JP3180966U - Push switch - Google Patents

Abstract

A push switch with good operability even when downsized.
A push switch (1) includes a case (30) having a stationary contact portion (20), a housing (30) in which a movable contact body (10) contacting and separating from the stationary contact portion (20) is accommodated, and the movable contact body (10). An operating body 5 having an operating portion 5 a that is pressed downward so as to be in contact with 20, and a cover body 40 that is attached to the case 30 so as to hold the operating body 5 between the case 30. . The operation body 5 is made of an elastic body, and includes an operation portion 5a, a flange portion 5c sandwiched between the case 30 and the cover body 40, a pressing portion 5b that presses the movable contact body 10, a flange portion 5c, and a pressing portion 5b. A connecting portion 5d, and an extending portion 5e extending downward from the connecting portion 5d along the side wall 32 of the accommodating portion 31, and in the initial state, the extending portion 5e has a lower end movable. It is arranged at a position away from the upper surface of the contact body 10.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a push switch with good operability even when downsized.

  As a switch incorporated in an electronic device, an operation touch push switch having a soft touch and a click feeling associated with a switching operation by pressing an operation body formed of a soft elastic body is known.

  Such a push switch uses a dome-shaped leaf spring, and is deformed so that the dome-shaped apex portion is reversed by the pressed operating body, generating a click feeling, and a contact always connected to the leaf spring. The contact between the contact with the contact when the leaf spring is reversed is conducted. Since a soft touch is added to the material of the operating body with respect to the click feeling of the dome-shaped leaf spring formed from a metal plate, a preferable operating feeling can be obtained. Furthermore, the contact etc. which were accommodated in the case can be protected by providing a collar part in the operating body and covering the upper surface of the case.

  Such a push switch (push-on switch) is disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional push-on switch 100. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a partial cross section of the elastic body (operation body) 114 in the push-on switch 100. The push-on switch 100 is attached to a case 111 made of insulating resin having a fixed contact 112 on the bottom surface of a recess, a movable contact 113 formed in a dome shape, an elastic body 114 that moves up and down by a pressing operation, and the case 111. Cover 116. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the elastic body 114 includes an operating portion 114 a located above the movable contact 113, a thin conical portion 114 b and a horizontal portion 114 c, and a cylinder connected to the horizontal portion 114 c. 114 d of the shape is formed. The lower end of the peripheral portion 114 d of the elastic body 114 configured in a cylindrical shape having substantially the same diameter as the movable contact 113 is in contact with the peripheral edge of the movable contact 113. Further, a latching portion 114e is integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion of the peripheral portion 114d, and is latched on the upper end portion 111a of the outer peripheral wall constituting the concave portion of the case 111.

Japanese Patent No. 4466314

  In recent years, downsizing of electronic devices has progressed, and downsizing of push switches is also demanded. On the other hand, an operation unit for pressing is required to have a large size. For this reason, compared with the structure of patent document 1, the operation body without a latching part has come to be used so that a case external shape can be made small.

  Furthermore, in the structure of Patent Document 1, since the movable contact 113 and the peripheral portion 114d of the elastic body 114 are in contact with each other before the operation, the elastic body (operation body) 114 affects the reversing operation of the movable contact 113. There was a problem that. That is, when the peripheral portion 114d of the elastic body (operation body) 114 is in contact with the movable contact 113, a click feeling associated with the reversing operation of the dome-shaped leaf spring is hindered, and a preferable operation feeling cannot be obtained.

  Therefore, there has been a need for a structure that can improve the operational feel of the push switch and can be miniaturized. However, when the operating body has a structure in which the peripheral part thereof is not brought into contact with the movable contact and the hook part without the latching part is sandwiched between the case and the cover, when the operating body is pushed obliquely, When the dimension of the buttock was made too small, there was a concern that the buttock was drawn and removed. If such a problem occurs, the initial state before the pressing operation cannot be restored, and the reliability as a switch becomes a problem. For this reason, it has been necessary to realize a push switch with good operability that achieves both a favorable operational feeling and reliability as well as further miniaturization.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a push switch with good operability even when downsized.

