KR930009235B1 - Push button switch - Google Patents

Abstract

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Description

Push button switch

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of push button switches respectively viewed in different directions in an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the housing provided in this push button switch.

4 is a plan view of a sliding member provided in the push button switch.

5 is an exploded perspective view of this push button switch.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a pressing operation state of this push button switch.

7 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional push button switch.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

7: housing 8: movable contact (first return spring)

9: sliding member 10: coil spring (second return spring)

11: stem 12: key top

13, 29, 39: side wall 14: 1st guide cylinder

15, 27: slot 16: the first fixed contact

17: 2nd fixed contact 18, 19: terminal

20: home 21: the first fastener

22: hanging part 23: grudge

24: annular wall 25: rib

26: second guide cylinder 28: spring bearing recess

30: jaw 31: engaging hole

32: vertical wall 33: first engagement end

34: second engagement end 35: cutout

36: Notch 37: Connection

38: sliding projection 40: each piece

41: second engagement pool 42: fitting hole

45: through hole

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button switch used as a key switch of an input device such as a personal computer or a word processor, and more particularly to a push button switch suitable for miniaturization.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional example of this kind of push button switch, in which 1 represents a reinforcement plate made of a hard material such as metal, and a membrane switch 2 is placed on the reinforcement plate 1. have. The membrane switch 2 includes a top sheet 2b having a movable contact 2a, a bottom sheet 2d having a fixed contact 2c, and a spacer stacked between these upper and lower sheets 2b and 2d. It consists of (2e). The housing 3 made of synthetic resin is placed on the upper part of the membrane switch 2, and the projection 3b in which the annular guide cylinder 3a is located outside thereof is integrally molded. Step 4a installed on the ceiling surface of the key top 4 made of synthetic resin is slidably inserted into the inner wall 3c of the guide cylinder 3a, and the coil spring 5 is inserted into the stem 4a. It is installed with this powerful fitting. Further, a flat surface 3d is formed between the guide cylinder 3a of the housing 3 and the protrusion 3b, and between the flat surface 3d and the ceiling surface of the key top 4. The return spring 6 is interposed. Although not shown, cutout grooves are formed in the protruding portion 3b in a direction orthogonal to the ground of FIG. 7, while the key top 4 has a fastening port for moving up and down inside these cutout grooves. It is provided, and these fastening cloths are prevented from falling out of the housing 3 by contacting the upper end of the notch groove.

Next, the operation of the push button switch configured as described above will be described.

In the non-operational state shown in FIG. 7, the key top 4 is located at the highest point of the stroke where the engagement pawl (not shown) contacts the top of the cutout groove by the elastic force of the return spring 6, wherein the coil spring 5 Since the lower end of the top face 2 is separated from the top sheet 2b, the movable switch 2a and the fixed contact 2c are in the non-contact off state because the membrane switch 2 is in the off state.

From this state, when the operator presses the key top 4 against the elastic force of the return spring 6, the outer wall of the stem 4a is lowered along the inner wall 3c of the guide cylinder 3a, and the key top 4 is The stroke is moved to the lowest point.

In this case, since the coil spring 5 held on the stem 4a is gradually compressed in contact with the upper sheet 2b, the upper sheet 2b is bent by the elastic force of the coil spring 5, so that the movable contact 2a ) Contacts the fixed contact 2c so that the membrane switch 2 is switched from off to on.

When the pressing operation force with respect to the key top 4 is removed in this on state, the key top 4 rises to the highest point of the stroke shown in FIG. 7 by the elastic force of the return spring 6, so that the curved top sheet (2b) is restored, whereby the movable contact 2a is separated from the stationary contact 2c and the membrane switch 2 is switched from on to off.

By the way, in such a push-button switch, the stem 4a is inserted into the inner wall 3c of the guide cylinder 3a and brought into sliding contact, so that the key top 4 is held freely in the housing 3, so that it is desired. Attempts have been made to reduce the height dimension of the guide cylinder 3d in order to reduce the push button switch while securing the operating stroke of the push button switch. In this case, however, the amount of insertion of the stem 4a into the guide cylinder 3a is inevitably reduced. The key top 4 tends to be inclined with respect to the housing 3 due to the microgap between the two required at the time of contact. In particular, when so-called end pressing is performed in which the operator pushes the edge of the key top 4, the stem 4a is caught by the guide cylinder 3a, which causes inconvenience in that the operation feeling is extremely bad.

