JPH1048097A - Push button switch inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide such a push button switch inspecting device as being capable of automatically and accurately judging a push button switch with a click feeling to be good or not. SOLUTION: A push button switch inspecting device has a measuring finger 1 to follow the clicking operation of a push button switch, an acceleration sensor to detect acceleration on the measuring finger 1 and a CPU 14 to judge a click feeling to be good or not from the detected acceleration. For the inspecting device, a displacement gauge 8 and a load sensor 2 can be also used to detect the displacement of and load on the push button switch and a crank mechanism 10 can be provided to make button push-down operation at non-equal speeds. For the push button switch to be good or not, judgement that acceleration on the button when pushed down is a preset range of value or not and that the displacement and load are acceptable or not, if required, is made by the CPU 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting a push button switch, and more particularly to an apparatus for automatically inspecting a click feeling of a push button switch having a click feeling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of push buttons having a click feeling have been developed, and as an indication of the quality of such a push button switch, a tactile sensation at the time of a click operation is emphasized. The click feeling is a feeling that when the push button switch is pressed, the button is suddenly set at a certain pressing point. This is due to the structure of the push button switch as shown in FIG. 3, and is caused, for example, by the fact that the convex surface of the plate spring is inverted to a concave surface.

Conventionally, as a method of inspecting a click feeling, a method of judging acceptability while matching the feel or the sense of hearing of a worker's hand has been adopted. However, in recent years, labor of work has been omitted and subjective judgment has been avoided. Automatic inspection methods have been developed to do this. For example, a displacement-load curve or a time-load curve of a part having a click feeling is detected by detecting a plurality of characteristic points that characterize the curve and is approximated by a line segment connecting the characteristic points, or by function approximation. Absolute value, relative value of each point,
Determining the slope of each line segment and determining whether the line is within a predetermined range (JP-A-5-273803);
Set the displacement-load curve as a reference for non-defective products, calculate the load difference curve by taking the difference between the load and the displacement-load curve of the part to be inspected, and calculate the weight difference function that expresses the difference in weight due to the displacement. A method in which an evaluation curve is generated by multiplying a curve and whether the value of the evaluation curve is within a predetermined range is determined (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-273804). By pressing the push button and detecting the click peak of the output waveform by differentiating the output waveform of the force gauge with time, comparing the peak value and time of this click peak point with the values registered in advance, the push button switch One for judging the operability (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-82)
No. 345) has been proposed.

[0004]

However, in such prior art, when judging the quality of the push button switch, any of the displacements and loads of the operation of the push button switch,
Alternatively, there is no proposal that focuses only on the pressing force and focuses on the acceleration acting on the push button switch, which is one of the determination factors that can most faithfully represent the click feeling. In the related art, it is necessary to perform complicated processing to determine the quality of the push button switch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an inspection apparatus for a push button switch, which automatically checks the quality of a push button switch having a click feeling by using a judgment element which is accurate and easy to detect. . Another object of the present invention is to provide an inspection apparatus for a push button switch having a mechanism capable of being pressed by non-constant velocity motion, such as when a human finger presses a push button switch.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an inspection apparatus for a push button switch according to the present invention is an inspection apparatus for inspecting a click operation of a push button switch having a click feeling. A measurement finger that moves following the click operation of the switch; acceleration detection means for detecting acceleration acting on the measurement finger; and determination means for determining whether the click feeling is good or bad based on the value of the acceleration detected by the acceleration detection means. Things.

Further, the inspection apparatus of the present invention is an inspection apparatus for inspecting a click operation of a push button switch having a click feeling, comprising: a measuring means having a measurement finger contacting an operated portion of the push button switch; Connected to the measuring means via the elastic means, a driving means for transmitting a linear motion to the measuring means, an acceleration detecting means for detecting the acceleration of the measuring means,
Determining means for determining whether the click feeling is good or bad based on the value of the acceleration detected by the acceleration detecting means after the measurement finger comes into contact with the operated portion.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement amount of the measuring finger and / or load detecting means for detecting a load applied to the push button switch, wherein the judging means includes the displacement detecting means in addition to the acceleration value. And / or the displacement detected by
Or, the value of the load detected by the load detection means as a determination element,
It is more desirable to determine whether the click feeling is good or bad.

