A gear position positioning structure of a rotary switch

Abstract

The application relates to a gear position positioning structure of a rotary switch, which comprises a shell and a shell cover, an annular row of teeth is arranged on the inner wall of the shell cover along the circumference of an operation shaft hole, an operation shaft is arranged, a through hole is arranged in the middle of the operation shaft along the radial direction, a positioning rod is arranged in the through hole and can slide along the axial direction of the operation shaft, the two ends of the positioning rod are protruded relative to the operation shaft to form positioning blocks matched with the annular row of teeth, and a first elastic element is arranged on the positioning rod to make the positioning blocks elastically abut on the annular row of teeth. In the application, the two ends of the positioning rod are protruded relative to the operation rod to form the positioning blocks, the first elastic element is arranged to make the positioning blocks elastically abut on the annular row of teeth, stable and reliable gear position positioning is realized, the operation shaft is uniformly stressed, the shaking risk during rotation is reduced, the clarity of gear position switching and the operation feeling are enhanced. Meanwhile, the overall structure is simple, easy to manufacture and assemble, and the reliability and maintenance convenience of the product are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to a rotary switch, and more particularly to a position positioning structure for a rotary switch. Background Technology

[0002] Multi-position rotary switches are widely used in household appliances, automotive electronics, and industrial equipment. For example, they are used to adjust fan speed on electric fans, switch lighting modes on car dashboards, or select operating programs on machine tool control panels. Users rotate the operating lever, causing the moving contact to rotate within the inner cavity. The moving contact selectively contacts and conducts electricity with circumferentially distributed stationary contacts, enabling different circuit connections and thus switching function positions. During operation, the engagement of the pressing part or limit block with the toothed gear provides tactile feedback and stable positioning, ensuring the switch remains in the preset position and preventing accidental operation. This type of switch simplifies user interaction in multi-position scenarios and is commonly found in situations requiring frequent setting changes.

[0003] In its previously published Chinese patent CN20153320064.1, the applicant provided a rotary switch, including a housing, a cover, and an operating lever. The housing and cover are joined to form an inner cavity. One end of the operating lever is located in the inner cavity, and the other end extends out of the inner cavity after passing through the cover. A moving contact is embedded in one end of the operating lever. Several stationary contacts are evenly distributed around the operating lever in the inner cavity. When the operating lever rotates, one end of the moving contact can selectively contact and conduct electricity with a certain stationary contact. The other end of the moving contact is bent to form a pressing part. An annular toothed row is arranged around the inner wall of the cover along the operating lever. The pressing part elastically abuts against the toothed row and can engage with the toothed row. An elastic limiting mechanism is provided at one end of the operating lever. The elastic limiting mechanism includes a limiting block elastically abutting against the toothed row. The limiting block can slide along the surface of the toothed row and engage with the toothed row to form a stable position after the operating lever rotates. The aforementioned prior art relies on the engagement of the moving contact's pressing part with the toothed rack and the elastic limiting mechanism with the toothed rack to achieve gear positioning. However, further long-term research by the applicant has revealed the following shortcomings in the above structure: the pressing part of the moving contact is a metal spring-type structure, which is prone to fatigue failure after long-term use, leading to loose engagement or decreased positioning accuracy; the operating shaft experiences uneven force, making it prone to wobbling during rotation, and with long-term use, problems such as stuck or unclear gear position feel can easily occur, affecting the user experience. Utility Model Content

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this application provides a position positioning structure for a rotary switch.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of this application is as follows: A rotary switch position positioning structure, comprising: a housing and a housing cover connected to form a housing cavity, the housing cover having an operating shaft hole, and the inner wall of the housing cover having annular teeth along the circumference of the operating shaft hole; a terminal assembly including a common terminal located in the center and a plurality of position terminals arranged in annularly around the common terminal; a movable contact piece rotatably disposed in the housing cavity, having a retaining contact that maintains abutment with the common terminal and a movable contact that can contact the plurality of position terminals respectively in the rotation path; an operating shaft, one end located in the housing cavity and circumferentially linked with the movable contact piece, and the other end extending out of the housing through the operating shaft hole to form an operating end, the middle having a through hole opened radially; a positioning rod located in the through hole and axially sliding relative to the operating shaft, and both ends protruding relative to the operating shaft to form positioning blocks that cooperate with the annular teeth; and a first elastic member acting on the positioning rod to make the positioning blocks elastically abut against the annular teeth.

