JP2002190225A - Push button switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push button switch device capable of surely shielding light leakage to the outside in simple configuration and of providing low-cost and high-quality display. SOLUTION: The push button switch device is provided with a display button 10 in which a button boss 12 is integrally formed at the back of a display part 11 by a translucent resin material, with a rubber contact switch 20 integrally formed by elastically deformable resin material so as to separably bring a lower conductive contact part 23 into contact with a comb-shaped electrode 31 with a ring shaped part 22 supporting the display button 10 held by an umbrella-shaped part in such a manner that a cylindrical light shielding part 24 is accommodated inside the button boss 12, and with a printed board 30 on which comb-shaped electrodes 31 short-circuited and opened by contact with and separation from the conductive contact parts 23 and an LED 32 radiating light on the back of the display part 11 by passing through through holes 22a and 24a between the ring shaped part 22 and the light shielding part 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button switch device, and more particularly, to a device for displaying information by transmitting light to a display portion exposed on an operation surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a push-button switch device is provided on an operation surface of a device to turn on / off a switch in conjunction with depression of a push button, and, for example, to transmit information corresponding to the depression of the push button. Display is performed in a button, and this push-button switch device has a light source inside, and forms a display portion that transmits light in a button portion, etc., and switches information and the like by light from the light source. It can be displayed.

As this type of push button switch device, for example, there is one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-306900, which is constructed as shown in FIG. This push-button switch device has a comb-shaped electrode 2 for short-circuiting and opening between electric wirings via a conductive contact portion 4a on a surface of a printed circuit board 1, and an LED (light emitting diode) functioning as a light source.
3, the conductive contact portion 4a of the rubber contact switch 4 is brought into contact with and separated from the comb-shaped electrode 2 formed on the surface of the printed circuit board 1 in conjunction with the pressing of the display button portion 5, whereby the comb-shaped electrode 2 is formed. Function as a switch for conducting short-circuit or opening.

The rubber contact switch 4 has an LED
In order to irradiate the light emitted from the LED 3 toward the display button section 5, the through hole 4b
Is formed.

The display button portion 5 is integrally formed of a light-transmitting resin, and as shown in FIG. By forming the portion 5c, the light transmitting portion 5c
(The switch information or the like) can be displayed by the light emitted by the LED 3 that transmits light (only the character portion is transmitted or transmitted in a different color including the surroundings).
Note that the coating laser is capable of expressing the shape of a character or the like with light transmitted by shaving the coating 5b with laser light. It goes without saying that the display unit 5a is not limited to this coating laser, and may be capable of displaying light such as characters by a two-color molding method, for example.

A cylindrical button boss 5e having a through hole 5d continuous with the through hole 4a of the rubber contact switch 4 is integrally formed on the back side of the display section 5a.
Characters and the like can be displayed on the display unit 5a by the light emitted by the. Button boss 5b is rubber contact switch 4
It is configured to be held by a rib 6a connected to the operation panel 6 so as to be pressed down.

The rib 6a has a button boss 5b of the display button unit 5 therein and is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to be located around the display button unit 5, thereby passing through the through hole 4a of the rubber contact switch 4. The light emitted by the LED 3 is displayed on the display unit 5a.
It is also configured to have a function of shielding light so as not to leak outside from between the surrounding area and the opening of the operation panel 6 to make it hard to see.

[0008]

However, in such a conventional push-button switch device, it is necessary to connect a rib 6a to the operation panel 6 in which the push-button switch device is incorporated. It is necessary to make the button boss 5e close to the button boss 5e so as to prevent light from leaking from the periphery of the display portion 5a, and to form the display portion 5a long. For this reason, the shape of the operation panel 6 becomes complicated and dimensional accuracy is required, so that the cost of the die increases. Further, depending on the shapes of the operation panel 6 and the display button unit 5, there is a case where it is not possible to secure a space for continuously providing the rib 6a.
There was a problem.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to realize a low-cost and high-quality display by realizing shielding of light leaking to the outside with a simple configuration. A push button switch device is provided.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a push-button switch device comprising: a display button portion having a light-transmitting display portion; and a continuity for short-circuiting or opening between electric wirings in conjunction with pressing of the display button portion. In a push button switch device including a switch unit having a contact point and a light source that illuminates and irradiates the display unit with the light, the switch unit irradiates the display unit with light from the light source, and emits light to a unit other than the display unit. It has a configuration in which a light shielding part for shielding is provided in the display button part.

According to this configuration, a structure for preventing light from leaking from the light source to the outside can be realized compactly inside the display button section, regardless of the structure on the operation panel side. Light can be transmitted only to the display section. Therefore, it is possible to prevent light from leaking to the periphery of the display unit and make it easier to see the display on the display unit.

The conductive contact is provided on a lower surface portion of the switch portion, the display button portion has a cylindrical portion supported by the switch portion on a back side of the display portion, and the light shielding portion is provided on the switch portion. By having a configuration formed of a cylindrical portion integrally formed on the display button portion and provided in the cylindrical portion of the display button portion, the display button portion can be easily held down by being combined with a cylindrical light-shielding portion so as to be able to be pressed. The light can be shielded inside, and the light-shielding part is formed in a tubular shape that is integrally formed with the switch part, so that light to parts other than the display part can be shielded without increasing the number of parts and the number of assembly steps. it can.

[0013] By having a structure in which the inner surface of the light-shielding portion is a mirror surface, it is possible to make it difficult for the light from the light source to be reflected on the inner surface of the light-shielding portion to attenuate the amount of light radiated to the display portion. In addition to making it easier to see, the brightness (power consumption) of the light source while ensuring the amount of light displayed on the display unit
Can also be reduced.

Since the light source is arranged so as to face the back surface of the display unit, the light of the light source can be uniformly radiated to the display unit, and the display on the display unit can be effectively viewed easily. Can be. Further, since the light from the light source does not have to be guided by using a light guide plate or an optical fiber, it is possible to prevent the light amount from being reduced by the light guide plate or the like.

[0015] With the configuration in which the switch section and the light source are arranged on a printed circuit board, light is prevented from leaking from the periphery of the display section so that the display on the display section can be easily viewed. It is also possible to easily arrange and form the electric wiring and the light source to be short-circuited and opened, and it is possible to stably hold the display button so as to be able to be pressed.

The light source is disposed on the back side of the surface of the printed circuit board on which the electric wiring is formed, and the printed circuit board has a through-hole through which light from the light source can be applied to the display unit. By this, the display button portion can be stably held so as to be able to be pressed, and the electric wiring and the light source that are short-circuited and opened by the switch portion can be easily arranged and formed. The light source can be arranged on the side, and even if the area of the light source including the wiring becomes large, it can be arranged without hindering the electric wiring that is short-circuited and opened by the switch part, and also by the periphery of the through hole of the printed circuit board. It is possible to prevent the light from the light source from being diffused and leaking, thereby making it easier to see the display on the display unit.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are views showing a first embodiment of a push button switch device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the push button switch device is manufactured by integrally forming a display button portion 10 made of a resin material having a light transmitting property and an elastically deformable resin material which does not transmit light. Rubber contact switch 2
0 and a printed circuit board 30 for electric wiring and the like are assembled at a position corresponding to the opening of the operation panel 6.

The display button section 10 has a display section 11 formed in substantially the same shape as the opening of the operation panel 6, which faces the outside so as to be depressable within the opening, and a coating formed on the surface of the display section 11. By shaving a part of the inside of 11a with a laser beam (painting laser), the light transmitting portion 11b in which the shape of a character (including a symbol or the like) is formed can transmit light of a color different from that of the surroundings alone or in the surroundings. (It may be formed by two-color molding, not limited to the coating laser). This display unit 11
A button boss (cylindrical portion) 12 having a bottom surface on the back surface side of the light transmitting portion 11b in which the character shape is formed is integrally formed. For this reason, the display button unit 10 is exposed so as to be able to be pressed into the opening of the operation panel 6 and transmits the light irradiated from the back side of the display unit 11 through the character-shaped light transmitting unit 11b, and transmits the character information. Can be displayed.

