Patent ID: 7203330

Claim:
A switching unit for a microphone, comprising: a slider-mounting member; a slider mounted slidably on said slider-mounting member and slidable in a longitudinal direction between first and second retaining positions, said slider including an operating element; and a slider-positioning mechanism mounted on said slider-mounting member and defining an elongated slot for extension of said operating element therethrough, said elongated slot extending in said longitudinal direction and having two opposite ends, said slider-positioning mechanism including a resistance-providing member that is disposed between said ends of said elongated slot and that has two opposite ends, and two retaining members, each of which is disposed adjacent to a respective one of said ends of said resistance-providing member and each of which is disposed at a position corresponding to a respective one of said first and second retaining positions of said slider; wherein said operating element is in sliding contact with said resistance-providing member such that said resistance-providing member provides a resistance to said operating element when said slider is disposed at a non-retaining position between said first and second retaining positions; wherein said operating element is retained releasably by one of said retaining members when said slider is moved to a respective one of said first and second retaining positions; and wherein said operating element ceases to be acted upon by said resistance-providing member such that said operating element is relieved from the resistance provided by said resistance-providing member when said slider is moved to one of said first and second retaining positions, thereby enabling the user to have a feeling that said slider has reached said one of said first and second retaining positions.