JPH0512955A - Push button device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a substitute for a damping member such as a spring, suppress the cost, and reduce the man-hours for works by furnishing a push button with a pair of plate-shaped projections having a spring effect, and forming a protruding part having a slope in the recessed part of a front panel. CONSTITUTION:A push button 11 comprises a pair of No.1 projections 11a in plate form extending from the rear surface, a pair of No.1 projections 11b in plate form having a pawl-shaped projection 11c at the tip, and a cylindrical operational rod 11d to be in contact with a light-touch switch 13 mounted on a printed circuit board 14. The projections 11a, 11b shall be made capable of being bent through utilization of the elasticity of plastic material. The projections 11a are contacted with the slope 12b of a protruding part 15 provided in a recessed part 12 of the front panel 10 of apparatus concerned, and when the operating face of this button 11 is pushed by finger, the projections 11a will slide while bending alongside the slope 12b, and a rod 11d of the button 11 will push the switch 13 to generate electric continuity. This effect can provide the substitute for a separately furnished damping member such as a spring, and thereby fabrication can be accomplished cheaply and the man-hours for works be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a push button device that can be used for general electric and electronic devices that perform various operations using a light stroke switch with a small stroke.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 showing first, second and third examples of a conventional push button device of each device, a push button 2 of a light touch switch having a short operation stroke is shown in FIG. The method of operating the push button 2 using the cushioning material of the coil spring 1 as in the first example shown in FIG. 5 and the elasticity of plastic itself as in the second and third examples shown in FIGS. Many methods are used to operate the push button 2. Reference numeral 5 is a switch with which the tip of the push button 2 provided on the printed circuit board 4 contacts, and 6 is a front panel of the device.

[0003]

In the first example shown in FIG. 5, in order to prevent the push button 2 from coming off due to the coil spring 1, it is necessary to provide a claw-shaped projection 3 so that the work can be performed from the mold making surface. It has a drawback that it is complicated and that the cost of the coil spring 1 and the number of man-hours for mounting the coil spring 1 are high.

Further, in the method of the second example shown in FIG. 6, a protruding portion 7 having an L-shaped cross section protruding from a base portion 2a of a plastic push button integrally molded with the push button 2 is used.
Is provided, a thin portion 7a (hereinafter referred to as a hinge portion) is provided in the vicinity of the base portion 2a of the push button of the protruding portion 7, and the end portion 7b of the protruding portion is provided.
Is fixed to the back surface 6a of the front panel.

Unlike the structure shown in FIG. 5, the structure shown in FIG. 6 does not require the use of a cushioning material such as the coil spring 1, but on the other hand, the projection 7 provided with the plastic hinge 7a is used to push the push button 2.
Since the structure is integrally formed with the push button 2, the movement of the push button 2 draws a circular arc as shown by the arrow (a), which causes a feeling of strangeness during operation and the push button 2 and the button hole 8 on the front panel 6 of the device. Since it is necessary to increase the gap 8a between and, it has a drawback that the product quality is impaired.

Further, in the method of the third example shown in FIG. 7, a through hole (not shown) through which the small diameter portion 2a of the push button penetrates is provided at one end, and a hinge portion 9a is provided in the vicinity of the through hole. , The small diameter portion 2a of the push button is inserted into the through hole of the push button pressing spring 9 which is a plastic molded product separate from the push button 2, and one end of the push button pressing spring 9 is attached to the brim portion 2b of the push button. Abut on the push button presser spring 9
The other end is fixed to the rib 6b on the rear surface of the front panel.

The structure of FIG. 7 uses a push-button pressing spring 9 of a plastic molded product having a hinge portion 9a instead of the coil spring 1, which also has drawbacks in terms of cost and man-hours. It was

The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a push button device which is inexpensive and can improve the quality of equipment.

[0009]

In order to solve this problem, the push-button device of the present invention comprises a pair of plate-shaped first operation surfaces having a top surface and a pair of plate-shaped first operation surfaces provided with a spring effect. A protrusion and a pair of plate-shaped second protrusions having a holding claw-shaped protrusion at the tip outside the first protrusion and the center of the first protrusion are operated to contact the switch. A push button made of a plastic molded body having an operating rod is provided, and the claw-shaped projection of the second projection of the push button is inserted into a pair of holes provided in a recess of a front panel of the device, and the push button is provided. Is engaged and held by the claw-shaped projection, and a pair of the push buttons is formed on the inclined surface of the convex portion formed in the concave portion of the front panel of the device and having the through hole through which the operating rod penetrates in the central portion. Of the plate-shaped first protrusion of the Tip of the operating rod passing through the found
It has a structure that abuts on the switch.