[0009] In the inspection apparatus of the present invention, preferably, the driving means includes a crank mechanism for causing the measuring finger to move linearly at a non-constant velocity.

A push button switch SW as shown in FIG.
Is set appropriately in the inspection apparatus of the present invention, and when the driving means is operated, the measuring means moves to the push button side via the elastic means. The movement of the measuring means brings the measuring finger into contact with the push button switch. In this state, when a further forward force is applied by the driving means, the elastic means interposed between the measuring means and the measuring means is compressed, and the measuring finger is stopped as it is. The pushbutton switch reverses when a directional force is applied. This reversing operation is a pressing operation of the push button switch, and a feeling of sudden sinking when it is in a concave state is a click feeling. With the inversion of the switch, the measuring finger is pushed forward by the elastic means. This sudden movement of the measuring finger is detected as acceleration by the acceleration detecting means.

The acceleration detected by the acceleration detecting means coincides with the click feeling, and can be used as a judgment element for judging the quality of the push button switch. That is,
To determine the acceptability of the push button switch by measuring the acceleration in the case of a non-defective product in advance and defining a predetermined range, and judging whether or not the acceleration measured in the inspected product is within the predetermined range by the judging means. Can be.

The operability of the push button switch also depends on the click feeling and the load applied to the finger. Therefore, when the inspection device of the present invention further includes a displacement detection unit and / or a load detection unit, the displacement of the measurement finger is detected by the displacement detection unit and the measurement finger is pressed in the series of pressing operations. Thus, the load applied to the push button switch is detected by the load detecting means. The measured values detected by the displacement detecting means and the load detecting means can be similarly used as a criterion for judging pass / fail, and the judgment means comprehensively judges these judging elements, thereby improving reliability. Can be determined.

On the other hand, in the pressing operation, when a human presses the push button switch, it is considered that the pressing is performed at a non-constant speed rather than at a constant speed. In a preferred aspect of the inspection apparatus of the present invention, the pressing operation is regarded as a non-constant speed motion that can be approximated by a sine function, and the measuring means, that is, the measuring finger or the like is operated by the crank mechanism. Therefore, the rotational movement is converted to a linear movement to activate the measuring means, and the push-button switch is pressed. In this way, according to the push-button switch inspection apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to determine the quality of the push-button switch under conditions closer to human operation.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a push-button switch inspection apparatus (hereinafter, simply referred to as an "inspection apparatus") of the present invention. This inspection device comprises a switch S to be inspected.
It comprises a measuring head 4 which is a measuring means having a measuring finger 1 in contact with W, a driving head 7 connected to the measuring head 4 via an elastic means 6 and giving a linear motion to the measuring head 4, and a driving part thereof. A driving unit and a judging unit 14 for judging the click feeling based on the detection value of the measuring head 4 are provided. The measuring head 4 and the driving head 7 are housed in a cylindrical outer cylinder 12 and are driven. The head 7 is slidable within the outer cylinder 12.

The measuring head 4 includes, in addition to the measuring finger 1 protruding from the outer cylinder 12, a load sensor 2 as load detecting means for detecting a load applied to the switch SW when the measuring finger 1 presses the switch SW; And an acceleration sensor 3 which is an acceleration detecting means for detecting an acceleration acting on the switch SW via the switch 1. The acceleration sensor 3 is stored in a storage unit.
A rod 5 is fixed to the opposite side of the measuring finger 1 and forms a part of the measuring head 4. Measurement finger 1 used here
Is preferably a hard material so as not to absorb the pressing force when the switch SW is pressed, and a hard and light material such as plastic is preferable.

