JP2004146266A - Sheet switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet switch device capable of reducing the number of components, facilitating production, smoothly moving air, and giving good clicking feeling. <P>SOLUTION: Linear movable armatures 12a, 12b, 12c are mounted on the back surface of a sheet member 11. Each of the movable armatures 12a, 12b, 12c unitedly covers a plurality of fixed contacts 13 and is sealed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet-like switch device used for an electronic device such as a portable device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
4 and 5 show a sheet-like switch device applied to, for example, a mobile phone. In this switch device, a plurality of movable contact pieces 2 as, for example, a dome-shaped tact plate are adhered to the back surface of the insulating sheet member 1. The sheet member 1 to which the movable contact pieces 2 are bonded is bonded to a substrate 4 on which a plurality of fixed contacts 3 are arranged as shown in FIG. In this state, each movable contact piece 2 can contact the corresponding fixed contact piece 3. Thereafter, the operation buttons 5 are arranged on the surface of the sheet member 1 corresponding to the respective movable contact pieces 2. In such a configuration, when the operation button 5 is pressed, the corresponding movable contact piece 2 bends and contacts the fixed contact piece 3, and the switch state is turned on.
[0003]
Incidentally, in the case of the above configuration, the number of the movable contact pieces 2 is required to be equal to the number of the operation buttons 5 and the number of the fixed contact pairs. For this reason, the number of parts increases. Moreover, as described above, the movable contacts must be arranged corresponding to the fixed contacts, and the operation buttons must be arranged corresponding to each movable contact, so that the manufacturing becomes complicated.
[0004]
Further, when the movable contact piece 2 is operated via the sheet member 1, if the movable contact piece 2 is sealed by the sheet member 1, the air in the movable contact piece 2 is compressed, and the operational feeling becomes heavy. Therefore, a large force is required to turn on the switch, and it is difficult to obtain a good click feeling.
[0005]
Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, an opening 1a for circulating air is provided in a part of the sheet member 1, and when the movable contact piece 2 is pressed, the air is exhausted from the opening 1a so that the operation is performed. Was improved. However, when the opening 1a is provided in the sheet member 1 as described above, dust may enter the back surface of the movable contact piece 2 from the opening 1a, resulting in poor contact.
[0006]
In order to improve this, an opening is not provided in the sheet member 1 and a groove for air circulation is provided between the storage portions formed in the sheet member 1 and storing the movable contact pieces, or a gap between the sheet member and the substrate is provided. A configuration has been developed in which spacers having grooves for air circulation are arranged between them, and air is moved by these grooves (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0007]
However, when grooves are formed in the sheet member as described above, it is necessary to process the sheet member into a complicated shape, and an expensive mold is required to process the sheet member. In addition, when the spacers are arranged, the number of parts increases, and it is difficult to reduce the thickness of the switch device.
[0008]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-56748
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the conventional sheet-like switch device has a large number of parts, and these parts are miniaturized, so that it is complicated to accurately position each movable contact piece with respect to the fixed contact and manufacture it. Met.
[0010]
Furthermore, when a groove for air circulation is formed in the sheet member in order to improve the click feeling, an expensive mold is required, and when a spacer having the groove is used, the number of parts increases and the thickness is reduced. There was a problem that it became difficult.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the number of parts, to facilitate manufacture, to move air smoothly, and to obtain a good click feeling. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet-like switch device that can be obtained.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a sheet-like switch device of the present invention is arranged corresponding to a plurality of fixed contacts arranged on a substrate, integrally covers the plurality of fixed contacts, and includes a plurality of fixed contacts. A movable contact piece capable of contacting each of the movable contacts and a sheet member mounted on the substrate and sealing the plurality of fixed contacts together with the movable contact piece are provided.
[0013]
Further, the plurality of fixed contacts are arranged linearly, and the movable contact piece is formed linearly.
[0014]
Further, the plurality of fixed contacts are arranged at arbitrary positions within a range in the longitudinal direction of the movable contact piece.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
1 and 2, a movable contact piece 12 as a straight tact plate is adhered to the back surface of the insulating sheet member 11, for example. As shown in FIG. 1, each of the movable contact pieces 12a, 12b, and 12c is arranged corresponding to a plurality of operation buttons as operation units arranged linearly. For example, the movable contact piece 12a is disposed corresponding to the operation button 15 such as "*", "7", "4", "1", etc., and the movable contact piece 12b is provided with "0", "8", "5", "2". The movable contact piece 12c is arranged corresponding to the operation buttons 15 such as "#""9""6""3". Each of the movable contact pieces 12a, 12b, and 12c is made of an elastic metal, and as shown in FIGS. It has a dome shape. Therefore, in a state where the movable contact piece is placed, for example, face down on a flat plate, the peripheral portion contacts the flat plate, and a space is formed inside.
[0017]
The sheet member 11 to which the movable contact pieces 12a, 12b, and 12c are attached is bonded to the surface of the substrate 14 as shown in FIG. A plurality of fixed contacts 13 are arranged on the surface of the substrate 14. These fixed contacts 13 are arranged corresponding to the operation buttons 15 shown in FIG. In a state where the sheet member 11 is mounted on the substrate 14, the movable contact pieces 12a, 12b, and 12c integrally cover the corresponding plurality of fixed contacts 13, and each fixed contact 13 corresponds to the corresponding movable contact piece 12a, 12b, Sealed by 12c and the sheet member 11. Thereafter, the operation button 15 is arranged on the surface of the sheet member 11 so as to correspond to the fixed contact 13.
[0018]
The arrangement of the operation button 15 and the fixed contact can be arbitrarily set by a user using the sheet-shaped switch device within a range in the length direction of one movable contact piece.
[0019]
Further, in the present embodiment, the operation button 15 is not always necessary. For example, an operation unit indicating a pressing position corresponding to the fixed contact 13 is provided on the surface of the sheet member 11, and the operation unit 15 is configured to be pressed. Is also good.
[0020]
FIG. 3 shows an example of an equivalent circuit of the switch device, and shows an equivalent circuit corresponding to one movable contact piece 12c. A part of the periphery of the movable contact piece 12c is always in contact with the common contact 13a. The portion other than the peripheral edge of the movable contact piece 12c is separated from the plurality of fixed contacts 13. That is, each fixed contact 13 corresponding to the movable contact piece 12c is accommodated in the space of the movable contact piece 12c at a predetermined interval from the movable contact piece. In this state, the switch is off.
[0021]
In the above configuration, when one operation button 15 is pressed, a portion of the movable contact piece 12c corresponding to the operation button 15 bends and comes into contact with the fixed contact 13. In this way, the switch is turned on. When the movable contact piece 12c bends, the air at that location moves inside the movable contact piece 12c. Therefore, the movable contact piece 12c can be easily deformed according to the operation of the operation button 15. Therefore, a good click feeling can be obtained. When the pressing force on the operation button 15 is released, the movable contact piece 12 returns to the state shown in FIG.
[0022]
According to the above embodiment, one movable contact piece is arranged corresponding to the plurality of operation buttons 15 and the fixed contact 13. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced. In addition, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to arrange a plurality of movable contact pieces corresponding to the respective fixed contacts, and it is only necessary to arrange one movable contact piece for the plurality of fixed contacts. can do.
[0023]
In addition, a long movable contact piece 12 corresponding to the plurality of operation buttons 15 and the fixed contact 13 is used, and the plurality of fixed contacts are integrally sealed by the movable contact piece 12 and the sheet member 11. For this reason, when one operation button is operated, the air corresponding to the operation button can freely move in the movable contact piece 12, so that the operability is not reduced by air compression and a good click feeling is obtained. be able to. Therefore, there is no need to provide an opening in the sheet member as in the related art, so that dust resistance can be improved. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide a groove using a spacer as in the related art, the number of components can be reduced, and the switch itself can be made thin.
[0024]
Furthermore, the arrangement of the operation button 15 and the fixed contact can be arbitrarily set within a range in the length direction of one movable contact piece. For this reason, even when the pitch of the plurality of operation units and the fixed contacts changes due to, for example, a change in the design of the mobile phone, it is not necessary to change the shape of the movable contact piece. Therefore, there is an advantage that manufacturing of the movable contact piece can be facilitated.
[0025]
The above embodiment has described the case where the present invention is applied to a mobile phone. However, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other electronic devices.
[0026]
In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a sheet-like switch device capable of reducing the number of parts, facilitating the manufacture, smoothing the movement of air, and obtaining a good click feeling. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1b-1b in FIG.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.
FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing a part of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4A is a plan view illustrating an example of a conventional sheet-like switch device, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4b-4b in FIG. 4A.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 ... sheet member,
12, 12a to 12c: movable contact piece,
13 fixed contacts,
14 ... substrate,
15. Operation buttons.

Claims (3)

A movable contact piece arranged corresponding to the plurality of fixed contacts arranged on the substrate, integrally covering the plurality of fixed contacts, and being able to contact each of the plurality of fixed contacts,
A sheet member mounted on the substrate and sealing the fixed contacts together with the movable contact piece. The sheet-like switch device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of fixed contacts are arranged linearly, and the movable contact piece is formed linearly. The sheet-like switch device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of fixed contacts are arranged at arbitrary positions within a range in a longitudinal direction of the movable contact piece.

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