JPH1021788A - Lever switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lever switch with easy individual piece working and assembly, and stable operation force in the lever switch used in various electronics. SOLUTION: A lever switch comprises a case 11 in which a common contact 12 and individual contact 13 are arranged in parallel on the inner bottom surface, a contact piece 14 formed by bending an elastic metal thin plate in almost a U shape and having moving contacts 14A, 14B elastically coming in contact with a fixed contact at one end, positioning the other end in a case side wall, and pressed against a lever projection part 15C, and a lever 15 in which a fulcrum part 15B at one end 15B is supported so as to be capable of rotating at the upper end of the side wall of the case 11 and the operation part lower surface 15A at the other end elastically comes in contact with the vicinity of the bent part of the middle part of the contact piece. Individual piece working and assembly are made easy, and operation force is stabilized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lever switch used as a detection switch in various electronic devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional lever switch will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the sectional view of FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a box-shaped case made of molded resin, and fixed contacts 2 and 3 integral with terminals are implanted on the inner bottom surface as shown in FIG.
A U-shaped recess 1A for accommodating the coil portion 4E of the contact piece 4 is provided at the bottom end.

[0004] The contact piece 4 is made of a conductive wire having a spring property, a contact part 4C in which both ends of a coil part 4E are extended in a U-shape, and a tip of one arm part 4B is bent into a substantially semicircular shape. The flat portion 2A of the fixed contact 2 is attached to the tip of the other substantially linear portion 4A.
And a contact portion 4D that comes into contact therewith.

[0005] Reference numeral 5 denotes a molded resin lever.
A is rotatably engaged and supported by a hole provided in the side wall of the case 1, and the lower surface 5 B of the operating portion 5 D at the other end elastically contacts the arm 4 B of the contact piece 4 to push up the lever 5. The opposite locking portion 5C is located at the upper portion 1B of the side wall of the case 1.
At a predetermined position.

The operation of this conventional lever switch will be described. When the operating portion 5D of the operating lever 5 is depressed from the switch OFF state in FIG. 5, the lever 5 rotates about the shaft portion 5A, and the lower surface of the operating portion 5B pushes down the arm portion 4B of the contact piece 4, and the contact portion 4C becomes the flat portion 3 of the fixed contact 3.
A and comes into the ON state shown in FIG.

When the pressing force of the lever 5 is removed, the lower surface 5B of the operating portion of the lever 5 is pushed up by the elastic restoring force of the contact piece 4, and the contact portion 4C of the contact piece 4 separates from the flat portion 3A of the fixed contact 3. 5 and the switch is turned off.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the processing of the contact piece 4 made of a conductive wire having a spring property is complicated and expensive, and it is difficult to automatically assemble the switch because it is easily deformed or tangled. In some cases, there was a variation in operating force.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is easy to process and assemble the contact pieces individually.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a lever switch capable of obtaining a stable operation feeling without variation in operation force.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a lever switch according to the present invention comprises a case in which a common contact and an individual contact are implanted in parallel on an inner bottom surface, and an elastic metal thin plate bent substantially in a U-shape. One end has a movable contact of two contacts resiliently contacting the fixed contact, the other end is positioned on the case side wall, and a contact piece pressed by a projection below the lever fulcrum, and the fulcrum at one end is a side wall of the case. The lever is rotatably supported at the upper end, and has a lever whose lower surface at the other end is in elastic contact with the vicinity of the bent portion in the middle of the contact piece.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a lever switch which can easily process and assemble individual pieces of the contact piece and has a stable operating force.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to the first aspect of the present invention, a molded resin box in which a common contact serving as a fixed contact and an individual contact are planted in parallel on an inner bottom surface, and an upper opening is provided. Formed by bending an elastic metal thin plate into a substantially U-shape, and having two movable contacts at one end for resiliently contacting the fixed contact, the other end being positioned on the case side wall and slightly bent in the case. The contact piece housed in the folded state and the fulcrum at one end are rotatably supported on the upper end of the side wall of the case, and the projection provided below the fulcrum presses the contact piece, and the other end is operated. This is a lever switch consisting of a molded resin lever whose lower surface is in elastic contact with the bent part of the middle part of the contact piece. It is easy to process and assemble the contact piece individually, and has excellent spring characteristics. It has the effect of obtaining excellent operability.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the lever switch according to the first aspect, a stopper for regulating the rotation angle of the lever is provided at an end of the lever near the fulcrum, and the other end of the contact piece is pressed. The projection below the lever fulcrum portion is provided closer to the operation portion than the fulcrum portion, and has an effect that the position of the lever can be reliably regulated and an appropriate lever return force can be obtained.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a box-shaped case made of molded resin having an opening 11C at the top, and common contacts 12 and individual contacts 13 are planted in parallel on the inner bottom surface as shown in FIG. Has been established.

Numeral 14 is formed by bending an elastic metal thin plate into a substantially U-shape, and has movable contacts 14A and 14B at one end for elastic contact with the common contact 12 and the individual contact 13, and a claw portion 14C provided at the other end is provided on the right side of the case. While being positioned in the groove 11A of the wall, it is pressed by the projection 15C below the fulcrum of the lever 15,
The contact piece is stored in the case 11 in a slightly bent state.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a fulcrum portion 15B at one end rotatably supported by a hole 11B provided at the upper right end of the side wall of the case, and a lower surface 15A of an operation portion 15D at the other end is bent at a middle portion of the contact piece 14. It is a lever made of molded resin elastically contacted in the vicinity of the portion.

1 and 3 show a state before the operation. When the operating portion 15D of the lever 15 is pressed down from this state, the lever 15 is supported by the hole 11B of the case 11. Fulcrum part 15
B rotates about the fulcrum, and the projection 15C below the fulcrum 15B
Elastically slides on the contact piece 14, and the lower surface 15A of the operating portion of the lever 15 presses the vicinity of the bent portion of the contact piece 14, so that the contact piece 14 engages with the groove 11A of the right side wall of the case. Rotating operation is performed as a fulcrum, and the movable contacts 14A and 1
4B resiliently slide on the common contact 12 and the individual contact 13 respectively, and the common contact 12 and the individual contact 13 are electrically contacted via the contact piece 14, and the ON state of FIG.

When the pressing force of the lever 15 is removed, the lower surface 15A of the operating portion of the lever 15 is pushed up by the elastic restoring force of the contact piece 14, and the movable contacts 14A and 14B separate from the common contact 12 and the individual contact 13, respectively. 1 and 3
And the switch is turned off.

Further, a stopper 15E for restricting the rotation angle of the lever provided at the lower right end on the side of the fulcrum of the lever 15 abuts on the upper portion 11D of the side wall of the case 11, thereby ensuring the restriction of the position of the lever. .

Further, by providing a projection 15C below the lever fulcrum for pressing the right end of the contact piece 14 slightly closer to the operation section 15D, the elastic load of the contact piece 14 acting on the movable contacts 14A and 14B can be adjusted. An appropriate return force of the lever 15 can be obtained.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the contact piece is a leaf spring made of an elastic metal and is operated by the molded resin lever. It is possible to provide a lever switch which is easy to process and assemble and has a stable operation force.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a lever switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the fixed contact portion.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the OFF state.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the ON state.

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

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the fixed contact portion.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the ON state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Case 11A Groove 11B Hole 11C Opening 11D Upper Side Wall 12 Common Contact 13 Individual Contact 14 Contact Piece 14A, 14B Movable Contact 14C Claw 15 Lever 15A Lower Surface 15B Supporting Point 15C Projection 15D Operation Unit 15E Stopper

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A box-shaped case made of molded resin having an opening at the top, and a common elastic contact and an individual metal contact are fixedly formed on the inner bottom surface. A contact piece which is formed by bending and has at one end two movable contacts which resiliently contact the fixed contact, the other end of which is positioned on the case side wall and accommodated in the case in a slightly bent state, and a fulcrum at one end; The part is rotatably supported at the upper end of the side wall of the case and the projection provided below the fulcrum part presses the contact piece, and the lower surface of the operating part at the other end is near the bent part of the contact piece middle part. A lever switch consisting of a molded resin lever that makes elastic contact. 2. A lever for restricting the rotation angle of the lever is provided at the end of the lever on the fulcrum side, and a projection below the lever fulcrum that presses the other end of the contact piece is closer to the operation unit than the fulcrum. The lever switch according to claim 1, wherein the lever switch is provided.