JPS6369115A - Push switch and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

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

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Al Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a small push switch that is mounted on a substrate and turned on/off using the reversal of a disc spring, and a method for manufacturing the same.

(b1 Summary of the Invention The push switch according to the present invention includes a contact support body in which a peripheral contact with which the outer edge of a disc spring comes into contact is exposed flush with the upper surface;
A casing is provided that is in close contact with the outer surface of the contact support and the entire circumference of the upper surface of the outer edge of the disc spring, and maintains a state of contact between the entire circumference of the outer edge of the disc spring and the upper surface of the contact support. By sealing the contact area between the outer edge of the disc spring and the outer edge of the disc spring, it is possible to prevent the infiltration of dust and the like, ensure a secure contact state, and further improve operability.

In addition, the method for manufacturing a push switch according to the present invention can be summarized as follows: The central contact, the peripheral contacts, and the disc spring constituting the conductive circuit are each connected in a hoop shape, and the first step of insert molding is performed two times in succession. In step 1, a contact support body with a conductive circuit is molded, and in a second insert molding process, a disc spring is fixed on the upper surface of the contact support body and a housing containing the contact support body is molded. By cutting, the push switch of the present invention can be easily manufactured.

(C) Conventional Technology A push switch mounted on a board is desired to be small and inexpensive, and is also required to have reliable contact, excellent operability, and high durability. For this reason, conventional push switches, as shown in Figure 12,
A central contact 102 forming a conductive circuit in an insulating casing 101
A peripheral contact 103 is fixedly attached to the peripheral contact 103, and a disc spring 104 that contacts the peripheral contact 103 at the outer edge and is convex upward is provided. Furthermore, the convex portion 1 that contacts the top of the disc spring 104
It has an actuator 105 formed with 05a. When this actuator 105 is pressed from above, the convex portion 105
a presses the disk spring 104, and the inner surface of the central portion thereof comes into contact with the central contact 102. As a result, the center contact 102 is electrically connected to the peripheral contact 103 via the disk spring 104.

Conventionally, as a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned push switch, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-43573, for example, a number of conductive circuits each having a pair of central contacts and peripheral contacts are connected in a hoop shape. After insert-molding the mounting base that holds each conductive circuit, a bushing spring is housed in a recessed portion of the mounting base.

Further, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-6444, a pin supporting the center contact is made vertically movable with respect to the lower mold during insert molding. This prevents the lower part of the center contact from being exposed to the outside, and prevents soldering flux from entering when the board is mounted.

(d) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional push switch described above, the disc spring is movable, especially in the horizontal direction, in the housing or the mounting base, and cannot reliably maintain contact with the peripheral contacts. Furthermore, for the same reason, peripheral contacts may be exposed to the outside air, and contact failure may occur due to infiltration of dust and the like. Furthermore, washing with water after mounting on the board will result in moisture infiltration.
Unable to handle automation of board assembly work.

Furthermore, the method disclosed in the former publication does not mention the positioning of the center contact during insert molding, and has the disadvantage that a resin layer is formed on the upper surface of the center contact, resulting in poor contact. In order to eliminate this drawback, if a pin is provided in the mold that contacts the bottom surface of the center contact, a pin hole 106 will be formed in the housing as shown in Figure 12, and flux will be removed during soldering during mounting on the board. Infiltrate. In order to solve this problem, the latter publication discloses a structure in which the pin is movable in the lower die, but this increases the cost due to the complicated structure and strict maintenance of machining accuracy.
It also requires complex control such as determining pin operation timing.

An object of the present invention is to configure the housing to have a double structure, and to shield the peripheral contacts from the outside by the outer member and the disc spring, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the contact area between the peripheral contacts and the outer edge of the disc spring. To provide a push switch that prevents dust and water, provides dustproof and waterproof effects, ensures a contact state, can cope with automation of board production, and improves durability and operability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method that can easily and efficiently manufacture the push switch of the present invention by holding the central contact, the peripheral contacts, and the disc spring in a double structure by continuously performing double insert molding. .

