Patent ID: 8399783

Claim:
A multi-directional switch device comprising: an operation member; an actuator to which a multi-directional operation force is applied from the operation member, wherein the multi-directional operation force comprises pressing the actuator to actuate angles tilting in directions comprising forward, backward, to the right, and to the left; at least four rubber contact pairs, wherein: a first rubber contact pair is oppositely disposed across from a second rubber contact pair to enable forward or backward angles tilting direction, respectively; and a third rubber contact pair is oppositely disposed across from a fourth rubber contact pair to enable to the right or to the left angles tilting direction, respectively; each of the first, the second, the third and the fourth rubber contact pairs is pressed down by the corresponding multi-directional operation force applied to the actuator; and at least four corresponding fixed contact pairs, to or from which the at least four corresponding rubber contact pairs are respectively movable closer to or away from each other, wherein the multi-directional switch device performs a switching operation according to the corresponding multi-directional operation force applied to the actuator, in such a manner that one of the corresponding first, second, third or fourth rubber contact pair is simultaneous pressed down so as to respectively come into contact with the corresponding fixed contact pair, and wherein during the pressing operation: one rubber contact of the corresponding first, second, third or fourth rubber contact pair is deformed and buckled in such a shape to generate a click feeling, and another rubber contact of the same corresponding first, second, third or fourth rubber contact pair is simultaneously deformed and buckled in such a shape that it either does not generate the click feeling, or generates a click feeling which is sufficiently weaker than that of the one rubber contact during the pressing operation; the one rubber contact of the corresponding first, second, third or fourth rubber contact pair comes into contact with a corresponding fixed contact earlier than the another rubber contact.