JP4703552B2 - Illumination member for switch and switch device using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a switch illuminating member that is incorporated in a switch device including a plurality of switch elements that are individually pressed and driven by a plurality of operation keys to illuminate the operation key group, and a switch that uses the switch illuminating member Relating to the device.

  For example, in an input unit such as a cellular phone, the operation key group for individually pressing and driving a plurality of switch elements is easy to use even in a dark place. Accordingly, an illumination member is often incorporated which illuminates characters, symbols, and the like of the operation key group. As a conventional example of such a switch device with an illumination function, a structure in which a light source such as an LED is mounted in the vicinity of each bottom surface of the operation key group on a substrate on which the switch element group is disposed is widely known. However, in such a conventional structure, since many light sources have to be mounted on the substrate, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost and power consumption increase.

Therefore, in recent years, a light source is attached to one end of a light guide plate made of a flexible translucent resin, this light guide plate is placed on a substrate so as to cover the switch element group, and the light source is connected to the substrate. As a result, each operation key can be driven to press the movable contact of each switch element toward the fixed contact via the light guide plate, and the light of the light source introduced from one side end is refracted by the illumination portion of the light guide plate. There has been proposed a switch device with an illumination function that is projected onto the bottom surface of the operation key group (see, for example, Patent Document 1). When a flexible light guide plate capable of introducing light from the light source from one side end portion is used as described above, the number of light sources can be greatly reduced, so that manufacturing cost and power consumption can be reduced.
JP 2001-167655 A (page 3-4, FIG. 2)

  However, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, not only the work of attaching a light source to one end of a flexible light guide plate is complicated, but also when the light guide plate is placed on a substrate, the light source There is a problem that the assembly workability is poor because a complicated operation for electrically connecting the substrate to the substrate is required.

  In order to improve the assembly workability, the present inventors have mounted a light source on a substrate on which a switch element group is disposed, and assembled a flexible light guide plate on the substrate, thereby the light guide plate. However, the light guide plate is made of a flexible material, so that the light source plate is likely to be displaced with respect to the light source. It has been found that the amount of incident light is extremely reduced when it is lifted off the substrate. Also, if the edge of the light guide plate on the light source side is adhered to the substrate to prevent floating, irregular reflection is likely to occur at the adhered portion, so that an undesired spot near the operation key is illuminated or light loss accompanying it It has also been found that another problem arises that an operation key far from the light source cannot be illuminated with a sufficient amount of light.

  The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the prior art, and the first object thereof is that the assembly workability is good and the manufacturing cost and power consumption can be reduced, and the incident light quantity is insufficient and undesired irregular reflection. An object of the present invention is to provide an illuminating member for a switch which is less likely to cause the problem. A second object of the present invention is to provide a switch device using such a switch illumination member.

In order to achieve the first object, the switch illumination member of the present invention is provided between a light source and a substrate on which a plurality of switch elements are disposed, and a plurality of operation keys for driving the switch elements. The flexible light guide plate is provided, and a part of the side end surface of the flexible light guide plate serves as a light incident portion into which light from the light source is incident, and a plurality of locations of the flexible light guide plate An illuminating part for a switch provided with an illuminating part facing the bottom surface of the operation key, wherein the light incident part of the flexible light guide plate is opposed to the light emitting part of the light source in a proximity state, and the flexible member at a location removed the light incident part in the light source-side edge portion of the light guide plate, a mounting portion for fixing the flexible light guide plate directly to the substrate provided, wherein the Allowed from the light incident portion Light introduced into the flexible light guide plate is projected onto the bottom surface of the operation key via the illumination unit. Uni constructed, the plurality of switch elements, and a plurality of fixed contacts provided on the substrate holds a plurality of movable contacts capable separable in these fixed contact groups on one side of the flexible sheet, the movable A sheet member with a contact which is a fixed portion bonded to the substrate in a predetermined area where no contact group exists, and the flexible light guide plate is laminated on the other surface of the flexible sheet, the mounting portion of the flexible light guide plate has a structure that is directly fixable to the substrate without overlapping with the flexible sheet.

  In the illuminating member for a switch configured in this way, it is only necessary to mount the light source on the substrate, so that the assembly workability is better than the structure in which the light source is attached to the flexible light guide plate and then connected to the substrate. Moreover, since the side end surface of the flexible light guide plate is opposed to the light emitting portion of the light source in a close state, the number of light sources can be greatly reduced, and the manufacturing cost and power consumption can be reduced. In addition, since the mounting portion is provided at a position where the light incident portion is removed at the light source side edge of the flexible light guide plate, it is possible to prevent the edge from being lifted and to avoid a shortage of incident light amount. The amount of light that is irregularly reflected by the is extremely small. Therefore, it is easy to illuminate the operation key group with a sufficient amount of light, and there is less possibility of illuminating an undesired portion, and high-quality illumination can be realized.

