GB2080983A - A push-button arrangement for actuating an optical indication device - Google Patents

Abstract

The cover face (2) of a housing (1) for a visual indicating device- e.g. a quartz clock-is divided into two sections. The first section, preferably centrally arranged, is formed by the display area (3) of the indicating device. The second section, the residual surface, is substantially formed by actuating faces (4) of push- buttons to actuate the optical indicating device. The cover face of the housing is preferably circular, and a square display area lies with its corners on or adjacent to the boundary line of the cover face of the housing so that four segments of a circle remain as actuating faces of the push-buttons. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A push-button arrangement for actuating an optical indicating device The present invention relates to a push-button arrangement for actuating a visual indicating device, for example an electric quartz clock, arranged in a housing, the display area of the indicating device forming part of the cover face of the housing, and having apertures for springbiased push-buttons in the cover face.

A push-button arrangement of this kind for an electric quartz clock adapted to be mounted in the central region of the dial of a telephone has, for example, been described in the AT-PS 352.189.

The push-buttons are provided with operating buttons extending through small openings in the cover face of the housing, the openings being irregularly arranged in the residual surface.

In accordance with the present invention in a push-button arrangement of the above-described kind the actuating faces of the push-buttons are dimensioned to substantially correspond to the residual portion surface of the cover face of the housing not occupied by the visual display area.

The residual surface outside the display area is fully, or almost fully, occupied by the actuating faces of the push-buttons. The actuating faces can, therefore, be attractively arranged or grouped and dimensioned to ensure easy handling without taking the position of the push-button body making the electrical contact into particular consideration. It will consequently be possible to press the actuating face of the push-button substantially in any place so that an eccentric actuation will also make the desired contact.

An embodiment of the invention in which a triangular or polygonal display area is substantially centrally arranged in a circular cover face of the housing provides that at least two corners of the display area positioned on or adjacent to the boundary line of the cover face of the housing; at least one actuating face has the shape of a segment of a circle. The cover face of the housing can have various round shapes so that the segment also can be; for example, the segment of an ellipse.

A further embodiment with a circular cover face of the housing can also have a circular display area, so that the actuating faces are located parts of the annular ring remaining outside the display area. This embodiment has the advantage that the number of push-buttons can be more widely varied without causing difficulties when arranging the push-buttons, e.g. between two and six pushbuttons, over the residual surface.

A preferred embodiment with a circular cover face of the housing and a rectangular display area allows the display area to be surrounded by four push-buttons whose actuating faces are segments of a circle.

A further embodiment provides that each aperture in the residual surface of the cover face of the housing corresponds, apart from narrow boundary webs, to the size of the actuating face of the push-button body. This ensures a perfect guiding and mounting of the push-button, particularly when projections extending at right angles to the actuating face are arranged on the push-button body, said projections having guiding faces sliding along the boundary webs of the through holes, when the push-button is actuated, a detent engaging behind a boundary web being provided on at least one of said projections.

The return spring for each push-button is preferably a leaf spring extending parallel to the actuating face between the projections and resting against a counter-bearing of the housing lying on the path of the push-button and delimiting the actuating depth. In order to facilitate the mounting of the readjusting spring and the push-button, it is further provided that the return spring has at least one bore and is arranged on a journal of the counterbearing.

Depending on the number of functions of the optical indicating device, particularly in the case of a built-in clock, it is possible, for example, that one or more of the push-buttons has no functions. In this case, the button can be prevented from being actuated by mounting a locking member on the counterbearing instead of the spring.

Embodiment of the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 shows a top view of a first embodiment of a push-button arrangement in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a top view of the housing without push-buttons.

Figure 3 shows a top view of a push-button.

Figure 4 shows a side view of a push-button.

Figure 5 shows a section along line V-V of Fig. 1.

Figures 6 and 7 show a readjusting spring and a locking member, and Figure 8 shows a top view of a second embodiment.

A push-button arrangement in accordance with the present invention is arranged in a housing 1 whose cover face 2 is divided into sections. In the illustrated embodiments, a display area for a visual indicating device, e.g. an electric quartz clock, is arranged in a centre section, said indicating device being inserted into the housing 1. The residual surface of the cover face 2 of the housing is substantially occupied by the actuating faces 4 of push-buttons 5 arranged around the display area 3. In the embodiment in accordance with'fig; 1, the display area 3 is of square shape, the corners of the display area 3 lying adjacent to the boundary line 6 of the circular cover face 2 of the housing. Hence, the residual surfaces are four segments of a circle formed by the actuating faces 4 with the exception of narrow boundary webs 8, 9.In the embodiment in accordance with Fig. 8, the display area 3 is circular like the cover face 2 of the housing. The residual surface is that of an annular ring subdivided into three actuating faces 4 of three push-buttons.

