Multi-Directional Switch Slider Support to Reduce Tolerance Stack-Up
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multi-directional switches suffer from significant tolerance accumulation due to three stacked components, leading to reduced reliability, difficulty in tolerance management, and undesired restrictions in slider movement, especially under external pressure.
Innovation Solution
A multi-directional operation switch structure with a double support system, where the slider is guided by a single holder and casing, featuring a lower and upper movement limitation parts to restrict slider movement, and a rotational coupling mechanism to prevent separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If three components (holder, slider, casing) are sequentially stacked to form a multi-directional switch, then the switch can achieve multi-directional operation functionality, but tolerance accumulation increases significantly leading to reduced product reliability and difficulty in tolerance management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the holder and casing into a single integrated component structure. The holder forms both the lower movement limitation part and the upper movement limitation part, eliminating the need for a separate casing component. This integration reduces tolerance accumulation from three interfaces to two interfaces, thereby improving product reliability while maintaining multi-directional operation functionality.
2Device complexity
If three components (holder, slider, casing) are sequentially stacked, then the switch structure can be formed, but tolerance management becomes difficult due to significant tolerance accumulation across three parts
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the holder and casing into one component, the patent reduces the number of tolerance management interfaces from three to two. The holder simultaneously provides lower and upper movement limitation functions, simplifying the tolerance management process while maintaining the necessary structural complexity for multi-directional operation.
3Force
If external force is applied to the casing, then the casing presses the slider, but this causes undesired restriction in slider movement and prevents desired function selection
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated holder structure provides both lower and upper movement limitation parts that work together to support the slider. When external force is applied, the force is distributed through the integrated holder structure rather than being concentrated at a single interface, preventing undesired restriction of slider movement and ensuring smooth operation for function selection.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the slider is guided by both holder and casing separately, then the slider movement can be constrained, but this creates a pressing phenomenon that restricts slider movement under external force
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the lower and upper movement limitation functions into a single integrated holder structure. This integration ensures that the slider is guided smoothly by a unified support structure, eliminating the pressing phenomenon that occurs when separate holder and casing components independently constrain the slider. The integrated design maintains stable slider movement guidance while ensuring operational smoothness.
Data Source
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AI summary
Proposed is a multi-directional operation switch structure. The multi-directional operation switch structure seeks to improve the reliability of a product by minimizing tolerances that need to be managemed by making two regions guiding the sliding movement of a slider to be formed by one holder in a switch structure in which a knob is configured on the outside of a casing, and the slider and a holder connected to the knob are inside the casing. Especially, the present disclosure can improve structural stability due to a double support structure and ensure reliability of slider movement by allowing the holder as well as the casing to withstand pressure resulting from external forces. In addition, the present disclosure can simplify a coupling structure and a support structure by configuring the slider to be coupled to the holder in a rotational manner, and the coupled slider to be limited in rotation by the casing.