Mechanical shaft inductive switch and electronic products

Abstract

The utility model discloses a mechanical shaft-type inductive induction switch and an electronic product. The mechanical shaft-type inductive inductive switch comprises: an insulating body, which is provided with an axis core movable hole extending up and down; an axis core, which is installed in the axis core movable hole and can be movably arranged up and down relative to the insulating body; a reset spring, whose two ends act on the insulating body and the axis core respectively to provide the axis core with an automatic upward reset force; a metal piece, which is arranged at the lower end of the axis core to move up and down with the axis core; and the metal piece is located below the reset spring; when the axis core is pressed, the metal piece moves downward with the axis core and away from the lower end of the reset spring, and the reset spring is in an energy storage state; after the axis core is released, the reset elastic force of the reset spring drives the axis core to reset upward, and the metal piece moves upward accordingly to be close to the lower end of the reset spring. It uses current induction to complete function switching, the switch switching control response is fast, and it is more energy-saving than the magnetic induction method.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technology of switch field, in particular to a mechanical shaft type inductive induction switch and an electronic product. Background Art

[0002] Traditional switches mainly include mechanical contact switches, magnetic induction switches, etc.

[0003] In actual use, mechanical contact switches are prone to mechanical or electrical degradation, which affects the performance of the switch. In addition, multiple terminal welding feet need to be welded and fixed to the PCB board, which is troublesome to install and inconvenient to disassemble the switch for inspection and replacement.

[0004] In comparison, the magnetic induction switch does not need to be fixed to the PCB board one by one for multiple terminal welding pins like the mechanical shaft switch in the traditional technology. For example, CN 210246715 U discloses a magnetic shaft switch, including a circuit board, a housing arranged above the circuit board, a handle slidably connected to the housing, an elastic member received in the housing and abutting the handle, a Hall element electrically connected to the circuit board, a magnet arranged in the housing and corresponding to the Hall element, and a metal isolation sheet arranged between the Hall element and the magnet and capable of moving with the handle. The sliding of the handle drives the metal isolation sheet to move to change the signal change between the Hall element and the magnet to realize the instantaneous input or cut-off function of the switch. However, the magnetic induction switch consumes more energy.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to study a new technical solution to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content

[0006] In view of this, the present invention aims to address the deficiencies in the prior art, and its main purpose is to provide a mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch and electronic product, which uses current induction to complete function switching, has a fast switch switching control response, and is more energy-efficient than the magnetic induction method.

[0007] In order to achieve the above purpose, the utility model adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] A mechanical shaft inductive switch, comprising:

[0009] An insulating body, which is provided with an axial core movable hole extending up and down;

[0010] An axis core is installed in the axis core movable hole and can be movably arranged up and down relative to the insulating body;

[0011] A return spring, two ends of which act on the insulating body and the shaft core respectively to provide the shaft core with an automatic upward return force;

[0012] A metal part, which is arranged at the lower end of the shaft core to move up and down with the shaft core; and the metal part is located below the return spring;

[0013] When the shaft core is pressed, the metal part moves downward along with the shaft core and away from the lower end of the return spring, and the return spring is in an energy storage state; after the shaft core is released, the return elastic force of the return spring drives the shaft core to return upward, and the metal part moves upward accordingly, close to the lower end of the return spring.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment, the shaft core movable hole includes a first through hole and a second through hole which pass through in sequence from top to bottom, the second through hole is larger than the first through hole, so that a step surface is formed between the inner side surface of the first through hole and the inner side surface of the second through hole, the shaft core extends into the first through hole, and the metal part is located in the second through hole and is restricted below the step surface.

[0015] As a preferred solution, the metal piece is a pot-shaped metal sheet.

[0016] As a preferred solution, an annular groove surrounding the outer circumference of the first through hole is provided on the insulating body, and the lower end of the return spring extends into the annular groove.

[0017] As a preferred embodiment, the shaft core includes a shaft body, an upper connecting part, a lower connecting part, a shielding part and a lateral guide part, the upper connecting part is connected to the upper end of the shaft body, the lower connecting part is connected to the lower end of the shaft body, the metal part is connected to the lower connecting part, the shielding part extends outward from the upper end periphery of the shaft body, the return spring and the first through hole are both located in the downward projection area of ​​the shielding part, and the lateral guide part is connected to the outer edge of the shielding part.

