JP2002133966A - Push button - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively manufacture a push button which is free from causing deformation and discoloration as well as keeping plastic touch even if exposed in sunlight or in harsh climate for a long time. SOLUTION: A push button is manufactured with borosilicate glass. The borosilicate glass has a smooth surface and contains closed cells having an average cell size of from 5 to 12 μm in its inside as well as has 1.5 to 5.0% area occupancy of the closed cells existing in its inside when viewing the cross section.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button used for a telephone, a vending machine, a vending machine, an elevator, a keyboard of a computer, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art
Push buttons used in telephones, vending machines, vending machines, elevators, computer keyboards, etc. are made of ABS plastic and have a sign, number, or character display printed on the top surface. It is made to be distinguishable by forming it by printing or by changing its color tone.

[0003] However, plastics made of ABS resin have low light resistance and weather resistance, and therefore, when exposed to sunlight or the like for a long period of time or used in a severe climate, the plastic material deteriorates and discolors. There was such a problem.

In a push button used for the public, a cigarette lit by mischief may be pressed against the button, and plastic made of ABS resin has low heat resistance, so that the appearance is greatly damaged or damaged. There was also a problem.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems,
The following push buttons have been proposed.

The full specification of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-16531 includes:
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a box-shaped metal cap 13 having a punched portion 14 matching the display portion 15.
Further, a push button 11 in which a display portion 15 is formed by exposing a part of the base 12 from a punched portion 14 of a metal cap 13 by insert-molding a base 12 made of a synthetic resin is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-102238 discloses that a substantially cylindrical push button 21 is formed of a ceramic sintered body as shown in FIGS. A display unit 25 is formed on a surface 23 by printing or the like, and a glaze 26 is applied to the entire surface of the push button 21 so as to cover the display unit 25.

However, the push button 11 shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) has a two-layer structure of the synthetic resin base 12 and the metal cap 13, so that the push button 11 was exposed to an environment in which climatic changes were severe. In this case, the base 12 and the cap 13 may be loose due to deformation, and the cap 13 may be peeled off. In addition, the two-layer structure has the disadvantage that the manufacturing cost increases accordingly.

The push button 21 shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) has excellent weather resistance, light resistance and heat resistance, so that it can be used for a long period of time. Therefore, there is a problem in that the design balance with peripheral panels and the like is poor, and the range of use is limited. That is, plastics such as ABS resin are used for panels around push buttons used for telephones, vending machines, vending machines, elevators, computer keyboards, and the like. If it has a texture, the design is not well balanced and the commercial value may be impaired.

In addition, since ceramics, which are more expensive than plastics, must be used, they cannot be manufactured inexpensively, and there is a problem that the range of use is limited in terms of cost.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a low-priced push button which has excellent light resistance, weather resistance and heat resistance and has a soft texture with the texture of ABS plastic.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a push button having a smooth surface, closed cells having an average cell diameter of 5 to 12 μm inside, and a cross section of the push button. Is characterized by being formed of borosilicate glass having an occupied area ratio of 1.5 to 5.0% of closed cells present inside when viewed.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a push button according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 1 (b) is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 1 (a).

The push button 1 has a substantially columnar body 2 provided with a projection 4 for preventing it from coming off at the bottom. The top surface 3 of the substantially columnar body 2 matches the display section 5. Recess 2
a, and a display portion 5 made of a glass layer is provided in the concave portion 2a, and the substantially cylindrical body 2 has a smooth surface,
It is characterized in that it is formed of borosilicate glass having closed cells 6 therein.

That is, the inventor of the present invention has excellent light resistance and weather resistance, does not deform or discolor even if a lit cigarette is pressed by mischief, and has a texture of a plastic made of ABS resin. Various studies were conducted to obtain a push button 1 having a mellow texture at a low cost. When borosilicate glass was used, the push button 1 could deform even if exposed to sunlight or severe climate change. It can be used for a long time without discoloration or discoloration, and found that it can be manufactured at lower cost compared to ceramics.
By letting the closed cells 6 exist inside the borosilicate glass and adjusting the bubble diameter and the ratio of the bubbles in the closed cells 6, the translucency is suppressed, and not the texture of the glass but the texture of the plastic made of ABS resin. It has been found that a mellow texture can be obtained, and the push button 1 can be obtained in a well-balanced design with peripheral panels and the like. In addition, since the surface of the push button 1 is a smooth surface without air bubbles, it can be made to have a good touch even if a finger touches it.

By the way, in order to obtain the above-mentioned texture,
The average diameter of the closed cells 6 contained in the borosilicate glass is set to 5 to 12 μm, and the push button 1 made of the borosilicate glass is cut. Occupied area ratio is 1.5 to 5.
It is important to make it 0%.

This is because the average diameter of the closed cells 6 is 5 μm.
When the average cell diameter of the closed cells 6 is larger than 12 μm, the presence of air bubbles is visible from the appearance, and the texture is impaired. This is because the presence of the closed cells 6 lowers the breaking strength to 40 MPa or less, which may cause breakage during handling.

When the occupied area ratio of the closed cells 6 present in the cross section of the borosilicate glass is less than 1.5%, the ratio of the closed cells 6 occupied is small, so that the irregular reflection of light is small. This is because the light transmittance cannot be suppressed and the texture of the glass remains, and when the occupied area ratio of the closed cells 6 is more than 5.0%, the breakage strength is increased because the closed cells 6 occupy a large proportion. This is because the pressure may be reduced to 40 MPa or less and may be damaged during handling.

In other words, by setting the average cell diameter of the closed cells 6 contained in the borosilicate glass to 5 to 12 μm and the area occupied by the closed cells 6 to 1.5 to 5.0%, Without significantly deteriorating the strength of the silicate glass, light is appropriately irregularly reflected inside the borosilicate glass to suppress light transmission, and it is possible to obtain a mellow texture having the texture of ABS plastic. .

In the present invention, the inside of the borosilicate glass is defined as 50% from the outer surface when the cut section is viewed.
A region S (region surrounded by a dotted line) excluding a region R existing at a depth H of μm. The average cell diameter of the closed cells 6 present therein and the occupied area ratio of the closed cells 6 are: An arbitrary position of the cross section is determined by a LUZEX image analyzer (LUZ
EX-FS (manufactured by Nireco Co., Ltd.) and analyzed for all the closed cells 6 found in the measurement area with respect to the average cell diameter of the closed cells 6 present in the measurement area and the area of the entire measurement area.
Is determined, the average value of the average cell diameter of the closed cells 6 arbitrarily measured is defined as the average cell diameter of the closed cells 6 according to the present invention, and the area of the closed cells 6 arbitrarily measured. The average value of the ratio was defined as the occupied area ratio of the closed cells 6 in the present invention.

The push button 1 is formed.
As acid glass, SiO_TwoAnd B_TwoO _ThreeAs the main component and other
K as a component of_TwoO_Three, Al_TwoO_Three, ZrO_Two, Na_TwoO, M
gO, Fe_TwoO_ThreeUse one containing at least one of
Specifically, SiO 2_Two65-85w
t%, B_TwoO_ThreeContaining 10 to 30 wt%
And preferably SiO 2_Two75-85 wt%, B_Two
O_ThreeIn the range of 10 to 20 wt%.
Borosilicate glass having such a composition has a white color
It can be.

If it is desired to provide a different color, a coloring material may be contained. For example, if a Co oxide is contained, the color becomes blue.
When the oxide of V is contained, the coloring material can be colored green, and when the oxide of V is contained, the coloring material can be colored yellow. A plurality of the coloring materials may be contained in order to obtain a desired color tone.

In order to manufacture the push button 1 shown in FIG. 1, first, a borosilicate glass powder having a particle diameter of 1 to 20 μm and having the above-mentioned composition is prepared, and this borosilicate glass powder is made of gold. It is filled in a mold and formed into a cylindrical body by a press forming machine. At this time, the press molding pressure was set at 0.
It is important to control the pressure in the range of 08 to 0.14 MPa, and closed cells 6 having an average cell diameter in the range of 5 to 12 μm are included in the sintered body after firing, which will be described later, by press molding in the above pressure range. Things.

Thereafter, the compact is fired in an air atmosphere or an oxidizing atmosphere. If the firing temperature is lower than 800 ° C., the glass on the surface layer of the compact cannot be sufficiently softened. If the bubbles existing in the surface layer cannot be eliminated, and if the firing temperature exceeds 1000 ° C., the closed cells 6 in the borosilicate glass will condense, and there will be many bubbles with an average bubble diameter exceeding 12 μm. To become
This is because the texture is impaired and the breaking strength is lower than 40 MPa.

For this reason, the calcination is preferably carried out at a temperature in the range of 800 to 1000 ° C. By calcination under such conditions, closed cells having a smooth surface and having an average cell diameter of 5 to 12 μm inside are obtained. When the cross-section is viewed, a substantially columnar body 2 made of borosilicate glass having an occupied area ratio of 1.5 to 5.0% of the closed cells 6 present therein can be obtained. it can.

Thereafter, a glass sheet is adhered to the concave portion 2a provided on the top surface 3 of the substantially columnar body 2 and baked at 200 ° C. in the atmosphere to form a display section 5 made of a glass layer in the concave portion 2a. The push button 1 thus obtained can be opaque and have a texture of a plastic made of ABS resin.

In the above-described manufacturing method, an example in which a press molding machine is used to manufacture the substantially cylindrical body 2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an extrusion molding method or an injection molding method may be used. What is necessary is just to select and use suitably according to the required shape and structure. Further, the display unit 5 is not limited to the above-described one, and a glass sheet formed in the shape of the display unit 5 directly on the top surface 3 of the substantially columnar body 2 having no concave portion 2a may be directly baked. The concave portion formed on the top surface of the columnar body 2 is
You can also use

Needless to say, the present invention may be appropriately modified or changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A specific example of the push button 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described below.

First, 80% by weight of SiO ₂ and 1% of B ₂ O ₃
6.5 wt%, 2.4 wt% of K ₂ O ₃ , the balance being A
l ₂ O ₃ , ZrO ₂ , Na ₂ O, MgO, Fe ₂ O ₃ , CoO
Borosilicate glass powder is filled in a mold and press-molded at a molding pressure of 0.10 MPa to obtain a molded body of a columnar body. In addition to a substantially columnar body, a concave portion corresponding to the display portion 5 of “1” was formed on the top surface 3.

Next, the molded body is fired in an air atmosphere at 850 ° C. for about 2 hours to have a smooth surface.
It is made of a bluish-white borosilicate glass having closed cells 6 inside, and has a projection 4 for preventing the bottom from coming off.
The substantially cylindrical body 2 having the concave portion 2a on the top surface 3 is manufactured. Thereafter, a glass sheet is attached to the concave portion 2a of the substantially cylindrical body 2 and is baked at a temperature of 200 ° C. in an air atmosphere. A push button 1 having a display section 5 made of a glass layer in 2 was manufactured.

When the average cell diameter and the occupied area ratio of the closed cells 6 in the borosilicate glass forming the push button 1 were measured, the average cell diameter was 9.8.
μm, and the occupied area ratio was 3.6%.

Therefore, in order to confirm the texture of the push button 1, 220 to 90 having a wavelength similar to that of sunlight is used.
Irradiate light with a wavelength of 0 nm, measure the reflectance, and use ABS
A comparison was made with the reflectance of plastic made of resin.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 2A, the reflectivity of the borosilicate glass forming the push button 1 of the present invention is 45 to 65%, as shown in FIG. 2B. A
A tendency similar to the reflectance of the plastic made of the BS resin was observed, and the appearance was visually similar to that of the plastic made of the ABS resin. The reflectance was measured using a UV measuring device (UV2100, manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) under the condition of a light source incident angle of 8 °.

Further, in order to examine the strength of the obtained push button 1, a test piece for a three-point bending test was cut out and subjected to a three-point bending test using a universal testing machine.
Pa also had bending strength.

After the push button 1 was heated, it was dropped into water to measure its thermal shock resistance ΔT.
It was 250 ° C or higher.

[0038]

[Experimental Example] Next, 80% by weight of SiO ₂ and 1% of B ₂ O ₃
6.5 wt%, 2.4 wt% of K ₂ O ₃ , the balance being A
l ₂ O ₃ , ZrO ₂ , Na ₂ O, MgO, Fe ₂ O ₃ , CoO
Using a borosilicate glass powder consisting of
The press forming is performed in a range of from 0.4 to 0.20 MPa, and the firing is performed by changing the firing temperature in a range of from 600 to 1200 ° C., whereby the average cell diameter of the closed cells 6 in the borosilicate glass and the closed cells are obtained. The display unit 5 was formed under the same conditions as in the example except that the substantially columnar bodies 2 having different occupied area ratios were manufactured, and the push button 1 was manufactured.

Then, the texture of each push button 1 is examined and compared visually with plastics made of ABS resin, and those having the same texture are evaluated as good. In the case or when the closed cells 6 were observed from the appearance, they were evaluated as poor and indicated by x.

[0040]

[Table 1]

As can be seen from the results in Table 1, Sample No.
When the molding pressures of Sample Nos. 1 to 9 were changed in the range of 0.04 to 0.20 MPa, sample Nos. The molding pressure of 3 to 6 is set to 0.
By setting the average cell diameter of the closed cell 6 to 08 to 0.14 MPa, the average cell diameter of the closed cell 6 can be 5 to 12 μm and the occupied area ratio of the closed cell 6 can be 1.5 to 5.0%. A push button 1 having a texture was obtained.

The sample No. When the sintering temperatures of Nos. 10 to 16 were changed in the range of 600 to 1200 ° C., sample Nos. The firing temperature of 12 to 14 is set to 800 to 100
By setting the temperature to 0 ° C., the average cell diameter of the closed cells 6 is 5 to 5.
12 μm, occupied area ratio of closed cells 6 is 1.5 to 5.0%
Thus, the push button 1 having a texture of a plastic made of ABS resin was obtained.

As a result, the molding pressure was reduced to 0.08 to 0.14.
By setting the sintering temperature to 800 to 1000 ° C., a push button 1 having a smooth surface, closed cells inside, and a texture of a plastic made of ABS resin can be obtained. I understand.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, the push button has a smooth surface and closed cells having an average cell diameter of 5 to 12 μm inside. Occasionally, the occupied area of closed cells existing in the interior is 1.5 to 5.0%, and the occupied area is made of borosilicate glass, so that it is exposed to sunlight, exposed to severe climate, and even mischievous. It can be used for a long time without being deformed or discolored even if a lit cigarette is pressed, and it has a opaque and ABS plastic texture, so it can be used for peripheral panels, etc. Can be used in a variety of application fields, and can be manufactured at a lower cost than ceramics. Can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a push button according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a perspective view thereof, and (b) is a sectional view taken along line XX of (a).

FIG. 2A is a measurement chart showing the reflectance of borosilicate glass forming the push button of the present invention,
(B) is a measurement chart diagram showing a reflectance of a plastic made of an ABS resin.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional push button.
(A) is a perspective view thereof, and (b) is a sectional view taken along line YY of (a).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a conventional push button.
(A) is a perspective view thereof, and (b) is a sectional view taken along line ZZ of (a).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... push button 2 ... substantially cylindrical body 3 ... top surface 4 ...
Protrusion for preventing detachment 5 ... Display unit 6 ... Closed cell

Claims (1)

[Claims] A closed cell having a smooth surface and an average cell diameter of 5 to 12 .mu.m is contained therein. When the cross section is viewed, the occupied area ratio of the closed cells present inside is 1.5. Push buttons made of borosilicate glass that is ~ 5.0%.