JPS61200625A - Membrane 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] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a membrane switch, and more specifically, the thickness of the switch itself can be reduced and the area of the switch itself can be reduced. This invention relates to a membrane switch for self-illuminated switches.

<Prior art and its problems> In recent years, membrane switches have been increasingly used in input sections of office automation equipment and home appliances. This membrane switch is dust-proof and waterproof compared to conventional button-type switches.

It has been recognized that it has features such as good design and a significant reduction in the number of parts, and has begun to be widely used in the past few years.

However, this membrane switch has the disadvantage that it is difficult to confirm the presence or absence of input compared to conventional button-type switches. This is because membrane switches generally require an extremely short stroke for input. That is, a membrane switch has a structure covered with a printed film (top sheet), and a movable contact placed opposite to a fixed contact is pressed through the printed film to bring both contacts into contact. This is because the configuration is such that ON/OFF operations are performed thereby.

Conventionally, various efforts have been made to solve this drawback. One of these is a so-called self-illuminated membrane switch, which has a mechanical switch mechanism and a light-emitting mechanism for self-illumination below the printed film of the membrane switch.

However, conventional self-illuminated membrane switches have the following problems. In other words, since it requires a mechanical switch mechanism below the printing film (1), there is a limit to how thin the mechanical switch mechanism can be made even if a thin light emitting mechanism is incorporated. (2) The light-emitting mechanism installed below the printing film is close to the printing film due to its relationship with the mechanical switch mechanism mentioned above. There is a limit to reducing the distance between the printing film and the light source, as it is difficult to provide a
The switch itself had the following problems: The area of the switch itself had to be large.

Means for Solving the Problems> In view of the problems described above, the inventor of the present invention has devised a method to reduce the thickness and area of the switch itself while retaining the features of the self-illuminated membrane switch. As a result of extensive research in an effort to obtain a novel self-illuminated membrane switch that can do the following, the present invention has finally been completed.

That is, the present invention provides a transparent input sheet having an input section formed by laminating two transparent films each having a transparent electrode pattern formed thereon with the transparent electrode pattern on the inside via a spacer, and a transparent section and an opaque section. A self-illuminating membrane switch is used as a self-illuminating membrane switch, characterized in that at least one of the transparent parts of the printed film coincides with the position of the input part of the transparent input sheet. It is a membrane switch that can

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.

1 and 2 show one implementation of a membrane switch according to the present invention. Note that FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for easy understanding, and the ratio of the film thickness of each layer is different from the actual one. The same applies to the following figures.

l is a transparent input sheet, and this transparent input sheet 1 is
It consists of a transparent film 2, a transparent electrode pattern 3, and a spacer 4.

There are various forms of this transparent input sheet 1, but for example, a striped transparent electrode pattern 3 is formed on a transparent film 2, and the stripes of the transparent electrode pattern 3 are arranged so that they intersect with each other. Generally, the input section is constructed by bonding them together via a spacer 4 with the surface on which the transparent electrode pattern 3 is formed facing inside.

As the transparent film 2, a polyester film,
There are polycarbonate films, polyacrylic films, etc. The thickness of the transparent film 2 is 50 μm to 3 μm.
00 μm range is used. If it is less than 50 μm, the strength as a switch element will be poor, and the lifespan will be shortened.
This is because there is a problem in terms of reliability, and if the thickness exceeds 360 μm, the transparency and flexibility as a switch element are poor, and there is a problem in terms of operability. Especially within the above range,
Preferably, the thickness is in the range of 75 μm to 200 μm.

The transparent electrode pattern 3 is made of indium oxide.

It is formed using tin oxide, ITO, etc. The layer thickness of the transparent electric bridge pattern is in the range of lOλ to 2,000 layers, preferably in the range of 100 to 1,000 layers. If the number is less than 10, the electrical resistance as a switch element will be high and the strength will be poor, and if it exceeds 2,000, the transparency as a switch element will be poor, and furthermore, the transparent electrode pattern 3 will be formed. This is because the actual cost becomes high and it is not economical.

