JP6518881B2 - Elastic member for push button switch and push button switch - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an elastic member for a push button switch that performs an input operation of an electronic device or the like, and a push button switch using the elastic member for the push button switch.

  There is a push button switch for performing an input operation of an electronic device or the like, which includes a hard resin key top (operation member) on an elastic member for a push button switch made of a rubber elastic body, and pressing the key top The elastic member for push button switch is elastically deformed, and the conductor provided on the elastic member for push button switch is in conductive contact with the contact portion of the circuit board, and the electrical physical value such as resistance value, current value, voltage value by the conductive contact The switch input is made by detecting the change of. The elastic member for the push button switch gives a resistance force due to rubber elasticity to the operator who presses the key top as an operation feeling, and restores the original state after displacing the key top by a fixed stroke amount. Have.

  As such an elastic member for push button switches, for example, in JP-A-11-306908 (patent document 1), an elastic member for push button switches integrally formed of a rubber elastic body is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-306908

  By the way, with the diversification of product forms in recent years, for example, in a game controller push button switch used for a game machine, another item appears from the item that first appeared due to the difference in the stroke of the key top (operation member). There is a demand for expressing different outputs by pressing operations on one push button, such as changing items or adjusting the strength of the attack or defense means, and the above-mentioned prior art elastic for push button switches The members have not been able to solve these problems.

  The present invention is made on the background of the prior art as described above, and an object thereof is to provide an elastic member for a push button switch which can obtain different feeling of operation according to the stroke amount of the operation member.

  The elastic member for a push button switch of the present invention for achieving the above object is configured as follows.

  That is, with respect to the elastic member for a push button switch provided with a main body portion having an upper surface receiving pressing contact of the operation member and a skirt portion resiliently supporting the main body portion displaceably, the main body portion is positioned on one side of the upper surface A second pressure receiving portion formed by a cylindrical peripheral wall, a second pressure receiving portion formed by a columnar portion connected to the cylindrical peripheral wall on the other side of the upper surface, the first pressure receiving portion, and the second A protruding portion provided below the pressure receiving portion and pressed into contact with the contact portion of the circuit board by pressing contact which is moved from the first pressure receiving portion to the second pressure receiving portion by the operation member; It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, a first pressure receiving portion formed of a cylindrical peripheral wall located on one side of the upper surface, and a second pressure receiving portion formed of a columnar portion connected to the cylindrical peripheral wall on the other side of the upper surface Is equipped. For this reason, the operation feeling received from the pressing operation of the operation member is relatively soft (the operation load is small) in the first pressure receiving portion formed of the cylindrical peripheral wall, and relatively hard in the second pressure receiving portion formed of the columnar portion Operation load increases). Therefore, by pressing them sequentially with the operating member, it is possible to perform a pressing operation with a change in the feeling of operation. Further, in the process of the pressing operation, the operation load is also changed by the elastic deformation of the projecting portion on the bottom surface of the first pressing receiving portion and the second pressing receiving portion to affect the operation feeling. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize various operation feeling and stroke amount by the elastic deformation of the first pressing portion, the second pressing portion, and the protrusion. As a result, for example, in a car game, an action such as rapid acceleration or sudden braking occurs when the key top (operation member) is pressed hard, and when the key top (control member) is weakly pushed, it accelerates slowly or slowly It is possible to manufacture a push button switch that causes an action such as braking.

  In the present invention, the upper surface may be circular, the cylindrical peripheral wall may be semi-cylindrical, and the columnar portion may be semi-cylindrical. According to this, the upper surface of the elastic member for a push button switch can be divided into two at the center line, and the cylindrical peripheral wall can be provided on one side and the columnar portion can be provided on the other side. Thus, by setting the vicinity of the center line as a pressing region by the operating member, the amount of movement for displacing the operating member in the surface direction of the upper surface from the first pressing receiving portion toward the second pressing receiving portion is reduced. As a result, it is possible to realize various operation feeling with a large amount of change in pressing load even with a short stroke amount, and to reliably perform conductive contact with the contact portion to the circuit board.

