JPH081535Y2 - Electronic device switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial application] The present invention relates to a switch for electronic equipment, and more particularly to a switch suitable for use in an electronic keyboard instrument, a keyboard of a computer, and the like.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a switch used for an electronic keyboard instrument or a computer keyboard, the applicant has used the structure shown in FIGS.

The switch 1 is composed of a fixed contact 3 formed on the printed circuit board 2 and a movable contact 4 provided on the printed circuit board 2 so as to cover the fixed contact 3.

The movable contact 4 is provided with a cylindrical pressure receiving portion 5, a cylindrical elastic leg portion 6 which is coaxially and integrally connected to one end portion of the pressure receiving portion 5, and has a diameter larger than the pressure receiving portion 5. A cylindrical bottomed contact portion 7 having a hollow portion 7a that is integrally projected from the connecting portion between the pressure receiving portion 5 and the elastic leg portion 6 toward the inside of the elastic leg portion 6 and communicates with the pressure receiving portion 5. And a conductor 8 provided on the end surface of the contact portion 7 on the elastic leg 6 side.

When the operating member (for example, a white key or a black key in an electronic keyboard musical instrument, or a keyboard key in a computer) is pressed, the switch 1 is connected to the pressure receiving portion 5 of the elastic leg portion 6. The vicinity of the connecting portion is elastically bent, and the pressure receiving portion 5 of the movable contact 4 is moved together with the contact portion 7 toward the fixed contact 3 so that the conductor 8 provided in the contact portion 7 is When the fixed contact 3 is brought into contact with the fixed contact 3, it is brought into a conductive state as shown in FIG.

Further, if the pressing force applied to the pressure receiving portion 5 is increased,
The peripheral walls of the elastic leg portion 6 and the contact portion 7 are elastically deformed.

Looking at the operation feeling of the operating member in terms of the relationship between the stroke of the pressure receiving portion 5 and its reaction force, the reaction force transmitted via the operating member is as shown by the curve A in FIG. With the increase, the temperature rises once, then decreases on the way, and then rises again.

The reason why the reaction force drops in the middle as described above is that the bending of the connection portion of the elastic leg portion 6 with the pressure receiving portion 5 does not progress gradually, but occurs instantaneously at the time when a certain stroke is reached. The subsequent increase in the reaction force is caused by further elastic deformation of the pressure receiving portion 5, the elastic leg portion 6, and the contact portion 7.

Such a change in the reaction force provides a better operational feeling than the linear change indicated by B in FIG.

Further, when the pressing force on the pressure receiving portion 5 is released, the pressure receiving portion 5 and the contact portion 7 are moved in a direction away from the printed circuit board 2 by the elasticity of the elastic leg portion 6 of the movable contact 4. Thus, the conductor 8 and the fixed contact 3 are separated from each other to release the conduction state.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, the following problems occur in the above-described conventional techniques.

That is, when the contact portion 7 is instantly brought into contact with the fixed contact 3, the impact sound at that time resonates inside the hollow portion 7a and the pressure receiving portion 5 and causes mechanical noise during operation. is there.

Therefore, conventionally, it has been desired to deal with the above-mentioned inconvenience, and the present invention intends to solve such a problem that remains in the related art.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention is to provide a switch for electronic equipment which can effectively solve the above-mentioned problems, and the switch is elastically deformed particularly by the pushing operation of the operating member. This is a switch for electronic equipment that electrically connects between fixed contacts, and is for a cylinder having a cylindrical pressure receiving portion and a coaxially integrally connected to this pressure receiving portion, and having a diameter larger than this pressure receiving portion. And a bottomed cylindrical contact portion having an elastic leg portion and a hollow portion communicating integrally with the pressure receiving portion from the connecting portion of the pressure receiving portion and the elastic leg portion toward the inside of the elastic leg portion. And a movable contact composed of a conductor provided on the end surface of the connecting portion on the elastic leg side, and the hollow portion of the contact portion is filled with a viscoelastic body. As the viscoelastic body, the frequency of stress changes by 5000 times. That the change in Young's modulus with respect to falls within a range of about six times is selected.

[Operation] According to the electronic device switch of the present invention, the viscoelastic body absorbs or impacts the impact force generated when the contact portion comes into contact with the fixed contact, and the viscoelastic body causes the impact force inside the contact portion to increase. Occurrence of mechanical noise is suppressed by closing the hollow portion and removing the resonance portion. Further, viscoelasticity has a Young's modulus in a predetermined range with respect to a stress of a wide frequency, and therefore exhibits a damping capability regardless of the frequency of vibration generated in the key.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5 to 8.

In the following description, parts common to those in FIGS. 2 and 3 are designated by the same reference numerals to simplify the description.

This embodiment shows an example applied to an electronic keyboard instrument 10 as shown in FIGS.

This electronic keyboard instrument 10 includes a base 11, white keys 12 and black keys 13 as operating members arranged in parallel on the base 11.
And a switch 14 according to the present embodiment provided below the white key 12 and the black key 13.

More specifically, elastically deformable plate-shaped supporting members 15 are provided at the ends of the white keys 12 and the black keys 13 on the swing center side, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. And the support member 15 is fixed to the base 11 with bolts 16, so that the white keys 12 and the black keys 13 are mounted on the base.
It is swingably supported by 11.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the support member 15 has the base 11 when the white keys 12 and the black keys 13 are pushed down.
Is provided with an abutting portion 15a that comes into contact with the upper surface of the and serves as a fulcrum of swing.

On the other hand, the white key 12 and the black key 13 are formed in a substantially box shape with an open lower side, and guides 17 and 18 projecting from the base 11 are inserted into the end portions on the swing side thereof. The white key
The shake of 12 and the black key 13 in the direction orthogonal to the oscillating surface is suppressed.

7 and 8 are provided on both sides of the guides 17 and 18 (sides on which the inner surfaces of the white key 12 and the black key 13 are slidably contacted).
As shown in the figure, the protrusions along the swinging direction of the white key 12 and the black key 13
19 are formed to have substantially the same length as the sliding range of the white key 12 and the black key 13.

The reason for providing this ridge 19 is as follows.

That is, the lubricant G is applied to the side surfaces of the guides 17 and 18 in order to make the white key 12 and the black key 13 slide smoothly.
This lubricant G is easily wiped off by the rocking motion of the white key 12 and the black key 13, but the provision of the ridge 19 allows the white key 12 or the black key 13 and the guides 17 and 18 to be separated from each other. 7th when sliding
As shown in the figure, the lubricant G
This is because the lubricant G is held around and the lubricating action is secured for a long period of time.

Further, downwardly-engaging pieces 20 and 21 are integrally provided vertically below a substantially middle portion of the white key 12 in the longitudinal direction and below an end portion of the black key 13 on the swing side. , These engaging pieces
The lower ends of 20 and 21 are bent into a substantially L shape, and the base
Engagement portions 20a and 21a are provided to face the upper limit stopper 22 provided on the lower surface of 11.

The contact between the engaging portions 20a and 21a and the upper limit stopper 22 restricts the upward movement of the white keys 12 and the black keys 13.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of white keys 12 and black keys 13 are formed on the lower surface of the white key 12 and the black key 13 at a position closer to the support member 15 than the engaging pieces 20 and 21. Press protrusion of
23.24 are projected, and below these pressing protrusions 23.24,
The switch 14 according to this embodiment is provided.

The switch 14 is composed of a fixed contact (not shown) formed on a printed circuit board 25 mounted on the base 11 and a conductor 8 of the movable contact 4 mounted on the printed circuit board 25 as described above. It is configured.

The printed circuit board 25 is pushed into and engaged with a pair of locking claws 26 formed on the lower portion of the substrate 11 from below the base 11, so that the locking claws 26 and the base are It is fixed to the base 11 so as to be held between the bottom surface of the base 11.

The printed circuit board 25 is exposed from the through holes 27 formed facing the pressing projections 23 and 24 provided on the white key 12 and the black keyboard 13 of the base 11 toward the pressing projections 23 and 24. The fixed contacts are provided in this portion corresponding to the pressing protrusions 23 and 24.

As in the conventional case, the movable contact 4 is, as shown in FIG. 6, provided with a cylindrical pressure receiving portion 5 and coaxially integrally connected to one end of the pressure receiving portion 5, A large-diameter cylindrical elastic leg portion 6 and a connecting portion between the pressure receiving portion 5 and the elastic leg portion 6 are integrally projected toward the inside of the elastic leg portion 6 and communicated with the inside of the pressure receiving portion 5. It is composed of a bottomed cylindrical contact portion 7 having a hollow portion 7a and a conductor 8 provided on an end surface of the contact portion 7 on the elastic leg 6 side, and the hollow portion 7a of the contact portion 7 is viscoelastic. The body 28 is filled.

The viscoelastic body 28 is for holding a two-component curable type silicone gel in the contact portion 7 by injecting it into the hollow portion 7a and curing it. The elastic coefficient of the viscoelastic body 28 is set in consideration of the feeling of operation. Thus, the reaction force characteristics close to those shown by the curve A in FIG. 4 are obtained.

The one used this time is a silicon gel showing Young's modulus versus frequency as shown in Table a.

What is indicated by E in Table a is Young's modulus, FREQ is frequency, and the unit of Young's modulus is indicated by dyne / square centimeter. The frequency here means the frequency of stress applied to the viscoelastic body at the time of measuring the Young's modulus, and Table a shows how the Young's modulus of the viscoelastic body changes based on the frequency of the stress.

As can be seen from Table a, it is preferable that the Young's modulus of the member injected into the hollow portion 7a is not so large or small.

The reason is that if the Young's modulus is large, the vibration of the contact portion 7 is transmitted as it is and there is no effect of preventing mechanical noise, and if it is small, the silicon gel itself cannot withstand repeated deformation.

Further, it is preferable that the Young's modulus does not change much depending on the frequency.

Two movable contacts 4 are provided for each white key 12 and one black key 13. One of the movable contacts 4 is formed higher than the other, and the white key 12 and the black key 13 are provided. At the time of operation of 13, there is a time lag in contact with each fixed contact.

In FIG. 5, reference numerals 29 and 30 indicate that the white keys 12 and the black keys 13 are attached to the base 11 so that the lower surfaces of the swing-side end portions of the white keys 12 and the black keys 13 are brought into contact with the base keys 11 and 30 to swing them downward. It shows a lower limit stopper that regulates the moving range.

Then, the switch 14 of the present embodiment configured as described above.
The operation of will be described.

When the white key 12 or the black key 13 is pressed down, the pressure projections 23 and 24 provided on the lower surface of the key 12 press the pressure receiving portion 5 of the movable contact 4 located therebelow toward the printed circuit board 25, and the pressing force is applied. When reaching a certain size, the movable contact 4
By bending the elastic leg portions 6 of the pressure receiving portion 5 and the contact portion 7 continuous with the pressure receiving portion 5, the contact portion 7 is pushed down toward the printed circuit board 25.
The conductor 8 provided in the switch is brought into contact with the fixed contact on the printed circuit board 25, and the switch 14 is brought into conduction.

As described above, when the contact portion 7 is brought into contact with the fixed contact, an impact force is applied to the contact portion 7. However, since the viscoelastic body 28 is filled in the hollow portion 7a in the contact portion 7, ,
The viscoelastic body 28 absorbs or alleviates the impact force.

Further, the viscoelastic body 28 suppresses vibration of the peripheral wall of the contact portion 7 when the contact portion 7 contacts the fixed contact.

Therefore, generation of mechanical noise at the time of contact between the contact portion 7 and the fixed contact is suppressed.

Moreover, the change in the operation feeling due to the deformation of the movable contact 4 due to the filling of the viscoelastic body 28 is small, and in combination with the above-described action, a good operation feeling can be obtained.

In this embodiment, two movable contacts 4 are provided for each of the white key 12 and the black key 13, and one movable contact 4 is delayed with respect to the other movable contact 4. It is operated, but this delay time is the white key 12 and the black key
It changes according to the operation speed of 13.

Therefore, by controlling the volume and the like according to this delay time, it becomes possible to control the volume corresponding to the operating force of the white key 12 and the black key 13.

It should be noted that the above embodiment is merely an example, and various modifications can be made based on the type of electronic equipment to be applied, design requirements, and the like.

For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the example applied to the electronic keyboard instrument 10 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, it can be applied to the key 32 for the keyboard 31 of the computer.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the key 32 may be coaxially connected to the upper end of the pressure receiving portion 5 of the movable contact 4.

Further, the viscoelastic body 28 is not limited to silicon gel, and may be replaced with, for example, high-viscosity grease or a foaming agent.

Further, when applied to the electronic keyboard instrument, the viscoelastic body 28 may be filled only in the movable contact 4 corresponding to the black key 13 in consideration of cost and the like.

In the case of the black key 13, the switch 14
Since the key is located, the operating force acts almost directly on the switch 14 and a large mechanical noise is generated compared to the white key 12. This is because some effects can be expected.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, the electronic device switch according to the present invention is an electronic device switch that electrically connects between fixed contacts by being elastically deformed by the pushing operation of the operating member. A cylindrical pressure receiving portion and a cylindrical elastic leg portion that is coaxially and integrally connected to the pressure receiving portion and has a larger diameter than the pressure receiving portion, and a connecting portion between the pressure receiving portion and the elastic leg portion. A cylindrical bottomed contact portion having a hollow portion that is integrally projected toward the inside of the elastic leg portion and communicates with the pressure receiving portion, and a conductor provided on the end surface of the connection portion on the elastic leg portion side. And a viscoelastic body is filled in the hollow portion of the contact portion, which has the following excellent effects.

The viscoelastic body absorbs or alleviates the impact force when the contact section comes into contact with the fixed contact, and the hollow section in the contact section is closed by the viscoelastic body to remove the resonance section.
Moreover, the vibration of the peripheral wall of the contact portion is suppressed by the viscoelastic body,
As a result, the generation of mechanical noise can be suppressed.

Moreover, it is possible to suppress the change in the deformation characteristic of the movable contact as much as possible, and to minimize the change in the operation feeling obtained by this deformation characteristic, and in combination with the above effect, a good operation feeling can be obtained. . In addition, since the viscoelastic body whose Young's modulus changes 6 times or less while the frequency of stress changes 5000 times, even if vibrations of various frequencies occur due to the difference in operation, It is possible to obtain a switch that can effectively absorb and prevent mechanical noise due to vibration of the contact portion and can withstand repeated deformation associated with operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a part of an electronic keyboard instrument to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are longitudinal sectional views of a movable contact showing a conventional example, and FIG. The figure is a stroke-reaction force diagram for explaining the operation feeling of a conventional movable contact,
FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional side view of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a movable contact of one embodiment, FIG. 7 is a plan view of a keyboard guide of one embodiment, and FIG. Is a perspective view of the same, FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of a keyboard to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an essential part of FIG. 4 ... Movable contact, 5 ... Pressure receiving part, 6 ... Elastic leg part, 7 ...
Contact part, 7a Hollow part, 8 conductor, 10 electronic keyboard instrument (electronic device), 12 white key (operation member), 13 black key (operation material), 14 switch.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A switch for electronic equipment for electrically connecting fixed contacts by being elastically deformed by a pushing operation of an operating member, the cylindrical pressure receiving portion being coaxial with the pressure receiving portion. The cylindrical elastic leg portion having a diameter larger than that of the pressure receiving portion and the connecting portion between the pressure receiving portion and the elastic leg portion are integrally projected toward the inside of the elastic leg portion, A bottomed cylindrical contact portion having a hollow portion communicating with the pressure receiving portion and a movable contact made of a conductor provided on the bottom surface of the contact portion are provided, and the hollow portion of the contact portion has a stress frequency.
A switch for an electronic device, characterized in that it is filled with a viscoelastic material whose Young's modulus change within a range of about 6 times with respect to a change of 5000 times.