Power generation switch apparatus

• US 9,551,327 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2013
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsumi Electric Co., Ltd. (Minebea Mitsumi, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honda Access Corp. (Honda Motor Company), Mitsumi Electric Co., Ltd. (Minebea Mitsumi, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kaneko, Toshio, Tsuneyoshi, Nobutaka, Umeoka, Hidetaka
• Primary Examiner(s): SYED, NABIL H
• Application Number:
  US14/386,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20150054289A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F03G 5/06 other than of endless-walk type
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2239/076 Key stroke generating power
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/1853 driven by intermittent forces

Abstract

A power generation switch apparatus including multiple switch keys, a power generation apparatus that is driven to perform power generation by an operation force applied to the multiple switch keys, multiple switches being supplied with an electric power generated by the power generation apparatus and performing a switching movement by an operation of the multiple switch keys, and a switch signal transmission circuit being driven by the electric power from the power generation apparatus and outputting multiple switch signals that are different from each other in correspondence with the switching movement of the multiple switches.

Claims

1. A power generation switch apparatus comprising:

a plurality of switch keys;

a power generation apparatus that is driven to perform power generation by an operation force applied to the switch keys;

a plurality of switches being supplied with an electric power generated by the power generation apparatus and performing a switching movement by an operation of the switch keys; and

a switch signal transmission circuit being driven by the electric power from the power generation apparatus and outputting a plurality of switch signals that are different from each other in correspondence with the switching movement of the plurality of switches, the switch signal transmission circuit including a switch control circuit connected to the plurality of switch keys,

wherein the switch control circuit is configured to detect the operation of the plurality of switch keys based on a corresponding relationship between an on/off state of one or more switches of the plurality of switches and an on/off state of the power generation apparatus,

wherein the corresponding relationship is stored beforehand in the switch control circuit,

wherein the switch control circuit is configured to determine whether the one or more of the plurality of switch keys are on according to the corresponding relationship,

wherein the switch signal transmission circuit is configured to transmit the switch signal to an electronic device according to the on/off state of the one or more switches of the plurality of switches and the on/off state of the power generation apparatus, and

wherein the plurality of switches are configured to be switched before the power generation of the power generation apparatus.

2. The power generation switch apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a link mechanism including a coupling arm that couples the plurality of switch keys and the power generation apparatus;

wherein the electric power is generated by transmitting an operation force exerted to any one of the plurality of switch keys by way of the link mechanism and driving a power generator of the power generation apparatus.

3. The power generation switch apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of switches include a substrate formed with switch patterns arranged in a manner facing the switch keys.

4. The power generation switch apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of switches is installed in the power generation apparatus.

5. The power generation switch apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein only a single power generation apparatus is provided with respect to the plurality of the switches.