JP2003086059A - Click mechanism for rotary switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a click mechanism for a rotary switch, whereby the number of components composing the click mechanism such as a ball, a coil spring and the like and man-hours for assembling are reduced to have a manufacturing cost reducing effect, and no inclination of a rotary knob is caused. SOLUTION: A click surface part 42 having a trough part and a crest part one after the other is provided in a stator 36. A pressing member 51 and a ball 44 brought into pressure contact with the click surface part 42 are disposed in the rotary knob 37 to obtain a feeling of click when rotating the rotary knob 37. The pressing member 51 is formed by integrally linking it to the rotary knob 37 by a linking piece having elasticity to energize it against the click surface part 42 in the pressure contact direction. The pressing member 51 and the ball 44 energized by the linking piece and a coil spring 45 abut on the stator 36, and thereby the inclination of the rotary knob 37 is suppressed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a moderation surface part having valleys and crests alternately, and a rotary switch device for providing a moderation feeling by relatively pressing a moderation member toward the moderation surface part. It is related to the moderation mechanism of.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A moderation mechanism of a conventional rotary switch device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows a switch lever 31 equipped with a wiper control switch, which is a lever mounted on a steering column of an automobile. FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the main part. Figure 7
Shows the detent mechanism 46.

The switch lever 31 is a lever combination switch LCS mounted on the steering column.
And is provided with a lever shaft 32 as shown in FIG. The lever shaft 32 is made of a cylindrical metal, and its base end portion is a lever combination switch LC.
A wiper on / off switch (not shown) provided at S is operably held. A cylindrical outer cylinder 33 is inserted and fixed to the lever shaft 32 from the tip end side.

In the vicinity of the tip of the lever shaft 32,
A fixed substrate 34 is fixed to a portion of the outer cylinder 33 located inside the front end opening. On the contact surface side of the fixed substrate 34, a pair of fixed contacts 35 are formed in an arc shape so as to be located at positions opposite to each other by 180 degrees about the axis of the lever shaft 32. The fixed contact 35 is a resistor.

A cylindrical stator 36 is integrally fixed to the tip of the lever shaft 32. A cylindrical cover member 39 with a lid is attached and fixed to the stator 36 so as to cover most of the stator 36 and the tip of the lever shaft 32.

A rotary knob 37 is provided in the lever shaft 32 between the fixed base plate 34 and the stator 36.
It is fitted at 7c and is rotatable about the lever shaft 32 within a predetermined angle range. Since the rotary knob 37 is sandwiched between the fixed substrate 34 and the stator 36, the movement of the lever shaft 32 in the axial direction is disabled.

One ends of the stator 36 and the rotary knob 37 are arranged so as to face each other. A pair of moderation surface portions 42 are formed on the end surface of the stator 36 facing the rotary knob 37. Both moderation surface portions 42 are arranged at 180 ° positions opposite to each other about the axis of the rotary knob 37. Both moderation surface portions 42 are provided such that a plurality of peak portions 40 and valley portions 41 are alternately continuous along the circumferential direction centered on the shaft center of the lever shaft 32 and have the same pitch. .

On the other hand, on the end surface of the rotary knob 37 facing the stator 36, a pair of accommodation holes 43 are bored along the axial direction of the lever shaft 32 at positions corresponding to the moderation surface portions 42. A ball 44 as a moderation member (moderation tip) is arranged in each accommodation hole 43, and a coil spring 45 for urging the ball 44 toward the moderation surface portion 42 is housed.

The balls 44, the coil springs 45, and the stator 36 provided on the rotary knob 37 side.
A moderation mechanism 46 is configured by the moderation surface portion 42 provided on the.

A movable contact 47 is fixed to the end surface of the rotary knob 37 facing the fixed substrate 34. The movable contact 47 is brought into sliding contact with the fixed contact 35 by rotating the rotary knob 37 around the lever shaft 32 by rotating the rotary knob 37.
The movable contact 47 realizes a known variable switch function in which the resistance value of the circuit can be changed by the contact portion (contact portion) of the fixed contact 35 being different.

When the rotary knob 37 rotates around the lever shaft 32 as described above, the ball 44 of the moderating mechanism 46 crosses the peak portion 40 against the biasing force of the coil spring 45, and the adjacent valley. Move to the part 41, the valley part 41
Butt against. In this way, when the switch position is moved, it is possible to obtain a load change before and after the mountain portion 40 is crossed, so that a feeling of moderation can be obtained.

