JPH0757590A - Switch action mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a switch action mechanism capable of smoothly operate a switch action member and capable of invariably obtaining the same action sense. CONSTITUTION:A circuit board 5 provided with a push switch 6 is arranged in a case 4. A through hole 9 is formed on the front panel 1 of the case 4 to face the push switch 6. A display sheet 10 printed with a switch display 10a is fixed on the front panel 1 at the position corresponding to the through hole 9. A switch action member 11 arranged in the through hole 9 is formed integrally with the front panel 1. The switch action member 11 is constituted of an action section main body 12 provided with a projection 13 protruded to the display sheet 10 side and a pair of flexible connecting arms 14 connecting the action section main body 12 to the front panel 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a switch operating mechanism of a push switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent remote controllers for electric appliances such as televisions and video cameras, and controllers for electric appliances such as electric water heaters, push switches mounted on a circuit board are mounted on a front panel of a controller case. A switch operating mechanism operated by a switch operating member arranged in the hole is used. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a schematic structure of a conventional switch operating mechanism.
In this figure, 101 is a circuit board on the surface of which a plurality of push switches 102 are attached. Circuit board 1
01, a front panel 103 of the case arranged at a predetermined interval is formed with a through hole 104 through which a switch operating member 102a formed by extending an operating portion of the push switch 102 penetrates. Also front panel 10
A taper portion 103 a that is inclined toward the through hole 104 is formed on the surface portion of No. 3. A display sheet 105 on which a switch display is printed is joined to the surface of the front panel 103 at a position corresponding to the through hole 103.

[0003]

As in the prior art, the operating portion of the push switch 102 is extended to extend the switch operating member 1.
The configuration of 02a causes the following problems.

(1) There is no problem when force is applied to the switch operating member 102a from directly above, but when force is applied to the switch operating member 102a from an oblique direction, the switch operating member 102a becomes a wall surface of the through hole 104. Since it may come into contact with the wall surface of the through hole provided in the case of the push switch, there is a problem that the switch operating member 102a cannot be pushed down smoothly.

(2) Since the switch operating member 102a cannot be made too large, the front panel 1
03 has a taper portion 103a formed on it so that the operator's finger can be placed right above the switch operating member 102a (arrow A).
However, in reality, the operator's finger often comes to the position shown by the arrow B, and there is a problem that the same operation feeling cannot always be obtained.

(3) Since the switch operating member 102a is returned to its original position only by the action of the spring inside the push switch 102, a large load is applied to the push switch 102 and the life of the push switch is shortened. .

An object of the present invention is to provide a switch operating mechanism capable of smoothly operating a switch operating member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a switch operating mechanism which can always obtain the same operation feeling.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a switch operating mechanism capable of extending the life of the switch.

[0010]

According to the present invention, a circuit board having a push switch is arranged inside a case, and a through hole is formed in a front panel of the case so as to correspond to the push switch. A switch sheet in which a switch display is printed at the position to be fixed is fixed on the front panel, and the switch operation member arranged in the through hole is driven by the force applied from the outside of the display sheet to operate the push switch. The operation mechanism is targeted for improvement.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the switch operating member is composed of the operating portion main body having the protruding portion protruding toward the display sheet side and the flexible connecting portion for connecting the operating portion main body to the front panel. Then, the switch operating member is formed integrally with the front panel.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the connecting portion is composed of a pair of connecting arms extending from the wall portion of the front panel surrounding the through hole with a predetermined distance from each other to the operating portion main body.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a projection portion that projects toward the operation portion main body and is joined to the display sheet is provided in the wall portion surrounding the through hole located between the pair of connecting arms.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the protrusion provided on the operation portion main body is made to protrude beyond the surface of the front panel.

[0015]

According to the present invention, when the switch operating member having the flexible connecting portion is formed integrally with the front panel, and the operating portion main body is provided with the protruding portion protruding toward the display sheet, Even if the angle to press the switch operating member is different,
The operator's finger is guided to the protrusion, and the force can always be applied to the push switch from directly above. Therefore, the switch operating member can be smoothly operated, and the same operation feeling can always be obtained. Further, since the connecting portion of the switch operating member has flexibility, when the switch operating member 102a is returned to its original position, the load on the spring of the push switch is reduced, and the life of the push switch is extended.

