JP2010045242A - Sliding operation type variable resistor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sliding operation type variable resistor having high accuracy of an output signal without varying an installation position of a sliding piece to a slider. <P>SOLUTION: A narrow part 41a is formed between an opening part 43 and one end by arranging the opening part 43 in one end vicinity in the longitudinal direction (the sliding movement direction) of a base part 41 of the sliding piece 4. This narrow part 41a is formed with an engaging projection 41b projecting to the inverse side of the opening part 43 side. The slider 3 is provided with a first regulating part (a regulating wall) 33 and a second regulating part (a regulating projection part) 34 opposed at a predetermined interval in the sliding movement direction. Though the base part 41 is installed between both regulating parts 33 and 34, the predetermined interval is shorter than the natural length of the base part 41, and the base part 41 is sandwiched between both regulating parts 33 and 34 in a state of deflecting the narrow parts 41a to the opening part 43 side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a slide operation type variable resistor, and more particularly to a mounting structure of a slider that is attached to a slider and is in sliding contact with a resistor or a current collector.

  By sliding the slider linearly along one side of the board on which the resistor and current collector are arranged side by side, the slider attached to the slider changes the contact position with the resistor, and the output resistance In a slide operation type variable resistor whose value has been changed, conventionally, a synthetic resin boss provided on the slider is inserted into the mounting hole formed in the slider and crimped. A mounting structure for fixing the child to the slider is widely used. However, this type of mounting structure requires a clearance between the mounting hole and the boss, and because of this clearance, the mounting position of the slider relative to the slider cannot be defined with high accuracy. When miniaturization is promoted or when used as a position sensor, an error in the output signal cannot be ignored.

Therefore, conventionally, an attachment structure has been proposed in which the slider is fixed to the slider by press-fitting rather than caulking (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a conventional mounting structure, the slider is formed with an engagement piece that surrounds the mounting hole, and the mounting hole is smaller in diameter than the slider boss in the state before the mounting. As the engaging piece is pushed up, the diameter of the mounting hole increases, so that the boss can be press-fitted into the mounting hole. As a result, there is no need to secure a clearance between the slider mounting hole and the slider boss, so that the positional displacement of the slider due to the clearance can be avoided.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-197408

  As described above, in the conventional slide operation type variable resistor disclosed in Patent Document 1, the clearance between the mounting hole and the boss is eliminated by press-fitting the slider boss into the mounting hole of the slider. There is a possibility that the boss may be eccentrically inserted into the mounting hole, and this eccentricity causes a variation in the mounting position of the slider with respect to the slider, resulting in an error in the output signal.

  The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a slide operation type variable resistor in which the mounting position of the slider with respect to the slider does not vary and the accuracy of the output signal is high. There is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate in which a resistor and a current collector are arranged in parallel on one side, a slider made of a synthetic resin that can slide linearly along the one side of the substrate, A slide operation type having a base attached to the slider and a metal plate slider having a pair of sliding contact pieces extending in a cantilevered manner from the base and slidingly contacting the resistor and the current collector In the variable resistor, by providing an opening near one end of the base in the slide movement direction, a narrow portion extending in a direction intersecting the slide movement direction is formed between the opening and the one end of the base. And a first restricting portion and a second restricting portion that are opposed to the slider with a predetermined distance in the slide movement direction, and the predetermined distance is set to be shorter than a natural length of the base in the slide movement direction. ; Then, the base due to the reaction force that flexed the narrow portion to the opening portion side is a configuration that is sandwiched between the second restricting portion and the first restricting portion.

  The mounting structure of the slider in the slide operation type variable resistor configured as described above is obtained by bending one end portion (narrow portion) in the slide movement direction of the base portion of the slider using the adjacent opening. Since the base is sandwiched between the first and second regulating portions of the slider, the possibility that the mounting position of the slider with respect to the slider varies in the slide movement direction is extremely low. Therefore, even if the slide operation type variable resistor is reduced in size and the moving stroke of the slider is shortened, the accuracy of the output signal can be easily increased.

