Patent Application
20140262712
The present invention relates to a water-proof button assembly and an object with the water-proof button assembly, and more particularly, to a water-proof button assembly with a sealing member which seals the opening when the button is not pressed and contacts the inside of the opening of the seat when the button is pushed.
There are various buttons are installed to different types of devices such as the volume buttons, switch buttons and keypads of electronic devices. In order to prevent water and dust from entering the interior of the device, these buttons are designed to be water-proof. One of the conventional water-proof buttons is disclosed in Taiwan Patent Publication No. 499035, titled “Button structure with dustproof and waterproof function”, which comprises a button connected to a circuit board. and the button has a mediate board, a resilient member and a keypad. The mediate board has a seat and a stepped portion is formed on the top of the seat. The resilient member is mounted to the stepped portion, and the keypad is connected to the resilient member. The keypad has an insertion which is inserted into the seat, and the insertion is in contact with the circuit when the keypad is pressed. The insertion is engaged with the seat when the keypad is released.
However, the resilient member has one end mounted to the stepped portion on the mediate board, and the resilient member tends to shift laterally and disengage from the stepped portion when the keypad is pressed, so that the keypad is difficult to maintain its enclosed feature for dust-proof or water-proof.
Further, the stepped portion on the mediate board, the resilient member and the keypad are exposed beyond the mediate board so that the volume of the button assembly is bulky.
The present invention intends to provide a water-proof button assembly which is compact and prevents water and dust from entering the button assembly.
The present invention relates to a water-proof button assembly and comprises a seat having an opening and an inward protrusion extends inwardly from the inside of the opening. The inward protrusion has a protruding depth “t”. A sealing member is installed in the opening and has a original depth T1. The sealing member has a through hole which is located corresponding to the opening. The through hole is defined by an outer portion which contacts the inward protrusion of the seat. The diameter of the outer portion is S1. A button contacts the sealing member and has a first connection portion which is located corresponding to the through hole. A first contact face of the button is contacted to the top of the sealing member so as to form a sealed status. The diameter of the button is S2 which is smaller than the diameter S1 of the outer portion. A contact member is located corresponding to the button and contacts the inward protrusion. The contact member has a second connection portion which is connected to the first connection portion. A second contact face of the contact member is contacted to the bottom of the inward protrusion so as to form a sealed status. A distance “d” is defined between the first contact face of the button and the second contact face of 0the contact member. The sum of the protruding and original depths “t”, T1 is larger than the distance “d”, such that the sealing member is snugly clamped between the button and the contact member. The sealing member contacts the inward protrusion in the opening.
Preferably, the first connection portion of the button is a rod/protruding portion and the second connection portion of the contact member is a recess with which the first connection portion is engaged.
Preferably, the first connection portion of the button is a recess and the second connection portion of the contact member is a rod/protruding portion which is engaged with the first connection portion.
The present invention also provides an object with a water-proof button assembly, and comprises a housing having a room defined therein. The housing has at least one seat which has an opening communicating with the room. A inward protrusion extends inwardly from the inside of the opening and has a protruding depth “t”. A sealing member is installed in the opening and has a original depth T1. The sealing member has a through hole which is located corresponding to the opening. The through hole is defined by an outer portion and the outer portion contacts the inward protrusion of the at least one seat. The diameter of the outer portion is S1.
A button contacts the sealing member and has a first connection portion which is located corresponding to the through hole. A first contact face of the button is contacted to the top of the sealing member so as to form a sealed status. The diameter of the button is S2 which is smaller than the diameter S1 of the outer portion. A contact member is located corresponding to the button and contacts the inward protrusion. The contact member has a second connection portion which is connected to the first connection portion. A second contact face of the contact member is contacted to the bottom of the inward protrusion so as to form a sealed status. A distance “d” is defined between the first contact face of the button and the second contact face of the contact member. The sum of the protruding and original depths is larger than the distance “d”, such that the sealing member is snugly clamped between the button and the contact member. The sealing member contacts the inward protrusion in the opening.
Preferably, the first connection portion of the button is a rod/protruding portion and the second connection portion of the contact member is a recess with which the first connection portion is engaged.
Preferably, the first connection portion of the button has multiple notches defined in the outside thereof, and the second connection portion of the contact member has multiple ribs defined on the inside thereof, the ribs are engaged with the notches.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide a water-proof button assembly wherein when the button is not pressed, the sealing feature/effect is available. When the button is pressed, the force pushes and expands the outer portion of the sealing member to contact against the inside of the opening of the seat to enhance the sealing effect between the sealing member and the opening. The sealing member provides a bouncing force for returning the button to the initial position.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a water-proof button assembly wherein the sealing member and the button are configured to be installed and accommodated in the opening of the seat, such that the overall volume of the water-proof button assembly is reduced. The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to
A sealing member 2 is installed in the opening 11 and has an original depth T1 without being compressed. The sealing member 2 has a through hole 21 which is located corresponding to the opening 11. The through hole 21 is defined by an outer portion 22, and the outer portion 22 contacts the inward protrusion 12 of the seat 1. The outer diameter of the outer portion 22 is S1 which is located corresponding to the opening 11, so that the outer portion 22 contacts the inside of the opening 11 to form a sealed status.
A button 3 has a first connection portion 31 and a first contact face 32. The first connection portion 31 is located corresponding to the through hole 21. The first contact face 32 is contacted to the top of the sealing member 2 so as to form a sealed status. The outer diameter of the button 3 is S2 which is smaller than the outer diameter S1 of the outer portion 22. A contact member 4 is located corresponding to the button 3.
The contact member 4 has a second connection portion 41 and a second contact face 42. The second connection portion 41 is connected to the first connection portion 31. When the button 3 is not pressed downwardly (as shown in
It is noted that the first connection portion 31 of the button 3 is a protruding portion and the second connection portion 41 of the contact member 4 is a recess with which the first connection portion 31 is engaged (as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
When the user presses the button 3 downward, the sealing member 2 is squeezed and the contact member 4 is lowered and separated from the inward protrusion 12 of the seat 1 so as to contact the target part A. When the button 3 is pressed, because the outer diameter S1 of the outer portion 22 is larger than the outer diameter S2 of the button 3, the pressed force transmitted from the button 3 to the sealing member 2 generates the corresponding bending force and deformation to the outer portion 22. Consequently, the outer portion 22 is expanded outward and contacts against the inside of the opening 11, and the clamped depth T2 of the sealing member is further compressed to a compressed depth T3 (As shown in
As shown in
While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
