JP3045658B2 - Control panel manufacturing method and mold apparatus used for manufacturing - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is to display or control the operation state of electric appliances such as television receivers, audio equipment and air conditioners, office equipment such as copiers and telephones, and other equipment. The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a control panel used in the present invention, and a mold apparatus used in the manufacturing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A control panel used in the above-mentioned apparatus has operation members such as a push button switch and a liquid crystal display (LCD). The control panel has a moldability, mass productivity, light weight and the like. From the viewpoint of resin. The control panel is formed by film insert molding in which a film is set in a mold and resin is injected into the mold.

[0003] In this film insert molding, a film is laminated on the surface of the housing, whereby it is possible to apply a pattern and coloration to the surface without giving two-color molding, and to impart gloss, and letter,
There is a merit that the degree of freedom of design is expanded because the numbers and the like can be arranged. Further, since the control panel is covered with the film, the waterproofness of the control panel is also improved.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show examples of a conventional control panel formed by this film insert molding.

[0005] The control panel shown in FIG. 10 includes a housing 100 attached to an apparatus main body (not shown) and a film 110 laminated on the upper surface of the housing 100.
It is composed of The housing 100 is formed of a transparent resin, and covers the printed wiring board 200 arranged in the device main body.

The printed wiring board 200 includes an LCD.
And a light emitting element 220 such as a light emitting diode (LED).

The film 110 is formed into a thickness of about 0.3 to 0.5 mm, and is divided into an opaque portion 111 by printing and a transparent portion 112 not printed. Have been.

The transparent portion 112 of the film 110 is located above the display device 210 and the light emitting element 220 mounted on the printed wiring board 200, so that the information displayed on the display device 210 can be read and the light emitting element 220 can be read. The light emitted by can be seen. On the other hand, the opaque portion 111 of the film 110 is a portion for concealing the printed wiring board and other components below the housing 100 so that they cannot be seen from the outside.

The control panel shown in FIG. 11 also includes a housing 130 and a film 14 laminated on the housing 130.
However, the housing 130 is formed of a color resin in which a pigment is mixed with a resin,
Thus, the entire housing 130 is opaque. In contrast, the film 140 is entirely transparent.

In the control panel having this structure, the film 140 is laminated on a part of the upper surface of the housing 130, and the other part of the housing 130 is exposed. This is for giving the texture of the color resin used for the housing 130 to the control panel.

In the control panel shown in FIG. 11, it is necessary to be able to read information from the display device 210 mounted on the printed wiring board 200. Therefore, an opening 150 is formed in a portion of the housing 130 facing the display device 200. Are formed.

Referring to FIG.
Through the printed circuit board 200 below the push button 230.
A switch 240 is provided above.

[0013]

However, FIG.
Since the film 110 is thin, the control panel shown in FIG.
0, other parts are visible from the outside through the housing 100, and have a problem in appearance.

When film insert molding is performed using a film 110 having a large area in order to cope with a large device, the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the resin used for the film 110 and the color resin used for the housing 100. Thus, the film 110 is easily distorted when the color resin is cured, and the distortion impairs the appearance, and also causes interference fringes, which makes it difficult to read information displayed on the display device 210.

On the other hand, in the control panel shown in FIG.
The strength of the entire housing 130 is reduced by the opening 150.

Further, since the film 140 is thin, there is also a problem that the film 140 is broken at the opening 150.

Furthermore, as in the case of FIG. 10, the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the resin used for the film 140 and the resin used for the housing 150 causes the film 110 to be easily distorted after molding. It is difficult to read the information, and the appearance is impaired.
In particular, as the inner diameter of the opening becomes larger as in the case of the opening 150, the bending of the film 110 becomes conspicuous, the appearance is impaired, and the display device 210 in the opening 150 becomes more difficult to see. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and the printed wiring board and other components disposed on the apparatus main body side are not visible from the outside, and the film distortion and An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method for manufacturing a control panel having a structure with no breakage and improved strength.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mold apparatus used for manufacturing the control panel.

[0020]

A control panel according to the present invention is provided.
The method of manufacturing the panel includes a control having an opening at a predetermined portion.
In the method of injection molding a panel with a pair of molds,
From the transparent resin to the molding surface of the mold corresponding to the opening
Film piece made of transparent resin
To cover at least a part of the surface of the piece member
After relative positioning, tighten the mold and insert it into the molding chamber.
It is characterized by injecting and molding a color resin.

According to this method, the housing in which the piece member is located at the opening and the film is laminated can be formed by injecting the color resin into the molding chamber. When the injected resin is cooled at the time of curing, the piece member comes into contact with the film and is integrated with the color resin to suppress shrinkage of the color resin, so that the stress applied to the film by the color resin can be reduced. For this reason, the distortion of the film due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient is suppressed.

