JPH0226331B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] ()...Summary of the present invention The switch of the present invention has a fixed position portion of a certain object with a fixed directionality (for example, , 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th
(in the case of the figure, from the right side, in the case of Fig. 3, from the top), contacts the guide surface of the switch, and then when the switch is positioned at a predetermined position, the switch of the present invention of the object Position relative to the detection protrusion (fixed position)
Depending on the presence or absence of a deformed part (e.g. recess), the detection protrusion moves or does not move (remains in its original position), and the contacts of both contact spring pieces linked to it open and close. The present invention relates to a sensor switch characterized in that it detects the type of object and performs switching operations related to the detection based on the detection of the type of object and the like.

Therefore, in the future, it is assumed that the switch of the present invention will be used in an extremely wide variety of cases in which the above-mentioned detection function is exerted between various objects.
Examples of common "objects" include "cassettes" such as cassette tapes, video tapes, and magnetic storage tapes used in cassette tape recorders, video tape recorders, and computers.

That is, at the present time, the present invention is capable of controlling the type of tape in a cassette, etc. when loading a cassette of various tapes such as recording tape, recording tape, magnetic storage tape, etc. in a cassette tape recorder, video tape recorder, computer, etc. This can be said to be related to a sensor switch that detects and automatically performs a switching operation.

()...Summary of conventional technology and its issues Currently, there are various types of cassette tapes (e.g. chrome tape, metal tape in tape recorders,
Distinguishing between tape recorders, video tapes, etc. and determining whether recording has been completed or not is done by changing the position of a recess made in the rear panel of the cassette. In the mechanical part of
A sensor switch mechanism is provided at each position where each recess is set when a cassette is loaded, and which opens and closes contacts in conjunction with the loading operation of the corresponding cassette.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the conventional switch mechanism of this type mainly includes an independent switch 19 appropriately installed in the mechanical machine frame 16, etc., and a separate switch installed adjacent to the independent switch 19. The switch 19 is opened and closed in conjunction with the screw 20 by engaging and disengaging the tip of the switch 20 with a recess 4' formed in the rear plate surface of the cassette C'. .

In addition, the recessed hole 4' may be open from the beginning, or the opening may be initially closed with the claw piece 21 (that is, the same state as the deformed portion "no"), and then the claw piece 21 may be closed. It is broken off to form a recessed hole 4', for example, to erase the recorded tape, prevent it from being rerecorded, etc.

However, depending on the manufacturer, especially manufacturers of different nationalities, the actual situation is that there are errors in the depth l of the cassette C', and there are also variations in the depth of the recessed hole 4', etc. In order to accommodate these cassettes C′ with large and small errors,
The 0 movement width is set sufficiently large to absorb errors, and as a result, the switch operation is not sharp, and the space occupied by this sensor switch mechanism increases, making it difficult to use in tape recorders, tape recorders, etc.
This was a major problem as it went against the trend of miniaturization of video and other devices.

()...Structure of the present invention (1)...The present invention provides a leaf switch in which contact spring pieces are embedded in an insulating base substantially parallel to each other, and the contacts of both contact spring pieces are always in a resilient contact state. A guide member such as a guide/cover or a guide piece having a guide surface of a set width on the side surface is appropriately connected to one contact spring piece, and comes into contact with the guide member in a certain direction. The guide surface of the target object is provided so that the contact spring piece is recurved and oscillated to slide and guide it, and a detection protrusion is provided on a part of the other contact spring piece, and the tip of the detection protrusion is The detection protrusion is provided so as to protrude outward by a set distance from the guide surface, and the detection protrusion is pushed by the contact portion of the object depending on whether or not there is a deformed portion in the fixed position of the object that has come into contact with the guide surface of the guide member. The contact spring piece is recurved and retreated, and the recursion action causes the contacts to be separated (opened) from each other, or the detection protrusion remains in its original position protruding from the guide surface, that is, the contact This sensor switch is characterized in that it automatically detects the presence or absence of a deformed part of a target object and operates by maintaining the contact (closed) position.

(2)...The specific structure of the present invention will be explained below.
In the present invention, contact spring pieces A and B are buried in an insulating base 1 in substantially parallel manner, and the contacts a and B of both contact spring pieces A and B are
b, for example, by bending the contact spring pieces B to create a leaf switch that is in constant elastic contact, a so-called normally closed leaf switch (in normal state, the contacts a and b of the contact spring pieces A and B are in contact (closed) (a type of switch in which contacts a and b are separated (opened) by pressing and bending one contact spring piece), a guide/cover D ₂ having a guide surface 2 of a set width on one side of the upper part, Guide member D such as D ₃ or guide piece D ₁ may be connected as necessary by directly or indirectly connecting it to one contact spring piece A, or by pivoting its rear end to an insulating base. Then, an object that comes into contact with the guide member D in a certain direction (for example, from the right in the case of Figs. 1, 5, and 7, and from the top in the case of Fig. 3) C (for example, cassette C'),
The guide surface 2 is provided so that the contact spring piece A is bent and oscillated to slide and guide the contact spring piece A, and a detection protrusion E having a chevron-shaped portion 3 is provided on a part of one contact spring piece B. The tip of the detection protrusion E is provided so as to protrude outward by a set distance from the guide surface 2, and a deformation portion 4 (e.g., a recess) is formed in the fixed position of the object C in contact with the guide surface 2 of the guide member D. , the detection protrusion E is pushed by the contact part of the object C to recurve the contact spring piece, and the recursion action causes the contacts to separate (open) from each other, or
The presence or absence of the deformed part 4 of the object C is automatically detected by keeping the detection protrusion E in its original position protruding from the guide surface 2, that is, by keeping the contacts a and b in the contact (closed) position. It was made to work by doing so.

In the above, the guide surface 2 of the guide member D such as the guide-cum-cover D ₂ , D ₃ or the guide piece D ₁ can have any shape and size, but usually comes into contact with it from above. Target object C
(For example, cassette C') is provided with a tapered surface having a width necessary for the recoil movement and a vertical surface connected to the tapered surface for the purpose of oscillating the contact spring piece while smoothly guiding the cassette C' and recurving the contact spring piece. .

Further, the linkage means for the contact spring piece of the guide member D is arbitrary, either direct or indirect, and when contacting and guiding the object C on the guide surface 2 as described above, the contact spring moves in conjunction with the linking means to swing the contact point. It is possible as long as the spring pieces are connected so that they are recurved. For example, in the example 1 and (Figs. 1 and 6) described later, the connector 6 fixed to the contact spring piece A is used. This is an example in which the guide piece D ₁ is indirectly connected to the inner surface of the guide/cover D 2 and D ₃ through engagement with each other, and in the example 2 (FIG. 5), the guide piece D ₁ is connected to the contact spring piece A. This is an example in which the insulating member is directly fixed to the tip of the insulating member by insert molding or the like like other insulating members.

At present, the most common examples of the object C are the various cassettes mentioned above, and examples of the deformed portion 4 at a fixed position (for example, a part of the rear plate surface) include a recess 4' or a recess. Department.

()...Example (its structure, function, and effect) Example 1 (Fig. 1) (1) Structure...The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 has a guide/cover _D2 as a guide member D connected to the contact spring piece A. The structure is such that contact spring pieces A and B with contacts a and b are embedded in an insulating base 1 made of plastic so that they are substantially parallel to each other. A connector 6 with protrusions 5 protruding from the left and right near the contact a of one contact spring piece A.
(for example, by molding at the same time as the insulating base 1), and also install the upper plate 7 of the guide/cover D ₂ (described later) near the contact point b of the other contact spring piece B.
A detection protrusion E having a chevron portion 3 protruding outward from the
(in the same way as connector 6), and connect the contacts a,
b is provided with a switch body S that is always elastically in contact (closed) by the spring force of a bent contact spring piece B, and on the other hand, the contacts of the switch body S except for the base 8 near the insulating base 1 are provided. A slit 11 is cut in the center of the top plate 7 of the rectangular cylinder 10, which is shaped to cover the outer peripheral surfaces of the spring pieces A and B, and grooves 12 are cut in the inner surfaces of the left and right side plates of the rectangular cylinder 10. A guide/cover with a small hole 13 drilled at the tip of the groove 12
D ₂ is provided separately by molding, for example, insulating plastic, and the guide/cover D ₂ is inserted into the contact spring pieces A and B of the switch body S, and the detection protrusion E is inserted into the slit 11 from the opening 14 thereof. Yamagata part 3
The protrusions 5 of the connector 6 are fitted into the grooves 12 and slid to protrude to the outside of the top plate 7.
The entire structure is constructed by engaging the small holes 13 and connecting the sleeves with a sleeve.

In addition, 9 is a reinforcing piece extended to the insulating base 1,
The contact spring piece A protrudes in contact with the upper surface of the base 8 and is positioned in the slit 11 through the opening 14 of the guide/cover _D2 , and is not bent upward by the contact pressure of the curved contact spring piece B. This is to hold the contact spring piece A in the correct position.

The sensor switch according to the embodiment of the above configuration has, for example, a concave hole 4' (indicating the type of tape, Alternatively, the insulating base 1 is installed at a position corresponding to a recessed hole in the rear side of the case, etc., by changing the position of each insulating base 1 in accordance with various detection purposes.

(2) Operation...Next, the operation of this switch will be explained. Under normal conditions, contact point a of one contact spring piece A and contact point b of the other contact spring piece B are in a contact state, and here, any arbitrary When attempting to load cassette C' (for example, chrome tape in a tape recorder), the rear surface of cassette C' rides on the tip of guide surface 2 and presses against the surface, causing the guide/cover D ₂ to snap off. Make a swinging motion, twist,
The contact spring piece A connected to the guide/cover D ₂ and the connector 6 bends outward together with the guide/cover D ₂ , but at the same time, the contact spring piece B also bends away from the contact spring piece A.
is pushed by the contact point a of the spring pieces A and B, and is bent by the same dimension.Therefore, there is no change in the contact state of the contact points a and b of both spring pieces A and B.

Next, when the cassette C' is completely loaded, if the cassette C' does not have the recessed hole 4', the chevron part 3 of the detection protrusion E is pushed back against the rear side of the case, and the contact spring Piece B curves inward,
Contact points a and b are separated. (Fig. 3, b) On the other hand, when there is a recessed hole 4', the chevron portion 3 of the detection protrusion E fits into the recessed hole 4', and the contacts a,
b remains in contact (in its original state). (Figure 3,
(3) Effects (i) With the above configuration and operation, this switch detects (or detects) the presence or absence of the recessed hole 4' in the cassette C' corresponding to the switch installation position by opening and closing the switch. (open/close the switch)
For example, when a cassette C' of chrome tape is loaded, the chevron part 3 of the detection protrusion E fits only into the recess 4' that indicates the chrome tape, and the other switches fit into the corresponding recess 4. Since there is no ', the tape does not fit in, and the chevron portion 3 of the detection protrusion E is pushed back and the contacts a and b are separated, making it possible to detect whether or not it is a chrome tape.

(ii) Similarly, it can be used for various purposes such as detecting the type of tape, preventing duplicate recording of already recorded tapes, and detecting whether cassette C' is loaded in a recorder or the like.

(iii) When the cassette C' is loaded, the end of the cassette C' first comes into contact with the tip of the guide surface 2 of the guide/cover D ₂ and rides on the top plate 7 of the guide surface 2, causing that part to slide. Press and swing the contact spring piece A (guide and cover D ₂ ).
Since the contact spring piece B (connected to the
It is possible to absorb the error of the contact points a and b, and to maintain the contact state of the contacts a and b constant in any curved dimension.

(iv) Then, only when the cassette C' has a concave hole 4', the chevron portion 3 of the detection protrusion E fits into the hole, and when there is no concave hole 4', the chevron portion 3 of the detection protrusion E fits into the concave hole 4'. Pushed back to the side, only contact spring piece B bends, and contacts a and b are separated, but at this time, as mentioned above, the contact state of the contacts is always constant, regardless of the dimensional error of the case. , you can always obtain accurate contact separation, and
Even when there is a recessed hole 4', the contact between the contacts a and b is maintained reliably regardless of the depth dimensional error of the recessed hole 4'.

Embodiment 2 (Fig. 5) In the example shown in Fig. 5, a guide piece _D1 is directly and integrally connected to one contact spring piece A by insert molding or the like.

That is, the guide piece D ₁ in this example is, so to speak,
The guide/cover D ₂ in Example 1 has a structure in which only the guide surface 2, which is the main part in the present invention, is left and the other cover parts are removed, and the insulating base 1, the detection protrusion E, etc. It is directly and integrally provided on the tip of the contact spring piece A by simultaneous molding during the plastic insert molding.

Therefore, the cover part of the guide/cover _D2 ,
The other configurations except for the configuration related to the connector 6 are completely the same as in the first embodiment. In addition, 15 is the insulation base 1
This is a reinforcing piece that extends to the reinforcing piece 9, and performs the same function as the reinforcing piece 9 in the first embodiment.

As described above, since this embodiment is the same as the first embodiment in its main components, its functions and effects are also completely the same in the main parts, and therefore, detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Embodiment 3 (Fig. 6) The one shown in Fig. 6 is its guide/cover D ₃
is provided by slightly changing the structure of the cover part of the guide/cover _D2 in Example 1,
That is, the rear end portion of the guide/cover D ₂ is extended, and the rear end portion 17 is rotatably attached to the pivot shaft 18, so that the guide/cover D ₂ also rotates about the pivot shaft 18. It is designed to be able to move freely.

With this configuration, the guide/cover D ₃ covers the outer peripheral surfaces of both contact spring pieces A and B more than in Embodiment 1, improving the coating protection effect, and also uses the pivot 18 as a fulcrum. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of the swing motion.

Therefore, the above configuration is similar to Embodiment 1 in its main parts.
Since they are the same, their functions and effects are also completely the same in essential parts, so detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

Embodiment 4 (FIG. 7) The switch shown in FIG. 7 is a switch of the present invention having a structure similar to that of Embodiments 1 to 3, in which the insulating base 1
A contact spring piece F with a contact f is embedded substantially parallel to the contact spring pieces A and B.

