JPH10149743A - Push switch apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push switch apparatus which has a simple structure and provides desiring operation stroke and of which parts for circuit constitution can be mounted on a printed substrate. SOLUTION: This push switch apparatus 21 comprises key tops 25 having pushing points in the front face parts, supporting point rods 43 vertically formed in the lower faces of the key tops, supporting axes 39 joined to the lower ends of the supporting point rods 43 to support the key tops 25 in a manner that the key tops 25 can rotate freely in the pushing direction, pushing pins 47 approximately vertical to the supporting point rods 43 and unitedly rotatable with the key tops 25, a printed substrate 27 arranged approximately parallel to the pushing pins 47 in the movable direction side of the pushing pins 47, and a switch 29 which is mounted on the printed substrate 27 and brought into contact with the tip ends of the pushing pins 47 and at the same time of which the height in the direction vertical to the printed substrate 27 becomes the switch stroke.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push switch device for making a contact conductive by a pressing operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A contact is made conductive by a pressing operation.
A push-button switch (push switch) requires an appropriate operation stroke in order to obtain a reliable operation feeling (a pressing feeling). An example of a push switch device of this type in which a large operating stroke is secured by using a cam member will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional push switch device.

An operating rod 3 is vertically provided on the lower surface of a key top (push button part) 1 whose upper surface serves as a pressing surface, and the operating rod 3 is restricted by a hole formed in the main body 5a, 5b. insert. A spring (not shown) is provided between the keytop 1 and the main bodies 5a and 5b, and the spring urges the keytop 1 away from the upper surfaces of the main bodies 5a and 5b. That is, the key top 1 can be pressed down while being biased to the upper end. A cam member 9 is provided on a sliding frame 7 formed on the inner walls of the main bodies 5a and 5b, and a sliding surface 11 is formed on one side surface of the cam member 9.

On the opposite side of the operation rod 3 with the cam member 9 interposed therebetween, there is provided an inverted U-shaped rubber contact 13 having both ends facing downward. An upright printed circuit board 17 is sandwiched in the gap 15 between the rubber contacts 13, and the printed circuit board 17 is in a state where the upper portion is covered with the rubber contact 13.

In the push switch device 19 configured as described above, when the key top 1 is depressed, the operating rod 3 is lowered, and the tip presses the sliding surface 11 of the cam member 9. As a result, the cam member 9 moves in a direction away from the operation rod 3 and presses the contact portion 13 a of the rubber contact 13. The wall of the contact portion 13a is crushed, the movable contact 13b contacts a fixed contact (not shown) of the printed circuit board 17, and the fixed contact becomes conductive (ON). On the other hand, when the finger is released from the key top 1, the spring pushes the key top 1 upward by the urging force, the pressing on the cam member 9 is eliminated, and the movable contact 13b is separated from the fixed contact by the elastic restoring force of the contact portion 13a. Then, the fixed contact is turned off.

As described above, according to the above-described push switch device 19, the operation stroke of the key top 1 is converted into a smaller stroke by passing through the cam member 9, so that the pressing distance of the contact portion 13a is restricted. It was possible to obtain a large operation stroke that was not performed.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional push switch device 19, a large operation stroke is obtained by interposing the cam member 9, so that the number of parts increases and the structure becomes complicated. There was a problem that manufacturing cost increased. Further, the printed circuit board 17 is provided in the gap 15 between the U-shaped rubber contacts 13.
Although this is suitable for reducing the thickness of the switch body, it is not possible to collectively mount components for circuit configuration on the printed circuit board 17, which also increases the number of components and the manufacturing cost. There was a problem. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a push switch device that can obtain a desired operation stroke with a simple structure and that can mount circuit components and the like on a printed circuit board. It is the purpose.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a push switch device comprising: a key top having a pressing point on a front surface thereof; a fulcrum rod vertically suspended from a lower surface of the key top; A fulcrum shaft that is engaged with the lower end of the fulcrum bar and rotatably supports the key top in the pressing direction; a push pin that rotates integrally with the key top and is substantially perpendicular to the fulcrum bar; And a switch mounted on the printed board and in contact with the tip of the push pin and having a switch stroke in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the printed board. It is characterized by the following. The push switch device may be characterized in that a circuit component is mounted on the printed circuit board and a card edge terminal is provided. Further, a concave portion serving as a pressing point may be provided in an upper portion of a front portion of the key top. Further, it is preferable that the push switch device contacts the switch at a position where the tip of the push pin is shifted with respect to the pressing center axis of the switch.

In this push switch device, at normal times,
The push pin is pushed up by the restoring force of the switch contact portion, and the switch is turned off. On the other hand, the front surface of the key top is pressed, the key top rotates around the fulcrum shaft, the tip of the push pin pushes down the switch, and turns on the switch. At this time, the turning radius of the push pin tip is smaller than the turning radius of the key top, and the amount of movement of the push pin tip is converted to the amount of movement in the direction perpendicular to the switch contact surface. The stroke becomes larger than the switch stroke. By mounting the circuit components on the printed circuit board and providing the card edge terminals, the circuit components are not required to be distributed, and the number of components and the number of fittings during assembly are reduced. Further, if a concave portion serving as a pressing point is provided in the upper portion of the front surface of the keytop, the fingertip can be effectively guided to the pressing point on the upper surface of the keytop where a large operation stroke can be obtained. Furthermore,
If the tip of the push pin is brought into contact with the switch at a position shifted from the pressing center axis of the switch, the tip of the push pin keeps pushing the switch from the OFF position to the ON position of the switch.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the push switch device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a push switch device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. The push switch device 21 is roughly divided into a decorative panel 23 and a key top 25.
, The printed circuit board 27, the switch 29, the upper cover 31, the lower cover 33, and the back cover 35 as main members.

In the decorative panel 23, a key top hole 37 for exposing the key top 25 is formed. Further, a key top mounting fulcrum shaft 39 in the horizontal axis h direction in FIG. 1 is provided on the back surface of the decorative panel 23 so as to correspond to the key top hole 37.

A protrusion 41 for a stopper is formed on the upper part of the key top 25. When the front part 25a of the key top 25 enters the key top hole 37 from the back side of the decorative panel 23, the protrusion 41 is formed. Abuts against the back of the decorative panel 23,
The key top 25 is prevented from coming off from the key top hole 37. At the lower part of the key top 25, a pivoting fulcrum bar 43 is vertically provided, and at the lower end of the fulcrum bar 43, a fitting part 45 is formed which is rotatably fitted to the fulcrum shaft 39. A switch pressing push pin 47 perpendicular to the fulcrum bar 43 protrudes from the back surface of the key top 25, and a curved surface portion 49 bulging downward is provided at the tip of the push pin 47. In addition, push pin 4
7 may protrude from the fulcrum rod 43.

A switch 29 is arranged on the printed circuit board 27 so as to correspond to the key top 25, and the switch 29 has a switch stroke in a direction perpendicular to the printed circuit board 27. As the switch 29, for example, from the ON position,
A tact switch that exerts a restoring force at the FF position can be used. The circuit board component 51 is mounted on the printed board 27. The printed circuit board 27 is provided with a card edge terminal 53 that is electrically connected to the switch 29, the circuit component 51, and the like, and can be connected to an external connector (not shown). A connector hole 55 is formed in the back cover 35, and the connector hole 55 exposes the card edge terminal portion 53 to the outside.

To assemble the push switch device 21, the printed circuit board 27 is fixed to the lower cover 33 by screws 57.
Fix to. Next, the key top 25 is attached by fitting the fitting portion 45 of the fulcrum rod 43 to each fulcrum shaft 39 of the decorative panel 23. Next, the upper cover 31 is fixed to the lower cover 33, and the lower cover 33 and the upper cover 31 are fixed.
The decorative panel 23 and the back cover 35 are attached to the front and rear openings.

The push switch device 21 (see FIG. 2) assembled in this manner is provided with a convex portion 41 of the key top 25.
Abuts against the back surface of the decorative panel 23, and the front surface of the key top 25 projects outside through the key top hole 37. In this state, the fulcrum bar 43 of the key top 25 is parallel to the decorative panel 23. At the same time, the push pin 47 is
As shown in FIG. 3, the curved surface portion 49 at the tip comes into contact with the upper surface of the switch 29.

Next, the operation of the push switch device 21 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
Is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the push switch device in a normal state, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the push switch device when a key top is pressed. Normally, the key top 25 is in a state where the push pin 47 is pushed up at the contact portion (b portion) with the fulcrum shaft 39 as a fulcrum (a portion) by the restoring force of the contact portion of the switch 29. As a result, the convex portion 41 comes into contact with the back surface portion (c portion) of the decorative panel 23. As described above, the normal key top 25 is held in a balanced state by the three contact portions a, b, and c, and the switch 29 is turned off.

On the other hand, when the front part of the key top 25 is pressed,
The key top 25 rotates about the fulcrum shaft 39 as a fulcrum, and the curved surface portion 49 as the tip of the push pin 47 pushes down the contact portion of the switch 29 to turn on the switch 29. At this time, the relationship between the switch stroke B and the key top operation stroke B 'is B <B'. That is, the turning radius K of the curved surface portion 49 is smaller than the turning radius L of the key top 25, and the horizontal movement amount s of the curved surface portion 49 in the circumferential direction intersects the locus w of the curved surface portion 49 (the contact surface of the switch 29). The amount of movement in the direction perpendicular to x, ie, the stroke B of the switch 29,
As a result, the switch stroke B becomes smaller than the operation stroke B ′. In other words, the operation stroke B ′
Can be made larger than the switch stroke B.

As described above, according to the above-described push switch device 21, the fulcrum rod 43 is vertically provided on the key top 25,
The lower end of the fulcrum rod 43 is rotatably supported by a fulcrum shaft 39, and a push pin 47 perpendicular to the fulcrum rod 43 is protruded. The switch 29 is pressed by the tip of the push pin 47. The operation stroke B ′ of the top 25 can be converted into a smaller switch stroke B, and the operation stroke can be made larger than the switch stroke.
As a result, an operation stroke independent of the switch stroke can be obtained with a simple structure.

Further, since the cam member is not required, and the switch 29 is disposed at the end, the printed board 27 can be formed.
The mounting of the circuit component 51 and the like and the formation of the terminal portion 53 for the card edge become possible, and the number of fittings and the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional structure in which the printed circuit board is sandwiched by U-shaped rubber contacts. And the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, the push switch device 21 includes:
With respect to the pressing direction of the key top 25, the printed circuit board 27
Can be arranged in parallel, the height of the switch device main body can be kept low, and it can be suitably used in a portion where there is no margin in the height direction and a space can be secured in the depth.

The key top 25 shown in FIG.
To make the operation stroke B 'of
As shown in FIG. 6B, the distance L ′ from the fulcrum shaft 39 to the pressing point on the front surface of the key top may be increased (L <L ′). In this case, the push pin 47 is
The radius K up to may be constant. Thus, the push switch device 21 according to the present invention can easily obtain a desired operation stroke by adjusting the length of the fulcrum bar 43.

In the push switch device 21, when the front surface of the key top is large, a stroke difference occurs between the upper side and the lower side of the key top 25, and the operation stroke can be made larger at the upper pressing point. Therefore, a concave portion 61 for a pressing point is provided above the front surface of the key top.
By providing (see FIG. 4), the fingertip can be effectively guided to the pressing point where the operation stroke can be increased.
Providing the concave portion 61 for the pressing point above the front surface of the key top is effective as a key top front surface shape for improving the operational feeling.

Further, in the push switch device 21, as shown in FIG.
The contact portion of the switch 29 is depressed while drawing a locus in a diagonal direction with respect to 7. For this reason, it is preferable that the curved surface portion 49 of the push pin 47 is disposed at a position shifted from the center axis d of the switch 29 toward the fulcrum rod 43 by the distance z. With this configuration, the switch 29 can be continuously pressed by the tip (curved surface portion 49) of the push pin 47 from the OFF position to the ON position of the switch 29.

In the above-described push switch device 21, the case where the switch 29 is a tact switch has been described as an example. However, the switch 29 may be any switch that exerts a restoring force from the ON position to the OFF position. 7, a rubber contact 63 having a dome-shaped spring contact (not shown), or the like may be used.

Further, since the push switch device 21 can be configured by disposing the switch 29 on one surface of the printed circuit board 27, the switches 29 can be disposed on both surfaces of the printed circuit board 27 as shown in FIG. For example, a two-row switch can be easily configured.

[0026]

As described above in detail, according to the push switch device of the present invention, a fulcrum bar is vertically provided on a key top, and a lower end of the fulcrum bar is rotatably supported. Since the switch is pressed by the tip of the protruding push pin, the operation stroke of the keytop can be converted into a smaller switch stroke, and the operation stroke can be made longer than the switch stroke. As a result, an operation stroke independent of the switch stroke can be obtained with a simple structure. By mounting the circuit configuration components on the printed circuit board and providing the card edge terminals, the circuit configuration components do not need to be distributed and arranged, and the number of components and the number of fittings during assembly are reduced, and the manufacturing cost is reduced. Can be inexpensive. In addition, if a concave portion serving as a pressing point is provided in the upper portion of the front surface of the keytop, the fingertip can be effectively guided to the pressing point on the upper surface of the keytop where a large operation stroke can be obtained. Further, if the tip of the push pin is brought into contact with the switch at a position shifted with respect to the central axis of the switch, the OF of the switch can be turned off.
From the F position to the ON position, the switch can be reliably pushed with the tip of the push pin.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a push switch device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a locus during a push pin operation.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of the push switch device in a normal state.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of the push switch device when the key top is pressed.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the push switch device illustrating a relationship between a fulcrum bar and an operation stroke.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of a push switch device according to the present invention using a rubber contact as a switch.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of a push switch device in which switches are arranged in two rows.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional push switch device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 21 push switch device 25 key top 25a front surface 27 printed circuit board 29 switch 39 fulcrum shaft 43 fulcrum rod 47 push pin 51 circuit component 53 terminal part for card edge 61 concave portion B switch stroke d pressing central axis

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A key top having a pressing point on a front surface thereof, a fulcrum bar suspended from a lower surface of the key top, and a key top engaged with a lower end of the fulcrum bar so that the key top is rotatable in a pressing direction. A fulcrum shaft to be supported, a push pin which rotates integrally with the key top and is substantially perpendicular to the fulcrum rod, a printed board arranged substantially parallel to the push pin on the moving direction side of the push pin, and the printed board And a switch which is mounted on the switch and is in contact with the tip of the push pin and has a switch stroke in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the printed circuit board. 2. The push switch device according to claim 1, wherein a circuit component is mounted on the printed circuit board, and a terminal portion for a card edge is provided. 3. The push switch device according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion serving as a pressing point is provided in an upper portion of a front portion of the key top. 4. The push switch device according to claim 1, wherein a tip of said push pin is brought into contact with said switch at a position shifted from a center axis of pressing of said switch.