In this method, it is possible to inject the color resin into the molding chamber while sucking the interior of the molding chamber. By this suction, the color resin entering between the film and the piece member can be discharged, and the color resin does not remain on the surface after molding.

The mold apparatus of the present invention used in this manufacturing method includes a pair of molds each having a molding surface for molding a housing having an opening at a predetermined portion by injection molding of a color resin. provided one of the pair of molds, and attachment means for attaching the piece member made of a transparent resin on the molding surface portion corresponding to the opening of the housing, it is provided to one of the pair of molds, of the piece member Positioning means for relatively positioning at least a part of the surface so as to be covered with a film made of a transparent resin.

In this mold apparatus, the piece member is mounted on the mounting means, and the positioning means relatively positions at least a part of the surface of the piece member so that the transparent resin film covers the piece member , and clamps the mold. By injecting the color resin, the above-described control panel in which the film made of the transparent resin covers at least a part of the surface of the piece member can be manufactured.

In the mold apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the above-described structure, a suction means for sucking the color resin from between the film and the piece member covering at least a part of the surface of the film can be provided. By providing this suction means,
The color resin does not enter between the piece member and the film.

[0026]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a control panel 1 of a facsimile transceiver.

The control panel 1 has a first rectangular shape at the center of the upper surface of a housing 2 formed in a flat rectangular shape.
The display unit 3 and the second display unit 4 are provided, and twelve numeric keys 7 are disposed on the right side. A plurality of push buttons 5 are arranged on the left side of the housing 2.

A liquid crystal display device or the like faces the first display section 3, and displays a telephone number, a transmission destination, and other information by characters and the like. The second display unit 4 displays the stored error code or the like by a numeral such as a 7-segment LED.

A film 6 covers an upper surface of the housing 2 in a region where the push button 5 and the first and second display portions are provided. By providing the film 6 in these regions, it is possible to impart water resistance to these portions. In addition, "FAX",
The display such as “TEL” is printed, and the operation display of the push button 5 is performed without directly displaying the display on the push button 5.

The area where the numeric keypad 7 is provided is the film 6
The resin used for the housing 2 is exposed without being covered by the control panel 1, and the texture of the resin is given to the control panel 1.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and a film 6 is laminated on the above-described region of the housing 2. The housing 2 is formed of a color resin, which makes the entire housing opaque.

The color resin is obtained by mixing a pigment with a resin serving as a base material. The resin serving as a base material is an ABS resin (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene resin) or a styrene resin mixed with a butadiene rubber resin. HIPS resin (high impact polystyrene resin (high
Resins such as impact porstyrene)) are used.

Large and small through holes are formed in predetermined portions of the housing 2 so that the openings 14 and 1 are provided respectively.
The piece member 12 is fitted in the opening 14 on the larger side in a fitted state.

The piece member 12 is made of a transparent resin such as an AS resin (acrylonitrile styrene resin), and is capable of transmitting light. The opening 15 on the smaller side is in a penetrating state, and the push button 5 is inserted through the opening 15 as shown in FIG.

The film 6 includes the piece member 12 and the opening 1
5 is joined to the upper surface of the housing 2 in a region including The film 6 is formed of a transparent resin such as a PET resin (polyethylene terephthalate resin) and a PC resin (polycarbonate resin) to a thickness of about 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm.

As described above, the portion where the piece member 12 and the film 6 are made of a transparent resin is superimposed, so that light can be transmitted therethrough, so that the lower portion can be visually recognized. Further, the strength of the housing 2 is improved because the piece member 12 is provided in the opening 14 having a large diameter in a fitted state.

Further, the film 6 is also stretched over the large-diameter opening 14 of the housing 2, and the piece member 12 is provided in the opening 14 in a fitted state. Supported. Therefore, even if the film 6 is thin, it can be prevented from being broken.

FIG. 3 shows a control panel 1 having the above structure.
1 shows a cross-section in which is incorporated in a facsimile transceiver.

A printed circuit board 16 is disposed below the control panel 1 in the main body 8 of the facsimile transceiver, and a display device 17 is mounted on the printed circuit board 16.

A liquid crystal display device is used as the display device 17 and is mounted on the printed wiring board 16 so as to face the piece member 12 of the control panel 1. By disposing the display device 17 below the transparent piece member 12 in this manner, the first display unit 3 shown in FIG.
The information to be displayed can be visually recognized.

A push button 5 (see FIG. 1) penetrates the small-diameter opening 15 in the housing 2 and projects upward. A switch 19 is mounted on the upper surface of the printed wiring board 16 facing the push button 5 so that a signal can be input by a pressing operation on the push button 5.

