JPH0218526B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] ()...The so-called toggle switches currently in general use all have a center terminal (contact) A and a center terminal A.
2 to 4 terminals (contacts) B are provided at equal intervals around the center, and a movable contact piece C is provided with as many contact pieces (contacts) (2 to 4 pieces) as the number of terminals B. They are configured so that they come into contact and become electrically conductive when tilted by a shaft (Fig. 1, A and B).

However, in the conventional configuration described above, when a single switch is required to switch a large number of circuits, the number of terminals B of the normal type changes from two to four.
For individual pieces, the number of movable contact pieces is formed in a radial manner, and the shaft for tilting them is also provided.
It can be configured to accurately switch and tilt in every direction from 180° to 90°, but when the number of terminals B increases from 5 to 8, or more, the contact piece configuration of the movable contact pieces also has a narrower mutual spacing. Undesirable, much less
It is difficult to accurately switch and tilt the shaft in each of the angular directions subdivided in this way, and erroneous operations are extremely likely to occur.

Therefore, the limit for this kind of toggle switch that can accurately switch by tilting the shaft in the set angle direction is four circuits (90 degrees, four directions).

However, in recent years, there have been many cases in which a single switch is required to have the ability to switch circuits in multiple directions, and the emergence of a switch with such performance has been eagerly awaited.

(2)...The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and while the basic structure of the shaft, movable contact piece, etc. is almost the same as that of a conventional switch, in particular, terminal B is used for many purposes. At the same time, by horizontally rotating the movable contact piece (the number of contact pieces is 2 to 4 as in the conventional case, and not particularly large), which is the connecting conductor between terminals A and B, to a set angle, each By switching the contact piece so that it faces the target terminal B, we have succeeded in providing an extremely large number of switch switching functions.

(3)...In other words, to explain the structure of the present invention, a movable contact piece whose center is tiltably supported on terminal A is tilted in a seesaw manner by the tilting of the shaft via a push rod and spring that are placed in contact with the upper part of the center. death,
In a toggle switch in which one end of the movable contact piece is brought into contact with terminal B by the tilting movement, and conduction is established between terminals A and B, the terminal A, which is buried in the center of the bottom plate of the hollow short cylindrical switch body, is the center of the toggle switch. A plurality of terminals B are buried at each set angle on the circumferential edge of the movable contact piece C, in which a plurality of contact pieces are provided radially around the center support part P, and the center support part P is placed on the terminal A. Each contact piece is connected to a plurality of terminals B.
A cylindrical rotating body is provided with a radial groove in its lower surface, and a fitting hole is drilled through the radial groove from the center of the upper surface, and the inside of the fitting hole is An engaging protrusion is provided on the circumferential surface, a hole is bored in the outer circumferential surface, and a steel ball supported by a spring is inserted into the hole. With one tip engaged, the lower half of the cylindrical rotating body is rotatably fitted into the switch body, and the center of the spherical rotating body with an engagement groove cut approximately in the lower half of the circumference is inserted into the center of the spherical rotating body. A shaft is fixed through the shaft, a push rod is elastically and vertically movably fitted to the tip of the shaft via a spring, and the engagement protrusion of the fitting hole of the cylindrical rotating body is engaged with the engagement groove of the spherical rotating body. In this state, the spherical rotating body is fitted into the fitting hole of the cylindrical rotating body, and the tip of the push rod of the shaft is pressed onto the center support part P of the movable contact piece C, and the hollow short cylindrical lid body is A fitting hole is drilled in the center of the top plate, a recess is provided on the inner peripheral surface, the lid body is fitted over the cylindrical rotating body, and the spherical rotating body is fitted into the fitting hole. At the same time, the steel ball is elastically engaged with the recess, and the area around the lower end opening of the lid body and the area around the upper end opening of the switch body are removably fixed to constitute the entire switch, and the shaft is connected to each connection. By tilting in one direction, the push rod tilts each contact piece to make contact with each facing terminal B, and by horizontally rotating the shaft at a set angle, a spherical rotating body, a cylindrical rotating body, and The movable contact piece rotates by a set angle, and by tilting the shaft in the direction of each contact piece at the rotation position, each contact piece also tilts, and contact conduction is established between each terminal B facing each other at the rotation position. This is a multi-directional switch designed to

(4)...Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

In the embodiment, the number of movable contact pieces C is 4 (C ₁ ,
C ₂ , C ₃ , C ₄ ), and eight terminals B ₁ to B ₈ are installed at set angular intervals of 45° on the circumferential line (FIGS. 4 and 6).

In the multi-directional switch of the present invention, a movable contact piece C whose center is tiltably supported on a terminal A is rotated in a seesaw manner by tilting a shaft 2 via a push rod 3 and a spring 4 which are placed in contact with each other at the upper part of the center. In a toggle switch that tilts and, by the tilting movement, brings one end (contact piece) of a movable contact piece C into contact with a terminal B and connects the terminals A and B, the bottom plate of the switch body 1 having a hollow short cylindrical shape 5. 8 T-shaped terminals at each set angle (45°) on the circumferential line centered on terminal A with a cylindrical or cylindrical tip buried in the center.
B ₁ to _{B 8} are buried, and a movable contact piece C, which has four contact pieces C ₁ to _{C 4} radially provided around the center support part P, is placed on the terminal A in contact with the center support part P. Each of the contact pieces C ₁ to _{C 4} is supported by a part of the terminals B of the plurality of terminals B ₁ to _{B 8} (for example, B ₁ ,
B ₃ , B ₅ , B ₇ ), and the cylindrical rotating body 6 is provided with a radial groove on the lower surface of which the tips of the contact pieces C ₁ to C ₄ of the movable contact piece C are tiltably engaged. 7 is recessed, and a fitting hole 8 penetrating from the center of the upper surface to the center of the radial groove 7 and into which the spherical rotating body 14 described later is fitted is formed to form the radial groove 7 on the inner circumferential surface of the fitting hole 8. An engaging protrusion 9 is provided protruding above each groove, and a hole 10 is bored on the outer peripheral surface, and a steel ball 12 is inserted into the hole 10 via a spring 11. 6 radial grooves 7
With each contact piece C ₁ to _{C 4} of the movable contact piece C engaged with the lower half of the cylindrical rotating body 6,
The center of a spherical rotating body 14 that is tightly and horizontally rotatably fitted into the center of the spherical rotating body 14 and has an engaging groove 13 cut in a position facing the engaging protrusion 9 of the fitting hole 8 in substantially the lower half of the spherical circumferential surface. A shaft 12 is fixed through the shaft 2, and a push rod 3 is fitted to the tip of the shaft 2 so as to be elastically slidable up and down with a spring 4 interposed therebetween. The spherical rotating body 14 is inserted into the fitting hole 8 of the columnar rotating body 6 while engaging the engagement protrusion 9 on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting hole 8 of the rotating body 6.
At the same time, the tip of the push rod 3 of the shaft 2 is elastically pressed onto the center support part P of the movable contact piece C (when not in operation), and a short hollow cylinder of approximately the same shape and size as the switch body 1 is fitted. A fitting hole 17 for fitting the spherical rotating body 14 is bored at the center of the top plate 16, and a steel ball 12 installed on the cylindrical rotating body 6 is elastically engaged with the inner circumferential surface of the shaped lid body 15. A fitting recess 18 is provided to match the set rotation angle of the movable contact piece C (45 degrees in this example), and the lid body 15 is fitted onto the cylindrical rotating body 6 to open the fitting hole. The upper half of the spherical rotating body 14 is fitted into the upper half of the spherical rotating body 17, and the steel ball 12 is elastically engaged with the recess 18 on the inner peripheral surface, and the area around the lower end opening of the lid 15 and the switch body 1 are The entire multi-directional switch of the present invention is constructed by removably fixing the upper end opening and the surrounding area as appropriate.

(5)...With the above configuration, the multi-directional switch of the present invention: (i) When the shaft 2 is tilted in each 90° direction,
The spherical rotating body 14 in the fitting holes 8 and 17 is
Using the engaging protrusion 9 of the cylindrical rotating body 6 engaged with the engaging groove 13 as a guide,
The push rod 3 at the tip of the shaft 2 slides from the center support part P toward the tip of the contact piece _C1 , for example, and tilts the movable contact piece C. ₁ contacts terminal B ₁ .