Further, in the above-described switch illumination member , the plurality of switch elements hold the plurality of fixed contacts provided on the substrate and the plurality of movable contacts that can be brought into and out of contact with the fixed contact group on one surface of the flexible sheet. And a sheet member with a contact having a predetermined region where the movable contact group does not exist as a fixed portion bonded to the substrate, and the flexible light guide plate on the other surface of the flexible sheet since you have a configuration that is laminated, it is possible to arrange collectively a plurality of movable contacts on the substrate, and a flexible light guide plate easily be arranged with high positional accuracy with respect to the movable contact group Therefore, the assembly workability is extremely good .

  Also, in the above-described switch illumination member, when the corner of the flexible light guide plate is fixed to the substrate directly or indirectly through another member, the flexible light guide plate is effectively prevented from being lifted. In addition, even if there is light that is diffusely reflected at the corners of the flexible light guide plate and leaks to the outside, most of the light is blocked by the housing of the device main body and so on, so the influence on the illumination quality is extremely small.

  Further, in the above-described switch illuminating member, if the flexible light guide plate has a positioning hole for defining a mounting position with respect to the substrate, the flexible light guide plate can be easily and highly accurately attached to the substrate. Can be assembled.

In order to achieve the second object, a switch device according to the present invention includes a light source mounted on a substrate, a plurality of fixed contacts provided on the substrate, and a plurality of contacts that can be contacted with and separated from these fixed contact groups. The movable contact is held on one surface of the flexible sheet, and a predetermined region where the movable contact group does not exist is a fixed member bonded to the substrate, and a sheet member with a contact is formed on the other surface of the flexible sheet. A flexible light guide plate having a light incident portion into which light from the light source is incident as a part of the side end surface that is laminated and provided with illumination portions at a plurality of locations facing the bottom surface of the operation key group; A plurality of operation keys for individually pressing and driving the movable contact group via the flexible light guide plate and the flexible sheet, and the flexible light guide plate at least removes the illumination unit. to secure the flexible light guide plate in a plurality of locations that the substrate directly to And a part of the mounting part is provided at a position where the light incident part is removed at an edge of the flexible light guide plate on the light source side. The light incident portion of the light guide plate is opposed to the light emitting portion of the light source in a proximity state, and light introduced from the light incident portion into the flexible light guide plate passes through the illumination portion to the bottom surface of the operation key. The mounting portion of the flexible light guide plate is directly fixed to the substrate without overlapping with the flexible sheet .

  In the switch device configured as described above, since the light source may be mounted on the substrate, the assembly workability becomes better than the structure in which the light source is attached to the flexible light guide plate and then connected to the substrate. Since the side end face of the flexible light guide plate is opposed to the light emitting portion of the light source in the proximity state, the number of light sources can be greatly reduced, and the manufacturing cost and power consumption can be reduced. In addition, a plurality of movable contacts can be collectively arranged on the substrate, and the flexible light guide plate can be easily arranged with high positional accuracy with respect to the movable contact group. Workability is extremely good. In addition, since the attachment portion is provided at a position where the light incident portion is removed at the edge portion on the light source side of the flexible light guide plate, it is possible to prevent the rise of the edge portion and avoid a shortage of incident light, and the attachment portion. The amount of light that is irregularly reflected by the is extremely small. Therefore, it is easy to illuminate the operation key group with a sufficient amount of light, and the possibility of illuminating an undesired portion is reduced, and high-quality illumination can be realized.

  The switch illuminating member of the present invention only has to mount the light source on the substrate, so that the assembly workability is better than the structure in which the light source is attached to the flexible light guide plate and then connected to the substrate. Since the side end face of the flexible light guide plate is opposed to the light emitting portion of the light source in the proximity state, the number of light sources can be greatly reduced, and the manufacturing cost and power consumption can be reduced. In addition, since the mounting portion is provided at the light source side edge of the flexible light guide plate where the light incident portion is removed, it is possible to prevent the edge from being lifted and avoid the shortage of incident light, and the mounting portion. The amount of light that is irregularly reflected by the is extremely small. Therefore, it is easy to illuminate the operation key group with a sufficient amount of light, and the possibility of illuminating an undesired portion is reduced, and high-quality illumination can be realized.

