JP3066258B2 - Seesaw switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seesaw switch used as a power switch for electric equipment and electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional example of a seesaw switch of this type, which is described in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 57-4134. In FIG.
Can be rotated by a predetermined amount about the support shaft 21 in the direction of the arrow XY.
The compression spring 23 housed inside the cylinder 0 always urges the driving body 24, and the driving body 24 tilts about the support shaft 21 with the rotation of the operation body 20. .
The driving body 24 urged by the compression spring 23
Of the conductor plate 2 supported by the central terminal 26
5, the conductor plate 25 swings around the upper end of the central terminal 26 as a fulcrum, and the movable contacts 27 attached to both ends of the conductor plate 25
a, 27b respectively correspond to the fixed contacts 30a, 30b
And come and go. Further, on the upper surface of the conductor plate 25, a leaf spring 31, which is formed in a substantially M-shape as a whole, is mounted on the upper surface of the movable contact 27a or 27b for reducing an impact force when the movable contact 27a or 27b comes into contact with the corresponding fixed contact 30a or 30b. The tilting operation of the driving body 24 is performed while sliding on the leaf spring 31. Reference numerals 28 and 29 in the figure indicate terminals derived from the fixed contacts 30a and 30b, respectively.

[0003] The seesaw switch thus configured is
The operator pushes one end of the pressing body 22 and presses the operating body 20.
Is rotated about the support shaft 21 in the arrow X direction or the Y direction, the movable contact 27a or 27b comes into contact with the corresponding fixed contact 30a or 30b, and the central terminal 26 and the fixed contact 30a or 30b is conducted through the conductor plate 25. When one of the movable contacts comes into contact with the corresponding fixed contact, the free end of the leaf spring 31 pushed into the driver 24 is elastically deformed on the conductor plate 25, and the urging force of the compression spring 23 is reduced. Because of the absorption, the impact force when the movable contact comes into contact with the fixed contact is reduced, and as a result, the bounce of the conductor plate 25 caused by the impact during operation (the conductor plate 25 jumps up on The phenomenon of separation from the terminal 26) is suppressed.

As another conventional example, a compression spring buckled in a substantially rectangular shape is interposed between an operating body and a conductor plate on a swing fulcrum, and one end of an operating surface is pushed into the operating body. A seesaw switch is also known in which the compression spring buckles in the opposite direction when the compression spring is rotated by a predetermined amount. In other words, this seesaw switch is configured to apply a force to the buckling of the compression spring, the one end of which is buckled along with the rotation of the operating body, at a position where the compression spring is located on the fulcrum of the conductor plate. The energized conductor plate swings in accordance with the buckling direction.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional product in which a leaf spring 31 is incorporated on the conductor plate 25 in order to reduce an impact at the time of operation, the operator pushes one end of the pressing body 22 strongly. When a strong operation force is applied to the operation body 20, the bounce of the conductor plate 25 cannot be prevented. Therefore, in such a conventional product, the conductor plate 25 is separated from the central terminal 26 by an impact when the movable contact comes into contact with the corresponding fixed contact, and an arc is generated. There is a problem that the life is easily shortened due to damage, which makes it difficult to cope with high capacity and rush resistance. Further, such a conventional product has to incorporate two members, a compression spring 23 and a driving body 24, as members for driving the conductor plate 25 with the rotation of the operating body 20, so that the number of parts is large and the assembly work is difficult. It was complicated.

On the other hand, the latter conventional product in which a compression spring buckled in a substantially rectangular shape is interposed between the operating body and the conductor plate,
Since the compression spring always urges the conductor plate toward its swing fulcrum, bounce is unlikely to occur. However, since the switching operation is performed using the force of the compression spring that tends to buckle, the operating force is reduced. However, it is difficult to obtain a clear operation feeling required as a power switch for electric and electronic devices, and it is not easy to assemble it with the compression spring buckled, which makes assembly work difficult. was there.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a conductor plate that is unlikely to bounce, has a long life, and has a desired operating force.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seesaw switch having good assembling workability.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to have a center terminal and a fixed contact which are arranged apart from each other, and a movable contact which comes into contact with and separates from the fixed contact. A conductor plate supported so as to be rotatable, an operation body supported rotatably and whose operation surface side swings with the rotation operation, and a torsion provided between the operation body and the conductor plate A coil spring, the winding part of the torsion coil spring being elastically contacted with the operating body, and a pair of arms of the torsion coil spring protruding from both ends of the winding part being connected to the conductor. This is achieved by providing elastic contact with the conductor plate at two places straddling the swing fulcrum of the plate, and providing a space in the conductor plate to allow movement of the winding part pushed into the operating body. You.