Then, in the same way, attach the shaft 2 to each contact piece.
By tilting in the C ₂ , C ₃ , and C ₄ directions,
Contact piece C ₂ and terminal B ₃ , C ₃ and B ₅ , and C ₄ and B ₇ are brought into electrical contact. (See Figure 4) (ii) Next, set the shaft 2 at an angle (45° in this example).
When horizontally rotated, the spherical rotating body 14 is fixed on the same axis.
rotates simultaneously, and the cylindrical rotating body 6 engaged with the rotating body 14 through the engagement groove 13 and the engagement protrusion 9 rotates simultaneously,
Furthermore, the movable contact pieces C, whose tips of the contact pieces _C1 to _C4 are engaged with the radial grooves 7, also rotate at the same angle around the center support part P, and at the same time, the steel balls installed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical rotating body 6 rotate. 12 escapes from one of the recesses 18, moves 45 degrees, and engages with the next recess 18 to stop the rotation of the cylindrical rotating body 6 and other parts.

Therefore, at the rotation stop position, the shaft 2
When tilted in each 90° direction in the same manner as above, the contact piece
C ₁ and terminals B ₂ , C ₂ and B ₄ , C ₃ and B ₆ , and C ₄ and B ₈ are brought into electrical contact.

(iii) If the shaft 2 is rotated 45 degrees in the original direction, the spherical rotating body 14, the cylindrical rotating body 6, and the movable contact piece C return to their original positions, allowing the same operation as before.

(iv) As described above, in the switch of the present invention, by tilting the shaft 2 in the direction of each contact piece, the push rod 3 tilts each of the contact pieces C ₁ to C ₄ and connects each facing terminal B ₁ , B ₃ , B ₅ , B ₇ and conduction through contact, and
By horizontally rotating the shaft 2 through a set angle of 45 degrees, the spherical rotating body 14, the cylindrical rotating body 6, and the movable contact pieces C rotate through the same angle of 45 degrees, and at this rotational position, the shaft 2 is rotated between each contact piece _C1. ~C By tilting in _{the four} directions, each contact piece also tilts, and each terminal B ₂ , facing each other in the rotational position
It is configured so that it contacts and conducts with B ₄ , B ₆ , and B ₈ .

(6)...In the present invention, the number of movable contact pieces C is 4 pieces (C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ , C ₄ . . . Figs. 4 and 6) and 2 pieces ( C ₁ , C ₂ ... Fig. 2) or three pieces (C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ ... Fig. 3), the tilting direction angle of the shaft 2 that tilts the movable contact piece C. If it is made too small, it may cause erroneous operation.
90°) is considered appropriate.

In addition, as mentioned above, terminal B is placed at set intervals on the set circumference centered on terminal A (e.g., 30°, 45°, 60°,
(every 90 degrees), and two or more are optional.

For example, Fig. 2 shows an example in which two movable contact pieces (C ₁ , C ₂ ) are provided with eight terminals B (B ₁ to _{B 8} ), and in this case, the movable contact piece C is always Contact can be made with terminals B ₁ and B ₅ by tilting the position, and switching contact can be made sequentially with terminals B ₂ and B ₆ , B ₃ and B ₇ , and B ₄ and B ₈ respectively by horizontally rotating the position three times every 45 degrees. be.

Similarly, Figure 3 shows three contact pieces (C ₁ ,
C ₂ , C ₃ ), and six terminals B (B ₁ to B ₆ ) are provided, and by horizontally rotating the movable contact piece C by 60 degrees, a total of 6 terminals B are provided.
It is possible to switch the circuit, and Figure 5 shows an example in which 12 terminals B (B ₁ - _{B 12} ) are provided with four contact pieces (C ₁ - C ₄ ), and the movable contact piece C
A total of 12 circuits can be switched by horizontal rotation twice every 30 degrees.

