JPS58214231A - Liquid resistant electric switch - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Video and electronic games have become widespread and are installed in game arcades, restaurants, etc., and are operated while eating food or drink.

Since the game is played electronically, electrical switches or contacts are essential, and include one or more momentary contact switches operated by the player. The switch used in conventional game machines is such that if spilled food or drink gets inside, it will short out and the game machine will become unusable.

Of course, there are also switches that are completely waterproof. However, such switches are either very expensive or suitable only for light touch applications.

A very expensive waterproof switch is not compatible with economy,
The reason why switches that touch lightly have a short lifespan is that during a game, players get excited and use their hands with force, forcing them to operate the switches forcefully.

The object of the present invention is to provide a momentary contact switch for such an electronic game machine that operates without any trouble even if a drink or the like is spilled on it.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and economical instantaneous electrical appliance for preventing liquid contamination by preventing the ingress of liquid. The purpose is to provide a switch.

In carrying out the foregoing and other objects of the invention, a generally vertically operable pushbutton switch is provided. The switch includes a two-piece snap-fit housing and a vertical pushbutton or actuator. The pushbutton or actuator fits tightly within the housing to prevent ingress of drinks or other liquids. The housing is equipped with a drain hole at the bottom so that any liquid that enters the housing immediately drains away. Additionally, there is an upright isolator around the metal contacts so that there is no possibility of liquid filling high enough to short out the contacts within the housing.

The present invention will be described below with reference to an illustrated embodiment.

Momentary contact switch 10 consists of a two-piece cylindrical housing that includes a tubular body 72 and a base. The tubular body 12 and the base /4' are molded from a suitable plastic and are fitted together to form the housing /6. The tubular body/unit has a shoulder part abutting against the edge of the opening of the panel at the upper end thereof, and a flange/g extending from the outer periphery having a curved outer circumferential surface. The tubular body 7.2 is provided with a male thread (24) on its outer periphery, and is adapted to be fixed to the panel by passing it through an opening in the panel and screwing a nut into the male thread from the lower end.The body may be screwed into a screw hole in the panel. However, it is common to fix it with a nut as shown above.

At the lower end of the body is a smooth cylindrical section 26 with opposed holes 2g.

The base/da of the housing includes a tubular plug 3θ which fits into the tubular body/2 from below and seals the lower end of the tubular body by the floor 3. An overhang 3t protruding from around the lowermost end of the base limits fitting. This base is provided with a pair of opposing Taper claws 36, and the Taper claws 36 forcefully enter the inner surface of the lower cylindrical portion of the body and snap into the hole g.

The base l has a recessed portion 3g in the center. A drain hole IIO is provided adjacent to the periphery of the four parts and passing through the floor 3λ in the axial direction. Above the inner periphery of the recess 3g is an annular step 4'2.
There is a spring seat for the coil spring U.

II6 is a fixed contact that passes through the floor 32 of the base, and its upper end extends to a position slightly above the midpoint of the height of the housing. A hole a is preferably provided at the lower end of this contact 4t4.
g, pass the lead wire through it, and secure it by soldering or other means. Contact 4 (A) is made of metal that is a good electrical conductor and has a certain degree of elasticity.

The metal must be corrosion resistant to make good electrical contact and to prevent arcing, surface corrosion, etc.
Preferably, it is provided with a corrosion-resistant coating.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a movable contact that passes through the floor 32 apart from the fixed contacts qq, and has a cherry blossom viewing point at its lower end to which a lead wire is attached. The upward length of the contact SO is longer than the contact part, and the upper part thereof is provided with a dogleg-shaped bent part consisting of a lower piece 1+ and an upper piece g, with the fixed contact facing B, and a dogleg-shaped bent part on the apex AI of the dogleg-shaped bent part. has an upper end piece O bent in approximately the same direction as the lower piece 1+, and the upper end piece 60 is above the upper end of the fixed contact point O. The electrical and physical characteristics and requirements of the movable contact O are essentially the same as the fixed contact l16.

Floor 3.2 and integral protrusions 6.2 and 6 contact points q6 and rso
In other words, each contact point which protrudes upward from the bottom surface 66 of the four central portions is surrounded by the protrusion 62 and the part above the bottom surface 6L of the recessed portion 3g. Therefore, even if liquid remains on the bottom surface after liquid has entered the switch and flowed out from the drain hole 0, the contacts will not be short-circuited.

