US 6,333,476 B1Granted

Push-button switch

AssigneeShinkoh Electric Co., Ltd.

InventorHeihachiro Umemura

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

The present invention, the objective of which is to provide a push-button switch realized in a way to be held lightly with a small force at the position where the push button is pressed, and obtain a large returning force when the pressing force of the push button is released, is a push-button switch realized by slidably disposing the push button on the switch body and urging it with a return spring, comprising a hole formed in the push button in its pressing direction, a spring for balls inserted in said hole, a window opening on the side face of the push button in communication with the bottom of the hole, a ball for temporary fastening disposed at said window, a concavity, formed along the wall face on the switch body side on which the push button slides, in which to fit part of the ball for temporary fastening at the position where the push button is pressed, and an auxiliary push button, disposed at the top of the push button in a way to be pressed, by being urged by said spring for ball, for pressing the ball for temporary fastening to outside through the spring for ball with pressing, to fit part of the pushed out ball for temporary fastening in the concavity formed along the wall face on the switch body side.

Claims2

Dependent claims

A push-button switch comprising:

a switch body;
a main push button slidably disposed in said switch body between an initial position and a depressed position, with said main push button having a hole formed therein which extends in a direction that is oriented from the initial position toward the depressed position;
a return spring for urging said main push button from the depressed position toward the initial position;
a biasing spring in said hole;
an opening in a side wall of said main push button, with said opening being in communication with a bottom of said hole;
a ball at said opening;
a concavity in a wall of said switch body that faces said main push button, wherein said concavity is to receive a part of said ball when said main push button is at the depressed position;
and
an auxiliary push button disposed at a top of said main push button, wherein said auxiliary push button is positioned against said biasing spring such that said biasing spring urges said auxiliary push button away from said main push button in a direction that is oriented from the depressed position toward the initial position, whereby
with said main push button in the depressed position, when said auxiliary push button is depressed against said biasing spring, said biasing spring forces said ball partly through said opening such that said ball is partly received within said concavity to temporarily fix said main push button at the depressed position.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.