JP2009252624A - Movable contact body and panel switch formed by using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide movable contact bodies whose height positions on a base sheet become the same, regarding ones used when panel switches of operational input sections for various electronic devices are formed. <P>SOLUTION: When retaining a movable contact 5A bent at a low dome-shaped bending height and a movable contact 5B bent at a high dome-shaped bending height on the base sheet 1, an insulating layer 60 with thickness for compensating a difference of the bending heights of the movable contacts 5A, 5B is arranged on a lower surface at a movable contact 5A side of the base sheet 1 by screen printing, upper surface height positions of the movable contact bodies 50 are formed so as to be equal at the same height position in spite of the difference of the bending heights of the retained movable contacts 5A, 5B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a movable contact body used when configuring a panel switch of an operation input unit of various electronic devices, and a panel switch configured using the movable contact body.

  In recent years, various electronic devices have been reduced in size and thickness, and those having a thin configuration as an operation input unit are also preferred. For example, in order to construct an operation input unit having such a thin configuration, a movable contact body having a configuration in which a movable contact is held on a sheet member made of an insulating film is often combined with a wiring board of a device to constitute a panel switch. in use.

  The panel switch comprised using such a conventional movable contact body is demonstrated using FIGS. 3-5.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a panel switch constructed using a conventional movable contact body, FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the movable contact body, and FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of a mobile phone equipped with the panel switch. . FIG. 3 illustrates the cross-sectional state taken along the line XX in FIG. 5 without the equipment casing and the like.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a base sheet made of an insulating film such as PET as a sheet member, and the upper surface of each of the plurality of movable contacts 5 is adhesively held by an adhesive layer 2 provided in a predetermined pattern on the lower surface thereof. . Each movable contact 5 has a dome shape that swells upward at a lower opening.

  As an arrangement state of the movable contacts 5, for example, in the case of the mobile phone 30 shown in FIG. 5, the movable contacts 5 </ b> A that are circular in top view are arranged in a matrix in the numeric keypad portion 32. In the multi-directional switch unit 35 provided side by side above the numeric keypad unit 32, five movable contacts 5B each having an oval or elliptical shape when viewed from above are arranged in a cross-shaped arrangement. . Further, in the peripheral switch unit 37 arranged outside the multidirectional switch unit 35, the movable contact 5 </ b> A is arranged at four positions around the multidirectional switch unit 35.

  As described above, the movable contact 5 (5A, 5B) is adhered to the lower surface of the base sheet 1, and the conventional movable contact body 10 is configured. The movable contact body 10 is arranged and used on a wiring board 20 having fixed contacts 15 and 17 corresponding to each movable contact 5 on the upper surface. That is, each movable contact 5A is placed on the outer contact 15A of each corresponding fixed contact 15, and in this state, the lower surface of the central portion of each movable contact 5A is in a facing state with a predetermined interval from the central contact 15B. Each 5A is configured as a single self-return type pressing type single switch. Similarly, each movable contact 5B is placed on the outer contact 17A of each corresponding fixed contact 17, and in this state, the lower surface of the central portion of each movable contact 5B is in a facing state with a predetermined interval from the central contact 17B. Thus, each of the movable contacts 5B is configured as a single self-return type pressing type single switch.

  A rubber key mat 23 is disposed on the movable contact body 10, and each single switch is configured as a panel switch 25 that can be individually pressed. The key mat 23 is provided so as to cover all of the numeric keypad 32, the multidirectional switch unit 35, and the peripheral switch unit 37, and includes a rigid operation button unit 24A for the peripheral switch unit 37, a multidirectional unit. The hard operation button portion 24B for the switch portion 35 is integrated with the upper surface position of the key mat 23, respectively. The operation button portions 24A and 24B are arranged with their center positions aligned with respect to the corresponding movable contacts 5A and 5B, respectively, and each of the operation buttons 24A and 24B corresponds to the movable contacts 5A and 5B of the key mat 23. Lower projections 23A and 23B are integrally provided at the lower surface position so that the central portion can be pushed down with respect to the movable contacts 5A and 5B. And each operation button part 24A, 24B is exposed so that pressing operation is possible from an apparatus housing | casing so that pressing down operation from upper direction is possible.

