Patent Grant
9728355
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch, and more particularly to a rotary encoder switch having both mechanical and encoding structure and being capable of continuously rotating to provide multistage switches with indications of each stage.
2. Related Art
Generally, electronic products are provided with switches for switching on/off or controlling functions thereof. There are numerous types of switches that are mainly designed to control functions of products being applied to. For instance, controlling rotational speed of a fan, blowing velocity or setting temperature of an air conditioner, brightness of a lamp, or strength of signals of a radio.
A traditional mechanical rotary switch is known to consist of mechanical elements including a main body and a knob pivotally connected to the main body for being rotated, where rotary positioning of the knob is achieved by engagement of a tooth-shaped structure and a metal flexible plate. However, the metal flexible plate is a sort of cantilever structure which tends to produce material fatigue after use for a period of time and thus resulting in ineffective engagement with the tooth-shaped structure. Besides, one end of the flexible plate of the cantilever structure is usually soldered to a casing, while the other end is used to engage the tooth-shaped structure. As a result of frequent engagement, the end of the flexible plate being soldered is easily to be pulled out of the casing, or the flexible plate tends to be deformed thereby. Moreover, unlike dip switches, knife switches, or button switches, a main purpose of rotary switches is to pivotally rotate to achieve multistage switches for controlling functions of an applied product. For instance, regulating brightness or volume of sound. However, a traditional mechanical rotary switch is merely allowed to provide a certain number of stages for being switched, inasmuch as the number of stages allowed to be reached is limited within a single rotation of the knob. That is, when the knob is being rotated over more than one cycle, no more stages will be reached and thus no more functions will be performed. Therefore, fine performance of applied products cannot be performed due to limited control of switches.
In addition to the above-mentioned drawbacks, traditional rotary switches are not provided with indicator for indicating where rotary positioning is reached. Consequently, users cannot recognize which stage is being reached and thus has no reference position on the knob to be relied on for rotating in a desired position, particularly in a dim place.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary encoder switch having a structure of indicating rotary position of multistage switches and having a simple structure for improving waterproof ability.
Another object of the present invention is provide a rotary encoder switch being capable of continuously rotating multiple cycles to generate different encoding signals so as to enable a decent performance of an applied.
To achieve the above objects, the rotary encoder switch comprises a cover cap made of light permeable material, comprising a display face, a covering wall extending downward from peripheral edges of the display face, and a sleeve body penetrating the display face to extend downward. An actuating device comprises a base seat and a rotary element rotatably connected to the base seat and mounted into the sleeve body a first base board having a through hole and multiple first lighting elements arranged around the through hole and facing the display face of the cover cap, the through hole passing through the rotary element to be located on the base seat. A second base board disposed under the actuating device and having a plurality of terminal holes and conducting terminals electrically connected to a printed circuit board of an applied product; and a plurality of connecting terminals for connecting the first base board and the second base board, ends of the connecting terminals respectively passing through the plurality of terminal holes to electrically connect the printed circuit board of the applied product.
With the above-mentioned structure, the rotary element of the actuating device is rotatable in conjunction with rotation of the cover cap so as to produce encoding signals according to rotation position of the cover cap for controlling functions of the applied product, whereby the first lighting elements are capable of emitting light which is permeable to the cover cap in accordance with the rotation position and a rotation direction of the cover cap.
In one aspect of the present invention, the base seat of the actuating device further comprises a tube, a restraining portion, and a round track, the tube and the restraining portion respectively protruding from an upper surface of the base seat and spaced apart from each other, the round track formed around the tube and in between the tube and the restraining portion, the rotary element rotatably mounted to the tube and comprising an interfering tooth portion formed on peripheral sides thereof and disposed on the round track; and wherein the actuating device further comprises: a resilient element of which one end is coupled in the restraining portion, and another end extends out of the restraining portion in order to elastically engage the interfering portion; a shielding cover covering the interfering tooth portion and the restraining portion; a plurality of signal terminals disposed under and arranged around a bottom of the base seat, one end of each of the signal terminals stretching out of the base seat to form a soldering arm for being soldered to the second base board; a contact element provided under the base seat and above the plurality of signal terminals, and having multiple contact arms for electrically contacting the plurality of signal terminals; and a depressible apparatus disposed in the tube, and comprising a supporting seat, a button being light permeable and movably connected to the supporting seat in the rotary element and extending to the sleeve body of the cover cap for being depressed, and at least a second lighting element provided in the button and emitted at least by depressing the button; wherein the rotary element is pivotally rotatable about the tube on the round track, and the contact element and the interfering tooth portion are capable of rotating in conjunction with the rotary element whereby enabling the contact arms of the contact element to electrically contact the plurality of signal terminals along the round track so as to generate electrical signals which are then being transmitted to the printed circuit board for producing encoding signals, the resilient element being deformed and stretching backwards relative to rotation of the interfering tooth portion, and the resilient element returning to an original position to engage with the interfering tooth portion when the rotary element rotates in position.
