JP2007287347A - Switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a switch device combining absorption of a manufacturing error in the positional relationship between an operating member and a contact spring in the operating direction of the contact spring, and thinning in the operating direction of the contact spring. <P>SOLUTION: The switch device comprises the contact spring 3 which is an elastic body with electric conductivity formed in arched cross section; a center fixed contact 6 and an annular fixed contact 7 provided corresponding to a movable contact 4 of the contact spring 3 on the concave surface side of the contact spring 3; a sheet 8 covering the convex surface side of the contact spring 3 and bonded to the top part of the contact spring 3; a protrusion 10 provided at the sheet 8 to face the top part of the contact spring 3 with the sheet 8 placed in between; and the operating member 11 facing the sheet 8 with the protrusion 10 in between and pressed and operated by an operator. The protrusion 10 is an elastic body with softer elasticity than the contact spring 3 and operating member 11 and crushed between the contact spring 3 and operating member 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a switch device provided in an operation panel of an electric product such as a mobile phone.

As a switch device provided in an operation panel of an electric product such as a cellular phone, there is a conventional technique disclosed in Patent Document 1. This prior art includes a contact spring which is an elastic body having conductivity and has an arched cross section, for example, a dome shape. The convex surface side of the contact spring is covered with a sheet and bonded to the sheet. A protrusion is provided on the sheet so as to face the top of the contact spring with the sheet interposed therebetween. This protrusion is formed by adhering a cylindrical member to the sheet. An operation member that is pressed by an operator is disposed at a position facing the sheet with the protrusion interposed therebetween.
JP 2002-216582 A

  In the switch device configured as in the prior art described above, a clearance is usually provided between the protrusion and the operation member to absorb manufacturing errors in the positional relationship between the operation member and the contact spring in the operation direction of the contact spring. Is done. However, providing such a clearance is an obstacle to reducing the thickness of the switch device in the operation direction of the contact spring.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described actual situation, and its purpose is to absorb manufacturing errors in the positional relationship between the operation member and the contact spring in the operation direction of the contact spring and to reduce the thickness in the operation direction of the contact spring. An object of the present invention is to provide a switch device that can achieve both of the above-mentioned.

  [1] In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention is a contact spring which is an elastic body having conductivity and has an arch shape in cross section, and is opposed to the contact spring on the concave curved surface side of the contact spring. A fixed contact provided on the sheet, and a sheet bonded to the top of the contact spring so as to cover the convex curved surface side of the contact spring, and provided on the sheet so as to face the top of the contact spring across the sheet. An elastic body having an elasticity that is softer than the contact point spring and the operation member, and an operation member that is pressed by an operator while facing the sheet across the protrusion. It is crushed between the contact spring and the operation member.

  In the present invention configured as described above, the manufacturing error of the positional relationship between the operation member and the contact spring in the operation direction of the contact spring can be absorbed by the degree to which the protrusion is crushed in the operation direction of the contact spring. There is no need to provide a clearance between the members. Thereby, absorption of the manufacturing error of the positional relationship between the operation member and the contact spring in the operation direction of the contact spring can be made compatible with reduction in thickness in the operation direction of the contact spring.

  [2] The present invention is characterized in that in the invention described in “[1]”, a positioning portion for positioning the operation member is provided.

  In the present invention configured as described above, the operation member can be easily assembled.

  [3] The present invention includes a case storing the contact spring, the fixed contact, the sheet, and the protrusion in the invention described in “[2]”, and the positioning portion is formed in the case. It is characterized by that.

  In the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the number of parts increases with the provision of the positioning portion.

  [4] According to the present invention, in the invention described in “[1]”, the operation member is formed by punching a metal thin plate, and is formed by a slit formed in the thin plate. It has the cantilever spring part arrange | positioned in (1).

  In the present invention configured as described above, since the operation member is formed by punching a thin plate, it can contribute to a reduction in the thickness of the switch device, and the manufacture of the operation member is easy. Further, since the operation member is made of metal, the operation member can be easily given elasticity stronger than the protrusion.

