Operation device
AssigneesAlps Alpine Co., Ltd., Olympus Corporation
InventorsShigeto Gorai, Tetsu Numata, Akihiro Kusaka, Shunsuke Kimura, Reiji Koyama
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
When an operation knob 10 formed of silicone rubber is pushed laterally, a stem 7 tilts with a contact portion (i) as a fulcrum, a push button portion 6b is pushed, and a contact point in a switch mechanism portion 6a operates to turn on a switch circuit. Even if, by a large operating force F3 being applied, the operation knob 10 is extended and the inner surface portion 15, which is a ceiling surface of an internal space 13 of the operation knob 10, rides on an upper end portion 7c, a reinforcing surface 19 provided on the inner surface portion 15 slides on the upper end portion 7c, and the operation knob 10 returns to the initial shape.
Claims9
An operation device comprising:
- a support portion;
- a stem configured to tilt;
- a switch portion located below the stem and operated by a tilting operation of the stem;
- and
- an operation knob formed of an elastic material,
- wherein the operation knob includes an inner surface portion, located below an upper end portion of the stem, that forms a ceiling surface of an internal space, and a housing recess, formed by being recessed upwardly from the inner surface portion, that houses an upper portion including at least the upper end portion of the stem, and
- wherein a reinforcing surface is exposed on the inner surface portion, and the reinforcing surface is disposed continuously or intermittently in a direction surrounding the stem.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.