[0006] Furthermore, the first elastic element is a compression spring, whose extension and retraction direction is set along the axial direction of the operating shaft, and is located on the side of the positioning rod away from the annular teeth.

[0007] Furthermore, the operating shaft has a first spring limiting hole on the side of the through hole away from the annular toothed row, which is arranged in the axial direction of the operating shaft, and the first elastic element is limited within the first spring limiting hole.

[0008] Furthermore, the positioning rod is provided with a mating groove that cooperates with the first elastic element.

[0009] Furthermore, there are two first elastic elements, and the two first elastic elements are located on both sides of the central axis of the operating shaft.

[0010] Furthermore, the end of the operating shaft is provided with a movable contact mounting groove adapted to the movable contact piece. The movable contact piece is confined within the movable contact mounting groove so that it is circumferentially linked with the operating shaft. The two ends of the first elastic member respectively abut against the positioning rod and the movable contact piece.

[0011] Furthermore, there are two first elastic elements, and the two first elastic elements are located on both sides of the holding contact; a second elastic element is provided, which is arranged corresponding to the movable contact and forms a force on the movable contact piece that tends to move towards the stop terminal.

[0012] Furthermore, the operating shaft has a spring limiting block on the other side of the movable contact piece where the movable contact is located. The second elastic element is a compression spring with its two ends respectively abutting against the spring limiting block and the movable contact piece. The spring limiting block has a second spring limiting groove that cooperates with the second elastic element for limiting.

[0013] Furthermore, the movable contact is provided with a raised positioning part, and the bottom of the housing is provided with a number of positioning protrusions between the common terminal and a number of position terminals. When the movable contact abuts against the position terminal, the positioning part is located in the positioning groove formed between adjacent positioning protrusions.

[0014] Furthermore, the upper end of the positioning rod is a guide arc surface, and the upper end of the through hole includes two symmetrical guide slopes. The guide slopes and the guide arc surface cooperate to form a positioning and guiding function.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows: The positioning rod in this application has positioning blocks formed by protruding from both ends relative to the operating rod, and a first elastic element is provided, so that the positioning blocks elastically abut against the annular teeth, achieving stable and reliable gear positioning. The operating shaft is subjected to uniform force, reducing the risk of shaking during rotation and enhancing the clarity of gear shifting and the operating feel. At the same time, the overall structure is simple, easy to manufacture and assemble, and improves the reliability and maintenance convenience of the product. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, obtaining other drawings based on these drawings without creative effort still falls within the scope of this utility model.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of one embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is an exploded view of one embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the shell cover structure in one embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the shell structure in one embodiment of this application; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the moving contact in one embodiment of this application; Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional view of the operating axis at one angle in one embodiment of this application; Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of the operating axis from another angle in one embodiment of this application; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the positioning rod in one embodiment of this application; Figure 10 This is a partial cross-sectional view of the positioning rod mating structure in one embodiment of this application; In the figure, 1 is the outer shell; 11 is the positioning protrusion; 12 is the positioning groove; 13 is the center through hole; 14 is the outer peripheral through hole; 2 is the shell cover; 21 is the operating shaft hole; 22 is the annular toothed row; 31 is the common terminal; 32 is the position terminal; 4 is the moving contact piece; 41 is the holding contact; 42 is the movable contact; 43 is the positioning part; 44 is the limiting plate; 5 is the operating shaft; 51 is the operating end; 52 is the through hole; 53 is the first spring limiting hole; 54 is the guide slope; 55 is the moving contact piece mounting groove; 56 is the spring limiting block; 561 is the second spring limiting groove; 6 is the positioning rod; 61 is the positioning block; 62 is the mating groove; 63 is the guide arc surface; 7 is the first elastic element; 8 is the second elastic element. Detailed Implementation

[0018] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects to be solved by this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0019] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs; the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the application. The terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, in the specification, claims, and foregoing description of the drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0020] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on or indirectly on that other component. When a component is referred to as being "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to or indirectly connected to that other component.

[0021] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0022] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0023] In this application, "and / or" is merely a way of describing the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist; for example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0024] It should be noted that in this application, the words "in some embodiments," "exemplarily," and "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "in some embodiments," "exemplarily," or "for example" should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Specifically, the use of words such as "in some embodiments," "exemplarily," and "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific manner, meaning that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of the above words in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will explicitly and implicitly understand that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0025] The position positioning structure of existing multi-position rotary switches has the following shortcomings: the pressing part of the moving contact is prone to fatigue failure after long-term use, resulting in poor locking or reduced positioning accuracy; the operating shaft is subjected to uneven force, and it is easy to wobble when rotating. After long-term use, the position feel is not very clear, which affects the user experience.

[0026] This application provides a rotary switch, such as... Figure 1-3 As shown: It includes housing 1, housing cover 2, terminal block assembly, moving contact 4, and operating shaft 5.

[0027] The outer shell 1 and the shell cover 2 are connected to form an inner cavity of the shell, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the cover 2 has an operating shaft hole 21; the terminal assembly is fixed to the bottom of the housing 1, including a common terminal 31 located in the middle and several position terminals 32 arranged in a ring around the common terminal 31, such as... Figure 5As shown, the bottom of the outer casing 1 is provided with a central through hole 13 and several peripheral through holes 14 corresponding to the common terminal 31 and several position terminals 32, respectively, for them to pass through; the movable contact 4 is rotatably disposed in the inner cavity of the casing, and as shown... Figure 6 As shown, it is provided with a retaining contact 41 that abuts against the common terminal 31 and a movable contact 42 that can contact a plurality of gear terminals 32 respectively in the rotation path; one end of the operating shaft 5 is located in the inner cavity of the housing and is circumferentially linked with the movable contact 4, and the other end extends out of the housing through the operating shaft hole 21 to form an operating end 51. Specifically, in some specific embodiments of this application, the outer shell 1 and the shell cover 2 are connected by screws or buckles to form a closed inner cavity of the housing, and the operating shaft hole 21 allows the operating shaft 5 to pass through to realize external operation; the common terminal 31 in the terminal assembly is fixedly connected to the common terminal of the circuit, and the gear terminals 32 correspond to different function gears. By driving the operating end 51 of the operating shaft 5 to rotate, the movable contact 4 can be driven to rotate, thereby causing the movable contact 42 of the movable contact 4 to switch to contact different gear terminals 32, realizing the gear switching of the circuit.

[0028] Specifically, the holding contact 41 is located at or near the rotation center axis of the operating shaft 5, and the common terminal 31 has a contact plane that cooperates with the holding contact 41, so that when the moving contact 4 rotates relative to the rotation center axis of the operating shaft 5, the holding contact 41 is always kept on the contact plane of the common terminal 31.

[0029] To address the problems in related technologies, this application incorporates a novel gear positioning structure in a rotary switch. Specifically, as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the inner wall of the shell cover 2 is provided with annular teeth 22 along the circumference of the operating shaft hole 21; as Figure 7 , Figure 8 As shown, the operating shaft 5 has a radially opening through hole 52 in its middle portion, such as... Figure 3 As shown, a positioning rod 6 is transversely arranged in the through hole 52, and the positioning rod 6 can slide axially relative to the operating shaft 5. The two ends of the positioning rod 6 protrude relative to the operating shaft 5 to form positioning blocks 61 that cooperate with the annular teeth 22; the first elastic element 7 acts on the positioning rod 6 to make the positioning blocks 61 elastically abut against the annular teeth 22.

[0030] When the operating shaft 5 rotates, the positioning rod 6 moves axially within the through hole 52, and the positioning block 61 slides on the annular toothed rack 22. The first elastic element 7 provides elastic force to cause the positioning block 61 to engage with the tooth groove to achieve gear positioning. During operation, the user rotates the operating end 51 to drive the entire structure to move, ensuring accurate positioning. In the technical solution of this application, since the positioning blocks 61 at both ends of the positioning rod 6 simultaneously elastically abut against the annular toothed rack 22 and are positioned and cooperate with the annular toothed rack 22, the force distribution is uniform during the rotation of the operating shaft 5, reducing rotational wobbling and improving the clarity of the tactile feedback for gear shifting.

[0031] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first elastic element 7 is a compression spring, whose extension and retraction direction is arranged along the axial direction of the operating shaft 5 and located on the side of the positioning rod 6 away from the annular teeth 22. When the operating shaft 5 rotates, the positioning block 61 contacts the tooth surface of the annular teeth 22, generating an axial force. The compression spring absorbs this force through extension and retraction, maintaining an elastic contact state. The compression spring has a high fatigue life and stable elastic performance, and is not prone to failure under frequent operation, ensuring positioning reliability and the service life of the switch.

[0032] Optionally, in some embodiments, the operating shaft 5 has a first spring limiting hole 53 on the side of the through hole 52 away from the annular toothed rack 22, which is arranged along the axial direction of the operating shaft 5. The first elastic element 7 is limited within the first spring limiting hole 53. The first spring limiting hole 53 is a through hole structure that connects to the through hole 52 from the bottom of the operating shaft 5 along the axial direction. Its inner diameter is adapted to the outer diameter of the compression spring. During installation, the compression spring is embedded in the hole to prevent radial displacement.

[0033] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 3 , Figure 9 As shown, the positioning rod 6 is provided with a mating groove 62 that cooperates with the first elastic element 7.

[0034] Optionally, in some embodiments, two first elastic elements 7 are provided, and the two first elastic elements 7 are located on both sides of the central axis of the operating shaft 5. Two compression springs balance the force applied to the positioning rod 6.

[0035] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 8 As shown, the operating shaft 5 has a movable contact mounting groove 55 at its end that is adapted to the movable contact 4. The movable contact 4 is confined within the movable contact mounting groove 55 so that it is circumferentially linked with the operating shaft 5. The first elastic member 7 abuts against the positioning rod 6 and the movable contact 4 at both ends, respectively. After the movable contact 4 is embedded in the movable contact mounting groove 55, it achieves synchronous rotation through shape matching.

[0036] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 3As shown, there are two first elastic elements 7, located on both sides of the holding contact 41. Simultaneously, a second elastic element 8 is provided, corresponding to the movable contact 42 and exerting a force on the movable contact 4 towards the gear terminal 32. The first elastic elements 7 also exert a downward elastic pressure on the area of ​​the movable contact 4 where the holding contact 41 is located, making the connection between the holding contact 41 and the common terminal 31 tighter. The second elastic element 8 is another compression spring, installed above the area of ​​the movable contact 4 where the movable contact 42 is located. The second elastic element 8 enhances the contact pressure between the movable contact 42 and the gear terminal 32, and its elastic deformation pushes the movable contact 42 tightly against the gear terminal 32, optimizing the reliability of circuit switching.

[0037] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 8 As shown, the operating shaft 5 has a spring limiting block 56 on the other side of the movable contact 4 where the movable contact point 42 is located. The second elastic element 8 is a compression spring with its two ends respectively abutting against the spring limiting block 56 and the movable contact 4. The spring limiting block 56 has a second spring limiting groove 561 that cooperates with the second elastic element 8 for limiting. This arrangement facilitates installation.

[0038] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 6 As shown, the movable contact piece 4 is provided with a protruding positioning part 43, such as Figure 5 As shown, the bottom interior of the housing 1 has several positioning protrusions 11 between the common terminal 31 and several position terminals 32. When the movable contact 42 abuts against the position terminal 32, the positioning part 43 is located in the positioning groove 12 formed between adjacent positioning protrusions 11. The positioning part 43 is an isosceles trapezoidal protrusion, and several positioning grooves 12 are formed between the positioning protrusions 11. Through the above structure, mechanical positioning is provided for the movable contact 4, assisting in electrical contact positioning and enhancing the position holding force of the movable contact 4.

