Electricity: circuit makers and breakers – Multiple circuit control – Combined pivoted and reciprocating contact
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-29
2001-02-06
Gellner, Michael L. (Department: 2832)
Electricity: circuit makers and breakers
Multiple circuit control
Combined pivoted and reciprocating contact
C200S345000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06184480
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic component that can be operated by revolving the operating portion standing out of front panel of an appliance, and an electronic appliance incorporating the component.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the prevailing trends in the electronic industry for downsizing appliances, a point of issue is in the relative dimensional accuracy of assembly within an appliance incorporating the components.
For example, in a case where operating portion of a component is standing out from appliance body incorporating the component, it is important to make gap between the operating portion and an aperture of front panel as small as possible from the view point of preciseness of an assembly. On the other hand, however, the gap also plays an important role in absorbing relative dislocation between the panel aperture and the electronic component mounted in the appliance. Therefore, there is a limitation in making the gap small.
A conventional technology is described below using a rotary encoder as an example of the above revolving operation electronic component.
FIG. 5
shows a cross sectional front view of a conventional rotary encoder having push-switch function. The upper part of an operating rod
1
is standing out as an operating section
1
A, and a middle column
1
B is supported by a round hole
2
A of a bearing
2
so that it can make revolving and up-down movements. The operating rod
1
is engaged at a non-round column portion
1
C, which is locating lower to the middle column
1
B, with a non-round center opening
3
A of a revolving member
3
so that the two items revolve together, while the operating rod
1
is allowed to make a free up-down motion independently. A washer
4
is provided at the bottom of the non-round column portion
1
C for preventing withdrawal of the operating rod
1
.
On the bottom surface of lower flat portion
3
B of revolving member
3
, a contact board
5
is provided, on which contact board
5
a plurality of line-shaped contact points are disposed in a radial arrangement extending from the center to outside. There are three slider contacts
7
A,
7
B and
7
C popping up from a substrate
6
for keeping an elastic contact with the contact board
5
. First terminals
7
D,
7
E and
7
F, connected to respective contact points of the contact board
5
, are provided at the outside of bottom part.
There are fixed contact points
8
A and
8
B in the center of the substrate
6
, which fixed contact points are connected to second terminals
8
C and
8
D provided at the outside of bottom part. Provided above the fixed contact points
8
A,
8
B is a movable contact plate
9
of domed shape made of a thin metal plate. On the movable contact plate
9
, a drive member
10
is provided to form a push-switch. Pushing portion
1
D of the operating rod
1
keeps contact with the upper surface of the drive member
10
.
The bearing
2
and the substrate
6
are coupled together with a metal frame
11
. A mounting foot
11
A is provided at the bottom of the metal frame
11
to facilitate its mounting on a circuit board.
In a rotary encoder with push-switch having the above structure, a revolving action given to the operating section
1
A of operating rod
1
brings the revolving member
3
to revolve, and the slider contacts
7
A,
7
B,
7
C slide over the surface of contact board
5
, which is disposed on the bottom surface of the flat portion
3
B. The encoder signals are thus generated.
By a press-down action given on the operating rod
1
, the domed movable contact plate
9
contacting to the drive member
10
is reversed to provide electrical contact between the fixed contact points
8
A and
8
B. Thus, it functions as a push-switch.
FIG. 6
is a cross sectional front view showing the relative relationship between front panel of an appliance and operating knob of a rotary encoder mounted therein. The rotary encoder is mounted on a circuit board
14
of an appliance by inserting the mounting foot
11
A, the first terminals
7
D,
7
E,
7
F and the second terminals
8
C,
8
D coming from substrate
6
into corresponding holes of circuit board to be soldered. An operating knob
12
of column shape is put on the operating section
1
A of operating rod
1
, and then the circuit board
14
is installed in the appliance so that the operating knob
12
stands out through an aperture
13
A of front panel
13
.
In the general cases, conventional rotary encoders (the revolving operation electronic components) are first mounted and fixed with solder on a circuit board
14
of appliance, and then the circuit board
14
is installed to a specified place within the appliance. In this case, it is not easy to align the operating knob
12
put on operating rod
1
to the precise location of aperture
13
A of front panel
13
.
If there is a substantial relative dislocation between the operating knob
12
and the aperture
13
A, the operating knob
12
may make contact with the edge of aperture
13
A to a blocked functioning, and a comfortable feeling of operation is injured. In order to avoid this to happen, designers of the appliance are compelled to provide a relatively large clearance between the operating knob
12
and the edge of aperture
13
A. For compact-size appliances such a large aperture gap is not only conspicuous in the appearance, but it also deteriorates the quality level in the appraisal of products.
The present invention aims to improve the above drawbacks and offer a revolving operation electronic component, as well as an appliance incorporating the component; with which the gap between operating knob and aperture edge can be reduced to a minimum without inviting an inconvenience that results from the relative dislocation between operating knob and front panel aperture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A revolving operation electronic component of the present invention comprises a bearing having round hole in the center, a revolving member having in the cylindrical portion a polygonal opening for a section upper than a middle ring-platform, which ring-platform being perpendicular to central axis of the round hole of bearing, and a central opening, whose diameter is greater than that of the polygonal opening, for a section lower than the middle ring-platform, which revolving member being supported at the cylindrical portion by the round hole of the bearing in a freely revolving manner and attached with a contact board on a flat bottom area locating at a level lower than the middle ring-platform, a substrate which contains slider contacts that keep elastic contact with the contact board and is disposed encountering the revolving member, an operating rod having a spherical portion, whose horizontal cross section is a polygon, being engaged with the polygonal opening of the revolving member so that the two items revolve together while the rod is free to make up-down motion independently, which rod further having an operating section above the polygon-spherical portion and a pushing portion at the bottom of the polygon-spherical portion, and a movable contact plate which provides upward pressure to the pushing portion of operating rod so that the upper surface of pushing portion keeps an elastic contact against the middle ring-platform of the revolving member. As the operating rod is engaged at the polygon-spherical portion with the revolving member in the polygonal opening for making the same revolution together, revolving operation can be performed smoothly even if the operating rod is positioned aslant for a certain degree. As the operating rod is always provided with an upward pressure by the spring-back movable contact plate of domed shape, the upper surface of pushing portion of the operating rod is kept pressed to the middle ring-platform of revolving member; so, the operating rod keeps taking an upright position, or the neutral position, unless it is given with a tilting force.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3190085 (1965-06-01), Fillweber
patent: 3916863 (1975-11-01), Hohne et al.
patent: 4439654 (1984-03-01), Bresin
Fukuda Tetsuya
Kataoka Kenji
Nishimoto Takumi
Sato Jun
Gellner Michael L.
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
McDermott & Will & Emery
Nguyen Nhung
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