JP2008234889A - Rubber switch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rubber switch free from generating wrinkles on an adhesive sheet when a high-load and high-stroke (high length) dome-shaped contact spring is stuck to the adhesive sheet and capable of omitting embossing on an adhesive sheet. <P>SOLUTION: A part of the contact spring 2 only is pasted by an adhesive agent 6 of a support piece 4 at a position of a slit 3 of the adhesive sheet having the round slit 3 of a size corresponding to the dome-shaped contact spring 2 which is reversible at a high load and a high stroke (high length) and the support piece 4 projecting from an outer peripheral edge of the slit 3 to its center, and the adhesive sheet 5 integrated together with the contact spring 2 and a rubber sheet 7 are mounted on an upper surface of a base board 8. The contact spring 2 is opposed to a pair of conductive patterns 9, 19 on an upper surface of the base board 8 in a touchable state by fixing the contact spring 2 in a reversible state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a switch for inputting signals of electronic devices such as in-vehicle components, audio devices, video devices, communication devices, measuring instruments, and electric devices, in particular, a dome-shaped contact spring that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke. The present invention relates to a switch having a structure combined with a rubber sheet.

1 to 4 show rubber switches 1 according to Conventional Example 1 and Conventional Example 2. FIG. First, the configuration of the rubber switch 1 of the conventional example 1 and the conventional example 2 will be described, and the problems will be clarified.

First, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a rubber switch 1 according to Conventional Example 1. FIG. The rubber switch 1 includes an adhesive sheet 5, a rubber rubber sheet 7, and a substrate 8. The rubber sheet 7 has a contact portion 13 on the back side of the operation portion 12 on the front side by printing a copper foil pattern or the like, and is adhered and fixed to the surface of the substrate 8 by the adhesive 6 on both sides of the adhesive sheet 5. The

2A shows an off state before the operation of the rubber switch 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 2B, when the operation portion 12 is pushed, the contact portion 13 comes into contact with the surface of the substrate 8 from the opening 14 of the adhesive sheet 5 due to the deformation of the rubber sheet 7, and the copper foil on the surface of the substrate 8. The pair of conductive patterns 9 and 10 such as these are electrically connected and turned on.

According to the rubber switch 1 of the conventional example 1, the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the material used for patterning the contact portion 13 is a rubber sheet 7 made of rubber. However, the electrical conduction state is not stable, and therefore the switch has a short life.

Next, FIGS. 3 and 4 show a rubber switch 1 according to Conventional Example 2. FIG. The rubber switch 1 includes a dome-shaped reversible contact spring 2, a polyester adhesive sheet 5, a rubber sheet 7, and a substrate 8 for the purpose of solving the disadvantages of the conventional example 1 and extending the life. Has been. The contact spring 2 is attached to the concave surface of the embossed surface 15 of the adhesive sheet 5 with the adhesive 6 on one side of the adhesive sheet 5. The pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 is integrated with the contact spring 2 and is attached to the upper surface of the substrate 8 by the pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 in the outer region of the embossed surface 15. In this way, the contact spring 2 is fixed so as to be able to contact the pair of conductive patterns 9 and 10 on the upper surface of the substrate 8. And rubber sheet 7 is put on them.

4A shows an off state before the rubber switch 1 operates. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the operation portion 12 is pushed, the contact spring 2 is elastically inverted and deformed at the apex portion due to the deformation of the rubber sheet 7, so that the space between the conductive patterns 9 and 10 of the substrate 8 is changed. Electrically conducted and turned on.

According to the rubber switch 1 of the conventional example 2, when the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 is a flat sheet, and there is no embossed surface 15, there is a high load and a high stroke (high height) on the flat pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5. When the contact spring 2 is affixed, the adhesive sheet 5 is wrinkled at the periphery of the part to be adhered due to excessive joining between the convex spherical surface of the contact spring 2 and the flat surface of the adhesive sheet 5. For this reason, when the contact spring 4 is high in height, the concave surface of the embossed surface 15 is indispensable on the adhesive sheet 5. For this reason, embossing is required in the production process of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5, and the production becomes complicated.

Further, in the rubber switch 1 of the conventional example 2, instead of the adhesive sheet 5, a liquid adhesive 6 without a sheet in the assembled state is used, and the adhesive 6 is applied to the entire convex side of the dome-shaped contact spring 2. Thus, the contact spring 2 can be attached to the recess 11 of the rubber sheet 7. However, according to such an attachment form, the contact spring 2 is restrained by the adhesive 6, so that the contact spring 2 is reversed. It becomes worse, the feeling of pushing is lowered, and the on / off operation becomes unstable.
JP-A-8-255530 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-50171

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to use a dome-shaped contact spring having a high load and a high stroke (high height), and when the contact spring is affixed to the adhesive sheet, the adhesive sheet is not wrinkled. It is to provide a rubber switch that can omit the embossing of the sheet, and when the rubber sheet is attached to the dome-shaped contact spring using an adhesive, the reverse action of the contact spring is deteriorated or pushed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a functionally good rubber switch with a good click feeling by eliminating a decrease in feeling and instability of on / off operation.

Therefore, in the present invention, when a dome-shaped contact spring that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke is attached to a rubber sheet with an adhesive sheet or an adhesive, only a part of the contact spring is attached to an object to be attached. Thus, the adhesive sheet is not wrinkled, and the reverse operation of the contact spring is prevented from deteriorating.

More specifically, the invention according to claim 1 includes a circular slit (3) having a size suitable for a dome-shaped contact spring (2) that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke, and an outside of the slit (3). The contact spring (2) is arranged at the position of the slit (3) of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet (5) having a support piece (4) protruding from the periphery to the center, and only a part of the contact spring (2) is supported by the support piece ( 4) Affixed with the adhesive (6) to fix the contact spring (2) at the position of the slit (3) of the adhesive sheet (5), and the adhesive sheet (5) integral with the contact spring (2); The rubber sheet (7) is placed on the upper surface of the substrate (8), and the contact spring (2) is fixed to the upper surface of the substrate (8) in a reversible state by the adhesive (6) of the adhesive sheet (5). The contact spring (2) is made into a pair of conductive patterns on the upper surface of the substrate (8). And it is opposed by possible contact with the 9,10).

The invention according to claim 2 is the pair of rectangular tongues according to claim 1, wherein the support piece (4) is projected from the outer peripheral edge on the diameter line of the circular slit (3) to the center of the circular slit (3). It consists of a piece and any of three or more triangular tongue pieces projecting from the outer peripheral edge of the circular slit (3) to the center of the slit (3).

In the invention according to claim 3, the dome-shaped contact spring (2) that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke is arranged in the spherical recess (11) of the rubber sheet (7) in the same spherical direction, Only the top of the contact spring (2) is attached to the center position of the recess (11) with an adhesive (6) to fix the contact spring (2) to the rubber sheet (7), and the recess of the rubber sheet (7). On the surface other than (11), the rubber sheet (7) is attached to the substrate (8) with the adhesive (6), whereby the contact spring (2) is attached to the pair of conductive patterns (9 on the upper surface of the substrate (8). 10) in a state where they can contact each other.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the pressure-sensitive adhesive (6) is constituted by a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer of a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet (5).

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first or third aspect, the rubber sheet (7) facing the top of the contact spring (2) is provided with a convex portion (17), and the convex portion (17) is provided as a contact point. It is made to contact with respect to the center position of the top part of the spring (2).

According to the first aspect of the present invention, only a part of the dome-shaped contact spring (2) that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke is fixed to the support piece (4) by the adhesive (6). No wrinkle due to excessive joining between the spherical surface of (2) and the flat surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet (5), embossing of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet (5) can be omitted, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive (6 ) Is less restricted, the reversing operation of the contact spring (2) is not deteriorated, the pressing feeling is good, and the on / off operation is stable.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the support piece (4) is supported by a pair of rectangular tongue pieces or three or more triangular tongue pieces, the contact spring at the slit (3) The support of (2) is not biased and becomes stable.

According to the invention of claim 3, since only the top of the contact spring (2) is fixed to the rubber sheet (7) by the adhesive (6), the contact spring (2) is restrained by the adhesive (6). Therefore, the reversing operation of the contact spring (2) is not deteriorated, the pressing feeling is good, and the on / off operation is stable.

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, since the adhesive (6) is comprised with the adhesive sheet (5) of a double-sided adhesive type other than the effect of Claim 3, it is a contact by sticking of an adhesive sheet (5). The spring (2) can be fixed, which eliminates the troublesome application of the adhesive and is advantageous.

