JP2005108783A - Switch substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a switch substrate enabling effective lighting without increasing the number of parts, thickness and a manufacturing process. <P>SOLUTION: In this switch substrate, a reflective layer 32 is formed on the surface of a substrate 22 by printing instead of an insulating layer. The reflective layer 32 is formed by printing in an insulation ink containing a pigment of a reflected color etc. Moreover, the reflective layer 32 is formed to cover all leaving only a connection part of an electric conduction pattern provided on the substrate 22 like the insulating layer. With this reflective layer 32, the number of parts, thickness and assembly work for a reflecting sheet can be reduced. Since the reflective layer 32 is provided instead of the insulating layer, the deterioration of productivity and the cost rise due to the increment in the process can be suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a switch board used in an electronic device such as a mobile phone.

  As a conventional switch board of this type, the one shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 was actually used. The switch board is a board-like glass epoxy board having a conductive pattern formed at a predetermined position or a flexible flexible circuit board made of a film having a conductive pattern formed on the surface thereof. On the surface of the substrate 2, there are provided a switch mounting part 2 a for mounting individual switches 4 and a light emitting element mounting part 2 b for mounting light emitting elements 6 such as LEDs for illuminating the switches 4. On the substrate 2 on which the switch 4 and the light emitting element 6 are mounted, a key top 8 and a case 10 are disposed, and the key top 8 or its surroundings are illuminated by the light emitting element 6 to improve operability in a dark place. It is intended to improve.

  The conventional switch substrate as described above is provided with a reflective sheet 12 made of a white PET film in order to reflect the light from the light emitting element 6 and effectively illuminate the key top 8 and the like. The reflection sheet 12 is provided with window portions 12 a and 12 b at positions corresponding to the light emitting element 6 and the switch 4 so as to cover the surface of the substrate 2. By providing this reflection sheet 12, light directed from the light emitting element 6 toward the surface of the substrate 2 can be reflected and irradiated in the direction of the key top 8 or the like, and the brightness can be increased. It becomes.

  Further, not only the unitized switch 4 as shown in FIG. 5 but also a pair of contacts 2c and 2d provided on the surface of the substrate 2 as shown in FIG. The reflective sheet 12 is also used for a switch using a switch composed of a substantially hemispherical spring 14 in contact with the spring. In this case, by attaching the spring 14 to the back side of the reflection sheet 12, the area of the reflection sheet 12 can be increased and the reflection efficiency can be increased.

Furthermore, a printed board on which switch contacts and LEDs are mounted has been proposed in which the surface portion other than the switch contacts and LEDs is subjected to white printing to reflect the light from the LEDs to enhance the lighting effect (patent) Reference 1).
JP-A-9-55143

  In the conventional switch board described above, since effective illumination is performed by providing the reflection sheet 12, the number of parts is increased and the assembling work and assembling time are required, resulting in an increase in cost.

  Further, since the reflection sheet 12 is interposed between the switch 4 on the switch board and the key top 8 or the case 10, the thickness of the entire device is increased, which hinders miniaturization and thickness reduction. For this reason, it has been a problem to illuminate effectively without using the reflection sheet 12.

  In recent years, cellular phones have been required to have excellent fashionability and design, and in order to meet the demand, it has become the mainstream to use white LEDs with high luminance as the light emitting elements. Therefore, in order to increase variations, a light emission color with a subtle hue is also required. However, when the reflection sheet 12 described above is used, the variation in the emission color cannot be increased because the color of the sheet agent is limited.

  Further, to reduce the cost, it is required to minimize the number of light emitting elements used. However, since the use range and material of the reflection sheet 12 are limited, the entire switch is illuminated with uniform brightness. I couldn't.

  In addition, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in order to perform printing at a predetermined position of a completed printed board, a portion to which the switch and the LED are attached is covered with a mask or the like, and the mask or the like is peeled off after printing. It is necessary, and these processes related to printing will be added. Therefore, there is a problem that the time and cost for manufacturing increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and provides a switch board that enables effective illumination without increasing the number of parts, thickness, and manufacturing process.

  The switch board according to the present invention is a switch board having a switch mounting part and a light emitting element mounting part for mounting the switch and the light emitting element, respectively, and is reflective so as to cover all other parts except the connection part of the conductive pattern of the switch board. A layer is provided. The reflective layer is formed by printing with an insulating ink containing one or a combination of a reflective color pigment, a fluorescent agent and a phosphorescent agent. Further, the pigment, the fluorescent agent, and the phosphorescent agent in the switch substrate have a white, yellow, pink, or blue reflection color. Furthermore, the insulating ink on the switch substrate is made by mixing an insulating paste made of epoxy or ultraviolet curable resin with one or a combination of a reflective color pigment, a fluorescent agent and a phosphorescent agent.

  According to the present invention, since the reflective layer is formed on the surface of the substrate by printing, it is not necessary to provide or incorporate a reflective sheet. For this reason, the number of parts for the reflective sheet can be reduced, the work of incorporating the reflective sheet can be omitted, and the cost can be reduced.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to incorporate a reflection sheet, the thickness and size of the reflection sheet can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the reflective layer having insulating properties is formed instead of the insulating layer formed on the surface of the substrate, the reflective layer can be formed without adding a step when forming the substrate, and the manufacturing process It is possible to effectively illuminate without adding / changing etc.

