JP2598647B2 - 4-point push button switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to a four-point push button switch that can be operated in a specific operation sequence.

[Prior art]

When operating a machine tool or the like, a specific operation order may be required. For example, there is the following example in the above machine tool. This is for the purpose of tool change. (1) Tool change preparation operation ... Stopping the machine tool (2) Tool change work operation ... Prohibition of operation (3) Operation restart preparation operation ... Prohibition (4) Operation restart operation ... Restart operation Conventionally, this operation was performed using four pushbutton switches.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional method, it is necessary for the operator to remember the operation sequence of the push button switches, and there is a risk of erroneous operation. Therefore, an electric interlock was formed in a circuit, and measures were taken to prevent danger etc. even if the operation order of the push button switches was mistaken, but there was a disadvantage that the circuit became complicated. . Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a four-point pushbutton switch in which the pushbutton switches can be operated only in a specific order and the operation order is secured by the pushbutton switches themselves. It is.

[Means for solving the problems]

In order to achieve the above object, a four-point push button switch according to the present invention is provided with four push rods each having a push button provided on a head thereof, each of which is pushably mounted together with a return spring, and two push rods are paired with each other. An operation unit, a latch mechanism for interlocking the operation units forming a pair and unlocking one of the operation units locked in a pushed state by a pressing operation of the other operation unit, and straddling the four operation units The push rod tip is rotatably supported at the center of the base, and is urged by a spring in one direction. A lever having one or both of an inclined surface and a flat surface that interferes with the leg portion, wherein the inclined surface rotates the lever against the spring when pressed by the leg portion, The flat surface is The lever has an action of preventing the push rod from being pushed when hit, and the lever can perform a pressing operation of the operation unit where the inclined surface interferes with the leg at each rotation position, but the flat surface is The pressing operation of the operation unit that interferes with the leg unit cannot be performed. When configuring such a four-point pushbutton switch,
Two units that are already unitized as two-point latch type push button switches can be used. Further, the latch mechanism interlocked between the paired operation units is provided with two lock plates attached to push rods of the paired operation units and having engagement portions formed on two opposing sides, respectively. A frame provided between the operation portion and the base so as to straddle between the operation portions, and two frames are alternately combined and slidably housed in this frame by being biased by springs in a direction approaching each other; If the lock plate is composed of two latch levers each having two engaging portions cooperating with the engaging portion on the same side of the lock plate, reliable operation can be achieved with a simple configuration. can get. Further, if one of the paired operation units is a lock-only operation unit to which the contact unit is attached, and the other is an automatic return-type lock release-only operation unit, the control including operation and stop as exemplified at the beginning can be performed. It will be suitable. Furthermore, when the two push buttons are pressed simultaneously, an engagement projection is provided at the tip of the arm of the lever to prevent the push of any of the push buttons and prevent simultaneous closing or release. It is more effective if the operation order is secured.

[Operation]

According to the present invention, since the operation sequence of the four push-button switches is mechanically specified, the operation sequence is secured by the four-point push-button switch itself, and it is necessary to take measures against erroneous operation by a complicated circuit configuration. Absent.

【Example】

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a four-point push button switch according to the present invention. This four-point push button switch has four operation units.
1, 2, 3, and 4 (these operation units have the same configuration, but are assigned different reference numerals for convenience of the following description). 1,2,3,4
Of these, the operation units 1 and 4 and the operation units 2 and 3 are each paired as a two-point latch type push button switch. That is, the four-point push button switch of the illustrated embodiment is configured by using two two-point latch type push button switches 5 and 6 having the same configuration. , 6 are attached to and integrated with a base 7 that straddles the four operation units 1, 2, 3, 4. In addition, 9 and 10 are contact portions connected to the operation units 3 and 4, respectively. Therefore, first, a two-point latch type push button switch will be described. FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the above-mentioned two-point latch type push button switch 5, in which operating parts are provided at both ends of the latch mechanism 8, respectively.
1,4 are attached. This attachment is performed by engaging the engagement window 11a of the main body case 11 such as the operation unit 1 with the frame 1 of the latch mechanism 8.
This is due to the engagement with the two engagement projections 12a. Hereinafter, the configuration of the two-point latch type push button switch 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The main body case 11 of the operation units 1 and 2 is a box-shaped body in which an end portion and a bottom portion opposite to the operation unit forming a pair are open, and a cylindrical portion 11b having a thread on an outer periphery is integrally formed at an upper portion. And two pairs of engaging legs 11c and 11d on the side wall (FIG. 2)
Are integrally formed. A push rod 13 is attached to the operation units 1 and 2 so as to be able to be pushed. The push rod 13 has a cylindrical shape, is provided with a push button 14 on its head, and has two legs 15 and 16 formed integrally at the ends thereof so as to face each other. The push rod 13 is inserted into the main body case 11 of the operation units 1 and 2 through the cylindrical portion 11b.
A return spring 17 is interposed between the two. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the return spring 17 is held between the flange portion slightly left inside the cylindrical portion 11b and the stepped portion outside the push rod 13, and the return force is applied to the push rod 13 to be pushed in. Is to give. A lock plate 18, which also serves as a part of the latch mechanism 8, is attached to the body of the push rod 13 inserted into the main body case 11, also serving as a stopper. The mounting of this lock plate 18
The resilient engagement between the claw on the push rod 13 side and the groove on the lock plate 18 side makes it easy to attach and detach to change the fitting direction for the purpose described later. As shown in detail in FIG. 5, the lock plate 18 has engaging portions 18a formed on two opposing sides. This engagement portion 18a
The legs 15, 16 of the push rod 13 are inclined surfaces (fourth
Figure). Further, both corners on one side of the lock plate 18 are cut out as shown in FIG.
Make up b. Reference numeral 20 denotes a ring nut surrounding the push button 14, which is screwed into the cylindrical portion 11b to prevent water or the like from entering.
The push button switch 5 is fixed to the board by sandwiching the panel 22 between the two. Frame 1 of latch mechanism 8 to which operation units 1 and 4 are attached
Reference numeral 2 in FIG. 4 denotes a rectangular parallelepiped box having the operation parts 1 and 4 side open, and a hole through which the legs 15 and 16 of the push rod 13 penetrate is formed at the bottom. As shown in FIG. 3, two latch levers 23 are alternately accommodated in the frame 12. The latch lever 23 has a frame-like portion 24 surrounding the lock plate 18.
And a columnar portion 25 extending from the frame portion 24 to the vicinity of the adjacent lock plate 18, and as shown in FIG. 6, the inside of the frame portion 24 and the tip of the columnar portion 25, Each engaging part 26
And 27 are formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the engaging portions 26 and 27 are
The side is sloped. As shown in FIG. 6, barriers 26a and 27a are provided on one side of the engaging portions 26 and 27 to partially fill the steps of these engaging portions. Now, the two latch levers housed in the frame 12
The guide 23 is guided by the inner surface of the side wall of the frame 12 and is slidable in the left-right direction in FIG. 3, but the claw 12b formed integrally with the bottom of the frame 12 and the tip of the columnar portion 25 of the latch lever 23 , A compression spring 29 is inserted, and the latch lever 23 is spring-biased in a direction to approach each other. Next, regarding the two-point latch type push button switch 5,
The operation will be described. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the operation unit 4 is locked and the operation unit 1 is not locked. The operation unit 4 is locked by the engagement portion 18a of the lock plate 18 and the engagement portion 26 of the latch lever 23. , 27. In the state shown in FIG. 4, when the push button 14 of the operation unit 1 is pressed against the return spring 17, the push rod 13 is pushed in, and the engagement portion 18a of the lock plate 18 and the engagement portions 26 and 27 of the latch lever 23 are engaged. When the inclined surfaces come into contact with each other, the engaging portion 26 of the one latch lever 23
, Between the latch portion 23 and the engaging portion 27 of the other latch lever 23 is pushed open. As a result, the engaging portion 2 is also
The gap between 6, 27 is opened, the lock of the operation unit 4 is released, and the push rod 13 returns to the position where the lock plate 18 contacts the main body case 11 of the operation unit 4. On the other hand, the push rod 13 of the operation unit 1 is pushed in until the lock plate 18 comes into contact with the bottom of the frame 12, and the lock plate 18 can climb over the peaks of the engagement portions 26 and 27 of the latch lever 23 and be engaged with them. However, in the case of the operation unit 1, the end face of the engagement portion of the lock plate 18 is not locked because it interferes with the barriers 26a and 27a of the engagement portions 26 and 27 of the latch lever 23.
When the hand is released, the push rod 13 returns. By the way, in the case of the operation unit 4, the lock plate shown in FIG.
In the mounting direction of 18, the escape portion 18b is on the side of the barriers 26a, 27a, so that interference between the lock plate 18 and the barriers 26a, 27a does not occur. That is, in the two-point latch type push button switch 5, the operation unit 1 is exclusively used for unlocking and the operation unit 4 is exclusively used for locking, but the direction of the lock plate 18 of the operation unit 1 is reversed in FIG. By doing so, the operation units 1 and 4 can be changed to be locked alternately. In the illustrated embodiment, the other two-point latch type push button switch 6 shown in FIG. 1 has the operating section 3 dedicated to locking and the operating section 2 dedicated to unlocking. FIG. 7 shows a base 7 for connecting the two-point latch type push button switches 5 and 6. The base 7 is a shallow box body with a bottom plate provided on the lower side of the H-shaped frame body, and two-point latch type push button switches 5 and 6 are respectively connected to both legs thereof.
The connection is made by elastically connecting the engaging projections 7a provided in pairs on the side surfaces of the legs of the base 7 and the inner engaging legs 11c of the main body case 11 (FIG. 2). It depends on the engagement. That is, when the two-point latch type push button switches 5 and 6 are pushed into the base 7, the engagement projections 7a fall into engagement with the engagement windows of the engagement legs 11c. The outer engaging legs 11d of the operating section 1 and the like are for connecting the contact sections. In the illustrated embodiment, the contact sections 9 and 10 are provided only on the operating sections 3 and 4, respectively. (FIG. 1, FIG. 2
Figure). A lever 30 (FIG. 8) is accommodated in the base 7 as shown in FIG. 9, rotatably supported by a support shaft 7b formed integrally with the bottom plate at the center thereof. Also this lever
30 is a compression spring 31 inserted between a spring receiver 30a formed in a part thereof and a spring receiver 7c formed in the base 7.
As a result, the spring is urged in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9, and the back surface of the spring receiver 30a contacts the stopper 7d in the base 7 and stays at the initial position in FIG. 9 (A). The lever 30 has a shape as shown in FIG. 8, and has three arms 32, 33, and 34 extending from the base 30c having the bearing holes 30b toward the operating portions 2, 3, and 4, respectively. At the tip of the arm 32, an inclined surface 32a is formed. Also arm 3
At the tip of 3, both an inclined surface 33a and a flat surface 33b inside the inclined surface 33a are formed. The flat surface 33b is lower than the upper edge of the inclined surface 33a, and the engagement protrusion 33c is formed therebetween. Further, a flat surface 34a is formed at the tip of the arm 34. In this case, the flat surface 34a is lower than its inner part,
An engagement protrusion 34b is formed therebetween. Arms 32,33 and
These inclined surfaces or flat surfaces of 34 are intended to interfere with the legs 15 of the operation units 2, 3 and 4 as described later, but only the operation unit 1 has no arm of the corresponding lever 30, and Such interference does not occur. The shape of the lever 30 is vertically symmetric in FIG. 8, and the inclined surface and the flat surface are formed on both surfaces of the lever 30 in exactly the same manner. The lever 30 housed in the base 7 is
The cover is prevented from falling off by a cover plate (not shown) which is fitted between the engagement pieces 7e, 7e (FIG. 7) integrally formed on the upper surface of the cover. Next, the operation of the four-point push button switch (FIG. 1) constituted by connecting the two-point latch type push button switches 5 and 6 to the base 7 in which the lever 30 is stored will be described with reference to FIG. Will be explained. The base 7 extends through the bottom plate of the frame 12 of the latch mechanism 8.
The push rod legs 15 of the operating portions 1, 2, 3, 4 projecting inwardly have a positional relationship shown in FIG. The tip of the leg 15 of each operation unit is located at a position close to the upper surface of the lever 33 when the operation unit is unlocked, and is configured to be lower than the upper surface of the lever 30 when the operation unit is pressed. Have been. Here, in order to distinguish the leg 15 for each operation unit,
The leg numbers of the operation parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 are indicated only on FIG.
They shall be denoted as 15-1, 15-2, 15-3 and 15-4, respectively. As described above, the four-point push-button switch of the illustrated embodiment is configured such that the operation units 1 and 2 are exclusively used for unlocking and the operation units 3 and 4 are exclusively used for locking. The part is in the unlocked state. At this time, the leg 15-3 overlaps the inclined surface 32a of the lever 30, and the leg 15-4 overlaps the flat surface 33b. On the other hand, the leg 15-2 is located at a position separated from the lever 30, and such an overlap does not occur. The leg 15-1 is free because the arm of the corresponding lever 30 does not exist. In this state, the operation portion 4 cannot be pressed because the leg portion 15-4 interferes with the flat surface 33b. However, when the operation portion 3 is pressed, the inclined surface 32a is pushed by the leg portion 15-3 and the lever 15-3 is pushed. 30
