JP2014160597A - Rotary click mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary click mechanism which is relatively inexpensive, allows size reduction, has smaller sliding portion between metal parts, and can be assembled relatively easily.SOLUTION: A rotary click mechanism comprises: an operation knob which is fastened to one end of a rotary shaft; a cylindrical gear which is fastened close to the other end of the rotary shaft and has wave shapes formed sequentially along the circumferential direction of an inner peripheral surface; a holder which holds, at least on its one end, a spacer formed to engage with the wave shapes of the gear and a coil spring for biasing the spacer; and a support panel to which the holder is attached. In response to the rotation of the gear in conjunction with the rotation of the operation knob, the spacer biased by the coil spring slides on the wave shapes of the gear so as to be engaged with the wave shapes, thereby generating a click feeling.

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary click mechanism, for example, to simplification of a rotary click mechanism provided in an optical rotary encoder used in an operation unit of an electronic device.

  A rotary encoder is widely used as a parameter setting means for digitized electronic devices.

  By the way, when adjusting and setting electronic device parameters by rotating the rotary encoder, for example, in the case of setting continuous values that require fine adjustment, such as offset adjustment and position adjustment of a digital oscilloscope, It is desirable to have a smooth rotational operation feeling without any noise, but in the case of step-like switching such as the measurement sensitivity range or time axis range, an intermittent rotational operation feeling that provides a click feeling corresponding to the step-wise switching setting position Is desirable.

  3A and 3B are configuration explanatory views showing an example of a conventional rotary click mechanism, in which FIG. 3A is a perspective view seen from the front side, FIG. 3B is a perspective view seen from the back side, and FIG. A plan view, (D) is a partial cross-sectional view with the center position along the axial direction of the rotation axis of (A) or (B) as a cut surface.

  In FIG. 3, an operation knob 2 is fixed to one end of the rotary shaft 1, the other end is inserted so as to penetrate the operation panel 3 and the printed circuit board 4, and the end is rotatably supported by the support panel 5. Yes. The printed circuit board 4 is provided with a metal bush 4a for allowing the rotary shaft 1 to pass therethrough.

  A gear 6 is fixed to the rotary shaft 1 between the printed circuit board 4 and the support panel 5. A wave shape 7 is provided on the outer peripheral end face of the gear 6 so as to be continuous along the circumferential direction.

  The support panel 5 has a leaf spring 9 in which a roller 8 that slides and rotates while being fitted to a corrugation 7 provided so as to be continuous along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral end surface of the gear 6 is bent into an L shape. And it is rotatably attached via the rod 9a.

  A rotating plate 10 is fixed to the surface of the gear 6 facing the printed circuit board 4, and the rotating plate 10 is provided with a plurality of L-shaped pieces 11 at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. The printed circuit board 4 has two photointerrupters for detecting the rotation direction in a predetermined positional relationship in which the end portions of the L-shaped pieces 11 sequentially pass through the central portion of the U-shaped groove portion as the rotating plate 10 rotates. 12 and 13 are provided.

  In such a configuration, when the operator rotates the operation knob 2, the roller 8 that is urged and fitted by the leaf spring 9 to the corrugation 7 provided on the outer peripheral end surface of the gear 6 is corrugated. 7 is slidably rotated along 7 and is pushed up to fit into the next corrugation 7 along the rotation direction, generating a click feeling to the operator.

  Patent Document 1 describes a dial mechanism that can adjust the strength of the click feeling by configuring the elastic force of an elastic means that holds the rotational position of the dial to be adjustable.

JP 2008-204022 A

  However, according to the configuration of FIG. 3, all parts other than the operation knob 2 and the photo interrupters 12 and 13 are designed exclusively for the rotary click mechanism, so that there is a problem that the cost of the parts increases.

  In particular, since the leaf spring 9 requires a dedicated bending die and requires an annealing treatment, the processing quality of the leaf spring 9 greatly affects the operability and durability of the entire rotation click mechanism, and the rotation click mechanism. It will also affect the yield.

  Further, since the roller 8 fitted to the corrugation 7 provided on the outer peripheral end face of the gear 6 is configured to be urged by the leaf spring 9, the size becomes relatively large and a wide installation space is required.

