JP2021165005A - Panel member and manufacturing method of panel member - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a panel member having high operability and good appearance when used as an operation unit.SOLUTION: A panel member 1 of the present invention is composed of a film 2 and a resin part 3 attached to a back surface side of the film 2. The film 2 has a convex structure 2a, and the convex structure 2a has a flat surface parallel to a plane surface 2b of the film 2 except for a peripheral part thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a panel member used for an operation unit or the like of a home electric appliance, and a method for manufacturing the panel member.

Currently, panels manufactured by name plate sheets and film insert molding are used for operation panels of home appliances such as washing machines and microwave ovens. In particular, a panel formed by film insert molding has a three-dimensional shape and can cover the outer peripheral portion of a panel substrate with a film, so that it has a high design and is used for various operation panels.

For example, in the insert molding method of Patent Document 1 below, a mold clamping step is performed with the film placed in the mold, and then a resin is injected into the mold and the film and the resin are integrally molded. I do.

In the mold clamping step, the moving mold is provided with a pressing portion on the side facing the fixed mold. Then, in the forming step, the resin is injected with the pressing portion pressing the back surface side of the film. Although the cavity is filled with resin, since the resin does not reach the area on the back surface side pressed by the pressing portion, it is possible to manufacture a molded product having embossing on the display of the operating portion (Patent Document 1 / paragraph 0073). ~ 0081, FIG. 19, FIG. 20).

Patent No. 6592155

In the molded product manufactured by the method of Patent Document 1, the portion corresponding to the display of the operation unit is simply the portion where the resin is missing. In addition, the cross-sectional structure of the embossed portion may have a rounded shape, but the cause is that when the film is released from the mold, the film bends due to shrinkage of the resin and swells in the convex direction. Is.

However, in this structure, there is a problem that the operability is lowered and the aesthetic appearance is impaired because the distance from the switch arranged inside the embossed portion is increased toward the center of the embossed portion.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a panel member having high operability and a beautiful appearance when used as an operation unit.

The first invention is a panel member including a film portion and a resin portion attached to the back surface side of the film portion. The film portion has a convex structure, and the convex structure excludes a peripheral portion thereof. , The film portion has a flat surface parallel to a surface other than the convex structure.

In the panel member of the present invention, the film portion has a convex structure used for, for example, an operation portion of a home electric appliance. The convex structure may rise diagonally from other parts (surfaces) of the film portion with respect to the peripheral portion thereof, but has a flat surface parallel to the surface of the film portion except for the peripheral edge portion. There is. As a result, when the convex structure of the panel member is used as the operation unit, the operability is higher and the appearance is beautiful as compared with the conventional one having a rounded upper surface side.

In the panel member of the first invention, it is preferable that the resin portion has an annular portion that is in contact with the peripheral edge of the convex structure on the back surface side and the flat surface.

According to this configuration, the resin portion on the back surface side of the convex structure is in contact with the peripheral edge and the flat surface on the back surface side of the convex structure, and thus becomes an annular portion. Compared with a structure in which the resin portion is provided only in a portion other than the conventional convex structure, the flatness of the convex structure can be improved because the number of bending points that are the starting points of bending is reduced.

Further, in the panel member of the first invention, it is preferable that the convex structure has a shape that rises perpendicularly or diagonally to the surface of the film portion.

By making the convex structure stand up perpendicularly (including substantially perpendicular to) or diagonally to the surface of the film portion, it is possible to improve the aesthetic appearance when the convex structure of the panel member is used as the operation portion.

The second invention is a method for manufacturing a panel member composed of a film portion and a resin portion, wherein a convex structure having a flat surface parallel to the surface of the film portion is formed on the film portion except for a peripheral portion thereof. It is characterized by comprising a step, a portion other than the convex structure on the back surface side of the film portion, and a step of forming an annular resin on a peripheral edge of the convex structure on the back surface side and a portion in contact with the flat surface. And.

In the method for manufacturing a panel member of the present invention, first, a convex structure having a flat surface parallel to the surface of the film portion is formed on the film portion except for the peripheral portion thereof. Then, an annular resin is formed on a portion of the film portion other than the convex structure on the back surface side and a portion in contact with the peripheral edge and the flat surface on the back surface side of the convex structure. As a result, when the convex structure of the panel member is used as the operation unit, it is possible to manufacture a panel member having higher operability and a beautiful appearance as compared with the conventional one having a rounded upper surface.

