JPH077036U - switch - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To obtain a switch that can be reliably operated without requiring a large pressing force. A first electrode layer 52 and a second electrode layer 54 that face each other with an electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 in between are provided, and the first electrode layer 5 is provided.
A prismatic actuator 49 is provided at a position facing the elongated hole 57 in the coating layer 58 that covers 2 and the actuator 49 concentrates the pressing force. The actuator 49 has an arrow O from the side of the vehicle.
When the pressing force in the UT direction acts, the pressing force is transmitted to the first electrode layer 52 through the coating layer 58, the first electrode layer 52 is deformed in the elongated hole 57 and comes into contact with the second electrode layer 54, The membrane switch 42 is turned on.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a switch in which a pair of facing electrode layers are pressed and deformed from a position where they are separated from a position where they are in contact with each other to electrically connect the electrode layers.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 BACKGROUND ART An airbag device is known as a device for protecting an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision.

Normally, in the case of a collision from the front of the vehicle, the vehicle sudden deceleration is detected and the air bag device is operated. However, even in the case of a side collision, the airbag device is operated. It is proposed to activate. For this purpose, a side impact detection sensor that detects a side impact is required.

As the side collision detection sensor, a thin switch 102 capable of directly cutting a squib current as shown in FIG. 8 can be used. In this switch, a pair of electrode layers 104 and 106 are arranged to face each other, and a frame-shaped electrode interlayer insulating layer 108 is interposed between the facing surfaces of the electrode layers 104 and 106. The outer surface of each of the electrode layers 104 and 106 is covered with a pair of facing synthetic resin coating layers 110 and 112, and the peripheral portions of the facing surfaces of the coating layers 110 and 112 are bonded with an adhesive.

When the switch 102 is applied to a side collision detection sensor, the switch 102 is provided inside a vehicle door (not shown) with the facing direction (OUT direction in the drawing) of the electrode layers 104 and 106 being the vehicle lateral direction. When the door is deformed by the impact load due to the side collision and the outer surfaces of the coating layers 110 and 112 are pressed in the direction opposite to the arrow OUT direction, the electrode layers 104 and 106 are separated from each other in the frame 120 of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 108. Is pressed and deformed to the contact position, electrical connection is established between the electrode layers 104 and 106, and an electric signal is output to the airbag device side to operate the airbag device.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, even if a load acts in the load direction, the electrode layers 104 and 106 are separated from each other through the frame 120, so that the external force acting in the direction opposite to the arrow OUT direction has a large contact area. Since the electrode layer 106 is not partially deformed, it may be difficult to contact the electrode layer 104 with a small external force.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention has an object to obtain a switch that can be reliably operated without requiring a large pressing force.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 A switch according to the present invention comprises a pair of electrode layers facing each other and a pair of electrode layers spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance so that the pair of electrode layers are separated from each other by a predetermined distance. And a pair of electrode spacing members that allow the electrode layers to be pressed and deformed into a contact state in which the electrode layers are in contact with each other, and the electrode layers are formed outside the frame and are formed at positions facing each other between the electrode spacing members. It is characterized by having a projecting portion that projects.

[0009]

[Action]

 In the switch according to the present invention, for example, when the switch is applied to a vehicle side collision detection sensor and the vehicle door is deformed due to an impact load, the pair of the electrode layers are deformed by the deformed position of the door. The protrusion that is formed at a portion facing the electrode separating member and that protrudes outward from the frame is pressed. Thereby, the electrode layer is deformed from the separated position to the contact position between the pair of electrode separating members, and the electrode layers are electrically connected to each other, so that the air bag device can be operated.

[0010]

【Example】

 A switch according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In each figure, FR indicates the front of the vehicle, UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and OUT indicates the outer side in the lateral direction of the vehicle.

2 to 4 show a side collision detection sensor using the switch according to this embodiment. The side collision detection sensor includes a primary sensor 10 and a secondary sensor 12, and is provided inside the door 11 of the vehicle.

The secondary sensor 12 is fixed to the lateral side of the vehicle with respect to the side impact beam 14 for reinforcing the door that extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In the secondary sensor 12, as shown in FIG. 4, the substrate 16 is fixedly attached to the peripheral surface of the side impact beam 14, and the substrate 16 is provided with a concave portion 18 that is opened outward in the lateral direction of the vehicle. A membrane switch 20 is fixed to the bottom of the recess 18, and the recess 18 is closed by a cover plate 22. The substrate 16, the concave portion 18, the membrane switch 20, and the cover plate 22 which form the secondary sensor 12 each extend over the entire length of the side impact beam 14 in the longitudinal direction, and the external shape of the secondary sensor 12 as a whole is It is formed in a long plate shape with the front-rear direction as the longitudinal direction and the vehicle up-down direction as the width direction.

In the secondary sensor 12, when an impact load is applied to the lid plate 22 from the outside in the vehicle lateral direction via the door 11 of the vehicle, the lid plate 22 is pressed inward in the vehicle lateral direction and the shape of the recess 18 is formed. And the membrane switch 20 in the recess 18 is pressed. As a result, the membrane switch 20 is actuated, and the occupant protection device (not shown) is connected via the pair of terminal plates 24, 26 connected to the membrane switch 20 and projecting in an L-shape above the vehicle at the vehicle front end, For example, an electric signal is output to an airbag device or the like.

On the other hand, a plurality of primary sensors 10 are mounted on the secondary sensor 12 at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction thereof (in FIG. 3, three primary sensors 10 are mounted). ). As shown in FIG. 4, in each primary sensor 10, a lower plate 28 is attached to the secondary sensor 12. The lower plate 28 is composed of a pair of opposing pieces 30 and a back piece 32, and is formed in a substantially U shape when viewed from the vehicle front-rear direction. The back piece 32 contacts the surface of the secondary sensor 12 on the outer side in the vehicle lateral direction. The facing piece 30 is elastically engaged with the secondary sensor 30 so as to sandwich the upper and lower ends of the secondary sensor 12. Therefore, the primary sensor 10 can be attached to and detached from the secondary sensor 30 and can be attached at any position.

On the back piece 32 of the lower plate 28, an upper plate 34 is provided on the side opposite to the secondary sensor 12. The upper plate 34 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the lateral direction of the vehicle, one end of which in the vehicle front-rear direction is a fixed end portion 36 fixed to the lower plate 28, and the other end is fixed to the lower plate 28. Instead, the free end portion 38 is slidably contacted in the vehicle front-rear direction. The central portion of the upper plate 34 in the vehicle front-rear direction is curved in an arc shape around the vehicle vertical direction line and is formed to bulge outward in the vehicle lateral direction. Within the curved portion 40, the top portion of the curved portion 40 is formed. A membrane switch 42 is accommodated and arranged along.

The membrane switch 42 is formed in a long plate shape, and has a vehicle up-down direction as a longitudinal direction and a vehicle front-rear direction as a width direction, and upper and lower end portions thereof are located between a lower plate 28 and an upper plate 34 in an upper and lower outer direction. It is attached to the lower plate 28 side in a state of being projected. A pair of notches 44 are formed on the upper and lower ends of the upper plate 34 along the vehicle front-rear direction, and the claw pieces 46 are provided on the back piece 32 of the lower plate 28 in correspondence with the notches 44. It is provided. Each claw piece 46 is formed so as to stand up in an L shape, and is locked and fixed so as to sandwich the membrane switch 42 from both sides in the width direction of the membrane switch 42.

The curved portion 40 of the upper plate 34 spreads by sliding the free end portion 38 of the upper plate 34 when a shock load is applied from the outside in the vehicle lateral direction through the door 11 of the vehicle. It is elastically deformed toward the switch 42.

Although the secondary sensor 12 operates under a high load to operate the airbag device, the primary sensor 10 operates under a low load, and if the plurality of primary sensors 10 do not operate, The airbag device is not activated. When the impact load is dispersed and applied to the door 10 (for example, when another vehicle collides with the door of the own vehicle), the impact load is partially high enough to activate the secondary sensor 12. When the load is not the load but the air bag device needs to be operated as a whole, the airbag device is operated by the operation of the plurality of primary sensors 10.

