JP2003217394A - Moving contact and switch using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a moving contact used for operation parts of various types of electronic apparatuses and a switch using the same with good operation feeling. <P>SOLUTION: The moving contact 11 is constructed by forming a roughly bowl shaped dome part 11B projecting upward on a film shaped resin sheet 11A and forming a projecting part 11D having a smaller diameter of a tip part than the diameter of a root part on a top outer surface of the dome part 11B. Since the tip part of the projection part 11 of the small diameter presses a push button 4 and stable force acts vertically on the top of the come part 11B at the root of the projection part 11D to perform reverse motion even under conditions that the push button 4 pressing the dome part 11B tilts or that there is a gap between centers of the dome part 11B and the push button 4, good operation feel can be provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a movable contact body used in an operation portion of various electronic devices such as a mobile phone and a video movie, and a switch using the movable contact body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, particularly with portable electronic devices such as mobile phones and video movies becoming widespread, movable contact bodies and switches used for these operating parts are small and thin and have good operability. Is required.

Such a conventional movable contact member and a switch using the same will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional switch using a movable contact body, and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the same, in which FIG.
1A is a flexible film-shaped resin sheet such as polyethylene terephthalate, and a movable contact 1C is formed of carbon, silver, or the like on the inner surface of a substantially bowl-shaped dome portion 1B formed to project upward. The movable contact body 1 is configured.

Reference numeral 2 is a wiring board made of polyethylene terephthalate or the like, and 3 is a spacer whose upper and lower surfaces are coated with an adhesive (not shown). The movable contact body 1 is attached to the wiring board 2 by the spacer 3. In addition, a plurality of comb-teeth-shaped fixed contacts 2A formed of carbon, silver, or the like on the upper surface of the wiring substrate 2 face the movable contact 1C with a predetermined gap.

Further, 4 is a push button made of ABS resin or the like, and 5 is a case made of the same resin. The operation portion 4A on the upper surface of the push button 4 projects upward from the opening hole of the case 5, and the lower end of the pushing portion 4B on the lower surface of the push button 4 Is in contact with the outer surface of the apex of the dome portion 1B to form a switch.

In the above structure, when the center of the operating portion 4A on the upper surface of the push button 4 is pushed downward, as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 9, the dome portion of the movable contact body 1 whose apex is pushed to the lower end of the pushing portion 4B. When the movable contact 1C on the lower surface comes into contact with the fixed contact 2A, the fixed contact 2A is electrically connected to the plurality of fixed contacts 2A via the movable contact 1C.

When the pressing force applied to the operating portion 4A is released, the elastic restoring force of the dome portion 1B causes the movable contact member 1 to move.
The push button 4 is configured to return to its original state.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional movable contact body and the switch using the same, the upper end portion of the push button 4 is pushed, not the center of the operation portion 4A, and the push button 4 is tilted. Dome portion 1B of the movable contact body 1
Is pressed or the push button 4 rattles in the opening hole of the case 5 and is pressed with the centers of the pressing portion 4B and the dome portion 1B deviated from each other, the sense of moderation at the time of operation is deteriorated and the operation load changes. However, there is a problem in that

