JPH0541135A - Illumination type push switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a thin and compact illumination type push switch, of which assembling work is facilitated and which has a wide light emitting surface, to be used for an input unit or operation unit of AV equipment or the like. CONSTITUTION:A light emitting button 11, in which a light emitting element 12 is provided, is located at a central part of the flexible insulating film 13 having multiple conductive circuits 14, which are connected to electrodes of the light emitting element 12 respectively to be led to the outside. This insulating film 13 is located on the top surface of an insulating case 15, which is enclosed in a recessed part of a diaphragm type movable contact point 16. Electric power is thereby supplied to the light emitting button 11 through the conductive circuits 14 to emit the light, and while the light emitting button 11 is supported freely to move upward and downward to switch the movable contact point 16. Thin lighting push switch, of which assembly is facilitated and which has a wide light emitting surface, is thereby obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an illuminated push switch used for an input section, an operation section, etc. of electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional illuminated push switch will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of a conventional illuminated push switch, and FIG. 12 is a side sectional view of the switch.
FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the switch.

In FIGS. 11 to 13, reference numeral 1 denotes a box-shaped insulating case (hereinafter simply referred to as a case), which contains a diaphragm-shaped movable contact 2 made of a conductor and is opened and closed by the movable contact 2. The conductive fixed contacts 1a and 1b are integrally formed on the case 1 with a part of the bottom exposed to the outside, and the other ends of the fixed contacts 1a and 1b serve as terminals 1c to guide signals to the outside. ..

A push button 3 has a protrusion 3a on its bottom surface for pushing the diaphragm-shaped movable contact 2.
A light emitting diode 5 (hereinafter referred to as L
The LED 5 has a concave portion 3b and a groove portion 3c so that the LED 5 can freely move up and down while surrounding it (described as ED), and is inserted in the concave portion of the case 1 so as to overlap the diaphragm-shaped movable contact 2.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a cover plate made of a thin plate, and a square hole 4a for inserting the push portion 3d of the push button 3 and a case 1
Caulking holes 4b for inserting the projections 1d and crushing the tip by caulking or the like to fix to the case 1 are provided, and they are inserted and fixed to the case 1 respectively.

Reference numeral 5 is a light emitting diode (LED). The main body 5a which emits light is arranged inside the recess 3b of the push button 3, and the tip 5c of the conductive terminal 5b is inserted into the terminal holding hole 1e of the case 1 and the tip 5c. It is fixed by a method such as twisting.

Next, the operation and action of this conventional illuminated push switch will be described.
It is fixed to and can emit light by passing an electric current from the tip 5c of the conductive terminal 5b.

When the push portion 3d of the push button 3 is pushed, the center of the diaphragm-shaped movable contact 2 is pushed by the projection 3a on the lower surface of the push button 3 without affecting the LED 5 and the case is inverted. The fixed contacts 1a and 1b are short-circuited to operate as a switch. Thus, even in the conventional illuminated push switch, L
The ED 5 is turned on and emits light, and also operates as a switch.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional illuminated push switch, it is necessary to form a recess or groove in the push button in order to incorporate the LED, and when mounting the LED, the center of the recess is to be mounted. LED
Since the main body part is stored and the conductive terminal is passed through the groove, and the tip of the conductive terminal is passed through the terminal insertion hole of the case and twisted and fixed, the structure and combination are complicated, and many assembly steps are required. The quality level was not stable, and the product was large and thick.

Further, the push button for operating the switch needs a concave portion for eliminating interference with the LED fixed on the upper surface thereof and a groove portion on the side surface for allowing the conductive terminal to escape. It had a drawback that light was leaked to.

Furthermore, a large LED cannot be used to eliminate interference with the push button, the light emitting surface is small and visibility is poor, and since the light emitting surface is small, the light from the internal light emitting source is uniformly dispersed. As a result, there is a problem that a uniform light emitting surface without uneven brightness cannot be obtained.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and simplifies the combination and makes it thin and compact.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an illuminated push switch that has a large light emitting surface to prevent light leakage, enhances visibility, and enables uniform illumination with less brightness unevenness.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an illuminated push switch according to the present invention comprises a light-emitting button having a light-emitting element built-in and a periphery covered with an insulating resin, and the light-emitting button arranged at the center. A flexible structure that supports a light emitting button in the central portion, which is connected to each electrode of the light emitting element and has a plurality of independent conductive paths that are connected to the outside by being led out in the outer peripheral direction so as to be vertically movable. Insulative film, a diaphragm-shaped movable contact disposed below the light emitting button, a fixed contact at the bottom center and an outer peripheral portion disposed below the insulating film, and a box shape including the movable contact. It is composed of an insulating case.

[0014]

With the above structure, that is, a push button as a switch operating portion is combined with a light emitting button having a function of emitting light such as an LED, a flexible insulating film for vertically movable support, and an insulating film on the insulating film. By forming a conductive path that has a power supply function for the light emitting button and integrally configuring the terminal part for connection to the outside, the light emitting button can freely move up and down by external operation while emitting light. , It is also possible for the push projection to have the function of operating the switch by reversing the diaphragm-shaped movable contact of the switch.

As described above, since the light emitting button is provided on the upper surface of the switch with the functions of both the operating portion and the light emitting portion of the switch, the operability and the visibility are simultaneously improved in the limited switch space. Further, it can be made thinner and smaller, and can be easily assembled.

[0016]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an illuminated push switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view thereof, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing its component structure. ..

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a light emitting button made of a transparent insulating resin such as epoxy or polyetherimide. The light emitting button 11 has a light emitting element 12 such as an LED built therein and has a push projection 11a integrally formed with the light emitting element 12. Reference numeral 13 denotes a flexible insulating film, which is formed integrally with the light emitting button 11. The insulating film 13 is provided with a plurality of conductive paths 14 each having one end connected to each electrode of the LED by wire bonding or the like and the other end continuously connected to a terminal portion 14a connected to an external circuit. .. Also, this insulating film 1
The outer peripheral portion of 3 is fixed to the upper surface of the insulating case 15 with an adhesive, an adhesive or the like, and supports the light emitting button 11 at the center so as to be vertically movable.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a diaphragm-type movable contact similar to the conventional illuminated push switch, which is formed by processing a thin metal plate having a spring property into a hemispherical dome shape. The outer periphery is a fixed contact 17a built in a box-shaped insulating case 15.
It rides on top and is housed in the concave portion of the insulating case 15 so that the upper surface of the central convex portion is in contact with the push projection 11 a on the lower surface of the light emitting button 11.

The fixed contacts 17a and 17b are independently connected to the external connection switch terminal 17c and the insulating case 1.
Connected inside 5. Further, the end portion of the insulating film provided with the terminal portion 14a is wound and fixed to the bottom surface portion of the insulating case 15 with an adhesive or the like. Furthermore, the push projection 11a of the light emitting button 11 and the light emitting button 11 are integrally formed through a hole formed in the insulating film 13.

Next, the operation of the illuminated push switch in the above embodiment will be described. By supplying power to the terminal portion 14 a provided on the insulating film 13, the conductive path 14
A current flows to the light emitting element 12 such as an LED via the light emitting element 12 and the light emitting element 12 emits light. In this embodiment, three conductive paths 14 are shown in this embodiment, but one of them is used as a common potential and the other two are independently supplied with opposite potentials.
The two-color light-emitting elements can be made to emit light independently, and three kinds of light emission can be performed when they are respectively independently lit and simultaneously lit.

The light emitting button 11 is fixed with epoxy resin or the like so as to protect the light emitting element 12 from the outside. When the upper portion of the light emitting button 11 is pressed and operated, the light emitting button 11 supported by the flexible insulating film 13 so as to be movable up and down emits light, and the projections 11a for pushing the bottom portion of the light emitting button 11 cause the diaphragm-shaped movable contact 16 to move.
By pressing and reversing and short-circuiting between the fixed contacts 17a and 17b, the fixed contacts 17a and 17b also function as an operating portion of the switch.

Thus, according to the above embodiment, the conductive path 1
Since the flexible insulating film 13 provided with 4 allows the operation portion and the light emitting portion of the switch to be combined and integrated, the combination of the entire illuminated push switch is simplified, and the illuminated push switch is also provided. It is possible to increase the size of the light emitting surface while making the whole thin and small. Moreover, since there is no gap such as a groove on the outer circumference of the light emitting button 11, there is no light leakage and the visibility can be improved. Further, the contact portions (movable contact 16 and fixed contacts 17a, 17b) can be wrapped in the recess of the insulating case 15, which has an effect of protecting from dust, dust, corrosive gas and the like.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of an illuminated push switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a side sectional view thereof, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the construction of its parts. is there. In FIGS. 4 to 6, reference numeral 18 denotes a cover, which has an opening 18 a on the upper surface so as to be exposed by inserting the light emitting button 11 from above the insulating film 13, and a case protruding from the side wall toward the outside of the insulating case 15. Snap-fit hole 18 for snap-fitting and fixing to pawl 15a
It has b on the side. In this embodiment, the cover 18 is attached to the insulating case 15 of the illuminated push switch of the first embodiment, and the operation is the same as that of the first embodiment. The combination of 13 and the insulating case 15 becomes stronger, and the illuminated push switch with higher reliability can be obtained.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a component structure of an illuminated push switch according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a side sectional view thereof. In the figure,
On the side wall of the insulating case 15 in the second embodiment, a concave case side surface recess 15b is newly provided. Further, the light emitting button 11 is provided with a stepped button step portion 11b on the periphery thereof, and a part of the button step portion 11b is cut off to form a button recessed portion 11c, and a strip-shaped insulating film 13 is led out together with the conductive path 14 from this portion. .. The strip-shaped insulating film 13 is combined with the case side surface recessed portion 15b to form the insulating film 13
So that the button step portion 11b overlaps around the opening 18a of the cover 18 and the lateral guide portion 18c of the cover 18 covers the case side surface recessed portion 15b from above the light emitting button 11 formed integrally with the light emitting button 11. On cover 1
8 are combined, and snap fit holes 18b are fixed to the case claws 15a of the insulating case 15 by snap fit.

At this time, below the light emitting button support end 13b of the insulating film 13, the case support end 13c of the bottom surface of the case side surface recess 15b is moved up and down by a distance L, and the movable contact 16 is moved up and down by a movable distance l or more. Is set to.

The operation and effect will be described. In addition to the operation and effect of the second embodiment, the following two features
Have an effect.

(1) Button step portion 11b of the light emitting button 11
Is restricted from moving upward by the lower surface of the cover 18, even if the outer peripheral end of the upper surface of the light emitting button 11 is pressed,
The push projection 11a always moves downward, and the movable contact can be reliably operated.

(2) By pressing the light emitting button 11,
The insulating film 13 always works in a direction in which its tension is reduced due to its positional relationship, and it is possible to reliably transmit the operation feeling generated when the movable contact 16 is reversed without impairing it.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of an illuminated push switch according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is an external perspective view thereof. In FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the light emitting button 11 and the light emitting element 12 such as an LED inside which are formed on the translucent film 19 having an insulating property are arranged on the lower surface side of the translucent film 19 and pushed to the tip thereof. Projection 1
1a is provided and housed in the recess of the insulating case 15 so as to face the hemispherical diaphragm-shaped movable contact 16 and assembled. The surface of the movable contact 16 on the convex side is a metal light-selecting surface, and the concave part of the insulating case 15 can efficiently reflect white light.

The effects of this embodiment will be described as follows: (1) Part of the light emitted from the light emitting element 12 passes directly through the translucent film 19 and the rest goes around along the curved surface of the movable contact 16. It is reflected by and part of it is insulated case 1
5 is also reflected on the side wall of the concave portion of 5 to be sent out to the upper surface through the translucent film 19, so that a wider surface with less unevenness can be illuminated than the entire surface of the circular opening of the insulating case 15. is made of. If this translucent film 19 is processed to scatter milky white light, this effect can be further enhanced.

(2) Further, since the light emitting portion of the light emitting button 11 and the push projection 11a are combined and housed in the recess of the insulating case 15 together with the movable contact 16, the dustproof property is high and the illumination type is very thin. It has the feature that a push switch can be realized.

[0033]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention has the following effects, as is apparent from the above-mentioned embodiments.

(1) By providing an insulating film that movably supports the operation portion of the switch while supplying power, and combining the operation portion and the light emitting portion, the area on the upper surface of the switch, which is conventionally required separately, is reduced to 1 Since the two parts can be used in common, a large operating part and a large light emitting surface can be secured, and the leakage of light in the lateral direction is eliminated, and an illuminated push switch with high operability and visibility can be realized.

(2) Further, by combining the operating portion and the light emitting portion, it is possible to realize an illuminated push switch having a simple structure, easy to assemble and stable in quality.

(3) Further, the light emitting portion is housed in the insulating case to form an extremely thin switch, and the light is reflected and dispersed by the convex side surface of the movable contact and the inner wall of the insulating case. Illumination of a wide surface with less uneven brightness can be realized in a very thin switch.

As described above, the illuminated push switch of the present invention has a great effect and is extremely valuable industrially.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an illuminated push switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same side

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of an illuminated push switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the same side.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an illuminated push switch according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the same side.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of an illuminated push switch according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the same appearance.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of a conventional illuminated push switch.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the same side.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 11 light emitting button 12 light emitting element 13 insulating film 14 conductive path 14a terminal portion 15 insulating case 16 movable contact 17a, 17b fixed contact 18 cover 19 translucent film

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A light-emitting button having a light-emitting element built-in, the periphery of which is covered with an insulating resin, and the light-emitting button is arranged in the center and is connected to each electrode of the light-emitting element and led out in the outer peripheral direction to the outside. A flexible insulating film that supports a light emitting button in the central portion, which has a plurality of electrically conductive paths independent from each other with connecting portions, and is movable up and down, and a diaphragm type movable member disposed below the light emitting button. An illuminated push switch comprising a contact and a box-shaped insulating case which is disposed below the insulating film and has fixed contacts at a center and an outer peripheral portion of a bottom surface and which houses the movable contact. 2. The illuminated push switch according to claim 1, comprising a light emitting button which has a light emitting element built therein and whose periphery is integrally molded with an insulating film on an insulating film. 3. The illuminated push switch according to claim 1, further comprising a cover which has an opening at the center thereof so that the light emitting button is exposed and which is fixed on the upper surface of the insulating case. 4. A portion of the insulating film supporting the insulating film on the outer peripheral end surface portion of the light emitting button is arranged on the lower surface side in the operating direction of the light emitting button, and the vertical distance thereof is set to the movable contact. The illuminated push switch according to claim 1, wherein the movable push-up distance is set to be equal to or greater than a movable distance of vertical movement. 5. An insulating film having a light-transmitting property, wherein a light emitting element in a light emitting button formed on the insulating film is arranged on a lower surface of the insulating film to face a movable contact. Illuminated push switch according to 2, 3, or 4.