JPH1024732A - Limit switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a limit switch capable of accurately and sensitively detecting that a hand of a person is pinched when it is adapted to a window opening/closing device and causing no malfunction even when it is bent for use. SOLUTION: Two metal foils are laminated on a base tape apart from each other in the width direction to form a circuit board, the circuit board is fitted on the surface of a support tape, and multiple top sections are molded with silicone rubber and are linearly arranged on a base section via a skirt section. Conductive contact sections 34 are provided on the back faces of the top sections to form contact members 13, and the contact members 13 are fitted on the surface of the support tape to contactably face two metal foils to form a limit switch 10. The limit switch 10 is fitted at the upper section of the window frame Da of the door D of a vehicle so that the tip sections can be brought into contact with a rising window glass G, and it can be detected that a hand of a person is pinched between the window frame Da and the window glass G.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a limit switch (micro switch) used for detecting an operating position of a long or plate-like object, and more particularly, to a window glass and a window frame in a vehicle window opening and closing device. The present invention relates to a limit switch suitable for detecting a case where a foreign object is caught between the limit switch and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vehicle window opening / closing device, a so-called power window device, it is indispensable to stop the raising of a window glass when a hand or the like is caught between the window glass and a window frame. For this reason, a conventional power window device is provided with a sensor for detecting the current supplied to the motor for driving the window glass up and down, and when the current value detected by this sensor exceeds a predetermined value, the window glass and the window frame are connected to each other. It is determined that a foreign object has been caught in between, and control is performed to stop energizing the motor.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional power window device, the foreign object is caught between the window glass and the window frame in accordance with the magnitude of the current supplied to the motor. The current value serving as a criterion also needs to be of a considerably large value, and there is a problem that, particularly when the neck of an infant or the like is pinched, it is fatal.

Therefore, in recent years, limit switches as shown in FIG. 8 have been proposed for the purpose of directly detecting the entrapment of foreign substances such as human hands. This limit switch is a tube having a substantially elliptical cross section formed by two-color molding using conductive rubber and insulating rubber, and is formed by two conductive portions 1 made of conductive rubber and insulating rubber. The two insulating portions 2 are provided alternately in the circumferential direction.
The conductive part 1 and the insulating part 2 extend over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction, and the conductive part 1 faces each other.

The above-described limit switch shown in FIG. 8 is used by being fixed to a weather strip or the like above a window frame, and the conductive portion 1 is connected to a control circuit or the like. When a human hand or the like is sandwiched between the windowpane and the window frame, the limit switch deforms the sandwiched portion, and the inner surfaces of the conductive portions 1 and 1 are in contact with each other. Are electrically conducted.

However, the above-described limit switch is
When bent and attached to the window frame along the curve, the conductive portions 1 may come into contact with each other and become electrically conductive,
There was a drawback that reliability was poor. In addition, the conductive portion 1 is usually made of rubber kneaded with carbon or the like. However, the conductive portion 1 made of rubber kneaded with carbon has a drawback that the electric resistance value is high and the sensitivity is poor. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems and disadvantages,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a limit switch that can accurately and sharply detect that a human hand has been caught when applied to a window opening / closing device, and that does not cause a malfunction even when bent and used.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a limit switch according to the present invention extends in parallel with two electrically conductive portions electrically separated from each other on one surface of a long support member. Along with the support member, a long base portion corresponding to the support member, a plurality of top portions which are continuous with the base portion via a thin skirt portion and bulge at predetermined intervals in a longitudinal manner, and are fixed to the back surface of the top portion. Forming a contact member having a conductive contact portion made of a flexible material, attaching a base portion of the contact member to the support member, and facing the contact portion so as to be able to contact the two conductive portions. Is done.

In the limit switch according to the present invention, the support member and the contact member are liquid-tightly sealed with a cover member made of a flexible material (Claim 2). A holder member having a through-hole through which the contact member is formed, wherein the holder member is used to attach the contact member to the support member (Claim 3). It is possible to configure a mode in which cuts are formed in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the top portions (claim 4).

The support member is a sheet (film or tape) of a thermoplastic resin such as vinyl chloride or the like, which is formed by bending and corresponding to the curve of the window frame, or has flexibility. . This support member is used for a power window device of a vehicle, a weather strip of a window frame of a door, or, when used for a hardtop type vehicle having no window frame on a door, a lower edge of a body roof. When it is fixed to a weather strip or the like, and is provided in a sliding roof device, it is provided on a weather strip on a closed edge facing the sliding roof member in the opening of the roof.

The conductive portion is formed by printing conductive ink on the support member, bonding a conductive metal foil to the support member, and bonding a woven fabric woven with conductive yarn to the support member. The bonding is performed by exposing a part of the conductive wire and fixing or embedding the conductive wire, or by fixing the coated wire from which a part of the coating layer has been peeled off to a supporting member. These conductive parts are connected to a controller (control circuit) of the power window device.

The contact member is at least formed entirely of silicone rubber or the like, including the skirt portion, preferably the base portion and the top portion, and the contact portion is formed of conductive rubber or formed of a conductive plate. It is formed by fixing or the like. In this contact member, the skirt portion is deformed by the pressing of the top portion, and the contact portion simultaneously contacts the two conductive portions to electrically conduct the conductive portions.
In a desirable mode, the contact member is formed such that the interval between the top portions (contact portions) is smaller than the thickness of the child's finger.

The limit switch according to the present invention is used for detecting a moving position of a long object or a plate-like object, and, as a specific example, is applied to a controller such as a vehicle window opening / closing device (sliding roof device). It is connected and used to detect a closed end position (usually, a rising end position) of a window closing member such as a window glass or a sliding roof member. And
A window opening / closing device provided with this switch is used together with a closed-end detection microswitch that detects that a window closing member (hereinafter, represented by a window glass) such as a window glass or a sliding roof member has moved to a closed position. Determining that a foreign object has been trapped when the limit switch of the present invention has been actuated despite the fact that the close-end detecting microswitch has not actuated, immediately after stopping the window glass closing operation, the window glass is moved in the opening direction. Configure to operate.

[0013]

The limit switch according to the present invention is provided along a longitudinal direction on a weather strip or the like at the edge on the closing side of the window frame, and the top of the contact member is a window closing member such as a window glass or a sliding roof member. It is located so as to face an edge (hereinafter, represented by a window glass). If a foreign object such as a human hand is caught between the window glass and the window frame while the window glass is moving in the closing direction, the top of the contact member comes into contact with the foreign object and the contact portion becomes conductive. Since the portions are electrically connected, it is possible to take out, for example, pinching of foreign matter as an electrical signal.

The limit switch has a high degree of freedom in selecting the material and shape of the conductive portion and the molding method, and it is easy to use a metal or the like for the conductive portion, and the electrical resistance can be reduced. Further, in this switch, since the top portion, that is, the contact portion is formed independently of each other and spaced apart from each other, even when the switch is bent, the contact portion does not contact the conductive portion, and high reliability is obtained.

In particular, in the limit switch according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the contact portion and the conductive portion of the contact member are liquid-tightly sealed by the cover member, a waterproof structure is achieved, and excellent durability is achieved. Property is obtained. In the limit switch according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the contact member is attached to the support member by the holder member, the contact member can be reliably and securely formed even if the contact member is formed of a material having poor adhesion such as silicone rubber. Can be easily installed. Furthermore, in the limit switch according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a notch is formed between the top portions in the contact member, and the contact member is easily bent by the notch, so that the contact member is bent along the window frame. However, the distance between the contact portion and the conductive portion can be ensured, and the contact portion does not contact the conductive portion, so that high reliability can be obtained.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 show a limit switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle door provided with the limit switch, and FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the limit switch, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the limit switch, FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view, and FIGS. FIG.

In FIG. 1, D is a front door of a vehicle. The front door D has a window frame (window frame) Da defining a window opening W, and is a door glass capable of closing the window opening W. G is mounted so as to be able to move up and down. As shown in FIG. 2, the weather strip S is attached to the window frame Da along the inner circumference, and the substantially strip-shaped limit switch according to the present invention (for convenience, hereinafter, referred to as A switch 10 for entrapment detection) is provided over a predetermined range.

Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 1, the front door D has an elevating mechanism including a motor and the like therein.
A closed-end detecting microswitch for detecting the closed-end position of the door glass G is provided, and the closed-end detecting microswitch is connected to the controller together with the sandwiching detection switch 10. This controller has a one-chip microcomputer or the like, and the MPU executes a predetermined program to control the vertical movement of the window glass G and the like.

More specifically, the controller stops the energization of the motor or the like based on the detection output of the closed end detecting microswitch.
0 detects that a hand or the like is pinched between the window frame Da and the window glass G, and when the window glass G is raised, the pinch detection switch 10 detects the pinching (ON operation). Nevertheless, if the closing end position micro switch does not detect (turn on) the window glass G has reached the closing end position, the control process is to stop the ascent of the window glass G and immediately lower the window glass G, or If the close-end position detecting microswitch is ON even though the pinch detection switch 10 is ON, control processing such as determining that a failure has occurred and outputting an alarm is performed.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, the switch 10 has a circuit board 12 on the surface of a strip-shaped support tape (support member) 11 having a length corresponding to the length of the upper portion of the window frame Da.
And the contact member 13 are mounted on the support tape 1.
2. The circuit board 12 and the contact member 13 are covered with a cover member 14. The support tape 11 is made of a thermoplastic resin sheet (film) such as vinyl chloride.

The circuit board 12 is formed by attaching metal foils (conductive portions) 12b, 12b of a conductive metal such as aluminum to the board tape 12a of a predetermined length made of a thermoplastic resin such as vinyl chloride from both sides in the width direction. Partially attached to both sides. These metal foils 12b, 12b are electrically insulated from each other substantially in parallel and extend over substantially the entire length.
These metal foils 12b, 12b are connected to the above-described controller and given a predetermined voltage difference, and the voltage difference is 0 (zero) when the contact portion of the contact member 14 described below comes into contact.
Becomes

The conductive portion is not limited to the above-described metal foil 12b, but may be formed in a form as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D. That is, the embodiment shown in FIG.
A metal foil 12b of a conductive metal such as aluminum is directly bonded to both sides in the width direction of the support tape 11, and this metal foil 12
b is a conductive part. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5B uses a cable 23 such as a parallel feeder wire in which two wires 21 and 21 are covered with an insulator 22, and peels off the insulator 22 on one side of the cable 23 to form a wire. After exposing 21 and 21, it is bonded to the support tape 11 or
After bonding 3 to the support tape 11, the insulator 22 of the cable 23 is peeled off to expose the wires 21 and 21, and the wires 21 and 21 are used as conductive portions. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5C, a band 24 of a conductive woven fabric formed by weaving conductive yarns is bonded to the support tape 11, and the conductive woven fabric 24 is used as a conductive portion.
Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5D, the conductive layer 25 is formed by plating or vapor-depositing a conductive metal on the surface of the support tape 11.

In the contact member 13, a plurality of blocks 30 each having a rectangular shape in a plan view form a continuous belt shape, and the blocks 30 are defined by cuts 13a formed on the surface. Each of the blocks 30 includes a base portion 31 mounted on the support tape 11, a top portion 32 bulging to the surface side,
It has a thin skirt portion 33 that is elastically deformable and connects the top portion 32 and the base portion 31 and a contact portion 34 that protrudes from the inner bottom surface of the top portion 32. The contact member 13 includes a base portion 31 and a top portion 3 of each block 30.
The skirt 2 and the skirt 33 are integrally formed from a rubber material such as silicone rubber, and the contact 34 is formed from a conductive rubber containing carbon by composite molding or the like.

The cover member 14 is made of a flexible tape such as a thermoplastic resin such as vinyl chloride. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the edges of both sides in the width direction of the cover member 14 are joined in a bag-like (cylindrical) manner on the support tape 11 side, and both ends in the longitudinal direction are liquid-tight. Are joined together
Support tape 11, circuit board 12, and contact member 13
Are sealed in a liquid-tight manner.

In the pinch detection switch 10 according to this embodiment, the weather strip S on the upper portion of the window frame Da
The metal foils 12b, 12b are connected to controllers, respectively, and used by applying a predetermined voltage difference. Here, the contact member 13 has a cut 13a formed between the blocks 30, and is easily bent by the cut 13a. Therefore, even when the radius of curvature of the window frame Da is small, the deformation occurring in the block 30 itself can be reduced, and the contact portion 34 and the metal foil 1 caused by the deformation can be reduced.
Contact with 2b can also be prevented.

When the window glass G is raised, when a hand or the like is caught between the upper edge of the window glass G and the window frame Da (or when the window glass G reaches the upper limit position), the contact is made. The member 13 is displaced toward the circuit board 12 by elastically deforming the skirt portion 33 of the top portion 32 in contact with the human hand, and the contact portion 34 contacts the two metal foils 12b, 12b of the circuit board 12. Metal foil 1
2b and 12b are electrically conducted. For this reason, the metal foil 1
The voltage difference between 2b and 12b becomes 0, and the controller determines from this voltage difference that a human hand or the like has been caught. Here, the pinch detection switch 10 can reliably detect a child's erroneously pinching a finger because the distance between the top portions 32 of the contact members 13 is smaller than the thickness of the finger of the child's hand. , High safety is obtained.

Next, an example of a control method when the window glass G is raised (closed) using the pinch detection switch 10 will be described.
And the closed end detecting microswitch detects that the window glass G has reached the upper limit position (hereinafter, referred to as ON operation), and the metal foil 12b,
When the potential difference of 12b becomes 0 (hereinafter, referred to as ON operation), the power supply to the motor is stopped.

On the other hand, if the entrapment detection switch 10 does not turn on despite the closing end detection microswitch has turned on, it is determined that an abnormality of the microswitch or the like has occurred and a failure alarm is output. If the pinch detection switch 10 is turned on despite the closed end detection microswitch not being turned on, it is determined that a human hand or the like has been pinched and the window glass G being raised is lowered. For this reason, a failure can be easily and promptly known, and it is possible to prevent a hand or the like from being injured.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a limit switch according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the same portions as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description and illustration thereof are omitted.

In this embodiment, a cushion tape 19 is stuck on the support tape 11, and positioning tapes 71 having a predetermined width are stuck on both sides in the width direction of the cushion tape 19 with a double-sided tape or an adhesive. A cable 72 is bonded between the positioning tapes 71 on the tape 11. The cushion tape 19 is made of a material having a lower hardness and a higher elasticity than the support tape 11, for example, a sponge or the like. The cable 72 is a parallel feeder wire or the like formed by covering two parallel wires 21 with an insulator 22 in the same manner as the cable 23 in FIG.
Is peeled off, and the wire 21 is exposed as a conductive portion.

On the cushion tape 19, a contact member 13 is mounted on a cable 72 by locking both sides in the width direction to a positioning tape 71, and a holder member 77 is provided on the contact member 13. In the holder member 77, a hole 77a in which the top portion 32 of the contact member 13 can play is formed corresponding to the top portion 32, and the top portion 32 of the contact member 13 protrudes from the hole 77a. The edges of the holder member 77 on both sides in the width direction on the back surface are fixed to the positioning tape 71 with an adhesive or a double-sided tape.

In this embodiment, both sides of the contact member 13 are locked by the positioning tape 71, and the contact
Attached to. For this reason, even when the contact member 13 is formed from silicone rubber, which is difficult to bond, the contact member 13 can be securely attached to the support tape 11, and high reliability can be obtained.

FIG. 7 shows a limit switch according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and is a sectional view corresponding to the view taken along the line AA of FIG. In this embodiment, the main configuration is the same as that of the limit switch 10 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the description thereof is omitted.

