JP2012004061A - Operation switch mechanism for electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation switch mechanism for electronic equipment of a type that a tact switch is turned on/off through a stem part from a press part of an operation button formed of an elastic resin, resolving flaws (unclear switching of the tact switch and no feeling of clicking at a switching time) caused by buckling of the stem part without increasing the number of parts or the number of fabrication steps.SOLUTION: Two color-molding is performed so that the hardness of stem parts 12a, 12b, 12c in operation buttons 9a, 9b, 9c is set to be higher than the other parts 10a, 10b, 10c/11a, 11b, 11c/13. For example, the hardness of the stem parts is set in the range from 80 to 90, and the hardness of the other parts is set in the range from 50 to 60.

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation switch mechanism applied to an electronic device such as a wireless communication device, and relates to an improvement for improving the operation feeling.

Most recent electronic devices are based on microcomputer control, and various push buttons are provided on the casing, and operations such as switching of functional operations and selection of various modes are executed by the operation.
For example, in an operation switch mechanism of a wireless communication device such as a transceiver, as shown in FIG. 3A, a tact switch 103 is fixed to a printed wiring board 102 mounted in a casing 101 made of aluminum die casting. The tact switch 103 is turned ON / OFF by pressing / releasing the operation button 104 attached to the housing 101 side.

  Here, the tact switch 103 is turned ON / OFF by the double action of the operation button 103a, but when the ON / OFF is switched, a constant click feeling is given to make the operator feel that the switching has been performed. It has the characteristics.

The operation button 104 in the operation switch mechanism of FIG. 3A is a cap-shaped button made of silicon rubber, and a stem portion 106 is integrally formed on the back side of the pressing portion 105.
Further, the pressing portion 105 is attached so as to be exposed to the outside from an opening portion 107 formed at a position facing the operation button 103a of the tact switch 103 in the housing 101.

  Therefore, when the pressing portion 105 of the operation button 104 is pressed, the operation button 103a of the tact switch 103 is pushed through the stem portion 106 to perform the ON / OFF switching operation, but the click when the tact switch 103 is switched is clicked. The feeling is transmitted to the operator's finger (not shown) pressing the pressing portion 105 through the stem portion 106, and the operator recognizes that the operation is completed by the touch.

By the way, as described above, the pressing portion 105 and the stem portion 106 of the operation button 104 are integrally formed of silicon rubber. However, the pressing portion 105 has to be flexible and elastic in nature. In other words, the silicon rubber is designed to have a hardness of about 50 to 60 degrees, and the stem portion 106 inevitably has that hardness.
Therefore, when the pressing direction of the operation button 104 with respect to the pressing portion 105 is oblique, or when the pressing force required to switch the operation button 103a of the tact switch 103 is large, as shown in FIG. There is a case where the stem portion buckles and the operation button 103a cannot be pushed in sufficiently, and a clear click feeling cannot be obtained even if pushed.

  Therefore, as a countermeasure against buckling of the stem portion 106, as shown in FIG. 4, the stem portion 106 is reinforced by externally fitting a coil spring 108 around the stem portion 103. Has achieved results.

The prior arts that deal with similar problems include the inventions of Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.
In the “switch” of Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 5, the stem 201 is supported in an axially movable manner on the inner wall 203 in the casing independently of the pressing portion 202 of the operation button. The coil spring 205 is fitted in a hole 204 formed in the axial direction. When the pressing portion 202 is pressed, the coil spring 205 is compressed and the stem 201 is pressed down, and the lower end surface of the stem 201 is connected to the tact switch 206. The operation button 206a is pushed in.
According to this “switch”, buckling of the stem 201 can be prevented by fitting the coil spring 205 into the stem 201, and at the same time, by changing the specification of the coil spring 205, the pressing pressure of the switch, ON / OFF It is said that subtle adjustments such as the OFF position and overstroke can be made.

In the “switch structure” of Patent Document 2, as shown in FIG. 6, a tact switch 301, a button 302 having an opening on one side and a hollow inside, and a button 302 positioned between the button 302 and the tact switch 301. The tact switch 301 includes a knob 303 having a U-shaped cross section included therein and a substrate (fixing member) 304 that supports both legs 303a and 303b of the knob 303. The operation button 301a is pressed to switch ON / OFF.
According to this “switch structure”, the ON / OFF switching can be reliably performed regardless of the position of the button 302 pressed.