  In the switch substrate of the present invention, the reflective layer is formed on the surface thereof by printing. This reflective layer is formed in place of the insulating layer formed on the surface of the switch substrate, and is formed so as to cover all of the conductive pattern provided on the switch substrate, except for the connection portion. Has been. Thus, the reflective layer formed in place of the insulating layer is made of an insulating ink obtained by mixing an insulating paste made of epoxy or ultraviolet curable resin with one or a combination of a reflective color pigment, a fluorescent agent and a phosphorescent agent. By using it, it reflects light and has an insulating property.

  When the reflective layer is provided in this manner, light emitted from the light emitting element can be effectively used for key illumination. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a reflection sheet, and the number of parts, the thickness, and the assembly work for the reflection sheet can be reduced. In addition, since the reflective layer is provided instead of the insulating layer, the reflective layer can be provided on the surface of the switch substrate in the same process as the process of forming a normal switch substrate. Cost increase can be suppressed.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a plan view showing a switch board according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a device using the switch board shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a switch and light emitting device of the switch board shown in FIG. It is a top view of the state before attaching. The switch substrate 20 is a substrate 22 made of a glass epoxy substrate having a conductive pattern formed at a predetermined position, a flexible circuit substrate made of a film having a conductive pattern formed on the surface, or the like.

  As described above, a conductive pattern is formed on the surface of the substrate 22, and a switch 24 in which contacts and elastic members are unitized and a light emitting element 26 such as an LED are soldered to a part of the conductive pattern. Mounting electrodes 22c and 22d are provided for fixing and electrical conduction.

  On the mounting electrodes 22c and 22d, a switch 24 in which contacts and elastic members are unitized and a light emitting element 26 such as an LED are fixed with solder, and are electrically connected to a conductive pattern.

  In addition, a reflective layer 32 is formed on the surface of the substrate 22 so as to cover only the mounting electrodes 22c and 22d of the conductive pattern except for the portions. The reflective layer 32 is provided in place of an insulating layer that is normally provided to cover and insulate other than the connection portion of the conductive pattern provided on the surface of the substrate 22. The reflective layer 32 in this embodiment is formed by printing with an insulating ink in which a white pigment is mixed with an insulating paste made of an epoxy or ultraviolet curable resin.

  When the switch board 20 having the above configuration is incorporated into an electronic device, as shown in FIG. 2, the key top 28 and the case 30 or the key top and the case are placed on the switch board 20 on which the switch 24 and the light emitting element 26 are mounted. An operation panel that also serves as an operation panel is provided. When incorporated in a device as described above, not only is light illuminated directly from the light emitting element 26 toward the key top 28 or the case 30, but also light directed from the light emitting element 26 toward the substrate 22 is reflected by the reflective layer 32 and is reflected by the reflected light. Also, the key top 28 and the case 30 are illuminated. For this reason, it becomes possible to illuminate effectively and the brightness can be increased.

  The reflective layer 32 in the above embodiment is made of an insulating ink containing a white pigment. However, the reflective layer 32 may contain not only a white pigment but also a yellow, pink or blue-based reflective color pigment. If the reflective layer 32 formed in this way is used, illumination with a desired reflected color can be achieved. Alternatively, the reflective layer 32 can be formed by printing using an insulating ink containing one or a combination of a reflective color pigment, a fluorescent agent, and a phosphorescent agent. When the reflective layer 32 formed in this way is used, it is possible to change the color or emission color of the reflective layer 32 or to perform illumination after the light emitting element 26 is extinguished by storing light.

It is a top view which shows the switch board concerning one Example of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the apparatus using the switch board shown in FIG. It is a top view of the state before attaching the switch and light emitting element of the switch board | substrate shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the conventional switch board | substrate. FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a device using the switch board shown in FIG. 4. It is a cross-sectional fragmentary view of an apparatus using another conventional switch board.

Explanation of symbols

2,22 Substrate 4,24 Switch 6,26 Light emitting element 8,28 Key top 10,30 Case 12 Reflective sheet 14 Spring 20 Switch substrate 22c, 22d Mounting electrode 32 Reflective layer

Claims (4)

In a switch board having a switch mounting part and a light emitting element mounting part for mounting the switch and the light emitting element,
A switch substrate comprising a reflective layer so as to cover all other portions except the connection portion of the conductive pattern of the switch substrate. 2. The switch board according to claim 1, wherein the reflective layer is formed by printing with an insulating ink containing one or a combination of a reflective color pigment, a fluorescent agent and a phosphorescent agent. 3. The switch substrate according to claim 2, wherein the pigment, the fluorescent agent, and the phosphorescent agent have white, yellow, pink, or blue reflection colors. 3. The insulating ink according to claim 2, wherein the insulating ink is made of an insulating paste made of epoxy or ultraviolet curable resin mixed with one or a combination of a reflective color pigment, a fluorescent agent and a phosphorescent agent. Switch board.

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