EP3493232B1 - Drip-proof structure of electronic component - Google Patents
Drip-proof structure of electronic component Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3493232B1 EP3493232B1 EP17834163.2A EP17834163A EP3493232B1 EP 3493232 B1 EP3493232 B1 EP 3493232B1 EP 17834163 A EP17834163 A EP 17834163A EP 3493232 B1 EP3493232 B1 EP 3493232B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- drip
- case
- proof
- rotary body
- electronic component
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Active
Links
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- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 description 5
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Images
Classifications
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H9/00—Details of switching devices, not covered by groups H01H1/00 - H01H7/00
- H01H9/02—Bases, casings, or covers
- H01H9/04—Dustproof, splashproof, drip-proof, waterproof, or flameproof casings
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H19/00—Switches operated by an operating part which is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof and which is acted upon directly by a solid body external to the switch, e.g. by a hand
- H01H19/001—Thumb wheel switches
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H19/00—Switches operated by an operating part which is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof and which is acted upon directly by a solid body external to the switch, e.g. by a hand
- H01H19/02—Details
- H01H19/10—Movable parts; Contacts mounted thereon
- H01H19/14—Operating parts, e.g. turn knob
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H19/00—Switches operated by an operating part which is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof and which is acted upon directly by a solid body external to the switch, e.g. by a hand
- H01H19/02—Details
- H01H19/04—Cases; Covers
- H01H19/06—Dustproof, splashproof, drip-proof, waterproof, or flameproof casings
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a drip-proof structure of an electronic component.
- a rotary electronic component in which a portion of an outer periphery of a rotary body of is exposed as an operating portion to the outside through an opening provided on an outer case, and an electrical function portion in a main case is driven by rotationally operating the operating portion with a finger etc. so as to cause a change in an output from the electrical function portion.
- a drip-proof structure of an electronic component in which a rubbery drip-proof sheet is installed so as to seal a gap between the opening and the rotary body to prevent a liquid from entering through the gap between the opening and the rotary body to contact with the electrical function portion (see, e.g., JP 2011/134573 A ).
- Another drip-proof structure of an electronic component is known in which an electrical function portion is covered with a waterproof case etc. to prevent liquid from contacting with the electrical function portion (see, e.g., JP 2010/9937 A ).
- US 3 809 830 A discloses a thumb selector switch structure which is particularly suitable for use in corrosive or dusty environments.
- the selector switch includes a printed circuit panel having an angularly encoded conductive pattern printed thereon.
- a rotatable contact carrying indicia wheel is rotatably mounted to the printed circuit panel so that the contacts carried by the indicia wheel selectively engage various portions of the angularly encoded printed circuit pattern, thereby producing digital output signals in response to the rotation of the contact carrying wheel.
- the contact carrying wheel is permanently hermetically sealed to the printed circuit board by means of a clear plastic casing.
- An actuator wheel is provided for rotating the indicia and contact carrying wheel.
- a suitable housing having a detent spring mounted therein is provided to enclose the above described structure.
- WO 2015/087366 A1 discloses a component to effectively carry out waterproofing, while avoiding cramping an internal space to the extent it is possible to do so.
- the component is provided with: a light source ; a moveable part having a first window; a circuit board; and a housing in which is formed an opening through which the surface of the moving part protrudes.
- the housing in combination with the moveable part, has dividing walls for dividing the internal space of the housing into a first space and a second space. The dividing walls support the moveable part, and the light source illuminates the first window through a portion of the dividing walls, which are formed by transmissive members.
- the drip-proof structure of an electronic component disclosed in JP 2011/134573 A may be poor in operability of the operating portion since the rubbery drip-proof sheet is in contact with the rotary body.
- a drip-proof structure of an electronic component can be provided that is effective in drip-proofness and excellent in operability of the operating portion and allows downsizing of the component.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electronic component (hereinafter, referred to as "rotary electronic component") 1 configured using an embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the rotary electronic component 1 (a cross section taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1 )
- FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main unit 10, a cover 300 and drip-proof members (hereinafter, referred to as "packings") 250 that constitute the rotary electronic component 1
- FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a process of attaching the packings 250 and the cover 300 to the main unit 10
- FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the main unit 10
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electronic component (hereinafter, referred to as "rotary electronic component") 1 configured using an embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the rotary electronic component 1 (a cross section taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1 )
- FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main
- FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the main unit 10 when viewed at another angle.
- the rotary electronic component 1 is provided with the main unit 10 housing various parts, and the cover 300 covering a surface of the main unit 10 on the side where an rotary body (hereinafter, referred to as operating knob 100) protrudes.
- operating knob 100 an rotary body
- “upper/upward” is a direction to view the cover 300 from the main unit 10
- “lower/downward” is a direction opposite thereto.
- front/forward is a direction to view the operating knob 100 from a first case 20 (described later)
- “rear/rearward” is a direction to view a circuit board 160 (described later) from the first case 20.
- the main unit 10 is configured that the operating knob 100 as a rotary body, with a sliding piece 130 attached thereto, is housed between the first case 20 and a second case 70, a terminal unit 140 is housed in the first case 20 on the opposite side, and the circuit board 160, a light guide 190 and a third case 220 are provided thereon.
- the rotary electronic component 1 is formed by attaching the packings 250 and the cover 300 to the main unit 10.
- the first case 20 is a molded article formed by molding a synthetic resin into a substantially rectangular box shape, and has a substantially cylindrical bearing 21 at the upper center, a first housing portion 23 as a recess provided on the operating knob 100 side of the bearing 21, and a second housing portion 25 as a recess provided on the circuit board 160 side.
- An arc surface portion of the bearing 21 at the middle of the upper surface and the upper surface portions located on right and left sides of the arc surface portion and protruding toward the first housing portion 23 serve as drip-proof member-mounting surfaces (hereinafter, referred to as "packing mounting surfaces”) 33 (33a to 33c), where the arc surface portion is defined as a bearing-side drip-proof member-mounting surface 33a, and linear portions on both sides thereof are defined as right- and left-side packing mounting surfaces 33b and 33c.
- a pair of right and left stopper engaging portions 35 are formed, which butt against a stopper 129 of the operating knob 100 (described later) and prevent the stopper 129 from moving upward therebeyond.
- a click engaging portion composed of raised and recessed portions along an arc direction (a direction of the arc along which a click ball 127 moves (described later)) is formed in the first housing portion 23 at a lower portion (at a position facing the click ball 127) of a surface on which the bearing 21 is provided.
- the second case 70 is formed in a single piece by molding a synthetic resin and has a case main body 71 having a substantially rectangular plate shape and a circular plate-shaped knob supporting portion 73 which protrudes from the upper center of the case main body 71 toward the operating knob 100.
- the knob supporting portion 73 is configured that an outer peripheral portion protruding from a surface on the operating knob 100 side is a cylindrical protruding portion 74 constituting a part of the drip-proof portion, and a protruding portion 75 having a bottomed cylinder shape is provided at the center inside the protruding portion 74.
- a pair of engaging claws 77 protrude from both right and left side edges of the case main body 71 toward the operating knob 100.
- the engaging claws 77 are flat plate-shaped members on which the claw portions 79 are provided near the end portions on both outer sides (only one claw portion 79 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 ).
- the upper surface of the case main body 71 serves as a non-bearing-side packing mounting surface 81 to be in contact with the packing 250 (described later).
- the operating knob 100 is a molded article of a synthetic resin and is formed by comolding a transparent material and an opaque material.
