JPH01173527A - Seesaw type switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely obtain the contact pressure between movable contact members and fixed contacts and improve the switching precision and life by slidably fitting the movable contact members to movable pieces and providing a spring energizing the movable contact members to the fixed contact side between the movable pieces and the movable contact members. CONSTITUTION:When movable contact members 33-36 are in contact with fixed contacts 70-73 respectively and an operation button 26 is depressed, this excessive depression quantity is absorbed by the deflection of the movable pieces 59-62 and the sliding of the movable contact members 33-36 against the movable pieces 59-62, and no local stress is applied to the movable pieces 59-62 or the like. The mechanical fatigue of the movable pieces can be thereby reduced, and the life is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a seesaw-type switch used, for example, to control the raising and lowering of a windshield of an automobile.

(Prior Art) Fig. 5 shows an example of a conventional seesaw type switch.
, a leaf spring 4, a ball 5, a ball receiving member 6, etc., and the operation button 2 is rotated about a pivot 23 as a fulcrum. When one side of the operating button 2 is pushed in the direction indicated by arrow E in FIG. 5, the operating button 2 is rotated clockwise.

At the same time, the control protrusion 10 integrally formed on the lower surface of the operation button 2 pushes down the movable piece 16, which is formed by bending both ends of an elastic conductive plate spring 4 outward. Side movable piece 1
The movable contact member 17 attached to the fixed contact 22 is brought into contact with the fixed contact 22 to establish a conductive state. When the push-down blade is removed again, the operating button 2 is pushed back counterclockwise by the self-elastic restoring force of the movable piece 16 and returned to the neutral position again.
are separated and become non-conductive. Conversely, when the operating button 2 is pressed from the opposite side in the direction indicated by the arrow F in FIG. The movable contact piece 16 on the opposite side
is pressed down, and the movable contact member 17 on this pressed down side
is brought into contact with the fixed contact 22. When the pressing blade is removed again, the operating button 2 is pushed back clockwise by the self-elastic restoring force of the movable contact piece 16 and returned to the neutral position, thereby separating the movable contact member 17 and the fixed contact 22. becomes non-conductive.

Therefore, in this seesaw type switch 1, when the operation button 2 is pressed in the direction of the arrow E or F, the movable piece 16 on the pressed side is pushed downward by the control protrusion 10 and is bent. Due to the bending, the movable contact member 17 comes into contact with the fixed contact 22, and the contact is switched.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional seesaw type switch 1, when the operation button 2 is pressed in the direction of the arrow E or F, the switch is placed corresponding to the pressed side. The movable piece 16 is pushed by the control protrusion 10 and deflects downward, and this deflection brings the movable contact member 17 into contact with the fixed contact 22, thereby switching the contact.

The rotational force of the operation button 2 is applied directly to the movable contact member 17 via the control protrusion 10 and the movable piece 16, and the movable contact member 17 is brought into pressure contact with the fixed contact 22. Therefore, if there is not enough space for the operation button 2 to rotate and the time during which the movable piece 16 is pressed down by the operation button 2 is short, the predetermined contact force between the movable contact member 17 and the fixed contact 22 will not be achieved. This will result in poor contact. On the other hand, if the amount by which the operating button 2 is rotated is large and the amount of deflection of the movable piece 16 by the operating button 2 is large, the mechanical fatigue of the movable piece 16 will be severe and the service life will be shortened. Therefore, there was a problem that it was very difficult to set the pressure between the operation button 2 and the movable piece 16.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to easily set the pressure between the movable contact piece and the operation button, and at the same time, to reliably obtain the contact pressure between the movable contact part and the fixed contact.
An object of the present invention is to provide a seesaw type switch having a structure capable of improving switching accuracy and service life.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a pivot portion protruding from the lower side of the operating portion, the middle of which is rotatably supported on the base, and the support portion is used as a fulcrum to move from side to side. The movable piece has a rotating operation button, and a movable piece at both ends that is disposed within the rotation area of the operation button and is pushed down by the rotation of the operation button and urges the operation button to a neutral position. A seesaw type switch comprising a conductive plate spring having a movable contact member attached to a piece thereof, and a fixed contact to which the pressed movable contact member abuts, the movable contact member sliding on the movable piece. In addition to being freely attached, a spring is provided between the movable piece and the movable contact member to bias the movable contact member toward the fixed contact.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show the main structure of a seesaw type switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, the switch 25 includes an operation button 26, a base 27, a contact board 28, a leaf spring 29, a ball 30, a ball receiving member 31, and movable contact members 33, 34, 3.
5.36, a coil spring 37, an auxiliary coil spring 38, etc.

