JP2013120720A - Rotary knob with operation mode identification mechanism of change-over switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary knob with an operation mode identification mechanism of a change-over switch.SOLUTION: A rotary knob comprises: a first notice section (2a) and a second notice section (2b) for indicating a switching status by a change-over switch; a power source section (4) for supplying power to the first and second notice sections; and an opening/closing section that is a switch mechanism for conducting and blocking a current to the first and second notice sections. The opening/closing section comprises: annular, arcuate, disc-like or fan-like passages (14a, 14b) formed around a rotary shaft (12) inside the rotary knob; a conductor belt (16) that comprises two conductors provided on an inner periphery of the passages; and a conductor ball (18) for conducting a current between the two conductors by rolling in the passages with an action of a gravity. The first and second notice sections perform different notice actions according to a rotation angle of the rotary knob.

Description

  The present invention provides a changeover switch that performs switching operation of two kinds of operation modes such as on / off, automatic / manual, release / fixing, etc. by rotating a predetermined angle, weak / medium / strong, stop / slow / speed, Rotation equipped with an operation mode identification mechanism of a changeover switch for enabling easy and reliable identification of the operation mode in a changeover switch that performs a multistage changeover operation such as 0/1/2/3. It relates to the knob.

  Conventionally provided on the operation panel of mechanical devices, by turning the rotary knob manually, a change-over switch or weak / weak switch is used to switch between two operation modes such as on / off, automatic / manual, and release / fixation. A changeover switch (chrysanthemum type switch) that performs a multistage changeover operation such as medium / strong, stop / slow / speed, and 0/1/2/3 is widely used. In general, identification (determination) of the operation mode of the changeover switch is performed by turning on / off, automatic / automatically displaying a triangular mark on the rotary knob of the changeover switch. It was performed by visually observing which of the operation mode indications such as manual, release / fixed, weak / medium / strong, stop / slow / fast, 0/1/2/3, etc.

  However, when it is attempted to visually identify which of the indications on the surface of the operation panel the triangle mark of the rotary knob indicates, the identification may be difficult from a little distance, and the display may be small and misunderstood. In addition, even when the rotation knob is halfway and the switch is not properly switched, it may be difficult to find this.

  In the past, like the operation knob of the following Patent Document 1 shown in FIG. 10, the first member is slid by the action of gravity along with the rotation of the operation knob, and is covered by the first member during normal times. An operation knob or the like has been proposed in which the second member having a color different from that of the first member is exposed so that the second member can be visually recognized from the front of the operation knob and the operation mode can be easily identified. This operation knob has a simple structure, does not require a power source, and has an advantage that it can be widely applied to a rotary switch.

Utility Model Registration No. 3143833

  However, this operation knob requires a space where the first member slides, so that the area of the second member to be exposed is small, and it cannot always be said that sufficient discrimination power is exhibited. Further, when the operation switch has deteriorated over time, the frictional force between the first member and the second member becomes large, and the first member may not be able to slide smoothly.

  In addition, while easy identification of the operation mode is useful for avoiding human errors such as forgetting to return the changeover switch, certainty is essential for the operation of the identification mechanism. Even if the identification itself is not wrong, the operation mode may not be recognized correctly, and such a mistake in recognition of the operation mode may sometimes lead to a serious accident.

  The present invention has been devised to solve the above problem, and it is easy to grasp the state of the changeover switch by providing different notifications according to the rotation angle of the rotary knob, that is, the state of the changeover switch, by two kinds of notification means. In addition, the present invention provides a rotary knob provided with an operation mode identification mechanism for a changeover switch that increases its discrimination power and improves the certainty of determining that the changeover switch is in a desired position.

  In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a rotary knob (1) having an operation mode identification mechanism of a changeover switch (100) that changes an operation mode by rotating it by a predetermined angle. A first notification unit (2a) and a second notification unit (2b) for representing, a power supply unit (4) for supplying power to the first notification unit and the second notification unit, and the first And an opening / closing part that is a switch mechanism for energizing and shutting off the notifying part and the second notifying part, and each of the opening / closing parts is formed in an annular, arcuate shape around the rotating shaft (12) inside the rotary knob. A disc-shaped or fan-shaped passage (14a, 14b), a conductor strip (16) which is a two-conductor provided on the inner periphery of the passage, and the two conductors by rolling in the passage by the action of gravity And a conductive ball (18) for energizing the Serial first notification unit and the second notification unit performs different reporting operation by the rotation angle of the rotary knob, characterized in that.

  The first notification unit (2a) performs a notification operation when the changeover switch (100) is switched to a position other than the localization position, and the second notification unit (2b) 100) is in a position other than the localization position or the non-localization position, the notification operation is performed.

  In addition, it is preferable that the alerting | reporting operation | movement by said 1st alerting | reporting part (2a) and said 2nd alerting | reporting part (2b) is based on light or a sound.

  Here, the change-over switch (100) may switch between two types of operation modes, or the change-over switch (100) switches between three or more types of operation modes, and at least the first mode is switched. You may make it a alerting | reporting part (2a) perform alerting | reporting operation | movement with the light of a different color or a different tone according to an operation mode.

  According to the present invention, when the rotary knob of the changeover switch is rotated by a predetermined angle, the conductor ball rolls in the passage inside the rotary knob due to the action of gravity, and therefore, between the two conductors provided in the annular passage or the like using this conductor ball. It is possible to provide a rotary knob capable of notifying the switching state of the changeover switch with a simple structure by using this as a switch (opening / closing part). Here, two types of notification units for notification are provided, and by performing different notification operations depending on the rotation angle of the rotary knob, it is possible to facilitate grasping of the switching status of the changeover switch and to perform reliable switching. As a result, it is possible to contribute to avoiding the occurrence of human errors such as forgetting to return the changeover switch after inspection work.

  Specifically, for example, when one of the two types of notification units (first notification unit) is switched to a position other than the localization position, the notification operation is performed, and the other one (second notification unit) By making the notification operation) when the changeover switch is in a position other than the localization position or the non-localization position, that is, when the rotation of the rotary knob of the changeover switch is not properly switched, It is possible to grasp the switching status of the changeover switch and perform reliable switching of the changeover switch.

  In addition, the recognition can be facilitated by performing the notification operation by the notification unit with light or sound. For example, if the notification operation by the first notification unit is performed by blinking the LED and the notification operation by the second notification unit is performed by a buzzer sound, forgetting to return the changeover switch after a reliable changeover of the changeover switch and inspection work, etc. It is effective in preventing the above.

  Here, the changeover switch may switch between two types of operation modes such as ON / OFF, automatic / manual, release / fixed, weak / medium / strong, stop / slow / fast, 0 / It may be one that performs a multistage switching operation such as 1/2/3, but in a multistage switching operation, the LED color or the like is changed depending on the operation mode (switching status) of the switch. Thus, it is possible to easily grasp the switching status.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the rotary knob according to the first embodiment. 3 is a perspective view of a rotary knob according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is AA sectional drawing of the rotation knob of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the internal structure of the rotation knob of Example 1. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a rotary knob according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is the figure which showed the mode of the switching operation | movement at the time of rotating a rotation knob, and the state of a circuit. 6 is a front view of a rotary knob of Example 2. FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a rotary knob according to Embodiment 2. FIG. It is the figure which showed the mode of the switching operation | movement at the time of rotating a rotary knob. It is an example of the rotation knob which was conceived as a prior art.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 6 are views showing a rotary knob provided with an operation mode identification mechanism of a changeover switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a perspective view, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the rotary knob, and FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the rotary knob. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a switching operation and a circuit state when the rotary knob is rotated.

The rotary knob 1 is used for a changeover switch 100 that switches two kinds of operation modes such as on / off, automatic / manual, release / fixation, etc. by rotating it by a predetermined angle. Used by being mounted side by side on the vertical operation panel.
In the change-over switch 100 shown in the figure, the position is “OFF” at a position (orientation position) inclined 45 ° from the vertical upward to the left (counterclockwise), and the position inclined 45 ° from the vertical upward to the right (clockwise). The two operation modes of the mechanical device can be switched by rotating 90 ° so as to be “ON” at the (non-localized position).