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5, a convex part (17) contacts a rubber sheet (7) by the point position with respect to the center position of the top part of a contact spring (2), and at the time of pushing operation of a rubber sheet (7) Since the pushing force is concentrated at the center position of the contact spring (2) and the pushing amount (stroke) is from the highest position of the contact spring (2) to the upper surface of the substrate (8), it is possible to secure a large amount. A click feeling is obtained.

5 and 6 show a rubber switch 1 of Example 1 according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rubber switch 1 includes a dome-shaped contact spring 2, a single-sided adhesive type adhesive sheet 5, a rubber sheet 7, and a substrate 8. 6 is a cross section between the pair of support pieces 4 of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5, that is, at a position where neither of the support pieces 4 is cut.

The contact spring 2 is a dome-shaped circular plate that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke, and is made of a conductive metal spring material. The pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 has a pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 over the entire back surface, and has a circular slit 3 having a size corresponding to the circular size of the contact spring 2 and a pair of support pieces projecting from the outer peripheral edge of the slit 3 to the center. 4.

In this example 1, the support piece 4 is composed of a pair of rectangular tongue pieces projecting from the outer peripheral edge on the diameter line of the circular slit 3 to the center of the slit 3, but instead of the pair of rectangular tongue pieces, The circular slit 3 can also be constituted by three or more triangular tongue pieces projecting from the entire outer peripheral edge of the circular slit 3 to the center of the slit 3. In any configuration, the support of the contact spring 2 in the slit 3 is not biased and is stable, and the restraint of the contact spring 2 does not become strong.

The contact spring 2 is disposed at the position of the slit 3 from the back surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 with the concave surface facing the substrate 8, and a part of the contact spring 2 is pasted with the pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 on the back surface of the support piece 4. 5 is fixed at the position of the slit 3. In this fixed state, the support piece 4 is deformed into a cross-sectional C shape, and is joined to the convex spherical surface of the contact spring 2 as a band having an appropriate width only on a straight line. For this reason, wrinkles do not occur in the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5. Further, the contact spring 2 is fixed so that it can be reversed without being restrained more than necessary.

Next, the adhesive sheet 5 and the rubber sheet 7 integral with the contact spring 2 are placed on the upper surface of the substrate 8. At this time, the adhesive 6 outside the circular slit 3 on the back surface of the adhesive sheet 5 is bonded to the upper surface of the substrate 8 so that the contact spring 2 can be reversed and fixed to the upper surface of the substrate 8. In this state, the contact spring 2 is accommodated in the recess 11 of the rubber sheet 7. In this way, the contact spring 2 can be brought into contact with the pair of conductive patterns 9 and 10 on the upper surface of the substrate 8 by pressing the operation portion 12 of the rubber sheet 7.

6A shows an off state before the operation of the rubber switch 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the operation portion 12 is pushed, the contact spring 2 is elastically inverted and deformed by the deformation of the rubber sheet 7, and the skirt portion of the contact spring 2 and the conductive pattern 10 of the substrate 8 While maintaining the contact, the lower portion of the top of the contact spring 2 is in contact with the conductive pattern 9 of the substrate 8, thereby electrically connecting the conductive patterns 9 and 10 to an on state. When the pressing operation of the operation unit 12 is released, the contact spring 2 returns to the original state, is separated from the conductive pattern 9, and is in the OFF state of A in FIG.

According to Example 1, since only a part of the dome-shaped contact spring 2 that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke is partially fixed by the adhesive 6 of the support piece 4, the convex spherical surface of the contact spring 2 and the adhesive sheet 5 is not caused by excessive joining with the support piece 4, embossing of the adhesive sheet 5 can be omitted, and the contact spring 2 is less restricted by the adhesive 6, so that the contact spring 2 can be reversed. It does not deteriorate, the feeling of pushing is good, and the on / off operation becomes stable.

Next, FIG. 7 shows a modification of the rubber switch 1 of Example 1 described above. 7 is a cross section at a position where both of the pair of support pieces 4 of the adhesive sheet 5 are cut. In this modified example, as shown in FIG. 7A, a convex portion 17 having a downward spherical surface is provided at the center position of the concave portion 11 of the rubber sheet 7 facing the top of the contact spring 2. It corresponds to the center position of the top.

