JP4972494B2 - switch - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a switch used in an electronic device or the like, and more particularly to a switch used in a small electronic device.

  Conventionally, small electronic devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, notebook computers, etc. have been provided with a switch for detecting the presence or absence of a memory card, opening / closing of a shutter lens, etc., or switching external operations. By operating the operation lever and moving the movable terminal between the fixed terminals, an on / off signal is electrically transmitted.

As this type of conventional switch, for example, a housing in which a contact of a fixed terminal is provided, and a contact of a movable terminal made of a metal wire inside the housing can be brought into and out of contact with the contact of the fixed terminal. A switch having a reciprocating slider is known (see Patent Document 1 or 2).
JP 2000-340069 A JP 2006-211123 A

  However, in the conventional switch described above, when the movable terminal is installed inside the housing, it is necessary to bend the movable terminal to be equal to or smaller than the width inside the housing. This complicates the switch assembly process, making it difficult to automate and increasing the assembly cost.

  In addition, the spring force of the movable terminal is weakened because the length to which the movable terminal bends exceeds the allowable stress limit of the movable terminal, and even though the initial characteristics are satisfied, there is a risk of causing a failure due to deterioration over time in long-term use. There was also a quality problem such as Furthermore, in order to solve this quality problem, there is a problem that an extremely high-precision facility is required, the assembly process becomes complicated, the number of man-hours for management increases, and the assembly cost increases.

  Further, in order to solve the above-described problem, a slide switch having a structure in which a curved portion of a movable terminal is accommodated from a horizontal direction between fixed terminals arranged in parallel with each other can be considered. In this case, there is a problem that the dead space is increased and the structure is complicated, the size cannot be reduced, and the cost is increased.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a switch that can easily perform assembly automation, improve quality, and reduce the size and cost of assembly. It is intended to provide.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a switch according to the present invention holds a case in which contacts of at least two fixed terminals are provided, and a movable terminal formed by bending a metal wire. And a slider that reciprocates so that the contact of the movable terminal can come in contact with and separate from the contact of the fixed terminal, and the inside of the case is along a direction in which the slider is assembled to the case. A guide portion is formed so as to be gradually narrowed, and the contact of the movable terminal slides along the guide portion when the slider is assembled to the case, and is drawn into the case. It is characterized by becoming.

  And the said guide part may be comprised by a pair of opposing inclined surface, and may be comprised by one inclined surface.

  Furthermore, the contact of the fixed terminal may be provided oppositely, and the contact of the movable terminal may be bent so as to protrude to the contact side of each of the fixed terminals.

  According to the present invention, when the slider is assembled to the case, the contact of the movable terminal slides along the guide portion and is drawn into the inside of the case. It is not necessary to bend more than the dimensions. Therefore, the length for bending the movable terminal does not exceed the allowable stress limit of the movable terminal, the occurrence of contact failure of the movable terminal can be prevented, and the quality can be improved.

  Further, since the switch can be assembled by the dropping operation, the assembly process is simplified, the assembly can be easily automated, and the assembly cost can be reduced.

  Further, by assembling the switch by dropping work, dead space can be reduced and the structure can be simplified, and the switch can be miniaturized.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. The switch 1 includes a flat rectangular box-shaped housing 2, a movable terminal 3 accommodated in the housing 2, and a movable A slider 4 for holding the terminal 3 and an operation lever 5 provided integrally with the slider 4 are provided.

  The housing 2 includes a box-like case 7 in which a housing recess 6 capable of housing the movable terminal 3 and the slider 4 is formed, and a cover 9 fitted to the case 7 so as to close the opening surface 8 of the housing recess 6. It is composed of

  Plate-like first to third fixed terminals 10, 11, 12 are insert-molded on the opposing inner side surfaces of the housing recess 6 of the case 7. The contact 10a of the first fixed terminal 10 and the contacts 11a, 12a of the second and third fixed terminals 11, 12 are arranged in parallel so as to face each other, and are respectively a common terminal and NC (Normally Close). ) Terminal and NO (Normally Open) terminal.

  A guide portion 13 is formed on the inner surface near the one end of the housing recess 6 of the case 7 on the opening surface 7 side from the contact 10 a of the first fixed terminal 10 and the contact 11 a of the second fixed terminal 11. As well shown in FIG. 5, the guide portion 13 is constituted by a pair of opposed inclined surfaces 13 a and 13 b, and each inclined surface 13 a and 13 b gradually increases in width along the direction in which the slider 4 is assembled to the case 7. It is formed to be narrow. In addition, an opening 14 is formed on one side surface of the case 7, and protrusions 15 are formed on both end surfaces of the case 7.

  Both ends of the cover 9 are bent at substantially right angles to form locking pieces 16, and the projections 15 of the case 7 are locked in the holes 17 opened in the respective locking pieces 16 so that the cover 9 is It is fixed to the case 7. Further, the center portion of the cover 9 is cut out in a slit shape, and cantilever-like spring pieces 18 and 18 are formed in a pair of left and right, respectively. The spring piece 18 is slightly bent toward the case 7, and the slider 4 is pressed and held in the housing recess 6 of the case 7 by the spring piece 18.

  As shown well in FIG. 2, the movable terminal 3 is formed by bending a central portion 19 of a metal wire into a substantially U shape, and linear portions 20a, 20b extending from the central portion 19 to both sides. Contact points 21a and 21b are formed in a bent shape so as to protrude to the fixed terminal side at the respective tip portions.