(e) Means for Solving the Problems The push switch of the present invention includes a central contact and a peripheral contact forming a conductive circuit, a conductive disc spring whose outer edge lower surface contacts the upper surface of the peripheral contact, and a central contact and a peripheral contact. A push switch comprising: an insulating contact support that supports a peripheral contact exposed on the upper surface; The present invention is characterized in that it is formed in one piece and includes an insulating casing that is in close contact with the entire periphery of the outer surface of the contact support and the upper surface of the outer edge of the disc spring.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a push switch of the present invention, a plurality of sets of conductive circuits each consisting of a central contact and a peripheral contact are connected in a hoop shape, and a contact support is attached to the first contact support for each set.
After molding by insert molding, a large number of disc springs connected in a hoop shape are placed on the upper surface of each contact support with the lower surface of the outer edge in contact with the entire circumference, and the upper surface of the outer edge of the disc spring is A casing that is in close contact with the entire circumference of the contact support and the outer circumference of the contact support is formed by second insert molding, and then the connecting portions of the conductive circuit and the countersunk spring are cut.

(r1 action) According to the push switch of the present invention, the entire circumference of the outer edge of the disc spring contacts the upper surface of the contact support, and a part of it contacts the upper surface of the peripheral contact. The upper surface of the contact support is in close contact with the entire circumference of the upper surface of the outer edge of the contact support and the outer surface of the contact support, prohibits horizontal movement of the disk spring on the upper surface of the contact support, and encloses the contact support. The space between this and the inner surface of the disc spring is completely sealed from the outside.

On the other hand, according to the push switch manufacturing method of the present invention, the first insert molding is successively performed on each of the conductive circuits connected in a hoop shape to mold the contact support. A disc spring is continuously placed on the contact support, and a casing is formed on the disc spring and the contact support by second insert molding. In this way, the contact support with the conductive circuit is integrated with the disk spring by the housing.

(gl Embodiment ■Structural description FIGS. 1A to 1C are a plan view, a front sectional view, and a side sectional view, respectively, showing a push switch that is an embodiment of the present invention. Also, FIG. It is an external perspective view of the same push switch.

The push switch 1 has a housing 6 made of insulating resin material.
It is determined by This housing 6 encloses a contact support 5 made of the same (insulating resin material).The contact support 5 holds a central contact 2 and a peripheral contact 3 made of a four-electric metal material.In particular, the peripheral contact The upper surface of 3 is flush with the upper surface of the contact support 5.The central contact 2 and the peripheral contact 3 are
Terminals 2a, 2b and 3a, 3b enable electrical connection to the outside. Further, as shown in FIG. 1(B), holes 5a and 5b are formed below the center contact 2 and the peripheral contacts 3 of the contact support 5 during the first north insert molding, which will be described later. , resin is embedded as part of the housing 6 during second insert molding, which will also be described later.

A four part 6a is formed in the center of the upper surface of the housing 6.
A disc spring 4 projecting above the conductive metal material is located in this recess 6a. The disk spring 4 is in contact with the upper surface of the peripheral contact 3 and the upper surface of the contact support 5 on the entire lower surface of the outer edge 4a, and is in contact with the housing 6 over the entire circumference on the upper surface of the outer edge 4a. Therefore, the outer edge 4a of the disc spring 4 is held between the peripheral contact 3, the contact support 5, and the housing 6. In other words, the disc spring 4 is fixed by the housing 6 so as to cover the top surface of the contact support 5, and the disc spring 4 seals the top surface of the contact support 5 from the outside. Further, the disc spring 4 is narrowed into two stages near the outer edge portion 4a, and a four portion 4b is formed at the top thereof. The top portion 4b of the disc spring 40 substantially coincides with the upper surface of the housing 6. Further, as shown in FIG. 1(C), a bottle 60c is formed on the bottom surface of the housing 6. This is formed by a pin for positioning the contact support 5 at a predetermined position in the mold during second insert molding to be described later. The bottom of this pin hole 6c is the bottom surface of the contact support 5.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a typical usage example of the push switch.

A pressing member 11 is placed on top of the disc spring 4 of the push switch body 1.
is placed thereon, and the shield plate 13 is attached thereon so as to cover the upper surface of the housing 6. At this time, shield plate 1
The ground terminal 14 of the housing 6 is inserted into the recess 6b of the housing 6 and positioned. In this way, the convex portion 11a of the pressing member 11
is exposed upward from the hole 13a of the shield plate 13.

A concave portion (not shown) of the bushing button 12 is fitted into the convex portion 11a exposed from the shield plate 13.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of use of the push switch.

When the upper surface of the push switch main body 1 mounted on the substrate 21 is covered with a flexible sheet 22 made of an elastic resin material, the lower surface of the flexible sheet 22 is It contacts the upper surface of the disc spring 4. Therefore, by pressing the top surface of the flexible sheet 22, the disc spring 4 can be operated and switched on/off.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the central contact 2 and the peripheral contacts 3 can be completely sealed, dustproof and waterproof properties can be ensured, and contact failures can be effectively prevented.

