CONTACT PLATE, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL SWITCH USING THE CONTACT PLATE, MANUFACTURING METHOD OF THE CONTACT PLATE, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL SWITCH CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application P2012-161090 filed on July 20, 2 012; the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a contact plate, an automatic transmission control switch using the contact plate, a manufacturing method of the contact plate, and a manufacturing method of the automatic transmission control switch.

Heretofore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-157744 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Literature 1), as an automatic transmission control switch, there is known one which includes a movable body rotationally moving in a housing in response to switching operations of a shift lever of an automatic transmission, in which a movable contact is provided on this movable body, and in addition, a plurality of fixed contacts brought into contact with/opened from the movable contact in response to rotational movement positions of the movable body are provided, and position signals indicating shift positions of the automatic transmission, the shift positions corresponding to combinations of the movable and fixed contacts brought into contact with or opened from each other, are outputted.

In this Patent Literature 1, the automatic transmission control switch includes a contact plate having: the fixed contacts; and connector terminals which are coupled with the fixed contacts through bus bars and output contact states of the fixed contacts to the outside.

Then, a metal conductor plate, which has a portion with a thickness corresponding to that of the connector terminals and a portion with a thickness corresponding to that of the fixed contacts, is subjected to press work, whereby a contact plate is formed, in which the thickness of the connector terminals and the thickness of the fixed contacts are different from each other. As described above, the contact plate, in which the thickness of the connector terminals and the thickness of the fixed contacts are different from each other, is formed; whereby-cost reduction of the contact plate is achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, in the above-described conventional technology, it is necessary to prepare in advance the metal conductor plate having the portion with the thickness corresponding to that of the connector terminals and the portion with the thickness corresponding to that of the fixed contacts, causing a problem that it takes labor to manufacture the contact plate.
In this connection, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a contact plate easily
manufacturable while achieving the cost reduction, an automatic transmission control switch using the contact plate, a manufacturing method of the contact plate, and a manufacturing method of the automatic transmission control switch.

A first feature of the present invention is summarized as a contact plate including: a fixed contact; and a connector terminal that outputs a contact state of the fixed contact to the outside, the connector terminal being coupled to the fixed contact through a conductive portion, wherein the connector terminal is composed of a plurality of layers and is thicker than the fixed contact.

A second feature of the present invention is summarized as that the fixed contact and the connector terminal are formed by machining one metal conductor plate.

A third feature of the present invention is summarized as that the connector terminal has a shape in which a plate-like member is bent.

A fourth feature of the present invention is summarized as that the connector terminal has a shape in which one side of the plate-like member is bent.

A fifth feature of the present invention is summarized as that the connector terminal has a shape in which both sides of the plate-like member are bent.

A sixth feature of the present invention is summarized as that the connector terminal has a shape in which the plate-like member is bent with a longitudinal direction of the plate-like member as an axis.

A seventh feature of the present invention is summarized to be an automatic transmission control switch including: the above-described contact plate; a housing in which at least the fixed contact of the contact plate is housed; and a movable body-that rotationally moves in the housing in response to a switching operation of a shift lever of an automatic transmission, the movable body having a movable contact brought into contact with or opened from the fixed contact.

An eighth feature of the present invention is summarized to be a manufacturing method of a contact plate for use in an automatic transmission control switch, the manufacturing method including the steps of: performing press work for one metal conductor plate, and forming a fixed contact and a plate-like connector terminal formation-scheduled portion coupled with the fixed contact through a conductive portion; and performing bending molding for the plate-like connector terminal formation-scheduled portion, and forming a connector terminal having a plurality of layers.

A ninth feature of the present invention is summarized to be a manufacturing method of an automatic transmission control switch, the manufacturing method including the step of : performing insert molding, into a housing, the contact plate manufactured by the above-described method.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views showing an automatic transmission control switch according to an embodiment of the present invention: Fig. 1(a) is a perspective view when the automatic transmission control switch is viewed from one side,- and Fig. 1(b) is a perspective view when the automatic transmission control switch is viewed from other side.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the automatic transmission control switch according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an explanatory view showing operations of a movable contact and fixed contacts according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a movable body according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the movable body and a shaft according to
the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a contact plate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Figs. 7(a) and 7(b) are views showing the contact plate according to the embodiment of the present invention: Fig. 7(a) is a side view thereof; and Fig. 7(b) is a front view thereof.

