JP6990885B2 - Lever switch device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lever switch device having an operation unit such as a rotary switch or a push switch and having a wiring structure using a flexible substrate.

It is placed near the control device such as the steering wheel of the vehicle, and a switch is provided at the tip like an operation lever for operating lights and wipers, and a flexible board is extended from the switch to the base. There is a lever switch device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the lever switch device of Patent Document 1, the lever main body is divided by a divided surface along the longitudinal direction, and a flexible substrate is housed therein.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-157616

By the way, particularly in a vehicle lever switch device or the like, the lever body may have a configuration in which the lever body is bent between the proximal end portion, the intermediate portion, and the proximal end portion in the longitudinal direction thereof. In that case, the axial center of the lever body is not coaxial at each of the base end portion, the intermediate portion, and the tip end portion. Since such a lever body tends to "float" on the flexible substrate, the work of accommodating the flexible substrate inside becomes complicated. The decrease in workability due to "floating" becomes more remarkable when there is a bent portion, but it also becomes a problem in a linear shift lever device having no bent portion in the lever body.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to provide a locking portion having a claw-shaped barb in the lever body and support the end portion of the flexible substrate by the barb portion. However, since the lever body is generally manufactured by molding a resin, the place where the locking portion having the return portion can be formed is limited to the part under specific conditions of the lever body because it is necessary to secure the die cutting direction. Will be done. Then, the flexible substrate cannot always be properly supported by the long lever body.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a lever switch device that can be easily assembled by appropriately supporting a flexible substrate housed therein.

The lever switch device according to the present invention is disposed of a long lever body formed by superimposing a first lever body and a second lever body having a dividing surface along the longitudinal direction, and a predetermined position on the lever body. An operation unit that operates the switch unit and a flexible substrate that is disposed between the first lever body and the second lever body and extends from the operation unit toward the base end of the lever body along the longitudinal direction. The first lever body has an engaging portion facing the divided surface separated by a predetermined first dimension in the width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, and the flexible substrate is covered at a position corresponding to the engaging portion. The flexible substrate has a flexible portion having an engaging portion, the engaged portion having a flexible portion protruding in the width direction, and having a second dimension in which the dimension in the width direction is larger than the first dimension, and the flexible substrate is flexible. It is supported by the engaging portion by pressing the engaging portion from the inside in a bent state.

With such a configuration, since a return portion is not required for the engaging portion, the engaging portion can be appropriately provided at a necessary position even when the lever body is molded. As a result, the flexible substrate can be appropriately supported with respect to the first lever body, and the assembly work of the lever body can be facilitated.

Further, in the lever switch device described above, the flexible substrate has two slits cut in the other side in the width direction at two locations separated in the longitudinal direction at least one side portion in the width direction. The substrate piece formed between the slits may form a flexible portion of the engaged portion.

With such a configuration, the engaged portion of the flexible substrate can be easily flexed in the flexible portion. Therefore, in the flexible substrate, the flexible portion flexes preferentially when it is housed in the first lever body, so that the deformation of the wiring portion on the substrate can be suppressed and stress can be prevented from being applied to the wiring pattern. ..

Further, in the lever switch device described above, the engaging portion of the first lever body may have an engaging surface that faces each other at a distance of the first dimension in the width direction and extends in a direction orthogonal to the dividing surface. ..

With such a configuration, it is possible to easily perform the work of locking the engaged portion of the flexible substrate between the engaging surfaces facing each other. Further, since the engaged portion is in pressure contact with the engaging surface from the inside, the locked flexible substrate can be reliably supported.

Further, in the lever switch device described above, the side edge portion of the flexible portion may have a linear shape along the longitudinal direction and may have a larger dimension in the longitudinal direction than the engaging surface.

With such a configuration, even if there is some misalignment when assembling the flexible substrate to the first lever body, the side edge portion of the flexible portion is surely in contact with the engaging surface and supported. Assembling work becomes easy.

Further, in the lever switch device described above, a back surface support portion that supports the back surface of the flexible substrate may be further provided between the engaging portions facing each other in the width direction of the first lever body.

With such a configuration, the flexible substrate can be held in an appropriate position so as not to sink too deeply between the engaging portions.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a lever switch device that can be easily assembled by appropriately supporting a flexible substrate housed therein.

It is a top view of the lever switch device which concerns on this embodiment. It is an exploded perspective view of the lever switch device. It is a top view which shows the state which FPC is arranged on the 1st lever body. It is a partially enlarged perspective view of the lever switch device 1, (a) is a partially enlarged view of the first lever body 6, and (b) is a partially enlarged view of FPC5. It is a schematic diagram which emphasizes the appearance that the engaged part is locked to the engaging part. It is a perspective view which shows the structure which FPC was assembled to the 1st lever body.

(Embodiment)
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Overall configuration of lever switch device]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the lever switch device 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lever switch device 1. The lever switch device 1 is arranged in the vicinity of a control device such as a steering wheel of a vehicle, and is used as an operation lever for operating a light, a wiper, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lever switch device 1 has a connection portion 2 swingably connected to a vehicle or the like, a lever main body 3 extending from the connection portion 2, and a connection portion 2 to the lever main body 3. It is provided with an operation unit 4 located on the opposite side to the above. Further, a flexible printed circuits (FPC) 5 extending from the operation unit 4 to the connection unit 2 is housed inside the lever body 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lever body 3 has a long cylindrical shape and is made of an insulating resin such as ABS resin or polyamide resin. The lever body 3 is hollow because the first lever body 6 and the second lever body 7 having a dividing surface along the longitudinal direction thereof are overlapped with each other so that the divided end faces 6d and 7d face each other. It forms a casing.

For convenience of explanation, the side with the connecting portion 2 with respect to the lever main body 3 is referred to as a base end side, and the opposite side thereof is referred to as a tip end side. Further, the side with the second lever body 7 is the upper side with respect to the first lever body 6, and the opposite side is the lower side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lever body 3 has a bent portion 3c on the way from the base end to the tip end. That is, the lever body 3 has a straight tubular base end side lever body 3a located on the base end side and a straight tubular tip side lever body 3b located on the tip end side, and is at a boundary portion (connection portion) between them. The bent portion 3c is present. Therefore, the base end side lever body 3a and the tip end side lever body 3b are not coaxial, and the axes of both are relatively inclined.

Here, in the first lever body 6, the portion corresponding to the proximal end side lever body 3a is referred to as a proximal end side first lever body 6a, and the portion corresponding to the distal end side lever body 3b is referred to as a distal end side first lever body 6b. (See FIG. 2). Similarly, in the second lever body 7, the portion corresponding to the proximal end side lever body 3a is referred to as the proximal end side second lever body 7a, and the portion corresponding to the distal end side lever body 3b is referred to as the distal end side second lever body 7b. (See FIG. 2).

In the lever main body 3 according to the present embodiment, the divided surface divided into the first lever body 6 and the second lever body 7 is set eccentrically from the axial center of the lever main body 3. Specifically, the split surface is set above the axis so that the axis of the lever body 3 is included in the first lever body 6. Therefore, the depth dimension of the first lever body 6 is larger than that of the second lever body 7.

A flange 8 is interposed between the connection portion 2 and the lever body 3. That is, a disk-shaped flange 8 is provided on the base end portion of the first lever body 6 so as to close the base end portion of the lever body 3 by one of the main surfaces thereof, and on the other main surface. The connection unit 2 is connected. A notch 8a for passing the FPC 5 is formed on the upper portion of the flange 8. The notch 8a has a rectangular contour having left and right sides and a lower side, and the upper side portion thereof is open at the upper end portion of the flange 8. Further, the lower side of the notch 8a is located at substantially the same height as or slightly below the split end surface 6d of the first lever body 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the base end side first lever body 6a has a gap 10 almost entirely inside. On the other hand, inside the first lever body 6b on the distal end side, a substrate support 11 is provided closer to the bent portion 3c side. The substrate support 11 has a plurality of rib walls 12 erected on the inner peripheral surface of the lever body 3 so as to support the FPC 5 arranged in the lever body 3 from below and from the side.

Further, the shaft receiving portion 13 is integrally formed with the substrate support 11. The shaft receiving portion 13 is formed coaxially with the tip side lever body 3b so as to open toward the tip side, and a base end portion of a shaft (not shown) that supports the operation portion 4 is fitted. In the tip side first lever body 6b, a gap 14 is formed on the tip side of the substrate support 11 and the shaft receiving portion 13.

By the way, some of the rib walls 12 of the plurality of rib walls 12 form an engaging portion 15 for locking the FPC 5 when the FPC 5 is housed in the first lever body 6, and another part of the ribs. The wall 12 forms a back surface support portion 16 that supports the back surface of the FPC 5. These configurations will be described in detail later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operation unit 4 included in the lever switch device 1 has a rotation operation unit 20 and a push operation unit 21. The rotation operation unit 20 has a cylindrical shape and is arranged coaxially with the tip portion of the lever body 3, and the tip side lever body 3b and the rotation operation unit 20 communicate with each other in their internal spaces. Further, a rotation switch unit 33 (see FIG. 2) assembled to the FPC 5 is arranged inside the rotation operation unit 20. Then, when the rotation operation unit 20 is rotated by the operator, the rotation switch unit 33 is driven, and one of the plurality of terminals of the FPC 5 is short-circuited or opened according to the rotation position.

The push operation unit 21 has a cylindrical shape and is internally fitted in the opening on the tip end side of the rotation operation unit 20 so that it can reciprocate along the axial direction of the lever body 3. Further, a push switch unit 35 (see FIG. 2) assembled to the FPC 5 is arranged inside the rotation operation unit 20. Then, when the push operation unit 21 is pushed by the operator, the push switch unit 35 is driven, and one of the plurality of terminals of the FPC 5 is short-circuited or opened according to the position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the FPC 5 is formed by laying wiring on a flexible insulating film made of, for example, a polyimide resin, from the operation unit 4 toward the base end of the lever body 3 along the longitudinal direction. It is extended to form a long strip. A connection terminal 30 connected to a board on the vehicle body side is provided at the base end portion of the FPC 5. In the FPC 5, a strip-shaped insulating film is extended from the base end portion toward the tip end side, and wiring extending from the connection terminal 30 is laid near the center in the width direction of the insulating film.

The insulating film of the FPC 5 has a first bent portion 31a at a position corresponding to the bent portion 3c of the lever main body 3 at a position approximately half of the total length of the FPC 5, and is located on the tip end side of the first bent portion 31a. It is branched into one wiring unit 32 and a second wiring unit 34. Of these, the first wiring portion 32 extends from the branch portion along the tip side lever main body 3b, and the rotary switch portion 33 is assembled. The rotation switch unit 33 includes a rotation drive unit that rotates together with the rotation operation unit 20, a rotary switch that switches the connection state between terminals according to the rotation of the rotation drive unit, and a holder for fixing the first wiring unit 32. Etc. are included.

The second wiring portion 34 extends laterally from the first wiring portion 32 at the branching point, then bends at a right angle and extends in parallel with the first wiring portion 32. The second wiring portion 34 has a laterally extended portion folded back in the middle when it is accommodated in the lever main body 3, and as a result, the portion extending in parallel with the first wiring portion 32 is the first wiring portion 32. It is arranged directly above. A push switch portion 35 is assembled to the tip portion of the second wiring portion 34. The push switch unit 35 includes an on / off switch that reciprocates together with the push operation unit 21 described above, a holder for fixing the second wiring unit 34, and the like.

The FPC 5 is arranged between the first lever body 6 and the second lever body 7. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which the FPC 5 is arranged on the first lever body 6. As shown in FIG. 3, in the FPC 5, the portion on the proximal end side of the first bent portion 31a is arranged in the proximal end side first lever body 6a, and the portion on the proximal end side is further passed through the notch 8a of the flange 8. It is arranged on the connection portion 2 side. The FPC 5 also has a bent portion (second bent portion 31b) at a position corresponding to the notch 8a.

The portion of the FPC 5 disposed in the first lever body 6 on the distal end side of the first bent portion 31a is supported from below and from the side by the substrate support 11 in the first lever body 6a on the distal end side. .. Further, the rotary switch portion 33 assembled to the first wiring portion 32 of the FPC 5 has its base end side portion housed in a gap 14 provided at the tip end of the tip end side first lever body 6a, and the tip end side portion is the tip end. It is in a state of protruding from the side first lever body 6a toward the tip side.

The second lever body 7 is superposed on the first lever body 6 in which the FPC 5 is arranged from above. As shown in FIG. 2, the second lever body 7 has an outer shape symmetrical to that of the first lever body 6 with the divided surface interposed therebetween, except that the depth dimension is smaller than that of the first lever body 6. There is. Then, the first lever body 6 and the second lever body 7 are overlapped with each other to form a lever body 3 having a circular cross section, and the FPC 5 is housed inside the lever body 3.

As described above, the tip end side portion of the rotation switch portion 33 protrudes from the tip end portion of the lever body 3, and the rotation operation portion 20 is covered with this portion. Further, in the rotation operation unit 20, the push switch unit 35 is housed on the tip end side of the rotation switch unit 33, and the push operation unit 21 is attached to the tip end side thereof. In this way, the lever switch device 1 according to the present embodiment is configured.

[FPC locking structure]
By the way, the lever switch device 1 according to the present embodiment has a configuration capable of appropriately supporting the FPC 5 with respect to the first lever body 6 in order to facilitate the work of assembling the lever main body 3 while accommodating the FPC 5 inside. I have. This will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the lever switch device 1, and FIG. 4A is a partially enlarged view of the first lever body 6, and is an enlarged view of a portion A surrounded by a broken line in FIG. (B) is a partially enlarged view of the FPC 5, and shows an enlarged view of the portion B surrounded by the broken line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, the substrate support 11 of the first lever body 6 has an engaging portion 15 that engages with and supports the FPC 5 from the side, and a back surface support that supports the FPC 5 from the back surface side. It has a part 16. As described above, these are composed of a plurality of rib walls 12 erected on the inner peripheral surface of the lever body 3.

More specifically, the engaging portion 15 is composed of a plate-shaped rib wall 12 orthogonal to the axial direction of the lever body 3. Further, the first lever body 6 is provided with two such engaging portions 15 in pairs, and the respective engaging portions 15 have end faces of each other with the axial center of the lever main body 3 interposed therebetween. They are arranged so as to face each other. The end faces facing each other in each engaging portion 15 form an engaging surface 40 that engages with the FPC 5. The engaging surface 40 extends linearly in the depth direction of the first lever body 6, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the dividing surface, and each engaging surface 40 extends in the width direction of each other by a predetermined first dimension L1. It is separated.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), in the FPC 5, the position between the first bent portion 31a and the branch portion and corresponding to the engaging portion 15 of the first lever body 6 is in the width direction ( A engaged portion 50 protruding laterally) is formed. The engaged portion 50 has slits 51 provided at two locations separated in the longitudinal direction of the FPC 5 on the side portion of the FPC 5, and flexible portions 52 provided between these slits 51.

The two slits 51 separated in the longitudinal direction have the same depth dimension (depth dimension from the flexible portion 52) in the width direction, and the deepest portion 53 has an arcuate contour. The flexible portion 52 is formed by being sandwiched between two slits 51, and is composed of a substrate piece composed of an insulating sheet portion of the FPC 5. The side edge portion 54 of the flexible portion 52 forms a straight line along the longitudinal direction of the FPC 5. Further, the length dimension of the side edge portion 54 is larger than the dimension (thickness dimension) of the engaging surface 40 of the engaging portion 15 in the same direction.

In the lever switch device 1 according to the present embodiment, such an engaged portion 50 is formed on both one side and the other side in the width direction of the FPC 5. The positions of the engaged portions 50 in the longitudinal direction of the FPC 5 are the same, and the widthwise dimension of the FPC 5 at the location where the engaged portion 50 is provided is larger than the first dimension L1. It has a large second dimension L2.

When the FPC 5 is assembled to the first lever body 6, such an engaged portion 50 is locked by the engaging portion 15. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 3, and is a schematic view showing how the engaged portion 50 is engaged with the engaging portion 15 with emphasis. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration in which the FPC 5 is assembled to the first lever body 6.

As shown in the upper part of FIG. 5, during assembly by an operator, the FPC 5 approaches the first lever body 6 from above, and the engaged portion 50 of the FPC 5 is pushed between the two engaging portions 15. Is done. Then, as shown in the lower figure of FIG. 5, the FPC 5 is in a state of being curved so that the flexible portion 52 bends between the engaging portions 15, and the side edge portion 54 is in pressure contact with the engaging surface 40 from the inside. .. As a result, the FPC 5 is firmly supported by the engaging portion 15 and is stably supported in the first lever body 6 as shown in FIG.

The engaged portion 50 of the FPC 5 has a flexible portion 52 having a predetermined size sandwiched between the slits 51 as described above, and the flexible portion 52 has appropriate flexibility and elasticity. Therefore, when the FPC 5 is pushed between the engaging portions 15, the flexible portion 52 abuts on the engaging surface 40 with an appropriate pressure, but the flexible portion 52 is deformed exclusively to the wiring portion in the FPC 5. It is possible to avoid the stress application.

Further, as described above, the first lever body 6 includes a back surface support portion 16 that supports the back surface of the FPC 5. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, a first back surface support portion 41 is provided in the vicinity of the proximal end side with respect to the pair of engaging portions 15, and between the pair of engaging portions 15. A second back surface support portion 42 is provided.

The first back surface support portion 41 is composed of a plate-shaped rib wall 12 orthogonal to the axial direction of the lever body 3. At the upper end of the first back surface support portion 41, the first support surface 43 is provided at a position below the upper end of the engagement surface 40 of the engagement portion 15 described above.

The second back surface support portion 42 is composed of a plate-shaped rib wall 12 orthogonal to the width direction. A second support surface 44 is provided at the upper end of the second back surface support portion 42 at a position below the upper end of the engagement surface 40. The second support surface 44 extends from the proximal end side to the distal end side with a position between the pair of engaging portions 15 interposed therebetween. In this embodiment, the second support surface 44 is set to be located further below the first support surface 43. Further, the base end side portion of the second back surface support portion 42 is integrally connected to the main surface on the tip end side of the first back surface support portion 41.

The back surface of the FPC 5 is supported by such a back surface support portion 16 (first back surface support portion 41, second back surface support portion 42). Therefore, when the FPC 5 is assembled to the first lever body 6, even if the FPC 5 is pushed between the engaging portions 15, the FPC 5 is not pushed deeper than necessary. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the FPC 5 from being greatly deformed, and it is possible to avoid applying stress to the wiring. The second back surface support portion 42 is not only orthogonal to the width direction, but can be arranged in an appropriate direction such as substantially parallel to the width direction or diagonally if the FPC 5 is arranged so as not to be pushed in more than necessary. Alternatively, it may be provided at a distance from the first back surface support portion 41.

As can be seen from the above description, the lever switch device 1 according to the present embodiment can stably hold the FPC 5 with respect to the first lever body 6. Therefore, workability when accommodating the FPC 5 in the lever main body 3 is improved. Further, the engaging surface 40 of the engaging portion 15 provided on the first lever body 6 extends linearly in the depth direction of the first lever body 6, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the dividing surface, and is “returned”. Does not have. Therefore, even when the first lever body 6 is molded with a resin or the like, there is no restriction on the position where the engaging portion 15 is provided, and the engaging portion 15 can be provided at a suitable position for locking the FPC 5. can.

In the above description, the case where the lever main body 3 is divided into two is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a three-divided structure or a more multi-divided structure may be adopted. Further, in addition to the above-mentioned engaging portion 15, an engaging portion having a “return” may be added if it is possible in manufacturing.

Further, in the present embodiment, the engaging surface 40 extends linearly in the direction orthogonal to the dividing surface, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, even if the facing distance of the engaging surfaces gradually decreases toward the upper end, it is adopted as long as it can be molded by die cutting (so-called "forced punching") in the direction orthogonal to the dividing surface. be able to.

The present invention can be applied to a lever switch device having an operation unit such as a rotary switch or a push switch and having a wiring structure using a flexible substrate.

1 Lever switch device 2 Connection part 3 Lever body 4 Operation part 5 Flexible board (FPC)
6 1st lever body 7 2nd lever body 15 Engagement part 16 Back side support part 40 Engagement surface 41 1st back side support part 42 2nd back side support part 50 Engagement part 51 Slit 52 Flexible part

Claims (3)

A long lever body in which a first lever body and a second lever body having a dividing surface along the longitudinal direction are overlapped with each other, and a long lever body.
An operation unit that operates a switch unit arranged at a predetermined position on the lever body, and an operation unit that operates the switch unit.
A flexible substrate disposed between the first lever body and the second lever body and extending from the operation unit toward the base end direction of the lever body along the longitudinal direction is provided.
The first lever body has an engaging portion facing the divided surface in the width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction and separated by a predetermined first dimension.
The flexible substrate has an engaged portion at a position corresponding to the engaged portion, the engaged portion has a flexible portion protruding in the width direction, and the dimension in the width direction is large. It is a second dimension larger than the first dimension, and is
The flexible substrate has two slits cut in the other side in the width direction at two positions separated from each other in the longitudinal direction on at least one side portion in the width direction, and is between the two slits. The formed substrate piece forms the flexible portion of the engaged portion, and is supported by the engaging portion by pressure-contacting the engaging portion from the inside with the flexible portion flexed. ,
Lever switch device. A long lever body in which a first lever body and a second lever body having a dividing surface along the longitudinal direction are overlapped with each other, and a long lever body.
An operation unit that operates a switch unit arranged at a predetermined position on the lever body, and an operation unit that operates the switch unit.
A flexible substrate disposed between the first lever body and the second lever body and extending from the operation unit toward the base end direction of the lever body along the longitudinal direction is provided.
The first lever body has an engaging portion facing the divided surface in the width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction and separated by a predetermined first dimension, and the engaging portion is the first in the width direction. It has an engaging surface that is opposed by one dimension and extends in a direction orthogonal to the divided surface.
The flexible substrate has an engaged portion at a position corresponding to the engaged portion, the engaged portion has a flexible portion protruding in the width direction, and the dimension in the width direction is large. It is a second dimension larger than the first dimension, and the side edge portion of the flexible portion has a linear shape along the longitudinal direction and is a dimension in the longitudinal direction with respect to the engaging surface. Is big,
The flexible substrate is supported by the engaging portion by pressure-contacting the engaging portion from the inside with the flexible portion bent.
Lever switch device. A back surface support portion for supporting the back surface of the flexible substrate is further provided between the engaging portions facing each other in the width direction of the first lever body.
The lever switch device according to claim 1 or 2 .

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