In another aspect of the present invention, the sleeve body of the cover cap comprises multiple engaging ribs protruding from an inner surface thereof, an outer surface of the rotary element is provided with multiple engaging slots corresponding to and being engageable with the engaging ribs.
In another aspect of the present invention, the rotary encoder switch further comprises a fixing sleeve having a fixing wall, a mounting hole formed by the fixing wall, and an inner edge portion extending from a top of the fixing wall into the mounting hole, a bottom of the covering wall of the cover cap extends outward radially to form a retaining rim being retained by the inner edge portion.
The rotary encoder switch of the present invention utilizes the engagement of the resilient element and the interfering tooth portion of the rotary element to position the rotation of the rotary element driven by the cover cap, whereby effectively addressing the problem that a flexible plate of cantilever structure utilized in a traditional switch to position the rotary element tends to be damaged or disengaged after frequent use. Additionally, the maximum power supply to an applied product can be divided into a plurality of segment values by rotation of the cover cap, whereby generating an encoding signal which corresponds to a respective segment value according to each rotary position of the cover cap or the rotary element. Therefore, the rotary encoder switch is capable of reaching each one of the plurality of segment values by continuously rotating several cycles so as to enable a decent performance of an application product, whereby overcoming drawbacks of a traditional switch that is only capable of providing a limited number of switches and a poor performance. Furthermore, the first lighting elements in cooperation with the cover cap allow users to easily recognize where a rotary position is being reached.
A rotary encoder switch 1 of the present invention is applicable to electronic products, electric appliances or lighting devices for switching on or switching off or for controlling other functions thereof, such as, adjusting brightness of a light device, volume, wind velocity (e.g. a fan), or fire power (e.g. a gas stove) so as to precisely control an application product by multistage switches.
Referring to
The fixing sleeve 3 has a fixing wall 31, amounting hole 30 formed by the fixing wall 31, and an inner edge portion 32 extending from a top of the fixing wall 31 into the mounting hole 30. The fixing sleeve 3 is mounted to the cover cap 2 through the mounting hole 30, wherein the inner edge portion 32 is retained by the retaining rim 23 in a vertical direction. Moreover, the fixing wall 31 is provided with a plurality of fastening plates 522 for being fastened with an applied product (not shown). It is noted that in a practical application the rotary encoder switch 1 is not necessary to use with the fixing sleeve 3 and is allowed to be directly assembled with a printed circuit board (not shown) of an applied product by soldering.
The actuating device 5 comprises a shielding cover 50, a base seat 51, a resilient element 6, a rotary element 52 and a contact element 54 (as shown in
The first base board 4 is a printed circuit board and comprises a through hole 40 and multiple first lighting elements 41 arranged around the through hole 40 and facing the display face 21 of the cover cap 2. The through hole 40 passes through the rotary element 52 to be located on the base seat 51. In this embodiment, the first lighting elements 41 are light emitting diodes of which the number is 16. The first lighting elements 41 emit light subject to practical use, where the light being emitted is permeable to the display face 21 and the covering wall 22 to be seen from outside. Because the first base board 4 is disposed above the actuating device 5 and the second base board 8 and is near the display face 21, lighting effect of the multiple first lighting elements 41 is not to be weakened because of the distance between the cover cap 2 and the first base board 4. Additionally, the multiple first lighting elements 41 provided on the first base board 4 are beneficial to repair work, inasmuch as the first lighting elements 41 are capable of being repaired or replaced directly from the first base board 4 without damaging or affecting the second base board 8.