The perspective view of the panel member of embodiment of this invention. II-II cross-sectional view of the panel member of FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a region S of the panel member of FIG. The figure explaining the modification example of the panel member of embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the panel member according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a panel member 1 (part) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The panel member 1 is used, for example, in an operation unit of a home electric appliance such as a washing machine or a microwave oven, and is a film 2 on which characters, figures, designs, etc. are printed, and a resin provided on the back surface side of the film 2. It is a panel formed by film insert molding, which is composed of a part 3.

As the film 2, a resin film having relatively high elasticity such as polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE) is used. The thickness of the film 2 is usually about 0.1 to 0.5 mm, but is preferably about 0.1 to 0.3 mm. The film 2 may be secondarily decorated by screen printing, offset printing, gravure printing, painting, or the like, and its transparency is not limited.

The film 2 of the present embodiment has a convex structure 2a having a side of about 1.0 to 3.0 cm as a portion corresponding to the operation portion. In the conventional convex structure, the central portion thereof is bent and bulges in the convex direction (upward direction in the drawing), but in the convex structure 2a of the present embodiment, the upper surface is another portion of the film 2 as shown in the drawing. It is a flat surface parallel to (plane 2b). Therefore, it has a feature that it looks beautiful as compared with the conventional product.

The panel member 1 in FIG. 1 is a part of a finished product used for home appliances and the like, and in reality, the film 2 is provided with a large number of convex structures 2a.

The resin portion 3 is attached to the film 2 by injection molding the resin. The resin portion 3 is, for example, PET, ABS resin, polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate resin (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), a PC / ABS alloy material, or the like, and is formed on the back surface side of the film 2. The permeability of the resin portion 3 does not matter.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of the panel member 1 of FIG.

As shown in the figure, the film 2 has a convex structure 2a that rises with respect to the flat surface 2b, and the upper surface thereof is a flat surface. The height of the convex structure 2a with respect to the plane 2b is usually about 0.3 to 0.8 mm, but is preferably about 0.3 to 0.5 mm.

The resin portion 3 is formed on the back surface side of the flat surface 2b of the film 2. Further, the resin portion 3 is also molded so as to be in contact with the flat surface (back surface) on the peripheral edge of the convex structure 2a on the back surface side. Since the tact switch 4 is arranged in the center of the convex structure 2a on the back surface side, the resin portion 3 is not formed. Therefore, the resin portion 3 is formed in an annular shape on the back surface side of the convex structure 2a.

The tact switch 4 is a mechanical pressing switch provided on the circuit board 5 for connecting and opening circuits, and is arranged inside the convex structure 2a. In a convex structure in which the central portion bulges in the convex direction as in a conventional film, when a user presses the film, an extra space is created before reaching the tact switch 4. On the other hand, since the convex structure 2a of the present embodiment has a flat upper surface, it immediately contacts the tact switch 4 and is excellent in operability.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the area S of the panel member 1 of FIG. 2 (tact switch 4 is omitted). Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the panel member 1 will also be described.

First, a convex structure 2a having a flat surface parallel to the flat surface 2b is formed on the film 2. Here, the convex structure 2a is formed so as to rise substantially perpendicular to the plane 2b.

Although the details will be described later, the convex structure 2a may rise diagonally with respect to the plane 2b. That is, the peripheral portion where the convex structure 2a rises with respect to the flat surface 2b can be a slope, but the other portion (upper surface) is a flat surface.

Next, with the film 2 sandwiched and the mold (not shown) closed, the resin is poured into the back surface side of the film 2 to form the resin portion 3. By this step, the resin portion 3 is formed on the back surface side of the flat surface 2b and the peripheral edge of the convex structure 2a on the back surface side and the portion in contact with the flat surface. The vertical thickness of the resin portion 3 on the back surface side of the flat surface 2b (thickness t ₁ in the drawing) is usually about 1.0 to 5.0 mm, but is preferably about 2.0 to 4.0 mm.

In the present embodiment, the fixed mold has a concave portion that matches the convex structure 2a of the film 2, and the moving mold has a convex portion that is one size smaller than the convex structure 2a (not shown). When the mold is closed, a gap is formed between the concave portion and the convex portion, and the resin flows into this gap. Since the resin portion 3 on the back surface side of the convex structure 2a is formed on the peripheral edge portion of the convex structure 2a, the resin portion 3 has _{an annular portion having a horizontal thickness (thickness t 2} in the drawing) of about 0.5 mm. In this way, the panel member 1 is completed.

Here, the circles on the film 2 represent the bending points P. Of the film 2, the outside of the bending point P (mainly the flat surface 2b) has the resin portion 3 on the back surface side, so that the film 2 is stable and does not bend. On the other hand, since there is no resin portion 3 on the back surface inside the bending point P (in the center direction of the convex structure 2a), when the surrounding resin shrinks, it cannot follow it and the film 2 bends to some extent.

Since the conventional panel member does not have the resin portion 3 on the back surface side peripheral edge of the convex structure 2a, the square mark in the drawing also serves as a bending point (bending point Q) and has two starting points, a bending point P and a bending point Q. Therefore, the degree of freedom of movement (deflection) of the film 2 is high, and the bending of the film 2 becomes large due to shrinkage of the resin or the like.

On the other hand, in the panel member 1 of the present embodiment, since the upper surface of the convex structure 2a moves only from the bending point P, the degree of freedom of movement is lower than that of the conventional panel member, and the upper surface has a flat surface. It can be said that it is easy to maintain.

The convex structure 2a does not have to rise perpendicular to the plane 2b of the film 2. For example, in the panel member 10 shown in FIG. 4, the convex structure 20a of the film 20 rises obliquely with respect to the flat surface 20b.

The inclination angle θ of the rising edge of the convex structure 20a with respect to the plane 20b is preferably 45 ° or more. Here, too, after the film 20 is processed, the resin is poured into the back surface side of the flat surface 20b and the peripheral edge and the flat surface contacting the back surface side of the convex structure 20a to form the resin portion 30. In this way, the panel member 10 is completed.

Further, the circle mark of the film 20 represents the bending point R. Of the film 20, the resin portion 30 exists on the back surface side of the outside of the bending point R (mainly the flat surface 20b), so that the film 2 is stable and does not bend. On the other hand, the right side of the bending point R (in the center direction of the convex structure 20a) is slightly bent because there is no resin portion 30 on the back surface side.

That is, the upper surface of the convex structure 20a is slightly bent starting from the bending point R due to shrinkage of the surrounding resin or the like. However, since there is only one bending point, the degree of freedom of movement of the film 2 is low as compared with the conventional panel member, and the upper surface of the film 2 can easily maintain a flat surface.

Although the embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified as long as the gist of the present invention is not deviated.

In the above embodiment, the convex structure 2a of the film 2 is substantially rectangular, but the shape may be polygonal, circular, star-shaped, or the like. Further, the resin portion 3 of the back side of the convex structure 2a has been described only the peripheral portion of the convex structure 2a, in accordance with the size of the tact switch 4, even if increasing the thickness t ₂ of the annular portion of the resin portion 3 good.

1,10 Panel member 2,20 Film 2a, 20a Convex structure 2b, 20b Flat surface 3,30 Resin part 4 Tact switch 5 Circuit board P, Q, R Bending point θ Tilt angle

Claims (4)

A panel member composed of a film portion and a resin portion attached to the back surface side of the film portion.
The film portion has a convex structure and has a convex structure.
The panel member is characterized in that the convex structure has a flat surface parallel to a surface of the film portion other than the convex structure, except for a peripheral portion thereof. In the panel member according to claim 1,
The resin portion is a panel member having an annular portion that is in contact with the peripheral edge of the convex structure on the back surface side and the flat surface. In the panel member according to claim 1 or 2.
The convex structure is a panel member having a shape that rises perpendicularly or diagonally to the surface of the film portion. It is a method of manufacturing a panel member consisting of a film part and a resin part.
A step of forming a convex structure having a flat surface parallel to the surface of the film portion on the film portion except for the peripheral portion.
A step of molding an annular resin on a portion of the film portion other than the convex structure on the back surface side and a portion of the convex structure on the back surface side and in contact with the flat surface.
A method for manufacturing a panel member, which comprises.

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