The rubber contact switch 20 has a ring-shaped portion (switch portion) 22 facing the upper surface of the printed circuit board 30 when the umbrella-shaped portion 21 fixed to the printed circuit board 30 is elastically deformed and elastically restored. The contact portion 23 is supported so as to be capable of coming and going. The ring-shaped portion 22 has a through hole 2 so as to be continuous with the internal through hole 22a.
A cylindrical light-shielding portion 24 having 4a is integrally formed (sequentially provided) so that the button boss 12 of the display button portion 10 containing the light-shielding portion 24 can be placed on the outer peripheral edge. . Therefore, the rubber contact switch 20 can be placed and held on the ring-shaped portion 22 so as to be able to be pressed down while supporting the display button portion 10 by the light-shielding portion 24 having a simple configuration. Shape part 22 and light shielding part 2
4 has a light-shielding structure, so that light from an LED 32 to be described later is allowed to pass through the through holes 22a and 24a to irradiate the rear surface of the display unit 11 only from the upper end side opening of the light-shielding unit 24. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ring-shaped portion 22 of the rubber contact switch 20 is
At a position facing the lower conductive contact portion 23, a pair of comb-shaped electrodes 3 formed in parallel so as to be engaged with each other while being separated from each other
1 (31a, 31b) is formed on an extension of an electric wiring (not shown), and the comb-shaped electrode 31 can function as a switch when one of the electrodes is short-circuited. The printed circuit board 30 has a central portion, that is, the ring-shaped portion 2.
An LED (light source) 32 is provided at a position corresponding to the center of the through holes 22a, 24a of the light-shielding portion 2 and the light-shielding portion 24.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the umbrella-shaped portion 21 of the rubber contact switch 20 is elastically deformed and the ring-shaped portion 22 descends in conjunction with the pressing of the display button portion 10,
The conductive contact portion 23 comes into contact with the comb-shaped electrode 31 of the printed circuit board 30 to conduct the short-circuit between the comb-shaped electrode 31a and the comb-shaped electrode 31b via the conductive contact portion 23, and the pressing of the display button portion 10 is released. Then, the umbrella-shaped portion 21 elastically returns and the ring-shaped portion 22 rises, so that the conductive contact portion 23 is separated from the comb-shaped electrode 31 of the printed circuit board 30 to open the continuity. The printed circuit board 3
Perform operations such as ON / OFF in the electrical wiring of 0,
For example, the LED 32 can be turned on or off according to the ON / OFF state.

Therefore, the rubber contact switch 2
0 umbrella-shaped portion 21, ring-shaped portion 22, and light-shielding portion 24
Can irradiate the light emitted from the LED 32 to the back surface of the display unit 11 without leaking light from the LED 32 of the printed circuit board 30 to the back surface side of the display unit 11 of the display button unit 10, Light does not leak from the periphery of the display button unit 10 such as between the unit 11 and the opening of the operation panel 6, so that the light transmitting unit 11 b in the form of a character or the like does not become difficult to see.

The rubber contact switch 20 is
Since it is fixed on the printed circuit board 30, the display button section 10
Can be pressed (pressed) in a stable posture, and since the LEDs 32 are arranged on the printed circuit board 30 together with the comb-shaped electrodes 31, wiring can be easily routed to form a circuit. .

Further, the LED 32 is arranged at the center of the rubber contact switch 20 on the printed circuit board 30 so as to face the back surface of the display section 11 of the display button section 10, and irradiates the light uniformly (effectively). Light-transmitting part 11 in the form of characters, etc.
The light transmitted from b can be easily seen.

