Combined-operation type switching apparatus including rotational and push operators

A combined-operation type switching apparatus comprising:

• a housing including a guide tube;
• an operation unit mounted on the housing, the operation unit including a shaft having an end inserted into the housing through the guide tube, the operation unit being movable along an axis of the shaft relative to the housing from a first axial position to a second axial position, the distance between the first and second axial positions being an operating distance, the operation unit also being rotatable around the axis of the shaft relative to the housing from a first rotation position to a second rotation position;
• a first resilient member for biasing the operation unit in a direction of the axis of the shaft into the first axial position;
• a drive unit movably attached to the end of the shaft such that the drive unit is slidable along the axis of the shaft relative to the operation unit, the drive unit including a pressing portion;
• a second resilient member for biasing the drive unit away from the operation unit;
• a drive tube attached to the shaft and having a drive projection;
• a rotation detecting switch having a fixed contact fixedly mounted to the circuit board, the rotation detecting switch also having a movable contact movably positioned adjacent the fixed contact, the movable contact being biased away from the fixed contact;
• and
• a push switch having a fixed contact fixedly mounted to the circuit board located within the housing, the push switch also having movable contact which is movable from a non-actuated position away from the fixed contact to an actuated position in which the movable contact abuts the fixed contact, a distance between the non-actuated position and the actuated position being a stroke length of the push switch;
• wherein rotation of the operation unit from the first rotation position to the second rotation position when the operation unit is in the first axial position causes the drive projection of the drive tube to push the movable contact of the rotation detecting switch into the fixed contact, thereby actuating the rotation detection switch;
• and
• wherein movement of the operation unit along the axis of the shaft from the first axial position to the second axial position causes the pressing portion of the drive unit to actuate the push switch by pushing the movable contact against the fixed contact.