. The substrate 49 is provided with a second bearing hole 50 that rotatably supports the rotary shaft 57 of the operation knob 55. The board 49 is provided with a fixed contact 51 for detecting the operation of the operation knob 55 by the driver. The fixed contact 51 includes one common electrode 52 positioned on the inner peripheral side with the second bearing hole 50 as the center, and five individual electrodes 53 positioned on the outer peripheral side and positioned at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. I have. Further, a terminal 54 for outputting an operation (detection) state of the operation knob 55 on the control board of the vehicle is mounted on the board 49.

  The operation knob 55 has a substantially disk shape that is rotatably disposed on the operation knob disposition portion 13 of the first housing 10. On the outer periphery of the operation knob 55, the pressing member 20 biased by the spring 21 is fitted, and click grooves 56 that provide a click feeling at five preset operation positions are provided. Also. At the center of the operation knob 55, there is provided a rotary shaft 57 having one end pivotally supported by the first bearing hole 14 of the first housing 10 and the other end pivotally supported by the second bearing hole 50 of the substrate 49. The first shaft portion 58 that is pivotally attached to the first bearing hole 14 of the first housing 10 includes a bulging portion 58 a for adjusting the position of the cover 43 with the opening 45. The second shaft portion 59 protruding to the other side extends into the housing portion 31 of the second housing 30 and is pivotally attached in a state of passing through the second bearing hole 50 of the substrate 49 disposed in the housing portion 31. . Specifically, the second shaft portion 59 includes a large-diameter portion 59a that is continuous with the operation knob 55, and a small-diameter portion 59b that protrudes from the large-diameter portion 59a and passes through the second bearing hole 50. Among them, the large diameter portion 59 a has a diameter slightly smaller than a circular insertion hole formed by the shaft insertion portion 17 of the first housing 10 and the cutout portion 48 of the cover 43. Of course, the small diameter portion 59 b has a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the second bearing hole 50. A positioning rib 60 and a locking portion 61 for positioning the movable contact 62 are provided at the step portion between the large diameter portion 59a and the small diameter portion 59b.

  The movable contact 62 is disposed in the accommodating portion 31 of the second housing 30 by being attached to the second shaft portion 59 of the operation knob 55, and includes a resin holder 63, a metal contact member 65, and the like. It has. The holder 63 includes a positioning groove corresponding to the positioning rib 60 and an attachment hole 64 having a non-locking portion that the locking portion 61 locks. The contact member 65 includes a pair of elastic pieces 66 that elastically contact the common electrode 52 and the individual electrodes 53 and a continuous portion 67 that continues the elastic pieces 66. The movable contact 62 rotates in conjunction with the rotation operation of the operation knob 55 to switch the connection state (contact point) with each individual electrode 53 of the substrate 49.

  The switch device configured as described above rotates the side wall 13d constituting the first wall portion of the first housing 10, the second wall portion 47 of the cover 43, and the operation knob 55 penetrating therethrough. The shaft 57 constitutes a blocking portion that partitions the operation knob disposing portion 13 of the first housing 10 and the accommodating portion 31 of the second housing 30. And the board | substrate 49 and the movable contact 62 to which electricity is supplied are accommodated in the state separated from the operation knob 55 by this interruption | blocking part.

  Next, a method for assembling the switch device will be described.

  First, the second shaft portion 59 of the operation knob 55 is passed through the mounting hole 64 of the movable contact 62, and the movable contact 62 is fixed to the second shaft portion 59.

  Next, after the spring 21 and the pressing member 20 are accommodated in the spring accommodating portion 22 of the first housing 10, the operation knob 55 to which the movable contact 62 is attached is disposed in the operation knob disposing portion 13 of the first housing 10. At this time, the rotation shaft 57 of the operation knob 55 is rotatably supported by inserting the first shaft portion 58 into the first bearing hole 14 formed in the first housing 10. Further, the second shaft portion 59 of the rotating shaft 57 is temporarily held on the side wall 13 d by positioning the large diameter portion 59 a from the fitting groove portion 18 of the first housing 10 into the shaft insertion portion 17. In this state, the movable contact 62 is exposed to the outside through the side wall 13d of the first housing 10.

  Further, the board 49 is inserted from the front end of the second housing 30 along the guide groove 39 and attached. At this time, the terminal 54 mounted on the substrate 49 is caused to penetrate the terminal hole 38 of the second housing 30 and protrude into the connector portion 42.

  Thereafter, the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 in which the respective components are arranged are fitted and assembled. At this time, the guide protrusion 36 of the second housing 30 is guided in the guide groove 28 of the first housing 10, and the engagement protrusion 29 is engaged with the engagement hole 37. Accordingly, the second shaft portion 59 of the rotary shaft 57 in the operation knob 55 passes through the second bearing hole 50 of the substrate 49 and is rotatably supported by the through portion 41 of the second housing 30. In addition, the movable contact 62 is located in the accommodating portion 31 of the second housing 30 with the side wall 13d interposed therebetween, and the elastic piece 66 of the contact member 65 is pressed against the common electrode 52 and the individual electrode 53 of the substrate 49, and is electrically connected. Can be energized. Further, the LED mounted on the substrate 49 is disposed in the LED placement portion 23 through the LED mounting notch portion 16.

  Finally, the cover 43 is assembled to the fitting body of the assembled housings 10 and 30 from the open end side from which a part of the operation knob 55 protrudes. Thus, the locking claws 26 and 34 of the housings 10 and 30 are locked in the locking holes 44 of the cover 43 in a state where the second wall 47 is fitted in the notch 16 of the first housing 10. As a result, the front ends of the housings 10 and 30 are prevented from being separated by the cover 43, and the assembled state can be reliably maintained.

  As described above, in the switch device according to the present embodiment, the operation knob 55 can be easily arranged with respect to the first housing 10 simply by inserting the operation knob 55 from the opening end of the first housing 10. Then, after assembling the housings 10 and 30, the operation knob 55 having the long rotating shaft 57 can be easily and simply disposed by simply assembling the cover 43. Moreover, only by performing such a simple assembling work, simultaneously with the assembly, a blocking portion composed of the side wall 13d, the second wall portion 47 and the rotating shaft 57 is formed, and the operation knob disposing portion 13 communicated with the outside, The substrate 49 to be energized and the accommodating portion 31 that accommodates the movable contact 62 can be partitioned.

  This switch device is disposed, for example, on an instrument panel of a vehicle, and is used to adjust the height of the optical axis of the headlight stepwise by rotating the operation knob 55. For example, in a situation where the weight behind the vehicle is heavy and the front is lifted, the optical axis of the headlight becomes high. Therefore, in such a situation, when there is another vehicle ahead, by operating the headlight so that the optical axis of the headlight is lowered, the person riding in the vehicle ahead is given a dull discomfort Can be prevented.

  When this switch device is mounted on a vehicle, it may be wetted by rain when the door is opened or closed during rain. In this case, as in the conventional case, water enters the inside through the gap between the operation knob 55 and the opening 45 of the cover 43.

  However, the switch device according to the present embodiment partitions the operation knob disposing portion 13 communicating with the opening 45 from the other accommodating portion 31 and the LED disposing portion 23 by the blocking portion and the partition wall 12. It is possible to prevent water from entering these spaces. Further, the water that has entered the operation knob disposition portion 13 of the first housing 10 from the opening 45 of the cover 43 is surely released to the outside from the drainage portion 15 provided in the operation knob disposition portion 13 of the first housing 10. It can be drained.

  That is, even if it is immersed in the opening 45 of the cover 43, it is prevented from being immersed in the space where the electrical component is disposed, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of electric leakage and malfunction due to the electrical component being covered with water. . Further, the blocking portion is constituted by the side wall 13d (first wall portion), the second wall portion 47 and the rotating shaft 57 of the first housing 10, the cover 43 and the operation knob 55 which are existing parts, and is made of rubber. Separate parts such as seal members are not used. For this reason, it is possible to prevent an increase in assembly work man-hours and an increase in manufacturing costs.

  In addition, in this embodiment, since the rotary shaft 57 of the operation knob 55 is rotatably supported in the second bearing hole 50 of the substrate 49 and the movable contact 62 is disposed on the rotary shaft 57, the structure is simple. In addition, the contact accuracy can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to output an accurate detection state corresponding to the operation of the operation knob 55 and to prevent malfunction.

  In addition, the switch apparatus of this invention is not limited to the structure of the said embodiment, A various change is possible.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the second housing 30 is provided with the penetrating portion 41 that pivotally supports the rotation shaft 57 of the operation knob 55, but the second housing 30 is not provided with the penetrating portion 41, and the substrate 49 It is good also as a structure supported only by the two bearing holes 50. FIG.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated on the assumption that the switch apparatus was arrange | positioned on the vertical surface of the instrument panel of a vehicle, you may arrange | position so that the operation knob 55 may face diagonally upward or upward. Even in such a case, water that has entered the operation knob disposition portion 13 of the first housing 10 from the opening 45 of the cover 43 is surely received from the drainage portion 15 provided in the operation knob disposition portion 13 of the first housing 10. It can be drained to the outside.

(A), (B) is sectional drawing which shows the switch apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of a switch apparatus. The 1st housing is shown, (A) is a side view, (B) is a bottom view. The 2nd housing is shown, (A) is a side view, (B) is a top view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... 1st housing 11 ... Parts arrangement | positioning part 12 ... Partition wall 13 ... Operation knob arrangement | positioning part 13d ... Side wall (1st wall part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... 1st bearing hole 15 ... Drainage part 17 ... Shaft insertion part 18 ... Fitting groove part 23 ... LED installation part 30 ... 2nd housing 31 ... Accommodating part 42 ... Connector part 43 ... Cover 45 ... Opening part 47 ... 2nd Wall part 49 ... Substrate 50 ... Second bearing hole 55 ... Operation knob 57 ... Rotating shaft 62 ... Movable contact

Claims (4)

A first housing for accommodating the operation knob in a partially protruding state;
A second housing that fits into the first housing and houses a substrate;
A cover having an opening for fitting a part of the operation knob in the first and second housings and projecting a part of the operation knob;
A switch device comprising:
The first housing is provided with a drainage portion for draining water that has entered through the opening of the cover, and a blocking portion is provided between the first and second housings to prevent water from entering the second housing. A switch device characterized by that.   The movable contact that switches the contact of the substrate in conjunction with the operation of the operation knob is disposed in the second housing so as to be separated from the operation knob with the blocking portion interposed therebetween. The switch device according to 1.   The blocking portion is formed between a first wall portion provided in the first housing, a second wall portion that is formed on an inner surface of the cover, and an end edge of the first wall portion is opposed to, and the wall portion. The switch device according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotary shaft protruding from the operation knob that is inserted into the insertion portion.   The rotating shaft has one end pivotally supported by a first bearing hole formed in the first housing and the other end pivotally supported by a second bearing hole formed in the substrate. Item 4. The switch device according to item 3.

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