JPH063078B2 - Key device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a key device, and more particularly to a key switch each having an electric circuit and a key device having a contact means for electrically connecting the key to each other.

<Prior Art> In recent years, for example, in order to prevent theft of an automobile, etc., a receiver is provided on the vehicle side and a transmitter is provided in a key for operating an ignition switch etc. Some are designed to enable unlocking and engine starting. This key requires a power supply for the transmitter and generally contains a battery.

However, if the capacity of the battery is increased to guarantee the transmission function for a long time, the entire key becomes large and the convenience of carrying is impaired, and if the size of the entire key is made small, the battery capacity becomes small and the battery capacity is reduced. There is a problem that maintainability becomes complicated.

Therefore, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-1659, a key having a transmission function has a built-in rechargeable battery, and its charging terminal is provided in the insertion direction, and a charging terminal connected to the battery is provided in the key. It is disclosed that a key switch on the vehicle side is provided so as to come into contact with a charging terminal, and when a key is inserted into the key switch, a built-in battery of the key is charged through both charging terminals.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, since the charging terminals of the key and the key switch come into contact with each other in the insertion direction of the key, by repeatedly performing the insertion / removal of the key and the rotating operation as the operation of the ignition switch. When the contact portions of both terminals are deteriorated due to wear or the like, there is a possibility that contact failure may occur.

In view of the above problems of the prior art, the main object of the present invention is to provide a contact means for electrically connecting the key and the key switch to each other in the pivoting operation of the key inserted into the key switch. It is to provide a key device capable of stabilizing a contact state.

<Means for Solving the Problems> According to the present invention, such a purpose is to provide a key having a first electric circuit, a key switch having a second electric circuit, and the key to the key switch. A key device having the key switch and the contact means provided on the key so that the first electric circuit can be electrically connected to the second electric circuit by being inserted into a key hole, The key switch has a fixed portion and a movable portion capable of rotating integrally with the key, and the contact means has first contact means provided on the key and the key hole. Second contact means provided on the movable part so as to come into contact with the first contact means when being inserted into
It is achieved by providing a key device characterized in that it has a slip ring means or a flexible cable provided between both the fixed part and the movable part.

<Operation> As described above, the electrical circuits provided in the key switch and the key are electrically connected to each other through the slip ring means or the flexible cable provided between both the movable portion and the fixed portion of the key switch. By doing so, the contact state of both the key switch and the contact means of the key can be stabilized.

<Embodiment> Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a part of an engine control circuit in a vehicle such as an automobile to which a key device according to the present invention is applied. The steering column of the vehicle 1 is provided with a cylinder lock type key switch 2 which also serves as a steering lock and an ignition switch, and like the known vehicle key switch, the key 3 is inserted into the key switch 2 and turned on. The engine can be started by turning to the "" position.

The key 3 is formed with a grip portion 4 integrally molded with a synthetic resin material, and the grip portion 4 is provided with a pair of light emitters 5 formed of, for example, light emitting diodes. It is buried to face,
A control circuit 7 having an emission circuit for the light emitter 5 and a rechargeable battery 8 as a power source are also embedded. Further, a pair of terminals 9 having a contact portion is fixedly provided at the base end portion of the key body 6 inserted into the key switch 2, and both terminals 9 and the control circuit 7 are connected.

The key switch 2 is provided with a slip ring 11 having a pair of terminals 10 that can contact the contact portions of both terminals 9 of the key 3 in the inserted state. Further, the key switch 2 is provided with a light receiving body 12 made of, for example, a phototransistor for receiving light from the light emitting body 5. The slip ring 11 and the light receiving body 12 are electrically connected to a control unit 13 provided in the vehicle 1. Connected to the control unit 13 are an on-vehicle battery 14 as a power source and cut relays 41 and 42 for disconnecting / setting the engine control circuit 15 and the starter circuit 16 which are closed at the "ON" position of the key switch 2, respectively. ing.

2 and 3 show the key 3 inserted in the key switch 2.
The main parts of the key switch 2 and the key 3 in the state of being turned to the “ON” position are shown.

The key switch 2 has the "LOC" shown in FIG. 3 in order to enable the operation of the engine control circuit 15 and the starter circuit 16 and the in-vehicle devices (not shown).
Rotating a rotor switch (not shown) integrally arranged behind the rotor 17 of the key switch 2 together with the rotor 17 to the positions of “K”, “ACC”, “ON”, and “ST”. To close each circuit,
Key 3 inserted at the "LOCK" position shown
Is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A, and when the "ACC" position is set, for example, the radio of the vehicle 1 is turned on, and when the "ON" position is set next, the ignition circuit 16 is turned on. Further, when it is set to the “ST” position, the starter circuit 14
Is turned on.

As described above, the key switch 2 has a well-known key cylinder structure, and includes the outer cylinder member 17 forming a cylinder lock,
The outer cylinder member 17 has a rotor 18 rotatably received within a predetermined angle range. The rotor 18 has a key hole 19 corresponding to the key body 6.

The outer cylindrical member 17 is fitted with a cylindrical inner cap 21, which is formed on the insertion side of the key 3 in the axial direction so as to surround the end and to cover the peripheral edge of the axial end surface. Further, a cylindrical outer cap 22 that covers and surrounds the outer surface portion of the inner cap 21 is fixed to the outer cylindrical member 17 by caulking.

At the end of the rotor 18 in the axial direction, the above-mentioned cylindrical slip ring 11 is coaxially fixed so as to be rotatable integrally with the rotor 18, and serves as a fixed portion of the key switch 2. A hole 23 is coaxially formed in the end portion of the outer cylinder member 17 in the axial direction and the inner cap 21, and the slip ring 11 as a movable part is rotatably received in the hole 23. The slip ring 11 is prevented from coming out in the axial direction by the inward flange portion of the outer cap 22 which forms the axial end surface.

The slip ring 11 is provided with a key introduction hole 24 as an extension of the key hole 19 so as to communicate with the key hole 19. The key introduction hole 24 is formed with an inner diameter that allows the base end of the key body 6 to be loosely inserted.

As best shown in FIG. 3, a leaf spring-shaped spring terminal 25 as a brush of the slip ring 11 is provided in the inner cap 21 in a recess 26 that is recessed toward the connection surface side with the outer tubular member 17. The base end is fixed so that its free end can be elastically slidably contacted with the outer peripheral surface of the slip ring 11. A convex contact portion 27 is integrally formed on a free end portion of the spring terminal 25, and a pair of slip terminals 28 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the slip ring 11 in an arc shape over a predetermined angle range. Are fixed at symmetrical positions, and when the key 3 is rotated, the contact portion 27 of the spring terminal 25 is slidably contacted with the slip terminal 28 between the "ON" position and the "ST" position. .

In the slip ring 11, a pair of terminal holding holes 29 for communicating both slip terminals 28 and both side surfaces of the key introduction hole 24 are formed so as to face each other with the key introduction hole 24 interposed therebetween. The above-mentioned terminal 1 as a movable terminal having a hemispherical head as a contact in each terminal holding hole 29.
0 is received from the side surface of the key introduction hole 24 such that its head can be protruded by a predetermined amount toward the center and is biased by the compression coil spring 32 so as to elastically emerge from the terminal holding hole 29. There is.

The base end portion of the spring terminal 25 has the above-mentioned control unit 13
The terminal 10 is electrically connected to the control unit 13 via the coil spring 32, the slip terminal 28, and the spring terminal 25, respectively.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the key switch 2 is provided with the above-mentioned light receiving body 2 so as to be exposed to the outside through an opening (not shown) formed in the axial end surface of the outer cap 22. ing. This light receiver 12 is roughly “ON”.
It is arranged at a position corresponding to the middle part of the section from the position to the “ST” position, and can receive the light from the light emitter 5 when the key 3 is located between them. The key 3 is provided with a pair of light emitters 5 symmetrically with respect to the axis, but this is for reversing the inserting direction of the key 3.

By the way, a terminal holder 33 made of synthetic resin is fixed to the key 3 as an insulating material so as to surround the base end portion of the key body 6, and corresponds to the main surface 34 of the base end portion of the key body 6. The terminal 9 in the form of a thin plate is fixed to the outer surface of the terminal holder 33 at a portion. In addition, one end of the terminal 9 is embedded in the grip portion 4 and connected to the control circuit 12 described above.

In the key device constructed as described above, when the key 3 is rotated, in the section from the “ON” position to the “ST” position, the slip terminal 28 of the slip ring 11 and the contact portion 27 of the spring terminal 25 are provided. And slide against each other. That is, in the present embodiment, at the “ON” position, the voltage of the battery 14 is transmitted via the control unit 13 to the control circuit 7 on the key 3 side.
And is applied to the rechargeable battery 8. At this time, a specific code signal is emitted as light from the light emitting body 5 by the trigger operation in the control circuit 7, and the light receiving body 12 on the side of the key switch 2 receives the light converted into the code signal. In the control unit 13, when it is confirmed that the code signal and the code stored in the control unit 13 match, the control unit 13 sends an auxiliary ON signal to the ignition circuit 16 and the starter circuit 16. Is output, and the ignition circuit 16 and the starter circuit 16 are turned on via the switch circuit of the key switch 2 corresponding to the position of the key 3.

In the present embodiment, the slip ring whose contact portion can be slidably contacted is used, but the connection may be made by using a flexible cable, for example, and the slip ring is not limited.

<Effect of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, the key switch and the electric circuits provided on the key side can be connected to each other through the slip ring means that can rotate integrally with the key hole. The contact state of both the key switch and the contact means of the key can be stabilized, and by providing the contact portion on the main surface portion of the key body, it is not necessary to widen the key hole in the width direction, and the outer shape of the key device can be enlarged. Since the key device is not provided, the key device can be downsized, and the effect is extremely large.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle control circuit to which a key device according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an essential part showing a state in which a key in the key device according to the present invention is inserted into a key switch. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III shown in FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 2 ... Key switch 3 ... Key, 4 ... Gripping part 5 ... Light emitter, 6 ... Key body 7 ... Control circuit, 8 ... Rechargeable battery 9 ... Terminal, 10 ... Terminal 11 ... Slip ring, 12 ... Photoreceptor 13 ... Control unit, 14 ... Battery 15 ... Engine control circuit 16 ... Starter circuit, 17 ... Outer cylinder member 18 ... Rotor, 19 ... Key hole 21 ... Inner cap, 22 ... Outer cap 23 ... Hole, 24 ... Key introduction hole 25 ... Spring terminal, 26 ... Recessed portion 27 ... Contact portion, 28 ... Slip terminal 29 ... Terminal holding hole, 32 ... Coil spring 33 ... Terminal holder, 33 ... Main surface

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Sakata 3700 Wadayama, Shimonaka, Sadohara-cho, Miyazaki-gun, Miyazaki Prefecture, inside Honda Lock Co., Ltd. 3700 Address Honda Lock Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masami Tanaka Wadayama Shimoda Naka, Sadohara Town, Miyazaki District, Miyazaki Prefecture 3700 Address Honda Lock Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A key having a first electric circuit, a key switch having a second electric circuit, and a key switch having the second electric circuit formed by inserting the key into a key hole of the key switch. A key device having the key switch and a contact means provided on the key so that the key switch can be electrically connected to the electric circuit of the key switch, wherein the key switch rotates integrally with the fixed portion and the key. A movable part that can be
A first contact means provided on the key; a second contact means provided on the movable portion so as to come into contact with the first contact means when the key is inserted into the key hole; A key device comprising a slip ring means or a flexible cable provided between both the portion and the movable portion. 2. The key device according to claim 1, wherein the first contact means is fixed to a main surface portion of a main body of the key.