JPH10269894A - Switch unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin switch unit simple in structure, and small in size. SOLUTION: A cover member 18 having a space inside, is mounted to a circuit board 10 over the surface of which a wiring pattern 12 is provided. The cover member 18 is equipped with a sliding element 24 in its inside, which is provided with a conductive contact part 30 capable of sliding in the inside of the space while being moving brought into contact with the wiring pattern 12. The over member 18 in a thin slender box shape is opened to a surface at the side of the circuit board 10, and is formed with an opening part 22 over its one side surface along its longitudinal direction, and the inner surface of the cover member 18 is formed into a guide part controlling the sliding direction of the siding element 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a switch unit which switches between ON and OFF by sliding contact between a slider and a conductor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a switch unit for switching a power supply or the like by sliding a slider is mounted on a circuit board having a conductor portion formed of copper foil or the like on an insulating substrate, and is provided with a wiring pattern of the conductor portion. Is formed with a pair of electrode portions separated from each other. On this circuit board, a cover member such as an elongated box or the like covering the electrode portion and a guide member provided inside the cover member are usually mounted.
A slider made of synthetic resin is fitted inside the guide member so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction of the guide member, and a metal contact portion is provided on the bottom surface of the slider to abut each electrode surface. I have. Further, a spacer or the like for eliminating rattling or the like is provided between the guide member and the slider. An opening is formed on one side surface of the cover member in the longitudinal direction, and an operation portion projecting outward from the opening is provided on one side surface of the slider.

In this switch unit, an operation unit is moved to slide a slider along a longitudinal direction of a guide member.
Then, the power supply is switched by the contact part coming into contact with or separating from the electrode part.

[0004]

In the case of the above-mentioned prior art, since the guide member and the spacer are provided inside the cover member, the guide member and the spacer have a certain thickness, and the switch unit can be reduced in size and thickness. I couldn't do that. For this reason, it also hinders reduction in size and weight of the electronic device to which the switch unit is attached.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and has as its object to provide a switch unit that can be reduced in size and thickness with a simple structure.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a cover member having a space inside is mounted on a circuit board having a wiring pattern provided on the surface of an insulating substrate, and the space inside the cover member is provided inside the space. And a switch unit including a slider having a conductive contact portion that can slide on the wiring pattern. The cover member is a thin and elongated box having an opening on the surface on the circuit board side, and an opening is further formed on one side along the longitudinal direction, and the inner surface of the cover member is provided with the slider. The guide portion regulates the sliding direction of the guide.

Further, according to the present invention, at the four corners of the opening on the circuit board side of the cover member, mounting pieces are formed integrally with the cover member, and the mounting pieces are inserted into through holes of the circuit board. The switch is a switch unit whose tip is bent and held by the circuit board, and the direction of bending of the mounting piece is parallel to the direction of sliding of the slider.

Further, the slider is provided directly inside the cover member, and the slider is formed with a lever, which is an operating portion projecting outward from the opening. A lever operating member is further attached to this lever, and the slider is slid in the space of the cover member by moving the lever operating member.

In the switch unit according to the present invention, the slider is located on a pair of electrodes formed on the circuit board, and the slider elastically contacts the inner surface of the cover member by the elasticity of each contact. Touch The electrodes are connected when the contact portions come into contact with the surfaces of the electrodes, and the connection of the electrodes is released when the slider is moved away from the electrodes by moving the lever operating member.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. The switch unit of this embodiment is directly attached to a circuit board 10,
Numeral 0 indicates a wiring pattern 12 such as a copper foil formed on a substrate surface formed of an insulating resin. Wiring pattern 12
Is provided with a pair of elongated electrode portions 14 in parallel with each other,
One electrode portion 14a is formed short, and the other electrode portion 14a is formed short.
b is formed to be longer than 14a, and its tip is substantially perpendicular to 2
It is folded and positioned on the extension of the electrode part 14a. A short electrode portion 14c is formed parallel to the tip of the electrode portion 14b. And, on the circuit board 10,
Through holes 16 to which a cover member 18 described later is attached are formed at four places surrounding the electrode portion 14.

The cover member 18 is formed by stamping a metal plate. After punching into a predetermined shape, the side surface thereof is bent to form a thin long thin box having an open lower surface. The cover member 18 is attached to the circuit board 10 so that the longitudinal direction of the cover member 18 is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the electrode section 14. At the corners of the four side surfaces of the cover member 18, mounting pieces 20 extend downward and are integrally formed. Each mounting piece 20 is inserted into the through hole 16 of the circuit board 10, and the lower end of the side surface of the cover member 18 It is bent to the back side of the circuit board 10 at the position in contact with the board 10. This bending direction is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the space in the slider cover member 18 and parallel to the sliding direction of the slider 24 described later. On one side surface parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cover member 18, an opening 22 which is a notch formed from the lower end surface to have a fixed width is provided.

