JPH0561929U - Illuminated push button switch - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The wafer assembling process of the illuminated pushbutton switch is simplified and the productivity of the pushbutton switch is improved. [Structure] A light emitting body and a push button portion 6 are provided on a tip portion 2b of a slider 2 protruding from a metal frame body 3 of a switch body 1. By pressing the slider, the contacts inside the case 4 of the switch body are switched between open and closed, and the push button is illuminated by the light emitter. A slider return spring 5 is interposed between the slider tip portion 2b and the metal frame body 3. The wafer 7 is provided with terminals 8a, 8a connected to the light emitters in the slider via metal bands 8,8. This wafer 7 is returned to the spring 5
And the frame 3 and the wafer is pressed against the switch body by the force of the return spring, and the positioning projection 9 provided on the wafer is fitted into the hole 3c provided on the frame to position the wafer. ..

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention is directed to a switch main body having a contact inside, a slider protruding partially from the switch main body, and a slider having a push button portion and a light emitter at the tip of the protruding portion, the tip of the slider and the switch. A return spring that is interposed between the main body and the slider to urge the slider in the protruding direction, and presses the push button portion of the slider against the force of the return spring to contact the contacts inside the switch main body. The present invention relates to an illuminated push button switch that switches between opening and closing and illuminates a push button portion with a light emitter. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement of a wafer mounting structure for mounting a wafer, which has a terminal connected to a light emitting body of such an illuminated push button switch via a flexible conductor, to a switch body.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 In general, an illuminated push button switch has a switch body having contacts inside, a slider partially protruding from the switch body, and a slider having a push button portion and a light emitter at the tip of the protruding portion, and a slider of the slider. A return spring, which is interposed between the tip portion and the switch body and biases the slider in the protruding direction, is provided inside the switch body by pressing the push button portion of the slider against the force of the return spring. In addition to switching the opening and closing of the contact point, the light emitting body illuminates the push button section. Since the light emitter in such an illuminated push-button switch is incorporated in the slider that is movable with respect to the switch body, the wiring structure for energizing the light emitter has excellent durability and reliability, and the structure is simple. A product with excellent assembling property is required.

Therefore, a wafer provided with a pair of terminals is attached to the slider protruding surface of the switch body, and the conductors connected to the electrodes of the light emitter are made into a pair of belt-shaped flexible conductors curved in an arc shape, for example. It has already been proposed by the applicant of the present invention that the terminals are formed integrally with the wafer, and the light-emitting body is energized from the terminals through the flexible conductor. In such a configuration, only the amount of flexion of the arc-shaped flexible conductor changes with the movement of the slider for the switching operation of the switch contact, so that the wire breaks due to such entanglement or early fracture due to fatigue. It is excellent in durability and reliability without any fear of damage.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, conventionally, since the above described caulking structure is used to fix the wafer to the switch body, there is a problem in that the process for assembling the wafer and the manufacturing equipment are complicated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to illuminate a wafer having a terminal for energizing a light-emitting body through a flexible conductor and to assemble the wafer into a switch body. It is to provide a push button switch.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a switch main body having a contact inside, a slider partially protruding from the switch main body, the slider having a push button portion and a light emitting body at the tip of the protruding portion, A return spring, which is interposed between the tip of the slider and the switch body and urges the slider in the protruding direction, presses the push button portion of the slider against the force of the return spring. In addition to switching the opening and closing of the contacts in the switch main body by means of a push button switch that illuminates the push button section with a light emitter, a wafer provided with a terminal connected to the light emitter via a flexible conductor is used. It is inserted between the return spring and the switch body, the wafer is pressed against the switch body by the force of the return spring, and a positioning fitting portion for fitting the wafer and the switch body to each other is provided. Was it And it features.

[0007]

[Action]

 According to the above configuration, the wafer provided with the terminal connected to the light-emitting body via the flexible conductor is pressed against the switch main body by using the force of the slider return spring, and the wafer and the switch main body are attached to each other. Since the positioning mating part is provided for positioning between the two, the wafer can be easily switched by a one-touch operation of inserting the wafer between the return spring and the switch body and positioning it with respect to the switch body. It can be positioned and held in the body. Therefore, the wafer assembling process is simplified, the caulking device is not required, and the wafer assembling process is easily automated. .

In the push button switch having the above structure, preferably, the flexible conductor includes a pair of metal bands curved in an arc shape along both sides of the slider. In this case, preferably, the wafer has a bottom wall portion that abuts on a wall surface of the switch body, and a pair of side wall portions that stand upright from the bottom wall portion and protect the metal band from the outside. The bottom wall is formed with a notch that engages with the slider. With such a structure, the metal band can be safely protected using the wafer. In this case, the wafer can be easily mounted on the switch body by inserting its bottom wall from the side of the slider between the return spring and the switch body and engaging the notch with the slider. You can

Further, preferably, the switch main body includes a case containing the contact and a frame body for attaching the case to a device. In this case, a hole through which the slider is inserted is formed in one surface of the case and the frame body, and a positioning fitting portion on the switch body side is formed around the hole of the frame body, and the wafer is It is inserted between the return spring and the frame. With such a structure, the wafer can be reliably positioned and fixed to the switch main body by utilizing the strength of the frame body.

[0010]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire structure of an illuminated push button switch, and FIG. 2A is a wafer used for the switch of FIG. And a schematic side view showing the push button portion of the slider, FIG. 3B is a rear view of the wafer, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a frame body forming a part of the switch body, and FIG. 4 is a state in which the wafer is incorporated. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional top view of the switch, FIG. 5 is a side view of the switch showing a state in which a wafer is incorporated, and FIG.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the illuminated push-button switch of the illustrated embodiment includes a switch body 1 and a slider 2. The switch body 1 is composed of a case 4 and a metal frame body 3, and a case 4 is illustrated. The plurality of terminals 10 protruding from the inner and lower surfaces are connected to contacts (not shown) incorporated in the case 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the frame 3 is provided on the case 4 so as to cover the front surface of the case 4, and is caulked and fixed to the case 4 at a position 3a. As shown in FIG. 3, the frame 3 has projecting surface portions projecting to both sides of the front surface of the case, and mounting holes 3b for mounting the switch body 1 to a panel of a device are formed on both projecting surface portions. ..

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 4, a part of the slider 2 protrudes from the front opening 4 a of the case 4 through a hole 3 c formed in the frame 3 to the outside. The slider 2 has a shaft portion 2a and a slider tip portion 2b fixed to a projecting end of the shaft portion 2a. A push button portion 6 is fixed to the front surface of the slider tip portion 2b, and the inside of the slider tip portion 2b is fixed. A light-emitting body for illuminating the push button portion 6, for example, an LED (not shown) is incorporated in the. The switch body 1 is configured such that when the slider 2 is pressed inward of the case 4, the open / closed state of the contacts inside the case 4 can be switched. Since this contact switching structure itself is well known, its detailed description is omitted here.

On the slider shaft portion 2a between the slider tip portion 2b and the frame body 3 of the switch body 1, for returning the slider 2 to urge the slider 2 in the protruding direction, that is, in the direction opposite to the pressing operation direction. The coil spring 5 is attached.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2A, 4 and 5, the illuminated push-button switch is a wiring structure for energizing the above-mentioned light-emitting body, and is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. The stack 7, the pair of metal terminals 8a, 8a formed integrally with the wafer 7, and the pair of flexible terminals formed integrally with the slider tip 2b and connected to the electrodes of the light emitter in the slider tip. It has a pair of metal bands 8 and 8 as flexible conductors, and the terminals 8a and 8b and the metal bands 8 and 8 are integrally formed by punching a metal tape material. The metal bands 8 and 8 are arranged on both sides of the slider 2 and are curved in an arc shape. Further, the terminals 8a, 8a are formed to have an arcuate or U-shaped cross section in order to obtain a predetermined rigidity. On the other hand, the wafer 7 has a bottom wall portion 7a that abuts on the front surface of the switch body 3 and a pair of side wall portions 7b and 7b that stand upright from the bottom wall portion 7a to protect the metal bands 8 and 8 from the outside. And have. The bottom wall portion 7a is formed with a notch 7c which is loosely fitted to the slider 2. The wafer 7 utilizes the notch 7c to move the bottom wall portion 7a between the frame 3 and the rear end of the coil spring 5. It is possible to intervene.

As shown in FIG. 4, a recess 7 d for receiving the rear end of the coil spring 5 is formed on the inner surface side of the bottom wall portion 7 a of the wafer 7. Further, as a means for positioning the wafer 7 on the switch body 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the hole 3c of the frame body 3 is a polygonal hole, while in FIG. 2 (B). As shown, on the outer surface of the bottom wall portion 7a of the wafer 7, that is, on the back surface thereof, a positioning projection 9 that can be fitted into the hole 3c of the frame 3 is formed.

The wiring structure having the above configuration can be efficiently manufactured by integrally molding the wafer 7 and the slider tip portion 2b on the strip-shaped metal tape material.

In the illuminated push-button switch having the above structure, after the slider tip 2b is fixed to the shaft 2a of the slider 2, the coil spring 5 is compressed to form the frame 3 as shown in FIG. A gap is formed therebetween, and in this state, the metal bands 8 and 8 are curved in an arc shape, and the bottom wall portion 7a of the wafer 7 is inserted between the coil spring 5 and the frame body 3 by utilizing the notch 7c of the wafer 7. To do. Then, the protrusion 9 of the wafer 7 is fitted into the hole 3c of the frame 3 and the coil spring 5 is returned with the wafer 7 positioned with respect to the switch main body 1. Thus, the wafer 7 can be held and fixed to the switch body 1.

In addition, by incorporating the wafer 7 in the switch body 1 in this manner, the arc-shaped metal bands 8 and 8 are guided by the side wall portions 7b and 7b of the wafer 7 and are protected from the external force. It is possible to prevent the deformation of the metal bands 8 and 8 due to.

Although the embodiment shown in the drawings has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and for example, as the fitting means for positioning the wafer 7 with respect to the switch body 1, the frame body 3 is used. Alternatively, the protrusions provided on the case 4 may be fitted into holes, grooves, etc. formed on the wafer 7 for positioning. It is also possible to omit the metal frame as the switch body 1 and configure it only with a synthetic resin case having contacts inside. Further, as the flexible conductor, it is preferable to use the arc-shaped metal bands 8 and 8 as described above. For example, the electrodes of the light emitter and the wafer are connected via the flexible conductor formed in a coil shape. Even if the terminals 8a and 8a in 7 are connected, the intended purpose of the present invention can be achieved, and the wafer 7 has only the bottom wall portion without the side wall portions 7b and 7b. It may have a morphology. Further, various modifications can be made to the form of the slider itself.

[0021]

[Effect of the device]

 As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the wafer having the terminals connected to the light emitter of the illuminated push button switch is inserted between the slider return spring and the switch body, and the wafer is inserted into the switch body. It can be easily held on the switch body by a one-touch operation that requires only positioning. Therefore, the wafer assembling process and the manufacturing equipment can be simplified, and the automatic wafer assembling can be easily performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an illuminated push button switch showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a schematic side view showing a wafer used for the switch of FIG. 1 and a push button portion of a slider, and FIG. 2B is a rear view of the wafer.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a frame body forming a part of the switch body of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional top view of the switch showing a state in which the wafer is incorporated.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the switch showing a state in which the wafer is incorporated.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional top view showing a state in which a wafer is being assembled.

[Explanation of sign]

 1 Switch Main Body 2 Slider 3 Metal Frame 3c Hole (positioning fitting part) 4 Case 5 Return Coil Spring 6 Push Button Part 7 Wafer 8 Metal Band 9 Protrusion (positioning Fitting Part)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A switch main body having a contact inside, a slider partially protruding from the switch main body, the slider having a push button portion and a light emitter at the tip of the protruding portion, and the tip of the slider and the switch main body. And a return spring for urging the slider in the projecting direction, which is interposed between the switch and the switch. In a push button switch that performs switching and illuminates a push button portion with a light emitter, insert a wafer having a terminal connected to the light emitter through a flexible conductor between the return spring and the switch body. Then, the wafer is pressed against the switch main body by the force of the return spring, and a positioning fitting portion for fitting the wafer and the switch main body to each other is provided. ..