JPH0590762U - Membrane switch - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To obtain a surface sheet of a membrane switch having a desired design and easily manufactured. In a membrane switch having a surface sheet that can be displayed above a push button switch mechanism section, a display sheet 8 on which an image is created by a computer and output by a color printer, and a transparent film ( A topsheet 10 having a thin film 9 is provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a membrane switch, and more particularly to a surface sheet of a membrane switch that is attached to the upper surface of a push button switch mechanism section.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, in this type of membrane switch, it is general that a surface sheet on which numbers, characters, etc. are displayed is attached to the mechanical portion of the push button switch. As shown in FIG. 5, the printing process of the surface sheet is generally performed by first preparing a drawing, then deciding the design such as colors and preparing a block (step), and based on that, for each color. A film is prepared (step). For example, when three colors are used, three films are made. Next, a silk plate used for printing work was produced for each color using this film (step), and silk printing was performed for each color (step).

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the above-mentioned conventional membrane switch, when a surface sheet that matches the design of the device is used, several types of surface sheets may be produced. When manufacturing this surface sheet, a master copy for printing as described above is required, and there have been problems such as the cost of several kinds of master copy and the time required for its preparation. In addition, each time there was an increase in the type of color, a silk plate of that color had to be made, and there was the problem that more expense and time had to be spent. In addition, with regard to design changes such as letter shape, letter size, and layout, it was necessary to remake the whole copy manuscript.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above problems and provide a membrane switch having a desired design and a surface sheet that can be easily manufactured.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is a membrane switch having a surface sheet that can be displayed above a push button switch mechanism section. The top sheet of the display sheet is provided with a transparent thin film, and the top sheet is provided.

[0006]

[Action]

 According to the present invention, as described above, in the membrane switch having the surface sheet that can be displayed above the push button switch mechanism section, an image is created on the surface sheet by a computer and is output by a color printer. The display sheet and a transparent thin film are laminated on the upper surface of the display sheet.

[0007]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front sectional view of a membrane switch showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a membrane switch showing an embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, the membrane switch comprises a lower contact sheet 2 in which a contact electrode 3 is printed on the surface of an insulating sheet on a base plate 1, a spacer 4 having a through hole 5 on the lower contact sheet 2, and An upper contact sheet 6 having a contact electrode 7 printed on the surface of an insulating sheet on a spacer 4, a display sheet 8 thereon, and a surface sheet 10 having a transparent film (thin film) 9 on the surface are laminated. To do. That is, a spacer 4 is interposed between the opposing contact electrodes of the lower contact sheet 2 and the upper contact sheet 6 to form a gap, and the base plate 1 is on the lower surface of the lower contact sheet 2 and the surface is on the upper surface of the upper contact sheet 6. The sheets 10 are laminated.

Therefore, the surface sheet 10 is composed of the display sheet 8 and the transparent film 9, and the display sheet 8 is designed by, for example, a CAD system or computer graphics, the designed key portion such as numbers and letters is made into a drawing, and the color is designated. Then, the color printer is used to output the desired size, and the product is manufactured. In this way, the transparent film 9 is laminated on the upper surface of the display sheet 8 output by the color printer.

Here, the transparent film (thin film) is formed by laminating a synthetic resin film such as polyester or by coating. When the upper surface of the transparent film 9 displayed by the display sheet 8 is pressed, the membrane switch configured as described above bends the contact electrode 7 of the upper contact sheet 6 and the contact electrode of the lower contact sheet 2. Contact 3. When the pressing force is released, the contact electrode 7 of the upper contact sheet 6 returns to its original state.

FIG. 3 is a manufacturing process diagram of a surface sheet showing an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, first, a drawing is prepared and the drawing is input to a computer (step). Next, the color is designated (step). Then, it is output by the color printer (step). In this way, when the drawing is prepared and the design of the color etc. is determined, the shape, color etc. actually used are input to the computer by CAD and output by the color printer. To change the color, simply change the color code and specify the range of color addition.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of a membrane switch showing another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, in this embodiment, a plurality of push button switches 12 are arranged on a printed circuit board 11 on which a circuit pattern is formed, and a spacer 13 surrounding the push button switches 12 is arranged. A display sheet 14 and a surface sheet 16 composed of a transparent film 15 are attached to the upper surface thereof.

The surface sheet 16 is manufactured as shown in FIG. 3 described above, and is formed by sticking a transparent film 15 on the upper surface of the display sheet 14 as in FIGS. 1 and 2. Regarding the operation, as in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the upper surface of the transparent film 15 on which the display sheet 14 is displayed is pressed, the mechanical portion of the push button switch 12 is activated, and when the pressing force is released, The mechanical section returns to the original state.

The membrane switch of the present invention is not limited to these, and the pushbutton switch mechanical portion is not limited to the one described above, and various types such as a disk-shaped bent spring may be provided. Conceivable. In addition, the above-mentioned display sheet is a thermal sublimation method that sublimes ink and soaks it into the paper, and can express gradation in 1-dot units, and can also perform delicate control of intermediate colors, giving it a high-class feeling similar to that of a photograph. It is optimal because it gives a certain print quality.

Further, if only the design is examined, the transparent film may not be attached to the upper surface of the display sheet. The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the spirit of the present invention, and these modifications are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

[0015]

[Effect of the device]

 As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Since a transparent thin film is provided on the upper surface of the display sheet output by the color printer, it is not necessary to prepare a master copy original as in the conventional case, and a desired design sample is immediately prepared. be able to. Therefore, the product development period can be extremely shortened and the cost can be significantly reduced.

(2) Since the transparent thin film is provided on the upper surface of the display sheet output by the color printer, it is possible to arbitrarily specify the color and size. Has the effect of being extremely easy to perform. (3) A transparent thin film is provided on the upper surface of the display sheet output by the color printer, which is extremely advantageous for trial production. In addition, a transparent film is provided on the upper surface of the display sheet. It is also extremely advantageous for small lot production and high-mix low-volume production, which has been often shunned in the past.

(4) Since the transparent thin film is provided on the upper surface of the display sheet, the display surface is protected and the display is not soiled or disappeared by the operation. Therefore, it can sufficiently withstand use in a bad environment. (5) The display sheet is a thermal sublimation method that sublimates ink and soaks it into the paper, and can express gradation in 1-dot units, and also allows fine control of intermediate colors, giving a high-quality print that is similar to a photograph. Quality is optimal and optimal.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a membrane switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a membrane switch showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a manufacturing process diagram of a surface sheet showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of a membrane switch according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional printing process of a surface sheet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 base plate 2 lower contact sheet 3,7 contact electrode 4,13 spacer 5 through hole 6 upper contact sheet 8,14 display sheet 9,15 transparent film (thin film) 10,16 surface sheet 11 printed circuit board 12 pushbutton switch

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical indication H01H 11/00 C 8410-5G 13/52 E 4235-5G

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A membrane switch having a surface sheet that can be displayed above a push button switch mechanism section. A display sheet for producing an image by a computer and output by a color printer, and a transparent thin film on the upper surface of the display sheet. A membrane switch comprising a surface sheet provided with. 2. The membrane switch according to claim 1, wherein the color printer is of a thermal sublimation system in which ink is sublimated and soaked in a paper.