Furthermore, since the disc spring 4 is reliably positioned between the housing 6 and the contact support 5, performance can be stably maintained over a long period of time, and operability can be improved. Furthermore, by carrying out a two-stage drawing process near the outer edge 4a of the disc spring 4, it is possible to improve the operational feel. In addition, by forming a concave portion in the top portion 4b of the disc spring 4, the state of engagement with the pressing member 11 can be improved, and malfunction can be prevented. Furthermore, by making the upper surface of the disc spring 4 and the upper surface of the housing 6 substantially flush, the printed switch main body 1 can be formed thin, contributing to miniaturization of the keyboard switch.

■Manufacturing method Figures 5 to 7 are diagrams showing the first insert molding that constitutes a part of the method for manufacturing a push switch of the present invention, and Figure 5 shows a conductive circuit formed in a hoop shape. As shown in FIG. 5, a plan view, FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view including the mold during the first insert molding, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view after the first insert molding is completed. A conductive circuit 31 constituted by the conductive circuit 2 and the peripheral contacts 3 is formed into a hoop shape continuously at regular intervals by sheet metal press working on a sheet metal material, and is wound up into a roll shape. At this time, the central contact 2 is connected to the connecting part 32 and the peripheral contact 3 is connected to the guide part 34 by the connecting part 33. Insert molding is performed for each of the conductive circuits 31 press-processed from sheet metal in this manner.

In this first insert molding, a mold shown in FIG. 6 is used. The central contact point 2 is located at the center of the dividing surface between the upper mold 41 and the lower mold 42. At this time, the upper surface of the peripheral contact 3 is flush with the dividing surface. The lower die 42 is provided with pins 43 and 44, which press the center contact 2 and the peripheral contacts 3 from below to position them. In this state, the space between the upper mold 41 and the lower mold 42 is filled with molten resin.

When the first insert molding as described above is completed, the center contact 4, the center contact 2, and the peripheral contact 3 are held by the contact support 5 made of a resin material. At this time, the upper surface of the contact support 5 is flush with the upper surface of the peripheral contacts 3, and the central contact 2 partially protrudes from the upper surface of the contact support 5. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, holes 5a and 5b are formed in the center of the contact support 5 below the center contact 2 and peripheral contacts 3 by pins 43 and 44. Furthermore, pins 5c are formed at four locations on the upper surface of the contact support 5.

FIG. 8 shows the contact support 5 in the second insert molding.
It is a top view showing the disc spring attached to.

A disc spring is formed into a hoop shape continuously at regular intervals by sheet metal press processing, and then wound into a roll shape. During sheet metal press working, four holes 4C are bored in the outer edge 4a. This outer edge portion 4a is connected to a guide portion 52 by a connecting portion 51.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the second insert molding.

After the first insert molding is completed, the disc spring 4 is placed on the contact support 5. At this time, positioning is performed by the hole 4c of the outer edge 4a and the pin 5C formed on the upper surface of the contact support 5. In this way, the disc spring 4 is placed on the contact support 5.
In this state, second insert molding is performed using the upper mold 61 and lower mold 62 shown in FIG. At this time, the contact support 5 having the center contact 2 and the peripheral contact 3 and the disc spring 4 are located in the space formed between the upper mold 61 and the lower mold 62. The contact support 5 is precisely positioned within the mold by means of a pin 63 provided in the lower mold 62. Since the outer edge 4a of the disc spring 4 is flat and the upper surface of the contact support 5 is also flat, the outer edge 4a of the disc spring 4 is in close contact with the upper surface of the contact support 5. The upper mold 6 is in the state shown in Fig. 10.
The hollow space between the mold 1 and the lower mold 62 is filled with molten resin. At this time, the holes 5a and 5b of the contact support 5 are also filled with resin. However, at this time, the resin does not penetrate into the upper side of the countersunk blade 4. As a result, a casing 6 is formed that closely contacts the upper surface of the outer edge 4a of the disc spring 4 and the outer surface of the contact support 5, and the push switch shown in FIG. 1 is formed. Note that, although the pin hole 6c is formed in the bottom surface of the housing 6 by the pin 63 of the lower mold 62, the bottom portion is not a through hole but the bottom surface of the contact support 5.

