JP2020098738A - Push button switch device and electronic apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a push button switch device to be used for a frame of an electronic apparatus and, particularly, a push button switch device in which an operation body exposed from a hole of a panel member is appropriately centered and smoothly acts in response to a user's operation.SOLUTION: A push button switch device comprises: a panel member including a position regulation rib that is provided at a hole edge part to regulate an operation body to a predetermined position; and the operation body including a trunk part having a pressing surface and a plurality of leg parts that are provided so as to extend from the trunk part to another end side to abut on a board or the position regulation rib. The plurality of leg parts include: a plurality of first leg parts that cause elastic force on the board in a direction in which an actuator of a pressing switch element moves; and a plurality of second leg parts that cause elastic force on the position regulation rib in a direction approximately orthogonal to a direction in which the actuator moves.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a push button switch device used in a housing of an electronic device, and more particularly, to a push button switch device in which an operating body exposed from a hole of a panel member is properly centered and a user operation is performed smoothly. And an electronic device using the same.

In electronic equipment such as audio equipment, there are cases in which a panel member constituting the housing is provided with a hole, and a push button switch device for pressing the operating body exposed from the hole to the user is provided. The push button switch device operates a switch such as a tact switch to which contacts are connected by pressing the operating body. The switch is arranged on a substrate fixed to the back side of the panel member.

It is preferable that the operating body of the push button switch device is appropriately centered with respect to the hole of the panel member, that is, the gap between the panel member and the operating body is uniform, from the viewpoint of aesthetics and good operation of operation. The operation body of the push button switch device may be referred to as a knob, a knob, or the like.

The operation body of the push button switch device may be operably supported via, for example, a hinge integrally extending from a resin base body. In that case, centering of the panel member with respect to the hole or positioning to the initial operating position depends on the dimensional accuracy of the flexible hinge portion. Due to factors such as floating, there is a problem in that the gap between the push button, which is the operating body, and the hole in the panel member is not uniform. In addition, if the design is designed so that the gap between the operating body and other parts is small in pursuit of aesthetics or feeling of operation, the panel member and the operating body may interfere with each other due to variations in dimensional accuracy, making it impossible to operate. There's a problem.

Further, there are cases where a hinge is not used for the operating body of the push button switch device. For example, conventionally, an outer shell having an opening, a push button loosely fitted in the opening, and a substrate and a switch disposed inside the opening of the outer shell are provided. A plurality of projecting pieces (A, A) are provided from the inner peripheral edge toward the inside of the outer shell, and the engaging claws (a, a) projecting toward the center of the opening at the tip of the projecting pieces (A, A). a) is provided, a plate-shaped projecting piece (B, B) is provided from the outer peripheral wall of the push button so as to face the projecting piece (A, A), and the tip of the projecting piece (B, B) is provided. There is a switch push button device characterized in that an engaging claw (b, b) protruding toward the engaging claw (a, a) side is provided (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-10-214536

However, when the hinge is not used, there is a problem that the operation body of the push button switch device becomes unstable and it may be difficult to properly center the operation member with respect to the hole of the panel member. In the case of Patent Document 1, the cover or the decorative plate 14, which is a separate component that covers the outer shell 10 that holds the push button 30 in a loosely fitted state, is viewed externally, so that the accuracy with respect to the opening 11 of the plate 14 is improved. Good centering becomes difficult.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the above-described prior art, and its object is a push-button switch device used for a housing of an electronic device, and in particular, an operation exposed from a hole of a panel member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a push button switch device in which the body is properly centered and which operates smoothly in response to a user operation.

The push button switch device of the present invention includes a panel member having a hole edge portion defining a hole, a substrate fixed to the back surface side of the panel member, a pressing surface on one end side exposed from the hole, and the other end. A push button switch device comprising: a switch protruding portion on the side of the operating body for pressing a pressing switch element disposed on a substrate; and a panel member provided at an edge of the hole to position the operating body at a predetermined position. The operating body has a body portion having a pressing surface, and a plurality of leg portions extending from the body portion to the other end side and abutting the substrate or the position regulating ribs. , A plurality of legs in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the actuator moves with respect to the position regulating rib and a plurality of first legs that generate elastic force in the direction in which the actuator of the pressure switch element moves with respect to the substrate. A plurality of second legs that generate an elastic force.

Preferably, in the push button switch device of the present invention, the position regulating rib of the panel member is formed at the hole edge portion as a cylindrical body that is coaxially defined by the central axis of the hole, and the cylindrical body is formed of the operating body. It has at least an end surface of a cylinder having a recess through which the first leg passes and an inner wall surface of the cylinder with which the second leg of the operating body abuts.

Further, preferably, in the push button switch device of the present invention, the plurality of first leg portions or second leg portions of the operating body are separated from each other at equal intervals in the circumferential direction about the central axis, respectively, and the body portion. To the outer peripheral direction.

