JP3216499B2 - Lever switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lever switch for operating a switch by pushing and tilting an operating lever in an axial direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of this type of lever switch is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-201244. This corresponds to the housing 7 shown in FIG.
A substantially hemispherical bearing 73 slidably in contact with a hemispherical guide surface 71 at the upper portion of the hollow inside of the hollow body 73, and this bearing 73
Sliding rod 74 which is freely slidably inserted through the center of
And an operation lever 72 comprising:

When the knob 75 at the upper end of the sliding rod 74 is pushed and operated in the neutral state of the operating lever 72, the lower end of the sliding rod 74 pushes down the operating pin 76, and thus the switch disposed below the operating pin 76 77 operates. When the hand is released from the knob 75, the operation lever 72 is returned to the original state by the return spring 80.

When the operating lever 72 is tilted from a neutral state, the sliding rod 74 and the bearing body 73 rotate integrally, so that the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface of the bearing body 73 pushes down the operating pin 78. When the switch 79 disposed below the operating pin 78 is operated and the hand is released from the operating lever 72, the operating lever 72 is returned to the neutral state by the return spring 81.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional lever switch device, as a means for guiding and supporting the operation lever 72 so as to be tiltable, a bearing body 73 which penetrates and supports the operation lever 72 is provided.
By sliding the hemispherical outer surface and the hemispherical guide surface 71 of the housing 70 into sliding contact with each other, the operation lever 72 is tilted about the spherical center of the hemisphere.

However, in such a method of guiding and supporting the spherical surfaces by sliding the spherical surfaces over a wide area, the hemispherical guide surface 71 of the housing 70 and the bearing 73 are used.
When foreign matter such as dust or dirt enters the outer surface of the hemisphere, the foreign matter is not easily discharged to the outside and is easily caught between the two surfaces. Not only the operating force of the lever 72 becomes heavy, but also a problem may occur that the lever 72 does not return to the neutral position even when the operating force is released.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to prevent the occurrence of operation failure due to the invasion of foreign matter.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the set switch is operated by pushing the operating lever in the axial direction, and the operating lever is tilted from the neutral position to operate the set lever. In a lever switch operated by a select switch disposed so as to surround a set switch, the operation lever is supported by a tilting body so as to be rotatable around a tilting axis, and the tilting body intersects the tilting axis. The operating lever is supported by a bearing so as to be rotatable about a supporting shaft, and the bearing is provided so as to be displaceable in the axial direction of the operating lever, and the shaft is
The receiving body has a rectangular cylindrical shape and the bearing body has a rectangular cross section.
By being accommodated in the accommodation chamber, the shaft circumference of the operation lever
This is characterized in that the configuration is such that rotation of the rotor is restricted . The invention according to claim 2 is such that the set switch is operated by pushing the operation lever in the axial direction, and the set switch is surrounded by the operation lever being tilted from the neutral position. In a lever switch operated by a select switch disposed, the operation lever is supported by a tilting body so as to be rotatable around a tilting axis, and the tilting body is centered on a support axis intersecting the tilting axis. The bearing is rotatably supported by a bearing body, and the bearing body is housed in the housing chamber while being guided so that the operation lever can be displaced in the axial direction.
Press the set switch while moving in parallel.
It has a feature in that the configuration is such that it is configured to be applied . In the invention having such a configuration, the operation lever is tilted about at least one of the tilt shaft and the support shaft.

[0009] The invention of claim 3 is claim 1 or claim 2.
In the invention, the tilting body and the bearing body are accommodated in the fixed base, and the operation lever is provided so as to protrude outside the fixed base, and the fixed base is provided with a peripheral wall portion surrounding the opening through which the operation lever is protruded. It has a characteristic in that it is configured as described above. In the invention having such a configuration, since the tilting shaft and the support shaft are concealed in the fixed base, they are protected from foreign matter. Further, since the opening for projecting the operation lever is surrounded by the peripheral wall, the foreign matter is fixed. The intrusion into the base is prevented.

[0010]

According to the present invention, since the operation lever is tiltably supported by the tilting shaft and the support shaft which intersect each other, the conventional lever switch has a configuration in which wide spherical surfaces are brought into sliding contact with each other. In contrast, even if a foreign matter enters the shaft portion and bites it, there is little possibility that the foreign material will remain biting for a long period of time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of operation failure caused by the foreign matter being caught.

In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the foreign matter is hard to reach the place where the tilting shaft and the support shaft are provided, so that the effect of maintaining good operability of the operating lever is obtained. It is even higher.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In a rectangular case 10 having a shallow tray shape,
A rectangular printed board 11 to which circuit components such as an IC, a transistor, a resistor, and a capacitor (not shown) are attached is fixed on the back surface. On the surface of the printed circuit board 11, a set switch fixed contact 12a composed of a pair of electrodes is arranged, and eight sets of select switch fixed contacts 12b that constitute one set of a plurality of electrodes.
Are arranged at equal angular intervals of 45 ° on a circumference centered on the set switch fixed contact 12a.

On the surface of the printed board 11, a rubber switch cover 13 having electrical insulation and elasticity is fixed. The switch cover 13 has a rectangular thin plate shape that covers the entire surface of the printed circuit board 11 as a whole, and corresponds to each of the set switch fixed contacts 12a and the eight sets of select switch fixed contacts 12b. The printed circuit board 1 is always located at a total of 9 locations.
Switch actuating part 1 bulging away from the surface of 1
4a and 14b are formed.

Each of the switch operating portions 14a, 14b is separated from the surface of the switch cover 13 by each of the fixed contacts 12a, 12b.
Thin elastic rising portions 15a and 15b rising in a tapered cylindrical shape so as to surround the elastic rising portions 15a and 15b.
b, which are circular heads 16a and 16b located at the protruding ends. On the back of these heads 16a, 16b,
Disk-shaped movable short-circuiting members 17a and 17b made of a rubber material having conductivity are fixed to each of them. The switch operating portions 14a, 14b are always provided with elastic rising portions 15a,
15b rises and the movable short-circuits 17a and 17b are separated from the fixed contacts 12a and 12b in a non-operating state. Child 1
7a or 17b is brought into contact with the fixed contact 12a or 12b to make it conductive. When the pressing on the heads 16a, 16b is released, the movable short-circuiting member 7 is released by the elastic restoring force of the elastic rising portions 15a, 15b.
A and 17b are returned to a non-operating state in which they are separated from the fixed contacts 12a and 12b.

The fixed switch 12A, the switch operating section 14a and the movable short-circuit 17a constitute a set switch 18A, and the fixed contact 12b, the switch operating section 14b and the movable short-circuit 17b constitute eight select switches 18B. Is configured. In the non-operation state, the distance between the fixed contact 12a of the set switch 18A and the movable short-circuit 17a is set to be smaller than the distance between the fixed contact 12b of the select switch 18B and the movable short-circuit 17b. .

On the switch cover 13, there are eight select switches 1 centered on the set switch 18A.
A fixed base 20 having a circular shape concentric with the arrangement circle of 8B is fixed with its peripheral edge positioned by a pressing portion 45 of a cover 40 described later.

At the center position of the fixed base 20 corresponding to the set switch 18A, an accommodation room 21 having a rectangular cross section is formed by recessing the bottom surface thereof. A lever through hole 22 communicating with the upper surface is formed. Further, a peripheral wall portion 46 is formed on the upper surface of the fixed base 20 so as to surround the lever through hole 22. In the housing chamber 21, a bearing 23 having a rectangular cylindrical shape with a closed bottom is guided so as to be able to move up and down, and is housed in a state where rotation around an axis in the up and down direction is regulated. . A set switch 1 is provided between the bottom surface of the bearing body 23 and the switch cover 13.
The return spring 24 surrounds the 8A switch operating portion 14a.
Is installed. The return spring 24 cooperates with the switch operating portion 14a to urge the bearing 23 upward, and the bearing 23 always keeps its upper end edge in contact with the ceiling surface of the storage chamber 21. Have been. The return spring 24
And the magnitude of the urging force of the switch operating unit 14a is set to be larger than the urging force of the switch operating unit 14b of the select switch 18B.

The bearing body 23 is formed with bearing holes 25, 25 coaxial with each other and parallel to the printed circuit board 11 by penetrating two parallel side surfaces thereof.
The axes of the two bearing holes 25, 25 are set so as to pass through the center of an arrangement circle of the select switch 18B on the projection plane viewed in the vertical direction.

In the hollow of the bearing body 23, a tilting body 26, also in the form of a rectangular tube, has a support shaft 2 projecting from its outer surface.
7 and 27 are fitted by fitting them into bearing holes 25 and 25. This tilting body can be relatively tilted with respect to the bearing body 23 within a predetermined angle range around the support shafts 27, 27.

On the side surface of the tilting body 26 where the support shafts 27, 27 are not formed, the printed circuit board 1 is coaxial with each other.
Shaft fitting holes 28, 28 parallel to 1 are formed. The axes of the shaft fitting holes 28, 28 pass through the center of the arrangement circle of the select switch 18B on the projection plane viewed from above and below.
And it is set so as to intersect the axis of the bearing hole 25 at right angles.

The tilting body 26 has a pair of tilting shafts 32, 3 having an operating lever 30 projecting from the lower ends of its legs 31.
2 is supported by fitting the shaft 2 into the shaft fitting holes 28. The operating lever 30 has a leg 31 penetrating through the lever through hole 22 of the fixed base 20 and protrudes upward. When the knob 33 at the upper end of the operation lever 30 is operated to be displaced in the horizontal direction, the operation lever 30 is moved.
Is the tilting body 2 within a predetermined angle range around the tilting shaft 32.
6 can be relatively tilted.

The operation lever 30 is supported by a support shaft 27 and a tilt shaft 32 which are orthogonal to each other.
Two axes 2 based on a neutral attitude perpendicular to the printed circuit board 11
It is possible to tilt in any direction with respect to the bearing 23 around the intersection of the axes 7 and 32.

The operating lever 30 has an extended portion 34 formed by extending it from the knob 33 in an umbrella shape. The outer surface of the expanding portion 34 is a spherical surface centered on a point orthogonal to both axes of the support shaft 27 and the tilting shaft 32.

Escape portions 35 are formed in the fixed base 20 so as to avoid interference with the respective switch operating portions 14b by recessing the bottom surface at eight positions corresponding to the select switches 18B. Along with
Guide holes 36 communicating from the ceiling surface of each relief portion 35 to the upper surface of the fixed base 20 are formed. In the guide hole 36,
An operating pin 37 having a locking flange 38 formed at the lower end is freely fitted in the vertical direction with its upper end protruding toward the upper surface of the fixed base 20. This operating pin 37
Is always pushed up by the head 16b by the elastic restoring force of the switch operating portion 14b, and the locking flange 38 is released from the escape portion 35.
Is held in a state pressed against the ceiling surface.

When the operating lever 30 is in the non-operating state in the neutral position, the lower end edge of the umbrella-shaped expanding portion 34 is set to the above-mentioned 8 position.
It contacts all the upper ends of the operating pins 37 at the same time. Each of the operating pins 37 is urged in the projecting direction by the elastic restoring force of the switch operating portion 14b as described above. Therefore, the operation lever 30 is always held up in the neutral posture by being evenly pushed up in the circumferential direction by the eight operation pins 37. Furthermore, the operation lever 3
0 is always kept in an inactive state in which the return spring 24 and the switch operating portion 14a are pushed upward as a whole by the urging force of the switch operating portion 14a.

Further, a cover 40 is fixed to the case 10 so as to cover the above-mentioned members. On the upper surface of the cover 40, a window hole 41 having a circular shape concentric with the fixed base 20 and having a diameter larger than that of the knob 33 of the operation lever 30.
Are formed, and the knob 33 is exposed from the window hole 41. The edge of the window hole 41 is
Corresponds to the outer surface of the extended portion 34 with a slight gap when the is in the inoperative state.

Further, the printed circuit board 11 is provided with two operation switch fixed contacts 12c, 12c in addition to the fixed contacts 12a, 12b. When the operation button 43 provided to be exposed from the window hole 44 of the cover 40 is operated,
A movable short-circuit (not shown) provided on the switch operating portion 14c of the switch cover 13 comes into contact with and separates from the fixed contact 12c, and the fixed contact 12c is turned on and off.

Next, the operation of the lever switch having the above configuration will be described. The operation lever 30 is always in a non-operating state in a neutral posture, and one set switch 18A
And all eight select switches 18B are in the off state.

When the set switch 18A is turned on from this state, the operating lever 30 is pushed downward in the axial direction thereof against the urging of the return spring 24 and the switch operating portion 14a. As a result, the tilting body 26 and the bearing body 23 move down integrally with the operation lever 30, and the movable short-circuiting element 17a contacts the fixed contact 12a to short-circuit it, whereby the set switch 18A is turned on. . At this time, in the select switch 18B, a gap is left between the movable short-circuiting member 17b and the fixed contact 12b, and all the eight select switches 18B are kept off.

When the pressing operation of the operating lever 30 is released from this state, the operating lever 30 is moved upward by the elastic restoring force of the return spring 24 and the switch operating portion 14a to return to the non-operating state, and the movable short-circuiting element 17a is turned off. The set switch 18A is turned off by separating from the fixed contact 12a.

Next, the operation of turning on the select switch 18B will be described. This operation is performed by pinching the knob 33 of the operation lever 30 and displacing it in any of the directions. If the moving direction at this time is a direction perpendicular to the axis of the tilt shaft 32, the bearing 2
Relative rotation about the support shaft 27 does not occur between 3 and the tilting body 26, and the operation lever 30 tilts with respect to the bearing body 23 and the tilting body 26 about the tilting shaft 32. . When the operation direction of the operation lever 30 is a direction perpendicular to the axis of the support shaft 27, the operation lever 30 and the tilting body 26 are integrally tilted with respect to the bearing 23 around the support shaft 27. become. When the operation direction of the operation lever 30 is a direction forming an angle of 45 ° with respect to both the axes of the support shaft 27 and the tilt shaft 32, the tilt body 26 tilts about the support shaft 27 with respect to the bearing body 23. At the same time, the operation lever 30 is tilted about the tilt shaft 32 with respect to the tilt body 26. In any of the three tilting methods described above, the center of the tilt of the operation lever 30 is the intersection of the two axes of the support shaft 27 and the tilt shaft 32.

When the operating lever 30 is tilted in this manner, the operating pin 37 of the eight operating pins 37 located in the tilting direction is pushed down by the expanding portion 34, and the switch operating portion 14b resists its elasticity. It elastically bends to be crushed. As a result, the movable short-circuiting element 17b comes into contact with the fixed contact element 12b to short-circuit it, and the select switch 18B is turned on.

When the operating force in the tilting direction with respect to the operating lever 30 is released, the operating pin 37 is returned upward by the elastic restoring force of the switch operating portion 14b, and at the same time, the operating lever 30 is returned to the non-operating state. The contact 17b is separated from the fixed contact 12b and the select switch 18B
Switches to the off state.

Note that the set switch 18A is smaller than the urging force of the switch operating portion 14b of the select switch 18B.
Since the urging forces of the return spring 24 and the switch operating portion 14a are set to be larger, the operation lever 30
There is no possibility that the set switch 18A is switched to the ON state when the selector switch 18B is operated by tilting the switch.

As described above, in the present embodiment, as means for guiding the tilting operation of the operating lever 30, the support shaft 27 and the tilting shaft which are orthogonal to each other are used instead of making the spherical surfaces contact with each other on a wide surface as in the related art. It is configured to rotate about 32. The support shaft 27 has a small diameter and its contact area with the bearing hole 25 is small, and the tilting shaft 32 also has a small diameter and its contact area with the shaft fitting hole 28 is small. Therefore, even if foreign matter such as dust or dirt enters the operation mechanism, there is a possibility that the foreign matter may be caught between the support shaft 27 and the bearing hole 25 or between the tilt shaft 32 and the shaft fitting hole 28. Few. The gap between the support shaft 27 and the bearing hole 25 or the tilt shaft 3
Even if a foreign matter is caught in the gap between 2 and the shaft fitting hole 28,
Foreign matter is eliminated in a relatively short period of time. This allows
A smooth tilting operation of the operating lever is ensured, and a return operation of the operating lever to the neutral position when the tilting operation of the operating lever is released is ensured.

In particular, in this embodiment, since the outer surface of the expanding portion 34 is a spherical surface concentric with the center of its tilt, the expanding portion 34 is
Thus, there is no interference with the hole edge of the window hole 41, and there is always a fixed and small gap between the extended portion 34 and the hole edge of the window hole 41. Therefore, intrusion of foreign matter from the window hole 41 of the cover 4 is prevented.

Further, since the peripheral wall 46 surrounding the lever through hole 2 is formed on the upper surface of the fixed base 20,
Even if foreign matter enters the inside of the cover 40, the foreign matter is prevented from entering the storage chamber 21. Therefore, it is difficult for foreign matter to reach the sliding portion between the support shaft 27 and the bearing hole 25 and the sliding portion between the tilting shaft 32 and the shaft fitting hole 28.

In the present embodiment, the operating lever 3 is formed by forming the accommodation chamber 21 and the bearing body 23 into a square cross section.
Since the rotation of the control lever 30 is prevented, an operation error such as tilting in the wrong direction due to rotation when the knob 33 of the operation lever 30 is pinched is less likely to occur.

Further, in this embodiment, even when the operation lever 30 is in the inclined position when the set switch 18A is turned on, the bearing body 23 moves in parallel downward and the head of the switch operating portion 14a. 16a is lowered straight without tilting. Therefore, for example, there is no fear that the head is pressed obliquely as in the case where the operation lever is configured to directly press the head, and in the present embodiment, the ON operation of the set switch 18A is reliably performed.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above embodiment, the return spring 24 for the set switch is used.
If the elastic restoring force of 4a is sufficiently large, the return spring 24 need not be provided.

(2) In the above embodiment, the tilting shaft 32 and the support shaft 2 for supporting the operating lever 30 so as to freely tilt.
7 has been described in the case where the axes intersect at a right angle at one point, but according to the present invention, the tilt shaft 32 and the support shaft 2
7, the axis of which is shifted in the length direction of the operation lever 30
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which they cross each other so as to pass through each position.

(3) In the above embodiment, the bearing member 23
The support means of the tilting body 26 is constituted by the bearing hole 25 provided in the bearing body 23 and the support shaft 27 formed in the tilting body 26. According to the present invention, the support shaft is provided in the bearing body and the tilting body is provided. It is good also as a structure provided with a bearing hole.

(4) In the above embodiment, the tilting body 26
The support means of the operating lever 30 is constituted by the shaft fitting hole 28 formed in the tilting body 26 and the tilting shaft 32 formed in the operating lever 30. According to the present invention, the tilting shaft is formed on the tilting body and the operation is performed. A configuration in which a shaft fitting hole is formed in the lever may be adopted.

(5) In the present invention, the switch which is turned on / off by the pushing operation or the tilting operation of the operation lever is:
The invention is not limited to the switching means of the above embodiment, but includes other switching means such as a tact switch.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a non-operating state.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an operation lever is tilted.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an operation lever is pushed.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 18A ... Set switch 18B ... Select switch 23 ... Bearing body 26 ... Tilt body 27 ... Support shaft 30 ... Operation lever 32 ... Tilt shaft

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01H 25/04 H01H 9/04 H01H 25/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An operation lever is pushed and operated in its axial direction.
The set switch is activated by the
When the operating lever is tilted from the neutral position,
Selects arranged to surround the set switch
A lever switch operated by a switch, wherein the operation lever is tilted to be rotatable about a tilt axis.
Supported by the body and this tilting body intersects the tilting axis
Supported by the bearing so that it can rotate around the supporting shaft
The bearing can be displaced in the axial direction of the operating lever.
Provided by the guide, The bearing body has a rectangular cylindrical shape and the bearing body has a rectangular shape.
The operation lever is accommodated in the accommodation chamber having a cross section.
The rotation around the axis of is restricted Lever characterized by that
-Switch. 2. A select switch arranged so that a set switch is operated by pushing an operation lever in an axial direction thereof and that the set lever is surrounded by being tilted from a neutral position. Wherein the operating lever is supported by a tilting body so as to be rotatable about a tilting axis, and the tilting body is rotatable about a supporting axis intersecting with the tilting axis. The bearing body is accommodated in the accommodation chamber while being guided so as to be displaceable in the axial direction of the operation lever, so that the
A configuration in which the set switch is pressed and operated while moving
Lever switch, characterized in that there is a. 3. The tilting body and the bearing body are accommodated in a fixed base, and an operation lever is provided to protrude outside the fixed base, and the fixed base surrounds an opening through which the operation lever projects. The lever switch according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a peripheral wall portion is provided.