JP3790304B2 - Multi-directional input switch device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a multi-directional input switch device that performs a switching operation according to a tilt direction of an operating body, and more particularly to a support structure for supporting the operating body so that the operating body can tilt.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a prior art of this type of multi-directional input switch device, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-307125, a support fixed to a casing and an operation supported to be tilted by the support A body, a printed circuit board having a plurality of fixed contacts, and a rubber sheet having movable contacts on the inner bottom surfaces of the plurality of hollow protrusions have been proposed. A curved holding piece is formed on the support, and the holding piece is divided into four by a cross-shaped slit. On the other hand, the operating body is composed of two members, a rotating body and a cover, which are integrated by snap coupling. The rotating body is formed with a spherical portion elastically held by each holding piece of the support, and four connecting portions extending radially from the spherical portion through the respective slits. It fits inside from the upper end of the holding piece.
[0003]
In the multi-directional input switch device configured as described above, when the cover is tilted in an arbitrary direction, the rotating body integral with the cover rotates with the spherical body as a fulcrum, and is positioned in the tilting direction by the pressing force from the rotating body. The hollow protrusion of the rubber sheet is pressed. As a result, the pressed hollow protrusion causes a click feeling, and the movable contact provided on the hollow protrusion comes into contact with the fixed contact opposite to this and is turned on.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional multi-directional input switch device described above, since each connecting portion of the rotating body is engaged with each slit of the support body, each movable contact and fixed contact are fixed by fixing the rubber sheet and the printed circuit board to the casing. The operating body (the cover and the rotating body) is positioned with respect to the set through the support body, so that the assembly workability can be improved. However, since the sphere portion of the rotating body is only elastically held by each holding piece of the support body, when an upward pulling force acts on the cover when the operating body is tilted or mischiefed, the sphere portion is Each holding piece was pushed out and pulled out, and there was a problem that the operating body (cover and rotating body) was detached from the support.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, the spherical body portion of the rotating body is tiltably held by each holding piece of the support body, and a restricting portion for preventing the holding pieces from spreading is provided on a cover integrated with the rotating body. When such a restricting portion is provided on the cover, the spherical portion can be easily fitted into each holding piece before the cover is integrated with the rotating body during assembly, and then the cover is integrated with the rotating body. Then, since the movement of each holding piece to the outside is restricted by the restricting portion of the cover, it is possible to reliably prevent the spherical portion from coming out of each holding piece.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the multi-directional input switch device of the present invention, a support body having a plurality of curved holding pieces divided by slits, an operating body having a sphere portion that is tiltably held by each holding piece, and the operating body A plurality of switch elements that are operated by tilting in an arbitrary direction, and the operating body is composed of a rotating body and a cover integrated with each other, and the rotating body includes the spherical body portion and the slit from the spherical body portion to the slit. A restriction that prevents the spreading of the holding piece by providing a connecting portion that extends radially through and a stopper portion that is positioned outward of each holding piece and is inserted into the cover between the holding piece and the stopper portion. Set up a section.
[0007]
According to the multi-directional input switch device configured as described above, the spherical portion can be easily fitted into each holding piece before the cover is integrated with the rotating body during the assembly, and then the cover is rotated. When it is integrated with the moving body, the movement of each holding piece is restricted by the restriction part of the cover and the restriction part can be prevented from deforming outward by the stopper part of the rotating body. It can be reliably prevented from coming out of the holding piece. In particular, when the stopper portion is continuously formed in an annular shape, the strength of the stopper portion itself can be increased.
[0008]
In addition, the means for integrating the cover and the rotating body may be bonding, screwing, or the like. However, if the two are integrated using a snap connection, the spherical portion of the rotating body is attached to each holding piece of the support body. After the fitting, the cover can be easily integrated with the rotating body.
[0009]
Further, the switch element may be anything as long as it can be turned on by the pressing force from the operating body. For example, a plurality of single push switches having a built-in component such as a stem and a return spring are used in the wafer. Although it is possible to solder the switch terminals on the printed circuit board, the fixed contacts of each switch element are provided on the printed circuit board, and the movable contacts facing these fixed contacts are provided on the inner surface of the protrusion of the rubber sheet. A plurality of switch elements are formed by placing one rubber sheet on a printed circuit board, and the soldering process can be omitted.
[0010]
【Example】
An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along one direction of the multidirectional input switch device (direction AA in FIG. 3 described later), and FIG. 2 is another direction of the multidirectional input switch device. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the multidirectional input switch device, FIG. 4 is a rear view of a cover provided in the multidirectional input switch device, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a support provided in the multidirectional input switch device. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a rotating body provided in the direction input switch device.
