JP2011090948A - Press switch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a press switch operable having operating characteristics without making an outer shape large and without damaging load characteristics of a using contact piece in a switch operated by a pressing operation from the horizontal direction in parallel with a substrate, especially even in the switch in which a multistage operation having a long stroke is necessary. <P>SOLUTION: In a case, a contactor having a long operating stroke, a stem 40, and a cover are sequentially arranged. By means that a tongue-piece which extends to the center and has a protrusion 44 at a constant distance from the tip is installed in the stem 40 and that a first bent piece 53 in which the tip of the tongue-piece contacts by a first stage pressing operation of the stem 40 and a second bent piece 54 in which a stage part of the tongue-part contacts by a second step pressing operation are installed in the cover, it becomes possible that a system presser 43 presses the contactor at a position more proximate to the center top part of the contactor, and operation characteristics of the contactor can be easily transmitted as the operating characteristics. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a switch that operates by a pressing operation from a horizontal direction parallel to a substrate to be mounted, and particularly in a switch that requires a multistage operation with a long stroke without increasing the mounting height. The present invention relates to a switch structure that can be operated with an appropriate stroke and load in an operation stage.

FIG. 9 shows a cross section of a conventional push switch 100 for performing a horizontal operation. A conventional press switch 100 includes a case 101, a contact 102, a stem 103, and a cover 104. One side of the case 101 is open, a central contact portion where a conductive metal terminal is exposed at the center of the bottom of the opening, and an outer contact portion where a conductive metal terminal disposed around the central contact portion is exposed. And one end of each terminal is connected to a substrate (not shown) on which the pressing switch 100 is mounted by soldering or the like.

A dome-shaped contact 102 made of a conductive thin metal plate is incorporated in the opening of the case 101, the peripheral edge of the contact 102 is placed on the outer contact portion, and the central portion that is the apex of the dome shape is the center contact. It will be separated to the part. On the contact 102, a stem 103 made of an insulating material projects an operation push portion from a notch provided on the side wall of the case 101 to the outside, and a tongue piece portion continuously extending from the operation push portion and extending in the operation direction. The tip is positioned near the top of the contact, and the section cut and raised in the direction of the opening from the direction of the operating push provided in the approximate center of the cover comes into contact with the tip of the tongue piece. .

The press switch 100 assembled in this way presses the operation pressing portion of the stem 103 in the horizontal direction, so that the tip of the tongue piece portion moves downward along the section of the cover and presses the top portion of the contact 102, and is constant. The contact 102 is inverted by the pressing operation of the stroke, and the outer contact portion and the central contact portion are brought into conduction through the contact 102 by the top portion contacting the center contact portion.

JP 2006-244977 A

However, in recent years, the pressure switch that performs the horizontal operation is required to be a small-sized push switch that performs a multi-stage operation with a large operation stroke in accordance with the miniaturization and diversification of functions of each electrical device, particularly a portable electric device. Therefore, in the case of using a contact with a large stroke that operates in multiple stages in a conventional press switch, the distance between the center contact portion and the top of the contact is increased, and the top is brought into contact with the center contact to be conducted. However, in this case, the position of the tip of the tongue 103 of the stem 103 that presses the contactor 102 in the initial stage of the operation is pressed from the top of the contactor 102 by increasing the operation stroke. It will be located far away on the operation side. For this reason, in the initial operation state, a load is applied to the contact 102 at a position away from the top, and the load-displacement characteristic of the contact itself is not reflected in the operation load, and it is difficult to obtain an intended operation feeling. Become.

In addition, it is possible to bring the tip of the tongue portion of the stem closer to the top of the contact by largely inclining the cut and raised portion of the cover 104 toward the bottom of the opening, but the operation stroke relative to the stroke of the contact is In this case, it becomes difficult to obtain the intended operation feeling.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and in a push switch that performs a horizontal operation, even when a contact with a large stroke, particularly a contact with a large stroke that operates in multiple stages, is incorporated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a switch structure capable of obtaining an intended operation feeling without impairing the load-displacement characteristics of the child itself.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the pressure switch has an opening on one side, a central contact portion is disposed substantially at the center of the bottom surface of the opening, and an outer contact portion is disposed around the central contact portion. A case, an elastic contact member whose center top is spaced apart from the center contact portion, a pressing operation portion that protrudes outside the case and performs a pressing operation, and extends in the pressing operation direction. A pressing switch comprising a stem composed of a tongue piece and a cover having a top surface portion covering the opening and fitted to the case, and a protruding portion is formed on the side surface of the tongue piece, and the tip is directed to the bottom surface. A convex pressing part is formed, and the first folded piece and the second folded piece cut and raised from the pressing operation part side toward the bottom face are spaced apart from each other at a certain interval on the top surface part. It is formed so that the curved piece is located almost directly above the center contact part. By the pressing operation to the pressing operation part, the tip of the tongue piece comes into contact with the first bent piece, the pressing part presses the contact, the projecting part comes into contact with the second bent piece, and the contact further presses The switch is turned on by being pressed by the portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the contact according to the first aspect comprises an annular first contact and a substantially dome-shaped second contact, and the second contact has a center line inside the first contact. The first contact and the second contact are connected by a plurality of connecting portions arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line, and the edge of the first contact is a step formed on the bottom surface. And the connecting portion is spaced apart from the outer contact portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the stem according to the first and second aspects includes a sliding support portion that surrounds the tongue piece and slides between a sliding surface adjacent to the opening and a top surface portion. Features.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by pressing the pressing operation portion of the switch, the tip end portion of the tongue provided on the stem in the initial stage moves along the first bent piece provided on the cover. By pressing the contact, and further continuing the pressing operation, the protrusion provided on the stem moves along the second bent piece, so that the tip of the tongue further presses the contact Even when a contact with a large stroke is incorporated, the tip of the tongue can press the vicinity of the top of the contact so that the feeling of the contact is not impaired and a good operation feeling is achieved. Can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the contact is composed of the first contact and the second contact, so that a two-step operation with a large stroke with different load characteristics is possible. In addition, the first bent piece and the second bent piece of the cover allow the tongue of the stem to be operated in two different movements, so that the two-step movement of the contact is more emphasized or declined, It is possible to approach the intended operation feeling.

According to the invention of claim 3, since the sliding support portion that slides between the opening portion of the case and the flat portion of the cover is formed so as to surround the tongue piece portion of the stem, the tongue piece portion is formed in the case opening. It is possible to press the contact without involving the sliding between the flat part of the cover and the cover, thereby making it possible to make the shape of the tongue piece part a shape with which a better operation feeling can be obtained. Become.

The perspective view of the press switch which concerns on this invention The exploded perspective view of the press switch concerning the present invention Operational state diagram along line AA in FIG. The perspective view of the stem integrated in the press switch which concerns on this invention The perspective view of the contactor integrated in the press switch which concerns on this invention The perspective view of the case integrated in the press switch which concerns on this invention The perspective view of the cover integrated in the press switch which concerns on this invention An example of operation characteristics of the push switch according to the present invention Cross-sectional view of a conventional push switch

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pressure switch according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pressure switch according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a stem incorporated in the press switch according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a contact incorporated in the press switch according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cover incorporated in the press switch according to the present invention, FIG. 8 is an example of operating characteristics of the press switch according to the present invention, and FIG. It is a structure sectional view of a press switch. The pressing switch 01 includes a case 10 integrally formed with the fixed terminal 20, a contact 30, a stem 40, and a cover 50.

The case 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with one end made of an insulating material opened, and a notch portion 11 in which a stem 40 described later slides on one of the side walls. A central contact portion 21 made of a conductive metal and having an exposed surface is disposed substantially at the center, and a plurality of independent outer contact portions 22 made of a conductive metal are also provided around the central contact portion 21. 23 are arranged at the same distance from the central contact portion 21 and symmetrically with respect to the central contact portion 21, and each independent contact portion protrudes outside the case 10 and is mounted on the mounting board. 17 extends through the interior. Further, a pressing operation portion 41 of a stem 40 described later protrudes to the outside of the case 10 on one of the side walls forming the opening 13, and a notch portion 11 for sliding is formed.

The contact 30 is made of a thin plate-like conductive metal, and includes an annular first contact 31 and a substantially dome-shaped second contact 34. The first contact 31 has an edge 32 that forms an outer circumference, and when the edge 32 is grounded, the inner circumference 33 is inclined from the outer side to the inner side so that the inner circumference 33 is located away from the grounding surface. The second contactor 34 is positioned in a circle inside the first contactor 31. At this time, the centerline of the first contactor 31 and the centerline of the second contactor 34 are aligned with each other. Then, they are connected by a plurality of connecting portions 38 arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the inner circumference 33 of the first contact 31 and the second contact are formed by two connecting portions 38 arranged in the diameter direction of the first contact 31 and the second contact 34. The outer edge portion 36 of the child 34 is connected.