  The push switch according to the present invention includes a case having a fixed contact portion, a housing portion in which a movable contact body contacting and separating from the fixed contact portion is housed, and an elastic body, and covering the housing portion. The operating body is sandwiched between the case and an operating body that is disposed on one surface and has an operating portion that is pressed downward to bring the movable contact body into contact with the fixed contact portion. A cover body attached to the case, wherein the operation body includes the operation portion, a flange portion sandwiched between the case and the cover body, a pressing portion that presses the movable contact body, and the flange portion. A connecting portion that connects the pressing portion and an extending portion that extends downward from the connecting portion along the side wall of the housing portion, and in the initial state, the extending portion has a lower end thereof Is operated from the upper surface of the movable contact body. Of being placed on the movement amount or more away, characterized in that.

  In this way, the extending portion does not contact the upper surface of the movable contact body until the operating body is pressed and the movable contact body and the fixed contact portion come into contact with each other. For this reason, when the operating portion is pressed downward, the movable contact body and the fixed contact portion come into contact with each other before the extending portion comes into contact with the upper surface of the movable contact body, so that the operation feeling in the switching operation is not affected. . Furthermore, when the operation part is pressed obliquely, the extension part comes into contact with the side wall of the housing part or the upper surface of the movable contact body, and the inclination of the operation body is reduced compared with the case where there is no extension part. Will not be pulled down and removed. As a result, even in a push switch that does not have a latching portion and is miniaturized so as to reduce the size of the collar portion, it is possible to achieve both preferable operation feeling and reliability. Therefore, a push switch with good operability can be provided even when downsized.

  Moreover, in this invention, the said extension part is cyclically | annularly formed along the circumferential direction of the said side wall, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Since the extending portion is formed in an annular shape, it can be accommodated in any direction. Without affecting the operational feel, the tilt of the operating body can be reduced and the size of the collar can be reduced. Therefore, the operability having a preferable operation feeling is not impaired even when the operating body is tilted in any direction.

  Moreover, in this invention, the said extension part has a groove part in the said lower end, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Even if the extended portion comes into contact with the movable contact body due to excessive pressing during operation, since the groove portion is provided at the lower end of the extended portion, there is no contact with the movable contact body at the position of the groove portion. . Thereby, even if it becomes an excessive press state, since the space between the operating body and the movable contact body is a non-sealed space, it is possible to reduce a problem that the movable contact body is attracted and pulled up by the operating body.

  According to the present invention, when the operating portion is pressed downward, the movable contact body and the fixed contact portion come into contact with each other before the extension portion comes into contact with the upper surface of the movable contact body, which affects the operation feeling in the switching operation. There is nothing. Furthermore, when the operation part is pressed obliquely, the extension part comes into contact with the side wall of the housing part or the upper surface of the movable contact body, and the inclination of the operation body is reduced compared with the case where there is no extension part. Will not be pulled down and removed. As a result, even in a push switch that does not have a latching portion and is miniaturized so as to reduce the size of the collar portion, it is possible to achieve both preferable operation feeling and reliability. Therefore, a push switch with good operability can be provided even when downsized.

It is a perspective view which shows the push switch of embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective exploded view showing a push switch of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view for demonstrating the push switch of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by the IV-IV line of FIG. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the operation body of embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view when the operation body of FIG. 5 is viewed from another direction. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of the push switch of embodiment of this invention, (a) is a schematic cross section which shows an initial state, (b) is a schematic cross section which shows a press state. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of the push switch of embodiment of this invention, (a) is a schematic cross section which shows an initial state, (b) is a schematic cross section which shows the biased pressing state. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of the push switch of embodiment of this invention, (a) is a schematic cross section which shows an initial state, (b) is a schematic cross section which shows an excessive press state. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional push-on switch. It is a perspective view which shows the partial cross section of the elastic body in the conventional push-on switch.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a push switch 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the push switch 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the push switch 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the push switch 1 taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining the operating body 5 of the push switch 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the operating body 5 when viewed from an obliquely downward direction.

  With reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2, the whole structure of the push switch 1 is demonstrated. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the push switch 1 of the present embodiment includes a movable contact body 10 and an operating body 5 housed in a case 30 provided with a fixed contact portion 20 and a peripheral fixed contact portion 22. Further, a cover body 40 is attached. The cover body 40 is attached to the case 30 so as to sandwich the collar portion 5c of the operation body 5 between the cover body 30 and has a circular opening for projecting the operation section 5a of the operation body 5.

