TRIGGER SWITCH

Abstract

A trigger switch is provided that can be incorporated into an electrical device, such as an electric tool, and that can be made smaller while suppressing problems related to the feel of the actuation. A trip switch (TS) comprises: a housing (2) contained within a main unit; a trip (1) that allows pressure actuation with a part located outside the housing (2) and moves when pressed by the pressure actuation and when the pressure actuation is released; and an excitation element (5) that excites the trip (1) in a direction opposite to the pressure actuation and can be installed within the main unit. The excitation element (5) excites the trip (1) in a direction opposite to the pressure actuation at one end that is located outside the housing (2) and has another end that is fixed inside the housing (2).

Description

BACKGROUNDTechnical field

[0001] The disclosure relates to a trigger switch having a trigger that allows pressure actuation. State of the art

[0002] Trigger switches used to operate electrical devices such as power tools have a trigger on which the operator places their finger and pulls (presses) the trigger. The operator operates the electrical device by pressing the trigger. For example, the trigger switch described in Patent Document 1 includes a trigger that moves when pressed, a movable contact point that moves with the movement of the trigger, a housing that houses the movable contact point, and an excitation element that excites the trigger in the housing with the aid of a compression coil spring in a direction opposite to the direction of the push. With the increasing popularity of electrical devices equipped with such trigger switches, various improvements to the trigger switches are also being sought. One of the requests for improvements is, for example,the miniaturization of trigger switches. Bibliography[Patent document]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2020-030999. SUMMARYProblems to be solved

[0004] For example, when the housing of a trigger switch is downsized for miniaturization, it is necessary to shorten the length of the extension and contraction direction of the compression coil spring provided as an excitation element in the housing. However, if the compression coil spring is shortened, various problems related to the actuation feel arise, such as the inability to obtain sufficient pressure travel for detecting the push operation and the difficulty in fine-tuning the push operation.

[0005] The disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances and has as its main object to provide a trigger switch that enables miniaturization of an electrical device without impairing the operating feeling. Means to solve the problems

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned problems, the trigger switch disclosed in the present application includes a housing housed in a main unit; a trigger that allows a push operation with a part located outside the housing and moves when pressed by the push operation and when the push operation is released; and an excitation element that excites the trigger in a direction opposite to the push operation. The trigger switch can be incorporated in the main unit, and the excitation element excites the trigger in a direction opposite to the push operation at one end located outside the housing and has the other end fixed inside the housing.

[0007] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned trigger switch, the energizing element is a compression coil spring provided so that an extension and contraction direction becomes a direction of the pressing operation and an opposite direction to the pressing operation.

[0008] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned trigger switch, the trigger includes a cylindrical part extending in a push-operation direction, the housing is provided with an opening through which the cylindrical part is movably inserted, and the excitation element is housed in the cylindrical part. Effects

[0009] The trigger switch disclosed in the present application is provided with an excitation element that excites the trigger at one end located outside the housing and the other end is fixed inside the housing, thereby achieving excellent effects such as the potential for miniaturization while suppressing problems related to the operation feeling. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the electrical device disclosed in the present application. Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the trigger switch disclosed in the present application. Fig. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing an example of the trigger switch disclosed in the present application. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the trigger switch disclosed in the present application. Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the trigger switch disclosed in the present application. Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the trigger switch disclosed in the present application. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The embodiments of the disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings. <anwendungsbeispiel>

[0011] The trigger switch disclosed in the present application is applicable to various electrical devices, including electrical tools such as an electric drill, an electric driver, an electric wrench, and an electric grinder, which are equipped with a drive unit such as a motor. Hereinafter, an electrical device PT and a trigger switch TS mounted on the electrical device PT, which are shown in the drawings, will be described with reference to the drawings. <Elektrische Vorrichtung PT>