[0039] The movable contact 4 is bent at both ends radially along the operating shaft 5 to form a limiting plate 44. The bottom of the movable contact mounting groove 55 is provided with a corresponding limiting groove, which cooperates to form a radial limit to prevent the movable contact 4 from displacing radially along the operating shaft 5.

[0040] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 9 , Figure 10 As shown, the upper end of the positioning rod 6 forms a guide arc surface 63, as... Figure 7As shown, the upper end of the through hole 52 includes two symmetrical guide slopes 54, which cooperate with the guide arc surface 63 to form a positioning and guiding function. The guide arc surface 63 is located at the root of the positioning block 61, and the guide slopes 54 are machined on the inner wall of the through hole 52, with a rounded transition between the two guide slopes 54. The above-mentioned guiding and mating structure ensures accurate resetting of the positioning rod 6, reduces jamming, reduces the precision requirements for the fit between the positioning rod 6 and the through hole 52 of the operating shaft 5, and optimizes the smoothness of operation.

[0041] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A position positioning structure for a rotary switch, characterized in that, include: The outer shell and the shell cover are connected to form the inner cavity of the shell. The shell cover is provided with an operating shaft hole, and the inner wall of the shell cover is provided with annular teeth along the circumference of the operating shaft hole. The terminal block assembly includes a common terminal located in the center and several stop terminals arranged in a ring around the common terminal; The movable contact is rotatably disposed in the inner cavity of the housing, and is provided with a retaining contact that maintains abutment with the common terminal and a movable contact that can contact several position terminals respectively in the rotation path; The operating shaft has one end located inside the housing cavity and circumferentially linked with the moving contact piece, and the other end extends out of the housing through the operating shaft hole to form the operating end. A through hole is provided in the middle of the shaft. The positioning rod is located inside the through hole and can slide axially relative to the operating shaft, and both ends protrude relative to the operating shaft to form positioning blocks that cooperate with the annular toothed row. The first elastic element acts on the positioning rod to make the positioning block elastically abut against the annular toothed plate.

2. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first elastic element is a compression spring, whose extension and retraction direction is set along the axial direction of the operating shaft, and is located on the side of the positioning rod away from the annular teeth.

3. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to claim 2, characterized in that, The operating shaft has a first spring limiting hole on the side of the through hole away from the annular toothed section, which is arranged along the axial direction of the operating shaft, and the first elastic element is limited within the first spring limiting hole.

4. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to claim 2, characterized in that, The positioning rod is provided with a mating groove that cooperates with the first elastic element.

5. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, There are two first elastic elements, and the two first elastic elements are located on both sides of the central axis of the operating shaft.

6. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The end of the operating shaft is provided with a movable contact mounting groove that is adapted to the movable contact piece. The movable contact piece is confined within the movable contact mounting groove so that it is circumferentially linked with the operating shaft. The two ends of the first elastic member respectively abut against the positioning rod and the movable contact piece.

7. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to claim 6, characterized in that, Two first elastic elements are provided, and the two first elastic elements are located on both sides of the holding contact; a second elastic element is provided, which is provided corresponding to the movable contact and exerts a force on the movable contact piece in the direction of the stop terminal.

8. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to claim 7, characterized in that, The operating shaft has a spring limiting block on the other side of the movable contact piece. The second elastic element is a compression spring with its two ends abutting against the spring limiting block and the movable contact piece respectively. The spring limiting block has a second spring limiting groove that cooperates with the second elastic element for limiting.

9. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to claim 6, characterized in that, The movable contact is provided with a raised positioning part, and the bottom of the housing is provided with a number of positioning protrusions between the common terminal and a number of position terminals. When the movable contact abuts against the position terminal, the positioning part is located in the positioning groove formed between adjacent positioning protrusions.

10. The position positioning structure of the rotary switch according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper end of the positioning rod is a guide arc surface, and the upper end of the through hole includes two symmetrical guide slopes. The guide slopes and the guide arc surface cooperate to form a positioning and guiding function.

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