JPH10261349A - Multidirectional push switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multidirectional push switch that reliably sets its desired switch contacts on or off with a simplified compact structure. SOLUTION: A rocker member 60 is arranged its base 61 between an upper member 80 and a lower member 10 so as to rock in plural directions. The upper and lower members 80 and 10 are provided with switch contacts 49 and 41 at positions on their lower and upper sides to be pushed by presser parts 71 and 75 formed on the rocker member 60. The presser parts 71 of the rocker member 60 is arranged in place on arms 65 projecting radially outward from the portion of the base 61 at which a lever 63 is erected. The support member is provided, at its positions near the tips of the arms 65, with support members adapted to contact and support the tips as the fulcrum such that the rocker member 60 never presses the switch contact 41 when the lever 63 is tilted and the arms 65 are consequently lowered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-directional push switch in which different switch contacts are turned on and off according to the direction in which a swing member is swung or pressed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, video and game machines, in-vehicle navigation systems, various O.D. A multi-directional pressing switch having a lever that swings in multiple directions has been developed and used as a device for operating a device A, various remote control devices, and portable devices such as a mobile phone.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing such a multi-directional push switch. As shown in the figure, this multi-directional pressing switch includes a case 91, a switch board 93 attached to the lower surface of the case 91, and a lever 95 protruding from the upper surface of the case 91. A swing member is housed in the case 91 so as to be swingable integrally with the lever 95.

When the lever 95 is swung in the direction of the arrow L or M shown in FIG. 5, the swing member in the case 91 swinging integrally with the lever 95 is formed of a plurality of switch contacts provided on the switch substrate 93. Is pressed to turn it on.

When the lever 95 is pressed in the N direction shown in FIG. 5, that is, right below, the swinging member in the case 91 moves right below and presses the switch contact provided at the center of the switch board 93, and this is pressed. Turn on.

In the multi-directional push switch, a desired function is selected by, for example, swinging the lever 95 in the direction of the arrow L or M, and the function is determined by pushing the lever 95 in the direction of the arrow N. Used for etc. In the case of this usage method, the switch contact at the center of the switch board 93 functions as a function determination switch, and the other switch contacts function as function selection switches.

[0007]

However, in the above conventional example, since all the switch contacts are provided on the switch board 93, for example, when the lever 95 is swung to turn on the function selection switch, At the same time, there is a risk that the central function determination switch is turned on by mistake. Conversely, when the central function determination switch is to be turned on, the lever 95 may erroneously swing and the unintended function selection switch may be turned on.

On the other hand, in order to avoid these inconveniences, it is necessary to complicate the structure of the swinging member housed in the case 91 or to increase the number of parts. For these reasons, it is impossible to reduce the size of the multidirectional switch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object the purpose of not only enabling a desired switch contact to be reliably turned on and off, but also a multi-directional pressing type having a simple structure and which can be easily miniaturized. To provide a switch.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a swing member in which a base portion is arranged between upper and lower members so as to be swingable in a plurality of directions. A switch contact is arranged at a position where the switch is pressed by a pressing portion provided on the rocking member, thereby forming a multi-directional pressing switch. Further, in the present invention, the swing member is provided with a lever that penetrates the upper member, while a switch contact disposed on a lower surface of the upper member is positioned around the lever, and a switch contact disposed on an upper surface of the lower member is provided. The position was directly below the lever. Further, according to the present invention, a pressing portion of the rocking member for pressing a switch contact disposed on the upper member is provided at a predetermined position of an arm protruding radially outward from a portion of the base provided with a lever, and Near the tip of the arm,
When the arm is lowered by inclining the lever, the tip of the arm comes into contact with the arm to serve as a fulcrum, and a supporting member is provided to support the swing member so as not to press the switch contact arranged on the lower member side.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a multi-directional pressing switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.
0, the flexible switch board 30, and the swing member 60
And an upper case 80. Hereinafter, each component will be described.

The lower case 10 is formed by molding a synthetic resin into a disk shape, and has a side wall 11 on the outer periphery thereof. Four concave supporting members 13 are provided at equal intervals (90 ° intervals) on the inner side surface of the side wall 11. The bottom surfaces 13a of the support members 13 are higher than other bottom portions of the lower case 10 by a predetermined height. Four small fixing projections 15 protrude from the upper surface of the side wall 11.

On the other hand, the bottom of the lower case 10
(Interval), a locking recess 17 is provided, and two small fixing projections 19 are provided at predetermined positions.

