JP2010272487A - Push switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push switch device capable of aligning a push button with a hole regardless of the existence of displacement between a button housing space at a front panel side and the hole section on a coated panel. <P>SOLUTION: The push button 30 is housed in the button housing space 40 of the front panel 10 while free movement is allowed. A pushing operation section 31 of the push button 30 is thrust into the hole 50 of the coated panel 20 by an urging force of an action rod returning means 71 urging a tact 63 of a switching element 60. By the action of a resin spring 35 of the push button 30, a contact surface 33 of the push button 30 is always made into contact with the tact 63. The hole 50 is formed with a tapered receiving surface 81, and the push button 30 is formed with a tapered contacting surface 82. By utilizing aligning action by the overlaying of the receiving surface 81 and the contacting surface 82, the pushing operation section 31 is aligned with the hole 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a push switch, more specifically, a push button pressing operation portion that is pushed down when a switch element is switched in a hole of a decorative panel that decorates a front panel of an electric / electronic device such as a DVD player. The present invention relates to a push switch device that is exposed.

  In recent electrical and electronic equipment, a decorative panel made of an acrylic resin plate with excellent transparency and glossiness on the surface of a front panel made of a resin molded product, with the intention of giving a high-class feel to the design. It is often performed to stick the film using a double-sided adhesive tape or the like. And in the push switch device adopted in the electric and electronic equipment subjected to such a treatment, the push operation part of the push button operated by the operator's finger is displaced at the hole of the decorative panel. In order to maintain a high-quality appearance as described above, it is important that the exposure is precisely aligned at the regular position without being generated.

  On the other hand, as a countermeasure for preventing the push button pressing operation portion inserted in the hole portion from being displaced relative to the hole portion of the front panel forming the front wall of the casing, A taper surface having the same gradient is provided on the side and the pressing operation portion side, and the pressing operation portion is aligned with respect to the hole portion by overlapping the tapered surfaces (for example, Patent Document 1, (See Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the push button device proposed by Patent Document 1. In FIG. In this push button device, a push button 4 that is always elastically urged by a spring 3 is inserted into a cylindrical button guide portion 2 provided inwardly on a front plate 1 corresponding to a front wall of a housing. In addition, the abutting portions of the button guide portion 2 and the push button 4 are tapered surfaces 5 and 6 that overlap each other. 7 is a rod-shaped portion provided on the push button 4, and 8 is a switch. When the push button 4 is not depressed, a constant gap C is formed between the rod-shaped portion 7 and the key 9 of the switch 8. ing. According to this push button device, the push button 4 is aligned with respect to the button guide portion 2 by the cooperative action of the taper surfaces 5 and 6 that are overlapped with each other by the elastic biasing action of the spring 3. It can be said that the situation in which the position of 4 shifts with respect to the button guide portion 2 hardly occurs.

  Patent Document 2 also describes that the push button is prevented from being displaced with respect to the hole of the panel by the aligning action of the tapered surface as in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 3 also describes a similar alignment action.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No.59-65436 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-68427 JP 2000-306460 A

  However, the front panel and the decorative panel are molded using resins having different coefficients of thermal expansion. Therefore, when the decorative panel is attached to the front panel using a double-sided adhesive tape in the assembly process, there is a displacement between the button housing space provided on the front panel and the hole of the decorative panel. There is. If there is a positional deviation between the button housing space on the front panel and the hole in the decorative panel, even if the positional deviation is within the tolerance error range, the push deployed in the button housing space on the front panel There is a possibility that the button pressing operation part is displaced from the normal position with respect to the hole of the decorative panel and the deviation becomes conspicuous, and the improvement of the appearance quality by using the decorative panel is hindered.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1, Document 2 and Document 3 disclose measures for preventing the displacement of the push button by the aligning action by the tapered surface as described above.

  However, each of the above-mentioned documents 1 to 3 merely prevents displacement of the push button inserted into the hole in the front wall of the housing by the aligning action of the tapered surface. Therefore, even if there is a misalignment between the button housing space on the front panel side and the hole on the decorative panel side as described at the beginning, the push button is aligned with the hole on the decorative panel so that the misalignment occurs. No measures are taken to eliminate the problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and even if a positional deviation occurs between the button housing space on the front panel side and the hole on the decorative panel side, the presence or absence of such a positional deviation is considered. It is an object of the present invention to provide a push switch device that can eliminate the positional shift by aligning the push button with respect to the hole of the decorative panel.

  In addition, the present invention uses the action of the tapered surface to align the push button pressing portion with respect to the hole of the decorative panel, but always pushes the push button into the hole. It is an object of the present invention to provide a push switch device that does not require a spring body as a separate part for energizing and urging bullets and that improves the operability of the push button.

  The push switch device according to the present invention includes a front panel made of a resin molded body forming a front wall of the housing, a decorative panel made of a resin molded body adhered to the surface of the front panel, a push button, A button housing space provided in the front panel and housing the push button; a hole portion provided in the decorative panel and exposing a push operation portion of the push button housed in the button housing space; and a switch An element, and an action rod that is disposed on a back portion of the push button and that is pushed in by pushing down the pressing operation portion exposed in the hole to switch the switch element.

  The push button is housed in the button housing space so as to be freely movable, and the working rod return means that constantly urges and pushes the working rod in the pushing direction, and the push button is integrally molded with resin. And a resin spring that constantly brings the push button into contact with the action rod with a reaction force generated by elastic contact with the decorative panel, and the action against the reaction force of the resin spring The pressing operation portion is configured to be pushed into the hole portion by the bullet urging force of the reed returning means. Further, the hole wall surface of the hole portion is provided with a tapered front receiving surface, and the push button is overlapped with the receiving surface to align the pressing operation portion with respect to the hole portion. A tapered contact surface is provided.

  In this configuration, when the operator pushes down the push operation part of the push button with a finger, the action element is pushed in by the push operation part, and the switch element performs a switching operation.

  Further, when the push button is not pushed down, the push button is operated by the resilient urging force by the action return means that resists the reaction force of the resin spring that is in elastic contact with the decorative panel, and the push button pressing operation part is It is pushed into. For this reason, the tapered contact surface on the push button side overlaps the tapered receiving surface on the hole side, and the pressing operation portion is aligned with the hole on the decorative panel side.

  Furthermore, even if the push button is accommodated in the button accommodating space of the front panel so as to be freely movable, a positional deviation may occur between the button accommodating space on the front panel side and the hole on the decorative panel side. The above aligning action due to the contact surface overlapping the receiving surface is surely exhibited when the push button moves in the button accommodating space.

  Further, since the resin spring is elastically contacted with the decorative panel and receives the reaction force, the push button is always in contact with the action rod that is elastically urged by the action rod returning means. The push button does not wobble even in the normal state when is not depressed. In addition, when the operator pushes down the push button, the push button immediately pushes the action rod without performing a play operation, so there is no play feeling (wobble) when the push button is pushed down, improving the operability of the push button. To do.

  In the present invention, the push button has the pressing operation portion projecting forward on the front surface of the main portion whose back surface is a contact surface with respect to the action rod, and the outer peripheral surface of the root portion of the pressing operation portion is forward-constricted. It is desirable that the resin spring is provided around the main portion while being formed as a round tapered contact surface. According to this, it is possible to provide a tapered contact surface and a resin spring at a position concentric with the pressing operation portion, and there is an advantage that it is easy to promote downsizing of the push button.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the resin spring is a leaf spring piece formed in a cantilevered manner at a plurality of equiangular positions around the main portion. According to this, it is easy to integrally mold the resin spring together with the push button.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the working rod return means is an elastic member built in the switch element. The elastic member built in the switch element corresponds to, for example, a tact switch having a reversible return type electrode plate formed by a conductive dome-shaped spring plate. Further, coil springs, linear springs, leaf springs, and the like built in the switch element to urge the pressing member in the return direction also correspond to the elastic member.

  In the present invention, the front-reducing and tapered tapered receiving surface has an axial length that exerts a guiding guide action that guides the abutting surface to an overlapping position with the receiving surface by sliding the pressed operation portion pressed down. It is desirable to have. That is, if the axial length of the tapered receiving surface is too short, the function of sliding the push button pressing operation portion from the receiving surface is lost, and thus such sliding function is not lost. It is desirable to lengthen the axial length of the tapered receiving surface to such an extent that the pushing force is released even if the pressing operation part is pushed and tilted in the hole of the decorative panel. At this point, the pressing operation unit slides on the receiving surface and returns to the position aligned with the hole.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even if a positional deviation occurs between the button housing space on the front panel side and the hole on the decorative panel side in the assembly process, the presence or absence of such a positional deviation is considered. Regardless, because the push button is aligned with the hole of the decorative panel, the push button is displaced with respect to the hole, and the high-quality appearance of the appearance panel is impaired due to the provision of the decorative panel. Things won't happen. To constantly push and push the push button in the direction of pushing the push button into the hole despite the fact that the operation of the taper surface is used to align the push button pressing part with the hole of the decorative panel. The spring body as a separate part is not required, and the operability of the push button is improved.

It is a general | schematic disassembled perspective view of the principal part of the push switch apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of a push button. It is the schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the push switch apparatus at the time of normal. It is the schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the push switch apparatus in the state in which the push button was pushed down straight. It is the schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the push switch apparatus in the state by which the push button was inclined and pushed down. It is the schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the push switch apparatus at the time of the normal state which employ | adopted the working rod by a modification. It is the front view which showed the modification of the push button. It is sectional drawing of the pushbutton apparatus shown by patent document 1. FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a main part of a push switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the push button. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a push switch device in a normal state according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the push switch device in a state where the push button is pushed down straight. FIG. 5 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the push switch device in a state where the push button is inclined and pushed down.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, this push switch device is attached to the front panel 10 made of a resin molded body forming the front wall of the housing and the surface of the front panel 10. A decorative panel 20 made of a resin molded body, a push button 30, a button accommodating space 40 provided on the front panel 10 and accommodating the push button 30, and a decorative panel 20 provided in the button accommodating space 40. The push operation unit 31 of the push button 30 that is exposed is provided on the back of the hole 50, the switch element 60, and the push button 30, and the push operation unit 31 exposed to the hole 50 is pushed down. And an action rod 70 that is pushed in to switch the switching element 60.

  The front panel 10 and the decorative panel 20 are each molded with different types of resins having different coefficients of thermal expansion. For example, an acrylic resin plate excellent in transparency and gloss is used for the decorative panel 20, and the decorativeness exhibited by the decorative panel 20 gives a high-class feeling to the casing of the electric and electronic device. The front panel 10 and the decorative panel 20 are attached using an adhesive tape such as a double-sided adhesive tape. Therefore, even if the decorative panel 20 is properly aligned and adhered to the front panel 10 in the assembly process, the hole 50 of the decorative panel 20 is not necessarily provided in the normal position with respect to the button accommodating space 40 of the front panel 10. However, the hole 50 of the decorative panel 20 is displaced from the normal position within the tolerance range with respect to the button housing space 40 of the front panel 10 in the creeping direction of the front panel 10. Can happen.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the push button 30 is formed of an integral resin body. The push button 30 in the figure has a main part 32 that is rectangular in front view, and the pressing operation part 31 that is circular in front view projects forward from the center of the front surface of the main part 32. Further, the back surface of the main portion 32 is formed flat, and the flat back surface is formed as a contact surface 33 against a working rod 70 described later. In addition, a rectangular annular thin wall portion 34 is integrally provided around the main portion 32. A resin spring 35 is formed integrally with the flange portion 34. The illustrated resin spring 35 has four cantilever plate spring pieces 36 each having a fulcrum a at each of the four corner portions of the flange portion 34, extending along each side, and positioned at equal angles. , 37, 38, 39. These leaf spring pieces 36 to 39 have a forward rising gradient from the fulcrum aa to the free end b in addition to being positioned in a point object relationship.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the push button 30 is accommodated in the button accommodating space 40 of the front panel 10, and the pressing operation portion 31 is inserted into the hole 50 of the decorative panel 20 and protrudes forward. In this regard, the pressing operation unit 31 inserted into the hole 50 does not necessarily have to protrude forward from the hole 50. The button accommodating space 40 is formed in a space sufficiently larger than the size of the flange portion 34 of the push button 30. Therefore, the push button 30 is accommodated in the button accommodating space so as to be freely movable in all directions along the creeping direction of the front panel 10.

  On the back of the front panel 10, the switch element 60 mounted on the wiring board 61 is arranged in a lying posture. The switch element 60 is a tact switch, and the tact 63 forms the working rod 70 described above. Further, this tact switch incorporates a working rod return means 71 that constantly urges and urges the tact 63 toward the protruding position. Usually, the working rod return means 71 is an elastic member built in the switch element 60. This type of elastic member corresponds to, for example, a tact switch having an inversion return type electrode plate formed of a conductive dome-shaped spring plate. Further, coil springs, linear springs, leaf springs, and the like built in the switch element to bias the pressing member (corresponding to the tact) in the return direction also correspond to the elastic member.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in a normal state where the push button 30 is not pressed down, the entire main portion 32 including the flange portion 34 is accommodated in the button accommodating space 40 of the front panel 10 and the hole of the decorative panel 20. The entire pressing operation portion 31 inserted in the portion 50 is exposed in the hole portion 50. This position is the initial position of the push button 30. In the push button 30 at the initial position, the contact surface 33 of the main portion 32 is in contact with the action rod 70 formed by the tact 63 of the switch element 60 and the four leaf springs forming the resin spring 35. The pieces 36 to 39 are elastically deformed with their free ends b brought into contact with the back surface of the decorative panel 20. Therefore, in this state, the pressing operation portion 31 is pushed into the hole 50 of the decorative panel 20 by the elastic urging force of the working rod returning means 71 that resists the reaction force of the resin spring 35.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the taper receiving surface 51 is formed on the hole wall surface of the hole portion 50 of the decorative panel 20, whereas the root portion of the pressing operation portion 31 is formed. The outer peripheral surface is formed as a front converging tapered contact surface 82 which is the opposite surface of the receiving surface 51. The receiving surface 51 and the contact surface 82 have the same gradient, and exhibit an effect of aligning the pressing operation unit 31 with respect to the hole 50 by overlapping each other.

  In the push switch device having the above configuration, in the normal state shown in FIG. 3 in which the push button 30 is not pushed down, the action force return means 71 of the switch element 60 always urges and urges the urging force as indicated by the arrow F1. The tact 63 as the working rod 70 is used to back up the push button 30 against the reaction force (arrow F2) associated with the elastic deformation of the four leaf spring pieces 36 to 39 forming the resin spring 35. Therefore, the push button 30 is held at the initial position. Moreover, in this state, due to the elastic urging force F1 of the action tack returning means 71 that resists the reaction force F2, the front tapered taper contact surface 82 on the push button 30 side becomes the front tapered taper on the decorative panel 20 side. The pressing operation portion 31 is aligned with respect to the hole portion 50 because it is superposed on the shaped receiving surface 81. Therefore, a situation in which the press operation unit 31 is displaced with respect to the hole 50 of the decorative panel 20 and the high-quality appearance of the appearance due to the provision of the decorative panel 20 is not lost. In addition, since the above-described contact surface 82 is constantly pressed against the receiving surface 81 by the elastic urging force F1 of the action rod returning means 71, the situation where the push button 30 does not wobble at the initial position does not occur.

  In addition, the push button 30 is accommodated in the button accommodating space 40 of the front panel 10 so as to be freely movable along the creeping direction of the front panel 10. Even if the panel 10 is displaced from the normal position with respect to the button accommodating space, the push button 30 including the pressing operation unit 31 aligned with the hole 50 as described above is While maintaining the aligned state, the button is displaced inside the button accommodating space 40 in accordance with the above-described positional deviation width. Therefore, a situation in which the pressing operation portion 31 is not noticeable by being displaced with respect to the hole portion 50 does not occur, and a situation in which a high-grade appearance quality due to the provision of the decorative panel 20 is not impaired does not occur.

  When the pressing operation portion 31 of the push button 30 is pushed down by the operator as indicated by the arrow P 1 in FIG. 4, the tact 63 as the action rod 70 is attached by the action rod returning means 71 by the contact surface 33 of the main portion 32. The switch element 60 is pushed against the force and the on / off state of the switch element 60 is switched through the operation. Such a push-down operation of the pressing operation unit 31 is transmitted to the tact 63 without accompanying the play operation of the push button 30. As a result, the play feeling when the push button 30 is depressed is lost, and the operability of the push button 30 is improved. When the pressing force indicated by the arrow P1 is released, the push button 30 is moved to the initial position shown in FIG. 3 by the elastic urging force of the working rod returning means 71 against the reaction force F2 of the four leaf spring pieces 36-39. Return to.

  Next, as shown by the arrow P2 in FIG. 5, even when the pressing operation portion 31 of the push button 30 is pushed down in an oblique direction by the operator, the contact surface 33 of the main portion 32 causes the tact as the action rod 70. 63 is pushed against the urging force by the working rod return means 71, and the on / off state of the switch element 60 is switched through the operation. Since the pressing operation of the pressing operation unit 31 is transmitted to the tact 63 without the play operation of the push button 30, the play feeling when the push button 30 is pressed down is lost and the operation of the push button 30 is not performed. Improves. When the pressing force indicated by the arrow P2 is released, the push button 30 is moved to the initial position shown in FIG. 3 by the elastic urging force of the working rod returning means 71 against the reaction force F2 of the four leaf spring pieces 36 to 39. Return to. The returning operation at this time is performed through a guiding operation in which the pressing operation unit 31 is guided to the hole 50 by sliding on the front-squeezing tapered receiving surface 81 of the decorative panel 20. If the axial length of the receiving surface 81 is too short, the above-mentioned guiding and guiding action by the receiving surface 81 may not be sufficiently exhibited. Therefore, the axial length of the receiving surface 81 needs to be set to such a length that the receiving surface 81 can slide the pressing operation portion 31. Usually, it is possible to exert the above-described guide-inducing action only by having the receiving surface 81 have an axial length close to the thickness of the decorative panel 20.

  In the embodiment described above, the tact switch tact 63 is selected as the action rod 70. However, the action rod 70 can also be configured by a member that interlocks the push-down operation of the push button 30 with the tact switch tact. It is. This case is shown in FIG.

  That is, FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a push switch device in a normal state adopting a working rod 70 according to a modification. The working rod 70 shown in the figure is constituted by a crank-shaped relay member 73 connected to the front panel 10 via a hinge 72. The relay member 73 is in contact with both the contact surface 33 of the main portion 32 of the push button 30 and the tact switch 63 of the tact switch as the switch element 60 mounted upward on the wiring board 61. Are deployed between each other. Other configurations are the same as those described with reference to FIG. With this configuration, the bullet urging force of the working rod return means 71 built in the switch element 60 is always applied to the main portion 32 of the push button 30 via the relay member 73. Therefore, the effect | action demonstrated with reference to FIGS. 3-5 is exhibited similarly. In FIG. 6, the arrow R indicates the swinging direction of the relay member 73 that follows the push-down return operation of the push button 30.

  Further, the push button 30 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIGS. FIG. 7 is a front view showing a modified example of the push button 30. In the push button 30, the main portion 32 is formed in a circular shape when viewed from the front, and a circular flange portion 34 is integrally formed of resin around the main portion 32. And the resin spring 35 is comprised by the cantilevered arc-shaped leaf | plate spring piece provided in three places of the circumference of the flange part 34 at equal angles. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the push button 30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or corresponding parts for convenience of explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Front panel 20 Cosmetic panel 30 Push button 31 Press operation part 35 Resin spring 36-39 Leaf spring piece (resin spring)
40 Button receiving space 50 Hole 60 Switch element 70 Working rod 71 Working rod returning means 81 Receiving surface 82 Contact surface

Claims (5)

A front panel made of a resin molded body forming the front wall of the housing, a decorative panel made of a resin molded body adhered to the surface of the front panel, a push button, and the push panel provided on the front panel A button housing space that houses a button, a hole that is provided in the decorative panel and exposes a pressing operation portion of the push button housed in the button housing space, a switch element, and a back portion of the push button; In a push switch device having an action rod that is arranged and is pushed by pushing down the pressing operation portion exposed in the hole to switch the switch element,
The push button is housed in the button housing space so as to be freely movable, and the working rod return means for constantly elastically urging the working rod in the pushing direction is integrally formed with the push button with a resin. A return spring that resists the reaction force of the resin spring, and a resin spring that causes the push button to always contact the action lever with a reaction force generated by elastic contact with the decorative panel. The push operation part is configured to be pushed into the hole part by a bullet urging force by means,
The hole wall surface of the hole has a tapered front receiving surface, and the push button overlaps with the receiving surface to align the pressing operation portion with respect to the hole. A push switch device characterized in that a contact surface is provided.   In the push button, the pressing operation portion protrudes forward on the front surface of the main portion whose back surface is a contact surface with respect to the action rod, and the outer peripheral surface of the root portion of the pressing operation portion is forward-squeezed and tapered. The push switch device according to claim 1, wherein the push spring device is formed as the contact surface and the resin spring is disposed around the main portion.   3. The push switch device according to claim 2, wherein the resin spring is a leaf spring piece formed in a cantilevered state at a plurality of equiangular positions around the main portion.   The push switch device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the working rod return means is an elastic member built in the switch element.   The tapered front receiving surface has a shaft length that exerts a guiding guide action that guides the contact surface to an overlapping position with the receiving surface by sliding the pressed operation portion pressed down. The push switch device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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