Is rotated clockwise in the figure, and the operation unit 3 is locked in a state where the lever 30 has reached the second position in FIG. 9B. As a result, the contact 9 (FIG. 1) is turned ON. In the state of FIG. 9 (B), the leg 15-4 of the operation unit 4 overlaps the inclined surface 33a and can be pressed. Then, when the operation portion 4 is pressed, the leg portion 15-4 pushes the inclined surface 33a to rotate the lever 30 further clockwise, and the lever 30 reaches the third position in FIG. 9C. Locked by. Thereby, the contact part 10 is also turned on. Next, when the operation units 3 and 4 are unlocked from the state shown in FIG.
15-2 overlaps with the flat surface 34a and cannot be pressed. Therefore, first, the operation unit 1 is pressed to unlock the operation unit 4, the contact unit 10 is turned off, and the lever 30 is turned on as shown in FIG. 9 (B). It must be returned to the second position. Thereafter, when the operating section 2 is pressed, the operating section 3 is unlocked, the contact section 9 is turned off, and the lever 30 returns to the first position in FIG. 9 (A). In the state shown in FIG. 9 (A), when the operating units 3 and 4 are simultaneously pressed, the lever 30 rotates clockwise due to interference between the leg 15-3 of the operating unit 1 and the inclined surface 32a of the arm 32. The leg 15-4 of the operation unit 4 which is about to move but is pressed down at the same time
The engagement of the engagement protrusion 33c of the arm 33 with the arm 33 prevents the rotation of the lever 30. That is, simultaneous operation of the operation units 3 and 4 is prohibited. In the state shown in FIG. 9 (C), when the operation units 1 and 2 are simultaneously pressed, the operation unit 4 is unlocked by the operation of the operation unit 1 and the lever 30 is actuated by the force of the spring 31 in the figure. The lever 30 attempts to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, but the lever 30 is prevented from rotating because the engaging projection 34b of the arm 34 is engaged with the leg 15-2 of the operation unit 2 which has been pressed down at the same time. That is, simultaneous operation of the operation units 1 and 2 is prohibited. The above operation will be described again with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, (A) shows the arrangement of the operation units, and the numerals 1 to 4 correspond to the operation units 1 to 4. In addition, (B) indicates the operable order, and ~ indicates the operation units 1 to 4. First, when all the operation units are unlocked and the operation units are locked (the contact unit is turned ON), → is possible, and vice versa (see FIG. 9 (A)). Next, when the operation units 3 and 4 are both locked,
When the lock is released (contact portion OFF), → is possible and the reverse is not possible (see FIG. 9 (C)). Further, since only the operation section 3 can be unlocked immediately in the locked state and then locked again immediately thereafter, both → and → are possible (see FIG. 9 (B)). Furthermore, since it is possible to unlock the operation unit 4 again after unlocking the operation unit 4 in a state where both the operation units 3 and 4 are locked, → and → are both possible [FIG. 9 (B)]. reference〕. The above results are summarized as shown in FIG. 10 (B), and finally → and → become impossible. If this is applied to the tool change of the machine tool at the beginning, it becomes as follows. (1) Stopping the machine tool ... operation (2) Prohibiting operation ... operation (performing tool change work) (3) Releasing the above prohibition ... operation (4) Resuming operation ... operation After the operation is turned off and the machine tool is stopped, the tool change operation cannot be carried out without going through the operation procedure of turning off by the operation and interlocking the operation prohibition. In addition, the restart of the operation is based on the premise that the interlock is released by the operation described above, so that the operation cannot be started immediately by the operation. By the way, the four-point push button switch of the above-described embodiment is for right-hand operation, and the arrangement of the operation units 1, 2, 3 and 4 is as shown in FIG. 10 (A). 12
The arrangement can be changed to the arrangement shown in the figure. For this purpose, first, the lever 30 in the base 7 is turned left and right as shown in FIG. In this case, as described above, the lever 30 has a symmetrical shape on both sides, and the base 7 is also formed in a symmetrical shape (FIG. 7), and the lever 30 is inverted with respect to FIG. 9 (A); The state shown in FIG. 11 can be obtained by moving the spring 31 to the spring receiver 7c on the left side in the figure. Then, a two-point latch type push button switch 5,
If left and right are replaced, the arrangement of the operation units 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the four-point push button switch becomes the left-hand operation in FIGS. 10 to 12. Although the four-point push button switch of the above-described embodiment is constituted by using two two-point latch type push button switches, it is not always necessary, but four operation parts are attached to the four corners of the base 7 and the pair is connected. It is also possible to appropriately provide a latch mechanism for each of the two operating units. Furthermore, although the operation units 1 and 2 are both dedicated to unlocking,
Either one or both may be lockable. In that case, the mounting direction of the lock plate 18 is reversed from that in FIG. When both of the paired operation units are lockable, each of the operation units is used for both locking and unlocking. In addition, the use of the four-point push button switch and the configuration of the circuit to which it is applied, such as dedicating the operation unit 3 or 4 to unlocking, changing the arrangement of the arms of the lever 30 and the arrangement of the inclined surface or the flat surface Various changes can be considered accordingly.

【The invention's effect】

The present invention regulates the pressing operation sequence of the operation unit by the four-point push button switch itself by utilizing the interference between the push bars of the four operation units and the inclined surface or flat surface of the lever straddling these push bars. With this configuration, the erroneous operation of the push button switch itself can be eliminated, and a complicated circuit configuration for the erroneous operation can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embodiment of a four-point push button switch according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a two-point latch type push button switch used for the push button switch of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lock plate 18. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the latch lever 23. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the base 7. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the lever 30. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along the line IX-IX in FIG. 4, (A) shows a state in which all the operating parts are unlocked, and (B)
Shows a state in which only the operation unit 3 is locked, and FIG. 4C shows a state in which both the operation units 3 and 4 are locked. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams of the operation sequence of the four-point push button switch of the present invention. FIG. 10A is a layout diagram of four operation units, and FIG. 10B is a flowchart of the operation sequence. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the inside of the base 7 in a case where the lever 30 is made differently. FIG. 12 is an arrangement diagram of the operation units corresponding to FIG. 10 (A) in a case where the arrangement of the operation units is different. 1,2,3,4: Operation unit, 5, 6: Two-point latch type push button switch, 7: Base, 8: Latch mechanism, 12: Latch mechanism frame, 13: Push rod, 14: Push button, 15 , 16: push rod leg, 17: return spring, 18: lock plate, 23: latch lever, 30: lever, 3
2: lever arm, 32a: inclined surface, 33: lever arm, 33a: inclined surface, 33b: flat surface, 33c: engagement protrusion, 34: lever arm, 34a:
Flat surface, 34b: engagement projection.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takayuki Ishihara 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor Kiyoshi Aoki 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Motor Corporation ( 72) Inventor Mitsuo Nishio 1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takehisa Takeuchi 1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Makoto Miyashita 1-1, Tanabe-Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A push rod having a push button on a head is mounted so as to be able to be pushed in together with a return spring, and two push rods are paired with each other. A latch mechanism for unlocking one of the operation units locked in the pushed state by a pressing operation of the other operation unit, a latch mechanism rotatably supported by a central portion of a base spanning the four operation units, and One of an inclined surface or a flat surface which is urged by a spring in the direction and which interferes with the leg of the tip of the push rod at the time of pressing operation of the operating portion at the tip of the plurality of arms extending toward each of the operating portions. Or a lever formed with both, wherein the inclined surface rotates the lever against the spring when pressed by the leg portion,
Further, the flat surface has an action of preventing the push rod from being pushed when the leg portion comes into contact with the lever, and the lever can perform a pressing operation of the operation portion where the inclined surface interferes with the leg portion at each rotation position. However, the four-point push button switch is characterized in that a pressing operation of the operation part, in which the flat surface interferes with the leg part, cannot be performed. 2. A four-point push button switch according to claim 1, wherein two two-point latch type push button switches are used. 3. The four-point push button switch according to claim 1, wherein the latch mechanism is attached to each of the push bars of the pair of operation units and engages with two opposing sides. Two lock plates formed with a joint,
A frame provided between the operation portion and the base so as to straddle the pair of operation portions, and is slidably accommodated in the frame by being alternately combined and spring-biased in a direction approaching each other; And a four-point push button switch comprising two latch levers each having two engaging portions cooperating with the engaging portions on the same side of the two lock plates. 4. A four-point push button switch according to claim 1, wherein one of the paired operation parts is exclusively used for locking and the other is exclusively used for unlocking. Point type push button switch. 5. A four-point push button switch according to claim 1, wherein when two operation parts are simultaneously pressed, the push rod of one of said operation parts is pressed. A four-point push button switch having an engaging projection at the end of the arm of the lever for engaging the leg to prevent rotation of the lever.