JPH1145626A - Inclination sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure the electric connection, prevent frequent contact of both contact points, and reduce the cost by providing a spherical movable contact point movable by being temporarily held in one side home position in a casing when the casing is inclined, at the other side fixed contact point in the casing, and contacting it with a pair of contact point parts having a clearance smaller than the diameter of the movable contact point through a guide part. SOLUTION: A home position 11f is formed of a circular arc shape of a part crossing an inside surface of a side plate 11d and a bottom plate 11a, and a guide part 12 having prescribed inclination, height and length also projects to an inside surface central part of the bottom plate 11a. Fixed contact points 13 and 14 having flat contact point parts 13b and 14b opposed in a bottom opened inverse V letter shape by having a necessary clearance, are arranged on the other side of the bottom plate 11a. A movable contact point 15 to move by a downward inclination is electrically continued when a movement is restricted by the guide part 12, the contact point parts 13b and 14b and a cover body 16, and a light emitting element of a wristwatch is lighted. Frequent contact is prevented by the guide part 12 having a constant distance, and a lighting time control circuit is not necessary.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small switch device, for example, a tilt sensor whose switch circuit is turned ON / OFF by tilting the device body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional tilt sensor will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in an exploded perspective view of FIG. 8, a module 1 such as an external device, for example, a wristwatch (not shown)
In addition, a pair of wiring patterns 2 and 2 whose central part is separated are formed, and a portion where the wiring patterns 2 and 2 are separated includes:
A pair of fixed contacts 3 and 4 form a predetermined gap, are separated from each other, and are attached by soldering or the like. The pair of fixed contacts 3, 4 are formed of a molded block member made of a metal material, and include contact terminal portions 3a, 4a and mounting fixing portions 3b, 4b, respectively. Also, the contact terminals 3a, 4a shown in FIG.
f, 4f are low, and the inclined surfaces 3c, 4c are formed in which the other ends 3g, 4g on the left side in the figure are raised. Opposing surfaces 3d, 4d are formed on the contact terminal portions 3a, 4a, and the corners where the opposing surfaces 3d, 4d come into contact with the inclined surfaces 3c, 4c are obtained by chamfering the corners. A pair of rail-shaped contact portions 3e, 4e are formed by polishing or the like, and the rail-shaped contact portions 3e, 4e are formed in a substantially V shape so as to face each other with a predetermined gap. . A good conductive film is formed on the rail-shaped contact portions 3e and 4e by gold plating or the like. Also, contact terminal portions 3a other than the rail-shaped contact portions 3e, 4e,
An insulating film is formed on the surface of 4a.

On the module 1, there is provided a housing 5 made of a resin material or the like having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, side plates 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d formed around the module 1 and having an inner portion which is vertically opened and opened. It is arranged. Then, the pair of fixed contacts 3 and 4 are housed inside the opened housing 5,
The lower surface of the housing 5 is attached to the module 1 with an adhesive or the like. As shown in FIG. 10, one end 3 of the pair of fixed contacts 3 and 4
f, 4f and a space 6 sandwiched between one side plate 5a of the housing 5 is formed. A movable movable contact 7 made of a steel ball or the like is movably disposed in the space 6. When the housing 5 is in a horizontal state, the movable movable contact 7 is placed in the space 6 in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. It is housed movably. Further, a cover 8 made of a resin material or the like for closing the upper portion of the housing 5 is attached to the upper portion of the housing 5 by an adhesive or ultrasonic welding.

The operation of the conventional tilt type sensor having the above-described structure will be described. When the housing 5 is in a horizontal state as shown in FIG.
It is housed movably. When the left side plate 5c side of the housing 5 shown in FIG. 10 is inclined downward in the direction of arrow A, the movable contact 7 rides on the pair of rail-shaped contact portions 3e, 4e, and the pair of fixed contacts 3 , 4 are electrically connected via a movable contact 6.
While the movable contact 6 is moving on the rail-shaped contact portions 3e, 4e, the pair of fixed contacts 3, 4 are electrically connected.

