Push Switch Having a Drive Member Formed Unitarily With the Housing

This invention relates to a push switch which operates when an operating shaft of a rotary variable resistor is pushed axially.

The object of this invention is to provide a push switch with a stable operation, and which has a simple structure with a small number of components. According to the invention, a drive means for deforming a movable contact to close the switch is formed unitarily with the housing for the push switch.

Other objects and important features of this invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention referring to the drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1 (A) and (B) are vertical sectional views showing two states of operation of a push switch 10 of the present invention;

FIG. 2(A) is a plan view of the housing part 11 taken along line II--II of FIG. 1(A);

FIG. 2(B) illustrates the conductive plates 13 and 14 embedded in the housing part 11;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the housing part 12 taken along line III--III of FIG. 1(A);

FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the housing part 12.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the push switch 10 of the present invention is installed at the rear of the housing 1 of a rotary variable resistor having an operating shaft 2 extending rearwardly the housing of the rotary variable resistor. A ring 3 is fixed to said shaft 2 to prevent it from moving fully inwardly of the housing 1 of the rotary variable resistor. This operating shaft 2, when rotated, moves a slider in the variable resistor to set the resistance, and when it is moved in the axial direction operates the push switch 10 of this invention.

The push switch 10 includes two housing parts 11 and 12 made of a synthetic plastic material. The housing part 11 has an annular or ring-shaped surface 11b which is recessed from the surface joining it to the other housing part 12, and a central bottom surface 11c which is further recessed from said ring-shaped surface 11b. Two metal contact plates 13 and 14 are embedded in the housing part 11, by insert molding, as illustrated in FIG. 2(B). Part of a contact plate 13 forms a stationary contact 13a and is exposed at the center of the bottom surface 11c of the housing part 11. The other end of the contact plate 13 protrudes from the housing part 11, and forms a terminal 13b. The other contact plate 14 forms two contacts 14a, which are exposed on the ring-shaped surface 11b of the housing part 11 and joined together as shown in FIG. 2(B). Similarly, the other end of the contact plate 14 protrudes from the housing part 11, and forms a terminal 14b. Holes 11d made in the four corners of the joining surface 11a of the housing part 11 are positioning holes to position the other housing part 12 in place.

The other housing part 12 has a rectangular form of the same dimensions as the housing part 11. Four pins 12b are formed on the surface 12a for joining it to the housing part 11, said pins 12b are fitted into positioning holes 11d on the housing part 11 in order to position the housing parts 11 and 12 in place. A hole 12c is formed at the center of the housing part 12. Said hole 12c has a internal diameter the same as the external diameter of the ring-shaped surface 11b of the housing part 11. A flexible arm 12d is formed on the internal wall of the hole 12c. Said arm 12d is integrally molded with the housing part 12. A drive means 12e is formed on the end of the arm 12d, and a protrusion 12f is formed on the side of the drive means 12e facing the housing part 11. A hole 12g for fitting the protrusion 2a formed on the end of said operation shaft 2 is formed on the other side of the drive means 12e as shown in FIG. 1 (A). A movable contact 15 is inserted between the two housings part 11 and 12 when they are assembled. Said movable contact 15 is made of a thin metal sheet to form a circular shape in a plan view, and as FIG. 1 (A) shows, the center of the movable contact 15 is made bulbous. When no external force is exerted on the central portion of the movable contact, said movable contact 15 maintains the bulbous condition as in FIG. 1 (A), and when the center of the movable contact 15 is pressed, the bulbous condition is reversed as shown in FIG. 1 (B). When the external force is removed after the central condition is reversed, the movable contact 15 returns to its original form by its resiliency. The movable contact 15 is so inserted that its circumference always makes contact with the ring-shaped surface 11b of the housing part 11, and hence the movable contact 15 always makes contact with the joining contacts 14a, and the central part of the movable contact 15 is held against the protrusion 12f formed on the drive means 12e of the housing part 12.

The action and effect of the push switch of the present invention will be understood from the following description:

When no pressure is applied to the operating shaft 2, the switch is under the condition of FIG. 1 (A). That is to say, the movable contact 15 maintains its convex or bulbous form owing to the resiliency of the movable contact 15 itself, and the arm 12d formed in the housing part 12 is in an upright position owing to the resiliency of the arm 12d itself. The operating shaft 2 is urgent to the right of the drawing by the resiliency of the movable contact 15 and the arm 12d, and also by a restoring spring (which is not shown in the drawing) used in the variable resistor when required, and the ring 3 is in contact with the rear surface 1a of the housing 1 of the variable resistor. Under this condition, the movable contact 15 is not in contact with the stationary contact 13a and hence the two contact plates 13 and 14 are not electrically connected and the switch is off.

When the operating shaft 2 is pushed to the left in the drawing, the arm 12d is deformed and the drive means 12e fixed on the end of the operating shaft 2 pushes the central part of the movable contact 15. Therefore, as FIG. 1 (B) shows, the convex or bulbous form of the movable contact 15 is reversed, and the center of the movable contact 15 makes contact with the stationary contact 13a. In this condition the contacts 14a and the stationary contact 13a are electrically connected through the movable contact 15, and the switch is on. When the external force on the operating shaft 2 is removed under the condition of FIG. 1 (B), the operating shaft 2 returns to the condition of FIG. 1 (A) owing to the restoring force of the movable contact 15 and the arm 12d (and the restoring force of any supplementary spring).

Although the switch shown in FIG. 3 has one arm 12d, a plurality of arms may be radially formed as shown in FIG. 4. In this case, the arms 12h are bent so that the drive means 12e can move horizontally with axial movement of the operating shaft 2.

According to the present invention, as described above, a flexible arm is unitarily formed with a housing part and a drive means for pushing the movable contact is formed on the end of said arm. Therefore, there is no need to make the drive means separate, and the number of components can be reduced. Also during assembly no process for assembling the drive means is required, shortening the assembly time and facilitating the assembly of small push switches. Furthermore, since the drive means operates under the condition that it is supported by the arm, no failures in operation will occur. If the arm is formed so as to have a constant resiliency, the drive means returns surely by the restoring force of the arm, and the operation of the switch is stabilized and the reliability of the switch is increased.