JPH11120862A - Push-button switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent operation buttons from interfering with a case, and perform smooth switch operation by supporting the sides of the operation buttons mutually facing opposite on a frame via support pieces, and integrally forming the whole. SOLUTION: For an operation button 5a of a push-button switch, its mutually opposite front and rear sides are connected to support pieces 9 and 10 via connecting pieces 8. The respective support pieces 9 and 10 extend in the opposite side directions from the left and right, and its tips are respectively connected to an intermediate part 6b and an outer frame part 6a. When the operation button 5a or 5c is depressed, the front support piece 9 deflects downward with an outer frame part 6b as a support point, and the rear support piece 10 deflects downward with an outer frame part 6a as a support point, and an operation piece 12 turns on a switch 4 operated intermittently according to process time. In this way, since the respective operation buttons 5a to 5d are respectively supported by the two support pieces 9 and 10 via opposite side connecting parts, the operation buttons 5a to 5d lower without inclining, and do not make contact with an upper plate 1a of a case.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button switch used for operating a vehicle-mounted device or the like, and more particularly to an improvement of an operation knob for operating a tact switch provided on a wiring board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an operation knob of a push button switch of this type, there is one having a structure as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-267373). 5 and 6, a wiring board 2 is mounted on the bottom of the case 1 by mounting screws 3, and a rubber tact switch 4 is provided on the upper surface of the wiring board 2.

The operation knob member A has a structure in which an elastic support piece 20 is formed on one side of the operation button 5 and a coupling hole 11 is formed in the support piece 20. An operation piece 12 is formed on the lower surface of the operation button 5.

A window 13 is formed in the upper plate 1a of the case 1, and the operation button 5 is fitted into the window 13 with a predetermined clearance. Further, a projection 14 corresponding to the coupling hole 11 is formed on the back surface of the upper plate 1a, and the coupling hole 11 is fitted into the projection 14, whereby the operation knob A
Has a structure elastically supported by the upper plate 1a via the support pieces 20. At this time, the operation piece 12 is in contact with each tact switch 4.

When the operation button 5 is pressed, the support piece 20 bends downward, and the operation piece 12 turns on the tact switch 4. When the operation button 5 is released, the support piece 20 returns to its original position due to the restoring force due to the elasticity of the support piece 20. Then, the tact switch 4 is turned off.

[0006]

In the conventional push button switch, since the support piece 20 is formed only on one side of the operation button 5, when the operation button 5 is pressed, the operation button 5 is fitted to the projection 14. There is a problem that the operation button 5 descends in a tilted state, and the operation button 5 interferes with the upper plate 1a of the case 1 so that a smooth switch operation cannot be performed. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a push button switch in which an operation button does not interfere with a case and enables a smooth switch operation.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an operation knob member having an operation button elastically supported on a frame is attached to a case, and the operation button is pressed. Wherein the opposing sides of the operation button are supported by the frame via a support piece and are integrally formed as a whole. .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the operation button is supported by the two support pieces from opposite sides, when the operation button is pressed, the operation button descends without tilting. The button does not interfere with the case, and the switch can be operated smoothly. In addition, the push button switch can be manufactured by integral molding, so that it is easy to manufacture.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the push button switch according to the first aspect, wherein the support piece has one end connected to opposing front and rear sides of the operation button, and the other end has the other end. Extends from the left and right of the operation button in the direction of the opposite side,
The tip is connected to the frame.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to increase the elastic force by lengthening the support piece without increasing the shape of the frame by utilizing the space on both sides of the operation button.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the push button switch according to the first aspect, one end of the support piece is connected to opposing sides of the operation button, and the other end is connected to these sides. And a zigzag bent portion is formed in the middle of the frame.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the support piece is extended by the zigzag bent portion without using the space before and after the operation button to increase the shape of the frame to increase the elastic force. Becomes possible.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the push button switch according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein:
The frame has a structure in which an intermediate portion is formed in the middle of an outer frame portion, and a plurality of the operation buttons and support pieces are formed in a portion surrounded by the outer frame portion and the intermediate portion. It is assumed that.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to form a plurality of arbitrary operation buttons in one frame.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same members or those having the same functions as those in FIGS. 5 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a push button switch according to the present invention. 1 and 2,
A wiring board 2 is attached to the bottom of the case 1 with mounting screws 3, and a rubber tact switch 4 is provided on an upper surface of the wiring board 2. The operation knob member A is attached to the case 1 as follows.

The operation knob member A has four operation buttons 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d connected to a frame 6 composed of a rectangular outer frame 6a and an intermediate portion 6b as follows. , Formed by integral molding of elastic plastic.

The upper left operation button 5a in FIG. 1 has front and rear (left and right in FIG.
Are connected to the support pieces 9 and 10 via the. The support pieces 9 and 10 are left and right of the operation button 5a (up and down in FIG. 1).
Extending in the direction of the opposite side from the middle portion 6
b and the outer frame 6a. The upper right operation button 5b is the operation button 5a in that the front support piece 9 is connected to the outer frame 6a and the rear support piece 10 is connected to the middle part 6b.
In other respects, the rest is the same as the connection structure of the operation buttons 5a.

The operation button 5c is the operation button 5a.
The operation button 5d has the same connection structure as the operation button 5b.

The outer frame portion 6a and the intermediate portion 6b are each provided with coupling holes 11 at two locations, each at two locations. An operation piece 12 is formed on the lower surface (in FIG. 2) of each of the operation buttons 5a to 5d.

The operation knob member A is attached to the case 1 as follows. That is, a window hole 13 is formed in the upper plate 1a of the case 1, and the operation buttons 5a to 5d are fitted into the window hole 13 with a predetermined clearance. Also, six projections 14 corresponding to the coupling holes 11 are formed on the back surface of the upper plate 1a, and the coupling holes 11 are fitted into the respective projections 14, whereby the operation knob A is supported on the upper plate 1a by the support pieces. The structure is supported via 9, 9. In this mounting state, each operation piece 12 is in contact with each tact switch 4.

When the operation button 5a or 5c is depressed, the front support piece 9 and the rear support piece 10 bend downward about the respective connecting portions. That is, the front support member 9 bends downward with the intermediate portion 6b as a fulcrum, the rear support piece 10 bends downward with the outer frame portion 6a as a fulcrum, and the operation piece 12 turns on the tact switch 4. Conversely, the operation buttons 5b and 5d are bent downward with the front support piece 9 having the outer frame 6a as a fulcrum and the rear support piece 10 with the middle part 6b as a fulcrum. Thereby, the operation piece 12 turns on the tact switch 4. Then, when the operator releases the operation buttons 5a to 5d, the support pieces 9 and 10 return to their original positions by the restoring force of the elasticity, and the tact switch 4 is turned off.

As described above, since the operation buttons 5a to 5d are supported by the two support pieces 9 and 10 via the connecting portions on the opposite sides, when the operation buttons 5a to 5d are pressed,
The operation buttons 5a to 5d are lowered without tilting, so that the operation buttons 5a to 5d can be operated smoothly without touching the upper plate 1a of the case 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the push-button switch according to the present invention.
Support pieces 15 and 16 having zigzag bent portions 18 formed in the middle are formed on both sides before and after d (left and right in FIG. 3), and these support pieces 15 and 16 are respectively formed on the outer frame portion 6a and the intermediate portion 6b. It is connected to.

In the second embodiment, when the operation buttons 5a to 5d are pressed, the front and rear support pieces 15 and 1 are pressed.
6 are the respective connecting portions, namely, the outer frame portion 6a and the intermediate portion 6
The operation button 5a to 5d is bent downward with the fulcrum as a fulcrum, and the operation buttons 5a to 5d are lowered without tilting, thereby enabling a smooth operation.

In each of the above embodiments, an example of a push button switch having four operation buttons 5a to 5d is shown, but the number of operation buttons can be applied to one or an arbitrary number. The number of operation buttons is not limited.

As described above, in the first and second embodiments, since the operation buttons 5a to 5d are supported on the opposite sides by the two support pieces 9, 10 or 15, 16,
When the operation buttons 5a to 5d are pressed, the operation buttons 5a to 5d
d descends without tilting, and therefore the operation button 5a
5d no longer touches the upper plate 1a of the case 1,
Smooth switch operation is possible.

The supporting pieces 9, 10 and 15, 16
Can be formed long by using the spaces on both sides and front and rear of the push buttons 5a to 5d without increasing the shape of the frame 6, thereby increasing the elastic force. At this time, the support pieces 15 and 16 can be formed longer by the zigzag bent portion 18 formed in the middle. Further, the first and second embodiments have a simple structure and can be manufactured by integrally forming the whole, which is easy to manufacture.

[0030]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the opposing sides of the operation button are supported via the support pieces, so that the operation button has two support pieces. The buttons are supported from opposite sides, and when the operation buttons are pressed, the operation buttons descend without tilting, so that the operation buttons do not interfere with the case, smooth switch operation is possible, and the structure is simple and the whole is integrated Since it can be manufactured by forming, it is easy to manufacture.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the support piece has one end connected to opposing sides before and after the operation button, and the other end extending from both sides of the operation button toward the opposite side. Since the frame is connected to the frame, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, it is possible to increase the elastic force by lengthening the support piece without increasing the shape of the frame by using the space on both sides of the operation button. , A push button switch in a small space can be configured.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the support piece has one end connected to opposing sides of the operation button, the other end connected to the frame, and a zigzag bent portion formed in the middle. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, it is possible to increase the elastic force by lengthening the support piece without enlarging the shape of the frame by using the space before and after the operation button. A push button switch can be configured.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the frame has a structure in which an intermediate portion is formed in the middle of the outer frame portion.
Since a plurality of operation buttons and support pieces are formed in a portion surrounded by the outer frame portion and the intermediate portion, in addition to the effects of the inventions according to claims 1 to 3, arbitrary plural operation buttons are provided in one frame. It can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a push button switch of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a push-button switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical side view of a conventional push button switch.

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of the operation knob member of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d Operation button 6 Frame 6a Outer frame part 6b Intermediate part 9, 10, 15, 16 Supporting piece 18 Bending part A Operation knob member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A push-button switch, wherein an operation knob member having an operation button elastically supported by a frame is attached to a case, and a switch is operated by pressing the operation button. A push button switch, wherein an opposite side is supported by the frame via a support piece, and the whole is integrally formed. 2. The support piece has one end connected to opposing front and rear sides of the operation button, the other end extending in the direction of the opposite side from the left and right sides of the operation button, and the front end thereof being connected to the frame. The pushbutton switch according to claim 1, wherein the pushbutton switch is connected. 3. The support piece has one end connected to opposing sides of the operation button, the other end connected to the frame on the same side as these sides, and a zigzag bent portion formed in the middle. The push button switch according to claim 1, wherein 4. The frame has a structure in which an intermediate portion is formed in the middle of an outer frame portion, and a plurality of the operation buttons and support pieces are formed in a portion surrounded by the outer frame portion and the intermediate portion. The push button switch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: