JP2004241248A - Optical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical switch which is full of variations of output patterns, and the order and combination of the output patterns can be set up freely according to purposes. <P>SOLUTION: This switch has a switch disc 1 which an operator turns, a light emitting part 4 composed of three light emitting diodes 4a to 4c to be positioned on one face side of this switch disc, a light receiving part 5 composed of three photodiodes 5a to 5c to be positioned on the other face side of the switch disc 1 opposed to this light emitting part 4, and an encoder to output arbitrary switch signals according to the combination of ON signals from three photodiodes. Seven light receiving slit parts 1c are formed in mutually different patterns facing the light emitting part 4 and the light receiving part 5 at every specified angle spacing of the switch disc 1, and it is set up so that different switch signals are outputted whenever the switch disc 1 is made to be rotated at every specified angle of the switch disc 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention belongs to the technical field of an optical switch using a light amount detecting unit such as an optical sensor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an optical switch using an optical sensor, for example, a switch as shown in FIG. 6 is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
In this optical switch, three sets of a light emitter (light source) and a light receiver (light amount detecting means) are sequentially arranged along a moving path in a case of a push button operating part composed of a button part and a rod integrally formed. Is arranged. Then, when the button portion is pressed, the rod blocks the light projected from the light projector, so that the movement amount of the push button operation portion, that is, the pressing depth of the button portion is detected by the output patterns of the three light receivers. Can be. Since this optical switch does not suffer from abrasion, deformation or the like of the contact member, it is hardly broken and has excellent durability.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-176237
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional technology, the output patterns of the light receiving units are always arranged in order because the three light receiving units are provided along the moving direction of the push button operation unit. However, since only three types of output are possible, there is a problem that output pattern variations are poor.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and an object thereof is to provide an optical switch that is rich in output pattern variations and that can freely set the order and combination of output patterns according to the purpose. To provide.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the optical switch according to the first aspect of the present invention, a disc-shaped operator that is rotated by an operator and a disc-shaped operator that is different from each other and arranged at predetermined angular intervals in a circumferential direction of the disc-shaped operator. A slit part having a slit pattern, a slit part detecting means facing the rotation trajectory of the slit part and detecting the slit pattern of the slit part, and a switch signal output means for outputting a switch signal according to the detected slit pattern And the following.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical switch according to the first aspect, the disc-shaped operation element is provided so as to be movable in a predetermined radial direction, and the disc-shaped operation element is attached in a direction opposite to the moving direction. A biasing means for biasing is provided, and the slit detecting means is provided at a position overlapping with the slit when the disc-shaped operation element moves in the moving direction.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the optical switch according to the first or second aspect, a notch groove is formed at the same angular interval as a slit pattern in a peripheral portion of the disc-shaped operation element, When the slit detecting means is opposed to each slit, a locking spring is provided which engages with the notch groove to give a click feeling to the rotation of the disk operator.
[0010]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the optical switch according to the third aspect, the locking spring doubles as an urging means for urging the disc-shaped operation element in a direction opposite to a moving direction. I do.
[0011]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the optical switch according to the third or fourth aspect, a plurality of the locking springs are provided, and the combined force of the urging forces of the locking springs is moved by the disk-shaped operating element. It is characterized in that it is set so as to be biased and held in a direction opposite to the direction.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, each time the operator rotates the disc-shaped operation element by a predetermined angle, the slit detecting section detects a different slit pattern, and the switch signal output section outputs a switch signal corresponding to the slit pattern. Is output.
[0013]
Therefore, it is possible to set different switch signals as many as the number of slit patterns, so that the output patterns are rich in variation and the arrangement of the slit patterns can be set arbitrarily. Can be set freely, and the degree of freedom in combination is high.
[0014]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the disc-shaped operator is rotated at a position opposite to the moving direction to select a predetermined slit portion, and then opposes the urging force of the urging means. By pressing, a switch signal corresponding to the slit pattern of the selected slit portion is output.
[0015]
That is, since the operation of selecting the switch (rotation operation) and the operation of the output operation (pressing operation) can be performed separately, it is possible to prevent output of an undesired switch signal during the rotation operation of the disk-shaped operator. A switch corresponding to a desired slit portion can be individually selected.