In this embodiment, the limit switch 10 is fixed to the hanging portion of the weather strip S on the vehicle compartment side. The limit switch 10 has a
Is positioned on the side of the window glass G, and is extended over the upper portion of the window frame Da, preferably, over the entire range of the window frame Da. However, the limit switch 10 can be provided on the hanging piece on the outside of the weather strip S, or can be provided on both the hanging piece on the outside and the hanging piece on the passenger compartment side.

In this embodiment, the limit switch 10 is not turned on when a normal window glass G is moved up and down (open / close), but a human hand or the like is sandwiched between the window glass G and the window frame Da. Then, the top part 32 of the contactor member 13 is deformed, and the contact part 34 comes into contact with the metal foil 12b to conduct the metal foil 12b. For this reason, similarly to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to detect the entrapment of the child's hand, and when the entrapment is detected, control such as lowering the window glass G can be performed.
High security is achieved. In particular, in this embodiment, the limit switch 10 can be attached to an existing vehicle without requiring modification of the weather strip S or the like, and the pinch alarm can be achieved at low cost.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the limit switch 10 according to the present invention is provided as a sandwiching detection switch on the weather strip S of the window frame Da of the door D, but is mounted on the vehicle body in a hard-top type vehicle. Needless to say, it is attached to the weather strip. And when this limit switch is attached to the weather strip of the car body,
This limit switch can be combined with an ignition key and a door lock device to constitute a security / theft device.

That is, in the hard-top vehicle equipped with the limit switch according to the present invention, the window glass is separated from the weather strip by opening the door, and
The switch turns on. For this reason, based on the key signal of the ignition key or the lock signal of the door lock device and the ON signal of the limit switch, etc., the limit switch is turned on even though the lock signal indicating that the door lock device is locked is input. It is possible to configure so as to issue a burglar alarm when it is turned on.

[0038]

As described above, according to the limit switch of the present invention, two conductive portions insulated from each other are provided in parallel on the support member, and the long base portion corresponding to the support member is provided. A contact member having a plurality of top portions continuous with the base portion via an elastically deformable skirt portion and having a plurality of top portions linearly arranged in the longitudinal direction and a conductive contact portion fixed to the back surface of the top portion is used as a support member. Since the mounting and the contact part are opposed to the two conductive parts so that they can be contacted, the electric resistance of the conductive part can be reduced.
Even if it is extended to a bent portion, a short circuit does not occur, and it is possible to reliably detect a foreign object between the window glass moving in the closing direction and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a door of a vehicle to which a limit switch according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the limit switch.

4A is a cross-sectional view of the limit switch, and FIG. 4B is a vertical cross-sectional view of the limit switch.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing another mode of a part of the limit switch.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a limit switch according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a limit switch according to still another embodiment of the present invention, corresponding to a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing a limit switch according to the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Limit switch (trapping detection switch) 11 Support tape (support member) 12 Circuit board 12b Metal foil (conductive part) 13 Contact member 13a Cut 14 Cover member 30 Block 31 Base part 32 Top part 33 Skirt part 34 Contact part 77 Holder member 77a Hole (through hole) D Door Da Window frame S Weather strip W Window opening

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A long support member having two conductive portions spaced apart and extending in parallel on one surface of a long support member, a long base portion corresponding to the support member, and a thin skirt portion on the base portion. A contact member having a plurality of top portions swelling at predetermined intervals in a longitudinal manner and a conductive contact portion fixed to the back surface of the top portion is formed of a flexible material,
A limit switch, wherein a base portion of the contact member is attached to the support member so that the contact portion faces the two conductive portions so as to be able to come into contact therewith. 2. The limit switch according to claim 1, wherein said support member and said contact member are liquid-tightly sealed with a cover member made of a flexible material. 3. The limit switch according to claim 1, further comprising a holder member having a through hole through which the top portion penetrates, wherein the contact member is attached to the support member by the holder member. 4. The limit switch according to claim 1, wherein a cut is formed in a base portion of the contact member between the top portions in a direction perpendicular to an arrangement direction of the top portions.