JP 2007-95601 A JP 2009-245860 A

  By the way, although the purpose of preventing buckling of the stem portion 106 described with reference to FIG. 4 can certainly be achieved, the coil spring 108 is required and the number of parts increases, and a small part is moved to a narrow part where the outside is covered. The work efficiency is extremely poor because it is a work to be attached, resulting in the problem of requiring a lot of time and labor.

The same applies to the “switch” of Patent Document 1 described with reference to FIG. 5. Further, in this “switch”, the coil spring 205 is fitted in the hole 204 of the stem 201. Since 201 and coil spring 205 become thin, reinforcement of stem 201 may not be performed effectively.
Further, unlike the operation switch mechanism shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the stem 201 must be supported on the inner wall 203 in the housing as an independent element, which complicates the mechanism and greatly limits the application range. .

  The “switch structure” described with reference to FIG. 6 can achieve the purpose of reliably turning ON / OFF regardless of the pressed position with respect to the button 302, but when the tact switch 301 is switched because the large and thick knob 303 is interposed. However, when applied to a relatively large switch such as a PTT (Push to Talk) switch, the knob 303 does not flex and the switch function is lost. Therefore, the scope of application is limited.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an operation switch mechanism for an electronic device in which the stem portion does not buckle, the number of parts does not increase, and the mounting operation to the housing is extremely simple.

  The present invention relates to a tact switch fixed in a housing of an electronic device and a cap-shaped button made of an elastic resin member, the pressing portion of which is at a position facing the operation portion of the tact switch in the housing. A stem portion for mechanically transmitting a pressing operation to the actuating portion of the tact switch is integrally formed on the back side of the pressing portion while being exposed to the outside from the formed opening. In the operation switch mechanism of an electronic device provided with an operation button, the operation button is two-color molded with the hardness of the stem portion set higher than the other portions. It relates to the operation switch mechanism.

According to the present invention, since the operation button made of an elastic resin member is formed by integrally forming a pressing portion having a low hardness and a stem portion having a high hardness by two-color molding, the pressing portion has a flexible elasticity. The stem portion has appropriate rigidity, and a rational operation switch mechanism that effectively prevents the stem portion from buckling can be realized.
In addition, since the pressing portion and the stem portion are integrated by a two-color molding method in the injection molding process, the respective portions are strongly connected in a welded connection state.
As the elastic resin member that is a material, silicon rubber, natural rubber, chloroprene rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, or the like can be applied.

  As a preferred example of the present invention, the elastic resin member that is the material of the operation button is silicon rubber, the stem portion has a hardness of 80 to 90 degrees, and the other portions have a hardness of 50 to 60 degrees. Two-color molding is mentioned.

  Further, in order to give the casing a waterproof function, the casing is constituted by two split molds, and a seal member is sandwiched between the joint sections while operating buttons are arranged at the joint sections of the split molds. In this case, it is reasonable to integrally mold the operation button and the seal member.

  The present invention provides an operation switch mechanism in which the tact switch fixed in the housing is turned on and off through the stem portion from the pressing portion of the operation button made of an elastic resin. Highly set two-color molding prevents the stem from buckling so that the click feeling associated with the tact switch ON / OFF can be stably obtained, and it can be mounted without increasing the number of parts. It provides a simple mechanism for work.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (A) and a side view (B) of a main part of a portion where an operation switch of a transceiver according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed. However, the cross-sectional view (A) of the main part shows a portion where the operation switch is arranged in a state where the split housing is opened, and the operation button is shown by a cross section [XX arrow in (B)]. . It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the state by which the operation button was pushed and the tact switch was switched. It is principal part sectional drawing for demonstrating the problem (buckling of a stem part) of the operation switch mechanism in a prior art, (A) shows the state before operation, (B) shows the state after operation. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of the operation switch mechanism when a stem portion buckling prevention measure is applied to the operation switch mechanism of FIG. 3. It is principal part sectional drawing of the operation switch mechanism which concerns on the prior art document (patent document 1) which took the countermeasure against buckling of a stem part. It is principal part sectional drawing of the operation switch mechanism which concerns on the prior art document (patent document 2) which took the buckling prevention countermeasure of a stem part.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an “operation switch mechanism of an electronic device” of the present invention will be described in detail based on FIG. 1 and FIG.
First, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (A) and a side view (B) of a main part of an operation switch arrangement portion such as a PTT in a transceiver, and (A) is configured by joining two split molds made of aluminum die casting. The operation switch arrangement part in the other split mold in a state where one split mold is opened in the case is shown, and the operation buttons of the operation switch are shown in cross section.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a split mold, and the joint surface 1a is joined to the other split mold 2 to constitute a transceiver casing 3. At the time of the joining, the pins 4a and 4b that are erected on the split mold 1 are fitted into the holes of the other split mold 2, and positioning between the split molds is performed.

On the other hand, the printed wiring board 5 is fixed to the split mold 1 constituting the housing 3 with screws, but the side end face of the printed wiring board 5 is opposed to the inner side face 6 of the side wall of the split mold 1 in a substantially parallel relationship. In addition, the positional relationship is such that the center of the thickness of the printed wiring board 5 is included in the surface including the bonding surface 1a.
Three rectangular cutouts 7a, 7b, 7c are formed on the side end surface of the printed circuit board 5, and tact switches 8a, 8b, 8c are respectively actuated buttons on the cutouts 7a, 7b, 7c. 8a ', 8b', and 8c 'are soldered and fixed facing outward.

The operation buttons 8a ', 8b', 8c 'of the tact switches 8a, 8b, 8c are respectively turned on / off by the operation buttons 9a, 9b, 9c made of silicon rubber held by the split molds 1, 2 of the housing 3. Turned off. However, the operation buttons 9a, 9b, and 9c correspond to an emergency button, a PPT button, and a monitor button, respectively.
Here, each operation button 9a, 9b, 9c is in the form of a cap, and comprises pressing parts 10a, 10b, 10c, side wall parts 11a, 11b, 11c and stem parts 12a, 12b, 12c. The portions 10a, 10b, and 10c are exposed to the outside from the opening portions 3a, 3b, and 3c formed in the housing 3 along the joint portions of the split molds 1 and 2, and the stem portions 12a, 12b, and 12c are the pressing portions. 10a, 10b and 10c are erected on the back side, and their respective front end surfaces are brought into contact with the operation buttons 8a ', 8b' and 8c 'of the tact switches 8a, 8b and 8c, respectively.

In this embodiment, the operation buttons 9a, 9b, and 9c are connected by the base surface portion 13, and the periphery of the base surface portion 13 performs a sealing function between the split molds 1 and 2. The side wall portions 11a, 11b, and 11c are formed in such a manner that they stand up from the base surface portion 13 at the positions where the operation buttons 9a, 9b, and 9c are arranged.
Furthermore, both ends of the base surface portion 13 constitute a seal portion for the split molds 1 and 2 of the base surface portion 13 itself as described above, and are interposed along substantially the center of the joint surface 1a of each split mold 1. The casing 3 is integrally formed with a packing 14 having a sealing structure.

By the way, the operation buttons 9a, 9b, 9c, the base surface portion 13 and the packing 14 are all integrally formed by injection molding of silicon rubber.
In this embodiment, the molded product is manufactured by two-color molding, and the pressing portions 10a, 10b, and 10c of the operation buttons 9a, 9b, and 9c, the side walls 11a, 11b, and 11c, the base surface portion 13, and the packing 14 have hardness. Is molded with silicon rubber of 55 degrees (selectable in the range of 50-60 degrees), but the hardness of the stem portions 12a, 12b, 12c of the operation buttons 9a, 9b, 9c is 85 degrees (80-90 degrees) It can be selected from a range).

  Therefore, when the tactile switches 8a, 8b, and 8c are switched by pressing the pressing portions 10a, 10b, and 10c of the operation buttons 9a, 9b, and 9c, the stem portions 12a, 12b, and 12c that are set with higher hardness are buckled. The pushing force applied to the pressing portions 10a, 10b, 10c is transmitted as it is to the operation buttons 8a ', 8b', 8c 'of the tact switches 8a, 8b, 8c, and when the tact switches 8a, 8b, 8c are switched. The generated click feeling is transmitted to the operator's finger through the pressing portions 10a, 10b, and 10c.

FIG. 2 shows the pushing state of the operation button 9a and the tact switch 8a. When the pressing part 10a is pressed, the side wall part 11a is buckled and the pressing part 10a advances, and the stem part 12a advances accordingly. Then, the operation button 8a 'of the tact switch 8a is pushed.
In this operation process, the hardness of the pressing portions 10a, 10b, 10c and the side wall portions 11a, 11b, 11c is 55 degrees, whereas the hardness of the stem portion 12a is set relatively high at 85 degrees. The stem portion 12a is not buckled until the push-in of the operation button 8a 'is completed, and the tact switch 8a is surely switched, and the operator presses the pressing portion via the stem portion 12a at that time. The click feeling of the tact switch 8a obtained from 10a can be felt from the finger.
As described with reference to FIG. 3 (B), when the stem portion 106 is buckled by the conventional operation button and the actuating button 103a of the tact switch 103 cannot be fully pushed, or when the push button is pushed, a clear click feeling can be obtained. Contrast with not being able to.

In this embodiment, since the operation buttons 9a, 9b, 9c, the base surface portion 13 and the packing 14 are integrally formed by injection molding of silicon rubber, it is not necessary to incorporate other parts when assembling the transceiver. The attaching operation of the buttons 9a, 9b, 9c is also extremely easy.
The stem portions 12a, 12b, 12c and other portions are molded by two-color molding, and the connecting portions 15a, 15b, 15c of the pressing portions 10a, 10b, 10c and the stem portions 12a, 12b, 12c are fused. -Since it has a solidified strong joint relationship, the stem portions 12a, 12b, and 12c are not peeled off from the pressing portions 10a, 10b, and 10c even by repeated operations.

  The present invention can be applied to an operation switch of an electronic device in which a tact switch is turned on / off from a pressing portion of an operation button made of an elastic resin through a stem portion.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,2 ... Split type, 1a ... Joint surface, 3 ... Housing, 3a, 3b, 3c ... Opening part, 4a, 4b ... Pin, 5 ... Printed circuit board, 6 ... Inner side surface of side wall, 7a, 7b, 7c ... notches, 8a, 8b, 8c ... tact switches, 8a ', 8b', 8c '... actuation buttons, 9a, 9b, 9c ... operation buttons, 10a, 10b, 10c ... pressing parts, 11a, 11b, 11c ... side walls Part, 12a, 12b, 12c ... stem part, 13 ... base surface part, 14 ... packing, 15a, 15b, 15c ... connection part, 101 ... housing, 102 ... printed circuit board, 103 ... tact switch, 103a ... operation button, 104 ... operation buttons, 105 ... pressing part, 106 ... stem part, 107 ... opening part, 108 ... coil spring, 201 ... stem, 202 ... pressing part, 203 ... inner wall, 204 ... hole, 205 ... coil spring, 206 ... tact switch, 206a ... Actuation button, 301 ... Tact switch, 302 ... Button, 303 ... Knob, 303a, 303b ... Both legs, 304 ... Substrate (fixing member).

Claims (3)

A tact switch fixed in the housing of the electronic device and a cap-shaped button made of an elastic resin member, the pressing portion of which is formed at a position facing the operation portion of the tact switch in the housing An operation button that is exposed to the outside from the part and is integrally formed with a stem portion for mechanically transmitting a pressing operation to the operating portion of the tact switch on the back side of the pressing portion; In an operation switch mechanism of an electronic device equipped with
The operation button mechanism of an electronic device, wherein the operation button is formed in two colors by setting the hardness of the stem portion higher than the other portions.   The elastic resin member that is a material of the operation button is silicon rubber, and the two-color molding is performed with the hardness of the stem portion being 80 to 90 degrees and the hardness of the other portions being 50 to 60 degrees. The operation switch mechanism of the electronic device as described.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the casing is configured by two split molds, and the operation button and a seal member that seals a joint portion of each split mold are integrally formed. Operation switch mechanism.

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