- the operating knob 100 has a substantially circular-plate shape and is configured that the circular outer circumferential surface thereof serves as an operating portion 101.
- a circular recessed portion 103 constituting a part of the drip-proof portion is provided on a surface of the operating knob 100 facing the second case 70, and two cylindrical protruding portions 105 and 107 are concentrically provided and protrude in the recessed portion 103.
- a circular recessed portion between the two protruding portions 105 and 107 is an insertion portion (recess) 109 into which the protruding portion 75 of the second case 70 is inserted.
- the protruding portion 74 of the knob supporting portion 73 of the second case 70 is also inserted into the recessed portion 103.
- the drip-proof portion by a male-female interlocking connection between the protruding portion 74 and the recessed portion 103 is thereby formed.
- the recessed portion in the middle of the protruding portion 107 has a bottom surface which is recessed in a substantially cone shape and serves as a light-reflecting surface 110.
- a shaft portion 111 having a substantially circular-columnar shape protrudes from the center of a side surface (a surface facing the first case 20) of a main body 100a of the operating knob 100.
- An upper surface of the shaft portion 111 serves as a sliding piece attachment portion 113, and a truncated cone-shaped light-guiding protrusion 115 is further provided and protrudes from the center of the sliding piece attachment portion 113.
- An end face of the light-guiding protrusion 115 serves as a light introducing surface 117.
- Sliding piece attaching protrusions 119 formed of small pieces sticking out are formed on the sliding piece attachment portion 113.
- a ring-shaped drip-proof recess 121 is formed around the shaft portion 111.
- a click mechanism housing portion 123 formed of a bottomed circular hole is formed on the operating knob 100 at an outer peripheral portion of a surface facing the first case 20.
- a coil spring 125 and the click ball 127 are housed in the click mechanism housing portion 123.
- a portion around the click mechanism housing portion 123 bulges outward from the outer periphery of the operating knob 100 and the bulging portion serves as the stopper 129.
- the operating knob 100 is formed by molding two types of resins A1 and A2 into a single piece, as shown in FIG. 2 .
- the resin A1 is a transparent resin and the resin A2 is an opaque resin.
- the whole transparent resin A1 constitutes a light guide and is molded so that the circular outer circumferential surface of the operating portion 101 is optically coupled to the light introducing surface 117 of the light-guiding protrusion 115.
- the sliding piece 130 is formed of an elastic metal plate and is provided with a base portion 131 and arch-shaped arm portions 133 protruding from an outer surface of the base portion 131 and having a shape with U-turn at a root portion.
- a contact portion 135 which is curved and protrudes toward the circuit board 160 is formed at the center of each arm portion 133.
- Attachment holes 137 formed of small holes are also provided on the base portion 131.
- the terminal unit 140 is formed by insert molding in which six metal-plate terminals 141 are molded in a substantially rectangular terminal case 143 consisting of a molding resin and a terminal holding case 145 having a substantially rectangular-prism shape.
- Each terminal 141 is arranged such that one end protrudes from a rear surface of the terminal case 143 so that the six ends are aligned in a row, and the other end protrudes from a side surface of the terminal case 143, is bent downward, is fixed by the terminal holding case 145 and then protrudes from a lower surface of the terminal holding case 145 so that the six ends are aligned in a row.
- the circuit board 160 is configured that a circular through-hole 163 is provided at an upper portion of an insulating substrate 161 formed of a substantially rectangular hard plate, a sliding contact pattern 165 to be in sliding contact with the contact portions 135 of the sliding piece 130 is formed on a front surface of the insulating substrate 161 around the circular through-hole 163, six terminal insertion holes 167 formed of small holes for inserting one ends of the terminals 141 are formed horizontally in a row on the insulating substrate 161 in the vicinity of the lower edge, a light-emitting element 169 is attached to the rear surface of the insulating substrate 161 so as to be located below the through-hole 163, and various other electronic parts 171 are attached to predetermined positions.
- a circuit pattern (not shown) is formed on the insulating substrate 161 to electrically connect between the sliding contact pattern 165, the light-emitting element 169, the various other electronic parts 171 and the terminals 141 inserted into the terminal insertion holes 167.
- Various patterns such as switch pattern or resistor pattern can be used as the sliding contact pattern 165.
- the light guide 190 is formed in a single piece by molding a transparent synthetic resin into a substantially rectangular box shape having an opening on the front side.
- the light guide 190 On the front side, the light guide 190 has a substrate housing portion 191 having a recessed shape, and a circular-columnar protruding portion 193 protrudes from an upper portion of the bottom surface of the substrate housing portion 191.
- the substrate housing portion 191 is formed in a shape capable of housing and covering the entire circuit board 160.
- the protruding portion 193 has a size capable of being inserted into the through-hole 163 of the circuit board 160 and is configured that an end face serves as a light-emitting surface 195.
- the upper surface of the light guide 190 also serves as a light-emitting surface 197.
- the third case 220 is formed in an outer shape which is a substantially rectangular plate shape and substantially covers the rear surface of the first case 20.
- a pair of engaging claws 221 protrude from both right and left sides of the third case 220 toward the first case.
- the engaging claws 221 are flat plate-shaped members on which the claw portions 223 are provided near the end portions on both outer sides.
- the packings 250 are formed of an elastic body such as elastomer into a substantially rectangular ring-shape with a circular cross section and form a shape in which the front side and the right and left sides are linear and the rear side has a curved portion which is curved upward in an arc shape.
- a portion having the arc-shaped curved portion is defined as a bearing-side packing 250a
- portions on the right and left sides are defined as right- and left-side packings 250b and 250c
- a portion on the front side is defined as a non-bearing-side packing 250d.
- the right- and left-side packings 250b and 250c serve as coupling portions for coupling the bearing-side packing 250a to the non-bearing-side packing 250d and contribute to improvement in assemblability and wobble prevention, in addition to the sealing effect.
- the curved portion of the bearing-side packing 250a matches the outer shape of the bearing 21 of the first case 20.
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the cover 300 when viewed from the rear lower side.
- the cover 300 is a molded article of a synthetic resin and is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape having an opening on the lower side so that a case main body-housing portion 301 for covering and housing the upper portion of the main unit 10 is formed on the lower side of the cover 300.
- an exposure opening 305 for exposing a portion of the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100 is formed at a position facing the operating knob 100 and an illumination portion 307 is formed at a position facing the light-emitting surface 197 of the light guide 190.
- the illumination portion 307 is formed by cutting a desired shape, such as letter/character or symbol, out of an opaque coating material applied to a surface of a transparent molded resin constituting the cover 300, but may be formed by other methods.
- the engagement portions 309 which are rectangular through-holes to be engaged with the engaging portions 30 of the first case 20, are respectively formed on both the right and left side surfaces of the cover 300.
- Drip-proof member-mounting surfaces (hereinafter, referred to as "packing mounting surfaces") 311 (311a to 311d) are formed on the back surface of the cover 300 so as to surround the exposure opening 305.
- the packing mounting surfaces 311 consist of a bearing-side packing mounting surface 311a in an arc shape convex toward the exposure opening 305, linear-shaped right- and left-side packing mounting surfaces 311b and 311c on both sides thereof (311c is not shown), and a non-bearing-side packing mounting surface 311d having a linear shape and located on the opposite side to the bearing-side packing mounting surface 311a, which together form one substantially rectangular ring-shaped surface (the same shape as that formed by the packings 250).
