Push switch

A push switch includes a casing, an operation body movable into and out of the casing, and a switch element operable with the movement of the operation body into and out of the casing. The casing includes a first outer peripheral wall, a first inner peripheral wall, a first guide provided to the first outer peripheral wall, and a second guide provided to the first inner peripheral wall. The operation body includes a second outer peripheral wall, a second inner peripheral wall, a first engagement portion provided to the second outer peripheral wall and slidably engaged with the first guide, and a second engagement portion provided to the second inner peripheral wall and slidably engaged with the second guide. A clearance between the second guide and the second engagement portion is smaller than a clearance between the first guide and the first engagement portion.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the configuration of a push switch equipped in various electronic devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

Switches used in electronic devices such as car audio devices include push switches in which the display part on the front of the operation button is illuminated from the back at night or in dark places. These push switches often include a light-shielding plate (light-shielding wall). This plate (wall) prevents the light emitted from a light source to illuminate the letters on the display part and the light emitted from another light source to illuminate the indicator from leaking into respective regions individually illuminated by the lights.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-117038 (hereinafter, Patent Literature 1) discloses an illuminated switch device that allows the user to smoothly operate the operation button and causes no or little light leakage. This illuminated switch device includes a casing and a cylindrical operation body (operation button). The operation body is provided with a light-shielding wall therein. One of the casing and the operation body is equipped with vertical guide rails and the other is provided with vertical grooves. The guide rails and the grooves are engaged with each other to guide the operation body with respect to the casing, so that the user can smoothly operate the operation body.

In this illuminated switch device, the guide rails are located at both ends of the light-shielding wall that are extended toward the outside of the cylindrical operation body. The switch device further includes two light sources. With this configuration, the light coming from one of the light sources and traveling into the gap between the casing and the operation body is prevented from leaking into the region to be illuminated by the other light source.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a push switch that provides smooth operation of the operation body.

The push switch according to the present disclosure includes a casing, an operation body movable into and out of the casing, and a switch element operable with the movement of the operation body into and out of the casing. The casing includes a first outer peripheral wall, a first inner peripheral wall located further inside than the first outer peripheral wall, a first guide, and a second guide. The first guide is provided to the first outer peripheral wall, and the second guide is provided to the first inner peripheral wall. The operation body includes a second outer peripheral wall, a second inner peripheral wall located further inside than the second outer peripheral wall, a first engagement portion, and a second engagement portion. The first engagement portion is provided to the second outer peripheral wall and is slidably engaged with the first guide. The second engagement portion is provided to the second inner peripheral wall and is slidably engaged with the second guide. The clearance between the second guide and the second engagement portion is smaller than the clearance between the first guide and the first engagement portion.

In this configuration, the second guide and the second engagement portion are located very much inside the push switch. This makes the switch unsusceptible to dimensional change even when the switch including the operation body and the casing is large-sized. As a result, wobbling is suppressed between the operation body and the casing during the operation of the operation body, allowing the user to smoothly operate the operation body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Prior to describing an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, problems associated with the illuminated switch device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 will now be described in brief. One of the problems is that when large in size, the switch device may have large dimensional change in components with time or due to ambient conditions such as temperature and humidity. Another problem is as follows. The guide rails and the grooves are respectively provided to the outer peripheral wall of the casing and the external cylindrical portion of the operation body. When two or more guide rails are formed, the spacing between them is large, causing the switch device to be more susceptible to dimensional change. This influence could be reduced by providing large clearances between the guide rails and the grooves. However, large clearances may cause wobbling between the casing and the operation body when the user operates the operation body. As a result, the user cannot operate it smoothly.

The exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. In these drawings, the same or equivalent components are denoted by the same reference numerals and may not be described repeatedly. All drawings illustrate only some components appropriate to describe the present disclosure and may omit the other components. Furthermore, the present disclosure is not limited to the following exemplary embodiment.

A push switch according to the present exemplary embodiment will now be described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 8.

Configuration of the Push Switch

FIG. 1is a schematic perspective view of push switch100according to the present exemplary embodiment.FIG. 2is an exploded perspective view of switch100.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5are sectional views of switch100taken along lines III-III, IV-IV, and V-V, respectively, shown inFIG. 1.FIG. 6is an enlarged view of a region defined by VI in push switch100shown inFIG. 4.

