AU2018204641B2

AU2018204641B2 - Push-button switch

Info

Publication number: AU2018204641B2
Application number: AU2018204641A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Peter Zhang
Original assignee: Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2017-08-15
Filing date: 2018-06-26
Publication date: 2023-08-10
Anticipated expiration: 2038-06-26
Also published as: NZ743833A; AU2018204641A1; CN109411277B; CN109411277A

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a push-button switch comprising a button enclosure (11), a button (12) being movably accommodated in a button moving direction in the button enclosure (11), a locking member (13) capable of moving linearly between a first position and a second position with respect to the button (12), and a driving member (14) configured to switch between on and off states of the push-button switch in response to the button (12) being pressed from an initial position. The locking member (13) is configured to be driven by the driving member (14) to linearly move to the first position or the second position. When the button (12) is released, at the first position, the locking member (13) locks the button (12) at a stay position at a lower height than the initial position of the button (12), and at the second position, the locking member (13) unlocks the button (12) so as to allow the button (12) to reset to its initial position. The push-button switch of the present invention indicates the on and off states of the switch by the height position of the button, so that the indication of the switch's states is more intuitive.

Description

PUSH-BUTTON SWITCH TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Various embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of switches, and in particular to a push-button switch.

PRIORITY

[0002] This application claims priority from Chinese Patent Application No CN201710698296.2 filed on 15 August 2017.

The entire content of this application is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0003] The push-button switch is a typical type of switch that turns on and off one circuit alternately by repeatedly pressing a button, or alternately turns on two circuits.

[0004] After the button of the present push-button switch switches the on or off state of the push-button switch each time the button is pressed, the released button is reset to its initial position under the action of a resetting spring. After the button is reset to its initial position, a user cannot distinguish from the appearance of the rest position of the button whether the current operating state of the push-button switch is on or off, and other indicators associated with an actuating mechanism of the switch are often required to indicate the switch's states. However, the sizes of individual indicators are relatively small and may be located only at one edge of the push-button switch, which is disadvantageous for an observer to quickly identify them from different angles and distances. Moreover, the meaning of different identifiers on the indicators may not be intuitively and quickly understood by an observer who does not know the push button switch. In addition, the provision of individual indicators leads to a complicated internal structure of the switch and possibly results in an increase in the size of the switch, because they are required to be associated with the actuating mechanism of the switch.

SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the above reasons, embodiments of the present invention provide a push button switch for solving at least one of the problems existing in the existing push-button switch described above, or to at least provide a useful alternative.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a push-button switch, comprising: a button enclosure, a button being movably accommodated in a button moving direction in said button enclosure, a locking member capable of moving linearly between a first position and a second position with respect to said button, and a driving member configured to switch between on and off states of the push-button switch in response to said button being pressed from an initial position. Said locking member is configured to be driven by said driving member to linearly move to said first position or said second position; wherein when said button is released, said locking member locks said button at a stay position at a lower height than the initial position of said button when being at said first position, and said locking member unlocks said button so as to allow said button to return to its initial position when being at said second position.

[0007] In some embodiments, a first snap position defining the stay position of said button and a second snap position defining the initial position of said button are provided on said button enclosure, and said locking member is constrained to said first snap position by said button enclosure when being at said first position, and is constrained to said second snap position by said button enclosure when being at said second position.

[0008] In some embodiments, a stepped groove and/or a stepped hole extending in the button moving direction of said button is/are provided in a side wall of said button enclosure, said stepped groove and/or said stepped hole have/has a locking stepped surface at a position corresponding to the first position of said locking member in a linearly moving direction of said locking member so as to form said first snap position, and said stepped groove and/or said stepped hole have/has a slot extending beyond the height of the locking stepped surface at a position corresponding to the second position of said locking member in the linearly moving direction of said locking member so as to form said second snap position.

[0009] In some embodiments, said locking member has a locking leg, and said locking leg matches with the stepped groove and/or the stepped hole in the side wall of said button enclosure. When said locking member is at said first position, said locking stepped surface blocks said locking leg from moving toward the initial position of said button in the button moving direction of said button, and when said locking member is at said second position, said locking leg is able to continue moving toward the initial position of said button in the button moving direction of said button along the slot in said stepped groove and/or said stepped hole.