  Further, there are many sliding portions of metals that require grease application, such as the rotating shaft 1 and the operation panel 3, the rotating shaft 1 and the bush 4a, the leaf spring 9 and the rod 9a.

  Further, since the roller 8, the leaf spring 9, and the rod 9a are not fixed, there is a problem that the roller 8 is not stable at the time of assembly and workability is poor.

  The present invention solves these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary click mechanism that can be assembled relatively easily with relatively low cost and reduced size, with few sliding parts between metals. There is to do.

In order to achieve such a problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is:
An operation knob fixed to one end of the rotary shaft;
A cylindrical gear fixed to the vicinity of the other end of the rotating shaft and provided with a corrugation so as to be continuous along the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface;
A spacer formed at least at one end so as to fit into the corrugation of the gear, and a holder for holding a coil spring for biasing the spacer inside the gear;
A support panel to which the holder is attached;
A spacer urged by the coil spring according to the rotation of the gear interlocked with the rotation of the operation knob slides on the wave shape of the gear to fit into the wave shape and generate a click feeling. It is the rotation click mechanism characterized.

The invention according to claim 2 is the rotary click mechanism according to claim 1,
The spacer is formed in a ring shape, and is attached to the holder so as to sandwich the coil spring.

The invention according to claim 3 is the rotary click mechanism according to claim 1 or 2,
The holder is detachably attached to the support panel via a latch.

  As a result, it is possible to realize a rotary click mechanism that can be relatively inexpensive and downsized, has few sliding portions between metals, and can be assembled relatively easily.

It is a configuration explanatory view showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is assembly assembly explanatory drawing of the coil spring of FIG. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows an example of the conventional rotation click mechanism.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, where (A) is a perspective view seen from the front side, (B) is a perspective view seen from the back side, and (C) is a plan view of the main part. (D) is a fragmentary sectional view which makes the cut surface the center position along the axial direction of the rotating shaft of (A) or (B).

  In FIG. 1, an operation knob 22 is fixed to one end of the rotary shaft 21, the other end is inserted so as to penetrate the operation panel 23 and the printed circuit board 24, and the end is detachably attached to the support panel 25. The holder 26 is rotatably supported. The printed circuit board 24 is provided with a resin bush 24a for allowing the rotary shaft 21 to pass therethrough.

  In the vicinity of the end portion of the rotating shaft 21 between the printed circuit board 24 and the support panel 25, there is a gear 27 formed in a cylindrical shape so as to contain a holder 26 detachably attached to the support panel 25 via a latch. It is fixed. A wave pattern 28 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the gear 27 so as to be continuous along the circumferential direction.

  2A and 2B are configuration explanatory views showing a specific example of the holder 26 included in the gear 27 in a state of being attached to the support panel 25. FIG. 2A is an exploded configuration diagram, and FIG. 2B is an assembly configuration diagram. The holder 26 is formed with a storage groove 26a for storing the coil spring 29, and mounting pins 26b and 26c for loosely fitting a ring-shaped spacer 30 are provided in the vicinity of both ends of the storage groove 26a. ing.

  Positioning pins 26d to 26g that fit into positioning holes 25a to 25d provided in the support panel 25 are provided in the vicinity of both ends of the wall surface end faces on both sides forming the storage groove 26a. Latch pieces 26h and 26i having flexibility for detachably attaching to mounting holes 25e and 25f provided in the support panel 25 are provided in the outer central portions of the wall surfaces on both sides forming the storage groove 26a. It has been.

  Here, the height of the wall end surfaces on both sides forming the storage groove 26a is formed to be slightly higher than the spacer 30 in the state of loosely fitting to the mounting pins 26b and 26c. Thus, the spacer 30 loosely fitted to the mounting pins 26b and 26c is expanded in the longitudinal direction by the coil spring 29 stored in the storage groove 26a even when the holder 26 is mounted on the support panel 25. Will be energized.