Further, preferably, in the push button switch device of the present invention, the first leg portion and the second leg portion of the operating body are arranged so as to alternately appear with being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction about the central axis. There is.

Further, preferably, in the push button switch device of the present invention, the operating body is provided with a protrusion restricting portion that abuts the hole edge portion of the panel member when the operating body is extended in the outer peripheral direction from the body portion and the pressing surface is not pressed. Have more.

Further, preferably, in the push button switch device of the present invention, the switch projection portion of the operating body extends from the body portion to the other end side so as to include the central axis.

An electronic device of the present invention includes the push button switch device described above.

The operation of the present invention will be described below.

The push button switch device of the present invention includes a panel member having a hole edge portion defining a hole, a substrate fixed to the back surface side of the panel member, a pressing surface on one end side exposed from the hole, and the other end. And an operating body that presses a pressing switch element that is disposed on the substrate. The panel member has a position regulating rib that is provided at the edge of the hole and that regulates the operating body to a predetermined position. The operating body has a body portion having a pressing surface and a body portion extending from the body portion to the other end side. A plurality of legs that come into contact with the position regulating ribs. An electronic device of the present invention includes the push button switch device described above.

Here, the plurality of legs of the operating body include a plurality of first legs that generate an elastic force in a direction in which the actuator of the pressing switch element moves with respect to the substrate, and a direction in which the actuator moves in relation to the position regulating rib. A plurality of second leg portions that generate elastic force in a substantially orthogonal direction. The first leg portion or the second leg portion extends in the outer peripheral direction from the body portion while being spaced apart from each other at equal intervals in the circumferential direction about the central axis. As a result, the operation body operates smoothly with respect to the user's operation, and the operating body exposed from the hole of the panel member is properly centered.

The position regulating rib of the panel member is formed at the hole edge portion as a cylindrical body that is coaxially defined by the central axis of the hole, and the cylindrical body has a cylindrical end surface having a recess through which the first leg of the operating body passes. And an inner wall surface of the cylinder with which the second leg of the operating body abuts. Since the first leg of the operating body can secure a larger dimension than the position regulating rib, there is an advantage that the operating body can operate stably even without using a hinge.

Further, it is preferable that the first leg portion and the second leg portion of the operating body are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction about the central axis and appear alternately. The gap between the hole of the panel member and the operation body becomes uniform, so that the electronic device has an excellent appearance. When the operating body further has a protrusion restricting portion that extends in the outer peripheral direction from the body portion and contacts the hole edge portion of the panel member when the pressing surface is not pressed, the protruding size of the operating body is stabilized. There are advantages.

In the push button switch device of the present invention, the operating body exposed from the hole of the panel member is properly centered and operates smoothly with respect to the user's operation.

It is a figure explaining the internal structure of the push button switch device by a preferable embodiment of the present invention. (Example 1) It is a figure explaining the panel member which comprises the pushbutton switch apparatus by the preferable embodiment of this invention. (Example 1) It is a figure explaining the operation body which comprises the push button switch device by a preferable embodiment of the present invention. (Example 1)

Hereinafter, a push button switch device and electronic devices including the push button switch device according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an electronic device including a push button switch device 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 1(a) is a front view, FIG. 1(b) is an AA sectional view, and FIG. 1(c) is a BB sectional view. The electronic device (not shown) of the present embodiment is an audio device having a rectangular parallelepiped casing and a panel member 2 constituting a substantially rectangular flat plate-shaped front panel. In FIG. Only the part is illustrated.

2 and 3 are views for explaining the panel member 2 and the operating body 3 which constitute the push button switch device 1 of this embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the panel member 2 viewed from the back side. Further, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the operating body 3 viewed from the front side. It should be noted that, in the following, illustration and description of configurations unnecessary for the description of the present invention are omitted. Of course, the form of the electronic device including the push button switch device 1 is not limited to the case of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the push button switch device 1, an operation body 3 that a user operates with a finger in the Z-axis direction, which is the central axis, is arranged on the panel member 2. The operation body 3 operates the tact switch 5 arranged on the substrate 4 fixed to the back side of the panel member 2 inside the housing.

In the push button switch device 1, when the user pushes the operating body 3 which is the push button with the finger in the Z-axis direction, the switch protrusion 35 of the operating body 3 pushes the operator of the tact switch 5 which is the pressing switch element. , (Not shown) are connected. Further, when the user releases the finger from the operating body 3, the operating body 3 returns to the initial operation position shown in FIG. 1, and the contact of the tact switch 5 is brought into a non-connection state.

