Patent Application
20150221462
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch mechanism, and more particularly to a rotary switch mechanism having a mechanical structure and being capable of generating different coding signals by continuous rotation thereof.
2. Related Art
Generally, a rotary switch is often provided for 3C electronic products, communication devices, or home appliance. The rotary switch is intended to switch a power supply and to adjust the volume of the power supply of an application product so as to modulate operation speed, power, or other functions thereof, for example, rotational speed of a fan, temperature of an air conditioner, volume of a radio, brightness of a light, and a signal strength of a wireless radio.
As is well known that a traditional mechanical switch includes a main body and a rotary element pivotally installed in the main body for rotating, wherein rotation of the rotary element is positioned by a metal elastic plate propping against the rotary element. However, the metal elastic plate is a cantilever structure which tends to become elastic fatigue after use for a certain time and thus enables an ineffective engagement of the metal elastic plate and the rotary element. Besides, one end of the cantilever elastic plate is generally soldered to the main body or fixedly in the main body, another end of the cantilever elastic plate props against the rotary element. Due to repeatedly bending of the cantilever elastic plate, the cantilever elastic plate tends to come off from the main body or to be deformed. Furthermore, differing from a dip switch or a knife switch, a rotary switch is mainly intended to provide multistage switches along a rotation path to control an application product, such as controlling brightness or volume. However, a traditional mechanical rotary switch only is only capable of providing a limited number of stages for switching. In other words, for a cycle of 360 degrees of a rotation, the traditional mechanical rotary switch is merely allowed to rotate with one cycle for controlling functions of an application product, and a continuous rotation cannot provide further switches for controlling the application product, and thus the application product is not possible to perform perfectly.
An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary switch mechanism having a simple structure and capable of being precisely rotated in place.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rotary switch mechanism being capable of continuously rotating to generate different coding signals.
To achieve the above objects, the rotary switch mechanism of the present invention includes abase seat comprising a shaft, at least a restraining portion, and a round track portion, the shaft and the restraining portion respectively extending upwards out of a surface of the base seat and spaced apart from each other, and the round track portion disposed around the shaft between the shaft and the restraining portion; a rotary element pivotally mounted onto the shaft, an interference teeth portion formed on a periphery of the rotary element above the round track portion; a resilient element of which one end is connected to the restraining portion, and another end of the resilient element extending out of the restraining portion and resiliently engaging with the interference teeth portion; a cover covering the interference teeth portion and the restraining portion; a plurality of conductive terminals disposed under and around the base seat, one end of each of the conductive terminals extending out of the base seat to form a soldering portion; a contact element mounted to a bottom of the rotary element between the plurality of conductive terminals and the base seat, the contact element comprising a plurality of contact arms for electrically connecting the plurality of conductive terminals; and a circuit module disposed below the base seat and electrically connected with the plurality of conductive terminals where the plurality of conductive terminals penetrate the circuit module, the circuit module at least comprising a base plate and multiple pins, and the multiple pins extending out of the base plate so as to electrically contact a circuit board.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the resilient element comprises a spring and an engaging head, one end of the spring fixed in the restraining portion of the base seat, another end of the spring propping against the engaging head, the engaging head intended to be engageable with the interference teeth portion, the interference teeth portion having multiple tooth faces and tooth grooves arranged at a same plane, the engaging head being depressable to move towards an inner portion of the restraining portion in conjunction with the rotation of the interference teeth portion, and when the rotary element rotates in place, the spring props the engaging head against one of the tooth grooves.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the signals are coded 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.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the rotary element further comprises a position indicating portion formed on one end of the rotary element opposite to the interference teeth portion for indicating a position where the rotary element is being rotated.
With the above-mentioned structure, the rotary element is pivotally rotatable about the shaft along the round track portion, and the contact element and the interference teeth portion being capable of rotating in conjunction with the rotary element whereby enabling the plurality of contact arms of the contact element to electrically contact the plurality of conductive terminals along the round track portion so as to generate electrical signals which are then being transmitted to the circuit module for coding signals, the resilient element being deformed and stretching backwards in conjunction with rotation of the interference teeth portion, and the resilient element returns to an original position to engage with the interference teeth portion when the rotary element rotates in position.
