JP2920747B2 - Push button switch for vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button switch used in a vending machine used for selling soft drinks and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional push button switch used for a vending machine installed outdoors has a structure as shown in FIG. That is, in this push button switch, a printed circuit board 4 having one contact 6 of the switch is mounted on the front surface of a plastic front panel 2 mounted on the front surface of the vending machine main body. A key top 10 is provided via a dome-shaped spring 8. On the inner surface side of the key top 10, the other contact 1 of the switch is located at a position facing the contact 6.
2 are provided. Further, a cover 14 that covers the printed circuit board 4 and the like is provided integrally with the key top 10,
The end of the cover 14 is tightly sealed to the surface of the front panel 2 using a packing 16 or the like.

In this push-button switch, when the key top 10 is pressed with a finger or the like, the flexible cover bends, and the spring member 8 is crushed so that the contact 12 provided on the key top 10 is placed on the printed circuit board 4. The contact contacts the contact 6 and supplies the signal at this time to the circuit section via the lead wire 18.

[0004]

Generally, push button switches used for vending machines installed outdoors are required to have reliable waterproofness. For this reason, in the above-mentioned conventional push button switch, the gap between the cover 14 and the front panel 2 is completely filled and sealed with the backing 16 or the like to ensure waterproofness.

[0005] However, when sealing is performed using the packing 16 or the like, the number of steps is increased and mass productivity is reduced.
Further, since the material of the packing 16 is also required, there is a problem that the cost is extremely high, which hinders cost reduction.

[0006] In addition, the packing 1
If there is an incomplete seal made by the contact 6 or the like, rainwater or the like may enter the inside of the push button switch, thereby causing the contact 6,
Also, there was a problem that the corrosion of No. 12 caused a failure of the switch function.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a vending machine push button switch which can prevent water from entering the inside of the push button switch without using packing or the like. To provide.

[0008]

Push button switch for automatic vending machine of the present invention SUMMARY OF] includes a front panel front side and the rear side forms a concave have a transparent portion forming a convex shape to prevent water and dust intrusion , Disposed behind the front panel and
A substrate which is isolated from the outside by the panel, and which is disposed on the substrate, faces the light-transmitting portion, and faces the front panel.
A light emitting element and a light receiving element is isolated from the outside by panel, disposed in front of the front panel and pressed by bullets
And an operation member that is inserted into the light transmitting portion by sexually deforming and blocks light between the light emitting element and the light receiving element.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A push button switch for a vending machine according to the present invention is provided with a light transmitting portion having a concave front surface and a convex rear surface on a front panel for preventing water and dust from entering. A light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged so as to sandwich the light transmitting portion. For this reason, the front panel
Light emitted from the light-emitting element isolated from the front panel crosses the light-transmitting part of the front panel from the side, and strikes the front panel.
It will reach the light receiving element isolated from the outside .
The operation member is elastically deformed when pressed, and is inserted into the light transmitting portion of the front panel, and when the operation member is inserted into the light transmitting portion, light from the light emitting element crossing the light transmitting portion is blocked, It does not reach the light receiving element. At this time, a signal obtained from the light receiving element is a signal indicating switch-on.

[0010]

1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a push button switch for a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a light-transmitting front panel made of a transparent acrylic plate or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the front panel 20 is formed with a plurality of light-transmitting portions 20a each having a substantially U-shaped cross section and a concave front surface and a convex rear surface.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a substrate having a conductive pattern formed on the surface of a printed circuit board or the like. The substrate 22 is disposed on the back side of the front panel 20 and has a hole 22a that matches the light-transmitting portion 20a in this embodiment, and the light-transmitting portion 20a is provided in the hole 22a when the substrate 22 is installed. Is configured so that the tip of the can be fitted.

Reference numerals 24 and 26 denote a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element, each of which includes a light-emitting diode and a phototransistor. The light emitting element 24 and the light receiving element 26 are
Is mounted on the substrate 22 so as to sandwich the. Also,
The light emitting element 24 is oriented so that the emitted light irradiates the light receiving element 26 across the light transmitting portion 20a, and the light receiving element 26 is oriented so as to receive the light. . The light emitting element 24 and the light receiving element 26
Are connected to the circuit section via conductive patterns on the substrate 22.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a dome-shaped spring such as a tact spring having a through hole 28a at the center, and is disposed between an operation member described later and the front panel 20.

An operation member 30 is mounted on the front surface of the front panel 20. The operation member 30 includes a key top 32 operated by a fingertip or the like, and a flexible cover 34 integrally formed so as to extend around the key top 32 as a center. The key top 32 includes a top portion 32a pressed by a fingertip or the like, and a light shielding portion 32b made of a rod-shaped or thin plate-shaped non-transparent member protruding from the back surface. This operation member 3
Reference numeral 0 denotes a position in which the light shielding portion 32b is inserted into the through hole 28a of the spring 28 so as to face the light transmitting portion 20a. It is attached to the front of the device by fixing it with an adhesive or the like.

In the push button switch having the above-described structure, the key top 32 is normally pushed out of the front panel 20 by the force of the spring 28 as shown in FIG. It is located outside or near the entrance of the light section 20a. Therefore, the light from the light emitting element 24 crosses the light transmitting section 20a and reaches the light receiving element 26. At this time, a signal from the light receiving element 26 determines that the switch is not turned on by the circuit section. .

Here, the key top 32 is attached to the front panel 20.
In this case, the cover 34 bends, the spring 28 is crushed, and the light shielding portion 32b is pushed deep into the light transmitting portion 20a. Thereby, the light from the light emitting element 24 is
The light is blocked by the light blocking portion 32b and does not reach the light receiving element 26. The state of the signal from the light receiving element 26 at this time indicates to the circuit section that the switch is turned on.

Thereafter, when the pressing of the key top 32 is stopped, the key top 32 is pushed back by the elasticity of the spring 28, and at this time, the light shielding portion 32b returns outside the light transmitting portion 20a or near the entrance. Therefore, the light from the light emitting element 24 can pass through the light transmitting portion 20a, and the light receiving element 26 is irradiated with the light again to return to the initial state.

In order to prevent the influence of external light and the like, the front of the front panel 20 is painted or printed, or a decorative plate is attached, so that external light is prevented from entering the light transmitting portion 20a and the appearance is reduced. It is preferable to aim at improvement.

Also, the spring 28 can use not only the tact spring as in this embodiment, but also a coil spring, a rubber piece, the elasticity of the cover 34, or the like.

Further, in the above embodiment, the operating members 30 are attached to the respective light transmitting portions 20a of the front panel 20 shown in FIG. 2, but the operating members 4 as shown in FIG.
0 may be attached collectively. That is, the operation member 40 includes a series of covers 44 having a length corresponding to the number of the light transmitting portions 20a, and a plurality of key tops 42 provided at positions corresponding to the light transmitting portions 20a of the cover 44. Have been. By attaching such an operation member 40, the attachment process of the operation member can be performed collectively, and mass productivity can be improved. The other structure may be the same as that shown in FIG.

Further, in addition to using the operation member 40, as shown in FIG. 4, a front panel 20 shown in FIG. 2 in which a plurality of light-transmitting portions 20a are connected in series to form a groove is further used. You may. In the case of the groove-shaped light transmitting portion 20b, as shown in FIG.
0b to form a series of slit-shaped holes 22b,
The plurality of light-emitting elements 24 and light-receiving elements 26 are arranged to face each other with the light-transmitting portion 20b entering the hole 22b interposed therebetween. By using the grooved light-transmitting portions 20b in this manner, it is not necessary to use the front panel 20 properly according to the number of switches, and it is possible to immediately respond to the increase or decrease of switches.

[0022]

According to the present invention, the state of the switch is switched by inserting and removing the light-shielding portion of the keytop in the light-transmitting portion of the front panel so as to transmit and shield light from the light-emitting element traversing the light-transmitting portion. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a portion such as a hole into which water or the like enters from the outside, and the rear side of the front panel can be completely waterproof. In particular, this
To prevent intrusion of water and dust, and to separate light-emitting elements from the outside.
The front panel, which can be disconnected, repeats like an operating member.
Since it is not elastically deformed repeatedly,
No cracks or holes in
Thus, water and dust can be prevented from entering.

Further, even if water enters the cover of the operation member, the water does not enter the rear side of the front panel, and is an optical switch using a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Therefore, even if water enters the light-transmitting portion, the function of the switch is not hindered. In addition, as a result, it is not necessary to apply a special seal to the cover and the front panel using a packing or the like, and it is possible to perform the bonding with a mere adhesive, thereby reducing man-hours and improving the yield. It is possible to easily stabilize quality and reduce costs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a push button switch for a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a front panel shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing another example of the operation member shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another example of the light transmitting portion of the front panel shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of holes on a substrate and light-emitting and light-receiving elements when the front panel shown in FIG. 4 is used.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional vending machine push button switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Front panel 20a, 20b Light transmission part 22 Substrate 24 Light emitting element 26 Light receiving element 28 Spring 30, 40 Operating member 32, 42 Key top 32a Top part 32b Light shielding part 34, 44 Cover

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-233820 (JP, A) JP-A-3-251989 (JP, A) JP-A-6-44878 (JP, A) 184229 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 1-160626 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 62-157020 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 1-29737 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 2-36135 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01H 13/00-13/76 G07F 9/10 H01H 35/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A and without the front side of the concave rear side have a transparent portion forming a convex, and the front panel to prevent water and dust from entering, by and positioned behind the said front panel said front panel
A substrate that has been isolated from the outside, facing each other across the transparent portion while being placed on the substrate
And wherein the light emitting element and a light receiving element is isolated from the outside by the front panel, the disposed on the front surface of the front panel and is pressed elastically variable
The plugged into the translucent portion and the light emitting element and the operating member for blocking light between the light receiving element, push button switches for the automatic vending machine characterized in that it consists by shape. Wherein the front side forms a concave and the back side have a plurality of light transmitting portions forming a convex, and the front panel to prevent water and dust from entering, by and positioned behind the said front panel said front panel
A substrate isolated from the outside, a plurality of light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements disposed on the substrate, facing each other with the light-transmitting portion interposed therebetween, and isolated from the outside by the front panel ; It is located on the front of the front panel and is pressed and elastically deformed.
An operating member having a plurality of key tops each of which is inserted into the light-transmitting portion by shaping to block light between the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element. Button switch. 3. and the back side without the front side of the concave have a groove-shaped transparent portion forming a convex, and the front panel to prevent water and dust intrusion, and said front panel is arranged behind the said front panel By
A substrate isolated from the outside, a plurality of light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements disposed on the substrate, opposed to each other across the light-transmitting portion, and isolated from the outside by the front panel ; It is located on the front of the front panel and is pressed and elastically deformed.
An operating member having a plurality of key tops each of which is inserted into the light-transmitting portion by shaping to block light between the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element. Button switch.