JPH051855Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an illuminated push button device used in audio equipment and the like.

<Prior Art> As shown in the schematic side cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, an illuminated push button device used for audio equipment, etc. has a space between a front cover 1 and a rear cover 2 provided on the front of the audio equipment, etc. , a push button 3 is disposed via an elastic sheet body 4. The push button 3 has a pressing body 31 protruding from the front cover 1 and a hole 41 in the elastic sheet body 4.
It is formed of an operating rod 32 that passes through the rear cover 2 and projects from the hole 21 of the rear cover 2. That is, when the pressing body 31 protruding from the front cover 1 is pressed, the elastic sheet body 4 is compressed, and the tip of the operating rod 32 turns on and off the opposing switch 5. The light source lamp 6 blinks by turning on/off this switch 5 or other power switches. Next, the pressing body 31
When released from the pressed state, the pressing body 31 and the operating rod 32 are returned to their original (before pressing) positions by the restoring force of the elastic planar body 4.

<Problems> The elastic planar body 4 is usually formed of polyester foam, and changes color over time due to the influence of ultraviolet rays and the like, reducing backlighting. Moreover, if the elastic sheet body 4 itself warps or bends, the stroke of the push button 3 will vary.
It takes time to align with the operating rod 32 and adjust the stroke. Furthermore, the operability of the push button 3 is also affected. Furthermore, even when the operating rod of the push button is inserted into the hole of the elastic sheet body, the installation state is not consistent, which reduces the efficiency of work on an automatic assembly line or the like.

<Means for solving the problems> This invention was devised in view of the above problems.
A plurality of elastic bulges are arranged on a base material, and the base material is made thin to form a bent part between adjacent elastic bulges, and an operating rod of a push button is provided approximately in the center of the elastic bulges. The present invention provides an illuminated push button device using a return member having a guide hole for guiding the return member.

<Function> An elastic bulge is integrally formed on a base material such as silicone resin, and a guide hole for guiding the operating lever of the push button is bored in the approximate center of the elastic bulge, making it extremely useful as a return member. Heat resistant, durable and does not discolor. Moreover, even if the return member warps or bends, the bent portions between the respective elastic bulges expand and contract to absorb the displacement caused by the warp or bend, so that even if the cover body is different in size, it can be sufficiently followed. Therefore, the positioning of the operating rod and the hole and the stroke adjustment become easy, and it becomes possible to correspond to many push button devices.

<Example> The illuminated push button device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Components that are the same as those described in the conventional example (FIG. 4) will be described with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view showing an illuminated push button device according to the present invention. As explained in the conventional example,
The illuminated pushbutton device has a pushbutton 3 placed between a front cover 1 and a rear cover 2 provided on the front of an audio device, etc., and a return member 7 interposed between the pushbutton 3 and the rear cover 2. be. That is, the push button 3 is integrally formed with a pressing body 31 projecting from the front cover 1 and an operating rod 32 passing through the hole 21 of the rear cover 2 and abutting the switch 5.

On the other hand, the return member 7 is shown in a perspective view in FIG. 2 and a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a single base material 71 is made of a highly elastic resin material, and a plurality of elastic bulges 72, 72, . . . are arranged on this base material 71. The elastic bulges 72, 72, .
They are arranged at intervals corresponding to 2, 32, . . . . The elastic bulges 72, 72... are formed in a protruding state on one surface of the base material 71, and have a circular platform shape. Also, guide holes 73, 73, . . . are bored approximately in the center thereof. The shape of the guide holes 73, 73, . . . is formed to be approximately the same as the cross-sectional shape of the operating rod 32 (for example, circular, rectangular), and the operating rod 32 is inserted therein. Further, between the adjacent elastic bulges 72, bent portions 74, 74, . . ., which are formed by making the base material 71 itself thin and bent upward, are formed vertically and horizontally, respectively.
Since the bent portions 74, 74... do not have a length that gives flexibility to the return member 7 itself, but expand and contract, the mutual positions of the elastic bulges 72, 72... can be displaced.
Therefore, the size of the front cover body 1 and the operating levers 32, 3
This means that even if the pitches of the two... are different, it can be followed up sufficiently. Moreover, the intersection of these bent parts 74 and 74 is made into a through hole 75, and the elastic bulge parts 72 and 72
If the base material 71 itself is made thin, the flexibility and elasticity will be further increased. Note that by forming the base material 71 from a resin material having light transmittance, such as silicone rubber, and adjusting the light transmittance of the resin material, it is also possible to reduce the number of light source lamps, which will be described later. .

Next, the assembly and operation of the push button device using the above-mentioned return member 7 will be explained.

First, the return member 7 is placed in the front cover body 1 so that its elastic bulges 72, 72 are directed toward the pressing body 31. Next, the operating rod 32 is inserted into the guide hole 73 and the hole 21 of the rear cover 2. At this time, even if the guide hole 73, operating rod 32, and hole 21 of the rear cover 2 do not line up due to warping or bending of the return member 7 or the size of the front cover body 1,
The elastic bulge 7 is formed by the bent portions 74, 74, etc.
2, 72..., so the positioning of the guide holes 73, 73... and the operation rod 32,
The stroke adjustment of 32... becomes easy.

In this state, the base material 71 comes into contact with the inner surface of the rear cover 2, while the elastic bulge 72 is biased to cause the push button 3 to protrude outward from the front cover 1. When the pressing surface 31a is pressed, the elastic bulge 72 contracts, and the operating rod 32 presses the switch 5 to turn it on and off.

On the other hand, a light source lamp 6 installed near the switch 5 is used as a light source for the switch 5 or a power switch.
It blinks when turned on and off, and the light when turned on passes through the operating rod 32 and the pressing body 31, which are made of transparent or semi-transparent material.

When the pressed state is released, the push button 3 is returned to its original position by the elastic restoring force of the elastic bulge 72, and the operating rod 32 is separated from the switch 5 (see FIG. 1).

<Effects of the invention> The illuminated push button device having the above configuration has the following effects.

Since the return member has a bent portion, it has great followability and can therefore be attached regardless of the size of the cover body. Moreover, the pitch and stroke adjustment with the operating rod etc. becomes easy, and the operability of the switch is also improved.

Since the return member is made of a single resin material, air suction is possible, improving parts supply efficiency in automatic assembly lines.

Further, the bulging portion of the return member is integrally formed from the base material, and by changing the thickness of the base material, the touch sensation of the push button can be arbitrarily changed. By varying the light transmittance of the base material itself, the number of light source lamps can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the illuminated push button device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the return member of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a conventional illuminated pushbutton device. 3...Push button, 31...Press body, 32...Operation rod, 5...Switch, 6...Light source lamp, 7...
...Returning member, 71...Base material, 72...Elastic bulge, 73...Guide hole, 74...Bending portion.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A push button and a return member for returning the push button are provided between the front cover and the rear cover, and a switch opened and closed by the push button is provided on the back side of the rear cover. The illuminated pushbutton device is provided with a light source lamp that is blinked by the switch, wherein the return member has a plurality of elastic bulges arranged at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of elastic bulges corresponding to each elastic bulge. A push button and a switch are respectively provided, and a bent part is formed between the adjacent elastic bulges, and a guide hole into which the operating rod of the push button is inserted is provided approximately in the center of each of the elastic bulges. . An illuminated push button device, characterized in that the hole is formed in substantially alignment with the hole provided in the rear cover.