- the bearing-side packing mounting surface 311a is formed at a position along the shape of an arc-shaped portion around the rim of the exposure opening 305
- the non-bearing-side packing mounting surface 311d is formed at a position away from the arc-shaped portion around the rim of the exposure opening 305.
- the main unit 10 is assembled.
- the base portion 131 of the sliding piece 130 is pre-placed on the sliding piece attachment portion 113 of the operating knob 100.
- the sliding piece 130 is attached by heat staking (or only press-fitting) the tips of the sliding piece attaching protrusions 119 of the sliding piece attachment portion 113 which are inserted into the attachment holes 137 of the sliding piece 130.
- grease G for dripproofing is applied to fill the drip-proof recess 121 of the operating knob 100.
- each terminal 141 protruding from the rear of the terminal unit 140 is inserted into the corresponding terminal insertion hole 167 of the circuit board 160 and is fixed on the opposite side to the circuit pattern (not shown) on the circuit board by solder h (see FIG. 2 ).
- the operating knob 100 with the sliding piece 130 attached thereto and also the coil spring 125 and the click ball 127 housed in the click mechanism housing portion 123, is arranged to be housed in the first housing portion 23 of the first case 20 in such a manner that the shaft portion 111 of the operating knob 100 inserted into the bearing 21 of the first case 20 is rotatably supported.
- the bearing 21 of the first case 20 is inserted in the drip-proof recess 121 of the operating knob 100 which is filled with the grease G, and this provides a drip-proof processing portion B1.
- the second case 70 is attached to cover the front side surface of the operating knob 100.
- the second case 70 and the first case 20 are attached to each other with the operating knob 100 sandwiched therebetween.
- the second case 70 is attached such that the knob supporting portion 73 covers the other side surface (the front side surface) of the operating knob 100, the protruding portion 75 is inserted into the insertion portion 109 of the operating knob 100, and the protruding portion 74 is inserted into the recessed portion 103.
- the circuit board 160 with the terminal unit 140 attached thereto and the light guide 190 are arranged to be housed in the second housing portion 25 of the first case 20, and the third case 220 is placed thereover. Then, the claw portions 223 of the third case 220 are respectively engaged with the engagement portions 29 of the first case 20. The main unit 10 shown in FIG. 3 is thereby completed.
- an opening HI is formed on the upper surface between the first case 20 and the second case 70, and an opening H2 is formed on the upper surface between the first case 20 and the third case 220 (see FIG. 2 ).
- a portion of the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100 is exposed (protrudes) in the opening HI.
- the light-emitting surface 197 of the light guide 190 is exposed in the opening H2 so as to protrude externally (upward).
- the contact portions 135 of the sliding piece 130 are in contact with the sliding contact pattern 165 of the circuit board 160, as shown in FIG. 2 .
- the terminal unit 140 is housed in the terminal unit housing portion 31.
- the outer peripheral portion of the light guide 190 is in contact with a surface of the first case 20 facing the light guide 190 and encircles the circuit board 160. Furthermore, the protruding portion 193 of the light guide 190 is inserted into the through-hole 163 of the circuit board 160 so that the tip of the light-emitting surface 195 located at the end thereof closely faces the light introducing surface 117 of the operating knob 100.
- the packings 250 shown in FIG. 3 are inserted into the case main body-housing portion 301 of the cover 300 and are placed in contact with the packing mounting surfaces 311 (311a to 311d) of the cover 300. Then, the cover 300 with the packings 250 installed thereon is attached to the main unit 10 from above. In other words, the upper portion of the main unit 10 is housed in the case main body-housing portion 301 of the cover 300. Then, the engaging portions 30 of the main unit 10 are respectively engaged with engagement portions 309 of the cover 300. Assembly of the rotary electronic component 1 is thereby completed. Note that, the above-mentioned assembly process is only an example and it is obvious that various other assembly processes may be use for assembly.
- the packings 250 may be attached to the main unit 10 which is then covered with the cover 300.
- ribs, etc., for preventing the packings 250 from coming out of alignment are preferably formed on at least some of the packing mounting surfaces 33 (33a to 33c) and the non-bearing-side packing mounting surface 81 of the main unit 10.
- FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the state in which only the cover 300 is detached from the assembled rotary electronic component 1.
- the packings 250 in the rotary electronic component 1 are in contact with the main unit 10 in the surrounding area of the hole the opening H1 which is formed by combining the first and second cases 20 and 70.
- the bearing-side packing 250a is in contact with the bearing-side drip-proof member-mounting surface 33a of the first case 20
- the right- and left-side packings 250b and 250c are in contact with the rightand left-side packing mounting surfaces 33b and 33c of the first case 20
- the non-bearing-side packing 250d is in contact with the non-bearing-side packing mounting surface 81 of the second case 70.
- the light-emitting surface 197 of the light guide 190 is arranged at a position facing the lower surface (the back surface) of the illumination portion 307 of the cover 300.
- the bearing-side packing 250a is in contact with the bearing-side packing mounting surface 311a
- the right- and left-side packings 250b and 250c are in contact with the right- and left-side packing mounting surfaces 311b and 311c
- the non-bearing-side packing 250d is in contact with the non-bearing-side packing mounting surface 311d
- the packings 250 are sandwiched between the packing mounting surfaces 33 (33a to 33c) /the non-bearing-side packing mounting surface 81 of the main unit 10 and the cover 300 and seals between the main unit 10 and the cover 300.
- the contact portions 135 of the sliding piece 130 slide on the sliding contact pattern 165 of the circuit board 160 and this produces a difference in the detection output between the terminals 131.
- the grease G causes some resistance but a large torque is not required to rotate the operating knob 100 since the packings 250 are not in contact therewith at all, hence, operability is not impaired.
- the operating knob 100 when rotated, does not rotate more than about half of a turn since the stopper 129 thereof (see FIG. 6 ) butts against the pair of right and left stopper engaging portions 35 (only one is shown in FIG. 5 ) provided in the first housing portion 23 of the first case 20. In other words, the operating knob 100 is moves in an arc motion.
- the light-emitting element 169 When the light-emitting element 169 is turned on, light therefrom is introduced into and reflected by the light guide 190, is then emitted from the light-emitting surface 197, and illuminates the illumination portion 307 of the cover 300 from the back side thereof, as indicated by a dot-and-dash line.
- the light reflected inside the light guide 190 and emitted from the light-emitting surface 195 is introduced into the resin A1 from the light introducing surface 117 of the operating knob 100, is reflected therein and guided to the circular outer circumferential surface of the operating portion 101, and illuminates the operating portion 101.
- the rotary electronic component 1 is installed on an operation panel C of an electronic device, as shown in FIG. 8 .
- the upper surface 303 of the cover 300 is exposed, as the outside surface, to the outside of the operation panel C. Liquid may spill on the upper surface 303 exposed to the outside of the operation panel C. The spilled liquid enters inside the cover 300 through the exposure opening 305.
- the entered liquid tries to advance from the surrounding area of the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100 toward the circuit board 160 by passing through a gap between the cover 300 and the first case 20 as indicated by an arrow LI, by passing through a gap between the cover 300 and the second case 70, moving down along the outer surface of the second case 70 and going under its lower edge and around to the opposite side of the operating knob 100 as indicated by an arrow L2, or by passing through the opening HI of the main unit 10 as indicated by an arrow L3.
- the liquid entered through the opening H1 of the main unit 10 as indicated by the arrow L3 passes in the surrounding area of the operating knob 100 and is directly drained downward, but the liquid advancing toward the sliding piece 130 is blocked by the drip-proof processing portion B1 and the ingress thereof is prevented. As such, drip-proof against the liquid entering through the exposure opening 305 of the cover 300 is effectively provided at each of these points.
