JPH0349119A - Push button switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate assembly and improve the fitting workability to a printed board by providing a binge-coupled cover section and a slider opening section on the upper section of a housing molded with resin, and providing auxiliary terminals on the lower section of the side face. CONSTITUTION:A cover section 3 coupled by a hinge 31 and a slider opening section 9 are provided on the upper section of a resin-molded housing 1, holes for inserting terminals 42 are provided on the bottom section, and auxiliary terminals 2 used when fitted to a board are provided on the lower section of the side face. A spring 5, a slider 6, a lever 43 operated by the slider 6, and a switch element section 4 with terminals 42 end contact sections 41 can be all inserted from above and assembled, assembly is easy and suitable for automatic assembly the fitting to the board via terminals 2 is easy, and a push button switch with improved fitting workability is obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding the structure of a pushbutton switch, we have developed a slider and a pushbutton switch for the purpose of making it easier to assemble the switch, making it easier to fix it independently on a printed circuit board, and reducing the cost. , a spring loosely inserted into the slider;
A switch element part having at least a lever, a contact part, and a terminal that the lower end of the spring comes into contact with, a lid part connected to the top part by an integral hinge, a slider opening part, and a bottom part made of molded resin, which has a terminal insertion hole. The switch element part, the spring, and the slider are inserted into the housing from above from above, and the lid part is closed so that the slider can slide, thereby forming a push button switch that is easy to assemble.

Furthermore, in order to better achieve the object of the present invention, a switch element section including at least a slider, a spring loosely inserted into the slider, a lever, a contact section, and a terminal with which the lower end of the spring comes into contact; A molded resin housing provided with a space for accommodating at least the switch element portion, the spring, and the slider, and a plurality of auxiliary terminals implanted in the lower side of the housing by insert molding,
Construct a simple push button switch that is self-supporting and fixed.

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a push button switch, and particularly to a housing structure and a self-supporting structure of a push button switch for a keyboard used in laptop type personal computers, etc., which require low cost and weight.

[Conventional technology]

With the recent spread of personal computers and various office automation equipment, the keyboards used for them are becoming smaller and more efficient.

The demand for lower prices has become stronger, and various advances have been made in push button switches for these keyboards, mainly in the five and six push button parts. C': A mechanical contact type switch element B (S) is used.Push button switches are widely used because of their small size, high quality, and high reliability.

FIG. 6 is an assembled perspective view of a conventional example of such a push button switch.

In the figure, 5° indicates a spring, and 6'' indicates a slider, with the spring 5'' being temporarily inserted inside.

Reference numeral 1' denotes a housing, which is made of molded resin, for example, and has a slider opening into which the slider 6'' is inserted on its top surface, and a lid portion 3' integrally molded with a hinge 31' on its bottom surface. It is equipped with

4° is a switch element portion, which is provided with an electrical terminal 42” connected to external wiring, a contact portion 41°, etc., and includes a disc spring and a lever, although not visible in the figure.

As shown by the arrows, insert the slider 6'' into the housing 1'' from above and the switch element section 4'' from below, close the lid section 3'' to the bottom, and fix the switch element section 4'. Although the slider 6' is inserted into the slider opening and can slide freely, a tab provided on the side surface prevents the slider from falling out.

In the figure, an example is shown in which a lid part 3' with an integral hinge is used at the bottom part, but in some cases, a plate-shaped lid called a bottom is prepared as a separate part to close the bottom part.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional push button switch, showing the top (a) and bottom (b) of the completed product assembled as described above. It can be seen that the terminal 42' protrudes from a part of the bottom surface formed by the closed lid part 3, and a large gap inevitably exists around it.

Figure 8 is a diagram (part 1) showing how to install a conventional push button switch. FIG.

