Patent Publication Number: US-6713701-B2

Title: Switch apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is related to a switch apparatus capable of improving a moderating mechanism for applying moderation to manipulations of a manipulator. 
     Conventionally, such a moderating mechanism as shown in FIG. 3 has been generally proposed as a moderating mechanism of this sort of switch apparatus. In this general-purpose moderating mechanism, while reference numeral  1  shows a manipulator, this manipulator  1  is pivotally, or slidably manipulated along a direction of an arrow “A”. In response to this manipulation, a movable-side contact (not shown) is contacted to and/or separated from a fixed-side contact (not shown). A plurality of moderation concave portions  2  and a plurality of moderation convex portions  3  are alternately formed along a manipulation direction of the manipulator  1  in a lower plane of this manipulator  1 , as viewed in this drawing. 
     On the other hand, reference numeral  4  shows a case. A concave portion  5  is formed in this case  4  on the side of the manipulator  1 . While a coil spring  6  is stored in this concave portion  5 , a moderating piece  7  is energized by spring force (elastic force) of this coil spring  6  along an upper direction, as viewed in this drawing, and is engaged with one of the moderation concave portions  2 . 
     As a result, when the manipulator  1  is manipulated in this construction, the moderation convex portion  3  pushes the moderating piece  7  to be sunk by resisting the energizing force  5  of the coil spring  6 , and thus, this moderating piece  7  is caused to cross the moderation convex portion  3  which is located adjacent to the moderation concave portion  2  engaged with this moderating piece  7 . Then, the coil spring  6  causes the moderating piece  7  to be engaged with the moderation concave portion  2  by way of restoration force of this coil spring  6 . Since this operation is sequentially carried out along the manipulation direction of the manipulator  1 , moderation may be applied to the manipulations of the manipulator  1 . 
     In the above-described conventional switch apparatus, the coil spring  6  is required in order to engage the moderating piece  7  with the moderation concave portion  2  of the manipulator  1 . Accordingly, a total number of structural components employed in the conventional switch apparatus is increased and a cumbersome operation is necessarily required so as to assemble these structural components, resulting in high manufacturing cost. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made to solve the above-explained problems, and therefore, has an object to provide such a switch apparatus. That is, in accordance with the switch apparatus of the present invention, a total number of structural components required in a moderating mechanism for applying moderation to manipulations of a manipulator can be reduced, these structural components can be easily assembled, and also, manufacturing cost thereof can be decreased. 
     In order to solve the aforesaid object, the invention is characterized by having the following arrangement. 
     First Aspect 
     A switch apparatus comprising: 
     an insulating board including a fixed contact; 
     an elastic member including a movable contact capable of being connected to the fixed contact, and including a displaceable portion which is elastically displaceable in a direction toward the insulating board; 
     a manipulator movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the displaceable portion is elastically displaced, including a moderation concave portion opposed to the elastic member; 
     a moderating piece disposed between the moderation concave portion and the displaceable portion, wherein the displaceable portion urges the moderation piece toward the moderation concave portion so that the moderation piece is engaged with the moderation concave portion. 
     Second Aspect 
     The switch apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the elastic member includes a body, the displaceable portion and a thinner-thickness portion connecting the body to the displaceable portion, and the body of the elastic member is attached to the insulating board. 
     Third Aspect 
     The switch apparatus according to the first aspect further comprising a manipulator holder including a hole through which the moderating piece passes. 
     Fourth Aspect 
     The switch apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the manipulator includes a plurality of the moderating concave portions and a plurality of moderating convex portion for pressing the moderating piece toward the elastic member, which are alternatively arranged. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view for indicating a major portion of a switch apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view for indicating an entire structure of the switch apparatus of the embodiment. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for showing the major portion of the conventional switch apparatus. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to FIG.  1  and FIG. 2, a description is made of a switch apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     First, FIG. 2 indicates an entire construction of the switch apparatus according to this embodiment, more specifically, a switch apparatus used in a vehicle. A case  11  is constituted by a base  12  and a cover  13  which is coupled to this base  12 . 
     An insulating board  14  is mounted on the base  12  in such a manner that this insulating board  14  is overlapped thereon. This insulating board  14  has fixed-side contacts  15 ,  16 ,  17 , on a surface thereof located opposite to the side of the base  12 . In this case, it should be noted that the insulating board  14  having these fixed-side contacts  15  to  17  is constituted by a circuit board such as a printed-circuit board. 
     An elastic member  18  is mounted on the insulating board  14  in such a manner that this elastic member  18  is overlapped thereon. This elastic member  18  corresponds to such an elastic member which is manufactured by an elastic material, for example, silicone rubber in the form of a plate shape identical to that of the insulating board  14 . The elastic member  18  owns displaceable portions  19 ,  20 ,  21  at positions corresponding to the above-explained fixed-side contacts  15  to  17 , and also, another displaceable portion  22  at another position. In this case, any of these displaceable portions  19  to  22  have the same cylindrical shapes. These displaceable portions  19  to  22  can be elastically displaced along the direction of the above-explained insulating board  14  by thinner-thickness portions  23  which are located around base portions of these displaceable portions  19  to  22 . 
     Among these displaceable portions  19  to  22 , both the displaceable portion  19  and the displaceable portion  21  constitute one pair, while being positioned at right and left positions in this drawing, whereas both the displaceable portion  20  and the displaceable portion  22  constitute one pair, while being positioned at upper and lower positions in this drawing. Furthermore, a movable-side contact (typically indicted as movable-side contact  24  of displaceable portion  20  in FIG. 1) is provided on a rear surface portion (not shown) of each of the displaceable portions  19  to  21  except for the displaceable portion  22 . This movable-side contact  24  is contacted/separated to/from each of the above-described fixed-side contacts  15  to  17  due to displacement of the displaceable portions  19  to  21  exerted along the direction of the insulating board  14 . 
     In contrast, reference numeral  25  indicates a manipulator holder having a doubled short cylindrical shape. In this manipulator holder  25 , holes  26  are formed in an upper portion and a lower portion of a depth portion between an outer-sided cylinder portion  25   a  and an inner-sided cylinder portion  25   b  respectively, and holes  27  similar to the above-described holes  26  are formed in a right portion and a left portion of this depth portion (note that only one of holes  27  is shown). Further, supporting pieces  28  are formed on upper/lower portions inside of the inner-sided cylinder portion  25   b , and also, supporting projections  28   a  are furthermore formed on upper/lower surfaces which are located opposite to the respective tip portions of the supporting pieces  28 . 
     Then, moderating pieces  29  are inserted and penetrated through the former-mentioned holes  29  respectively. While one moderating piece  29  is formed in a cylindrical shape, a base edge portion of this moderating piece  29  on the side of the elastic member  18  constitutes a flat plane, whereas a tip portion of this moderating piece  29  on the opposite side of this elastic member  18  is formed in a spherical shape. 
     Next, reference numeral  30  indicates a first manipulator, and reference numeral  31  represents a second manipulator. Among these manipulators  30  and  31 , the first manipulator  30  is formed in a short cylindrical shape having no lid, and the second manipulator  31  is formed in a short cylindrical shape having a lid, the diameter of which is one size of smaller than the diameter of the short cylindrical shape having no lid. In addition, the second manipulator  31  has holes  32  (only one of holes  32  is shown) in upper/lower portions of a peripheral portion, and also, owns projections  33  (only one of projections  33  is shown) on rear sides of right/left portions of a brim portion  31   a  of a base portion. The holes  32  are fitted to the supporting projections  28   a  of the manipulator holder  25 , so that this second manipulator  31  is mounted in such a manner that this second manipulator  31  may be swung, while this supporting projection  28   a  is set as a center. Also, the projections  33  penetrate through the latter-mentioned holes  27  of the manipulator holder  25 , and then are faced/contacted to the displaceable portions  19  and  20  of the elastic member  18 . 
     On the other hand, the first manipulator  30  has a fine concave/convex portion  34  formed around an entire peripheral portion of the tip edge portion, and the fine concave/convex portion  34  may be easily hooked by fingers of a user. In this first manipulator  30 , a large number of moderation concave portions  35  and a large number of moderation convex portions  36  are alternately provided on an entire peripheral portion of a rear surface of a brim portion  30   a  of a base portion thereof. This first manipulator  30  is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the second manipulator  31 , so that the moderation concave portions  35  (moderation convex portions  36 ) are faced to the tip portions of the above-explained moderating pieces  29 . 
     Then, such a hole  37  is formed in the cover  13  of the above-explained case  11 , while a dimension of this hole  37  is made slightly larger than a dimension of a major body portion of the first manipulator  37  except for the brim portion  30   a  of this first manipulator  37 . This major body portion of the first manipulator  30  is inserted/penetrated into this hole  37  in combination with a major body portion of the second manipulator  31  except for the brim portion  31   a  of the second manipulator  31 , and then, the manipulator holder  25  is mounted on the rear side of the cover  13 . 
     Then, furthermore, an assembly unit constituted by the base  12 , the insulating board  14 , and the elastic member  18  is mounted on the rear side of the cover  13 . As a result, the moderating pieces  29  are arranged between the moderation concave portions  35  of the first manipulator  30  and the displaceable portions  20 ,  22  of the elastic member  18  (see FIG.  1 ), and the moderating pieces  29  are depressed against these displaceable portions  20  and  22 , so that each of the moderating pieces  29  may be engaged to each of the moderation concave portions  35 . Also, under this condition, the first manipulator  30  is located opposite to the elastic member  18  via the manipulator holder  25 , and the first manipulator  30  has the moderation concave portions  35  on the side opposite to this elastic member  18 . 
     In this case, it should also be noted that the first manipulator  30  is employed so as to control a sound volume of an audio apparatus, and the second manipulator  31  is used so as to tune a broadcasting program within the switch apparatus for vehicle use. Accordingly, in this relationship, both an indication  38  for controlling a sound volume, and an indication  39  for tuning a broadcasting program are made on the tip surface of the second manipulator  31 . 
     Thus, in the case of the switch apparatus with the above-described construction, when the first manipulator  30  is rotated around the peripheral portion of the second manipulator  31  in accordance with the indication  38  while the concave/convex portion  34  is hooked by a finger of a user, this first manipulator  30  is manipulated in parallel to the plane having the fixed-side contacts  15  to  17  of the insulating board  14 , as indicated by an arrow “A” in FIG.  1 . Then, since this first manipulator  30  is manipulated, the moderation convex portions  36  located adjacent to the moderation concave portions  32  which are engaged to the moderating pieces  29  may push and sink the moderating pieces  29  by resisting the elastic force of the displaceable portions  20 ,  22  of the elastic member  18 , and thus, may cause the moderating pieces  29  to cross the moderation convex portions  36 . Then, the displaceable portions  20  and  22  may cause the moderating pieces  29  to be engaged to the moderation concave portions  35  which are further located adjacent to the first-mentioned moderation concave portions  35  due to the restoration force thereof. This manipulation is sequentially carried out along the manipulation direction of the first manipulator  30 , so that moderation may be applied to the first manipulator  30 . 
     More specifically, as to the displaceable portion  20 , every time this displaceable portion  20  is squeezed via the moderating piece  29  by the moderation convex portions  36  of the first manipulator  30 , the movable-side contact  24  owned by this displaceable portion  20  is made contact to the fixed-side contact  16 , so that the sound volume control of the audio apparatus is carried out. It should be understood that the displaceable portion  22  does not have the movable-side contact  24 . As a consequence, this displaceable unit  22  may merely function in order to apply the moderation to the manipulations of the first manipulator  30 , as explained above, and does not contribute the sound volume control of the audio apparatus. In other words, this displaceable portion  22  may constitute a so-called “dummy contact portion”. 
     Furthermore, every time the second manipulator  31  depresses any one of the right and left portions thereof in accordance with the indication  39 , either the displaceable portion  19  or the displaceable portion  21  of the elastic member  18  is depressed by the projection  33 . As a result, the movable-side contact (not shown) is contacted to either the fixed-side contact  15  or the fixed-side contact  17 , so that the tuning operation of the audio apparatus may be carried out. 
     As explained above, in the switch apparatus having such a structure, the moderating pieces  29  are engaged with the moderation concave portions  35  of the first manipulator  30  by way of the displaceable portions  20  and  22  of the elastic member  18 , while this elastic member  18  owns the movable-side contacts ( 24 ) which are contacted/separated to/from the fixed-side contacts  15  to  17  owned by the insulating plate  14 . Therefore, in accordance with this switch apparatus, the moderation can be applied to the manipulations of the first manipulator  30  without requiring such a coil spring provided as the independent component of the conventional switch apparatus. As a consequence, a total number of structural components employed in the moderating mechanism capable of applying the modulation to the manipulations of the first manipulator  30  can be reduced, so that the structural components can be easily assembled, and furthermore, the manufacturing cost of this switch apparatus can be decreased. 
     It should also be understood that although the manipulator (first manipulator  30 ) has been rotary-manipulated in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, such a slidable manipulator may be employed. Also, the entire switch apparatus may be used in not only vehicles, but also audio apparatus of these vehicles. 
     In addition, both the displaceable portions  20  and  22  of the elastic member  18  may have the movable-side contacts  24 , and also may not have the movable-side contacts  24  (namely, dummy contact portion). In other words, the movable-side contacts  24  may be provided irrespective of the displaceable portions  20  and  22  of the elastic member  18 . 
     In addition, such a design as to whether or not the second manipulator  31  is employed may be properly changed, or modified to be executed within the technical scope of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention. 
     As previously explained, in accordance with the switch apparatus of the present invention, the moderation can be applied to the manipulations of the manipulator without requiring the coil spring as the independent structural component of the conventional switch apparatus. As a consequence, there are such effects that a total number of the structural components employed in the moderating mechanism capable of applying the modulation to the manipulations of the manipulator can be reduced, so that the structural components can be easily assembled, and furthermore, the manufacturing cost of this switch apparatus can be decreased.