  Since the switch device of the present invention only has to mount the light source on the substrate, the assembling workability is better than the conventional structure in which the light source is attached to the flexible light guide plate and then connected to the substrate. Moreover, since the side end surface of the flexible light guide plate is opposed to the light emitting portion of the light source in a close state, the number of light sources can be greatly reduced, and the manufacturing cost and power consumption can be reduced. In addition, a plurality of movable contacts can be collectively arranged on the substrate, and the flexible light guide plate can be easily arranged with high positional accuracy with respect to the switch element group. Workability is extremely good. In addition, since the attachment portion is provided at a position where the light incident portion is removed at the edge portion on the light source side of the flexible light guide plate, it is possible to prevent the rise of the edge portion and avoid a shortage of incident light, and the attachment portion. The amount of light that is irregularly reflected by the is extremely small. Therefore, it is easy to illuminate the operation key group with a sufficient amount of light, and there is less possibility of illuminating an undesired portion, and high-quality illumination can be realized.

  BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a switch device according to a first embodiment of the present invention with a lid case omitted, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the switch device. FIG.

  The switch device shown in these drawings includes a substrate 1 on which the LED 2 is mounted, a plurality of operation keys 3 disposed in the opening 4a of the lid case 4, a sheet member 5 with a contact placed on the substrate 1, It is mainly comprised by the flexible light-guide plate 6 laminated | stacked on this sheet | seat member 5 with a contact. On the upper surface of the substrate 1, a fixed contact 7 and a common contact 8 are disposed below each operation key 3, and both the contacts 7 and 8 are exposed with a predetermined interval. Further, the substrate 1 is provided with a wiring pattern, a through hole, etc. (not shown) derived from the fixed contact 7 and the common contact 8. The LED 2 is a light source for illuminating each operation key 3 in a dark place. The light emitting portion 2a of the LED 2 faces the central portion of the side end surface 6a along one side end of the flexible light guide plate 6 in a close state, and is emitted from the light emitting portion 2a and introduced into the flexible light guide plate 6. The emitted light is projected onto the bottom surface of the operation key 3 via the illumination part 6 b of the light guide plate 6.

  The contact-attached sheet member 5 is obtained by adhering and holding a plurality of movable contacts 9 that can come in contact with and separate from the group of fixed contacts 7 at a plurality of locations on the lower surface of the flexible sheet 10. Moreover, the area | region where the movable contact 9 group does not exist in the lower surface of the flexible sheet | seat 10 becomes the fixing | fixed part 11 to which the adhesive tape was attached, and flexible by the adhesive layer 11a of this fixing | fixed part (adhesive tape) 11 A sheet 10 is fixed to the substrate 1. However, when the sheet member with contacts 5 is stored or transported, a release tape (not shown) is pasted on the adhesive layer 11a of the fixing portion 11, and the release tape is attached at the stage of fixing the flexible sheet 10 to the substrate 1. It peels and the adhesion layer 11a is exposed.

  The movable contact 9 is formed of a metal leaf spring that is formed in a dome shape and generates a click feeling when reversed, and its upper surface is bonded to the lower surface of the flexible sheet 10. When the flexible sheet 10 is positioned and fixed on the substrate 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral portion of the movable contact 9 abuts against the common contact 8 and is always conductive, and the central portion of the movable contact 9 is It faces the fixed contact 7 so as to be able to contact and separate.

  The flexible light guide plate 6 is formed by molding a flexible material such as urethane or silicon into a sheet shape, and is laminated on the upper surface of the flexible sheet 10 of the sheet member 5 with a contact. ing. On the upper surface of the flexible light guide plate 6, an illumination unit 6 b for refracting the light traveling through the light guide plate 6 and projecting it upward is provided at a location facing the bottom surface of the operation key 3. Moreover, the center part of the side end surface 6a of the flexible light-guide plate 6 is the light-incidence part 6c into which the light from LED2 injects. As shown in FIG. 1, two corner portions and two portions adjacent to the light incident portion 6c among the edge portions on the LED 2 side of the flexible light guide plate 6 are attachment portions 6d, as shown in FIG. In addition, these attachment portions 6d are directly fixed to the substrate 1 by the adhesive 12 without overlapping the flexible sheet 10 of the sheet member 5 with a contact. Further, two corner portions of the flexible light guide plate 6 on the side opposite to the LED 2 are attachment portions 6e fixed to the corner portions of the flexible sheet 10 by an adhesive (not shown). The flexible light guide plate 6 and the flexible sheet 10 are provided with positioning holes 6f (the positioning holes of the flexible sheet 10 are not shown) for defining the mounting position with respect to the substrate 1 at two locations corresponding to the flexible light guide plate 6 and the flexible sheet 10. Is formed. The mounting portion 6d is formed with reference to the positioning hole 6f so as not to fall within the range of the light emission angle from the LED 2 when the flexible light guide plate 6 is mounted on the substrate 1.

