Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6984797?dq=6,275,983
Timestamp: 2017-02-23 03:15:52
Document Index: 717460703

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 12', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 19', 'art 19', 'arts 12', 'art 20', 'art 19', 'art 19', 'art 13', 'art 30']

Patent US6984797 - Push-button switch - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA push-button switch has a plunger to be pressed so as to activate its main body supported by a base member. A cap serving as a pressing member is on an outer edge portion of the plunger. The outer periphery of the cap is surrounded by a frame part of a lens member made of a transparent resin material...http://www.google.com/patents/US6984797?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6984797 - Push-button switchAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS6984797 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/869,258Publication dateJan 10, 2006Filing dateJun 15, 2004Priority dateJun 19, 2003Fee statusPaidAlso published asCN1278344C, CN1574139A, CN2708472Y, US20040256210Publication number10869258, 869258, US 6984797 B2, US 6984797B2, US-B2-6984797, US6984797 B2, US6984797B2InventorsKazuaki Morita, Kokichi Tobita, Yoshikazu Hirai, Teruyuki Mine, Tadashi SatoOriginal AssigneeOmron Corporation, Fujitec Co., Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (6), Referenced by (21), Classifications (10), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetPush-button switch
US 6984797 B2Abstract
A push-button switch has a plunger to be pressed so as to activate its main body supported by a base member. A cap serving as a pressing member is on an outer edge portion of the plunger. The outer periphery of the cap is surrounded by a frame part of a lens member made of a transparent resin material such that the light from a light source disposed near the center of the plunger is guided to the upper edge part of the frame part.
This invention relates to a push-button switch and more particularly to a push-button switch of an illuminating type which may be set conveniently on a wall surface beside the entrance to an elevator for indicating an upward or downward direction.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a push-button switch using a relatively small number of light sources but capable of providing illuminations with an improved design.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a push-button switch embodying this invention.
The invention is described next by way of an example. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a push-button switch 1 embodying this invention and FIG. 2 is its exploded diagonal view. This push-button switch 1 is of the illumination type adapted to be used as an indicator switch for an elevator for indicating the upward or downward direction and to be set conveniently on a wall surface beside the entrance to the elevator.
For this purpose, the plunger 3 is provided at its center with a tapered opening h forming a reflecting surface which expands upward so as to serve as a light-guiding member for light from the chip LED 5. The chip LED 5 is disposed at the deeper end of this opening h such that the light therefrom undergoes total reflections on the peripheral surface of the tapered opening h so as to be directed outwardly towards the outer periphery. The sloping angle of this tapered opening h is preferably about 45° such that the light from the chip LED 5 disposed at the center can be efficiently reflected towards the frame structure 3 d on the periphery of the cap 2. The tapered opening h may be formed so as to become wider in the downward direction. It need not necessarily be a throughhole and may merely be a tapered indentation.
Tapered surfaces s are further provided at the corners on the bottom edge of the frame structure 3 d of the plunger 3 such that the light which has undergone total reflection on the tapered opening h and been guided to the outer periphery is further caused to undergo total reflection on these tapered surfaces s and is guided to the upper edge portions of the frame structure 3 d. The sloping angle of these tapered surfaces s is also preferably about 45° such that the light from the backside of the cap 2 can be efficiently guided to the upper side for the operation. These tapered surfaces s are not essential, however, and may be omitted.
As explained above, the link mechanism 4 is for allowing the plunger 3 having the cap 2 mounted thereto to be displaced in the direction of operation without tilting and is provided not only with a first lever 12 and a second lever 13 but also two return springs 14 and a wire-shaped sensing spring 15 for giving the operator a clicking sensation at the time of pressing. As better seen in FIG. 3, the levers 12 and 13 are approximately rectangular, having their arm parts 12 1–12 4 and 13 1–13 4 continuously around. The first arm mart 12 1 at one end of the first lever 12 is slidably and rotatably received and supported on one side of the rectangular base member 8, and the third arm part 12 3 with a circular cross-sectional shape on the other end is engagingly connected to an indentation 3 a on the plunger 3. The first arm part 13 1 at one end of the second lever 13 is slidably and rotatably received and supported on the opposite side of the base member 8, and the third arm part 13 3 with a circular cross-sectional shape on the other end is engagingly connected to the indentation 3 a on the plunger 3.
The base member 8 is open upward and four partition walls 8 1–8 4 are erected at its center so as to form a rectangular container part 19 for containing therein a rectangular circuit board 7 having the leaf switch 6 mounted on its back surface and the chip LED 5 mounted on its front surface. Protrusions 8 2a and 8 4a (only the latter being shown in FIG. 2) are formed inside at the upper edge parts of the second and fourth partition walls 8 2 and 8 4 for holding the circuit board 7 inside the container part 19. The first and second levers 12 and 13 are disposed within the space between these four partition walls 8 1–8 4 and a peripheral wall 8 b surrounds them from outside. The protrusions 8 1a and 8 3a are formed each at two positions on the top edge parts outside the first and third partition walls 8 1 and 8 3 for regulating the return positions of the third arm parts 12 3 and 13 3 of the levers 12 and 13 that are upwardly biased by means of the return springs 14. A cut part 20 is provided at a center part of the third partition wall 8 3 such that the tongue-shaped operation piece 17 of the leaf switch 6 disposed inside the container part 19 can be extended out from the container part 19 and received by the third arm part 13 3 of the second lever 13.
The lens member 30 according to the second embodiment of the invention comprises a transparent resin material such as polycarbonate and is provided with a tapered opening h and a tapered surface s for guiding the light from the chip LED 5 to the upper edge of a frame part 30 d of the lens member 30, like the lens member according to the first embodiment. The sloping angle of these tapered opening h and the tapered surface s is about 45°, as in the first embodiment of the invention. As explained above, the tapered opening h may be shaped so as to expand downward or may be an indentation, instead of a throughhole.
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