JP2011243479A - Push switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push switch capable of easily dealing with demands of various operating force.SOLUTION: The push switch includes a pressing cap 2 which is made of an elastic material and used for pressing a switch 4 positioned in a switch case 5. In the push switch, the pressing cap 2 has a pressing head 2a and an elastic movable portion 2b extending around the pressing head 2a. The pressing cap 2 is fixed to the switch case 5 with the pressing head 2a and the elastic movable portion 2b exposed from an opening of the switch case 5, and an adjusting member 8 is attached to the elastic movable portion 2b for adjusting the pressing operation force.

Description

  The present invention relates to a push switch that operates a switch disposed in a switch case by pressing an upper portion of a pressing cap made of an elastic material such as rubber.

  Conventionally, as a push switch (push button switch), a push cap that turns on and off the tact switch by being pressed is exposed from the opening of the case, and a skirt portion (thin elastic) is extended from the lower edge of the press cap. The peripheral edge of the part) is fixed to the inner surface of the case opening.

Such a push switch is required to have a different operational feeling depending on the type and application of the switch, and various devices are provided to obtain a predetermined operational feeling.
For example, in Patent Document 1, a base portion that is disposed to face and separate from the pressing operation portion is provided with an elastically deformable dome portion, and a pusher that protrudes toward the pressing operation portion at a position corresponding to the central portion of the dome portion. In the push switch in which the dome part is configured to be elastically deformable via the pusher by pressing the push operation part, the operation force is reinforced by providing an appropriate hard processing part on the surface of the pusher Is disclosed.

Patent Document 2 discloses a push button switch in which an upper surface of a switch body having a push portion protruding upward is covered with an elastic cover, and the push portion is operated by pressing the upper portion of the elastic cover. A protrusion is provided on the inner surface of the elastic cover, and the push part is operated while compressing the protrusion by pressing the upper part of the elastic cover. What is configured as described above is disclosed.
According to such a configuration, since the operation force can be adjusted by changing the shape and size of the convex portion, it is easy to obtain the operation force according to the type and application of the switch.

JP 2008-177155 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-134965

However, in the push switch described in Patent Document 1, the operation force is reinforced by providing a hard processing portion made of a film such as an ultraviolet curable resin on the surface of the pusher provided inside the push switch. After the push switch is assembled, the operating force can no longer be adjusted.
Further, in the push switch described in Patent Document 2, since the operating force is adjusted by changing the shape and size of the convex portion provided on the inner surface of the elastic cover, this is also after the push switch is assembled. The operating force can no longer be adjusted.

  In addition, since the push switches described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 use different pushers and elastic covers depending on the required operating force, these members are shared by push switches having different operating forces. I can't.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a push switch that can easily cope with different operating force requirements while sharing main body parts.

The present invention made to achieve the above object is a push switch including a pressing cap made of an elastic material for pressing a switch disposed in a switch case.
The pressing cap includes a pressing head and an elastic movable portion extending around the pressing head, and the switch is exposed in a state where the pressing head and the elastic movable portion are exposed from an opening of the switch case. Fixed to the case,
An adjustment member for adjusting a pressing operation force is added to the elastic movable portion.
In the push switch of the present invention, it is preferable to use a ring-shaped soft member as the adjustment member.

  According to the present invention, after the push switch body is assembled, an adjustment member for adjusting the pressing operation force can be added to the outside of the push switch, so that it is easy to meet different operating force demands while sharing the push switch body. Can respond.

It is a figure which shows the push switch which concerns on the 1st Example of this invention, (a) is a side view, (b) is AA sectional drawing in (a). It is sectional drawing which shows the adjustment member used for the push switch of FIG. It is a side view of the push switch which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the push switch which concerns on the 2nd Example of this invention, (a) is a side view, (b) is BB sectional drawing in (a).

  Next, an embodiment of the push switch of the present invention will be described.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a push switch according to this example, FIG. 1 (a) is a side view of the push switch, and FIG. 1 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1 (a).
In FIG. 1, 1 is a push switch, 2 is a pressing cap, 3 is a switch board, 4 is a switch, 5 is a switch case, 6 is a stopper, 7 is a filler, and 8 is an adjusting member.

  The push switch 1 of this example operates the switch 4 disposed in the switch case 5 by pressing the pressing cap 2 downward with a finger or the like, for example, a vehicle door handle device or the like (not shown). The door can be locked or unlocked by attaching to the opening.

  The pressing cap 2 is integrally formed of a soft resin having elasticity such as rubber, and is a pressing head 2a that is a pressed portion, an elastic movable portion 2b that extends around the pressing head 2a, and a pressing head. It consists of a substantially cylindrical pressing protrusion 2c projecting downward from 2a and a fixed portion 2d extending from the elastic movable portion 2b. The lower surface of the fixed portion 2d is opened. A stepped portion 2e is formed in the fixed portion 2d.

The switch substrate 3 is mounted inside the stepped portion 2e of the pressing cap 2.
A switch 4 is disposed on the switch board 3. The switch 4 includes a main body portion 4a and an operation portion 4b that faces the pressing projection portion 2c. The operation part 4b protrudes from the main body part 4a and is movable in the vertical direction of the drawing, and is urged upward in the drawing by an elastic member (not shown) in the main body part 4a.
When the operation portion 4b is pressed downward by the pressing protrusion 2c, the switch is turned on, and a signal is transmitted to the outside by a lead wire (not shown) through a connection terminal (not shown) fixed to the switch substrate 3.

The switch case 5 is formed of a hard resin into a cylindrical shape, and has a flange portion 5a protruding to the entire inner periphery and a plurality of locking protrusions 5b.
The pressing cap 2 is fixed to the switch case 5 with the stepped portion 2e of the fixing portion 2d engaged with the lower side of the flange portion 5a and the pressing head portion 2a and the elastic movable portion 2b exposed from the opening of the switch case 5. ing.

The stopper 6 is formed of a hard resin and is for fixing the switch substrate 3 in the pressing cap 2.
The stopper 6 is press-fitted into the pressing cap 2 from the lower surface of the switch substrate 3 and is locked to the locking protrusion 5 b of the switch case 5.
After the stopper 6 is mounted, the filler 7 is filled from the lower surface of the stopper 6 to improve the waterproof property.

The adjusting member 8 is a member for adjusting the pressing operation force applied to the pressing head 2a required when the switch 4 is turned on.
The adjustment member 8 of this example is formed in a ring shape with a soft resin having elasticity such as rubber like the pressing cap 2, and is adhered to the periphery of the elastic movable portion 2 b protruding from the opening of the switch case 5. Or fixed by press-fitting.

Next, the assembly procedure of the push switch 1 of this example is demonstrated easily.
First, a lead wire (not shown) is soldered to the switch substrate 3 to which the switch 4 is attached to form a switch substrate assembly.
On the other hand, the fixing portion 2d of the pressing cap 2 is inserted into the switch case 5, and the flange portion 5a of the switch case and the step portion 2e are engaged to form a case assembly.
The switch board assembly is attached to the opening of the fixing portion 2d of the case assembly.
The stopper 6 is inserted from the lower surface opening of the switch case 5 and is locked by the locking protrusion 5b. When the filler 7 is applied into the lower surface opening of the switch case 5 by the dispenser and the filler is cured, the push switch body is completed.
Finally, an appropriate adjusting member 8 is adhered to adjust the pressing operation force.

In the push switch 1 of the present example having the above configuration, when the pressing head 2a of the pressing cap 2 is pressed with a finger or the like, the elastic movable portion 2b protruding from the switch case 5 is elastically deformed. As a result, the pressing protrusion 2c pushes down the operating portion 4b, and the switch 4 is turned on.
Further, when the operation force is removed from the switch-on state, the elastic movable portion 2b is elastically restored, the pressing projection 2c and the operation portion 4b are returned to the initial positions, the switch is turned off, and the operation can be repeated thereafter. .

The pressing operation force applied to the pressing head 2a required when the switch is turned on can also be changed by changing the shape of the elastic movable portion 2b of the pressing cap 2, the specification of the switch 4, and the like.
However, when the pressing operation force is adjusted according to the shape of the pressing cap 2 or the specification of the switch 4, as described above, the pressing operation force can no longer be adjusted after the push switch is assembled. These push caps and switches cannot be shared by push switches having different pressing operation forces.

  On the other hand, when the pressing operation force is adjusted by the adjusting member 8 as in this example, the adjusting member 8 can be added after the push switch body is assembled, so that the pressing operation force can be easily adjusted. At the same time, the push switch main body (all parts other than the adjustment member 8) can be shared.

The adjustment of the pressing operation force by the adjusting member 8 can be easily performed by changing the height H and the thickness T of the adjusting member 8 shown in FIG. it can.
Specifically, for example, when the pressing operation force is slightly insufficient in a state where there is no adjustment member, an adjustment member that is thin and short may be used. Further, when the pressing operation force is not sufficient in the absence of the adjustment member, a relatively thick and tall adjustment member may be used.

In addition, although the ring-shaped thing was demonstrated as the adjustment member 8 in this example, a flat thing can also be used, for example.
When using a flat adjustment member, it is preferable to arrange a plurality of adjustment members 9 symmetrically around the elastic movable portion 2b, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, so that the pressing force does not change greatly in the pressing direction. .

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 shows a push switch according to this example, FIG. 4 (a) is a side view of the push switch, and FIG. 4 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4 (a).
4, members corresponding to the respective members of the push switch in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

The main difference between this example and the first embodiment is:
(1) The first embodiment uses a square switch case, whereas the present embodiment uses a cylindrical switch case.
(2) In the pressing cap 2 of the first embodiment, the elastic movable part 2b extends downward from the lower edge of the pressing head 2a, whereas the pressing cap 2 in this example has an elastic movable part. The point that 2b extends in the horizontal direction from the pressing head 2a,
(3) The adjustment member 8 of the first embodiment is cylindrical, whereas the adjustment member 8 of this example is a flat ring shape.

The adjustment member 8 of this example is fixed to the upper surface of the elastic movable portion 2b exposed from the opening of the switch case 5 by adhesion.
Also in this example, since the adjustment member 8 can be added after the push switch body is assembled, the push operation force can be easily adjusted and the push switch body ( All parts other than the adjusting member 8) can be shared.

  The adjustment of the pressing operation force by the adjusting member 8 of this example can be easily performed by changing the inner diameter, the outer diameter, and the thickness of the adjusting member 8, for example, in addition to using materials having different elastic coefficients. .

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and appropriate modifications, addition / deletion of parts, and the like can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Needless to say, you can.

  For example, when the switch case 5 has a structure capable of fixing the switch substrate 3, the stopper 6 is not necessarily required. Further, the filler 7 is not necessarily required if the waterproofness of the switch is secured by another means. Further, the switch 4 can be of any structure.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Push switch 2 Press cap 2a Press head 2b Elastic movable part 2c Press projection part 2d Fixing part 2e Step part 3 Switch board 4 Switch 4a Main body part 4b Operation part 5 Switch case 5a Eave part 5b Locking protrusion 6 Stopper 7 Filler 8, 9 Adjustment member

Claims (2)

In a push switch having a pressing cap made of an elastic material for pressing a switch arranged in the switch case,
The pressing cap includes a pressing head and an elastic movable portion extending around the pressing head, and the switch is exposed in a state where the pressing head and the elastic movable portion are exposed from an opening of the switch case. Fixed to the case,
A push switch, wherein an adjustment member for adjusting a pressing operation force is added to the elastic movable portion. The push switch according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment member is a ring-shaped soft member.

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