In other words, mounting a push button switch 1 with only 42 terminals and soldering it on a printed circuit board at 8 degrees does not have enough strength, so for example, the thickness! A switch insertion hole 812 is made in an iron panel 8'' made of a Zn-plated iron plate of 2 mrn, and the lower part of the housing 1'' of a push button switch 100'' is inserted and fixed therein, and the terminal 42'' is inserted into the iron panel 8''. An electrical connection is made by inserting the terminal into the terminal insertion hole 82'' of the printed circuit board 8'' which is placed below with a slight gap.

FIG. 9 is a diagram (part 2) showing a method of mounting a conventional push button switch, and is an example of a method of mounting different from that shown in FIG. 8.

In this example, a heavy iron panel is not used as in the previous example, but a metal fitting 20 is used for mounting to hold the push button switch 100°. For installation, the metal fitting 20 is provided with a plurality of auxiliary terminals 2°, for example, two in the figure. For this installation, fit the metal fitting 20 into the housing l' of the push button switch 100', insert the auxiliary terminal 2'' into the auxiliary terminal insertion hole 81' of the printed circuit board 8', and fix by soldering if necessary. The terminal 42'' is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 82'' and fixed by soldering. That is, in this example, the main body of the push button switch 100'' is fixed not only by the terminal 42'' but also by the auxiliary terminal 2'', so that it is firmly fixed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the conventional push button switch described above has to be assembled from both the upper and lower sides of the housing 1', which is problematic in terms of automatic assembly. Furthermore, special parts such as an iron panel 8'' or metal fittings 20 must be prepared for mounting on a printed circuit board.Moreover, since there is a hole or gap in the bottom of the push button switch 100, for example, When assembling a keyboard, there are many problems in terms of quality, ease of assembly, workability of mounting, price, etc., such as 1. There is a risk of contact failure due to flux entering the switch element. , a solution was needed.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above problem is solved by integrating a slider 6, a spring 5 that is loosely inserted into the slider 6, a lever 43 that the lower end of the spring comes into contact with, a switch element part 4 that has at least a contact part 4I and a terminal 42 into an upper surface part. A terminal 42 is connected to the lid part 3 and the slider opening 9 connected by a hinge 31 and to the bottom part.
The switch element section 4, the spring 5, and the slider 6 are inserted into the housing 1 from above so that the slider 6 is slidable. Said lid part 3
Close it to form a push button switch that is easy to assemble.

Furthermore, in order to better achieve the object of the present invention, the present invention includes at least a slider 6, a spring 5 that is loosely inserted into the slider 6, a lever 43 with which the lower end of the spring 5 comes into contact, a contact portion 41, and a terminal 42. A switch element part 4, a molded resin housing l having a space therein for accommodating at least the switch element part 4, the spring 5, and the slider 6; This can be solved by configuring a simple push button switch that is self-supporting and fixed, including at least a plurality of auxiliary terminals 2.

[Function] According to the present invention, insertion holes for the terminals 42 are provided in the lid part 3 connected by the integral hinge 31 to the top part of the molded resin housing 1, the slider opening part 9, and the bottom part, so that the switch element part 4 and the spring can be connected to each other. 5 and the slider 6 are inserted into the housing 1 from above, and the lid part 3 is closed so that the slider 6 can slide, so assembly of the push button switch 1 is extremely easy. It is also suitable for automatic assembly.

Furthermore, since a plurality of auxiliary terminals 2 are installed at the lower side of the housing 1 by insert molding,
When mounting on the printed circuit board 8, there is no need for any special parts such as the iron panel 8'' or the mounting fittings 20, and the device can be independently fixed onto the printed circuit board extremely easily.

Moreover, since there are no large holes or gaps in the bottom of the push button switch, there is no risk of contact failure due to flux entering the switch element when soldering during keyboard assembly.

〔Example] FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 5 is a spring, and 6 is a slider, which has a hollow portion into which the spring 5 is inserted.

4 is a switch element section, and electrical terminals 42.4 are connected to external wiring. Contact portion 41. A lever 43 etc. are provided,
Although not visible in the diagram, it includes a disc spring.