The operation button 26 is formed of an operation section 39 and a pivot section 40, each of which is separately molded from a resin material. The operating portion 39 is provided with an engagement recess 41 at the center of its lower surface, and control protrusions 42 are provided at positions facing each other with the engagement recess 41 in between. on the other hand,
The pivot portion 40 is formed into a rod shape, and is attached such that one end thereof is fitted into the engagement recess 41 and protrudes from the lower surface of the operating portion 39 . A ball receiving recess 43 is provided on the lower surface of the hanging pivot portion 40. The four ball receiver parts 43 have four outer circumferential parts 44 formed in a manner in which the depth increases toward the center, and an outer circumferential recess 44 that is cut deeper from the center of the outer circumferential recess 44. It is formed with a central recessed portion 45 with a step provided therebetween. The diameter of the center recess 45 is approximately one quarter of the diameter of the ball 30, and the diameter of the outer peripheral recess 44 is slightly larger than the diameter of the ball 30. Further, the maximum depth of the outer circumferential recess 44 is smaller than the diameter of the ball 30. Furthermore, an elongated hole 46 is provided in the middle portion of the pivot portion 40 so as to pass through the side surface of the pivot portion 40 .

The base 27 is molded from a resin material. A rectangular recess 47 is integrally provided corresponding to the position where the operation button 26 is attached, and a through hole 48 is further provided in the lower surface of this recess 47. Note that this recess 47
The size is large enough to accommodate the pivot portion 4O. The base 27 also has a recess 47.
The support pieces 4 are respectively protruded upward along both side edges of the support pieces 4.
9 are integrally molded, and each support piece 49 is provided with a through hole 50 corresponding to the elongated hole 46. The cylindrical portions 52.
53, 54, and 55 are integrally provided, and holes 51 penetrating vertically are formed in the cylindrical portions 52, 53, 54, 55, respectively.

The leaf spring 29 is made of an elastic gold plate. The intermediate portion 56 of this leaf spring 29 is
is inserted into the recess 47 of the base 27, this recess 4
It is bent into a substantially U-shape along the inner wall surface of 7. Further, an intermediate portion 56 protruding from the upper part of the recess 47
, each tip portion is further bent outward at a substantially right angle.

This outwardly bent portion is separated into two by a groove 58 which is cut from the tip end toward the intermediate portion 56 and into the area of the intermediate portion 56. Also, due to this separation, the movable piece 59.6 is attached to one tip side.
0, and movable pieces 61 and 62 are formed on the other end side, respectively. Furthermore, each movable piece 59, 60, 61, 62 is provided with a sliding groove 63 that is cut halfway from the tip toward the intermediate portion 56, and the internal terminal portion of this sliding groove 63 is Niko slot groove 63
The large diameter hole 64 (
(see Figure 1) are provided continuously. Each of the movable pieces 59, 60, 61, and 62 has a plunger function, and movable contact members 33, 34, 35, 36 are attached thereto, respectively.

Each movable contact member 33, 34, 35, 36 has a movable contact portion 33A, 34A, 35A at one end.

36A is integrally formed, and this movable contact portion 3
Flange-shaped washers 32 are fixed to the immediate upper outer peripheral surfaces of 3A, 34A, 35A, and 36Δ, respectively.

Moreover, on the upper part of the movable contact members 33, 34, 35, 36,
41 through holes 67 are provided across the side surfaces of the movable contact members 33, 34, 35, and 36, respectively. Then, the movable contact members 33, 34, 35, 36 are attached to the fixed contacts 70, 71, 36,
Auxiliary coil springs 38 constituting spring means for biasing toward the 72 and 73 sides are respectively attached.

