JPH0721873A - Push button device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] It is possible to simplify the member to which the pressing member is attached without requiring a case for accommodating the pressing member.
Further, the operation of the pressing member is ensured, and a good operational feeling can be obtained. [Structure] The push button device 20 is composed of two members, a pressing member 21 and an arrangement plate 22. The pressing member 21 integrally includes a pressing portion 25, a switch pressing portion 27, a guide portion 28, a lower limit stopper 33, an upper limit stopper 29, and a spring portion 30.
The disposition plate 22 has an insertion hole 35 through which the switch pressing portion 27 is inserted and a guide hole 3 for slidably guiding the guide portion 28.
6. It also has a stopper hole 37 for guiding the upper limit stopper 29 slidably. The spring portion 30 is pressed against the arrangement plate 22 to urge the pressing member 21 upward.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button device used in various electric equipment, audio equipment, and the like, and more particularly to a push button device suitable for application to a large device requiring a long stroke and a high operation feeling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Push button devices used in various electric devices, audio devices, etc. are roughly classified into a direct drive type and a rotary type.
There are types. FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a conventional example of a direct-acting type push button device. In this push button device 1, a pressing member 2 is inserted and retracted in a case 3 so that the upper limit stopper 4 prevents the pressing member 2 from coming off the case 3, and a switch pressing portion 5 integrally provided on the back surface of the pressing member 2 prevents the pressing member 2. Switch 6 ON, OF
The pressing member 2 is configured to be operated in the F direction and to be biased in the return direction by the spring piece 7 integrally provided on the inner surface of the case. A claw portion 8 having a triangular shape in a side view is provided at the tip of the upper limit stopper 4, and the upper surface of the claw portion 8 abuts and engages with the lower surface of the case 3 to prevent the pressing member 2 from coming out of the case 3. To prevent.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional push button device 1, since the pressing member 2 is biased in the returning direction by the spring piece 7 integrally provided in the case 3, There has been a problem that the structure is remarkably complicated and the manufacturing cost is increased. Further, when the pressing member 2 is sandwiched by the spring pieces 7, the pressing member 2 stops at a position other than the initial position, so that a predetermined stroke cannot be obtained and the operation feeling is bad.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to eliminate the need for a case for accommodating the pressing member and to simplify the member to which the pressing member is attached. Another object of the present invention is to provide a push button device that can be realized in a more reliable manner, and that the operation of the pressing member is reliable and a good operational feeling can be obtained.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a pressing member and an arrangement plate on which the pressing member is arranged, wherein the pressing member includes a pressing portion and the pressing portion. When the switch is pressed, the switch pressing part, the lower limit stopper that limits the amount of depression of the pressing part, the guide part, and the engaging part are normally locked to the initial position by engaging the mounting plate. Upper limit stopper and a spring portion for urging the pressing portion in the return direction are integrally formed, and the arrangement plate includes a guide hole into which the guide portion is slidably inserted and the upper limit stopper. The spring portion biases the pressing member in the return direction when the free end of the spring portion is pressed against the disposition plate.

[0006]

In the present invention, the guide hole of the mounting plate slidably guides and holds the guide portion of the pressing member. The lower limit stopper sets the maximum stroke of the pressing member by contacting the arrangement plate. The upper limit stopper is slidably inserted into the stopper hole, and normally abuts and engages with the disposition plate to lock the pressing member in the initial position, and prevents the pressing member from coming off the disposition plate. The switch pressing portion operates the switch when the pressing member is pressed. The spring portion is brought into pressure contact with the arrangement plate to give the pressing member a habit of returning.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a push button device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 (A) and 2 (B) are sectional views showing an inoperative state of the device and a sectional view showing a state at the time of pressing operation, 3 is a plan view of the pressing member, and FIG. 4 is IV of FIG.
-IV line sectional view, FIG. 5 is a VV line sectional view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a VI-VI line sectional view of FIG. In these figures, the push button device 20 is composed of two members, a pressing member 21 for turning the switch 6 ON and OFF, and a mounting plate (sub-panel) 22 on which the pressing member 21 is vertically movable. . In FIG. 2, 23 is a front panel of the device,
Reference numeral 24 is a printed circuit board to which the switch 6 is attached.

