US 6,586,692 B2 · Vehicle-mounting steering switch

Abstract

A vehicle-mounting steering switch includes a manipulating knob which is rotatably and pivotally supported on a support member. The support member is fixedly secured to a rear surface of a pad of the steering wheel and, the manipulating knob is protruded into the inside of a space defined between a ring and the pad. A circuit board which is provided with a pair of resistance patterns is mounted on the support member, while a sliding element which is slidable on the circuit board is mounted on the manipulating knob. When a driver performs push or pull manipulation of the manipulating knob with his finger, a relative position of the circuit board and the sliding element is changed so that two kinds of ON signals are outputted. In response to these ON signals, it becomes possible to shift transmission gears in the midst of cruising in a drive range.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A vehicle-mounting steering switch comprising:

a support member which is mounted on a steering wheel having spokes thereof extended in an inside of an annular ring thereof,
a manipulating knob which is rotatably and pivotally supported on the support member, and
an output changeover mechanism which is configured to output two different kinds of electric signals in response to a rotating direction of the manipulating knob, wherein
the manipulating knob is protruded into a space defined between the spokes and the ring, and wherein
the manipulating knob is rotatably manipulated in directions opposite to each other with respect to a rotationally neutral position of the manipulating knob, whereby the output changeover mechanism selectively outputs one of the electric signals;
and
wherein the output changeover mechanism comprises a first contact member which is mounted on the supporting member and a second contact member which is mounted on the manipulating knob, and wherein two different kinds of electric signals are selectively outputted by changing relative positions of the first and second contact members.

4 more elements

A vehicle-mounting steering switch comprising:

a support member which is mounted on a steering wheel having spokes thereof extended in an inside of an annular ring thereof,
a manipulating knob which is rotatably and pivotally supported on the support member and is protruded into a space defined between the spokes and the ring,
a push element which is inserted between the support member and the manipulating knob and is brought into pressure contact with a cam face upon receiving a biasing force of a resilient member, and
an output changeover mechanism which is configured to output two different kinds of electric signals in response to a rotating direction of the manipulating knob, wherein
the manipulating knob is held at a rotationally neutral position when the push element is disposed at a valley of the cam face, and wherein when the manipulating knob is rotatably operated in directions opposite to each other with respect to the rotationally neutral position, the push element is shifted from the valley to a crest of the cam face against the biasing force of the resilient member whereby the output changeover mechanism selectively outputs one of the electric signals.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Vehicle-mounting steering switch

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Vehicle-mounting steering switch

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15