  The rotary knob 1 includes a substantially circular handle-like rotary knob body 10, a first notification unit 2 a and a second notification unit 2 b, a first notification unit 2 a, A power supply unit 4 that supplies power to the second notification unit 2b, and an opening / closing unit that is a switch mechanism for energizing and shutting off the first notification unit 2a and the second notification unit 2b (see FIG. 4).

The rotary knob body 10 is made of resin and has a cylindrical handle portion 11 having a diameter of about 7 cm and a thickness of slightly over 3 cm, and a normal line from the back side of the display surface 13 at the center position of the handle portion 11. The outer shape is formed from a rotating shaft 12 extending in the direction with a length of about 3 cm. The rotary shaft 12 of the rotary knob body 10 is formed with a deep hole 17 in which a notch is provided in the axial direction. By inserting the shafts of various changeover switches 100 of the operation panel into the deep hole 17, the rotary knob main body is inserted. By using the handle 10 as a handle gripper, the changeover switch 100 can be manually switched.
The handle portion 11 is provided with irregularities for easy gripping at the peripheral portion thereof, and an opening / closing portion and the like to be described later are provided therein. Further, the display surface 13 of the rotary knob 1 is provided with a triangular mark 21 that indicates the notation of the operation mode described on the operation panel surface to which the rotary knob 1 is attached, and a first notification unit that is an LED light source. 2a and the 2nd alerting | reporting part 2b are arrange | positioned.

The first notification unit 2a is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the triangle mark 21 and turns green when the changeover switch 100 is switched from “OFF” at the localization position to “ON” at the non-positioning position by rotating the rotary knob 1 by 90 °. It is blinking.
The second notification unit 2b is arranged in the center of the display surface 13, and the changeover switch 100 is in a position other than “OFF” of the localization position or “ON” of the non-localization position, that is, the rotary knob 1 of the changeover switch 100. If the rotation is halfway and not properly switched, it will flash red.

  An opening / closing unit that is a switch mechanism for causing the first notification unit 2a and the second notification unit 2b to perform a notification operation is interposed between the power supply unit 4 such as a button battery and the notification units 2a and 2b that are LEDs. The first notification unit 2a and the second notification unit 2b are appropriately energized and cut off depending on the rotation angle of the rotary knob 1. As a specific structure of the opening / closing part, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the first passage 14 a and the second passage which are annular spaces formed around the rotation shaft 12 inside the rotary knob 1. The passage 14b, the conductor strip 16 which is a two-strand conductor provided in parallel with a certain interval on the outer wall surface of the inner circumference of each passage, and the two conductors simultaneously contact with each other by rolling in the passage by the action of gravity. It is comprised from the conductor ball | bowl 18 which supplies with electricity between two conductors.

  The first passage 14a is used to perform the notification operation of the first notification unit 2a. The outer wall surface of the inner periphery of the first passage 14a is a portion of the lower side when the rotary knob 1 is in the “position” position. Except for the insulating portion 23 of about 5 mm, the conductor band 16 is exposed and pasted over the entire circumference. That is, two conductors constituting the conductor band 16 are provided on the outer wall surface of the inner periphery of the first passage 14a except for a part thereof, and when the rotary knob 1 is rotated, the conductor ball 18 is first moved by the action of gravity. The part 14a rolls in contact with the two conductors except for the portion of the insulating portion 23.

  The second passage 14b is used to perform the notification operation of the second notification unit 2b, and the outer wall surface of the inner periphery of the second passage 14b is set to “ON” when the rotary knob 1 is in the fixed position and “ON” at the non-localized position. ”, The conductor band 16 is exposed and pasted over the entire circumference except for the insulating portions 23 of 5 mm each on the lower side. That is, two conductors constituting the conductor band 16 are provided on the outer wall surface of the inner periphery of the second passage 14b except for the insulating portion 23, and when the rotary knob 1 rotates, the conductor ball 18 acts by gravity. Thus, the second passage 14b rolls while being in contact with the two conductors except for the portion of the insulating portion 23.

  As shown in the circuit diagram inside the rotary knob in FIG. 5, the two conductors constituting the conductor band 16 of the first passage 14 a are connected to the power supply unit 4 and the first notification unit 2 a through an open / close unit ( The two strip conductors constituting the conductor band 16 of the second passage 14b are connected to the power supply unit 4 and the second notification unit 2b via the open / close unit (second circuit). ) Is formed.