  In the above configuration, at least one of the narrow portion at the base of the slider and the first restricting portion of the slider that locks the narrow portion has an engagement protrusion that protrudes toward the other. In this case, the narrow portion is easily bent toward the opening when the base portion is pushed between the first and second restricting portions of the slider to be sandwiched therebetween.

  In the above configuration, if the sliding contact piece of the slider extends from the vicinity of the end opposite to the narrow portion side of the base, the influence of the bending of the narrow portion is less likely to reach the sliding contact piece. The accuracy of the output signal can be further increased. In this case, the slider is provided with a restriction convex portion that protrudes toward the first restriction portion as the second restriction portion, thereby forming a pair of concave stepped portions on both sides in the width direction of the restriction convex portion, and a pair of sliding contacts. If the piece extends into the pair of concave steps and is folded back, the span of the sliding contact piece can be increased without increasing the size of the slider, so that the sliding contact with the resistor and the current collector is possible. The contact stability of the piece can be improved.

  Further, in the above configuration, the slider is provided with a pair of inclined guide surfaces facing each other through the space between the first and second restricting portions, the guide inclined surfaces are extended along the sliding movement direction, and the base portion is By being guided by the pair of guide inclined surfaces and assembled to a predetermined mounting position, the assembly workability when the slider is mounted on the slider can be improved.

  In the above configuration, the opening of the base portion includes a slit extending along the narrowed portion and a communication hole extending from the middle portion of the slit to the opposite side of the narrowed portion. If a retaining boss that is inserted into the communication hole between the second restricting portions and prevents the base from falling off is provided, the slider may be accidentally dropped during work after the slider is attached to the slider. It is preferable that the narrow portion is more easily bent by providing a communication hole in the opening.

  In the slide operation type variable resistor of the present invention, one end portion (narrow portion) in the slide movement direction of the base portion of the slider is bent using the adjacent opening portion, so that the first and second restricting portions of the slider are provided. Since the slider mounting structure in which the base portion is sandwiched between the sliders is employed, the mounting position of the slider with respect to the slider is very unlikely to vary in the sliding movement direction. Therefore, even if the slide operation type variable resistor is reduced in size and the moving stroke of the slider is shortened, the accuracy of the output signal can be easily increased.

  An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slide operation type variable resistor according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view of the variable resistor, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the variable resistor, FIG. 4 is a side view of the variable resistor seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a side view of the variable resistor seen from the direction of arrow B in FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a slider used in the variable resistor, FIG. 8 is a top view of the slider, FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the slider with a slider attached, and FIG. Is a side view of the slider as viewed from the direction of arrow C in FIG. 9, FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the slider shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 12 is a side view of the slider, and FIG. FIG.

  1 to 6 includes a case 1 having a long hole 11 and a plurality of leg pieces 12, and a substrate 2 in which a resistor 21 and a current collector 22 are arranged in parallel on the upper surface (FIG. 13). Reference), a synthetic resin slider 3 having a lever portion 31 protruding upward from the long hole 11 and slidably movable on the substrate 2, and a base portion 41 and a sliding contact piece 42 made of an elastic metal plate. The slider 4 has a slider 4 attached to the lower surface of the slider 3 and a mounting plate 5 on which the substrate 2 is placed and integrated with the case 1. In this slide operation type variable resistor, a pair of sliding contact pieces 42 of the slider 4 are in sliding contact with the resistor 21 and the current collector 22, and the lever portion 31 of the slider 3 is linearly formed along the long hole 11. The sliding position of the sliding contact piece 42 with respect to the resistor 21 changes to change the output resistance value. This slide operation type variable resistor is a small variable resistor in which the moving stroke of the slider 4 is short, and is attached to an external device (not shown) via the mounting plate 5.