On the contrary, when the impact load is concentrated on a certain part of the door 11 (for example, when the door 11 of the own vehicle collides with a pole such as a utility pole), the impact load is applied to the air bag device. If the high load is required to be activated, the secondary sensor 12 is activated and the airbag device is activated regardless of whether the primary sensor 10 is activated or not.

Regarding the primary sensor 10, since the airbag device is not activated unless the plurality of primary sensors 10 are activated, the primary sensor 10 returns to the original state again after the impact load is removed. To prepare for the next impact load.

Next, the membrane switch 42 of the primary sensor 10 will be described in detail. In this membrane switch 42, as shown in FIG. 1, a first electrode layer 52 and a second electrode layer 54 constitute a pair of electrode layers and are opposed to each other. The facing direction of the electrode layers 52 and 54 is the vehicle lateral direction, the first electrode layer 52 is located outside the vehicle lateral direction, and the second electrode layer 54 is located inside the vehicle lateral direction. Both electrode layers 52 and 54 are formed in a rectangular plate shape when viewed from the facing direction, as shown in FIG. That is, each of the electrode layers 52, 54 has a layer thickness direction as the vehicle lateral direction, extends long in the vehicle up-down direction with the vehicle front-rear direction as the width direction, and has a longitudinal end at one end (upper end). The first terminal plate 48 and the second terminal plate 50 are integrally formed so as to extend. The widths of the terminal plates 48 and 50 are formed to be narrower than the widths of the electrode layers 52 and 54. 6 are extended from the opposite ends of the terminals (FIG. 6), and the tips of the terminal plates 48, 50 are widened and bent in an L-shape so as to be opposite to each other. Further, both the first terminal plate 48 and the second terminal plate 50 are bent so that they are flush with each other. Note that phosphor bronze is used as a material for the electrode layers 52 and 54 and the terminal plates 48 and 50.

An electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 made of synthetic resin is interposed between the electrode layers 52 and 54. The electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the facing direction of the electrode layers 52 and 54, and its peripheral portion slightly protrudes outward from the peripheral surface of the facing surfaces of the electrode layers 52 and 54. Further, the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 is formed in a frame shape with a long hole 57 extending in the vehicle up-down direction at the center portion in the width direction, and is formed into a frame shape. The pole separating member is formed. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used as the material for the electrode interlayer insulating layer.

On the other hand, the outer surface of the first electrode layer 52 is covered with a first coating layer 58, and the outer surface of the second electrode layer 54 is covered with a second coating layer 60 facing the first coating layer 52. ing. Peripheries of the facing surfaces of the first coating layer 58 and the second coating layer 60 are joined by a coating adhesive. As a result, the outer surfaces of the electrode layers 52, 54 and the outer surface of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 protruding outward from between the opposed surface peripheral portions of the electrode layers 52, 54 are wrapped. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used as the material of the coating layers 58 and 60.

At the central portion in the width direction of the first coating layer 58 of the membrane switch 42, a rectangular rod-shaped actuator 49 is fixed by adhesion or adhesion along the longitudinal direction of the first coating layer 58. The widthwise dimension L1 of the actuator 49 is smaller than the widthwise dimension L2 of the elongated hole 57 of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56. Further, the longitudinal dimension L3 of the actuator 49 is also formed to be smaller than the longitudinal dimension L4 of the elongated hole 57 of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56, and the actuator 49 has the elongated hole 57 in the first covering layer 58. It is provided in a state of being located inside the facing portion.

Further, the wall thickness dimension of the actuator 49 (vertical dimension in FIG. 1) is made larger than the ON stroke of the membrane switch 42, that is, the wall dimension dimension of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 (vertical dimension in FIG. 1). Therefore, when the actuator 49 receives an impact load, the first electrode layer 52 can be deformed so that the first electrode layer 52 is surely brought into contact with the second electrode layer 54. There is.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. When the door 11 of the vehicle is impacted and deformed, the bending force of the upper plate 34 is also deformed by the deformation force, and the top of the bending portion 40 presses the actuator 49. This pressing force is transmitted to the first electrode layer 52 via the coating layer 58, and the portion of the first electrode layer 52 facing the elongated hole 57 of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 is elastically deformed by the elongated hole 57, From the separated position in contact with the second electrode layer 54 to the contact position, the electrode layers 52, 54 are electrically connected. As a result, an electric signal is output via the terminal plates 48, 50 and the airbag device is activated. When the impact load is removed, the first electrode 52 returns to its original position and is deformed, and the membrane switch 42 is turned off.