As described above, the conventional moderation mechanism has a plurality of moderation members (balls 44) and a plurality of coil springs 45.
It is necessary to store and arrange the respective members in the respective accommodation holes 43.
Therefore, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and the man-hours for assembling these parts are required, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, moderating members and the like (balls 44,
One of the coil springs 45) is omitted, and the stator 36 facing the moderating member (ball 44) on the other side is omitted.
It is proposed that the moderation surface portion 42 on the side end surface side is omitted (see FIG. 4).

According to this structure, since the number of balls 44 is as small as one, the number of ball and coil spring parts and the number of assembling steps are reduced as compared with the detent mechanism using two balls, and the manufacturing process is reduced. There is a cost reduction effect.

[0015]

However, in the rotary switch device having the above structure, the remaining ball 44 on the other side is left.
Is pressed against the end surface of the stator 36 by the coil spring 45, and the pressed portion is deviated from the axial center of the stator 36 (coaxial with the axial center of the lever shaft 32). Further, the rotary knob 37 is inserted so as to have a slight clearance from the shaft hole 37c of the lever shaft 32 so as to be rotatable with respect to the lever shaft 32. Therefore, there is a problem in that the rotary knob 37 is tilted in the arrow direction of FIG. 4 from the axis of the lever shaft 32 due to the biasing force of the coil spring 45.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps constituting a moderation mechanism such as a ball and a coil spring are reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a moderating mechanism for a rotary switch device such as a rotary knob in which the rotary does not tilt.

[0017]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is one of a rotary provided rotatably and a stator arranged opposite to the rotary. The member of (1) is provided with a moderation surface having alternating valleys and peaks, and the other member is provided with a plurality of moderation members that are in pressure contact with the moderation surface, so that a sense of moderation is obtained when the rotary is rotated. In the moderation mechanism of the rotary switch device described above, at least one moderation member of the moderation members is integrally formed with the other mode member by an elastic coupling portion that biases the moderation surface portion in the pressure contact direction. A gist of a moderating mechanism of a rotary switch device is characterized in that the moderating mechanism is connected and the tilting of the rotary is suppressed by contacting the other moderating member with the other moderating member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the two moderating members are provided, and the moderating members are arranged at positions opposite to each other by 180 degrees about the axis of the rotary.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the other member integrally connected with the moderation member via a connecting portion is a rotary. A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to third aspects, the moderation member is cantilevered by the connecting portion.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a moderation surface portion having alternate valleys and peaks is provided on either one of the rotatable rotatable member and the stator disposed opposite to the rotary member. In the detent mechanism of the rotary switch device, a detent member that presses against the detent surface portion by an urging means is arranged on the other member to provide a detent feel when the rotary is rotated. One of the members is disposed at a position different from that of the moderation member, and is integrally formed by a connecting portion having an elastic force so as to resist the urging force of the urging means. A gist of a moderation mechanism of a rotary switch device, which is provided with a contact member, and suppresses inclination of a rotary by contacting the other member of the contact member.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a moderation mechanism of a lever-operated wiper control switch lever mounted on a steering column of an automobile will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 5 explained in the technology,
This will be described with reference to FIG.

The same configurations as those of the conventional example shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Differences and parts which have not been described in the prior art will be mainly described. Therefore, the configurations illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7 (configurations given the same reference numerals as in the present embodiment) should be referred to as configurations of the switch lever 31 of the present embodiment.

Although not described in the above-mentioned prior art, the rotary knob 37 is made of synthetic resin and has a large diameter portion 37a having a large outer diameter and an inner diameter and a large diameter portion 37a having a large outer diameter and an inner diameter as shown in FIG. The smaller diameter portions 37b, which are smaller than the respective smaller diameter portions, are formed so as to be coaxial with each other.

The large diameter portion 37a is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom and is arranged so as to cover the outer periphery of the base end portion of the cover member 39. The bottom portion of the large-diameter portion 37a is an end portion that is arranged in close proximity to and is opposed to the base end surface of the stator 36, and has an end surface (bottom surface) that faces the stator 36. Further, the small diameter portion 37b is fitted in the outer cylinder 33 so as to be rotatable relative thereto. A shaft hole 37c through which the lever shaft 32 penetrates is formed in the small diameter portion 37b.

In the present embodiment, the rotary knob 3
The configuration of 7 is partially different from that of the prior art. That is, in the above-mentioned related art, the stator 3 of the rotary knob 37 is
On the end face (bottom face) facing 6 the position corresponding to each moderation face portion 42, a pair of accommodation holes 43 on the small diameter portion 37b side.
Was set up. However, in the present embodiment, the rotary knob 37
In the end surface (bottom surface) of the stator 36, one accommodation hole 43 is omitted, and the ball 44 and the coil spring 45 are disposed only in the other accommodation hole 43.

Instead of this, a through hole 50 extending along the axial direction of the rotary knob 37 is formed in the small diameter portion 37b at one of the omitted portions. The through hole 50 is formed so as to extend in an arc shape in a cross sectional view. A pressing member 51 is cantilevered via a connecting piece 52 at the opening of the through hole 50 on the moderation surface 42 side.
Further, the pressing member 51 is arranged so as to be opposite to the ball 44 by 180 degrees with respect to the axis of the rotary knob 37.

The pressing member 51 corresponds to a moderating member, and the connecting piece 52 corresponds to a connecting portion. That is, the pressing member 51 is
It is formed integrally with the rotary knob 37. Pressing member 5
The surface facing the first moderation surface portion 42 is formed in a hemispherical shape. The connecting piece 52 has elasticity, and the elastic force of the connecting piece 52 presses the pressing member 51 against the moderation surface portion 42. The elastic force of the connecting piece 52 may be equal to the biasing force of the coil spring 45, or may be small as long as the inclination of the rotary knob 37 from the axial center of the lever shaft 32 can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the pressing member 51 and the connecting piece 5 are
2, ball 44, coil spring 45 and pressing member 5
A moderation mechanism 55 is configured by the moderation surface portion 42 opposed to 1. The ball 44 corresponds to a moderating member. In the present embodiment, FIG. 7 is shown as a part of the detent mechanism 55, and therefore the reference numeral 55 is shown in parentheses. The rotary knob 37 corresponds to the rotary.

Although not described in the above-mentioned prior art,
As shown in FIG. 2, in the rotary knob 37, the large diameter portion 3
At the bottom of 7a, three locking piece insertion holes 37d of the same size are formed so as to penetrate each other at a predetermined interval.
Each locking piece insertion hole 37d is formed in an arc shape in a transverse cross section along a virtual circle centered on the axis of the lever shaft 32. As shown in FIG. 2, three locking pieces 33a protruding from the tip of the outer cylinder 33 are inserted into the locking piece insertion holes 37d. The circumferential length of each locking piece 33a (the circumferential direction of the outer cylinder 33) is shorter than the circumferential length of the locking piece insertion hole 37d. For this reason, the rotary knob 37 can be operated and rotated about the lever shaft 32 until the locking piece 33a is locked to either of the circumferential ends of the locking piece insertion hole 37d.

Next, the operation of the moderating mechanism 55 of the rotary knob 37 provided on the switch lever 31 will be described. When the rotary knob 37 is rotated around the lever shaft 32, the ball 44 resists the biasing force of the coil spring 45, moves over the mountain portion 40 of one of the moderation surface portions 42, moves to the adjacent valley portion 41, and the same. Collide with the valley 41. At the same time, the pressing member 51 moves against the urging force (elastic force) of the connecting piece 52, over the peak portion 40 of the other moderation surface portion 42, moves to the adjacent valley portion 41, and abuts against the valley portion 41. .

In this way, when the switch position is moved, a load change can be obtained before and after the ball 44 and the pressing member 51 cross the mountain portion 40, and a moderation feeling can be obtained. According to this embodiment, the following operational effects are produced.

(1) In this embodiment, the stator 36
A moderation surface portion 42 having a valley portion 41 and a mountain portion 40 alternately provided therein. Further, a pressing member 51 and a ball 44 (a plurality of moderating members) that are pressed against the moderating surface portion 42 are arranged on the rotary knob 37 (rotary) so that a sense of moderation can be obtained when the rotary knob 37 is rotated.

The pressing member 51 (moderation member) is integrally connected to the rotary knob 37 by a connecting piece 52 (coupling part) having elasticity that urges the moderation surface portion 42 in the pressure contact direction. Further, the pressing member 51 and the ball 44 urged by the connecting piece 52 and the coil spring 45.
The contact of the rotary knob 37 with the stator 36 suppresses the inclination of the rotary knob 37.

As a result, the rotary knob 37 moves the lever shaft 3
It does not tilt around the axis of 2. Further, the pressing member 51 as a moderating member is connected to the rotary knob 37 by the connecting piece 52.
Unlike the conventional detent mechanism 46 shown in FIG. 6, the number of parts such as the ball 44 and the coil spring 45 for urging the ball 44 can be reduced. As a result, the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(2) In this embodiment, a pressing member 51 and a ball 44 are provided as two moderating members,
Both of them are arranged 180 degrees opposite to each other with the axis of the rotary knob 37 as the center.

As a result, the elastic force of the connecting piece 52 is equal to the urging force of the coil spring 45, or the lever shaft 3
Even if the inclination of the rotary knob 37 from the shaft center of 2 is small within a range in which the rotary knob 37 can be suppressed, the rotary knob 37 does not move to the lever shaft 32.
It is possible to preferably suppress the inclination around the axis center of.

(3) In this embodiment, the pressing member 51
The (moderation member) is integrally formed with the rotary knob 37 (rotary) via the connecting piece 52 (connecting portion). As a result,
Ball 44 serving as a moderating member for the rotary knob 37
The number of assembling steps can be reduced.

(4) In this embodiment, the pressing member 51
The (moderation member) was cantilevered by the connecting piece 52 (connecting portion). As a result, the cantilevered connecting piece 52 can realize the pressure contact of the pressing member 51 to the moderation surface portion 42, the separate member such as the coil spring can be omitted, and the number of parts can be reduced.

The embodiment of the present invention can be modified as follows in addition to the above embodiment. (1) In the above embodiment, one pressing member 51 is provided for the rotary knob 37. However, this pressing member 51
The ball 44 and the coil spring 45 located at 180 degrees opposite to each other may be omitted, and the pressing member 51 may be integrally formed with the rotary knob 37 by the elastic connecting piece 52 at the 180 degrees opposite position. By doing so, the balls 44 and the coil springs 4 are further provided as compared with the above embodiment.
5 can be omitted, the number of assembling steps and the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(2) In the above embodiment, the pressing member 51
Although the moderation surface section 42 is provided on the end surface of the stator 36 opposed to, the moderation surface section 42 opposed to the pressing member 51 may be omitted. That is, the pressing member 51 is pressed against the flat end surface of the stator 36.

In this case, the moderation feeling is reduced as compared with the above-described embodiment, but the moderation feeling can be obtained by the ball 44 and the moderation surface portion 42 facing the ball 44. In this case, the ball 44, the coil spring 45, and the moderation surface portion 42 facing the ball 44 form a moderation mechanism. The ball 44 corresponds to a moderating member. The rotary knob 37 corresponds to the rotary.

Further, unlike the above embodiment, the pressing member 51 corresponds to an abutting member instead of the moderating member, and the connecting piece 52.
Corresponds to the connecting portion. The coil spring 45 corresponds to the biasing means.

(3) In the above embodiment, the pressing member 51
The cantilever is supported by the connecting piece 52 as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), both ends may be supported by an elastic connecting piece 52. Due to the connecting piece 52 supported by both ends, the pressing member 51 can be pressed against the moderation surface portion 42, a separate member such as a coil spring can be omitted, and the number of parts can be reduced.

(4) Although two pressing members 51 are provided in the above (1), three or more pressing members 51 may be arranged at a predetermined interval. (5) When arranging three or more moderating members, one or two pressing members 51 as the moderating members are connected to the connecting piece 5.
Alternatively, the rotary knob 37 may be integrally connected to the rotary knob 37 via the two. In this modified embodiment, the remaining moderation member is the ball 44, and the coil spring 45 for urging the ball 44 is provided.

(6) In the above embodiment, the pressing member 51
, And the ball 44 are arranged at 180 degrees opposite to each other around the axis of the rotary knob 37, but it is not necessarily limited to 180 degrees. When two moderating members are arranged, the inclination around the rotary knob 37 can be suppressed within the range of 90 degrees to 270 degrees. The preferred range is 135 to 225 degrees, and more preferably 160 to 200 degrees.