Figs. 8(a) through 8(d) are views schematically showing a manufacturing method of a connector terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention in order from Fig. 8(a) to Fig. 8(d).

Figs. 9(a) and 9(b) are views showing a contact plate according to a modification example of the embodiment of the present invention: Fig. 9(a) is a side view thereof; and Fig. 9(b) is a front view thereof.

Figs. 10(a) through 10 (d) are views schematically showing a manufacturing method of a connector terminal according to the modification example of the embodiment of the present invention in order from Fig. 10(a) to Fig. 10(d).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OP THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A description is made below in detail of embodiments of the present invention while referring to the drawings.

First, a description is made of a schematic configuration of an automatic transmission control switch 1 with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3.
As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the automatic transmission control switch 1 according to this embodiment includes: a housing 10; and a movable body 40 freely rotatably housed inside the housing 10. This automatic transmission control switch 1 is a switch that generates position signals, which indicate shift positions such as parking, reverse, neutral, drive, second speed and first speed, by switching operations of a shift lever of an automatic transmission in an automobile.

The housing 10 includes a body 20 and a cover 30, each of which is composed of a synthetic resin molded article formed into a substantially fan shape.

The movable body 40 includes: a main body 41; and a shaft portion 42 provided continuously with the main body 41 concerned. Then, in a recessed portion (not shown) provided on a surface of the main body 41, which is opposite to the body 20, a plurality of movable contacts 47 elastically urged toward the body 20 by coil springs 46 are housed. Note that, for the sake of convenience, Fig. 2 illustrates only one of the movable contacts 47.

The shaft portion 42 includes: a cylinder portion 43; and a circular flange portion 44 formed around a center portion of the cylinder portion 43 concerned. Then, the cylinder portion 43 is provided continuously with the main body 41 through the flange portion 44. In this embodiment, the flange portion 44 is provided continuously and integrally with a lower portion in a thickness direction (axial direction) of the main body 41. The flange portion 44 is continuously provided in such a manner as described above, whereby a step difference portion 45 having an upper surface 45a, a lower surface 45b and a side surface 45c is formed in the movable body 40.

Moreover, as shown-in Fig. 4-and Fig. 5, in-the-shaft- portion 42 of the movable body 40, a press-fitting hole 43b is provided, which penetrates the shaft portion 42 along the axial direction, and has a shaft 7 0 of the automatic transmission press-fitted there into through a protection plate (not shown) . This press-fitting hole 43b includes an inner wall surface 43c with substantially the same shape as that of a cross section of the shaft 70 having a substantially polygonal shape.

The body 2 0 is formed into a substantially fan-like flat shape with one surface thereof (upper surface in Fig. 2) made open. Then, in a portion of the body 20, which is equivalent to a pivot of a fan, a bearing hole 21, through which one end side (lower side of the cylinder portion 43 in Fig. 2) of the shaft portion 42 of the movable body 40 is to be inserted, is provided so as to penetrate the portion concerned of the body 2 0 in the thickness direction (axial direction). Moreover, a peripheral edge portion 20c of the bearing hole 21 of the body 20 is formed so as to become lower by one step than a peripheral edge portion 20a of the body 20. Then, in the event that one end side (lower side of the cylinder portion 43 in Fig. 2) of the shaft portion 42 of the movable body 4 0 is inserted through the bearing hole 21, one end surface (lower surface in Fig. 2) of the flange portion 44 is supported on the peripheral edge portion 20c of the bearing hole 21 so as to be capable of being brought into sliding contact therewith, and the shaft portion 42 of the movable body 4 0 is rotatably and pivotally supported on the body 2 0.

Moreover, on an inner bottom surface 20b of the body 20, a plurality of band plate-like conductors 22a, in each of which a fixed contact 22b is provided on one end portion, are insert-molded. The respective fixed contacts 22b are arranged in a circular arc shape concentric about the bearing hole 21, and are opposed to the movable contacts 47, which the movable body 40 includes, in the housing 10.

Furthermore, on the body 20, a tubular connector portion 23 surrounded by a peripheral wall is formed integrally therewith. On an inner bottom surf ace of the connector portion 23, tip ends of the plurality of conductors 22a are arranged in a plurality of lines so as to protrude there from, whereby connector terminals 22d are formed.

In this embodiment, a contact plate 22 is used, which includes: the fixed contacts 22b; and the connector terminals 22d which are coupled to the fixed contacts 22b through bus bars 22c and output contact states of the fixed contacts 22b to the outside. That is to say, in this embodiment, the bus bars 22c are used as the conductive portions. Then, the contact plate 22 concerned is insert-molded to the body 20. As described above, the contact plate 22 is insert-molded to the body 20, whereby at least the fixed contacts 22b (in this embodiment, the contact plate 22 other than the tip ends of the connector terminals 22d) are housed in the housing 10.

In this embodiment, five (plural) pieces of the conductors 22a are individually coupled with the arbitrary five (plural) pieces of the connector terminals 22d through the bus bars 22c, and the fixed contacts 22b are provided on the individual conductors 22a so as to protrude there from, whereby the contact plate 22 is formed.

Moreover, as shown in Fig. 3, when the movable body 40 in the housing 10 rotationally moves about the shaft portion 42, then while compressing each coil spring 46 by elastic deformation, the movable contact 47 in a contact state with a pair of the fixed contacts 22b arrayed in parallel to each other slides on a curved surface of one end portion of a rib 2 0d, and is opened from the fixed contacts 22b. Then, when coming to the other end portion of the rib 2 0d while sliding on an upper surface of the rib 20d, the movable contact 47 falls down on another pair of the fixed contacts 22b while sliding on the curved surface by elastic restoration force of the coil spring 4G. As described above, the movable contact 47 held on the movable body 40 is selectively brought into contact with/opened from the respective fixed contacts 22b in response to a rotational movement position of the movable body 40 with respect to the housing 10. In such a way, a position signal corresponding to a shift position of the automatic transmission is taken out through another-side connector connected to the connector portion 23.

Then, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, on both sides of such a pivot portion of the fan in the body 20, substantially mount-like collar portions 24 and 24 are formed integrally therewith. In each of the collar portions 24, a cylindrical reinforcement member 24a is insert-molded. The reinforcement member 24a concerned allows penetration of an elliptical bolt insertion hole 24b through which a bolt for attaching the housing 10 to a vehicle body (or the automatic transmission) is to be insert-molded.

The cover 3 0 is formed into a substantially fan-like flat shape to cover an opening portion of the body 20. Then, in a portion of the cover 30, which is equivalent to a pivot of a fan, a bearing hole 3 0b, through which the other end side (upper side of the cylinder portion 4 3 in Fig. 2) of the shaft portion 42 of the movable body 4 0 is inserted, is provided so as to penetrate the portion concerned of the cover 3 0 in the thickness direction.

Note that, preferably, in a state where the shaft portion 42 of the movable body 4 0 is inserted through the bearing hole 3 0b of the cover 3 0 (housing 10), an oil seal (not shown) is press-fitted between the shaft portion 42 and the cover 30, whereby sealing performance of the housing 10 is enhanced, thus making it possible to maintain air tightness of the housing 10. The automatic transmission control switch 1, which has a configuration as described above, is assembled, for example, in the following manner.

First, the shaft portion 42 of the movable body 40 is inserted through the bearing hole 3 0b of the cover 30 (housing 10) . In such a way, the shaft portion 42 of the movable body 40 is rotatably and pivotally supported on the cover 30, and the other end side (upper side in Fig. 2) of the main body 41 of the movable body 4 0 is housed so as to be rotatable. Moreover, the contact plate 22 is insert-molded, whereby the body (housing) 2 0 provided with the contact plate 22 is formed. Note that, with regard to the step of rotatably and pivotally supporting the shaft portion 42 of the movable body 40 on the cover 30, and the step of forming the body (housing) 20 provided with the contact plate 22, either of the steps may be performed first, or both of the steps may be performed simultaneously.

Next, the movable body 40 attaching the coil springs 46 and the movable contacts 47 is mounted on the inner bottom surface 2 0b of the body 2 0 . Then, in this state, the peripheral edge portion 20a of the body 20 and a peripheral edge portion 3 0a of the cover 3 0 are welded to each other by an ultrasonic wave, whereby the body 2 0 and the cover 3 0 are joined to each other to form the housing 10 . At this time, such a configuration may be adopted, in which a groove is formed on the peripheral edge portion 2 0a of the body 20 or the peripheral edge portion 3 0a of the cover 30, and a packing is arranged in the groove concerned, whereby the sealing performance is further enhanced.

