Plate attachment structure and operation equipment

Abstract

To provide a plate attachment structure and operating equipment capable of smoothly and reliably eliminating air trapping even when air trapping occurs between a plate and a housing surface when the plate is stuck to the housing surface.SOLUTION: A plate attachment structure 20 includes a housing 100, and a sheet-like plate 200 attached to the surface of the housing 100. The housing 100 includes a groove 106 formed in the surface to which the plate 200 is attached, and holes (holes 101, gaps between hinges 102, vent holes 103, and holes 104) penetrating the housing 100 and connected to the groove 106.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a plate attachment structure for attaching a plate to a surface of a housing, and to an operating device equipped with the plate attachment structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in an operating device (remote control) for a water heater, a plate on which display items and operating items are arranged is attached to the surface of the housing of the operating device. Specifically, an adhesive layer is attached to the back surface of the plate, and the plate is attached to the surface of the housing by attaching this adhesive layer to the surface of the housing.

[0003] Patent Document 1 listed below describes a sheet having an adhesive layer on one side. Here, grooves are formed in a grid pattern over the entire surface of the adhesive layer. Each groove extends to the periphery of the adhesive layer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-154144 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When the plate is attached to the surface of the housing as described above, air may get between the surface of the housing and the plate, which is called an air inclusion state. When air gets in, an undesirable bulge occurs in the plate due to the air inclusion, which impairs the appearance of the operating device.

[0006] In the configuration of Patent Document 1, the thickness of the adhesive layer itself is small to begin with, so the depth of the grooves formed in the adhesive layer is also significantly shallow. Therefore, when the sheet body is attached to the surface of a housing, the grooves may be crushed, and it may become impossible for air to escape from the grooves to the outside.

[0007] In view of such problems, the present invention aims to provide a plate attachment structure that can smoothly and reliably eliminate air entrapment that occurs between the plate and the housing surface when the plate is attached to the housing surface, and an operating device equipped with the plate attachment structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a plate attachment structure. The plate attachment structure according to this aspect includes a housing and a sheet-like plate attached to a surface of the housing. The housing has a groove formed on the surface to which the plate is attached, and a hole penetrating the housing and connected to the groove. The hole is a gap for forming a hinge portion for operating a switch housed in the housing.

[0018] A second aspect of the present invention relates to a plate attachment structure. The plate attachment structure according to this aspect includes a housing and a sheet-like plate attached to a surface of the housing. The housing has a groove formed on the surface to which the plate is attached, and a hole penetrating the housing and connected to the groove. The hole is a punch hole for punching out the mold when forming the housing. be .

[0019] According to the plate attachment structures of the first and second aspects, if air becomes trapped between the plate and the surface of the housing when the plate is attached to the surface of the housing, the air can be pushed with a finger or the like to drive the air into the groove, allowing the air to escape through the groove to the hole. Furthermore, since the groove is formed on the surface of the housing, the groove can be ensured to be deep. Therefore, even when the plate is attached to the surface of the housing, the groove will not become blocked. Therefore, by driving the air into the groove as described above, air can be smoothly and reliably eliminated. Also, By using a hole provided in the housing for another purpose as the hole for eliminating air entrapment, the structure of the housing can be further simplified, and air entrapment can be smoothly eliminated with a simpler structure.

[0020] The present invention 3 The aspect relates to an operating device. The operating device according to the aspect is the first or second The present invention includes a plate attachment structure according to the aspect of the present invention, and a circuit board accommodated in the housing. The plate is an operation plate for performing a predetermined operation.

[0021] According to the operating device of this aspect, the first or second Since the plate attachment structure according to the aspect is provided, air entrapment between the plate and the surface of the housing can be smoothly and reliably eliminated. This makes it possible to prevent poor appearance of the operating device due to air entrapment, and improve the quality of the operating device. Effect of the Invention

[0022] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a plate attachment structure that can smoothly and reliably eliminate air entrapment that occurs between the plate and the housing surface when the plate is attached to the housing surface, and an operating device equipped with the plate attachment structure.

[0023] The effects and significance of the present invention will become clearer from the following description of the embodiment. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example of how the present invention can be put into practice, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of an operating device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of a housing and a circuit board according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state in which a circuit board and a cover are installed in a housing according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a structure in which a circuit board and a cover are provided in a housing according to an embodiment, taken at a position where a light source and a switch are arranged. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which a plate is installed on the front surface of a housing according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state in which air is trapped between the front surface of the housing and the plate according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] 8(a) and (b) are front views showing the arrangement of grooves and holes formed on the surface of the housing according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0026] In the following embodiment, the present invention is applied to an operating device (remote control) for a water heater. For convenience, arrows indicating up, down, left, right, front, and back of the operating device are added to each drawing.

[0027] Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of manipulation device 10. Fig. 2 is a front view showing the configurations of housing 100 and circuit board 300.

[0028] The operating device 10 includes a housing 100, a plate 200, a circuit board 300, and a cover 400. The housing 100 and the plate 200 form a plate attachment structure 20 for attaching the plate 200 to the front surface of the housing 100. As described below, the plate attachment structure 20 has a configuration for eliminating air entrapment that occurs between the front surface of the housing 100 and the plate 200 when the plate 200 is attached.

[0029] The housing 100 has a box shape with an open rear surface. When viewed from the front, the shape of the housing 100 is substantially square. The housing 100 is made of, for example, a hard resin material. The housing 100 may be made of other hard materials such as metal.

[0030] Six holes 101 are formed on the front surface of the housing 100, through which light from six light-emitting sources 301 mounted on the circuit board 300 passes. That is, these six holes 101 are light passages through which light from the light-emitting sources 301 passes. When viewed from the front, the shape of the holes 101 is a rectangle that is long in the left-right direction. Four holes 101 are arranged vertically in the left range of the front surface of the housing 100, and two holes 101 are arranged horizontally in the center of the upper side. The positions of these holes 101 correspond to the positions of the six light-emitting sources 301 on the circuit board 300 side. The holes 101 penetrate the housing 100 from front to back.

[0031] Furthermore, four hinge parts 102 arranged vertically are formed on the front surface of the housing 100. That is, as shown in Fig. 2, by forming an arc-shaped gap 102a penetrating from front to rear on the front surface of the housing 100, the hinge parts 102 that are elastically deformable in the front to rear direction are formed. The positions of these hinge parts 102 correspond to the positions of the four switches 302 mounted on the circuit board 300, respectively.

[0032] Furthermore, three punch holes 103 are formed on the front surface of the housing 100. Claws 103a for fastening wiring (not shown) drawn out from the circuit board 300 are disposed at the back of the punch holes 103. The claws 103a are integrally formed on the rear surface of the housing 100. The punch holes 103 are for pulling a mold used to form the housing 100 forward at the position of the claws 103a.

[0033] In addition, a hole 104 and two holes 105 are formed on the front surface of the housing 100. The two holes 105 are screw holes for attaching the circuit board 300 to the housing 100. A boss (not shown) for supporting the circuit board 300 is formed on the rear surface of the housing 100 at a position corresponding to the two holes 105. The hole 105 and the boss penetrate the housing 100 from front to rear.

[0034] A protrusion (not shown) for supporting the circuit board 300 together with the boss is formed on the rear surface of the housing 100, and further a notched protrusion (not shown) is formed for supporting the circuit board 300 while restricting the outer periphery of the circuit board 300 to position the circuit board 300. The circuit board 300 is supported by these bosses and protrusions and is placed on the rear surface of the housing 100.

[0035] A plurality of grooves 106 are formed in a lattice pattern on the front surface of the housing 100 in an area where the plate 200 overlaps when the plate 200 is attached. In this embodiment, eight grooves 106 extending vertically are arranged substantially evenly in the left-right direction, and seven grooves 106 extending horizontally are arranged substantially evenly in the up-down direction. As shown in FIG. 2, some of these grooves 106 communicate with one or more of the hole 101, the gap 102a of the hinge portion 102, the punched hole 103, and the hole 104.

[0036] The circuit board 300 is mounted with a circuit for executing the functions of the manipulation device 10. As described above, the circuit board 300 is mounted with six light-emitting sources 301 and four switches 302. The light-emitting sources 301 are LEDs. The light-emitting sources 301 may be light-emitting sources other than LEDs. The switches 302 have an operator on the front surface, and are push-type switches that are operated when the operator is pressed. When the above-mentioned hinge portion 102 is pressed and the hinge portion 102 bends backward, the operator of the switch 302 is pressed, and the switch 302 is operated.

[0037] Additionally, on the circuit board 300, a circuit section (not shown) such as a control circuit related to the light source 301 and the switch 302 is arranged.

[0038] The plate 200 is an operation plate that allows a user to operate the operation device 10. The plate 200 is a thin plate-like member made of a flexible and translucent material such as resin. When viewed from the front, the plate 200 has a shape that is slightly smaller than the housing 100. That is, the plate 200 has a shape that fits inside the edge 107 formed along the outer periphery of the front surface of the housing 100. An adhesive layer 201 is attached to the entire area of ​​the rear surface of the plate 200. For example, the adhesive layer 201 is exposed to the outside by peeling off the release paper attached to the rear surface of the adhesive layer 201.

[0039] In addition, display items 202 and operation items 203 (see FIG. 6) are provided on the front surface of plate 200 at positions corresponding to hole 101 and hinge portion 102 on the front surface of housing 100. Each of display items 202 is provided with a mark for providing a predetermined notification to the user, and each of operation items 203 is provided with a mark indicating the content of the operation to be accepted.

[0040] The cover 400 is a lid that closes the opening of the housing 100 from the rear. The cover 400 is made of hard resin, metal, or the like. A step (not shown) that is one step lower on the inner periphery side is formed at the rear ends of the four side walls 108 of the housing 100. The cover 400 is fitted into this step, and the cover 400 is attached to the housing 100.

[0041] When assembling the manipulation device 10, first, the circuit board 300 is placed on the bosses and protrusions formed on the rear surface of the housing 100 and screwed to the bosses. In addition, the wiring drawn out from the circuit board 300 is hooked onto the claws 103a formed on the rear surface of the housing 100 and attached to the rear surface of the housing 100. After the circuit board 300 is thus mounted inside the housing 100, the cover 400 is fitted into the steps at the rear ends of the four side walls 108 and attached to the housing 100. This completes the assembly of the housing 100, the circuit board 300, and the cover 400.

[0042] FIG. 3 is a front view showing the state in which the circuit board 300 and the cover 400 are installed in the housing 100. As shown in FIG.

[0043] 3, a light source 301 on the circuit board 300 side is positioned at the position of a hole 101 in the housing 100. Also, a switch 302 on the circuit board 300 side is positioned at the position of a hinge portion 102 of the housing 100. For convenience, the wiring hung on the claw 103a is omitted from FIG. 3.

[0044] Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of Fig. 3 taken along line AA' where light source 301 and switch 302 are aligned. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an enlarged portion of the cross-sectional view of Fig. 4.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 5, two of the grooves 106 are connected to the hole 101 that passes light from the light source 301 at positions P11, P12, P13, and P14. The hole 101 extends along the tube portion 101a formed on the rear surface of the housing 100. A small gap G11 exists between the rear end of the tube portion 101a and the front surface of the circuit board 300. Therefore, these two grooves 106 are connected to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300 via the hole 101 and the gap G11. In addition, the other grooves 106 connected to these two grooves 106 are also connected to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300 via these two grooves 106.

[0046] 5, two grooves 106 are connected to gaps 102a for forming the hinge portion 102. Therefore, these two grooves 106 are connected to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300 via the gaps 102a. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, two other grooves 106 are connected to the gaps 102a of the other two hinge portions 102. Therefore, the other grooves 106 connected to these four grooves 106 are also connected to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300 via these four grooves.

[0047] 5, a plurality of grooves 106 are connected to the hole 104 at positions P17, P18, and P19. Therefore, these grooves 106 are also connected to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300. Further, other grooves 106 connected to these grooves 106 are also connected to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300 via these grooves 106.

[0048] 4, a plurality of grooves 106 are connected to the three holes 103. Therefore, these grooves 106 are also connected to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300. Moreover, other grooves 106 connected to these grooves 106 are also connected to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300 via these grooves 106.

[0049] Ultimately, all of the grooves 106 are connected, either directly or through other grooves 106, to either the holes 101, the gaps 102a, the holes 103 and the holes 104, and thereby to the space between the housing 100 and the circuit board 300.

[0050] Plate 200 is attached to the front surface of the structure shown in Fig. 3. That is, plate 200 is fitted inside edge 107 so that adhesive layer 201 attached to the rear surface of plate 200 overlaps the inner area of ​​edge 107 on the front surface of housing 100. In this way, plate 200 is attached to the front surface of housing 100. In this way, assembly of manipulation device 10 is completed. Fig. 6 shows a front view of manipulation device 10 after assembly is completed.

[0051] Incidentally, when the plate 200 is attached to the front surface of the housing 100 as described above, air may be trapped between the front surface of the housing 100 and the plate 200. When air is trapped, an undesirable bulge occurs in the plate 200 due to the air trapped, and the appearance of the operating device 10 is impaired.

[0052] In contrast to this, in this embodiment, as described above, a plurality of grooves 106 are formed on the front surface of the housing 100, which are connected to the hole 101, the gap 102a of the hinge portion 102, the hole 103, and the hole 104. As a result, even if air entrapment as described above occurs, it can be smoothly eliminated as follows.

[0053] Fig. 7 is a front view showing a state in which air has been trapped between the front surface of the housing 100 and the plate 200. For convenience, the structure of the area of ​​the front surface of the housing 100 that overlaps with the plate 200 is shown by dashed lines in Fig. 7.

[0054] In the example of FIG. 7, A1 and A2 indicate air masses (air masses) caused by air entrapment. Here, air entrapment occurs in two places. In this case, the worker may drive the air mass A1 into one of the four grooves 106 surrounding the air mass A1. For example, when driving the air mass A1 into the groove 106 directly above, the worker uses his / her finger or a jig or the like to push the lower part of the air mass A1 as shown by the white arrow, and moves the air mass A1 upward. As a result, when the air mass A1 reaches the groove 106 directly above, the air mass A1 flows in the left-right direction within the groove 106 directly above as shown by the dashed arrow, and is released into the space inside the housing 100 through the gap 102a or hole 104 of the hinge part 102 to which the groove 106 is connected. This eliminates the air mass A1.

[0055] Similarly, the worker drives the air mass A2 into one of the four grooves 106 surrounding the air mass A2. For example, when driving the air mass A2 into the groove 106 directly to the left, the worker uses his / her finger, a jig, or the like to push the right part of the air mass A2 as shown by the white arrow, and moves the air mass A2 to the left. As a result, when the air mass A2 reaches the groove 106 directly to the left, the air mass A2 flows vertically within the groove 106 directly to the left as shown by the dashed arrow, and is released into the space inside the housing 100 through the vent hole 103 connected to the groove 106. This eliminates the air mass A2.

[0056] In this manner, all air masses caused by air entrapment are eliminated, and the undesirable bulge of the plate 200 caused by air entrapment disappears, improving the appearance of the operating device 10.

[0057] <Effects of the embodiment> According to this embodiment, the following effects can be achieved.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 100 has a groove 106 formed on the surface (front surface) to which the plate 200 is attached, and holes (hole 101, gap 102a of hinge portion 102, void 103, hole 104) that penetrate the housing 100 and are connected to the groove 106. As a result, even if air is trapped between the plate 200 and the surface of the housing 100 when the plate 200 is attached to the surface of the housing 100, as shown in FIG. 7, the air masses A1 and A2 can be pushed with a finger or the like to drive the air masses A1 and A2 into the groove 106, so that the air can be released to these holes through the groove 106. In addition, since the groove 106 is formed on the surface of the housing 100, the groove 106 can be secured to be deep. Therefore, even if the plate 200 is attached to the surface of the housing 100, the groove 106 is not blocked. Therefore, by driving the air mass into the groove 106 as described above, the air trap can be smoothly and reliably eliminated.

[0059] 3 and 7, the groove 106 is arranged so as to extend over the entire area of ​​the surface of the housing 100 that the plate 200 overlaps when attached. This makes it possible to shorten the distance between the air mass and the groove 106 when air is trapped, and the worker only needs to move the air mass a short distance to drive it into the groove 106. This makes it possible to more smoothly eliminate air trapping.

[0060] 3 and 7, a plurality of grooves 106 are formed on the surface of the housing 100. This makes it possible to easily increase the density of the grooves 106 on the surface of the housing 100. Therefore, when air entrapment occurs, the air mass is likely to approach one of the grooves 106, and the air mass can be easily driven into the groove 106.

[0061] 3 and 7, the grooves 106 are formed in a lattice pattern on the surface of the housing 100. As a result, when air is trapped, the air mass is surrounded by the grooves. Therefore, it is sufficient to drive the air mass into any one of the grooves 106 around the air mass.

[0062] Furthermore, when grooves 106 are formed in a lattice pattern in this manner, even if air is trapped when plate 200 is attached, the position of the trapped air is likely to be aligned with the position of groove 106. As a result, air at this position is likely to escape from groove 106 to one of the holes as plate 200 is attached. Therefore, when grooves 106 are formed in a lattice pattern, it is possible to reduce the area of ​​trapped air (air masses) that remains after plate 200 is attached. This makes it easier to attach plate 200.

[0063] 3 and 7, the holes to which the grooves 106 are connected include a light passage opening (hole 101) for passing light from a light source 301 housed in the housing 100, a gap 102a for forming a hinge portion 102 for operating a switch 302 housed in the housing, and a punching hole 103 for punching out the mold when forming the housing 100. In this way, by using a hole provided in the housing 100 for another purpose as a hole for eliminating air entrapment, the structure of the housing 100 can be further simplified. Therefore, air entrapment can be smoothly eliminated with a simpler structure.

[0064] As shown in Fig. 1, the operating device 10 includes the plate attachment structure 20 configured as described above, and a circuit board 300 housed in the housing 100. Here, the plate 200 is an operation plate for performing a predetermined operation. In this way, since the operating device 10 includes the plate attachment structure 20 configured as described above, air entrapment between the plate 200 and the surface of the housing 100 can be smoothly and reliably eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to suppress poor appearance of the operating device 10 due to air entrapment, and to improve the quality of the operating device 10.

[0065] <Example of change> The application of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above are possible.

[0066] For example, in the above embodiment, the plurality of grooves 106 are formed in a lattice pattern, but the method of forming the grooves is not limited to this.

[0067] 8(a), multiple grooves 111 extending left and right and one groove 111 extending up and down may be formed on the front surface of the housing 100 so as to intersect with each other, and the grooves 111 may be connected to each other. In this case, it is sufficient that any one of the grooves 111 is connected to a hole 112 penetrating the housing 100 from front to back, and all of the grooves 111 are connected to the inside of the housing 100 via the hole 112.

[0068] 8(b), a plurality of concentric grooves 121 and two diagonally extending grooves 121 may be formed on the front surface of the housing 100 so as to intersect with each other, and the grooves 121 may be connected to each other. In this case, it is sufficient that any one of the grooves 121 is connected to a hole 122 penetrating the housing 100 from front to rear, and all the grooves 121 are connected to the inside of the housing 100 via the hole 122.

[0069] In addition, it is not necessary to form a plurality of grooves, and a single groove may be formed in a single stroke. For example, a single spiral groove may be formed on the front surface of the housing 100, and the groove may be connected at any position on the groove to a hole penetrating the housing 100 from front to rear.

[0070] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the adhesive layer 201 is provided on the rear surface of the plate 200, but the adhesive layer 201 may be provided on the front surface of the housing 100. In this case, the adhesive layer may be provided on the area of ​​the front surface of the housing 100 excluding the groove 106. Even with this configuration, even if air is trapped when the plate 200 is attached to the front surface of the housing 100, the air can be eliminated by driving the air mass into the groove 106, as in the above.

[0071] In the above embodiment, the plate attaching structure 20 is applied to the operating device 10 of the hot water supply device, but the device to which the plate attaching structure is applied is not limited to this. For example, the plate attaching structure of the present invention may be applied to a device that does not accept operations and simply notifies by emitting light. Also, the plate attaching structure of the present invention may be applied to a device that performs a predetermined function while both accepting operations and notifying. Furthermore, in the case where a plate is attached only to the area for notification in this device, the plate attaching structure of the present invention may be applied to this area.

[0072] Furthermore, the area to which the plate is attached does not have to be the front of the device, but may be the side of the device, etc. In this case, the plate attachment structure according to the present invention may be applied to this side.

[0073] In addition, the embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various ways as appropriate within the scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 10 Operating equipment 20 Plate attachment structure 100 Case 101 hole (light passage port) 102 Hinge part 102a Gap (hole) 103 Punch hole (hole) 104 holes 106 Groove 200 plates 300 Circuit Board 301 Light Source 302 Switch

Claims

1. A housing and a sheet-like plate attached to a surface of the housing; The housing includes: a groove formed on a surface to which the plate is attached; a hole penetrating the housing and connected to the groove; The hole is a gap for forming a hinge portion for operating a switch housed in the housing. A plate attachment structure characterized by:

2. A housing, a sheet-like plate attached to a surface of the housing; The housing includes: a groove formed on a surface to which the plate is attached; a hole penetrating the housing and connected to the groove; The hole is a punch hole for punching a mold when forming the housing. A plate attachment structure characterized by:

3. The plate attachment structure according to claim 1 or 2, A circuit board accommodated in the housing, The plate is an operation plate for performing a predetermined operation.

13. An operating device comprising:

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