  Next, the operation of the panel switch 25 configured as described above will be described. When a predetermined operation button portion 24A (24B) is pressed, the corresponding operation button portion 24A (24B) is moved downward, and the corresponding movable button portion 24A (24B) is moved via the lower protrusion 23A (23B) of the key mat 23 or the base sheet 1. A pressing force is applied to the center of the contact 5A (5B). When the force exceeds a predetermined magnitude, the center of the movable contact 5A (5B) is reversed with moderation, and the lower surface of the center is opposed. The central contact point 15B (17B) that has been in contact with the outer contact point 15A (17A) is brought into a switch-on state.

  When the operating force is removed, the movable contact 5A (5B) self-restores to its original shape and returns to the switch-off state, and the restoring force of the key mat 23 and the base sheet 1 is also added to the view before pressing. It returned to the state shown in 3.

As prior art document information related to the invention of this application, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are known.
JP 2006-216291 A JP 2004-193047 A

  In the conventional movable contact body 10, only the multi-directional switch portion 35 is movable in an elliptical shape or an elliptical shape when viewed from the top in order to effectively use the arrangement area of the operation input portion that becomes smaller as the mobile phone becomes smaller. Using the contact 5B, the other switch part has a configuration using a movable contact 5A having a circular outer shape. From the viewpoint of the user's convenience, in general, all the switches have the same operation force, or at least only the switch at the center position of the multi-directional switch unit 35 used as the determination key has a heavy operation force. All the switch parts are preferred to have the same operating force, but the movable contact 5B used in the multi-directional switch part 35 must have a high bending height in order to have the same operating force as the movable contact 5A. For this reason, in the conventional movable contact body 10, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface height position of the base sheet 1 is varied depending on the bending height of the movable contacts 5A and 5B. Only the range of the direction switch portion 35 is increased, and the key mat 23 side must be designed in consideration of the difference by changing the length of the corresponding lower protrusions 23A and 23B. For efficient, it has become that many operation is required movable contact structure which does not occur in the difference.

  The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and even when a movable contact having a different dome-shaped bending height is held on the base sheet, the base sheet corresponding to each movable contact is provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a movable contact body configured to have the same height position and a panel switch configured using the movable contact body.

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

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a movable contact having a dome shape bulging upward at a lower opening and a plurality of the movable contacts are adhesively held at a predetermined position by an adhesive layer provided on a lower surface, and the movable contact is provided. A movable contact having a base sheet made of an insulating film bulging upward according to the position, the plurality of movable contacts having different bending heights included therein, and the base sheet The movable contact body is provided with an insulator with a thickness that compensates for the difference in bending height at the holding part of the movable contact in the above. As a result, it is easy to design the operation member side of the equipment and reduce the design man-hours.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the insulator of the base sheet is formed of an insulating layer by screen printing, and the adhesive layer of the base sheet is also formed of screen printing. In addition, if each of the insulator (insulating layer) and the adhesive layer is formed by the same screen printing method, the investment in equipment can be reduced, and the movable contact body can be produced efficiently and inexpensively.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the movable contact with a low bending height and the movable contact with a high bending height are respectively held on the lower surface of the base sheet, and the movable with the high bending height is provided. A first pressing protrusion is disposed at the base sheet upper surface position corresponding to the contact, and an upper end height position of the first pressing protrusion is positioned at the base sheet upper surface position according to the low bending height movable contact. The second pressing protrusions included in the insulator are set so as to have the same height, and the height position on each movable contact is aligned as a movable contact body, and each movable contact It has an effect that a pressing force can be surely applied to the central portion and a moderation feeling obtained by the reversing operation of the movable contact can be clearly obtained.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the movable contact body according to any one of the first to third aspects is disposed on a wiring board, and the height of the movable contact body aligned at each movable contact placement position in the movable contact body is further increased. It is a panel switch that is configured with a key mat supported by multiple points, and the height position supported by the movable contact body is the same height, so the key mat can be designed easily and the design man-hours can be reduced. It has the effect of being able to plan.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the height position on the base sheet corresponding to each movable contact is the same height even if the movable contact having a dome-like bending height is held on the base sheet. An advantageous effect that a movable contact body configured as a position and a panel switch configured using the movable contact body can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part of the structure same as the structure demonstrated in the term of the prior art, and detailed description is simplified.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of a panel switch configured by using a movable contact body according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Note that FIG. 1 also shows the cross-sectional state of the mobile phone shown in FIG.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a base sheet made of an insulating film such as PET, and the upper surface of each of the plurality of movable contacts 5 is adhesively held by an adhesive layer 2 formed in a predetermined pattern on the lower surface thereof. As each movable contact 5, as in the conventional case, a circular movable contact 5 </ b> A is used in the numeric keypad 32 and the peripheral switch unit 37 (see FIG. 5) of the device, and in the multidirectional switch unit 35 (see FIG. 5). The movable contact 5B having an oval or elliptical shape when viewed from above is used. In addition, since those arrangement | sequence states are the same as the past, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. Further, the movable contacts 5A and 5B have the same operating force, and therefore the bending height of the movable contact 5B is higher than the bending height of the movable contact 5A.

  The movable contact body 50 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is characterized in that an insulator having a thickness that compensates for the difference in bending height between the movable contacts 5A and 5B is provided. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, an insulating layer 60 serving as an insulator is provided on the lower surface of the base sheet 1 by screen printing in accordance with the position of the central vertex of the upper surface of each movable contact 5A on the peripheral switch portion 37 side. It is said. The insulating layer 60 is formed with a thickness that is the difference in bending height between the movable contacts 5A and 5B. The formation area of the insulating layer 60 is not particularly defined, but it is preferable to provide the insulating layer 60 with a small area in consideration of the influence on the operation feeling.

  As described above, the movable contact body 50 according to the embodiment is configured. And the movable contact body 50 is also used by being arranged on the corresponding wiring board 20 as in the prior art. At this time, each of the movable contacts 5A and 5B is combined with the corresponding fixed contact 15 and 17 on the wiring board 20 to form a single switch of a pressing type self-reset type. Each movable contact 5A is placed on the outer contact 15A of each corresponding fixed contact 15, and in this state, the lower surface of the central portion of each movable contact 5A is in a facing state with a predetermined distance from the center contact 15B. The movable contact 5B is placed on the outer contact 17A of each corresponding fixed contact 17, and in this state, the lower surface of the central portion of each movable contact 5B is in a facing state with a predetermined interval from the central contact 17B.

  Here, according to the embodiment, although the movable contacts 5A and 5B having different bending heights are used, the insulating layer 60 is interposed on the movable contact 5A having a low bending height, thereby Since the difference is absorbed by the movable contact body 50 itself, the upper surface height position at the arrangement position of the movable contacts 5A and 5B swelled upward in the base sheet 1 in the arrangement state on the wiring board 20 is aligned. Can be easily configured. A rubber key mat 55 is disposed on the movable contact body 50, and each single switch is configured as a panel switch 70 that can be individually pressed. At this time, each rubber key mat 55 disposed on the movable contact body 50 also has the switch heights of the peripheral switch portion 37 and the numeric keypad portion 32 with respect to the switch height position of the multidirectional switch portion 35. Since the positions are uniform, the restriction on the structure of the key mat 55 is reduced. For example, the lower projection 55A provided corresponding to each switch regardless of the numeric keypad 32, the peripheral switch unit 37, and the multidirectional switch unit 35. Can be made the same length, and the design can be rationalized and the design man-hours can be reduced. In this configuration, since the key mat 55 can be arranged by contacting the lower projection 55A having the same length on each switch having the same height position, the combination of both is easy and multipoint. Thus, it is possible to easily obtain a combination that is stably supported. In the key mat 55, the operation button portions 24A and 24B are integrated at the positions where the movable contacts 5A and 5B are arranged, respectively, and are exposed from the device casing as in the conventional case.

  The operation of the panel switch 70 having the above-described configuration is the same as that of the prior art, and the corresponding movable contact 5A (5B) is elastically reversed with moderation by a pressing operation to the operation button portion 24A (24B), and the switch is turned on. When the operation is stopped, the movable contact 5A (5B) returns to the switch-off state shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the mounting state is combined with the wiring board 20 to be used with a simple configuration in which the insulating layer 60 is simply added to the lower surface of the base sheet 1 by screen printing and the cost is not increased. Thus, the upper surface of the base sheet 1 at the position where the movable contacts 5 are arranged can be arranged at the same height, which facilitates the design of the operation member side on the device side and contributes to the reduction of the design man-hours. be able to.

  In addition, since the insulating layer 60 is formed by screen printing, it is preferable that the adhesive layer 2 is also formed by screen printing. That is, if each of the insulating layer 60 and the adhesive layer 2 is formed by the same screen printing method, the capital investment can be reduced, and the movable contact body 50 can be produced efficiently and inexpensively.

  The insulating layer 60 may be formed on the upper surface side of the base sheet 1. Further, the insulator for adjusting the height may be other than the insulating layer 60. However, in order to absorb the difference in the bending height of the movable contact by the movable contact itself, the insulator It is good to set it as the structure maintained by the base sheet or the upper surface side of a movable contact.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of a panel switch configured by using a movable contact body according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and mainly explains parts different from those according to the first embodiment. Detailed description of the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be omitted.

  As shown in the figure, the movable contact body 80 according to the present embodiment is similar in that the movable contacts 5A and 5B are adhesively held by the adhesive layer 2 on the lower surface of the base sheet 1, but the bending height thereof is the same. It is assumed that a first pressing protrusion 91 having a predetermined height is disposed on the upper surface position of the base sheet 1 at the central apex portion of the tall movable contact 5B. In addition, the formation method of the 1st pressurization protrusion 91 is not specifically limited, For example, what was formed by affixing the thing formed by printing or a small diameter cylindrical member may be sufficient.

  And as for the movable contact 5A having a lower bending height, the insulating layer 60 for height adjustment is not interposed between the lower surface of the base sheet 1 and the upper surface of the movable contact 5A as in the first embodiment, Instead, the second pressing protrusion 92 is disposed on the upper surface of the base sheet 1 at the central vertex of the movable contact 5A. That is, the second pressing protrusion 92 serves as an insulator for height adjustment, and is disposed on the base sheet 1 so that the upper end height position of the first pressing protrusion 91 and the second pressing protrusion 92 are The second pressing projection 92 is set to a height so that the upper end height position is the same height position. The second pressing protrusion 92 may be formed by screen printing or a small diameter cylindrical member, and the method is not particularly limited.

  The movable contact member 80 having the above-described configuration is arranged on the wiring board 20 as in the first embodiment, and the key mat 100 is arranged on the upper side of the wiring substrate 20 so that the panel switch 110 is used.

  As the key mat 100, the operation button portions 24A and 24B are respectively integrated according to the arrangement position of the movable contact 5 (5A and 5B), and the operation button portions 24A and 24B are exposed from the device casing. However, the lower surface of the key mat 100 is a flat surface. In the key mat 100 with the operation button portions 24A and 24B, the center positions of the operation button portions 24A and 24B are adjusted to the center positions of the corresponding movable contacts 5 (5A and 5B), and the flat surfaces on the lower surfaces are arranged. The first pressing projection 91 and the second pressing projection 92 are supported at multiple points in a stable arrangement state by the upper ends of the same height positions.

  As described above, the movable contact 80 according to the embodiment and the panel switch 110 configured using the movable contact 80 are configured.

  The operation will be described subsequently. When the operation button portion 24A (24B) is pressed down, the first pressing protrusion 91 (second pressing protrusion 92) is pressed down on the flat surface of the lower surface, and the force is It is possible to reliably act on the central portion of the corresponding movable contact 5A (5B) via the first pressing protrusion 91 (second pressing protrusion 92). Then, the movable contact 5A (5B) is reversely operated by the force to be switched on in the same manner as in the first embodiment and the like. Since pressure can be applied, a sense of moderation can be clearly obtained in the recoil action of the movable contact 5A (5B). Then, when the pressing force is removed, the movable contact 5A (5B) returns to the original switch-off state by self-restoration or the like as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the embodiment, the key mat 100 can be configured to have a simpler outer shape and excellent arrangement stability of the key mat 100, and also feels moderation during operation. It can be realized as a clear one. In addition, since the configuration according to this embodiment is a configuration in which a pressing force is reliably applied to the movable contacts 5A and 5B via the first pressing projections 91 and the second pressing projections 92, the configuration according to the first embodiment. Further, it is possible to further reduce the combination accuracy between the key mat 100 and each switch.

  In the above description, the second pressing protrusion 92 is provided in place of the insulating layer 60 according to the first embodiment. However, the second embodiment uses the first pressing protrusion 92, which has the same height. A pressing protrusion may be provided. Or it is good also as a structure which aimed at the upper end height position of the 1st pressurization protrusion with the sum total of the insulator thickness of the structure demonstrated in Embodiment 1, and the thickness of the 2nd pressurization protrusion.

  The application part and application device of the idea according to the present invention described above are not limited to each part of the mobile phone described above, and can be applied to the entire input operation unit in various electronic devices. is there.

  The movable contact body according to the present invention and the panel switch configured using the movable contact body are provided on the base sheet corresponding to each movable contact even if the movable contact having a dome-like bending height is held on the base sheet. The height position can be set to the same height position, which is useful when configuring panel switches of operation input units of various electronic devices.

Sectional drawing of the principal part of the panel switch comprised using the movable contact body by the 1st Embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of the principal part of the panel switch comprised using the movable contact body by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention Cross-sectional view of the main part of a panel switch constructed using a conventional movable contact body Bottom view of the movable contact body External perspective view of a cellular phone equipped with the panel switch

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base sheet 2 Adhesive layer 5,5A, 5B Movable contact 15, 17 Fixed contact 15A, 17A Outer contact 15B, 17B Center contact 20 Wiring board 24A, 24B Operation button part 32 Ten key part 35 Multi-directional switch part 37 Peripheral switch part 50 , 80 Movable contact body 55, 100 Key mat 55A Lower projection 60 Insulating layer 70, 110 Panel switch 91 First pressing projection 92 Second pressing projection

Claims (4)

Made of an insulating film in which the dome-shaped movable contact bulging upward at the lower opening and the upper surface of each of the movable contacts are adhered and held by the adhesive layer provided on the lower surface, and the position corresponding to each movable contact bulges upward A movable contact body having a base sheet, the plurality of movable contacts having different bending heights are arranged, and the bending height of the movable contact body in the base sheet A movable contact body provided with an insulator having a thickness to compensate for the difference. The movable contact body according to claim 1, wherein the insulator of the base sheet is formed of an insulating layer by screen printing, and the adhesive layer of the base sheet is also formed of screen printing. A movable contact with a low bending height and a movable contact with a high bending height are respectively held on the lower surface of the base sheet, and a first pressing protrusion is arranged on the upper surface of the base sheet corresponding to the movable contact with a higher bending height. The base sheet upper surface position corresponding to the low bending height movable contact is set to a height aligned with the upper end height position of the first pressing protrusion, and is included in the second insulator. The movable contact body according to claim 1, wherein the pressing protrusion is arranged. The movable contact body according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is arranged on a wiring board, and further, the key mat is supported at multiple points at height positions aligned for each movable contact arrangement position in the movable contact body. Configured panel switch.

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