If three moderating members are arranged, 1
Positions spaced 20 degrees apart are most preferred, but need not be limited to this angle. (7) In the above embodiment, the pressing member 51 is integrally formed on the rotary knob 37 side by the connecting piece 52, but the pressing member 51 may be integrally formed on the stator 36 side by the elastic connecting piece 52. In this case, a moderation surface portion 42 with which the pressing member 51 abuts may be provided on the bottom portion of the rotary knob 37,
Alternatively, the moderation surface portion 42 may not be provided. Further, in this case, the ball 44, the coil spring 45, and the accommodation hole 43
May be provided on the rotary knob 37 or the stator 36 as in the above-described embodiment.

When the moderation surface portion 42 is not provided, the moderation mechanism is constituted by the ball 44, the coil spring 45, and the moderation surface portion 42 facing the ball 44. The ball 44 corresponds to a moderating member. In addition, the rotary knob 37
Corresponds to the rotary.

Further, unlike the above embodiment, the pressing member 51 corresponds to an abutting member instead of the moderating member, and the connecting piece 52.
Corresponds to the connecting portion. The coil spring 45 corresponds to the biasing means.

Here, in addition to the technical idea described in the claims, the technical idea grasped by the above-described embodiment will be listed below together with its effect. (1) The detent mechanism of a rotary switch device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the detent member is supported by both ends of the connecting portion. In this case, the connecting piece 52 supported by both ends can realize the pressure contact of the pressing member 51 to the moderation surface portion 42, and a separate member such as a coil spring can be omitted, and the number of parts can be reduced.

[0050]

As described in detail above, according to the inventions of claims 1 to 5, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps of the components such as the ball and the coil spring which constitute the moderation mechanism are reduced, and the manufacturing cost is reduced. And the effect that the rotary does not tilt.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a switch lever according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a rotary knob of the same.

3A is a cross-sectional view of the moderation member taken along the line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is a view corresponding to FIG. 3A in another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional switch lever.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional switch lever.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the main part of the switch lever.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the moderation mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

31 ... Switch lever 32 ... Lever shaft 36 ... Stator 37 ... Rotary knob (rotary) 40 ... Yamabe, 41 ... Tanibe 42 ... Moderation surface 44 ... Ball (moderation member) 45 ... Coil spring (biasing means) 51 ... Pressing member (moderating member) 52 ... Connecting piece (connecting portion) 55 ... Moderation mechanism

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A moderation surface portion having a valley portion and a mountain portion alternately provided on any one member of a rotatably provided rotary and a stator arranged opposite to the rotary,
In a moderation mechanism of a rotary switch device, wherein a plurality of moderation members that are in pressure contact with the moderation surface portion are disposed on the other member, and a sense of moderation is obtained when the rotary is rotated, at least one moderation member of the moderation members is provided. The member is integrally connected to the other member by a connecting portion having elasticity that urges the moderating surface portion in a pressure contact direction, and by contacting the other member with the other moderating members. , A moderating mechanism for a rotary switch device, which is characterized in that the inclination of the rotary is suppressed. 2. The moderation mechanism for a rotary switch device according to claim 1, wherein the moderation mechanism includes two moderation members, which are arranged at positions opposite to each other by 180 degrees about the axis of the rotary. 3. The moderation mechanism for a rotary switch device according to claim 1, wherein the other member integrally connected to the moderation member via a connection portion is a rotary. 4. The moderation mechanism for a rotary switch device according to claim 1, wherein the moderation member is cantilevered by the connecting portion. 5. A moderation surface portion having a valley portion and a mountain portion alternately provided on any one member of a rotatably provided rotary and a stator arranged opposite to the rotary,
In the detent mechanism of the rotary switch device, in which a detent member that presses against the detent surface portion by the urging means is arranged on the other member, and a detent feel is obtained when the rotary is rotated, the rotary or stator faces each other. One of the members is arranged at a position different from the moderation member, and
The contact member integrally formed by the connecting portion having elastic force so as to resist the urging force of the urging means is provided, and the inclination of the rotary is prevented by the contact of the contact member with the other member. A moderation mechanism for a rotary switch device characterized by suppressing.