JP3106443U - Flexible switch - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a flexible switch that has a simple configuration and has no insensitive direction over 360 degrees and can be easily installed on a curved surface portion as well as a flat surface portion.
A flexible switch according to the present invention includes a core electrode 2 made of a copper wire having conductivity and flexibility, and having a lead wire 11 connected to an end portion thereof, and is wound spirally around the outer periphery of the core electrode 2 An insulator 3 made of an insulating synthetic resin, and an outer electrode 4 made of a cylindrical conductive rubber having conductivity and flexibility, the inner peripheral surface of which is arranged on the outer periphery of the insulator 3 and facing the core electrode 2; An outer peripheral insulator made of a mesh-like electrode 5 that is connected around the outer electrode 4 and has a conductive lead 12 connected to a conductive end, and a flexible insulating synthetic resin covering the mesh-like electrode 5. 6.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a flexible switch, and more particularly to a flexible switch that has no non-sensing direction and can be easily attached not only to a flat surface but also to a curved surface.

A conventional long switch 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The long switch 30 shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 includes a switch portion 33 constituted by a pair of electrode plates 31 and 32 formed in a plate shape and a strip shape in an outer cover 34 made of an insulating material. The electrode plates 31 and 32 are brought into contact with each other via an outer cover 34 by an external force F acting in a vertical direction with respect to the mounting surface, and the switch operation is performed.

  In general, the plate-like electrode plates 31 and 32 of the long switch 30 are arranged in parallel with the mounting surface 35. Such a conventional long switch 30 is used, for example, for detecting collision by being attached to a bumper or the like of an unmanned vehicle.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 13, when such a long switch 30 is used by being attached to an attachment surface such as a door tip 41 of a vehicle door 40, the door tip 41 of the vehicle door 40 is bent. If it is a straight shape without any, the switch function of the long switch 30 can be exhibited without any trouble.

  However, in recent years, there have been an increasing number of cases in which the outer shape of a railway vehicle body is configured in a curved shape with a lower portion as viewed from the traveling direction of the vehicle, such as a Shinkansen vehicle or a limited express train vehicle.

  For this reason, the shape of the door of a railway vehicle is also formed in the curved shape where the lower part curved. When the long switch 30 is attached to the door toe of such a door and it is intended to detect that a passenger's human body or foreign object is caught, the shape of the long switch 30 is also bent at the door toe of the door. A curved shape corresponding to is required.

However, in the case of the conventional long switch 30, it is impossible to make such a bent shape due to the restriction of the bendable direction of the electrode plates 31 and 32.
That is, the bendable direction of the electrode plates 31 and 32 is the thickness direction thereof, and the electrode plates 31 and 32 cannot be bent in the longitudinal direction and the width direction orthogonal to the thickness direction.

  As a conventional technique, as shown in FIG. 14, a pair of conductive wires 51, 52 are wound in a double spiral shape around a flexible insulating wire material that is a core body 50 to be continuous in a spiral shape. There is also known a flexible switch which is configured as an electrode, the outer periphery of which is covered with a cylindrical conductive rubber 53 for transmitting an external force, and the outer periphery coating 54 made of an insulating material is further covered. .

In the case of this flexible switch, when the external force F acting on the cylindrical conductive rubber 53 is a point push, there is a problem that a non-sensing portion exists.
That is, as shown in FIG. 14, the cylindrical conductive rubber 53 or the external force F is deformed to come into contact with a pair of conductive wires 51 and 52 that are continuous in a spiral shape. Depending on the location where F acts, the pair of conductive lines 51 and 52 does not exist at that location, and an insensitive portion occurs at this location. This means that in the flexible switch shown in FIG. 14, the sensing area has a specific direction rather than the entire outer periphery, that is, the entire 360 degrees.

In Patent Document 1, a resistor is spirally wound around a pair of elongated insulating core members at a predetermined pitch, and by pressing one of a plurality of switch members disposed at predetermined intervals above the pair of insulating core members, A long switch device is disclosed in which a spirally wound resistor is made conductive. However, also in the case of this switch device, the sensing region has a specific direction rather than the entire outer periphery of the switch device, that is, the entire 360 degrees.
JP 2004-179037 A

  The problem to be solved is that there is no insensitive direction over 360 degrees with a simple configuration, and there is no flexible switch that can be easily installed on a curved surface as well as a flat surface.