  The operation key 3 is mounted on the illuminating portion 6 b of the flexible light guide plate 6 placed on the substrate 1 so as to be movable up and down, and is prevented from being removed by the lid case 4. Although not shown, a light emitting portion on which characters, symbols, and the like are printed is provided on the upper surface of the operation key 3, and the light emitting portion emits light by the light of the illumination portion 6b projected from the bottom surface side. ing.

  Next, the operation of the switch device configured as described above will be described. When the user pushes down the desired operation key 3, the movable contact 9 is pressed and driven through the flexible light guide plate 6 and the flexible sheet 10, so that when the operation key 3 is lowered by a predetermined stroke, it is movable. The center portion of the contact 9 is reversed and contacts the fixed contact 7. As a result, the fixed contact 7 and the common contact 8 are brought into conduction through the movable contact 9, so that the switch is switched on. In addition, since a click feeling is generated when the movable contact 9 is reversed, the user can feel that the pressing operation has been reliably performed by the click feeling. When the pressing operation force with respect to the operation key 3 is removed, the movable contact 9 returns to its original dome shape by its own elasticity, and the flexible light guide plate 6 and the flexible sheet 10 are also prevented from bending. The operation key 3 is pushed up to the initial position.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the LED 2 as the light source is mounted on the substrate 1 and the light emitting portion 2a of the LED 2 is opposed to the side end face 6a of the flexible light guide plate 6 in a close state. In addition, light can be efficiently projected from each illumination portion 6b of the flexible light guide plate 6 toward the bottom surface of each operation key 3. Therefore, not only can the number of light sources be greatly reduced to reduce the manufacturing cost and power consumption, but also the assembly workability compared to the structure in which the light sources are connected to the substrate after being attached to the flexible light guide plate. Becomes better.

  Further, in the present embodiment example, the mounting portion 6d is provided at two locations where the light incident portion 6c is removed at the edge portion of the flexible light guide plate 6 on the LED 2 side, so that the lifting of the edge portion is prevented. Thus, the shortage of incident light quantity can be avoided, and the light that is irregularly reflected by the mounting portion 6d is extremely reduced. Therefore, it is easy to illuminate the operation key group 3 with a sufficient amount of light, and there is less possibility of illuminating an undesired portion, thereby realizing high-quality illumination. If the mounting portions 6d and 6e are provided at the corners of the flexible light guide plate 6 as in this embodiment, the flexible light guide plate 6 can be effectively prevented from being lifted and the corners can be prevented. Even if there is light that is irregularly reflected at the portion and leaks to the outside, most of the light is blocked by the lid case 4 or the like, so the influence on the illumination quality is extremely small.

  In this embodiment, the sheet member 5 with a contact formed by holding the movable contact 9 group on the lower surface of the flexible sheet 10 is used, and the flexible light guide plate 6 is provided on the sheet member 5 with the contact. Therefore, the movable contact 9 group can be arranged on the substrate 1 at a time, and the flexible light guide plate 6 can be easily arranged with high positional accuracy with respect to the movable contact 9 group. And therefore the assembly workability is very good.

  In the present embodiment example, the flexible light guide plate 6 is formed with positioning holes 6f for defining the mounting position with respect to the substrate 1, so that the substrate 1 can be inserted by inserting a positioning pin during mounting. On the other hand, the flexible light guide plate 6 can be assembled easily and with high accuracy.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of the switch device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  In the switch device shown in FIG. 3, the flexible light guide plate 6 is laminated and integrated on the sheet member 5 with contacts in advance before assembling to the substrate 1, and the flexible light guide plate 6 attaches the flexible sheet 10. The second embodiment is greatly different from the first embodiment described above in that it is indirectly fixed to the substrate 1 via the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, the flexible light guide plate 6 has a plurality of attachment portions 6 g fixed to the upper surface of the flexible sheet 10 by the adhesive 13 except for the illumination portion 6 b, but the attachment portion 6 g is acceptable. The site | part welded to the flexible sheet | seat 10 by thermocompression bonding, laser welding, ultrasonic welding, etc. may be sufficient, for example. Further, if a similar mounting portion 6g is provided at a position where the light incident portion is removed at the edge portion on the LED 2 side of the flexible light guide plate 6, lifting of the edge portion is prevented, and an insufficient incident light amount can be avoided. The light irregularly reflected by the mounting portion 6g is reduced, and good illumination quality can be ensured.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the switch device according to the third embodiment of the present invention with the cover case omitted, and the same reference numerals are given to the parts corresponding to those in FIG. Omitted.