[0010] In some embodiments, said locking member is slidably provided in said button, and said push-button switch further comprises a button resetting spring; and said button is configured to

be driven by said button resetting spring to bring said locking member together to move toward

the initial position of said button in said button moving direction when being released.

[0011] In some embodiments, said button has a locking member guide groove therein, a first

positioning groove and a second positioning groove adjacent to each other are provided in a side wall of said locking member guide groove, and said locking member has a guide beam, said

guide beam having a positioning protrusion thereon. Said guide beam is able to linearly move in said locking member guide groove, and when the positioning protrusion of said guide beam

matches with said first positioning groove, said locking member is located at said first position,

and when the positioning protrusion of said guide beam matches with said second positioning

groove, said locking member is located at said second position.

[0012] In some embodiments, two driving surfaces opposite to each other in said linearly moving direction are provided on said locking member. Said driving member is configured to be

moved to a first stop or a second stop in response to said button being pressed from the initial position, to switch between the on and off states of the push-button switch; and during a time

period when said driving member is moved to its first stop, said driving member engages with

one driving surface on said locking member to urge said locking member to move linearly to its

first position, and during a time period when said driving member is driven to its second stop,

said driving member engages with another driving surface on said locking member to urge said

locking member to move linearly to its second position.

[0013] In some embodiments, said driving member is configured to slide linearly between said

first stop and said second stop in response to said button being pressed.

[0014] In some embodiments, said button further has a mounting groove thereon, and the

locking leg of said locking member passes through said mounting groove so that said locking

member is supported in said button.

[0015] In some embodiments, said locking member contacts with said driving member so that said driving member supports said locking member.

[0016] In some embodiments, the push-button switch is configured such that: when said push

button switch is in the on state, said locking member is moved to its first position, so that said

locking member locks said button at said stay position when said button is released; and when

said push-button switch is in the off state, said locking member is moved to its second position,

so that said locking member unlocks said button so as to allow said button to reset to its initial

position when said button is released.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Various embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying

drawings, in which:

[0018] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a portion of a push-button switch according to an

embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of another portion of a push-button switch according to an

embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of FIG. 2 from another perspective;

[0021] FIG. 4 shows an assembly view of a lock member and a button enclosure;

[0022] FIG. 5 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present

invention in a first state;

[0023] FIG. 6 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present

invention in a second state;

[0024] FIG. 7 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present

invention in a third state;

[0025] FIG. 8 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present invention in a fourth state;

[0026] FIG. 9 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present

invention in a fifth state;

[0027] FIG. 10 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present invention in a sixth state;

[0028] FIG. 11 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present

invention in a seventh state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail only by

way of examples.

[0030] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, which show exploded views of two portions of a push

button switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. The push-button switch

comprises a button enclosure 11; and a button 12 movably accommodated in a button moving

direction in the button enclosure 11. The button moving direction mentioned herein refers to a

direction in which the button 12 moves with respect to the button enclosure 11 or other stationary structures of the push-button switch after the button 12 is pressed by a user, and the button 12

moves while moving back to an initial position along an opposite movement path after the button 12 is released by the user.

[0031] The button 12 may be composed of a button body 121 and a button enclosure 122, and

the button body 121 is adapted to form a space and a structure for accommodating other parts of

the push-button switch, while the button enclosure 121 is adapted to be mounted to a top surface

of the button body 121 for providing a smooth operating surface for the user. The button body

121 and the button enclosure 122 may also be integrally formed as one part as the button 12.

Thereafter, only the term "button" is used to refer to the button body 121 and the button

enclosure 122 as a whole.

[0032] The push-button switch further comprises a locking member 13, which can be linearly

movably mounted into the button 12 between a first position and a second position with respect

to the button 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the locking member 13 has two guide

beams 131 extending parallelly to each other and perpendicularly to a button pressing direction.

Locking legs 132 are provided at both ends of the guide beam 131, respectively, for matching

with other structures in the push-button switch to lock the locking member 13 at a certain height

position in the button moving direction. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the locking leg 132 at one end (the left end in FIG. 1) of the guide beam 131 extends perpendicularly to the extending direction of the guide beam 131 and is located outside the two guide beams 131, and the locking leg 132 at the other end (the right end in FIG. 1) of the guide beam 131 extends along the extending direction of the guide beam 131. The locking member 13 further has two driving surfaces 133, 133' opposite to each other in the extending direction of the guide beam 131, for engaging with other parts in the push-button switch and urging the locking member 13 to move linearly between the first position and the second position.

[0033] In an alternative embodiment, the side surfaces of the two guide beams 131 may further have positioning protrusions 134, so that the locking member 13 can accurately stop at the predetermined first position or second position when it is driven to move in a linearly moving direction.

[0034] In order to slidably mount the locking member 13 into the button 12, a locking member guide groove 123 is provided in the button 12 to receive and slidably guide the guide beam 131 of the locking member 13, which moves linearly along the extending direction of the locking member guide groove 123, the linearly moving direction being perpendicular to the button moving direction.

[0035] In the case where the guide beam 131 has the positioning protrusions 134, the respective side walls of the locking member guide groove 123 may be provided therein with a first positioning groove 124 and a second positioning groove 125 adjacent to each other, for matching with the positioning protrusions 134 on the guide beam 131 to define the first position and the second position of the locking member 13 in the linearly moving direction, respectively. Therefore, when the positioning protrusion 134 on the guide beam 131 matches with the first positioning groove 124, the locking member 13 is located at the first position, and when the positioning protrusion 134 on the guide beam 131 matches with the second positioning groove 125, the locking member 13 is located at the second position. In order to facilitate the positioning projection 134 to smoothly slide in and out of the first positioning groove 124 and the second positioning groove 125 during the linear movement of the locking member 13, the positioning protrusion 134 may be advantageously formed into a wedge shape, and the first positioning groove 124 and the second positioning groove 125 may also be advantageously formed into a wedge shape matching with the shape of the positioning protrusion 134.

[0036] Amounting groove 126 is provided on a bottom surface of the button 12 opposite to the

top surface where the button enclosure 122 is mounted, for allowing the locking leg 132 of the

locking member 13 to be conveniently inserted into the mounting groove 126 from the bottom

surface of the button 12, so that the locking member 13 is supported by the button by the

engagement of the locking leg 132 with the mounting groove 126. In this way, the locking

member 13 will not fall off the button 12 after being mounted in position and the button 12 will

bring the locking member 13 to move together when moving up and down in the button moving direction. At the same time, the locking leg 132 also extends through the mounting groove 126

outside of the button 12 for matching with other locking structures outside of the button 12 to achieve a locking function, which will be described later. In order to facilitate the installation of

the locking member 13 and the support of the locking member 13, at least a portion of the

mounting groove 126 may be configured as an L-shaped groove, as shown by the mounting

groove 126 on the left side of the button 12 in FIG. 1.

[0037] A driving member 14 is also mounted below the locking member 13 in the button 12. The driving member 14 is configured such that at least part of its structure (or the whole of the

driving member 14) is movable in the same direction as the linearly moving direction of the locking member 13 with respect to the button 12, and the movement may be a linear slide similar

to the linear movement of the locking member 13, or it may also be a pivoting motion. The

driving member 14 is configured to be moved to its first or second stop in response to the button

12 being pressed. At the first stop, the driving member 14 drives an actuating mechanism (for

example, including a transition member, a pendulum rod, and a conductive bridge) of the push

button switch to turn on or off a circuit to which the push-button switch is connected, and at the

second stop, the driving member 14 drives the actuating mechanism of the push-button switch to

reversely act and turn on or off the circuit to which the push-button switch is connected, thereby

achieving the switching operation of the on and off states of the push-button switch.

