JP2741373B2 - Method of manufacturing push button switch and push button switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a push-button switch that generates a click feeling when the switch is turned on, and to a push-button switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a conventional push button switch. As shown in FIG.
On the switch contact a provided on the switch board 81, a click plate 90 with a movable contact made of elastic rubber having a bowl-down shape is placed, and a slide shaft 96 and a key top 95 made of synthetic resin are further placed thereon. It is arranged and configured.

The switch substrate 81 is formed of a hard insulating plate, and a predetermined portion of the switch substrate 81 has a protrusion 9 of a click plate 90 described below.
Through holes 88, 89 for press-fitting the holes 2, 93 (the diameter is
2, 93). The switch contact a is connected to the switch board 8
It is configured by bringing the conductor patterns 86 and 87 provided on the upper surface of the substrate 1 close to each other.

The click plate 90 has a columnar pressing portion 91 at the center thereof, a movable contact 99 made of a conductive rubber plate adhered to the lower surface of the pressing portion 91, and two projections 92, 93 on the outer lower surface. It is configured to protrude.

[0005] The protrusions 92 and 93 of the click plate 90 are pressed into through holes 88 and 89 provided in the switch board 81, respectively, and are fixed on the switch board 81. The reason why the click plate 90 is fixed on the switch board 81 is to accurately arrange the click plate 90 on the switch contact a so that the click plate 90 does not shift when assembling the push button switch.

On the other hand, the slide shaft 96 and the key top 9
5 is integrally fixed, and a guide hole 99 provided in the case 98 is provided.
It is supported so that it can move up and down.

When the key top 95 is pressed, the lower surface of the slide shaft 96 is pressed by the pressing portion 91 of the click plate 90.
Is pressed and crushed, and the lower surface of the movable contact 99 contacts the switch contact a of the switch board 81 to turn it on.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing a push button switch having another conventional structure. In this figure, the same parts as those of the push button switch 80 shown in FIG. That is, in the push button switch 80 ', the click plate 90' is placed on the switch contact b provided on the switch board 81 ', and the slide shaft 9 is further placed thereon.
6 and a key top 95 are arranged.

The switch board 81 'is constituted by interposing a spacer 84 between two flexible boards 82 and 83. The switch contact b is connected to the flexible substrate 8
Contact patterns 82a, 83 provided on
a through a hole 84 a provided in the spacer 84. Also, this switch board 8
On the lower surface of 1 ', a hard substrate 85 for supporting this is provided. The switch board 81 'and the hard board 85 are also provided with through holes for press-fitting the projections 92, 93 of the click plate 90'.

The click plate 90 'has the same structure as the click plate 90 shown in FIG.
The only difference is that 9 is not installed.

When the key top 95 is pressed, the lower surface of the slide shaft 96 is pressed by the pressing portion 9 of the click plate 90 '.
1 is pressed and crushed, and the lower surface of the pressing portion 91 presses the switch contact b of the switch board 81 'to turn it on.

FIG. 9 is a view showing the state of the click plate 90 'when the switch contact b is turned on. That is, when the slide shaft 96 is lowered, the click plate 90 'is crushed from the state shown in FIG. 9A to the state shown in FIG. Abut. When the slide shaft 96 is further pressed, the upper flexible substrate 82 bends downward as shown in FIG.
The vicinity of the lower end of 1 is deformed. At this time, the switch contact b
Is not on. And then the slide shaft 96
Is pressed, the upper and lower flexible substrates 82 and 83 come into contact with each other, and the switch contact b is turned on, as shown in FIG.

[0013] The push button switch using the click plate made of elastic rubber as described above is compared with the case where a click plate formed by making an elastic metal plate with a dish down is used. This is because the stroke when the push button switch is pressed becomes longer and the pressing load can be increased, so that a reliable pressing feeling can be obtained.

[0014]

However, the above conventional example has the following problems. In the conventional example shown in FIG.
Projections 92, 93 of the click plate 90
When press-fitting, the projections 92 and 93 are soft, so even if they are pressed from above, the projections 92 and 93 are crushed at the entrances of the through holes 88 and 89 and their diameters are enlarged, so that the through holes 8
I don't go inside 8,89. Therefore, the projections 92, 9
No. 3 needs to be pulled into each of the through holes 88 and 89 by using a jig and pulled into the through holes 88 and 89 from the lower surface side of the switch board 81 (the diameter of the projections 92 and 93 becomes thinner by pulling, so that they can be easily pressed). However, this operation is performed for each projection 92, 9
Since it is necessary to perform the operation one by one for every three, the workability when attaching a large number of click plates 90 to the switch substrate 81 is extremely poor.

Even if the projections 92 and 93 are press-fitted into the through holes 88 and 89 in this manner, it is difficult to reliably bring the click plate 90 into close contact with the switch board 81.
If the click plate 90 is fixed in an inclined state without being in close contact, the operation of the click plate 90 is not reliable,
The operation feeling becomes worse. This problem is caused by the protrusions 92 and 93 of the click plate 90 'on the rigid substrate 85 shown in FIG.
Also occurs when press-fitting.

In the conventional example shown in FIG. 7, in order to fix the click plate 90 to the switch substrate 81, it is necessary to provide projections 92 and 93 on the click plate 90 and to provide through holes 88 and 89 in the switch substrate 81. However, this complicates the structure, and the through-holes 88 and 89 provided in the switch board 81 complicate the design when arranging the conductor pattern on the switch board 81.
This problem also occurs in the conventional example shown in FIG.

The push-button switch 80 'shown in FIG. 8 has a structure in which a pressing portion 91 made of elastic rubber is pressed against the upper flexible substrate 82 and bent to turn on the switch contact b. Due to the change in the hardness of the elastic rubber or the change in the tension of the flexible substrate 82, the pressing force when the switch contact b is turned on changes, and a stable pressing force cannot be obtained.

If the elastic rubber is too soft or the tension of the flexible board 82 is too strong, the switch contact b may not be turned on without pushing the upper flexible board 82 in some cases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a push button switch which can be easily and reliably manufactured, has a simple structure, and can switch on and off a switch contact with a stable pressing force. And a push button switch.

[0020]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a first step of fixing a click plate to a pressing member in advance, and disposing a switch board below the pressing member to which the click plate is fixed. Then, the push button switch is manufactured by the second step of positioning the click plate on the switch contact provided on the switch substrate. Further, according to the present invention, on a switch contact provided on a switch substrate, a click plate made of elastic rubber having a bowl-down shape and provided with a pressing portion for pressing the switch contact at the center thereof is further placed. A push button switch provided with a pressing member made of a hard synthetic resin for pressing the pressing portion of the click plate, wherein a hole penetrating the pressing portion of the click plate is provided, and the click plate is provided on the lower surface of the pressing member. The protrusion is press-fitted into the hole and fixed, and the lower end of the protrusion is set so as to be recessed from the lower surface of the pressing portion, and the size of the recess is reduced by being pressed by the pressing member. The recess has such a size that the protrusion comes into contact with and presses the switch substrate when the pressing portion is further pressed from the state where the lower surface of the portion is in contact with the switch substrate.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing a push button switch 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 4B is a side sectional view, and FIG. 4B is a main part side sectional view showing an engagement state between the hole 33 of the click plate 30 and the protrusion 41 of the slide shaft 40.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the push button switch 10 is configured by disposing a click plate 30, a slide shaft 40 and a key top 43 on a switch contact A of a switch substrate 20. Hereinafter, each component will be described.

The switch board 20 is configured by laminating a first flexible board 21, a spacer 25, and a second flexible board 23. Then, the contact pattern 21a provided on the first flexible board 21 and the contact pattern 23a provided on the second flexible board 23 are opposed to each other via a hole 25a provided in the spacer 25,
A switch contact A is configured. A hard substrate 26 is provided on the lower surface of the switch substrate 20, and supports the switch substrate 20.

The click plate 30 is entirely formed integrally with elastic rubber, and has a bowl-like shape. In the center of the click plate 30, a columnar pressing portion 31 is provided.
Is provided, and a circular hole 3 penetrating in the vertical direction is provided at the center thereof.
3 are provided. A step 33a is formed inside the hole 33 by changing the inner diameter as shown in FIG.

The slide shaft 40 is made of a hard synthetic resin.
3 is provided with a columnar projection 41 that is press-fitted into the projection 3. As shown in FIG. 3B, a step portion 41a is formed on the outer periphery of the projection 41 by changing its outer diameter. Here, the outer diameter of the upper portion of the step 41a of the projection 41 is
The inner diameter of the upper portion of the step 33a of the hole 33 of the click plate 30 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the click plate 30, and the hole 33 is configured to tighten the projection 41 when both are engaged.

On the other hand, the slide shaft 40 and the key top 4
3 are integrally fixed, and the slide shaft 43
Is supported by a guide hole 47 provided in the case 45 so as to be vertically movable.

In order to assemble the push button switch 10, first, the protrusion 41 at the lower end of the slide shaft 40 is pressed into the hole 33 of the click plate 30 to fix them together. This press-fitting is performed by inserting the hard protrusion 41 into the hole 33 of the soft click plate 30.
The diameter of the hole 33 can be easily expanded and can be easily and reliably performed.

Next, the slide shaft 40 is connected to a case 45.
And a switch contact A of the switch board 20 is disposed below the slide shaft 40 to which the click plate 30 is attached. Then, the key top 43 is attached to the upper end of the slide shaft 40.
Thus, the push button switch 10 is completed. Since the click plate 30 is fixed to the slide shaft 40 in this manner, the switch contact A of the switch substrate 20 is securely formed.
The lower surface of the click plate 30 is easily and surely brought into close contact with the switch substrate 20.

When the key top 43 is pressed, the lower surface of the slide shaft 40 is pressed by the pressing portion 31 of the click plate 30.
Is pressed to crush the side wall 35 of the click plate 30 to generate a click sensation, and the lower surface of the pressing portion 31 and the lower surface of the projection 41 press the switch contact A of the switch substrate 20 to turn it on. is there.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the state of the click plate 30 when the switch contact A is turned on. That is, when the slide shaft 40 is pressed and lowered, the click plate 3
In the state 0, the side wall 35 is crushed from the state shown in FIG. 1A to the click state, as shown in FIG. 2B, and the lower surface of the pressing portion 31 contacts the switch substrate 20. When the slide shaft 40 is further pressed,
As shown in FIG. 3C, the upper flexible substrate 21
Is bent downward, and the vicinity of the lower end of the pressing portion 31 is deformed, and the lower surface of the projection 41 contacts the flexible substrate 21. At this time, the upper flexible substrate 21 has not yet contacted the lower flexible substrate 23, and the switch contact A has not been turned on.

Further, when the slide shaft 40 is further pressed, the projection 41 becomes the main body rather than the pressing portion 31 and presses the switch contact A, and as shown in FIG. At least, the switch contact A is turned on.

According to this embodiment, even if the hardness of the elastic rubber forming the click plate 30 changes or the tension of the flexible substrate 21 changes, the hard protrusion 41 will eventually become the switch contact A. Will be pressed,
The switch contact A can be stably turned on and off stably.

Further, since the slide shaft 40 is pressed and first comes into contact with the switch substrate 20 and presses the switch substrate 20, the pressing portion 31 of the elastic rubber click plate 30 absorbs the contact noise between them. Thus, the operation sound of the switch can be reduced, and the shock at the time of contact between the two is weakened, so that the deterioration of the flexible substrate constituting the switch substrate 20 is reduced, and the durability is improved.

In the above embodiment, the tip of the projection 41 is configured not to protrude downward from the lower surface of the pressing portion 31. However, the projection 41 is extended and the tip is
May protrude downward from the lower surface of the. In this case, only the projection 41 presses the switch contact A.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment shown in the figure is different from the first embodiment in that the hole 33 'provided in the pressing portion 31' of the click plate 30 'is not formed as a through hole but is formed in a concave shape, and the projection 41 provided in the slide shaft 40 also has the same shape. The length is the same as the depth of the hole 33 '. The inner diameter of the hole 33 ′ is configured to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the projection 41. As a result, the protrusion 41 is press-fitted into the hole 33 ', and the two are integrated.

With this configuration, the switch contact A is pressed by the lower end of the pressing portion 31 'of the click plate 30', but the lower end of the projection 41 is located near the lower end of the pressing portion 31 '. Therefore, even if the pressing portion 31 'is soft, the protrusion 41 reinforces the pressing portion 31', so that the switch contact A can be stably turned on and off stably. Other effects also occur in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment shown in the drawing differs from the above embodiment in that a movable contact 57 made of a conductive rubber plate is attached to the lower surface of a pressing portion 51 so that a click plate 50 with a movable contact is provided.
And that the switch substrate is a hard switch substrate 2
The switch contact A 'provided on the switch substrate 20' is formed by bringing the two conductor patterns 58 and 59 close to each other as shown in FIG. Then, the key top 43 is pressed and the click plate 5 with the movable contact is pressed.
When the movable contact 57 of the zero pressing portion 51 is brought into contact with the switch contact A ', the space between the conductor patterns 58 and 59 is turned on. In addition, in the case of this embodiment, the hole 5 provided in the pressing portion 51 is also provided.
The inner diameter of 3 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the projection 41,
As a result, the projection 41 is press-fitted into the hole 53, and the two are integrally fixed. Also, in the case of this embodiment, the effects produced in each of the above embodiments are produced.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 4 is different from the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in that a hole 53 'provided in a pressing portion 51' of a click plate 50 'having a movable contact is provided with a movable contact 5.
7 'and a hard substrate 2
0 'is provided with a through hole 20a, and furthermore, the projection 41' of the slide shaft 40 is made longer so that the hole 5 of the pressing portion 51 'is formed.
3 'and press-fit into the through hole 20 of the rigid substrate 20'.
a is penetrated so as to be vertically movable.

In this embodiment, since the projection 41 'is vertically movably inserted and guided in the through hole 20a of the rigid substrate 20', the slide shaft 40 can be reliably supported. Even if the end of 43 (for example, the arrow C portion shown in the figure) is pressed, the slide shaft 40 and the pressing portion 51 'of the click plate 50' with a movable contact are lowered in parallel, so that a stable click feeling is obtained. Switch contact A 'and movable contact 57'
(I.e., chattering can be prevented).

In each of the above embodiments, the slide shaft is used as the pressing member for pressing the click plate. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the key top itself may press the click plate.

[0041]

As described above in detail, the push button switch according to the present invention has the following excellent effects. In the case of the first aspect of the present invention, a push button switch is manufactured by preparing a member in which a click plate is fixed to a pressing member (slide shaft) in advance, and arranging a switch board under the click plate. The click plate can be easily and reliably fixed to the member, and the click plate can be easily and reliably disposed and fixed on the switch board.
In addition, since it is not necessary to provide a hole or a projection for fixing the click plate on the switch substrate as in the related art, the lower surface of the click plate can be securely adhered to the switch substrate, and the arrangement of the conductor pattern on the switch substrate The turning can be performed freely without being restricted by the holes and protrusions.

On the other hand, in the case of the second aspect of the present invention, since the pressing member is pressed and first comes into contact with and presses the switch substrate, the pressing portion of the elastic rubber click plate is used. The contact noise of the switch is absorbed and the switch operation noise can be reduced, and the impact at the time of contact between the two is weakened, so that the deterioration of the switch board is reduced and the durability is improved. Presses the switch contacts, so that the switch contacts can be stably turned on and off reliably even if the hardness of the elastic rubber forming the click plate changes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a push button switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a click plate 3 when a switch contact A is turned on.
It is a figure showing a state of 0.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a main part plan view showing a switch contact A ′.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a conventional push button switch.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing another conventional push button switch.

FIG. 9 shows the click plate 9 when the switch contact b is turned on.
It is a figure which shows the state of 0 '.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Push button switch 20 Switch board 30 Click plate 31 Pressing part 33 Hole 40 Slide shaft (pressing member) 41 Projection A Switch contact

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first step of fixing a click plate to a pressing member in advance, and arranging a switch substrate below the pressing member to which the click plate is fixed, and positioning the click plate on a switch contact provided on the switch substrate. A method for manufacturing a push button switch, comprising: 2. A click plate made of an elastic rubber having a bowl-down shape and provided with a pressing portion for pressing the switch contact at the center thereof is mounted on the switch contact provided on the switch board, and further on the click plate. A push button switch provided with a hard synthetic resin pressing member for pressing the pressing portion of the click plate, wherein a hole penetrating the pressing portion of the click plate is provided, and the lower surface of the pressing member is provided on the click plate. A projection which is pressed into the provided hole and fixed is provided, and the lower end of the projection is installed so as to be recessed from the lower surface of the pressing portion, and the size of the recess is pressed by the pressing member. A push button having a recess dimension such that the protrusion comes into contact with and presses the switch substrate when the pressing portion is further pressed from the state where the lower surface of the lowered pressing portion is in contact with the switch substrate; Switch.