Methods for forming the transparent electrode pattern 3 include methods using vapor deposition, sputtering, and the like.

The spacer 4 serves to maintain a constant distance between the electrodes of the transparent electrode bag 3.

5 is a printing film, and this printing film 5 has a transparent portion 7 and an opaque portion 8. This can be easily done by forming the printing layer 6 on the transparent film 12 by appropriately combining transparent ink and opaque ink.

The transparent film 12 can be constructed using the same transparent film 2 of the transparent input sheet 1 described above, but this transparent film 12 becomes the surface of the membrane switch as shown in FIG. In such cases, if a urethane film or the like having excellent flexibility is used, extremely suitable shaking properties can be exhibited.

The printed layer 6 may be formed on the transparent film 12 using an appropriate printing means.

The membrane switch according to the present invention is formed by laminating the transparent input sheet 1 and the printing film 5, and in this case, at least one of the transparent parts 7 of the printing film 5 is connected to the transparent part casing. They are stacked so as to coincide with the position of the input section 1.

In order to laminate the transparent input sheet 1 and the printing film 5, an appropriate method such as a method of laminating with an adhesive or a method of fixing using a fixing jig can be used.

When using the membrane switch according to the present invention,
A light-emitting mechanism is appropriately incorporated below the membrane switch, more specifically, below the overlapped portion of the transparent section 7 of the printing film 5 and the input section of the transparent input sheet 1, and the light-emitting mechanism is activated by input to the membrane switch. Configure it to emit light.

By doing so, the input can be confirmed by light at the input section through the transparent section 7 provided in the membrane switch.

The membrane switch according to the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, but other aspects include those having the following configuration6 For example, ① On the top surface of the transparent input sheet 1, One in which the printing film 5 is laminated so that the printing layer 6 is on the outside (see No. 31) ■The one in which the printing film 5 is laminated on the bottom surface of the transparent input sheet 1 so that the printing layer 6 is on the inside (See Fig. 4) ■ A printing film 5 laminated on the bottom surface of the transparent input sheet 1 with the printing layer 6 facing outside (see Fig. 5) ■ Portions other than the transparent portion 7 of the printing film 5 Some devices also have an input section (see Figure 6), and so on.

In addition, as a development for other uses of the membrane switch according to the present invention, the transparent part 7 formed at 5 on the printing film 4 is enlarged, and a liquid crystal is used as a light emitting part provided below this part instead of the light emitting mechanism 9. It is also possible to use a display mechanism 10 capable of displaying variable information such as a display device in combination (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

By doing so, inputs can be made to various displays, and the switch can be widely used as a multi-functional switch.

<Effects of the Invention> Since the present invention has the configuration described above,
This has the following effects.

That is, since a transparent input sheet is used as the switch mechanism, the thickness of the membrane switch itself can be reduced by incorporating a thin light emitting mechanism. Furthermore, since the light emitting mechanism can be incorporated directly under the membrane switch, the distance between the surface of the membrane switch and the light source can be reduced, and the area of the membrane switch itself can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a membrane switch according to the present invention,
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the membrane inch shown in Figure 1;
3 to 6 are cross-sectional views showing other embodiments, and FIG.
The figure is a sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the membrane switch shown in FIG. 7. 3--Transparent electrode pattern 4--Spacer 5--Printed film 6--Printed layer 7--Transparent portion 8--Opaque portion 9--・−・・Light emitting mechanism 10・−・−・・Display mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A transparent input sheet having an input section formed by laminating two transparent films on which a transparent electrode pattern is formed with the transparent electrode pattern on the inside via a spacer, and a transparent section and an opaque section coexist. 1. A membrane switch, characterized in that at least one of the transparent parts of the printed film corresponds to the position of the input part of the transparent input sheet.