JPH08124721A - Potentiometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To remarkably prolong the service life of a potentiometer by providing a plurality of contact pieces in parallel with each other in the width direction of a resistor to form a contact, and, at the same time, a hard insulator to part of the resistor. CONSTITUTION: A resistor 1 is fixed to a prescribed part of the panel of a potentiometer and the contact 87 of the potentiometer is brought into contact with the surface of the resistor 1. The contact 87 is formed by arranging a plurality of contact pieces in parallel with each other in the width direction of the resistor 1. In addition, an insulator 2 having, for example, a rhombic shape is provided on the surface of the resistor 1. The insulator 2 is made of a material having an arbitrary hardness and an arbitrary thickness and applied to, printed on, stuck to, or buried in the resistor 1 so that the insulator 2 can be worn out and the resistor 1 below the insulator 2 can be exposed before the resistor 1 is completely worn out by the contact 87 which slides on the resistor 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a potentiometer used for position detection or the like in an automatic control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lot of potentiometers are used in, for example, position detection in an automatic control device. That is, such a potentiometer is connected to a rotary shaft or a moving shaft of a drive portion of the automatic control device, and changes the resistance value of the rotating amount or the moving amount of the rotary shaft or the moving shaft when the portion is driven. Is output as.

Therefore, as such a potentiometer, for example, a device as shown in FIG. 8 is used. That is, FIG. 8 shows an example of a rotary potentiometer. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 81 is a shaft. The shaft 81 is rotatably held by a metal or ball bearing 84 provided on the panel 82 and the back cover 83.

A sliding arm 86 is provided on the shaft 81 via an insulating ring 85, and a contact 87 is provided at the tip of the sliding arm 86. The contact 87 is a multipoint contact provided with a plurality of contacts arranged in parallel. Further, the wiper 88 is brought into contact with the slip ring connected to the sliding arm 86, and the contact 87 is connected to the external terminal 89 through the sliding arm 86 and the wiper 88.

Reference numeral 90 denotes a resistor formed in the potentiometer in a substantially circumferential shape or an arc shape. As shown in FIG. 9, this resistor 90 has a film resistance 9 on a base material 91.
2 are provided. And this base material 91 is the panel 82
And the resistor 90 is installed in the potentiometer.

Therefore, in this device, the contact 87 is brought into contact with an arbitrary position of the resistor 90, and the resistance value corresponding to the position is taken out to the external terminal 89. The shaft 81 is arbitrarily rotated, and the resistance value taken out to the external terminal 89 is changed according to the rotation.

As the potentiometer used in the automatic control device, in addition to the rotary potentiometer described above, one that detects a linear movement amount is also implemented. That is, in such a linear potentiometer, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a shaft 81 is linearly reciprocally slidably provided, and a resistor 90 is linearly formed along the sliding direction. And this resistor 90
The contact 87 provided on the shaft 81 is slid linearly on the above, and the amount of movement of the moving shaft connected to the shaft 81 is output as a change in resistance value.

[0008]

When using such a potentiometer, generally, in the design of an automatic control device, the contact 87 is designed to slide over as wide a range as possible of the resistor 90.

However, in actual operation, only a part of the resistor may be slid, and especially when the operation of the device causes hunting in the vicinity of the target point, the contact 87 causes a part of the resistor 90 to be moved. It will slide repeatedly. Further, even when the entire device is subjected to vibration, the contact 87 repeatedly slides on a part of the resistor 90.

When a part of the resistor 90 is repeatedly slid in this way, as shown in FIG. 11, the film resistor 92 of the resistor 90 in this part is abraded severely. When this wear reaches the base material 91, the base material 91 cannot function as a potentiometer because it is made of an insulator.

That is, FIG. 12 shows a cross section taken along the line BB 'of FIG. In FIG. 12, the abrasion is the base material 91.
When the contact point reaches, the tip of the contact 87 comes into contact with the base material 91, and only unstable side contact is obtained with the film resistor 92.
Here, the contact 87 is formed of a good conductor and functions even if a part thereof is in contact with the film resistor 92, but it is unstable only by the contact of the side portion and cannot function as a potentiometer.

Therefore, in the conventional device as described above, a part of the resistor 90 is repeatedly slid, so that the film resistor 92 in this part is abraded. For this reason, even if the film resistance 92 of the other part is normal, due to the wear of this part, the function as a potentiometer cannot be fulfilled, and the life of the device is remarkably shortened.

On the other hand, for example, a powder of alumina, glass or the like is mixed in the resistance paste forming the film resistor 92 to harden the surface of the resistor 90 and enhance the abrasion resistance of the resistor 90 itself. However, it was not something that could extend the life span many times, and the effect rate was low.

This application has been made in view of such a point, and the problem to be solved is that the resistance of the film resistance of this portion is abraded by the repeated sliding of a part of the resistor. It becomes violent, and due to this part of wear, it cannot function as a potentiometer and the life of the device is significantly shortened.

[0015]

The first means according to the present invention is a resistor 1 having a substantially circular shape, an arc shape, or a linear shape.
Is formed, and the contact 87 is brought into contact with the resistor, and the resistance value is changed according to the sliding of the contact. In the potentiometer, the contact has a plurality of contacts 7a.
7h is provided in parallel in the width direction of the resistor, and a hard insulator 2 is provided in a part of the resistor, which is a potentiometer.

A second means according to the present invention is the potentiometer according to the first means, wherein the insulator 2 is at an angle different from the parallel angle of the contacts 87.
The potentiometer is provided in the width direction of the.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the potentiometer according to the first aspect, the insulator 2 is provided by dividing the resistor 1 into a plurality of pieces in the width direction and providing at least one of the divisions. It is a potentiometer characterized by comprising:

A fourth means according to the present invention is the first or second means.
Alternatively, in the potentiometer according to the third means, the insulator 2 is provided by coating, printing, pasting, or embedding, and at least the portion of the resistor 1 not provided with the insulator is slid by the contact 87. A potentiometer, characterized in that the insulator is abraded to expose the resistor under the insulator before all are abraded.

The fifth means according to the present invention is the first or second means.
Alternatively, the potentiometer according to the means of 3 or 4 is characterized in that the insulator 2 is provided at least at a portion where the contact 87 is considered to be repeatedly slid.

[0020]

According to this, the contact has a plurality of contacts arranged side by side in the width direction of the resistor, and a hard insulator is provided on a part of the resistor, so that The resistor on the side does not wear until the insulator wears, and after the insulator wears, the lower resistor is used, so that the life can be greatly extended.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the configuration of the resistor, which is a feature of the potentiometer of the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings, but the overall configuration of the potentiometer is the same as that of the device described in the above-mentioned related art.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a resistor formed in a rotary or linear potentiometer in a substantially circumferential shape, an arc shape, or a linear shape. This resistor 1
It is fixed to a predetermined portion of the above-mentioned potentiometer panel (not shown). Then, the contact (multipoint contact) 87 of the potentiometer is brought into contact with the surface of the resistor 1.

As a result, the contact 87 is brought into contact with an arbitrary position of the resistor 1, and a resistance value corresponding to the position is taken out to an external terminal (not shown). The shaft (not shown) is arbitrarily rotated or moved, so that the resistance value taken out to the external terminal is changed according to the rotation or the movement.

Further, in this device, the resistor 1
On the surface of, the insulator 2 is provided, for example, in the shape of a rhombus as illustrated. Here, the insulator 2 is provided, for example, by coating, printing, pasting, or embedding, and at least before the resistor 1 is completely abraded by the sliding of the contact 87, the insulator 2 is abraded and the insulator 2 is abraded. It is formed of an arbitrary hard material in an arbitrary thickness so that the lower resistor 1 is exposed.

That is, FIG. 2 shows a cross section taken along the line AA 'in FIG. In FIG. 2A, the resistor 1 is formed by providing a film resistor 4 on a base material 3. The base material 3 is fixed to the panel 82, and the resistor 1 is installed in the potentiometer. Furthermore, the insulator 2 is provided on the film resistor 4 by, for example, coating, printing, pasting, or embedding.

Therefore, in this apparatus, the contacts 7a to 7h of the contact 87 are slid in accordance with the rotation or movement of the shaft (not shown), and the resistance value according to the sliding position is the external terminal (not shown). Be taken out). Along with that, Fig. 2
As indicated by B, the contact resistance 87 causes the film resistance 4 on the base material 3 to be worn away.

However, in this case, for example, the contact 7a,
Although the portion of the film resistor 4 with which 7c to 7f and 7h are directly contacted is heavily worn, the contacts 7b and 7g are slid on the insulator 2 in the portion where the insulator 2 is provided, and the film of this portion is formed. The resistor 4 is not worn as shown in the figure.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, for example, when abrasion due to the contacts 7a, 7c to 7f, 7h reaches the base material 3, these contacts 7a, 7c to 7f, 7h contact the base material 3. However, these contactors 7a, 7c to 7f, 7h and the film resistor 4 can only obtain unstable side contact.

However, at this time, the insulators 2 provided on the film resistors 4 are worn by the contacts 7b and 7g, and the film resistors 4 under these insulators 2 are brought into contact with the contacts 7b and 7g. . The function of the potentiometer is maintained by the contact between the contacts 7b and 7g and the film resistor 4.

That is, in this apparatus, the film resistance 4 under the insulator 2 is made effective after a part of the film resistance 4 is completely worn, and all the film resistance 4 under the insulator 2 is worn. The function as a potentiometer is maintained.
Therefore, the life of the potentiometer is approximately doubled, and the life of the device can be sufficiently lengthened even when a part of the resistor 1 is repeatedly slid due to hunting or vibration during operation. it can.

Thus, according to the above-mentioned device, the contact 87 is provided with the plurality of contacts 7a to 7h arranged in parallel in the width direction of the resistor 1, and the hard insulator 2 is provided on a part of the resistor 1. By doing so, the resistor 1 on the lower side of the hard insulator 2 does not wear until the insulator 2 wears, and after the insulator 2 wears, the resistor 1 on the lower side is used, so that the life is reduced. Can be significantly extended.

In the above-mentioned device, the insulator 2 may be provided in a diagonal stripe shape as shown in FIG. 3, for example. In this case, the insulator 2 is provided in the width direction of the resistor 1 at an angle different from the angle at which the plurality of contacts 7a to 7h of the contact 87 are arranged in parallel. As a result, the contacts 7a to 7h are slid evenly on the insulator 2 and the specific contacts 7
The wear of a to 7 h does not shorten the life of the device.

The insulator 2 is not limited to the stripe shape, and spherical particles of the insulating material may be arranged along the different angles described above. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the insulator 2 may be provided in a checkered pattern. Also in this case, the insulators 2 are arranged along the different angles described above.

Further, FIG. 5 shows the configuration of another embodiment. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 51 denotes a resistor formed in the potentiometer in a substantially circumferential shape, an arc shape, or a linear shape. The resistor 51 includes a base material 53 and a film resistor 54 provided on the base material 53. The base material 53 is fixed to a predetermined portion of the above-mentioned potentiometer panel (not shown). Further, the contact (multipoint contact) 87 of the potentiometer is brought into contact with the surface of the resistor 51.

As a result, the contact 87 is brought into contact with an arbitrary position of the resistor 51, and a resistance value corresponding to the position is taken out to an external terminal (not shown). The shaft (not shown) is arbitrarily rotated or moved, so that the resistance value taken out to the external terminal is changed according to the rotation or the movement.

Further, in this device, the resistor 5
1 is divided into a plurality in the width direction, and an insulator 52 is provided on the surface of one or more resistors 51 of the division. Here, the insulator 52 is provided by, for example, coating, printing, pasting, or embedding, and at least the resistor 51 is used as the contact 8
It is made of any hard material and of any thickness so that the insulator 52 is abraded and the resistor 51 underneath the insulator 52 is exposed before it is entirely abraded by the sliding of 7.

That is, FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the device of FIG. In FIG. 6A, the resistor 51 has the base material 5
3 is fixed to the panel 82 and installed in the potentiometer. Further, the insulator 52 is provided on the film resistor 54 by, for example, coating, printing, pasting, or embedding.

Therefore, in this apparatus, the contacts 7a to 7h of the contact 87 are slid in accordance with the rotation or movement of the shaft (not shown), and the resistance value according to the sliding position is the external terminal (not shown). Be taken out). Along with that, FIG.
As indicated by B, the contact resistance 87 causes the film resistance 54 on the base material 53 to be worn.