In this way, the protrusion is not made to protrude from each contact point, but as shown in Fig. 2A, there is one slightly larger protrusion 6 upward from the bottom surface A6 of the fourth part.
It is also possible to provide a raised groove and pass both contacts through it. However, if there are protrusions A2 and A'l for each contact as shown in Figure 2,
The advantage is that even if liquid straddles only one of the contacts '14 and 10, the liquid will flow down from the contact to the protrusion, and both protrusions form an escape route for the liquid. Furthermore, liquid may flow away from the upper surface of the protrusion more effectively from the upper surface of each of the two smaller protrusions than from the large upper surface of a single protrusion.

The switch 10 is completed by a pushbutton or actuator 70. This actuator is generally cap-shaped having a cylindrical wall 72 and a top wall 74t whose upper surface 76 is generally concave to prevent fingers from slipping during operation.

On the inner periphery of the lower end of the cylindrical wall 72, there is a spring seat 7g for the upper end of the coil spring so that the coil can be pushed up by the spring lI'x. The outer periphery of the lower end has an upwardly facing shoulder go, which cooperates with a complementary seat g2 on the inner periphery of the tubular body/yu to serve as a stopper when pushed up by the spring culm. When the actuator 10 (FIG. 2) is at its highest point, the lower surface of the cylindrical wall 7 is vertically separated above the upper surface of the cylinder wall 7.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer diameter of the cylindrical wall 72 of the actuator is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the tubular body saw. Axial lips tg protrude from the outer periphery of the cylindrical wall at intervals in the circumferential direction, and contact the inner periphery of the tubular body saw below the collar/g. This is to reduce the contact area between the actuator and the housing to reduce friction.

An operating member 90 having 9 hollow blind holes depends from the top wall 7 of the pushbutton. This operating member? 0 has a tapered wall and a circular nose 96 at the lower end.

In the switch OFF position shown in FIG. 2, the circular nose q6 and the tapered wall contact the inclined upper end piece 60 of the movable contact.

To turn on the switch, simply push down the actuator 70 to bring it into the state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The lower surface glI of the actuator abuts against the upper surface g6 of the base, providing a positive stop that does not give a spongy feel to the operator's fingers. During this movement, the upper end piece 60 of the movable contact O is the operating member. Tapered surface of θ? q
It gradually bends to the left. As a result, the bent end of the dogleg-shaped bent portion comes into contact with the upper part of the fixed contact point 6, and the fixed contact point 6 is also slightly bent. The portions of each contact point above the upper surface of the protrusions A2 and 44< are bent. Thus, the mutually contacting portions of each contact move in an arc around different rotation axes.

As a result, the bending point of the movable contact AO is 6
The contact surface of both contacts is kept clean and the best and reliable conductivity is ensured.

On the lower surface of the top wall 71I of the actuator, one or more radial grooves are provided extending between the cylindrical wall 7U and the operating member 90. This prevents the top wall of the actuator from bending when the operator touches it with his or her finger.
Also, the operating parts? It is also possible to reliably prevent the operating member 90 from bending when O contacts the movable contact.

Assembly of the switch IO is very simple. Insert the actuator 70 into the tubular body /2 from below, then insert the spring U, and finally push in the base /4' to fit the taper claw 36 into the hole 2.
All you have to do is snap it into place. Contact q6
With the exception of and SO, the entire structure is symmetrical around the axis of the switch, so for large machines or machines assembling switch parts, there is no need for anything other than aligning the taper pawl 36 with the hole 2g. does not require special attention to rotational positioning. Even this slight alignment of the solder can be simplified by providing holes 2g if desired.

Fixing the switch is also easy. Insert into the panel opening,
Simply screw in the nut from the other side to hold the switch. If a drink or other liquid spills on the switch and seeps into the switch, it will quickly flow out of the drain hole YO, leaving almost no liquid inside the switch, which can easily short out the contacts and damage them. state. protrusion&
2 and 6tf further act to prevent damage to the contacts, but it is clear that the rubbing action of the contact area of the contacts wipes away the liquid, and furthermore, since there is no pivot connection, the liquid will not be able to reach the switch. It is possible to reliably prevent the pivoting action from being inhibited due to the accumulation of residues brought inside. Drain hole 1
10 also allows air to enter and exit.

Videos and other electronic games are generally used under less bright lighting. Therefore, it is advisable to provide lighting inside the switch to make it easier to locate the switch. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment for this purpose, and since most of the parts of this embodiment are as described above, they are designated by the numeral a and their explanation will be omitted.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, a suitable light source 100, shown as a light emitting diode, connects its leads 10:1 and 10 to contacts 6.
α and ';Oa are connected by soldering, brazing, welding, etc. The light source may be other sources, including incandescent light bulbs. The actuator 3'70α is made of transparent plastic. The plastic may be transparent or translucent. The tubular body may also be formed of transparent plastic or the like, if desired.

The light source 100 is conductive and emits light whenever the contacts t6α and 0α are OFF. When the contact is turned on, the light goes out, which may be advantageous to the athlete since it indicates to the athlete that contact is being made. This is also advantageous for the repairman adjusting the machine, since if there is an unlit pushbutton, this can be a clue to finding a fault.

If necessary, the light source can be left on all the time, or it can be made to illuminate only when a button is pressed, by adding or changing the wiring to do so.

One drain hole is considered sufficient, but more may be provided if necessary.

Although the present invention has been explained and explained above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown here.
In accordance with the technical idea described in the claims, various designs can be changed and implemented.

, 4. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the switch of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the switch of the present invention.
The figure is a vertical cross-sectional view of the same OFF state as above, and FIG. 2A is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention, which is a partially modified version of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the switch turned ON from the state shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of the present invention in which a light source is incorporated into the switch. , qo is a drain hole, 4'A I ''; o is a contact, and 70 is an actuator.

Patent Applicant: Illinois Tool Works Incorporated

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] (1) having a housing, an actuator projectable from the housing, and an electrical connection within the housing projecting from the housing, and operable by the actuator between conductive and non-conductive conditions. The contact point to be
A liquid-resistant electrical switch including a device for draining liquid from a nozzle. (2. The liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim (1), wherein the drainage device includes a hole provided at the bottom of the nozzle. (3) Claim (1) or ( 2) The liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim 1, wherein the actuator includes a push button movably mounted in the /1 housing. (4) The liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim (1), a liquid-resistant electrical switch, the housing including means for mounting the switch on a support; (5) a generally cylindrical housing having an open top and a closed bottom; an actuator movable in the axial direction of the housing; , a contact arrangement including a pair of contacts extending upwardly from the bottom of the housing to proximate the actuator and having a portion extending to the exterior of the housing to form an electrical connection to the housing; and contacts are operatively interconnected to move the contacts from an open position to a closed position to a return position, and the housing further includes a liquid-tight device at the bottom of the housing for evacuation of liquid from within the housing. (6) The liquid-resistant electrical switch of claim (5), wherein the drainage device includes a hole in the bottom of the housing. (7) The liquid-resistant electrical switch of claim (5). on the switch
□ At least one of the contacts is offset from the center of the switch, and when the actuator is depressed, the other one of the contacts is deflected to contact the contact that is offset from the center. (8) In the liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim (7), both of the contacts are offset from the center of the switch, and the actuator includes an axially tapered operating member that can come into contact with one of the contacts. A liquid-tight electrical switch, wherein the contact of said function is deflected relative to said first-mentioned contact. (9) The liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim (8), wherein the other one of the contacts has an offset portion that can come into contact with the first-mentioned contact; a liquid-resistant electrical switch having a portion extending above the offset portion and contactable by a tapered operating member on the actuator; (1α) A liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim (5), wherein the housing includes two members, both of which have a snap-fit device for holding them in assembled relationship. The liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim (5), further comprising a protruding device projecting upwardly from the bottom of the housing and surrounding a portion of the contact above the bottom of the housing. In rangeen's liquid-resistant electrical switches,
The protrusion device is a liquid-resistant electrical switch that includes two protrusions each surrounding a contact. Q3 A liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim αD, in which the protrusion device includes one protrusion surrounding both contacts. A liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim 1 or claim 5, further comprising an electrical light source in the housing and a device for transmitting light from the light source to the outside of the switch. . α9 Claims (A liquid-resistant electrical switch according to No. 141, in which at least one of the housing and the actuator is translucent. αe Claims α In the liquid-resistant electrical switch according to No. 141, the light source is a contact device. 0?) A liquid-resistant electrical switch according to claim 0FA, wherein the light source is conductive when the contact device is in a non-conducting state.