- the rotary electronic component 1 is configured that the operating knob 100 moving in a circular motion (including an arc motion and an oscillatory motion) about an axis K (see FIG. 2 ) is arranged on one side of the circuit board 160, a detection means composed of the sliding piece 130 and the sliding contact pattern 165 and changing its output according to the motion of the operating knob 100 is provided between the operating knob 100 and the circuit board 160, at least the operating knob 100 is housed in the first and second cases 20 and 70, a portion of the operating portion 101 on the outer surface of the operating knob 100 is exposed through the opening H1 provided on the first and second cases 20 and 70, the cover 300 having the exposure opening 305 for exposing the portion of the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100 is attached to cover the outer surface of the first and second cases 20 and 70 on which the opening HI is provided, and the packings 250 are sandwiched and held between a surrounding area of the opening HI of the first and second cases 20 and 70 and a surrounding area of the exposure opening 305 of the cover 300 and prevent in
- the shaft portion 111 provided on the operating knob 100 so as to protrude from a side surface on the circuit board 160 side is rotatably inserted into the bearing 21 protruding from the first case 20 at a position near the detection means and the drip-proof processing portion B1 is provided at the end portion of the bearing 21 into which the shaft portion 111 is inserted, liquid which is not blocked by the packings 250 and enters the first and second cases 20 and 70 from the opening HI of the first and second cases 20 and 70 is prevented from entering by a portion of the bearing 21 inside the first and second cases 20 and 70.
- the bearing-side packing 250a which is the packing 250 arranged on the side where the surface of the operating knob 100 with the shaft portion 111 attached (the one side surface) is located, is arranged at a position along the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100.
- the bearing-side packing 250a which is arranged on the side where the circuit board 160 is located, prevents ingress of liquid at a position in the vicinity of the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100 (immediately after the position of liquid ingress).
- the non-bearing-side packing 250d which is the packing 250 arranged on the side where the surface (the other side surface) of the operating knob 100 opposite to the surface with the shaft portion 111 attached is located, is arranged in the vicinity of the axis K of the operating knob 100.
- the non-bearing-side packing 250d which is arranged on the side where the circuit board 160 is not located, provides drip-proof protection near the center of the side surface of the operating knob 100 which is distant from the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100. That is, the drip-proof effect at the portion near the circuit board 160 side is enhanced by providing drip-proof protection at a position in the vicinity of the exposure opening 305 of the cover 300.
- the non-bearing-side packing 250d is arranged at a position rearward (downward) of the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100, which allows a width dimension S1 of a portion of the cover 300 in the vicinity of the exposure opening 305 (see FIG. 8 ) to be reduced.
- the portion of the cover 300 in the vicinity of the exposure opening 305 is a portion exposed on the operation panel C of the electronic device when the rotary electronic component 1 is mounted thereon. Since the width dimension S1 of such portion can be reduce, it is possible to reduce the size or thickness, etc., of the operation panel C as well as of the electronic device provided with the operation panel C.
- the circular recessed portion 103 is provided on the operating knob 100 on a surface opposite to the surface with the shaft portion 111 attached, the cylindrical protruding portion 74 to be inserted into the recessed portion 103 is provided on a surface of the second case 70 facing the surface with recessed portion 103, and the recessed portion 103 engages with the protruding portion 74.
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- Rotary Switch, Piano Key Switch, And Lever Switch (AREA)
- Switch Cases, Indication, And Locking (AREA)
Description
- The present application claims priorities of
Japanese patent application Nos. 2016/148630 2017/130113 - The present invention relates to a drip-proof structure of an electronic component.
- A rotary electronic component is known in which a portion of an outer periphery of a rotary body of is exposed as an operating portion to the outside through an opening provided on an outer case, and an electrical function portion in a main case is driven by rotationally operating the operating portion with a finger etc. so as to cause a change in an output from the electrical function portion. In the rotary electronic component, a drip-proof structure of an electronic component is known in which a rubbery drip-proof sheet is installed so as to seal a gap between the opening and the rotary body to prevent a liquid from entering through the gap between the opening and the rotary body to contact with the electrical function portion (see, e.g.,
JP 2011/134573 A - Another drip-proof structure of an electronic component is known in which an electrical function portion is covered with a waterproof case etc. to prevent liquid from contacting with the electrical function portion (see, e.g.,
JP 2010/9937 A -
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JP 2011/134573 A -
JP 2010/9937 A -
US 3 809 830 A discloses a thumb selector switch structure which is particularly suitable for use in corrosive or dusty environments. The selector switch includes a printed circuit panel having an angularly encoded conductive pattern printed thereon. A rotatable contact carrying indicia wheel is rotatably mounted to the printed circuit panel so that the contacts carried by the indicia wheel selectively engage various portions of the angularly encoded printed circuit pattern, thereby producing digital output signals in response to the rotation of the contact carrying wheel. The contact carrying wheel is permanently hermetically sealed to the printed circuit board by means of a clear plastic casing. An actuator wheel is provided for rotating the indicia and contact carrying wheel. A suitable housing having a detent spring mounted therein is provided to enclose the above described structure. -
WO 2015/087366 A1 discloses a component to effectively carry out waterproofing, while avoiding cramping an internal space to the extent it is possible to do so. The component is provided with: a light source ; a moveable part having a first window; a circuit board; and a housing in which is formed an opening through which the surface of the moving part protrudes. The housing, in combination with the moveable part, has dividing walls for dividing the internal space of the housing into a first space and a second space. The dividing walls support the moveable part, and the light source illuminates the first window through a portion of the dividing walls, which are formed by transmissive members. - The drip-proof structure of an electronic component disclosed in
JP 2011/134573 A - Also, concerning the drip-proof structure of the electronic component disclosed in
JP 2010/9937 A - It is an object of the invention to provide a drip-proof structure of an electronic component that is effective in drip-proofness and excellent in operability of the operating portion and allows downsizing of the component.
- According to the present invention a drip-proof structure of an electronic component as defined by
claim 1 is provided. The dependent claims define embodiments of the invention. - According to the invention, a drip-proof structure of an electronic component can be provided that is effective in drip-proofness and excellent in operability of the operating portion and allows downsizing of the component.
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FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rotary electronic component in an embodiment. -
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the rotary electronic component taken along a line A-A inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main unit, a cover and drip-proof members. -
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the state in which the cover is detached from the rotary electronic component. -
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the main unit. -
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the main unit when viewed at an angle different fromFIG. 5 . -
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the back of the cover. -
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view showing a liquid ingress path into the rotary electronic component. - An embodiment of the invention will be described below in reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electronic component (hereinafter, referred to as "rotary electronic component") 1 configured using an embodiment of the present invention,FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the rotary electronic component 1 (a cross section taken along the line A-A inFIG. 1 ),FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing amain unit 10, acover 300 and drip-proof members (hereinafter, referred to as "packings") 250 that constitute the rotaryelectronic component 1,FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a process of attaching thepackings 250 and thecover 300 to themain unit 10,FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing themain unit 10, andFIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing themain unit 10 when viewed at another angle. As shown in these drawings, the rotaryelectronic component 1 is provided with themain unit 10 housing various parts, and thecover 300 covering a surface of themain unit 10 on the side where an rotary body (hereinafter, referred to as operating knob 100) protrudes. . In the following description, "upper/upward" is a direction to view thecover 300 from themain unit 10, and "lower/downward" is a direction opposite thereto. In addition, "front/forward" is a direction to view theoperating knob 100 from a first case 20 (described later), and "rear/rearward" is a direction to view a circuit board 160 (described later) from thefirst case 20. - As shown in
FIGS. 1 to 6 , themain unit 10 is configured that theoperating knob 100 as a rotary body, with asliding piece 130 attached thereto, is housed between thefirst case 20 and asecond case 70, aterminal unit 140 is housed in thefirst case 20 on the opposite side, and thecircuit board 160, alight guide 190 and athird case 220 are provided thereon. The rotaryelectronic component 1 is formed by attaching thepackings 250 and thecover 300 to themain unit 10. - The
first case 20 is a molded article formed by molding a synthetic resin into a substantially rectangular box shape, and has a substantiallycylindrical bearing 21 at the upper center, afirst housing portion 23 as a recess provided on theoperating knob 100 side of thebearing 21, and asecond housing portion 25 as a recess provided on thecircuit board 160 side. A pair ofengagement portions 27, which are rectangular through-holes to be engaged withclaw portions 79 of the second case 70 (described later), are provided on both right and left side surfaces of thefirst case 20 at positions on thefirst housing portion 23 side. Meanwhile, a pair ofengagement portions 29, which are rectangular through-holes to be engaged withclaw portions 223 of the third case 220 (described later), are formed on both the right and left side surfaces of thefirst case 20 at positions on thesecond housing portion 25 side. In addition, a pair of claw-shapedengaging portions 30, which engage inengagement portions 309 of the cover 300 (described later), are formed both the right and left side surfaces of thefirst case 20 at positions between theengagement portions unit housing portion 31, which has a substantially rectangular shape and opens rearward, is formed under thebearing 21. An arc surface portion of thebearing 21 at the middle of the upper surface and the upper surface portions located on right and left sides of the arc surface portion and protruding toward thefirst housing portion 23 serve as drip-proof member-mounting surfaces (hereinafter, referred to as "packing mounting surfaces") 33 (33a to 33c), where the arc surface portion is defined as a bearing-side drip-proof member-mounting surface 33a, and linear portions on both sides thereof are defined as right- and left-sidepacking mounting surfaces FIG. 5 ) are formed, which butt against astopper 129 of the operating knob 100 (described later) and prevent thestopper 129 from moving upward therebeyond. In addition, although it is not shown in the drawings, a click engaging portion composed of raised and recessed portions along an arc direction (a direction of the arc along which aclick ball 127 moves (described later)) is formed in thefirst housing portion 23 at a lower portion (at a position facing the click ball 127) of a surface on which thebearing 21 is provided. - The
second case 70 is formed in a single piece by molding a synthetic resin and has a casemain body 71 having a substantially rectangular plate shape and a circular plate-shapedknob supporting portion 73 which protrudes from the upper center of the casemain body 71 toward theoperating knob 100. Theknob supporting portion 73 is configured that an outer peripheral portion protruding from a surface on theoperating knob 100 side is acylindrical protruding portion 74 constituting a part of the drip-proof portion, and a protrudingportion 75 having a bottomed cylinder shape is provided at the center inside theprotruding portion 74. A pair ofengaging claws 77 protrude from both right and left side edges of the casemain body 71 toward theoperating knob 100. Theengaging claws 77 are flat plate-shaped members on which theclaw portions 79 are provided near the end portions on both outer sides (only oneclaw portion 79 is shown inFIGS. 5 and6 ). In addition, the upper surface of the casemain body 71 serves as a non-bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 81 to be in contact with the packing 250 (described later). - The
operating knob 100 is a molded article of a synthetic resin and is formed by comolding a transparent material and an opaque material. Theoperating knob 100 has a substantially circular-plate shape and is configured that the circular outer circumferential surface thereof serves as anoperating portion 101. A circular recessedportion 103 constituting a part of the drip-proof portion is provided on a surface of theoperating knob 100 facing thesecond case 70, and two cylindricalprotruding portions portion 103. A circular recessed portion between the twoprotruding portions protruding portion 75 of thesecond case 70 is inserted. Theprotruding portion 74 of theknob supporting portion 73 of thesecond case 70 is also inserted into therecessed portion 103. The drip-proof portion by a male-female interlocking connection between the protrudingportion 74 and the recessedportion 103 is thereby formed. Meanwhile, the recessed portion in the middle of the protrudingportion 107 has a bottom surface which is recessed in a substantially cone shape and serves as a light-reflecting surface 110. Ashaft portion 111 having a substantially circular-columnar shape protrudes from the center of a side surface (a surface facing the first case 20) of amain body 100a of the operatingknob 100. An upper surface of theshaft portion 111 serves as a slidingpiece attachment portion 113, and a truncated cone-shaped light-guidingprotrusion 115 is further provided and protrudes from the center of the slidingpiece attachment portion 113. An end face of the light-guidingprotrusion 115 serves as alight introducing surface 117. Slidingpiece attaching protrusions 119 formed of small pieces sticking out are formed on the slidingpiece attachment portion 113. A ring-shaped drip-proof recess 121 is formed around theshaft portion 111. A clickmechanism housing portion 123 formed of a bottomed circular hole is formed on the operatingknob 100 at an outer peripheral portion of a surface facing thefirst case 20. Acoil spring 125 and theclick ball 127 are housed in the clickmechanism housing portion 123. A portion around the clickmechanism housing portion 123 bulges outward from the outer periphery of the operatingknob 100 and the bulging portion serves as thestopper 129. The operatingknob 100 is formed by molding two types of resins A1 and A2 into a single piece, as shown inFIG. 2 . The resin A1 is a transparent resin and the resin A2 is an opaque resin. The whole transparent resin A1 constitutes a light guide and is molded so that the circular outer circumferential surface of the operatingportion 101 is optically coupled to thelight introducing surface 117 of the light-guidingprotrusion 115. - The sliding
piece 130 is formed of an elastic metal plate and is provided with abase portion 131 and arch-shapedarm portions 133 protruding from an outer surface of thebase portion 131 and having a shape with U-turn at a root portion. Acontact portion 135 which is curved and protrudes toward thecircuit board 160 is formed at the center of eacharm portion 133. Attachment holes 137 formed of small holes are also provided on thebase portion 131. - The
terminal unit 140 is formed by insert molding in which six metal-plate terminals 141 are molded in a substantially rectangularterminal case 143 consisting of a molding resin and aterminal holding case 145 having a substantially rectangular-prism shape. Each terminal 141 is arranged such that one end protrudes from a rear surface of theterminal case 143 so that the six ends are aligned in a row, and the other end protrudes from a side surface of theterminal case 143, is bent downward, is fixed by theterminal holding case 145 and then protrudes from a lower surface of theterminal holding case 145 so that the six ends are aligned in a row. - The
circuit board 160 is configured that a circular through-hole 163 is provided at an upper portion of an insulatingsubstrate 161 formed of a substantially rectangular hard plate, a slidingcontact pattern 165 to be in sliding contact with thecontact portions 135 of the slidingpiece 130 is formed on a front surface of the insulatingsubstrate 161 around the circular through-hole 163, six terminal insertion holes 167 formed of small holes for inserting one ends of theterminals 141 are formed horizontally in a row on the insulatingsubstrate 161 in the vicinity of the lower edge, a light-emittingelement 169 is attached to the rear surface of the insulatingsubstrate 161 so as to be located below the through-hole 163, and various otherelectronic parts 171 are attached to predetermined positions. A circuit pattern (not shown) is formed on the insulatingsubstrate 161 to electrically connect between the slidingcontact pattern 165, the light-emittingelement 169, the various otherelectronic parts 171 and theterminals 141 inserted into the terminal insertion holes 167. Various patterns such as switch pattern or resistor pattern can be used as the slidingcontact pattern 165. - The
light guide 190 is formed in a single piece by molding a transparent synthetic resin into a substantially rectangular box shape having an opening on the front side. On the front side, thelight guide 190 has asubstrate housing portion 191 having a recessed shape, and a circular-columnar protruding portion 193 protrudes from an upper portion of the bottom surface of thesubstrate housing portion 191. Thesubstrate housing portion 191 is formed in a shape capable of housing and covering theentire circuit board 160. The protrudingportion 193 has a size capable of being inserted into the through-hole 163 of thecircuit board 160 and is configured that an end face serves as a light-emittingsurface 195. The upper surface of thelight guide 190 also serves as a light-emittingsurface 197. - The
third case 220 is formed in an outer shape which is a substantially rectangular plate shape and substantially covers the rear surface of thefirst case 20. A pair of engagingclaws 221 protrude from both right and left sides of thethird case 220 toward the first case. The engagingclaws 221 are flat plate-shaped members on which theclaw portions 223 are provided near the end portions on both outer sides. - As shown in
FIG. 3 , thepackings 250 are formed of an elastic body such as elastomer into a substantially rectangular ring-shape with a circular cross section and form a shape in which the front side and the right and left sides are linear and the rear side has a curved portion which is curved upward in an arc shape. Here, a portion having the arc-shaped curved portion is defined as a bearing-side packing 250a, portions on the right and left sides are defined as right- and left-side packings side packing 250d. The right- and left-side packings side packing 250a to the non-bearing-side packing 250d and contribute to improvement in assemblability and wobble prevention, in addition to the sealing effect. The curved portion of the bearing-side packing 250a matches the outer shape of the bearing 21 of thefirst case 20. -
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing thecover 300 when viewed from the rear lower side. As shown inFIGS. 7 and alsoFIGS. 2 and3 , thecover 300 is a molded article of a synthetic resin and is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape having an opening on the lower side so that a case main body-housing portion 301 for covering and housing the upper portion of themain unit 10 is formed on the lower side of thecover 300. On an upper surface (outside surface) 303 of thecover 300, anexposure opening 305 for exposing a portion of the operatingportion 101 of the operatingknob 100 is formed at a position facing the operatingknob 100 and anillumination portion 307 is formed at a position facing the light-emittingsurface 197 of thelight guide 190. Theillumination portion 307 is formed by cutting a desired shape, such as letter/character or symbol, out of an opaque coating material applied to a surface of a transparent molded resin constituting thecover 300, but may be formed by other methods. Theengagement portions 309, which are rectangular through-holes to be engaged with the engagingportions 30 of thefirst case 20, are respectively formed on both the right and left side surfaces of thecover 300. Drip-proof member-mounting surfaces (hereinafter, referred to as "packing mounting surfaces") 311 (311a to 311d) are formed on the back surface of thecover 300 so as to surround theexposure opening 305. The packing mounting surfaces 311 consist of a bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 311a in an arc shape convex toward theexposure opening 305, linear-shaped right- and left-sidepacking mounting surfaces 311b and 311c on both sides thereof (311c is not shown), and a non-bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 311d having a linear shape and located on the opposite side to the bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 311a, which together form one substantially rectangular ring-shaped surface (the same shape as that formed by the packings 250). In other words, the bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 311a is formed at a position along the shape of an arc-shaped portion around the rim of theexposure opening 305, and the non-bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 311d is formed at a position away from the arc-shaped portion around the rim of theexposure opening 305. - Next, assembly of the rotary
electronic component 1 will be described. Firstly, themain unit 10 is assembled. In detail, thebase portion 131 of the slidingpiece 130 is pre-placed on the slidingpiece attachment portion 113 of the operatingknob 100. At this time, the slidingpiece 130 is attached by heat staking (or only press-fitting) the tips of the slidingpiece attaching protrusions 119 of the slidingpiece attachment portion 113 which are inserted into the attachment holes 137 of the slidingpiece 130. Also, grease G for dripproofing is applied to fill the drip-proof recess 121 of the operatingknob 100. Meanwhile, the tip of each terminal 141 protruding from the rear of theterminal unit 140 is inserted into the correspondingterminal insertion hole 167 of thecircuit board 160 and is fixed on the opposite side to the circuit pattern (not shown) on the circuit board by solder h (seeFIG. 2 ). - Then, the operating
knob 100, with the slidingpiece 130 attached thereto and also thecoil spring 125 and theclick ball 127 housed in the clickmechanism housing portion 123, is arranged to be housed in thefirst housing portion 23 of thefirst case 20 in such a manner that theshaft portion 111 of the operatingknob 100 inserted into the bearing 21 of thefirst case 20 is rotatably supported. In this state, the bearing 21 of thefirst case 20 is inserted in the drip-proof recess 121 of the operatingknob 100 which is filled with the grease G, and this provides a drip-proof processing portion B1. Next, thesecond case 70 is attached to cover the front side surface of the operatingknob 100. Once theclaw portions 79 of the engagingclaws 77 are engaged with theengagement portions 27 of thefirst case 20, thesecond case 70 and thefirst case 20 are attached to each other with the operatingknob 100 sandwiched therebetween. Thesecond case 70 is attached such that theknob supporting portion 73 covers the other side surface (the front side surface) of the operatingknob 100, the protrudingportion 75 is inserted into theinsertion portion 109 of the operatingknob 100, and the protrudingportion 74 is inserted into the recessedportion 103. - Next, the
circuit board 160 with theterminal unit 140 attached thereto and thelight guide 190 are arranged to be housed in thesecond housing portion 25 of thefirst case 20, and thethird case 220 is placed thereover. Then, theclaw portions 223 of thethird case 220 are respectively engaged with theengagement portions 29 of thefirst case 20. Themain unit 10 shown inFIG. 3 is thereby completed. - In this state, an opening HI is formed on the upper surface between the
first case 20 and thesecond case 70, and an opening H2 is formed on the upper surface between thefirst case 20 and the third case 220 (seeFIG. 2 ). A portion of the operatingportion 101 of the operatingknob 100 is exposed (protrudes) in the opening HI. Meanwhile, the light-emittingsurface 197 of thelight guide 190 is exposed in the opening H2 so as to protrude externally (upward). Then, thecontact portions 135 of the slidingpiece 130 are in contact with the slidingcontact pattern 165 of thecircuit board 160, as shown inFIG. 2 . In addition, in this state, theterminal unit 140 is housed in the terminalunit housing portion 31. Furthermore, the outer peripheral portion of thelight guide 190 is in contact with a surface of thefirst case 20 facing thelight guide 190 and encircles thecircuit board 160. Furthermore, the protrudingportion 193 of thelight guide 190 is inserted into the through-hole 163 of thecircuit board 160 so that the tip of the light-emittingsurface 195 located at the end thereof closely faces thelight introducing surface 117 of the operatingknob 100. - Next, the
packings 250 shown inFIG. 3 are inserted into the case main body-housing portion 301 of thecover 300 and are placed in contact with the packing mounting surfaces 311 (311a to 311d) of thecover 300. Then, thecover 300 with thepackings 250 installed thereon is attached to themain unit 10 from above. In other words, the upper portion of themain unit 10 is housed in the case main body-housing portion 301 of thecover 300. Then, the engagingportions 30 of themain unit 10 are respectively engaged withengagement portions 309 of thecover 300. Assembly of the rotaryelectronic component 1 is thereby completed. Note that, the above-mentioned assembly process is only an example and it is obvious that various other assembly processes may be use for assembly. For example, instead of attaching thepackings 250 to thecover 300, thepackings 250 may be attached to themain unit 10 which is then covered with thecover 300. In this case, ribs, etc., for preventing thepackings 250 from coming out of alignment are preferably formed on at least some of the packing mounting surfaces 33 (33a to 33c) and the non-bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 81 of themain unit 10. -
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the state in which only thecover 300 is detached from the assembled rotaryelectronic component 1. As understood fromFIG. 4 , thepackings 250 in the rotaryelectronic component 1 are in contact with themain unit 10 in the surrounding area of the hole the opening H1 which is formed by combining the first andsecond cases packings 250, the bearing-side packing 250a is in contact with the bearing-side drip-proof member-mountingsurface 33a of thefirst case 20, the right- and left-side packings packing mounting surfaces first case 20, and the non-bearing-side packing 250d is in contact with the non-bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 81 of thesecond case 70. - Meanwhile, a portion of the operating
portion 101 of the operatingknob 100 is exposed through theexposure opening 305, as shown inFIGS. 1 and2 . The light-emittingsurface 197 of thelight guide 190 is arranged at a position facing the lower surface (the back surface) of theillumination portion 307 of thecover 300. Then, in the assembled state, the bearing-side packing 250a is in contact with the bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 311a, the right- and left-side packings packing mounting surfaces 311b and 311c, and the non-bearing-side packing 250d is in contact with the non-bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 311d, hence, thepackings 250 are sandwiched between the packing mounting surfaces 33 (33a to 33c)/the non-bearing-sidepacking mounting surface 81 of themain unit 10 and thecover 300 and seals between themain unit 10 and thecover 300. - In the rotary
electronic component 1 assembled as described above, when the operatingknob 100 is rotated, thecontact portions 135 of the slidingpiece 130 slide on the slidingcontact pattern 165 of thecircuit board 160 and this produces a difference in the detection output between theterminals 131. When rotating the operatingknob 100, the grease G causes some resistance but a large torque is not required to rotate the operatingknob 100 since thepackings 250 are not in contact therewith at all, hence, operability is not impaired. The operatingknob 100, when rotated, does not rotate more than about half of a turn since thestopper 129 thereof (seeFIG. 6 ) butts against the pair of right and left stopper engaging portions 35 (only one is shown inFIG. 5 ) provided in thefirst housing portion 23 of thefirst case 20. In other words, the operatingknob 100 is moves in an arc motion. - When the light-emitting
element 169 is turned on, light therefrom is introduced into and reflected by thelight guide 190, is then emitted from the light-emittingsurface 197, and illuminates theillumination portion 307 of thecover 300 from the back side thereof, as indicated by a dot-and-dash line. On the other hand, the light reflected inside thelight guide 190 and emitted from the light-emittingsurface 195 is introduced into the resin A1 from thelight introducing surface 117 of the operatingknob 100, is reflected therein and guided to the circular outer circumferential surface of the operatingportion 101, and illuminates the operatingportion 101. - In the meantime, the rotary
electronic component 1 is installed on an operation panel C of an electronic device, as shown inFIG. 8 . When installed, theupper surface 303 of thecover 300 is exposed, as the outside surface, to the outside of the operation panel C. Liquid may spill on theupper surface 303 exposed to the outside of the operation panel C. The spilled liquid enters inside thecover 300 through theexposure opening 305. The entered liquid tries to advance from the surrounding area of the operatingportion 101 of the operatingknob 100 toward thecircuit board 160 by passing through a gap between thecover 300 and thefirst case 20 as indicated by an arrow LI, by passing through a gap between thecover 300 and thesecond case 70, moving down along the outer surface of thesecond case 70 and going under its lower edge and around to the opposite side of the operatingknob 100 as indicated by an arrow L2, or by passing through the opening HI of themain unit 10 as indicated by an arrow L3. - In the rotary
electronic component 1, however, ingress of the liquid advancing toward thecircuit board 160 by passing through a gap between thecover 300 and thefirst case 20 as indicated by the arrow L1 is prevented by the bearing-side packing 250a. Then, ingress of the liquid advancing toward thecircuit board 160 by passing through a gap between thecover 300 and thesecond case 70, moving down along the outer surface of thesecond case 70 and going under its lower edge of and around to the opposite side of the operatingknob 100 as indicated by the arrow L2 is prevented by the non-bearing-side packing 250d. Meanwhile, the liquid entered through the opening H1 of themain unit 10 as indicated by the arrow L3 passes in the surrounding area of the operatingknob 100 and is directly drained downward, but the liquid advancing toward the slidingpiece 130 is blocked by the drip-proof processing portion B1 and the ingress thereof is prevented. As such, drip-proof against the liquid entering through the exposure opening 305 of thecover 300 is effectively provided at each of these points. - As described above, the rotary electronic component 1 is configured that the operating knob 100 moving in a circular motion (including an arc motion and an oscillatory motion) about an axis K (see
FIG. 2 ) is arranged on one side of the circuit board 160, a detection means composed of the sliding piece 130 and the sliding contact pattern 165 and changing its output according to the motion of the operating knob 100 is provided between the operating knob 100 and the circuit board 160, at least the operating knob 100 is housed in the first and second cases 20 and 70, a portion of the operating portion 101 on the outer surface of the operating knob 100 is exposed through the opening H1 provided on the first and second cases 20 and 70, the cover 300 having the exposure opening 305 for exposing the portion of the operating portion 101 of the operating knob 100 is attached to cover the outer surface of the first and second cases 20 and 70 on which the opening HI is provided, and the packings 250 are sandwiched and held between a surrounding area of the opening HI of the first and second cases 20 and 70 and a surrounding area of the exposure opening 305 of the cover 300 and prevent ingress of liquid from the exposure opening 305 of the cover 300 through a gap between the first and second cases 20 and 70 and the cover 300. - In addition, since the
shaft portion 111 provided on the operatingknob 100 so as to protrude from a side surface on thecircuit board 160 side is rotatably inserted into the bearing 21 protruding from thefirst case 20 at a position near the detection means and the drip-proof processing portion B1 is provided at the end portion of thebearing 21 into which theshaft portion 111 is inserted, liquid which is not blocked by thepackings 250 and enters the first andsecond cases second cases bearing 21 inside the first andsecond cases circuit board 160 more effectively. - The bearing-
side packing 250a, which is the packing 250 arranged on the side where the surface of the operatingknob 100 with theshaft portion 111 attached (the one side surface) is located, is arranged at a position along the operatingportion 101 of the operatingknob 100. Thus, the bearing-side packing 250a, which is arranged on the side where thecircuit board 160 is located, prevents ingress of liquid at a position in the vicinity of the operatingportion 101 of the operating knob 100 (immediately after the position of liquid ingress). On the other hand, the non-bearing-side packing 250d, which is the packing 250 arranged on the side where the surface (the other side surface) of the operatingknob 100 opposite to the surface with theshaft portion 111 attached is located, is arranged in the vicinity of the axis K of the operatingknob 100. Thus, the non-bearing-side packing 250d, which is arranged on the side where thecircuit board 160 is not located, provides drip-proof protection near the center of the side surface of the operatingknob 100 which is distant from the operatingportion 101 of the operatingknob 100. That is, the drip-proof effect at the portion near thecircuit board 160 side is enhanced by providing drip-proof protection at a position in the vicinity of the exposure opening 305 of thecover 300. On the other hand, in a region on the opposite side of the operatingknob 100 which is distant from thecircuit board 160, the non-bearing-side packing 250d is arranged at a position rearward (downward) of the operatingportion 101 of the operatingknob 100, which allows a width dimension S1 of a portion of thecover 300 in the vicinity of the exposure opening 305 (seeFIG. 8 ) to be reduced. The portion of thecover 300 in the vicinity of the exposure opening 305 is a portion exposed on the operation panel C of the electronic device when the rotaryelectronic component 1 is mounted thereon. Since the width dimension S1 of such portion can be reduce, it is possible to reduce the size or thickness, etc., of the operation panel C as well as of the electronic device provided with the operation panel C. - It is also configured such that the circular recessed
portion 103 is provided on the operatingknob 100 on a surface opposite to the surface with theshaft portion 111 attached, the cylindrical protrudingportion 74 to be inserted into the recessedportion 103 is provided on a surface of thesecond case 70 facing the surface with recessedportion 103, and the recessedportion 103 engages with the protrudingportion 74. Thus, even when liquid enters through the opening HI of the first andsecond cases second case 70 and the surface of the operatingknob 100 on the opposite side to theshaft portion 111. -
- 1
- ROTARY ELECTRONIC COMPONENT (ELECTRONIC COMPONENT)
- 20
- FIRST CASE (CASE)
- 21
- BEARING
- 70
- SECOND CASE (CASE)
- 100
- OPERATING KNOB
- 101
- OPERATING PORTION
- 111
- SHAFT PORTION
- 130
- SLIDING PIECE (DETECTION MEANS)
- 160
- CIRCUIT BOARD
- 165
- SLIDING CONTACT PATTERN (DETECTION MEANS)
- 250
- PACKING (DRIP-PROOF MEMBER)
- 250a
- BEARING-SIDE PACKING (DRIP-PROOF MEMBER)
- 250d
- NON-BEARING-SIDE PACKING (DRIP-PROOF MEMBER)
- 300
- COVER
- 305
- EXPOSURE OPENING
- K1
- AXIS
- HI
- OPENING
- B1
- DRIP-PROOF PROCESSING PORTION
Claims (8)
- A drip-proof structure of an electronic component, comprising:a rotary body (100) that comprises a main body comprising a circular outer circumferential surface as an operating portion (101) and a shaft portion (111) provided on one side surface of the main body;a first case (20) that comprises a bearing (21) rotatably supporting the shaft portion of the rotary body (100);a second case (70) that is provided integral with the first case (20) so as to have an opening therebetween, supports the other side surface of the main body of the rotary body (100), and houses, together with the first case (20), the rotary body (100) while exposing a portion of the circular outer circumferential surface of the rotary body (100) through the opening;a sliding piece (130) that is provided on the rotary body (100) located inside the first and second cases and changes its position to follow rotation of the rotary body (100);a circuit board (160) that comprises a sliding contact pattern (165) to be in sliding contact with the sliding piece (130) and outputs an output signal corresponding to the rotational position of the rotary body (100);a cover (300) that comprises an exposure opening for exposing the portion of the circular outer circumferential surface of the rotary body (100) exposed through the opening and covers the first and second cases and the circuit board (160);first and second drip-proof members (250a, 250d) arranged between the first case (20) and the cover (300) and between the second case and the cover (300), respectively, characterized in that it further comprisesa drip-proof processing portion (B1) provided between the shaft portion of the rotary body (100) and the bearing (21),wherein the drip-proof processing portion (B1) comprises an end portion of a cylindrical protruding portion serving as the bearing (21) and receiving the shaft portion of the rotary body (100) inserted therein, and a drip-proof recess formed on the shaft portion of the rotary body (100) so as to be concentrically with the shaft portion and receiving the end portion of the protruding portion inserted therein.
- The drip-proof structure of an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the first drip-proof member (250a) is arranged between a portion of the first case (20) constituting a surrounding area of the opening and a portion of the cover (300) constituting a surrounding area of the exposure opening (305), and
wherein the second drip-proof member (250d) is arranged between a portion of the second case (70) constituting a surrounding area of the opening and a portion of the cover (300) constituting the surrounding area of the exposure opening (305). - The drip-proof structure of an electronic component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second drip-proof members (250a, 250d) extend in a direction orthogonal to an axial direction of the rotary body (100).
- The drip-proof structure of an electronic component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second drip-proof members (250a, 250d) comprise coupling portions extending in an axial direction of the rotary body (100).
- The drip-proof structure of an electronic component according to claim 4, wherein the first and second drip-proof members (250a, 250d) and the coupling portions are ring-shaped.
- The drip-proof structure of an electronic component according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein an outer circumferential shape of the bearing (21) of the first case (20) is arc-shaped, and
wherein the first drip-proof member comprises a curved portion that is located on the bearing side and is formed in an arc shape engaging with the outer shape of the bearing of the first case (20). - The drip-proof structure of an electronic component according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the second drip-proof member is located on an opposite side of the rotary body (100) to the bearing.
- The drip-proof structure of an electronic component according to claim 1, further comprising a drip-proof portion provided between the other side surface of the main body of the rotary body (100) and the second case (70), the drip-proof portion comprising a male-female interlocking connection.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2016148630 | 2016-07-28 | ||
JP2017130113A JP6913319B2 (en) | 2016-07-28 | 2017-07-03 | Drip-proof structure of electronic components |
PCT/JP2017/026361 WO2018021155A1 (en) | 2016-07-28 | 2017-07-20 | Drip-proof structure of electronic component |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP3493232A1 EP3493232A1 (en) | 2019-06-05 |
EP3493232A4 EP3493232A4 (en) | 2020-01-22 |
EP3493232B1 true EP3493232B1 (en) | 2022-05-04 |
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Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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EP17834163.2A Active EP3493232B1 (en) | 2016-07-28 | 2017-07-20 | Drip-proof structure of electronic component |
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EP (1) | EP3493232B1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2018021155A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
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JP6913319B2 (en) * | 2016-07-28 | 2021-08-04 | 帝国通信工業株式会社 | Drip-proof structure of electronic components |
Family Cites Families (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3306993A (en) * | 1965-08-30 | 1967-02-28 | Endevco Corp | Sealed electronic digital switching structure |
US3809830A (en) * | 1972-05-22 | 1974-05-07 | Amp Inc | Sealed thumbwheel selector switch |
JP5284941B2 (en) * | 2009-12-24 | 2013-09-11 | 帝国通信工業株式会社 | Drip-proof structure for electronic components |
JP6025699B2 (en) * | 2013-12-09 | 2016-11-16 | 帝国通信工業株式会社 | Drip-proof structure for rotating electronic components |
WO2015087366A1 (en) * | 2013-12-11 | 2015-06-18 | 東京コスモス電機株式会社 | Electronic component with moveable part |
JP6400434B2 (en) * | 2014-11-05 | 2018-10-03 | 帝国通信工業株式会社 | Electronic parts with illumination function |
-
2017
- 2017-07-20 WO PCT/JP2017/026361 patent/WO2018021155A1/en unknown
- 2017-07-20 EP EP17834163.2A patent/EP3493232B1/en active Active
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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EP3493232A1 (en) | 2019-06-05 |
EP3493232A4 (en) | 2020-01-22 |
WO2018021155A1 (en) | 2018-02-01 |
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