This application claims benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-042366 filed on Mar. 4, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pressing operation device including an operating portion which is pushed down by an operator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pressing operation device is incorporated in, for example, the handle, the instrument panel or the like of an automobile, and an operation performed by an occupant is input thereto.
A structure applicable to such a pressing operation device is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 3-37723. In a keytop installation structure disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 3-37723, a keytop and a fixed member such as a printed substrate are linked to each other by a link member constituted by a wire, to thereby prevent the keytop from being inclined.
In the installation structure, looseness is provided in linkage between the keytop and the fixed member, and the link member so as to smoothly push down the keytop. Therefore, when a pressing operation device having such an installation structure adopted therein is mounted on a moving object such as an automobile, the backlash of the link member occurs due to a vibration, which results in a concern of abnormal noise being generated.
Consequently, the present invention provides a pressing operation device which is capable of suppressing the backlash of a link member caused by a vibration.
According to the present invention, there is provided a pressing operation device including: a base; an operating body which is liftably provided in the base; and a link member configured to link the base and the operating body together. The link member is configured such that a support-side shaft, a link-side shaft, and a connection portion for connecting the support-side shaft to the link-side shaft are formed to be integrated with each other, and that the support-side shaft and the link-side shaft are disposed on a parallel line. The support-side shaft is rotatably supported by a bearing provided in the base, and the link-side shaft is rotatably linked to the operating body. The bearing includes a first regulation portion configured to regulate movement of the support-side shaft in an ascending direction of the operating body and a second regulation portion configured to regulate movement of the support-side shaft in a direction intersecting the ascending direction, and is provided with a spring member configured to press the support-side shaft against both the first regulation portion and the second regulation portion.
According to the present invention, the bearing of the base includes the first regulation portion configured to regulate the movement of the support-side shaft of the link member in an ascending direction of the operating body and the second regulation portion configured to regulate the movement of the support-side shaft in a direction intersecting the ascending direction, and is a provided with the spring member configured to press the support-side shaft against both the first regulation portion and the second regulation portion. Thereby, since it is possible to maintain a state where the support-side shaft of the link member is rotatably supported by the first regulation portion, the second regulation portion and the spring member, and the support-side shaft of the link member is pressed against the first regulation portion and the second regulation portion by the spring member, looseness between the base and the link member is eliminated, and thus it is possible to suppress backlash due to a vibration.
In the pressing operation device, it is preferable that the bearing is provided with an intersection point where the first regulation portion and the second regulation portion intersect each other, and the support-side shaft is pressed toward the intersection point by the spring member. In this manner, it is possible to equally press the support-side shaft against the first regulation portion and the second regulation portion through the spring member, and to effectively suppress backlash due to a vibration.
In the pressing operation device, it is preferable that the spring member includes an inclined pressing portion which is inclined in the ascending direction, the inclined pressing portion facing both the first regulation portion and the second regulation portion, and that the support-side shaft is pressed against both the first regulation portion and the second regulation portion by the inclined pressing portion. In this manner, it is possible to support the support-side shaft of the link member from three directions through the first regulation portion, the second regulation portion and the inclined pressing portion, and to suppress backlash due to a vibration with a relatively simple configuration.
In the inclined pressing portion, it is preferable that the inclined pressing portion extends away from a tip of the first regulation portion and further obliquely toward the ascending direction, and that, when the operating body is incorporated in the base, the support-side shaft comes into contact with the inclined pressing portion, and is guided to a position of contact with both the first regulation portion and the second regulation portion. In this manner, the support-side shaft of the link member is moved closer to the base side from the operating body side, and the support-side shaft is contacted and compressed with and into the inclined pressing portion, so that the support-side shaft is guided into a space surrounded by the first regulation portion, the second regulation portion and the inclined pressing portion, thereby allowing the support-side shaft to be positioned and supported within the space. Therefore, it is possible to relatively easily assemble the pressing operation device.
In the pressing operation device, it is preferable that a vibration generation portion configured to give a vibration force to the operating body is provided when the operating body is pressed. In this manner, when a vibration due to the vibration generation portion is transmitted to an operator as a response to an operation input to the operating body, or the like, this vibration is transmitted from the operating body through the link member to the spring member. Therefore, the vibration of the operating body is effectively attenuated by the spring member, and thus it is possible to more efficiently control the vibration.
According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively suppress backlash due to a vibration of the link member that links the base and the operating body together.
Hereinafter, a pressing operation device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
A direction X1-X2 and a direction Y1-Y2 shown in each drawing show two directions intersecting each other within one plane, and a direction Z1-Z2 shows a direction intersecting the one plane. Each of the directions is shown for convenience for the purpose of the description of a relative positional relationship between components of the pressing operation device. In the following description, as an example, a plane including the direction X1-X2 and the direction Y1-Y2 is set to a horizontal plane, and the direction Z1-Z2 is set to a vertical direction (up and down direction).
A pressing operation device 1 in the present embodiment is incorporated in, for example, the handle, the instrument panel or the like of an automobile, and an operation performed by an occupant is input thereto.
As shown in
The base 10 includes an upper case 11, a lower case 12, a plurality of bearings 20, and a spring support-side shaft 28.
The upper case 11 is made of a metal or a synthetic resin, and is formed in a box shape which is open toward the lower side (direction Z2). The lower case 12 is made of a metal or a synthetic resin similarly to the upper case 11, is formed in a rectangular flat shape, and is installed on the upper case 11 so as to close an opening of the upper case 11.
The plurality of bearings 20 are disposed around four corners of an upper surface 11a of the upper case 11. In the present embodiment, four bearings 20 are provided, and is configured to form each of a set of two bearings 20 lined up in the axial direction (direction Y1-Y2) of a support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 described later, and to rotatably support the support-side shaft 41.
Each of the bearings 20 includes a shaft body 21, a spring support portion 25, and a flat spring portion 26 as a spring member.
The shaft body 21 is disposed upright on the upper surface 11a of the upper case 11, and includes a second regulation portion 22 having a quadrangular cylindrical shape extending toward the upper side (direction Z1) and a first regulation portion 23 having a quadrangular cylindrical shape protruding from the tip of the second regulation portion 22 in the X1 direction or the X2 direction which are formed integrally with each other. The shaft body 21 is formed to be approximately L-shaped when viewed from the axial direction.
A circumferential surface 41a of the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 is slidably contacted with two surfaces located on the approximately L-shaped inner side of the shaft body 21. Hereinafter, out of these two surfaces, the lateral side of the second regulation portion 22 facing the circumferential surface 41a is referred to as a “second sliding contact surface portion 22a”, the lateral side of the first regulation portion 23 facing the circumferential surface 41a is referred to as a “first sliding contact surface portion 23a”, and the second sliding contact surface portion 22a and the first sliding contact surface portion 23a are referred to as a sliding contact surface 24 collectively.
As shown in
In the present embodiment, the second sliding contact surface portion 22a and the first sliding contact surface portion 23a are orthogonal to each other, there is no limitation thereto. The second sliding contact surface portion 22a and the first sliding contact surface portion 23a intersect each other so that the circumferential surface 41a of the support-side shaft 41 comes into sliding contact therewith by disposing the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 at the inner side. When the movement in the ascending direction of the support-side shaft 41 and the direction intersecting the ascending direction is regulated, the intersection angle is arbitrary. In addition, the second sliding contact surface portion 22a and the first sliding contact surface portion 23a may directly intersect each other as in the present embodiment, or respective virtual extending surfaces may intersect each other. In addition, the second sliding contact surface portion 22a and the first sliding contact surface portion 23a may have curved surfaces and the like other than the flat surface, and an intersection point K shown in
The spring support portion 25 is disposed upright on the upper surface 11a of the upper case 11, and is formed in a quadrangular cylindrical shape extending upward. The spring support portion 25 is disposed so as to face the shaft body 21 closer to the center of the upper surface 11a and at a distance from the shaft body 21 in the direction X1-X2. The spring support portion 25 may be disposed so as to be shifted (at a distance from) to the shaft body 21 in the axial direction of the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40.
The flat spring portion 26 is a flat spring formed by bending an elastically deformable sheet metal. As shown in
The flat spring portion 26 is configured such that a flat plate-like inclined pressing portion 26c is formed at a point closer to the other end 26b. The inclined pressing portion 26c is disposed facing each of the first sliding contact surface portion 23a and the second sliding contact surface portion 22a so as to be inclined with respect thereto. That is, the inclined pressing portion 26c is inclined in an ascending direction. One surface 26d of the inclined pressing portion 26c is disposed so as to be directed to the intersection point K between the second sliding contact surface portion 22a and the first sliding contact surface portion 23a of the shaft body 21.
As shown in
In addition, as shown in
The spring support-side shaft 28 is disposed upright on the upper surface 11a of the upper case 11, and is formed in a cylindrical shape extending upward.
The operating body 30 is provided liftably with respect to the base 10 (that is, movably in a direction approaching the base and a direction away therefrom). As shown in
The operating base member 31 is made of a metal or a synthetic resin, and includes a base member body 32 having a rectangular flat shape, a plurality of guide shafts 33, and a plurality of link member support portions 34 which are formed integrally with each other.
As shown in
The plurality of link member support portions 34 are disposed upright at points located further centrally than the plurality of guide shafts 33 on the lower surface 32a of the base member body 32, and are formed in a flat shape extending downward. The plurality of link member support portions 34 are disposed so as to intersect each other in the axial direction of the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40, and have notches 34a in the direction X1 or the direction X2 formed therein. The link member support portion 34 has a link-side shaft 43 of the link member 40 inserted into the notch 34a, to thereby support the link-side shaft 43 rotatably and slidably in the direction (direction X1-X2) intersecting the shaft central line.
The operating plate 35 is made of a synthetic resin, and is formed in a rectangular flat shape which is the same as the shape of the base member body 32 of the operating base member 31 when seen in a plan view. The operating plate 35 is fixed onto the upper surface of the operating base member 31 in an overlapped state. The operating plate 35 is configured to have a coordinate input device such as an electrostatic sensor mounted on its surface or its rear surface, and to be capable of detecting which position on the operating plate 35 an operator's finger 90 touches.
The coil spring 38 is installed on the spring support-side shaft 28 provided on the upper surface 11a of the upper case 11, and is disposed between the upper surface 11a of the upper case 11 and the lower surface 32a of the base member body 32 in a compressed state. The coil spring 38 upward biases the operating body 30 (that is, an upward force is applied to the operating body 30).
Each of the pair of link members 40 is formed so that a cross-sectional circular metal wire is bent in an approximately C-shape when seen in a plan view. As shown in
The support-side shaft 41 is rotatably supported by the bearing 20 of the base 10. Specifically, the support-side shaft 41 is supported by the shaft body 21 and the flat spring portion 26 (
As shown in
In addition, the vibration generation portion 50 has a push switch built-in, and the push switch operates when the operating body 30 is pushed down.
In the above-mentioned pressing operation device 1, the operating body 30 is biased upward by the coil spring 38. Thereby, as shown in
When a force F1 for pushing down the operating body 30 downward is applied by the operator's finger 90, the operating body 30 moves downward as shown in
When the operator's finger 90 is away from the operating body 30 and the force F1 is thus removed, the operating body 30 moves upward due to the biasing force of the coil spring 38. In this case, the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 is slidably rotated within the bearing 20 in other directions, and thus the link-side shaft 43 is trembled around the support-side shaft 41. The link-side shaft 43 moves within the notch 34a in any one direction of the directions X1-X2, along with the downward movement of the operating body 30. The link-side shaft returns to the original state shown in
Next, a process of installing the base 10 and the link member 40 in the assembly work of the above-mentioned pressing operation device 1 will be described with reference to
In the above-mentioned pressing operation device 1, the link member 40 is previously installed on the operating body 30 by inserting the link-side shaft 43 of the link member 40 into the notch 34a of the link member support portion 34 of the operating body 30, and the operating body 30 is moved close to the upper case 11 in a state where the lower surface 32a of the base member body 32 is directed to the upper surface 11a of the upper case 11. In this case, as shown in
As shown in
Thereafter, as shown in
As described above, according to the pressing operation device 1, the bearing 20 of the base 10 includes the first regulation portion 23 that regulates the movement of the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 in the ascending direction of the operating body 30 and the second regulation portion 22 that regulates the movement of the support-side shaft 41 in a direction intersecting the ascending direction, and is provided with the flat spring portion 26 that presses the support-side shaft 41 against both the second regulation portion 22 and the first regulation portion 23. Thereby, since it is possible to maintain a state where the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 is pressed against the second regulation portion 22 and the first regulation portion 23 (specifically, second sliding contact surface portion 22a and first sliding contact surface portion 23a) of the shaft body 21 by the flat spring portion 26, looseness between the base 10 and the link member 40 is eliminated, and thus it is possible to suppress backlash due to a vibration.
In the pressing operation device 1, the bearing 20 is provided with the intersection point K where the second regulation portion 22 and the first regulation portion 23 intersect each other, and the support-side shaft 41 is pressed toward the intersection point K by the flat spring portion 26. In this manner, it is possible to equally press the support-side shaft 41 against the second regulation portion 22 and the first regulation portion 23 through the flat spring portion 26, and to effectively suppress backlash due to a vibration.
In the pressing operation device 1, it preferable that the flat spring portion 26 includes the inclined pressing portion 26c which is inclined in the ascending direction of the operating body 30, the inclined pressing portion 26c faces both the second regulation portion 22 and the first regulation portion 23, and that the support-side shaft 41 is pressed against the second regulation portion 22 and the first regulation portion 23 by the inclined pressing portion 26c. In this manner, it is possible to support the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 from three directions through the second regulation portion 22, the first regulation portion 23 and the inclined pressing portion 26c, and to suppress backlash due to a vibration with a relatively simple configuration.
In the pressing operation device 1, the inclined pressing portion 26c extends away from the tip of the first regulation portion 23 and further obliquely toward the ascending direction. When the operating body 30 is incorporated in the base 10, the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 comes into contact with the inclined pressing portion 26c, and is guided to a position of contact with both the second regulation portion 22 and the first regulation portion 23. In this manner, the support-side shaft 41 of the link member 40 is moved closer to the base 10 side from the operating body 30 side, and the support-side shaft 41 is contacted and compressed with and into the inclined pressing portion 26c, thereby allowing the support-side shaft 41 to be positioned and supported within a space surrounded by the second sliding contact surface portion 22a of the second regulation portion 22, the first sliding contact surface portion 23a of the first regulation portion 23 and one surface 26d of the inclined pressing portion 26c. Therefore, it is possible to relatively easily assemble the pressing operation device 1.
The pressing operation device 1 is provided with the vibration generation portion 50 that gives a vibration force to the operating body 30 when the operating body 30 is pressed. In this manner, when a vibration due to the vibration generation portion 50 is transmitted to an operator as a response to an operation input to the operating body 30, or the like, this vibration is transmitted from the operating body 30 through the link member 40 to the flat spring portion 26. Therefore, the vibration of the operating body 30 is effectively attenuated by the flat spring portion 26, and thus it is possible to more efficiently control the vibration.
As described above, the present invention has been described by way of preferred examples, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment.
In the aforementioned embodiment a configuration is used in which the vibration generation portion 50 that gives a vibration force to the operating body 30 when the operating body 30 is pressed is provided, but a configuration may be used in which the vibration generation portion 50 is not included without being limited thereto.
In addition, in the aforementioned embodiment, a configuration is used in which the flat spring portion 26 as a spring member is included, but there is no limitation thereto. For example, as the spring member, a configuration or the like may be used which includes an inclined pressing portion having a rectangular flat shape disposed at the intersection point K toward one surface and a coil spring that presses the inclined pressing portion from the other surface side toward the intersection point K. The configuration of the spring member is arbitrary unless contrary to the object of the present invention.
In addition, in the aforementioned embodiment, the link member 40 is formed so that one metal wire is bent in an approximately C-shape, but there is no limitation thereto. For example, as the link member 40, a pantograph structure may be used, or a configuration or the like may be used in which the member is made of a synthetic resin, the support-side shaft and an operating portion installation portion are formed in a cylindrical shape and disposed in parallel to each other, and the support-side shaft and the link-side shaft are connected to each other by a flat plate-like connection portion.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned embodiment shows merely a representative configuration of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment. That is, various modifications can be carried out by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention in accordance with knowledge of the related art. Such modifications are naturally included in the scope of the present invention, insofar as the configuration of the pressing operation device of the present invention is provided.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims of the equivalents thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2015-042366 | Mar 2015 | JP | national |