JPH1083733A - Membrane switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a shape of an operation body, and obtain stable electric connection in a contact point part even if a membrane switch and the operation body are positionally dislocated at assembling time by arranging contact point pressing projection parts. SOLUTION: An upper wiring base board 1 is formed by printing a conductive layer 1B on an under surface of an insulating film 1A. A lower flexible wiring base board 2 is formed by printing a conductive layer 2B on an upper surface of an insulating substrate 2A. The upper wiring base board 1 and the lower flexible wiring base board 2 are adhered together by pressure sensitive adhesives 3B and 3C of upper and lower both surfaces of a spacer 3, and plural contact point parts 4 where the conductive layers 1B and 2B are opposed to each other, are formed in plural opening holes 3D of the spacer 3. Pressing projection parts 6 to press the plural contact point parts 4 are arranged on an upper surface of the upper wiring base board 1 above the contact point parts 4 formed in the opening holes 3D. Therefore, when an upper surface of an operation body 5 is pressed, the pressing projection parts 6 are pressed, and the upper wiring base board 1 deflects, and the conductive layers 1B and 2B are electrically connected to each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a membrane switch used for various electronic devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional membrane switch will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional membrane switch, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the same. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 denotes an upper wiring board formed by printing a conductive layer 1B on the lower surface of an insulating film 1A. Is the insulating film or insulating substrate 2
A lower wiring board in which a conductive layer 2B is formed on the upper surface of A by printing.

[0004] Reference numeral 3 denotes a spacer disposed between the upper wiring board 1 and the lower wiring board 2. Adhesives 3 B and 3 C are applied to both upper and lower surfaces of an insulating film 3 A, and a plurality of opening holes 3 D and air grooves 3 E are provided. The upper wiring board 1 and the lower wiring board 2 are adhered by the adhesives 3B and 3C of the spacer 3,
A membrane switch is formed in which a plurality of contact portions 4 in which the conductive layer 1B and the conductive layer 2B face each other are formed in the opening 3D.

[0005] Reference numeral 5 denotes an operating body made of a flexible molding resin disposed above the upper wiring substrate 1, and a plurality of projections 5 A provided on the lower surface are provided on the upper surface of the upper wiring substrate 1 above the contact portion 4. Is in contact with

In the above configuration, when the upper surface of the operating body 5 is pressed against the upper surface of the upper wiring substrate 1 above the contact portion 4 when the upper surface of the operating body 5 is pressed, the upper wiring substrate 1 bends and the conductive layer 1B and the conductive layer 2B of the lower wiring board 2 are electrically connected, and when the pressing force of the operating body 5 is removed, the conductive layer 1B is separated from the conductive layer 2B by the elastic restoring force of the upper wiring board 1 and FIG.
To the OFF state.

[0007]

However, in the membrane switch having the above-mentioned conventional configuration, it is necessary to provide a plurality of projections 5A for pressing the contact on the lower surface of the operating body 5, so that the molding die of the operating body 5 becomes complicated. Also, when combining the separately manufactured membrane switch and the operating body 5 in the assembly process of the equipment to be used, the center of the plurality of contact portions 4 and the operating body 5 are combined.
When a displacement occurs at the center of the plurality of projections 5A,
A makes the pressing of the contact portion 4 uncertain and the conductive layer 1B
There is a problem that the electrical connection between the conductive layer 2B and the conductive layer 2B becomes unstable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves such a conventional problem. In addition to simplifying the shape of the operation body, even if the position of the membrane switch and the operation body is displaced during assembly, the operation of the contact portion is prevented. An object of the present invention is to provide a membrane switch capable of obtaining a stable electrical connection.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a membrane switch according to the present invention is provided at a position corresponding to a contact portion formed in a spacer opening on the upper surface of an upper wiring board.
A plurality of contact pressing protrusions are provided, and by pressing the pressing protrusions with an operating body, the respective conductive layers of the upper and lower wiring boards are electrically connected.

According to the present invention, since the plurality of projections on the lower surface of the operating body are not required, the shape of the operating body can be simplified.
Further, even when the position of the membrane switch and the operation body is displaced during the assembly, a stable electrical connection of the contact portion can be obtained.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention relates to an upper wiring board having a conductive layer formed on the lower surface of an insulating film and having a plurality of pressing projections on the upper surface; A lower wiring board having a conductive layer formed on the upper surface thereof, and disposed between the upper and lower wiring boards, having a plurality of openings at positions corresponding to the pressing projections of the upper wiring board, and coated on both surfaces of the insulating film. The upper and lower surfaces except for the opening are adhered to the upper and lower wiring boards by an adhesive, and a flat operation body is disposed above the upper wiring board, and is integrally formed with the membrane switch. It is configured to electrically connect each conductive layer of the upper and lower wiring boards by the pressing projections that have become, so that the operating body that presses the switch has a simple shape and the switch and the operating body are assembled during assembly. An effect that can even occur location deviated obtain stable electrical connection.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the upper wiring board and the lower wiring board are formed of an integral insulating film, and the wiring board is folded with the conductive layer surface inside. Since it has a configuration in which spacers are arranged and the upper and lower wiring boards are formed of a single wiring board, it has the effect of reducing the number of steps for printing the conductive layer on the insulating film and the number of parts used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a predetermined portion of each of the conductive layers of the upper and lower wiring boards is exposed to form an overcoat with a heat-bonding type insulating layer. This is a configuration in which the insulating layers of the upper and lower wiring boards are bonded by heating and pressurization instead of the spacers, and the spacers are not required, which has the effect of reducing the number of parts used and the number of switch assembly steps.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a metal layer such as copper or solder is formed as a conductive layer on the upper and lower wiring boards. In addition, the use of a metal layer as the conductive layer has the effect of improving the electric capacity of the membrane switch.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those described in the section of the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description will be omitted.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a membrane switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the membrane switch. In FIG. 1, a conductive layer is provided on the lower surface of an insulating film 1A. Upper wiring substrate 1 formed by printing 1B
And a conductive layer 2 on the upper surface of the insulating film or the insulating substrate 2A.
Lower flexible wiring board 2 formed by printing B
Are adhered by adhesives 3B and 3C on both upper and lower surfaces of the spacer 3, and the conductive layer 1 is inserted into the plurality of opening holes 3D of the spacer 3.
B and the conductive layer 2B form a plurality of contact portions 4 facing each other, as in the prior art.

However, on the upper surface of the upper wiring substrate 1 above the contact portion 4 formed in the opening 3D of the spacer 3, a pressing projection 6 for pressing the plurality of contact portions 4 is provided. When pressing the upper surface of the operating body 5 disposed above the
The lower surface of the operating body 5 presses the pressing projections 6 so that the upper wiring board 1 bends to electrically connect the conductive layers 1B and 2B.

As described above, the plurality of pressing projections 6 are provided on the upper surface of the upper wiring board 1 above the plurality of contact portions 4, and the pressing projections 6 integrated with the membrane switch are formed on the entire lower surface of the operating body 5. The conductive layer 1B and the conductive layer 2
Since the electrical connection of B is performed, the operation body 5 does not need a projection for pressing a contact and the like, so that the mold can be easily formed with a simple shape, and the switch and the operation body 5 are assembled at the time of assembling the used equipment. Even if displacement occurs, stable electrical connection can be obtained.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a membrane switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 7 denotes a conductive layer 7B and a conductive layer 7C formed on an insulating film 7A by printing. With the formed wiring board, the conductive layer 7B
The adhesives 3B and 3B on the upper and lower surfaces of the spacer 3 which is folded from the bent portion 7D with the and
C, a plurality of contact portions 4 in which the conductive layer 7B and the conductive layer 7C face each other are formed in the plurality of opening holes 3D of the spacer 3, and a plurality of contact portions 4 are formed on the upper surface of the wiring board 7 above the contact portions 4. A pressing protrusion 6 for pressing the contact portion 4 is provided.

As described above, since the membrane switch is formed by folding one wiring board 7, the number of steps for printing the conductive layer on the insulating film is smaller than that of the structure constituted by the two upper and lower wiring boards. And the number of used parts can be reduced, and the handling of the used parts at the time of assembly becomes easy.

Further, a plurality of pressing projections are provided at positions corresponding to the contact portions on the lower surface of the lower wiring board, and a smooth holding table is disposed below the pressing projections, and the upper wiring board is pressed by the operating body. Needless to say, the effect is obtained.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a membrane switch according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, conductive layers 1B of an upper wiring board 1 and a lower wiring board 2 are shown.
A plurality of predetermined conductive layers are exposed on and 2B to form heat-bonding type insulating layers 1C and 2C by printing. The insulating layers 1C and 2C are melted and bonded by heating and pressurizing. The exposed portions of the layers 1B and 2B form a plurality of contact portions 4 facing each other.

On the upper surface of the upper wiring substrate 1 above the contact portions 4, a pressing projection 6 for pressing the plurality of contact portions 4 is formed by printing.

As described above, the upper wiring board 1 and the lower wiring board 2
Since the insulating layer 1C and 2C printed on the substrate are bonded by heating and pressing to form a membrane switch, a spacer coated with an adhesive for bonding the upper and lower wiring substrates 1 and 2 is not required, and the number of parts used and the switch Assembly man-hours can be reduced.

Further, by forming the conductive layers 1B and 2B of the upper wiring board 1 and the lower wiring board 2 with a metal layer such as copper or solder, the use capacity of the membrane switch can be improved by this metal layer. .

The shape of the conductive layer of the wiring board is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the entire surface of the upper and lower wiring substrates 1 and 2 is covered with a conductive layer 1B.
5B or the configuration in which the fixed contacts 1D and 2D and the conductive patterns 1E and 2E are provided independently on the upper and lower wiring boards 1 and 2 as shown in FIG. It is possible, and particularly in the configuration of FIG. 5A, the operation section is not limited and can be operated wherever it is pressed. Therefore, it is particularly useful when a cover is attached to the front surface such as a horn switch of a car. Things.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of contact pressing protrusions are provided on the upper surface of the upper wiring board, and the pressing protrusions are pressed by the operating body, thereby making the upper and lower wiring boards lower. Since the electrical connection of the conductive layer is performed, the shape of the operating body is simplified, and a stable electrical connection of the contacts can be obtained even if the membrane switch and the operating body are misaligned during assembly. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a membrane switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a membrane switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a membrane switch according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the upper and lower wiring boards.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional membrane switch.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 upper wiring board 2 lower wiring board 1A, 2A, 3A, 7A insulating film 1B, 2B, 7B, 7C conductive layer 1C, 2C insulating layer 1D, 2D fixed contact 1E, 2E conductive pattern 3 spacer 3B, 3C adhesive 3D opening Hole 4 Contact part 5 Operating body 6 Pressing projection 7 Wiring board 7D Bend

Claims (4)

[Claims] An upper wiring substrate having a conductive layer formed on a lower surface of an insulating film and having a plurality of pressing projections on an upper surface; a lower wiring substrate having a conductive layer formed on an upper surface of the insulating film or the insulating substrate; Placed between the upper and lower wiring boards,
The upper wiring substrate has a plurality of openings at positions corresponding to the pressing projections, and the upper and lower surfaces except for the openings are adhered to the upper and lower wiring substrates by an adhesive applied to both surfaces of the insulating film, and Membrane switch consisting of a flat operating body disposed above the upper wiring board. 2. The membrane switch according to claim 1, wherein the upper wiring board and the lower wiring board are formed of an integral insulating film, and a spacer is arranged while the wiring board is folded with the conductive layer surface inside. 3. A predetermined portion of the conductive layer of each of the upper and lower wiring boards is exposed to form an overcoat with a heat-bonding type insulating layer, and the respective insulating layers of the upper and lower wiring boards are bonded by heating and pressing to the spacer. 3. The membrane switch according to claim 1, wherein the membrane switch is replaced. 4. The membrane switch according to claim 1, wherein metal layers such as copper and solder are formed as conductive layers of the upper and lower wiring boards.