However, in this case, for example, the contacts 7a ...
Although the portion of the film resistor 54 with which 7d is directly contacted is heavily worn, the contactor 7e is provided at the portion where the insulator 52 is provided.
7h is slid on the insulator 52, and the film resistor 54 in this portion is not worn as shown in the figure.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, for example, when the wear due to the contacts 7a to 7d reaches the base material 53, the contacts 7a to 7d come into contact with the base material 53, and the contacts 7a to 7d. 7d and the film resistor 54 can only obtain an unstable side contact.

At this time, however, the insulators 52 provided on the film resistors 54 are worn by the contacts 7e to 7h, and the film resistors 54 below these insulators 52 contact the contacts 7e to 7h.
touched h. The function of the potentiometer is maintained by the contact between the contacts 7e to 7h and the film resistor 54.

That is, in this device, the film resistance 54
The film resistor 54 under the insulator 52 is made effective after a part of the film is completely worn, and the film resistor 54 under the insulator 52 is made effective.
The function as a potentiometer is maintained until all are worn out. Therefore, the life of the potentiometer is approximately doubled, and the life of the device can be sufficiently lengthened even when a part of the resistor 51 is repeatedly slid due to hunting or vibration during operation. it can.

Thus, also in this embodiment, the contact 87
The plurality of contacts 7a to 7h are provided in parallel in the width direction of the resistor 51, and the hard insulator 52 is provided in a part of the resistor 51. The resistor 51 does not wear until the insulator 52 wears, and after the insulator 52 wears, the resistor 5 on the lower side does not wear.
The use of No. 1 can greatly extend the life.

In the above-described device, the resistor 51 is divided into three in the width direction, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, and the insulators 52 having different thicknesses are provided on the two surfaces of the division. This enables the film resistance 54 below the thin portion of the insulator 52 to be effective after all the film resistance 54 is first worn, and the thickness of the insulator 52 is further increased after all the film resistance 54 in this portion is worn. The film resistance 54 underneath the part is activated. Therefore, the life of the potentiometer is approximately tripled, and the life of the device can be made extremely long.

Further, in the above-mentioned device, the resistor 51 may be divided into four or more pieces in the width direction, and the insulators 52 having different thicknesses may be provided on the three or more surfaces of the division. As a result, the life of the potentiometer can be extended four times or more.

Further, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the insulator may be provided at least at the portion where the contact 87 is considered to be repeatedly slid, but this is substantially circular or arcuate in the potentiometer. Alternatively, it may be provided over the entire linearly formed resistor.

[0047]

According to the present invention, a contact is provided with a plurality of contacts arranged in parallel in the width direction of the resistor, and a hard insulator is provided on a part of the resistor, so that a hard insulation is provided. The resistor underneath the body does not wear out until the insulator wears out, and the use of this resistor underneath the insulator after wear has allowed the lifetime to be significantly extended.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a resistor which is a feature of a potentiometer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the explanation.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of another example of a resistor.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of another example of a resistor.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of still another example of a resistor which is a feature of the potentiometer according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the explanation.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of another example of a resistor.

FIG. 8 is an overall configuration diagram of a rotary potentiometer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a resistor applied to a conventional potentiometer.

FIG. 10 is an overall configuration diagram of a linear potentiometer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining that.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the explanation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 resistor 2 insulator 3 base material 4 film resistance 82 panel 87 contact point (multipoint contact point) 7a to 7h contactor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A resistor is formed in a substantially circular shape, an arc shape, or a linear shape, and a contact is brought into contact with the resistor,
In a potentiometer having a configuration in which a resistance value is changed according to sliding of the contact, the contact includes a plurality of contacts arranged in parallel in a width direction of the resistor and a part of the resistor. A potentiometer, characterized in that a hard insulator is provided on the. 2. The potentiometer according to claim 1, wherein the insulator is provided in the width direction of the resistor at an angle different from the parallel angle of the contacts. 3. The potentiometer according to claim 1, wherein the insulator divides the resistor into a plurality in the width direction,
A potentiometer characterized by being provided in one or more of the divisions. 4. The potentiometer according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the insulator is provided by coating, printing, pasting, or embedding, and at least a portion of the resistor where the insulator is not provided is the resistor. A potentiometer, characterized in that the insulator is abraded so that the resistor under the insulator is exposed before it is entirely abraded by sliding of the contacts. 5. The potentiometer according to claim 1, 2 or 3 or 4, wherein the insulator is provided at least at a portion where the contact is considered to be repeatedly slid. .