  Next, the operation of the rotary knob 1 of the changeover switch 100 described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the rotary knob 1 is in the stereotaxic position and the triangular mark 21 on the display surface 13 indicates “cut”, the conductor ball 18 is in the insulating portion 23 in the first passage 14a and the second passage 14b. Is located in the part. Therefore, both the first circuit and the second circuit are open circuits, and power is not supplied to the first notification unit 2a and the second notification unit 2b, and the LED does not blink (upper part of FIG. 6). .

  When the rotary knob 1 is rotated 90 ° clockwise from this state so that the triangular mark 21 on the display surface 13 points to “OFF” which is the non-localized position, the conductor ball 18 is rotated along with the rotation of the rotary knob 1. Rolls in the first passage 14a and the second passage 14b so as to be positioned at the lowermost portion of the passage due to the action of gravity. Therefore, when the rotary knob 1 is slightly rotated, the first circuit and the second circuit are closed, and power is supplied to the green LED that is the first notification unit 2a and the red LED that is the second notification unit 2b. These blink (middle in FIG. 6). When the rotary knob 1 is completely rotated 90 ° and the changeover switch 100 is turned to the non-localization position, the first circuit keeps the closed circuit and the green LED as the first notification unit 2a blinks. On the other hand, the second circuit is an open circuit because the conductor ball 18 is located in the portion of the insulating portion 23 in the second passage 14b, and the power to the red LED as the second notification portion 2b is reduced. Supply is cut off and the blinking is extinguished (lower part of FIG. 6).

  That is, when the changeover switch 100 is in the localization position, notification by each notification unit is not particularly performed, and when it is in the non-localization position, only notification by the first notification unit 2a is performed. When the rotation knob 1 is insufficiently rotated or is in the middle of rotation, the notification by the first notification unit 2a and the second notification unit 2b is performed.

  Of course, when the rotary knob 1 is rotated to the opposite side, the above operations are performed in reverse, and the notification operation by the first and second notification units 2a and 2b is performed when the changeover switch 100 is turned to the localization position. Will disappear.

  As described above, the rotary knob 1 according to the present embodiment performs a notification operation based on the rotation angle of the rotary knob 1 by the opening / closing portion using the conductive ball 18, thereby having a simple structure and almost no failure. It is possible to notify the switching state of the change-over switch by the notification units 2a and 2b of the seeds, and to obtain an effect of facilitating the grasping and enabling reliable switching. Further, the rotary knob 1 can be easily replaced with an existing rotary knob attached to the operation panel of the apparatus.

  In the above example, the localization position is set to “OFF” and the non-positioning position is set to “ON”, but other positions are possible, and it is easy to determine that the changeover switch is not in the localization position and is in the non-positioning position. If possible, the rotary knob can be applied to switch between two types of operation modes such as automatic / manual and release / fixation.

FIGS. 7 to 9 are views showing a rotary knob provided with an operation mode identification mechanism for a changeover switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a front view of the rotary knob, and FIG. It is an internal circuit diagram of a knob. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a switching operation when the rotary knob is rotated.
In addition, about the structure which is common in Example 1, the duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

  The external appearance of the rotary knob 1 is not greatly different from that of the first embodiment, but the operation modes by the changeover switch 100 are three types of “stop”, “slow”, and “speed” as shown in FIG. The triangle mark 21 of the display surface 13 is “stopped” at a position (localization position) inclined 60 ° from the vertical upward to the left (counterclockwise), “slow” at the vertical upward position (non-localization position), The operation mode can be switched between three types by rotating the position so as to be “speed” at a position (non-positioning position) inclined 60 ° from the vertical upward to the right (clockwise). The rotation angle is not limited to this.

  The rotary knob 1 is also provided with a first passage 14a and a first notification portion 2a, a second passage 14b and a second notification portion 2b. It is an LED light source that emits color, and the second notification unit 2b is a small speaker that emits a warning buzzer. The first and second passages 14b are not circular, but are arcs having a depression angle of 120 °.

  The first passage 14a is used to perform the notification operation of the first notification unit 2a. The outer wall surface of the inner periphery of the first passage 14a has a lower portion when the rotary knob 1 is "stopped" at the fixed position. Except for about 5 mm, the conductor band 16 is exposed and pasted. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the exposed conductor band 16 forms a separate circuit with the lower portion as a boundary when the rotary knob 1 is “slow” in the non-positioning position, and rotates. When the knob 1 is in the “slow” period after the “stop” is exceeded, the rotating knob 1 is “slow” so that the conductor ball 18 energizes the conductor band 16 and the LED of the first notification unit 2a blinks in blue. The LED of the first notification unit 2a blinks in green when it is in “speed” after exceeding.

  The second passage 14b allows the second notification unit 2b to perform a notification operation. On the outer wall surface of the inner periphery of the second passage 14b, the rotary knob 1 is "stopped" at the fixed position and "slow" "at the non-positioned position". The conductor band 16 is exposed and pasted except for the insulating portions 23 of about 5 mm each in the lower portion at the “speed”. Therefore, except when the operation mode of the changeover switch 100 is one of “stop”, “slow”, and “fast”, the conductor ball 18 energizes between the conductor bands 16 and emits a buzzer sound from the small speaker of the second notification unit 2b. It comes to emit.

  Thus, in the rotary knob of the present embodiment, the same effect as that exhibited by the rotary knob of the first embodiment can be exhibited also in the rotary knob 1 for switching the three types of operation modes. In addition, by applying the above-described technique, it is possible to cause the notification unit to perform various notification operations based on the rotation angle of the operation knob even when there are four or more operation modes.

  It should be noted that the rotary knob provided with the operation mode identification mechanism of the changeover switch of the present invention is not limited to the shape and size of the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, it is possible to provide a single path for rolling the conductor sphere and to provide two conductor bands on the outer peripheral wall surface of the inner circumference.

  The present invention is not limited to a rotary knob of an operation panel of a mechanical device, but can be used for various types of rotary knobs as long as a switching operation or the like is performed by rotating at a predetermined angle in a vertical plane or a slope. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotation knob 2a 1st alerting | reporting part 2b 2nd alerting | reporting part 4 Power supply part 10 Rotation knob main body 11 Handle part 12 Rotating shaft 13 Display surface 14a 1st channel | path 14b 2nd channel | path 16 Conductor band 17 Deep hole 18 Conductor ball 21 Triangular mark 23 Insulation part 100 changeover switch

Claims (5)

A rotary knob (1) provided with an operation mode identification mechanism of a changeover switch (100) for switching an operation mode by rotating a predetermined angle,
A first notification unit (2a) and a second notification unit (2b) for representing a switching state by the changeover switch, and a power supply unit (4) for supplying power to the first notification unit and the second notification unit And an opening / closing unit that is a switch mechanism for energizing / cutting off the first notification unit and the second notification unit,
Each of the opening / closing portions is an annular, arc-shaped, disk-shaped or fan-shaped passage (14a, 14b) formed around the rotation shaft (12) inside the rotary knob, and two conductors provided on the inner periphery of the passage. A conductor band (16), and a conductor ball (18) that energizes between the two conductors by rolling in the passage by the action of gravity,
The rotary knob having an operation mode identification mechanism for a changeover switch, wherein the first notification unit and the second notification unit perform different notification operations depending on a rotation angle of the rotary knob. The first notification unit (2a) performs a notification operation when the changeover switch (100) is switched to a position other than the localization position,
The operation mode of the changeover switch according to claim 1, wherein the second notification unit (2b) performs a notification operation when the changeover switch (100) is in a position other than the localization position or the non-localization position. A rotary knob with an identification mechanism.   The operation mode of the changeover switch according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the notification operation by the first notification unit (2a) and the second notification unit (2b) is performed by light or sound. A rotary knob with an identification mechanism.   4. The rotary knob having an operation mode identification mechanism for a change-over switch according to claim 1, wherein the change-over switch (100) switches between two operation modes.   The changeover switch (100) switches between three or more types of operation modes, and at least the first notification unit (2a) performs a notification operation with light of different colors or different tones according to the operation mode. A rotary knob comprising the operation mode identification mechanism for the changeover switch according to claim 3.