[0009]

In the seesaw switch having the above-described structure, a torsion coil spring that bends a pair of arms and makes elastic contact with the conductor plate is incorporated in a state where the winding portion is elastically contacted with the operating body. When the winding portion is pushed into the operating body, the winding portion moves in the space of the conductor plate while changing the amount of bending of the arm portion. Therefore, when the operation body is rotated by pushing one end of the operation surface, the torsion coil spring performs an operation of rotating at a stretch after the winding part is pushed into the space, and the torsion coil spring is rotated. Since the conductor plate is rotationally driven with the operation, the conductor plate can be swung around the swing fulcrum with the rotation of the operating body.
In addition, since the pair of arms of the torsion coil spring is elastically contacted with the conductor plate at two places straddling the swing fulcrum of the conductor plate, on one side of the conductor plate centered on the swing fulcrum, A sufficiently large contact pressure is obtained by the resilience of one arm,
On the other side of the conductor plate, the resilient force of the other arm urges the conductor plate toward the swing fulcrum, thereby suppressing bounce.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a seesaw switch according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG.
FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory view showing the ON state of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is an operational explanatory view showing the OFF state of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment, and FIG. Shows a conductor plate incorporating a torsion coil spring.

In these figures, a central terminal 2 having a support projection 2a and a fixed terminal 4 having a fixed contact 3 are arranged at the bottom of a case 1 formed in a box shape with a bottom so as to be separated from each other. A movable contact 6 for bringing the fixed contact 3 into and out of contact with the fixed contact 3 is provided at one end of a conductor plate 5 swingably supported by the center terminal 2 with a contact point with the support protrusion 2a as a swing fulcrum A. It is attached. At the center of the conductor plate 5, a notch 5a for inserting the support protrusion 2a is provided at the lowermost end, and a space 5b and a groove 5c for inserting the torsion coil spring 7 are provided. 5d, a retaining piece 5e for preventing the torsion coil spring 7 from falling off, an engaging piece 5f for engaging and disengaging the driving projection 8b of the operating body 8, and the like are provided. Then, the winding portion 7a of the torsion coil spring 7 is inserted into the space 5b of the conductor plate 5 to prevent the winding portion 7a from falling off by the retaining piece 5e, and both ends of the winding portion 7a. The torsion coil spring 7 is assembled to the conductor plate 5 with the pair of arms 7b projecting from the groove 5c and 5d inserted into the grooves 5c and 5d, respectively. If the winding part 7a is pushed in from above the space 5b,
It is possible to move the winding portion 7a downward while bending the arm portion 7b.

An operating body 8 that substantially closes the upper opening 1a of the case 1 is rotatably supported by the case 1 via a support shaft 9, and the axis of the support shaft 9 is The operation surface 8a swings with the rotation of the operation body 8 about the rotation center line. On the inner wall surface of the operating body 8, there is provided a driving projection 8b which can be disengaged from the engaging piece 5f of the conductor plate 5, and when the operating body 8 rotates with the switching operation, the driving projection 8b becomes It is set so as to cross the plane including the rotation center line of the operating body 8 and the swing fulcrum A of the conductor plate 5 while rotating the conductor plate 5 while engaging with 5f. As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, when the operating body 8 is rotated about the support shaft 9, the drive projection 8b drives the conductor plate 5 to rotate in the opposite direction. A torsion coil spring 7 interposed between the operating body 8 and the conductive plate 5 makes the winding portion 7a elastically contact the bottom center of the operating body 8 and a pair of arms. The portion 7b is elastically contacted with the conductor plate 5 at two positions straddling the swing fulcrum A of the conductor plate 5.

In the seesaw switch configured as described above, the torsion coil spring 7 that bends the pair of arms 7b and makes elastic contact with the conductor plate 5 causes the winding portion 7a to operate the operating body. 8 is installed in a state of elastic contact with the center of the bottom surface,
When the winding portion 7a is pushed into the operation body 8 from above,
The winding part 7a moves within the space 5b of the conductor plate 5 while changing the amount of bending of the arm part 7b. Therefore,
When the operation body 8 is rotated by pushing one end of the operation surface 8a, the torsion coil spring 7 performs an operation of rotating at a stroke after the winding portion 7a is pushed into the space 5b, and this torsion is performed. Since the conductor plate 5 is driven to rotate in accordance with the operation of the coil spring 7, the conductor plate 5 is moved around the swing fulcrum A by the operating body 8
Can be swung with the rotation of.