  The slider 4 is formed to have a width dimension that fits freely between the contact 10 a of the first fixed terminal 10 and the contacts 11 a and 12 a of the second and third fixed terminals 11 and 12. 21 a and 21 b can reciprocate in the housing recess 6 so that the contact 10 a of the first fixed terminal 10 and the contacts 11 a and 12 a of the second and third fixed terminals 11 and 12 can be contacted and separated.

  A semi-cylindrical protrusion 22 is formed at the other end of one surface of the slider (the upper surface in FIG. 2), and the central portion 19 of the movable terminal 3 can be locked to the protrusion 22. In addition, a partition portion 23 projects from the projection 22 toward one end, and a regulation portion 24 projects in parallel on both sides of the partition portion 23, so that the partition portion 23, each regulation portion 24, The straight portions 20a and 20b of the movable terminal 3 are arranged between the two. Further, a side bulging portion 25 is formed on one end portion side of the partition portion 23, and the contacts 21 a and 21 b of the movable terminal 3 are disposed on both sides of the side bulging portion 25, and from the slider 4. It is held in a slightly protruding state on both sides. Furthermore, an engagement groove 26 is formed on the other surface (the upper surface in FIG. 1) of the slider 4, and the spring piece 18 of the cover 9 can be engaged with the engagement groove 26.

  The operation lever 5 is provided at a right angle to the side surface near the one end of the slider 4, and protrudes from the opening 14 of the case 7 to the outside of the housing 2.

  Next, a procedure for assembling the switch 1 according to the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the movable terminal 3 is bent in the direction in which the contacts 21 a and 21 b approach each other and is dropped onto the slider 4 to lock the central portion 19 with the protrusion 22, and the partition portion 23 and The straight portions 20a and 20b are arranged between the restricting portions 24 and the movable terminal 3 is assembled.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the movable terminal 3 is assembled to the slider 4. After applying contact oil to the contacts 21 a and 21 b of the movable terminal 3 in this state, the slider 4 is accommodated in the housing recess as shown in FIG. 4. The case 7 is dropped onto the slider 4 and covered so that the operating lever 5 protrudes from the opening 14 to the outside of the case 7. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the contacts 21 a, 21 b of the movable terminal 3 slide along the inclined surfaces 13 a, 13 b of the guide portion 13 and are drawn into the housing recess 6 of the case 7. The operation of assembling the slider 4 to the slider 7 can be performed smoothly and reliably.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the case 7 is assembled to the slider 4 as described above. After the assembled state is turned upside down, the cover 9 is dropped and covered on the case 7 as shown in FIG. The protrusion 15 is locked in the hole 17 of the locking piece 16, and the cover 9 is fixed to the case 7. At this time, the spring piece 18 of the case 7 is engaged with the engagement groove 26 of the slider 4, whereby the slider 4 is pressed and held in the housing recess 6 of the case 7. As a result, the switch 1 is assembled as shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the movable terminal 3 is assembled into the housing recess 6 of the case 7, the contacts 21 a and 21 b of the movable terminal 3 are along the inclined surfaces 13 a and 13 b of the guide portion 13. Since it slides and is guided into the housing recess 6, it is not necessary to bend the movable terminal 3 beyond the width dimension of the housing recess 6. For this reason, the length for bending the movable terminal 3 does not exceed the allowable stress limit of the movable terminal 3, the occurrence of contact failure of the movable terminal 3 can be prevented, and the quality can be improved.

  Further, since the switch 1 can be assembled by simply dropping the cover 4 on the case 7 or covering the case 7 with the cover 9, the assembly process can be simplified and the assembly can be easily automated. As a result, the assembly cost can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by assembling the switch 1 by the dropping operation, the dead space can be reduced and the structure can be simplified, and the switch 1 can be downsized.

  In the above-described embodiment, the guide portion 13 is composed of a pair of opposed inclined surfaces 13a and 13b. However, this is merely an example. For example, as shown in FIG. Various modifications are possible, for example, the portion 13 is configured by one inclined surface 13a.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the switch having the number and arrangement of the fixed terminals described above. For example, other types of switches such as a switch composed of two fixed terminals of a common terminal and an NO terminal. Needless to say, this is also applicable.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the switch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the process of incorporating a movable terminal in a slider in the assembly process of the switch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which incorporated the movable terminal in the slider in the assembly process of the switch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the process which covers a case on a slider in the assembly process of the switch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the process which covers a case on a slider in the assembly process of the switch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which assembled | attached the case to the slider in the assembly process of the switch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the process of attaching a cover to a case in the assembly process of the switch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view showing a switch concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing another example of a switch concerning an embodiment of the invention.

Explanation of symbols

Reference Signs List 1 switch 3 movable terminal 4 slider 7 case 10 first fixed terminal 10a contact 11 second fixed terminal 11a contact 12 third fixed terminal 12a contact 13 guide portion 13a inclined surface 13b inclined surface 21a contact (movable terminal)
21b Contact (movable terminal)

Claims (4)

A case in which contacts of at least two fixed terminals are provided inside;
A slider that holds a movable terminal formed by bending a metal wire, and reciprocates so that a contact of the movable terminal can be brought into and out of contact with the contact of the fixed terminal inside the case;
A guide portion is formed in the case so as to be gradually narrower along a direction in which the slider is assembled to the case, and the contact of the movable terminal is connected to the slider on the case. A switch that slides along the guide portion when assembled, and is guided into the case.   The switch according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion includes a pair of opposed inclined surfaces.   The switch according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is configured by one inclined surface.   The contact of the said fixed terminal is provided facing, and the contact of the said movable terminal is bent so that it may each protrude in the contact side of this each fixed terminal, The claim of any one of Claims 1-3 Switch described in.

Images