When this conventional tilt type sensor is used in a wristwatch (not shown) or the like, the ends 3f and 4f of the pair of fixed contacts 3 and 4 are set in the 12 o'clock direction of the dial of the wristwatch. The other ends 3g, 4 of the pair of fixed contacts 3, 4
The tilt sensor is attached to the module 1 of the wristwatch so that the g side is at 6 o'clock on the dial of the wristwatch. When it is desired to check the time on a wristwatch equipped with the tilt sensor as described above, tilting the 6 o'clock direction of the dial of the wristwatch downward causes the movable contact 6 to move to the pair of rail-shaped contact portions 3.
e, 4e, and the contact portions 3e, 4e are electrically conducted. Then, a light-emitting element (not shown) built in the wristwatch is turned on. If the dial is a liquid crystal, the light-emitting element becomes a backlight, and the dial can be read even when the surroundings are dark. . Further, in a normal state in which the operator does not look at the timepiece, there is nothing to restrict the movement of the movable contact 7, and the movable contact 7 freely moves around the inside of the housing 5 due to the free movement of the arm of the operator. The light-emitting element contacts and separates from the rail-shaped contact portions 3e, 4e, so that the light-emitting element repeatedly emits light frequently. In order to reduce the waste of the light emitting element being frequently turned on in the normal state, in the conventional inclination sensor, the time during which the movable contact 7 is in contact with the pair of rail-shaped contact portions 3e, 4e is within 1/4 second. In the case of (1), a lighting time control circuit composed of an unillustrated LSI or the like is incorporated so that the light emitting element does not emit light, and control is performed so that the light emitting element does not frequently emit light.

[0006]

When the conventional tilt sensor is used for a wristwatch or the like, the spherical movable contact 7 is frequently moved by the free movement of the wristwatch to form a pair of contact portions 3e, 4e of the fixed contacts 3, 4.
e, and the light emitting element was in a wasteful state in which the light emitting element repeatedly lights up frequently. To prevent this useless lighting, L
Since the lighting time control circuit composed of the SI or the like was incorporated, there was a problem that the cost of the conventional tilt sensor was increased.

Since the movable contact 7 is movable in the horizontal direction shown in FIG. 9 in the space 6 inside the inside 5 of the housing, the movable contact 7 is located at a position where the movable contact 7 contacts the right side plate 5b or the left side plate 5d. At one time, the housing 5 is moved to an arrow A shown in FIG.
When the movable contact 7 is tilted in the direction, the movable contact 7 is located on the inclined surfaces 3 c
e and 4e cannot be electrically connected.

Further, a pair of contact portions 3e, 4e are formed in a rail shape by chamfering corner portions of the inclined surfaces 3c, 4c, and the contact portions 3e, 4e are plated with gold. , Fixed contacts 3 and 4
Has become complicated, and the cost of the conventional tilt sensor has been further increased. Further, the fixed contacts 3, 4 are formed by contact terminal portions 3a, 4a and mounting fixing portions 3b, 4b, and these are soldered to the wiring patterns 2, 2, and a casing 5 is covered thereover. Was bonded to the module 1 with an adhesive or the like, so that the number of parts was large, the number of assembly steps was large, and the productivity was poor.

Further, since the cover 8 is formed of a resin material and is attached to the housing 5 with an adhesive or ultrasonic welding, the adhesive flows into the housing 5 or the resin welding dust is formed by ultrasonic welding. Is generated inside the housing 5, the surface of the movable contact 7 becomes dirty, or the pair of rail-shaped contact portions 3
e, the surface of 4e becomes dirty, and the reliability of the electrical contact between the movable contact 7 and the rail-shaped contact portions 3e, 4e is deteriorated.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems As a first means for solving the above-mentioned problems, an inclination sensor of the present invention comprises: a housing having a bottom plate and a side plate, and a lid attached to an upper portion; A movable contact having a spherical outer shape movably housed therein, a home position for temporarily holding the movable contact on one side of the housing, and a gap smaller than a diameter dimension of the movable contact on the other side of the housing. A fixed contact having a pair of contact portions provided, and a guide portion for guiding the movable contact from the home position to the pair of contact portions on a bottom plate of the housing, wherein the movable contact tilts the housing to tilt the home. It is configured to move from a position along the guide portion to the pair of contact portions and come into contact with the pair of contact portions.

[0011] A second aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
As means, the guide portion is formed to protrude from the bottom plate into the inside of the housing, and when the movable contact contacts the pair of contact portions, the movable contact includes the pair of contact portions, the guide portion, and the lid. The movement is restricted by.

A third aspect for solving the above-mentioned problem is as follows.
The guide portion is configured such that one end is located near the home position and the other end is located near a fixed contact having the pair of contact portions.

Further, a fourth aspect for solving the above-mentioned problem is as follows.
The height of the guide portion protruding from the bottom plate is set to be higher at the other end than at the one end, and the surface of the guide is inclined at a predetermined angle.

A fifth aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems.
As a means of, the pair of flat contact portions are formed to extend along the longitudinal direction of the other side plate of the housing, and the surfaces of the pair of contact portions are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the movable contact. It was configured to be disposed so as to face each other in a substantially C shape at a predetermined angle.

[0015] A sixth aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems.
When the movable contact is at the home position, the movable contact is temporarily held by one end of the guide portion, the bottom plate, and the inner surface of one side plate of the housing, and the other side plate side of the housing is at a predetermined angle. When tilted downward, the movable contact
It is configured to ride on one end of the guide portion from the home position and to be guided by the surface of the guide portion to move to a contact portion of the pair of fixed contacts.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An inclination sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in the tilt type sensor of the present invention, a casing 11 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape and made of a resin material or the like includes a bottom plate 11a and side plates 11b, 11c around the bottom plate 11a.
11d and 11e are formed, and are disposed in a state where the inside is hollow and the upper side is open. The inner surface of one side plate 11d shown in the top view of FIG. 4 is formed in a substantially semicircular arc shape, and a portion where the inner surface of the side plate 11d intersects with the inner surface of the bottom plate 11a is a sectional view of a main part in FIG. It is formed in the shape of an arc as shown, and this portion serves as a home position 11f for temporarily holding a movable contact 15 described later on one side in the housing 11. Further, a guide portion 12 having one end 12a and the other end 12b of a predetermined height and length is formed to project into the inside of the housing 11 from a substantially central portion of the inner surface of the bottom plate 11a.

Also, side plates 11b, 11 around the housing 11 are provided.
Circular mounting projections 11g are formed on upper surfaces of four corners of c, 11d, and 11e at predetermined heights. The bottom plate 11a on the other side of the housing 11 has a pair of flat contact portions 13b made of a metal plate or the like provided with a gap smaller than the diameter of a movable contact 15 described later,
Fixed contacts 13 and 14 having 14b are integrally attached to the bottom plate 11a of the housing 11 by insert molding or the like.

The fixed contacts 13 and 14 integrated with the bottom plate 11a by insert molding or the like have terminal portions 1
3a and 14a are connected so as to protrude outward from the left and right side plates 11c and 11e shown in FIG. This terminal part 1
3a and 14a can be attached to a module (not shown) such as a wristwatch by reflow soldering or the like. The fixed contacts 13 and 14 extend obliquely upward and rightward from the bottom plate 11a as shown in FIG. 3 inside the housing 11, and a pair of flat contact portions 13b and 14b are connected to the other end of the housing 11 from the middle thereof. Are formed to extend along the longitudinal direction of the side plate 11b. The flat surfaces of the pair of contact portions 13b and 14b are formed to face each other in a substantially C-shape at a predetermined angle so as to contact an outer peripheral surface of a movable contact 15 described later.

One end 12a of the guide portion 12 is located near the home position 11f, and the other end 12b is a pair of fixed contacts 1 having the pair of contact portions 13b and 14b.
It is formed near 3 and 14. Also,
The height of the guide portion 12 protruding from the bottom plate 11a is such that the height of the other end 12b is higher than the height of the one end 12a, and the surface of the guide portion 12 is inclined at a predetermined angle. The inclination angle of the surface of the guide portion 12 is formed at an angle of approximately 10 ° to 20 ° when the housing 11 of FIG. 3 is in a horizontal state. In addition, the pair of fixed contacts 13, 14
As another method other than integrally attaching to the housing 11 by insert molding, although not shown, a plate-shaped fixed contact is inserted into the other side plate 11b of the housing 11, and
The fixed contact may be formed by bending the inside thereof. In this case, the number of assembling steps is larger than that of the insert molding, but the molding die for manufacturing the housing 11 has a simpler structure than the insert molding die, and the die cost can be reduced.

A spherical movable contact 1 made of a conductive steel ball or the like is provided on the inner surface of the bottom plate 11a inside the hollow of the housing 11.
The movable contact 15 is movable along the surface of the guide portion 12 between the home position 11f and the contact portions 13b and 14b.
When the housing 11 is in a horizontal state as shown in FIG. 3, a part of the surface of the movable contact 15 contacts the one end 12 a of the guide portion 12, and
Temporarily held at 1f. Further, a lid 16 made of a metal plate for closing a hollow inside of the housing 11 is attached to an upper portion of the housing 11 in which the movable contact 15 is stored. The lid 16 has four mounting holes 16a formed at four corners. The mounting holes 16a are inserted into the mounting protrusions 11g of the housing 11, and the mounting protrusions 11g projecting upward from the mounting holes 16a are caulked. The lid 16 is attached to the housing 11 by being crushed or the like, so that dust and the like do not enter the inside of the housing 11. Such a lid 1
By making metal 6, the inside of the housing 11 can be closed by simultaneously caulking the four mounting projections 11 g without using an adhesive or ultrasonic welding. Therefore, it is easy to assemble, and it is possible to prevent welding debris and the like generated at the time of ultrasonic welding as in the conventional assembling method, so that the pair of contact portions 13b and 14 and the movable contact 15 are in stable and high quality contact. Can be obtained.

The operation of the tilt type sensor of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the movable housing 15 is temporarily held at the home position 11f in the housing 11 in the horizontal state. From this state, as shown in FIG. 5, when the other side plate 11b side of the housing 11 is inclined downward by a predetermined angle α (approximately 40 °) (in the direction of arrow B), the movable contact 15 is guided from the home position 11f. It rides on one end 12a of the portion 12 and is guided by the surface of the guide portion 12 to form a pair of contact portions 13.
b, 14b. When the movable contact 15 contacts the pair of contact portions 13b, 14b, the movable contact 1
5 is a pair of the contact portions 13b and 14b and the guide portion 12
The movement of the fixed contacts 13 and 14 is restricted by the surface of the cover and the lid 16, and the pair of fixed contacts 13 and 14 are electrically connected via the movable contact 15. In order to speed up the movement of the movable contact 15, as shown in FIG. 6, the bottom plate 11 a of the housing 11 is instantly tilted to a nearly vertical state, and the movable contact 15 instantaneously moves from the home position 11 f to the pair of contact portions 13 b. ,
Moving to 14b, the pair of fixed contacts 13, 14 can be electrically connected.

When the tilt sensor of the present invention that operates as described above is used in, for example, a wristwatch (not shown), the home position 1 where the movable contact 15 is temporarily held is provided.
The housing 11 is mounted on a wristwatch module (not shown) such that the 1f side faces the 12 o'clock direction of the watch face and the pair of contact portions 13b and 14b faces the 6 o'clock direction of the watch face. The terminal portions 13a and 14a are attached by reflow soldering or the like. When it is desired to check the time of the wristwatch, when the wristwatch is tilted toward the operator side (the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 5), the movable contact 15 rides on one end 12a of the guide portion 12, and the surface of the guide portion 12 Is moved to the pair of contact portions 13b, 14b, and the fixed contact 13,
14 is electrically conducted through the movable contact 15.

Then, a light-emitting element (not shown) built in the wristwatch is turned on. For example, if the wristwatch has a liquid crystal display, the light-emitting element becomes a backlight.
A dial made of liquid crystal or the like can be easily read even if the surroundings are dark. Further, in a normal state where the operator does not look at the timepiece, the movable contact 15 is located at the home position 11f, and even if the operator freely moves his arm, the movable contact 15 is in contact with one end 12a of the guide portion 12. The inner surface of one side plate 11d of the housing 11 and the bottom plate are temporarily held and hardly move to the pair of contact portions 13b and 14b, so that the light emitting element (not shown) can be prevented from frequently lighting. In the description of the above-described embodiment, the movable contact 15 is described as a steel ball. However, the movable contact 15 may be formed by applying a conductive material to the outer periphery of a spherical resin material by plating or the like.

[0024]

The movable contact of the tilt sensor according to the present invention moves from the home position to the pair of contact portions along the guide portion when the housing is tilted, and comes into contact with the pair of contact portions. The pair of contact portions can be reliably electrically connected to each other by the movable contact, and a highly accurate tilt sensor can be provided. In addition, even if the housing moves freely and the movable contact rides on one end of the guide portion, there is a slight distance from one end of the guide portion to the pair of contact portions, and the movable contact frequently contacts the pair of contact portions. Can be prevented. When such an inclination sensor according to the present invention is used in a wristwatch, the movable contact frequently contacts the pair of fixed contacts even when the operator's arm moves freely in a normal state where the operator does not look at the watch. Since there is no light emitting element, there is no waste that the light emitting element is frequently turned on unlike the related art, and a lighting time control circuit for delaying the time until the light emitting element is turned on by 1/4 second is not required, and a low-cost tilt sensor is provided. be able to.

Further, the guide portion is formed so as to protrude from the bottom plate into the housing, and when the movable contact contacts the pair of contact portions, the movable contact becomes the pair of contact portions, the guide portion, and the lid. Because the movement is restricted by the above, even if vibration or the like (for example, the vibration of the arm of the operator wearing the wristwatch shakes due to cold, etc.) is applied to the housing in the inclined state, the movable contact is moved from the pair of contact portions. It is possible to provide a highly accurate tilt sensor that is difficult to separate. Further, when the movable contact is in contact with the pair of contact portions, the movement is limited by the lid and the guide portion, and the movable contact does not wastefully move by contacting one point of the contact portion. Surface wear is reduced, and a long-life tilt sensor can be provided.

Further, the guide portion is formed such that one end is located near the home position and the other end is located near the fixed contact having the pair of contact portions. The movable contact when
A part of the outer periphery of the movable contact abuts on one end of the protruding guide portion to restrict the movement, so that the movable contact can be prevented from jumping out of the home position even when the housing moves freely.

The height of the guide portion protruding from the bottom plate is set such that the height of the other end is higher than the height of the one end,
Since the surface of the guide section is inclined by a predetermined angle, even if the housing freely moves and the movable contact jumps out of the home position and rides on the guide section surface, the movable contact becomes a pair of contact sections due to the inclination of the surface of the guide section. Side movement is restricted.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the movable contact from frequently contacting the pair of contact portions even when the housing moves freely.