This auxiliary coil spring 38 is connected to the washer 32 and the through hole 6.
Each movable contact member 33 is formed with a dimension longer than the dimension between 7 and 7, and each movable contact member 33 is
．． 34, 35, and 36, and then the upper end side is pressed downward and compressed, and the upper end side is locked by a locking pin 68 that is press-fitted into the through hole 67. .

In this way, each movable contact member 33, 34, 35° 36
Each auxiliary coil spring 38 attached to the auxiliary coil spring 38 is treated as a unitary part together with each movable contact member 33, 34, 35, 36. Each movable contact member 33 is unitized with an auxiliary coil spring.
．． 34.35.36 is a movable piece 59.60.61.62
is inserted between the locking pin 68 and the auxiliary coil spring 38 from the slotted groove 63 into the large diameter hole 64, and has a plunger function that slides within the large diameter hole 64. has been done. In addition, each movable contact member 33, 34, 35, 36 installed in the large diameter hole 64,
The movable pieces 59, 60 are moved by the biasing force of the auxiliary coil spring 38.
．． 61 and 62 are normally held in a biased state. Then, when an external force is applied from below to the movable contact member 33, 34, 35, 36 to overcome the urging force of the auxiliary coil spring 38, the movable contact member 33 to which the external force is applied
．． Only 34, 35, 36 are movable pieces 59, 60° 61.6
The movable contact members 59, 60, .
A large external force applied to 61 and 62 is absorbed. Also, among the movable contact members 33, 34, 35, 36, a movable contact portion 34A protrudes from the washer 32 of the movable contact member 34.
The length dimension of the movable contact parts 33A, 35A, 35A, which protrude from the washer 32 of the other movable contact members 33, 35,
It is formed to be longer than the length dimension of 36 by X minutes (see FIG. 2). With the movable contact members 33, 34, 35° 36 attached to the movable pieces 59, 60, 61, 62, respectively, only the movable contact portion 34A is protruded downward by a distance X. Further, a through hole 65 corresponding to the through hole 48 of the recess 47 is provided at the center of the bottom surface of the intermediate portion 56 of the leaf spring 29 .

The ball receiving member 31 is formed of a resin material into a bottomed cylindrical shape with one end closed.
are integrated. And the ball receiving member 31 is
The receiver passes through the negative through hole 65 of the leaf spring 29 and the through hole 48 of the recess 47, and is inserted until the brim portion 66 collides with the periphery of the through hole 65 and is regulated, with the opening portion facing upward. It is fixed in the recess 47 in this state. Also, a coil spring 37 used in a compressed state is provided inside this ball receiving member 31.
is stored, and the ball 30 is further attached to the coil spring 37.
The ball 30 is placed on one end of the ball 30 and protrudes from the frontage portion.

Then, the ball receiving member 31 is passed through the through hole 65 of the leaf spring 29 and the through hole 48 of the recess 47, and is installed in the fourth part 47 until the brim portion 66 collides with the periphery of the through hole 65 and is regulated. At this time, the leaf spring 29 is also installed in the recess 47 while being held between the brim portion 66 and the bottom surface of the recess 47 .

Further, in this state, each movable contact piece 59, 60, 61°62 extends in opposite directions along the surface of the base 27, and each large diameter hole 64 of each movable piece 59, 60, 61.62 This corresponds to the upper part of the cylindrical parts 52, 53, 54, and 55. The movable contact members 33.34.35.36 attached to each movable piece 59.60.61.62 are attached to the corresponding cylindrical portions 52.53, 54.55, respectively.
The movable contact portions 33A, 34A, 35A, and 36A are projected toward the contact substrate 28 side through the movable contact portions 33A, 34A, 35A, and 36A.

The contact board 28 is molded from a resin material, and has a printed wiring circuit (not shown) formed on its surface. Further, a through hole 69 for letting the ball receiving member 31 escape is provided at a position corresponding to the through hole 48, and a fixed contact 70 connected to the printed wiring circuit at a position corresponding to the cylindrical portion 52, 53, 54, 55.
．． 71, 72° and 73 are provided, respectively. The fixed contact 71 corresponding to the movable contact portion 34A is formed by the fixed contact 71A and the fixed contact 71B, and the fixed contact 73 corresponding to the movable contact portion 36A is formed by the fixed contact 71A and the fixed contact 71B.
3A and a fixed contact 73B.