  The switch device shown in FIG. 4 has two LEDs 2 arranged side by side on the substrate 1, and both the LEDs 2 are opposed to the side end face 6 a along one side edge of the flexible light guide plate 6 in the proximity state. This is greatly different from the first embodiment. However, in this third embodiment, mounting portions 6d and 6e are provided only at the four corners of the flexible light guide plate 6, and mounting portions are provided in the vicinity of the light incident portions 6c into which light from the respective LEDs 2 is incident. Is not provided. This is to prevent the irregular reflection part from increasing due to the enlargement of the light incident part 6c.

It is a top view which abbreviate | omits a cover case and shows the switch apparatus which concerns on the example of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the switch apparatus shown in FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing of the switch apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a top view which abbreviate | omits a cover case and shows the switch apparatus which concerns on the example of 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 substrate 2 LED (light source)
2a Light emitting part 3 Operation key 4 Cover case 5 Sheet member with contact 6 Flexible light guide plate 6a Side end face 6b Illumination part 6c Light incident part 6d, 6e, 6g Mounting part 6f Positioning hole 7 Fixed contact 8 Common contact 9 Movable contact 10 Flexible sheet 11 Fixing part 11a Adhesive layer

Claims (4)

A flexible light guide plate interposed between a light source and a substrate on which a plurality of switch elements are disposed and a plurality of operation keys for pressing and driving the switch elements is provided on the side of the flexible light guide plate. A switch illuminating member having a part of an end surface as a light incident portion into which light from the light source is incident, and an illuminating portion that faces the bottom surface of the operation key at a plurality of locations of the flexible light guide plate. ,
The light incident portion of the flexible light guide plate is opposed to the light emitting portion of the light source in a proximity state, and the light incident portion is removed at the light source side edge of the flexible light guide plate, a flexible light guide plate is provided a mounting portion for fixing to the substrate directly to, before the light introduced into the flexible light guide plate within the light input portion of the operation key via the illumination portion Configured to be projected on the bottom ,
The plurality of switch elements hold a plurality of fixed contacts provided on the substrate and a plurality of movable contacts that can be contacted / separated with the fixed contact group on one surface of the flexible sheet, and the movable contact group exists. And a sheet member with a contact that is a fixed portion bonded to the substrate, and the flexible light guide plate is laminated on the other surface of the flexible sheet,
An illuminating member for a switch , wherein the attachment portion of the flexible light guide plate can be directly fixed to the substrate without overlapping the flexible sheet . 2. The switch illumination member according to claim 1 , wherein a corner portion of the flexible light guide plate is fixed to the substrate directly or indirectly through another member. 3. The switch illumination member according to claim 1, wherein a positioning hole for defining an attachment position with respect to the substrate is formed in the flexible light guide plate. 4. A light source mounted on a substrate, a plurality of fixed contacts provided on the substrate, and a plurality of movable contacts that can be brought into and out of contact with the fixed contact group are held on one surface of the flexible sheet, and the movable contact group A sheet member with a contact that has a predetermined region that does not exist as a fixing portion to be bonded to the substrate, and is laminated on the other surface of the flexible sheet so that light from the light source is incident on a part of the side end surface. A flexible light guide plate which is not a light incident part and has illumination parts provided at a plurality of locations facing the bottom surface of the operation key group, and the movable contact group via the flexible light guide plate and the flexible sheet. A plurality of operation keys for individually pressing and driving, and
It said flexible light guide plate has a mounting portion for fixing the flexible light guide plate in a plurality of locations has been removed at least the illumination unit to directly to the substrate, and a portion of the An attachment portion is provided at a place where the light incident portion is removed at an edge portion on the light source side of the flexible light guide plate,
The light incident portion of the flexible light guide plate is opposed to the light emitting portion of the light source in a proximity state, and light introduced from the light incident portion into the flexible light guide plate is transmitted through the illumination portion to the operation. Configure to project on the bottom of the key ,
The switch device , wherein the mounting portion of the flexible light guide plate is directly fixed to the substrate without overlapping the flexible sheet .

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