  The case 1 is made of a metal plate, and the substrate 2 and the mounting plate 5 are fixed by mounting the side plate portion 13 on the substrate 2 and bending the plurality of leg pieces 12 into an L shape (see FIG. 5). . The long hole 11 of the case 1 faces the upper surface of the substrate 2, and both side portions along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 2 are sandwiched between the side plate portion 13 and the mounting plate 5. As shown in FIG. 13, the resistor 21 and the current collector 22 extend in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 2 on the upper surface of the substrate 2. In addition, terminal portions 24 are respectively provided at one end portions of the resistor 21 and the current collector 22 and one end portion of the lead pattern 23 of the resistor 21, and these terminal portions 24 are led out to the lower surface side of the substrate 2. Has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the slider 3 is formed with curved contact portions 3 a at the four corners, and the slider 3 is formed into the long hole 11 while sliding the curved contact portions 3 a against the inner wall of the case 1. Can be slid along (see FIG. 5). Note that the slide movement direction of the slider 3 is the same as the longitudinal direction of the substrate 2, and therefore the same as the extending direction of the resistor 21 and the current collector 22. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, on the lower surface side of the slider 3, a recess 32 in which the base 41 of the slider 4 is disposed, and a regulation wall 33 that faces the slide movement direction via the recess 32. And a regulating convex portion 34, a pair of guide inclined surfaces 35 that are opposed to each other in a direction perpendicular to the sliding movement direction via the recess 32, and a retaining boss 36 that protrudes into the recess 32 are provided. A pair of concave step portions 37 are formed on both sides of the convex portion 34 in the width direction. The interval between the regulating wall 33 and the regulating convex portion 34 is set to be shorter than the natural length of the base portion 41 in the sliding movement direction. As will be described later, the regulating wall 33 is in a state where the narrow portion 41a of the base portion 41 is slightly bent. And the restricting convex portion 34 so that the base portion 41 is sandwiched. Further, the facing distance between the pair of guide inclined surfaces 35 is set so as to become closer to the depth of the recess 32 and become substantially equal to the width dimension (short dimension) of the base 41.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, the base 41 of the slider 4 has an opening 43 in the vicinity of one end in the longitudinal direction, and the narrow portion 41a is formed between the one end and the opening 43. Yes. The narrow portion 41a extends in the short direction of the base portion 41, and an engaging projection 41b is formed at the center of the narrow portion 41a so as to protrude to the opposite side to the opening 43 side. As shown by a chain line in FIG. 11, the base 41 is assembled into the recess 32 of the slider 3 with the narrowed portion 41 a slightly bent toward the opening 43. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, by restricting the other end 41 c in the longitudinal direction of the base 41 to the restricting convex portion 34 and engaging the engaging protrusion 41 b to the restricting wall 33, the restricting wall 33 and the restricting convex portion 34 is sandwiched between the base portion 41 and the base portion 41. That is, the longitudinal direction of the base 41 is the same as the sliding movement direction. In addition, since the bending of the narrow part 41a is slight and it is difficult to specify in FIG. 9, in FIG. 11, the bending of the narrow part 41a is exaggerated rather than actually, and is shown with the chain line. The opening 43 is formed in a T-shape in plan view, and has a slit 43a extending along the narrow portion 41a and a communication hole 43b extending from the middle portion of the slit 43a to the opposite side of the narrow portion 41a. . The above-described retaining boss 36 of the slider 3 is inserted into the communication hole 43 b of the opening 43. In addition, a round hole 41d formed between the other end 41c in the longitudinal direction (sliding movement direction) of the base 41 and the communication hole 43b inserts a jig (not shown) when the slider 4 is attached to the slider 3. For engagement.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the pair of sliding contact pieces 42 of the slider 4 has a pair of concave steps of the slider 3 from both sides in the longitudinal direction (sliding movement direction) of the other end 41 c of the base 41. 37 and is folded back at the folded portion 42a, and the brush-like portion from the folded portion 42a to the tip end portion 42b is easily elastically deformed. When the slider 3 to which the slider 4 is attached is assembled between the case 1 and the substrate 2, as shown by a solid line in FIG. Similarly, the other slidable contact piece 42 is also pressed and bent to be brought into elastic contact with the current collector 22. Each sliding contact piece 42 extends along the longitudinal direction of the base 41, that is, the sliding movement direction.

