JPS6086716A - Operation switch - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an operation switch G1 used in a keyboard of a microwave oven or the like.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Microwave ovens use various sensors and microcomputers to perform various types of cooking.

By the way, before this type of microwave oven starts cooking, it is necessary to input information such as the type of cooking, cooking time, cooking temperature, weight of the food, etc. using operation switches such as a keyboard. In recent years, many microwave ovens have appeared that can not only heat cooking using microwaves, but also oven or grill cooking using heaters, and even steam cooking using steam. It is only becoming more and more. Therefore, it tends to be difficult for users to use.

However, in the past, in view of such situations, fluorescent display tubes were used to display operating procedures, and keyboards were equipped with LEDs.
Microwave ovens have appeared that are equipped with a display to indicate the operator I1m.

However, the parts of the fluorescent display tube and the LED display are both large in shape, which poses a problem in that installation and wiring become complicated. Moreover, the LE provided on the keyboard
The D display has the disadvantage that it is difficult to see because it is not surface emitting.

Therefore, in recent years, the keyboard constituting the operation switch has been constructed from a membrane switch, and an EL display (electro-field display) is provided on the operation surface of each key to serve as a surface emitting light source. Attempts have been made to show the user which key can be inputted next, or to show which menu key to use during cooking.

However, as shown in FIG. 1, an EL display has two layers: a transparent electrode layer a and a back electrode layer.

A substance such as a light-emitting IωC and a dielectric layer d is provided between the electrodes, and the light-emitting layer C emits light by applying pressure between the transparent pole 1da and the back electrode layer. Note that FIG. 1 shows an organic dispersed AC EL. on the other hand,
A membrane switch is also provided with an electrode layer having a conductive pattern including two layers of contact portions, so that opening and closing are performed through the membrane portion. For this reason, even if a membrane switch is provided with a KL display which is superior in terms of its small size, four layers of electrodes are required, which results in a complicated structure. Furthermore, since many leads are required for the printed wiring board for the control circuit, there is a problem that the wiring system becomes complicated, and improvements in this area are desired.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an operation switch that can integrate a membrane switch and an electroluminescent display with a simple structure and fewer leads. It is in.

[Summary of the invention]

That is, this invention attempts to integrate the membrane switch and the electroluminescent display by using the same electrode for the key electrode layer constituting the membrane switch and the light-emitting electrode layer constituting the electroluminescent display. be.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. Figure 2 shows a microwave oven, l is a heating chamber inside (
(not shown) and a high-frequency oscillation device (not shown), 2 is a door body located on the front of the main body l and opens and closes the opening of the heating chamber, and 3 is an operation panel also provided on the front side of the main body l. It is. Then, on the operation panel 3,
An operation switch 4 is provided for inputting information necessary for cooking.

This operation switch 4 is divided into, for example, five blocks, and more specifically, a membrane switch 6 having an EL display (electroluminescence display) 5 as a surface emission source constitutes a large number of keyboards. Part 7, also the range menu key manual part 8, the same oven/grill-fermentation menu key manual part 9, EL display (electroluminescent display) 5
It consists of a cooking start key 10 and a cancel key 11, which are composed of a membrane switch 6 provided as a surface light source. Menu keys 9 are arranged in order, and a cooking start key 10 and a cancel key 11 are arranged side by side at the bottom.

These keys are then pressed before the start of cooking as shown in Figure 3 (a).
t or as shown in Figure 3(b), first press the microwave menu key 8 or oven/grill/whitening? The entire menu key power section 9 lights up to prompt the selection of the range menu, oven/grill/fermentation menu, and then, when the input associated with the selection is completed, the entire number key power section 7 lights up and prompts the selection of the cooking time. , the cooking temperature, the weight of the food to be cooked, etc., and finally, the cooking start key 10 lights up to request the start of cooking, as shown in FIG. 3(f). In addition, the menu key manual part 8 and the oven/grill/fermentation menu key part 9 are used to select the key 8 when cooking in the microwave or, for example, in the oven.
a or key 9a is the third W (ctl or third
As shown in Figure (el), it lights up to let you know the cooking status. 3a is a display section provided at the top of the operation panel 3 for displaying information such as cooking time. It is.

And like this 7. l: The structure of the membrane switch 6 and EL display 5 that make up the operation switch 4 is @4
As shown in the figure.

That is, 12 in the figure is a base material made of polyester film. Then, on this base material 12, a back electrode layer 13, an insulating sheet 14 on which a membrane part 14a is formed,
Flexible intermediate polarization layers 15 are provided one after the other in layers. Further, on the intermediate layer 15, there is a derivative)
@16, Origin: 'II 17, The transparent electrode layer 18 and the polyester film coating I9 are provided in a layered manner in order, and the EL display 5 is provided in the upper layer between the intermediate electrode layer 15 and the transparent layer 18. , a membrane switch 6 is formed in the lower layer between the intermediate electrode layer 15 and the back electrode layer 13.

However, the intermediate electrode layer 15 also serves as a partner for the light emitting electrode layer of the EL display 5 and the key control electrode layer of the membrane switch 6, and the intermediate electrode layer 15 is a three-layer electrode with the same iris 1a. The device 5 and the membrane switch 6 are integrally constructed. I mean.

When a voltage is applied between the intermediate electrode layer 15 and the transparent quadrupole layer 18, the light emitting layer 17 emits light, and when the coating 19 is suppressed, each substance on the membrane portion 14a is displaced, and the inside of the membrane portion 14a is Through this, the intermediate electrode layer 15 comes into contact with the back electrode 13 as shown by the broken line.

In this way, the membrane switch 6 and the EL display 5 can be integrated with a simple structure and a small number of leads, and the cost required to manufacture the operation switch 4 can be reduced by eliminating the use of the same electrode. At the same time, wiring work can be simplified. However, since only three layers of electrodes are required, the operating force for the membrane switch 6 can be reduced.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to integrate the membrane switch and the top of the electroluminescent display using three layers of electrodes, which simplifies the structure and reduces the number of leads by eliminating electrodes. can be done.

Therefore, the cost required for manufacturing can be reduced, and work such as wiring can be simplified.

Moreover, since only three layers of electrodes are required, the operating force for the membrane switch is also reduced, which has great effects in various fields.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an electroluminescent display, and FIGS. 2 to 4 show a simple embodiment of the invention. The figure is a front view of a microwave oven to which the operation switch of the present invention is applied, Figures 3 (a) to (f) are front views showing the operation of the operation switch, and Figure 4 shows the structure of the operation switch. FIG. 4... Operation switch, 5... Electroluminescent indicator, 6...
... Membrane switch, 13 ... Back electrode layer, 14
・・・Insulating sheet, 15・°・Intermediate electrode layer, 16...
Dielectric layer, 17... Light emitting layer, 18... Transparent electrode layer. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an operation switch in which an electroluminescent display is provided on the operation surface of the membrane switch, a key-side electrode layer constituting the membrane switch and a light-emitting electrode layer constituting the field luminescent display described above are jointly used as electrodes. An operation switch characterized by integrating a membrane switch and an electroluminescent display.