JPH07114858A - Mounting structure for switch button - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a structure simple and highly accurate, relating to the mounting structure of a switch button provided for operating a switch, mounted in a case of an electronic device, by the button provided in a position different from a mounting position of the switch outside the case. CONSTITUTION:A flexible plate 7, securing the base end to an internal side surface of a panel 1 in a case, is provided, to extend this flexible plate 7 almost parallelly to the panel 1, and a manual operation end 4 is protrusively formed in a front face in a point end side of this plate. In a point end back surface side of the flexible plate 7, a back surface protrusion 14, integrally formed with the flexible plate 7, is extended, and a switch operating end 15 is formed in a point end of this protrusion. A position of the switch operating end 15 is placed in a side behind the base end of the flexible plate 7. When press in force is applied to the hand operating end 4, the flexible plate 7 is deflected as shown by a virtual line in the Figure 1, and the switch operating end 15 is moved in a direction almost orthogonal to a direction of actuating the hand operating end 4, to actuate a switch.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a switch button mounting structure provided for operating a switch mounted inside a case of an electronic device such as a small computer or OA equipment from the outside of the case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to reduce the size of electronic devices and reduce the number of mounting steps when assembling the devices, it has become common to mount hand-operated switches provided on the devices on a printed circuit board, which is a circuit board like ICs. ing. If the structure is such that the hand-operated switch is fixed to the panel of the case and is connected to the printed board on which ICs are mounted by wire wiring, the mounting position of the switch can be freely selected. The mounting position of the plate limits the mounting position of the switch.

For example, the main body of a small computer such as a personal computer is often in the shape of a flat rectangular box. At this time, the printed board in the case is often mounted horizontally near the bottom plate of the case. In this case, as shown in FIG.
A right angle type switch 12 is provided on the front edge of the printed board 11, and its operation portion 13 is provided on the front panel 1 of the case.
By facing the switch button 26 provided in the switch 12, the switch 12 can be operated from the outside of the case with a relatively simple structure.

However, in the structure shown in FIG. 3, the switch button 26 is located below the front panel of the case, and the operability is poor. As an even more serious problem, if the structure of FIG. 3 is adopted for a flat-type personal computer body, etc., when the keyboard placed in front of the device touches the switch button 26, the switch 12 is operated and the power is supplied while the computer is in use. There is a risk of causing serious damage such as disconnection.

Therefore, when such a danger exists, as shown in FIG. 4, a small sub-printed board 27, which is separate from the main printed-circuit board 11 on which an IC or the like is mounted, is prepared, and this sub-printed board is bracketed. A structure is employed in which the operation unit 13 of the straight type switch 12 mounted on the back side of the front panel 1 of the case is erected at 28 so that the operation portion 13 of the straight type switch 12 mounted above the sub-printed board 27 faces the switch button 26 provided on the front panel 1. It

The switch button 26 shown in FIGS.
Is equipped with a return spring 30 and a stopper 31 for restricting the return position, which is slidably fitted in the guide holes 29, 29 of the front panel 1 of the case. The main printed board 11 and the sub printed board 27 in FIG. 4 are electrically connected by a cable 32 or a connector-to-connector structure.

[0007]

As is clear from comparing the structures of FIGS. 3 and 4, when the switch button 26 is positioned above the front panel of the case, the sub-printed board 27 and its mounting bracket are attached. 28 and cable 32
It is necessary to increase the positional accuracy of the relationship between the switch button 26 and the sub-printed board 27 because extra parts such as the above are required and the stroke margin of the operation portion 13 of the small-sized switch is small. 27
However, there is a problem in that the number of assembling steps is increased due to the need for accurate positioning and the like. In addition, since the structure is complicated, it is inevitable that the accuracy is lowered due to the accumulation of errors.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is particularly effective when the position of the printed board in the case and the position of the switch button on the panel of the case are different. It is an object to obtain a push button switch mounting structure with a simple structure and high accuracy.

[0009]

A switch button 3 according to the present invention comprises a flexible plate 7 having a base end fixed to an inner surface of a panel 1 of a case. The flexible plate 7 extends substantially parallel to the panel 1 of the case, and has a manual operation end 4 on the front surface on the tip side thereof.
Is formed so as to project, and the manual operation end 4 is exposed to the outer surface of the case through an opening 5 provided in the panel 1 of the case.
A rear projection 14 integrated with the flexible plate 7 extends on the rear side of the distal end of the flexible plate 7, and a switch operation end 15 is formed at the distal end thereof.

The position of the switch operating end 15 is behind the base end of the flexible plate 7. That is, the switch operation end 1
5 is a position where the flexible plate 7 moves in a direction substantially orthogonal to the operation direction of the manual operation end 4 when the flexible plate 7 is bent as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1 by the pushing force acting on the manual operation end 4. It is provided.

The switch button 3 of the present invention may be a synthetic resin molded product, in which case the rear projection 14 is formed in a plate shape in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the central portion of the flexible plate 7 to provide flexibility. A window 16 is provided from the middle portion of the plate 7 to the base end portion. The width b of the window 16 is made wider than the width c of the rear projection 14 so that the rear projection 14 extends in the projection area of the window 16 and the switch operation end 15 portion thereof is positioned.

The manual operation switch 12 is mounted on the front edge portion of the main printed board 11 arranged in the direction orthogonal to the panel 1, and the operation portion 13 is provided at the switch operation end 15 of the switch button and the flexible plate 7. Face in parallel directions.

[0013]

[Operation] When the manual operation end 4 of the switch button 3 is pushed in,
The flexible plate 7 bends, and the tip side of the flexible plate 7 and the rear projection 14
Means that the base plate of the flexible plate 7 fixed to the panel 1 is rotated about its center. As the switch operation end 15 advances with the rotation of the rear projection 14, the hand-operated switch 1 facing this
The second operation unit 13 is pushed in and the switch 12 is operated. When the pushing force of the manual operation end 4 is released, the switch button 3 returns to the original position due to the elasticity of the flexible plate 7.

In the above-described structure of the present invention, the forward / backward movement of the flexible plate 7 by the fingers causes the switch operating end 15 located on the rear side of the proximal end of the flexible plate 7 to move forward / backward. Therefore, for example, in a main body device of a small flat computer, the switch button 3 is provided on the lower rear surface of the front panel of the case.
With the structure in which the base end is fixed, the switch 12 mounted on the printed board provided at the bottom of the case can be operated by pushing the manual operation end 4 located at the upper part of the front panel. Moreover, the structure of the switch button can be greatly simplified as compared with the conventional structure, and the parts such as the sub-printed board, its mounting bracket and the connection cable are not required, and the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the accuracy can be improved.

[0015]

1 and 2 are views showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a flat type small computer main unit. Figure 1
, A front panel 1 of the cover is formed with a recess 2 for operating a switch, and a switch button 3 is provided at the bottom of the recess.
An opening 5 is provided through which the manual operation end 4 is exposed. The recess 2 and the opening 5 are located above the front panel 1. Positioning pins 6 are integrally formed with the front panel 1 on the back side of the front panel below the positions where the recesses and the openings are provided. The switch button 3 is positioned by the pin 6 at the base end of the flexible plate 7 which is a plate-like portion parallel to the front panel 1 and is fixed to the front panel 1 by heat welding, caulking or the like.

Inside the cover 8, a main printed board 11 is positioned and fixed in parallel with the bottom plate 9 by a bracket (not shown). This main printed board 11
The switch button 3 is at the same level as the fixed position of the switch button 3. A straight type manual operation switch 12 is provided at the end of the main printed board 11 on the front panel 1 side.
3 is mounted upward. Main printed board 1
Other components such as an IC mounted on the device 1 are omitted in the figure.

The tip end side of the flexible plate 7 of the switch button 3 is bent into a hook shape, and the manual operation end 4 formed at the bent end is inserted into the opening 5 of the front panel. Behind the switch button 3, a back projection 14 extends in a dorsal fin shape. The back projection 14 extends from the tip side of the flexible plate 7 to the back of the flexible plate 7, and the tip facing downward serves as a switch operation end 15.

FIG. 2 shows the switch button 3 alone, which is an injection-molded product of synthetic resin. A rectangular window 16 is opened in the central portion of the flexible plate 7, and the vertical dimension of the window 16 is longer than the length of the downwardly extending portion of the rear projection 14,
Moreover, the width b thereof is wider than the width c of the rear projection 14. This window 16 is for allowing a portion 18 (a phantom line in FIG. 2) of a mold for molding an edge 17 of the rear projection 14 facing the flexible plate 7 side to be provided. As a result, the mold structure can be simplified. Circular holes 19 provided on both lower sides of the window 16 are positioning holes that fit with the positioning pins 6 of the front panel.

Switch button 3 and main printed board 11
The positions are fixed so that the switch operation end 15 of the switch button opposes the operation portion 13 of the manual operation switch mounted on the main printed board with a slight clearance 21. When the manual operation end 4 of the switch button is pushed in from the outside of the front panel 1 in this state, the switch button 3 is elastically deformed as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 1, and this deformation causes the switch operation end 15 to move downward. , Push in the switch operation unit 13. The depth d of the recess 2 in which the manual operation end 4 is located is equal to the clearance 2 between the switch operation end 15 and the operation portion 13.
The switch operating end 15 can be moved by a stroke obtained by adding the operating stroke of the switch 12 to 1, and even when the manual operating end 4 is pushed all the way into the recess 2, the operating portion 13 of the switch is allowed to do so. Most preferably, the depth is set so that excessive force that exceeds the stroke is not applied.

When the pushing force by the fingers acting on the manual operation end 4 is released, the switch button 3 returns to the original position shown by the solid line in FIG. Is also released.

[0021]

According to the structure of the present invention described above,
For example, in a main body device of a flat-type small computer, a simple structure can be obtained for operating a manually operated switch mounted on a printed board arranged in the lower part of the device with a switch button which is exposed above a front panel of a case. The structure of the switch button itself is simpler than the structure of the conventional switch button as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the molding is easy, and the sub-print board and its mounting bracket and sub-print board are Since there is no need for parts such as cables for connecting to the main printed board, both the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, and the assembling accuracy of the apparatus can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a switch button according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the first conventional structure.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a second conventional structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Front panel 3 Switch button 4 Manual operation end 7 Flexible plate 11 Main printed board 12 Manual operation switch 13 Operation end 14 Rear projection 15 Switch operation end 16 Window b Window width c Rear projection width d Depth of recess

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A front end side front surface of a flexible plate (7) having a base end fixed to an inner surface of a panel (1) of a case in a direction orthogonal to a printed board (11) mounted with a manual operation switch (12). On the manual operation end
(4) is formed so as to project to the outer surface of the panel (1) of the case, and a rear projection is provided on the rear side of the tip of the flexible plate (7).
A switch button mounting structure, wherein a switch operating end (15) formed by extending (14) and formed at the tip of the switch opposes an operating portion (13) of the manual operation switch (12). 2. A rear projection (14) is formed in a plate shape in a direction perpendicular to a plane of a central portion of the flexible plate (7), and a window (16) extends from an intermediate portion of the flexible plate (7) to a base end portion thereof. ) Is provided and this window (16)
The switch button mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the extended portion of the rear projection (14) and the switch operating end (15) are located in the projection area of the switch button.