The pressing member 21 is integrally formed by injection molding of a resin having excellent elastic recovery force, fatigue characteristics and the like, and a low friction coefficient, such as polyacetal resin or ABS resin. The pressing member 25 is a rectangular parallelepiped. A flange portion 26 provided on the back surface of the pressing portion 25, a switch holding portion 27 protruding rearward at a central portion of the rear surface of the flange portion 26, and a four-corner portion on the rear surface of the flange portion 26. And four guide portions 28, a pair of upper limit stoppers 29 projecting rearward at the center of one pair of sides of the collar portion 26 that face each other, and another pair of the flange portion 26 that face each other. A pair of spring portions 30 provided rearward are provided at the center of the sides. The pressing portion 25 has a size of about 15 mm square and is slidably inserted from the inside of the device into the push button mounting hole 31 provided in the front panel 23 and protruded to the outside. The collar portion 26 is formed to be larger than the pressing portion 25, and the front panel 23
When the pressing member 21 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the
Prevent you from getting out. In addition, a U-shaped spring mounting portion 32 that opens rearward is integrally provided at the center of another pair of sides of the collar portion 26 where the spring portion 30 is provided. The switch holding portion 27 is made of a rectangular rod and has a predetermined length. The guide portion 28 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a different diameter on the base end side and larger in diameter than the tip side, and the large diameter base portion forms a lower limit stopper 33 that limits the amount of depression of the pressing member 21. The upper limit stopper 29 is made of a plate-shaped body extending rearward and having a predetermined length, and a claw portion 29a having a triangular shape in a side view is integrally provided on the outer surface of the tip end portion.
The spring portion 30 is provided in such a manner that the spring portion 30 is opened and continuously connected to both end portions of the back surface of the spring mounting portion 32 in a V shape (spreading toward the end).
It is composed of a pair of left and right spring pieces 30a, 30b. The spring piece 30a is composed of an elongated plate-shaped body having an appropriate width and thickness, is elastically deformable in the plate thickness direction, that is, in the direction of approaching and separating from the front panel 23, and is convex toward the front panel 23 side. It is curved with an appropriate curvature.

The reason why the spring mounting portion 32 is provided on the collar portion 26 and the spring portion 30 is provided on the spring mounting portion 32 is as follows.
This is to avoid interference between the spring portion 30 and the switch pressing portion 27, the guide portion 28 or the upper limit stopper 29. Therefore, as a matter of course, it may be provided on the back surface of the collar portion 26 unless interference occurs. Further, it is desirable that the guide portion 28 is provided near the outer circumference of the collar portion 26 in order to obtain a stable operation of the pressing member 21.

The arrangement plate 22 is similar to the pressing member 21.
Four guide holes, which are formed in a plate shape by injection molding of polyacetal resin or the like, and have a rectangular insertion hole 35 into which the switch holding portion 27 is inserted and a round hole for slidably guiding and holding each guide portion 28. 36 and upper limit stoppers 29
Has two stopper holes 37 formed of square holes into which the front panel 23 and the printed circuit board 24 are slidably inserted.
And are arranged substantially parallel to them. Guide hole 3
6 is larger than the diameter of the guide portion 28, and the lower limit stopper 3
3 has a smaller hole diameter than the outer diameter. Switch 6
Is disposed on the printed circuit board 24 at the rear of the insertion hole 35 and faces the switch holding portion 27 with a predetermined space.

In such a structure, the pressing member 21 is attached to the installation plate 22 by inserting the switch holding portion 27, the guide portion 28 and the upper limit stopper 29 into the insertion hole 35, the guide hole 36 and the stopper hole 37, respectively. , The tip of the spring portion 30 is pressed against the surface of the arrangement plate 22. Then,
The spring portion 30 is elastically deformed in the leg opening direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2A), and the elastic force of the spring portion 30 supports the pressing member 21 and urges it upward. Therefore, the claw portion 29a of the upper limit stopper 29 is pressed against the back surface of the arrangement plate 22 to lock the pressing member 21 at the initial position shown in FIG. 2 (A). In this state, the spring portion 30
Have their legs open from their natural state and urge the pressing member 21 upward. Then, the front panel 23 is attached to the main body of the device, and the pressing portion 25 is projected to the outside from the push button mounting hole 31, whereby the mounting of the pressing member 21 is completed. In this mounted state, the collar portion 26 is in light contact with or closely faces the lower surface of the front panel 23. When the pressing portion 25 of the pressing member 21 is pressed down with a finger, the switch pressing portion 27 descends along the insertion hole 35 and presses the switch 6 on the tip end surface as shown in FIG. 2B. Also, the pressing portion 25
When a predetermined amount is pushed in, the lower limit stopper 33 comes into contact with the surface of the arrangement plate 22 and regulates further depression of the pressing member 21. The stroke of the pressing member 21 can be freely set by changing the length of the lower limit stopper 33. The spring portion 30 opens when the pressing member 21 is pushed in, and when the external force on the pressing portion 25 is removed, the spring portion 30 elastically returns to push up the pressing member 21, and the claw portion 29a of the upper limit stopper 29 is provided on the plate 22. The pressing member 21 is moved and returned to the initial position shown in FIG. The touch feeling at the time of pressing can be changed by the thickness and shape of the spring portion 30.