[0010]

With this structure, in the push button device of the present invention, the pair of plate-shaped first projections extending from the push button are formed in the front panel concave portion of the device by utilizing the elasticity of the plastic. It will be deformed by contact with the inclined surface of the push button, and a frictional force parallel to the inclined surface and a vertical drag force will be generated in the push button, which will be symmetrical with respect to the center line of the push button. Therefore, when the forces canceling each other are removed, the force only in the operation direction of the push button remains, and the effect as if using a cushioning material such as a spring can be obtained.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A push button device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, 11 is a push button integrally formed of plastic having an operation surface 11e on the top surface, 10 is a front panel of the device, and 13 is a light touch switch having a short stroke attached to a printed circuit board 14.

The push button 11 has a pair of plate-shaped first projections 11a extending from the back surface, a pair of plate-shaped second projections 11b having a claw-shaped projection 11c at its tip, and the printed circuit board 1
4 is composed of a cylindrical operating rod 11d that abuts the light touch switch 13 on the first projection 11a.
The second protrusion 11b can be bent by utilizing the elasticity of plastic. To attach the push button 11 to the recess 12 of the front panel 10 of the device, the second protrusion 11b of the push button 11 is used in the pair of holes 12a provided in the recess 12 of the front panel 10 of the device by utilizing the elasticity of plastic. Then, it is engaged with the claw-shaped projection 11c to prevent the device from being held and removed from the front panel 10 of the device. On the other hand, the first protrusion 11a from the push button 11 is brought into contact with the inclined surface 12b of the convex portion 15 installed in the concave portion 12 of the front panel 10 of the device. The push button 11 is provided at the center of the convex portion 15.
A through hole 12c is formed through which the operating rod 11d that abuts the switch 13 is penetrated. With the above attachment, the structure shown in FIG. 2 is obtained.

When the operation is not performed in the above structure, as shown in FIG. 3, the projection 11a of the push button 11 is only in contact with the inclined surface 12b of the recess 12 of the front panel 10 of the device, and no load is generated. When the operation surface 11e is pushed with a finger in the direction of arrow l in FIG. 4 for operation, the first protrusion 11a
Will slide along the inclined surface 12b while bending, and the operating rod 11b of the push button 11 will push the switch 13 to establish conduction.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4B, a restoring force of R acts on the push button 11 via the first protrusion 11a and restores when the finger is released.

Therefore, the push button 11 alone can provide a cushioning effect with a resilience replacing a cushioning material such as a spring. Also, the first protrusion 11a from the push button 11
Are provided in a pair so that the center line of the push button 11 is symmetrical, the operation locus when the push button 11 is operated is linear, and there is no discomfort during operation, and the product quality is not impaired. .

[0016]

As is apparent from the above description of the embodiments, according to the push button device of the present invention, the push button and a part of the front panel of the device are devised so that a separate component such as a spring is provided. The effect of the cushioning material can be replaced, the push button device can be manufactured at low cost, the number of work steps can be reduced, and the push button can be removed even for replacement such as repair.

On the other hand, the operation locus during operation is also linear, and the feeling of operation is not impaired as compared with an integrally molded push button having a hinge portion, and there is also a risk of deformation due to the structure having no hinge portion. Absent. Thus, the practical effect of the push button device of the present invention is extremely large.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing the structure of a push button device according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) A perspective view showing a push button (b) A perspective view showing a front panel recess of a device (c) A perspective view showing a switch

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the assembly structure.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line mm of FIG. 2 (when the switch is off).

FIG. 4 (a) is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line mm of FIG. 2 (when the switch is on) (b) A vertical cross-sectional view showing an enlarged main part of (a).

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a push button device showing a first example of a conventional push button device.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a push button device showing the second example.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a push button device showing the third example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Front Panel of Equipment 11 Push Button 11a First Protrusion 11b Second Protrusion 11c Claw-shaped Protrusion 11d Actuating Rod 11e Operation Surface 12 Recess 12a Pair of Holes 12b Sloping Surface 12c Through Hole 13 Switch 15 Convex

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. An operation surface on the top surface and a back surface of the operation surface,
A pair of plate-shaped first projections having a spring effect, and a pair of plate-shaped second projections having a holding claw-shaped projection on the tip of the first projection outside the first projection; Is provided with a push button made of a plastic molded body having an operating rod for abutting operation on the switch, and the claw-shaped protrusion of the second protrusion of the push button is a recess of the front panel of the device. A projection having a through hole through which the actuating rod penetrates in a central portion formed in a concave portion of the front panel of the device, while the push button is engaged and held by the claw-shaped projection. A pair of plate-shaped first projections of the push button are in contact with the inclined surfaces of the push-button portion, and the operating rod that penetrates the through hole is in contact with the switch. Button device.