FIG. 7is a top view of casing1of switch100, andFIG. 8is a perspective view of operation body3in switch100when seen from the back.

For easier understanding of the geometry of switch100,FIGS. 1 to 8define the top, bottom, front, back, left, and right of switch100; however, these directions do not necessarily coincide with the orientation of push switch100in use.

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, push switch100includes casing1, operation body3movable into and out of casing1, and switch elements5and6operable by moving operation body3into and out of casing1. As shown inFIGS. 5 and 7, casing1includes first outer peripheral wall11, first inner peripheral wall12located further inside than first outer peripheral wall11, first guides13A to13D, and second guides14A and14B. First guides13A to13D are provided to first outer peripheral wall11, and second guides14A and14B are provided to first inner peripheral wall12. As shown inFIGS. 5 and 8, operation body3includes second outer peripheral wall31, second inner peripheral wall32located further inside than second outer peripheral wall31, first engagement portions33A to33D, and second engagement portions34A and34B. First engagement portions33A to33D are provided to second outer peripheral wall31and are slidably engaged with first guides13A to13D, respectively. Second engagement portions34A and34B are provided to second inner peripheral wall32and are slidably engaged with second guides14A and14B, respectively.

Push switch100further includes light guide element2, substrate4, first light source7, and second light source8. The light emission of first light source7is controlled by pushing operation body3to turn on or off switch elements5and6.

The light emission of second light source8is controlled by turning on and off an unillustrated switch element in the present exemplary embodiment, but may alternatively be controlled by turning on and off switch elements5and6. First light source7and second light source8may emit light of either the same or different colors from each other. These light sources7and8may include LEDs or light bulbs.

Each component of switch100will now be described in detail. As shown inFIGS. 5 and 7, casing1includes base10, first outer peripheral wall11, first inner peripheral wall12, first guides13A to13D, and second guides14A and14B. As shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, base10serves a bottom of casing1. First outer peripheral wall11and first inner peripheral wall12stand on the upper side of base10.

Substrate4is laid under base10. Substrate4is mounted with switch elements5and6, first light source7, and second light source8at appropriate locations. Casing1is made of either a light-blocking colored synthetic resin or a synthetic resin which can light-block as a material.

As shown inFIGS. 5 and 7, when switch100is seen from above, first outer peripheral wall11is an approximate rectangle of greater length in the horizontal (right-to-left) direction than width in the front-to-back direction. First outer peripheral wall11is provided with vertical, groove-shaped first guides13A to13D, respectively on the four outer sides of first outer peripheral wall11. First guides13A to13D are slidably engaged with first engagement portions33A to33D, respectively, of operation body3, which will be described later.

First guides13A to13D are grooves in the present exemplary embodiment, but may alternatively be ribs. Still alternatively, some of first guides13A to13D may be grooves and the other may be ribs. Note that the four first guides are not necessarily provided, and one first guide, two, three, five, or more first guides can be acceptable.

As shown inFIGS. 4 and 7, first inner peripheral wall12is located further inside than first outer peripheral wall11. First inner peripheral wall12includes inner walls12A to12C. Inner walls12A and12B extend rearward from the inner surface of the front side of first outer peripheral wall11. Inner wall12C extends in the longitudinal direction of first outer peripheral wall11to connect the rear ends of inner walls12A and12B. Inner wall12C is a part of partition wall15, which partitions the space inside first outer peripheral wall11into a front portion and a rear portion.

Second guides14A and14B are located on the opposing inner sides of inner walls12A and12B, respectively, in such a manner that second guides14A and14B are arranged in the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction) of casing1. The phrase “arranged in the longitudinal direction of casing1” means that two second guides14A and14B are arranged on the pair of inner walls12A and12B, which are the short sides of first inner peripheral wall12when seen from the top or bottom of push switch100. More specifically, second guides14A and14B can be either aligned or not aligned when seen from the right- or left-hand side of push switch100.FIGS. 5 and 7show a state in which second guides14A and14B are aligned with each other when seen from the right- or left-hand side of push switch100.

Second guides14A and14B are vertical ribs to be slidably engaged with second engagement portions34A and34B, respectively, of operation body3as will be described later. In other words, second guides14A and14B extend from base10in the direction in which operation body3moves.

As shown inFIGS. 6 and 7, base10is provided on the upper side with recesses16A and16B around second guides14A and14B, respectively. When casing1is seen from above, recesses16A and16B are U-shaped to surround second guides14A and14B, respectively.

Second guides14A and14B are ribs in the present exemplary embodiment, but may alternatively be grooves. Still alternatively, one of second guides14A and14B may be a rib and the other maybe a groove.

The number of the second guides in the present exemplary embodiment is two, but may be at least one. For example, the number may be four or six. In these cases, two or more second guides may be provided to each of inner walls12A and12B, or to each of inner walls12A,12B and12C, and the portion of first outer peripheral wall11that opposes inner wall12C. When the second guides are provided to inner wall12C and inside first outer peripheral wall11, the second engagement portions, which will be described later, can be provided to inner walls32D and32C.

Recesses16A and16B, which are U-shaped in the present exemplary embodiment, may have any shape view from above, such as an I-shape or a T-shape.

Base10is perforated with through-hole17in the region surrounded by first inner peripheral wall12so as to expose first light source7as shown inFIG. 7. Base10is also perforated with through-hole18in the (rear side) region opposite to through-hole17across inner wall12C (partition wall15) so as to expose second light source8.

Operation body3includes operation part30, second outer peripheral wall31, second inner peripheral wall32, first engagement portions33A to33D, second engagement portions34A and34B, display design part35, and indicator36as shown inFIGS. 3 to 5 and 8. Operation part30is approximately trapezoidal when push switch100is seen from above. The upper (front) side of operation part30is provided with indicator36and display design part35.

Indicator36is provided with a through-hole into which the upper end of light guide element2is inserted. Light guide element2is fitted in the space defined by second inner peripheral wall32. First light source7is located opposed to the end of light guide element2.

Display design part35is a region to display pictures and letters by the light emitted from second light source8and is provided with, for example, a space or a translucent or opalescent synthetic resin. Thus, second light source8is housed in casing1and illuminates operation body3so as to penetrate operation body3with an emitting light, together with first light source7.

The portion of operation part30that includes display design part35in operation body3is made, for example, from a translucent or opalescent light-transmitting synthetic resin. Meanwhile, the lower portion of operation part30that includes second outer peripheral wall31and second inner peripheral wall32is made, for example, from a light-blocking synthetic resin with a dark color such as black. Operation body3may be formed, for example, by two-color molding.

The bottom portions of operation part30that are opposed to switch elements5and6are provided with push portions37and38, which push switch elements5and6, respectively, when operation body3is operated. The number of the switch elements is two in the present exemplary embodiment, but may alternatively be one, three, or more.

Second outer peripheral wall31extends downward from the bottom periphery of operation part30in such a manner as to surround first outer peripheral wall11of casing1. Second outer peripheral wall31is composed of four outer walls, and first engagement portions33A to33D extend vertically on the inner sides of the four outer walls. First engagement portions33A to33D are ribs, which slide with first guides13A to13D, respectively, of first outer peripheral wall11. This enables operation body3to move smoothly vertically.

First engagement portions33A to33D are ribs in the present exemplary embodiment. Alternatively, first engagement portions33A to33D may be grooves if first guides13A to13D are ribs.

Second inner peripheral wall32is located further inside than second outer peripheral wall31and extends downward from the inner bottom of operation part30. Second inner peripheral wall32is approximately rectangular when seen from the top or bottom of push switch100, and is located further inside than first inner peripheral wall12.

Second inner peripheral wall32includes inner walls32A,32B,32C, and32D. Inner walls32A and32B extend in the front-to-back direction and are opposed to each other in the right-to-left direction. Inner walls32C and32D extend in the horizontal (right-to-left) direction and are opposed to each other in the front-to-back direction. More specifically, inner wall32A is located at the left, and inner wall32B is located at the right. Inner wall32C is located at the front, and inner wall32D is located at the rear.

As shown inFIGS. 3 and 8, inner wall32C is perforated with through-hole32E at the lower portion. Light guide element2is fitted into the space defined by second inner peripheral wall32. Light guide element2has claw20, which is inserted into through-hole32E so that light guide element2is fixed to second inner peripheral wall32. Light guide element2is made from a transparent synthetic resin.

