JPH0751706Y2 - Switch device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a switch device which drives a contact mechanism in response to a rotating operation of an operation knob and gives a detent feeling to the operation knob by a detent mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a switch device having a moderation mechanism,
For example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-110732 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-23
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6124, there is known a switch device having a so-called push-pull-up type operation knob or a seesaw type operation knob. In each case, a switching operation is performed by bringing the movable contact into contact with the fixed contact of the switch case according to the operation of the operation knob, and a moderation mechanism for providing a moderation feeling at the time of operation is provided.

In this moderation mechanism, a support portion of a cylindrical body is formed on either one side of the operation knob and the housing, and the plunger is slidably accommodated and supported on this support portion, and at the other side of the operation knob and the housing. It is common to form a moderation surface and urge it with a spring so that the top of the plunger contacts the moderation surface.

[0004]

However, depending on the structure of the detent mechanism, the detent mechanism may not operate smoothly due to the operation of the operation knob, and the operation feeling may be impaired. For example, in the switch device described in the above publication, the top of the plunger that comes into contact with the moderation surface projects from the sliding portion between the plunger and the support. Therefore, when the operation knob is operated, a rotation moment acts on the plunger,
So-called twisting occurs and it becomes difficult to perform stable switching operation.

Further, since an assembling error between the plunger and the support portion directly causes the play of the operation knob, high precision is required for the dimensional relationship between them and the positioning. However, since the plunger in the conventional moderation mechanism is housed in the support portion of the cylindrical body, dimensional control is not easy.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in the switch device which drives the contact mechanism in response to the turning operation of the operation knob and gives the operation knob a detent feeling, the depressing mechanism is pressed according to the operation of the operation knob. The purpose is to reduce so-called twisting that occurs in the member and to ensure stable switching operation.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a housing having a contact mechanism, an operation knob rotatably supported by the housing, and any one of the operation knob and the housing. A support portion is formed on one side, and a pressing member that slidably supports the support portion is provided,
In a switch device in which a moderation surface is formed on the other side of the operation knob and the housing, and a biasing member for urging so that the top of the pressing member contacts the moderation surface is slidable on the pressing member. The sliding portion and the end portion of the support portion are formed so as to extend with respect to the top portion of the pressing member while forming the portion.

[0008]

In the switch device having the above structure, when the operation knob is turned, the contact mechanism is driven and
Due to the urging force of the urging member, the top portion of the pressing member slides in a state of being pressed against the moderation surface, so that a feeling of moderation is given to the operation knob. At this time, the sliding portion of the pressing member slides by being supported by the supporting portion formed on one side of the operation knob and the housing, and the end portion of the sliding portion of the supporting portion and the pressing member is , Extended to the top of the pressing member,
Since the proper support state is secured for the pressing member,
Twisting is unlikely to occur and the pressing member slides smoothly.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the switch device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is configured so that a switch operation can be performed by pressing (pushing) and pulling up (pulling up) an operation knob 2. , Applied to a power window switch of an automobile, for example.

The push-pull-up type operation knob 2
Is swingably supported on the housing 1 by bosses 1p and 1s as shown in FIG. That is, it is supported so as to be able to rotate in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions about the bosses 1p and 1s by moving the grip portion 2a of the operation knob 2 up and down.

The operation knob 2 is hollow, and a moderation surface 2b is formed on the bottom surface (upper surface in FIG. 1) substantially in the center, and ribs are formed so as to extend in both rotation directions of the operation knob 2.
That is, a rib 2c extending downward is formed on the counterclockwise direction side in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. Operating knob 2
The rib 2d is similarly formed on the clockwise direction side of. A step is formed on the moderation surface 2b, and the step provides a moderation when the operation knob 2 is operated, as described later.

