This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 103121929, filed on Jun. 25, 2014.
The disclosure relates to a pushbutton switch, and more particularly to a pushbutton switch having a resilient member.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Moreover, utilization and installation of four of the springs 14 leads to a relatively high manufacturing cost of the second conventional pushbutton switch 1′.
Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a pushbutton switch that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior arts.
According to the present disclosure, the pushbutton switch is for a switch assembly. The switch assembly includes a housing, two spaced-apart terminals that extend into the housing, two first contacts that are disposed in the housing and that are respectively disposed on the terminals, and a second contact that is disposed inside the housing. The pushbutton switch includes a pushbutton unit and a resilient member.
The pushbutton unit includes a mounting seat and a pushbutton. The mounting seat is for being disposed outside of and proximate to the housing, and is formed with an engaging groove. The pushbutton covers the mounting seat and cooperates with the mounting seat to define a receiving space. The pushbutton is in connection with the second contact, and is movable together with the second contact relative to the mounting seat between a contact position, where the second contact contacts the first contacts, and a non-contact position, where the second contact is away from the first contacts.
The resilient member is disposed in the receiving space, and has an insert and two resilient arms. The insert engages the engaging groove, and has opposite ends spaced apart from each other in an extending direction. The resilient arms extend respectively from the opposite ends of the insert. Each of the resilient arms has two contact end sections that abut resiliently against the pushbutton, and that are spaced apart from each other in a transverse direction transverse to the extending direction.
The resilient arms are resiliently deformed when the pushbutton moves from the non-contact position to the contact position so as to generate a restoring force which urges the pushbutton to the non-contact position.
Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the present disclosure is de scribed in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Referring to
The pushbutton unit 3 includes a mounting seat 31 that is disposed outside of and proximate to the housing 21, and a pushbutton 32 that covers the mounting seat 31 and that cooperates with the mounting seat 31 to define a receiving space 33.
As shown in
In this embodiment, the pushbutton 32 has a main segment, and a drive rod 321 that is located in a central portion of the main segment, that extends through the mounting seat 31, and that is in connection with the second contact 24 of the switch assembly 2. The pushbutton 32 is movable together with the second contact 24 relative to the mounting seat 31. The main segment of the pushbutton 32 is formed with four slide grooves 322 (only two are visible in
In this embodiment, the pushbutton 32 is movable together with the second contact 24 relative to the mounting seat 31 between a contact position (see
In this embodiment, the resilient member 4 is disposed in the receiving space 33, and has two inserts 41 and two resilient arms 42. In this embodiment, the resilient member 4 is a one-piece member.
The inserts 41 engage respectively the engaging grooves 311. Each of the inserts 41 has opposite ends spaced apart from each other in an extending direction (X) (see
In this embodiment, each of the resilient arms 42 has a first resilient portion 421 extending in the extending direction (X), a second resilient portion 422, and a support portion 423. Each of the resilient arms 42 further has a through hole 43 formed in the first resilient portion 421 so as to divide the first resilient portion 421 into first and second sectors. The through holes 43 of the resilient arms 42 are communicated with each other. The drive rod 321 extends through one of the through holes 43 of the resilient arms 42. Specifically, the through holes 43 of the resilient arms 42 are substantially rectangular in shape. The first sectors of the first resilient portions 421 of the resilient arms 42 extend respectively from the opposite ends of one of the inserts 41, and the second sectors of the first resilient portions 421 of the resilient arms 42 extend respectively from the opposite ends of the other one of the inserts 41. The second resilient portion 422 extends obliquely from a distal end of the first resilient portion 421 toward the pushbutton 32. The support portion 423 is connected to and bent from the second resilient portion 422, and has two contact end sections 424 that abut resiliently against the pushbutton 32, and that are spaced apart from each other in a transverse direction transverse to the extending direction (X). In addition, the resilient arms 42 are resiliently deformed when the pushbutton 32 moves from the non-contact position to the contact position so as to generate a restoring force which urges the pushbutton 32 to the non-contact position. Each of the resilient arms 42 further has an opening 44 that is formed in the second resilient portion 422 and the support portion 423, and that separates the contact end sections 424 from each other. For each of the resilient arms 42, the through hole 43 and the opening 44 are spaced apart from each other. In this embodiment, the resilient arms 42 are symmetrical with respect to a central axis (L) (see
It should be noted that each of the resilient arms 42 may omit the first resilient portion 421 and only have the second resilient portion 422 that is directly connected to the inserts 41. In such a manner, the resilient arms 42 are still resiliently deformable to generate the restoring force for urging the pushbutton 32 to the non-contact position.
Referring to
Referring to
When the pushbutton 32 is released from the contact position, the restoring force of the resilient arms 42 restores the pushbutton 32 to the non-contact position. Accordingly, the drive rod 321 drives the second contact 24 to be separated from the first contacts 23, such that the circuit between the first contacts 23 is disconnected.
Referring to
When one of the corners of the main segment of the pushbutton 32 is pressed by an external force, the first and second sectors of the first resilient portion 421 of a corresponding one of the resilient arms 42 are affected and bent from the inserts 41. It is only until the first resilient portion 421 of the corresponding one of the resilient arms 42 is no more bendable will the second resilient portion 422 of the corresponding one of the resilient arms 42 intend to bend. Since the second resilient portion 422 of the corresponding one of the resilient arms 42 has the shorter length and is thus relatively more difficult to bend, the external force is gradually transmitted to the first resilient portion 421 of the other one of the resilient arms 42. Therefore, the external force is eventually transmitted to the contact end sections 424 of the other one of the resilient arms 42, such that the pushbutton 32 is smoothly movable relative to the mounting seat 31 regardless of where the external force acts on the pushbutton 32. Accordingly, smoothness of pressing the pushbutton 32 is enhanced.
In view of the above, the pushbutton switch has the following advantages:
1. Since the resilient member 4 is formed into one piece, and since the four contact end sections 424 of the resilient arms 42 respectively and resiliently abut against the four corners of the pushbutton 32, the external force can act anywhere on the pushbutton 32 to be uniformly transmitted through the resilient member 4. Accordingly, not only can smoothness of pressing the pushbutton 32 be enhanced, but the switch assembly 2 can also have increased touch sensitivity. In addition, the inserts 41 of the resilient member 4 are conveniently engageable with the engaging grooves 311 of the mounting seat 31, thereby facilitating assembly of the pushbutton switch.
2. The resilient member 4 provides a relatively short distance of movement for the pushbutton 32 between the contact position and the non-contact position without affecting the restoring force thereof for urging the pushbutton 32 toward the non-contact position, thereby making the pushbutton switch suitable for use in a miniaturized electronic device.
Referring to
While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
103121929 A | Jun 2014 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5901837 | Aimi | May 1999 | A |
6755582 | Won | Jun 2004 | B2 |
20140174897 | Cao | Jun 2014 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20150380184 A1 | Dec 2015 | US |