JPH0151843B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a leaf switch used in, for example, video equipment, audio equipment, and other various types of low-power electrical equipment.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a conventional leaf switch has at least two strip-shaped conductive contact pieces fixed almost parallel to a synthetic resin base, and one movable contact piece is driven to switch the other fixed contact piece. Electrical switching is performed by making contact with or disconnecting from the contact point, but since this contact part has a dust collection function based on voltage, dust tends to adhere to it, resulting in problems such as poor contact and increased resistance. There is.

In order to prevent such adverse effects, recently, as seen in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 60-39517 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 60-65410, efforts have been made to protect and dust-proof the contact portion, and to move the movable contact piece. It has been proposed to cover the vehicle with a case-like hard cover that also serves as a driving piece.

However, when covering with such a hard cover, the cover must be supported so that it can be rotated quickly according to the movement of the strip contact piece, which is structurally complex and costly. It is expensive and disadvantageous for downsizing. In addition, since it is difficult to completely seal, the dust-proofing effect is also incomplete, making it unsuitable for waterproof structures.

Furthermore, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 37-23266, a simple moisture-proof contact is known in which an elastic contact piece is covered with a synthetic resin film such as polyethylene or vinyl chloride for the purpose of moisture-proofing. Because the synthetic resin film has no rigidity, it is difficult to maintain its shape, and the mechanical protection of the internal contact piece against external forces is insufficient, or the film and the contact piece are constantly in contact, impeding the movement of the contact piece. It has various problems such as.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to enable the contact portion to be sealed with an elastic cover, and to easily drive the strip-shaped contact piece inside the contact portion from the outside while the contact portion is sealed. To provide a leaf switch which is given elasticity and can easily follow the restoration of a strip-like contact piece.

[Summary of the invention] The gist of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows:
A strip-shaped fixed contact piece and a movable contact piece of a base made of an insulating material are attached almost parallel to each other, and the base body to the tips of both contact pieces are covered with an elastic cover made of an insulating material that is easily elastically deformable, In the leaf switch, the movable contact piece is driven toward the fixed contact side from the outside of the elastic cover, and an arm extending substantially parallel to the contact piece on the driving direction side of the movable contact piece outside the elastic cover. A portion is provided integrally with the base body, and the elastic cover is elastically supported by the arm portion in the driving direction of the movable contact piece.

[Embodiments of the Invention] The present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 showing the normal state and FIG. 2 showing the operating state. A structure in which at least two strip-shaped contact pieces, that is, a movable contact piece 2 and a fixed contact piece 3, each having contacts 2a and 3a, are fixed substantially parallel to a base body 1 made of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin. This is the same as before. Each of the contact pieces 2 and 3 is supported by support pieces 4 and 5 extending from the base body 1. External connection ends 2b, 3b of each contact piece 2, 3
Other parts except for the base 1 to the contact pieces 2 and 3
A cylindrical soft elastic cover 6 that is easily elastically deformable and whose tip is closed covers the contact portion, and a tongue-shaped spring member 7 is integrally formed at the bottom of the elastic cover 6. has been done. The elastic cover 6 is made of electrically insulating synthetic resin or rubber, and is preferably transparent. On the other hand, on the outside of the elastic cover 6, an arm part 8 is provided which extends from the bottom of the base body 1 in parallel to the contact pieces 2 and 3, and a spring member 7 is brought into contact with this arm part 8, and the movable contact piece The elastic cover 6 is elastically supported by the arm part 8 via the spring member 7 in the driving direction of FIG.

Therefore, when the pressing portion 9 of the elastic cover 6 is pressed from the outside by the driving force F to drive the movable contact piece 2 inside, the contacts 2a and 3a of the contact pieces 2 and 3 are closed. Furthermore, when the driving force F is released, the elastic force of the contact pieces 2, 3 and the elastic cover 6 itself allows it to return to its original state as shown in FIG. In this case,
In particular, when the driving force F is applied, the elastic cover 6 is elastically supported by the arm portion 8 via the spring member 7, so that it is not bent excessively and is easily returned to its original state. .

In order to fix the elastic cover 6 to the base body 1, it may be attached as is using its elastic force, but various methods such as adhesion to the base body 1, ultrasonic processing, high frequency processing, fusion by heating, etc. method is also possible.

Further, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment, in which a coil spring 11 is provided between the elastic cover 6 and the arm portion 8. As shown in FIG. In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
However, if the drive piece 10 is attached to the movable contact piece 2 as shown in FIG. 3, the elastic cover 6 does not need to be made thick.

In the above embodiment, the contacts 2a and 3a are completely sealed with the elastic cover 6 for the purpose of dustproofing and waterproofing, but if the only purpose is to make the contacts 2a and 3a dustproof, complete sealing is not necessarily necessary. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 4, an appropriately shaped opening 13 may be provided near the base 1 so that the elastic cover 6 can be easily elastically deformed. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the tip 6a of the elastic cover 6
is shaped like an arc to facilitate elastic deformation. Further, the arm portion 8 itself extending from the base body 1 is provided with spring properties, so that the elastic cover 6 is directly supported elastically by the arm portion 8 itself.

Although the above-mentioned embodiment shows the case where there are only two contact pieces, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a case where there are multiple contact pieces.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the leaf switch according to the present invention, since the cover that covers the contact portion is made of a soft material that is elastically deformable, the inner strip-shaped contact piece can be driven from the outside of this elastic cover. It is possible to seal the contact part to make it not only dustproof but also waterproof, and there is no need to attach the cover rotatably to the base as in the conventional case, so it is structurally simpler. As a result, the cost becomes low and it is advantageous for miniaturization. In particular, since the elastic cover itself is elastically supported in the driving direction of the movable contact piece by the arms extending from the base body, excessive bending of the elastic cover and accompanying excessive fatigue are prevented. Restoration is also easy. Also,
Since the elastic cover can maintain its shape due to its restoring force, the inner contact piece can be sufficiently protected from external forces.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show embodiments of the leaf switch according to the present invention; FIG. 1 is a sectional view in a normal state, FIG. 2 is a sectional view in an operating state, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views of other embodiments. It is. 1 is a base body, 2 is a movable contact piece, 3 is a fixed contact piece,
2a and 3b are contacts, 6 is an elastic cover, 7 is a spring member, 8 is an arm portion, and 11 is a coil spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A strip-shaped fixed contact piece and a movable contact piece are attached almost parallel to a base made of an insulating material, and the area from the base to the tips of both the contact pieces is covered with an elastic cover made of an insulating material that is easily elastically deformable. , in a leaf switch configured to drive the movable contact piece toward the fixed contact side from outside the elastic cover, the leaf switch extends substantially parallel to the contact piece on the driving direction side of the movable contact piece outside the elastic cover. A leaf switch characterized in that an arm portion is provided integrally with the base body, and the elastic cover is elastically supported by the arm portion in the driving direction of the movable contact piece.