As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the light-shielding portion 24 is housed in the button boss 12 without providing a rib structure on the operation panel 6 side (while suppressing the mold manufacturing cost). The rubber contact switch 20 can hold the display button unit 10 so as to be able to be pressed down without falling down by the simple and compact structure of merely placing the display button unit 10 on the ring-shaped portion 22, and the light-shielding portion 24 surrounds the display button portion 10. An optical path that allows the light to travel in one direction (from the LED 32 to the display unit 11) while blocking the leaking light,
32 can be radiated to the back side of the display section 11 of the display button section 10 without omission, and the light transmitting section 1 of the character on the display section 11 can be illuminated.
1b can transmit light. Therefore, the character information can be displayed in a legible manner by the light transmitted through the display unit 11, and a push-button switch device capable of high-quality display can be manufactured at low cost.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a view showing a second embodiment of the push button switch device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 4, the light shielding portion 24 of the rubber contact switch 20 has a mirror surface 24 for reflecting light on its inner surface.
b is formed. The umbrella-shaped portion 21 and the inner surface of the ring-shaped portion 22 may be formed on a mirror surface.

In the present embodiment, the amount of light emitted from the LED 32 is reflected by the mirror surface 24b so as to irradiate the back surface of the display unit 11 with less attenuation, and the amount of light required for easy-to-view display is ensured. In addition, the power consumption can be reduced by lowering the brightness of the LED 32.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a view showing a third embodiment of the push button switch device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 5, the printed circuit board 30 is an LE
A through hole 42 is formed at the position where D32 is disposed,
The LED 32 is provided on the back side.

The present embodiment can be applied to a structure in which the LED 32 must be provided on the back side of the printed circuit board 30.
The light emitted from the LED 32 is prevented from being diffused by the surrounding area, and the light emitted to the back surface side of the display unit 11 of the display button unit 10 can be narrowed so as not to leak.

In the above embodiment, the through hole 22
The rubber contact switch 20 having the a and 24a is adopted, but the present invention is not limited to this. The electrical connection may be short-circuited / opened by a leaf spring or a spring. As a light source,
It goes without saying that an EL (Electro Luminescence) illumination or a light bulb used as a pilot lamp can be adopted.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the light of the light source from leaking to the outside by blocking the light in the display button portion by the structure which does not need to rely on the structure of the operation panel. The light of the light source can be applied only to the portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent light from leaking to the periphery of the display unit and make it easier to see the display on the display unit.
The push button switch device having the excellent effect of the above can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a push button switch device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the push button switch device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the function of the push button switch device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a push button switch device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a push button switch device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional push button switch device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a conventional push button switch device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Display button part 11 Display part 12 Button boss 20 Rubber contact switch 21 Umbrella-shaped part 22 Ring-shaped part 22a Through-hole 23 Conduction contact part 24 Light-shielding part 24a Through-hole 30 Printed circuit board 31 Comb-shaped electrode 32 LED 42 Through-hole

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A display button unit having a display unit that transmits light, a switch unit having a conductive contact for short-circuiting or opening between electric wirings in conjunction with pressing of the display button unit, A light source that irradiates the display unit with light, wherein a light-shielding unit that irradiates the display unit with light from the light source and shields light other than the display unit is provided in the display button unit. A push button switch device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the conductive contact is provided on a lower surface of the switch unit, the display button unit has a tubular portion supported by the switch unit on a back side of the display unit, 2. The push button switch device according to claim 1, wherein the push button switch device comprises a tubular portion integrally formed with the switch portion, and is provided in the tubular portion of the display button portion. 3. The push-button switch device according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the light-shielding portion has a mirror surface. 4. The push-button switch device according to claim 1, wherein the light source is arranged so as to face a back surface of the display unit. 5. The push button switch device according to claim 1, wherein said switch section and said light source are arranged on a printed circuit board. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the light source is disposed on a back side of a surface of the printed circuit board on which the electric wiring is formed, and the printed circuit board has a through-hole through which light from the light source can be applied to the display unit. The push-button switch device according to claim 5, wherein: