JP2009277526A - Operation switch, and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation switch and electronic equipment capable of securing a stable contact structure by avoiding a number of fixed contacts from being concentrated on a flat region, even in a contact structure with that many number of fixed contacts necessary for enabling a plurality of switch structures on a limited and narrow flat region of a rotating operation body. <P>SOLUTION: Fixed contacts for an encoder among a many number of fixed contacts fitted on a printed wiring board, are taken out from the printed wiring board to provide a movable contact board for an encoder, conductive pieces corresponding in contact are made to correspond in bifurcation for both a contactor in contact with a fixed contact equipped on the printed wiring board and a contactor in contact with a fixed contact of a movable contact board for an encoder to structure an operation switch. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation switch used for an operation unit of a small-sized device such as a digital camera, a mobile phone, or a game machine that is used in a portable manner.

  In recent years, while portable devices such as digital cameras have been downsized, the display has a tendency to increase in size, and the operation switch is required to be further downsized while ensuring a size that is easy to use. The operation switch used here has a lower surface that is pressed when a pusher provided at the center is depressable, or when a position in a specific rotation direction is depressed by tilting a rotary operation body around it. The center switch and the peripheral switch arranged below are pressed, and a signal is extracted from the pressed part and detected.

  In such a detection configuration, a non-contact type operation switch is known, but a contact type operation switch having a detection configuration more economical than the non-contact type is adopted.

  In this contact-type operation switch, a flexible substrate 151 is disposed at a pressure receiving portion to be pressed in correspondence with a pusher or a rotary operation body, as shown in FIG. A central contact 152 disposed on the flexible substrate 151, four peripheral contacts 153 disposed at the upper, lower, left, and right positions around the central contact 152, and an annular contact group 154 for detecting a rotational position disposed in an annular shape are provided. It has been.

  The center contact 152 and the peripheral contact 153 are provided with a push button switch (not shown), and the center contact 152 or any one of them is pressed via the push button switch when the pusher or the rotary operation body is pressed. The peripheral contact 153 is conducted. Thereby, it has the structure which detects the detection site | part by outputting the electrical signal of the pressed position.

  Furthermore, the annular contact group 154 is known in the flexible substrate 151 that is annularly arranged in an arrangement region 155 between the central contact 152 and the peripheral contact 153 (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Or the contact structure which has arrange | positioned the annular contact group on the outer side of a peripheral contact is also known (for example, refer patent document 2).

  In the annular direction of the annular contact group 154, in FIG. 15, a first contact 157, a second common contact 158, and a second contact 159 are annularly arranged clockwise from the upper first common contact 156. .

  As shown in FIG. 16, a disk-shaped conductive disk 161 that is in rotational contact with the annular contact group 154 is provided as a movable contact member. The conductive disc 161 is cut from the main body side and extended in the opposite direction, and has a common conductive piece 162 having a spring property, a first conductive piece 163, and a plurality of conductive pieces 162, 163, 164 of a second conductive piece 164. Is held in the rotary operation body.

  Then, when the conductive disc 161 is rotated together with the rotary operation body, each of the conductive pieces 162, 163, 164 is phase signals and positions as rotary encoders obtained from the respective contacts 156 to 159 of the annular contact group 154. The rotational position and direction of the rotary operation body are detected by the phase difference signal.

  However, each contact disposed on the flexible board is also limited in the arrangement of the contacts because the flexible board is incorporated into a small circular plane region corresponding to the size of the rotary operation body. For this reason, the contact arrangement structure is in an overcrowded state. In addition, a large number of wiring lines that are drawn from each of these contacts are also subject to restrictions in the arrangement area, requiring wiring lines that can be drawn from both the front and back sides of the flexible substrate. Become.

  In particular, when trying to wire only on one side of the substrate, the wiring line from the center contact may be forced to intersect with other wiring lines on the flexible substrate. In such a case, a step is generated at the intersection of the wiring lines, which causes the deterioration of the wiring.

Furthermore, since the arrangement area of the annular contact group is limited, when the conductive pieces are brought into contact with these contact areas, a plurality of conductive pieces are cut and raised in the annular direction from the conductive metal plate to have a spring property. ing. In particular, in order to ensure a stable contact pressure, it is necessary to stabilize the spring pressure by making the conductive piece as long as possible. However, since a plurality of conductive pieces are concentrated and arranged in a narrow contact area, each conductive piece cannot be lengthened, and a contact structure in which it is difficult to secure a stable contact pressure with respect to the contact point due to restrictions on the length of the conductive piece. It was. As a result, when the conductive piece is manufactured, high dimensional accuracy such as an elastic force and a contact angle is required, and it is difficult to reduce the cost. In addition, when the dimensional accuracy is low, the contact pressure of each conductive piece varies, and unstable contact is likely to occur, and there is a problem that the performance is low in durability and reliability.
JP 2007-66635 A JP 2005-317337 A

  In view of this, the present invention provides a contact structure that requires a large number of contacts for enabling a plurality of switch configurations in a limited narrow plane area of one rotary operation body. It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation switch that can eliminate concentration and an electronic device including the operation switch.

  The present invention relates to a rotary operation body that rotates in a plane direction and is pressed in an axial direction at a plurality of rotational positions in the rotation direction, a movable contact plate for an encoder fixed to a lower surface of the rotary operation body, and the rotation A holder for rotatably holding the operating body, a push button switch operated in response to a pressing operation of the rotating operating body, a printed wiring board having a plurality of the push button switches, and a holder held by the holder The common fixed contact formed on the printed wiring board and the common conductive piece that is always in contact with the movable contact plate for the encoder and conducts both, and the fixed contact that is held on the holder and formed on the printed wiring board A plurality of conductive pieces that are in contact with and contact the movable contact plate for the encoder, and the printed wiring board is arranged on the upper surface, and the holder can be moved up and down. And rotating the rotating operation body to detect contact / separation of the movable contact plate for the encoder and the plurality of conductive pieces to detect the rotating direction, while rotating the rotating operation body. It is an operation switch that operates the push button switch through the holder by pressing.

  Further, the present invention provides a pusher that is arranged in the center and pushed down in the vertical direction, and is annularly arranged around the pusher so that it can be pushed down in the axial direction at a plurality of rotational positions. A rotating operation body, an encoder movable contact plate fixed to the lower surface of the rotating operation body, a holder for rotatably holding the rotating operation body, and a center operated in response to a pressing operation of the pusher A push button switch, a peripheral push button switch operated in response to a push operation of the rotary operation body, the plurality of push button switches, a common fixed contact provided for contacting a common conductive piece, A printed wiring board provided with a first fixed contact and a second fixed contact provided for contact of the piece; a common fixed contact held on the holder and formed on the printed wiring board; and the encoder movable contact The common conductive piece that is always in contact with the plate and conducting both, and the first fixed contact that is held on the holder and formed on the printed wiring board and also contacts the movable contact plate for the encoder, A first conductive piece that conducts both, and a second fixed contact that is held by the holder and formed on the printed circuit board, and that also contacts the movable contact plate for the encoder, and a second that conducts both. A conductive piece; and a base on which the printed wiring board is disposed on the upper surface and the holder is supported so as to be movable up and down, and the rotary operation body is rotated to thereby move the encoder movable contact plate and the first While detecting the contact / separation of the conductive piece and the second conductive piece to detect the rotation direction, the push button switch is operated via the holder by pressing the rotating operation body or the pusher. Characterized in that an operation switch for.

  As an aspect of the present invention, a central opening is provided in the center of the rotary operation body, a shaft body is inserted through the center opening, and a horizontal hole inserted perpendicularly to the axial direction of the shaft body An urging member for urging outward from the inside and a sphere disposed at an end of the urging member are provided to be interposed, and the lateral hole is provided in the central opening in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface. It is possible to configure a touch mechanism in which a concave and convex surface for a rotational operation feel is formed so as to face the sphere projecting outward from the sphere and to move the sphere forward and backward.

  As an aspect of the present invention, the movable contact plate for encoder penetrates at regular intervals in the plane circumferential direction of a conductive metal plate that is a sliding contact surface of the movable contact plate for encoder that contacts the contact for encoder signal output. The opening that is opened is fitted to the projections that are projected at regular intervals in the plane circumferential direction on the inner surface side of the rotary operation body, and the front end surface of the fitted projection is fitted to the fitting. The plane of the opening after joining can be formed in the same plane.

  As an aspect of the present invention, the inner space portion formed on the inner surface side of the rotary operation body having the encoder movable contact plate on the inner surface is configured by closing the open surface of the inner space portion with the holder. be able to.

  As an aspect of the present invention, the conductive piece is extended with elasticity from the holder, and the extended free end side contact is urged against the fixed contact of the printed wiring board. can do.

  As an aspect of the present invention, the conductive piece is extended more elastically than the holder, and the extended free end side contact is urged against the contact of the encoder movable contact plate. Can be configured.

  As an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a dust-proof cover that seals the space around the pressing stroke in which the holder and the printed wiring board face each other by blocking the outside from the outside.

  The operation switch configured as described above can be used by being incorporated in various electronic devices. For example, it can be widely applied to digital cameras, medical devices, portable devices, game machines, and the like.

  According to the present invention, not only a limited planar area of a printed wiring board is used as a contact arrangement area, but also a contact distributed structure that can be used as an area in which a contact can be arranged in the space above it. Can be made possible. For this reason, the concentration of the contacts on the printed wiring board can be eliminated, and a stable contact structure can be secured. In addition, wiring on only one side of the printed wiring board is possible even when wiring lines are drawn on the printed wiring board drawn out from the contacts, and the wiring lines do not cross each other. Further, when arranging the contacts on the printed wiring board, the degree of freedom of the arrangement can be widened, so that the arrangement efficiency of the contacts is improved, and the optimum arrangement of the contacts can be realized. Therefore, the length of the conductive piece for contacting these widely dispersed contacts with a high degree of freedom can be made sufficiently long. As a result, the contact pressure of each conductive piece with respect to the contact is stabilized, and a contact structure having excellent reliability and durability is possible.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The drawing shows a multi-directional push-type operation switch that can be pushed at the center and its periphery, and FIG. 1 is a rear view of the digital camera 12 provided with the operation switch 11. The operation switch 11 is disposed adjacent to the display 13 of the digital camera 12 and is used as a switch for setting the shooting conditions of the digital camera 12, a switch for selecting a stored photo, and the like.

  Next, the configuration of the operation switch 11 will be described. 2 is an external perspective view of the operation switch 11, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the operation switch 11 as viewed from above, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the operation switch 11 as viewed from below.

  The operation switch 11 includes a rotary operation body 14, an encoder movable contact plate 15, a common conductive piece 16, a first conductive piece 17, a second conductive piece 18, a holder 19, and a holder connecting plate 20 from above. And a pusher 21, a dustproof cover 22, a sheet 23, a push button switch 24, a flexible substrate 25, and a base 26.

  The rotary operation body 14 is formed in a disc shape with a synthetic resin material, and is provided as an annular cap having a pusher insertion hole 27 penetrated in the disc-shaped central portion axial direction. A large number of anti-slip protrusions 28 that are elongated in the radial direction are equally arranged on the upper surface of the rotary operation body 14. Further, an annular recess 31 surrounded by an annular flat surface portion and an inner peripheral flange 29 and an outer peripheral flange 30 projecting downward is formed on the lower surface. On the inner surface of the annular recess 31, a plurality of arc-shaped band-like protrusions 32 are equally provided in the circumferential direction so as to protrude at regular intervals. A plurality of small shaft portions 33 are provided on the inner peripheral side so as to be equally divided in the circumferential direction.

  Further, the outer peripheral surface of the inner peripheral flange 29 is provided with a concave groove 34 formed in a concave shape along the axial direction and equally divided in the circumferential direction. In addition, an uneven surface 35 for rotating operation is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the inner peripheral flange 29 corresponding to the pusher insertion hole 27. The concavo-convex surface 35 has concavo-convex portions alternately in the circumferential direction, and is set so as to coincide with the encoder phase signal by forming 12 concavo-convex portions in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, a plurality of locking projections 36 for connecting the holder 19 in the circumferential direction are provided at the lower end of the inner peripheral flange 29 so as to be equally divided. An encoder movable contact plate 15 to be described later is fitted and attached to an annular recess 31 formed on the inner surface of the rotary operation body 14, and a holder connecting plate 20 to be described later is fitted to the lower end of the inner peripheral flange 29. Can be attached.

  The encoder movable contact plate 15 described above is formed of an annular conductive metal plate having a size that can be fitted into the annular recess 31, and the arcuate shape for outputting encoder signals at regular intervals in the plane circumferential direction. An opening 37 having substantially the same shape that can be fitted in correspondence with the belt-like protrusion 32 is opened. Similarly, a shaft hole 38 having substantially the same shape that can be fitted to the shaft portion 33 is formed on the inner peripheral side of the opening portion 37. Further, on the inner peripheral surface of the encoder movable contact plate 15, an inner peripheral convex portion 39 having substantially the same shape that can be fitted in correspondence with the concave groove 34 is formed.

  Thus, the opening 37, the shaft hole 38, and the inner peripheral convex portion 39 formed in the encoder movable contact plate 15 are replaced with the protrusion 32, the shaft portion 33, and the concave groove 34 formed on the lower surface side of the rotary operation body 14. As shown in FIG. 5, the encoder movable contact plate 15 is fitted and fixed to the lower surface side of the rotary operation body 14.

  In this case, the flat portion exposed on the lower surface of the encoder movable contact plate 15 attached to the lower surface of the rotary operation body 14 becomes the slidable contact surface 40, and upper contactors 17 a and 18 a described later come into contact therewith. For this reason, the slidable contact surface 40 is formed so as to be flat and free from irregularities. That is, the sliding contact surface 40 of the encoder movable contact plate 15 and the tip exposed surface 32a of the protrusion 32 that penetrates the opening 37 are set to be in the same plane. Thereby, the stable contact property of the upper contacts 17a and 18a, which will be described later, with respect to the sliding contact surface 40 is ensured.

  The common conductive piece 16 is formed of a conductive metal plate, and has, for example, four mounting holes 41 at the base end portion. Then, it is divided into two forks from the base end portion to the free end side, and one of them is provided as an upper contact 16a extended upward with an elastic force, and the other is provided downward with an elastic force. It is provided as the extended lower contact 16b.

  The first conductive piece 17 is provided for detecting the first signal. Like the common conductive piece 16, the first conductive piece 17 has a mounting hole 41 at the base end portion. The upper contact 17a is provided as an upper contact 17a extended upward and the other is provided as a lower contact 17b extended downward with elasticity.

  The second conductive piece 18 is provided for detecting the second signal. Similarly, the second conductive piece 18 has a mounting hole 41 at the base end, and one of the free ends divided into two is extended upward with elasticity. The upper contact 18a is provided as an extended upper contact 18a, and the other is provided as a lower contact 18b that is extended downward with an elastic force.

  Then, the upper contacts 16a, 17a, 18a of these conductive pieces 16, 17, 18 are in sliding contact with the above-described sliding contact surface 40 with a certain elastic force. Moreover, the free end side of each electroconductive piece 16,17,18 is extended in parallel with the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side. These three conductive pieces 16, 17, 18 are held by a holder 19, which will be described later, and are divided into three equal parts in the circumferential direction.

  The outer peripheral side of the sliding contact surface 40 is always a common contact side where a constant signal is obtained through conduction, and the inner peripheral side is a pulse signal output side from which an intermittent signal is obtained. For this reason, the outer peripheral side of the common conductive piece 16 becomes the upper contact 16 a, and the upper contact 16 a becomes a common contact that is always conductive on the rotation locus of the sliding contact surface 40. The first conductive piece 17 and the second conductive piece 18 have upper contacts 17 a and 18 a on the inner peripheral side, and the upper contacts 17 a and 18 a are intermittently connected to the openings 37 on the rotation locus of the sliding contact surface 40. Is a contact that outputs a pulse signal as a rotary encoder.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, each of the conductive pieces 16, 17, 18 has a bifurcated free end portion on the upper contact 16a, 17a, 18a side and the lower contact 16b, 17b, 18b side. Further, the free end side is provided on the divided contacts 16c, 17c and 18c which are divided into two forks. Thereby, a stable elastic action is obtained by the long extending contact and the divided contact at the free end side of each conductive piece 16, 17, 18 and a smooth contact action is obtained when contacting the contact.

  The above-described holder 19 is formed of a synthetic resin material, and is an annular body having a size capable of closing the annular recess 31 of the rotary operation body 14 in a planar manner, and is supported on the base 26 described later in a non-rotating manner. On the upper surface of the holder 19, four protrusions 42 for fitting and fixing the conductive pieces 16, 17, and 18 are provided so as to be divided into three equal parts in the circumferential direction. The conductive pieces 16, 17, 18 are attached to the upper surface of the holder 19 by fitting the mounting holes 41 of the conductive pieces 16, 17, 18. Thereby, the upper contacts 16a, 17a, 18a are attached in a state of extending obliquely upward suitable for contact. Further, arc-shaped belt-like lower contactor insertion holes 43, 44, 45 opened in the circumferential direction of the upper surface of the holder 19 are opened, and the lower contactor insertion holes 43, 44, 45 are opened. The lower contacts 16b, 17b, and 18b are inserted downward to extend obliquely downward suitable for contact from the lower surface of the holder 19.

  Further, an annular flat surface portion 46 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the upper surface of the holder 19, and this annular flat surface portion 46 corresponds to the lower end of the outer peripheral flange 30 of the rotary operation body 14. Furthermore, an annular edge 47 that protrudes in an annular shape is formed on the inner peripheral side of the annular flat surface portion 46, and this annular edge 47 corresponds to the inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral flange 30 of the rotary operation body 14. Similarly, a holder inner peripheral flange 48 protrudes from the inner peripheral side of the upper surface of the holder 19, and this holder inner peripheral flange 48 corresponds to the outer peripheral surface of the inner peripheral flange 29 of the rotary operation body 14. Thereby, the rotary operation body 14 and the holder 19 correspond stably.

  The holder 19 planarly closes the open surface of the annular recess 31 formed between the opposing surfaces of the lower surface of the rotary operation body 14 and the upper surface of the holder 19, and the upper contacts 16a and 17a described above. , 18a are elastically displaced on the sliding contact surface 40 to secure a space for stable contact.

  In particular, by forming a closed space 19A (see FIG. 11) in which the holder 19 closes the open surface of the annular recess 31 of the rotary operation body 14 in a substantially planar manner, smooth contact is provided to the annular recess 31. There is no risk of the grease being injected for maintenance. Further, since the annular recess 31 is formed at an upper space position separated from the lower base 26 side by the length of the pressing stroke, it is difficult for dust from below to enter from the pressing stroke space formed below. Thus, the contact structure has a high dustproof effect.