  The push switch 1 according to the present embodiment is incorporated in an electronic device or the like and used as an operation switch, and a click feeling generated by a reversing operation of the movable contact body 10 accompanying a pressing operation of the operation body 5 is used as an operation feeling. It has come to be obtained. In order to connect to a circuit board (not shown), a first terminal 25, a second terminal 26, and a third terminal 27 for electrical connection are provided on the Z2 side of the case 30.

  Hereinafter, in this specification, the Z1 side in the figure is described as the upper side, and the Z2 side is described as the lower side. Note that the push switch 1 of this embodiment has a shape that can be easily soldered to the end face of the circuit board, and is preferably soldered by attaching the Y1-Y2 axis in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board face. However, it goes without saying that these do not limit the direction of use.

  The case 30 is formed in a box shape whose one surface is opened by a synthetic resin, and has a housing portion 31 in which the movable contact body 10 is housed. The side wall 32 of the accommodating part 31 is provided in a substantially cylindrical shape.

  The fixed contact portion 20 and the peripheral fixed contact portion 22 are formed of a conductive metal plate, and are disposed on the bottom surface of the housing portion 31 (the inner bottom surface of the case 30) by insert molding or the like. The fixed contact portion 20 is disposed at the central portion of the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 31 and is also referred to as a central fixed contact portion. The peripheral fixed contact portion 22 is disposed along the side wall 32. The fixed contact portion 20 has three contact portions protruding from the bottom surface of the housing portion 31 to the Z1 side, and has a circular outer shape by the three contact portions. The peripheral fixed contact portion 22 has two contact portions protruding from the bottom surface of the housing portion 31 toward the Z1 side, and each contact portion has a substantially rectangular outer shape. The two contact portions of the peripheral fixed contact portion 22 are arranged at positions facing each other with the fixed contact portion 20 interposed therebetween. The fixed contact portion 20 is connected to the second terminal 26, and the peripheral fixed contact portion 22 is connected to the first terminal 25 and the third terminal 27.

  The movable contact body 10 is formed in a dome shape by a conductive metal plate, for example, a phosphor bronze plate. The movable contact body 10 is placed on the peripheral fixed contact portion 22 with the bulging direction facing the Z1 side, and is arranged so that the back surface of the central portion thereof is separated from the Z1 side of the fixed contact portion 20. Since the movable contact body 10 is provided so that the dome-shaped apex portion, that is, the central portion of the movable contact body 10 can be reversed, the movable contact body 10 can be operated so as to be in contact with and away from the fixed contact portion 20. Since the movable contact body 10 is in contact with the peripheral fixed contact portion 22, the movable contact body 10 is brought into contact with the fixed contact portion 20 during the reversal operation by the pressing operation, and functions to electrically connect the fixed contact portion 20 and the peripheral fixed contact portion 22. .

  The cover body 40 is formed by bending a metal plate, and includes an upper plate portion 41 whose central portion is opened in a circular shape, and a pair of engagement plate portions 42 bent downward from two opposite sides of the upper plate portion 41. Have. The upper plate portion 41 presses the flange portion 5c of the operation body 5 from above with the operation portion 5a protruding from the central opening. The cover body 40 is fixed to the case 30 by the pair of engaging plate portions 42 being engaged with the outer wall of the case 30, and the collar portion 5 c of the operating body 5 is sandwiched between the upper plate portion 41 and the case 30. The

  The operation body 5 is formed of a soft elastic material such as an elastomer or silicon rubber, and is disposed on the surface of the case 30 on the Z1 side so as to cover the housing portion 31. On the upper surface of the operation body 5, a substantially columnar operation portion 5 a protruding upward from the central portion is formed. Further, the operating body 5 is formed with a collar portion 5 c so as to cover the accommodating portion 31. By providing the flange portion 5c on the operating body 5 and covering the surface on the Z1 side of the case 30, foreign matter can be prevented from entering the housing portion 31 in which the movable contact body 10 is housed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the operation body 5 has a substantially columnar shape protruding from the center portion to the Z2 side while the flange portion 5c is sandwiched between the upper plate portion 41 of the cover body 40 and the upper surface of the case 30. A pressing portion 5b is formed. The pressing portion 5b is located on the Z1 side of the central portion of the movable contact body 10 in a state where the operating body 5 is placed on the case 30, and substantially contacts the apex portion of the movable contact body 10 as shown in FIG. ing.

