JP2010277711A - Click mechanism and rotary electronic component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a click mechanism and a rotary electronic component using the same, capable of maintaining strong click feeling even if high temperature is added by soldering or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The click mechanism, provided with a rotating body 50 equipped with a click engagement recess part 51 on the surface, and a click plate 100 made of an elastic plate having an elastic contacting part 107 engaged with the click engagement recess part 51 of the rotating body 50, generates click feeling as the elastic contacting part 107 of the click plate 100 is engaged with and disengaged from the click engagement recess part 51 at rotation of the rotating body 50. A click plate presser body 139 having a presser part 141 coming in contact with a rear-face side of the elastic contacting part 107 of the click plate 100 at separation of the elastic contacting part 107 from the click engagement recess part 51 and reinforcing resistive force against the separation, is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a click mechanism and a rotary electronic component.

  Conventionally, a rotary electronic component with a click function (hereinafter simply referred to as a “rotary electronic component”) having a structure in which an electrical output (such as an on / off signal) is changed by rotating a rotating body and a click feeling is obtained at the same time has been used ing. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1, this type of rotary electronic component is rotated in a case (60) provided with a switch pattern (63) on the surface, and a storage part (61) of the case (60). A rotator (30) that is movably accommodated, a slider (50) that is attached to the lower surface of the rotator (30) and slides on the switch pattern (63), and an upper part of the rotator (30) A click plate (20) which is elastically contacted with a click engaging portion (35) made of unevenness provided on the upper surface of the rotating body (30), and a cover (10) which covers an upper portion of the click plate (20). It is configured. And if a rotary body (30) is rotated, the click feeling will arise because the elastic contact part (24) of a click board (20) elastically contacts with a click engagement part (35).

  By the way, in the rotary electronic component, when the click feeling is increased (click load is increased), the elastic contact force to the click engagement portion (35) by the elastic contact portion (24) of the click plate (20) is increased. There is a need to.

  When the elastic contact force of the elastic contact portion (24) to the click engagement portion (35) is increased, it is between the rotating body (30) and the click plate (20), that is, between the case (60) and the cover (10). A strong force is applied to separate the two. Of course, in normal use conditions, the force does not weaken the fixing force between the case (60) and the cover (10).

JP 2005-78844 A

  However, for example, when the assembled rotary electronic component is mounted on a circuit board and reflowed for soldering, since the high temperature is applied to the rotary electronic component, the synthetic resin case (60) becomes soft. For this reason, there has been a problem that the strong click force of the click plate (20) causes looseness between the case (60) and the cover (10), and the strong click feeling cannot be obtained. That is, there is a problem that even if the click feeling when the rotary electronic component is assembled is set as strong as possible, the click feeling after being attached to the circuit board becomes weak.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a click mechanism that can maintain a strong (high click load) click feeling even when a high temperature is applied by soldering or the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary electronic component using this click mechanism.

  The invention according to claim 1 includes a moving body having a click engaging recess on a surface thereof, and a click plate made of an elastic plate having a resilient contact portion that engages with the click engaging recess of the moving body. In the click mechanism in which the click contact causes the click contact portion to engage and disengage from the click engagement recess when the moving body moves, the back surface of the click contact portion of the click plate The click mechanism is characterized in that a click plate pressing body is provided on the side to contact the elastic contact portion when the elastic contact portion is detached from the click engagement recess and reinforces the resistance against the separation.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present application is the click mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the movable body is stored in a storage portion of the case, and the click plate and the click plate presser are stored in the case. It is in the click mechanism characterized by being piled up and installed in the position which covers a part.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present application is the click mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the click plate presser also serves as a cover that covers the housing portion of the case. is there.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present application is a rotary electronic component using the click mechanism according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the rotary electronic component is such that the movable body is a rotary body, and The rotary electronic component is characterized in that an electrical functional unit that changes electrical output in accordance with the rotation of the rotating body is installed in the housing portion of the case.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a state where the elastic contact portion of the click plate is engaged in the click engagement concave portion of the moving body, that is, in a state where the elastic contact portion is not pressed by the click plate presser. If soldering or the like is performed on the electronic component to which the click mechanism is attached, the moving body is not strongly pressed by the elastic contact portion of the click plate when a high temperature is applied. For this reason, it is possible to maintain a strong click feeling (a large click load) at all times even after high temperature application. Since both the click plate and the click plate retainer are used at the same time, the click plate retainer reinforces the elastic force of the elastic contact portion when the click contact portion of the click plate disengages from the click engagement recess of the moving body. A strong click feeling (with a large click load) can be easily obtained.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the click mechanism according to the present invention can be easily configured by stacking and installing the click plate and the click plate pressing body on the storage portion of the case storing the moving body. be able to.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the click plate presser also serves as the cover, the structure of the click mechanism can be simplified and the assembly process can be facilitated.