Therefore, due to the action of the switch of the present invention, the detection protrusion E is pushed by the object C and swings, and the contact spring piece B is bent to separate the contacts a and b. The contact b of the contact spring piece B contacts the contact f of the contact spring piece F to perform another switching operation.

Therefore, a switch configuration using three contact spring pieces as in this example is often used as a normal switch configuration, and therefore, the present invention is applicable not only to the above but also to a commonly used switch configuration. Those implementing the summary structure naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

()...Characteristics of the present invention As described above, the sensor switch of the present invention has a fixed position portion of a certain object (e.g., a cassette) that has a fixed directionality with respect to the guide surface of the guide member of the switch at the set position. (for example, from the right side or above in the illustrated example), contacts the guide surface of the guide member, and then when the object is positioned at a predetermined position, the contact point of the switch of the present invention of the object A deformed part (e.g.,
Depending on whether there is a concave hole or not, the detection protrusion moves or does not move (remains in its original position), and the contact of the contact spring piece linked to it opens and closes or does not operate. It is characterized by detecting the type of object and performing switching operations related to the detection. Particularly, at present, it is used in cassette tape recorders, video tape recorders, computers, etc.
This sensor switch is extremely compact and has excellent performance as a sensor switch that detects the type of tape in the cassette and automatically switches when loading a cassette of various types of tape such as recording tape, recording tape, magnetic storage tape, etc. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the sensor switch of the present invention (illustrated approximately five times larger than the actual size), in which A is a partially cutaway front view, B is a plan view, C is a bottom view, and D is A'--
2 is a perspective view of a cassette of a cassette tape recorder as an example of the target object, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the cassette is loaded into a mechanical machine frame in which the switch of the present invention is installed. In A, there is a deformed part (concave hole) and the chevron-shaped part of the detection protrusion fits into it, and the contacts a and b remain in contact (in their original state), and in B, there is no deformed part and the chevron-shaped part of the detection protrusion Figure 4 shows a state in which the contacts a and b are separated (opened) when the
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the conventional sensor switch mechanism.
The figures are views of Embodiment 2 of the switch of the present invention, A is a partially cutaway front view, B is a plan view, C is a bottom view, and FIG. 6 is a view of Embodiment 3 of the switch of the present invention, A is a partially cutaway FIG. 7 is a front view of Embodiment 5 of the switch of the present invention. Code, A, B, F...Contact spring piece, a, b, f
...Contact, C...Target, C'...Cassette, D ₁
...Guide piece, D ₂ , D ₃ ...Guide and cover, E
...detection protrusion, S ... switch body, 1 ... insulating base, 2 ... guide surface, 3 ... chevron section, 3' ... base, 4 ... deformed part, 4' ... recessed hole, 5...Tsuko,
6... Connector, 7... Top plate, 8... Base (of the contact spring piece), 9, 15... Reinforcement piece, 10... Square tube, 11... Slit, 12... Groove, 13 ……
Small hole, 14... Opening, 16... Mechanical machine frame, 17
... Rear end, 18 ... Pivot.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Contact spring pieces are buried in an insulating base substantially parallel to each other,
In a leaf switch in which the contacts of both contact spring pieces are always in a state of elastic contact, the guide member of the guide/cover frame or guide piece having a guide surface of a set width on one side is connected to one contact spring piece. The guide surface slides and guides an object that comes into contact with the guide member in a certain direction through an oscillating motion while recurving the contact spring piece. A detection protrusion is provided on a part of the other contact spring piece,
The tip of the detection protrusion is provided so as to protrude a predetermined amount outward from the guide surface, and the detection protrusion detects the object depending on whether or not there is a deformed part in the fixed position of the object that has come into contact with the guide surface of the guide member. The contact spring piece is pushed back by the contact portion of the guide surface and moves backward while being bent, and the contact spring pieces are separated (opened) from each other by the bending action, or the detection protrusion remains protruding from the guide surface. A sensor switch is characterized in that it maintains its position, that is, its contacts also maintain a contact (closed) position, and is automatically activated by detecting the presence or absence of a deformed part of an object. 2. In the sensor switch according to claim 1, the linkage means for the guide member of the guide-cum-cover or guide piece and the contact spring piece to operate in conjunction with each other includes: (a) providing a connector on one of the contact spring pieces; , Connect the connector to the guide member (b) Connect the rear end of the guide member to the insulating base so as to be rotatable, and connect one contact spring piece and the guide member using the connector. (c) A sensor switch that relies on any means in which the guide member is directly and integrally fixed to one of the contact spring pieces.