JPS61105928A - Touch switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To light an element by allowing a switching circuit connected to a circuit layer when a human body touches a touch electrode to detect a contact capacitance due to the human body to be activated and switching a controlled system and energizing the light emitting element buried in a luminescent board. CONSTITUTION:A switch main body 1 consists of a contact operating plate 2 made of a glass plate, a pattern plate 5 made of a plastic plate, a luminescence board 6, a circuit board 11 made of a glass plate and an electric circuit component storage box 14 storing switching circuit components through lamination. In manufacturing the touch operation plate 2, holes 4 having spread are provided to the rear inside of the glass substrate, then a resist layer is laminated on the glass substrate with printing, and the touch electrode 3 as a mesh aluminum vapor-deposition layer is formed after processes such as masking, light curing and etching. For the manufacture of the touch switch, the touch switch main body 1 is fitted to the mounting hole of a switching operation panel sequentially as shown in figures a-c to constitute the operation panel. The figure (c) shows that the middle switch is in switching operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a touch switch that performs switching in response to contact with a finger or the like, and in particular, while operating as a switch, the switch unit itself emits light to display the operating state. This invention relates to a touch switch that allows visual confirmation of

(B) Conventional technology Conventional touch switches extract changes in electrical signals in response to touch operations.

There are those that use pressure sensors, those that have a two-layer structure of transparent electrodes on the surface of glass or plastic that covers the entire surface, and that change the magnetism by touching the touch surface in an excited state. Some devices have a conductive thin film deposited on the front surface, and by touching the touch surface, the capacitance between transparent electrodes provided on the back surface can be changed. For a touch switch having each of these features, it is convenient if the touch operation section emits light in response to a switching operation, since the operating state of the device operated by these can be visually confirmed directly.

However, since the touch plate of the switch using a pressure sensor is made of metal, even if a light emitting element is provided, the light does not pass through the touch plate, and therefore the switch itself cannot emit light. For those that change magnetism, a transparent electrode is arranged on the entire back surface of the touch panel, so it is possible to install a light emitting element on the back surface of the touch panel that emits light according to the switching operation and make the switch operation part emit light. The electrode does not have good transparency, so it does not emit enough light for practical use. In addition, although capacitance changes do not pose a problem in terms of light emission transparency of the light emitting element, the lead electrode that connects the touch electrode and the switching circuit extends from the front side of the touch plate to the back side. Since it is arranged in a U-shape through the
There is no flexibility in the arrangement of the light-emitting elements, and it is not possible to install the light-emitting elements by drawing a pattern or the like and color-coding each part of the pattern to emit light, rather than simply making the switch part emit light.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention This invention solves the problem that the conventional touch switch described above is structurally unsuitable for installing a light emitting element and emitting light in response to switch operation, or is unable to emit light in response to switch operation. This was done in order to solve the problem of not being able to freely install light-emitting elements and providing versatility in the light-emitting function.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The touch switch according to the present invention has a touch-activated plate as a first layer in which touch electrodes are formed in a mesh shape on the surface of a transparent plate, and
A design board on which designs such as letters and figures are drawn using a light-transmitting material on a transparent board, and a light-emitting element is embedded in the same transparent board at an appropriate position corresponding to the design on the design board, and a mirror surface is formed on the entire back surface. The light-emitting plate thus prepared is designated as 2N, and the circuit board on which a wiring circuit for a switching circuit and a switching circuit electrically connected to this circuit are formed on the back side of the flat plate is designated as 3M, and these are sequentially laminated. A small hole is formed at the same position in each of the contact actuation plate forming the first layer, the design plate and light emitting plate forming the second layer, and the circuit board forming the third layer, and a lead is inserted into the /IX hole. A metal lead pin is embedded through the lead metal pin, and the touch electrode of the contact activation plate forming the first layer is electrically connected to the wiring circuit of the circuit board forming the third layer. shall be.

(e) Function The touch switch according to the present invention has a laminated structure as described above, and the touch electrode of the contact activation plate on the upper surface and the circuit layer of the circuit board on the lower surface are embedded through the laminated structure. They are connected by metal lead pins, and when a human body touches the touch electrode, a switching circuit connected to the circuit layer detects the contact capacitance component due to the human body or the contact resistance component due to the human body formed between the touch electrodes and is activated. and switch the controlled object. At this time, the light emitting element emits light by energizing the light emitting element embedded in the light emitting plate in response to the switching of the controlled object. When the light-emitting elements of the light-emitting plate emit light, the light is reflected by a mirror surface formed by vapor deposition of aluminum on the back surface of the light-emitting plate, and passes through the pattern plate and between the mesh-like touch electrodes of the contact operation plate. Therefore, a pattern arbitrarily printed and drawn on the design board in response to the switching operation can be made to appear on the contact operation board, and the switch itself can be made to emit light.

(F) Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing each component of a touch switch according to an embodiment of the present invention and a state in which these components are laminated to form a touch switch. Touch switch (1)
The main body includes a contact activation plate (2) made of a glass plate, a pattern plate (5) and a light emitting plate (6) made of a plastic plate, a circuit board (11) made of a glass plate, and an electric circuit containing switching circuit elements. It is constructed by stacking parts storage boxes (14).

As shown in Fig. 2, the contact actuating plate (2) is made by first providing a perforation hole (4) in a glass substrate that widens toward the back side (
Figure (a)), then a resist layer is layered on the glass substrate by printing [1 (b)), masking, photocuring,
A touch electrode (3) is formed as a mesh-like aluminum vapor deposited layer through a process such as etching (FIG. 3(C)). At this time, the aluminum layer of a part of the touch electrode near the perforation hole (4) has entered the inside of the perforation hole (4) by vapor deposition. FIG. 6 shows the external appearance of the contact actuation plate (2) on which the touch electrodes (3) are formed in a mesh shape as seen from the front side.

The design board (5) and the light emitting board (6) are made of transparent plastic plates, and a printing layer (8) on which characters, figures, etc. are drawn is formed on the surface of the design board (5) using printing ink that transmits light. ing. Also, on the back side of the design board (5), there is a light emitting element (
A light emitting plate (6) in which the light emitting panel 10) is embedded at an appropriate position corresponding to the design of the design board is adhered. An aluminum evaporated layer (9) that becomes a mirror surface is formed on the back surface of this light emitting plate (6). An aluminum lead pin (7) cut into a shape with its tip torn off is embedded through both of these plates. Other materials such as copper or alloy metal for soldering can be used as the metal pin for the lead, but as will be described later, it is preferable to use one having a hardness that can be bent by an external force. The aluminum vapor deposited layer forming the mirror surface on the back side of the light emitting plate (6) and the lead aluminum pin (7) are peeled off at the sides of the pins so that they do not come into contact with each other. Light emitting element (10) embedded in light emitting plate (6)
Fig. 7 shows the buried state when the respective plates are stacked.

As shown in Fig. 4, the circuit board (11) is made of a glass substrate through the same process as the contact actuation board (2), and has a perforated hole (12) that widens on the front side, and a switching circuit is formed on the back side. A wiring circuit layer (15) is formed. When the circuit layer (15) is formed, the circuit layer (15) as an aluminum vapor deposition layer enters the inside of the perforated hole (12) by vapor deposition, similar to the contact operation plate (2), and becomes a crowded state. There is.

The electric circuit component storage box (14) stores ICs and transistor elements (16) that constitute a switching circuit, and the fourth
The connecting pins are connected to the circuit layer (15) of the circuit board (11) as shown.

Further, the storage box (14) is provided with an external lead pin (17) for connection with a switching target (not shown), but the details of the connection between this and the internal storage element will be omitted.

In this embodiment, a storage box is provided to house the switching circuit elements, but a hybrid IC is constructed so that the wiring circuit layer and the switching circuit elements are integrally formed on the back surface of the circuit board (11). It's okay.

