Switch button and method of manufacturing switch button

Details Switch button and method of manufacturing switch button Switch button and method of manufacturing switch button

2001-05-16

2003-10-14

Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)

Electricity: circuit makers and breakers

Electric switch details

Actuators

Reexamination Certificate

active

06633011

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a switch button for use in car audio equipment, air conditioners for vehicles, and so on. More particularly, the present invention relates to a switch button coupled to a supporting member through a hinge, and a method of manufacturing the switch button.
A conventional switch button
51
illustrated in
FIG. 7
is supported in a cantilevered state by a supporting member
53
fixed to a case
52
through a hinge
54
. The switch button
51
, hinge
54
and supporting member
53
are integrally molded using, for example, hard synthetic resins such as ABS resin. The hinge
54
includes a curved portion
54
a
which is formed in an arc shape.
When the switch button
51
is pressed from a direction indicated by an arrow in
FIG. 7
, the curved portion
54
a
of the hinge
54
is deflected, so that the hinge
54
is bent toward the supporting member
53
. This causes the switch button
51
to move from a position indicated by the broken lines to the position indicated by solid lines in FIG.
7
. With this movement, a switch, not shown, arranged behind the switch button
51
(on the right-hand side in
FIG. 7
) is turned on or off.
Also, in another conventional structure illustrated in
FIG. 8
, a switch button
51
is integrally molded, for example, with a hinge
54
and a supporting member
53
. The hinge
54
is formed of a hard synthetic resin such as ABS resin. The switch button
51
is attached for pivotal movement about the axis of the hinge
54
. When one end of the switch button
51
is pressed from above, the hinge
54
is twisted in a direction indicated by an arrow in the figure. This causes the switch button
51
to pivot about the axis of the hinge
54
to turn a switch, not shown, on or off.
The hinges
54
illustrated in
FIGS. 7 and 8
are formed of a hard synthetic resin. The switch buttons
51
are pressed against the resilient forces of the hinges
54
. Therefore, a large pressing force is required for manipulating the switch button
51
, thus poor switch operating response.
Also, in
FIG. 7
, when the switch button
51
is pressed, the switch button
51
pivots about the curved portion
54
a
of the hinge
54
, which acts as a fulcrum. Thus, the direction in which the switch button
51
is pressed is different from the direction in which the switch button
51
actually moves. For this reason, the switch button
51
has a poor operating response.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a switch button that is capable of allowing the user to readily press and comfortably manipulate the button, and a method of manufacturing the switch button.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a switch button coupled to a supporting member through a hinge. The switch button and the hinge are integrally molded using a synthetic resin and an elastomer, respectively, or a synthetic resin and a synthetic rubber, respectively.
The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a switch button. The method comprises injecting a synthetic resin into a first cavity of a mold to mold a switch button, injecting one of elastomer and synthetic rubber into a second-cavity of the mold to form a supporting member, and injecting the elastomer or synthetic rubber into a third cavity in communication with the second cavity to mold a hinge. The hinge is integrally molded with the switch button.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3952175 (1976-04-01), Golbeck et al.
patent: 4855548 (1989-08-01), Curley et al.
patent: 5003140 (1991-03-01), Abell, Jr. et al.
patent: 5422447 (1995-06-01), Spence
patent: 5481074 (1996-01-01), English
patent: 5717429 (1998-02-01), Coulon et al.
patent: 5951349 (1999-09-01), Larose et al.
patent: 5990432 (1999-11-01), Kuroda
patent: 6005209 (1999-12-01), Burleson et al.
patent: 6023033 (2000-02-01), Yagi et al.
patent: 2087154 (1982-05-01), None
patent: 4-315715 (1992-11-01), None
patent: WO 99/10905 (1999-03-01), None

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