The operation body 3 projects from the hole 21 of the panel member 2 so that the pressing surface 31 is exposed to the front side, and a gap 10 is formed between the panel member 2 and the operation body 3. It is preferable that the gap 10 is substantially uniform in the circumferential direction from the viewpoint of aesthetics and good operation, and in that case, the operating body 3 is properly centered with respect to the hole 21 of the panel member 2. Become.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operating body 3 made of resin has a substantially cylindrical body portion 30. The body portion 30 of the operation body 3 has a pressing surface 31 on one end side thereof and a plurality of leg portions 33 and 34 extending on the other end side. In the case of the present embodiment, the protrusion restricting portion 32 is formed as a step portion having a diameter larger than that of the pressing surface 31. When the pressing surface 31 of the operating body 3 is not pressed, the protrusion restricting portion 32 contacts the hole edge portion 22 of the panel member 2 and restricts the pressing surface 31 from further protruding to the front surface side. Although not shown hidden in FIG. 3, the switch protrusion 35 extends from the body portion 30 to the other end side so as to include the central axis Z.

In the operating body 3, the plurality of leg portions 33 and 34 start to extend from the protrusion restricting portion 32 of the body portion 30 to the outer peripheral side. The plurality of first leg portions 34 and the second leg portions 33 are extended from the body portion 30 to the other end side and respectively come into contact with the position regulating ribs 23 of the substrate 4 or the panel member 2 described later. In this embodiment, the five first leg portions 34 and the five second leg portions 33 are alternately arranged at equal intervals (36 degrees) in the circumferential direction about the Z axis which is the central axis. Each of them is separated from each other so as to appear, and extends from the body portion 30 in the outer peripheral direction.

The first leg portion 34 and the second leg portion 33 of the present embodiment are leg portions that are formed into a shape that is bent into a dog leg shape so as to have elastic force. However, the shapes of the first leg portion 34 and the second leg portion 33 are slightly different from each other on the other end side. The first leg portion 34 includes a contact surface that extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the Z axis so that an elastic force can be generated in the Z axis direction in which the actuator of the tact switch 5 moves with respect to the substrate 4. A folded portion is formed. On the other hand, the second leg portion 33 has an end portion so as to generate an elastic force with respect to the position regulating rib 23 of the panel member 2 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the Z-axis direction in which the actuator of the tact switch 5 moves. Is formed with a contact surface that spreads in a direction parallel to the Z axis, and a folded portion such as the first leg portion 34 is not formed.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the panel member 2 made of resin has a circular hole 21 formed in a planar base body 20 which serves as a front panel of the housing. Further, on the back surface side of the panel member 2, a board fixing portion 24 for fixing the board 4 to which the tact switch 5 is attached is provided. In this embodiment, the board fixing portion 24 is a boss provided at four places, and the board 4 is fixed by screws (not shown). As a result, in the tact switch 5, the actuator is arranged on the Z axis, which is the central axis of the circular hole 21, and the actuator moves in the Z axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the hole edge portion 22 that defines the hole 21 of the panel member 2 is provided with a position restricting rib 23 that restricts the operation body 3 to a predetermined position on the back side of the panel member 2. To be The position regulating rib 23 is formed in the hole edge portion 22 as a cylindrical body that is defined coaxially with the Z axis that is the central axis of the hole 21. The position regulating rib 23 has a cylindrical end surface 23a as an end surface of the protruding cylindrical body. In addition, a concave portion 23b through which the first leg portion 34 of the operating body 30 passes is formed on the cylinder end surface 23a. Further, the position regulating rib 23 is formed with a cylinder inner wall surface 23c as an inner wall surface with which the second leg portion 33 of the operating body 30 abuts.

In this push button switch device 1, the operating body 3 is provided with a plurality of second leg portions 33 that extend in the outer peripheral direction from the body portion 30 so as to be spaced apart from each other at equal intervals in the peripheral direction about the Z axis. Therefore, each second leg portion 33 produces an elastic force with respect to the in-cylinder wall surface 23c of the position regulating rib 23 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the Z-axis direction. That is, the elastic force exerted by each of the second leg portions 33 is balanced toward the Z axis, which is the center point, or in the radial direction of the outer circumference.

As a result, the gap 10 between the panel member 2 and the operating body 3 becomes substantially uniform in the circumferential direction, and the operating body 3 is properly centered in the hole 21 of the panel member 2. The electronic device including the push button switch device 1 has an improved aesthetic appearance when viewed from the front. Even if there is a variation in the elastic force due to the tolerance dimension in the plurality of second leg portions 33, it is possible to cancel each other out and minimize the effect.