(7)...As mentioned above, the multi-directional switch of the present invention horizontally rotates the movable contact piece C provided with an arbitrary number of contact pieces C ₁ to _Co to a set angle in accordance with the terminal B set in large numbers. By tilting the contact pieces in the rotational position one after another by tilting the shaft, one switch can have an extremely large number of terminals B (that is, basically a multiple of the number of contact pieces). It is possible to provide an excellent switch that can be switched in multiple directions by simple configuration and clear operation without fear of malfunction.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

A and B in Figure 1 are schematic diagrams of the configuration of a conventional switch.
A is a plan view and a front view of a switch with two contacts and two terminals B, B is a plan view of a switch with four contacts and four terminals B, and Figures 2 to 5 all show terminals of the switch of the present invention. and a related configuration diagram of the movable contact piece, the second
Figure 3 shows the case where the number of movable contact pieces is 2 and 8 terminals B, Figure 3 shows the case where the number of movable contact pieces is 3 and 6 terminals B, Figure 4 shows the case where the number of movable contact pieces is 4 and 8 terminals B, and Figure 5 shows the case where the number of movable contact pieces is 2 and 8 terminals B. has 4 tangents,
The case with 12 terminals B is shown. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an embodiment switch configured with 4 contact pieces and 8 terminals B.
Figure 7 is an A'-A'' sectional view, Figure 8 is a B'-B'' sectional view, Figure 9 is a longitudinal sectional view, top view and bottom view of the cylindrical rotating body, and Figure 10 is a spherical rotating body. FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section and a plan view of the body. Symbol, A...Terminal, B, _B1 to _B12 ...Terminal, C
...Movable contact piece, C ₁ ~ C _o ... Contact piece, P... Center support part, 1... Switch body, 2... Shaft, 3
... Push rod, 4 ... Spring, 5 ... Bottom plate, 6 ... Cylindrical rotating body, 7 ... Radial groove, 8 ... Fitting hole, 9 ...
...Engaging protrusion, 10... Hole, 11... Spring, 12...
... Steel ball, 13 ... Engagement groove, 14 ... Spherical rotating body,
15... Lid plate, 16... Top plate, 17... Fitting hole,
18... Concavity.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A movable contact piece whose center is tiltably supported on terminal A is tilted in a seesaw manner by the tilting of a shaft via a push rod and a spring, which are installed in contact with the upper part of the center, and by the tilting movement. In a toggle switch in which one end of the movable contact piece contacts terminal B to establish conduction between terminals A and B, the switch is placed on a circumferential line centered on terminal A, which is buried in the center of the bottom plate of the short hollow cylindrical switch body. A movable contact piece C in which a plurality of terminals B are embedded at each set angle and a plurality of contact pieces are provided radially around the center support part P,
The center support part P is brought into contact with the terminal A and supported so as to be tiltable, and each contact piece is made to face some of the terminals B among the plurality of terminals B. A fitting hole is formed in a recessed manner and penetrates the radial groove from the center of the upper surface, and an engaging protrusion is provided protruding from the inner circumferential surface of the fitting hole,
A hole is bored in the outer circumferential surface, and a steel ball supported by a spring is inserted into the hole. The lower half of the rotating body is rotatably fitted into the switch body, a shaft is fixed through the center of the spherical rotating body with an engagement groove cut in substantially the lower half of the circumference, and a push rod is attached to the tip of the shaft. is fitted elastically and movably up and down via a spring, and the spherical rotating body is inserted into the cylindrical shape with the engagement protrusion of the fitting hole of the cylindrical rotating body engaged with the engagement groove of the spherical rotating body. Fit into the fitting hole of the rotating body, press the tip of the push rod of the shaft onto the center support part P of the movable contact piece C, and make a hollow short cylindrical lid body with a fitting hole in the center of the top plate. , a recessed portion is provided on the inner circumferential surface, and the lid body is fitted onto the cylindrical rotating body, and the spherical rotating body is fitted into the fitting hole, and the steel ball is elastically inserted into the recessed portion. The entire switch is constructed by removably fixing the area around the lower end opening of the lid body and the area around the upper end opening of the switch body, and by tilting the shaft in the direction of each contact piece. The push rod tilts each contact piece to make contact with each facing terminal B, and by horizontally rotating the shaft at a set angle, the spherical rotating body, cylindrical rotating body, and movable contact piece are rotated at the set angle. A multi-directional switch provided in such a manner that by tilting the shaft in the direction of each contact piece in the rotation position, each contact piece also tilts and is brought into contact with each terminal B facing each other in the rotation position.