JPH0213413B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a dial mechanism for a repeating time switch.

[Background Art] Conventionally, there are typical repeatable time switches shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. That is, the dial body 1 rotates at a constant speed at a constant cycle, and a plurality of setters 2 attached to the outer periphery of the dial body 1 actuate a switch 3 to turn on/off electrical equipment at a predetermined time. This has a configuration in which a setter 2 is inserted and fixed into a plurality of setter holes 4 arranged in a row on the peripheral edge of a dial body 1, and the end of the setter 2 switches a switch 3. For example, the setter hole 4 is
They are set at 15 minute intervals. The switch 3 is opened and closed each time each setter 2 operates the switch lever 3a with which it engages.

In this conventional device, the setting element 2 is the dial body 1.
It is prepared separately from the switch 3, and the setter 2 is inserted into the setter hole 4 corresponding to the time when the switch 3 needs to be changed.
had to be inserted and fixed, and the setter 2 had to be removed from the setter hole 4, which did not require switching. As a result, changing the mounting position of the setting element 2 in response to a change in the switch switching time is relatively complicated and easy to make a mistake, and the setting element 2 that is not in use is easily lost. Furthermore, it was necessary to provide a housing section for the unused setter 2 in the time switch main body 5.

Furthermore, in conventional devices, there are those that use a single-shaped setter for both on-off operations, and those that use a setter that has a dedicated shape for on-off operations. In the former case, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to distinguish between on and off operations at each time when switching a complex program, and in the latter case, the structure is complex and it is not easy to replace the program. It was hot. Furthermore, since the parts themselves are small and in large quantity (96 pieces per machine at 15 minute intervals), managing the parts is difficult.

Therefore, we proposed a system in which a setting element is swingably attached to the dial body, and the on/off switching is performed by raising and lowering the setting element (Japanese Patent Application No. 58-31403). According to this, setting is easy and problems such as loss of powder of the setter can be solved. However, it was difficult to confirm the raised/lowered state of the setter, and the reliability of the setter operation was insufficient. In addition, a C-shaped fitting part is rotatably fitted to the shaft part of the setter hole, and an uneven part for clicking is provided between the shaft part and the fitting part, and the switch drive part is moved in the radial direction of the dial body. However, when operating the switch drive unit from the upper surface of the dial body, the operating position of the switch drive unit of the setter is difficult to change, and the switch drive unit is difficult to change. The operating part is not easy to operate, making it difficult to change the setting position of the switch drive part.Furthermore, the uneven part for the click is formed on the shaft, making the molding of the dial body complicated. Ta.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a dial mechanism for a time switch in which the position of the setter is clear, the setter can be easily operated, the operation is highly reliable, and the time switch is easy to manufacture.

[Disclosure of the invention]

The dial mechanism of the time switch of this invention is
A plurality of setter holes are arranged in an annular shape and each has a slit-shaped setter hole penetrating the front and back surfaces and extending in the radial direction, and an opening is formed on the lower surface between the setter holes and parallel to the circumferential direction of the annular shape. a dial body having a groove-shaped bearing recess, an arcuate surface formed on the upper surface between the setter holes and having the bearing recess as the center, and a click protrusion formed on the arcuate surface; It has a shaft part that fits into the bearing recess, and has a switch drive part that is provided on the side of the shaft part and moves forward and backward from the lower surface of the setter hole by rotating about the shaft part as a fulcrum, The setter includes a protrusion engaging portion that slides on the arcuate surface and rides over the click protrusion, and is fitted into the setter hole.

According to the structure of the present invention, since the click protrusion is provided on the upper surface of the dial body and the bearing recess is formed on the lower surface, the dial body can be easily molded with a mold, and manufacturing is facilitated. In addition, since the protrusion-engaging part protrudes toward the top of the dial body, it can also be used as an operating knob, and since the protrusion-engaging part and the shaft are separated by approximately the thickness of the dial body, the rotation range of the operating knob is wide. Therefore, the position of the operating knob is clear and easy to judge, and the operability is good, making it easy to open and close the switch, as well as change the setting position, and it has a good click feel. operation is highly reliable.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. This dial mechanism consists of a dial body 6 and a plurality of (for example, 96) setting elements 7. Third
In the figure, the setter 7 is shown in an upright state and in a collapsed state. The dial body 6 is made of hard plastic and is formed into a disk shape, and a plurality of slit-shaped setter holes 8 penetrating the surface and extending in the radial direction are arranged in an annular shape near the outer periphery. There is. The setter hole 8 has a radially inner end surface of the dial body 6 formed into an inclined surface 8a, and has a cylindrical bearing recess 9 at the lower edge of the radially outer end of both side surfaces. The dial main body 6 has a spherical protrusion 11 forming an arcuate surface on the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface, and click protrusions 10 are provided on the arcuate surface of the spherical protrusion 11 between the setter holes 8.

The setter 7 is made of thermoplastic plastic and is formed to have approximately the same thickness as the setter hole 8. The setter 7 has a shaft portion 12 on the radially outer edge of the lower end that rotatably fits into the bearing recess 9, and between the upright state shown in FIG. 6A and the collapsed state shown in FIG. 6B. It is swingable. A protrusion engaging portion 13 is provided on the upper edge of the outer end of the setter 7 and protrudes outward in the radial direction and is wider than the other portions. The protrusion engaging portion 13 is
As the setter 7 swings, it moves along the upper surface of the spherical protrusion 11 of the dial body 6, and the click protrusion 1
Exceed the power of 0. The protrusion engaging portion 13 serves both to prevent the setter 7 from coming out of the setter hole 8 and to serve as an operation knob. Reference numeral 7a denotes a switch drive section provided on the side of the shaft section 12 at the lower end side of the setter 7.

Note that this dial mechanism is installed, for example, above a rotating member (not shown) that rotates at a certain period of time, and a switch lever 14 attached to this rotating member
(FIG. 6) hits the setter 7 to turn on the switch.

Operation Figure 6A shows the off state. At this time, the setting element 7 has completely risen, and its switch drive section 7
a does not protrude from the setter hole 8.

FIG. 6B shows the on state. At this time, the setter 7 is inclined obliquely in contact with the inclined surface 8a of the setter hole 8, and its switch drive portion 7a protrudes from the setter hole 8. Therefore, switch lever 14
is engaged with the setter 7 as the rotary member to which it is attached rotates, and the switch is turned on.

In this manner, the time can be easily set by raising and lowering the setter 7. Since the setting element 7 is not attached to or removed from the dial body 6, unlike the conventional setting element 7 which is attached and detached, there is no need to provide a storage section for unused setting elements 7, and the setting element 7 can be made smaller and more compact, preventing loss of the setting element 7. There are no problems such as incorrect installation.

When the setter 7 is raised and lowered, the protrusion engaging portion 13 of the setter 7 rides over the click protrusion 10, thereby providing a click sensation. Therefore, the user can intuitively know whether the setter 7 is up or down, that is, whether it is on or off, and the reliability of the operation of the setter 7 is improved. The protrusion engaging portion 13 serves as an operating knob when raising the setting element 7, and furthermore, since the distance from the shaft portion 12 is approximately equal to the thickness of the dial body 6, the amount of rotation thereof is large, so that operability is clearly achieved. Become. Click protrusion 10
Since it is formed on the upper surface of the dial body 6, there is no problem that the mold for molding the dial body 6 becomes complicated. Furthermore, this dial device can be molded so that the setter 7 is incorporated into the dial body 6 as follows.

A method of manufacturing this dial mechanism is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 shows the state of the dial main body 6 during molding. In the same figure, 18 is a front side mold, 1
9 is a back side mold, and a setter hole 8 is provided in the front side mold 18.
A protrusion 18a is provided. The back side mold 19 has an auxiliary mold fitting hole 20 and a casting space 2.
An auxiliary mold 22 having a tip protruding into the auxiliary mold fitting hole 20 is fitted into the auxiliary mold fitting hole 20. The auxiliary mold 22 forms the bearing recess 9 at its tip, and the tip surface is rounded in an arc shape.

A thermoplastic melt (for example, polyacetal resin) is injected into the mold thus assembled, and the dial body 6 is molded.

When the dial body 6 is molded and hardened, it is molded into the front mold 1 while leaving the dial body 6 in the back mold 19.
8 and remove the other front side mold 18' as shown in Fig. 8.
Replace with. Further, the auxiliary mold 22 is sunk into the auxiliary mold fitting hole 20. In this way, a casting space 23 formed by another front mold 18', the back mold 19, the dial body 6, and the auxiliary mold 22
A thermoplastic hard plastic melt is injected through the gate 24, and the setter 7 is molded. Therefore, the setter 7 is molded to fit into the setter hole 8 of the dial body 6. Due to contraction of the resin after molding, the setter 7 has a thickness that allows it to swing within the setter hole 8 of the dial body 6.

In this way, the dial body 6 is used as a part of the mold to mold the setter 7 in a state where the setter 7 is fitted into the setter hole 8, so that the dial body 6 and the setter 7 are It becomes a one-piece dial mechanism. Therefore, assembly of the setter 7 is not necessary, and mass production can be performed with high efficiency.

Furthermore, since the setter 7 is molded within the setter hole 8, variations in the gap between the setter hole 8 and the setter 7 are minimized, and smooth rotation of the setter 7 is achieved.

Furthermore, the shaft portion 13 of the setting element 7 is also connected to the dial body 6.
Since it is molded so that it fits into the bearing recess 9,
Unlike the case where the shaft portion 13 is fitted later, there is no need to provide play for the fitting operation, and the setter 7 can be prevented from coming off easily.

9 and 10 show other embodiments. In this example, an annular different color portion 15 is provided on the outer periphery of the upper surface of the dial body 6. The different color portion 15 is formed by two-color molding, for example, in red. The other parts of the dial body 6 are made of black resin. Note that the different color portions 15 may be formed by hot stamping or the like. If configured like this,
When the setter 7 is raised as shown in Fig. 10A, the different color part 1
5 is hidden by the protrusion engaging portion 13 of the setter 7, and when the setter 7 is folded down, the different color portions 15 are exposed as shown in FIG. 10B. Therefore, the on/off setting status can be seen at a glance by color. The rest is the same as the first embodiment.

FIGS. 11A and 11B show still another embodiment. In this example, the setter hole 8' has a tapered cross-sectional shape that widens downward, and the setter 7' has a tapered cross-sectional shape that fits into the setter hole 8' without a gap in the upright state. be. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the setter 7 is folded down, there is a gap d between the setter 7 and the side surface of the setter hole 8'.
occurs, and the setter 7 swings smoothly. The rest is the same as the first embodiment.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The dial mechanism of the time switch of this invention is
Since a click protrusion is provided on the upper surface of the dial body and a bearing recess is formed on the lower surface, the dial body can be easily molded with a mold, making manufacturing easier. In addition, since the protrusion-engaging part protrudes toward the top of the dial body, it can also be used as an operating knob, and since the protrusion-engaging part and the shaft are separated by approximately the thickness of the dial body, the rotation range of the operating knob is wide. Therefore, the position of the operating knob is clear and easy to judge, and the operability is good, making it easy to open and close the switch, as well as change the setting position, and it has a good click feel. This has the effect of increasing operational reliability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional example, FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the dial body, Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the setter, Figs. Partial sectional view of the mold, No. 8
The figure is also a partial sectional view of the mold for the setter,
FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of the dial body in another embodiment, FIGS. 10A and B are explanatory views of its operation, and
1A and 1B are partial sectional views showing mutually different operating states of another embodiment. 6...Dial body, 7,7'...Setter, 7
a... Switch drive unit, 8, 8'... Setter hole,
9...Bearing recess, 10...Click protrusion, 11...
... Spherical protrusion forming an arcuate surface, 12 ... Shaft portion, 1
3... Protrusion engaging part, 15... Different color part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 A plurality of slit-shaped setter holes are arranged in an annular shape and penetrate through the front and back surfaces and extend in the radial direction, and an opening is formed on the lower surface between the setter holes, and an annular groove-shaped bearing recess parallel to the circumferential direction, a circular arc surface formed on the upper surface between the setter holes and centered on the bearing recess, and a click protrusion formed on the arc surface; a dial body having a shaft portion that fits into the bearing recess, and is provided on a side of the shaft portion and rotates about the shaft portion as a fulcrum to move forward and backward from the lower surface of the setter hole. What is claimed is: 1. A dial mechanism for a time switch, comprising a switch drive section, a setter having a protrusion engaging section that slides on the arcuate surface and goes over the click protrusion, and is fitted into the setter hole. 2. The setter hole has a tapered cross-sectional shape that widens downward, and the setter has a tapered cross-sectional shape that fits into the tapered setter hole in an upright position. The dial mechanism of the time switch described in item 1.