In the push button switch device 1, the operating body 3 includes a plurality of first leg portions 34 extending in the outer peripheral direction from the body portion 30 so as to be spaced apart from each other at equal intervals in the peripheral direction about the Z axis. Therefore, each first leg portion 34 produces an elastic force with respect to the substrate 4 in the Z-axis direction. That is, the elastic force exerted by each of the first legs 34 is balanced in the direction in which the pressing surface 31 projects toward the front side along the Z axis or in the direction in which the actuator of the tact switch 5 is pushed. Each of the plurality of first leg portions 34 passes through the recessed portion 23b formed in the cylindrical end surface 23a of the position regulating rib 2, and the ends thereof contact the substrate 4 outside the position regulating rib 2.

As a result, the operating body 3 of the push button switch device 1 that is properly centered can be smoothly moved in the direction of the central axis Z in response to a user operation. Since the operating point of the first leg portion 34 of the operating body 30 with respect to the substrate 4 can secure a dimension substantially equal to or larger than the diameter of the position regulating rib 23, the operating body 3 can operate stably. There are advantages. Even if there is a variation in the elastic force due to the tolerance dimension in the plurality of first leg portions 34, it is possible to cancel each other out and minimize the influence thereof.

In the push button switch device 1 of the present embodiment, at least a problem that the panel member and the operating body interfere with each other and cannot operate due to variation in dimensional accuracy is prevented. As a result, in the push button switch device 1, although the hinge is not used for supporting and operating the operating body 3, the aesthetic appearance or the operation feeling of the electronic device is further pursued, and the gap 10 between the panel member 2 and the operating body 3 is pursued. However, a design that can be made smaller than before is possible.

The form of the operating body 3 of the push button switch device 1 is not limited to the case of the present embodiment as shown in FIG. For example, if the number of the plurality of first leg portions 34 and the number of the second leg portions 33 are each 3 or more, the operating body 30 exposed from the hole 21 of the panel member 2 is appropriately centered, and It can be made to operate smoothly with respect to the user operation. The number of the plurality of first leg portions 34 and the plurality of second leg portions 33 may be different, for example, set to 8 and 4, respectively.

Further, the form of the operating body 3 of the push button switch device 1 is not limited to the body portion 30 having a substantially cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. For example, when the hole 21 of the panel member 2 is rectangular, the body portion 30 and the pressing surface 21 may have a rectangular shape corresponding to the shape of the hole 21. Regardless of the shape of the body portion 30, the first leg portion 34 or the second leg portion 33 is extended from the body portion 30 in the outer peripheral direction with being spaced apart from each other at equal intervals in the circumferential direction about the central axis. By doing so, the operation body 30 exposed from the hole of the panel member can be smoothly operated and properly centered in response to a user operation.

The push button switch device of the present invention is not limited to stationary electronic devices such as audio devices, but may be applied to button switches attached to the housing of small portable electronic devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 push button switch device 2 panel member 3 operation body 4 substrate 5 tact switch 10 gap 20 base body 21 hole 22 hole edge portion 23 position regulating rib 23a cylinder end face 23b recess 23c cylinder inner wall surface 30 body portion 31 pressing surface 32 protrusion regulating portion 33 Second leg 34 First leg 35 Switch protrusion

Claims (7)

A panel member having a hole edge portion that defines a hole, a substrate fixed to the rear surface side of the panel member, a pressing surface on one end side is exposed from the hole, and a switch projection portion on the other end side is A push button switch device comprising: an operating body that pushes a push switch element disposed on a substrate;
The panel member has a position regulating rib which is provided at the edge portion of the hole and regulates the operating body at a predetermined position,
The operating body has a body portion having the pressing surface, and a plurality of legs extending from the body portion to the other end side and abutting on the substrate or the position regulating rib,
A plurality of first leg portions that generate elastic force in a direction in which the operator of the pressure switch element moves with respect to the substrate; and a plurality of leg portions in a direction in which the operator moves with respect to the position regulating ribs. A plurality of second leg portions that generate elastic force in a substantially orthogonal direction,
Push button switch device. The position regulating rib of the panel member is formed at the hole edge portion as a cylindrical body that is coaxially defined by the central axis of the hole, and the cylindrical body is the first leg portion of the operating body. At least an end surface of a cylinder having a recess for passing therethrough and an inner wall surface of the cylinder with which the second leg of the operating body abuts,
The push button switch device according to claim 1. A plurality of the first leg portions or the second leg portions of the operation body are extended in the outer peripheral direction from the body portion while being separated from each other at equal intervals in the circumferential direction about the central axis. ,
The push button switch device according to claim 2. The first leg portion and the second leg portion of the operating body are arranged so as to alternately appear with being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction about the central axis.
The push button switch device according to claim 2 or 3. The operation body further has a protrusion restricting portion that extends in the outer peripheral direction from the body portion and contacts the hole edge portion of the panel member when the pressing surface is not pressed,
The push button switch device according to claim 1. The switch protrusion of the operating body is extended from the body to the other end side so as to include the central axis.
The push button switch device according to claim 1. An electronic device comprising the push button switch device according to claim 1.