The second base board 8 is a printed circuit board and disposed under the actuating device 5 and has a plurality of terminal holes 80, conducting terminals 83 and connecting terminals 82. Each of the connecting terminals 82 penetrates respective terminal hole 80. The second base board 8 further has a plurality of pillars 81 arranged thereon for supporting the base seat 51 of the actuating device 5 in order to keep the second base board 8 away from the base seat 51 to ensure that the circuit on the second base board 8 is not affected by other components. Each of the conducting terminals 83 is coupled with a holding piece 831, and each of the connecting terminals 82 is coupled with a holding piece 821 in a middle portion thereof. The holding pieces 831 and 821 are used for holding the second base board 8 (as shown in
In use of the rotary encoder switch 1, the cover cap 2 is capable of being rotated to drive the rotary element 52 to rotate simultaneously due to the engagement of the engaging slots 524 and the engaging ribs 201. Accordingly, the contact element 54 under the rotary element 52 electrically contacts a plurality of signal terminals 53 (described below) in sequence so as to produce encoding signals according to rotation position of the cover cap 2 for controlling functions of the applied product, whereby the first lighting elements 41 are capable of emitting light which is permeable to display face 21 of the cover cap 2 in accordance with the rotation position and a rotation direction of the cover cap 2. For instance, based on practical application, each of the first lighting elements 41 is capable of emitting light one by one in sequence. Therefore, users can easily recognize the exact rotary position of the rotary element 2 from the lighting of the first lighting elements 41 so as to know which of stages of functions of the applied product is being reached.
Particularly note that the actuating device 5 of the present invention has an improved structure in positioning rotation of the rotary element 52. Referring to
The rotary element 52 is pivotally mounted onto the tube 511. An interfering tooth portion 521 is formed on peripheral sides of a bottom of the rotary element 52 above the round track 510. The interfering tooth portion 521 has multiple tooth faces 522 and tooth grooves 523 formed between each two adjacent tooth faces 522. In the preferable embodiment, the multiple tooth faces 522 and the tooth grooves 523 cooperatively form a continuously curved face and are arranged on a same plane for facilitating the interference engagement with the resilient element 6. The rotary element 52 is located on the round track 510 and is pivotally rotatable about the tube 511 on the round track 510 in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction.
Referring to
As shown in
As distinct from a traditional mechanical rotary switch, a product being used with the rotary encoder switch 1 of the present invention is allowed to accept a predetermined maximum power supply which is divided into a plurality of segment values as designed. For example, if an applied product is an electronic lighting device (not shown) which operates at a maximum power supply of 60 watt, then, based on a practical application, the maximum power supply of 60 watt can be divided into segment values. More specifically, one cycle of rotation of the rotary encoder switch 1 is defined to provide switches of 8 stages. Therefore, rotating one and one fourth cycles of the cover cap 2 is capable of reaching the maximum power supply for 10 stages. Accordingly, multistage switches of the rotary encoder switch 1 enable a decent performance of the electronic lighting device that the brightness can be changed in great gradation, or in another application the volume can be adjusted more precisely.
Particularly, the resilient element 6 comprises a spring 61 and an engaging head 62 which is made of metal and has an arc face. One end of the spring 61 is fixed in the restraining slot 513 of the base seat 51, and another end of the spring 61 props the engaging head against the interfering tooth portion 521 in a horizontal direction (as shown in
Referring to
As described above, the rotation of the rotary element 52 at each one of the tooth grooves 523 represents one of the segment values being reached. In a practical application, a clockwise rotation of the rotary element is defined to boost a power supply, while a counterclockwise rotation is defined to lower a power supply, wherein the rotary element 52 is capable of being continuously rotated multiple cycles to reach either one of the plurality of segment values.
Furthermore, the signals coded by the rotary encoder switch 1 is in a format of pulse width modulation (PWM) for activating the power supply or/and increasingly boosting a power supply of an external power source, or the signals being coded are intended to increasingly lower or deactivate the power supply. As a result, the rotary encoder switch 1 is capable of controlling an application product more precisely than a traditional mechanical rotary switch.
Referring to
The rotary encoder switch 1 of the present invention utilizes the engagement of the resilient element 6 and the interfering tooth portion 521 of the rotary element 52 to position the rotation of the rotary element 52 driven by the cover cap 2, whereby effectively addressing the problem that a flexible plate of cantilever structure utilized in a traditional switch to position the rotary element tends to be damaged or disengaged after frequent use. Additionally, the maximum power supply to an applied product can be divided into a plurality of segment values by rotation of the cover cap 2, whereby generating an encoding signal which corresponds to a respective segment value according to each rotary position of the cover cap 2 or the rotary element 5. Therefore, the rotary encoder switch 1 is capable of reaching each one of the plurality of segment values by continuously rotating several cycles so as to enable a decent performance of an application product, whereby overcoming drawbacks of a traditional switch that is only capable of providing a limited number of switches and a poor performance. Furthermore, the first lighting elements 41 in cooperation with the cover cap 2 allows users to easily recognize where a rotary position is being reached.
It is understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the claims. Thus the present examples and embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative, and not restrictive, of the invention defined by the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102149343 A | Dec 2013 | TW | national |
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| 5581058 | Javery | Dec 1996 | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150187521 A1 | Jul 2015 | US |
