JPS593526Y2 - Knob device with built-in variable resistor - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to an improvement of a knob with a built-in rotary variable resistor.The purpose of this invention is to wrap the entire variable resistor in the knob body to create a reliable dust-proof structure, and to To provide a knob device with a built-in variable resistor, in which components of the resistor can be inserted and arranged around a rod to which a knob body is attached, and the entire knob can be constructed compactly.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a column body that is attached to the steering column of a vehicle. On the left side of the column body 1 in the drawing, there is an operating lever 2 corresponding to a rod that can be rotated in the front and rear directions (in the front and back directions of the drawing in FIG. 1) by a shaft 3. It is centrally supported by

The operating lever 2 is used to operate a wiper switch device (not shown) provided in the column body 1, and its rotational position can be changed from the off position to the three-position lid, and when set to the first operating position. The wiper is driven intermittently, in the second operating position the wiper is operated continuously at a low speed, and in the third operating position the wiper is operated continuously at a high speed.

4 is a knob body attached to the front part of the operating lever 2;
This knob body 4 includes a first fixed knob 5 that is directly fitted to the operating lever 2, a second fixed knob 7 that is attached via a cylindrical body 6 that is fitted to the operating lever 2, and a second fixed knob 7 that is attached to the operating lever 2 via a cylindrical body 6. and a rotary knob 8 rotatably attached to the operating lever 2 so as to be located between the second fixed knobs 5 and 7.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a metal retaining ring which is attached to the tip of the operating lever 2 to prevent the cylindrical body 6 from coming off and which has an integral grounding contact 10; 11 is fitted to the tip of the operating lever 2. A fixed contact piece 12 is attached to this bushing 11.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a push button fitted into the second fixed knob 7 so as to be movable in the axial direction. biased in the direction.

The compression spring 14 is bent so that its winding end on the push button 13 side faces the fixed contact piece 12 to form a movable contact piece 15, and this movable contact piece 15 is electrically connected to the ground contact piece 10. The piece 15 and the fixed contact piece 12 constitute a washer switch.

When the push button 13 is pressed to bring the movable contact piece 15 into contact with the fixed contact piece 12, the washer pump is activated and sprays washer liquid onto the front window.

Now, reference numeral 16 denotes a rotary variable resistor, which is used to adjust the pause time between wiping operations when the wiper is operated intermittently.The detailed structure of the resistor and its attachment to the knob body 4 will be explained below. Let's talk about the structure.

That is, 17 is a plastic substrate having a circular hole 18 in the center, and on this substrate 17, first and second resistance bands 19 and 20 are arranged symmetrically in an annular manner. Terminals 21 and 22 are connected to the mutually corresponding ends of .20.
is connected.

On the other hand, 23 is a plastic holder that also has a circular hole 24 in the center, and a pair of protrusions 25 are integrally provided on one surface of the holder 23, and a substantially annular contact is provided on the other surface. 26 is fixed by riveting the corresponding both sides.

Both sides of the riveted portion of the contact 26 are made to rise gently in a substantially square shape so as to rise above the holder 23, and contact portions 26a and 26b are bulged in the center of both rising portions.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a cylindrical shaft portion which is secured by a plurality of claw pieces integrally protruding from the other surface of the holder 23 with the circular hole 24 at its center. The substrate 17 and the holder 23 are thereby rotatably connected to each other.

In this connected state, the contacts 26 bring their respective contact portions 26 a and 26 b into contact with the first and second resistance bands 19 and 20 by their own elastic force.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a notch formed over a predetermined angular range at the peripheral edge of the substrate 17, and 29 is a protrusion provided on the holder 23 so as to be positioned within the notch 28.
The rotatable range relative to 3 is restricted by these notches 28 and protrusions 29.

The variable resistor 16 configured as described above is housed within the knob body 4 so as to be located between the first fixed knob 5 and the rotary knob 8.

Then, the board 17 is placed in a non-rotatable state, that is, fixedly, by fitting the engagement recess 30 formed in advance on the outer peripheral edge of the board 17 into the locking protrusion 31 protruding from the first fixing knob 5. The holder 23 has a pair of holes 31 (only one shown) in which the pair of protrusions 25 and 25 are formed in advance in the rotation knob 5.
It is arranged so that it rotates integrally with the rotation knob 5 by inserting it into the rotation knob 5.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a well-known moderation mechanism consisting of a ball 33 and a compression spring 34 provided on the side of the rotary knob 5, and a concavo-convex portion 35 formed on the cylindrical body 6; This is for holding the holder 23 at a plurality of rotational positions within the rotational range of the holder 23 relative to the rotation position.

Further, 36 is a lead wire on the ground side connected to the terminal 21 of the one resistance band 19, and 37 is a lead wire on the wiper switch device side connected to the terminal 22 of the other resistance band 20.

When the rotation knob 5 is rotated, the holder 23 rotates together with the rotation, and the contact positions of the contact portions 26 a and 26 b of the contact 26 with respect to the resistance bands 19 and 20 of the substrate 17 change. do.

This position change causes terminals 21.20 of each resistance band 19.20.
Each contact part 26 a of the contact 26 from one end on the 22 side
, 26b changes, so the resistance value of the variable resistor 16 changes, and as a result, when the wiper is operated intermittently, the rest time between wiping operations is controlled, for example, the charging time of the capacitor is changed. It changes.

According to the above configuration, when a push-button type washer switch is provided at the tip of the knob body 4, for example, the operating lever 2 is fixed due to structural requirements such as fixing the fixed contact piece 12 to the tip of the operating lever 2. Even if there is a situation where the entire knob body 4 is vertically penetrated, the substrate 17 and the holder 23 of the variable resistor 16 can be arranged around the operating lever 2.

That is, the conventional variable resistor itself is equipped with a shaft for rotating the holder, and therefore, in order to accommodate it in the knob, the knob must extend further beyond the tip of the operating lever. However, this increases the size of the knob and makes it difficult to provide a washer switch as in this embodiment at the tip of the knob. Become.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, the variable resistor 16 is connected to the substrate 1.
7 and the holder 23 to form a shaftless type, and since the holder 23 is configured to be rotated by the rotation knob 8, the board 17 and the holder 23 can be inserted and arranged around the operating lever 2. Can be done.

Therefore, it is not necessary to extend the knob body 4 further beyond the tip of the operating lever 2, so that the knob body 4 can be configured compactly, and the fixed contact piece 12 is attached to the tip of the operating lever 2, so that the tip of the knob body 4 constitutes a washer switch or the like. becomes possible.

Of course, since the variable resistor 16 is housed within the knob body 4, it can be reliably dust-proofed, and the adhesion of dust or water droplets can be reliably prevented and the variable resistor 16 can function stably over a long period of time.

Note that the holder 23 and the rotation knob 8 may be integrally molded from plastic.

Further, in the above embodiment, the substrate 17 is fixedly arranged and the holder 23 is movably arranged, but conversely, the holder 23 is fixedly arranged and the substrate 17 is arranged movably.
7 may be movably arranged.

Furthermore, there is no functional problem even if the moderation mechanism 32 is not used, and the first fixing knob 5 can be omitted and a disc-shaped member or the like can be fixed to the operating lever 2 instead, and the board 17 can be received by this. good.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings; for example, the knob body may be attached to a rod protruding from the instrument panel, without departing from the gist thereof. It can be implemented with various changes within the range.

As explained above, the present invention enables a reliable dust-proof structure by wrapping the entire variable resistor with the knob body, and also
The components of the variable resistor can be inserted and placed around the rod to which the knob body is attached, making the entire knob body compact, and the structure also makes it possible to attach a switch to the tip of the knob body. It is possible to provide a knob device with a built-in variable resistor that exhibits excellent effects such as:

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a partially sectional front view, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the main part, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a variable resistor. . In the figure, 2 is an operating lever (rod), 4 is a knob body, 8 is a rotary knob, 16 is a variable resistor, 17 is a substrate, 19.20 is a resistance band, 23 is a holder, and 26 is a contact.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A knob body provided at the front end of a rod and having a rotating knob; a substrate that is housed in the knob body so as to be inserted into the rod and has an annular resistance band; and a holder having a contact that slides into contact with the resistance band. a rotating variable resistor, one of the substrate and the holder is fixedly arranged;
A knob device with a built-in variable resistor, characterized in that the other rotary knob is arranged so as to be able to rotate around the rod together with the rotary knob.