JPH11288322A - Pincher device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pincher device which can directly attached to a control shaft of an electronic device, etc., by molding the device in two colors from two materials having specific gravity larger and smaller than the prescribed value respectively and accordingly securing the characteristic of weight sensation, etc., of a composite material having large specific gravity and the characteristic of elasticity, etc., of the synthetic resin having small specific gravity. SOLUTION: A surface layer using a composite material containing the synthetic resin of a polyamide group and having specific gravity of >=3 is formed on the outer surface of the pinching part of a pincher body including a fitting part and having specific gravity of <3. Then the surface layer and the pincher body are molded in two different colors and unified together. That is, a surface layer 33 is formed on the outer surface of a pincher body 32 of a control knob 31, and the layer 33 and the body 32 are molded in two colors and unified together. The reinforcing ribs 36 of the body 32 are placed at the outer circumference of a cylinder shaft part 35 with spaces of the same angle secured to reinforce a cylinder body 34b. Thus, the rigidity of the body 32 is increased to generate the satisfactory repulsive force when the body 32 is pinched.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used to improve the grip of an electronic device, a mechanical device, or another device when it is fitted or fixed to an adjusting shaft of an electronic device, a mechanical device, or another device to perform an adjusting operation such as rotation or sliding. The present invention relates to a knob device such as an operation knob to be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of pinching device, for example, devices shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 have been known.

The knob device 1 (first conventional example) shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is an operation knob formed by injection molding with an ABS resin (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin). This operation knob 1 is a single material AB
The knob body 2 is composed of only the knob main body 2 formed of S resin. The knob main body 2 has a cap-shaped knob portion 3 having one end closed, and a cap-shaped knob portion 3. A cylindrical shaft portion 4 protruding from a central portion on the concave side. Tube shaft 4
Is provided with a flat portion 4a as a fitting means in which a part of the outer peripheral surface is flat. A slit 4b is formed in the plane portion 4a, and a hole in the cylindrical shaft portion 4 forms a fitting hole 5.

The operation knob 1 having such a configuration is
As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic device 6 is used as an operation knob. The electronic device 6 includes an apparatus main body 7 in which electric circuits and other components are stored, a front panel 8 attached to the front of the apparatus main body 7, and the like.
A printed wiring board 10 is attached to the inside of the front panel 8 via a plurality of support legs 9, and a volume adjusting device 11 is attached to the printed wiring board 10.

[0005] The volume adjusting device 11 includes a volume housing 12 having a built-in volume adjusting mechanism, and an adjusting shaft 13 rotatably supported by the volume housing 12. The adjusting shaft 13 of the volume adjusting device 11 is provided with a flat portion 13a formed by cutting the outer peripheral portion into a flat shape. By fitting the adjustment shaft 13 into the fitting hole 5, the operation knob 1 can be adjusted.
3 and is integrated in the rotation direction, so that the volume of the volume adjusting device 11 can be adjusted by turning the operation knob 1.

The operation knob 1 consisting only of the knob body 2 made of ABS resin is widely used as an operation knob in this kind of electronic equipment because it is easy to mold and can be manufactured at the lowest cost. Things.

Incidentally, for example, in a high-end model of an electronic device such as an audio device, an operation knob made of an aluminum alloy is used. This is because the operation knob made of aluminum alloy has a feeling of weight, texture, and the like, and gives the user a sense of quality not only from a visual point of view but also from a tactile point of view. However, since the operation knob made of an aluminum alloy is expensive, the use of such an aluminum alloy operation knob causes a problem that the cost of the entire apparatus is increased.

On the other hand, with the recent development of the chemical industry, composite materials having the same weight and texture as aluminum alloys have been developed, and these have been used as substitutes for aluminum alloy operation knobs. . FIGS. 6 and 7 show examples of operation knobs made of such a composite material.

The operation knob 21 (second conventional example) as a knob device shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is constituted by a combination of a knob body 22 and a spring sleeve 26.
The reason why the spring sleeve 26 is used for the operation knob 21 is that the knob body 22 is hard and has little elasticity. Therefore, the spring sleeve 26 is connected to the adjustment shaft 13.
Between the spring body 2 and the knob body 22.
By combining the two with the elastic force of 6, the knob body 22 and the adjustment shaft 13 are integrated in the rotation direction.