  The operation body 5 includes a connecting portion 5d that connects the flange portion 5c and the pressing portion 5b, and an extending portion 5e that extends from the connecting portion 5d along the side wall 32 of the accommodating portion 31 to the Z2 side. Yes. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the flange 5c and the connecting part 5d are thin with respect to the dimension (thickness dimension) of the operation part 5a in the Z1-Z2 direction. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the extending portion 5 e is formed in an annular shape along the circumferential direction of the side wall 32, and has four groove portions 5 f on the Z2 side of the extending portion 5 e. In the initial state in which the operation portion 5a is not pressed, the lower end of the extension portion 5e is separated from the upper surface of the movable contact body 10, and the distance is shown as ΔZ in FIG.

  Next, the operation of the push switch 1 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Fig.7 (a) is a schematic cross section which shows an initial state, FIG.7 (b) is a schematic cross section which shows a press state. FIG. 8A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the same initial state as FIG. 7A, and FIG. 8B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a biased pressing state. 9A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the same initial state as FIGS. 7A and 8A, and FIG. 9B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an excessively pressed state.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the operation body 5 is pressed toward the Z2 side so that the movable contact body 10 is brought into contact with the fixed contact portion 20. The movable contact body 10 is reversely operated via the pressing portion 5b by the pressing operation of the operating portion 5a. The amount of movement ΔH of the pressing portion 5b of the operating body 5 is the distance between the contact between the central portion of the movable contact body 10 and the fixed contact portion 20 until the apex portion of the movable contact body 10 and the pressing portion 5b come into contact with each other. This is the distance plus D. In the initial state, the extended portion 5 e is disposed at a position where the lower end thereof is separated from the upper surface of the movable contact body 10 by the movement amount ΔH of the operating body 5, and between the lower end of the extended portion 5 e and the upper surface of the movable contact body 10. The distance ΔZ is larger than the movement amount ΔH of the operating body 5. For this reason, in the normal pressing state, as shown in FIG. 7B, the lower end of the extending portion 5 e does not contact the upper surface of the movable contact body 10.

  If the operating body 5 and the peripheral part other than the central part of the movable contact body 10 come into contact before the reversing operation, the operation feeling during the reversing operation is affected. In the operating body 5 of the present embodiment, even if the operating portion 5a is pressed from the initial state to the reversing operation, the lower end of the extending portion 5e does not contact the peripheral portion of the movable contact body 10. For this reason, it does not affect the operation feeling during the reversing operation. On the other hand, in the initial state where the operation portion 5a is not pressed, the movable contact body may be in contact with the pressing portion 5b of the operation body 5 and the apex portion of the movable contact body 10 or with a slight gap. The operation feeling felt during the 10 reversing operation is not changed. Therefore, a good operation feeling is realized by the click feeling by the reversing operation of the dome-shaped movable contact body 10 and the soft feeling of the operation body 5 made of an elastic body. When the pressing portion 5b and the apex portion of the movable contact body 10 are in contact with each other in the initial state, the inter-contact distance D between the central portion of the movable contact body 10 and the fixed contact portion 20 shown in FIG. The movement amount ΔH of the pressing portion 5b of the operating body 5 shown in FIG. At this time, the movement amount ΔH ′ of the operation portion 5 a of the operating body 5 is also substantially equal to the movement amount ΔH of the pressing portion 5 b.

  In a biased pressing state that is different from the normal state, the pressing is partially strong, and for example, as shown in FIG. 8B, the collar portion 5c is drawn to the Z2 side on the Y1 side. At this time, the extension portion 5e contacts the side wall 32 on the Y2 side, and the lower end of the extension portion 5e contacts the upper surface of the movable contact body 10 on the Y1 side, so that the operating body 5 does not tilt further. And the inclination of the operation body 5 can be reduced compared with the case where there is no extension part 5e. For this reason, the extension part 5e normally does not contact the movable contact body 10, and when the operation part 5a is pressed obliquely, the extension part 5e contacts the side wall 32 or the upper surface of the movable contact body 10, The collar portion 5c is further prevented from being drawn into the Z2 side. Thereby, also in the push switch 1 reduced in size so that the dimension of the collar part 5c may be made small, a preferable operation feeling and reliability can be made compatible. Therefore, the push switch 1 with good operability can be provided even in the case of downsizing.

  Since the extending portion 5e is formed in an annular shape along the circumferential direction of the side wall 32, even in a pressed state that is biased in a direction different from that in FIG. 8B, the operation feel is similar to that in FIG. 8B. Without influencing, the inclination of the operating body 5 is reduced and the collar portion 5c is not detached. Therefore, even when the operation body 5 is tilted in any direction, it is possible to achieve both preferable operation feeling and reliability.

  In an excessively pressed state different from the normal state, the entire surface is strongly pressed, and the collar portion 5c is drawn to the Z2 side as shown in FIG. 9B. When strongly pressed in this way, the lower end of the extension portion 5e comes into contact with the upper surface of the movable contact body 10 to prevent the flange portion 5c from being pulled further to the Z2 side. At this time, the moving amount ΔH of the pressing portion 5b of the operating body 5 does not change, but the operating body 5 is elastically deformed as a whole, and therefore the moving amount ΔM of the operating portion 5a of the operating body 5 is equal to that of the pressing portion 5b. It is larger than the movement amount ΔH. In other words, since the operation body 5 is formed of a soft elastic material, the push switch 1 has overload resistance against excessive pressing.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 9B, the lower end of the extending portion 5e abuts on the upper surface of the movable contact body 10, but as shown in FIG. 6, there is 4 on the lower end (Z2 side) of the extending portion 5e. Since the groove portion 5f is provided, the movable contact body 10 is not in close contact with the groove portion 5f. Thereby, even if it becomes an excessive press state, since the space between the operating body 5 and the movable contact body 10 is a non-sealed space, the problem that the operating body 5 attracts and pulls up the movable contact body 10 is reduced. be able to.

  Even one groove portion 5f has the above-described effect. Further, the extending portion 5e may be formed in a ring shape by combining a plurality of arcs divided at the positions of the plurality of groove portions 5f. At this time, even if the groove portion 5f occupies most of the virtual cylinder, the effect of reducing the inclination of the operating body 5 so that the flange portion 5c does not come off only by the other extension portion 5e is obtained. It is also possible to arrange. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the groove portion 5f is formed at a position corresponding to the corner portion of the case 30 with respect to the substantially rectangular case 30 in plan view, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Further, the accommodating portion 31 of the case 30 and the extending portion 5e of the operating body 5 are not limited to a cylindrical shape, and may be, for example, an elliptical shape or a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. In any shape, it is preferable that the extending portion 5e has a slightly smaller outer shape along the circumferential direction of the accommodating portion 31.

  In the present embodiment, the connecting portion 5d and the flange portion 5c of the operating body 5 are not coplanar, but may be a flat connecting portion 5d toward the flange portion 5c. In this case, it is effective to lengthen the extending portion 5e extending from the connecting portion 5d to the Z2 side and to increase the thickness slightly.

  The push switch of the present invention can be used as an operation switch by being incorporated in an electronic device or an in-vehicle device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Push switch 5 Operation body 5a Operation part 5b Press part 5c Eave part 5d Coupling part 5e Extension part 5f Groove part 10 Movable contact body 20 Fixed contact part 22 Peripheral fixed contact part 25 1st terminal 26 2nd terminal 27 3rd terminal 30 Case 31 Housing portion 32 Side wall 40 Cover body 41 Upper plate portion 42 Engaging plate portion

Claims (3)

A case having a stationary contact portion and a housing portion in which a movable contact body contacting and separating from the stationary contact portion is housed;
An operating body made of an elastic body, disposed on one surface of the case so as to cover the accommodating portion, and having an operating portion that is pressed downward so as to bring the movable contact body into contact with the fixed contact portion;
A cover body attached to the case so as to sandwich the operating body between the case, and
The operation body includes the operation section, a flange sandwiched between the case and the cover body, a pressing section that presses the movable contact body, and a connecting section that connects the flange section and the pressing section. An extending portion extending downward along the side wall of the housing portion from the connecting portion,
The push switch is characterized in that, in the initial state, the extended portion is arranged at a position where the lower end thereof is separated from the upper surface of the movable contact body by an amount greater than the movement amount of the operating body.   The push switch according to claim 1, wherein the extending portion is formed in an annular shape along a circumferential direction of the side wall. The push switch according to claim 1, wherein the extension part has a groove part at the lower end.

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