When the connecting portion is composed of a pair of connecting arms as in the second aspect of the invention, the strength of the connecting portion is increased,
Moreover, a certain degree of flexibility can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the projection portion that projects toward the operation portion main body and is joined to the display sheet is provided between the pair of connecting arms, the display sheet can be formed even if the through hole is enlarged. It is possible to prevent loosening at the through hole portion. In addition, the protrusion functions as a stopper for the operator's finger.

When the protrusion provided on the operation portion main body is made to protrude beyond the surface of the front panel as in the fourth aspect of the invention, the operator's finger can be positioned easily.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 (A) to 1 (C) are a partially cutaway perspective view and a sectional view of a switch operating mechanism of a remote controller including the switch operating mechanism of the present invention. 2 is shown in FIG.
6 is an enlarged perspective view of a switch operating member used in the embodiment of FIG. In this remote controller, a circuit board 5 is housed inside a case 4 that is formed by combining a front case half 2 and a rear case half 3 made of a synthetic resin such as ABS resin with a front panel 1. Is configured. On the circuit board 5, a plurality of electronic parts (not shown) and a plurality of push switches 6, 6 ... For constructing a circuit necessary for the function of the remote controller are attached. The circuit board 5 also includes an infrared light emitting diode 7
Is provided at a position corresponding to the filter 8 fitted in the case 4.

The front panel 1 of the case 4 is formed with through holes 9 ... Corresponding to the push switches 6 ... And a display sheet 10 having a switch display 10a printed at a position corresponding to the through holes 9 ... Is spliced on. The shape of the through holes 9 ... Has a shape that matches the shape of the corresponding switch display 10a printed on the display sheet 10. That is, if the switch display 10a is rectangular, the through hole 9 is basically rectangular. When the switch display 10a is circular or elliptical, the through hole 9 is partially curved. The through hole 9 is formed to be larger than the switch display 10a. In this embodiment, the width dimension of the through hole is set to about 1.3 mm. Further, each switch display 10a is printed at a position corresponding to the operation portion main body 12 of the switch operation member 11 within the area corresponding to the through hole 9.

The switch operating member 11 arranged in the through hole 9 has flexibility with the operating portion main body 12 having the protruding portion 13 protruding toward the display sheet 10 side, and the operating portion main body 12 is provided with the front panel. A pair of connecting arms 14, 1 for connecting to 1
4 and is integrally formed with the front panel 1. The operating portion main body 12 of this embodiment is integrally provided with a protruding portion 15 on the circuit board 5 side, which abuts on the operating portion of the push switch 6. Pair of connecting arms 14, 14
Extend from the wall portion of the front panel 1 that surrounds the through hole 9 at a predetermined distance from each other to the operation portion main body 12. The size between the pair of connecting arms 14 and 14 and the thickness of each connecting arm are determined so as to give the connecting arms 14 and 14 a predetermined strength and flexibility. Operation unit main body 12
Has a length dimension (about 1 cm in this embodiment) close to the width dimension of a human fingertip. Further, the protruding portion 13 extends over the entire length of the operation portion main body 12 in the length direction. The projecting dimension of the projecting portion 13 from the operating portion body 12 is such that the tip of the projecting portion 13 projects from the surface of the front panel when the operating portion is not operated, and the display sheet 10 does not touch the operating portion body 12 when not operating. 0.5 m).

A projecting portion 16 which projects toward the operation portion main body 12 and is joined to the display sheet 10 at a wall portion surrounding the through hole 9 located between the pair of connecting arms 14 and 14.
Is provided. The protrusion 16 is preferably formed so as not to be easily deformed even if pressed by an operator from above, and has the same thickness dimension (about 2 mm) as the thickness of the front panel 1 in this embodiment. The surface of the protrusion 16 on the display sheet 10 side is located closer to the display sheet 10 than the connecting arms 14, 14. Since the display sheet 10 is joined to the protrusion 16, it is possible to prevent the display sheet at the position corresponding to the through hole 9 from slacking even when the through hole 9 is enlarged. The protrusion 16 also functions as a stopper that prevents the operator's finger from deeply entering the through hole 9. In particular, when the protrusion 16 is provided between the pair of connecting arms 14 and 14 as in the present embodiment, the protrusion 16 directly contacts the connecting arms 14 and 14 with the finger of the operator, so that the connecting arms 14 and 14 are not separated. Preventing damage.

When the switch operating member 11 is formed integrally with the front panel 1, a pair of connecting arms 1 is formed.
It is necessary to prevent a weld of the molding resin (a mechanically weak portion formed at a portion where the molding resins flowing from both sides join together) from being formed in the middle of 4 and 14. Therefore, when molding the front panel 1 used in the present embodiment, a mold having an injection gate for molding resin at a position indicated by reference numeral 17 in FIG. 2 was used. When this mold is used, the molding resin flows through the flow path shown by the broken line in FIG. 2, and the molding resin weld is not formed in the middle of the pair of connecting arms 14, 14.

In the above embodiment, the pair of connecting arms 14, 1
Although the connecting portion is constituted by 4, the connecting portion may be formed by only one connecting arm.

Further, in the present embodiment, the switch operating member 11
The protruding portion 13 of the front panel 1 is projected from the surface of the front panel 1, but the tip of the protruding portion 13 is made to coincide with the surface of the front panel 1, or the tip of the protruding portion 13 is located below the surface of the front panel 1. It may be located.

[0026]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the switch operating member having the flexible connecting portion is integrally formed with the front panel, and the operating portion main body is provided with the protruding portion protruding toward the display sheet. Therefore, even if the angle at which the switch operating member is pushed is different, the operator's finger is guided to the protruding portion, and the force can always be applied from directly above the push switch.
Therefore, there is an advantage that the switch operation member can be operated smoothly and the same operation feeling can always be obtained. Further, since the connecting portion of the switch operating member is flexible, there is an advantage that the load on the spring of the push switch is reduced when the switch operating member is returned to the original position, and the life of the push switch can be extended. is there.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the connecting portion is composed of the pair of connecting arms, there is an advantage that the strength of the connecting portion can be increased and a certain degree of flexibility can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the projection portion, which projects toward the operation portion main body and is joined to the display sheet, is provided between the pair of connecting arms, the display sheet can be formed even if the through hole is enlarged. Has an advantage that it can be prevented from slackening at the through hole portion. In addition, the protrusion has an advantage of functioning as a stopper for the operator's finger.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the protruding portion provided on the operation portion main body is made to protrude beyond the surface of the front panel, there is an advantage that the operator's finger can be easily positioned.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a partially cutaway perspective view of a remote controller including a switch operating mechanism of the present invention, and FIGS. 1B and 1C are cross-sectional views of the switch operating mechanism.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a switch operating member used in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a structure of a conventional switch operating mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Front Panel 2 Front Case Half 3 Rear Case Half 4 Case 5 Circuit Board 6 Push Switch 9 Through Hole 10 Display Sheet 10a Switch Display 11 Switch Operation Member 12 Operation Unit Body 13 Projection Part 14 Connecting Arm 16 Projection Part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A circuit board having a push switch is arranged inside a case, and a through hole is formed in a front panel of the case so as to correspond to the push switch.
A display sheet having a switch display printed at a position corresponding to the through hole is fixed on the front panel, and a switch operating member arranged in the through hole is driven by a force applied from the outside of the display sheet. And a switch operating mechanism for operating the push switch, wherein the switch operating member is flexible with an operating portion main body having a protrusion protruding toward the display sheet, and the operating portion main body is provided with the operating portion main body. It consists of a connecting part that connects to the panel,
A switch operating mechanism, wherein the switch operating member is formed integrally with the front panel. 2. The pair of connecting arms comprises a pair of connecting arms extending from a wall portion of the front panel surrounding the through-hole to a main body of the operating portion at a predetermined distance from each other.
Switch operation mechanism described in. 3. A projection portion, which projects toward the operation portion main body and is joined to the display sheet, is provided at a portion of the wall portion surrounding the through hole located between the pair of connection arms. The switch operating mechanism according to claim 2. 4. The switch operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion provided on the operation portion main body protrudes from a surface of the front panel.