[0016]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, each time the disc-shaped operator is rotated by a predetermined angle to select a desired slit portion, the notch groove engages with the locking spring to provide a click feeling to the rotation of the disc-shaped operator. , Good operability with a sense of moderation is obtained, and selection of each switch becomes easy.
[0017]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the locking spring also serves as the urging means, the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts as compared with the case where these are separately provided.
[0018]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the disk-shaped operator is urged in the direction opposite to the moving direction by the plurality of locking springs. Operability is obtained.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments for realizing the optical switch of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0020]
First, the configuration will be described.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of the optical switch according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing the structure of the optical switch.
[0021]
In the figure, a switch disk (corresponding to a disk-shaped operation element) 1 is provided in a case 2, and an operation portion protrudes out of the case 2 from an opening 2 b formed in an operation surface 2 a of the case 2. .
[0022]
The switch disk 1 has a rotation shaft 1a formed at the center of both surfaces, and the rotation shaft 1a is rotatably provided by a shaft rail 2c provided in the case 2 and extending in a direction perpendicular to the operation surface 2a. Supported. The switch disk 1 is set to be slidable along the shaft rail 2c.
[0023]
In the switch disk 1, seven light receiving slits 1c are annularly arranged at a predetermined angular interval on a circumference around the rotation axis 1a. These light receiving slit portions 1c have one to three slits in parallel in the radial direction of the switch disk 1, and seven different slit patterns are set.
[0024]
On the periphery of the switch disk 1, seven notched grooves 1b are formed at substantially equal intervals. These seven notched grooves 1b rotate the switch disk 1 by a predetermined angle, and each light receiving slit portion 1c faces a light emitting portion 4 and a light receiving portion 5 described later, that is, one of the light receiving slit portions 1c In the selected state, it is configured to engage with three locking springs 3a to 3c provided in the case 2 to restrict rotation.
[0025]
The switch numbers SW1 to SW7 corresponding to the currently selected light receiving slit 1c are described between the notch grooves 1b, and the operator can visually recognize which switch is selected. Can be.
[0026]
The switch disk 1 is held in a state where the switch disk 1 is pressed to the operation surface 2a side by the combined force of the urging forces of the locking springs 3a to 3c (corresponding to urging means), and the rotating shaft 1a is connected to the operation surface 2a of the shaft rail 2c. Located on the side edge.
[0027]
The light emitting section 4 and the light receiving section 5 (corresponding to slit section detecting means) are provided in the case 2 so as to face each other with the switch disk 1 interposed therebetween. The light emitting section 4 includes three light emitting diodes 4a to 4c arranged in parallel in the radial direction of the switch disk 1. As the light receiving section 5, three photodiodes 5a to 5c corresponding to the light emitting diodes 4a to 4c are used. When the light emitting section 4 and the light receiving section 5 move the switch disk 1 to the end edge opposite to the operation surface 2a of the shaft rail 2c against the urging force of the locking spring 3b, the light receiving slit section 1c and the light receiving slit section 1c move up and down. It is provided at a position overlapping in the direction.
[0028]
FIG. 3 shows a light receiving pattern when each light receiving slit portion 1c overlaps the light receiving portion 5. As the light receiving pattern, seven patterns are set according to the number and positions of the slits in the light receiving slit portion 1c.
[0029]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the optical switch.
Each of the photodiodes 5a to 5c receiving the light from the light emitting diodes 4a to 4c outputs an ON signal to an encoder (corresponding to a switch signal output unit) 6. As shown in FIG. 3, since seven light receiving patterns of the light receiving unit 5 are set, a combination of seven ON signals is input to the encoder 6 according to the selected light receiving slit unit 1c.
[0030]
Then, the encoder 6 outputs seven switch signals according to the combination of the input ON signals. These switch signals are assigned to SW1 to SW7 set to turn on / off each function of the device to be operated.
[0031]
Next, the operation will be described.
[Switch selection operation]
The operator selects the desired switch by rotating the case protruding portion of the switch disk 1 with a finger while visually confirming the switch number written on the periphery of the switch disk 1. In FIG. 1, SW1 is selected.
[0032]
At this time, since the switch disk 1 is urged toward the operation surface 2a side edge of the shaft rail 2c by the combined force of the urging forces of the locking springs 3a to 3c, the rotation locus of the light receiving slit portion 1c emits light. It is at a position shifted from the unit 4 and the light receiving unit 5. Therefore, since the photodiodes 5a to 5c do not receive light from the light emitting diodes 4a to 4c, no ON signals are output from the photodiodes 5a to 5c.
[0033]
[Switch output operation]
After selecting the desired switch, the operator presses the projecting portion of the switch disk 1 toward the case 2 against the urging force of the locking spring 3b (FIG. 5). At this time, since the positions of the light receiving slit portion 1c, the light emitting portion 4 and the light receiving portion 5 overlap, the light from the light emitting diode 4c is received by the photodiode 5c, and an ON signal is output from the photodiode 5c to the encoder 6.
[0034]
In the encoder 6, a signal for turning on the SW1 is output according to a combination of the ON signals from the photodiodes 5a to 5c.
[0035]
Next, effects will be described.
In the optical switch according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since seven switch signals SW1 to SW7 can be output using the three photodiodes 5a to 5c, the output pattern is rich in variations and the pattern arrangement of the slit portion 1c can be set arbitrarily. Therefore, the order and combination of the output patterns can be freely set according to the purpose.
[0036]
(2) The switch disk 1 is rotated to select a desired switch SW1 to SW7, and then the switch disk 1 is pressed into the case 2 to turn on the switch. Can be prevented from being turned on.
Further, desired switches SW1 to SW7 can be individually selected.
[0037]
(3) Since the switch disk 1 is held in a state pressed against the operation surface 2a by the combined force of the urging forces of the three locking springs 3a to 3c, the slit disk 1 is rotated when the switch disk 1 is rotated. Is hard to be pushed into the inside of the case 2, and good operability is obtained.
[0038]
(4) With the light receiving slit portion 1c selected, the notch groove 1b formed on the peripheral portion of the switch disk 1 and the three locking springs 3a to 3c engage to rotate the switch disk 1. Since a click feeling is given, good operability with a sense of moderation can be obtained, and each switch can be easily selected.
[0039]
(Other embodiments)
The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and even if there is a design change or the like within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto. Included in the invention.
[0040]
For example, in the present embodiment, the light emitting diodes 4a to 4c of the light emitting unit 4, the photodiodes 5a to 5c of the light receiving unit 5, and the slits of the light receiving slit 1c are arranged in parallel in the radial direction of the switch disk 1. However, these arrangements can be arbitrarily set, and the switch disks 1 may be arranged in series in the radial direction.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a structure of an optical switch according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing the structure of the optical switch according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a light receiving pattern of a light receiving unit 5;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of an optical switch.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of an optical switch showing the operation of the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of a conventional optical switch.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Switch disk 1a Rotating shaft 1b Notch groove 1c Light receiving slit 2 Case 2a Operation surface 2b Opening 2c Axis rails 3a-3c Locking spring 4 Light emitting parts 4a-4c Light emitting element 5 Light receiving parts 5a-5c Optical sensor

Claims (5)

A disk-shaped operator that is operated by an operator to rotate,
A slit portion having a different slit pattern arranged in a row at a predetermined angular interval in the circumferential direction of the disk-shaped operator,
A slit portion detecting means facing the rotation locus of the slit portion and detecting a slit pattern of the slit portion,
An optical switch, comprising: a switch signal output unit that outputs a switch signal in accordance with the detected slit pattern. The optical switch according to claim 1,
The disc-shaped operator is provided so as to be movable in a predetermined radial direction,
Providing urging means for urging the disc-shaped operator in the direction opposite to the moving direction,
An optical switch, wherein the slit portion detecting means is provided at a position overlapping the slit portion when the disk-shaped operator moves in the moving direction. 3. The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein a notch groove is formed in a peripheral portion of the disc-shaped operator at the same angular interval as a slit pattern,
An optical switch, characterized in that a locking spring is provided which engages with the notch groove to give a click feeling to the rotation of the disk operator when the slit detecting means faces each slit. The optical switch according to claim 3,
The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein the locking spring also serves as an urging means for urging the disc-shaped operation element in a direction opposite to a moving direction. 5. The optical switch according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the locking springs are provided, and a combined force of the biasing forces of the locking springs is urged by the disk-shaped operator in a direction opposite to the moving direction. An optical switch characterized in that it is set so as to be held.

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