Electricity: circuit makers and breakers – Multiple circuit control – Combined pivoted and reciprocating contact
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-29
2002-05-28
Friedhofer, Michael (Department: 2832)
Electricity: circuit makers and breakers
Multiple circuit control
Combined pivoted and reciprocating contact
C200S0110TC
Reexamination Certificate
active
06396006
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a push and rotary operating type electronic device equipped mainly in electronic equipment of various kinds, and capable of obtaining predetermined output signals, each corresponding to a rotating manipulation and a pushing manipulation of an operating knob. The invention also relates to communication terminal equipment using this push and rotary operating type electronic device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There has been increasing a number of electronic components having a variety of functions in recent years, with an advancement of electronic equipment of many kinds toward downsizing and higher performance. Among portable type communication terminal equipment, in particular, there has been an increase in number of the equipment, in which certain predetermined operations can be carried out by making a rotating manipulation as well as a pushing manipulation of a single operating knob. A demand has risen for the push and rotary operating type electronic device having such a function.
In order to comply with the foregoing demand, the applicant of the invention has proposed a rotary operating type electronic component equipped with a push switch as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication, Number H09-7462. With reference to FIG.
11
through
FIG. 17
, content of the publication will be described hereinafter, using a rotary operating type encoder equipped with a push switch as an example.
This rotary operation type encoder equipped with a push switch has a mount substrate
2
made of molding resin provided with three flexible contact legs
1
(
1
A,
1
B and
1
C) and a circular hole
2
A, as shown in a plan view of FIG.
11
and cross sectional views of FIG.
12
and FIG.
13
. The mount substrate
2
supports an actuating plate
3
in a swingable manner by holding a supporting column
3
A in a circular cross section of the actuating plate
3
inserted in the circular hole
2
A at a side of the mount substrate
2
. In addition, a movable contact body
5
having a radially oriented contact plate
4
, which is in contact resiliently with the flexible contact legs
1
, is connected to and held rotatably by a cylindrical supporting column
3
B on the actuating plate
3
. A rotary encoder unit
6
(hereafter referred to as “encoder unit
6
”) is constructed of the above-described flexible contact legs
1
and the radially oriented contact plate
4
.
A spring body
7
made of thin resilient metal sheet and a washer
8
are disposed on an upper portion of the supporting column
3
B where the movable contact body
5
is rotatably connected, and they are caulkingly fixed upon an end of the supporting column
3
B. A discoidal operating knob
9
is installed in a manner to cover an upper part of the supporting column
3
B, and that it is rotatable with the movable contact body
5
. The movable contact body
5
, or the discoidal operating knob
9
, stays still under an ordinary state, as a flexible detent
7
A of the spring body
7
fits in a ditch of radially oriented ditches and ridges SA (refer to a perspective view in
FIG. 14
) provided in an upper surface of the movable contact body
5
.
The radially-oriented contact plate
4
, with which three flexible contact legs
1
A,
1
B and
1
C stay in resilient contact, has such a shape that linear-shaped contact portions
4
B and insulated surfaces
4
C are arranged alternately, as the linear-shape contact portions
4
B are extended radially at regular angles from a central circular contact portion
4
A, as shown in FIG.
11
. The flexible contact leg
1
A makes a resilient contact with the central circular contact portion
4
A to serve as a common contact. The flexible contact legs
1
B and
1
C make resilient contact with the linear-shaped contact portions
4
B and insulated surfaces
4
C at positions slightly shifted in angle between them, so as to produce pulse signals having a difference in phase between them and the flexible contact leg
1
A, i.e. the common contact. The flexible contact legs
1
B and
1
C stay still on one of the insulated surfaces
4
C under the ordinary state as noted above, therefore the output signal of the encoder unit
6
remains turned off.
On the other hand, a push switch unit
12
(hereafter referred to as “switch unit
12
”) is disposed in a recess
11
having a back wall
10
(refer to a general perspective view of the mount substrate in
FIG. 15
) at one end of the mount substrate
2
. A switch push head
3
C provided on the actuating plate
3
is biased in a direction away from the switch unit
12
, under the ordinary state, as it is pushed horizontally by a twisted coil spring
14
positioned in a pin stud
13
on the mount substrate
2
.
FIG. 16
shows an example wherein the conventional rotary operating type encoder equipped with a push switch constructed as above is installed in communication terminal equipment. Supporting legs
2
B under the mount substrate
2
, terminals
15
connected to the flexible contact legs
1
of the encoder unit
6
and a terminal
16
of the switch unit
12
are inserted through mounting holes
18
,
19
and
20
in a printed circuit board
17
of the equipment, and connected by soldering. The rotary operating type encoder is thus installed in a manner that the discoidal operating knob
9
mounted on the movable contact body
5
projects outward from a space in an outer case
21
of the communication terminal equipment at an opposite side of the switch unit
12
.
Describing next is an operation of the conventional rotary operating type encoder equipped with a push switch constructed as above. When a projecting portion
9
A of the discoidal operating knob
9
on the outer case
21
is rotated with a force applied in a tangential direction as shown by an arrow in
FIG. 11
, the movable contact body
5
rotates around the supporting column
3
B of the actuating plate
3
as a center. This causes the flexible contact legs
1
A,
1
B and
1
C on the mount substrate
2
to slide over the radially oriented contact plate
4
on an underside surface of the movable contact body
5
, and produces an electric signal. This signal is lead to an outside by the integral terminals
15
of the flexible contact legs
1
, and transferred to a circuit on the printed circuit board
17
in the communication terminal equipment. When the projecting portion
9
A of the discoidal operating knob
9
is given a depressing force in a direction toward a center of the operating knob (direction of an arrow H
1
) against a biasing force of the twisted coil spring
14
on the mount substrate
2
, as shown in
FIG. 17
, the actuating plate
3
, i.e. the whole movable contact body
5
, swings in a direction of an arrow H
2
around the circular hole
2
A of the mount substrate
2
. This causes the switch push head
3
C on the actuating plate
3
to push an operating button
12
A of the switch unit
12
, thereby operating the switch unit
12
to make en electrical connection between predetermined circuits on the printed circuit board
17
. When the depressing force given to the discoidal operating knob
9
is removed, the actuating plate
3
is pushed back by a restoring force of the twisted coil spring
14
on the mount substrate
2
, and the switch unit
12
resumes the state of
FIG. 11
, that is the OFF position.
However, the conventional rotary operating type encoder equipped with a push switch (push and rotary operating type electronic device) having the foregoing structure is such that the encoder unit
6
and the switch unit
12
are separately disposed in parallel on one of surfaces of the mount substrate
2
. Therefore, although a thickness can be reduced, it increases a projected area, which makes it difficult to secure a space for mounting this device, as downsizing of the communication terminal equipment continues advancing. The device also bears a possibility of being operated erroneously, since a small force is applied in a direction of the arrow HI shown in
FIG. 17
, i.e. the direction of depressing manipulation, during a rotat
Matsui Hiroshi
Tamano Koji
Yokoji Shigeru
Friedhofer Michael
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Ratner & Prestia
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