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a movable contact body having a good operation feeling and a switch using the movable contact body.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following constitution.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a substantially bowl-shaped dome portion protruding upward is formed on a film-shaped resin sheet, and the tip diameter is larger than the root diameter on the outer surface of the apex of the dome portion. It is a movable contact body formed by forming a small convex part, and the push button that presses the dome part is inclined,
Even when there is a center deviation from the dome, the push button presses the tip of the convex part with a small diameter, and a stable force is applied vertically to the apex of the dome at the base of the convex part to perform the reversing operation. It has the effect that a good movable contact body can be obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the convex portion is formed by printing in a substantially conical shape or a substantially semi-spherical shape. Since the convex portion can be easily formed by printing, it is inexpensive. It has an effect of obtaining a movable contact body.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the invention according to the first aspect, the outer diameter of the convex portion is 1/5 to 3 / the diameter of the dome portion.
In this case, it is possible to obtain a good feeling of operation and to prevent the return failure of the dome portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the resin sheet is made light-transmissive, and the light emitting element is arranged on the lower surface of the resin sheet, or a plurality of light emitting elements are provided on the lower surface of the resin sheet. By printing an electrode layer or a light emitting layer sandwiched between the electrode layers to form an EL element and causing these elements to emit light, a movable contact body having an illumination function can be obtained.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the tip of the convex portion of the movable contact body according to the first aspect is pressed by operating the push button,
The dome portion is inverted to electrically connect and disconnect the switch contacts formed below, and the switch has a good operation feeling.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The same components as those described in the section of the prior art are designated by the same reference numerals to simplify the detailed description.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a switch using a movable contact body according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, 11A is a flexible film-like resin sheet such as polyethylene terephthalate, and the inner surface of the substantially bowl-shaped dome portion 11B formed to project upward by cold or hot forming has carbon or The movable contact 11C is formed of silver or the like.

The outer surface of the apex of the dome portion 11B has a diameter of 1/5 to 3/5 of the diameter of the dome portion 11B and a substantially conical convex portion 11D having a tip diameter smaller than the root diameter.
However, the movable contact body 11 is formed by printing using a paste obtained by melting a resin such as epoxy or polyester in an organic solvent.
Is configured.

Reference numeral 2 is a wiring board made of polyethylene terephthalate or the like, and 3 is a spacer whose upper and lower surfaces are coated with an adhesive (not shown), and the movable contact body 11 is attached to the wiring board 2 by the spacer 3. In addition, a plurality of comb-teeth-shaped fixed contacts 2A formed of carbon, silver, or the like on the upper surface of the wiring board 2 face the movable contact 11C with a predetermined gap.

Further, 4 is a push button made of ABS resin or the like, and 5 is a case made of the same resin. The operating portion 4A on the upper surface of the push button 4 projects upward from the opening hole of the case 5, and the lower end of the pushing portion 4B on the lower surface of the push button 4 Comes into contact with the tip of the convex portion 11D at the top of the dome portion 11B to form a switch.

In the above structure, when the operation portion 4A on the upper surface of the push button 4 is pressed downward, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, the movable contact member 11 whose tip end of the convex portion 11D is pressed against the lower end of the pressing portion 4B is pressed. The dome portion 11B performs a reversing operation with a sense of moderation, and the movable contact 11C on the lower surface contacts the fixed contact 2A, whereby the plurality of fixed contacts 2A are electrically connected via the movable contact 11C.

At this time, since the tip diameter of the convex portion 11D pressed by the pressing portion 4B is small and the root diameter of the apex of the dome portion 11B is large, for example, as shown in the sectional view of FIG.
Even if the push button 4 that presses the dome portion 11B is tilted or the center between the push button 4 and the dome portion 11B is displaced,
A vertically stable force is applied to the center of the apex of the dome portion 11B at the base of the convex portion 11D, so that the dome portion 11B is inverted.

When the pressing force applied to the operating portion 4A is released, the movable contact body 11 and the push button 4 are configured to return to the original state of FIG. 1 by the elastic restoring force of the dome portion 11B.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the dome portion 11B is formed by forming the convex portion 11D having a tip diameter smaller than the root diameter on the outer surface of the apex of the dome portion 11B. The push button 4 to press is tilted,
Even when the center is displaced from the dome portion 11B, the push button 4 presses the tip of the convex portion 11D having a small diameter, and a vertically stable force is applied to the apex of the dome portion 11B at the base of the convex portion 11D to perform the reversing operation. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a movable contact body having a good operation feeling and a switch using the movable contact body.

By printing the convex portion 11D into a substantially conical shape or a substantially semi-spherical shape, the convex portion can be easily formed by screen printing, tampo printing or the like, so that the movable contact body can be manufactured at low cost. be able to.

The moving amount of the movable contact body 11 during the inverting operation of the dome portion 11B is usually 0.1 to 0.5 mm,
The convex portion 11D needs to be formed higher than this, but the height that can be printed by one screen printing is 0.2.
Since it is about mm, when the movement amount during the reversing operation is large, it is necessary to perform printing a plurality of times to adjust to a predetermined height.

Further, in the above description, the convex portion 11D has been described as a substantially conical shape, but other than this, a substantially semi-spherical shape or a slightly rounded shape as shown in the sectional view of FIG. The protrusions 11E have a substantially trapezoidal shape, or the protrusions 11F have an overlapping shape as shown in FIG. 4B, and the protrusions 11G have a hollow cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 4C. The present invention can be implemented with a configuration.

The diameter of the convex portion 11D is equal to that of the dome portion 11.
When the diameter is smaller than the diameter of B, the moderation sensation during the pressing operation is small, and when the diameter is large, the restoring force of the dome portion 11B is small when the pressing operation is released.
By setting the diameter of 1D to be 1/5 to 3/5 of the diameter of the dome portion 11B, it is possible to obtain a good feeling of operation and prevent the return failure.

Further, by forming a convex portion 11D on the apex outer surface of the dome portion 11B of the movable contact body 11, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG.
Since the movable contact body 11 can be reversed even in the case of 2, the push button can be easily manufactured, and the height of the entire switch can be reduced.

Further, the resin sheet 11 of the movable contact body 11
A is transparent or semi-transparent or the like, and a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode or an EL element is arranged on the lower surface of the resin sheet 11A, or a plurality of electrode layers on the lower surface of the resin sheet 11A or light emission sandwiched between the electrode layers. By printing the layers to form EL elements and causing them to emit light, it is possible to obtain a switch having an illumination function that allows the pushbuttons 4 and 12 to be identified even when the surroundings are dark.

In the above description, the movable contact 11C is formed on the inner surface of the dome portion 11B of the movable contact body 11, and the plurality of fixed contacts 2A on the upper surface of the wiring board 2 are electrically connected / disconnected via the movable contact 11C. The switch contact was configured as described above, but as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, only the dome portion 13B and the convex portion 13D are formed in the movable contact body 13, and below this, a flexible upper sheet. The present invention can be implemented even with a configuration in which a movable contact 14A provided on the lower surface of 14 and a fixed contact 15A on the upper surface of the lower sheet 15 are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap to form a so-called membrane switch to form a switch contact. Is.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the advantageous effect that it is possible to obtain a movable contact member having a good operation feeling and a switch using the same.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a switch using a movable contact body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same operation.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view when the push button is tilted.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the movable contact body.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional switch using a movable contact body.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the same operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 wiring board 2A fixed contact 3 spacers 4,12 push button 4A operation part 4B pressing part 5 cases 11,13 Movable contact body 11A resin sheet 11B, 13B dome part 11C movable contact 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G, 13D Convex part 14 Upper sheet 14A movable contact 15 Lower sheet 15A fixed contact

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takayuki Ishikawa             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5G006 AA01 AB25 AC01 AC07 AZ01                       BA01 BA02 BB03 BC09 CB04                       CD07 DB07 DD02 FB04

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A movable contact body in which a substantially bowl-shaped dome portion protruding upward is formed on a film-shaped resin sheet, and a convex portion having a tip diameter smaller than a root diameter is formed on the outer surface of the apex of the dome portion. 2. The movable contact body according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is formed by printing in a substantially conical shape or a substantially hemispherical shape. 3. The outer diameter of the convex portion is 1/5 to 3 / of the dome portion diameter.
The movable contact body according to claim 1, wherein the movable contact body is 5. 4. The movable contact body according to claim 1, wherein the resin sheet is light-transmissive. 5. The movable contact body according to claim 1, a switch contact formed below the movable contact body, and a push button for pressing a tip of a convex portion of a dome portion of the movable contact body. The dome portion is operated by operating the push button. Is a switch that reverses and electrically connects and disconnects the switch contacts.