In the control panel 1 as described above, the piece member 12 is attached to the large-diameter opening 14 in a fitted state, and the opening 14 is provided with strength by the piece member 12.

Accordingly, the strength of the entire housing 2 is increased, and the deformation of the housing 2 itself can be prevented.

Since the housing 2 is formed of a color resin and is opaque, the lower printed wiring board 16 and other components are not visible from the outside, so that the appearance is improved.

Further, even if the film 6 is stretched in the opening 14, it is supported by the piece member 12 fitted in the opening 14, so that even if the film 6 is thin,
The tear can be prevented.

Next, a method of manufacturing the control panel 1 will be described. 4 to 6 show cross sections of each step of the mold apparatus used for manufacturing the control panel 1.

In these figures, reference numeral 21 denotes a mold as a movable mold, and reference numeral 22 denotes a core as a fixed mold opposed to the mold 21.
The molding surface 23 (FIG. 5)
(See FIG. 1).

In this case, a projection 2 for forming a small-diameter opening 15 (see FIG. 2) is formed on the molding surface of the mold 21.
4 are formed. Further, a concave portion 25 as an attaching means for attaching the piece member 12 is formed on the molding surface of the core mold 22.

In manufacturing the control panel 1 using the above-described mold apparatus, first, as shown in FIG.
With the molds 1 and 22 open, the piece member 12 is fitted and fixed in the recesses 25 of the core mold 22, and
It starts by attaching the film 6 to the molding surface of.

The attachment of the film 6
Is positioned so as to cover the surface of the piece member 12 of the core mold 22. In this case, the film 6 is coated with a heat-reactive resin such as an acrylic resin on one surface by printing or the like, and the film 6 is attached so that the coated surface of the heat-reactive resin faces the piece member 12.

In the illustrated example, the positioning of the film 6 is as follows.
This is performed by using the projection 24 of the mold 21.
That is, the film 6 is formed with a hole 26 at a portion facing the opening 15, and the projection 6 is made to penetrate the hole 26 to position the film 6 with respect to the mold 21. I have.

FIG. 5 shows the clamping following these sets. In this mold clamping state, a molding chamber 23 is formed by the molding surfaces of the mold 21 and the core 22.

Further, this mold clamping causes the piece member 12
And the film 6 are in contact with each other. In this state, the molten color resin is injected into the molding chamber 23 from a gate (not shown).

FIG. 6 shows an injection state of the color resin.
The heat of the color resin melts the heat-reactive resin of the film 6, and the adhesive force is developed. After this injection, the mold 21, 2
While the mold 2 is clamped, the color resin is cooled and hardened. After this curing, the mold is opened, and the formed control panel 1 (see FIG. 2) is taken out.

In the manufacture of such a control panel 1, the color resin is cooled while the piece member 12 is in contact with the film 6. At this time, the film 6 comes into contact with the piece member 12 which is a pre-formed product and is pressed by the piece member 12, and the color resin and the outer peripheral surface of the piece member 12 are welded and integrated. In this integrated state, the color resin shrinks.

In such a state, shrinkage of the color resin along the radial direction of the opening 14 (see FIG. 2) is suppressed. Therefore, the stress in the same direction that the color resin exerts on the film 6 when the color resin contracts can be reduced. For this reason, even if the film 6 and the color resin 27 have different coefficients of thermal expansion, the distortion of the film 6 can be suppressed, and the film 6 can be joined to the housing 2 without distortion. Without causing, it is possible to eliminate the difficulty of reading information caused by interference fringes,
The appearance is not impaired.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the mold apparatus.
The pins 28 are formed so as to protrude from the molding surface of the core mold 22. This pin 28 connects the piece member 12 to the core mold 22.
The pin 28 can be fixed by penetrating the pin member 12 through the piece member 12.

FIG. 8 shows a cross section of a mold apparatus for manufacturing a control panel according to still another embodiment. A recess 25 in which the piece member 12 is fitted by fitting is formed in the core mold 22 in this mold apparatus.

In such a mold apparatus, the film 6 is attached to the mold 21, and the piece member 12 penetrates the film 6. Therefore, the convex portion 31 is formed on the piece member 12, and the film 6 is formed with a hole 32 through which the convex portion 31 of the piece member 12 passes.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 33 denotes a suction hole formed in the mold 21, which is formed in the molding surface of the mold 21 so as to be located around the projection 31 of the piece member 12. Reference numeral 34 denotes a mold type 2 so that the suction holes 33 communicate with each other.
1 is a suction chamber formed in
Are connected to each other, and this connection path 35 is connected via a hose or the like.
It is connected to a pressure reducing device (not shown) such as a pump.

The suction hole 33, the suction chamber 34, and the connection path 35 discharge the color resin that has entered between the film 6 and the piece member 12 set in the molding chamber 23 by suction.

In the mold apparatus having this configuration, the film 6 is positioned and attached to the molding surface of the mold 21, and the piece member 12 is fitted and set in the recess 25 of the core mold 22 to perform mold clamping. By this mold clamping, the projection 31 of the piece member 12 penetrates the hole 32 of the film 6 and the film 6 comes into contact with the periphery of the projection 31.

In this clamped state, the pump is driven to suck the air in the molding chamber 23 through the connection path 35, the suction chamber 34, and the suction hole 33. In this state, the color resin is removed from the molding chamber. Inject into 23.

The injected resin fills the molding chamber around the film 6 and the piece member 12. At this time, a part of the color resin enters between the film 6 and the piece member 12, but is quickly discharged from between the film 6 and the piece member 12 because the molding chamber is in a suction state.

Therefore, the transparency of the film 6 and the piece member 12 can be ensured without the color resin remaining between the film 6 and the piece member 12.

FIG. 9 shows the control panel 1 formed as described above. Since the color resin does not remain on the surface of the piece member 12, the transparency of the whole piece member 12 can be ensured. The information on the display device or the like facing the can be clearly recognized.

In the above embodiment, the transparent resin forming the piece member 12 does not necessarily have to be completely transparent, but may be translucent such as milky white if the lower display device 17 or the like can be visually recognized. Resin may be used.

[0068]

According to the method of manufacturing a control panel of the present invention, the color resin is injected and cured in a state where the film and the piece member are in contact with each other, so that the film is pressed by the piece member. This makes it possible to suppress distortion of the film due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the film, and to prevent difficulty in reading information and deterioration of the appearance due to the distortion even if the opening has a large diameter.

In manufacturing the control panel,
When injecting the color resin while sucking the inside of the molding chamber, the color resin can be discharged from between the film and the piece member, and their transparency can be ensured.

Since the mold device of the present invention has an attaching means for attaching the piece member, it can be suitably applied to the production of the control panel described above. Further, by providing the suction means, the color resin can be discharged from between the film and the piece member, and the transparency of the film and the piece member can be maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a facsimile transceiver to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a control panel.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a device incorporating a control panel.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an example of a mold apparatus in a mold open state.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the mold apparatus in a mold-clamped state.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a state where a color resin is injected.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a mold device showing another attachment structure of a piece member.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a mold apparatus according to another embodiment.

9 is a cross-sectional view of a control panel formed by the mold device of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a conventional control panel.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of another conventional control panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control panel 2 Housing 6 Film 12 Piece member 14 Opening 21 Cavity type 22 Core type 27 Color resin

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-92917 (JP, A) JP-A-7-183668 (JP, A) JP-A-6-350260 (JP, A) 90803 (JP, U) JP-A-63-160697 (JP, U) JP-A-6-60028 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H05K 5/02 B29C 45 / 14 B29C 45/34

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of injection-molding a control panel (1) having an opening (14) in a predetermined portion with a pair of dies (21) and (22), wherein a mold corresponding to the opening (14) is provided. A piece member (12) made of a transparent resin is attached to the molding surface of (22),
A film (6) made of a transparent resin is attached to the piece member (1).
After relative positioning so as to cover at least a part of the surface of 2), the molds (21) and (22) are clamped to inject the color resin (27) into the molding chamber (23) for molding. A method for manufacturing a control panel, comprising: 2. A part of the piece member (12) penetrates the film (6) by the mold clamping, and the piece member (1)
Method for producing a control panel according to claim 1, wherein the discharging by suction the color resin (27) entering by injection between 2) and the film (6). 3. A pair of molds (21) each having a molding surface for molding a housing (2) having an opening (14) in a predetermined portion by injection molding of a color resin (27).
(22) and one of the pair of molds (21) and (22), and the opening (14) of the housing (2).
Mounting means for mounting a piece member (12) made of a transparent resin on a molding surface portion corresponding to, and a pair of molds (21)
(22), the piece member (1
A mold for manufacturing a control panel, comprising: positioning means for relatively positioning at least a part of the surface of (2) so as to cover the film (6) made of a transparent resin. 4. A pair of molds (21) each having a molding surface for molding a housing (2) having an opening (14) in a predetermined portion by injection molding of a color resin (27).
(22) and one of the pair of molds (21) and (22), and the opening (14) of the housing (2).
Mounting means for mounting a piece member (12) made of a transparent resin on a molding surface portion corresponding to
A suction means for sucking the color resin (27) from between the film (6) made of a transparent resin, which is positioned relative to at least a part of the surface of (2), and the piece member (12); A mold apparatus for manufacturing a control panel, comprising: