WO2020152975A1

WO2020152975A1 - Switch and operating device

Info

Publication number: WO2020152975A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/046061
Authority: WO
Inventors: 一文尾▲崎▼
Original assignee: オムロン株式会社
Priority date: 2019-01-23
Filing date: 2019-11-26
Publication date: 2020-07-30
Also published as: TWI703598B; JP7047787B2; TW202029242A; JP2020119719A

Abstract

Provided are: a switch that uses an optical contact and is capable of preventing complication of a manufacturing process; and an operating device. The present invention is applied as a switch 2 and an operating device 1 provided with the switch 2, the switch 2 being provided with: optical contacts 23; a pivoting movable member 27; a pressing member 21 that receives pressing from the outside to press the movable member 27; and optical contact terminals 24 electrically connected to the optical contacts 23, wherein a circuit is opened/closed by the switch 2 by shielding/transmitting light of the optical contacts 23 using the pivoting of the movable member 27 accompanying the pressing by the pressing member 21. The optical contacts 23 of the switch 2 are formed as a surface mounted chip and are mounted on the surfaces of the optical contact terminals 24.

Description

Switches and operating devices

The present invention relates to a switch that opens/closes a circuit by blocking/transmitting light from an optical contact, and an operating device using such a switch.

As an input device to electronic equipment such as a computer, an operation device such as a mouse equipped with a switch such as a micro switch is widely used. In particular, in recent years, various characteristics are required for a mouse used for a computer game called esports. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a microswitch applicable as a mouse switch. The microswitch disclosed in Patent Document 1 has an LED and a PT mounted on a substrate, and as a switch, the light emitted from the LED and received by the PT is shielded by vertically moving a light transmission column. Function. A switch using an optical contact such as an LED and a PT has been receiving attention.

Chinese Patent Application Publication No. 106849929

However, since the switch using the optical contact is manufactured by mounting the LED and PT formed as axial parts on the substrate, there is a problem that the assembly process may be complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its main object is to provide a switch capable of preventing the manufacturing process from becoming complicated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating device using such a switch.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a switch according to the present application is configured such that an optical contact, a movable member whose second end side swings with a first end side as a swing fulcrum, and a movable member which receives a pressure from the outside A pressing member for pressing and an optical contact terminal electrically connected to the optical contact are provided, and by blocking/transmitting light of the optical contact by rocking of the movable member accompanying pressing by the pressing member, A switch for opening and closing a circuit, characterized in that the optical contact is formed as a surface mount chip and is surface-mounted on the optical contact terminal.

In addition, in the switch, the optical contact terminal is characterized in that a recess is formed in which the optical contact is mounted for surface mounting.

In addition, in the switch, the optical contact is mounted so as to pass between a plurality of optical contact terminals.

In the switch, the optical contact terminal is moved from the first position to the second position by being pressed from the outside, and when the pressing member is located at the first position, the movable member is not pressed. Is characterized by having a first contact portion with which the second end side of is abutted.

Further, in the switch, the optical contact terminal is moved from the first position to the second position by being pressed from the outside, and when the pressing member is located at the second position, It is characterized by having a second contact portion with which the second end side abuts.

Furthermore, the operating device according to the present application includes a pressing operation unit that receives a pressing operation from the outside, and the switch that transmits the pressing operation received by the pressing operation unit as pressing from the outside. It is characterized in that it outputs a signal based on the blocking/transmission of light from the optical contact.

The switches and operating devices described in this application prevent the manufacturing process from becoming complicated.

In the switch and the operating device according to the present invention, the optical contact formed as a surface mount chip is surface-mounted on the optical contact terminal. This has excellent effects such as preventing the manufacturing process from becoming complicated.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows an example of the external appearance of the operating device described in this application. It is a schematic perspective view which shows an example of the external appearance of the switch of this application. It is a schematic disassembled perspective view which shows an example of the switch of this application. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the cross section of the switch of this application. It is a schematic perspective view which shows an example of the optical contact and optical contact terminal with which the switch of this application is provided. It is a schematic enlarged view which expands and shows some examples of an optical contact and an optical contact terminal with which the switch of this application is provided. It is a schematic enlarged view which expands and shows some examples of an optical contact and an optical contact terminal with which the switch of this application is provided. It is a schematic enlarged view which expands and shows a part of example of internal structure of the switch of this application. It is a schematic enlarged view which expands and shows a part of example of internal structure of the switch of this application.