Then, the shaft 70 (refer to Fig. 5) is press-fitted through the protection plate (not shown) into the press-fitting hole 43b of the movable body 40, and nuts are tightened to the bolts inserted through the bolt insertion holes 24b of the reinforcement members 24a, whereby the housing 10 is attached to the vehicle body (or the automatic transmission).

In such a way, the shaft 70 and the movable body 4 0 rotationally move integrally with each other by the switching operation of the shift lever of the automatic transmission, and it is made possible to take out each position signal in response to the rotational movement position of the movable body 4 0 with respect to the housing 10. Here, in this embodiment, each of the connector terminals 22d is composed of a plurality of layers, and is made thicker than each of the fixed contacts 22b.

Specifically, the connector terminal 22d is formed into a shape in which a plate-like member is bent, so as to have two layers when viewed from the front and to be thicker than the fixed contact 22b. At this time, as shown in Fig. 7(a), the connector terminal 22d is made into a shape in which both sides of the plate-like member are bent. Moreover, the connector terminal 22d has a shape in which the plate-like member is bent with a longitudinal direction (direction where the connector terminal 22d is extended) thereof as an axis. The contact plate 22 as described above can be manufactured in the following manner.

First, one metal conductor plate is subjected to press work to form: the fixed contact 22b; and a plate-like connector terminal formation-scheduled portion 22e coupled to the fixed contact 22b through the bus bar 22c. In this embodiment, one metal conductor plate is subjected to the press work, whereby the plate-like connector terminal formation-scheduled portion 22e is coupled to the conductor 22a through the bus bar 22c, and the fixed contact 22b is formed on the conductor 22a.

Next, the plate-like connector terminal format ion-scheduled portion 22e is subjected to bending molding, and the connector terminal 22d having a plurality of layers is formed. Specifically, both end portions 22f in a width direction (lateral direction) of the plate-like connector terminal formation-scheduled portion 22e are individually subjected to bending work in the same direction with the longitudinal direction of the connector terminal formation-scheduled portion 22e as an axis. At this time, as shown in Fig. 8(b), both end portions 22f are gradually bent in the same direction (upward in Fig. 8) , and as shown in Fig. 8(c) , are formed into a substantially U-shape. Then, from the state of the substantially U-shape, both end portions 22f are further bent inward so as to make end surfaces of both end portions 22f opposed to each other, whereby the connector terminal 22d composed of a plurality of layers (two layers in this embodiment) is formed.

The contact plate 22 is thus formed, in which each of the connector terminals 22d is composed of a plurality of layers to become thicker than each of the fixed contacts 22b. As described above, in this embodiment, the fixed contact 22b and the connector terminal 22d are formed by machining one metal conductor plate. Hence, by the amount that the connector terminal 22d is composed of a plurality of layers, the thickness of the connector terminal 22d can be made thicker than the thicknesses of the fixed contact 22b, the conductor 22a and the bus bar 22c. That is to say, it is made possible to ensure the thickness of the connector terminal 22d while thinning as much as possible the thickness of one metal conductor plate, from which the fixed contact 22b, the conductor 22a and the bus bar 22c are formed. Therefore, in addition to enabling to use a general-purpose product as the other-side connector, it becomes possible to thin the thicknesses of the fixed contact 22b, the conductor 22a and the bus bar 22c. As a result, besides reducing the weight of the contact plate 22 and, eventually, of the automatic transmission control switch 1, it is also made possible to reduce manufacturing cost of the contact plate 22 and the automatic transmission control switch 1. Moreover, the thinning of the thicknesses of the fixed contact 22b, the conductor 22a and the bus bar 22c will result in an advantage that a degree of freedom in machined shape of the contact plate 22 can be enhanced.

Moreover, in this embodiment, each connector terminal 22d, composed of a plurality of layers, is made thicker than each fixed contact 22b. Therefore, it is made possible to form the contact plate 22, in which the thickness of the connector terminals 22d and the thickness of the fixed contacts 22a are different from each other, without preparing in advance a metal conductor plate having a portion with a thickness corresponding to that of the connector terminals 22d and a portion with a thickness corresponding to that of the fixed contacts 22b. As a result, such a contact plate 22, which is easily manufacturable while achieving the cost reduction, can be obtained.

Furthermore, in this embodiment,- the connector terminal 22d is formed into the shape, in which the plate-like member is bent, is thereby formed to have two layers when viewed from the front, and is formed thicker than the fixed contact 22d. Therefore, it is made possible to form the connector terminal 22d thicker than the fixed contact 22b, the conductor 22a and the busbar 22c simply by performing the bending machining for the plate-like member. That is to say, it can be made easier to form the contact plate 22, in which the thickness of the connector terminals 22d and the thickness of the fixed contacts 22a are different from each other.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the connector terminal 22d is made into the shape in which both sides of the plate-like member are bent. Therefore, step differences can be suppressed from being formed on both sides in the width direction of the connector terminal 22d, so that both sides -in the width direction of the connector terminal 22d can be more smoothed.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the connector terminal 22d has the shape in which the plate-like member is bent with the longitudinal direction (direction where the connector terminal 22d is extended) thereof as an axis. If the plate-like member is bent while taking the longitudinal direction thereof as an axis as described above, then a bent portion of the connector terminal 22d can be made less likely to open. Then, if the automatic transmission control switch 1 is manufactured by using such a contact plate 22, then the automatic transmission control switch 1 can be manufactured with ease, and in addition, it becomes possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the automatic transmission control switch -1.
The description has been made above of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; however, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and is modifiable in various ways. For example, illustrated in the above-described embodiment is one having the shape of the connector terminal 22d in which both sides of the plate-like member are bent; however, a shape in which one side of the plate-like member is bent is also possible.

Specifically, as shown in Fig. 9, the connector terminal 22 may be formed into a shape in which one side of the plate-like member is bent. As shown in Fig. 10, such a connector terminal 22d can be formed by bending one end portion 22f of the connector terminal formation-scheduled portion 22e to make the one end portion 22f concerned to overlap with the other end side of the connector terminal formation-scheduled portion 22e concerned. Even with such a configuration, similar functions and effects to those of the above-described embodiment can be exerted. Moreover, if the connector terminal 22d is formed into the shape in which one side of the plate-like member is bent, then it is made possible to form the connector terminal 22d simply by performing the bending machining for one spot of the connector terminal formation-scheduled portion 22e, and the connector terminal 22d can be machined with more ease.

Moreover, illustrated in the above-described embodiment and the modification example thereof are those in which each connector terminal 22d is composed of two layers; however, the number of layers may be three or more.

Furthermore, the connector terminal with a plurality of layers may be formed by performing the bending machining for the connector terminal formation-scheduled portion into a spiral shape, or alternatively, the connector terminal may be formed by bending both ends of the connector terminal formation-scheduled portion individually in different directions so as to obtain three layers.

Moreover, it is not necessary to form the fixed contact and the connector terminal integrally with each other by using one metal conductor plate; for example, the connector terminal and the conductor may be formed integrally with each other, and the fixed contact may be formed on the conductor as a separate body there from. Furthermore, it is also possible to appropriately change specifications (shapes, sizes, layout and the like) of the body,--the cover, and other details.

What is claimed is:

1. A contact plate comprising:

a fixed contact; and

a connector terminal that outputs a contact state of the fixed contact to the outside, the connector terminal being coupled to the fixed contact through a conductive portion,

wherein the connector terminal is composed of a plurality of layers, and is thicker than the fixed contact.

2 The contact plate according to claim 1, wherein the fixed contact and the connector terminal are formed by machining one _ metal conductor plate.

3 The contact plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connector terminal has a shape in which a plate-like member is bent.

4 The contact plate according to claim 3, wherein the connector terminal has a shape in which one side of the plate-like member is bent.

5 The contact plate according to claim 3, wherein the connector terminal has a shape in which both sides of the plate-like member are bent.

6. The contact plate according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the connector terminal has a shape in which the plate-like member is bent with a longitudinal direction of the plate-like member as an axis.

7. An automatic transmission control switch comprising:

the contact plate according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ;

a housing in which at least the fixed contact of the contact plate is housed; and

a movable body that rotationally moves in the housing in response to a switching operation of a shift lever of an automatic transmission, the movable body having a movable contact brought into contact with or opened from the fixed contact.

8. A manufacturing method of a contact plate for use in an automatic transmission control switch, the manufacturing method comprising the steps of:

performing press work for one metal conductor plate, and forming a fixed contact and a plate-like connector terminal formation-scheduled portion coupled to the fixed contact through a conductive portion; and

performing bending molding for the plate-like connector terminal formation-scheduled portion, and forming a connector terminal having a plurality of layers.

9. A manufacturing method of an automatic transmission control switch, the manufacturing method comprising the step of:

performing insert molding, into a housing, the contact plate manufactured by the method according to claim 8.