  The protrusions of the present invention may have a carbon print layer on the surface. Since the surface of the projecting portion is a carbon printing layer, the conductive surface can be easily formed only by printing the conductive carbon ink after integrally molding the entire shape of the elastic member for a push button switch. Further, since the conductive portion can be formed only by printing on the surface of the projecting portion, it is not necessary to separately form the conductive member, and the bonding operation between the conductive member and the main portion can be reduced. In addition, material costs can be reduced.

  The main body portion (excluding the carbon printed layer) and the skirt portion of the present invention can be an integrally formed body of a rubber elastic body having a hardness of 30 to 70 by a type A durometer. According to this, since the rubber elastic body having a hardness of 30 to 70 by the type A durometer is easy to manufacture, a suitable bending deformation occurs by the pressing operation and a desired operation feeling can be obtained, and a desired resistance value Changes in electrical physical values such as current values and voltage values.

  The protruding portion of the present invention can be configured by a tip portion in conductive contact with the contact portion of the circuit board, and an inclined surface portion spaced apart from the contact portion of the circuit board than the tip portion. . According to this, the tip end portion is brought into contact with the contact portion at the initial stage of the pressing operation on the operation member, and the inclined surface portion provided around the tip portion at the later stage of the pressing operation thereafter It can be in contact. In this way, the tip end portion is brought into conductive contact in the initial stage of pressing operation, and the inclined surface portion is brought into conductive contact in the late stage, whereby pressing load and resistance value, current value, voltage value, etc. It is possible to obtain a conductive contact whose target physical value changes.

  The tip portion of the present invention can be a flat surface without inclination with respect to the contact portion of the circuit board. Since the tip end portion is formed in a flat surface without inclination, the tip end portion contacts at the initial stage of the pressing operation, so first, conductive contact can be obtained by the stable posture at the tip end portion. In addition, it is possible to gradually contact the contact area between the tip portion, which is a flat surface without inclination, and the flat contact portion that is the contact object. For example, a steep slope of resistance drop is suppressed and stable resistance is achieved. A downslope of the value can be realized.

  The tip of the present invention may have a diameter of 20 to 30% of the diameter of the protrusion. Since the tip has a diameter of 20 to 30% of the diameter of the entire projection, stable contact can be made in a relatively wide range with respect to the contact at the initial stage of the pressing operation.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention also provides the elastic member for any one of the above push button switches, the above operation member in pressure contact with the first pressure receiving portion and the second pressure receiving portion, and There is provided a push button switch including a support shaft for moving an operating member from a contact position with the first pressure receiving portion to a contact position with the second pressure receiving portion.

  According to this push button switch, the operation member is rotated by the support shaft and moved from the first pressing receiving portion to the second pressing receiving portion of the elastic member for the push button switch, whereby the aforementioned change in pressing load, etc. Thus, it is possible to realize a push button switch that can obtain various operation feeling.

  According to the present invention, an elastic member for a push button switch which can obtain various changes in electric physical values such as operation load and resistance value, current value, voltage value according to the stroke amount of pressing operation in one push button operation. And a push button switch can be obtained.

The top view of the elastic member for push button switches by 1st Embodiment. The front view of the elastic member for pushbutton switches of FIG. 1. III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1 of the elastic member for push button switches. The bottom view of the elastic member for pushbutton switches of FIG. The schematic diagram of the pushbutton switch which combined the key top with the elastic member for pushbutton switches of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the position of the presser of the key top contact | abutted on the elastic member for pushbutton switches of FIG. Explanatory drawing which represents typically the motion of the presser in a key top. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state where the elastic member for a push button switch of FIG. 1 has not received a pressing operation from a key top. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a protruding portion of the elastic member for a push button switch in FIG. 1 starts to contact the contact resistance, and FIG. 9 (a) is an explanatory view showing a state around the key top receiving portion from the front, FIG. 9 (b) is an explanatory view equivalent to FIG. The explanatory view showing the state where the whole tip part of the elastic member for push button switches of Drawing 1 and a part of slope part contacted contact resistance. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the displacement and the load and resistance of the elastic member for the push button switch of FIG. 1 and the comparative example. Sectional drawing equivalent to FIG. 3 of the elastic member for pushbutton switches by 2nd Embodiment. The bottom view of the elastic member for pushbutton switches of FIG. 12 equivalent to FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a state where a pressing operation from a key top of the elastic member for push button switch of FIG. 12 is not received. FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a protruding portion of the elastic member for a push button switch of FIG. 12 starts to contact the contact resistance. The explanatory view showing the state where the whole one side of the projection part of the elastic member for push buttons switches of Drawing 12 contacted contact resistance. Sectional drawing equivalent to FIG. 3 of the elastic member for pushbutton switches which is a comparative example.

  An example of an embodiment of an elastic member for a push button switch (hereinafter also referred to as "elastic member") of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the respective embodiments, the description of the same material, configuration, operation and effects, etc. will be omitted.

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A plan view of the elastic member 11 is shown in FIG. 1, a front view is shown in FIG. 2, a sectional view is shown in FIG. 3, and a bottom view is shown in FIG. As shown in these drawings, the elastic member 11 includes a base 12, a skirt 13 extending obliquely upward from the base 12, and a main body 14 connected to the skirt 13.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the case W covering the elastic member 11 as a separate member from the elastic member 11, the key top K as the "operation member" for pressing the elastic member 11, and the key top K A support shaft A supported by the housing W is provided to form a push button switch S. Furthermore, a circuit board P is provided below the elastic member 11, and the circuit board P is provided with a contact resistance C as a "contact portion" as a switch element for opening and closing an electric circuit.

  The base portion 12 of the elastic member 11 has a function of mounting the elastic member 11 on the circuit board P. The skirt portion 13 is an elastic film continuous from the base portion 12 to the main body portion 14, and elastically supports the main body portion 14 in a floating state in a displaceable manner with respect to the base portion 12. Since the skirt portion 13 is a thin film-like portion connected gently to the outer wall portion of the main body portion 14, the skirt portion 13 is the portion most easily deformed when the elastic member 11 is pressed through the key top K.

  A cylindrical peripheral wall 15a is formed on the upper portion of the main body portion 14 as a first pressure receiving portion 15 for receiving a pressing operation from the key top K, which forms the side surface of the concave portion 16 opened on one side of the upper surface 14a of the main body portion 14 It is done. Further, a columnar portion 17 a is formed on the upper portion of the main body portion 14 as a second pressing receiving portion 17 which receives the pressing operation from the key top K as well. On the lower bottom surface of the main body 14, that is, the bottom surfaces of the first pressure receiving portion 15 and the second pressure receiving portion 17, there is provided a protrusion 18 in conductive contact with the contact resistance C provided on the circuit board P.

  The cylindrical peripheral wall 15 a, which is the first pressure receiving portion 15, is a portion that the key top K contacts, and is positioned on one side of the upper surface 14 a of the main body portion 14. The recess 16 is a substantially semi-cylindrical space in the present embodiment, and appears in a semicircle when the main body 14 is viewed from the upper side (in plan view). The cylindrical peripheral wall 15a is formed to be thin.

  The columnar portion 17 a, which is the second pressing receiving portion 17, is a portion that the key top K contacts, and is positioned on the other side of the upper surface 14 a of the main body portion 14. The columnar portion 17 a is formed in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape, and a vertical wall 17 b along the vertical direction facing the concave portion 16 passes the center line of the upper surface 14 a. The upper end of the vertical wall 17b is formed as a curved edge 17c. As described later, the key top K first presses and contacts the first press receiving portion 15 and then gradually presses and contacts the second press receiving portion 17.

  The projecting portion 18 is composed of a tip end 18a provided on the center side and an inclined surface 18b formed to be inclined with respect to the tip end 18a around the tip end 18a. A conductive layer 18 c such as a carbon coating layer or a conductive rubber layer formed of conductive carbon ink is formed on the surface of the projecting portion 18.