  Further, holding pieces 49 are projected outwardly on four outer peripheral surfaces that differ every 90 degrees in the circumferential direction of the holder 19, and the holding pieces 49 are held by a base 26 described later. Further, on the lower surface of the holder 19, the pressing protrusions 50 are provided so as to correspond to four pressing positions that differ every 90 degrees in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, an annular storage recess 51 for storing and guiding a holder connecting plate 20 described later is provided on the inner peripheral side of the lower surface. The holder 19 is connected to the rotary operation body 14 by a holder connecting plate 20 described later while holding the conductive pieces 16, 17 and 18.

  The above-described holder connecting plate 20 is a metal annular disc having a size that can be accommodated in the annular accommodating recess 51 of the holder 19, and each of the rotating operation bodies 14 is locked in the circumferential direction of the annular disc. A plurality of openings are provided at positions corresponding to the protrusions 36, and a locking hole 52 for engaging and locking the locking protrusions 36 is provided. As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating operation body 14, the holder 19, and the holder connection plate 20 are connected in a stacked state in this order by the fitting and locking action of the holder connection plate 20.

  In addition, a touch mechanism K (see FIG. 11) is provided at the center of the rotary operation body 14 so that the rotation operation feel can be clearly obtained when the operator rotates the rotary operation body 14 with a fingertip. The touch mechanism K includes a pusher insertion hole 27 that is opened at the center of the rotary operation body 14 and a pusher 21 that will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the above-described pusher 21 is formed in a cylindrical shape from a synthetic resin material, and is inserted into the pusher insertion hole 27 of the rotary operation body 14. A horizontal hole 53 is provided in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the cylindrical axial direction, and a coil spring 54 urged outward from the inside of the horizontal hole 53 is provided opposite to both ends of the coil spring 54. A spherical body 55 is interposed.

  Thereby, when the pusher 21 is inserted and attached to the pusher insertion hole 27 of the rotary operation body 14, the spheres 55 positioned at both ends of the coil spring 54 are uneven surfaces 35 for touching the rotary operation of the pusher insertion hole 27. The spherical body 55 applies a constant urging force to the rotary operation body 14. With this urging force, each time the rotation operation body 14 is rotated to rotate to the pressing operation position, the sphere 55 moves forward and backward along the uneven surface 35, and the urging force changes, so the rotation resistance of the rotation operation body 14 changes. Make them different. Thereby, a clear click feeling is obtained. Further, in this case, since the coil spring 54 and the sphere 55 can be interposed inside the horizontal hole 53, the arrangement space of the pusher 21 can be used effectively.

  Further, on both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the presser 21 that differs by 90 degrees in the circumferential direction with respect to the penetrating position of the through-hole 53, recesses 56 for lifting guides having the lower end and outer peripheral surface of the presser 21 as open surfaces are axially arranged Is formed. The recess 56 is guided in the pressing direction by a pusher guide piece 64 of the base 26 described later. Further, a pressing protrusion 57 is provided at the center of the lower surface corresponding to the pressing position, and the pressing protrusion 57 presses a center switch S1 of a dome switch 58 described later.

  9 is an external perspective view of the dome switch, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the operation switch, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 10 showing the internal structure of the operation switch, and FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a correspondence state between the lower contact and the fixed contact of the flexible substrate.

  A dome switch 58 (see FIG. 9) is provided below the holder 19 with a pressing stroke space 19B (see FIG. 11) therebetween. Around the pressing stroke space 19B of the holder 19 and the dome switch 58, there is provided a dustproof cover 22 formed in a truncated cone shape by a synthetic resin material that seals the space 19B from the outside. .

  The dome switch 58 is formed by laminating the sheet 23, the push button switch 24, and the flexible substrate 25 in this order, and by attaching the lower flexible substrate 25 to the upper surface of the base 26, A dome switch 58 is mounted.

  The flexible substrate 25 has a central fixed contact 59 at the center as a printed circuit board, and peripheral fixed contacts 60 on the four sides of the periphery. Further, a common fixed contact 61, a first fixed contact 62, and a second fixed contact 63 are equally divided into three in the circumferential direction that does not overlap with the peripheral fixed contact 60.

  Then, push button switches 24 are mounted in correspondence with a total of five of one central fixed contact 59 and four peripheral fixed contacts 60, and the upper surface thereof is covered with the sheet 23 and pushed to a fixed position on the flexible substrate 25. The button switch 24 is pasted so as not to move. Thereby, the central switch S1 installed corresponding to the pressed position where the pusher 21 is pressed and the four peripheral switches S2 installed corresponding to the pressed positions where the rotary operation body 14 is pressed are configured. Is done.