This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and the objective is to provide the push button switch which can aim at small thickness, without degrading an operation feeling.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a user box-shaped housing having a switch element and having a first guide cylinder at the center thereof, a sliding member having a second guide cylinder at a center freely lifting and lowering the housing, A stem provided with the sliding projection lowered in the center when the sliding member is free to move up and down, a first return spring interposed between the housing and the sliding member, and between the sliding member and the stem. And a second return spring interposed therebetween, wherein the housing and the sliding member each have a sliding surface between the outer circumferential wall and the first and second guide cylinders, and the sliding member and the stem are respectively the outer circumferential wall and the stem. The second guide cylinder and the sliding projection is characterized in that the sliding surface is a sliding surface.

When the stem is pressed, the sliding member moves relative to the housing and the stem, respectively, so that the height dimension can be shortened without reducing the sliding distance. In this case, the stem and the sliding member are the sliding surface between the central sliding projection and the second guide cylinder and between the outer circumferential walls, and the housing and the sliding member are between the central first and second guide cylinders. Since the outer circumferential wall is a sliding surface, for example, even if the outer edge of the stem is press-operated (so-called end press-in), each member can slide smoothly without any rattling to obtain a good feeling of operation. have.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the Example of this invention is described based on drawing.

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of a push button switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, in a different direction, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a housing provided in the push button switch, and FIG. 4 is provided in the push button switch. The top view of a sliding member, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of this push button switch, and FIG. 6 is a figure which showed the press operation state of this push button switch.

As shown in these figures, the push button switch according to the present embodiment includes a housing 7, a movable contact 8, a sliding member 9, a coil spring 10, a stem 11, and a saw 12. Consists of.

The housing 7 forms a user box shape having sidewalls 13 around it, and a first guide cylinder 14 having a user shape is mounted on the bottom center of the housing 7. The first guide cylinder 14 protrudes downward from the bottom surface, and a pair of slots 15 are formed at the upper end of the guide cylinder 14. First and second fixed contacts 16 and 17 are inserted in the bottom surface of the housing 7, respectively, and these contacts 16 and 17 protrude outwardly as terminals 18 and 19. The first fixed contact 16 is located inside the sidewall 13, and a groove 20 is formed in the vicinity thereof, and the second fixed contact 17 is located outside the first guide cylinder 14. have. In addition, the two first corners 21 protruding outward are formed in two opposite corners of the side wall 13.

The movable contact 8 is formed by press-punching an elastic plate such as phosphor bronze in an approximately S-shape, and has a ring portion 22 at both ends and a torus 23 at the center. The movable contact 8 is formed in a dome shape in which the center portion is swollen by locking the end portions 22 at both ends in the groove 20. In this state, the first fixed contact 16 and the movable contact 8 are formed. The hanging portion 22 of the () is turned on, and the annular portion 23 is fitted to the outer circumferential surface of the first guide groove 14 and is separated from the second fixed contact 17.

The sliding member 9 has an annular wall 24 at the center of the bottom surface, and a second guide cylinder 26 is integrally formed through the rib 25 in the annular wall 24. The outer diameter of the second guide cylinder 26 is set to be approximately equal to the inner diameter of the first guide cylinder 14, and a pair of slots 27 are formed at the upper end of the second guide cylinder 26. have. On the other hand, the inner diameter of the annular wall 24 is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the first guide cylinder 14, and the spring bearing recess 28 is formed outside the annular wall 24. have.

In addition, a side wall 29 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the bottom surface of the sliding member 9, and a jaw portion 30 protruding outward is formed on the entire circumference of the upper end of the side wall 29. Engaging holes 31 are drilled and installed in two opposite corners of the jaw portion 30, respectively, and the bottom of the vertical wall 32, which is provided on the jaw portion 30 so as to surround these engaging holes 31, is provided. The first engagement end 33 is formed in the portion, that is, the engagement hole 31 on the outer inner bottom surface. A second engagement end 34 is formed in the remaining two corners of the jaw portion 30, and a cutout 35 is formed in the vicinity of the second engagement end 34.

The side wall 29 of the sliding member 9 is freely slidably inserted into the inner side of the side wall 13 of the housing 7 and is upwardly biased by the elastic force of the movable contact 8. The first engagement pole 21 comes into contact with the first engagement end 33 in the engagement hole 31 to prevent the sliding member 9 from falling off from the housing 7. In this state, the second guide cylinder 26 is in sliding contact with the inner circumferential surface of the first guide cylinder 14, and the rib 25 is located in the slot 15, and the housing 7 and the sliding member ( Each side wall 13, 29 of 9 is partially overlapped (see FIG. 1).

The stem 11 has a pair of cutouts 36 having a half moon shape at the center of the ceiling surface, and a circumferential sliding protrusion 38 is installed through the connecting piece 37 at the center of the cutouts 36. have. The diameter of the sliding projection 38 is set to be substantially equal to the inner diameter of the second guide cylinder 26. In addition, side walls 39 are arranged side by side on the periphery of the ceiling surface of the stem 11, and two pieces 40 extending downward are provided in two opposite corners of the side walls 39. At the bottom of the second engaging port 14 protruding outward is formed. Moreover, a pair of fitting holes 42 are provided in the ceiling surface of the stem 11, and these fitting holes 42 communicate with the inner wall of each said piece 40, respectively. On the other hand, the lower surface of the said key top 12 is provided with a pair of fitting protrusion 43 which makes planar phenomenon the same as the said fitting hole 42. As shown in FIG.

The side wall 39 of the stem 11 is inserted into the side wall 29 of the sliding member 9, and the spring support recess 28 of the sliding member 9 and the cloth of the stem 11 are provided. Although it is added upward by the elastic force of the coil spring 10 provided between the front surfaces, the stem is brought into contact with the second engagement end portion 34 (lower surface of the jaw portion 30) by the second engagement port 41. Falling from the sliding member 9 of (11) is prevented. In this state, the sliding projection 38 is slid with the inner circumferential surface of the second guide cylinder 26, and the side walls 29, 30 of the sliding member 9 and the stem 11 are partially overlapped. (See FIG. 2).

In addition, the stem 11 and the key top 12 are integrated by the fitting projection 43 being pushed into the fitting hole 42, and the fitting projection 43 is in contact with the inner surface of each piece 40, so that each piece The 40 deforms and prevents the engagement between the second engagement end 34 and the second engagement port 41 from being released. In addition, 44 is a printed board having a through hole 45, and the push button switch is a printed board 44 in a state in which the first guide cylinder 14 protruding from the lower surface of the housing 7 is inserted into the through hole 45. ), Each terminal 18, 19 is soldered to a pattern (not shown) of the printed board 44. As shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the push button switch configured as described above will be described.

In the non-operational state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stem 11 integrated in the key top 12 is biased in the direction away from the bottom surface of the sliding member 9 by the coil spring 10. The sliding member 9 is biased in the direction away from the bottom surface of the housing 7 by the movable contact 8, and the key top 12 is located at the top of the stroke. At this time, since the movable contact 8 is shaped like a dome, the movable contact 8 and the second fixed contact 17 are in non-contact, and the switch is in an off state.

When the operator pushes the ceiling surface of the key top 12 in this state, as shown in FIG. 6, the sliding projection 38 descends the inside of the second guide cylinder 26 to extrude the coil spring 10. At the same time, the second guide cylinder 26 lowers the inside of the first guide cylinder 4 by the elastic force of the coil spring 10 compressed, and as a result, the movable contact 8 is moved by the lower surface of the sliding member 9. The pressure is reversed, and the movable contact 8 contacts the second fixed contact 17 so that the switch is switched from off to on. In this case, the sliding surface between the sliding member 9 and the stem 11 is secured both inside and outside between the second guide cylinder 26 and the sliding projection 38 and between both side walls 29 and 30. In addition, the sliding surface between the housing 7 and the sliding member 9 is at both inside and outside between the first guide cylinder 14 and the second guide cylinder 26 and between the side walls 13 and 29. It is secured.

In addition, at the lowest point of the stroke in which the switch is turned on as described above, the upper ends of the first and second guide cylinders 14 and 26 are both located in the notch 36 of the stem 11, while the stem 11 The connecting piece 37 is located in the slots 15 and 27 of the first and second guide cylinders 14 and 26.

When the pressing force against the key top 12 is removed, the sliding member 9 and the stem 11 are moved to the top of the stroke shown in FIG. 2 by the elastic force of the movable contact 8 and the coil spring 10, respectively. Since it rises, the movable contact 8 is separated from the second fixed contact 17 and the switch is switched from on to off.

