Electricity: circuit makers and breakers – Electric switch details – Actuators
Reexamination Certificate
2003-10-08
2004-08-10
Donovan, Lincoln (Department: 2832)
Electricity: circuit makers and breakers
Electric switch details
Actuators
C200S553000, C200S329000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06774329
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch device for rotating and stopping a window-opening/closing direct-current motor for a vehicle such as an automobile or a direct-current motor in the similar application, and more particularly to a switch device suitably applicable to a direct-current motor to operate on high power voltage (e.g. 42V-based electrical system).
2. Description of the Related Art
The 14V-based electric systems are employed on the existing automobiles. However, the 14V-based system in the recent situation cannot afford to supply consuming power because of the increasing number of mounting electronic apparatuses and devices. In an attempt to eliminate this, discussions have been continued globally in the forms of industry-university consortiums and the like. As a result, a consensus has been gained by adopting a treble high-voltage system, or “42V-based” electrical system, wherein the safety to the human body is taken into account.
The electrical devices operable on 42V-based electrical system include a window operating/closing direct-current motor built within the door (so-called a power-window driving direct-current motor), for example.
FIG. 8A
is a structural view of a conventional switch device for rotating (forward/reverse) and stopping a window-opening/closing direct-current motor while
FIG. 8B
is a circuit diagram of the same (see Non-patent Document
1
, for example).
This switch device
1
is arranged on an armrest or the like provided on an interior side of the door at the vehicular front or rear seat. The switch device
1
of the figure is shown a state that the power-window driving direct-current motor (hereinafter referred to as “direct-current motor)
2
is in a standstill. Namely, shown is the state that the knob
3
is not operated by a vehicular passenger. Hereinafter, this state is referred to as a “neutral state”.
The knob
3
is arranged on a case
4
on the door side, for rotation by a predetermined angle in a clockwise and counter clockwise direction of the figure. When the knob
3
is moved clockwise, the window closes (hereinafter referred to as “UP state”). When it is moved counter clockwise, the window opens (hereinafter referred to as “DOWN state”). In case the operating force applied to the knob
3
is canceled (releasing the finger), it returns to the neutral state by the action of the spring
5
and plunger
6
buried within the knob
3
, maintaining the neutral state from then on.
The lower projection
7
of knob
3
extending within the case
4
assumes the shown position when the knob
3
is in the neutral state. When the knob
3
is placed in the UP state, it swings leftward of the figure (see FIG.
10
A). When the knob
3
is placed in the DOWN state, it swings rightward of the figure (not shown).
Within the case
4
, there is provided a switch unit
9
mounted on a printed board
8
. This switch unit
9
is to function as a “2-circuit 2 contact” switch of a momentary type, the exterior view of which is shown in
FIGS. 9A
to
9
D. The switch
9
has two common terminals
11
,
12
extended from one side surface of the housing
10
, one normally-open terminal
13
extended from the other side surface of the housing
10
, and two normally-close terminals
14
,
15
extended from the bottom surface of the housing
10
. These terminals
11
-
15
are soldered on a required conductor circuit formed on the printed board
8
, and connected to a power line (hereinafter referred to as “+B line”)
17
, a ground line
18
and the direct-current motor
2
. Thus, the configuration of a circuit diagram of
FIG. 8B
is realized.
Within the switch unit
9
, two circuits of switches A, B are mounted as shown in FIG.
8
B. These switches A, B is exclusively switched over depending upon a slide position of the slider
28
arranged on an upper surface of the switch unit
9
. Incidentally, “exclusively switched over” means that the NC (normally-close) contact of one of the switches A and B only is put in an open state (in other words, the NO (normally-open) contact of that switch only is put in a close state).
Specifically, when the slider
28
is in the position of the figure (in the “neutral state”), the switch A is in a close state at between a movable contact
19
and an NC contact
23
while the switch B is at between a movable contact
20
and an NC contact
24
. In this state, the switches A, B assume states as per the names (NO→normally open, NC→normally close) at NO contacts
21
,
22
and NC contacts
23
,
24
in two sets. However, when the slider
28
moves in a direction of the leftward arrow L in
FIG. 9A
(in the “UP state”), the switch B is maintained in the close state at between movable contact
20
and NC contact
24
. Furthermore, the switch A is canceled of the close state at NC contact
23
, into newly a close state at between movable contact
19
and NO contact
21
. Meanwhile, when the slider
28
moves in a direction of the rightward arrow R in
FIG. 9A
(in the “DOWN state”), the switch A is maintained in the close state at between movable contact
19
and NC contact
24
. Furthermore, the switch B is canceled of the close state at NC contact
24
, into newly a close state at between movable contact
20
and NO contact
22
.
The switching action like this is caused by movement of the slider
28
and an underside geometry of the slider
28
.
FIG. 9C
is an X—X sectional view of the slider
28
while
FIG. 9D
is a Y—Y sectional view of the slider
28
. The slider
28
in the X—X section is formed thick-walled in the right half thereof while the slider
28
in the Y—Y section is formed thick-walled in the left half thereof. As will be apparent from the below explanation, the switches A and B are exclusively switched over depending upon a positional relationship of the thick-walled part.
Incidentally,
FIG. 8A
depicts only one of the common terminals
11
,
12
and one of the normally-close terminals
14
,
15
. This is because the terminals are arranged front and rear on the figure, wherein the terminal on the rear is hidden invisible by the front terminal.
As explained before, the switch unit
9
functions as a “2-circuit 2-contact” switch of a momentary type. Namely, the movable contacts
19
,
20
, the NO contacts
21
,
22
and the NC contacts
23
,
24
are respectively connected to the common terminals
11
,
12
, the normally-open terminals
13
and the normally-close terminals
14
,
15
, thereby exclusively enabling contact-switching of two circuit
5
(switching between the movable contact
19
, the NO contact
21
and the NC contact
23
, and switching between the movable contact
20
, the NO contact
22
and the NC contact
24
).
The movable contact
19
,
20
is attached on a tip of a metal-make spring leaf movable piece
25
,
26
. The metal-make spring leaf movable piece
25
,
26
is made to be urged downward in the figure by a push button
27
A,
27
B (the push button
27
A is for the switch A, the push button
27
B is for the switch B). The push button
27
A,
27
B is in abutment against an underside of the slider
28
(see
FIGS. 9A
to
9
D) movable laterally in the figure. As shown in
FIG. 10A
, as slider
28
moves left in the figure, the push button
27
A only can be separately pressed down along the underside geometry (thick-walled part) of the slider
28
. Meanwhile, the upper projection
29
of the slider
28
is engaged with the tip of a lower projection of the knob
3
. The slider
28
follows the lower projection
7
of knob
3
swinging left and right (UP and DOWN states), to slide in the left and right direction in the figure.
Accordingly, in the switch device
1
, when the knob
3
is pulled up into the UP state, the slider
28
slides leftward. The push button
27
A, abutting against the thick-walled part of slider
28
with respect to its X—X section, moves down. The switch A is placed into an open state at its movable contact
19
and NC contact
23
, while the same switch A is placed in a close state at
Miyoshi Tetsuhiko
Shimizu Keiichi
Tanaka Yasuhide
Donovan Lincoln
Lee K.
Omron Corporation
Osha & May L.L.P.
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