Reference numeral (2) denotes a housing, which is made of, for example, molded resin, and has a slider opening 9 into which the slider 6 is inserted in its upper surface, and a lid portion 3 integrally molded with a hinge 31.

Note that a key top 200 is shown for reference, although it is not normally included in the components of a push button switch.

As shown by the arrows, the above parts are shown in the switch element section 4.
Spring 5. All parts such as the slider 6 are inserted into the housing 1 from above, the lid part 3 is closed on the upper surface part, and the switch element part 4 is fixed. Note that the slider 6 is inserted into the slider opening 9 and can slide freely;
A claw on the side prevents the nuki from falling outside.

Note that after assembly, the spring 5 is attached to the tip of the lever 43.
When the lower end of the slider 6 touches and pushes down the upper surface of the slider 6, which partially protrudes from the upper surface of the housing l, the lever 43 descends and presses a disc spring (not visible in the figure), shorting the contact portion 41 and operating the switch. do.

Further, a plurality of auxiliary terminals 2 are provided at the lower side of the housing 1 shown in the figure by insert molding.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and 100 is the external appearance of the push button switch according to the present invention assembled by the assembly method explained in FIG. 1 above.

The above figure shows an example in which the lid part 3 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 1 and the auxiliary terminal 2 is implanted in the lower side of the housing 1 by insert molding, which are used at the same time. Either one, for example,
It goes without saying that the present invention may be implemented by simply installing the lid portion 3 on the upper surface of the housing, or by installing the auxiliary terminal 2 only on the lower side of the housing.

In addition, in order to reduce the sound of keystrokes required for modern keyboards, conventionally a rubber damper was placed on the lower surface of the inside of the housing 1 to reduce the sound of collision with the falling slider. In this embodiment, molded springs are provided on both sides of the slider, and the molded springs elastically collide with convex portions provided at both corners of the bottom surface inside the housing, thereby reducing the keying sound.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing such a noise reduction structure, in which 10 is a molded resin housing, 11 is a convex portion provided at both corners of the bottom of the housing, 60 is a slider, and 61 is a molded resin housing on both sides of the slider. It is a molded spring.

Next, an example of the main manufacturing process for realizing the above-mentioned embodiment device will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the manufacturing process of the device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Step (]): In the lead frame forming step, a strip-shaped brass strip with a thickness of 0.25 mm is finished so as to leave the bottom of the housing 1 and a plurality of, for example, two auxiliary terminals 2 connected thereto. Then, or simultaneously with the punching, the tip of the auxiliary terminal 2 is continuously pressed into a corrugated shape, and then solder plated to a thickness of 1 μm.

Step (2): In the housing molding step, the processed lead frame is set in a mold so as to be inserted, and the housing 1 is resin molded using, for example, PPO (polyphnylene oxide) resin. The lid part 3 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 1 with an integral hinge so that it can be opened and closed. Further, the auxiliary terminal 2 is implanted so as to protrude from the lower side of the housing 1.

Step (3): In the switch assembly process, although not visible in the diagram, the switch element part is formed by continuous assembly.

The spring, slider 6, etc., which are also not visible in the figure, are successively inserted into the housing 1, and the lid 3 is closed to complete the assembly.

Step (4): Finally, the push button switch body is separated from the lead frame 7, and the auxiliary terminal 2 is formed and tested to complete the push button switch according to this embodiment.

In the above manufacturing process example, an example device was shown in which the lid part 3 was provided on the upper surface of the housing l, and the auxiliary terminal 2 was implanted in the lower side of the housing 1 by insert molding. , if necessary, for products in which only the lid part 3 is installed on the upper surface of the housing, or the auxiliary terminal 2 is installed only on the lower side of the housing, the corresponding continuity is applied. Of course, the manufacturing process can be configured using hoops.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method of mounting a push button switch on a printed circuit board according to the present invention.

In the figure, 100 is a push button switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, 8 is a printed circuit board, 81 is an auxiliary terminal insertion hole, and 82 is a terminal insertion hole. Note that the wiring circuit of the printed circuit board 8 and the like are omitted.

Although only one auxiliary terminal 2 is visible in the figure, two auxiliary terminals are provided in this embodiment. Connect this auxiliary terminal 2 to the printed circuit board 8.
into the auxiliary terminal insertion hole 81, and fix by soldering if necessary. Further, the terminal 42 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 82 and fixed by soldering. That is, in this example, the main body of the push button switch 100 is fixed to the printed circuit board 8 not only by the terminals 42 but also by the auxiliary terminals 2, so that it can be firmly and independently fixed.

It should be noted that the above embodiments are all shown as examples, and it goes without saying that various products based on the spirit of the present invention can be realized by appropriately combining other materials, shapes, sizes, manufacturing methods, etc.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, insertion holes for the terminals 42 are provided in the lid part 3 connected by the integral hinge 31 to the upper part of the molded resin housing 1, the slider opening part 9, and the bottom part, and the switch element part 4 The spring 5 and slider 6 are all inserted into the housing 1 from above, and the lid 3 is closed so that the slider 6 can slide, making assembly of the push button switch extremely easy. Also suitable for automatic assembly.

Furthermore, since a plurality of auxiliary terminals 2 are installed at the lower side of the housing 1 by insert molding,
When mounting on the printed circuit board 8, there is no need for any special parts such as the iron panel 8'' or the mounting fittings 20, and the device can be independently fixed onto the printed circuit board extremely easily.

Moreover, since there are no large holes or gaps in the bottom of the push button switch, there is no risk of contact failure due to flux entering the switch element when soldering during keyboard assembly.

Therefore, by implementing the present invention, it will greatly contribute to reducing the performance, quality, and price of push button switches, as well as reducing the weight of products equipped with the switch, such as keyboards.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a printed circuit board mounting method for the push button switch of the present invention, Fig. 6 is an assembled perspective view of a conventional example, Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional push button switch, and Fig. 8 is a diagram of a conventional push button switch. FIG. 9 is a diagram (part 1) showing how to install a conventional push button switch.

In the figure, numeral is the housing, 2 is the auxiliary terminal, 3 is the lid, 4 is the switch element, 5 is the spring, 6 is the slider, 7 is the lead frame, 8 is the printed circuit board, 31 is the hinge, 81 is the auxiliary terminal insertion hole It is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an assembled perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a sound-dampening structure, and Fig. 4 shows the manufacturing process of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. Figure shown, $ 2 Figure ¥ 3 Figure 4 Group (F 2) Figure 4 (Length +) Figure 4 (Length +) Mfc Perspective View 6th Conventional Push Button 10! +1μ] Cross-sectional diagram showing 1 in Figure 1 and 11 in the conventional push button switch,...

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A slider (6), a spring (5) that is loosely inserted into the slider (6), and a lever (43) that the lower end of the spring (5) comes into contact with.
a switch element part (4) having at least a contact part (41) and a terminal (42); and a lid part (3) connected to the top part by an integral hinge (31).
and a slider opening (9), and a molded resin housing (1) having an insertion hole for a terminal (42) in the bottom surface, the switch element part (4), the spring (5), and the slider (6). ) is inserted into the housing (1) from above, and the cover (3) is closed so that the slider (6) can slide. (2) A slider (6), a spring (5) that is loosely inserted into the slider (6), and a lever (43) that the lower end of the spring (5) comes into contact with.
a switch element part (4) having at least a contact part (41) and a terminal (42); and a space provided therein to accommodate at least the switch element part (4), the spring (5), and the slider (6). A push button switch comprising: a molded resin housing (1); and a plurality of auxiliary terminals (2) implanted in a lower side surface of the housing (1) by insert molding.