In the above embodiment, since the impact load is concentrated and received by the actuator 49 provided on the coating layer 58, the first electrode layer 52 is deformed to the second electrode layer 52 even when a large load is not applied. The electrode switch 54 can be brought into contact with the electrode layer 54, and the operation of the membrane switch 42 can be ensured.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, since the actuator 49 having the widthwise dimension L1 smaller than the widthwise dimension L2 of the elongated hole 57 of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56, the impact load can be received. The actuator 49 can be largely deformed toward the inside of the elongated hole 57 of the electrode interlayer insulation layer 56 by an impact load. Therefore, the first electrode layer 52 can be surely deformed in the elongated hole 57, and the operation of the membrane switch 42 can be surely performed.

A second embodiment of the switch according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the first electrode layer 52 is formed with the protrusion 62 protruding toward the upper plate 34. The protrusion 62 is formed in a portion of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 that faces the elongated hole 57, and the dimension in the width direction (vehicle front-rear direction) is smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the elongated hole 57. Further, the dimension of the protrusion 62 in the longitudinal direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 7) is slightly smaller than the dimension of the elongated hole 57 in the longitudinal direction. The portion of the coating layer 58 covering the first electrode layer 52 corresponding to the protrusion 62 is bent along the outer surface shape of the protrusion 62 and protrudes toward the upper plate 34 side to form a protrusion 58A. There is.

The operation of the second embodiment will be briefly described below. When the door 11 of the vehicle is impacted and deformed, the bending portion 40 of the upper plate 34 is also deformed by the deformation force, and when the top portion of the bending portion 40 presses the protruding portion 52A of the covering layer 58, this pressing force is applied. The pressure is transmitted to the first electrode layer 52 via the protrusions 62, and the portion of the first electrode layer 52 facing the elongated hole 57 of the electrode interlayer insulating layer 56 is elastically deformed by the elongated hole 57, and The electrode layer 52 and 54 are electrically connected to each other from the separated position where they contact the two electrode layers 54 to the contact position.

In this embodiment, the impact load is concentrated and received by the protrusions 62 protruding from the first electrode layer 52. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the first electrode layer 52 is deformed and the second electrode layer 52 is deformed. 54 and the operation of the membrane switch 42 can be ensured.

[0033]

[Effect of device]

 With the above configuration, the switch according to the present invention can provide a switch that can be reliably operated without requiring a large pressing force for operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a sectional view taken along line 1-1 of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a side collision detection sensor provided with a switch according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the rear of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a side collision detection sensor provided with a switch according to the first embodiment as viewed from above the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a side impact detection sensor provided with a switch according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the switch according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view of the switch according to the first embodiment as viewed from the lateral side of the vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view according to a second embodiment of the present invention and corresponds to FIG.

FIG. 8 is an end view of a conventional switch taken along a width direction at an intermediate portion in a longitudinal direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 42 Membrane Switch (Switch) 49 Actuator (Projection) 52 First Electrode Layer 54 Second Electrode Layer 56 Electrode Separation Member

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Hobo Horiba Aichi Prefecture Oguchi-machi Oguchi-machi, Toyota Noda 1 Toda Rika Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takuya Otsuka Toyota Aichi 1 Toyota Town Toyota Motor Corporation Within

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A pair of electrode layers facing each other and a pair of electrode layers which are separated from each other by a predetermined distance and are interposed between the facing surfaces of the pair of electrode layers so that the pair of electrode layers are separated from each other. A pair of electrode spacing members that allow the electrode layers to be pressed and deformed into a contact state in which the layers are in contact with each other, and the electrode layers are formed at portions facing each other between the electrode spacing members and project outward from the frame. A switch having a protrusion.