[0011]
The multidirectional input switch device according to the present embodiment mainly includes a casing 1 that forms an outer shell of the switch device, an operating body 3 that is exposed from an opening 2 provided in the casing 1, and a multiplicity of operating bodies 3. A support body 4 that can be tilted in a direction, a printed circuit board 5 fixed to the casing 1, a rubber sheet 6 placed on the printed circuit board 5, and the rubber sheet 6 and the operation body 3. It consists of four sliders 7 opened in between.
[0012]
The operating body 3 includes a synthetic resin cover 8 protruding from the opening 2 and a synthetic resin rotating body 9 attached to the back surface of the cover 8. The cover 8 and the rotating body 9 will be described later. Are integrated. Four display portions 8a indicating the tilting direction are formed on the surface of the cover 8, and as shown in FIG. 4, four regulating pieces 10 projecting downward are integrally formed at the center of the back surface of the cover 8. The restriction pieces 10 are arranged at equal intervals of about 90 degrees. Further, four locking pieces 11 projecting downward are integrally formed on the outside of each regulating piece 10. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, four stopper pieces 12 projecting upward are integrally formed on the surface of the rotating body 9, and these stopper pieces 12 are connected in an annular shape. Four connecting portions 13 extend from between the stopper pieces 12 toward the center of the rotating body 9, and a spherical portion 14 is formed at the intersection of the connecting portions 13. Therefore, the portions surrounded by the stopper pieces 12, the connecting portions 13, and the spherical body portions 14 are through holes 15. Further, four elastic pieces 16 projecting upward are integrally formed on the outer side of each stopper piece 12, and each locking piece 11 is snapped to the corresponding elastic piece 16 as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4. By joining, the cover 8 and the rotating body 9 are integrated. At that time, each restricting piece 10 is inserted into the corresponding through hole 15, and a predetermined interval is secured between each restricting piece 10 and the spherical body portion 14.
[0013]
The support 4 is formed of a synthetic resin, and is fixed to the casing 1 using appropriate means such as snap coupling. As shown in FIG. 6, four holding pieces 18 divided by a cross-shaped slit 17 are integrally formed in the central portion of the support 4, and an extending wall 19 extending outward from the bottom of each slit 17. A guide portion 20 is formed at the tip of each. Each holding piece 18 has a curved shape, and among the operation body 3 described above, the spherical portion 14 is fitted into the inside from the upper end of each holding piece 18, and each connecting portion 13 is inserted into the corresponding slit 17, and The inner side of each regulating piece 10 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the corresponding holding piece 18, and the outer side of each regulating piece 10 is in contact with each stopper piece 12. Further, the slider 7 is inserted into each guide portion 20, and these sliders 7 are guided in the vertical direction by the guide portion 20. The slider 7 is made of a transparent light guide material such as acrylic resin, and its upper end is in contact with the lower surface of the rotating body 9 and its lower end is in contact with a hollow protrusion of a rubber sheet 6 described later.
[0014]
A lamp 21 as a light source is mounted on the printed circuit board 5, and a plurality of fixed contacts 22 are provided at equal intervals of about 90 degrees around the lamp 21. On the other hand, the rubber sheet 6 has an opening 23 through which the lamp 21 is inserted, and four hollow protrusions 24 bulge out at equal intervals of about 90 degrees around the opening 23. The movable contact 25 formed on the inner bottom of each hollow protrusion 24 and each fixed contact 22 on the printed circuit board 5 constitute four sets of switch elements. The rubber sheet 6 is placed on the printed circuit board 5 and both are positioned by pins and holes (not shown).
[0015]
In assembling the multidirectional input switch device configured as described above, first, the slider 7 is inserted into each guide portion 20 of the support 4, and the support 4 is fixed to the inner surface of the casing 1. Next, the spherical body portion 14 is fitted from the upper end of each holding piece 18 in a state where the connecting portions 13 of the rotating body 9 are aligned with the corresponding slits 17 of the support body 4. Since the cover 8 is not integrated with the rotating body 9 at this time, in the process of fitting the spherical portion 14 into each holding piece 18, each holding piece 18 elastically deforms the inside of the through hole 15 and then returns to the original. Returning to the state, the spherical portion 14 can be snapped into each holding piece 18. After that, when each regulating piece 10 of the cover 8 is made to correspond to the corresponding through hole 15 and the cover 8 is pushed into the rotating body 9 in this state, each locking piece 11 is snap-coupled to the elastic piece 16, 8 and the rotating body 9 are integrated. As a result, each regulating piece 10 abuts on the outer peripheral surface of each holding piece 18, so that the holding piece 18 is prevented from spreading by the regulating piece 10, and the spherical body portion 14 is reliably held by each holding piece 18. In addition, since the stopper pieces 12 are disposed outside the restricting pieces 10, deformation of the restricting pieces 10 to the outside is prevented by the stopper pieces 12, and the holding pieces 18 can be reliably prevented from spreading. . On the other hand, when the printed circuit board 5 is fixed to the lower end of the casing 1 directly or via a base body (not shown) with the rubber sheet 6 positioned on the printed circuit board 5 before and after the above-described process, Since the relative position of each switch element (the fixed contact 22 and the movable contact 25) is defined and the movement of the operating body 3 in the rotational direction is restricted by each slit 17, the trueness of each hollow protrusion 24 of the rubber sheet 6 is true. The respective display portions 8a of the cover 8 can be accurately positioned on the top.
[0016]
Next, the operation of the multi-directional input switch device assembled in this way will be described.
When the peripheral portion of the cover 8, for example, the right side of FIG. 2, is pushed from the non-operating state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spherical portion 11 is held by the holding piece 18 of the support body 4. The moving body 9 (the operating body 3) tilts in the clockwise direction of FIG. Accordingly, the slider 7 located on the right side in FIG. 2 is pushed down by the rotating body 9 and presses the hollow protrusion 24 of the rubber sheet 6 located immediately below, so that the hollow protrusion 24 is buckled and deformed. A click feeling is generated, and the movable contact 25 comes into contact with the fixed contact 22 facing the movable contact 25 to be switched on. When the hand is released from the tilted cover 8, the lowering side of the rotating body 9 is pushed up via the slider 7 by the elastic force of the hollow protrusion 24 of the rubber sheet 6, and the operating body 3 is shown in FIG. 1 and the initial state shown in FIG. As a result, the movable contact 24 in the contact state is separated from the fixed contact 22 and is switched off again. Further, when the lamp 21 is turned on in a dark place such as at night, the light of the lamp 21 is guided to the back surface of the cover 8 via each slider 7, and each display unit 8a is illuminated.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention is implemented in the form as described above, and has the following effects.
[0018]
It is operated by tilting the operation body in an arbitrary direction, a support body having a plurality of curved holding pieces divided by the slits, an operation body having a spherical portion that is tiltably held by the holding pieces. and a plurality of switching elements, the constituted by the operating body and a rotating body and a cover to be integrated with each other, wherein a connecting portion extending radially from the spherical portion and the spherical body in this rotating body through said slit A stopper portion located outside each holding piece is provided, and if a restricting portion that is inserted between the holding piece and the stopper portion to prevent the holding piece from spreading is provided on the cover, the cover is attached during assembly. Before integrating with the rotating body, the sphere can be easily fitted into each holding piece, and when the cover is integrated with the rotating body after that, the holding piece moves outward by the regulating part of the cover. co When There is restricted , Restricting portion for the deformation outwards can be prevented by the stopper portion of the rotating body can be reliably prevented that the spherical portion comes out of the holding piece.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view along one direction of a multidirectional input switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the multidirectional input switch device along another direction.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the multidirectional input switch device.
FIG. 4 is a rear view of a cover provided in the multidirectional input switch device.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a rotating body provided in the multidirectional input switch device.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a support provided in the multidirectional input switch device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Casing 3 Operation body 4 Support body 5 Printed circuit board 6 Rubber sheet 7 Slider 8 Cover 9 Rotating body 10 Restriction piece 11 Locking piece 12 Stopper piece 13 Connection part 14 Spherical part 15 Through-hole 16 Elastic piece 17 Slit 18 Holding piece 22 Fixation Contact 24 Hollow protrusion 25 Movable contact

Claims (2)

It is operated by tilting the operating body in an arbitrary direction, a support body having a plurality of curved holding pieces divided by the slits, an operating body having a spherical body that is tiltably held by the holding pieces. and a plurality of switching elements, the constituted by the operating body and a rotating body and a cover to be integrated with each other, wherein a connecting portion extending radially from the spherical portion and the spherical body in this rotating body through said slit A stopper portion located outside each holding piece is provided, and a restricting portion that is inserted between the holding piece and the stopper portion to prevent the holding piece from spreading is provided on the cover. Direction input switch device. The multidirectional input switch device according to claim 1 , wherein the stopper portion is continuous in an annular shape.

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