The operation button 26 is attached to the base 27 with the leaf spring 29 and the ball receiving member 31 integrated into the base 27, and with the auxiliary coil spring 38 attached to each of the movable contact members 33 which are made into a unit. ,34.3
5.36 is attached to each movable piece 59.60.61.62, when the movable contact members 3, 34.35; 36 are inserted into the cylindrical parts 52.53, 54.55, respectively. , when the pivot portion 40 is inserted into the recess 47, the center recess 45 of the pivot portion 40 is inserted into the coil spring 3.
7 and comes into contact with a ball 30 supported at one end. Further, when the operation button 26 is pushed downward with a portion of the ball 30 received in the center recess 45, the coil spring 37 is compressed and a portion of the ball 30 is placed in the ball receiving member 31. The through hole 50 of the support piece 49 and the elongated hole 46 of the pivot portion 40 correspond to each other. In this state, the pivot 74 is inserted from the through hole 50 side of one support piece 49 through the long hole 46 of the pivot portion 40 to the through hole 50 of the other support piece 49, and the long hole 46
When the protruding portion on the opposite side is fixed to the support piece 49, the operation button 26 is attached so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction about the pivot 74 as a fulcrum.

Further, in this state, the ball 30 is pressed into the center recess 45 by the biasing force of the coil spring 37, and the operating button 26 is also biased upward to suppress the play of the operating button 26. Furthermore, each control protrusion 42 provided on the lower surface of the operating part 39 is brought into contact with the tip end portion of each movable piece 59, 60, 61, 62, and the movable piece 5 that is in contact with it
9, 60, 61, 62 operating button 26 by elastic force
is maintained in a straight neutral position as shown in FIG. As a result, each movable contact member 33.
34.35.36 also each fixed contact 70°71.72.73
being kept away from.

The seesaw type switch 25 configured in this way is
The operating button 26 can be rotated in the left-right direction using the pivot 74 as a fulcrum, and when one side of the operating section 39 is pushed from the direction shown by arrow C in FIG. Rotated clockwise. At this time, the pivot portion 40 is also rotated together and displaced with respect to the ball 30, so that the center recess 45 is released from the ball 30 due to this displacement, and the outer peripheral recess 44 is placed in correspondence with the ball 30. rotated in the direction. As shown in this state in FIG. 3, the center recess 45 is released from the ball 30, and then the outer peripheral recess 44 is disposed correspondingly to the ball 30. Further, during this movement, the difference in level between the center recess 45 and the outer peripheral recess 44 provides an operational feel to the operator's fingers, and at the same time, the movable pieces 59 and 60 are pushed down by the control protrusion 42. At this time, the movable contact portion 34A of the movable contact member 34 protrudes downward by a dimension X larger than the movable contact portion 33A of the movable contact member 33, so the movable contact portion 34A first contacts the fixed contact 71, The fixed contact 71A and the fixed contact 71B are brought into conduction via the movable contact portion 34A. This state is also shown in FIG. Further, when the operation button 26 is further moved clockwise from this state, the inner edge 44A of the outer peripheral recess 44 collides with the ball 30 as shown in FIG. 4, and the operation button 26 cannot be rotated any further. The rotating contact portion 33
A is brought into contact with the fixed contact 70.

The fixed contacts 71A, 718.70 are then brought into conduction via the fixed contact members 33, 34 and the leaf spring 29. That is, in this operation, a time difference is created between the connection of the fixed contacts 71A and 71B and the fixed contact 70 that is also connected to the fixed contacts 71A and 71B by changing the length dimensions of the fixed contact parts 33A and 34A. has been done. As a result, when the side of the operation button 26 indicated by arrow C is pressed, the external circuit (not shown) connected to the fixed contacts 71A and 71B is first turned on, and then the external circuit (not shown) connected to the fixed contact 70 is turned on. ) can be used in such a manner that there is a time difference in the control between each circuit, so that the circuits are conductive.

When the operation button 26 moves downward until the movable contact member 33 comes into contact with the fixed contact 70, the movable contact member 37
The excessive displacement force applied to the movable piece 60 causes the bending deformation of the movable piece 60,
The biasing force of the auxiliary coil spring 38 is absorbed by the movable contact portion vU34 sliding against the movable piece 60, thereby reducing mechanical fatigue of the movable piece 60. Also, on the movable contact member 33 side, when an extra downward rotational force is applied after the movable contact member 33 contacts the fixed contact 70, the sliding of the movable contact member 33 against the movable piece 59 similarly occurs. Absorbs excess displacement force dynamically,
This also reduces mechanical fatigue of the movable piece 59.

Further, when the push-down blade from the direction of arrow C is removed from the operating button 26, the operating button 26 is pushed back counterclockwise by the self-elastic restoring force of the movable pieces 59, 60. At this time, each movable contact member 33, 34 is connected to each fixed contact 70.71A.
, the order of leaving 71B is the reverse of when it was pushed down,
First, the movable contact member 33 and the fixed contact 70 are separated, and then the movable contact member 34 and the fixed contact 71 are separated.

When the operation button 26 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 4
5 is displaced in the corresponding direction. Also, the operation button 26
Just before the ball 30 is rotated by a predetermined amount and returned to the neutral position, the center recess 45 corresponds to the ball 30. Then, the ball 30 is brought down into the center recess 45 again, and the operation button 26 returns to the state shown in FIG. 2.

Furthermore, when the ball 30 falls into the central recess 45, this feeling is transmitted to the operator's fingers, allowing the operator to feel the operation button 26.

Next, when the operation button 26 is pressed on one side of the operation section 39 from the direction of the arrow in FIG.
4 as a fulcrum and rotated counterclockwise. At this time, the pivot portion 4o is also rotated together and displaced with respect to the ball 30, so that the center recess 45 is released from the ball 30 due to this displacement, and the outer circumferential recess 44 is rotated counterclockwise to a state corresponding to the ball 30. rotated in the direction. Then, the center recess 45 is released from the ball 3o, and the outer peripheral recess 44 is attached to the ball 3o.
When the movable pieces 61 and 62 are positioned correspondingly, the step between the center recess 45 and the outer circumferential recess 44 gives an operational feel to the operator's fingers, and at the same time, the movable pieces 61 and 62 are pushed down by the control protrusion 42. Then, the movable contact member 35 and the movable contact member 36 move to the movable piece 61.6.
It is displaced downward together with 2. And movable contact part 35A
contacts the fixed contact 73, and the fixed contact 73A and the fixed contact 7
At the same time, the movable contact part 35A comes into contact with the fixed contact 72, and the fixed contact 73A, the fixed contact 73B, and the fixed contact 7
2 are brought into conduction with each other.

At the same time, the inner surface 44A of the outer peripheral recess 44 collides with the ball 30, and the operating button 26 cannot be rotated any further.

If the movable contact member 35 and the movable contact member 36 are moved further downward after coming into contact with the fixed contact 72.73, the movable piece 61.62 will be bent and the auxiliary coil spring 38 will be attached. The excessive displacement force is absorbed by the displacement of the movable contact member 35 sliding against the movable piece 61 against the force and the displacement of the movable contact member 36 sliding against the movable piece 62, thereby causing the movable piece 61. 62 to reduce mechanical fatigue.

Further, when the push-down blade on the arrow direction side of the operation button 26 is removed, the operation button 26 is pushed back clockwise by the self-elastic restoring force of the movable pieces 61, 62, and at the same time, each movable contact member 35, 36 is moved to each fixed position. It is separated from the contacts 72, 73A, 73B.

When the operation button 26 is rotated clockwise in FIG. is displaced in the direction of Also, just before the operation button 26 is rotated by a predetermined amount and returned to the neutral position, the ball 30 is aligned with the center recess 45, so that the ball 30 falls into the center recess 45 again, and the operation button 26 is moved to the second position. The state returns to the state shown in the figure. Further, when the ball 30 falls into the central recess 45, this feeling is transmitted to the operator's fingers, giving the operator the feeling of operating the operating button 26.