  According to invention of Claim 4, the rotary electronic component which has the said click mechanism can be comprised.

It is the perspective view which looked at the rotary electronic component 1 which attached the click mechanism K from the upper side. It is the perspective view which looked at the rotary electronic component 1 from the lower side. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the rotary electronic component 1 from the upper side. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the rotary electronic component 1 from the lower side. It is a perspective view of the switch board 40 before insert molding. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an assembly method for the rotary electronic component 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main part of a portion constituting a click mechanism K. It is a figure which shows the state which the elastic contact part 107 removed from the click engagement recessed part 51. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the cover 130-2.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rotary electronic component with a click function (hereinafter referred to as “rotary electronic component”) 1 to which a click mechanism K according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached, and FIG. 2 is a rotary electronic component. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the rotary electronic component 1 as viewed from above, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the rotary electronic component 1 as viewed from below. As shown in these drawings, the rotary electronic component 1 houses a moving body 50 (hereinafter referred to as “rotating body”) 50 with a slider 80 attached in the housing portion 13 of the case 10, and a click plate thereon. 100 and a cover 130 are attached so as to be covered. Each component will be described below. In the following description, “upper” refers to the direction of viewing the rotating body 50 from the case 10, and “lower” refers to the opposite direction.

  The case 10 is a metal plate sliding plate (hereinafter referred to as “switch plate”) in which a sliding contact pattern (hereinafter referred to as “switch pattern”) 45 is formed inside a molded body 11 formed by molding a synthetic resin into a substantially rectangular shape. ) 40 (see FIG. 5) is insert-molded. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the switch plate 40 before insert molding. As shown in the figure, the switch plate 40 is formed by pressing a rectangular thin metal plate (for example, a stainless steel plate), and around the switch portion 41 (41A, 41B) serving as the switch pattern 45. Each switch part 41 is connected to the inner periphery of the frame part 44 via a terminal part 43, surrounded by a rectangular ring-shaped frame part 44. A circular positioning hole 46 is provided at the center of each side of the frame portion 44. The switch part 41 has a ring-shaped common switch part 41A located at the center, and a plurality of (10) on / off switch parts 41B arranged radially around the common switch part 41A. is doing. The common switch portion 41A is circular and has a through hole 47 in the center. The four terminal portions 43 protrude from the outer periphery of the common switch portion 41A so as not to contact between the on / off switch portions 41B and are connected to the frame portion 44. ing. Each of the on / off switch portions 41B is substantially linear (fan-shaped), and is arranged radially at equal intervals from the center of the common switch portion 41A. The terminal portions 43 project from the outer end portions thereof and are connected to the frame portion 44. . Each of the terminal portions 43 is connected to a pair of inner peripheries of the frame portion 44 that face each other. The other pair of inner peripheries of the frame portion 44 is connected to a thin plate-like reinforcing portion 49 that protrudes three by two from the two on / off switch portions 41B closest to these sides.

  The case 10 sandwiches the switch plate 40 configured as described above with a mold (not shown), and a molten resin (for example, LCP (liquid crystal polymer)) is formed in a mold cavity formed in an inner portion of the frame body 44. ) And then cured, and then cut the portion protruding from the molded body 11 of the terminal portion 43 by a predetermined length and the base portion protruding from the molded body 11 of the reinforcing portion 49 ( 5A and 5B), the frame portion 44 is cut off, and the portion of each terminal portion 43 that protrudes from the molded body 11 is bent into a U shape on the lower surface side of the molded body 11. It is formed by.

  Here, the molded body 11 has a substantially rectangular shape as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and a substantially circular concave storage portion 13 is provided at the center of the upper surface, and the surface of the common switch portion 41A and the on / off switch portion 41B are provided on the bottom surface. The switch pattern 45 consisting of the surface of is exposed. At the center of the switch pattern 45 made up of the common switch portion 41A, a cylindrical shaft support portion 15 connected to the resin on the lower surface side through a through hole 47 (see FIG. 5) protrudes. Further, the periphery of the storage portion 13 of the molded body 11 is a side wall portion 17, and a rectangular concave click plate locking portion 19 is formed at a position facing the outer periphery of the storage portion 13 on the upper surface of the side wall portion 17 at 180 °. Yes. Cover engaging portions 27 projecting outward in a claw-like manner are provided at positions near both ends of a pair of opposed outer peripheral sidewalls (outer peripheral sidewalls on the side from which the reinforcing portion 49 projects) of the sidewall portions 17. As described above, each terminal portion 43 protruding from the outer surface of the side wall portion 17 of the molded body 11 is bent into a substantially U-shape on the lower surface side of the molded body 11, and the case 10 is a surface mount type.

