JP2000260607A - Rotary variable resistor and output regulator using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a rotary variable resistor capable of continuously rotating an operation shaft, in which the pattern configuration of a resistor substrate is simple and the number of terminals can be reduced. And SOLUTION: A horseshoe-shaped resistance film 33, a current collecting conductor portion 36, and an arc-shaped auxiliary conductor portion 39 having an angle range larger than the opening angle of the resistance film 33 are concentrically overlapped on an insulating substrate 30B. The first brush 31 made of an elastic metal plate for the first resistance portion 43 elastically contacting the resistance film 33 and the current collector conductor portion 36 using the resistor substrate 30 arranged in an electrically independent state without any portion, When the brush 31 is located in an invalid angle range where a predetermined output from the first resistance portion 43 cannot be obtained, a second elastic metal plate made of an elastic metal plate for the second resistance portion 45 elastically contacting the resistance film 33 and the auxiliary conductor portion 39. The two brushes 32 are mounted in an electrically independent state on an operation shaft capable of continuous rotation operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary variable resistor which is mounted on various electronic devices and can be operated by continuously rotating an operation shaft, and an output regulator using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional rotary variable resistor which can be operated by continuously rotating an operation shaft will be described with reference to a sectional view of FIG.

According to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a case made of an insulating resin having an upper surface opening, and a resistor substrate having a circular hole 2A at the center on the bottom surface of the concave portion so as to be aligned with the central circular hole 1A. 2 is fixed by insert molding.

As shown in the conceptual view of the rotary variable resistor in FIG. 7, the resistor substrate 2 has a horseshoe-shaped first resistance film 3 on the upper surface of an insulating substrate 2B, and a horseshoe-shaped silver-based material on the outside thereof. Of the first resistance film 3 and one end of the first current collector 4 are formed concentrically with the center circular hole 2A by printing. The lead-out sections 5 and 6 drawn out to the
(7A, 7B) and 8 are caulked.

Further, a second current collector 9 having a ring shape concentric with the circular hole 2A is printed at the innermost peripheral position inside the first resistance film 3, and a terminal 11 is also connected to the lead portion 10 by caulking. Have been.

Further, a pair of conductive portions 12 is formed between the opening portion of the first resistance film 3 and the second current collecting portion 9.
A is formed of a silver-based material concentrically with A and printed in an arc shape, and the first resistance film 3 of the conductive portion 12 is formed.
Of the second current collector 9 and the portion located on the opening side of the
0, an insulating resist 13 is applied over an angle range larger than the opening of the first resistance film 3, and a horseshoe-shaped second resistance film over the angle range larger than the opening angle of the first resistance film 3. 14 is printed and formed so that both ends are electrically connected to a portion of the conductive portion 12 that is not covered with the insulating resist 13, and a terminal 16 ( 16A, 16B) are caulked.

Reference numeral 17 denotes an operating shaft made of an insulating resin, and the bearing member 1 connected to the case 1 by a metal cover 25.
8 is inserted and supported so as to protrude outward from the hole 18A, and a circular protrusion 17A provided on the lower surface at the center thereof is held by the circular holes 1A and 2A of the case 1 and the resistor substrate 2, It is arranged to enable continuous rotation operation.

A first brush 21 and a second brush 22 made of an elastic metal plate are mounted on the operating shaft 17 so as to be electrically independent from each other.
The contact portions 19 (19A, 19B) and 20 (20A, 20B) provided at the respective positions are arranged so as to elastically contact with each other at a linear position extending in the radial direction from the rotation center of the operation shaft 17.

The contact portions 19 (19A, 19A)
B) and 20 (20A, 20B) are in elastic contact with the first resistance film 3, the first current collector 4 and the second resistance film 14, and the second current collector 9 of the resistor substrate 2, respectively. The first brush 21 and the first resistance film 3 and the first current collector 4 constitute a first resistance portion 23, and the second brush 22, the second resistance film 14 and the second current collector 9 constitute a second resistance portion. 24.