  The procedure for attaching the slider 4 to the slider 3 will be described. First, the other end in the longitudinal direction of the base 41 in a state in which a jig (not shown) is inserted and engaged with the round hole 41d of the slider 4. The one end in the longitudinal direction of the base portion 41 is pushed into the recess 32 while the 41c is in contact with the restricting convex portion 34 in the recess 32 of the slider 3. At this time, since both side portions of the base portion 41 can be pushed into the recess 32 while being guided by the pair of guide inclined surfaces 35 of the slider 3, there is no possibility that the base portion 41 tilts undesirably. Further, since the folded portions 42 a of the sliding contact pieces 42 extending from the base portion 41 are disposed in the concave step portions 37 existing on both sides in the width direction of the restricting convex portion 34, when the base portion 41 is pushed into the recess 32. Further, there is no possibility that the sliding contact piece 42 interferes with the slider 3. When the base 41 is pressed into the recess 32 against the holding force of the restricting wall 33 against the engaging protrusion 41b, the narrowed portion 41a is slightly bent toward the opening 43, so The engaging projection 41 b is locked to the restricting wall 33 by force, and the other end 41 c in the longitudinal direction of the base 41 is locked to the restricting convex portion 34. Thereby, the base 41 of the slider 4 can be securely sandwiched between the regulation wall 33 and the regulation projection 34 of the slider 3.

  When the base 41 of the slider 4 is disposed in the recess 32 of the slider 3, the retaining boss 36 penetrates the communication hole 43 b of the opening 43, so that the tip of the retaining boss 36 is caulked. If the diameter is increased by, for example, the possibility that the slider 4 is accidentally dropped during the work after the base 41 is pushed into the recess 32 is eliminated. Further, if the communication hole 43b is provided in the opening 43, the narrow portion 41a is easily bent toward the opening 43, so that the assembly workability is improved.

  As described above, the mounting structure of the slider 4 in the present embodiment example is obtained by bending one end portion (narrow portion 41a) in the sliding direction of the base portion 41 of the slider 4 using the adjacent opening 43. Since the base 41 is sandwiched between the regulation wall 33 and the regulation projection 34 of the slider 3, the attachment position of the slider 4 with respect to the slider 3 is very unlikely to vary in the slide movement direction. Therefore, even if the slide operation type variable resistor is promoted to be miniaturized and the moving stroke of the slider 4 is shortened, the output signal (that is, the current collector when voltage is applied to both ends of the resistor 21). The accuracy of the output voltage obtained via 22 can be easily increased. In this embodiment, each sliding contact piece 42 of the slider 4 extends from the vicinity of the other end 41c in the longitudinal direction far from the narrow portion 41a of the base portion 41. Therefore, the influence of the bending of the narrow portion 41a is affected by each slide. It is difficult to reach the contact piece 42, and an improvement in the accuracy of the output signal can also be expected in this respect. In addition, in the present embodiment, each sliding contact piece 42 extending from the vicinity of the other end 41 c in the longitudinal direction of the base portion 41 is folded back in each concave step portion 37 existing on both sides in the width direction of the regulating convex portion 34 of the slider 3. Therefore, the span of the sliding contact piece 42 can be increased without increasing the size of the slider 4, and the contact stability of the sliding contact piece 42 with respect to the resistor 21 and the current collector 22 can be improved. it can.

  In this embodiment, when the slider 4 is attached to the slider 3, both sides of the base 41 can be pushed into the recess 32 while being guided by the pair of guide inclined surfaces 35 and the opening 43. A drop-off accident of the slider 4 can be prevented by the retaining boss 36 that passes through the communication hole 43b. In addition, since the communication hole 43b is provided in the opening 43, the narrow portion 41a is easily bent toward the opening 43 side. Therefore, even when a considerably small slider 4 is attached to the slider 3, good assembly workability can be expected.

  In the above-described embodiment, in order to effectively bend the narrowed portion 41a toward the opening 43 when the slider 4 is attached, the narrowed portion 41a is provided with an engaging projection 41b that protrudes toward the restriction wall 33. However, the engagement protrusion 41b may be omitted, and another engagement protrusion that protrudes toward the narrow portion 41a may be provided on the restriction wall 33. Moreover, you may provide the engaging protrusion which opposes both the narrow part 41a and the control wall 33. As shown in FIG.

It is a perspective view of a slide operation type variable resistor concerning an example of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of this variable resistor. It is a bottom view of the variable resistor. It is the side view of this variable resistor seen from the arrow A direction of FIG. It is the side view of this variable resistor seen from the arrow B direction of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of this variable resistor. It is a perspective view of the slider used with this variable resistor. It is a top view of the slider. It is a bottom view of the slider to which a slider is attached. It is the side view of this slider seen from the arrow C direction of FIG. FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the slider shown in FIG. 9. It is a side view of this slider. It is a top view of the board | substrate used with this variable resistor.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Board | substrate 3 Slider 4 Slider 5 Mounting plate 11 Long hole 21 Resistor 22 Current collector 31 Lever part 33 Restriction wall (1st restriction part)
34 Regulation convex part (2nd regulation part)
35 Guide inclined surface 36 Retaining boss 37 Recessed step portion 41 Base portion 41a Narrow portion 41b Engagement protrusion 41c Other end in the longitudinal direction (of the base portion) 42 Sliding contact piece 42a Folding portion 43 Opening portion 43a Slit 43b Communication hole

Claims (6)

A substrate having a resistor and a current collector arranged in parallel on one side, a slider made of synthetic resin that can slide linearly along the one side of the substrate, and a base attached to the slider. A slide operation type variable resistor comprising a metal plate slider having a pair of sliding contact pieces extending in a cantilever manner and slidingly contacting the resistor and the current collector,
By providing an opening near one end of the base in the slide movement direction, a narrow portion extending in a direction intersecting the slide movement direction is formed between the opening and the one end of the base, and the slider Provided with a first restricting portion and a second restricting portion that are opposed to each other at a predetermined interval in the slide movement direction, and the predetermined interval is set to be shorter than a natural length of the base in the slide movement direction. The slide operation type variable resistor is characterized in that the base portion is sandwiched between the first restricting portion and the second restricting portion by a reaction force obtained by bending the wire to the opening side.   In Claim 1, The engagement protrusion which protrudes toward the other is formed in at least any one among the said narrow part of the said base part, and the said 1st control part of the said slider which latches this narrow part. A slide operation type variable resistor characterized by that.   3. The slide operation type variable resistor according to claim 1, wherein the sliding contact piece extends from the vicinity of an end portion of the base opposite to the narrow portion side.   4. The slider according to claim 3, wherein the slider is provided with a restriction convex portion protruding toward the first restriction portion as the second restriction portion, thereby forming a pair of concave step portions on both sides in the width direction of the restriction protrusion. The pair of sliding contact pieces extends into the pair of concave steps and is folded back.   5. The slider according to claim 1, wherein the slider includes a pair of guide inclined surfaces that are opposed to each other through a space between the first and second restricting portions, and the guide inclined surfaces are moved by the slide. A slide operation type variable resistor that extends along a direction, and that the base is guided by the pair of guide inclined surfaces and assembled to a predetermined mounting position.   The opening according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the opening of the base portion extends along the narrow portion, and a communication hole extends from an intermediate portion of the slit to the opposite side of the narrow portion. A slide operation type characterized in that a slide boss is provided between the first and second restricting portions of the slider and is provided with a retaining boss that is inserted into the communication hole and prevents the base from falling off. Variable resistor.

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