As shown in FIG. 5, each plate formed as described above is a contact actuation plate (
2) and the circuit board (11) forming the third layer (4) (
12), both ends of the lead aluminum pins (7) embedded in the design plate (5) and the light emitting plate (6) forming the second layer are inserted and mounted, and the layers are laminated. Naturally, the buried position of the lead aluminum pin (7) and the position of the drilled holes (4) and (12) must be aligned in advance. At this time, an aluminum vapor deposition layer that forms the touch electrode (3) and the wiring circuit layer (15) of the switching circuit is inserted into the inside of each drilled hole, so that when the aluminum lead pin (7) is inserted, the pin An aluminum vapor-deposited layer is attached around the tip. By laminating these plates and then press-bonding them, the lead aluminum pins (7) are crushed to ensure reliable adhesion to the aluminum vapor deposited layer.

Therefore, the touch electrode (3) on the front surface of the touch switch body (1) and the circuit layer (15) on the back surface are electrically connected by this lead aluminum pin (7), and the weak voltage flowing to the touch electrode (3) is electrically connected. The current changes when the human body touches the touch electrode, and this change is detected by a switching circuit configured in the electrical component storage box (14) connected to the circuit layer (15) connected by the aluminum lead pin (7). The external lead pin (1) of the storage box (14)
7) Switching the controlled object connected to. Although not shown, the light emitting plate (6
) A power supply line is connected to the light emitting element buried in the
It is configured to energize and emit light when the controlled object is switched. Since the mirror-like aluminum vapor deposited layer (9) is formed on the back surface of the light-emitting plate (6), the luminous intensity is higher due to the combination of the reflected light from this mirror surface than when simply emitting light from a light-emitting element.

The use of the touch switch configured as described above will be explained. For example, as shown in FIGS. 8(a), 8(b), and 8(c), touch switch bodies (1) are sequentially fitted into the mounting holes of a switch operation panel (20) to form an operation panel. Each touch switch is wired to correspond to, for example, a switch for blinking several types of indoor lights, and a switch operation panel (20) is installed embedded in the indoor wall. The figure (c) shows that the switch in the middle is in the switching operation, and the pattern drawn on the pattern board is highlighted and is emitting light. If the switch operation panel (20) itself has the same laminated structure as the touch switch body (1),
By lighting up the panel at night, you can easily check the switch position. In this way, one conventionally installed switch can be easily replaced with the touch switch according to the present invention.

In addition, the operation panel is not only created by arranging the touch switches of each configuration, but also uses the entire surface of the operation panel as a connection actuation plate (2), a pattern plate (5), and a light emitting plate (6), as shown in Figure 9.
), circuit board (11), electrical circuit parts storage box (14),
Similarly to the above, it is also possible to embed lead aluminum pins (7) and stack them to form an integral switch part.

When configured in this way, there is only one switching target, but in addition to printing a design using the entire surface of the 5 design board (5), the light emitting plate (6) is given various hues according to the design, and the light emitting elements (10 ) by embedding it, a design can be made to stand out on the entire surface of the contact operation plate (2) as an operation panel, like a picture in a frame. therefore,
If used as a switch for lighting fixtures in a drawing room, etc., it not only functions as a simple switch, but also functions to enhance the decoration of the room. An advantage of the present invention is that it can be configured as a touch switch that can perform such functions, and the role of each plate in the laminated structure and the connection between the touch electrode and the switching circuit section are performed by the upright lead pin that can be freely buried. It acts as a characterizing point. When the entire surface of the operation panel is integrally constructed as a switch part in this way, the touch electrode (3) is constructed as an oval shape in the figure so as to be separated and independent, as shown in Fig. 10, and the switching part corresponding to each separated part is If a circuit is provided and connected using buried aluminum lead pins, the shape will be exactly the same as the switch operation panel constructed as shown in FIG. 8. Since it can be constructed in one piece, it has the advantage of saving time in the production process.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 11, a large number of touch switches (1
) The keyboard has a built-in resistive element or capacitor that creates continuous differences in current carbonization and changes in capacitance, detects each change value when the fingertip touches it, and makes the keyboard light up when the fingertip touches it. By attaching it to the panel (30) and configuring it so that the sound generation circuit is activated by switching, a light-emitting type keyboard can be manufactured, and furthermore, a light-emitting type volume controller, a wave detector, etc. can be manufactured in the same way. can.

Note that the mesh-like touch electrode (3) formed on the contact activation plate (2) also acts as an antenna, so a remote control device using radio waves or the like can be installed to perform switching remotely without touching the human body. You can also make them do it.

(1.) Effects The touch switch according to the present invention is configured and operated as described above, and as a touch switch, it is operated by low DC voltage called static voltage of the human body, and the high voltage part can be separated from a part of the sensor. In addition to this effect, it also has the following unique effects.

i) The switch unit itself can emit light in response to switching operation, and the continuation of operation of the switching target can be visually confirmed by displaying a design that indicates the switching target or a decorative pattern on the contact surface. can do.

ii) For emitting light, transparent glass plates and plastic plates are laminated, and the touch electrodes and switching circuits formed on the front and back surfaces of the laminated plates are buried in the stacking direction above and below, which is the shortest method that does not take up space. In addition to being connected by lead pins that maintain distance, light-emitting elements can be embedded freely in the required position on the plastic board, and various types of light-emitting elements can be embedded under the outline of the design printed on the design board or under the surrounding surface of the outline. Since light-emitting elements of various colors can be embedded, designs can be designed quite freely depending on the location and purpose of use.

1ii) By using the touch electrode portion formed in a net shape as an antenna, switching as a touch switch can be easily performed remotely.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing each component of a touch switch according to an embodiment of the present invention and a state in which these components are laminated to form a touch switch. Figure 2 (a) (b) (
c) is a diagram illustrating the process of forming touch electrodes on the actuation plate forming the first layer of the contact touch switch. Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of the pattern board and light emitting board forming the second layer of the touch switch, and Fig. 4 is an electric circuit component in which switching circuit elements are housed on the back side of the circuit board forming the third layer. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the storage box is connected, and FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a touch switch constructed by laminating each layer. FIG. 6 is a partial plan view showing touch electrodes formed on the surface of the touch actuating plate. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a light emitting element is embedded in a light emitting plate. Figure 8(a)
(b) and (c) are perspective views showing the process of equipping the switch operation panel with the touch switch of the embodiment. 9 and 10 are perspective views showing the structure of a modified embodiment. 11th
The figure is a perspective view showing a light-emitting keyboard constructed using the touch switches of the embodiment. (1)...Touch switch body (2)...Touch operation plate (3)...Touch electrode (
4) (12)...Drilling hole (5)...Design board (6
)...Light-emitting plate (7)...Aluminum pin for lead (
8)...Design printing M (9)...Aluminum vapor deposition layer (
10)...Light emitting element (11)...Circuit board'
(14)...Electric circuit component storage box (switching circuit formation layer) (15)...Wiring circuit layer (16)...Switching circuit element Figure 2, Figure 6, Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A pattern board in which the first layer is a touch-activated plate in which touch electrodes are formed in the form of a mesh on the surface of the transparent plate, and designs such as letters and figures are drawn on the transparent plate using a light-transmitting material; Similarly, light emitting elements are embedded in the transparent plate at appropriate positions corresponding to the design on the design board, and a light emitting plate with a mirror surface formed on the entire back side is used as a second layer, and furthermore, a switching circuit is wired on the back side of the flat plate. The circuit board on which the switching circuit and the switching circuit electrically connected to this circuit are formed is placed in the third
These are sequentially laminated as layers, and small holes are bored at the same position in each of the contact actuation plate forming the first layer, the design plate and light emitting plate forming the second layer, and the circuit board forming the third layer. Then, lead metal pins are penetrated and buried in these small holes, and the lead metal pins electrically connect the touch electrodes of the contact operation board forming the first layer and the wiring circuit of the circuit board forming the third layer. A touch switch that connects to the