JPH0935585A - Stick switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a cost of manufacture while a switch, when not operated, can surely hold an OFF condition, by a small number of part items. SOLUTION: A support part 9a of a stick shaft 9 is turnably supported to a bearing part 7 of a main unit case 3 having an electric insulation characteristic. A contact member 15 having an electric insulation characteristic is mounted in a condition having a space between each internal surface and rotationally locked against a shaft part of the stick shaft. A cover member 19 relating to the main unit case 3 is mounted by preventing the contact member 15 from coming off and inserting the shaft part 9b of the stick shaft 9 into a through hole. Relating to the through hole peripheral edge of the cover member hole. Relating to the through hole peripheral edge of the cover member 19, a coating elastic member 21 is integrally molded by an elastomer resin.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-contact type stick switch which is turned on by tilting a stick shaft in the left-right direction and the front-back direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a conventional stick switch 10 used as a cursor switch of a personal computer.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a reference numeral 1 denotes a rectangular tube-shaped main body case 105 in which a plurality of electrode plates and a common electrode plate (none of which are shown) are attached to the bottom surface and a bearing portion 103 is provided in the center of the bottom surface. A support portion 107a and a support portion 10a that are rotatably supported in the bearing portion 103 while being prevented from coming off.
7a, a stick shaft 107 having a shaft portion 107b extending upward, and a shaft portion 107b which is inserted through the central portion of the stick casing 107 and which is attached to each inner surface of the main body case 105 with a gap therebetween. Between a contact plate 111 having a common electrode plate and a contact plate 109 having the other end selectively contactable with each electrode plate, and an inner surface of the main body case 105 and an outer surface of the contact table 111. Attached, the contact base 111,
At least four elastic members 113 that are always located in the center of the main body case 105 to keep the other end of the contact plate and each electrode plate out of contact with each other, and the through hole 115a through which the shaft 107b is inserted in the center. And a cover 115 that covers a part of the upper surface of the contact base 111 and prevents the contact stand 111 from coming off from the main body case 105. A switch button (not shown) is attached to the upper end of the shaft portion 107b, and the tilting operation of the switch button moves the contact base 111 in the horizontal direction to move the contact plate 109.
The other end of the is contacted with the selected electrode plate to be turned on.

And the above-mentioned stick switch 101
In the non-contact state, the elastic force of the elastic member 113 causes the contact base 111 to be positioned at the neutral position so that the other end of the contact plate 109 and each electrode plate are not in contact with each other and kept in the OFF state.
When the stick shaft 107 is tilted, the elastic member 11
The contact base 111 is moved to the tilting direction side against the elastic force of No. 3 and the other end of the contact plate 109 is brought into contact with the selected electrode plate to be turned on.

When the tilting of the stick shaft 107 is released, the elastic force of the elastic member 113 returns the contact base 111 to the neutral position to release the contact between the other end of the contact plate 109 and the electrode plate to perform the OFF operation. Let

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned stick switch 101 has a large number of constituent parts and a complicated assembling work, resulting in a problem that the manufacturing cost becomes high. In particular, in the elastic member 113, since the contact base 111 needs to be positioned at the neutral position and high dimensional accuracy is required, the cost of the component itself is high.

Further, since the stick switch 101 has a structure in which dust, water, and the like can enter through the through hole 115a of the cover 115, the tilt of the contact base 111 becomes defective due to the entering dust, or the entering water causes The electrical insulation failed, and the ON operation could not be performed reliably.

The present invention has been invented to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to reliably maintain an OFF state at the time of non-operation with a small number of parts and a manufacturing cost. It is to provide a stick switch that can reduce

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stick switch capable of reliably preventing intrusion of dust, water, etc. and performing a switching operation stably for a long period of time.

[0009]

For this reason, according to the present invention, there is provided an electrical structure in which a bottomed substantially polygonal cylindrical shape is provided with a plurality of electrode plates and a common electrode plate on the bottom surface and a bearing portion is provided at the center of the bottom surface. A main body case having insulating properties, a stick shaft having a support portion rotatably supported by a bearing portion, and a shaft portion of the stick shaft that is prevented from rotating with a gap from each inner surface of the main body case. Inside the main body case and a contact member having electrical insulation characteristics, in which one end is attached to the common electrode plate and the other end is attached to the electrode plate The cover member has a through hole that inserts the shaft portion of the stick shaft in the center of the upper surface plate to prevent the contact member from coming off, and the stick shaft shaft is tightly centered with elastomer resin at the periphery of the through hole of the cover member. Has a boss that fits and is integrally molded to cover the through hole The stick shaft is always composed of a covering elastic member for urging the stick shaft to a neutral position where the other end of the contact plate and each electrode plate are not in contact with each other, and the covering elastic member prevents intrusion of water, dust and the like. It is possible to prevent the switching operation and surely perform the switching operation. When the stick shaft is tilted to the side of the electrode plate to be turned on, the covering elastic member on the tilting side is compressed and the opposite side is stretched to increase the elastic forces of the contact members. It is tilted and its contact plate is brought into contact with the electrode plate to be turned on.
When the tilt of the stick shaft is released in this state, the stick shaft is returned to the neutral position where the electrode plate and the contact plate are brought into non-contact with each other by the covering elastic member whose elastic force is increased by compression and extension. .

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a stick switch.

FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the assembled stick switch.

The body case 3 of the stick switch 1 is formed of a synthetic resin having an electrically insulating property into a bottomed rectangular tube shape, and a plurality of electrode plates 5 and a common electrode plate 6 are formed on the bottom surface thereof.
Is stuck. A bearing portion 7 is integrally formed at the center of the bottom surface of the body case 3. Since the arrangement state of the plurality of electrode plates 5 and the common electrode plate 6 is known,
The description is omitted.

A stick shaft 9 having a hemispherical support portion 9a is tiltably attached to the bearing portion 7 in a state in which the stick shaft 9 is prevented from coming out upward. A switch member 11 is mounted on the bottom surface of the main body case 3 of the bearing portion 7, and a compression spring 13 is mounted between the operating rod 11a of the switch member 11 and the support portion 9a. And stick axis 9
Is always urged upward by the elastic force of the compression spring 13. The operating rod 11a is always urged upward by a built-in spring and kept in the OFF state.

A contact member 15 made of synthetic resin having an electrically insulating property is provided in the main body case 3 with a gap between each inner surface of the main body case 3, and an upper portion provided in the central portion has a small diameter and a lower portion. Is attached by being inserted into the large-diameter through hole 15a while the shaft portion 9b of the stick shaft 9 is stopped.
A contact plate 17 is attached to the bottom surface of the contact member 15 so that one end of the contact plate 17 is always in contact with the common electrode plate 6 and the other end is in contact with each electrode plate 5 selectively. Further, a protrusion 15b is provided on each side of the upper surface of the contact member 15,
The contact area with the inner surface of the cover member 19 described later is reduced.

When the contact member 15 is in the neutral position, the other end of the contact plate 17 is located between the electrode plates 5 and is electrically insulated.

A cover member 19 is attached to the body case 3. The cover member 19 is made of synthetic resin, and a circular hole 19a having a smaller circular shape is formed in the center of the cover member 19 in a plan view. A cover elastic member 21 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the cover member 19 at the periphery of the through hole 19a. The covered elastic member 21 is integrally formed with the peripheral edge of the through hole 19a of the cover member 19 with an elastomer resin, and has a central longitudinal section formed in an inverted W shape. The shaft portion 9 is provided at the center of the covered elastic member 21.
boss 21b having a through hole 21a having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of b
Is integrally formed, and the shaft portion 9b is tightly fitted to the boss portion 21b.

As a method of fixing the cover member 19 to the main body case 3, a method of adhering the both to each other with an adhesive, a method of melting and fusing a part of the both with heat or ultrasonic waves, or a main body case 3 Engaging protrusions 3a are formed on the opposing outer wall surfaces of the cover member 19 and engaged recesses 19b are formed on the opposing inner surfaces of the cover member 19, respectively. Any method of fixing them together may be used.

Next, the operation of the stick switch 1 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing an ON operation state by tilting the stick shaft.

FIG. 4 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing an ON operation state when the stick shaft is pushed down.

First, when the stick shaft 9 is not operated, the stick shaft 9 is urged upward by the elastic force of the compression spring 13 and the covering elastic member 21, so that the switch member 11 is turned off. There is. Further, since the stick shaft 9, and hence the contact member 15, is positioned at the neutral position by the elastic force of the covering elastic member 21, the contact plate 17 of the contact member 15 remains in contact with the common electrode plate 6 at one end thereof. In this state, the other end is not in contact with each of the electrode plates 5, and thus is in the OFF state.

Next, the ON operation state due to the tilting of the stick shaft 9 will be described.
For example, when the stick shaft 9 is tilted to the left, the contact member 15 moves to the left as shown in FIG. 3 as the stick shaft 9 tilts, and the other end of the contact plate 17 whose one end abuts the common electrode 6. The part is brought into contact with the electrode plate 5 arranged on the left side to be turned on. At this time, a part of the covering elastic member 21 located on the left side of the stick shaft 9 is compressed and a part of the covering elastic member 21 located on the right side is extended, so that the respective elastic forces are increased.

When the stick shaft 9 is pushed down while the stick shaft 9 is tilted or not tilted, the stick shaft 9 moves downward against the elastic force of the compression spring 13 and the covering elastic member 21. It moves and presses the operating rod 11a, and the switch member 11 is turned on.

On the other hand, when the tilting of the stick shaft 9 is interrupted as described above, the stick shaft 9 returns to the neutral position by the elastic force of the covering elastic member 21 biased by compression and tension as described above. Thus, the contact member 15 is returned to the original position and the other end of the contact plate 17 that is in contact with the electrode plate 5 is separated from the electrode plate 5 to be turned off. When the pushing of the stick shaft 9 is interrupted, the stick shaft 9
Moves upward along the axis by the elastic force of the compression spring 13 and the covering elastic member 21 to turn off the switch member 11.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the stick shaft 9 is always positioned at the neutral position by the cover elastic member 21 which is integrally molded with the cover member 19 and is waterproof and dustproof, the contact member is positioned at the neutral position by the compression spring. Compared with the conventional stick switch, the number of parts can be reduced and the assembling work can be simplified.

In the above description, the ON operation of each electrode plate 5 and the ON operation of the switch member 11 are described as separate switching conditions, but the electrode plate 5 selected in the state where the switch member 11 is ON-operated. When the switch member 11 is turned on under the switching condition that enables the ON operation of the electrode plate 5 or the contact state between the selected electrode plate 5 and the other end of the contact plate 17, the electrode plate 5 can be turned on. It may be a switching condition to be changed.

In the above description, the compression spring 13 is provided between the support portion 9a of the stick shaft 9 and the operating rod 11a of the switch member 11 in the bearing portion 7, and the stick shaft 9 is compressed by the compression spring 13 and the covering elastic member 21. However, the stick shaft 9 is biased upward only by the elastic force of the covering elastic member 21 without providing the compression spring 13, and the switch member 11 is turned off.
You may keep the state. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the covering elastic member 51 is formed into a cup shape to increase the elastic force in the lateral direction and the vertical direction to ensure the return of the stick shaft 9 to the neutral position and the upward direction. It can be carried out. The other members will be denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0029]

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably maintain the OFF state when not operating with a small number of parts and to reduce the manufacturing cost. Also, the present invention
It is possible to reliably prevent the intrusion of dust, water, etc. and perform the switching operation stably for a long period of time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a stick switch.

FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the assembled stick switch.

FIG. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing an ON operation state due to tilting of a stick shaft.

FIG. 4 is a central vertical cross-sectional view showing an ON operation state by pressing a stick shaft.

FIG. 5 is a central vertical cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the stick switch.

FIG. 6 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional example of a stick switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Stick Switch 3 Body Case 5 Electrode Plate 6 Common Electrode Plate 7 Bearing Part 9 Stick Shaft 9a Support Part 9b Shaft Part 15 Contact Member 17 Contact Plate 19 Cover Member 21 Covered Elastic Member

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A body case having an electrically insulating property, which has a substantially polygonal cylindrical shape with a bottom, a plurality of electrode plates and a common electrode plate are attached to the bottom surface, and a bearing portion is provided in the central portion of the bottom surface, and a bearing portion. And a stick shaft having a support portion that is rotatably supported in the main body case, and a shaft portion of the stick shaft that has a gap with respect to each inner surface of the main body case and is inserted into the bottom surface so that one end is common to the bottom surface. A contact member having electrical insulation properties, in which a contact plate whose other end can selectively abut on each electrode plate is attached to the electrode plate, and the center of the upper plate for preventing the contact member from coming off from the main body case The cover member has a through hole through which the shaft portion of the stick shaft is inserted, and the periphery of the through hole of the cover member is provided with a boss portion for tightly fitting the shaft of the stick shaft at the center with an elastomer resin to form the through hole. It is integrally molded to cover, and the stick shaft is always Stick switch section and the respective electrode plates is made of a covering elastic member for urging the neutral position in a non-contact state. 2. The covering elastic member according to claim 1, wherein the covering elastic member has a boss portion in which a stick shaft is tightly fitted in a central portion, and is formed in an inverted W shape in a central longitudinal section to enhance elastic force in a lateral direction. Stick switch. 3. The stick switch according to claim 1, wherein a switch member is provided on the main body case below the bearing portion, and the switch can be turned on by pressing the stick shaft. 4. The stick switch according to claim 3, wherein the cover elastic member is formed in a cup shape, and the switch member is always kept in an OFF state by the elastic force of the cover elastic member in the vertical direction. 5. The stick switch according to claim 3, wherein an elastic member is provided on a bearing portion of the main body case, and the switch member is always kept in an OFF state by an elastic force of the elastic member. 6. The stick switch according to claim 3, wherein an ON operation of the electrode plate and the switch member is individually enabled by a tilting operation and a pressing operation of the stick shaft. 7. The stick switch according to claim 3, wherein the ON operation of the electrode plate by the tilting operation of the stick shaft and the ON operation of the switch member by the pressing operation of the stick shaft are linked. 8. The stick switch according to claim 1, wherein the cover member and the main body case are made of the same kind of synthetic resin, and the cover member and the main body case are fused and fixed to each other. 9. The cover member for a main body case according to claim 1, wherein the main body case and the cover member are provided with an engaging portion and an engaged portion, respectively, on opposite surfaces, and the main body case is covered by the engagement between the engaging portion and the engaged portion. Stick switch with fixed.