The stem 40 is made of an insulating material, protrudes to the outside of the case 10, and has a pressing operation portion 41 having an operation surface 46 that is substantially perpendicular to the pressing operation from the horizontal direction parallel to the mounting substrate (not shown). A substantially rectangular pin-like tongue piece 42 extending in a direction away from the operation surface 46 in the direction of the pressing operation, a sliding surface 14 in which the opening 13 of the case 10 is formed, and a top surface portion of a cover 50 described later. 51. The tongue piece 42 includes a substantially rectangular sliding support portion 45 that surrounds the tongue piece 42 that slides between the contact pieces 51, and the tongue piece 42 has a substantially hemispherical pressing portion 43 for pressing the contact 30 near the tip. Formed at a certain distance from the tip, in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the stem 40 by the pressing operation and the thickness direction of the sliding support 45, that is, protruding from both sides of the side surface of the tongue piece 42 44 is formed. In addition, the protrusion 44 is formed with an R-plane or C-plane invitation portion 47 on the surface opposite to the pressing portion 43.

The cover 50 is made of a thin metal plate, has a flat portion 51 that is substantially the same shape as the case flat outer shape that covers the opening 13 and the sliding surface 14 of the case 10, and is bent from the end of the flat portion 51 in a substantially right angle direction. There are a plurality of locking portions 52 that are locked to locking protrusions formed on the side wall of the case 10. Further, at the substantially center of the flat portion 51, when the cover is engaged, the first bent piece 53 and the first bent piece 53 bent in the opening direction starting from the direction of the stem 40 on the pressing operation portion 41 side. Two second bent pieces 54 bent in the direction of the opening 13 starting from the direction on the side of the pressing operation unit 41 at a certain distance from the bending piece 53 in the direction of the pressing operation unit 41 are tongues of the stem. It is formed with an interval slightly larger than the width of the piece 42. In the present embodiment, the distance between the bending start point of the first bending piece 53 and the bending start point of the second bending piece 54 is from the tip end of the tongue piece 42 of the stem 40 to the tip end side of the protruding portion 44. The first bent piece 53 and the second bent piece 54 are set to have the same folding angle.

Then, the press switch 01 is completed by assembling these members as follows. First, a contact 30 having an outer shape that is slightly smaller in shape is incorporated into the opening 13 that is opened in a substantially cylindrical shape in the case 10 with the central top portion 35 of the second contact facing upward. At this time, in this embodiment, the edge 32 of the first contact 31 has a pair of convex pieces 37 protruding in the direction of the center line, and the case 10 corresponds to the convex piece 37 on the bottom surface 12. Two positioning fitting recesses 15 are formed in the opening, and the convex piece 37 is positioned in the positioning fitting recess 15. As a result, the connecting portions 38, 38 of the contact 30 are positioned almost directly above the outer contact portions 22, 23 disposed on the case 10, and the central top 35 of the second contact 34 is located at the center contact of the case 10. It will be located substantially directly above the portion 21.

Next, a concave sliding portion 16 having a depth approximately equal to the thickness of the stem 40 is formed around the cylindrical opening portion 13 in the case 10 so as to have an area in which the stem 40 can slide. The stem 40 is incorporated into the sliding portion 16 in a state where the pressing operation portion 41 protrudes to the outside of the case. Finally, the cover 50 is placed so as to cover the case 10 with the top surface portion 51, and the locking portion 52 of the cover 50 is locked to the locking projection provided on the side surface of the case 10. At this time, the tip of the tongue piece 42 of the stem 40 hits the first bent piece of the cover 50 and the stem 40 moves in the direction opposite to the operation direction from the outside, so that the initial position is determined. In this state, the locking of the cover 50 to the case 10 is completed, and the assembly of the push switch is completed.

The press switch assembled in this way operates as follows from the initial state shown in FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 3B, by pressing the operation surface of the pressing operation portion 41 protruding outward from a direction parallel to the mounting substrate surface (not shown) on which the pressing switch 01 is mounted, that is, from the horizontal direction. The stem 40 moves while sliding between the top surface portion 51 of the cover 50 and the concave sliding portion of the case 10. As a result, the tip of the tongue piece 42 of the stem 10 moves along a slope inclined toward the opening side of the first bent piece 53 of the cover 50. The pressing portion 43 formed in the vicinity of the tip portion moves in the direction of the center top 35 of the contact 30 in the horizontal direction while abutting the second contact 34 of the contact 30, so that the vertical direction, that is, the opening portion. The contact 30 is pushed in the thickness direction of 13. The contact 30 has a diameter larger than that of the second contact 34 and is easily elastically deformed, that is, the first contact 31 has a smaller elastic coefficient than that of the second contact 34. When the one contact 31 is deformed, the connecting portion 38 moves toward and contacts the outer contact portions 22 and 23 provided on the bottom surface of the opening 13. As a result, the independent outer contact portions 22 and 23 are electrically connected to each other through the contact 30, and the first-stage switch of the pressing switch 01 is switched at the point P <b> 1 in FIG. 8. At this time, since the first contact 31 of the contact 30 is formed with an inclination with respect to the direction of the inner circumference 33, an operation feeling with a click feeling can be obtained by the reversing operation. Become. Further, in the switching of the first-stage switch, the pressing portion 43 of the stem 40 moves to the vicinity of the central top 35 while abutting from a position away from the central top 35 of the contact 30. At this stage, the contact 34 is not substantially deformed, and only the first contact is deformed, so that the pressing portion 43 is separated from the central top 35 by a small distance. The operation characteristics of the first contact 31 in the contact 30 are reflected on the operation feeling as expected.

Then, as a next step, when the pressing force continues to be applied to the stem 40, the tip end portion of the tongue piece 42 comes into contact with the first bent piece 53 of the cover 50 and at the same time, the R on the cover side of the protruding portion 44 of the stem 40. The corner formed on the surface or the C surface temporarily comes into contact with the second bent piece 54. After that, the tongue piece 42 is inclined with the vicinity of the root as a fulcrum, and the bending angle between the first bent piece 53 and the second bent piece 54 is equal, and the first bent piece 53 and the second bent piece 54 are the same. The distance from the piece 54 is set to be smaller than the distance between the cover side corner at the tip of the tongue piece 42 of the stem 40 and the cover side corner at the tip of the tongue piece 42 of the protruding portion 44 of the stem 40. Therefore, the tip end portion of the tongue piece 42 is separated from the first bent piece 54 in a state in which the cover side corner of the protruding portion 44 of the stem 40 is in contact with the second bent piece 54. Further, when a pressing operation is further applied to the stem 40, the projecting portion 44 moves in the horizontal direction along the slope of the second bent piece 54 as shown in FIG. As a result, the pressing portion of the stem 40 pushes the second contact 34 while contacting the vicinity of the central top 35 of the contact 30, and the contact 30 is in a state where the connecting portion 38 is in contact with the outer contact portions 22 and 23. The top part 35 is deformed in the direction toward the central contact part 21, and the top part 35 comes into contact with the central contact part 21. As a result, the central contact portion 21 is electrically connected to the outer contact portions 22 and 23 through the contact 30, and the second switch of the pressing switch 01 is switched at the point P2 in FIG. At this time, an operation feeling with a click feeling is obtained by inverting the dome shape of the second contact 34 of the contact 30.

The tongue piece 42 is inclined with the vicinity of the root as a fulcrum, and the second bent piece 54 is formed at a position closer to the root of the tongue piece 42 than the first bent piece 53, so that the second-stage switch In switching, the amount of movement of the pressing portion 43 in the vertical direction with respect to the amount of operation in the horizontal direction, that is, the amount of movement of the contact 30 toward the bottom surface 12 of the opening 13 is the pressure against the amount of operation in the horizontal direction in switching the first stage switch. It becomes larger than the amount of movement of the portion 43 in the vertical direction. That is, in the switching of the second-stage switch, the central portion 35 can be brought into contact with the central contact portion 21 by the pressing portion 43 slightly moving the top portion 35 of the contact 30. Therefore, the second contactor 34, which normally does not obtain the intended operation feeling unless the vicinity of the central top part 35 is pressed, is literally pressed near the top part 35, so that the first and second steps of the pressing switch are performed. The operation feeling of the contact 30 is reflected on the operation feeling through the eyes, and the intended operation feeling can be obtained. Then, the stem 40 is returned to the initial position by the restoring force of the contact 30 by stopping the pressing operation on the stem 40 after completing the series of switch operations.

In this way, the switch 01 can press the vicinity of the top 35 of the contact 30 by the pressing portion of the stem 40 even when the contact 30 having a large operation stroke is used. Thus, it is possible to obtain a good operation feeling without impairing the feeling of the contact.

In the case of such a two-stage operation switch, the difference between the first folding piece 53 and the second folding piece 54 of the cover 50 is increased to increase the difference between the first stage and the second stage of the second stage operation. This makes it possible to emphasize the difference in operation feeling and to reduce the difference.

Further, in this embodiment, a contact formed of an annular first contact and a dome-shaped second contact is used. However, the contact is not limited to this, and is a contact formed from two domes in a staircase shape. In addition, the planar shape may be a square shape instead of a circular shape. In this embodiment, the first-stage switching operation is performed by bringing the two connecting portions 38 and 38 into contact with each other. One of the outer contacts 22 and 23 is connected to the edge of the first contact 31. 32 is placed at the position where it is placed, and the edge 32 and one of the outer contacts 22 and 23 are connected in the initial state so that the first switch is switched by the first pressing operation. Also good.

Furthermore, the present embodiment uses a dome-shaped contact made of a thin metal plate, but is not limited to this, and a contact made of conductive silicon rubber having a large operation stroke is used as the contact. It is possible to obtain a two-stage operation feeling by contacting the first bent piece, the second bent piece and the stem of the cover. By adjusting the angle and interval of the two folded pieces and the interval between the distal end portion and the protruding portion of the stem, it becomes possible to obtain abundant operation feeling variations.

The present invention is used in a pressure switch that performs electrical switching by moving a contact with a large operation stroke in the vertical direction by applying a horizontal operation force, and is provided on a cover that converts the horizontal operation force into the vertical direction. The first bent piece and the second bent piece are sequentially brought into contact with the tip of the stem and the protruding portion provided at a fixed distance from the tip, so that the pressing portion of the stem is located near the top of the contact. It can be used for a pressure switch that is required to obtain an intended operation feeling by converting to an operation feeling without impairing the operation feeling of the contact by pressing.

01 Press switch 10 Case 11 Notch portion 12 Bottom surface 13 Opening portion 14 Sliding surface 15 Positioning fitting concave portion 16 Concave sliding portion 17 Output terminal 18 Stepped portion 20 Fixed terminal 21 Central contact portion 22, 23 Outer contact portion 30 Contactor 31 First contact 32 Edge 33 Inner circumference 34 Second contact 35 Center top 36 Outer edge 37 Convex piece 38 Connecting part 40 Stem 41 Press operation part 42 Tongue piece 43 Press part 44 Projection part 45 Sliding Support portion 46 Operation surface 47 Invitation portion 50 Cover 51 Top surface portion 52 Locking portion 53 First bent piece 54 Second bent piece

Claims (3)

An opening (13) is provided on one side, and a central contact portion (21) is disposed approximately at the center of the bottom surface (12) of the opening (13), and an outer contact portion is provided around the central contact portion (21). Of the case (10) in which (22, 23) is arranged, the contact (30) having elasticity in which the central top (35) is positioned apart from the center contact portion (21), and the case (10) A stem (40) comprising a pressing operation part (41) projecting outward and a pressing operation and a tongue piece (42) extending in the pressing operation direction continuously to the pressing operation part (41), and an opening (13) And a cover (50) fitted to the case (10). The protrusion (44) is formed on the side surface of the tongue piece (42). Has a convex pressing portion (43) toward the bottom surface (12), and the top surface portion (51) has a pressing portion. The first bent piece (53) and the second bent piece (54) cut and raised toward the bottom surface (12) starting from the operation portion (41) side are spaced apart from each other by the first bent piece ( 53) is formed so as to be positioned almost directly above the central contact portion (21), and the tip of the tongue piece (42) is made to be the first bent piece (53) by a pressing operation to the pressing operation portion (41) from the outside. After the pressing portion (43) presses the contact (30), the protruding portion (44) contacts the second bent piece (54), and the contact (30) further presses the pressing portion (43). A press switch, wherein the switch is turned on by being pressed by the switch. The contact (30) includes an annular first contact (31) and a substantially dome-shaped second contact (34), and the second contact (34) is centered inside the first contact (31). The first contact (31) and the second contact (34) are arranged by matching the lines, and are connected by a plurality of connecting portions (38, 38) arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line. The edge (32) of the one contact (31) is placed on the stepped portion (18) formed on the bottom surface (12), and the connecting portions (38, 38) are separated from the outer contact portions (22, 23). The press switch according to claim 1, wherein The stem (40) has a sliding support portion (45) that surrounds the tongue piece (42) and slides between the sliding surface (14) adjacent to the opening (13) and the top surface portion (51). The press switch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by

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