[0038] The driving member 14 is also adapted to drive the locking member 13 to move linearly

to its first or second position during the movement. During a time period when the driving

member 14 is moved to its first stop, the driving member 14 engages with one driving surface

133 or 133'on the locking member 13 to urge the locking member 13 to move linearly to its first

position, and during a time period when the driving member 14 is driven to its second stop, the driving member 14 engages with another driving surface 133' or 133 on the locking member 13 to urge the locking member 13 to move linearly to its second position.

[0039] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the driving member 14 has two fixed resilient legs

143 and two movable portions 141 movable with respect to the resilient legs 143. Each movable

portion 141 has an urging surface 142 thereon, so that when the movable portion 141 moves

linearly against the resistance of the resilient legs 143, the urging surface 142 on the movable

portion 141 urges two driving surfaces 133, 133' of the locking member 13, respectively, which

causes the locking member 13 to move linearly to the first position and the second position

toward two opposite directions to each other. The driving member 14 further has an additional

pressing surface 144 to drive the actuating mechanism of the push-button switch to act and

switch between the on and off states of the push-button switch. The resilient legs 143 of the

driving member 14 are used as a resilience resetting element to bring the movable portions 141

of the driving member 14 back to their initially intermediate position by the resilient restoring

force when the button is released. The driving member 14 in FIG. 1 is mounted below the locking member 13 and in contact with the driving member 14, so that the driving member 14

further supports the locking member 13.

[0040] It should be understood that other structures and forms of driving member 14 may also

be used to drive the actuating mechanism to act and drive the locking member 13 to move

linearly between the first position and the second position. For example, the driving member 14

may be movable in its entirety rather than only a portion, and a separate driving member

resetting spring is additionally provided to making the driving member 14 be reset. The driving

member 14 can also move in a pivoting motion to drive the actuating mechanism to act and drive

the locking member 13 to move linearly between the first position and the second position.

[0041] When both the locking member 13 and the driving member 14 have been mounted into

the button 12 and the button 12 is accommodated in the button enclosure 11, the driving member

14 exposed from the bottom of the button 12 will face the actuating mechanism below the button

12, e.g. a transition member 15 in the actuating mechanism (see FIG. 2 to 3), which facilitates

switching between the on and off states of the push-button switch by contacting and driving the

transition member 15 in the actuating mechanism when the button 12 is pressed. It should be

understood that the actuating mechanism may not be provided with the transition member 15, and the driving member 14 may be used to directly contact and drive the pendulum rod in the actuating mechanism to deflect the conductive bridge, so that switching between the on and off states of the push-button switch is achieved.

[0042] In order to allow the button 12 to reset to its initial position when being released, a

button resetting spring 16 is further provided between the button 12 and the actuating mechanism. One end of the button resetting spring 16 can directly abut against the button 12 so

that the button 12 is always provided with a resilient restoring force to reset the button 12 to the

initial position. In a case where the actuating mechanism comprises the transition member 15, the

other end of the button resetting spring 16 may abut against the transition member 15 or against a

stationary part (e.g. button enclosure 11) of the push-button switch.

[0043] There are/is a stepped groove and/or a stepped hole 111 extending in the button moving

direction of the button 12 in an inner side wall of the button enclosure 11. The stepped groove

and/or stepped hole 111 have/has a locking stepped surface 112 at a position corresponding to the

first position of the locking member 13 in a linearly moving direction of the locking member 13

so as to form a first snap position, and the stepped groove and/or stepped hole 111 have/has a slot

113 extending beyond the height of the locking stepped surface 112 at a position corresponding

to the second position of the locking member 13 in the linearly moving direction of the locking

member 13 so as to form a second snap position. The locking legs 132 on the locking member 13

extending to the outside of the button 12 further extend into corresponding stepped grooves

and/or stepped holes 111 in the side walls of the button enclosure 11 to match therewith. The

stepped groove and/or stepped hole 111 are/is provided such that when the locking member 13 is

at the first position, the locking leg 132 on the locking member 13 is just located below the

locking stepped surface 112 and thus the locking stepped surface 112 blocks the locking leg from moving toward the initial position of the button 12 in the button moving direction of the button

12, so that the button 12 is locked to a stay position at a lower height than the initial position of

the button 12; and when the locking member 13 is at the second position, the locking leg 132

enters the slot 113 by being displaced from the locking stepped surface 112 and thus the locking

leg 132 can continue moving toward the initial position of the button 12 in the button moving

direction of the button 12 along the slot 113 in the stepped groove and/or stepped hole 111,

allowing the button 12 to reset to its initial position. Thus, the first snap position defines a certain intermediate stay position, to which the button 12 will reset, between its fully unpressed initial position and fully pressed operating position, in order to indicate a first state of the button to the user; and the second snap position defines a fully unpressed initial position, to which the button 12 will reset, in order to indicate a second state of the button to the user.

[0044] In one embodiment, the stepped groove and/or stepped hole 111 on the button enclosure 11 is provided such that the first snap position (corresponding to the first position of the locking member 13) is associated with the state that the actuating mechanism of the push-button switch is turning on the circuit connected to the push-button switch. Thus, when the push-button switch is the on state, the locking member 13 is just moved to its first position, so that the locking member 13 locks the button 12 at the stay position when the button 12 is released. This facilitates more intuitively indicating to the user that the push-button switch is currently in the on state, through the incompletely reset appearance of the button 12. The stepped groove and/or stepped hole 111 on the button enclosure 11 is further provided such that the second snap position (corresponding to the second position of the locking member 13) is associated with the state that the actuating mechanism of the push-button switch is turning off the circuit connected to the push-button switch. Thus, when the push-button switch is the off state, the locking member 13 is just moved to its second position, so that when the button 12 is released, the locking member 13 unlocks the button 12 so as to allow it to reset to its initial position. This facilitates more intuitively indicating to the user that the push-button switch is currently in the off state, through the completely reset appearance of the button 12.

[0045] Although in the above embodiments, two sets of locking legs 132 are provided on the locking member 13 (each end of the guide beam 131 forms a set of locking legs 132), and one set of locking legs 132 extend perpendicularly to the extending direction of the guide beam 131, while the other set of locking legs 132 extend along the extending direction of the guide beam 131, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the locking member 13 described above. Instead, the locking member 13 may have various possible configurations, and more or less than two sets of locking legs 132 may be provided, and each set of locking legs 132 may extend perpendicularly to the extending direction of the guide beam 131 or along the extending direction of the guide beam 131, respectively.

[0046] The operation of the push-button switch according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 11.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 5, when the push-button switch is in the first state, the button 12 is in the initial position where it is not pressed by the user. At this time, the locking member 13 is located in the second position near the left side of the button 12, the driving member 14 is in the central position and the right side thereof abuts against the driving surface 133' on the right side of the locking member 13, and at this time, the driving member 14 is not in contact with the transition member 15 of the actuating mechanism.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 6, when the button 12 is pressed by the user, the driving member 14 moves downward with the button 12 and starts to contact with the right end of the transition member 15 below it.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 7, when the button 12 is further pressed, the right end of the driving member 14 presses over the right end of the transition member 15, so that the transition member 15 swings clockwise and further drives the swing bar 17 to swing clockwise, thereby driving the deflection direction of the conductive bridge 18 to change. Consequently, the movable contact in the push-button switch is in contact with the stationary contact (not shown), and the circuit the push-button switch is connected to is turned on. During the clockwise swing of the transition member 15, the portion on the right side of the transition member 15 that is in contact with the driving member 14 gradually moves away from the swing center of the transition member 15 in the extending direction of the locking member 13, so that the transition member 15 drives the movable portion on the right side of driving member 14 to mover rightward. The movable portion on the right side of the driving member 14 in turn urges the driving surface 133' on the right side of the locking member 13 so that the locking member 13 linearly moves to the first position close to the right side of the button 12.

[0050] When the locking member 13 is moved to the first position, the locking leg 132 on the locking member 13 enters below the stepped surface 112 from the slot 113 in the stepped groove and/or stepped hole 111 in the inner side wall of the button enclosure 11 (not shown in FIG. 7). When the button 12 is released by the user, as shown in FIG. 8, the driving member 14 is reset to its central position by the resilient restoring force of its resilient legs and just abuts against the driving surface 133 on the left side of the locking member 13. However, the button 12 starts to reversely move in the button moving direction along with the locking member 13 under the resilient restoring force of the button resetting spring 16 until the locking leg 132 on the locking member 13 abuts against the stepped surface 112 (not shown in FIG. 8) in the inner side wall of the button enclosure 11 and stops. At this time, the button 12 is constrained to a stay position at a lower height than the initial position of the button 12 to indicate the on state of the push-button switch to the user.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 9, when the button 12 is pressed by the user again, the driving

member 14 moves downward with the button 12 again and starts to contact with the left end of

the transition member 15 below.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 10, when the button 12 is further pressed, the left end of the driving

member 14 presses over the left end of the transition member 15 to drive the transition member 15 to swing counterclockwise and further drive the actuating mechanism to reversely act, so that

the movable contact of the push-button switch disengages with the stationary contact, and

therefore the circuit the push-button switch is connected to is turned off. During the

counterclockwise swing of the transition member 15, the portion on the left side of the transition

member 15 that is in contact with the driving member 14 gradually moves away from the swing

center of the transition member 15 in the extending direction of the locking member 13, so that

the transition member 15 drives the movable portion on the left side of driving member 14 to

move leftward. The movable portion on the left side of the driving member 14 in turn urges the

driving surface 133' on the left side of the locking member 13 so that the locking member 13

linearly moves to the second position close to the left side of the button 12.

[0053] When the locking member 13 is moved back to the second position, the locking leg 132

on the locking member 13 moves back to the slot 113 from below the stepped surface 112 in the

stepped groove and/or stepped hole 111 in the inner side wall of the button enclosure 11 (not

shown in FIG. 10). When the button 12 is released by the user again, as shown in FIG. 11, the

driving member 14 is reset to its central position again by the resilient restoring force of its

resilient legs and just abuts against the driving surface 133' on the right side of the locking

member 13. However, the button 12 starts to reversely move in the button moving direction

along with the locking member 13 under the resilient restoring force of the button resetting

spring 16. At this time, since the locking leg 132 on the locking member 13 is located in the slot

113 in the stepped groove and/or stepped hole 111 without being constrained by the step surface

112, the reverse movement of the locking member 13 and the button 12 in the button moving direction is no longer limited. Thus, the button 12 can be moved all the way to its completely

unpressed initial position, to indicate the off state of the push-button switch to the user and to be

ready for the next pressing operation. At this time, the push-button switch resets to the first state

shown in FIG. 5.

[0054] It will be appreciated that, by associating different height positions of the button in the

push-button switch with the on and off states of the push-button switch, it is possible to realize

the indication of the on and off states of the push-button switch using the position state of the

button, thereby achieving a more intuitive state indication of the push-button switch.

Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the locking member for associating

the different height positions of the button in the push-button switch with the on and off states of

the push-button switch is very easy to assemble, thereby making the manufacture and assembly

of the push-button switch simple. Moreover, since the locking member has a small height

dimension, it is suitable for reducing the overall height of the push-button switch, thereby providing a push-button switch that is more compact and more widely applicable.

[0055] Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires

otherwise, the words "comprise" and "include" and variations such as "comprising" and

"including" will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but

not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

[0056] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an

acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common

general knowledge.

[0057] It should be understood that, for convenience of description, the description herein is

based on the placement orientation of the push-button switch shown in the accompanying

drawings. The directions of "up, down, left, and right" in this article are all described based on

this positioning. Obviously, the push-button switch can be arranged in various orientations as

needed. However, the directional descriptions of "up, down, left, and right" between the features

described in this document will change correspondingly with the change in the orientation of the

button switch, but the relative positional relationship among the features will not change.

[0058] The description of the present invention has been given for the purposes of illustration

and description, but it is not intended to be exhaustive or be limited to the forms disclosed. Many

modifications and variations will be conceived by those skilled in the art.

[0059] Therefore, the embodiments are selected and described in order to better explain the

principles and practical applications of the present invention, and to enable other ordinary

persons skilled in the art to understand that without departing from the spirit of the present

invention, all modifications and alterations made will fall into the protection scope of the

invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A push-button switch, comprising:

a button enclosure, a button being movably accommodated in a button moving direction in said button

enclosure,

a locking member capable of moving linearly between a first position and a second position

with respect to said button,

a driving member configured to switch between on and off states of the push-button switch

in response to said button being pressed from an initial position;

wherein said locking member is configured to be driven by said driving member to linearly

move to said first position or said second position; wherein when said button is released, said

locking member locks said button at a stay position at a lower height than the initial position of

said button when being at said first position, and said locking member unlocks said button so as

to allow said button to reset to its initial position when being at said second position.

2. The push-button switch according to claim 1, wherein a first snap position defining the

stay position of said button and a second snap position defining the initial position of said button

are provided on said button enclosure, and said locking member is constrained to said first snap

position by said button enclosure when being at said first position, and is constrained to said

second snap position by said button enclosure when being at said second position.

3. The push-button switch according to claim 2, wherein a stepped groove and/or a stepped hole extending in the button moving direction of said button is/are provided in a side wall of said

button enclosure, said stepped groove and/or said stepped hole have/has a locking stepped

surface at a position corresponding to the first position of said locking member in a linearly

moving direction of said locking member so as to form said first snap position, and said stepped

groove and/or said stepped hole have/has a slot extending beyond the height of the locking

stepped surface at a position corresponding to the second position of said locking member in the

linearly moving direction of said locking member so as to form said second snap position.

4. The push-button switch according to claim 3, wherein said locking member has a

locking leg, and said locking leg matches with the stepped groove and/or the stepped hole in the

side wall of said button enclosure; wherein when said locking member is at said first position,

said locking stepped surface blocks said locking leg from moving toward the initial position of

said button in the button moving direction of said button, and when said locking member is at

said second position, said locking leg is able to continue moving toward the initial position of said button in the button moving direction of said button along the slot in said stepped groove

and/or said stepped hole.

5. The push-button switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said locking

member is slidably provided in said button, and said push-button switch further comprises a

button resetting spring; and said button is configured to be driven by said button resetting spring to bring said locking member together to move toward the initial position of said button in said

button moving direction when being released.

6. The push-button switch according to claim 5, wherein said button has a locking member

guide groove therein, a first positioning groove and a second positioning groove adjacent to each

other are provided in a side wall of said locking member guide groove, and said locking member

has a guide beam, said guide beam having a positioning protrusion thereon; wherein said guide

beam is able to linearly move in said locking member guide groove , and when the positioning

protrusion of said guide beam matches with said first positioning groove, said locking member is

located at said first position, and when the positioning protrusion of said guide beam matches

with said second positioning groove, said locking member is located at said second position.

7. The push-button switch according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein two driving

surfaces opposite to each other in said linearly moving direction are provided on said locking member; and

said driving member is configured to be moved to a first stop or a second stop in response to said button being pressed from the initial position, to switch between the on and off states of the

push-button switch; and during a time period when said driving member is moved to its first stop, said driving member engages with one driving surface on said locking member to urge said locking member to move linearly to its first position, and during a time period when said driving member is driven to its second stop, said driving member engages with another driving surface on said locking member to urge said locking member to move linearly to its second position.

8. The push-button switch according to claim 7, wherein said driving member is

configured to slide linearly between said first stop and said second stop in response to said button

being pressed.

9. The push-button switch according to claim 4, wherein said button further has a

mounting groove thereon, and the locking leg of said locking member passes through said

mounting groove so that said locking member is supported in said button.

10. The push-button switch according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said locking

member contacts with said driving member so that said driving member supports said locking

member.

11. The push-button switch according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the push-button

switch is configured such that: when said push-button switch is in the on state, said locking

member is moved to its first position, so that said locking member locks said button at said stay

position when said button is released; and when said push-button switch is in the off state, said

locking member is moved to its second position, so that said locking member unlocks said

button so as to allow said button to reset to its initial position when said button is released.