[0010] The rotary variable resistor having the above-described configuration includes the operating shaft 1.
7, the contact portions 19 and 20 of the first and second brushes 21 and 22 are resiliently slid on the respective printed patterns on the resistor substrate 2 to rotate the first and second brushes 21 and 22 at a predetermined rotation angle. Part 2
The output voltages of 3, 24 are applied to predetermined terminals, for example terminals 7A and 8
And between the terminals 16A and 16A.

As shown in FIG. 8, the output voltage characteristics of the first and second resistance portions 23 and 24 become effective as the operation shaft 17 rotates. In the beginning and end portions, effective outputs can be obtained from both of them.

When the rotary variable resistor is used, a portion where both output voltages of the resistor portions 23 and 24 are obtained is determined by a microcomputer or the like, and the first and second resistor portions are determined. While switching the outputs of 23 and 24, only the effective output voltage portion is connected and used.

[0013]

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the second resistive film 14 of the resistor substrate 2 is provided with an insulating resist 13 at predetermined positions of the conductive portion 12 and the lead-out portion 10 of the second current collecting portion 9. And a total of six terminals 7 (7A, 7B), 8, 11,... For inputting and outputting the first and second resistance portions 23, 24.
Since 16 (16A, 16B) is required, there is a problem that the pattern configuration is complicated, the number of manufacturing steps is increased, and the steps are complicated.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem. The pattern configuration of the resistor substrate is simple, the number of terminals can be reduced, and the operation shaft can be continuously rotated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary variable resistor and an output regulator using the same at low cost.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides, as a resistor substrate, a concentric horseshoe-shaped resistive film on the upper surface, a current collecting conductor, and an opening angle of the horseshoe-shaped resistive film. The arc-shaped auxiliary conductor portion of a larger angle range is arranged in an electrically independent state without overlapping portions, and the terminals connected to their leading portions are used, and the resistance film and the current collecting conductor portion are used. A first brush made of an elastic metal plate for a first resistance portion to be elastically contacted, and when the first brush is located in an invalid angle range where a predetermined output from the first resistance portion cannot be obtained, the resistance film and the first brush A second brush made of an elastic metal plate for a second resistance portion elastically contacting the auxiliary conductor portion is mounted in an electrically independent state on an operation shaft capable of continuous rotation operation.

Thus, the outputs of the first and second resistance portions can be obtained by sharing one resistance film, so that the pattern configuration of the resistor substrate can be simplified and the number of terminals can be reduced. A rotatable variable resistor and an output regulator using the same can be obtained.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to a resistive film arranged in a horseshoe shape on an insulating substrate and a resistive film without overlapping the resistive film and its lead portion. A collector current collector made of a silver-based material disposed concentrically, and concentrically with the resistance film without overlapping the resistance film and the current collection conductor portion and their lead-out portions; and An arc-shaped auxiliary conductor made of a silver-based material formed in an angle range larger than the opening angle of the film, and an auxiliary shaft mounted on an operation shaft capable of continuous rotating operation. A first brush made of an elastic metal plate, which comprises a first resisting portion together with a resistive film and a current collecting conductor portion, provided with a contact portion to be in contact with, and the first brush is mounted on the operating shaft in an electrically independent state, An operating shaft from which a predetermined output from the first resistance unit cannot be obtained. Within the scope of the rotation angle, it includes a contact portion elastically contacted to said resistive film and said auxiliary conductor portion,
A rotary variable resistor comprising a second brush made of an elastic metal plate that constitutes a second resistor together with a resistive film and an auxiliary conductor. The output of the first and second resistors is one resistor. Since the film can be obtained in common, the pattern configuration of the resistor substrate can be simplified without overprinting, and the number of terminals can be reduced. In addition, a rotary variable resistor that can obtain a predetermined output from the second resistor can be easily and inexpensively realized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power supply section for applying a predetermined voltage to the rotary variable resistor according to the first aspect, an output of the first resistor section taken out from the rotary variable resistor, and An output of the second resistance unit, and an analog-digital conversion unit in which each of the applied voltages to the rotary variable resistor is input to an input port, and a detection unit that detects an output voltage value of the second resistance unit, A comparison unit that compares the output voltage value of the second resistance unit detected by the detection unit with a predetermined range of the voltage value applied to the rotary variable resistor; When it is determined that the output voltage value of the resistance section is valid, an output code corresponding to the output voltage value of the first resistance section is output, and it is determined that the output voltage value from the first resistance section is an invalid value. In this case, it corresponds to the output voltage value of the second resistance section. An output processing unit for transmitting an output code or a preset output code, and an output adjuster including an output port for outputting the output code. The output adjuster that can obtain the output code of (1) can be easily realized, and by changing the output code set in advance as necessary, an output adjuster that can obtain an arbitrary output code can be realized.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a rotary variable resistor according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary variable resistor according to the present embodiment is used. Is different from the conventional rotary type variable resistor in the pattern configuration of the resistor substrate 30 and the elastic contact positions of the first and second brushes 31, 32, and the other portions are the same as those in the conventional technology. Therefore, it is not shown, and the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG.
A horseshoe-shaped resistive film 33 is printed and formed on the upper surface of an insulating substrate 30B having a circular hole 30A at the center, and terminals 35 for the resistive film 33 are provided on each of lead-out portions 34 formed at both ends thereof by a silver-based material. (35A, 35B) are connected.