  The ratio of the size of the tip portion 18a and the inclined surface portion 18b is such that the diameter of the tip portion 18a is 20 to 30% of the diameter of the entire projecting portion 28 including the tip portion 18a and the inclined surface portion 18b. Is a preferred embodiment. In this embodiment, the size of this range is used. On the other hand, if the diameter of the tip portion 18a becomes too large, the contact area with the contact resistance C immediately increases, and the decrease slope of the resistance value becomes large. In addition, if the diameter of the tip portion 18a is too small, the pressing load is concentrated on the tip portion 18a, and by repeating this, the tip portion 18a is crushed and deformed, and the resistance value is steeper than that at the beginning of use. There is a risk that the resistance drops or the slope of the resistance becomes unstable.

  The elastic member 11 is formed of a material (rubber elastic body) having rubber elasticity. As such a material, for example, in addition to synthetic rubbers such as silicone rubber, urethane rubber and ethylene propylene rubber, thermoplastic elastomers such as styrene type, olefin type, polyester type and urethane type can be used. Among the above-mentioned materials, silicone rubber is preferable because of its small compression set and excellent durability. The hardness of the material is preferably 30 to 70 (JIS-K6253 (corresponding to ISO 7619-1), a value measured by a type A durometer). If it is softer than 30, even if the shape of the projecting portion 18 is changed, the operation feeling received by the operator hardly changes, and if it is harder than 70, the pressing load of the operator becomes too high and the pressing operation becomes difficult. is there. The elastic member 11 can be manufactured by molding such as injection molding.

Next, the part which comprises pushbutton switch S is also demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 5, a presser K1 for pressing the elastic member 11 is formed on the key top K, and has a semicylindrical shape in which the depth direction in FIG. 5 is the longitudinal direction. Then, the elastic member 11 is pressed by the semicircular arc portion. The pusher K 1 is disposed at a position crossing the upper surface 14 a of the main body 14 and slightly closer to the first pressing receiving portion 15 than a center line dividing the main body 14 into two. FIG. 6 shows the position of the pusher K1 that strikes the upper surface 14a of the elastic member 11. As shown in FIG. 5, since the key top K is provided with the support shaft A, when the operator depresses the key top K, the pusher K1 makes a first pressing of the elastic member 11 as shown in FIG. It turns while applying pressing force to the 2nd press receiving part 17 (columnar part 17a) from the receiving part 15 (cylindrical surrounding wall 15a).

Next, the operation of the elastic member 11 will be described.
FIG. 8 shows an initial state in which the operator does not operate the key top K in the push button switch S in which the push button elastic member 11 is disposed on the circuit board P having the contact resistance C. In this state (A1: FIG. 11), the presser K1 of the key top K contacts the upper end of the cylindrical peripheral wall 15a, and slightly contacts the curved edge 17c of the upper end of the columnar portion 17a. It is in the state of The protruding portion 18 (conductive layer 18 c) of the elastic member 11 is separated from the contact resistance C of the circuit board P.

  When the operator presses the key top K, the key top K rotates around the support axis A as a rotation center. First, the pusher K1 elastically deforms the thin cylindrical peripheral wall 15a. This state is shown in FIG. 9 (a). Then, the flat tip portion 18a of the projecting portion 18 obliquely contacts the contact resistance C (A2: FIG. 11). Furthermore, if it continues pushing in as it is, it will be in the state (A3: FIG. 11) which the whole tip part 18a contacts contact resistance C. This state is shown in FIG. 9 (b).

  When the key top K is further pressed, the presser K1 is rotated, and the pressed portion moves from the cylindrical peripheral wall 15a to the columnar portion 17a. At this stage, the cylindrical peripheral wall 15a is not deformed, and as shown in FIG. 10, the inclined surface 18b on the right side in the drawing of the projecting portion 18 comes into contact with the contact resistance C (A4). When pressing continues further, the inclined surface 18b gradually contacts the contact resistance C, and the entire inclined surface 18b on the right side contacts the contact resistance C (not shown).

  With regard to pressing on the key top K, by providing a stopper on the push button switch, the rotation of the key top K is stopped before the state (A4) is exceeded and the state (A5) is reached or the state (A5) is reached. It may be possible to This is to prevent application of an excessive load to the elastic member 11 and to protect the elastic member 11.

  With respect to the movement of the elastic member 11, the displacement (mm) of the center of the main body 14, the pressing load (N) with which the operator presses the key top K, and the resistance formed by the contact resistance C and the projection 18 The relationship with (Ω) is shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, two solid lines indicate the elastic member 11 of the above embodiment. Further, of the two solid lines, a thick line indicates the relationship between the displacement of the main body 14 and the pressure load (left scale) on the key top K, and the thin line indicates the displacement of the main body 14 and the resistance value (right scale). The relationship with the pressing load of

  First, in a state (A1) in which the elastic member 11 and the contact resistance C are not in contact with each other, at a displacement of 0, the load is substantially zero, and the resistance indicates an initial resistance value. At the stage of the state (A2) in which the key top K is depressed and the tip end portion 18a contacts the contact resistance C, the load gradually increases mainly as the cylindrical peripheral wall 15a and the skirt portion 13 on the right side in the figure deform. Also, as the contact area of the tip portion 18a increases, the resistance gradually decreases. Then, a state (A3 (a)) in which the entire tip portion 18a contacts the contact resistance C is reached. From this state (A3 (a)), the load for the displacement rises sharply. That is, in the state (A4) shown in FIG. 10, the presser K1 pivots to push the columnar portion 17a, and since the columnar portion 17a is thicker than the cylindrical peripheral wall 15a, the load rapidly increases. At this time, the inclined surface portion 18b comes into contact with the contact resistance C and the contact area is gradually expanded, whereby the resistance continues to be further lowered.

  Summarizing the changes in load and resistance caused by the displacement of the main body portion 14, the state (A3 (a)) is compared with that from the state (A1) where the pressing of the key top K starts to be pressed (A1) to the state (A3 (a)) Since the load increases rapidly until the state (A5) is exceeded, the feel received by the operator also changes from the state (A3 (a)). On the other hand, the resistance continues to decrease from the state (A2) to the state (A5), and it is possible to detect a change in the resistance even if the load rises rapidly (A3 (a)). Therefore, by changing the aspect of the output of the application on the basis of the resistance value in the state (A3 (a)), it is possible to link the change in the feel of the operator to the change in the output.

  FIG. 17 shows an elastic member B provided with a recess opened at the center of the upper surface of the main body for comparison with the above embodiment in which the recess 16 opened at one side of the upper surface 14a of the main body is provided. The relationship between the displacement and the load and the resistance in the elastic member B when pressing the elastic member B with the key top K and the support shaft A identical to each other is shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. Of the two alternate long and short dash lines, the thick line shows the relationship between the displacement of the main body and the pressure on the key top K (left scale), and the thin line shows the relationship between the displacement of the main body and the resistance value (right scale). .

  In the elastic member B, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line, the graph of the pressing load with respect to the displacement of the main body is substantially the same as that of the elastic member 11. On the other hand, looking at the displacement and resistance graph, the resistance has dropped before reaching a state (A3 (b)) in which the rate of increase in pressure load changes rapidly. This is because in the elastic member B, the columnar portion 17a is not formed and the cylindrical peripheral wall 15a is formed over the entire circumference, so the cylindrical peripheral wall 15a continues to be crushed until the right end of the inclined surface portion 18b contacts the contact resistance C. I think that the. Therefore, the elastic member B can not obtain a change in resistance value such that the resistance value continues to decrease even when the load rises rapidly (A3 (b)), and the elastic member 11 of the present invention described above As described above, by changing the aspect of the output of the application based on the resistance value of the state (A3 (a)), it is not possible to link the change in the feel of the operator to the change in the output.

Second Embodiment (FIGS. 12 to 16) :
A cross-sectional view of the elastic member 21 of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. 12, and a bottom view is shown in FIG. The elastic member 21 of the present embodiment is different from the elastic member 11 shown in the previous embodiment in that the shape of the protrusion is a smooth dome shape which protrudes downward. The other shape is the same as that of the elastic member 11.

Next, the operation of the elastic member 21 will be described.
When the key top K is pressed from the state shown in FIG. 14 in which the main body portion 14 and the contact resistance C are separated, a part of the protruding portion 28 comes in contact with the contact resistance C as shown in FIG. When the key top K is further depressed, the entire protrusion 28 comes in contact with the contact resistance C as shown in FIG.

  In the above process, in a state in which the elastic member 21 and the contact resistance C are not in contact with each other, at a displacement of 0, the load is 0, and the resistance indicates an initial resistance value. Furthermore, at the stage where the key top K is depressed and a part of the projecting portion 28 contacts the contact resistance C, the columnar portion 17a is pressed mainly through the process of deformation of the cylindrical peripheral wall 15a and the skirt portion 13 on the right side in the figure. And the step of rapidly increasing the load. Then, the contact area continues to increase until the entire projection 28 on the right side of the drawing comes into contact with the contact resistance C, whereby the resistance continues to decrease.

  The inclination of the projection 28 of the elastic member 21 gradually changes, and there is no abrupt change in the inclination that changes from the tip 18 a of the elastic member 11 to the inclined surface 18 b. Therefore, although there is no increase in the pressing load when pressing the protrusion formed at the boundary between the tip portion 18 and the inclined surface portion 18b, the resistance value at that time is taken as the boundary because the feel received by the operator changes. By changing the aspect of the output of the application, it is possible to connect the change in the feel of the operator to the change in the output.

The form described in the above embodiment is an exemplification of the present invention, and modifications of the embodiment or addition of known techniques, combinations thereof and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention It is included in the scope of the present invention.
The distinction between upper and lower used in the description of the elastic member is for convenience of explanation, and the direction of the installation is not limited at all, and the elastic member may be used with the upper and lower sides being reversed.

11 and 21 Elastic members for push button switches 12 Base portion 13 Skirt portion 14 Body portion 14a Upper surface 15 First pressure receiving portion 15a Tubular peripheral wall 16 Recess 17 Second pressure receiving portion 17a Columnar portion 17b Vertical wall 17c Curved edge 18, 28 Protrusion 18a Tip 18b Inclination surface 18c Conductive layer S Push button switch P Circuit board C Contact resistance K Key top K1 Pusher W Housing A Support shaft B Elastic member for push button switch (comparative example)

Claims (7)

A main body having an upper surface for receiving pressure contact of the operation member;
An elastic member for a push button switch, comprising: a skirt portion resiliently supporting the main body portion in a displaceable manner;
The body portion is
A first pressure receiving portion formed of a cylindrical peripheral wall positioned on one side of the upper surface;
A second pressure receiving portion formed of a columnar portion connected to the cylindrical peripheral wall on the other side of the upper surface;
The circuit board is provided below the first and second pressure receiving portions and is moved by the operating member from the first pressure receiving portion to the second pressure receiving portion. An elastic member for a push button switch, comprising: a protruding portion pressed into contact with the contact portion.
The top surface is circular,
The cylindrical peripheral wall is semi-cylindrical,
The elastic member for a push button switch according to claim 1, wherein the columnar portion has a semi-cylindrical shape.
The elastic member for a push button switch according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a carbon print layer on the surface of the protrusion.
The protrusion is
A tip portion in conductive contact with the contact portion of the circuit board;
The elastic member for a push button switch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising an inclined surface portion which is separated from the contact portion of the circuit board more than the front end portion.
5. The elastic member for a push button switch according to claim 4, wherein the front end portion is a flat surface without inclination with respect to the contact portion of the circuit board.
The elastic member for a push button switch according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the tip portion has a diameter of 20 to 30% of a diameter of the protrusion.
The elastic member for the push button switch according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The operation member in pressure contact with the first pressure receiving portion and the second pressure receiving portion;
A pushbutton switch comprising: a support shaft for moving the operation member from a contact position with the first pressure receiving portion to a contact position with the second pressure receiving portion.

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