JPH09134640A - Switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a switch device whose structure is simple. SOLUTION: When a depressing operation member 32 is advanced by rotational operation of a lever 33, since the tip of a pressing piece 32b presses a right side surface of a crest of a cam plate 40, the cam plate 40 swings with a support projection 35c as a fulcrum, and an end part of a left side surface of the crest reverses up to coming into contact with a left side wall 41b of a stopper. When the depressing piece 32b advances further, since the cam plate 40 reverses further while deflecting a right side surface of the crest coming into contact with the left side wall by elastic deformation, a contact holder 35 integrally formed with the stopper 41 moves leftward. When the depressing piece 32b reaches the advancing stroke end, a projection 41e stops by getting over a moderating crest 31e. At this time, a movable contact 38 contacts with both fixed contact points 38 and 39, and both fixed contact points 38 and 39 are electrically continued with each other. Since advancing motion of the pressing piece 32b is converted into lateral reciprocating motion of the contact holder 35 through lateral swinging motion of the cam plate 40, the constitution is simplified.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a switch device, and more particularly to a switch device suitable for a dimmer switch for switching headlights of a vehicle between a high beam and a low beam.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional dimmer switch 10, as shown in FIG. 5, a holder 12 is attached to a case 11 so that the holder 12 can move forward and backward, and a return spring 13 urges the holder 12 in a backward direction so that the holder 12 has a truncated cone shape. The pusher 15 is mounted so as to be swingable right and left via the coil spring 14, and is elastically held by the coil spring 14 at a neutral position parallel to the advancing and retracting direction of the holder 12. A cam 16 is attached to the case 11 by a pivot 17 so as to be rotatable left and right. The cam 16 has a cam surface 16c, which is formed at one end and has a mountain-shaped convex portion 16a and valley-shaped concave portions 16b that are continuously provided on both sides of the mountain-shaped convex portion 16a.
The pivot 17 is arranged on the center line of the presser in the neutral position so that the tip of the No. 5 faces the chevron convex portion 16a. Further, a contact holder 19 having a movable contact 18 is attached to the case 11 so as to be capable of reciprocating left and right, and a cam 16
The case 11 moves back and forth in conjunction with the left and right rotation of the case 11.
The movable contact 18 is linked to the cam 16 so that the movable contact 18 comes into contact with and separates from the fixed contacts 20 and 21 fixed to the bottom of the. According to the dimmer switch 10 having such a configuration, when the holder 12 is moved forward as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 5 by the turning operation of the lever 22, the tip of the pressing element 15 presses the right side surface of the chevron convex portion 16a. , The cam 16 is reversed in the clockwise direction. As the contact holder 19 moves to the left,
The movable contact 18 contacts both fixed contacts 20 and 21, and the two fixed contacts 20 and 21 are electrically connected.

[0003]

The conventional dimmer switch 10 described above converts the forward movement accompanied by the swing of the pusher 15 into the rotational movement of the cam 16, and further the rotational movement of the cam 16 into the contact holder 19. Since the movable contact 18 is brought into contact with and separated from the fixed contacts 20 and 21 by converting the left and right reciprocating motions, the structure is extremely complicated and the cost is increased. In view of such problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a switch device that has a simple structure and can reduce costs.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a switch device having a movable contact and a contact holder assembled to a case so that the movable contact comes in contact with and separates from a fixed contact by left and right reciprocating movements. A cam plate, which has a cross-sectional shape and the inside of the top of the chevron is pivotally supported by a fulcrum fixed to a contact holder, is integrally provided with a presser, and the presser is provided on the top of the cam plate. The pressing operation member is attached to the case so that it can move forward and backward, and is biased in the backward direction by a return spring, and the end of the cam plate fixed to the contact holder abuts to limit the rotation of the plate. A stopper portion is provided, and the pusher is pressed against one side surface of the cam plate by the forward movement of the pressing operation member, so that the other side surface of the cam plate hits the stopper. Reversing the cam plate until, characterized in that moving by the action of lateral force via the cam plate to contact the holder by a further advancement of the pushing member contacts the holder in the same direction.

[0005]

According to the invention of claim 1, the forward movement of the pusher integrally provided on the pushing operation member is converted into the left and right swinging movement of the chevron-shaped cam plate to swing the cam plate. Since the dynamic motion is converted into the left and right reciprocating motion of the contact holder, the pusher can be mounted so that it can be swung left and right by a coil spring, or the cam can be pivotally mounted on the case, as in conventional switch devices. No mechanism needed.
Therefore, the structure is simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a dimmer switch 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The dimmer switch 30 includes a case 31 having a mounting port 31a. A pressing operation member 32 is attached to the mounting opening 31a so as to advance and retreat by a turning operation of a lever 33, and is biased in a backward direction by a pair of left and right return springs 34 and the mounting opening 3 is attached.
The hook 31b provided at the end of 1a is engaged with the hook 32a of the pressing operation member to prevent the hook from coming off. At the center of the inner end surface of the pressing operation member 32, a pressing element 32b is provided by projecting integrally. A contact holder 35 is slidably attached to the case 31 between a bottom surface of the case 31 and a rib 31c provided in the middle of the case 31 so that the contact holder 35 reciprocates left and right. A movable contact 36 having a substantially U-shaped cross section and a spring 37 are attached to the rib 35a integrally formed with the contact holder 35, and a required contact pressure is applied between the movable contact 36 and the pair of fixed contacts 38 and 39 fixed to the bottom surface of the case 31. The spring 37 is biased toward the bottom surface of the case 31 so that

As shown in FIG. 2, a cam plate 40 having a chevron cross-section is mounted on the contact holder 35. The cam plate 40 is made of an elastic material capable of flexing both side surfaces of the chevron, and has a flat portion 4 provided inside the chevron.
An engaging piece 40b for locking one end of the tension spring 43 is integrally provided at the center of 0a. on the other hand,
As shown in FIG. 3, the contact holder 35 is integrally formed with a stopper 41 and a pair of support protrusions 42. The stopper 41 includes a bottom surface 41a, a left side wall 41b, and a right side wall 4.
1 c has a box shape, a hook 41 d for locking the other end of the tension spring 43 is provided inside the bottom surface 41 a, and a protrusion that abuts a moderation mountain 31 e projecting on the bottom surface of the case 31 outside the bottom surface 41 a. 41e is provided.
The cam plate 40 supports the flat portion 40a from both sides to support the projection 4
It is supported at the upper end of 2, and one end of the tension spring 43 is locked to the engaging piece 40b and the other end is locked to the hook 41d so that the contact holder 35 can be swung left and right inside the stopper 41, and It is mounted so as to be slidable left and right along the flat portion 40a. The tip of the pressing element 32b passes through the through hole 31d formed in the rib 31c of the case 31 and faces the top of the mountain of the cam plate 40.

The dimmer switch 30 according to the present embodiment has the above-mentioned structure. When the pressing operation member 32 is moved forward as shown by an arrow A in FIG.
Since the tip of the pusher 32b presses the right side surface of the mountain of the cam plate 40, the cam plate 40 swings around the support protrusion 42 as a fulcrum as schematically shown in FIG. Reverse until the end of the surface abuts the left side wall 41b of the stopper. When the pusher 32b is further advanced, the cam plate 40 is further reversed while slightly bending the right side surface of the mountain contacting the left side wall 41b by elastic deformation, so that the contact holder 35 integrated with the stopper 41 moves leftward. . When the pusher 32b reaches the forward stroke end, the protrusion 41e rides over the moderation ridge 31e and stops. At this time, the movable contact 38 comes into contact with both the fixed contacts 38 and 39, and the two fixed contacts 38 and 39 are electrically connected. When the turning operation of the lever 33 is released, the pressing operation member 32 causes the return spring 3 to move.
4, the pusher 32b is separated from the cam plate 40 as shown in FIG. Then, the left side surface of the cam plate 40 that has been bent is restored, and at that time, the flat portion 40 a of the cam plate 40 slides and is displaced relative to the support protrusion 42. As a result of such an operation, the support protrusion 42, which was initially in contact with the right end of the flat portion 40a as shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), the flat portion 40a is brought into contact with the left end of the flat portion 40a to hold the inverted state. With the dimmer switch 30 according to the present embodiment, however, the forward movement of the pusher 32b provided integrally with the pressing operation member 32 is converted into the left and right swinging movement of the chevron-shaped cam plate 40 to swing the cam plate 40. Since the dynamic motion is converted into the left and right reciprocating motions of the contact holder 35, the pusher 15 can be assembled by the coil spring 14 so as to be swingable left and right, as in the conventional dimmer switch 10.
There is no need for a mechanism that rotatably mounts the cam 16 on the pivot 17 to the case 11. Therefore, the structure is simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a dimmer switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cam plate of the dimmer switch.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of a contact holder of the dimmer switch.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of a cam plate of the dimmer switch.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional dimmer switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

30 ... Dima switch, 31 ... Case, 32 ... Push operation member, 32b ... Pusher, 34 ... Return spring, 3
5 ... Contact holder, 36 ... Movable contact, 38, 39
… Fixed contact, 40… Cam plate, 41… Stopper,
42 ... Support protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A contact holder having a movable contact, which is assembled in a case so that the movable contact comes in contact with and separates from a fixed contact by reciprocating left and right, and a contact holder having a chevron-shaped cross-section and an inside of a chevron-shaped top. A cam plate that is swingably supported to the left and right by a fulcrum fixed to the press plate is integrally provided with a presser, and the presser spring is attached to the case so that the presser faces the top of the cam plate. And a stopper portion fixed to the contact holder for abutting the end portion of the cam plate to restrict the rotation of the plate,
By pushing the pusher against one side surface of the cam plate by the forward movement of the pressing operation member, the cam plate is inverted until the other side surface of the cam plate hits the stopper, and the forward movement of the pusher causes the cam plate to pass through the contact holder. A switch device characterized in that the contact holder is moved in the same direction by applying a lateral force.