A current-collecting conductor 36 is formed by printing a concentric ring of a silver-based material without overlapping the resistance film 33 and its lead-out portion 34. A power terminal 38 is connected.

Further, the silver-based material does not overlap the resistance film 33, the current-collecting conductor portion 36, and the lead portions 34 and 37, and assists the arc shape in an angle range larger than the opening angle of the resistance film 33. The conductor section 39 is formed concentrically by printing, and an auxiliary terminal 41 is connected to the lead-out section 40.

On the other hand, the first and second brushes 31, 32 elastically contacting the respective patterns on the resistor substrate 30 are electrically connected to an operation shaft (not shown) arranged so as to be able to rotate continuously. Independent mounting is the same as in the prior art.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Is provided with contact portions 42 (42A and 42B) which resiliently slide on the resistance film 33 and the current collecting conductor portion 36, respectively. The first resistance portion 43 is constituted by the resistance film 33 and the current collecting conductor portion 36. ing.

On the other hand, the second brush 32 is
Are provided with contact portions 44 (44A and 44B) that resiliently slide on the resistance film 33 and the auxiliary conductor portion 39, respectively, when they are located in an invalid angle range where the predetermined output from the first resistance portion 43 cannot be obtained. The resistance film 33 and the auxiliary conductor portion 39 constitute a second resistance portion 45.

In the rotary variable resistor having the above-described structure, the contact portions 42, 4 of the first and second brushes 31, 32 move on each pattern of the resistor substrate 30 with the rotation of the operation shaft (not shown).
4 slides elastically, and outputs the output voltages of the first and second resistance portions 43 and 45 at predetermined rotation angles to predetermined terminals 35, 38 and 4.
1 is the same as that in the case of the related art, but one resistive film 3 of the resistive substrate 30 is provided.
Since the first and second brushes 31 and 32 are configured to be in elastic contact with each other and to be shared with each other, the terminals 35 and
The total number of 38 and 41 is four.
The output of 3 can be taken out between the terminals 35A and 38, and the output of the second resistance section 45 can be taken out between the terminals 35A and 41.

The output voltage characteristic is, as shown in the output voltage characteristic diagram of FIG. 2, an effective output is obtained from the first resistance portion 43 within the angle range in which the horseshoe-shaped resistance film 33 is formed. In portions other than the above angle range, the second resistance portion 4
5, an effective output is obtained, and as in the case of the prior art, an effective output is obtained at the start and end portions of the effective outputs of the first and second resistance portions 43 and 45. Things.

As described above, in the rotary variable resistor according to the present embodiment, the first and second brushes 31 and 32 are resiliently contacted with one resistive film 33 so that the first and second resistor portions 43 are provided. , 45 can be obtained, so that the pattern configuration of the resistor substrate 30 can be made simple and easy to manufacture, and the number of terminals 35, 38, 41 can be reduced. A device that can continuously obtain a predetermined output by a rotating operation (not shown) can be easily realized with a small number of man-hours.

In the above description, the auxiliary conductor portion 39 of the resistor substrate 30 is formed at the outermost position, but the overlapping portion between the resistance film 33 and the current collecting conductor portion 36 is described. It is also possible to form the current collector conductor 36 not in a ring shape but in a horseshoe shape formed in the same angle range as the resistance film 33, and the same effect as described above can be obtained. Needless to say, in this case, it is needless to say that the resistive film, the current collector conductor, and the auxiliary conductor may be arranged in any order without any overlap.

As another configuration of the rotary variable resistor according to the present embodiment, the configuration shown in the conceptual diagram of the rotary variable resistor in FIG. 3 can be considered.

This means that the pattern configuration of the resistor substrate 50 is
In addition to the pattern configuration of the resistor substrate 30, a horseshoe-shaped current collecting conductor 51 different from the current collecting conductor 36 is electrically connected between the horseshoe-shaped resistance film 33 and the current collecting conductor 36. The second brush 52 is provided with three contact portions 52A, 52B, and 52C on the resistance film 33, the auxiliary conductor portion 39, and the current collector conductor portion 51, respectively. By elastically sliding, in addition to the first and second resistance portions 43 and 45, a third resistance portion 53 is constituted by the second brush 52, the resistance film 33, and the current collector conductor portion 51. I have.

In the rotary variable resistor configured as described above,
Within the rotation angle range where the output of the first resistor 43 becomes an invalid output, a valid output can be taken out from the second resistor 45 and the same output voltage value can be taken out from the third resistor 53 as well. The second and third resistance portions 45 and 5
3 can be selected and used as needed.

(Embodiment 2) The embodiment of the present invention
The structure and signal processing method of the output regulator using the rotary variable resistor according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the conceptual diagram of FIG. 4 and the flowchart of FIG.

As shown in the figure, the terminal 35 for the resistive film of the rotary variable resistor is connected to a power supply section 60, and a predetermined applied voltage is applied to the rotary variable resistor.

The output of the first resistance portion 43 taken out from one of the terminals 35A for the resistance film and the terminal 38 for current collection, and one of the terminals 35 for the resistance film 35 are obtained.
5A and the second resistance portion 4 taken out from the auxiliary terminal 41
5 and the voltage applied to the rotary variable resistor are input to the input port 63 of the analog-to-digital converter 62 of the microcomputer 61.

The analog-to-digital converter 62
Converts the analog signals (voltages) input as described above into digitized signals, and then converts the digital signals into the detection unit 6.
4

Subsequently, the output voltage value converted into a digital signal from the second resistor section 45 is detected by the detection section 64, and the voltage value and the voltage value applied to the rotary variable resistor are compared by the comparison section 6.
Compare with 5.

At this time, as described in the first embodiment, the rotary variable resistor includes the first and second resistance portions 43 and 4.
5 has an operating angle range in which an effective output of 5 is obtained, and both ends of the effective output have a resistance 4
Since the outputs from the outputs 3 and 45 are both effective, the comparator 65 determines whether the output voltage of the second resistor 45 is within a predetermined range of the applied voltage. Are compared to determine which output of the first and second resistance units 43 and 45 is valid.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the determination and the subsequent flow. According to the flowchart, the comparison unit 65 determines
If the input output voltage value of the second resistor 45 is smaller than 90% of the voltage applied to the rotary variable resistor, the output voltage value of the first resistor 43 is valid. On the contrary, if it is 90% or more, it is determined that the output voltage value from the first resistance section 43 is invalid.

If it is determined from the comparison result of the comparing section 65 that the output voltage value from the first resistance section 43 is valid, the arithmetic processing section 66 sets the first resistance section 43
An output code corresponding to the output voltage value is called from the setting storage unit 67 and sent to the output port 68.

On the other hand, if the output voltage value from the first resistance unit 43 is determined to be invalid based on the comparison result of the comparison unit 65, the arithmetic processing unit 66 sends the input second resistance unit 4
The output code corresponding to the output voltage value of No. 5 or a preset output code is called from the setting storage unit 67 and transmitted to the output port 68.

Although the above description has been made of an example in which a voltage value of 90% of the applied voltage value of the rotary variable resistor is used as a boundary for comparison, other voltage values may be set. Of course.

As described above, the output regulator according to the present embodiment can be simply and small-sized by using a rotary variable resistor having a small number of terminals that can be continuously rotated.

When the rewritable microcomputer 61 in the setting storage section 67 is used, it is possible to set an output code to be output according to the purpose of use.

In the above description, the output voltage value of the second resistor 45 is compared with the voltage applied to the rotary variable resistor, but the output voltage of the first resistor 43 is compared. ,
Of course, a predetermined output code may be obtained.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first and second resistance portions can be configured by sharing one resistance film, so that the pattern configuration of the resistor substrate can be simplified without overlapping portions. In addition to this, there is an advantageous effect that a rotary variable resistor having a small number of terminals and easy to manufacture can be realized easily and inexpensively.

In the output regulator using the rotary variable resistor, the output value from the first or second resistor of the rotary variable resistor is used as a key and a simple microcomputer or the like is used. By performing the signal processing, it is possible to easily realize a device capable of obtaining an appropriate continuous output code at the time of the continuous rotation operation of the rotary variable resistor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a rotary variable resistor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an output voltage characteristic diagram

FIG. 3 is a top view of a resistor substrate which is a main part of the rotary variable resistor having another configuration.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of an output regulator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the signal processing.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional rotary variable resistor.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of the same.

FIG. 8 is an output voltage characteristic diagram

[Explanation of symbols]

30, 50 Resistor substrate 30A Circular hole 30B Insulating substrate 31 First brush 32, 52 Second brush 33 Resistive film 34, 37, 40 Leader 35, 35A, 35B, 38, 41 Terminal 36, 51 Current collector conductor 39 auxiliary conductors 42, 42A, 42B, 44, 44A, 44B, 52
A, 52B, 52C Contact part 43 First resistance part 45 Second resistance part 53 Third resistance part 60 Power supply part 61 Microcomputer 62 Analog-digital conversion part 63 Input port 64 Detection part 65 Comparison part 66 Operation processing part 67 Setting storage Part 68 Output port

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A current collector made of a silver-based material and arranged concentrically with a resistive film arranged on an insulating substrate in a horseshoe shape and concentric with the resistive film without overlapping the resistive film and its lead-out portion. An arc shape formed concentrically with the resistance film without overlapping the conductor portion, the resistance film, the current collector conductor portion and the lead-out portion thereof, and in an angle range larger than the opening angle of the resistance film; An auxiliary conductor made of a silver-based material and a contact portion that is mounted on an operation shaft capable of continuous rotation operation and is in elastic contact with the resistance film and the current collector conductor.
A first brush made of an elastic metal plate that constitutes a first resistor together with a resistance film and a current collector conductor, and the first brush is mounted on the operating shaft in an electrically independent state, and Within the range of the rotation angle of the operation shaft where the specified output cannot be obtained,
A rotary type variable resistor comprising a second brush made of an elastic metal plate, comprising a contact portion elastically contacting the resistance film and the auxiliary conductor portion, and forming a second resistance portion together with the resistance film and the auxiliary conductor portion. 2. A power supply unit for applying a predetermined voltage to the rotary variable resistor according to claim 1, an output of a first resistor unit output from the rotary variable resistor, and an output of a second resistor unit. An analog-to-digital conversion unit in which each of the voltages applied to the rotary variable resistor is input to the input port, a detection unit that detects an output voltage value of the second resistance unit, and the detection unit detects the output voltage value. A comparison unit that compares the output voltage value of the second resistance unit with a predetermined range of the voltage value applied to the rotary variable resistor, and a comparison result of the comparison unit,
When it is determined that the output voltage value of the first resistance unit is valid, an output code corresponding to the output voltage value of the first resistance unit is output, and the output voltage value from the first resistance unit is an invalid value. When it is determined that the output voltage is equal to the output voltage value of the second resistor unit or a preset output code, an arithmetic processing unit that sends out the output code, and an output adjustment unit that outputs the output code vessel.