Accordingly, the rotary switch mechanism of the present invention utilizes the engagement of the resilient element and the interference teeth portion of the rotary element to position the rotation of the rotary element, and utilizes the circuit module to divide the maximum power supply into the plurality of segment values and generate a coding signal according to each position of the rotation of the rotary element that corresponds to a respective segment value. Therefore, the rotary switch mechanism is capable of reaching each one of the plurality of segment values by continuously rotating several cycles and not tends to be broken. Furthermore, the plurality of segment values of the power supply enables 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.
A rotary switch mechanism 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 rotary element 3 is pivotally mounted onto the shaft 21. An interference teeth portion 31 is formed on a periphery of a bottom of the rotary element 3 above the round track portion 23. The interference teeth portion 31 has multiple tooth faces 311 and tooth grooves 312 formed between each two adjacent tooth faces 311. In the preferable embodiment, the multiple tooth faces 311 and the tooth grooves 312 cooperatively form a continuously curved face and are arranged on a same plane for facilitating the interference engagement with the resilient element 25. The rotary element 3 is located on the round track portion 23 and is pivotally rotatable about the shaft 21 along the round track portion 23 in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction.
As shown in
As shown in
The circuit module 6 at least comprises a base plate 61, multiple pins 62, multiple through holes 63, and is integrated with a control circuit, wherein the multiple pins 62 extend out of the base plate 61 so as to electrically contact the circuit board. In assembly, the circuit board 6 is disposed under the base seat 2, with the multiple through holes 63 pass through the soldering portions 242 the plurality of conductive terminals 24 (as shown in
The rotary switch mechanism 1 of the present invention is advantageous over a traditional mechanical rotary switch that the circuit module 6 is utilized to accept a predetermined maximum power supply which is capable of being divided into a plurality of segment values by the control circuit. For example, if an application product is an electronic lighting device (not shown) capable of operating 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 10 segment values. More specifically, a rotation of one cycle of the rotary switch mechanism 1 is defined to provide switches of 8 stages. Therefore, rotating one and one fourth cycles of the rotary element 3 is capable of reaching the maximum power supply for 10 stages. Accordingly, multistage switches of the rotary switch mechanism 1 enable a decent performance of the electronic lighting device that the brightness can be changed in great gradation or the volume can be adjusted more precisely.
Particularly, the resilient element 25 comprises a spring 251 and an engaging head 252 which is made of metal and has an arc face. One end of the spring 251 is fixed in the restraining portion 221 of the base seat 2, and another end of the spring 251 props the engaging head 252 against the interference teeth portion 31 in a horizontal direction.
Further referring to
As described above, the rotation of the rotary element 3 at each one of the tooth grooves 312 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 3 is capable of continuously rotating multiple cycles to reach either one of the plurality of segment values.
Furthermore, the signals coded by the circuit module 6 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 switch mechanism 1 is capable of controlling an application product more precisely than a traditional mechanical rotary switch.
Referring to
In particular, in order for a user to easily and clearly recognize a position where the rotary element 3 is being rotated, the rotary element 3 further comprises a position indicating portion 32 formed on one end of the rotary element 3 opposite to the interference teeth portion 31. In a practical use, the position indicating portion 32 is coated with reflective paint for explicitly indication. Alternatively, the position indicating portion 32 is installed with a second LED 321 which is lighting along the rotation of the rotary element 3 and is lighting in different colors for distinguishing clockwise rotation from counterclockwise rotation.
Accordingly, the rotary switch mechanism 1 of the present invention utilizes the engagement of the resilient element 25 and the interference teeth portion 31 of the rotary element 3 to position the rotation of the rotary element 3, and utilizes the circuit module 6 to divide the maximum power supply into the plurality of segment values and generate a coding signal according to each position of the rotation of the rotary element that corresponds to a respective segment value. Therefore, the rotary switch mechanism 1 is capable of reaching each one of the plurality of segment values by continuously rotating several cycles and not tends to be broken. Furthermore, the plurality of segment values of the power supply enables 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.
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.