Therefore, this seesaw-shaped switch 1 can be operated from the operation button 26 from the direction of arrow C or from the direction of arrow D in FIG.
When alternatively pressed, the movable piece 59. on the pressed side moves.
60 or the movable pieces 61 and 62 are pushed downward by the control protrusion 42 and flex, and at the same time, this flexure causes the movable contact member 3 to
3.34 or movable contact member 35.36 is displaced downward and comes into contact with fixed contact 70.71 or fixed contact 72.73, thereby switching the contact.

When the operation button 26 is pressed from the direction of arrow C, the timing at which the movable contact member 34 contacts and separates from the fixed contact 71 and the timing at which the movable contact member 33 contacts and separates from the fixed contact 70 are determined by the movable contact portion 34A. Movable contacts 8! I 33
Since a time difference is provided by changing the quality with respect to A, this switch 25 itself can also perform sequence control of an external circuit. Therefore, by using this switch 25, it is also possible to simplify the configuration of the external circuit. In addition, in this embodiment, the movable contact portion 33A and the movable contact portion 34 are used as means for providing a time difference.
Although the length of A is changed, the length of the entire movable contact member 34 is different from the length of the entire movable contact member 33, or the height of the fixed contact 71 and the height of the fixed contact 72 are different. The height dimensions may be changed to provide a time difference.

In addition, if the operation button 26 is further rotated and pressed down while each movable contact member 33.34, 35.36 is in contact with the fixed contact point 70, 71.72.73, the excess pressing time is Movable pieces 59, 60, 61.
62 and the biasing force of the auxiliary coil spring 38, the movable contact members 33, 34, 35, 36 are moved to the movable piece 59.
．． The absorption is done by sliding it at an angle of 60°61.62. Therefore, the movable pieces 59, 60.
Since no local stress is applied to the movable pieces 59, 60, 61, 62, etc., the mechanical fatigue of the movable pieces 59, 60, 61, 62 is reduced, and the life span is improved.

In addition, the ball receiving recess 43 for receiving the ball 30 is connected to the outer peripheral recess 4.
4 and a center recess 45, and when the operation button 26 is rotated, the center recess 45 and the outer peripheral recess 44 are formed with respect to the ball 30.
moves, giving the operator a click feeling when switching between the central recess 45 and the outer circumferential recess 44.

This allows tactile confirmation of whether or not an operation has been performed, improving operability.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the seesaw type switch according to the present invention, when the operation button is further depressed while each movable contact member is in contact with the fixed contact,
Since this excess amount of depression is absorbed by the deflection of the movable piece and the sliding of the movable contact member relative to the movable piece, no local stress is applied to the movable piece or the like. This reduces mechanical fatigue of the movable piece,
``The lifespan is improved and the selection of materials for the movable piece becomes easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts of a seesaw-type switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1 with the push button not pressed. Figure 3 shows the / of Figure 1 with the push button partially pressed down.
1AFi, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1 with the push button fully pressed, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional seesaw switch. It is a diagram. 25... Switch, 26... Operation button, 27...
・Base, 28... Contact board, 29... Leaf spring, 3
0...Ball, 33.34.35.36...Movable contact member, 37...Coil spring, 38...Auxiliary coil spring, 39...Operation unit, 40...Pivot part, 42 ...Control protrusion, 43...Ball receiving recess, 4
4... Outer circumference recess, 45... Center recess, 59, 60.
61.62...Movable piece, 70.71, 72.73...
・Fixed contact, 74... Pivot.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An operation button whose middle part of a pivot part protruding from the lower side of the operation part is rotatably supported by a base and rotates from side to side about this support part as a fulcrum; a conductive plate spring having a movable piece at both ends that is pressed down by rotation of the operation button and urges the operation button to a neutral position, and a movable contact member attached to the movable piece; and the pressed down movable contact. A seesaw type switch comprising a fixed contact with which a member abuts, the movable contact member being slidably attached to the movable piece,
A seesaw-type switch characterized in that a spring means is provided between the movable piece and the movable contact member for biasing the movable contact member toward the fixed contact.