Next, the flexible switch substrate 30 is configured by connecting the small disk portion 31 and the large disk portion 33 with the connecting portion 35 and pulling out the drawing portion 37 from the large disk portion 33.

The small disk portion 31 has a switch contact 4 at its center.
1 is provided. The switch contact 41 is configured by attaching a movable contact plate 43 having a click function to a fixed contact printed on the small disk portion 31.

The small fixing projection 19 of the small disk portion 31 is also provided.
Are provided with small holes 45, respectively.

On the other hand, the large disk portion 33 is provided with a hole 47 which penetrates a lever 63 described below at the center thereof, and four switch contacts 49 are provided at equal intervals (90 ° intervals) therearound. This switch contact 49 is also the switch contact 41
It has the same structure as.

A small hole 51 is provided between each switch contact 49 of the large disk portion 33.

Although not shown, a circuit pattern is printed on the surfaces of the small disk portion 31 and the large disk portion 33 so as to be drawn out from the switch contacts 41 and 49 to the drawing portion 37.

Next, the swinging member 60 is an integrally molded product of a molding resin. The swinging member 60 projects the lever 63 upward from a substantially circular base 61 at the center thereof and is radially outward from the base 61 at regular intervals. Four arms 65 protrude radially, and four resilient arms 67 (only three are shown in FIG. 1) protrude radially outward from between the arms 65.

The distal end portion 69 of each arm 65 can be housed in the recess of the support member 13 of the lower case 10 by reducing its width.

A pressing portion 71 is provided on the upper surface of the root portion of the distal end portion 69 of each arm 65.

On the other hand, on the lower surface of the distal end of each resilient arm 67, an engagement protrusion 73 is provided which engages with the locking recess 17 provided in the lower case 10.

In the center of the lower surface of the base 61, a pressing portion 75 is provided.
(See FIG. 2B).

Next, the upper case 80 is formed by molding a synthetic resin into a disk shape.
0 and the center of the lever 63
Is provided. This through hole 8
1 is a lever 63 so that the lever 63 can swing freely.
Are formed larger by a predetermined dimension than the outer diameter dimension of.

The outer periphery of the upper case 80 is provided with four small holes 83 penetrating through the small fixing projections 15 of the lower case 10. On the lower surface of the upper case 80, a small projection 85 is provided to pass through the small hole 51 provided in the large disk portion 33 of the flexible switch substrate 30.

Next, a method of assembling the multi-directional pressing switch will be described. First, the small disk portion 31 of the flexible switch substrate 30 is accommodated in the lower case 10, and at this time, the fixing small projection 19 of the lower case 10 is inserted into the small hole 45 of the small disk portion 31.
The small disk portion 31 is fixed in the lower case 10 by heat caulking the tip of the fixing small projection 19.

Next, the large disk portion 33 is bent over the small disk portion 31 at the connection portion 35, and the lower surface of the upper case 80 is brought into contact with the back surface of the large disk portion 33. The small projection 85 on the lower surface 80 is inserted into the small hole 51 of the large disk portion 33, and the tip of the small projection 85 is fixed by heat caulking.

Next, the base 61 of the swinging member 60 is housed in the lower case 10.
Is positioned in the recess of the support member 13 of the lower case 10, and at the same time, the engagement projection 73 of the resilient arm 67 is engaged with the locking recess 17 of the lower case 10.

Then, the upper case 80 having the large disk portion 33 attached to the lower surface thereof is put on the lower case 10, and at this time, the lever 63 is inserted into the through hole 81 of the upper case 80 and the lower case 10 is fixed. If the small projection 15 is inserted into the small hole 83 of the upper case 80 and its tip is thermally caulked, the multi-directional pressing switch is completed.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views showing the assembled multi-directional pressing switch. FIG. 2A is a plan view, FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. FIG. 3C is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

As shown in FIG.
Each of the distal ends 69 of the fifth member is housed in the concave portion of the support member 31, and is guided so that the swing member 60 does not rotate. At this time, the distal end portion 69 is in a state where a predetermined play interval is provided in the vertical direction in the concave portion of the support member 31.

At the same time, as shown in FIG. 4C, each engaging projection 73 of the resilient arm 67 is engaged with the locking recess 17 of the lower case 10.
Is engaged.

The pressing portion 7 provided on the lower surface of the swinging member 60
5 is in contact with the switch contact 41 of the small disk portion 31,
The pressing portion 71 provided on each arm 65 is in contact with each switch contact 49 of the large disk portion 33.

Then, as shown in FIG.
When the swing member 60 swings in the direction, the tip 69 of the right arm 65 abuts against the bottom surface 31 a of the support member 31, so that the corresponding contact becomes a fulcrum, and the entire swing member 60 swings. Presses the upper switch contact 49 to turn it on.

When the lever 63 is swung in the direction of the arrow E, a force for pressing the lever 63 in the direction of the arrow F is simultaneously applied to the lever 63, but the swing member 60 is supported by the distal end portion 69 of the right arm 65. Since the swing member 60 is supported by contacting with the bottom surface 31a of the member 31, there is no danger that the entire swing member 60 will be lowered. Therefore, there is no danger that the lower switch contact 41 will be pressed, and only the desired switch contact 49 will be turned on. You.

When the rocking pressing force on the lever 63 is released,
The lever 63 automatically returns to the neutral position by the elastic force of the elastic arm 67 and the return force of the switch contact 49.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, when the lever 63 is pressed directly downward (in the direction of arrow G), the entire swinging member 60 is lowered, and the pressing portion 75 on the lower surface of the swinging member 60 is moved to the switch contact 4.
Press 1 to turn it on.

At this time, even if the lever 63 attempts to swing in the direction of the arrow H, the distal end 69 of each arm 65 is
Is abutted or approached to the bottom surface 31a of the, so that the swing is prevented, and only the switch contact 41 is reliably turned on.

When the pressing force on the lever 63 is released, the lever 63 automatically returns to the neutral position by the elastic force of the elastic arm 67 and the return force of the switch contact 41.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications such as those described below are possible. In the above embodiment, the switch contacts 41 and 49 are arranged on the upper case 80 and the lower case 10 by attaching the flexible switch boards 30 on the upper case 80 and the lower case 10, respectively. The switch contact may be formed on itself, or the switch contact may be formed by in-molding a metal plate serving as a switch contact in the upper case 80 and the lower case 10. In this case, the metal plate is pulled out from the upper and lower cases 80 and 10 to form a metal terminal strip.

In the above embodiment, the resilient arm 67 is provided to automatically return the swinging member 60 to the neutral position.
Instead of the resilient arm 67, another resilient means such as a coil spring may be used.

[0043]

As described in detail above, the present invention has the following excellent effects. Since the switch contacts are respectively arranged at positions on the lower surface of the upper member (upper case) and the upper surface of the lower member (lower case) and pressed by the pressing portion provided on the swinging member, the lower member is different from the conventional member. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide all the switch contacts only in this case, so that the outer diameter can be reduced in size.

The switch contacts disposed on the lower surface of the upper member are located around the lever, and the switch contacts disposed on the upper surface of the lower member are located immediately below the lever. When the contact is turned on / off and the swinging member is pushed in, a multi-directional pressing switch having a structure in which the switch contact on the lower member side is turned on can be configured.

Since the tip of the arm attached to the swing member is supported by the support member when the swing member swings, the swing member can be swung or pressed when the swing member is swung. Only the desired switch contacts can be reliably pressed.

The structure is simple and easy to assemble.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a multi-directional pressing switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 2 (b) is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2 (a), and FIG. 2 (c) is a view of the same. It is a BB sectional view of (a).

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a multi-directional pressing switch.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a multi-directional pressing switch.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional multi-directional pressing switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lower case (lower member) 13 Support member 30 Flexible switch board 41, 49 Switch contact 60 Swinging member 61 Base 63 Lever 65 Arm 71, 75 Pressing part 80 Upper case (upper member)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A base portion of a swinging member is arranged between upper and lower members so as to be swingable in a plurality of directions, and is pressed by a pressing portion provided on the lower surface of the upper member and the upper surface of a lower member and provided on the swinging member. A multi-directional pressing switch, wherein switch contacts are arranged at different positions. 2. A switch disposed on the lower surface of the upper member, wherein a switch contact disposed on a lower surface of the upper member is provided at a position around the lever, and a switch disposed on an upper surface of the lower member. 2. The switch according to claim 1, wherein the contact is located directly below the lever. 3. A pressing portion of the swinging member for pressing a switch contact disposed on the upper member is provided at a predetermined position of an arm protruding radially outward from a portion of the base member provided with a lever, and In the vicinity of the tip of the arm, when the lever is tilted and the arm is lowered, the tip abuts and becomes a fulcrum, and the swinging member supports the switch contact arranged on the lower member so as not to press the switch contact. 3. The multi-directional pressing switch according to claim 2, wherein a switch is provided.