[0012] Fig. Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the electrical device PT disclosed in the present application. The electrical device PT disclosed in the present application can be used for various devices such as power tools, including an electric drill, an electric driver, an electric wrench, and an electric grinder, as well as water guns, paint guns, and model guns provided with a trigger switch TS. The Fig. The electrical device PT shown in Figure 1 comprises a main unit MU, and the main unit MU contains a trigger switch TS that allows pressure actuation by a user. The main unit MU of the device shown in Figure 1 Fig. The electrical device PT shown in Figure 1 has a shape in which a hand-held portion is attached to a substantially cylindrical main body part, which houses a drive unit (not shown) such as an electric motor. The trigger switch TS is integrated into the hand-held part of the main unit MU. The trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application is suitable for attachment to a main unit MU having a thin hand-held portion. An electrical device PT having a main unit MU with a thin hand-held portion has characteristics such as being easy to hold and easy to operate, even for people with small hands. In the following description, as shown in the drawings, the direction of the substantially cylindrical main body part is referred to as the upward direction, and the direction of the hand-held portion is referred to as the downward direction. Furthermore, the direction in which a rotating tool portion, such as a rotary tool, rotates is referred to as the downward direction.The direction in which the trigger switch TS is pressed is referred to as the front direction, and the direction in which the trigger switch TS is pressed is referred to as the rear direction. That is, in the trigger switch TS installed in the electrical device PT, the front-to-rear direction becomes the operation direction in which the switch is pressed in the push operation. These directions are for convenience of description and do not limit the directions of use of the electrical device PT and the trigger switch TS. <Auslöseschalter TS>

[0013] The following describes the trigger switch TS provided in the electrical device PT. Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application. Fig. 1 shows the appearance of a trigger switch TS that can be installed in a main unit MU, viewed diagonally from the left. The trigger switch TS is a switch operated by an operator of the electrical device PT and includes a trigger 1 with which the operator performs a pressing operation. When an operator performs a pressing operation by pressing the trigger 1 of the trigger switch TS, a drive unit (not shown) such as an electric motor built into the main unit MU is driven. In addition to the trigger 1, the trigger switch TS includes various components such as a housing 2 housed in the main unit MU, a cover member 3 covering a connecting portion between the trigger 1 and the housing 2, and a switching mechanism 4 attached to an upper part of the housing 2.

[0014] Fig. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing an example of the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application. Fig. Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application. The trigger switch TS includes various components such as the trigger 1, the housing 2, the cover member 3, and the switching mechanism 4 described above, as well as an excitation element 5, a moving element 6, and an opening / closing mechanism 7.

[0015] The trigger 1 is a member that accepts a push operation by an operator. The trigger 1 has the shape of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped and is box-shaped with an internal space, with the rear surface being open. The front part of the trigger 1 is located outside the housing 2 so that it can be operated by a user, and the front surface of the trigger 1 is concavely curved so that the user can easily place their finger on it when operated. The trigger 1 has a cylindrical part 10 extending rearward (push direction) from an inner wall surface at the front part, and the cylindrical part 10 serves as a connecting portion between the trigger 1 and the housing 2. The cylindrical part 10 has a long, generally cylindrical shape and is formed on the trigger 1 so that the axial direction is the front and rear direction.The cylindrical part 10 has a bottom surface portion at the front end side, which is closed by the inner wall surface at the front part of the trigger 1. The cylindrical part 10 has an open bottom surface at the rear end side, and the moving member 6 is externally mounted and connected to the rear end portion. An excitation element 5 is housed inside the cylindrical part 10, and a front end (one end) of the excitation element 5 abuts against the inner wall surface at the front part of the trigger 1. The outer surface of the cylindrical part 10 is covered by the cover member 3.

[0016] The housing 2 is a hollow housing with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and can, as in Fig. 3, can be divided into a right half body 2a and a left half body 2b. On the inner side surface of the left half body 2b of the housing 2, a substrate and an electronic circuit (not shown) including various electronic elements are provided. The housing 2 has a substantially circular insertion hole 20 formed in a wall surface at its front part, and the rear part of the cylindrical part 10 of the trigger 1 is movably inserted into the insertion hole 20. The periphery of the insertion hole 20 opened in the housing 2 has a cylindrical shape that protrudes forward. The cover member 3 is externally fitted onto the part protruding on the periphery of the insertion hole 20 in the housing 2.The housing 2 has a support protrusion 21 having a generally columnar shape formed on the inner wall surface at its rear part, and the support protrusion 21 supports the rear end side (other end side) of the excitation element 5. The switching mechanism 4 is attached to the upper part of the housing 2 so as to penetrate the upper surface. The opening / closing mechanism 7 is attached to the lower part of the housing 2 so as to penetrate the lower surface.

[0017] The cover member 3 is made of a flexible material such as rubber or elastic plastic. The cover member 3 has a substantially cylindrical bellows shape with corrugated sides and is expandable and contractible in the axial direction. The cover member 3 is provided to cover the cylindrical part 10 of the trigger 1, with the front end fixed to the base portion of the cylindrical part 10 and the rear end fixed to be externally mounted around the periphery of the insertion hole 20 opened in the front surface of the housing 2.

[0018] The switching mechanism 4 includes a switching lever 40 projecting outward from the upper surface of the housing 2, a switching contact point part 41 housed in the upper part of the housing 2, and so on. The switching lever 40 is a member that receives a switching operation from an operator and swings left and right in response to the operator's operation. The switching operation by the operator is, for example, an operation for switching the operation mode of the drive unit, specifically, an operation for switching between forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive unit, switching between constant speed mode and variable speed mode of the drive unit, and so on. The switching lever 40 swings left and right in response to the switching operation performed by the operator and transmits the swinging motion to the switching contact part 41.When the switching lever 40 is operated so that it is in the center of the swing range, the switching lever 40 also functions as a stopper that prevents a push operation on the trigger 1. The switching contact point part 41 includes brush-like first sliding contact points 42 on its left side, which, together with an electronic circuit provided on the inner side surface of the left half body 2b of the housing 2, form a switching circuit. The switching contact point part 41 reciprocates within the housing 2 by the swinging movement of the switching lever 40. The switching contact part 41 switches the circuit by reciprocating, thereby switching the operation mode of the drive unit.

[0019] The excitation element 5 is formed, for example, by a compression coil spring that expands and contracts in the longitudinal direction. The excitation element 5 is housed in the cylindrical part 10 of the trigger 1. The front end side (one end side) of the excitation element 5 is located outside the housing 2 and abuts with its front end against the inner wall surface at the front part of the trigger 1, thereby actuating the trigger 1 forward, that is, in the opposite direction to the pressing operation. The rear end side (other end side) of the excitation element 5 is located inside the housing 2 and is fixed to and supported by the support projection 21 formed on the inner wall surface in the rear part of the housing 2. The excitation element 5 configured in this way has an expansion and contraction direction, which is the direction of the pressing operation and the opposite direction to the pressing operation.When the trigger 1 is moved rearward by the pressure caused by the push operation, the excitation element 5 is contracted. When the trigger 1 is released from the pressure caused by the push operation and moves forward, the excitation element 5 is expanded. When the trigger 1 is at the front, the rear end of the expanded excitation element 5 is exposed from the cylindrical part 10. In this way, in the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application, one end side of the excitation element 5 excites the front part of the trigger 1 outside the housing 2, and the other end side of the excitation element 5 is fixed to the rear part of the housing 2 inside the housing 2. In this way, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can ensure a sufficient length of the extension and contraction direction of the excitation element 5.

[0020] The moving member 6 is externally mounted on the rear end portion of the cylindrical part 10 of the trigger 1 and moves with the movement of the trigger 1, thereby opening and closing an electronic circuit. The moving member 6 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is penetrated from front to back by a fitting hole 60. The moving member 6 is fitted onto the cylindrical part 10 of the trigger 1 from the outside via the fitting hole 60. The moving member 6 includes a brush-like second sliding contact point 61 on its left side surface, which, together with an electronic circuit provided on the inner side surface of the left half body 2b of the housing 2, forms a drive circuit. The moving member 6 has a plate-shaped engaging piece 62 extending downward on its underside.The engagement piece 62 of the moving element 6 engages the opening / closing mechanism 7. The moving element 6 reciprocates within the housing 2 with the movement of the trigger 1, and the movement of the moving element 6 acts on the drive circuit to start / stop the drive unit or change the drive speed. Furthermore, the moving element 6 engages the opening / closing mechanism 7 through its movement and opens and closes the opening / closing circuit formed by the opening / closing mechanism 7.

[0021] The opening / closing mechanism 7 has a first terminal 70 and a second terminal 71 facing the outside of the housing 2, and is a mechanism for opening and closing a circuit formed between the first terminal 70 and the second terminal 71. When the trigger switch TS is installed in the main unit MU, the first terminal 70 and the second terminal 71 of the opening / closing mechanism 7 are electrically connected to a circuit inside the main unit MU. When the first terminal 70 and the second terminal 71 of the opening / closing mechanism 7 are electrically connected to a circuit in the main unit MU, the opening / closing mechanism 7 functions, for example, as a switching circuit that electrically connects and disconnects the circuit in the main unit MU and an electronic circuit provided in the housing 2.In addition to the first terminal 70 and the second terminal 71, the opening / closing mechanism 7 includes various other elements such as a fixed contact point 72, a vibrating element 73, and a spring element 74. The first terminal 70 is a conductive metal part that penetrates the housing 2 from the inside to the outside and has a substantially rectangular shape. The first terminal 70 has a bent portion located inside the housing 2, and the fixed contact point 72 is fixed to the bent portion. The first terminal 70 and the fixed contact point 72 are electrically connected. The second terminal 71 is a conductive metal part that penetrates the housing 2 from the inside to the outside and has a substantially rectangular shape. The second terminal 71 has a bent portion located inside the housing 2, and a vibrating element 73 is pivotally mounted in the bent portion so that it can vibrate.The oscillating element 73 is a substantially L-shaped bent element pivotally supported by the second terminal 71 near the bent portion and oscillates around the pivotally supported portion as a pivot center. The substantially L-shaped bent oscillating element 73 has a oscillating contact point 730 attached to one end and an engaging arm portion 731 on the other end. The second terminal 71 and the oscillating contact point 730 are electrically connected. The engaging arm portion 731 of the oscillating element 73 abuts against the engaging piece 62 of the moving element 6 and engages with the engaging piece 62. The oscillating element 73 oscillates around a pivotally supported pivot shaft as a pivot center, with the oscillating contact point 730 abutting against or separating from the fixed contact point 72. The spring element 74 is made of a spring, e.g.a torsion spring, which wraps around the pivot shaft around which the oscillating element 73 oscillates, and drives the oscillating element 73 to oscillate in a direction in which the oscillating element 73 abuts a fixed contact point 72. When the oscillating contact point 730 abuts the fixed contact point 72, the circuit between the first terminal 70 and the second terminal 71 is closed, and when the oscillating contact point 730 detaches from the fixed contact point 72, the circuit between the first terminal 70 and the second terminal 71 is opened. <Betätigung des Auslöseschalters TS>

[0022] Next, the operation of the trigger switch TS is described. Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application. Fig. 5 shows a released state in which the trigger 1 is not operated. In a released state in which the trigger 1 is not pressed, the trigger 1 is located at the front end of the front and rear movement range. The excitation element 5 is at the maximum extension within the extension and retraction range. The moving element 6 attached to the trigger 1 is located at the front end of the front and rear movement range, and the engagement piece 62 is engaged with the engagement arm part 731 of the swinging element 73 of the opening / closing mechanism 7. In the opening / closing mechanism 7, the engagement arm part 731 of the swinging element 73 is engaged with the engagement piece 62 of the moving element 6, so that the swinging contact point 730 is separated from the fixed contact point 72 against the excitation force of the spring element 74. In the Fig. 5 is the released state of the opening / closing mechanism 7, in which a circuit at the second sliding contact point 61 (in Fig. 5 (the corresponding position is shown by a dashed line) of the moving element 6 in a state where the drive unit is stopped. Since the oscillating contact point 730 and the fixed contact point 72 are separated from each other, the circuit between the first terminal 70 and the second terminal 71 of the opening / closing mechanism 7 is open.

[0023] Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application. Fig. 6 shows a pressed state in which the trigger 1 is released by a pressure actuation from the Fig. 5 is pressed. In the pressed state in which the trigger 1, as shown in Fig. 6, the trigger 1 is located at the rear end of the front and rear movement range. The excitation element 5 is contracted as far as possible within the extension and retraction range. The moving element 6 is located at the rear end of the front and rear movement range, and the engagement piece 62 is disengaged from the engagement arm part 731 of the swinging element 73 of the opening / closing mechanism 7. In the opening / closing mechanism 7, the engagement between the swinging arm part of the swinging element 73 and the engagement piece 62 of the moving element 6 is disengaged, and thus the swinging contact point 730 abuts the fixed contact point 72 due to the excitation force of the spring element 74. In the Fig. In the pushed state shown in Fig. 6, the opening / closing mechanism 7, in which a circuit is formed at the second sliding contact point 61 of the moving member 6, is in a state where the drive unit is in operation. Since the pivoting contact point 730 and the fixed contact point 72 are in contact with each other, the circuit between the first terminal 70 and the second terminal 71 of the opening / closing mechanism 7 is closed. In this way, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can ensure a sufficient stroke length in the push operation, that is, a sufficient difference in the position of the trigger 1 in the released state and the pressed state.

[0024] As described above, in the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application, one end of the excitation element 5 excites the front part of the trigger 1 forward outside the housing 2, and the other end of the excitation element 5 is fixed to the rear part of the housing 2 inside the housing 2. Therefore, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can have a short front-to-rear length. As a result, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application has excellent effects such as being able to be realized as a small-sized trigger switch TS that can be incorporated into a main unit MU with a short length in the front and rear directions of the handheld part.

[0025] Furthermore, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can ensure a sufficient length in the extension and contraction direction of the excitation element 5, so that it is not necessary to use a short excitation element 5, and there is no loss of the operation feeling, which offers other excellent advantages.

[0026] Furthermore, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can ensure a sufficient stroke length in the push operation and thus has excellent effects such as maintaining the operation feeling required for fine adjustment of the push operation even when miniaturized.

[0027] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be embodied in various other forms. Thus, the above-mentioned embodiment is merely illustrative in all respects and should not be interpreted in a limiting sense. The technical field of the present invention is described by the scope of the claims and is not limited by the description. Furthermore, all changes and variations that fall within the corresponding scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention.

[0028] For example, in the aforementioned embodiment, the excitation element 5 is housed in the cylindrical part 10 formed in the trigger 1, but the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application is not limited thereto. The trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can be employed in various forms as long as it can penetrate the inside and outside of the housing 2 and maintain the actuation of the excitation element 5. For example, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can be employed in various forms, such as restricting the actuation of the excitation element 5 to an expansion and contraction direction by a shaft center within the excitation element 5.

[0029] Furthermore, for example, in the aforementioned embodiment, a compression coil spring is used as the excitation element 5, but the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application is not limited thereto. The trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application may use various excitation elements 5 that excite a trigger 1 at one end and are fixed in a housing 2 at the other end. For example, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can be implemented in various forms, for example, by using various excitation elements 5, including a leaf spring, a torsion spring, or the like.

[0030] That is, the trigger switch TS disclosed in the present application can be used in various forms according to the following supplementary embodiments. (Supplementary Embodiment 1)

[0031] A trigger switch that contains: a housing housed in a main unit; a trigger that accepts a push-button action with a part arranged outside the housing and moves when pressed by the push-button action and when the push-button action is released; and an excitation element that excites the trigger in a direction opposite to the push-button action, wherein the trigger switch can be incorporated in the main unit, and wherein the excitation element excites the trigger in a direction opposite to the pressure actuation at one end side located outside the housing and the other end side is fixed inside the housing. (Supplementary embodiment 2)

[0032] The trigger switch according to the additional embodiment 1, wherein the excitation element is a compression coil spring provided so that an extension and contraction direction becomes a direction of the compression operation and an opposite direction to the compression operation. (Supplementary Embodiment 3)

[0033] The trigger switch according to the additional embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the trigger comprises a cylindrical part extending in the direction of pressure actuation, the housing is formed with an opening through which the cylindrical part is movably inserted, and the excitation element is housed in the cylindrical part. List of reference symbols PT Electrical Device MU main device TS trigger switch 1 trigger 10 Cylindrical part 2 housings 20 insertion hole 3 Cover element 4 Switching mechanism 5 Excitation element 6 Movement element 7 Opening / closing mechanism< / anwendungsbeispiel>

Claims

[1] Trigger switch (TS), comprising: a housing (2) housed in a main unit (MU); a trigger (1) allowing a push-button operation with a part located outside the housing and moving when pressed by the push-button operation and when the push-button operation is released; and an excitation element (5) exciting the trigger in a direction opposite to the push-button operation, wherein the trigger switch can be incorporated in the main unit, and wherein the excitation element excites the trigger in a direction opposite to the pressure actuation at one end side located outside the housing and the other end side is fixed inside the housing. [2] The trigger switch according to claim 1, wherein the energizing element is a compression coil spring provided to have an extension and contraction direction in a direction of the pressing operation and an opposite direction to the pressing operation. [3] Trigger switch according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the trigger comprises a cylindrical part (10) extending in a pressure actuation direction, the housing is provided with an opening through which the cylindrical part is movably inserted, and the excitation element is housed in the cylindrical part.

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