  A flexible switch according to the present invention includes a conductive and flexible linear core electrode, an insulator spirally wound around the outer periphery of the core electrode, and an inner periphery disposed on the outer periphery of the spiral insulator. A cylindrical outer electrode having a conductivity and flexibility with a peripheral surface facing the core electrode, a mesh electrode having conductivity disposed around the outer electrode, and a flexible electrode covering the periphery of the mesh electrode The most important feature is to have a peripheral insulator having a property.

The present invention has the following effects.
In other words, according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the coil is spirally wound between the linear electrode having conductivity and flexibility and the cylindrical outer electrode using conductive rubber. Since it is configured to perform the switching operation by deforming the outer electrode by the action of external force and bringing it into contact with the cardiac electrode by the action of external force, the electrical resistance component at the on time is small while being a simple configuration, It is possible to provide a flexible switch that has uniform switch sensitivity, has no insensitive direction over 360 degrees, and can be easily installed on a curved surface portion as well as a flat surface portion. Further, since the lead wire is connected to the end portion of the core electrode and the end portion of the mesh electrode, a flexible switch that can be easily connected to the signal processing switch circuit can be provided.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a flexible switch that has a simple configuration, has no insensitive direction over 360 degrees, and can be easily installed on a curved surface portion as well as a flat surface portion. A core electrode made of copper wire and connected to a lead wire at the end; an insulator made of an insulating synthetic resin spirally wound around the outer periphery of the core electrode; and an inner peripheral surface disposed on the outer periphery of the insulator The lead electrode is connected to the end using an outer electrode made of a cylindrical conductive rubber with conductivity and flexibility facing the core electrode, and a tin-plated copper wire with conductivity placed around the outer electrode. This is realized by a configuration having a mesh electrode and a peripheral insulator made of a flexible insulating synthetic resin covering the mesh electrode.

  A flexible switch 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The X, Y, and Z coordinate axes orthogonal to each other are defined as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and will be described below.

  A flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is made of a conductive and flexible copper wire having a circular cross section, for example, and has an end connected to one end of a lead wire 11; An insulator 3 made of an insulating synthetic resin (for example, PET; polyethylene terephthalate) spirally wound around the outer periphery of the core electrode 2, and disposed on the outer periphery of the insulator 3, and an inner peripheral surface thereof is the insulator 3. An outer electrode 4 made of a cylindrical conductive rubber having conductivity and flexibility opposite to the core electrode 2 via a wire, and a conductive tin-plated copper wire disposed around the outer electrode 4 And a mesh-like electrode 5 formed in a net shape by a tin-plated lead wire having one end of the lead-out lead wire 12 connected to an end portion thereof, and a flexible insulating synthetic resin (for example, covering the circumference of the mesh electrode 5) PVC: Polyvinyl chloride And an outer peripheral insulator 6 made Lumpur).

  The other ends of the lead wires 11 and 12 are connected to a switch circuit 13 that processes the on / off signal of the flexible switch 1.

Next, the operation of the flexible switch 1 according to this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the operation of the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment. When the external force F does not act, the core electrode 2 and the outer electrode 4 in the flexible switch 1 have a small interval due to the presence of the insulator 3. The flexible switch 1 is in an off state as shown in the left column of FIG.

  Now, assuming that the external force F acts on the flexible switch 1 from the X direction, for example, the outer peripheral insulator 6, the mesh electrode 5, and the outer electrode 4 of the corresponding portion are deformed by the external force F, and the inner peripheral portion of the outer electrode 4. Comes into contact with the core electrode 2, whereby the flexible switch 1 is turned on as shown in the right column of FIG. 5. When the external force F is removed, the flexible switch 1 returns to the off state by the restoring force of the outer electrode 4 made of conductive rubber.

  Even if the direction of action of the external force F described above is, for example, the Y direction, or any direction other than the X direction and the Y direction, the flexible switch 1 is at its action point in the same manner as described above. Turns on. Therefore, the flexible switch 1 can function over 360 degrees in all directions on its outer periphery, that is, can function as a switch having no insensitive direction.

  When attention is paid to the electrical resistance component viewed from the lead-out portions of the lead wires 11 and 12 in the above-described ON state, the core electrode 2 is interposed between the lead wires 11 and 12 as shown in FIG. The outer electrode 4 and the mesh electrode 5 are present. Among these, since the core electrode 2 is formed of a copper wire and the mesh electrode 5 is formed of a tin-plated copper wire, these electric resistance components are small. Further, since the outer electrode 4 is made of conductive rubber, its electric resistance component is larger than that of the core electrode 2 and the mesh electrode 5, but as described above, the mesh electrode 5 is applied at the portion where the external force F acts. Between the electrode 2 and the core electrode 2 is the thickness of the outer electrode 4.

  That is, in the ON state of the flexible switch 1, the electrical resistance component involves not only the entire outer electrode 4 but the thickness of the outer electrode 4, and the electrical resistance of the core electrode 2 and the mesh electrode 5. It can be said that the component is small enough not to be a problem. As a result, it is possible to function as the flexible switch 1 having only a small electric resistance component while adopting the outer electrode 4 made of conductive rubber.

  In addition, the electrical resistance component of the core electrode 2 and the mesh electrode 5 is small enough not to cause a problem even if the point of action of the external force F is in any region in the length direction of the flexible switch 1. Since only the thickness is involved, there is no inconvenience that the electric resistance component differs depending on the position of the acting point of the external force F, and thus the electric resistance in the on state over the entire length direction of the flexible switch 1. It can function as the flexible switch 1 having equal switch sensitivity with equal components.

  Next, a specific use example of the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment is bent and attached to the door tip portion 21 of the door 20 of the railway vehicle according to the bent shape in the Z direction. . In FIG. 7, for the X, Y, and Z coordinate axes orthogonal to each other, the length direction of the railway vehicle is defined as the X direction, the width direction is defined as the X direction, and the height direction is defined as the Z direction.

  When the flexible switch 1 is bent and attached to the door tip portion 21 of the door 20 of the railway vehicle and is in the off state, when the door 20 closes toward the door holding portion 22, there is a passenger or luggage. When an external force F acts on any part of the flexible switch 1 (regardless of a straight part or a bent part), the direction is the X direction (the direction toward the end face of the door tip part 21), the Y direction (the door tip part). In any case, the flexible switch 1 is in the on state as described above, thereby causing an abnormal state indicating the presence of a passenger or luggage regardless of the direction of the external force F. It can be detected reliably.

  FIG. 8 shows an example in which the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment is installed in a curved shape corresponding to the curved surface on a curved installation surface 24 (for example, a bumper outer surface of an automobile). In this case, the external force acting on the flexible switch 1 on the installation surface 24 can be sensed as described above, and the switch operation can be executed reliably.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment is installed on the installation surface 25 having a bent shape as a shape corresponding to the bent surface. In this case as well, as in the case shown in FIG. 8, the external force acting on the flexible switch 1 on the installation surface 25 can be sensed as described above, and the switch operation can be executed reliably. As described above, the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment is simplified corresponding to a wide range of installation surface shapes such as an installation surface in which a straight portion and a bent portion are continuous, an installation surface that is all curved, and a curved surface. In addition, it is possible to realize a reliable switch operation without insensitive direction.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 10, the manufacturing method and manufacturing means regarding the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

First, as shown at the top in FIG. 10, a linear insulator 3 made of an insulating synthetic resin is spirally wound around the outer periphery of a core electrode 2 made of a conductive and flexible copper wire. To do.
Next, as shown in the second stage in FIG. 10, the outer peripheral electrode 4 made of cylindrical conductive rubber having conductivity and flexibility is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the outer periphery of the core electrode 2 and the insulator 3. Is placed opposite to the outer periphery of the core electrode 2.

  Next, as shown in the third stage in FIG. 10, a mesh electrode 5 using a tin-plated copper wire having conductivity is placed around the outer electrode 4. Next, as shown in the fourth stage in FIG. 10, the periphery of the mesh electrode 5 is covered with a peripheral insulator 6 made of an insulating synthetic resin having flexibility.

  Further, as shown in the lowermost stage in FIG. 10, one end of each of the lead wires 11 and 12 is connected to the end of the core electrode 2 and the end of the mesh electrode 5. The other ends of the lead wires 11 and 12 are connected to the switch circuit 13.

According to such a manufacturing method and manufacturing means, through a series of steps as shown in FIG. 10, it has a simple configuration as described above, has bendability in an arbitrary direction, and is sensitive to 360 degrees. The flexible switch 1 having a direction can be easily manufactured.
That is, according to such a manufacturing method and manufacturing means, through a series of steps, the electrical resistance component at the time of on-state as described above is small, the switch sensitivity is uniform, and there is no insensitive direction over 360 degrees, And the manufacturing method and manufacturing means which can manufacture the flexible switch which can be easily installed also to a curved surface part as well as a plane part are realizable. Moreover, according to the manufacturing method and manufacturing means including the step of connecting the lead conductor, a flexible switch that can be easily connected to the signal processing switch circuit can be obtained.

  The total length of the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment can be selected from a wide range according to the purpose, such as several centimeters to several meters, and the outer diameter of the flexible switch 1 according to the present embodiment is also set. Of course, a wide range can be selected according to the purpose.

  In addition to the cases described above, the present invention can be widely used for applications such as automobiles, ships, robots, etc. that are attached to predetermined places of various objects having a flat or curved installation surface to reliably perform switch operations. is there.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of a part of flexible switch which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing along the length direction of a part of flexible switch which concerns on a present Example. It is sectional drawing of the one part radial direction of the flexible switch which concerns on a present Example. It is a partial notch perspective view of a part of flexible switch which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the ON state of the flexible switch which concerns on a present Example. It is equivalent circuit explanatory drawing of the ON state of the flexible switch which concerns on a present Example. It is a perspective view which shows the attachment state to the railway vehicle of the flexible switch which concerns on a present Example. It is a figure which shows the installation state to the curved attachment surface of the flexible switch which concerns on a present Example. It is a figure which shows the installation state to the bent attachment surface of the flexible switch which concerns on a present Example. It is process explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of a flexible switch concerning a present Example, and a manufacturing means. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the conventional long switch. It is a perspective view which shows a pair of electrode plate of the conventional long switch. It is a perspective view which shows the usage example of the conventional long switch. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the conventional flexible switch.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible switch 2 Core electrode 3 Insulator 4 Outer electrode 5 Mesh electrode 6 Outer peripheral insulator 11 Lead-out conductor 12 Lead-out conductor 13 Switch circuit 20 Door 21 Door tip part 22 Door-to-door part 24 Installation surface 25 Installation surface F External force

Claims (3)

A conductive and flexible linear heart electrode;
An insulator spirally wound around the outer periphery of the core electrode;
A cylindrical outer electrode having electrical conductivity and flexibility, the inner peripheral surface of which is disposed on the outer periphery of the spiral insulator and facing the core electrode;
A conductive mesh electrode disposed around the outer electrode;
A flexible peripheral insulator covering the periphery of the mesh electrode;
A flexible switch comprising: A heart electrode made of copper wire having conductivity and flexibility;
An insulator made of an insulating synthetic resin spirally wound around the outer periphery of the core electrode;
An outer electrode made of a cylindrical conductive rubber having a conductive and flexible inner surface disposed on the outer periphery of the insulator and facing the core electrode;
A mesh electrode using a tin-plated copper wire having conductivity disposed around the outer electrode;
A peripheral insulator made of an insulating synthetic resin having flexibility covering the periphery of the mesh electrode;
A flexible switch comprising: A core electrode made of a copper wire having conductivity and flexibility, with a lead wire connected to the end,
An insulator made of an insulating synthetic resin spirally wound around the outer periphery of the core electrode;
An outer electrode made of a cylindrical conductive rubber having a conductive and flexible inner surface disposed on the outer periphery of the insulator and facing the core electrode;
A mesh electrode having a conductive lead-plated copper wire disposed around the outer electrode and connecting a lead wire to the end portion; and
A peripheral insulator made of an insulating synthetic resin having flexibility covering the periphery of the mesh electrode;
A flexible switch comprising:

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