In Fig. 2 in which the push-buttons 5 have been removed, holes 7 in the cover face 2 of the housing through which the push-button bodies 11 extend can be seen. Hence, only the upper sides of the boundary webs 8, 9 lie in the residual surface of the cover face 2 of the housing. As can particularly be seen in Fig. 5, a counterbearing 1 4 is recessed in the housing within each circular segment, the readjusting or return spring 13, which is a leaf spring, resting against said counterbearing. The counterbearing substantially consists of lower positioned connecting webs 21 between the boundary webs 8, 9. In order to facilitate the mounting of the readjusting spring (Fig. 6), the spring is provided with two bores 15 through which journals 1 6 of the counterbearing 14 extend.

The readjusting spring 13 rests against the end portions of the lower side of the push-button body 11. The push-button 5 (Fig. 3, 4) whose actuating face 4 lies above the cover face 2 of the housing, when the readjusting spring 13 is in the released position, comprises three projections 10, 10' extending into the housing 1. Two projections, each, are provided in the lateral end portions of the push-button body 11, said projections being provided with a resilient detent 12. The detents 12 engage behind the boundary web 9 and extend through the substantially triangular opening formed by the webs 8, 9 and 28.

The projection 10' is provided in the centre of the push-button body 11 and extends through a further oval or longitudinal opening surrounded by the two boundary webs 8, 9 and the two connecting webs 28.

As can be seen in Fig. 5, the lower end of the centre projection 10' rests on a contact spring 22 in the illustrated inoperative position. By interpositioning an insulating member 23, said contact spring is adapted to be pressed against a contact member 21 of an optical indicating device 20 inserted into the housing from the lower side.

A cover member 25 preferably provided with an adhesive layer 26 is retained by the housing 1 by means of detents 24. The display area may be formed by a sight-glass 27 engageable in notches of the boundary flanges 9. An insert 19 comprising a window may be provided under the sight-glass 27 for the two-dimensional limitation of the indication.

The two embodiments of the push-button arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1 and 8 have an attractive design and allow an optimum utilization of the available room. Their push-buttons 5 are provided with actuating faces 4 whose size ensure easy handling and safe functioning, even when the push-button has been actuated eccentrically.

The cover face of the housing, the display area and the actuating face may naturally be signed in different shapes so that they can be adapted to a wide range of use.

The number of push-buttons 5 may be greater than the number of contact springs 22 provided for the clock mechanism. In such a case it may be desirable to lock each push-button 5 having no function. To this end, as shown in Fig.7, a locking member 17 is arranged on the counter bearing 14 instead of the spring 13, the shape of the locking member substantially corresponding to the centre part of the spring. The journals 1 6 of the counter bearing 14 engage in recesses 1 8 in the locking member 1 7.

The thickness of the locking member 1 7 corresponds to the actuating depth of the pushbutton 5.

Claims (10)

1. A push-button arrangement for actuating a visual indicating device, for example an electric quartz clock, arranged in a housing, the display area of the indicating device forming a section of the cover face of the housing, and having apertures for spring-biased push-buttons in the cover face, wherein the actuating faces of each of the push-buttons are dimensioned to substantially correspond to the residuat portion of the surface ofthe cover face not occupied by the visual display area.

2. A push-button arrangement according to claim 1 having a circular cover face and a triangular or polygonal display area, wherein at least two comers of the display area lie on or adjacent to the boundary line of the cover face of the housing, and wherein the actuating face of each push-button has the shape of a circle segment.

3. A push-button arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the display area is rectangular or square surrounded by four push-buttons.

4. A push-button arrangement according to any of claims 1-3, wherein each aperture in the residual surface of the cover face corresponds to the size of an actuating face of apush-button therein with the exception of narrow boundary webs.

5. A push-button arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, wherein projections vertically extending to said actuating face are provided on each push-button body, said projections having guiding faces sliding along the boundary webs of the apertures when the pushbutton is actuated, a deteht eng'agie g behind one of said boundary webs beiny afrangzed on at least one of said projections.

6. A push-button arrangement according to claim 5, wherein each push-button is biased by a leaf spring extending parallel to the actuating face between the projections and resting against a counterbearing of the housing lying in the path of the push-button and delimiting the actuating depth.

7. A push-button arrangement according to claim 6, wherein each leaf spring has at least one bore and is arranged on a journal of its counterbearing.

8. A push-button arrangement according to claim 5, wherein a locking member is provided for one or more of the push-buttons.

9. A push-button arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the display area is formed by a sight-glass engageable in the boundary webs surrounding the said section of the cover face.

10. A push-button arrangement constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.