  The rotating body 50 is formed by molding a synthetic resin (for example, POM resin) into a substantially disk shape, and a click engagement concave portion 51 and a click engagement convex portion 52 which are formed in a ring shape on the entire surface and are uneven on the entire circumference. Are provided alternately. A substantially cylindrical shaft portion 53 protruding upward is provided at the center of the upper surface of the rotating body 50, and a shaft insertion portion 55 formed of a circular hole is provided at the center of the lower surface. The shaft insertion portion 55 is formed to have an inner diameter that allows the shaft support portion 15 of the case 10 to be rotatably inserted and supported. On the lower surface of the rotator 50, there are provided three slider mounting projections 57 each consisting of three small projections projecting downward.

  The slider 80 is formed by forming an elastic metal plate in a substantially disc shape, and a through hole 81 is provided in the center, and a pair of arc-shaped common sliding contacts 83 are installed in the through hole 81. An arc-shaped on / off sliding contact 85 is provided on the outer periphery, and a rotating body mounting portion 87 including a small hole for inserting these is provided at a position facing each slider mounting projection 57 of the rotating body 50. It has been.

  The click plate 100 is formed by forming an elastic metal plate (for example, a stainless steel plate) into a ring shape. A pair of locking portions 101 projecting outward in the radial direction from the outer periphery of the click plate 100 are provided at positions facing the 180 °. The front end side portion of each locking portion 101 is bent at a substantially right angle in the downward direction, and a locking claw 103 whose width dimension is increased upward is provided in the vicinity of the front end. A pair of arc-shaped portions connecting the two locking portions 101 of the click plate 100 are elastic contact arms 105, respectively, and are substantially arc-shaped so as to protrude downward in the center of the elastic contact arms 105, respectively. A curved elastic contact portion 107 is formed. The elastic contact portion 107 is a portion that engages and elastically contacts the click engagement concave portion 51 and the click engagement convex portion 52 of the rotating body 50. The portions connected to the locking portions 101 at both ends of both elastic contact arms 105 are bent downward by a predetermined angle, whereby the positions of both elastic contact portions 107 are slightly lower than the positions of both locking portions 101. Located on the side.

  The cover 130 is formed of a metal plate (for example, a stainless steel plate) in a substantially rectangular shape, is provided with a shaft insertion portion 131 having a circular through hole at the center, and the side on the side where the cover locking portion 27 of the case 10 protrudes. A body attachment portion 133 bent downward is provided on a pair of sides opposed to each other, a side wall locking portion 135 bent downward is provided on the other opposite side, and left and right sides of the body attachment portion 133 are further provided. A tongue-like attachment locking portion 133a is projected from both sides in the left-right direction (horizontal direction). Further, a pair of arc-shaped slits 137 are provided at positions facing the periphery of the shaft insertion portion 131 of the cover 130 at 180 °, and the arc-shaped portion between the slit 137 and the shaft insertion portion 131 is formed as a pair of click plates. The presser body 139 is used. That is, the click plate presser 139 is configured to move up and down with a predetermined elastic force with respect to other portions of the cover 130. In the vicinity of the side of the center of each click plate presser 139 on the side of the slit 137, a presser portion 141 formed by processing and deforming a part of the click plate presser 139 so as to protrude downward is formed. The holding portion 141 has a substantially rectangular shape, and three sides of the outer periphery are connected to the click plate presser 139 and these three sides are both bent downward, and the other side of the outer periphery is formed in the slit 137. Facing. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the holding portion 141 is bent into a substantially planar portion (curved surface with a slightly lowered center) and an inclined surface connected to the other portion of the click plate presser 139. And a side wall portion 143. The pair of presser portions 141 are provided at positions facing the upper surface side (back surface side) of the pair of elastic contact portions 107 of the click plate 100.

  In order to assemble the rotary electronic component 1, first, the slider 80 is previously installed on the lower surface of the rotating body 50, and at that time, each slider mounting projection 57 of the rotating body 50 is connected to each rotating body mounting portion of the slider 80. 87, and the tip of the slider mounting projection 57 is attached by heat caulking. And the said rotary body 50 is accommodated in the accommodating part 13 of case 10, the click board 100 is installed on the rotary body 50, and it will be in the state shown in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the tips of the pair of locking portions 101 of the click plate 100 are respectively inserted into the pair of click plate locking portions 19 of the case 10. Lock to the side. At this time, the pair of elastic contact portions 107 of the click plate 100 are in elastic contact with the click engagement concave portion 51 or the click engagement convex portion 52 of the rotating body 50, respectively.

  Then, a cover 130 is placed on the case 10 in which the rotating body 50 and the click plate 100 are housed, and each mounting locking portion 133a of the cover 130 is snap-in engaged with the lower surface side of each cover locking portion 27 of the case 10. 1 to 2, the rotary electronic component 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is completed. The above assembling procedure is an example, and it goes without saying that the assembly may be performed using other various assembling procedures.

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main part showing a portion constituting the click mechanism K in the assembled rotary electronic component 1 (however, the cross-sectional positions of the respective parts are different). The parts constituting the click mechanism K are the case 10, the rotating body 50, the click plate 100, and the click plate presser 139. As shown in the figure, the click mechanism K includes a rotating body 50 having a click engaging recess 51 (and a click engaging protrusion 52) on the surface (upper surface), and a click engaging recess 51 (and a click) of the rotating body 50. Click plate 100 made of an elastic plate having a resilient contact portion 107 that engages with the engagement convex portion 52), and the click plate presser 139 of the click plate presser 139 is placed on the back side of the resilient contact portion 107 via a predetermined gap S1. The presser part 141 is installed and configured. The gap S1 is generated when the elastic contact portion 107 is engaged in the click engagement concave portion 51. When the elastic contact portion 107 is detached from the click engagement concave portion 51, the gap S1 disappears in the middle of the separation. The upper surface (rear surface) of the elastic contact portion 107 is in contact with the lower surface of the presser portion 141. The rotating body 50 is housed in the housing portion 13 of the case 10, and the click plate 100 and the click plate presser body 139 are stacked and installed at a position covering the housing portion 13 of the case 10. The click plate presser 139 is provided on the cover 130, that is, the click plate presser 139 also serves as the cover 130.

  When the rotating body 50 is rotated in the completed rotary electronic component 1, the common sliding contact 83 and the on / off sliding contact 85 of the slider 80 slide on the switch pattern 45 to turn on / off from each terminal portion 43. The output changes. At the same time, when the elastic contact portion 107 of the click plate 100 gets over the unevenness formed by the click engagement concave portion 51 and the click engagement convex portion 52 of the rotating body 50, a click feeling is generated. FIG. 8 is a view showing a state when the elastic contact portion 107 is detached from the click engagement recess 51. As described above, when the elastic contact portion 107 is in the click engagement recess 51 (in the state of FIG. 7), the elastic contact portion 107 and the pressing portion 141 are not in contact with each other. Next, when the rotating body 50 is rotated so that the elastic contact portion 107 starts to rise away from the click engagement recess 51 and the elastic contact portion 107 starts to rise, the elastic force of the click plate 100 is initially set (that is, until the gap S1 disappears). Only the elastic force generated by the contact arm 105 becomes a resistance force against the release of the elastic contact portion 107 from the click engagement recess 51. When the rotating body 50 is further rotated, the pressing portion 141 that is in contact therewith is pushed up by the elastic contact portion 107 that further rises, and in addition to the elastic force generated by the elastic contact arm 105 of the click plate 100, the elastic force generated by the click plate presser 139. At the same time, the force becomes a resistance force against the release of the elastic contact portion 107 from the click engagement recess 51. When the rotating body 50 is further rotated, the further raised elastic contact portion 107 completely rides on the click engagement convex portion 52 to be in the state shown in FIG. 8, that is, completely disengages from the click engagement concave portion 51. In other words, according to the click mechanism K, the elastic contact portion 107 abuts on the back side of the elastic contact portion 107 of the click plate 100 when the elastic contact portion 107 is detached from the click engagement recess 51 (before it is completely detached). Since the click plate presser 139 that reinforces the resistance against disengagement is installed, when the elastic contact portion 107 disengages from the click engagement recess 51 of the rotating body 50, the click plate presser 139 generates the elastic force of the elastic contact portion 107. And a strong click feeling (with a large click load) can be easily obtained.

  On the other hand, when the elastic contact portion 107 is in the click engagement recess 51 as described above (in the state of FIG. 7), the elastic contact portion 107 and the presser portion 141 are not in contact with each other. Accordingly, the force with which the elastic contact portion 107 presses the rotating body 50 is weak (in the case of FIG. 7, the tip of the elastic contact portion 107 is not in contact with the bottom surface of the click engagement recess 51, so Of course, both may be in contact.) From this, if the elastic contact portion 107 of the click plate 100 is engaged in the click engagement recess 51 of the rotating body 50, that is, the elastic contact portion 107 is not pressed by the click plate presser 139, For example, even if the assembled rotary electronic component 1 is mounted on a circuit board and reflowed for soldering to apply a high temperature to the rotary electronic component 1 and the case 10 made of synthetic resin becomes soft, The rotating body 50 is not strongly pressed by the elastic contact portion 107 of the click plate 100 when a high temperature is applied. Therefore, no looseness occurs between the case 10 and the cover 130. For this reason, a strong click feeling can be maintained as it is even after high temperature application. That is, it is possible to configure the click mechanism K that can always maintain a strong click feeling (a large click load) even after high temperature application.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of another cover 130-2 used in the present invention. In the cover 130-2 shown in the figure, the same or corresponding parts as those in the cover 130 according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. Note that matters other than those described below are the same as those of the cover 130 shown in FIGS. The difference between the cover 130-2 and the cover 130 is that an arc-shaped slit 138 is provided between the shaft insertion portion 131 and the pair of click plate pressers 139, whereby the click plate pressers 139 It is only the point that the elasticity was increased by reducing the width. If comprised in this way, the pressing force of the elastic contact part 107 by the pressing part 141 can be weakened, and the click feeling of the intensity | strength according to a request can be obtained.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims and the specification and drawings. Is possible. Note that any shape, structure, or material not directly described in the specification and drawings is within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention as long as the effects and advantages of the present invention are exhibited. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the click plate presser 139 also serves as the cover 130, so that the structure of the click mechanism K can be simplified and the assembly process can be facilitated. In the above embodiment, the switch plate 40 is insert-molded in the molded body 11 to form the case 10. For example, a circuit board on which a switch pattern is formed is placed on the bottom surface of the storage portion 13 of the molded body 11. A case may be configured.

  In the above embodiment, the electrical function unit is configured by the switch pattern 45 and the slider 80. However, a resistor pattern may be used instead of the switch pattern, and the electrical function unit having another structure / function. It may be. In short, any electrical functional unit that is installed in the housing portion of the case and changes the electrical output in accordance with the rotation of the rotating body may be used. In the above embodiment, a rotary electronic component having a moving body as a rotating body is shown as an electronic component to which the present invention is applied. However, the present invention is applied to, for example, a sliding electronic component in which the moving body moves linearly (sliding). May be applied. The slide movement direction is a concept including various directions other than the linear direction such as an arc direction and other curved directions in addition to the linear direction.

1 Rotating electronic components (Rotating electronic components with click function, electronic components)
10 Case 11 Molded body 13 Storage part 40 Switch plate 45 Switch pattern (sliding contact pattern, electrical functional part)
50 Rotating body (moving body)
51 Click engagement recess 80 Slider (electrical function part)
100 Click plate 107 Elastic contact portion 130 Cover 139 Click plate presser 141 Presser portion K Click mechanism 130-2 Cover

Claims (4)

A movable body provided with a click engagement recess on the surface;
A click plate made of an elastic plate having a resilient contact portion that engages with the click engagement recess of the moving body,
In the click mechanism that causes the click feeling by the elastic contact portion of the click plate engaging / disengaging from the click engagement recess when the moving body moves,
A click plate presser body is provided on the back side of the elastic contact portion of the click plate, and the elastic contact portion abuts when the elastic contact portion separates from the click engagement recess and reinforces the resistance against the separation. Click mechanism to do. The click mechanism according to claim 1,
The moving body is housed in a housing portion of the case;
The click mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the click plate and the click plate presser are stacked and installed at a position covering the housing portion of the case. The click mechanism according to claim 2,
The click mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the click plate presser also serves as a cover that covers the housing portion of the case. A rotary electronic component using the click mechanism according to claim 2 or 3,
The rotary electronic component is configured such that the moving body is a rotating body, and an electrical functional unit that changes electrical output in accordance with the rotation of the rotating body is installed in the housing portion of the case. Rotating electronic parts characterized by

Images