JPH063077B2 - Key device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a key device, and more particularly to a key switch each having an electric circuit and a key device having a contact means for electrically connecting the key to each other.

<Prior Art> In recent years, for example, in order to prevent theft of an automobile, etc., a receiver is provided on the vehicle side and a transmitter is provided in a key for operating an ignition switch etc. Some are designed to enable unlocking and engine starting. This key requires a power supply for the transmitter and generally contains a battery.

However, if the capacity of the battery is increased to guarantee the transmission function for a long time, the entire key becomes large and the convenience of carrying is impaired, and if the size of the entire key is made small, the battery capacity becomes small and the battery capacity is reduced. There is a problem that maintainability becomes complicated.

Therefore, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-1659, a key having a transmitting function has a built-in rechargeable battery, and its charging terminal is provided in the insertion direction, and the charging terminal connected to the battery is a key. It is disclosed that the key switch on the vehicle side is provided so as to come into contact with the charging terminal of, and the built-in battery of the key is charged through both charging terminals when the key is inserted into the key switch. .

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, since the charging terminals of the key and the key switch come into contact with each other in the insertion direction of the key, by repeatedly performing the insertion / removal of the key and the rotating operation as the operation of the ignition switch. When the contact portions of both terminals are deteriorated due to wear or the like, there is a possibility that contact failure may occur.

In view of such problems of the conventional technology, the main object of the present invention is to stabilize the contact state of the contact means for electrically connecting the key and the key switch to each other, and
It is to provide a key device capable of improving the durability of the contact portion.

<Means for Solving the Problems> According to the present invention, such a purpose is to provide a key switch having a first electric circuit, a key having a second electric circuit, and the key to the key switch. A key device having the key switch and the contact means provided on the key so that the first electric circuit can be electrically connected to the second electric circuit by being inserted into a key hole, The contact means has a fixed contact portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the key portion having a cylindrical shape at least partially over a predetermined angle range, and a spring biasing force from the spring means toward the inner side in the radial direction. It is achieved by providing a key device characterized in that it comprises a movable contact part that is received by the key switch while being able to move forward and backward.

<Operation> According to this configuration, when the key switch and the key each having an electric circuit are electrically connected to each other, the arc-shaped fixing on the key side is performed over a predetermined angle range when the key is rotated. The movable contact portion on the key switch side can be elastically brought into contact with the contact portion.

<Embodiment> Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a part of an engine control circuit in a vehicle such as an automobile to which a key device according to the present invention is applied. The steering column of the vehicle 1 is provided with a cylinder lock type key switch 2 that also serves as a steering lock and an ignition switch. Like the known vehicle key switch, the key 3 is inserted into the key switch 2 to the "ON" position. By rotating, the engine can be started.

The key 3 is formed with a grip portion 4 integrally molded with a synthetic resin material, and the grip portion 4 is provided with a pair of light emitters 5 formed of, for example, light emitting diodes. It is buried to face,
A control circuit 7 having an emission circuit for the light emitter 5 and a rechargeable battery 8 as a power source are also embedded. Furthermore, a pair of terminals 9 as fixed contact portions are fixedly provided at the base end portion of the key body 6 inserted into the key switch 2, and both terminals 9 and the control circuit 7 are provided inside the grip portion 4. It is connected with.

The key switch 2 is provided with a pair of terminals 10 as movable contact portions so as to elastically contact both terminals 9 of the key 3 in the inserted state, and the light emitting body 5
A light receiving body 11 including, for example, a phototransistor for receiving the light from is provided. The terminal 10 and the light receiver 11 are the control unit 12 provided in the vehicle 1.
Respectively connected to. The control unit 12 includes an in-vehicle battery 13 as a power source and an “O” of the key switch 2.
Cut relay 4 for disconnecting / connecting the closed engine control circuit 14 and starter circuit 15 at the "N" position and the "ST" position.
1 and 42 are connected to each other.

2 and 3 show the key 3 inserted in the key switch 2.
The main part of the key 3 and the key switch 2 in the state of being turned to the “ON” position is shown.

The key switch 2 has the "LOC" shown in FIG. 3 in order to enable the operation of the engine control circuit 14 and the starter circuit 15 and the respective devices (not shown).
By rotating a rotor switch (not shown) integrally arranged behind the rotor 17 of the key switch 2 together with the rotor 17 to respective positions of “K”, “ACC”, “ON”, and “ST”. , Each circuit is closed, and when the key 3 inserted at the "LOCK" position shown in FIG. 3 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A to the "ACC" position, For example, when the power supply of the radio of the vehicle 1 is turned on, the engine control circuit 14 is turned on the next time it is in the “ON” position, and the starter circuit 15 is turned on when it is further moved to the “ST” position.

As described above, the key switch 2 has a well-known type key cylinder structure, and includes the outer cylinder member 16 having a cylindrical shape,
The outer cylinder member 16 has a rotor 17 which is rotatably received in the outer cylinder member 16 over a predetermined angle range.
The rotor 17 has a key hole 18 corresponding to the key body 6.

A cylindrical inner cap 19, which is formed on the insertion side of the key 3 on the insertion side of the key 3 so as to surround the end and to cover the peripheral edge of the axial end surface, is fitted to the outer cylinder member 16. A cylindrical auxiliary cap 21 that is similarly formed is fitted to the inner cap 19. Further, both end portions of the auxiliary cap 21 in the axial direction are covered and both caps 1
A cylindrical outer cap 22 for surrounding 9, 21
Are fixed to the outer tubular member 16 by caulking. A key introduction hole 23 as an extension of the key hole 18 is formed in the inner cap 19 and the auxiliary cap 21 so as to communicate with the key hole 18. The key introduction hole 23 is formed with an inner diameter that allows the base end portion of the key body 6 to be loosely inserted.

As well shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary cap 21 is provided with a recess 24 that is open toward the connection surface side with the inner cap 19 and the inner peripheral surface side of the key introduction hole 23.
The terminal 10 is received in the recess 24. A conductive support plate 25 is received in the recess 24, and a part of the support plate 25 is molded and fixed to the auxiliary cap 21. A base portion of the terminal 10 is rotatably supported by a pivot shaft 26 erected on the support plate 25, and a free end portion thereof is radially inwardly directed to a position substantially corresponding to the “ON” position. Convex contact portion 2 that is provided to project toward
7 are formed.

A hole 24 is formed in the intermediate portion of the terminal 10 on the opposite side of the contact portion 27.
The free end of the compression coil spring 28 is elastically abutted so that the contact portion 27 projects from the inner peripheral surface of the contact portion 27 toward the center. The compression coil spring 28 is provided in a groove 29 that is cut out so as to extend outward from the recess 24 in a substantially radial direction.
It is received together with the terminal portion 31 forming a part of the support plate 25, and the base end portion is locked by the terminal portion 31 bent at a substantially right angle along the axis of the key switch 2. Further, the terminal portion 31 is connected to the control unit 12 described above. A stopper portion 32 is formed in the concave portion 24 in order to lock the free end of the spring-biased terminal 10 and regulate the protrusion amount of the contact portion 27.

In this way, the terminal 10 is electrically connected to the control unit 12 via the coil spring 28 and the support plate 25. The terminal 10 and the support plate 25 may be connected to each other by soldering a flexible lead wire to each of them.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the key switch 2 is provided with the above-mentioned light receiving body 11 so as to be exposed to the outside through an opening (not shown) formed in the axial end surface of the outer cap 22. There is. The light receiving body 11 has an outline of “O
It is arranged at a position corresponding to the middle part of the section from the “N” position to the “ST” position, and can receive the light from the light emitting body 5 when the key 3 is located between them. The key 3 is provided with a pair of light emitters 5 symmetrically with respect to the axis, but this is for reversing the inserting direction of the key 3.

A cylindrical terminal holder 33 made of synthetic resin as an insulating material is fixed to the base end of the key body 6. On the outer peripheral surface of the terminal holder 33, the above-mentioned pair of terminals 9 forming an arc at symmetrical positions with an equal angular pitch are provided.
It is fixed so that it can come into contact with the contact portion 27 of the key switch 2 when operated between the "N" position and the "ST" position.

As described above, in the present embodiment, both terminals 9 and 10 come into contact with each other at the “ON” position, and the voltage of the battery 13 is charged via the control unit 12 to the control circuit 7 on the 3 side and the charging circuit. It is applied to the battery 8. At this time, a specific code signal is generated by the trigger operation in the control circuit 7,
Is emitted as light from the light receiver 1 on the side of the key switch 2
1 receives the coded light. Then, in the control unit 12, this code signal and the control unit 1
When it is confirmed that the codes stored in 2 match, the cut relays 41 and 4 which connect / disconnect the engine control circuit 14 and the starter circuit 15 from the control unit 12 are connected.
A signal for closing 2 is output, and the engine control circuit 14 and the starter circuit 15 are turned on via the switch circuit of the key switch 2 corresponding to the position of the key 3.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a second embodiment according to the present invention, and the portions corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the auxiliary cap 21
A hole 34 that opens to the inner peripheral surface of the key introduction hole 23 is cut in the radial direction, and the terminal 10 having a bottomed cylindrical shape is coaxially slidably received in the hole 34. There is. A convex contact portion 35 is provided on the bottom surface of the terminal 10, and a compression coil spring 36 is coaxially received in the terminal 10. The terminal 10 is biased so as to project the contact portion 36 toward. The outward flange portion formed at the base end portion of the terminal 10 is received in the widened portion of the hole 34, and the protrusion amount of the contact portion 36 is regulated.

In the second embodiment, since the terminal 10 as the movable contact portion is formed compactly, the layout is easy when the terminal 10 is arranged on the key switch 2 side.

By the way, in these embodiments, the terminal holder 33 fixed to the base end portion of the key 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape, but as shown in FIG. 5, it supports the fixed terminal 9 formed in an arc shape. The terminal holder 33 may be thinned by using the cut surface 37 that is parallel to the main surface of the key body 6 so as to leave a portion.
By doing so, the entire key 3 can be formed thin, and the convenience of carrying the key 3 can be improved.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, the key switch and the contact portions of the key each having an electric circuit are smoothly contacted with each other at a predetermined contact pressure over a predetermined angle range when a key operation is performed. Therefore, the contact state of both can be stabilized, and even if the contact part is worn by repeated use, the spring-biased movable contact part is pushed toward the fixed contact part according to the wear amount. As a result, the stable contact state is not impaired, so that the durability can be improved, and the effect is extremely large.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle control circuit to which a key device according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an essential part showing a state in which a key in the key device according to the present invention is inserted into a key switch. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the base end portion of the key. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 2 ... Key switch 3 ... Key, 4 ... Gripping part 5 ... Light-emitting body, 6 ... Key body 7 ... Control circuit, 8 ... Rechargeable battery 9 ... Terminal, 10 ... Terminal 11 ... Light receiving body, 12 ... Control unit 13 ... Battery, 14 ... Engine control circuit 15 ... Starter circuit, 16 ... Outer cylinder member 17 ... Rotor, 18 ... Key hole 19 ... Inner cap, 21 ... Auxiliary cap 22 ... Outer cap, 23 ... Key introduction hole 24 ... Recessed portion, 25 ... Support plate 26 ... Pivot shaft, 27 ... Contact part 28 ... Coil spring, 29 ... Groove 31 ... Terminal part, 32 ... Stopper part 33 ... Terminal holder, 34 ... Hole 35 ... Contact part, 36 ... Coil spring 37 ... Cut surface, 41, 42 ... Cut relay

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kazuhiro Sakata, Kazuhiro Sakata, 3700 Wadayama, Shimonaka, Sadohara-cho, Miyazaki-gun, Miyazaki Prefecture Honda Locks Co., Ltd. Character Wadayama 3700 Address Honda Lock Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masami Tanaka Shimodaka, Sadohara-cho, Miyazaki-gun, Miyazaki Prefecture Wadayama 3700 Address Honda Lock Co., Ltd. (56) Bibliography Sho 62-52656 U) Actual development Sho 52-22186 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A key switch having a first electric circuit,
A key having a second electric circuit; and the key switch and the key switch so that the first electric circuit can be electrically connected to the second electric circuit by inserting the key into a key hole of the key switch. A key device having contact means provided on the key, wherein the contact means is a fixed contact formed on an outer peripheral surface of a portion of the key which is at least partially cylindrical over a predetermined angle range. And a movable contact part that is received by the key switch so as to be able to move forward and backward while being biased by a spring means toward the inside in the radial direction.