JP3101082B2 - Planar 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 planar switch which can be used in various fields such as home use or industrial use and which is switched on by pressing force and switched off by release of pressing force. .

For example, it is incorporated in a bumper of an unmanned vehicle, and detects that the bumper has come into contact with an object or a person.
Used to stop unmanned vehicles, or
When a person enters the swivel area of an arm such as a robot,
It is installed on the floor surface to stop the operation of the robot etc. by stepping on the foot, and also applied to the automatic door to stop the operation of the automatic door by detecting that a person has been caught More specifically, the present invention relates to a planar switch used in various fields such as used in a field switch.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a planar switch, a switch using a coil spring between upper and lower electrodes or a switch using a pressurized conductive rubber is known.

[0004]

In the conventional switch having a coil spring or the like interposed between two electrodes, which is known as a planar switch, the electrodes are brought into contact by contraction of the coil spring due to a pressing force, and the switch is turned on. However, the use of a coil spring or the like increases the thickness of the entire planar switch, which considerably limits the field of use. For example, when such a thick planar switch is incorporated in a machine, the installation place is limited, or the design of the machine itself must be changed. In addition, when such a planar switch is installed on a floor surface, the floor surface has irregularities, which is an obstacle.

[0005] A planar switch having two electrodes arranged so as to sandwich the pressurized conductive rubber is also known. However, the operating pressure of the pressurized conductive rubber is large, and the time until the switch is turned on is relatively long. The switch cannot be used when the sensitivity of the switch is poor and an emergency stop is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable planar switch which is very thin, has good sensitivity, and operates reliably.

[0007]

Means for solving the problems of the conventional planar switch and achieving the above object will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. I do.

[0010] FIG. 4 shows the state of lamination of each component of the planar switch S.
A planar switch S in which a spacer C, an upper electrode B and a pusher A are placed in this order, and the whole is covered with a cover E is shown. As will be described later, the planar switch S can be configured without placing the pusher A. Further, the cover E can be omitted as necessary.

The structure of the pusher A, the upper electrode B, and the spacer C and their positional relationship will be described below in detail.
The lower electrode D in the form of a flat plate is formed of an ordinary conductive plate or foil made of metal or synthetic resin.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pusher A is provided with a bulging portion 1a which is embossed in a circular shape and is raised upward. The bulging portion 1a is formed as a circular bulging portion 1a centered on each corner of the virtual hexagon a indicated by a dotted line. The embossed bulging portion 1a acts as a kind of spring. For example, when a predetermined pressing force acts on the upper portion of the bulging portion 1a, the upper surface of the bulging portion 1a is suddenly recessed downward, and the pressing force is reduced. When released, it has the effect of returning to its original state. Preferably, the presser A is formed by embossing an insulating synthetic resin thin plate.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper electrode B
Is configured as an aggregate of hexagonal constituent units shown as b, and a tongue piece 1b is formed in a cantilever shape from the center of each side of the hexagon toward the center 2b of the hexagon. Extending. When a pressing force acts on these tongue pieces 1b, the tongue pieces 1b move downward, and when the pressing force is released, they return to their original positions due to their elasticity. Preferably, the upper electrode B is formed by punching an elastic conductive metal or synthetic resin thin plate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the spacer C
A hexagonal structural unit b of the upper electrode B, and preferably, a hexagonal space 1c that is the same or slightly smaller than the hexagonal structural unit b is formed in correspondence with the hexagonal structural unit b of the upper electrode B. Have been. Preferably, the spacer C is formed by stamping an insulating synthetic resin plate.

The upper electrode B and the spacer C are arranged so that the center 2b of the hexagonal structural unit b of the upper electrode B and the center 2c of the hexagonal space 1c of the spacer C coincide with each other. And, as described above, the spacer C
The lower electrode D is placed underneath, the upper electrode B, the spacer C
The lower electrode D is covered with a cover E to form a planar switch.