<Application example>
The operating device described in the present application is used, for example, as an operating device such as a mouse used for operating a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer). Further, the switch described in the present application is used as a microswitch in various electronic devices and the like including an operating device. Hereinafter, the operating device 1 and the switch 2 illustrated in the drawings will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Operating device 1>
First, the operating device 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the external appearance of the operating device 1 described in the present application. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the operating device 1 described in the present application is applied to a mouse used for operating an electronic device such as a personal computer. The operation device 1 includes a pressing operation unit 10 such as a mouse button that receives an operation that is pressed by an operator's finger, and a rotation operation unit 11 such as a mouse wheel that receives an operation that is rotated by the operator's finger. .. The rotating operation unit 11 is configured to receive not only the rotating operation but also the pressing operation, and also functions as the pressing operation unit 10. Further, the operation device 1 is connected with a signal line 12 for outputting an electric signal to an external device such as a personal computer. The operation device 1 is not limited to wired communication using the signal line 12, but can output an electric signal by various communication methods such as wireless communication.

Inside the operation device 1, a switch 2 to be described later is housed for each of the pressing operation unit 10 and the rotating operation unit 11, and when the pressing operation unit 10 is pressed, the pressing operation unit 10 is operated. The internal part presses the corresponding switch 2. The switch 2 outputs a signal based on the pressed state from the signal line 12 to an external electronic device such as a personal computer.

That is, the operating device 1 described in the present application includes a push-down operating unit 10 that receives a push-down operation from the outside, a turning operation unit 11 that receives an operation such as a turning operation, and further includes a switch 2 inside. Then, the operation device 1 transmits the pressing operation received by the pressing operation unit 10 and/or the rotating operation unit 11 to the switch 2 as an external pressing, and outputs a signal based on the operation of the switch 2 to an external electronic device. To do.

<Switch 2>
Next, the switch 2 described in the present application will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the switch 2 described in the present application. In the specification of the present application, the direction of the switch 2 is expressed as front on the left front side, rear on the right rear side, upward on the top, and downward on the bottom in FIG. The mounting direction of the switch 2 is not limited. As described above, the switch 2 is accommodated as a micro switch inside an electronic device such as the operating device 1, and receives a pressing operation received by a portion such as the pressing operation unit 10 of the operating device 1 as external pressing.

The switch 2 includes a housing 20 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 20 is formed of a lower base 20a and an upper cover 20b. A rectangular insertion hole 200 through which the pressing member 21 is inserted is formed on the upper surface of the housing 20 at a position to the left of the center when viewed from the front. The pressing member 21 inserted into the insertion hole 200 is a member that receives a pressure from the outside of the housing 20 and moves up and down in a range from an upper first position to a lower second position. The upper end of the pressing member 21 projects from the upper surface of the.

Further, from the bottom surface of the housing 20, one connection terminal 22 for fixing the switch 2 to an external member such as a board and an optical contact 23 (see FIG. 3 and the like) housed in the housing 20 to be described later are provided. The four extended optical contact terminals 24 are projected. The connection terminal 22 projects downward from the left end side of the lower surface of the switch 2. As the optical contact terminal 24, the first optical contact terminal 240, the second optical contact terminal 241, the third optical contact terminal 242, and the fourth optical contact terminal 243 are arranged in this order from near the center of the lower surface of the switch 2 to the right end side. I'm out.

With the switch 2 thus formed, the pressing operation from the outside received by the operating device 1 is transmitted to the pressing member 21 as the pressing from the outside of the housing 20. The pressing member 21 moves from the upper first position to the lower second position in response to the external pressure, and when the external pressure is released, moves from the lower second position to the upper first position. Moving.

Next, the internal structure of the switch 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing an example of the switch 2 described in the present application. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a cross section of the switch 2 described in the present application. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the optical contact 23 and the optical contact terminal 24 included in the switch 2 described in the present application. FIG. 4 shows a cross section taken along a vertical plane including the line segment AB shown in FIG. 2 from a front view. In FIG. 4, a part of the internal structure of the switch 2 surrounded by a broken line circle is shown in an enlarged manner. FIG. 5 shows the optical contact 23 and the optical contact terminal 24 from a front obliquely right upper side.

An area as a contact room for accommodating a contact mechanism that opens and closes an electric circuit is secured in the housing 20 of the switch 2. An insertion hole 200 penetrating from the outside of the housing 20 is formed in the upper surface of the contact chamber, and the pressing member 21 is inserted in the insertion hole 200.

Explain the contact mechanism housed in the contact room. In the contact chamber of the housing 20, a first locking piece 25, a second locking piece 26, and a movable member 27 are accommodated as a contact mechanism in addition to the above-described optical contact 23. The optical contact 23 is disposed side by side as a light emitting chip 230 and a light receiving chip 231 on the lower right side of the contact chamber. The first locking piece 25 is arranged on the left side in the contact room, and the second locking piece 26 is arranged near the center of the contact room. The first locking piece 25, the second locking piece 26, and the connection terminal 22 below the housing 20 are integrally molded. The movable member 27 is arranged so as to extend to the left and right in the contact point chamber, and is locked by the first locking piece 25 and the second locking piece 26.

The optical contact 23 includes a light emitting chip 230 that emits light and a light receiving chip 231 that receives the light emitted from the light emitting chip 230. The light emitting chip 230 of the optical contact 23 is formed as a surface mount chip using a light emitting element 230a such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The light receiving chip 231 of the optical contact 23 is formed as a surface mount chip using a light receiving element 231a such as a PD (Photo Diode) or a PT (Photo Transistor). The light emitting chip 230 has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, a part of the side surface thereof projects into a flat semicircular shape, and the light emitting element 230a is incorporated in the projecting portion. The light receiving chip 231 has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, a part of the side surface thereof projects into a flat semicircular shape, and the light receiving element 231a is incorporated in the projecting portion. The light emitting element 230a of the light emitting chip 230 and the light receiving element 231a of the light receiving chip 231 are arranged so as to face each other so that the light emitting chip 230 receives the light emitted from the light emitting chip 230.

The light emitting chip 230 of the optical contact 23 passes between the first optical contact terminal 240 and the second optical contact terminal 241 arranged on the left side of the optical contact terminal 24 so as to pass between the first optical contact terminal 240 and the second optical contact terminal 240. 2 Surface-mounted on the optical contact terminal 241. The light receiving chip 231 of the optical contact 23 passes between the third optical contact terminal 242 and the fourth optical contact terminal 243 disposed on the right side of the optical contact terminal 24 so as to pass between the third optical contact terminal 242 and the fourth optical contact terminal 242. 4 Surface-mounted on the optical contact terminal 243.

6A and 6B are schematic enlarged views showing a part of an example of the optical contact 23 and the optical contact terminal 24 included in the switch 2 described in the present application. FIG. 6A is a schematic perspective view showing, in an enlarged manner, the mounting location of the light receiving chip 231 of the optical contact 23 mounted on the third optical contact terminal 242 and the fourth optical contact terminal 243, and FIG. It is a schematic side view shown from the viewpoint. For convenience of drawing, FIGS. 6A and 6B are illustrated so that the upper direction is on the left side of the drawing. The third optical contact terminal 242 and the fourth optical contact terminal 243 are provided with a recess 24a for mounting the light receiving chip 231, and the light receiving chip 231 includes the third optical contact terminal 242 and the fourth optical contact terminal. It is surface-mounted in a state of being mounted in the recess 24a of 243. The same applies to the first optical contact terminal 240 and the second optical contact terminal 241 that surface-mount the light emitting chip 230, and the recess 24a for surface mounting the light emitting chip 230 in a mounted state is formed. By forming the recess 24a in the optical contact terminal 24 and mounting the optical contact 23 in the recess 24a for surface mounting, positioning at the time of surface mounting is facilitated and the thickness in the front-back direction of the mounting portion is reduced. Is possible.

Returning to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the optical contact terminal 24 will be further described. The upper part of the fourth optical contact terminal 243 extends upward and is bent in the shape of an arm to the left, and protrudes up to near the upper part of the first optical contact terminal 240 and the second optical contact terminal 241. The first contact portion 243a is bent forward and contacts the movable contact portion 270 on the right end side of the movable member 27. The upper portion of the first optical contact terminal 240 projects upward, and the projecting portion is bent forward to form a second contact portion 240a against which the movable contact portion 270 of the movable member 27 abuts. The movable member 27 is arranged such that the movable contact portion 270 on the right end side is inserted between the first contact portion 243a and the second contact portion 240a. When the movable member 27 is not pressed by the pressing member 21, the movable member 27 contacts the first contact portion 243a from below, and when pressed, contacts the second contact portion 240a from above. Contact.

By energizing the light emitting chip 230 through the first optical contact terminal 240 and the second optical contact terminal 241, the light emitting element 230a of the light emitting chip 230 emits light. The light receiving element 231a of the light receiving chip 231 changes the energization state when detecting light, and therefore outputs an ON signal based on the change in the energization state due to light reception from the third optical contact terminal 242 and the fourth optical contact terminal 243.

The movable member 27 is a member made of a metal such as SUS and having a plate shape extending in the left-right direction in the contact room. The left end side of the movable member 27 is a fixed end that is locked by the first locking piece 25 and functions as a swing fulcrum 271. The right end side of the movable member 27 is a movable contact portion 270 that moves as a free end between the first contact portion 243a and the second contact portion 240a. Further, the right end side of the movable member 27 is a light shielding piece 272 having a substantially rectangular shape bent downward from the movable contact portion 270. The light-shielding piece 272 is formed so that the normal direction is the left-right direction, and a substantially rectangular transmission window 273 through which the light of the optical contact 23 is transmitted is provided. The light-shielding piece 272 is located on the right side of the light emitting chip 230 of the optical contact 23 and on the left side of the light receiving chip 231 of the optical contact 23 in a state of being separated from the light emitting chip 230 and the light receiving chip 231. It is located so as to enter between the chips 231. The movable member 27 is formed with a biasing portion 274 that functions as a return spring that is punched out in the vicinity of the center and bent in an arc shape. The tip of the biasing portion 274 is formed near the center of the contact chamber. It is locked to the second locking piece 26. The urging portion 274 produces a reaction force against the pressing of the pressing member 21.

In the contact mechanism configured as described above, the pressing member 21 receives a pressure from the outside, moves downward, and presses the movable member 27. When the movable member 27 is pressed down, the movable contact portion 270 on the right end side which is the free end of the movable member 27 is lowered, and the movable contact portion 270 abuts the second contact portion 240a of the first optical contact terminal 240. When the movable contact portion 270 of the movable member 27 made of metal hits the second contact portion 240a of the first optical contact terminal 240 made of metal so as to collide with the movable contact portion 270, a metallic sound is generated. The user recognizes a metallic sound generated by the movable member 27 hitting the optical contact terminal 24 as a click sound. Further, when the right end side of the movable member 27 is lowered, the light shielding piece 272 of the movable member 27 is lowered, the light of the optical contact 23 is transmitted through the transmission window 273 provided in the light shielding piece 272 of the movable member 27, and the circuit is closed. Then, the ON signal is output to the external electronic device.

When the pressing of the pressing member 21 is released, the movable member 27 is biased upward by the reaction force of the biasing portion 274. When the movable member 27 is biased upward, the pressing member 21 moves upward. Further, the movable member 27 is urged upward by the urging portion 274, so that the movable contact portion 270 located on the right end side of the movable member 27 rises and the first contact portion 243 a of the fourth optical contact terminal 243. Hit Further, when the right end side of the movable member 27 rises, the light shielding piece 272 of the movable member 27 rises, the light of the optical contact 23 is blocked by the light shielding piece 272, and the circuit is turned off.

The opening and closing of the circuit by the optical contact 23, the optical contact terminal 24 and the movable member 27 will be further described. 7A and 7B are schematic enlarged views showing an enlarged part of an example of the internal structure of the switch 2 described in the present application. 7A and 7B are enlarged schematic perspective views showing the vicinity of the light shielding piece 272 of the movable member 27. In FIG. 7A, the pressing member 21 is located at the first position, and the pressing by the pressing member 21 is released. 7B shows an off state in which the circuit is opened, and FIG. 7B shows an on state in which the pressing member 21 is located at the second position and the pressing member 21 presses to close the circuit.

When the pressing of the pressing member 21 is released, as shown in FIG. 7A, the light shielding piece 272 of the movable member 27 is raised, and the transmission window 273 of the light shielding piece 272 is changed from the light emitting element 230a of the light emitting chip 230 to the light receiving chip. 231 is out of the optical path leading to the light receiving element 231a. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting element 230a of the light emitting chip 230 is blocked by the light blocking piece 272 of the movable member 27, and does not reach the light receiving element 231a of the light receiving chip 231, and the circuit is in an open off state. Become.

When the pressing member 21 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 7B, the light blocking piece 272 of the movable member 27 is lowered, and the optical path from the light emitting element 230a of the light emitting chip 230 to the light receiving element 231a of the light receiving chip 231 is set to the light blocking piece 272. It will pass through the opened transparent window 273. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting element 230a of the light emitting chip 230 passes through the transparent window 273 formed in the light shielding piece 272 of the movable member 27, reaches the light receiving element 231a of the light receiving chip 231, and the circuit is closed. Turned on.

In manufacturing the switch 2 of the present invention having the above-described configuration, for example, one conductive metal plate is press-molded by punching or the like to form one connection terminal 22 and four optical contacts. Punch the terminal 24 prototype. Further, the connection terminal 22 and the optical contact terminal 24 are molded by press molding such as flange processing on the stamped connection terminal 22 and the optical contact terminal 24. Then, the optical contact 23 is surface-mounted on the optical contact terminal 24, molded including the pressing member 21 and the movable member 27, and housed in the housing 20 to form the switch 2. Then, the formed switch 2 is incorporated, and the operating device 1 is completed.

As described above, in the switch 2 described in the present application, since the optical contact 23 formed as the surface mount chip is surface-mounted on the optical contact terminal 24, it is possible to prevent the manufacturing process from becoming complicated, With this, it is possible to expect cost reduction, and it is possible to achieve excellent effects. Further, the switch 2 described in the present application can be easily miniaturized by mounting it as a surface mounting chip. Further, when the optical contact 23 is surface-mounted on the optical contact terminal 24, the manufacturer of the switch 2 can manage the steps from the formation of the optical contact 23 to the surface mounting and further the formation of the switch 2 by molding. Therefore, it is possible for the manufacturer of the switch 2 to integrally control the quality of the optical contact 23 serving as a sensor and the operating mechanism, suppress variations in operating characteristics, and stabilize the quality. The stabilization of the quality by suppressing the variation in the operating characteristics can be expected to speed up the output. The switch 2 having such stable quality is most suitable for the operating device 1 such as a mouse for esports.

Further, in the switch 2 described in the present application, the optical contact terminal 24 is formed with the concave portion 24a for mounting the optical contact 23. Therefore, the positioning at the time of surface mounting is easy, and the size at the time of mounting is reduced. It is possible to reduce the size.

Further, in the switch 2 described in the present application, the metal movable member 27 hits the metal optical contact terminal 24 to generate a metal sound when the mouse is pressed on the pressing operation unit 10. This allows the user to recognize the generated metallic sound as a pleasant click sound.

Further, in the switch 2 described in the present application, the movable contact portion 270 located on the right end side of the movable member 27 operates between the first contact portion 243a and the second contact portion 240a of the optical contact terminal 24. As a result, the operation range of the movable contact portion 270 of the movable member 27 is limited, and, for example, the warp of the movable member 27 can be suppressed, and the operation can be stabilized, which is an excellent effect.

The present invention is not limited to each of the embodiments described above, and can be applied to various other forms. Therefore, the embodiments described above are merely examples in all respects, and should not be limitedly interpreted. The technical scope of the present invention is described by the scope of the claims and is not bound by the text of the specification. Furthermore, all modifications and changes belonging to the equivalent scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the form of the transmission type optical contact 23 in which the light emitted from one circuit is received by the other circuit is shown as the optical contact 23, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the reflection is not limited thereto. It can be developed in various forms, such as using a mold optical contact 23.

1 Operation Device 2 Switch 20 Housing 21 Pressing Member 22 Connection Terminal 23 Optical Contact 230 Light-Emitting Chip 230a Light-Emitting Element 231 Light-Receiving Chip 231a Light-Receiving Element 24 Optical Contact Terminal 24a Recess 240 First Optical Contact Terminal 240a Second Contact Part 241 Second Optical contact terminal 242 Third optical contact terminal 243 Fourth optical contact terminal 243a First contact portion 27 Movable member 270 Movable contact portion 271 Swing fulcrum 272 Light-shielding piece 273 Transparent window

Claims

An optical contact, a movable member whose second end side swings around the first end side as a swing fulcrum, a pressing member which presses the movable member in response to external pressure, and is electrically connected to the optical contact. A switch for opening and closing a circuit by blocking/transmitting light from the optical contact by swinging of the movable member accompanied by pressing by the pressing member,
The optical contact is
It is formed as a surface mount chip,
A switch, which is surface-mounted on the optical contact terminal.
The switch according to claim 1, wherein
The optical contact terminal,
A switch having a recess for mounting the optical contact so as to be surface-mounted.
The switch according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The switch is characterized in that the optical contact is placed so as to pass between a plurality of optical contact terminals.
The switch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:
The optical contact terminal,
When the pressing member that moves from the first position to the second position by being pressed by the outside is located at the first position, the first contact portion against which the second end side of the unmoved movable member contacts A switch characterized by having.
The switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein:
The optical contact terminal,
When the pressing member that moves from the first position to the second position by being pressed by the outside is located at the second position, the pressing member has a second contact portion with which the second end side of the pressed movable member abuts. A switch characterized by that.
A pressing operation unit that receives pressing operation from the outside,
The switch according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the press operation received by the press operation unit is transmitted as an external press.
An operating device, which outputs a signal based on light blocking/transmitting of the optical contact provided in the switch.