JP6546847B2 - Lever switch device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever switch device which constitutes, for example, a combination switch installed around a steering wheel of a vehicle.

  As a lever switch device of this type, there is one in which an operation knob for operating a light control switch is provided at the tip of a lever for operating a turn signal switch of a vehicle. Conventionally, the contact mechanism of the turn signal switch is fixed on the base A switch main body provided on the housing and including the contact mechanism of the light control switch when the lever is linear is also provided on the base housing and connected to the operation knob through a linear shaft member penetrating the inside of the lever The movable contact board of the switch main body is moved.

However, in recent years, the demand for bent levers has also increased from the viewpoint of customer requirements and design. However, since the shaft member connecting the operation knob and the movable contact board has high rigidity such as metal to transmit rotation, it can not be applied as it is to a bent lever.
If rigid shaft members can not be used, the switch contact mechanism must be arranged near the operation knob in the lever, but this increases the number of components of the lever and also requires the harness to be pulled out of the contact mechanism. Cost increases, and manual soldering of the harness also increases assembly effort.

As a countermeasure for this, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 4350920, as one shaft member, two shafts connected so as to rotate integrally in a bent form via a joint portion at a bent portion of a lever are used. A configuration has been proposed in which the operation knob is attached and the other shaft is connected to the movable contact board.
The joint can be formed by providing a protrusion at the end of one shaft and providing a recess at the end of the other shaft and fitting the protrusion into the recess, or at both ends of the shaft. It is also possible to mesh and form a bevel gear.
Thus, the switch main body to be operated according to the rotation of the operation knob can be disposed in the fixed base housing, so that the cost increase and the assembly workability deterioration relating to the contact mechanism and the harness are avoided. Aimed at

Patent No. 4350920

  However, in the lever switch device of the above-mentioned Patent No. 4350920, the shaft member becomes two parts and the complicated shape of the joint portion is also added, compared with the shaft member of the simple shape in the lever switch device provided with a linear lever. There is still an increase in costs. Similarly, since it has a joint part, the meshing confirmation etc. are required, and an effort is also taken for assembly.

  As another measure, it is conceivable to adopt a flexible so-called flexible shaft for rotational transmission in a bending path, but also in this case, the flexible shaft itself is expensive, and the connecting portion with the operation knob and the movable contact board Also have complex problems.

  Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention provides a lever switch device which can be realized at the same low cost as in the case of providing a linear lever by using one shaft member even in the case of including a bent lever. The purpose is

  The present invention is a lever switch device in which the switch main body is disposed on the fixed side and the operation knob is rotatably provided on the lever extending from the fixed side, the shaft member extending from the operation knob to the switch body within the lever The switch main body portion performs the switch operation in accordance with the linear movement of the shaft member by including displacement conversion means for converting the rotation of the operation knob into linear movement in the lateral direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the shaft member.

According to the present invention, since the switch main body is operated by linearly moving the shaft member disposed in the lever in the lateral direction, only one shaft member is required, and a lever switch device having a bent lever is also known. It is realized at the same low cost.
The present invention can also be applied to a linear lever instead of a bent shape.

It is a longitudinal section showing an embodiment of the invention. It is AA sectional drawing in FIG. It is a perspective view showing a shaft member. It is the end elevation which looked at a fixing member from the operation knob side. It is an explanatory view showing an operation of an embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a lever switch device constituting a combination switch of a vehicle will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal cross section of the embodiment, (A) is a general view, and (B) is an enlarged view of a portion B in (A).
The lever switch device 1 forms the light control switch main body 3 on the base housing 2 provided on the fixed side around the steering handle (not shown), and extends the lever 10 assembled with the operation knob 30 outward from the base housing 2 ing.
The light control switch main body 3 has a known configuration including a substrate 4 provided with fixed contacts and a movable contact board 5 provided with movable contacts and capable of sliding on the substrate 4 and the details will be omitted. The movable contact board 5 is connected to an axial member 40 described later extending from the lever 10.
The base housing 2 is also formed with a known turn signal switch body 9.

The lever 10 has a shaft member 40 described later disposed in a resin-made lever main body 11 having a bent shape in which an intermediate portion is bent. The lever body 11 has at its proximal end a drive shaft 12 extending into the base housing 2 and is adapted to be connected to the turn signal switch body 9.
The lever main body 11 has a hollow cylindrical shape, and an opening 15 is formed on the side wall between the base of the base housing 2, that is, near the bent portion to the base of the drive shaft 12 at the base end. Is attached to close. The vicinity of the outer end of the lever main body 11 is a linear cylindrical portion 13.

The lever body 11 has a central shaft 14 whose inner end is near the bent portion, and the central shaft 14 protrudes further outward from the tip of the cylindrical portion 13.
A fixing member 20 is disposed on the central shaft 14.
The fixing member 20 has an outer cylinder 21, a middle cylinder 22, an inner cylinder 23, and a connection wall 24 connecting these. The outer cylinder 21 and the middle cylinder 22 extend outward, and the inner cylinder 23 extends inward (the operation knob 30 side).
The connection wall 24 is positioned with a gap between the end wall of the lever body 11 and the end of the cylindrical portion 13, and the inner cylinder 23 extends into the cylindrical portion 13 and is coupled to the central shaft 14. The outer cylinder 21 has the same outer diameter as the general outer periphery (large diameter portion) of the cylindrical portion 13.

A peripheral wall 25 having a diameter smaller than that of the outer cylinder extends from the connection wall 24 of the fixing member 20 toward the end edge of the cylindrical portion 13 of the lever main body 11. In the circumferential wall 25, notches 26 (see also FIG. 4 described later) are provided at appropriate places in the circumferential direction, and a gap between the connection wall 24 and the end edge of the cylindrical portion 13 is not shown with switch position markings. A ring or the like can be placed in engagement with the notch 26 of the peripheral wall 25.
Further, for example, a cap 50 is attached to and attached to the central shaft 14 on the axially outward side of the fixing member 20.
The fixing member 20 and the cap 50 are preferably made of metal or resin.

The tip end portion of the cylindrical portion 13 of the lever main body 11 is a small diameter portion 13a, and the outer cylinder 31 of the operation knob 30 is disposed on the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 13a.
The operation knob 30 is made of metal or resin and has an inner cylinder 33 connected to the outer cylinder 31 by a connection wall 32 (FIG. 2 described later), and the inner cylinder 33 is supported by the inner cylinder 23 of the fixing member 20 Can be turned.
The outer cylinder 31 has a drive piece 35 (see also FIG. 2) extending inward from its inner wall.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1 and shows the relationship between the cylindrical portion 13 of the lever main body 11 and the operation knob 30.
The connection wall 32 of the operation knob 30 is divided into two extending in the opposite direction with the inner cylinder 33 interposed therebetween, and the outer cylinder 31 and the inner cylinder 33 are connected in a fan shape. The drive piece 35 is located between the two divided connection walls 32 in the circumferential direction of the operation knob 30.

In order to avoid interference with the connection wall 32 and the drive piece 35 when the operation knob 30 is rotated, the small-diameter portion 13a of the cylindrical portion 13 is cut into a predetermined range in the circumferential direction and divided into three. Also in the connection wall 32, a relief 38 is cut out to avoid interference with the small diameter portion 13a.
Although the small diameter portion 13a supports the outer cylinder 31 of the operation knob, in FIG. 1, the radial gap between the both is exaggeratedly drawn for simplicity.

  The driving piece 35 has a head 37 having an arc-shaped cross section at its tip, and a support portion 36 connecting the head 37 and the outer cylinder 31 is thinner than the head 37. The drive piece 35 extends in a direction parallel to the rotation axis (the cylindrical portion 13 and the central axis 14) of the operation knob 30, and has a predetermined length.

Returning to FIG. 1, in the lever main body 11, from the position of the operation knob 30 through the bending portion to the proximal end, the axial direction opening 17 formed in the vicinity of the root of the drive shaft 12 leads to the drive shaft 12 and The axial member 40 which protrudes in the same direction is arrange | positioned.
The shaft member 40 is made of highly rigid metal or resin, and the main body 41 is in the form of a strip extending parallel to the central shaft 14 and bent in the direction of the proximal end at the intermediate portion.

FIG. 3 shows the shaft member 40.
In the vicinity of the outer end of the main body 41, a head receiving portion 42 having a U-shaped cross section for receiving the head 37 of the drive piece 35 of the operation knob 30 and a tongue 44 formed at the tip adjacent thereto.
The tongue 44 is parallel to the plate surface of the main body 41, and the thickness thereof is preferably slightly larger than the general thickness of the main body 41. The reason for this is to increase the rigidity by increasing the thickness of the tongue 44 and to allow the tongue 44 to move linearly without tilting the guide groove 27 described later, thereby suppressing the stack and the like.
The length L of the head receiving portion 42 is longer than the plate width of the main body 41, and correspondingly, the driving pieces 35 of the operation knob 30 in which the head 37 fits in the head receiving portion 42 are also equivalent in length Set to

Furthermore, at a portion located at the opening 15 of the lever main body 11 on the base end side of the main body 41, a pair of walls rise up perpendicular to the tongue piece 44 across the main body 41 and a lateral groove 45 is formed.
The base end (inward end) of the main body 41 protruding from the opening 17 at the base end of the lever main body 11 is provided with an engagement pin 46, and the engagement pin 46 is formed on the movable contact board 5 of the light control switch body 3 It mates with and connects with the pin receiving portion 6. (See also Figure 1)

Next, FIG. 4 is an end view of the fixing member 20 as viewed from the operation knob 30 side.
In the connection wall 24 of the fixing member 20, a linear guide groove 27 is formed inside the peripheral wall 25. The extension direction of the guide groove 27 is set substantially parallel to the substrate 4 of the light control switch main body 3 and coincides with the sliding direction of the movable contact board 5 on the substrate 4.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the shaft member 40 passes through the hole 39 (see FIG. 2) defined between the divided connection walls 32 of the operation knob 30 in its head receiving portion 42, as shown in FIG. The reference numeral 44 is slidably received in the guide groove 27.
As a result, the tongue 44 can move linearly in the lateral direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 along the guide groove 27.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the lever main body 11 is provided with a guide wall 18 extending from the inner wall thereof into the lateral groove 45 of the shaft member 40, and the support wall 19 rises from the inner wall of the cover 16 opposite the guide wall 18. The shaft member 40 (main body 41) is sandwiched between the end edges of both walls to define the passing position and to be slidable in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the head receiving portion 42 of the shaft member 40 has the two sides 43 of the head 37 of the driving piece 35 sandwiching the head 37 and the head 37 on the line S perpendicular to the wall 43 passing through the arc center of the head 37. Contact point P occurs. Since the head 37 and the wall 43 have a predetermined length, both are in line contact by a straight line formed by the contact points P aligned in the longitudinal direction. In FIG. 1, the contact point P is shown by a straight line.

When the operation knob 30 is rotated, the head 37 of the drive piece 35 is integrally rotated to bias the fitting head receiving portion 42 in the same rotational direction. Here, since the tongue piece 44 adjacent to the head receiving portion 42 is regulated by the linear guide groove 27, as shown in FIG. 5, the head receiving portion 42 linearly moves with the rotation of the operation knob 30. become.
In FIG. 5, (A) shows the head receiving portion 42 as shown in (B) and (C) sequentially as it rotates counterclockwise from the position with the operation knob 30 at the start of the rotation area. It is pushed by the head 37 and linearly moved to the left.

The length L of the driving piece 35 and the head receiving portion 42 which are long here is shown in FIG. 1 to be equal to the outer cylinder 31 of the operation knob 30, but the head receiving portion 42 is biased by the driving piece 35 In this case, the material and rigidity of the operation knob 30 and the shaft member 40 may be set in consideration of the movement of the entire shaft member 40 while maintaining its posture.
As a result, the engagement pin 46 connected to the movable contact board 5 of the light control switch main body 3 moves in the same direction by the same stroke in parallel with the head receiving portion 42 as shown in FIG.
A predetermined number of fixed contacts are provided on the substrate 4 of the light control switch main body 3 within the stroke range of this linear movement, and a plurality of switch positions are set.

As described above, since the head receiving portion 42 engages with the long head 37 in line contact, the posture of the entire shaft member 40 is maintained during linear movement, and the guide wall 18 with respect to the lateral groove 45 of the shaft member 40. The support wall 19 also smoothly guides the parallel movement of the shaft member 40.
Thus, the rotation of the operation knob 30 linearly moves the engagement pin 46 of the shaft member 40 in parallel with the guide groove 27, and the movable contact board 5 of the light control switch main body 3 is slidingly driven in the same direction. To be done.

In the present embodiment, the base housing 2 corresponds to the fixed side in the invention, and the light control switch main body 3 corresponds to the switch main body in the invention.
Further, the head 37 of the drive piece 35 formed on the operation knob 30 and the head receiving portion 42 formed on the shaft member 40 are fitted together, and the guide groove 27 formed on the fixing member 20 with the tongue piece 44 of the shaft member 40 The structure that regulates in the linear movement direction constitutes the displacement conversion means.

  The embodiment is configured as described above, and in the lever 10, the shaft member 40 connected to the operation knob 30 at one end side and connected to the light control switch main body 3 at the other end side is disposed and formed on the operation knob 30 The operation knob 30 and the shaft member 40 are connected by the drive piece 35 including the head 37 having an arc-shaped cross section and the head receiving portion 42 formed on the shaft member 40 and fitted to the head 37, and the tongue piece 44 of the shaft member 40 A guide groove 27 for restricting the movement of the operation knob 30 in the linear direction, so as to convert the rotation of the operation knob 30 into a linear movement in the lateral direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the shaft member 40; Since the switch 3 is operated in accordance with the linear movement of the shaft member 40, the use of one shaft member as in the prior art enables cost reduction and rotation of the operation knob 30 at low cost. It made it possible to switch the operation of the door control switch the main body portion 3. (Effect corresponding to claims 1 and 3)

Although the lever is not limited to being straight or bent, in particular, when the lever 10 is bent, the linear movement direction of the shaft member 40 by the guide groove 27 and the tongue piece 44 is the bending of the lever 10 By making the direction transverse to the direction, the shaft member 40 can be moved within the lever 10 without any problem. (Effect corresponding to claim 2)
Further, the drive piece 35 and the head receiving portion 42 have a predetermined length, and the posture of the shaft member 40 is maintained by fitting each other, so that the shaft member including the connecting portion with the light control switch main body 3 The entire unit 40 is linearly moved with rigidity to ensure smooth switch operation. (Effect corresponding to claim 4)

Further, a lateral groove 45 is formed in the shaft member 40, and a guide wall 12 extending from the inner wall of the lever main body 11 into the lateral groove 45 is provided, and a support wall 19 opposed to the guide wall 18 rises from the inner wall of the cover 16 Since the shaft member 40 is slidably sandwiched between the end edges of both walls, the passing position of the shaft member 40 in the lever 10 is defined, and the linear movement is smoothly guided.
(Effect corresponding to claim 5)

In the embodiment, the drive piece 35 including the head 37 is formed on the operation knob 30, and the head receiving portion 42 is formed on the shaft member 40. However, the head is formed on the shaft member side and the head receiving portion is on the operation knob side You may provide.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the operation knob 30 is assumed to rotate counterclockwise from the starting point, but the positional relationship between the connection wall 32 and the small diameter portion 13a of the lever main body 11 is set so as to avoid interference with each other. If set, clockwise rotation is also possible.

Although this invention is suitable for the lever switch apparatus which has a lever of a bending shape like embodiment, it is not limited to this, It is applicable as it is also to the lever switch apparatus which has a linear lever.
Although the embodiment shows an example applied to the light control switch system, the present invention is not limited to this, and various levers for operating the switch disposed on the fixed side by rotating the operation knob provided on the lever It is applicable to a switch device.

Reference Signs List 1 lever switch device 2 base housing 3 light control switch main body 4 substrate 5 movable contact board 6 pin receiving portion 9 turn signal switch main body 10 lever 11 lever main body 12 drive shaft 13 cylindrical portion 13a small diameter portion 14 central shaft 15 opening 16 cover 17 opening 18 guide wall 19 support wall 20 fixed member 21 outer cylinder 22 middle cylinder 23 inner cylinder 24 connection wall 25 peripheral wall 26 notch 27 guide groove 30 operation knob 31 outer cylinder 32 connection wall 33 inner cylinder 35 drive piece 36 support Part 37 Head 38 Relief part 39 Hole 40 Shaft member 41 Main body 42 Head receiving part 43 Wall 44 Tongue piece 45 Horizontal groove 46 Engagement pin 50 Cap P Contact point

Claims (5)

In a lever switch device in which a switch main body is disposed on a fixed side, and an operation knob is rotatably provided on a lever extending from the fixed side,
A shaft member extending from the operation knob to the switch main body is disposed in the lever, and displacement conversion means is provided for converting the rotation of the operation knob into a linear movement in the lateral direction relative to the longitudinal direction of the shaft member.
A lever switch device characterized in that the switch body portion performs switch operation according to linear movement of the shaft member. The lever has a bent shape,
The lever switch device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement converting means moves the shaft member in a lateral direction with respect to a bending direction of the lever. The displacement conversion means includes a drive piece provided with a head having an arc-shaped cross section formed on one of the operation knob and the shaft member, and a head receiving portion formed on the other of the operation knob and the shaft member and fitted with the head. While connecting the operation knob and the shaft member,
The lever switch device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a guide groove that restricts the movement of the shaft member in a linear direction. The lever switch device according to claim 3 , wherein the drive piece and the head receiving portion have a predetermined length and hold the posture of the shaft member during the linear movement in the lateral direction. The lever has a hollow cylindrical shape, a lever body having an opening on a side wall near the fixed side, and a cover closing the opening.
The shaft member is provided with a lateral groove extending in the linear movement direction,
Together with the guide wall extending from the inner wall of the lever main body in said transverse groove is provided, wherein from the inner wall of the cover rises the guide wall facing the support wall, the shaft member can slide between the edges of the two walls The lever switch device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that

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