The slider 2 is provided in the space inside the cover member 18.
4 are slidably fitted. The slider 24 is made of synthetic resin, and is provided so as to be slidable on the inner wall surface of the cover member 18.
It moves while being guided by the inner surface of the cover member 18. A recess 26 is formed on the lower surface of the slider 24 in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the internal space of the cover member 18. A contact member 28, which is a metal plate, is mounted inside the recess 26. At one end of the contact member 28, a pair of contact portions 30 is formed integrally extending, and the contact portion 30 is bent toward the substrate 10 near the base end thereof, and the substrate 10 is bent by the elastic force of the metal.
Each is in contact with the surface. On the side surface of the slider 24 on the opening 22 side, a columnar lever 32 protruding outward from the opening 22 and extending further upward is integrally provided. A lever operating member (not shown) is further attached to the lever 32, and the slider 24 can be slid along the longitudinal direction of the internal space of the cover member 18 by moving the lever operating member.

The method of using the switch unit of this embodiment is as follows. When the slider 24 is located near one end in the cover member 18, the contact portions 30 contact the electrode portions 14a and 14b, respectively. The electrode portions 14b are connected to each other. When the lever 32 is moved by the lever operating member to slide the slider 24, and the one contact portion 30 is separated from the electrode portion 14a, the connection is released. Slider 2
4 is slid to near the other end, the contact portion 30 comes into contact with the electrode portions 14b, 14c, respectively, and the electrode portions 14b, 14c
c are connected to each other. In this manner, the connection of the two pairs of electrodes can be switched.

According to the switch unit of the present invention, the cover member 18 having a simple structure is integrally attached to the substrate 10, and the slider 24 is provided so as to be in contact with the inside thereof.
Since it is slidable by being guided by the cover member 18, the switch unit does not require another guide member or spacer, and the switch unit itself is thin and small, and the electronic equipment to which this switch unit is attached is also small and light. Is possible. The slider 24 is movably provided between the circuit board 10 and the cover member 18 in contact with the cover member 18, and is slidably mounted without play due to the elasticity of the contact member 28. Since no separate member is required, the cost is low and the assembly is easy.

The mounting piece 20 of the cover member 18 is bent in a direction parallel to the sliding direction of the slider 24, so that the bending of the cover member 18 at the time of bending does not reduce the width of the cover member 18 and change the dimensions. The slider 24 can be fixed to the circuit board 10 without affecting the sliding performance. Particularly, in this case, since the cover member 18 forms a guide portion when the slider 24 slides, the dimensional accuracy of the cover member 18 is reduced.
This has a direct effect on the sliding performance, and the bending direction has a very important meaning.

Note that the switch unit of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the shape of the wiring pattern can be appropriately set, and the number of electrode portions may be other than two. The position where the opening is formed may be the upper surface of the cover member 18 or the like, and the shapes of the lever, the slider, the contact portion, and the like can be appropriately changed.

[0017]

The switch unit of the present invention is thin and small, and greatly contributes to the miniaturization and thinning of electronic equipment. Further, the structure and the assembly process are simple, and the cost can be kept low. Further, the cover member is bent so that the mounting piece does not affect the slider in the cover member, and good slidability can be obtained with accurate dimensions.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Circuit board 14 Electrode part 18 Cover member 20 Mounting piece 22 Opening 24 Slider 28 Contact member 30 Contact part 32 Lever

Claims (4)

[Claims] A circuit board having a wiring pattern provided on a surface of an insulating substrate is provided with a cover member having a space therein, and the wiring pattern is slidable inside the space inside the cover member. A switch unit including a slider having a conductive contact portion that slides on the switch. 2. The cover member has a box shape opened on the surface on the circuit board side, and further has an opening formed on one side surface thereof, and the inner surface of the cover member is moved in the sliding direction of the slider. The switch unit according to claim 1, wherein the switch unit serves as a guide part that regulates the pressure. 3. Attachment pieces are formed at four corners of the opening on the circuit board side of the cover member, and the attachment pieces are inserted into through holes of the circuit board and bent and held at the front end, 3. The switch unit according to claim 1, wherein a bending direction of the mounting piece is a direction parallel to a sliding direction of the slider. 4. The switch unit according to claim 1, wherein the slider is provided directly inside the cover member, and an operation portion projecting outward from an opening in the side surface is formed.