JPH051862Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> This invention relates to a push button switch applied to keyboards of electric typewriters, personal computers, word processors, etc.

<Prior Art> As a conventional push button switch of this type, there is one described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-51416. As shown in FIG. 19, the push button switch described in this publication has a plunger 64 with a key top 68 attached to its upper end that can be moved up and down in a case 63 that houses a switch mechanism. A spring 65 is interposed between the plunger 64 and the plunger 64 to bias the plunger 64 in the upward direction. A switch operating piece 66 is provided on one side of the plunger 64, and a click spring 67 is provided on the other end. When the plunger 64 descends, the switch operating piece 66 and the click spring 67
is pressed to operate the switch mechanism and give a click feeling to the key top.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> By the way, this type of push button switch has linear feel type,
In addition to three types: click feel type and hysteresis feel type, there are also types with a built-in alternate mechanism, and types with touch sound.

The various types of push-button switches mentioned above are individually designed and manufactured according to their structure and function, which increases the number of design and mold surfaces, resulting in a huge expense and an increase in costs. Furthermore, since the external dimensions and mounting pitches are not standardized, the panel design becomes inconsistent, which is one cause of increased design effort.
Furthermore, with conventional push button switches, it is possible to use both the linear feel type and the click feel type, or the linear feel type and the hysteresis feel type, by selecting the spring force of the reversing spring and using the click spring together. Currently, there is no push-button switch that can be applied to all of these types, and there has recently been a strong demand in the industry for a push-button switch that can be applied to these various types.

Therefore, this invention solves the conventional problems by simplifying the basic structure of the switch and making it possible to selectively mount various types of component parts, thereby creating a push button that can satisfy the above requirements. The purpose is to provide a switch.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The push button switch of this invention includes a switch base 1 in which a pair of lead terminals 11 and 12 are insert-molded, and a switch base 1 that is installed in the switch base 1 to open and close between the lead terminals 11 and 12. A switch mechanism 3, a cover body 2 that is fitted and fixed to the switch base 1 and has a plunger guide 24 corresponding to the switch mechanism 3, a plunger 4 that is slidably supported by the plunger guide 24, and a switch mechanism 3. It is equipped with a reversing spring 5 and a coil spring 6 which are arranged between the plunger 4 and transmit the operating force of the plunger 4 to the switch mechanism 3, and an inner surface of the side wall of the cover body 2 has an opening on the side of the plunger 4. A groove-shaped engaging portion 25 is formed corresponding to the sliding direction of the plunger 4, and the alternate mechanism 7 or the click spring 8 can be engaged and held in the engaging portion 25.

<Function> By selecting and mounting springs with different amounts of deflection as the reversing springs 5 between the switch mechanism 3 and the plunger 4, hysteresis feel type and linear feel type push button switches can also be formed on the cover body 2. By mounting the alternate mechanism 7 or the click spring 8 on the engaging portion 25, an alternate mechanism type or click feel type push button switch is constructed, respectively.

<Example> An example of this invention will be described below based on the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, the push button switch has a plunger guide 24 on a switch base 1 on which a pair of lead terminals 11 and 12 are insert-molded.
The cover body 2 having the following features is integrally connected. A switch mechanism 3 for opening and closing between the lead terminals is provided on the switch base 1, and a plunger 4 with a key top attached to the upper end is freely slidable on the cover body 2.
The operating force of the plunger 4 is transferred between the switch mechanism 3 and
A recoil spring 5 and a coil spring 6 are interposed to transmit the force.

The switch mechanism 3 includes a fixed contact 31 that protrudes from the upper surface of the switch base 1 and is fixed to one lead terminal 11, a base end fixed to the other lead terminal 12, and a distal end located above the fixed contact 31. and a contactor 32 positioned correspondingly to the switch base 1.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, on the upper surface, a protrusion 13 is formed that surrounds the stationary contact 31 and the contactor 32, and protrusions 14 are provided at appropriate positions on the protrusion 13. This protrusion 14 allows the sealing rubber 3
3 is positioned and supported on the protrusion 13.

A plurality of stop shafts 15 are integrally protruded from the switch base 1 at appropriate positions around the periphery, and each stop shaft 15 is inserted through a stop hole 21 provided in the cover body 2.
The switch base 1 and the cover body 2 are integrally connected by thermally melting and caulking the protrusion at the tip of each stop shaft 15. Further, on the switch base 1, substantially triangular prism-shaped protrusions 16 are formed corresponding to both sides of the seal rubber 33 in the longitudinal direction, while on the side wall of the cover body 2, as shown in FIGS. , a groove 22 for arranging a reversal spring is formed corresponding to the protrusion 16. Both ends of the reversing spring 5 are engaged with the grooves 22 and the cover body 2 is attached to the switch base 1.
When the reversing spring 5 is fixed, both ends of the reversing spring 5 are held between the groove bottom of the groove 22 and the protrusion 16 and positioned.

The reversing spring 5 is formed by punching a single metal plate into an arbitrary planar shape, and is shaped so that both ends are low and the center is high to provide a spring force. The center part of the reversing spring 5 has a convex part 51 protruding from the bottom surface, and the top surface has a sound deadening rubber 52 formed by insert molding.
are integrated. A seat 53 is formed on the upper surface of the muffler 52, and a coil spring 6 is disposed between the seat 53 and the seat 41 of the plunger 4. At the initial set position, the elastic force of the coil spring 6 is set lower than the reversal load of the reversal spring 5, so that the reversal spring 5 maintains the shape before reversal in which the center part bulges upward, and the plunger 4 is raised to urge the shoulder portion toward the noise-muffling protrusion 23 provided on the cover body 2.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the inner surface of one side wall of the cover body 2 is provided with an engaging portion 25 that opens toward the plunger 4, and the alternate mechanism 7 or the click spring 8 can be selected for this engaging portion 25. to engage. 10 and 11 show the state in which the alternate mechanism 7 is installed, and FIG. 3 shows the state in which the click spring 8 is installed.

The engaging portion 25 is a groove with a predetermined width and depth formed in the side wall of the cover body 2 in correspondence with the sliding direction of the plunger 4, and the upper edge of the opposing groove wall faces inward. The guide frame 71 of the alternate mechanism 7 is provided with a flange 26 protruding from the bottom of the groove, and positioning protrusions 27 at left and right symmetrical positions on the upper part of the groove bottom wall.
Alternatively, the click spring 8 is engaged and held.

The alternate mechanism 7 includes a cam guide frame 71 that engages with the engaging portion 25, and a movable cam 77 that is pivoted on a pivot shaft 42 provided on the side surface of the plunger 4 and moves up and down within the guide frame 71. Frame 7
1 is formed with a guide groove 72 that restricts the movement of the movable cam 77. The length of the guide groove 72 is made to match the stroke of the plunger 4, and as shown in FIG.
3. A cam rotating part 74 is connected to the lower part. An actuating part 75 is provided at the bottom of the groove of the cam rotating part 74 to rotate the movable cam by a certain angle when the movable cam 77 is located at the lower end. A section 76 is provided. The movable cam 77 has its long axis aligned with the sliding portion 73.
The groove width is set slightly larger than the groove width, and actuating recesses 78 are symmetrically formed at both ends on the long axis. The movable cam 77 moves up and down the guide groove 72 by the vertical movement of the plunger 4, and its movement is regulated by the engagement and disengagement between the actuating part 75 and the locking part 76 of the guide groove 72 and the recess 78 of the movable cam 77, and the movement is regulated when the plunger 4 moves up and down. Repeat the reset.

The click spring 8 is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.
As shown in the figure, the upper part of the elastic plate 81 that engages with the engaging portion 25 is folded back obliquely to form a spring piece 82 located in the passage of the plunger 4, and a tip of the spring piece 82 further protrudes into the passage. The click protrusion 83 is formed in series. Notches 84 are provided in the upper part of the click spring 8 at left-right symmetrical positions, and the click spring 8 is positioned by engaging the notches 84 with the protrusions 27 of the engaging part 25.

An engagement recess 28 is formed on the outer surface of the side wall of the cover body 2, and the illumination unit 9 is disposed therein. Lighting unit 9
A cylindrical cover 92 having mounting legs 94 at the bottom is inserted into a light source 91 such as an LED from above, so that the upper end surface of the light source 91, that is, the light emitting surface, faces the upper opening surface of the cylindrical cover 92. It is something. The switch base 1 has a seat 17 of a cylindrical cover 92 corresponding to the recess 28 of the cover body 2, and a light source terminal 93.
A mounting portion 18 is provided which has a stop hole for taking out the mounting leg 94 and locking the mounting leg 94.
The illumination unit 9 is attached to the.

Thus, when the plunger 4 is pressed down, the coil spring 6 is elastically compressed in accordance with the pressing stroke and pressurizes the reversal spring 5. coil spring 6
When the elasticity exceeds the buckling reversal load of the reversing spring 5, the reversing spring 5 deforms downward, and the convex part 51 presses down the seal rubber 33, and the contact 32 is fixed to the fixed contact 3.
1 to establish electrical continuity between lead terminals 11 and 12.

In the above configuration, by selectively using the reversing springs 5 with different amounts of deflection, a hysteresis feel type having the characteristics as shown in FIG. 14a,
Two types of linear touch type push button switches having the characteristics shown in FIG. 14b are obtained.

Figure 15 shows the reversing spring 5 and seal rubber 3 in the hysteresis feel type and linear feel type.
3, and FIG. 16 shows the stroke (S)-load (F) characteristics depending on the difference in the gap l between the reversing spring 5 and the seal rubber 33. The amount of deflection of the reversing spring 5 with respect to the seal rubber 33 is large in the hysteresis feel type and small in the linear feel type.Therefore, in the linear feel type, the gap l between the reversing spring 5 and the seal rubber 33 is small, and the reversing spring 5 is subject to the buckling reversing load. When this is reached, the gap l is almost "0", and as a result of not being able to eliminate the step of reversal, it becomes a linear feel type.

An alternate mechanism 7 is provided in the engaging portion 25 of the cover body 2.
When the movable cam 77 is assembled, the movable cam 77 descends within the guide groove 72 of the guide frame 71 in response to the descent of the plunger 4, as shown in FIG. 18a. At the lower end, the movable cam 77 abuts against the operating portion 75 and rotates slightly (FIG. 18b), and immediately after the plunger 4 enters the upward movement, the recess 78 of the movable cam 77 engages the locking portion 7.
6 (Fig. 18c, d), the plunger 4
stop rising. When lowering the plunger 4 again, the movable cam 77 descends slightly (Fig. 18e),
The recessed portion 78 is disengaged from the locking portion 76, and then returns to the upward position together with the plunger 4 (FIGS. 18f and 18g). In this manner, the set-reset operation is performed.

When the click spring 8 is incorporated into the engaging portion 25, the click spring 8 reaches the load peak point a at the point where the plunger 4 descends and the tip overcomes the convex portion 83 at the tip of the click spring 8, and a click feeling is achieved. (Figure 17).

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the present invention includes a switch base in which a pair of lead terminals are insert-molded, a switch mechanism provided on the switch base to open and close between the lead terminals, and a switch mechanism fitted and fixed to the switch base. a cover body having a plunger guide corresponding to the plunger guide; a plunger slidably supported by the plunger guide; and a reversing spring and a coil spring disposed between the switch mechanism and the plunger and transmitting the operating force of the plunger to the switch mechanism. The push-button switch is equipped with a push-button switch, in which an engaging portion in the form of a groove opening toward the plunger is formed on the inner surface of the side wall of the cover body in correspondence with the sliding direction of the plunger, and an alternate mechanism is provided in the engaging portion. Or, since the click spring can be engaged and held, linear feel type, hysteresis feel type, click feel type, set-reset operation can be performed by selecting reversing springs with different deflection forces, or by selecting an alternate mechanism or click spring built into the engagement part. Various types of push button switches can be configured. As a result, the number of design and mold surfaces can be reduced by sharing parts, and a significant cost reduction of the push button switch can be realized. Furthermore, since the external shape is the same and various types of push button switches can be constructed using assembled parts, it has excellent practical effects such as unifying the design and simplifying panel design by sharing mounting pitches.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of the push button switch according to this invention, and Fig. 2 is the same as Fig. 1.
3 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the switch base viewed from above, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 4. 6 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 4, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the cover body seen from below, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. Cross-sectional view along the - line in the figure, Figures 10 to 11
The figure is a sectional view of a push button switch incorporating an alternate mechanism, and Figure 12 is a front view of a click spring.
Fig. 13 is a side view of the click spring, Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the characteristics of the hysteresis feel type and linear feel type push button switch, Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the reversing spring and the seal rubber,
Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the S-F characteristics due to differences in the gap up to the seal rubber of the reversing spring, Figure 17 is an explanatory diagram showing the SF characteristics of the click spring, and Figure 18 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating status of the alternate mechanism. , FIG. 19 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional push button switch. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Switch base, 11, 12... Lead terminal, 2... Cover body, 24... Plunger guide, 25... Engaging portion, 3... Switch mechanism, 4...
... Plunger, 5... Reversing spring, 6... Coil spring, 7... Alternate mechanism, 8... Click spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a switch base in which a pair of lead terminals are insert-molded; a switch mechanism disposed on the switch base for opening and closing between the lead terminals; a cover body fitted and fixed to the switch base and having a plunger guide corresponding to the switch mechanism; A push button switch that is equipped with a plunger that is slidably supported by a plunger guide, and a reversing spring and a coil spring that are disposed between the switch mechanism and the plunger and transmit the operating force of the plunger to the switch mechanism. A push button switch in which an engaging part in the form of a recessed groove opened toward the plunger is formed on the inner surface of the side wall in correspondence with the sliding direction of the plunger, and an alternate mechanism or a click spring can be engaged and held in the engaging part.