That is, the knob body 22 is formed of a hard material having a relatively large specific gravity as a whole, for example, a composite material having a specific gravity of 3 or more having a polyamide-based synthetic resin (hereinafter, referred to as a “high specific gravity composite material”). I have. This knob body 22
Like the above-described knob main body 2, there is provided a cap-shaped knob 23 in which one end of a cylindrical body is closed, and a cylindrical shaft portion 24 protruding from a central portion on the concave side of the knob 23. I have. The cylindrical shaft portion 24 is provided with a flat portion 24a as a fitting means in which a part of the outer peripheral surface is flat. The hole of the cylindrical shaft portion 24 forms a fitting hole 25.

The spring sleeve 26 is interposed between the adjusting shaft 13 and the fitting hole 25 at the time of assembly, and has a shape corresponding to the shape of the adjusting shaft 13 and the fitting hole 25. That is, the spring sleeve 26 has a cylindrical portion 27 and a flat portion 28, and a plurality of spring pieces 27a are formed in the cylindrical portion 27 by providing a plurality of slits extending in the axial direction. These spring pieces 27a are formed so as to be curved inward, and these spring pieces 27a press the side surfaces of the adjustment shaft 13 to generate a frictional force with the adjustment shaft 13, whereby the operation knob 21 Are configured to be integral with the adjustment shaft 13 in the rotation direction. The other configurations of the audio device 6 and the volume adjustment device 11 are the same as those of the above-described first conventional example.

The knob body 2 made of such a high specific gravity composite material
The operation knob 21 composed of the spring 2 and the spring sleeve 26 gives a sense of quality to this kind of electronic device because it has the weight and texture of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy, and is used as an operation knob of a high-end model. It has become.

[0013]

However, in such a conventional pinching device, the AB according to the first prior art example is used.
In the case of the operating knob 1 made of S resin, since the ABS resin itself has a certain degree of elasticity, the cylindrical shaft portion 4 is fitted to the adjusting shaft 13 and the adjusting shaft is adjusted by the pressing force of the knob body 2 itself. 13 has the advantage that it can be easily fixed, but the manufactured operation knob has poor weight and texture,
There was a problem that it was not possible to give a sense of quality.

In the case of the operation knob 21 made of a high specific gravity composite material according to the second conventional example, the composite material itself has a sense of weight and texture and is provided with a high-grade feel, but the composite material itself is hard. Since almost no elastic deformation occurs, a separate member such as a spring sleeve 26 is required for use, which requires time and labor for mounting, which is not only poor in workability, but also increases the number of parts and increases costs. There was a problem that.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and a knob device is formed by two-color molding using two kinds of materials having different specific gravities. It has the characteristics such as weight and texture that it has, and the characteristics of synthetic resin with low specific gravity, such as elasticity and assemblability.
An object of the present invention is to provide a knob device that can be directly attached to an adjustment shaft of an electronic device or the like, and to solve the above-described problems.

[0016]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and the like, and to achieve the above-mentioned object, a first aspect of the present invention is described.
The knob device according to the above, in the knob device having a fitting portion fitted to the adjustment shaft, the outer surface of the knob portion of the knob body formed of a synthetic resin having a specific gravity of less than 3 having the fitting portion, A surface layer made of a composite material having a specific gravity of 3 or more having a polyamide-based synthetic resin is provided.
It is characterized by being integrally molded by color molding.

In the pinching device according to a second aspect of the present invention, the surface layer is formed of a composite material having a specific gravity of about 3.8 by using polyamide as a base resin and zinc oxide as a filler. Features.

Further, the knob device according to claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the knob body is formed of acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene resin or polystyrene.

Further, in the pinching device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the fitting portion is formed in a cylindrical shaft portion of the knob body, and a slit for allowing elastic deformation is provided in the cylindrical shaft portion. It is characterized by:

The knob device according to claim 1 of the present invention is constructed as described above, and the inner knob body is formed of a relatively soft synthetic resin. In addition, since the outer surface layer is formed of a relatively hard composite material, the outer surface layer can give a sense of weight and a sense of quality to give a sense of quality.

In the pinching device according to the second aspect of the present invention, a surface layer formed of a composite material having a feeling of weight and texture, such as an aluminum alloy, and capable of giving the user a sense of quality can be obtained. .

Further, in the knob device according to the third aspect of the present invention, a knob body that can be directly and easily attached to an adjustment shaft of an electronic device or the like is obtained.

Further, in the pinching device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the adjusting shaft is fitted to the fitting portion to cause elastic deformation of the cylindrical shaft portion, so that the adjusting device is easily and reliably fixed to the adjusting shaft. can do.

[0024]

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, which is applied to an operation knob used for volume adjustment which is attached to a volume adjustment device of an audio device showing a specific example of an electronic apparatus. . That is, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation knob and a volume adjustment device of an audio device showing an embodiment of the knob device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the same operation knob and volume adjustment device, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of the audio device.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an operation knob 31 showing a specific example of the knob device of the present invention includes a knob body 32.
Is provided with a surface layer 33 on the outer surface thereof, and the surface layer 33 and the knob body 32 are integrally formed by two-color molding. The knob main body 32 includes a knob portion 34 formed in a cap shape that closes one end of a cylindrical body, and the knob portion 3.
A cylindrical shaft portion 35 protruding from the center of the concave side of the knob 4;
4 and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 36 interposed between the inner surface of the cylindrical shaft portion 35 and the outer surface of the cylindrical shaft portion 35, and a surface layer 33 superposed on the outer surface of the knob portion 34.

The knob portion 34 of the knob body 32 has a disk-shaped end plate 34a and a cylindrical cylindrical body 3 which is continuously provided so as to protrude to one side at the outer peripheral edge of the end plate 34a.
4b. The cylindrical shaft portion 35 is formed so as to protrude in the same direction as the cylindrical body 34b at the central portion of the end face plate 34a. A flat portion 35a showing a specific example of the fitted fitting means is provided. In this plane portion 35a,
A slit 35b is formed extending to a middle part in the axial direction.
5 is provided with an appropriate amount of elasticity at its tip. A hole set inside the cylindrical shaft portion 35 constitutes a fitting hole 37 showing a specific example of a fitting portion, and the adjusting shaft 13 is fitted into the fitting hole 37.

The reinforcing ribs 36 of the knob body 32 are arranged at equal angular intervals on the outer periphery of the cylindrical shaft portion 35, and the radially inner side rises from the vicinity of the tip of the slit 35b, and is inclined from the middle thereof. It is formed so as to reach the open end of the cylindrical body 34b. By reinforcing the cylindrical body 34b with these reinforcing ribs 36, the rigidity of the knob body 32 is increased so that a sufficient repulsive force is generated when the knob body 32 is pinched. The stopper piece 3 for limiting the insertion amount of the adjustment shaft 13 is provided in the fitting hole 37 of the cylindrical shaft portion 35.
7a is provided.

As a material of the knob body 32 having such a configuration, a synthetic resin such as an ABS resin (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene resin) or polystyrene (PS), particularly, an ABS resin is preferable. Therefore, in this embodiment, the knob body 32 is integrally formed by injection molding using ABS resin. Here, the reason why ABS resin or polystyrene is suitable as the material of the knob body 32 is as follows.

That is, polystyrene generally has a density of 1.04
1.07 g · cm ^-3 , a solid having a softening point of 80-100 ° C, insoluble in water, alcohol, and aliphatic hydrocarbons,
It has the property of being stable to acids and alkalis. And it has excellent characteristics that it has good electrical insulation, excellent high frequency characteristics, good melt fluidity, easy molding, good thermal stability, and easy molding of complicated shapes. . However, polystyrene has an insufficient point of relatively low mechanical strength, particularly low impact resistance. It is an ABS resin that has been made to improve the impact resistance of such polystyrene and to have good mechanical properties. Therefore, from this point, the knob body 32
It can be said that ABS resin is a more suitable material than polystyrene.

The surface layer 33 provided on the outer surface of the knob portion 34 of the knob body 32 is formed of a composite material having a specific gravity of 3 or more (a high specific gravity composite material) having a polyamide synthetic resin. As a specific example of such a high specific gravity composite material, for example, a high specific gravity material for a flywheel “Sumicon FM-PF370 (trademark)” manufactured by Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd. can be applied. This high specific gravity composite material is formed by blending zinc oxide (ZnO) as a filler with nylon-6 (polyamide) as a base polymer, and the blending ratio is 10 to 30 weight percent (wt%) of polyamide. 90) to 70% by weight (wt%) of zinc oxide.

The high specific gravity material "Sumikon FM-PF370 (trademark)" for a flywheel has general physical properties of numerical values (representative values) as shown in Table 1.

[0032]

[Table 1]

This high specific gravity composite material "Sumicon FM-PF"
370 (TM) was developed for flywheels used to reduce wow and flutter by increasing the stability of rotating parts of audio equipment and is superior to conventional plastic wheel materials. It has a performance balance, good moldability, and low mold wear. And it has the following features. 1. High mechanical strength, especially excellent heat resistance. 2. Low mold wear. 3. Good dimensional stability. 4. It has an antistatic effect and can be colored. 5. Good secondary workability and drilling.

The operation knob 31 having such a configuration
As shown in FIG. 3, for example, F which constitutes a part of a stereo audio apparatus 40 showing a specific example of an electronic device
It is used as an operation knob of the stereo integrated amplifier 41 with M / AM tuner. The stereo audio apparatus 40 includes a stereo integrated amplifier 41 with an FM / AM tuner, a compact disc player 42, a mini disc deck 43, and a pair of speaker systems 44.
a, 44b, and an operation knob 31 is attached to a substantially central portion of the front of the stereo integrated amplifier 41.

As shown in FIG. 1, the stereo integrated amplifier 41 includes an apparatus main body 47 in which an audio circuit and other components are stored, and a front panel 48 attached to the front of the apparatus main body 47. I have. 4
9a and 49b are legs attached to the lower surface of the apparatus main body 47. By adjusting the height of these legs 49a and 49b, the horizontal adjustment of the stereo integrated amplifier 41 can be performed.

A printed wiring board 50 is mounted inside the front panel 48 via a plurality of support legs 48a. On the printed wiring board 50, a predetermined wiring pattern is formed by wiring means such as print printing, and a volume adjusting device 51 showing a specific example of an electronic component mounted on one surface thereof is fixed by a fixing means such as caulking. Fixed. Then, the printed wiring board 50
Are fixedly supported on the front panel 48 by tightening a plurality of mounting screws 52 into which the screw portions are inserted through the through holes provided in the supporting legs 48a.

The volume adjusting device 51 attached to the front panel 48 includes a volume housing 54 having a built-in volume adjusting mechanism and the like,
4 is provided with an adjustment shaft 55 rotatably supported.
A front portion of the volume housing 54 penetrates the front panel 48 to the front side, and an adjustment shaft 55 projects forward from the front portion. The adjusting shaft 55 is provided with a flat portion 55a as a fitting means by notching a part of the outer periphery in a flat shape. By fitting the adjustment shaft 55 into the fitting hole 37 of the operation knob 31, the operation knob 3
1 is integrated with the adjustment shaft 55 in the rotation direction, and the operation knob 3
The volume of the volume adjusting device 51 can be adjusted by the rotation of 1.

In this case, since the knob body 32 including the cylindrical shaft portion 35 of the operation knob 31 has a specific gravity of less than 3 and is made of a relatively soft material such as ABS resin (or PS), the fitting hole is formed. Even when the dimensions of the adjustment shaft 55 and the adjustment shaft 55 have a shrinkage relationship, the cylindrical shaft portion 35 can be elastically deformed by the insertion force of the adjustment shaft 55.
Therefore, the operation knob 31 can be directly attached to the adjustment shaft 55, and the attaching operation can be performed extremely simply and quickly. Therefore, the assemblability of this kind of operation knob 31 can be improved, and the cost can be reduced by eliminating the use of a separate component such as the conventional spring sleeve 26.

The surface layer 33 integrally formed with the knob body 32 by two-color molding is made of a composite material having a specific gravity of 3 or more containing a polyamide-based synthetic resin, specifically, “Sumiko FM-” having a specific gravity of 3.78. PF370 (trademark) "
This composite material has a tactile sensation when picked up by hand that is equivalent to the weight and texture of a metal such as an aluminum alloy. According to the operation knob 31, it is possible to give the user the high-grade feeling of metal, while using polyamide as the base resin. Therefore, this operation knob 3
By rotating the knob 1, the user can pinch the knob 34,
The turning operation can be performed while feeling the weight and texture of the metal by touch.

It is difficult to apply a plating process to the surface of SUMICON FM-PF370 (trademark). However, since it is possible to apply a coating to the surface, it gives a metallic appearance also from a visual point of view. For this purpose, it is preferable to apply a metallic color such as silver or gold.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to an operation knob of an electronic device has been described. The present invention can be applied as a pinching device for machines and other devices. Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which the operation knob is rotated has been described. However, it is needless to say that the operation knob may be moved linearly.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is described in which the adjusting shaft 55 is provided with the flat portion 55a and the fitting hole 37 having a shape corresponding to the flat portion 55a is provided on the operation knob 31. A configuration may be adopted in which the outer peripheral surface of the shaft is formed on a knurled shaft, a spline shaft, or the like by providing unevenness, and a hole corresponding to these is provided on the operation knob 31. Further, contrary to these and the above-described embodiments, the knob device may be provided with a shaft portion, and a hole fitted into the shaft portion may be provided in the electronic device. Thus, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0043]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the knob device according to the above, a surface layer formed of a composite material having a specific gravity of 3 or more having a polyamide-based synthetic resin is provided on the outer surface of the knob portion of the knob body formed of a synthetic resin having a specific gravity of less than 3. Since the surface layer and the knob body are integrally molded by two-color molding, the knob body made of a relatively soft synthetic resin can be directly and easily attached to an adjustment shaft of an electronic device or the like. In addition, since the outer surface layer is given a feeling of weight and texture by the relatively hard high specific gravity composite material, the effect of being able to provide a high quality knob device is obtained.

According to the pinching device of the second aspect of the present invention, the surface layer is formed of a composite material having a specific gravity of about 3.8 by using polyamide as a base resin and zinc oxide as a filler. With this configuration, it is possible to provide a knob device having a surface layer formed of a composite material that has the weight and texture of a metal such as an aluminum alloy and can give a user a sense of quality.

According to the knob device of the third aspect of the present invention, the knob main body is made of acrylonitrile-butadiene.
Since it is made of styrene resin or polystyrene, it is possible to provide a knob device having a knob body that can be directly and easily attached to an adjustment shaft of an electronic device or the like.

Further, according to the pinching device according to claim 4 of the present invention, the fitting portion is formed in the cylindrical shaft portion of the knob body, and a slit for allowing elastic deformation is formed in the cylindrical shaft portion. Since the configuration is provided, it is possible to provide a knob device that can elastically deform the cylindrical shaft portion by fitting the adjusting shaft to the fitting portion, and can easily and reliably fix the adjusting shaft to the adjusting shaft.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation knob and a volume adjustment device attached to an audio device as an electronic device, showing an embodiment of a knob device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an operation knob and a volume adjusting device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an audio device using the operation knob shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a first example of a conventional pinching device and an electronic device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an operation knob and a volume adjusting device shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a second example of a conventional pinching device and an electronic device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the operation knob and the volume adjustment device shown in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

31: operation knob (knob device) 32: knob body,
33: surface layer, 34: knob, 35: cylindrical shaft, 3
Reference numeral 7: fitting hole (fitting portion), 40: audio device (electronic device), 51: volume adjusting device, 55: adjusting shaft, 55a: flat portion (fitting means)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A knob device having a fitting portion fitted to an adjustment shaft, wherein a polyamide is provided on an outer surface of the knob portion of the knob body made of a synthetic resin having a specific gravity of less than 3 having the fitting portion. A knob device comprising: a surface layer formed of a composite material having a specific gravity of 3 or more having a synthetic resin; and the surface layer and the knob body are integrally formed by two-color molding. 2. The pinch device according to claim 1, wherein the surface layer is formed of a composite material having a specific gravity of about 3.8 by using polyamide as a base resin and zinc oxide as a filler. Characteristic picking device. 3. The knob device according to claim 1, wherein the knob body is formed of acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene resin or polystyrene. 4. The pinching device according to claim 1, wherein the fitting portion is formed in a cylindrical shaft portion provided in the knob body, and a slit for allowing elastic deformation is formed in the cylindrical shaft portion. A knob device provided with: