Push-button switch with lubricant retaining portion
AssigneeOMRON Corporation
InventorsKazuhira Izawa, Junichi Seto, Mamiko Naka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A switch includes: a housing having a box shape; a plunger movable in a first direction intersecting an opening surface; and a movable piece arranged inside the housing and is elastically deformable in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The plunger has a touching portion which is arranged so as to face the movable piece in the second direction inside the housing and to be able to elastically deform the movable piece in the second direction by touching the movable piece, and further, a lubricant retaining portion that can retain a lubricant is provided in at least one of the touching portion of the plunger and a touched portion of the movable piece.
Claims12
A switch comprising:
- a housing comprising a box shape and an opening surface;
- a plunger configured to move along a first direction intersecting the opening surface;
- and
- a movable piece arranged inside the housing and configured to elastically deform in a second direction intersecting the first direction, wherein
- the plunger comprises a touching portion arranged so as to face the movable piece in the second direction inside the housing and configured to elastically deform the movable piece in the second direction by touching the movable piece at a touched portion thereof, the plunger being arranged to be movable between a first position, in which the touching portion touches the movable piece to elastically deform the movable piece in the second direction, and a second position different from the first position, the touching portion comprising:
- a projection extending in the first direction and comprising a projecting shape that protrudes in the second direction and in a direction approaching the movable piece, and configured to touch the touched portion when the plunger is located between the first position and the second position;
- and
- a projecting portion, provided at an intermediate portion of the projection, protruding from the projection in the second direction and in the direction approaching the movable piece, and with which the plunger presses and touches the touched portion when the plunger is located between the first position and the second position, and
- the touching portion further comprises a lubricant retaining portion specifically formed to retain a lubricant provided in at least one of the touching portion of the plunger and the touched portion of the movable piece touched by the touching portion, the lubricant retaining portion comprising at least one of a first retaining portion arranged, in the first direction, on a surface of the projecting portion, and a second retaining portion arranged, in the first direction, on a surface of another side of the projection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.