[0018] As a preferred embodiment, the shielding portion includes a top shielding plate and a side shielding plate, the top shielding plate is extended outward from the periphery of the upper end of the shaft body, the side shielding plate is extended downward from the outer edge of the top shielding plate, the side guide portion protrudes outward from the outer side surface of the side shielding plate, and a guide groove extending up and down is provided in the insulating body, the side guide portion is located in the guide groove, and the upper end of the side guide portion is limited by the inner top surface of the guide groove to prevent the shaft core from slipping out upward.

[0019] As a preferred embodiment, the insulating body includes a base and a cover body; the guide groove, the annular groove, the first through hole and the second through hole are all arranged on the base; the reset spring and the shaft core are installed on the base, and the cover body is installed on the base.

[0020] As a preferred solution, the second through hole passes downward through the bottom of the base, and the bottom of the insulating body is provided with a mounting positioning column and / or a mounting buckle arm for being inserted into a PCB board.

[0021] An electronic product comprises an electronic product body, wherein the electronic product body is provided with a PCB board and a switch installed above the PCB board;

[0022] The switch is a mechanical shaft inductive switch as described in any of the above items; a coil and an inductance detection driver IC are provided on the PCB board, the inductance detection driver IC is connected to the coil, and the coil is located below the metal part.

[0023] As a preferred solution, the electronic product is any one of a mouse, a game controller, a keyboard, and a remote control.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the utility model has obvious advantages and beneficial effects. Specifically, it can be seen from the above technical scheme that it mainly uses current induction to complete function switching, the switch switching control response is fast, and it is more energy-saving than the magnetic induction method (it can save energy by about 80%); compared with the traditional mechanical shaft contact switch, it omits the terminal welding process and avoids the inconvenience of disassembly caused by welding fixation. Therefore, it has the advantages of convenient installation and hot plugging, and it has no mechanical or electrical degradation and is easy to be waterproof, and its service life is significantly extended.

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the structural features and functions of the present invention, the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional diagram of a mechanical shaft type inductive sensing switch according to an embodiment of the utility model;

[0027] Figure 2 It is an exploded view of a mechanical shaft type inductive sensing switch according to an embodiment of the utility model;

[0028] Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional view of a mechanical shaft type inductive sensing switch and a PCB board according to an embodiment of the utility model;

[0029] Figure 4 is a diagram showing how the time-varying EM field around a coil induces eddy currents in a metal object (when the metal object is close to the coil);

[0030] Figure 5 This is a circuit that measures the change in inductance using a pair of CTx / CRx pins of an inductance detection driver IC.

[0031] Description of the accompanying drawings: insulating body 10, shaft core 20, return spring 30, metal part 40, first through hole 1, second through hole 2, step surface 3, base 11, cover body 12, annular groove 4, PCB board 100, switch 200, installation positioning column 111, shaft body 21, upper end connecting part 22, lower end connecting part 23, shielding part 24, lateral guide part 25, top shielding plate 241, lateral shielding plate 242, guide groove 26, rib 261, buckle protrusion 112, buckle hole 121, coil 101, inductance detection driver IC 102. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Please refer to Figures 1 to 5 As shown, it shows the specific structure of an embodiment of the utility model.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the directions or positional relationships indicated by the terms "up", "down", "left", "right", etc. are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0034] A mechanical shaft type inductive sensing switch includes an insulating body 10, a shaft core 20, a return spring 30 and a metal part 40.

[0035] The insulating body 10 is provided with an axial core movable hole extending up and down; the insulating body 10 includes a base 11 and a cover 12 assembled with each other. The axial core 20 is installed in the axial core movable hole and can be movably arranged up and down relative to the insulating body 10; the reset spring 30 is generally a metal pressure spring, and its two ends act on the insulating body 10 and the axial core 20 respectively to provide the axial core 20 with an automatic upward reset force; the metal part 40 is arranged at the lower end of the axial core 20 to move up and down with the axial core 20; and the metal part 40 is located below the reset spring 30; when the axial core 20 is pressed, the metal part 40 moves downward with the axial core 20 and away from the lower end of the reset spring 30, and the reset spring 30 is in an energy storage state; after the axial core 20 is released, the reset elastic force of the reset spring 30 drives the axial core 20 to reset upward, and the metal part 40 moves upward accordingly to be close to the lower end of the reset spring 30.