7A shows an off state before the operation of the rubber switch 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the operation portion 12 is pushed, the contact spring 2 is pushed into the convex portion 17 due to deformation of the rubber sheet 7 and elastically reversely deformed. By making contact with the conductive pattern 9 of the substrate 8 at the lower part of the top of the contact spring 2 while maintaining contact with the conductive pattern 10 of the substrate 8, the conductive patterns 9 and 10 are electrically connected and turned on. State. When the pressing operation of the operation unit 12 is released, the contact spring 2 returns to the original state, is separated from the conductive pattern 9, and is turned off in FIG.

According to the conventional product, for example, the rubber switch 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, since the contact surface between the dome-shaped contact spring 2 and the flat contact portion 13 is large, the pushing force is dispersed. For this reason, the operation portion is crushed by the force (load) during operation, and the force concentrates in a wide range away from the center of the contact spring 2. On the other hand, the click feeling of the rubber switch 1 includes the amount of load when the contact spring 2 is deformed and the amount of pushing of the contact spring 2 (until the contact spring 2 is deformed from the off state and contacts the conductive pattern 9 to the on state). In relation to the stroke corresponding to the distance), it is said that a larger pushing amount is better.

According to the modification of FIG. 7, the convex portion 17 of the rubber sheet 7 comes into point contact with the center position of the top portion of the contact spring 2, and the pushing force is applied to the center of the contact spring 2 during the pushing operation of the rubber sheet 7. Since it is concentrated at the position and the amount of pushing (stroke) is from the highest position of the contact spring 2 to the upper surface of the substrate 8 and can be secured largely, a good click feeling can be obtained.

5 and FIG. 6 and the modification of FIG. 7, the adhesive sheet 5 is basically a single-sided adhesive type sheet, but can also be a double-sided adhesive type sheet. The conventional adhesive sheet 5 can be used as the adhesive sheet 5 of the single-sided adhesive type, and the rubber switch 1 can be realized with a minimum change from the current product without requiring embossing. When the double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 is used, the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 is interposed between the substrate 8 and the rubber sheet 7 and bonded to each other.

8 and 9 show a rubber switch 1 of Example 2 according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rubber switch 1 includes a dome-shaped contact spring 2, an adhesive 6, a rubber sheet 7, and a substrate 8. In the second example, the contact spring 2, the rubber sheet 7, and the substrate 8 have the same structure as in the first example.

On the other hand, the adhesive 6 is a region of the top of the contact spring 2, and only the top of the contact spring 2 is attached to the inside of the spherical recess 11 of the rubber sheet 7, and is larger than the contact spring 2, in other words, the recess. 11 is necessary for adhering the rubber sheet 7 to the substrate 8 in a region outside the substrate 11. In this example 2, the pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 is composed of a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer of the double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 in the initial stage from the viewpoint of ease of handling and ease of pasting work. The double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 has a circular pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 corresponding to the top of the contact spring 2 and a pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 in a region larger than the contact spring 2 formed on the sheet surface. For this reason, the unnecessary part of the adhesive 6 forms a ring-shaped punching area 16 as a part without the adhesive 6.

The dome-shaped contact spring 2 that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke is disposed in the spherical concave portion 11 of the rubber sheet 7 in the same spherical direction, and the concave portion 11 is formed only by the adhesive 6 at the top of the contact spring 2. Is fixed to the rubber sheet 7. The rubber sheet 7 is attached to the substrate 8 with an adhesive 6 in a surface other than the concave portion 11, that is, in a region larger than the contact spring 2. In this pasting process, the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 becomes a separator (release paper) and is separated from the pressure-sensitive adhesive 6. In this way, the contact spring 2 is opposed to the pair of conductive patterns 9 and 10 on the upper surface of the substrate 8 so as to be in contact with each other.

9A shows an off state before the rubber switch 1 operates. As shown in FIG. 9B, when the operation portion 12 is pushed, the contact spring 2 is elastically inverted and deformed by the deformation of the rubber sheet 7, and the skirt portion of the contact spring 2 and the conductive pattern 10 of the substrate 8 While maintaining the contact, the lower part of the top of the contact spring 2 is in contact with the conductive pattern 9 of the substrate 8, thereby electrically connecting the conductive patterns 9 and 10 to an on state. When the pressing operation of the operation unit 12 is released, the contact spring 2 returns to the original state, is separated from the conductive pattern 9, and is turned off in FIG. 9A.

The pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 is not configured as a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5 but directly on the top of the contact spring 2 or the area larger than the contact spring 2 on the back surface of the rubber sheet 7 using a printing technique or the like. It can also be used as an application type.

According to Example 2, since only the top of the contact spring 2 is fixed to the rubber sheet 7 by the adhesive 6, the contact spring 2 is less restricted by the adhesive 6. It does not worsen, has a good pressing feeling, and can be stably turned on and off. In addition, when the pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 is composed of a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5, the contact spring 2 can be fixed by sticking the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 5, so that the troublesome application work of the pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 is eliminated. From the viewpoint of

Incidentally, the convex part 17 in the modification of FIG. 7 is applicable also to Example 2 of FIG. 8 and FIG. By the application, the same operational effects as those of the modified example can be obtained in the second example.

The present invention is not limited to the single rubber switch 1, and conductive patterns 9 and 10 are arranged on the substrate 8 in an orderly manner corresponding to a large number of keys such as a numeric keypad and various function keys. 10 can be used when a large number of contact point springs 2 and one integrally formed rubber sheet 7 are combined to form a large number of rubber switches 1.

It is a perspective view of the components of the rubber switch 1 of Conventional Example 1. It is an expanded sectional view of the assembly state of the rubber switch 1 of the prior art example 1, A shows the OFF state before the operation | movement, B shows the ON state after an operation | movement. It is a perspective view of the components of the rubber switch 1 of Conventional Example 2. It is an expanded sectional view of the assembly state of the rubber switch 1 of the prior art example 2, A shows the OFF state before the operation | movement, B shows the ON state after an operation | movement. It is a perspective view of the components of the rubber switch 1 of Example 1 according to the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the assembly state of the rubber switch 1 of Example 1 which concerns on this invention, A shows the OFF state before the operation | movement, B shows the ON state after an operation | movement. It is an expanded sectional view of the assembly state of the rubber switch 1 of the modification of Example 1 which concerns on this invention, A shows the OFF state before the operation | movement, B shows the ON state after an operation | movement. It is a perspective view of the components of the rubber switch 1 of Example 2 according to the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the assembly state of the rubber switch 1 of Example 2 which concerns on this invention, A shows the OFF state before the operation | movement, B shows the ON state after an operation | movement.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rubber switch 2 Contact spring 3 Slit 4 Supporting piece 5 Adhesive sheet 6 Adhesive 7 Rubber sheet 8 Substrate 9 Conductive pattern 10 Conductive pattern 11 Recess 12 Operation part 13 Contact part 14 Opening part 15 Embossed surface 16 Punching area 17 Convex part

Claims (5)

It has a circular slit (3) of a size suitable for a dome-shaped contact spring (2) that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke, and a support piece (4) protruding from the outer peripheral edge of the slit (3) to the center. The contact spring (2) is disposed at the position of the slit (3) of the adhesive sheet (5), and only a part of the contact spring (2) is adhered with the adhesive (6) of the support piece (4) to adhere The contact spring (2) is fixed at the position of the slit (3) of the sheet (5), and the adhesive sheet (5) and the rubber sheet (7) integrated with the contact spring (2) are mounted on the upper surface of the substrate (8). The contact spring (2) is fixed to the upper surface of the substrate (8) by the adhesive (6) of the adhesive sheet (5) so that the contact spring (2) can be reversed. The pair of conductive patterns (9, 10) of the Rubber and wherein the switch (1). A pair of rectangular tongue pieces projecting from the outer peripheral edge on the diameter line of the circular slit (3) to the center of the circular slit (3) and the outer peripheral edge of the circular slit (3) The rubber switch (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the rubber switch (1) is constituted by any one of three or more triangular tongue pieces protruding from the center of the slit (3) as a base. A dome-shaped contact spring (2) that can be reversed with a high load and a high stroke is placed inside the spherical recess (11) of the rubber sheet (7) in the same spherical orientation, and only the top of the contact spring (2) Is attached to the center position of the recess (11) with the adhesive (6) to fix the contact spring (2) to the rubber sheet (7), and on the surface other than the recess (11) of the rubber sheet (7), By sticking the rubber sheet (7) to the substrate (8) with the adhesive (6), the contact spring (2) can be brought into contact with the pair of conductive patterns (9, 10) on the upper surface of the substrate (8). A rubber switch (1) characterized by being opposed to each other. The rubber switch (1) according to claim 3, wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive (6) is composed of a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer of a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet (5). The rubber sheet (7) facing the top of the contact spring (2) is provided with a protrusion (17), and the protrusion (17) is brought into contact with the center position of the top of the contact spring (2). The rubber switch (1) according to claim 1 or 3.

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