  [5] The present invention is characterized in that in the invention described in “[4]”, a dustproof sheet for closing the slit is provided.

  In the present invention configured as described above, since the dustproof sheet prevents the dust from entering the inside of the switch device from the slit, it is possible to prevent the malfunction of the switch device due to the dust.

  [6] The present invention is characterized in that, in the invention described in “[1]”, the protrusion is tapered from the seat side toward the operation member side.

  In the present invention configured as described above, the protrusion can be easily crushed.

  According to the present invention, as described above, it is possible to achieve both the absorption of the manufacturing error in the positional relationship between the operation member and the contact spring in the operation direction of the contact spring and the thinning of the switch device in the operation direction of the contact spring. it can. Thereby, it can contribute to thickness reduction of the operation panel of electric products, such as a mobile phone.

  An embodiment of a switch device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  1 is a cross-sectional view of an operation panel provided with a plurality of embodiments of the switch device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrows II-II of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line III, FIG. 4 is a view showing a state before the main part shown in FIG. 3 is assembled, and FIG. 5 is a view showing a state where the operation member shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of switch devices 2 are provided in the operation panel 1 shown in FIG. The electric product provided with the operation panel 1 is, for example, a mobile phone.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the switch device 2 includes a contact spring 3 that is a conductive elastic body and has an arched cross section, for example, a dome shape. The wiring board 5 faces the concave curved surface side of the contact spring 3. A movable contact 4 having protrusions 4a, 4b, and 4c is provided on the surface on the back side of the top of the contact spring 3, that is, the surface on the wiring board 5 side. A central fixed contact 6 facing the movable contact 4 and an annular fixed contact 7 that is always in contact with the edge of the contact spring 3 are provided on the wiring board 5.

  The top of the contact spring 3 is bonded to a sheet 8 made of PET (polyethylene-terephthalate). A spacer 9 made of a small piece made of PET is bonded to the surface of the sheet 8 on the wiring board 5 side. The spacer 9 is bonded to the wiring board 5.

  A protrusion 10 is provided on the sheet 8 so as to face the top of the contact spring 3 with the sheet 8 interposed therebetween. An operation member 11 that is pressed by an operator is disposed at a position facing the sheet 8 with the protrusion 10 interposed therebetween. The operation member 11 is formed by punching a flexible metal thin plate, for example, a stainless thin plate. The operation member 11 is formed with a cantilever spring portion 12. Note that a plastic plate can be used as the operation member 11 instead of a thin metal plate, and in this case, the weight of the switch device can be reduced.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the protrusion 10 is an elastic body having elasticity that is softer than the contact spring 3 and the cantilever spring portion 12. The protrusion 10 is formed by depositing a resin such as silicon so as to be tapered from the sheet 8 side toward the operation member 11 side. The protrusion 10 is crushed between the contact spring 3 and the cantilever spring portion 12.

  The wiring board 5, the contact spring 3, the sheet 8, and the protrusion 10 are stored in a case 13 having a bottom portion 14. The opening 13 a of the case 13 is closed by the operation member 11. On the side wall 15 of the case 13, a positioning portion for positioning the operation member 11, that is, a positioning groove 15 a is formed. That is, the operation member 11 is positioned by fitting the edge of the operation member 11 into the positioning groove 15a.

  Further, the cantilever spring portion 12 is formed with a slit 17 imitating the numeral “1”. The number “1” is an example of a number that can be input when the switch device 2 is turned on in the operation panel 1 provided in the mobile phone.

  The slit 16 that forms the cantilever spring portion 12 and the slit 17 that forms the number “1” are closed by a dustproof sheet 18 that is affixed to the operation member 11. The dustproof sheet 18 has translucency and also has elasticity that can follow the deformation of the pressed cantilever spring portion 12.

  A plurality of LEDs 19 are provided on the wiring board 5. Each LED 19 is disposed between adjacent switch devices 2. The light emitted from the LED 19 is transmitted through the slits 16 and 17 and the dustproof sheet 18 to illuminate the switch device 2.

  In the present embodiment configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 5, when the cantilever spring portion 12 of the operation member 11 is pressed and bent toward the inside of the case 13, the contact spring 3 becomes the protrusion 10 and the sheet. It will be deformed when it is pushed over 8.

  At this time, even when the position of the cantilever spring portion 12 that is out of the projection surface of the movable contact 4 is pressed, the protrusion 10 is interposed between the cantilever spring portion 12 and the contact spring 3, The pressing force applied to the cantilever spring portion 12 is applied to the top of the contact spring 3.

  When the contact spring 3 is pressed and the top part sunk, any or all of the protrusions 4 a, 4 b, 4 c of the movable contact 4 come into contact with the central fixed contact 6. Thereby, the center fixed contact 6 and the annular fixed contact 7 are moved through the contact spring 3, that is, the switch device 2 is turned on.

  According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, the protrusion 10 is an elastic body having elasticity that is softer than the elasticity of the contact spring 3 and the cantilever spring portion 12 of the operation member 11, and is crushed between the contact spring 3 and the cantilever spring portion 12. Has been. That is, the manufacturing error in the positional relationship between the operation member 11 and the contact spring 3 in the operation direction of the contact spring 3 can be absorbed by the degree to which the protrusion 10 is crushed in the operation direction of the contact spring 3. There is no need to provide clearance between them. Therefore, it is possible to achieve both absorption of manufacturing errors in the positional relationship between the operation member 11 and the contact spring 3 in the operation direction of the contact spring 3 and thinning of the switch device in the operation direction of the contact spring 3. As a result, it is possible to contribute to the thinning of the operation panel of an electric product such as a mobile phone.

  Moreover, since this embodiment is provided with the positioning groove 15a, the operation member 11 can be assembled easily.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the positioning groove 15a is formed in the case 13, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the number of parts increases with the provision of the positioning portion.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the operation member 11 is formed by punching a thin plate, it can contribute to the reduction in thickness of the switch device, and the operation member can be easily manufactured.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the operation member 11 is made of metal, for example, stainless steel, it is possible to easily give stronger elasticity than the protrusion 10.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the slits 16 and 17 are closed by the dustproof sheet 18, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a malfunction of the switch device due to dust.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the protrusion 10 is tapered from the sheet 8 side toward the operation member 11 side, the protrusion 10 can be easily crushed.

It is sectional drawing of an operation panel provided with two or more one Embodiment of the switch apparatus of this invention. It is the II-II arrow line view of embodiment shown in FIG. It is III-III sectional drawing of embodiment shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state before the assembly of the principal part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state by which the operation member shown in FIG. 3 was pressed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation panel 2 Switch apparatus 3 Contact spring 4 Movable contact 4a, 4b, 4c Protrusion part 5 Wiring board 6 Center fixed contact 7 Circular fixed contact 8 Sheet 9 Spacer 10 Protrusion 11 Operation member 12 Cantilever spring part 13 Case 13a Opening 14 Bottom 15 Side wall 15a Positioning groove 16, 17 Slit 18 Dustproof sheet 19 LED

Claims (6)

A contact spring which is an elastic body having electrical conductivity and has an arched cross-sectional shape;
A fixed contact provided opposite to the contact spring on the concave curved surface side of the contact spring;
A sheet that covers the convex curve side of the contact spring and is bonded to the top of the contact spring;
A protrusion provided on the sheet so as to face the top of the contact spring across the sheet;
An operation member that opposes the sheet across the protrusion and is pressed by an operator,
The switch device, wherein the protrusion is an elastic body having elasticity softer than that of the contact spring and the operation member, and is crushed between the contact spring and the operation member.   The switch device according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning portion that positions the operation member.   3. The switch device according to claim 2, further comprising a case for storing the contact spring, the fixed contact, the sheet, and the protrusion, and the positioning portion is formed in the case.   The invention according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is formed by punching a thin metal plate, and is formed by a slit formed in the thin plate, and has a cantilever spring portion disposed on the protrusion. A switch device comprising:   The switch device according to claim 4, further comprising a dustproof sheet that closes the slit. 2. The switch device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion has a shape tapered from the seat side toward the operation member side.

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