As a result, when the operator pushes the left end of the operation surface 8a in the figure and rotates the operation body 8 counterclockwise in the state shown in FIG. 2, for example, the inclination of the operation body 8 becomes almost zero. When it becomes 0, the torsion coil spring 7
The height position of the winding portion 7a becomes the lowest, and at this time, the amount of bending of the arm portion 7b becomes the largest. Therefore, a strong reaction force is felt on the fingers of the operator. Since the portion 7a rotates clockwise at a stretch while raising the height position, and the conductor plate 5 also rotates clockwise at a stretch, the movable contact 6 comes into contact with the fixed contact 3 as shown in FIG. The central terminal 2 and the fixed contact 3 arranged in this way are electrically connected via the conductor plate 5 to be turned on. Also, when the operator pushes the illustrated right end of the operation surface 8a in the state shown in FIG. 1 and rotates the operation body 8 clockwise, a strong reaction force is felt on the operator's finger by the same operation principle as described above. Immediately after the winding, the winding portion 7a rotates counterclockwise at a stretch, and the conductor plate 5 also rotates counterclockwise at a stretch, so that the movable contact 6 separates from the fixed contact 3 and is turned off.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the pair of arm portions 7b of the torsion coil spring 7 are provided at two places (the deepest portions of the grooves 5c and 5d) straddling the swing fulcrum A of the conductor plate 5. Since it is elastically contacted with the conductor plate 5, the movable contact 6 can be strongly pressed against the fixed contact 3 on one side of the conductor plate 5 centered on the swing fulcrum A by the elastic force of one arm 7b. As a result, a necessary large contact pressure can be secured in the switch-on state, and on the other side of the conductor plate 5, the resilient force of the other arm 7 b moves the conductor plate 5 toward the swing fulcrum A. Since the movable contact 6 is strongly urged, it is possible to suppress the bounce of the conductor plate 5 caused by the impact when the movable contact 6 comes into contact with the fixed contact 3, and therefore, the life is long, the reliability is high, the capacity is increased, and the resistance is increased. A seesaw switch suitable for promoting rushing is obtained. Moreover, in the seesaw switch, only the torsion coil spring 7 is required between the operating body 8 and the conductor plate 5, and the torsion coil spring 7 can be easily assembled to the conductor plate 5. Therefore, the number of parts is small and the assembling workability is good. Further, in the seesaw switch, the resilient force generated by the arm portion 7b of the torsion coil spring 7 is directly transmitted to the operating body 8 as the operating force, so that the operating force can be easily set. If the torsion coil spring 7 having a strong force is used and the operating force is set to be heavy, a clear operation feeling required as a power switch of an electric device or an electronic device can be obtained.

Further, in this embodiment, when the operating body 8 is rotated with the switching operation, the driving projection 8b is engaged with the engaging piece 5f, and the conductor is turned in the same direction as the rotational driving direction by the torsion coil spring 7. The plate 5 is driven to rotate, and at this time, the driving projection 8b is positioned between the rotation center line of the operating body 8 and
Is set so as to cross the plane including the swing fulcrum A, the conductor plate 5 can be swung by applying a driving force directly from the operating body 8. That is, if the conductor plate 5 is driven only by the torsion coil spring 7, for example, the movable contact 6 and the fixed contact 3 may be fused by arc heat or the like. In this case, even if the operating body 8 is pushed in strongly, it is absorbed by the bending of the arm portion 7b and cannot apply a large driving force to the conductor plate 5. However, as in the present embodiment, the conductor plate 5 is 7 and the driving projection 8b can be driven simultaneously, and in such a case, if the operating body 8 is strongly pushed, a large driving force can be applied to the conductor plate 5 via the driving projection 8b. Therefore, the fusion between the contacts 3 and 6 can be peeled off, and the operation as a seesaw switch can be restarted.

In the above embodiment, a seesaw switch using only ON / OFF between one fixed contact and the center terminal is exemplified. However, a type in which two fixed contacts are selectively turned ON / OFF with the center terminal. It is needless to say that the present invention can also be applied to the seesaw switch.

[0018]

As described above, in the seesaw switch according to the present invention, the pair of arms of the torsion coil spring are elastically contacted with the conductor plate at two places straddling the swing fulcrum of the conductor plate. Therefore, on one side of the conductor plate centered on this swing fulcrum,
A sufficiently large contact pressure can be obtained by the resilience of one arm, and the other side of the conductor plate urges the conductor plate toward the swing fulcrum by the resilience of the other arm to bounce. Generation can be suppressed, and therefore, an excellent effect is obtained in that the life is long and suitable for high capacity and lash resistance. Further, such a seesaw switch has an effect that the number of parts is small and the assembling workability is good because the only necessary member between the operating body and the conductor plate is the torsion coil spring. Since the resilient force of the coil spring is transmitted to the operating body as it is, there is an effect that the setting of the operating force is easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an ON state of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an off state of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the embodiment, showing a conductor plate incorporating a torsion coil spring.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Central terminal 3 Fixed contact 5 Conductor plate 5b Empty space 5f Engagement piece 6 Movable contact 7 Torsion coil spring 7a Winding part 7b Arm part 8 Operating body 8a Operating surface 8b Driving projection 9 Support axis A swing support point

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01H 23/16 H01H 23/24

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A conductive plate having a central terminal and a fixed contact disposed apart from each other, a movable contact which comes into contact with and separated from the fixed contact, and is swingably supported by the central terminal; An operating body supported on the operating member and swinging the operation surface side in accordance with the turning operation; and a torsion coil spring interposed between the operating body and the conductor plate. And a pair of arms of the torsion coil spring projecting from both ends of the winding part,
The conductor plate is elastically contacted with the conductor plate at two places straddling the swing fulcrum, and a space is provided in the conductor plate to allow movement of the winding part pushed into the operating body. A seesaw switch. 2. The operating body according to claim 1, wherein the operating body is provided with a driving projection that can be engaged with and disengaged from a part of the conductor plate, and the driving projection is rotated when the operating body rotates with a switching operation. A seesaw switch configured to cross a plane including the rotation center line and the pivot point of the conductor plate.