Although the load sensor 2 is not an essential component in the present invention, the operating force may vary depending on the product even with the same click feeling, and the load force applied to the switch is also provided as a factor for determining the quality of the switch. The optimum value of the load is generally several g to several hundred g, although the specific determination value differs depending on the switch. As such a load sensor 2, a commercially available load cell or the like can be used. For example, a rated load of 10 kGf / FS can be used, but a load of about 1 kGf / FS is particularly preferable. Further, the load sensor 2 is required to be light in weight since the acceleration detection becomes dull if the load sensor 2 is heavy because the moment of inertia becomes large. The detection value detected by the load sensor 2 is input to the determination means 14 as a detection signal.

Similarly, a commercially available acceleration sensor 3 can be used. Characteristic is ± 5G
/ FS, preferably ± 1 G / F
It is desirably about S. Also, in order to improve the performance of the entire inspection apparatus, it is desirable that the acceleration sensor be lightweight and have high sensitivity. The detection value detected by the acceleration sensor 3 is input to the determination means 14 as a detection signal.

The driving head 7 comprises a shaft 13 and a cylindrical portion fixed to the shaft 13, and a part of the rod 5 of the measuring head 4 is slidably fitted in the cylinder. Further, a displacement gauge 8 for detecting the displacement of the rod 5 relative to the cylinder, that is, the displacement of the measuring head 4 is fixed inside the cylinder. The rod 5 and the displacement meter 8 are integrated to constitute a displacement detecting means. For example, a differential transformer or the like can be used as the displacement detecting means including the combination of the rod 5 and the displacement meter 8. The displacement obtained from such a displacement detecting means is provided because it can be used as a quality determination element of the switch, and can also be used when calculating acceleration as described later.

Further, the shaft 13 of the drive head 7 is connected to a crank mechanism 10 for converting a rotational movement of a motor 11 as a drive source into a linear movement, and the linear movement is given by the crank mechanism 10. The amount of movement of the drive head 7 is detected by the encoder 9 as the rotation of the motor 11.

As the crank mechanism 10, a known mechanism can be used as long as it can convert a rotary motion into a linear motion. By providing the crank mechanism 10, in this inspection device, the movement of pressing the switch SW can be made non-constant speed, and can be made more similar to the movement of a person pressing the push button switch.

The elastic means is capable of expanding and contracting in the direction of movement of the measuring head 4. In this embodiment, a spring 6 is used. One end of the spring 6 is attached to the housing of the measuring head 4, and the other end is connected to the drive head 7. This spring 6 has a switch S
Since it plays a role of absorbing the pressing motion of W for a short period of time, it corresponds to a subtle skin sensation of a finger when a human presses the switch SW. Therefore, a weak spring, that is, a spring constant needs to be small. Specifically, the load value when the switch SW is pressed is several times to about 10 times, and the spring constant is 100 g / c although it varies depending on the type of the switch SW to be inspected.
m is preferable.

In such an inspection apparatus, the motor 11
Rotates, the crank mechanism 10 operates, and the drive head 7
Makes a linear motion in the outer cylinder 12. This linear motion further
The measuring head 4, that is, the measuring finger 1 is interposed by the spring 6.
Is operated, and the switch SW is depressed.

In the inspection apparatus having such a configuration, the measuring finger 1 protruding from the outer cylinder 12 is installed under such a condition that the switch SW can be depressed after coming into contact with the switch SW. Assuming that the distance between the switch SW and the measurement finger 1 is dZ, this distance dZ
Needs to be shorter than the end stroke in relation to the length of the end stroke of the crank mechanism 10. Otherwise, the movement direction of the drive head 7 will be reversed due to the movement characteristics of the crank mechanism before the measurement finger 1 contacts the switch SW. Further, the distance dZ needs to be set longer than the displacement dx of the switch SW. Otherwise, the measurement finger 1 is in a state where the switch SW is pressed before the pressing operation. When inspecting the same type of switch SW, the distance dZ is fixed to a constant value, but different types of switches S
When inspecting W, it is necessary to reset the setting every time.

Although the movement of the measuring finger 1 is caused by the movement of the crank mechanism 10 as described above, the movement obtained by the crank mechanism 10 can be represented by a sine function, as is already known. The conditions for pressing the switch SW differ depending on which part of the sine curve is used. To determine this condition, the end stroke of the crank mechanism 10 may be adjusted,
Further, the distance dZ described above may be adjusted.

Central control unit (CPU) 14 as a judgment means
Is connected to the load sensor 2, the acceleration sensor 3, the displacement meter 8, the encoder 9, and the motor 11, and determines whether the arithmetic unit and the switch SW for inputting data detected by these and processing the data are non-defective. And a control unit that controls the operation of the drive head 7 by controlling the rotation of the motor 11.

In the above embodiment, the load sensor 2 and the acceleration sensor 3 are mounted. However, the load sensor 2 may not be mounted if weight reduction is important.
In this case, the load applied to the switch SW is obtained from the spring constant of the spring 6 and the displacement detected by the displacement meter 8 for detecting the displacement of the measuring head 4 with respect to the drive head 7 and the encoder 9 for detecting the displacement of the drive head 7. be able to. In addition, even if the acceleration sensor 3 is not used, the displacement may be obtained as a time change of the displacement speed from the displacement and the time detected by the displacement meter 8 and the encoder 9 described above.

FIG. 2 shows the operation of such an inspection apparatus.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis shows the time elapsed from the start of the pressing motion, and the vertical axis shows the time in FIG.
2A shows the displacement of the drive head 7 detected by the encoder 9, FIG. 2B shows the absolute value of the displacement of the rod 5 detected by the displacement meter 8, and FIG. FIG. 2D shows the accelerations detected by the acceleration sensor 3, respectively, and these changes over time are shown by curves 21 to 24, respectively. here,
The displacement of the rod 5 shown in FIG. 2B is equal to the displacement of the measuring finger 1 that moves as a unit.

In FIG. 2, the measuring finger 1 is not in contact with the switch SW during the time t0 to t1, and the crank mechanism 10
With the operation of (1), the driving head 7 moves forward (to the side of the switch SW).
When moves linearly, the spring 6 moves the measurement finger 1 without contracting. Therefore, since the drive head 7 and the measurement finger 1 make the same movement, the measurement finger 1 is not displaced (curve 2).
2). The displacement (curve 21) of the drive head 7 during this time forms a part of a sine curve according to the operation of the crank mechanism 10. During this period, no load is applied to the switch SW (curve 23).

When the drive head 7 is further pressed and the measuring finger 1 contacts the switch SW (after time t1), the measuring finger 1 presses the switch SW and the pressing force W is applied. During the time t1 to t2, the measuring head 5 is displaced in the opposite direction to the driving head 7. In FIG. 2B, since the displacement is represented by an absolute value, the direction of the displacement is not considered. In this state, the load on the switch SW gradually increases (curve 23).

Then, at a certain pressing point (time t2), the switch SW is suddenly pressed. FIG. 3 schematically shows such a state change of the switch SW. The switch SW in the normal state has a convex shape as shown by a solid line in FIG. 3, but has a concave shape as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 3 when pushed suddenly. This state is detected as a sudden reversal of the direction of displacement of the measurement finger 1 shown by the curve 22 in FIG. 2, but is also detected as a sharp rise of the acceleration as shown by the curve 24. When the direction of displacement of curve 22 reverses,
The maximum value of the displacement immediately before the inversion is L1, and the minimum value immediately after the inversion is L2.
The maximum displacement difference ΔL = (L1−L2) corresponds to the displacement dx of the switch SW in FIG. When the click feeling is good, the reversing operation is fast and the acceleration is detected as a large value.

Using such an inspection apparatus of the present invention,
An inspection method of the push button switch will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. First, data on a range of non-defective push button switches to be inspected is input to the CPU 14 in advance (step 1), and the acceleration sensor 3 as acceleration detecting means, the displacement meter 8 and the encoder 9 as displacement detecting means, and the load detecting means are used. The detection data from a certain load sensor 2 is taken into the CPU 14 (step 2). Next, pass / fail is determined for each determination item (steps 3 to 5). In step 3, it is determined whether or not the maximum acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 3 is within a non-defective product acceleration range. In step 4, it is determined whether or not the maximum load detected by the load sensor 2 is within the range of a non-defective product. Although the specific determination value differs depending on the switch as described above, it is effective as an element for determining the quality of the switch. Similarly, in step 5, it is determined whether the displacement of the push button switch (corresponding to ΔL in FIG. 2) calculated from the rapid change in the direction of displacement of the measuring head 5 detected by the displacement meter 8 is within the range of a non-defective product. Is determined. Although the specific judgment value differs depending on the switch, it is effective as one of the judgment factors for the quality of the switch similarly to the load. This is particularly important when the operation displacement of the switch is large. When it is determined in all of steps 3 to 5 that it is within the range of non-defective products, the push button switch is determined to be non-defective (step 6), and it is determined that it is not within the range of non-defective products in any of steps 3 to 5. At this time, the push button switch is determined to be defective (step 7).

In this embodiment, in step 2, the acceleration, the load and the displacement are used as the judgment elements of the push button switch. However, only the acceleration, or the acceleration and the load or the displacement may be used as the judgment elements.

The switch SW to which the above-described inspection apparatus of the present invention can be applied may be any switch having a click feeling. For example, a switch of a mobile phone, an operation key of an audio product, a key of a control panel of various devices, or the like can be used. is there.

The inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1 may be used alone, or a large number of switches may be arranged according to the actual arrangement of the switches to be inspected, and a large number of switches may be inspected at once. . In this case, the CPU 14 may be provided for each inspection device, or may be configured to input data of many inspection devices to one CPU 14.

In the inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the case where the crank mechanism 10 is driven at a non-constant speed by the motor 11 when a force is applied to the drive head 7 from the outside has been described. Alternatively, it may be operated at a constant speed by a stepping motor or the like.

[0037]

As described above, the inspection apparatus for a push button switch according to the present invention is provided with the acceleration detecting means for detecting the acceleration acting on the push button switch. The quality of the switch can be determined automatically and accurately.

Further, by providing a load detecting means and a displacement detecting means in addition to the acceleration detecting means and judging by using the results detected by these means together, a more reliable inspection can be performed.

Further, according to the push-button switch inspection apparatus of the present invention, by providing the crank mechanism which can be pressed by the non-constant speed motion, an operation like pressing the push-button switch with a human finger can be performed. Thus, it is possible to determine the quality of the push button switch under conditions similar to those in actual use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an inspection device for a push button switch according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing detection data by a detection means provided in the push-button switch inspection device according to the present invention over time.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating the operation of a push button switch.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a determination unit of the inspection device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... measuring finger (measuring means) 2 ... load sensor (load detecting means) 3 ... acceleration sensor (acceleration detecting means) 5 ... rod ( Displacement detecting means) 6 Spring (elastic means) 7 Drive head (driving means) 8 Displacement meter (displacement detecting means) 10 Crank mechanism (drive means) 14 central control unit (CPU) (judgment means) SW push-button switch

Claims (5)

[Claims] An inspection device for inspecting a click operation of a push button switch having a click feeling, comprising: a measuring finger that moves following a click operation of the push button switch;
Acceleration detection means for detecting acceleration acting on the measurement finger,
Determining means for judging whether the click feeling is good or bad based on the value of the acceleration detected by the acceleration detecting means. 2. An inspection apparatus for inspecting a click operation of a push button switch having a click feeling, comprising: measuring means having a measuring finger abutted on an operated portion of the push button switch; and elastic means provided on the measuring means. A driving means for transmitting a linear motion to the measuring means, an acceleration detecting means for detecting an acceleration of the measuring means, and the acceleration detecting means after the measuring finger comes into contact with the operated part A determination means for determining whether the click feeling is good or bad based on the value of the acceleration detected by the inspection apparatus. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement amount of the measuring finger; and a judging means for judging whether the click feeling is good or not based on the displacement amount detected by the displacement detecting means. Or the inspection device according to 2. 4. A load detecting means for detecting a load applied to a push button switch having a click feeling, and a judging means for judging whether the click feeling is good or not based on the value of the load detected by the load detecting means. The inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: 5. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said driving means includes a crank mechanism for causing said measuring finger to perform non-constant linear movement.