As described above, in the above embodiment, the first guide cylinder 14 of the housing 7 and the sliding protrusion 38 of the stem 11 are free to slide between the housing 7 and the stem 11, respectively. Since the sliding member 9 having the second guide cylinder 26 is provided, the sliding distance can be doubled as compared with the conventional products in which the stem is directly slid to the guide cylinder of the housing. The height dimension of the push button switch can be significantly shortened while maintaining the sliding feeling of the same degree.

In addition, the sliding member 9 and the stem 11 slide not only between the second guide cylinder 26 and the sliding projection 38 in the center, but also between the outer side walls 29 and 39. It has a moving surface, while the housing 7 and the sliding member 9 are formed between the outer side walls 13 and 29 as well as the sliding movement between the central first and second guide cylinders 14 and 26. Since it is also a sliding surface, even when the end pressure is applied, the three members of the stem 11, the sliding member 9 and the housing 7 can be relatively moved smoothly to make the operation feeling extremely good. .

In the above embodiment, the switch element for switching the contact is composed of the second fixed contact 17 provided on the bottom of the housing 7 and the movable contact 8 for returning the sliding member 9 to each other. As described above, instead of these fixed and movable contacts, a membrane switch may be arranged on the inner bottom of the housing, and the membrane switch may be configured to be operated by a sliding member or an elastic member for returning the sliding member. Do.

In the above embodiment, the case where the first guide cylinder 14 and the sliding protrusion 38 are in sliding contact with the outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the second guide cylinder 26 has been described. In contrast to the example, that is, the second guide cylinder may be fitted to the outer circumferential surface of the first guide cylinder, and the sliding protrusion formed in the cylindrical shape may be fitted to the outer circumferential surface of the second guide cylinder.

Further, in the above embodiment, the side wall 39 of the stem 11 is in sliding contact with the inner surface of the side wall 29 of the sliding member 9 and at the same time the sliding member is formed on the inner surface of the side wall 13 of the housing 7. Although the case where the side wall 29 of 9 is slid is explained, the positional relationship of these members is also opposite to the said embodiment, ie, the side wall of the sliding member 9 on the outer surface of the side wall 13 of the housing 7. It is also possible to slide the side wall 39 of the stem 11 on the outer surface of the side wall 29 of the sliding member 9 at the same time as sliding the 29.

In the above embodiment, since the height dimension can be significantly shortened without reducing the sliding distance, it is possible to provide a push button switch suitable for miniaturization.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the height dimension without reducing the sliding distance, and to smoothly move each member even when end pressure is applied. This good push button switch can be provided.

Claims (6)

A housing having a switch element and having a first guide cylinder at the center thereof, a sliding member installed in the housing having a second guide cylinder at the center thereof, and having a second guide cylinder at the center thereof; A stem installed by lowering the rod, a first return spring fitted between the housing and the sliding member, and a second return spring fitted between the sliding member and the stem, wherein the housing And the sliding member has respective side walls and the first and second guide cylinder surfaces being sliding surfaces, and the sliding member and the stem are sliding surfaces between the respective side walls and the second guide cylinder and sliding projections. Featured push button switches. The method of claim 1, wherein the housing and the sliding member are overlapped so as not to exit the respective sidewalls when the stem is not pressed, and at the same time, the sliding member and the stem are overlapped so as not to exit the respective sidewalls. Push button switch, characterized in that. The push button switch according to claim 1, wherein a jaw portion is provided in the entire upper end of the side wall of the sliding member. A sliding member having a housing having a switch element therein and having a first guide cylinder in the center thereof, a second guide cylinder installed in the housing and freely moving up and down against the housing and slidingly contacting the first guide cylinder; A first return spring installed between the housing and the sliding member, the stem having a sliding projection which is free to the member and which is in sliding contact with the second guide cylinder, and which has a cutout in the ceiling surface, and the housing and the sliding member; And a second return spring fitted between the movable member and the stem, wherein the upper end of the first and second guide cylinders are positioned inside the cutout when the stem is pressed. . 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the housing and the sliding member are overlapped so as not to exit the respective sidewalls when the stem is not pressed, and at the same time, the sliding member and the stem are overlapped so as not to exit the respective sidewalls. Push button switch, characterized in that. The push button switch according to claim 4, wherein a jaw portion is provided in the entire upper end of the side wall of the sliding member.