  In FIG. 1 again, a rotating plate 31 is fixed to the surface of the gear 27 facing the printed circuit board 24, and the rotating plate 31 is provided with a plurality of L-shaped pieces 32 at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. The printed circuit board 24 has two photointerrupters for detecting the rotation direction in a predetermined positional relationship in which the end portions of the L-shaped pieces 32 sequentially pass through the central portion of the U-shaped groove portion as the rotating plate 31 rotates. 33 and 34 are provided.

  In such a configuration, the corrugated shape 28 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the gear 27 formed in a cylindrical shape includes pins 26b and 26c near both ends of the holder 26 included in the gear 27 formed in a cylindrical shape. A ring-shaped spacer 30 that is loosely fitted to the coil and biased in a direction to be expanded by the coil spring 29 is fitted.

  When the operator rotates the operation knob 22 in such a state, it is loosely fitted to the pins 26b and 26c in the vicinity of both ends of the holder 26 fitted to the wave pattern 28 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the gear 27. The ring-shaped spacer 30 is pressed in the direction in which the coil spring 29 is compressed by the crest portion of the corrugated 28 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the gear 27 and urged by the coil spring 29 by the trough portion. The release is alternately repeated, and the wave pattern 28 and the spacer 30 are sequentially fitted to generate a click feeling for the operator.

  According to such a configuration, the function of the leaf spring 9 in FIG. 3 can be changed to the coil spring 29, and the roller 8 in FIG. Quality stabilization and cost reduction can be realized.

  Further, the cost can be reduced by eliminating the rod 9a shown in FIG.

  In addition, since the holder 26 in which the coil spring 29 and the spacer 30 are incorporated is housed inside the gear 27 formed in a cylindrical shape, a significant reduction in size can be realized as compared with FIG.

  Moreover, greaselessness can be realized by changing the metal bush 4a of FIG. 3 to a resin bush 24a.

  Further, a coil spring 29 and a spacer 30 can be compactly assembled in the holder 26 with a mechanism equivalent to the click mechanism configured by the support panel 5, the leaf spring 9 and the roller 8 of FIG. Miniaturization can be realized.

  Further, by incorporating the coil spring 29 and the spacer 30 in the holder 26, the holder 26 in which the coil spring 29 and the spacer 30 are incorporated can be handled as independent parts, and the assembly of the rotary click mechanism can be improved.

  In addition, when the spacer 30 is incorporated into the holder 26, pins 26b and 26c are provided on the holder 26 so as to obtain an appropriate position and dimension so that the spacer 30 does not adversely affect the rotation of the gear 27. Since they are fitted, stable rotation of the gear 27 can be obtained.

  In addition, since the holder 26 is configured to be detachable from the support panel 25 via the flexible latch pieces 26h and 26i, the holder 26 can be assembled efficiently.

  Further, according to such a configuration, since the size can be reduced as compared with the conventional rotary click mechanism, more dial mechanisms can be arranged at a narrow pitch when used as a dial mechanism.

  In addition, the distance from the display such as 7 segments can be reduced.

  In addition, since a general-purpose coil spring is used, the spring constant and the like can be changed relatively easily, and the operational feeling can be set according to the user's preference.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a rotary click mechanism that is relatively inexpensive and can be reduced in size, has few sliding portions between metals, and can be assembled relatively easily.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Rotating shaft 22 Operation knob 23 Operation panel 24 Printed circuit board 25 Support panel 26 Holder 27 Gear 28 Wave type 29 Coil spring 30 Spacer

Claims (3)

An operation knob fixed to one end of the rotary shaft;
A cylindrical gear fixed to the vicinity of the other end of the rotating shaft and provided with a corrugation so as to be continuous along the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface;
A spacer formed at least at one end so as to fit into the corrugation of the gear, and a holder for holding a coil spring for biasing the spacer inside the gear;
A support panel to which the holder is attached;
A spacer urged by the coil spring according to the rotation of the gear interlocked with the rotation of the operation knob slides on the wave shape of the gear to fit into the wave shape and generate a click feeling. A featured rotary click mechanism.   The rotary click mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is formed in a ring shape and is attached to the holder so as to sandwich the coil spring.   The rotary click mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the holder is detachably attached to the support panel via a latch.

Images