2nd inserter I・When the molding is completed, the connecting part 32.33
is cut, and the disc spring 4 connected in a hoop shape with the guide portion 52 moves in the direction of arrow B, and the contact support 5 moves in the direction of arrow C. As a result, second insert molding is performed on the next disk spring 4 and contact support 5. Further, the cut connecting portions 32, 33 are made into terminals 2a, 2b and 3a, 3b by press working (not shown).

Further, after this, the connecting portion 51 is cut, and the push switch manufacturing process is completed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in order to support the contact support 5 in the mold and fill it with resin during the second insert molding, the bottle formed on the contact support 5 during the first insert molding is The hole 5a is also filled with resin. Therefore, the center contact 2 is not exposed to the outside. Further, by forming the bottle 5C during the first insert molding and providing the hole 4C in the outer edge 4a, the disc spring 4 can be accurately positioned with respect to the contact support 5. Furthermore, the second
Even if the connecting parts 32 and 33 are cut after insert molding is completed, the housing 6 is still connected to the guide part 52 by the connecting part 51, and processing and transportation are possible.

In this embodiment, the coned disc spring 4 connected in a hoop shape is disposed perpendicularly to the conductive circuit 31 connected in a hoop shape, but as shown in FIG. conductive circuits 3 connected in a hoop shape by overlapping each other so that
1 and the disc spring 4 connected in a hoop shape can be arranged in the same direction, and the area occupied in manufacturing operations can be reduced.

(h) Effects of the Invention According to the invention, the intermediate contacts and the peripheral contacts can be completely sealed from the outside by the disc spring and the casing.

Therefore, it is possible to completely prevent the infiltration of dust and the like, prevent contact failures, and enable washing with water after mounting the board, thereby making it possible to automate the assembly work. Further, the disc spring is immovable relative to the contact support, and good contact with the surrounding contacts is always maintained. This also makes it possible to prevent poor contact and maintain good operability.

According to the method for manufacturing a push switch of the present invention, a conductive circuit constituted by a center contact and a peripheral contact and a disc spring are each continuously configured in a hoop shape, and the conductive circuit is formed into a contact support by first insert molding. mold and
A casing can be formed by performing second insert molding on the contact support and the disc spring. In this way, the push switch of the present invention can be formed extremely easily by combining double insert molding.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 (A) to (C) show the Pu Noshusui 7 of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view, a front sectional view, and a side sectional view of the push switch, respectively, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the same push switch. Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of how the push switch is used;
The figure is a front partial sectional view showing an example of how the push switch is used. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the first insert molding that constitutes a part of the push switch manufacturing method of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing the mold used in the first insert molding, and FIG. Fig. 7 is a front sectional view showing the molding state of the first insert molding, Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a connected disc spring used in the same manufacturing method, and Fig. 9 is a part of the same manufacturing method. A plan view showing the second insert molding, No. 10
The figure is a side sectional view showing a mold used for the second insert molding. Further, FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the push switch manufacturing method of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a side sectional view showing a conventional push switch. 2-central contact, 3-peripheral contact, 4-disc spring, 5-contact support, 6-casing.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A central contact and peripheral contacts that constitute a conductive circuit,
A push switch comprising: a conductive disc spring whose lower surface of the outer edge contacts the upper surface of the peripheral contact; and an insulating contact support that exposes and supports the center contact and the peripheral contact on the upper surface, the contact support an insulating casing in which at least a portion of the upper surface facing the entire outer edge of the disc spring is flush with the upper surface of the peripheral contact, and is in close contact with the outer surface of the contact support and the entire circumference of the upper surface of the outer edge of the disc spring; Equipped with a push switch. (2) A set of conductive circuits consisting of a central contact and a peripheral contact are connected in a hoop shape, and a contact support is formed for each set by the first insert molding, and then a large number of conductive circuits are connected in a hoop shape. Each of the disk springs connected in a shape is placed on the upper surface of each contact support with the lower surface of the outer edge in contact with the entire circumference,
A push method characterized in that a casing that is in close contact with the entire circumference of the upper surface of the outer edge of the disc spring and the outer periphery of the contact support is formed by second insert molding, and then the connecting portion of the conductive circuit and the disc spring is cut. How to manufacture switches. (3) The method for manufacturing a push switch according to claim 2, wherein, when cutting the connecting portion, the connecting portion of the conductive circuit is cut and processed, and then the connecting portion of the disc spring is cut.