Patent Grant
7382695
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composite switch used in an electronic equipment such as multifunction electronic timepiece.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The electronic timepiece is made the multifunction, and an input work by a switch becomes frequent as well. For example, if it is attempted to input a letter row, the letter row is scrolled by a switch operation from among many letter information such as 50 Japanese syllabary characters of hiragana, 26 letters of alphabet and numerals, thereby deciding one letter desired. In order to perform this by a push-switch, the operation becomes intricate. A rotary switch adopted whereupon in order to solve the above point is obliged from its structure to make an external shape of the electronic timepiece into a circular shape, and thus has a problem that a degree of freedom in design is limited.
In a field other than the electronic timepiece, there is a jog switch made into an input operation structure corresponding to the letter scroll, and a merit in its operability is widely recognized. However, in a product in which this has been mounted, a waterproofness is not taken into consideration. For this reason, the conventional jog switch cannot be adopted in the electronic timepiece.
As the composite switch for the electronic timepiece having the waterproofness, there is one disclosed in JP-A-2001-215288 Gazette (Patent Document 1). This conventional composite switch is a dome type composite switch having a high waterproofness, which comprises plural fixed contacts, movable contacts each of which is supported by an elastic body under a state capable of contacting with or separating from each of the fixed contacts, and plural movable axles each of which has a pressing end part and an operating end part and can axially reciprocate so as to press each of the movable contacts to thereby perform the contact with or the separation from each of the fixed contacts, wherein the operating end part of each of the plural movable axles is retained by being monolithically covered with a soft member such as silicone rubber. However, in a case where this dome type composite switch is adopted in the multifunction timepiece and the letter scroll is performed, since it must be continued to be pressed by a finger from start to end of the scroll, a problem remains in its operability.
<Patent Document 1> JP-A-2001-215288 Gazette
A problem that the present invention is to solve is to provide a jog switch type composite switch used in the electronic equipment such as multifunction electronic timepiece, which has the waterproofness and in which the letter scroll is easy.
A composite switch solving the above problem is constituted by plural individual switches disposed in one row on a 1st support member, plural button axles disposed while corresponding to each of the plural individual switches and being given spring forces, and a button head having a back face in which there have been formed a center protrusion part and left and right escape parts and disposed such that operating end parts of the plural button axles are selectively pressed by the center protrusion part, and the plural button axles have been attached to through-holes of a 2nd support member while being made possible to perform a reciprocal movement in an axial direction and through waterproof packings, and the button head has been attached to the 2nd support member while being made possible to slide in a disposition direction of the button axles.
A preferred form of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
The composite switch concerning the present invention is a 3-axle type composite switch possessing three individual switches disposed in one row on a 1st support member with an equal spacing, a button head disposed in a 2nd support member while being made possible to be pushed in its intermediate position and to slide in a disposition direction of the individual switches, and three button axles operated by the button head and driving the individual switches. Incidentally, the button axles are attached to through-holes of the 2nd support member through waterproof packings.
In this 3-axle type composite switch, under a neutral state that the button head exists in its intermediate position and is not pushed, none of the three individual switches is driven. In this 3-axle type composite switch, if the button head is pushed in its intermediate position, only a center individual switch is made ON and, if it is slid to an underside, only an underside individual switch is made ON through an underside button axle and, if it is slid to an upside, only an upside individual switch is made ON through an upside button axle.
That is, this composite switch is one having been constituted by a center individual switch, an underside individual switch and an upside individual switch which have been disposed in one row on a 1st support member, a center button axle, an underside button axle and an upside button axle, which have been disposed while corresponding to each of the three individual switches and being given spring forces, and a button head having a back face in which there have been formed a center protrusion part and left and right escape parts and disposed such that operating end parts of the button axles are selectively pressed by the center protrusion part. And, it is one characterized in that the button axles are attached to through-holes of a 2nd support member while being made possible to perform a reciprocal movement in an axial direction and through waterproof packings, and the button head is attached to the 2nd support member while being made possible to slide in a disposition direction of the button axles and to be pushed in its intermediate position. Additionally, an engaging groove in a slide direction is formed in the center protrusion part of the button head, and an operating end part of the center button axle has an engaging protrusion always engaging with the engaging groove. Further, the underside button axle and the upside button axle are like an arc in section.
The composite switch of the Embodiment 1 is a 2-axle type composite switch possessing an underside individual switch 12 and an upside individual switch 13 which have been disposed on a circuit substrate 1 of the multifunction timepiece with a predetermined spacing being provided, a button head 20 which can slide in a disposition direction of the individual switches and has been disposed in an armoring cover 2 of the multifunction timepiece while being made possible to be pushed in its intermediate position, and an underside button axle 22 and an upside button axle 23 which are operated by the button head 20 and drive the individual switches 12 and 13.
The button axles 22 and 23 are attached to through-holes of the armoring cover 2 respectively through waterproof packings 32 and 33, and to them there is given such a spring force as to be moved in a direction toward the button head 20 by each of bias springs 42 and 43.
The button head 20 is a member whose length is a degree slightly exceeding two times of the spacing between the underside button axle 22 and the upside button axle 23 and whose width is a degree slightly exceeding a diameter of each of these button axles. In a back face of the button head 20, there is formed in its center part a center protrusion part 20a whose section is trapezoid, and escape parts 20b are formed in both sides of the center protrusion part 20a. A length of a top face of the center protrusion part 20a is a degree of the diameter of the button axle. Operating end parts of the underside button axle 22 and the upside button axle 23, to which the spring forces are given by the bias springs 42 and 43, butt against the escape parts 20b in left and right of the button head 20. By this, a surface of the button head 20 is pushed to a head cover 3.
Operating end parts 22a and 23a of the button axles 22 and 23 are formed like an arc in section. This is for making it possible that the button head 20 having the center protrusion part 20a and the escape parts 20b can smoothly slide while butting against the operating end part 22a of the underside button axle 22 and the operating end part 23a of the upside button axle 23.
Each of the underside individual switch 12 and the upside individual switch 13 is a general switch constituted by a fixed contact, a movable contact and an elastic member retaining the movable contact while being separated from the fixed contact by a predetermined spacing, and there is adopted, for example, a dome type switch constituted by one pair of fixed contacts formed on a circuit substrate, a dome type elastic member disposed to the circuit substrate so as to cover these fixed contacts, and a movable contact attached to an inside of the dome type elastic member.
In the 2-axle type composite switch constituted like the above, under a neutral state of
In order to make the underside individual switch 12 ON, the button head 20 is slid to an underside as shown in
In order to make the upside individual switch 13 ON, the button head 20 is slid to an upside as shown in
In order to make both of the underside individual switch 12 and the upside individual switch 13 ON, the button head 20 is slid to its intermediate position and pushed as shown in
As mentioned above, the 2-axle type composite switch, of the Embodiment 1, constituted by possessing the underside individual switch 12, the upside individual switch 13, the underside button axle 22, the upside button axle 23, and the button head 20 which can slide in the disposition direction of the individual switches and can be pushed in its intermediate position realizes four changeover states. That is, it is one realizing the four changeover states that only the underside individual switch 12 is made ON, only the upside individual switch 13 ON, both the underside individual switch 12 and the upside individual switch 13 ON, and both the underside individual switch 12 and the upside individual switch 13 OFF. And, the individual switch made ON by sliding the button head 20 is retained to its changeover state during the button head 20 is being retained in that position. Accordingly, in a scroll operation, it becomes unnecessary to continue to push the button head 20, so that the operation has become easy to be performed.
The button axles 21, 22 and 23 are attached to through-holes of the armoring cover 2 of the multifunction timepiece respectively through waterproof packings 31, 32 and 33, and to them there is given such a spring force as to be moved in the direction toward the button head 20 by each of bias springs 41, 42 and 43. A spacing between the underside individual switch 12 and the center individual switch 11 and a spacing between the upside individual switch 13 and the center individual switch 11 are equally selected. Incidentally, a positional relation among the button axles 22 and 23 and the escape parts 20b is determined such that, in the neutral position, the operating end parts of the underside button axle 22 and the upside button axle 23 to which the spring forces are given by the bias springs 42 and 43 don't butt against the escape parts 20b in left and right of the button head 20.
The button head 20 is a member whose length is a degree slightly exceeding three times of the spacing between the center button axle 21 and the underside button axle 22 and whose width is a degree slightly exceeding the diameter of each of these button axles. In the back face of the button head 20, there is formed in its center part the center protrusion part 20a whose section is trapezoid, and the escape parts 20b are formed in left and right. A width of a top face of the center protrusion part 20a in the disposition direction of the button axles is approximately equal to the spacing between the adjoining button axles. In the center protrusion part 20a, there is formed one engaging groove 20c in the disposition direction of the button axles.
Further, the engaging groove 20c of the center protrusion part 20a is a groove of T-shaped section, whose depth from the top face is about a half of the center protrusion part 20a as shown in
Each of an operating end part 22a of a 1st underside button axle 22, an operating end part 24a of a 2nd underside button axle 24, an operating part 23a of a 1st upside button axle 23 and an operating end part 25a of a 2nd upside button axle 25 is formed like an arc in section. This is for making it possible that the button head 20 having the center protrusion part 20a in the center and the escape parts 20b in left and right can smoothly slide while butting against the operating end part 22a of the 1st underside button axle 22, the operating end part 24a of the 2nd underside button axle 24, the operating part 23a of the 1st upside button axle 23 and the operating end part 25a of the 2nd upside button axle 25.
For the center individual switch 11, a 1st underside individual switch 12, a 2nd underside individual switch 14, a 1st upside individual switch 13 and a 2nd upside individual switch 15, there is adopted the dome type switch similarly to the Embodiment 1.
In the 3-axle type composite switch constituted like the above, under the neutral state of
In order to make only the underside individual switch 12 ON, the button head 20 is slid to the underside as shown in
In order to make only the upside individual switch 13 ON, the button head 20 is slid to the upside as shown in
In order to make only the center individual switch 11 ON, the button head 20 is slid to its intermediate position and pushed as shown in
As mentioned above, the 3-axle type composite switch, of the Embodiment 2, constituted by possessing the center individual switch 11, the underside individual switch 12, the upside individual switch 13, the center button axle 21, the underside button axle 22, the upside button axle 23, and the button head 20 which can slide in the disposition direction of the individual switch and can be pushed in its intermediate position realizes four changeover states. That is, it is one realizing the four changeover states that only the underside individual switch 12 is made ON, only the upside individual switch 13 ON, only the center individual switch 11 ON, and the three individual switches 11, 12 and 13 are all OFF. Accordingly, in the scroll operation, it becomes unnecessary to continue to push the button head 20, so that the operation has become easy to be performed.
A composite switch of Embodiment 3 is a 5-axle type composite switch. That is, this composite switch is a 5-axle type composite switch possessing five individual switches of the center individual switch 11, the 1st underside individual switch 12, the 2nd underside individual switch 14, the 1st upside individual switch 13 and the 2nd upside individual switch 15 which have been disposed on the circuit substrate 1 with the predetermined spacing being provided, the button head 20 which can slide in the disposition direction of the individual switches and has been disposed in the armoring cover 2 while being made possible to be pushed in its intermediate position, and five button axles of the center button axle 21, the 1st underside button axle 22, the 2nd underside button axle 24, the 1st upside button axle 23 and the 2nd upside button axle 25 which are operated by the button head 20 and drive the individual switches 11-15. The button axles 21-25 are attached to through-holes of the armoring cover 2 respectively through waterproof packings 31-35, and to them there is given such a spring force as to be moved in the direction toward the button head 20 by each of bias springs 41-45. In short, the composite switch of the Embodiment 3 is one constituted by adding the 2nd underside individual switch 14, the 2nd upside individual switch 15, the 2nd underside button axle 24 and the 2nd upside button axle 25 to the 3-axle composite switch of the Embodiment 2 mentioned above.
The 2nd underside individual switch 14 is disposed in a more underside than the 1st underside individual switch 12. Further, the 2nd upside individual switch 15 is disposed in A more upside than the 1st up side individual switch 13. A spacing between the 1st underside individual switch 12 and the center individual switch 11 and a spacing between the 1st upside individual switch 13 and the center individual switch 11 are equally selected. A spacing between one pair of the underside individual switches 12 and 14 is a half of the spacing between the 1st underside individual switch 12 and the center individual switch 11. Similarly, a spacing between one pair of the upside individual switches 13 and 15 is a half of the spacing between the 1st upside individual switch 13 and the center individual switch 11. The 2nd underside button axle 24 is disposed in the armoring cover 2 with the spacing being provided as mentioned above so as to drive the 2nd underside individual switch 14. Similarly, the 2nd upside button axle 25 is disposed in the armoring cover 2 with the spacing being provided as mentioned above so as to drive the 2nd upside individual switch 15.
The button axles 21-25 are attached to the through-holes of the armoring cover 2 of the multifunction timepiece respectively through the waterproof packings 31-35, and to them there is given such a spring force as to be moved in the direction toward the button head 20 by each of the bias springs 41-45. The spacing between the 1st underside individual switch 12 and the center individual switch 11 and the spacing between the 1st upside individual switch 13 and the center individual switch 11 are equally selected. The spacing between the 1st underside individual switch 12 and the 2nd underside individual switch 14 is the half of the spacing between the 1st underside individual switch 12 and the center individual switch 11. Similarly, the spacing between the 1st upside individual switch 13 and the 2nd upside individual switch 15 is the half of the spacing between the 1st upside individual switch 13 and the center individual switch 11.
The button head 20 is a member whose length is a degree slightly exceeding four times of the spacing between the center button axle 21 and the underside button axle 22 and whose width is the degree slightly exceeding the diameter of each of these button axles. In the back face of the button head 20, there is formed in its center part the center protrusion part 20a whose section is trapezoid, and the escape parts 20b are formed in left and right. The width of the top face of the center protrusion part 20a in the disposition direction of the button axles is approximately equal to the spacing between the center button axle 21 and the underside button axle 22. In the center protrusion part 20a, there is formed one engaging groove 20c in the disposition direction of the button axles.
Further, the engaging groove 20c of the center protrusion part 20a is the groove of T-shaped section, whose depth from the top face is about the half of the center protrusion part 20a as shown in
Each of the operating end part 22a of the 1st underside button axle 22, the operating end part 24a of the 2nd underside button axle 24, the operating part 23a of the 1st upside button axle 23 and the operating end part 25a of the 2nd upside button axle 25 is formed like the arc in section. This is for making it possible that the button head 20 having the center protrusion part 20a in the center and the escape parts 20b in both sides can smoothly slide while butting against the operating end part 22a of the underside button axle 22 and the operating end part 23a of the upside button axle 23.
For the center individual switch 11, the underside individual switches 12 and 24 and the upside individual switches 13 and 15, there is adopted the dome type switch similarly to the Embodiment 1.
In the 5-axle type composite switch constituted like the above, under the neutral state of
In order to make only the 1st underside individual switch 12 ON, the button head 20 is slid to the underside by one stage as shown in
In order to make both the 1st underside individual switch 12 and the 2nd underside individual switch 14 ON, the button head 20 is slid to the underside by two stages as shown in
In order to make only the 1st upside individual switch 13 ON, the button head 20 is slid to the upside by one stage as shown in
In order to make both the 1st upside individual switch 13 and the 2nd upside individual switch 15 ON, the button head 20 is slid to the upside by two stages as shown in
In order to make only the center individual switch 11 ON, the button head 20 is slid to its intermediate position and pushed as shown in
As mentioned above, the 5-axle type composite switch, of the Embodiment 3, constituted by possessing the center individual switch 11, the underside individual switches 12 and 14, the upside individual switches 13 and 15, the center button axle 21, the underside button axles 22 and 24, the upside button axles 23 and 25, and the button head 20 which can slide in the disposition direction of the individual switch and can be pushed in its intermediate position realizes six changeover states. That is, it is one realizing the six changeover states that only the 1st underside individual switch 12 is ON, both the 1st underside individual switch 12 and the 2nd underside individual switch 14 ON, only the 1st upside individual switch 13 ON, both the 1st upside individual switch 13 and the 2nd upside individual switch 15 ON, only the center individual switch 11 ON, and the five individual switches 11-15 all OFF. Accordingly, in the scroll operation, it becomes unnecessary to continue to push the button head 20, so that the operation has become easy to be performed.
By the present invention, there has been provided a simple jog switch type composite switch in which a letter scroll operation is easy and which has the waterproofness. Accordingly, by adopting the composite switch concerning the present invention, it has become possible to realize a multifunction electronic timepiece or electronic equipment whose operation is easy and which has the watweproofness. Further, since merely the waterproof packing is used, it has become possible to simply realize a waterproof structure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-100492 | Mar 2004 | JP | national |
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| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 01215288 | Aug 2001 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050219954 A1 | Oct 2005 | US |