As shown inFIGS. 5 and 6, inner wall32A includes, on the outer side, second engagement portion34A so as to be opposed to second guide14A of inner wall12A. Similarly, inner wall32B includes, on the outer side, second engagement portion34B so as to be opposed to second guide14B of inner wall12B. Second engagement portions34A and34B may be either ribs or grooves.FIGS. 5 and 6show an example in which second guides14A and14B are opposed to second engagement portions34A and34B, respectively, and all of them are ribs.

Second engagement portions34A and34B are located behind inner walls32A and32B, respectively, in the present exemplary embodiment. Alternatively, however, the locations of second engagement portions34A and34B are not limited to those. Second engagement portions34A and34B may be located, for example, in the center or in front of inner walls32A and32B.

It is possible to apply a lubricant agent such as grease onto at least one of second guides14A and14B and second engagement portions34A and34B. This facilitates sliding between second guide14A and second engagement portion34A and/or between second guide14B and second engagement portion34B.

Second guides14A and14B and second engagement portions34A and34B are located further inside push switch100than first guides13A to13D and first engagement portions33A to33D. As a result, second guides14A and14B and second engagement portions34A and34B are less susceptible to dimensional change with time or due to ambient conditions than first guides13A to13D and first engagement portions33A to33D.

As a result, the clearance C2between second guide14A and second engagement portion34A and the clearance C2between second guide14B and second engagement portion34B shown inFIG. 6can be smaller than the clearances C1between first guides13A to13D and first engagement portions33A to33D, respectively, shown inFIG. 5. With this configuration, wobbling is less likely between operation body3and casing1than in conventional push switches during the operation of operation body3, allowing the user to smoothly operate operation body3. This effect is maintained even when push switch100including operation body3and casing1is large-sized.

Operation and Effects of the Push Switch

The operation and effects of push switch100will now be described as follows.

When the user pushes operation body3of switch100down either directly or through an unillustrated actuator or other device, first engagement portions33A to33D slide with first guides13A to13D, respectively, whereas second engagement portions34A and34B slide with second guides14A and14B, respectively. As a result, operation body3moves downward.

As described above, the clearances between second guides14A and14B and second engagement portions34A and34B are smaller than the clearances between first guides13A to13D and first engagement portions33A to33D. As a result, wobbling is unlikely between operation body3and casing1during the operation of operation body3, allowing the user to smoothly operate operation body3.

If operation body3is operated with a relatively large force and tilted to the right or left, a large force is applied between second inner peripheral wall32and first inner peripheral wall12. If the force causes deformation of second inner peripheral wall32and first inner peripheral wall12, the deformation is confined to the clearances between first guides13A to13D and first engagement portions33A to33D. This prevents damage of second inner peripheral wall32and/or first inner peripheral wall12.

At least one of second guides14A and14B and second engagement portions34A and34B is coated with a lubricant agent such as grease. This further facilitates the smooth operation of operation body3.

As described above, base10is provided on the upper side with recesses16A and16B around second guides14A and14B, respectively. Therefore, if the applied lubricant agent travels downward during the vertical operation of operation body3, the agent is retained in recesses16A and16B. This prevents the agent from flowing down through through-hole17and reaching substrate4.

When pushed by push portions37and38of operation body3, switch elements5and6are turned on, and first light source7emits light to illuminate indicator36. In push switch100, first light source7is surrounded by first inner peripheral wall12and is further surrounded by second inner peripheral wall32. Thus, first light source7which illuminates operation body3so as to penetrate operation body3with an emitting light is housed in casing1and surrounded by first inner peripheral wall12. As a result, the light emitted from first light source7into the space inside first inner peripheral wall12is prevented from leaking to the outside.

As described above, first light source7is opposed to the region surrounded by second inner peripheral wall32, whereas second light source8is optically isolated from first light source7by first inner peripheral wall12or second inner peripheral wall32. This prevents the light from first light source7and the light from second light source8from leaking into respective regions individually illuminated by the lights in push switch100.

When the user releases the pushing force on operation body3, operation body3is pushed upward to return to the original position by the upward return force of the pushed parts of switch elements5and6and/or the elastic action of an unillustrated elastic member.

From the above description, it is obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to make various modifications and other embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the above description should be interpreted as an example used to teach the best mode of the present disclosure to a person having ordinary skill in the art. It is possible to substantially change the structure and/or functions of the present disclosure without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. The components contained in the above embodiment can be properly combined to provide various other disclosures.

As described above, the push switch according to the present disclosure can be preferably used in electronic devices.