  The base 26 is formed of a metal disc that is slightly larger than the rotary operation body 14, and a pusher guide piece 64 that can be engaged with the concave portions 56 on both sides of the pusher 21 is provided upright from the bottom. In this case, a retracting port 65 is provided at each of the corresponding positions of the upper flexible substrate 25 and the sheet 23 corresponding to the pusher guide piece 64 so as to pass therethrough, thereby preventing the pusher guide piece 64 from protruding upright. I am trying not to. Further, the common fixed contact 61, the first fixed contact 62, and the second fixed contact 63 are similarly provided with a retraction opening 66 in the sheet 23 so that they are exposed on the upper surface, and the lower contact 16b, The contact with 17b, 18b is enabled.

  Further, on the outer peripheral side of the base 26, an up-down guide piece 67 having an inverted concave shape is provided upright from the four bottom surfaces thereof. The raising / lowering guide piece 67 is provided so that the pressing stroke length can be raised and lowered by engaging the holding piece 49 of the holder 19 in an inverted concave shape. The uppermost rotary operation body 14 held by the holder 19 by the holding pieces 49 engaged and held by the four lifting guide pieces 67 is allowed to tilt in accordance with the direction when pressed. Accordingly, the rotary operation body 14 is operated with a constant pressing stroke amount while being slightly tilted.

Next, the operation of the operation switch 11 configured as described above will be described.
In a state where the operation switch 11 is in the standby state, as shown in FIG. 11, the five push button switches 24 provided in the dome switch 58 have a semicircular dome shape, and the middle and high portions thereof are respectively It faces the lower ends of the pressing protrusions 50 and 57. These push button switches 24 are elastically displaced in the vertical direction in response to the pressing force from above, and are recessed when the pressing force is received. When the pressing force is released, the push button switch 24 returns and returns to the original height position. It becomes a dome shape and is prepared for the next press. Further, since the fixed contact of the flexible substrate 25 corresponding to the push button switch 24 is not pressed, it is non-conductive and no detection signal is output.

  When the pusher 21 is pressed down, the pusher 21 receives the pressing force and the pressing stroke sinks, and the pushbutton switch 24 in the center is pushed. A signal from the central fixed contact 59 is output by contacting the conductor 59 in a planar manner. Then, when the pressing force of the pusher 21 is released, the push button switch 24 is elastically restored, and the pusher 21 is pushed upward through the pressing protrusion 57 to return to the original position.

  When the rotary operation body 14 is pressed, a pressing force is received at the specific position where the pressing operation is performed. At this time, the rotary operation body 14 pushes the push button switch 24 corresponding to the specific position via the push protrusion 50, and the push button switch 24 makes a planar contact with the peripheral fixed contact 60 in the push direction and conducts it. The signal from the peripheral fixed contact 60 is output. Thereafter, when the pressing force of the rotary operation body 14 is released, the push button switch 24 is elastically restored, and the holder 19 is pushed upward via the pressing protrusion 50. Thereby, the rotary operation body 14 returns to the original position.

  In addition, when the rotary operation body 14 and the holder 19 are returned to the upper position, outside air flows between the lower dome switch 58 and the holder 19, but the dustproof cover 22 is provided even if dust is about to enter at this time. Therefore, the intrusion of dust can be blocked. Therefore, it is possible to maintain an excellent contact structure that eliminates deterioration due to dust intrusion.

  When the rotary operation body 14 is rotated, as shown in FIG. 5, the encoder movable contact plate 15 incorporated in the rotary operation body 14 rotates in the same direction, and the encoder movable contact plate 15 slides. As shown in FIG. 6, non-rotating upper contacts 16a, 17a, 18a fixed to the holder 19 come into contact with the contact surface 40 to detect a phase signal as a rotary encoder. Further, since the sliding contact surface 40 is formed on the same plane, the stable contact of the upper contacts 16a, 17a, 18a with the sliding contact surface 40 is ensured.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12A, for the flexible substrate 25 having the common fixed contact 61, the first fixed contact 62, and the second fixed contact 63, as shown in FIG. The contacts 16b, 17b, and 18b are all non-rotating and always kept in contact with each other. As a result, signals of the position, rotation direction, and rotation speed at which the rotary operation body 14 is rotated are detected based on the signals obtained from the upper contacts 16a, 17a, and 18a. Further, when the rotary operation body 14 is rotated, the spheres 54 located at both ends of the coil spring 54 provided in the pusher 21 correspond to the uneven surface 35 for touching the rotary operation of the pusher insertion hole 27. Since a constant urging force is applied to the rotary operation body 14 to provide rotation resistance, a click feeling is obtained each time the rotary operation body 14 is rotated by 30 degrees, and it is clear to the operator's hand that the rotation operation has been performed. Is transmitted to. At this time, since the rotational operation feeling part of the touch mechanism K and the contact part are separated from each other, the contact part is not adversely affected by the mutually consumed powder.

  In this way, when configuring a multi-directional pressing type operation switch, the upper encoder movable contact plate 15, the middle conductive pieces 16, 17, 18 and the lower flexible substrate 25 are dispersed in the vertical direction. 3 layer structure. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13A, the lower contacts 16b, 17b, 18b are non-rotating, and the encoder contact is removed from the lower flexible board 25, so that the lower contacts 16b, 17b, 18b become wider. In addition, the fixed contacts can be widely dispersed in the lower planar area, and the correspondence to the fixed contacts becomes easy. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 13B, a stable elastic action is obtained by the elastic action of the elongated contactor and the elastic action of the divided contactor at the free ends of the lower contacts 16b, 17b, and 18b. The contactor stably contacts the fixed contact.

  Further, in the middle layer conductive pieces 16, 17, and 18, the upper space from the upper layer corresponding to the closed space 19A to the middle layer is a fixed space that does not fluctuate by the pressing operation, and from the middle layer corresponding to the pressing stroke space 19B. The space below the lower layer is a variable space that changes with each pressing operation. Therefore, when the rotary operation body 14 is pressed, only the lower contacts 16b, 17b, 18b extending to the lower layer region are elastically displaced so as to be compressed in the pressing direction. On the other hand, the upper contacts 16a, 17a, and 18a extended to the upper layer region are not compressed by the pressing operation force, and thus do not receive an external force. For this reason, the upper contacts 16a, 17a, and 18a extending to the upper layer area are not subjected to external force in the pressing direction, so the load is small and the stress design of the spring of the conductive piece is facilitated, and the durability is improved.

  Furthermore, it is possible to construct a contact structure that is overlapped with the pressing positions in the four directions on the rotary operation body 14 and dispersed in the upper layer and the lower layer in the pressing direction. Accordingly, since the degree of freedom of arrangement of the fixed contacts is improved in the arrangement region, it becomes possible to arrange the fixed contacts 61, 62, 63 and the conductive pieces 16, 17, 18 on the disk-like outer peripheral side. Accordingly, a long conductive piece can be provided. As a result, it is possible to ensure a large contact stroke and to suppress the influence due to variations in assembly.

  Further, as the outer diameter of the operation switch 11 becomes smaller, the contact arrangement pattern inevitably becomes smaller, and the influence on the output signal due to the misalignment of the flexible substrate 25, the displacement of the arrangement pattern, etc. is considered to be larger. Since the conductive pieces 16, 17 and 18 are fixed to the rotating holder 19, the contact performance is improved because the non-rotating conductive pieces 16, 17 and 18 and the fixed contact of the non-rotating flexible substrate 25 are not rotated. In addition, the number of elements that cause contact displacement with the fixed contacts 61, 62, and 63 is reduced, and a stable output signal is always obtained.

  FIG. 14 shows another example of the pusher 21, which is constructed by interposing a spring seat 141 between a coil spring 54 inserted through the lateral hole 53 and a spherical body 55. The spring seat 141 has a circular arc shape along the spherical surface of the sphere 55 and is configured to come into surface contact, so that the biasing pressure of the coil spring 54 is more stable to the sphere 55 than that of the line contact without the spring seat. It is set to communicate.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the configuration of the above-described embodiment,
The biasing member of this invention corresponds to the coil spring 54 of the embodiment,
Similarly,
The central opening corresponds to the pusher insertion hole 27,
The shaft body corresponds to the pusher 21,
The electronic device corresponds to the digital camera 12,
The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiments, and many embodiments can be obtained based on the technical idea shown in the claims.

  For example, although the operation switch 11 in which three conductive pieces are combined is shown in the above-described embodiment, a larger number may be combined. Moreover, although the operation switch 11 provided with the pusher 21 was shown in the above-mentioned Example, it can also be comprised as an operation switch only of the rotary operation body 14 without the pusher 21. FIG.

The rear view of the digital camera provided with the operation switch. The external appearance perspective view of an operation switch. The exploded perspective view which looked at the operation switch from the upper part. The exploded perspective view which looked at the operation switch from the lower part. The perspective view which shows the state which fitted the movable contact plate for encoders to the rotation operation body. The perspective view which shows the state which fixed the electrically conductive piece to the holder. The perspective view which shows the state which connected the rotary operation body and the holder. The perspective view which shows a presser, a coil spring, and a spherical body. The external appearance perspective view which shows the dome switch integrated in the base. The top view of an operation switch. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 10 showing the internal structure of the operation switch. The perspective view which shows the stationary contact of a flexible substrate, and a contact corresponding | compatible state. Explanatory drawing which shows the corresponding state of a lower contactor and the fixed contact of a flexible substrate. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other example of a presser. The top view which shows the contact arrangement state of the conventional flexible substrate. The perspective view which shows the relationship with the electrically conductive disk which carries out rotation contact to the fixed contact of the conventional flexible substrate.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Operation switch 12 ... Digital camera 14 ... Rotating operation body 15 ... Encoder movable contact plate 16, 17, 18 ... Conductive piece 16a, 17a, 18a ... Upper contact 16b, 17b, 18b ... Lower contact 19 ... Holder 21 ... Pusher 22 ... Dust-proof cover 25 ... Flexible substrate 26 ... Base 61, 62, 63 ... Fixed contact K ... Feeling mechanism

Claims (9)

A rotating operation body that rotates in a plane direction and is pressed in an axial direction at a plurality of rotation positions in the rotation direction;
A movable contact plate for an encoder fixed to the lower surface of the rotary operation body;
A holder for rotatably holding the rotary operation body;
A push button switch operated in response to a pressing operation of the rotary operation body;
A printed wiring board comprising a plurality of the push button switches;
A common fixed contact that is held by the holder and formed on the printed wiring board and is always in contact with the movable contact plate for the encoder, and a common conductive piece that conducts both;
A plurality of conductive pieces that are held by the holder and are in contact with the fixed contacts formed on the printed wiring board and in contact with the movable contact plate for the encoder,
The printed wiring board is disposed on the upper surface, and includes a base that supports the holder so as to move up and down.
By rotating the rotary operation body, the contact between the encoder movable contact plate and the plurality of conductive pieces is detected to detect the rotation direction, while the rotation operation body is pressed to An operation switch, wherein the push button switch is operated via a switch. A pusher arranged in the center and operated to be pushed in the vertical direction;
A rotary operation body that is rotatably arranged around the pusher and is operated to be pressed in the axial direction at a plurality of rotation positions in the rotation direction;
A movable contact plate for an encoder fixed to the lower surface of the rotary operation body;
A holder for rotatably holding the rotary operation body;
A central push button switch operated in response to the pressing operation of the pusher;
A peripheral push button switch operated in response to the pressing operation of the rotary operation body;
A printed wiring board comprising the plurality of push button switches, a common fixed contact provided for contact with the common conductive piece, a first fixed contact provided for contact with the conductive piece, and a second fixed contact;
The common conductive piece that is held by the holder and is constantly in contact with the common fixed contact formed on the printed wiring board and the movable contact plate for the encoder, and conducting both, and
A first conductive piece that is held by the holder and contacts the first fixed contact formed on the printed wiring board and also contacts the encoder movable contact plate, and conducts both;
A second conductive piece that is held by the holder and contacts the second fixed contact formed on the printed circuit board and also contacts the encoder movable contact plate;
The printed wiring board is disposed on the upper surface, and includes a base that supports the holder so as to move up and down.
By rotating the rotary operation body, the rotation operation body is detected while detecting the contact and separation of the movable contact plate for encoder, the first conductive piece, and the second conductive piece. Alternatively, the operation switch is operated by operating the push button switch through the holder by pressing a pusher. A central opening is provided at the center of the rotary operation body, a shaft body is inserted into the central opening, and a lateral hole inserted perpendicularly to the axial direction of the shaft body is attached outward from the inside of the lateral hole. An urging member to be urged and a sphere disposed at an end of the urging member;
In the central opening portion, a feel mechanism is formed in which a concave and convex surface for a rotational operation feel is formed in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface so as to oppose the sphere projecting outward from the lateral hole and move the sphere forward and backward. The operation switch according to claim 1. The encoder movable contact plate is:
An opening that is opened at predetermined intervals in the plane circumferential direction of the conductive metal plate, which is a sliding contact surface of the encoder movable contact plate for contact with the contact for encoder signal output, is provided in the rotary operation body. The inner surface side of the projection is fitted into projections that are projected at regular intervals in the circumferential direction, and the tip surface of the fitted projection and the plane of the opening after fitting are formed on the same plane. The operation switch according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The open space of the inner space portion is closed by the holder with respect to the inner space portion formed on the inner surface side of the rotary operation body having the movable contact plate for the encoder on the inner surface. The operation switch according to item. 6. The conductive piece according to claim 1, wherein the conductive piece is extended more elastically than the holder, and the extended free end side contact member is urged against the fixed contact of the printed wiring board. The operation switch according to item 1. 7. The conductive piece according to claim 1, wherein the conductive piece is extended more elastically than the holder, and the extended free end side contact is urged against the contact of the movable contact plate for the encoder. The operation switch according to any one of claims. 8. The operation switch according to claim 1, further comprising a dust-proof cover that seals the space between the holder and the printed wiring board facing the pressing stroke, which is shielded from the outside. An electronic apparatus comprising the operation switch according to claim 1.

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