[0036] In this embodiment, the shaft core movable hole includes a first through hole 1 and a second through hole 2 which are sequentially penetrated from top to bottom, the second through hole 2 is larger than the first through hole 1, so that a step surface 3 is formed between the inner side surface of the first through hole 1 and the inner side surface of the second through hole 2, the second through hole 2 penetrates downward to the bottom of the base 11, the shaft core 20 extends into the first through hole 1, the metal part 40 is located in the second through hole 2 and is restricted below the step surface 3. Also, the insulating body 10 is provided with an annular groove 4 surrounding the outer periphery of the first through hole 1, and the lower end of the reset spring 30 extends into the annular groove 4. Also, the bottom of the insulating body 10 is provided with an installation positioning column 111 or / and an installation buckle arm for inserting on the PCB board 100.

[0037] The shaft core 20 includes a shaft body 21, an upper connecting portion 22, a lower connecting portion 23, a shielding portion 24 and a lateral guide portion 25. The shaft body 21, the upper connecting portion 22 and the lower connecting portion 23 are arranged opposite to each other in the up and down directions. The upper connecting portion 22 is integrally connected to the upper end of the shaft body 21. For a keyboard, the upper connecting portion 22 is usually used to connect with a keycap. Therefore, the upper connecting portion 22 is close to or serves as a pressing end, and the lower connecting portion 23 is integrally connected to the lower end of the shaft body 21. The metal member 40 is connected to the lower connecting portion 23. The shielding portion 24 is integrally extended outward from the upper end periphery of the shaft body 21. The reset spring 30 and the first through hole 1 are both located in the downward projection area of ​​the shielding portion 24. In this way, a good shielding and protection effect is played on the inside of the switch. The lateral guide portion 25 is connected to the outer edge of the shielding portion 24. The shielding portion 24 includes a top shielding plate 241 and a side shielding plate 242. The top shielding plate 241 is integrally extended outward from the upper end periphery of the shaft body 21 and exceeds the entire outer periphery of the upper end of the shaft body 21. The upper end of the return spring 30 acts on the bottom surface of the top shielding plate 241. The side shielding plates 242 are symmetrically provided with two and are respectively integrally extended downward from the outer edge of the top shielding plate 241. The side guide portions 25 are provided with two, and the side guide portions 25 protrude outward from the outer side surface of the side shielding plates 242. The insulating body 10 is provided with a guide groove 26 extending up and down, and the inner side surface of the guide groove 26 is provided with a convex rib 261 for reducing contact friction and improving the smoothness of the up and down movement. The side guide portion 25 is located in the guide groove 26, and the upper end of the side guide portion 25 is limited by the inner top surface of the guide groove 26 to prevent the shaft core 20 from slipping out upward. The guide groove 26, the annular groove 4, the first through hole 1 and the second through hole 2 are all arranged on the base 11; the reset spring 30 and the shaft core 20 are installed on the base 11, the cover body 12 is installed on the base 11, and the top shielding plate 241 is exposed on the top of the cover body 12. Usually, a buckle protrusion 112 is arranged on the side of the base 11, and correspondingly, a buckle hole 121 that passes through inside and outside is arranged on the side of the cover body 12. When the cover body 12 is buckled on the base 11, the buckle protrusion 112 is buckled in the corresponding buckle hole 121. Moreover, the inner top surface of the guide groove 26 is generally reserved on the inner side wall of the cover body 12. Therefore, after the cover body 12 and the base 11 are assembled with each other, the inner top surface is located directly above the guide groove 26 to form a limit for the lateral guide portion 25.

[0038] The metal part 40 is a pot-shaped metal sheet. The pot-shape refers to an arc-shaped or inclined surface extending upward from the center of the bottom of the metal sheet. This pot-shaped structure, on the one hand, makes the metal sheet stronger and less prone to deformation, and on the other hand, can improve the linearity and consistency of the sensing signal. The metal sheet is synchronously linked with the shaft core, and can be obtained by stamping copper alloy and other materials. The metal sheet is connected and fixed to the lower end of the shaft core by riveting, injection molding or snapping. Preferably, the pot-shaped metal sheet is centrally symmetrical with respect to the axis L, and the shaft core 20, the reset spring 30, the first through hole 1, the second through hole 2, and the annular groove 4 also take the axis L as the center axis. The shaft core 20 extends downward into the first through hole 1, and there is a clearance fit between it and the inner wall surface of the first through hole 1, and the clearance is 0-1 mm.