Thus, in the push button device 20 having such a structure, the pressing member 21 can be moved in parallel by the guide portion 28 and the spring portion 30 having the hinge spring structure, and a direct acting push button device can be obtained. You can Further, since the pressing member 21 and the disposing plate 22 are composed of two members, there is no need for a biasing means such as a spring, which is a separate member, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced. The mounting plate 22 to be mounted is a flat plate and the insertion hole 3
5, the guide hole 36 and the stopper hole 37 need only be formed, so that the structure is remarkably simpler than the case 3 shown in FIG. 7 and can be manufactured at low cost. Further, since the four guide portions 28 and the spring portion 30 that opens in a V shape are provided, the pressing member 21 can be stably operated even with a large push button device, and a good operation feeling is obtained. And has an advantage that a long stroke (about 1.8 mm) can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the insertion hole 3 is formed in the mounting plate 22.
5 is formed, but it is not necessary when the switch 6 is installed on the mounting plate 22. Further, in the above embodiment, the guide portion 2
Although the case where 8 and the lower limit stopper 33 are provided coaxially has been described, it goes without saying that they may be provided separately. Further, the guide portion 28, the lower limit stopper 33, the upper limit stopper 2
9. The number of spring portions 30 can be appropriately increased or decreased according to the size of the pressing member 21.

[0014]

As described above, the push button device according to the present invention comprises the pressing member and the disposing plate, and the pressing member has the pressing portion, the switch pressing portion, the guide portion, the lower limit stopper,
The upper limit stopper and the spring part are integrally provided, and the guide plate through which the guide part is slidably inserted and the stopper hole through which the upper limit stopper is prevented from coming off and slidably inserted are provided in the mounting plate, and the spring part is Since the pressing member is pressed against the surface of the mounting plate so that the pressing member can move in the returning direction, it is not necessary to separately provide biasing means such as a coil spring and a leaf spring, and the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be reduced. It is possible to improve productivity and reduce cost. Further, it is possible to provide a large direct-acting type push button device which has a remarkably simple structure of the disposition plate and can be manufactured at low cost, has a good operation feeling, and has a long stroke.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a push button device according to the present invention.

2A and 2B are a sectional view showing an inoperative state of the device and a sectional view showing a state at the time of a pressing operation.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a pressing member.

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

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional example of a direct-acting push button device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Switch 20 Push Button Device 21 Pressing Member 22 Arrangement Plate 23 Front Panel 25 Pressing Part 27 Switch Holding Part 28 Guide Part 28a Lower Limit Stopper 29 Upper Limit Stopper 30 Spring Part 33 Lower Limit Stopper 35 Insertion Hole 36 Guide Hole 37 Stopper Hole

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pressing member, and a mounting plate on which the pressing member is arranged, the pressing member includes a pressing portion, a switch pressing portion that operates a switch when the pressing portion is pressed, and the pressing member. Lower limit stopper that limits the amount of depression of the portion, a guide portion, an upper limit stopper that normally locks the pressing portion at the initial position by engaging the arrangement plate, and urges the pressing portion in the return direction. A spring hole that is integrally formed, and the disposition plate includes a guide hole into which the guide portion is slidably inserted, and a stopper hole into which the upper limit stopper is prevented from slipping and slidably inserted. The push button device is characterized in that the spring portion biases the pressing member in the return direction by pressing the free end of the spring portion against the disposition plate.