Further, the pair of flat contact portions are formed so as to extend along the longitudinal direction of the other side plate of the housing, and the surfaces of the pair of contact portions are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the movable contact.
Since the movable contacts are disposed so as to face each other in a substantially U-shape at a predetermined angle, the movable contacts are held by the substantially U-shaped contact portions, and even if vibration or the like is applied to the housing at this time, Also, it is possible to provide a high-precision tilt sensor in which the movable contact is hard to separate from the pair of contact portions. In addition, the fixed contact having the pair of contact portions can be integrated with the housing by insert molding, so that an inclination sensor that can be easily assembled can be provided.

When the movable contact is at the home position, the movable contact is temporarily held by one end of the guide portion, the bottom plate and the inner surface of one side plate of the housing, and the other side plate side of the housing is fixed to a predetermined position. When tilted downward by an angle, the movable contact rides on one end of the guide portion from the home position, and is guided by the surface of the guide portion to move to the contact portion of the pair of fixed contacts. Even if the movable contact moves freely, the movable contact is temporarily held at the home position, the movement is restricted, and the movable contact can be prevented from jumping out of the home position, and the movable contact frequently contacts the pair of contact portions. Can be prevented. When such a tilt sensor of the present invention is used in a wristwatch, there is no waste in which the light-emitting element is frequently turned on as in the related art, and a lighting time control circuit that delays the time until the light-emitting element is turned on by 1/4 second. Is unnecessary, and a low-cost tilt sensor can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tilt sensor according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the tilt sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of the tilt sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the tilt sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an essential part for explaining the operation of the tilt sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an essential part for explaining the operation of the tilt sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a top view illustrating the operation of the tilt sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional inclination sensor.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a conventional inclination sensor.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional inclination sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Housing 11a Bottom plate 11b-11e Side plate 11f Home position 11g Mounting projection 12 Guide part 12a One end 12b Other end 13 Fixed contact 13a Terminal part 13b Contact part 14 Fixed contact 14a Terminal part 14b Contact part 15 Movable contact 16 Cover

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A housing comprising a bottom plate and a side plate and having a lid mounted thereon, a movable contact having a spherical outer shape movably housed in the housing, and the movable contact being connected to one side of the housing. A temporary position, a fixed contact having a pair of contact portions disposed on the other side of the housing with a gap smaller than the diameter of the movable contact, and the movable contact on a bottom plate of the housing. A guide portion for guiding from a position to the pair of contact portions, wherein the movable contact moves from the home position to the pair of contact portions along the guide portion when the housing is tilted, and contacts the pair of contact portions. A tilt sensor. 2. The guide portion is formed so as to protrude from the bottom plate into the housing, and when the movable contact contacts the pair of contact portions, the movable contact becomes the pair of contact portions, the guide portion, and the lid. The tilt sensor according to claim 1, wherein the movement is restricted by (1) and (2). 3. The guide portion according to claim 1, wherein one end is located near the home position, and the other end is located near a fixed contact having the pair of contact portions. 3. The tilt sensor according to 1 or 2. 4. The height of the guide portion protruding from the bottom plate is such that the height of the other end side is higher than the height of the one end side, and the surface of the guide portion is inclined at a predetermined angle. The tilt sensor according to claim 1, 2 or 3. 5. The pair of flat contact portions are formed so as to extend along the longitudinal direction of the other side plate of the housing, and the surfaces of the pair of contact portions are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the movable contact. 4. The inclination sensor according to claim 1, wherein the inclination sensors are disposed so as to face each other in a substantially C shape at a predetermined angle. 6. When the movable contact is at the home position, the movable contact is temporarily held by one end of the guide portion, the bottom plate, and the inner surface of one side plate of the housing, and the other side plate side of the housing is fixed to a predetermined position. When tilted downward by an angle, the movable contact
2. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: riding on one end of the guide portion from the home position, and moving to a contact portion of the pair of fixed contacts while being guided by a surface of the guide portion.
The tilt sensor according to 2, 3, 4, or 5.