Omron Corporation

Kazuaki Miyoshi

Toshinori Sato

Kiyoshi Imai

Satoru Shimokawa

Takeshi Miyasaka

Takashi Kamei

Satoshi Takamori

Motoyuki Tomizu

Junichiro Kumagai

Hisakazu Yamada

Keiji Komiya

A rotating and pressing operation type electronic component that is reduced in the number of parts and man-hour for assembly and reduced in height dimension and floor surface area, comprising a frame formed of first and second bases, a tubular rotatingly operating body rotatably supported on the inside of the frame, first and second contact pieces as elastically deformable conductive leg parts fitted to the frame, and a common contact piece. The terminal parts of the contact pieces and the terminal parts of the common contact piece are directly positioned on a printed circuit board and electrically connected.

Rotating-pressing operation type electronic part and electronic device using this rotating-pressing operation type electronic part

An operation input device includes a base, a printed circuit board which has a plurality of pushbutton switches and Hall elements mounted on its upside and which is stacked on and united with the base, an operation plate which is supported on the base so as to be vertically movable on the printed circuit board, and a disc type operation dial in which an annular magnet with N-poles and S-poles arranged alternately is assembled on the underside of this operation dial and which is turnably assembled on the upside of the operation plate. Here, the disc type operation dial is turned, thereby to sense the changes of the magnetic fluxes of the annular magnet by the Hall elements and to detect a turning direction, while the disc type operation dial is depressed, thereby to operate any of the pushbutton switches through the operation plate. The operation dial is prevented from becoming rickety in a horizontal direction, and it ensures a smooth turning operation, thereby to afford a good operation feeling.

Operation input device and electronic equipment employing the same

A rotating and pressing operation type electronic component has a reduced size, but without lowering workability, reliability of contact, and operability, wherein an inner contract formed of a tubular conductor and formed by extending, parallel with each other; a plurality of extension parts from an opening edge part along the axis thereof at specified angular pitches is inserted into a rotating operation body and formed integrally therewith. The elastic contact parts of two contact pieces are disposed on the inner peripheral surfaces of the extension parts of the inner contact so as to contact these inner peripheral surfaces, and the elastic contact parts of a common contact piece are disposed on the inner peripheral surfaces of the inner contact excluding the extension part so as to be always brought into contact with the inner peripheral surfaces.

A sensor system includes a plurality of sensor bodies arranged aligned and adjacent to each other, each of said sensor bodies being connected to an electric cord including at least a signal line via a connector. Each connector has a power feed terminal, and a detachable fitting for electrically connecting the power feed terminals of the connectors is provided between the connectors. The power supplied to the connector of any of the sensor body through the power feed line in the electric cord is distributed to the power feed terminal of another sensor body through a row of connectors. By this configuration, the number of power feed lines for the overall system can be significantly reduced, and common bodies not distinguished for the main and sub bodies can be used as the sensor bodies, whereby the cost can be reduced and inventory management can be facilitated. Further, when any of the sensor bodies fails, it is possible to simply exchange the failed sensor body only, while maintaining the use of the electric cord that has been used.

Sensor system and connector used therefor

In a wire connector, when a manipulation buttonis pushed into a casing, a manipulation portionof the manipulation buttonpushes down one side of a leaf spring, whereas by pressing and locking an upper surface of the manipulation buttonto a corner portionof the casingdue to a reaction of the leaf spring. Accordingly, it is possible to provide the small wire connector which is simple in structure, high in reliability of contact, and easy in assembly and connecting operation.

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Ritto, Japan

Kazuaki Miyoshi