When a pressing force is applied to the upper surface of the planar switch configured as described above, the tongue 1b of the upper electrode B
Shifts downward, comes into contact with the lower electrode D through the space 1c of the spacer C, and is turned on. Then, when the pressing force is released, the tongue piece 1b returns to the original state by the elastic recovery force of the tongue piece 1b itself, and enters the switch-off state.

Next, a case where the pusher A is further placed on the upper electrode B will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the pusher A has a center 2a (see FIG. 1) of a virtual hexagon a of the pusher A, similarly to the positional relationship between the upper electrode B and the spacer C.
) Is the center 2 of the hexagonal structural unit b of the upper electrode B.
b and the center of the space 1c of the spacer C. Then, the pusher A is moved so that the contour 3a of the embossed circular bulge 1a covers a part of the root 5b of the tongue 1b of the upper electrode B as shown in FIG. Are placed on the upper electrode B.

By the way, as described above, when the pressing force acts near the tip of the tongue 1b of the upper electrode B, the tongue 1b can easily move downward even with a weak pressing force, and the lower electrode D contacts the lower electrode D. A switch-on state can be created, but when the pressing force acts on the common corner 3b of each adjacent hexagonal structural unit b of the upper electrode B, for example, the pressing force is not large. Then, the tip of the tongue piece 1b of the upper electrode B does not shift until it comes into contact with the lower electrode D, and the sensitivity of the planar switch deteriorates.

However, when the pusher A having the above structure is placed on the upper electrode B, the pressing force is reduced.
Also acts on the above-mentioned corner portion 3b, a large force is applied to the root portion 5b of the tongue piece 1b of the upper electrode B due to the sudden downward shift of the bulging portion 1a having the spring action of the pusher A. Therefore, the tongue piece 1b is easily displaced downward, and can be brought into contact with the lower electrode D to create a switch-on state, so that a highly sensitive planar switch can be constructed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can adopt various modifications. For example, the shape of the structural unit b of the upper electrode B may be circular or a polygon of various shapes, and the shape of the space of the spacer C may be changed together with the shape of the structural unit b of the upper electrode B. Can also. Further, the shape of the tongue piece 1b of the upper electrode B can be appropriately changed as needed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a gap 4b is provided between adjacent tongue pieces 1b.
In a case where, for example, the soft sponge-shaped cover E comes into contact directly with the cover, the sponge-shaped cover E is inserted into the space 4c of the gap 4b or the spacer C by increasing the gap 4b. In such a case, it is preferable to form the gap 4b in a slit shape because a malfunction may be caused.

[0020]

According to the present invention, since the upper electrode, the spacer, and the lower electrode are formed of a thin plate, the planar switch can be made very thin. There is no obstacle.

As described above, since the switch is very thin, a high-sensitivity planar switch can be formed. In addition, since the upper electrode is brought into contact with the lower electrode by a tongue piece which can be easily shifted downward, further high sensitivity can be achieved. Can be configured.

Further, by placing a pusher having a bulging portion having a spring action on the upper electrode, the tongue of the upper electrode can be displaced downward with a small pressing force, and the planar switch can be moved. A switch-on state can be created immediately even if a pressing force is applied to any part of the body.

Furthermore, the constituent members of the present invention such as the upper electrode and the spacer can be manufactured very easily by punching and the like, and very easy to assemble, as compared with the time-consuming manufacturing of conventional planar switches. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a presser.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an upper electrode.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a spacer.

FIG. 4 is an assembly configuration diagram of a planar switch.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a state where a presser, an upper electrode and a spacer are superimposed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Pusher B Upper electrode C Spacer D Lower electrode E Cover

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01H 13/70 H01H 13/18 H01H 13/52

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A spacer having a space portion is placed on a flat lower electrode, and an upper electrode having a tongue piece which can contact the lower electrode through the space portion of the spacer is placed on the spacer. A planar switch characterized by: 2. The planar switch according to claim 1, wherein a pusher having a bulging portion having a spring action is mounted on the upper electrode. 3. The planar switch according to claim 1, wherein the planar switch is covered with a cover.