The housing 1 is a housing, and a closed space is formed by a lid 1e forming a part thereof, and the contact mechanisms 10 and 20 are housed in the closed space. That is, the substrate 6 is fixed to the lid 1e, and the contact mechanisms 10 and 20 are fixed to the substrate 6. The contact mechanism 10 is a counter contact including a conductive rubber contact 11 functioning as a movable contact and a fixed contact 12 facing the conductive rubber contact 11, and the fixed contact 12 is fixed to the substrate 6. Further, the contact mechanism 20 is also similarly configured.

A plunger 3, which is a pressing member according to the present invention, is provided on the top of the housing 1. Plunger 3
Is a bottomed cylindrical body 3 as shown in the perspective view of FIG.
e and ribs 3 extending radially from the axial side surface thereof
a, 3b and a rib 3c extending in the radial direction at an intermediate position between them are integrally formed, and an abutting portion 3d having a substantially semicircular cross section is projected at an axial end portion (bottom portion) of the main body 3e. Has been formed. The ribs 3a and 3b form the sliding portion according to the present invention, and are longer than the axial length of the main body 3e.
Further, as is clear from FIG. 5, the upper ends of the ribs 3a and 3b are formed so as to be located above the top surface of the contact portion 3d. On the other hand, the rib 3c is formed to have a length substantially half the axial length of the main body 3e. Bottomed cylindrical body 3
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a spring 7 is provided in the hollow portion of e.
Is housed. Thus, the plunger 3 is arranged so that the top surface of the contact portion 3d contacts the moderation surface 2b of the operation knob 2, and is biased by the spring 7 in the direction of the moderation surface 2b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the housing 1 is provided with guides 1a to 1d, which are support portions having a guide groove having a substantially U-shaped cross section in the axial direction, standing upright. The guides 1a, 1b,
Ribs 3a, 3b, 3c of the plunger 3 are slidably supported on the respective 1c. The guides 1a and 1b are integrally formed with bosses 1p and 1s that project outward, respectively, and a recess (not shown) of the operation knob 2 is fitted into these bosses 1p and 1s to rotate them. It is movably supported. In this way, the guides 1a and 1b provide the sliding locus of the plunger 3 and the bosses 1p and 1s integrated with the guides 1a and 1b to provide the rotation center of the operation knob 2, so that the relationship between the two can be easily adjusted. can do. Also, the housing 1
Guides (typically shown as 1f) are formed around the guides 1a to 1d, and retainers 4 and 5 are housed therein and slidably supported. The retainer 4 is a plate body having a substantially T-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 1, and has one axial end 4a.
Is arranged so as to contact the rib 2c of the operation knob 2, and the large-area end surface of the other axial end 4b of the retainer 4 contacts the contact mechanism 10.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 to 3, the guides 1a and 1b are formed so as to project to the upper ends of the ribs 3a and 3b of the plunger 3 when the operation knob 2 is not operated. Therefore, when the operation knob 2 is not operated, the guide 1a,
The upper end of 1b and the upper ends of the ribs 3a and 3b of the plunger 3 are flush with each other. As shown in FIG. 1, the guide 1c and the guide 1f are formed at the same height and lower than the guides 1a and 1b, and the rib 3c of the plunger 3 is supported by the guide 1c such that the upper ends thereof are flush with each other. Thus, regarding the manufacture of the plunger 3, it is the width W of the ribs 3a and 3b shown in FIG. 5 that is particularly required to be dimensionally controlled, but the guides 1a to 1c have guide grooves and have a rail shape. Therefore, the dimensional control is easy and the structure can be configured with high accuracy.

Next, the operation of the switch device having the above construction will be described. When the upper surface of the operation knob 2 is pressed to rotate the operation knob 2 counterclockwise from the position of FIG. 1, the rib 2c drives the retainer 4 downward, and the contact mechanism 1
0 closes. That is, the conductive rubber contact 11 is fixed contact 12
To contact. When a finger is hooked on the grip portion 2a of the operation knob 2 to pull it up and the operation knob 2 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1, the contact mechanism 20 is closed via the retainer 5. In addition, according to the operation of the operation knob 2 during this period, the plunger 3
By sliding the abutting portion 3d of the contact portion 3d while being pressed against the moderation surface 2b of the operation knob 2 by the urging force of the spring 7, the operation knob 2 is given a moderation feeling according to the shape of the moderation surface 2b. It

In this case, the plunger 3 has ribs 3a on the guides 1a to 1c of the housing 1 as described above.
As a result, the twisting of the plunger 3 is reduced, and the ribs 3a to 3c of the plunger 3 are slidably guided by the guides 1a to 1c. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the operation of the operation knob 2 and the movement of the plunger 3. The state when the operation knob 2 is not operated is shown by a solid line, and the operation state is shown by a two-dot chain line. The plunger 3 has a boss 1p indicated by a broken line.
It slides along an axis perpendicular to the axis of. At this time, as is apparent from FIG. 1, a rotation moment acts on the plunger 3 about the boss 1p which is the rotation center of the operation knob 2, and the sliding resistance between the guides 1a and 1b and the ribs 3a and 3b is large. However, in the plunger 3, since the upper ends of the ribs 3a and 3b are formed higher than the top surface of the contact portion 3d,
It slides smoothly without causing any significant prying. As a result, a proper feeling of moderation is given and a good operation feeling is obtained.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show another embodiment of the present invention, in which the support member referred to in the present invention is provided on the operating member 2.
A moderation surface is provided on the housing 1. That is, a guide 2x having a guide groove having a substantially U-shaped cross section extending in the axial direction,
2y and a slit guide 2z are formed to extend inside the operation knob 2, and a moderation surface 1x is formed on the upper surface of the housing 1. Therefore, although the plunger 3 is arranged upside down with respect to the above-mentioned embodiment, it has substantially the same configuration as that of the above-mentioned embodiment. The other configurations are substantially the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and the substantially same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Thus, in this embodiment, the plunger 3 is the guide 2 of the operation knob 2 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.
The ribs 3a to 3c are supported by x, 2y, and 2z, and an appropriate supporting state is secured. That is, twisting of the plunger 3 is reduced, and the plunger 3 is guided by the guides 2x, 2
It slides smoothly guided by y and 2z. Further, a feeling of moderation according to the shape of the moderation surface 1x is given to the operation knob 2.

[0020]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects. That is, according to the switch device of the present invention, the sliding portion of the pressing member is slidably supported by the supporting portion provided on either side of the operation knob and the housing, and the supporting portion and the sliding portion are supported. The end portion is formed so as to extend with respect to the top portion of the pressing member that comes into contact with the moderation surface, and since an appropriate supporting state is secured for the pressing member, while imparting a moderation feeling to the operation knob, It is possible to reduce twisting of the pressing member and ensure stable switching operation. Moreover, since the sliding portion of the pressing member is configured to be supported by the supporting portion, dimensional control is easy, and manufacturing and assembly can be performed easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a cross-sectional view of a switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a switch device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially sectional front view of a switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a plunger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing an operating state of a plunger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a switch device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a sectional view of a switch device according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Housing 1a, 1b, 1c Guide (supporting part) 1p, 1s Boss 2 Operation knob 2c, 2d Rib 3 Plunger (pressing member) 3a, 3b, 3c Rib (sliding part) 3d Contact part 3e Main body 4, 5 Retainer 6 substrate 7 spring (biasing member) 10, 20 contact mechanism 2x, 2y, 2z guide (supporting part)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A housing having a contact mechanism, an operation knob rotatably supported by the housing, and a support portion formed on one side of the operation knob and the housing and slidable on the support portion. With a pressing member to support
In a switch device in which a moderation surface is formed on the other side of the operation knob and the housing, and a biasing member for urging so that the top of the pressing member contacts the moderation surface is slidable on the pressing member. The switch device is characterized in that the sliding portion and the end portion of the supporting portion are formed so as to extend toward the top portion of the pressing member while forming a portion.