JPS607330B2 - Illuminated switch device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention turns on an electric circuit with pressure from a finger or the like.

This invention relates to an illuminated switch device that is turned off and moves to optically display display elements such as characters and symbols when the switch is turned off. In a conventional device of this kind, as described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 48-88961, a semi-transparent plate 5 and a transparent plate 10 are each provided with marker electrodes, and a display is performed by irradiating these with light. Ta.

Therefore, the electrode structure was limited. Unlike conventional devices of this type, the present application separates the display element and electrode to eliminate the limitation of electrode shape for each character, and also configures the electrodes in pairs, so that irradiation light can reach the display element. The purpose is to ensure that the information is reached and displayed clearly.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained by referring to the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 3 is a developed view of an electrode plate in the same embodiment. In those drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a plastic box-shaped housing provided with eight penetrating square window holes 2a to 2h arranged in two rows at equal intervals. Rectangular holes 3a to 3d that can be penetrated are formed on both sides, and three arms 4a to 3d projecting downward as shown in FIG. 1 are formed on one side.
4c is provided. 2 is the window hole 2a of the housing above.
Display elements “1” to “8” are displayed at positions opposite to 2h.
This is a display board made of plastic film on which the numbers 5a to 5h of "" are attached by appropriate means such as printing, and the numbers 5a to 5h are
The font part of 5h is made transparent, and the other parts are made non-transparent by painting or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, semicircular spherical bellows are formed at the locations indicated by the numbers 5a to 5h, and the outer peripheral shape of the display board 2 is determined by the size of the inner surface of the housing. It fits. This rice bran is formed to provide a pressing feel (click action) when pressed with an operator's finger or the like. 6 is a box-shaped spacer made of transparent plastic.

This is made of a material that creates a local depression when pressed with a finger or the like, and has the same size as the outer circumferential shape of the display board 2. 7 is an electrode plate made of a flexible wiring board.

As shown in FIG. 3, a fixed electrode part 7a is formed above the line A-A', and a movable electrode part 7b and a connector terminal part 7c are formed below this. and,
By folding them in half and overlapping them on the line A-A', the electrode parts 7a and 7b of the two are made to face each other, and then on the line B-B' shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. By bending at right angles, the electrical connection of the connector terminal portion 7c to the connector 44 described later is facilitated, and the connector terminal portion 7c is fitted into the interior of the spacer 6. Therefore, a slit 8 is provided on the line A-A' of the bending point to facilitate the bending operation, and island portions 9a and 9b are provided at both ends to prevent cracks. Also, island portions 11a, 11b, 12a,
12b is provided to provide the above functions. The fixed electrode part 7a has two sets of spot-shaped contacts 13a and tortoises 3b and 14a located at opposite positions of the window holes 2a to 2h of the housing and spaced apart by a required dimension.
and 14b, 15a and 15b...20a and 28b
are formed, respectively, and all of these are electrically connected by two common wiring lines.

This common wiring 21 has a protrusion 10' and a lead-out terminal 2.
2 is electrically connected. The movable electrode portion 7b includes:
When the electrode plate 7 is folded in half along the A-A' line, the contacts 13a and 3b provided on the fixed electrode part a, the turtle base a and the wealth b;...28a and 20b are opposite to each other. ``Separate two sets of contacts 23a, 23b, 24a'' are placed in a position where they can be separated.
and 24b; . . 38a and 3Qb are respectively formed, and the respective silk contacts are electrically connected to the terminals 31a to 3h of the connector terminal portion 7c.

In the terminal 31i located at the center and the opposite side of the connector terminal portion 7c, an extraction terminal 32 is formed at a position opposite to the extraction terminal 22 of the fixed electrode portion 7a.

The electrode plate 7 having the above-mentioned contacts, wiring, terminals, etc. is formed by removing unnecessary copper foil by etching, etc., and then
It can be manufactured by applying treatments such as nickel plating.

Therefore, between the two sets of contacts 13a and 13b, the ridges 4a and 14b, .
Translucency is provided between 4a and 24b, . . . 38a and 30b. 33 are window holes 2a to 2 of the housing 1
This is an insulating plate made of plastic film and provided with a total of eight rectangular holes 34a to 34h, which are approximately the same size and can be penetrated, at positions opposite to h.

By interposing the electrode plate 7 between the folded five folds of the electrode plate 7 (between the fixed electrode part 7a and the movable electrode part 7b), the contact point of the fixed electrode part 7a can be moved in the non-pressure state. This is to prevent the contacts of the electrode portion 7b from making unnecessary contact. Reference numeral 35 designates a plastic body provided with a total of eight smaller rectangular holes 36a to 36h, which are smaller than the window holes 2a to 2h of the housing 1, and are located opposite to the window holes 2a to 2h.

These holes 36a to 36M are filled with neon lamps 41, which will be described later.
Reflective surface portion 37a for reflecting light emitted from a to 41h
37h is provided. Both side parts 35a and 350 are provided with ears 38a to 38d (38a and 38b' are not visible in the drawing) that engage with the holes 3a to 3d of the housing 1, as shown in FIG. The upper side is stepped and narrowed by the same thickness as the plate thickness of the spacer 6, and the side surface portion 36b has a connector terminal portion of the electrode plate 7. c.
A groove portion 39 having a thickness of . Then, between the above-mentioned housing and the body 35, the display plate 2, the spacer 6, the electrode plate 7 with the insulating plate 33 sandwiched therebetween, etc. are stacked one on top of the other, and the ears of the body 35 are inserted into the holes 3a to 3d of the housing 1. 38a to 38d are engaged and the whole is assembled integrally,
Eight switch sections 40 are configured.

In this case, the arm 4b of the housing presses the extraction terminal 22 of the electrode plate 7 and the extraction terminal by elastic deformation made of its own material.
c, the connector terminal portion 7c is brought into contact with the groove portion 39 of the body 35, and the lower end of the connector terminal portion 7c is connected to the body 35.
5 by a required amount of dimension.

In addition, "with the switch part 40' assembled in this way, an insulating plate 3 provided between the movable electrode part 7b and the fixed electrode part 7a"
3 is provided with holes 34a to 34h, but normally, both of them are kept in a non-contact state despite the thickness of the insulating plate 33, and after being turned on with a fingertip or the like, the movable electrode part 7b returns. utilizes the elasticity of this plastic film itself.

41a to 41M, a total of eight neon lamps, which are light sources for each display element, are made to protrude in the vertical direction of the wrap holder 42 at positions facing the holes 36a to 36h of the body 35, and a voltage is applied to a pair of the neon lamps. The respective lead wires are connected to a wiring board 43 for the drive circuit by soldering or the like.

44 is a connector consisting of 9 cores, into which the connector terminal portion 7c of the electrode plate 7 is removably inserted, and one end of the 9 cores is soldered to the wiring board 43 for the drive circuit. It is electrically connected with a cable, etc.

Therefore, when any one of the above-mentioned switch sections 40 is turned on, a voltage is applied to the neon lamp corresponding to the switch and the neon lamp lights up, and the electrode plate 7? Only one of the numbers 5a to 5h is illuminated and displayed through the spacer 6 and the display board 2.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, a finger is pressed on the surface of the display board 2 where a desired number among the numbers 5a to 5h of "1" to "8" shown in FIG. 1, for example "1", is located.

Then, the pressurized part of the movable electrode part 7b is locally depressed, and the contacts 26a and 26b attached to the back surface of the movable electrode part 7b are pressed against the insulating plate 3.
The contact 20 of the fixed electrode part 7a passes through the hole 34a of 3.
a and 20b. This creates an open circuit and turns on the switch. At the same time, in electrical conjunction with this, a predetermined voltage is applied between the lead wires of the neon lamp 41a, causing it to emit light, which emits the number "1".
It reaches the outside through the font. As a result, the number ``1''
is displayed with an eagle light. In this case, if a hold function is added to the wiring board 43, the illuminated display of the number "1" can be maintained even after the acupressure is canceled until the next new acupressure operation is performed. can. It is clear from the above description that in order to switch to another electrical circuit, finger pressure can be applied on other numbers.

As described above, the present invention uses one flexible plastic film plate to form an electrode plate having multiple pairs of movable contacts and fixed contacts. A plurality of pieces can be manufactured at one time, which is advantageous for mass production and cost reduction.

What's more, the pressing force and amount of pressure from the fingertips can be reduced, and in addition to functioning as a switch for turning on and off electrical circuits, a neon lamp can be placed between the two sets of contacts and facing each other. This light emission enables the illumination display of display elements such as letters, numbers, symbols, etc.
It has a great effect. In addition, if a flexible wiring board is used as in the above-mentioned example, unnecessary copper foil is removed by etching, etc., and then nickel plating or other treatment is performed to form the electrode part. This is advantageous in practical terms because it can improve contact characteristics compared to conventional silver electrodes formed by thick film printing or the like.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 7 into a desired shape as shown in FIG. 1, no cracks are generated at various locations, which is effective in improving workability and reliability.

Furthermore, if the electrode plate sandwiching the insulating plate is housed in a sealed state in the space formed between the box-shaped spacer and the body as in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is possible to prevent L dust from entering. Be effective.

Furthermore, if the display slope part that applies finger pressure is made to have a convex curved surface, it is possible to obtain a feeling of pressing the fingertip (click action). In addition, the present invention allows easy assembly of the housing and the body, and ``a part (arm) of the housing makes electrical connection easy by directly connecting the extraction terminal and the extraction terminal of the electrode plate. I have to.

Moreover, since the switch section of the present invention is made into a unit, it is easy to make the switch section into a unit, and the separately provided light source can be easily replaced and repaired.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the same embodiment in a state where the silk is stood up, and FIG. 3 is a developed view of an electrode plate in the same embodiment. 1...Housing ``2a~2h...Window hole'' 2...Display plate ~ 3a~30...Hole part, 4a~4c...Arm also 5a~5h...Number, 6...Subesa ``7. ...
Electrode plate "7a...Fixed electrode part" 7b...Movable electrode part ~ Tc...Connector terminal part, 8...--Slit, ga?gP, 11a, Turtle turtle b, Wing 2a, Army 2b...
Island part, army Q... protrusion, 13a-2Qa; turtle 3b-2Qb
,23a~38a calculation 23b~38b sail...contact point "22...
...Drawer terminal, 31a to li...Terminal "32...
The extraction terminals are also 33...Insulating plate, 34a to 34h...Protrusion, 35...Body 41a to 4th force...Neon lamp, 42...Side lamp holder, 44...Connector. Fig. 2, 3 Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A plurality of two sets of contacts separated by a required dimension are provided in the first area and the second area of the surface of one bendable insulating film, and the contact sets in the first area are common. The contacts of the second area are electrically connected to the plurality of connector terminals by independent wiring, and the plurality of An extraction terminal is formed on only one of the connector terminals, and the film is folded in half so that the contact sets provided in the first area and the second area can be brought into contact with and separated from each other by facing each other. one side of the folded film is displaced relative to the other side, and the one side and the other side are stacked one on top of the other, with an insulating plate having a hole interposed between them. A display board with display elements such as numbers and letters is laminated on the front side of the folded film, and the drawer terminal and the extraction terminal, and a separately provided light source is placed between the two sets of contacts in a position facing each other, and the contacts on one side and the other side are connected to each other in contact or non-contact. An illuminated switch device characterized in that the light emission is turned on and off by the light source, and the light emission can be visually observed from the outside through the film.