[0039] Next, an electronic product is introduced. In actual production, the electronic product can be widely referred to as industrial input devices and hardware including consumer electronic products, such as switch structures used in computer and mobile phone peripheral products such as mice, game controllers, keyboards, and remote controls. The electronic product includes an electronic product body, on which a PCB board 100 and a switch 200 installed on the PCB board 100 are arranged. The switch 200 is the mechanical shaft inductive switch described above; the PCB board 100 is provided with a coil 101 and an inductance detection driver IC 102 (also referred to as an inductance measurement chip), and the inductance detection driver IC 102 is connected to the coil 101, and the coil 101 is located below the metal part 40. During installation, the installation positioning column 111 and / or the installation snap arm at the bottom of the insulating body 10 can be used to form an insertion positioning with the corresponding hole on the PCB board 100, which is convenient for installation and can realize hot plugging. After installation, the bottom end of the insulating body 10 is fitted on the top surface of the PCB board 100, and the coil 101 is located in the area surrounded by the lower end opening of the second through hole 2.

[0040] In this embodiment, the coil 101 is a spiral winding arranged on the top surface of the PCB board 100, and its spiral direction is centered on the vertical axis and is arranged to extend in a spiral from the inside to the outside. Therefore, the coil is usually arranged in a horizontal flat shape, and the top surface of the coil is flush with or slightly higher than the top surface of the PCB board 100. It is also acceptable if it is set to be slightly lower than the top surface of the PCB board 100. The inductance detection driver IC 102 is a known IC, which refers to an inductance measurement chip, which is used to detect inductance or inductance changes, such as Azoteq brand IQS9320, IQS7320 and other chips. The inductance detection driver IC 102 is connected to the coil 101, and the coil 101 is located below the metal part 40. Preferably, the coil is located directly below the metal part 40. When the shaft core is pressed, the metal part 40 moves downward along with the shaft core relative to the insulating body 10 to get close to the coil 101. The inductance detection driver IC102 senses the inductance change of the coil 101 by one, and then completes the switch from function one to function two (also referred to as the switch from 0 to 1), and after releasing the shaft core, the metal part 40 automatically resets upward along with the shaft core under the action of the reset member, so that the metal part 40 is away from the coil 101, and the inductance detection driver IC102 senses the inductance change of the coil 101 by two (also referred to as the switch from 1 to 0), and then completes the switch from function two to function one. Function one and function two refer to two different states, and the switch is used to switch between these two states, for example: function one is disconnected, and function two is on.

[0041] The inductance detection driver IC 102 has a CRx pin and a CTx pin, and the CRx pin and the CTx pin are respectively connected to the two ends of the coil 101. Usually, a resistor R is connected in series between the CTx pin and one end of the coil 101, so as to form a self-inductance mode measurement circuit. The measurement of the inductance change is completed by using a pair of CRx pins and CTx pins. The EM block around the coil 101 is generated by the excitation signal at the CTx pin, and the inductance measurement of the coil 101 is performed on the CRx pin.

[0042] When the metal part 40 approaches the coil 101 downward, the EM field around the coil 101 will induce an eddy current in the metal part 40. The direction of the eddy current causes it to generate an opposite EM field, which will cause the total inductance of the coil 101 to decrease. The inductance detection driver IC 102 measures the inductance change and calculates the distance between the metal part 40 and the PCB board 100 (or the coil). Therefore, when applied to actual products, the trigger point (trigger stroke) can be freely adjusted because it can set the inductance change sensed by the inductance detection driver IC to calculate the corresponding distance, which is the difference between the original position height of the metal part 40 (referring to the position height of the metal part 40 relative to the PCB board 100 or the coil 101) minus the pressing stroke (also referred to as the trigger stroke). In this way, by setting the inductance or the inductance change, the trigger stroke can be adjusted accordingly. For users, on electronic products, the trigger stroke of the button can be customized, especially different button strokes can be configured for different applications. That is, the trigger stroke of the shaft core is adjusted by setting the inductance or inductance change sensed by the inductance detection driver IC to the coil.

[0043] Since the metal part 40 is located below the reset spring 30, when the metal part 40 is in the initial state (not pressed) and the pressed state (including the pressing and descending process and reaching the trigger point), the reset spring 30 is always above the metal part 40. In actual manufacturing, considering the strength and service life, the reset spring 30 needs to be a metal spring. This structural design can also effectively avoid the reset spring 30 from affecting the inductance of the coil, thereby avoiding affecting the precise and rapid response of the switch.

[0044] The design focus of the utility model is that it mainly uses current induction to complete function switching, the switch switching control response is fast, and it is more energy-saving than the magnetic induction method (it can save energy by about 80%); compared with the traditional mechanical shaft contact switch, it omits the terminal welding process and avoids the inconvenience of disassembly caused by welding fixation. Therefore, it has the advantages of convenient installation and hot plugging, and it has no mechanical or electrical degradation and is easy to be waterproof, the service life is significantly extended, and the product performance will not be damaged due to water seepage, mechanical or electrical degradation, etc. during the service life, and the reliability is good.

[0045] Furthermore, the buttons can be completely customized by the user, different trigger and release position points can be set, and different button travels can be configured for different applications to meet personalized usage needs. It can support all buttons on electronic products to be connected and controlled by the same inductance detection driver IC, or part of the buttons on the electronic product can be connected and controlled by one inductance detection driver IC, while another part of the buttons can be connected and controlled by another inductance detection driver IC. Furthermore, it can be divided into more than three parts, and the third part of the buttons is connected and controlled by the third inductance detection driver IC, and so on. For buttons in different parts, the button trigger travel can be freely defined. Therefore, for the same electronic product, its buttons can have the same trigger travel or partially different trigger travels without limitation. The aforementioned definition of button trigger travel includes two parameters: trigger position and release position. Different trigger travels can refer to one of these two parameters being different or both being different.

[0046] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, any slight modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention are still within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mechanical shaft inductive switch, characterized in that: Included are: An insulating body, which is provided with an axial core movable hole extending up and down; An axis core is installed in the axis core movable hole and can be movably arranged up and down relative to the insulating body; A return spring, two ends of which act on the insulating body and the shaft core respectively to provide the shaft core with an automatic upward return force; A metal part, which is arranged at the lower end of the shaft core to move up and down with the shaft core; and the metal part is located below the return spring; When the shaft core is pressed, the metal part moves downward along with the shaft core and away from the lower end of the return spring, and the return spring is in an energy storage state; after the shaft core is released, the return elastic force of the return spring drives the shaft core to return upward, and the metal part moves upward accordingly, close to the lower end of the return spring.

2. The mechanical shaft inductive switch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shaft core movable hole includes a first through hole and a second through hole which pass through in sequence from top to bottom. The second through hole is larger than the first through hole, so that a step surface is formed between the inner side surface of the first through hole and the inner side surface of the second through hole. The shaft core extends into the first through hole, and the metal part is located in the second through hole and is restricted below the step surface.

3. The mechanical shaft inductive switch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal piece is a pot-shaped metal sheet.

4. The mechanical shaft inductive switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: The insulating body is provided with an annular groove surrounding the outer circumference of the first through hole, and the lower end of the return spring extends into the annular groove.

5. The mechanical shaft inductive switch according to claim 4, characterized in that: The shaft core includes a shaft body, an upper connecting part, a lower connecting part, a shielding part and a lateral guide part, the upper connecting part is connected to the upper end of the shaft body, the lower connecting part is connected to the lower end of the shaft body, the metal part is connected to the lower connecting part, the shielding part extends outward from the upper end periphery of the shaft body, the return spring and the first through hole are both located in the downward projection area of ​​the shielding part, and the lateral guide part is connected to the outer edge of the shielding part.

6. The mechanical shaft inductive switch according to claim 5, characterized in that: The shielding portion includes a top shielding plate and a side shielding plate, the top shielding plate is extended outward from the upper end periphery of the shaft body, the side shielding plate is extended downward from the outer edge of the top shielding plate, the side guide portion is protruded outward from the outer side surface of the side shielding plate, a guide groove extending up and down is provided in the insulating body, the side guide portion is located in the guide groove, and the upper end of the side guide portion is limited by the inner top surface of the guide groove to prevent the shaft core from slipping out upward.

7. The mechanical shaft inductive switch according to claim 6, characterized in that: The insulating body includes a base and a cover body; the guide groove, the annular groove, the first through hole and the second through hole are all arranged on the base; the reset spring and the shaft core are installed on the base, and the cover body is installed on the base.

8. The mechanical shaft inductive switch according to claim 7, characterized in that: The second through hole passes through the bottom of the base downward, and the bottom of the insulating body is provided with a mounting positioning column and / or a mounting buckle arm for being inserted on a PCB board.

9. An electronic product, comprising an electronic product body, wherein the electronic product body is provided with a PCB board and a switch installed above the PCB board, wherein: The switch is a mechanical shaft inductive switch according to any one of claims 1 to 8; a coil and an inductance detection driver IC are provided on the PCB board, the inductance detection driver IC is connected to the coil, and the coil is located below the metal part.

10. The electronic product according to claim 9, characterized in that: The electronic product is any one of a mouse, a game controller, a keyboard and a remote controller.

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