Mechanical shaft-type inductive switch and electronic product

Abstract

The present invention discloses a mechanical shaft-type inductive switch and an electronic product. The mechanical shaft-type inductive switch comprises: an insulating body, provided with an shaft core moving hole extending upward and downward; a shaft core, mounted in the shaft core moving hole and configured to be movable up and down relative to the insulating body; a return spring, having two ends respectively acting upon the insulating body and the shaft core to provide an automatic upward return force for the shaft core; and a metal member, provided at the lower end of the shaft core to move up and down along with the shaft core, the metal member being located below the return spring. When the shaft core is pressed, the metal member 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; and when the shaft core is released, a return spring force of the return spring drives the shaft core to return upward, and the metal member correspondingly moves upward and close to the lower end of the return spring. The switch uses a current induction method to achieve function switching, provides a fast switching control response, and is more energy-efficient than a magnetic induction method.

Description

Mechanical shaft type inductive induction switch and electronic product TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of switches, in particular to a mechanical shaft type inductive induction switch and electronic product. BACKGROUND

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

[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 soldering feet need to be soldered and fixed to the PCB, which is troublesome to install and inconvenient to disassemble for maintenance and replacement.

[0004] Compared with the traditional mechanical shaft switch, the magnetic induction switch does not need to be soldered and fixed to the PCB one by one for multiple terminal soldering feet. For example, CN 210246715 U discloses a magnetic shaft switch, which includes a circuit board, a shell arranged above the circuit board, a handle slidingly connected to the shell, an elastic member accommodated in the shell and abutting against the handle, a Hall element electrically connected to the circuit board, a magnet arranged in the shell and corresponding to the Hall element, a metal isolation sheet arranged between the Hall element and the magnet and movable with the handle, and the metal isolation sheet is driven to move by the sliding of the handle 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. TECHNICAL SOLUTION

[0006] Therefore, the present application aims to solve the problems existing in the prior art, and the main purpose is to provide a mechanical shaft type inductive induction switch and electronic product, which adopts a current induction method to complete function switching, and the switch switching control response is fast and energy-saving compared with the magnetic induction method.

[0007] To achieve the above purpose, the present application adopts the following technical solution:

[0008] A mechanical shaft type inductive induction switch, comprising:

[0009] An insulating body provided with an axially extending shaft core movable hole;

[0010] A shaft core installed in the shaft core movable hole and movably arranged relative to the insulating body;

[0011] A reset spring having two ends respectively acting on the insulating body and the shaft core to provide an automatic upward reset force for the shaft core;

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

[0013] When the shaft core is pressed, the metal piece moves downward 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 spring drives the shaft core to reset upward, and the metal piece moves upward to approach the lower end of the return spring.

[0014] As a preferred solution, the shaft core moving hole includes a first through hole and a second through hole which are sequentially penetrated 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 piece is located in the second through hole and is limited 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 is arranged on the insulating body around the outer periphery of the first through hole, and the lower end of the return spring extends into the annular groove.

[0017] As a preferred solution, the shaft core includes a shaft body, an upper end connecting part, a lower end connecting part, a shielding part and a lateral guide part, the upper end connecting part is connected to the upper end of the shaft body, the lower end connecting part is connected to the lower end of the shaft body, the metal piece is connected to the lower end connecting part, the shielding part is arranged outwardly from the upper end periphery of the shaft body, the return spring and the first through hole are 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 solution, the shielding part includes a top end shielding plate and a lateral shielding plate, the top end shielding plate is arranged outwardly from the upper end periphery of the shaft body, the lateral shielding plate is arranged downwardly from the outer edge of the top end shielding plate, the lateral guide part is protruded outwardly from the outer side surface of the lateral shielding plate, a guide groove extending upwardly and downwardly is arranged in the insulating body, the lateral guide part is located in the guide groove, and the upper end of the lateral guide part is limited by the inner top surface of the guide groove to prevent the shaft core from being pulled out upwardly.

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

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

[0021] An electronic product comprises an electronic product body, a PCB board arranged on the electronic product body, and a switch arranged above the PCB board.

[0022] The switch is the mechanical shaft type inductance sensing switch as described in any one of the preceding aspects, and the PCB board is provided with a coil and an inductance detection driving IC, the inductance detection driving IC is connected to the coil, and the coil is located below the metal piece.

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

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the present application has obvious advantages and beneficial effects, specifically, the function switching is completed by using the current induction mode, the switch switching control response is fast, and the energy consumption is lower than that of the magnetic induction mode (about 80% energy saving); compared with the traditional mechanical shaft contact switch, the terminal welding process is omitted, and the disassembly inconvenience caused by welding fixation is avoided, therefore, the present application has the advantages of convenient installation and hot plug, and the mechanical or electrical degradation is avoided and the waterproof performance is good, and the service life is obviously prolonged. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0025] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the mechanical shaft type inductance sensing switch of the embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the mechanical shaft type inductance sensing switch of the embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the mechanical shaft type inductance sensing switch and the PCB board of the embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing that the EM field around the coil induces eddy current in the metal piece over time (when the metal piece is close to the coil);

[0029] Fig. 5 is a measurement circuit of a pair of Ctx / CRx pins of the inductance detection driving IC for realizing inductance change measurement.

[0030] The accompanying drawings are described as follows: insulating body 10, shaft core 20, reset spring 30, metal piece 40, first through hole 1, second through hole 2, stepped surface 3, base 11, cover 12, annular groove 4, PCB board 100, switch 200, mounting positioning column 111, shaft body 21, upper end connecting part 22, lower end connecting part 23, shielding part 24, lateral guiding part 25, top end shielding plate 241, lateral shielding plate 242, guiding groove 26, convex rib 261, buckle convex part 112, buckle hole 121, coil 101, inductance detection driving IC 102. Best mode of the present application

[0031] Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, which shows the specific structure of the embodiment of the present application.

[0032] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0033] A mechanical shaft type inductance sensing switch, comprising an insulating body 10, a shaft core 20, a reset spring 30 and a metal piece 40.

[0034] The insulating body 10 is provided with a shaft core movable hole extending upward and downward; the insulating body 10 comprises a base 11 and a cover 12 assembled with each other. The shaft core 20 is installed in the shaft core movable hole and can be movably arranged upward and downward relative to the insulating body 10; the reset spring 30 is generally a metal compression spring, and the two ends thereof act on the insulating body 10 and the shaft core 20 respectively to provide the shaft core 20 with an automatic upward reset force; the metal piece 40 is arranged at the lower end of the shaft core 20 to move upward and downward together with the shaft core 20; and the metal piece 40 is located below the reset spring 30; when the shaft core 20 is pressed, the metal piece 40 moves downward together with the shaft 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 shaft core 20 is released, the reset spring force of the reset spring 30 drives the shaft core 20 to reset upward, and the metal piece 40 moves upward correspondingly to approach the lower end of the reset spring 30.

[0035] In the embodiment, the shaft core movable hole comprises 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 the bottom of the base 11 downward, the shaft core 20 extends into the first through hole 1, and the metal piece 40 is located in the second through hole 2 and is limited below the step surface 3. In addition, 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. In addition, the bottom of the insulating body 10 is provided with a mounting positioning column 111 or / and a mounting buckle arm for being inserted on the PCB board 100.

[0036] The shaft core 20 comprises a shaft body 21, an upper end connecting part 22, a lower end connecting part 23, a shielding part 24 and a lateral guiding part 25. The shaft body 21, the upper end connecting part 22 and the lower end connecting part 23 are arranged vertically. The upper end connecting part 22 is integrally connected to the upper end of the shaft body 21. For a keyboard, the upper end connecting part 22 is usually used to connect with a key cap. Therefore, the upper end connecting part 22 is close to or serves as a pressing end. The lower end connecting part 23 is integrally connected to the lower end of the shaft body 21. The metal piece 40 is connected to the lower end connecting part 23. The shielding part 24 is integrally outwardly extended from the periphery of the upper end of the shaft body 21. The reset spring 30 and the first through hole 1 are located in the downward projection area of the shielding part 24. Thus, the switch interior is well shielded and protected. The lateral guiding part 25 is connected to the outer edge of the shielding part 24. The shielding part 24 comprises a top end shielding plate 241 and lateral shielding plates 242. The top end shielding plate 241 is integrally outwardly extended from the periphery of the upper end of the shaft body 21 and exceeds the entire periphery of the upper end of the shaft body 21. The upper end of the reset spring 30 acts on the bottom surface of the top end shielding plate 241. The lateral shielding plates 242 are symmetrically arranged and integrally downwardly extended from the outer edges of the top end shielding plate 241. The lateral guiding part 25 is provided with two lateral guiding parts 25. The lateral guiding part 25 is outwardly protruded from the outer side surface of the lateral shielding plate 242. The insulating body 10 is provided with a guiding groove 26 extending vertically. The inner side surface of the guiding groove 26 is provided with a protruding rib 261 for reducing contact friction and improving vertical movement smoothness. The lateral guiding part 25 is located in the guiding groove 26. The upper end of the lateral guiding part 25 is limited by the inner top surface of the guiding groove 26 to prevent the shaft core 20 from being upwardly pulled out. The guiding groove 26, the annular groove 4, the first through hole 1 and the second through hole 2 are arranged on the base 11. The reset spring 30 and the shaft core 20 are mounted on the base 11. The cover 12 is mounted on the base 11. The top end shielding plate 241 is exposed on the top of the cover 12. A buckle protrusion 112 is usually arranged on the side surface of the base 11. Correspondingly, a through buckle hole 121 is arranged on the side surface of the cover 12. When the cover 12 is buckled on the base 11, the buckle protrusion 112 is buckled in the corresponding buckle hole 121. Generally, the inner top surface of the guiding groove 26 is reserved on the inner side wall of the cover 12. Therefore, when the cover 12 and the base 11 are assembled, the inner top surface is vertically located above the guiding groove 26 to limit the lateral guiding part 25.

[0037] The metal piece 40 is a pot-shaped metal sheet. The pot shape refers to extending upwards from the central position of the bottom of the metal sheet to the four corners in an arc shape or inclined surface. This kind of pot-shaped structure can improve the strength of the metal sheet and the linearity and consistency of the induction signal. The metal sheet is connected with the shaft core synchronously, and can be made of copper alloy and other materials by stamping forming. The metal sheet is connected and fixed to the lower end of the shaft core by riveting, injection molding or buckling. Preferably, the pot-shaped metal sheet is centrally symmetric relative 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 are also centered on the axis L. The shaft core 20 extends into the first through hole 1, and the gap between the shaft core 20 and the inner wall of the first through hole 1 is 0-1mm.

[0038] Next, an electronic product is introduced. In actual production and manufacturing, the electronic product can be widely used in industrial input devices and hardware such as consumer electronics, for example, switches used in mouse, gamepad, keyboard, remote control and other computer and mobile phone peripheral products. The electronic product includes an electronic product body, a PCB 100 provided on the electronic product body, and a switch 200 mounted above the PCB 100. The switch 200 is the mechanical shaft type inductive switch described above; the PCB 100 is provided with a coil 101 and an inductance detection driving IC 102 (also referred to as an inductance measurement chip), and the inductance detection driving IC 102 is connected to the coil 101. The coil 101 is located below the metal piece 40. During installation, the mounting and positioning column 111 or / and the mounting buckle arm of the insulating body 10 at the bottom can be inserted and positioned with the corresponding hole on the PCB 100, which is convenient for installation and can realize hot plug. After installation, the bottom end of the insulating body 10 is attached to the top surface of the PCB 100, and the coil 101 is located in the area surrounded by the lower end opening of the second through hole 2.

[0039] The coil 101 is a spiral winding arranged on the top surface of the PCB 100. The spiral direction is taken as the rotation center of the vertical axis, and the coil is arranged in a gradually increasing spiral from the inside to the outside. Therefore, the coil is usually arranged horizontally in a flat shape. The top surface of the coil is flush with or slightly higher than the top surface of the PCB 100. If it is arranged to be slightly lower than the top surface of the PCB 100, it is also acceptable. The inductance detection driving IC 102 is a known IC, which is an inductance measurement chip used for detecting inductance or inductance change. For example, the IQS9320, IQS7320, and other chips of the Azoteq brand. The inductance detection driving IC 102 is connected to the coil 101. The coil 101 is located below the metal part 40, and preferably the coil is directly opposite the metal part 40. When the shaft core is pressed, the metal part 40 is displaced downward with the shaft core relative to the insulating body 10 to approach the coil 101. The inductance detection driving IC 102 senses the inductance change of the coil 101, and then completes the switching of functions one to two of the switch (also referred to as the switching of 0-1 of the switch). After releasing the shaft core, the metal part 40 is automatically reset upward with the shaft core under the action of the reset part, so that the metal part 40 is away from the coil 101. The inductance detection driving IC 102 senses the inductance change two of the coil 101 (also referred to as the switching of 1-0 of the switch), and then completes the switching of functions two to one of the switch. Functions one and two refer to two different states. The switch is used to switch between the two states, for example: function one is off, and function two is on.

[0040] The inductance detection driving IC 102 has a CRx pin and a CTx pin. The CRx pin and the CTx pin are respectively connected to two ends of the coil 101. Usually, a resistor R is also connected in series between the CTx pin and one end of the coil 101, thereby forming a self-induction mode measurement circuit. A pair of CRx pins and CTx pins are used to complete the measurement of inductance change. 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.

[0041] When the metal piece 40 approaches the coil 101 downward, the EM field around the coil 101 induces eddy current in the metal piece 40, the direction of the eddy current is such that it generates an opposite EM field, which leads to the decrease of the total inductance of the coil 101, the inductance detection driving IC 102 measures the inductance change and calculates the distance between the metal piece 40 and the PCB 100 (or the coil), thus, when applied to the actual product, the trigger point (trigger stroke) can be freely adjusted, because the inductance change sensed by the inductance detection driving IC can be set to calculate the corresponding distance, which is the original position height of the metal piece 40 (referring to the position height of the metal piece 40 relative to the PCB 100 or the coil 101) minus the difference after the pressing stroke (also referred to as the trigger stroke). In this way, by setting the inductance or inductance change, the trigger stroke can be adjusted accordingly. For users, on electronic products, the trigger stroke of the key can be customized, especially for different applications with different key strokes. That is, by setting the inductance or inductance change sensed by the inductance detection driving IC to adjust the trigger stroke of the shaft core.

[0042] Since the metal piece 40 is located below the reset spring 30, when the metal piece 40 is in the initial state (not pressed), the pressed state (including the pressing down process and reaching the trigger point), the reset spring 30 is always above the metal piece 40. In actual production, considering the strength and service life, the reset spring 30 needs to be selected as a metal spring. This structure design can also effectively avoid the influence of the reset spring 30 on the inductance of the coil and avoid affecting the accurate and rapid response of the switch.

[0043] The design focus of the present application is that it mainly adopts current sensing to complete the function switching, the switch switching control response is fast, and it is more energy-saving (about 80% energy-saving) than the magnetic sensing method; compared with the traditional mechanical shaft contact switch, it eliminates the terminal welding process and avoids the inconvenience of disassembly caused by welding fixation, thus, it has the advantages of convenient installation and hot plug, and it is waterproof, has no mechanical or electrical degradation, and is easy to use. The service life is significantly prolonged, 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.

[0044] And, the key can be completely customized by the user, different trigger and release position points can be set, different key strokes can be configured for different applications to meet individual use requirements. All keys on the electronic product can be connected and controlled by the same inductance detection driving IC, or part of the keys on the electronic product can be connected and controlled by one inductance detection driving IC, and the other part of the keys can be connected and controlled by another inductance detection driving IC. Further, the keys can be divided into more than three parts, the third part of the keys can be connected and controlled by a third inductance detection driving IC, and so on. For different parts of the keys, the key trigger stroke can be freely defined. Therefore, for the same electronic product, the keys can have the same trigger stroke or part of the different trigger strokes, and are not limited. The definition of the key trigger stroke includes two parameters of the trigger position and the release position. Different trigger strokes can mean that one of the two parameters is different or all of them are different.

[0045] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present application, and does not limit the technical scope of the present application. Any slight modification, equivalent change and modification of the above embodiment according to the technical essence of the present application still falls within the scope of the technical solution of the present application.

Claims

1. A mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch, characterized by, The application relates to an inductive switch. The inductive switch comprises an insulating body, a shaft core, a reset spring and a metal piece. The shaft core is movably arranged in a shaft core movable hole of the insulating body. The reset spring is arranged at the lower end of the shaft core. The metal piece is arranged at the lower end of the shaft core and is located below the reset spring. When the shaft core is pressed, the metal piece moves downward along with the shaft core and is away from the lower end of the reset spring, and the reset spring is in an energy storage state.

2. The mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch of claim 1, wherein, When the shaft core is released, the reset spring drives the shaft core to reset upward, and the metal piece moves upward and is close to the lower end of the reset spring.

3. The mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch of claim 1, wherein, The shaft core movable hole comprises a first through hole and a second through hole.

4. The mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch of claim 1, wherein, The metal piece is a pot-shaped metal sheet.

5. The mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch of claim 4, wherein, The insulating body is provided with an annular groove around the outer periphery of the first through hole.

6. The mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch of claim 5, wherein, The shaft core comprises a shaft body, an upper end connecting part, a lower end connecting part, a shielding part and a lateral guide part.

7. The mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch of claim 6, wherein, The shielding part comprises a top shielding plate and a lateral shielding plate.

8. The mechanical shaft inductive sensing switch of claim 1, wherein, The insulating body comprises a base and a cover.

9. An electronic product comprising an electronic product main body, a PCB board provided on the electronic product main body, and a switch mounted above the PCB board, characterized in that, The second through hole penetrates the bottom of the base.

10. The electronic product of claim 9, wherein, The electronic product is any one of a mouse, a gamepad, a keyboard and a remote controller.

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