TWM548351U - Membrane switch - Google Patents

Abstract

A membrane switch including a first membrane, a second membrane, a first electrode disposed on the first membrane, a second electrode disposed on the second membrane, and an adhesive layer is provided. The first and the second membranes are combined to each other by the adhesive layer, such that the first electrode faces toward the second electrode and a gap existed therebetween. At least one air tunnel is formed in the adhesive layer to communicate the gap with an external environment outside the membrane switch.

Description

Membrane switch

The novel creation is related to a membrane switch.

The membrane switch (Membrane Switch) uses a plurality of touch portions respectively located on the inner surfaces of the opposite thin films to be pressed by an external force, so that the corresponding touch portions are in contact with each other to make the circuit A turn-on is formed to achieve the desired switching action to generate a signal. The array membrane switches are combined and connected via a circuit to form a set of input devices.

Due to its small size, it has been widely used in various electronic products in recent years, such as mobile phones, home appliances, and operation panels for machine tools. In particular, electronic products are gradually moving toward light, thin, and short, so the membrane switch is satisfied. These needs are even more important.

The novel creation provides a membrane switch which has a simplified structure and can be effectively thinned and thinned.

The membrane switch created by the novel includes a first film, a second film, and a An electrode, a second electrode, and an adhesive layer. The first electrode is disposed on the first film, the second electrode is disposed on the second film, and the first electrode and the second electrode are opposed to each other. The first film and the second film are bonded together by an adhesive layer, and a gap exists between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the adhesive layer forms at least one air passage to communicate the gap with the external environment.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive layer is applied to at least one of the first film and the second film by screen printing, and forms at least one air passage while being coated.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes at least one insulating layer disposed on at least one of the first film and the second film, and at least one insulating layer is located between the adhesive layer and the first film or on the adhesive layer Between the second film.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one insulating layer includes a first insulating layer and a second insulating layer, the first insulating layer is located between the adhesive layer and the first film, and the second insulating layer is located between the adhesive layer and the first insulating layer. Between the two films.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one insulating layer completely covers the area of the first film except the first electrode.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one insulating layer completely covers the area of the second film except the second electrode.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive layer comprises a hot melt adhesive or a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the hot melt adhesive has a melting point of 130 ° C to 150 ° C.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the insulating layer has a thickness of 10 μm to 20 μm.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive layer has a thickness of 10 μm to 20 μm.

Based on the above, in the above embodiment of the present invention, the first film and the second film are structurally bonded directly to each other only by the adhesive layer, thereby eliminating the thickness in the prior art when the barrier layer is still present, thereby effectively Make the membrane switch lighter and thinner. At the same time, since the overall thickness can be reduced, the aperture between the first electrode and the second electrode can also be reduced in a bird's eye view, that is, between the first film and the second film. The area in which the adhesive layer is disposed can be greatly improved, thereby improving the waterproof effect of the membrane switch.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and understood from the following description.

100‧‧‧ membrane switch

110‧‧‧First film

120‧‧‧second film

130‧‧‧Adhesive layer

132‧‧‧ airway

140‧‧‧ Conductive layer

142‧‧‧electrode pairs

144, 146‧‧‧ lines

146a‧‧‧jumper structure

150‧‧‧Insulation structure

152‧‧‧First insulation

154‧‧‧Second insulation

A1‧‧‧first electrode

A2‧‧‧second electrode

A-A, B-B‧‧‧ cut line

1 is a top plan view of a membrane switch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the membrane switch of Figure 1 taken along line A-A.

3 is a top plan view of a membrane switch of another embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the membrane switch of FIG. 3 taken along line B-B.

FIG. 5 is a partial top plan view of a membrane switch of another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a membrane switch according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a top plan view of a membrane switch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the membrane switch of Figure 1 taken along line A-A, wherein Figure 1 omits some of the components of Figure 2 to facilitate identification of its internal structure. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 simultaneously, in the embodiment, the membrane switch 100 includes a first film 110, a second film 120, and an adhesive layer 130. The first film 110 and the second film 120 are only adhered to the layer 130. And combine with each other. Furthermore, a conductive layer 140 is disposed between the first film 110 and the second film 120, and includes a line 144 and an electrode pair 142, and the electrode pair 142 includes a first electrode A1 disposed on the first film 110. And a second electrode A2 disposed on the second film 120. As shown in FIG. 2, the first electrode A1 and the second electrode A2 are opposed to each other with a gap therebetween to serve as a touch portion of the membrane switch 100. When the external force squeezes the membrane switch 100 such that the first electrode A1 and the second electrode A2 are pressed against each other and electrically connected (the electrodes are in contact with each other), the communication number generated by the external electrode A1 and the second electrode A2 can be transmitted to the control element via the line 144 (not The resulting switch drive signal is generated to achieve the activation of the membrane switch 100. After the external force is removed, the membrane switch 100 is restored to the state in which the first electrode A1 and the second electrode A2 are separated from each other by the elasticity of the first film 110 and the second film 120.

It should be mentioned that the membrane switch different from the prior art needs to be provided with a spacer between the first film and the second film. In this embodiment, only the adhesive layer 130 is used, and the first film 110 and the first film are not required. An additional barrier layer is disposed between the two films 120 (that is, there is only one adhesive layer, or it may be considered that there is no barrier layer between the adhesive layers), thus The membrane switch 100 of the present embodiment can be provided with an effect of being more light and thin. This allows the aperture formed by the electrode pair 142 to be further reduced in size in a top view (as in Figure 1, the blank around the electrode pair 142).

Further, in the prior art, due to the presence of a spacer (having a thickness of about 50 μm), the first electrode and the second electrode are required to pass through the spacer of the spacer to be in contact with each other, and as such, are limited by The spacer, so on the first film, the peripheral space of the first electrode needs to be larger than the aperture of the aperture, so that when the first film is squeezed, the first electrode can smoothly pass through the aperture, and the same happens. a second electrode on the second film. For example, a membrane switch having a load of 8 g to 18 g is taken as an example. When the barrier layer is present, the peripheral space of the first electrode (or the second electrode) has a pore diameter of 3.6 mm to 3.8 mm in a plan view. Accordingly, in the membrane switch of the prior art, the periphery of the electrode pair needs to allow a large space for the electrode pairs to contact each other when the film is pressed. Conversely, in the present embodiment, the peripheral space of the electrode pair 142 can be reduced by the absence of the barrier layer. For example, the peripheral space of the electrode pair 142 has a hole diameter of 2.8 mm to 3.0 mm in a plan view. In other words, the area that the adhesive layer 130 can coat on the first film 110 or/and the second film 120 can be increased, and this will improve the waterproof effect of the membrane switch 100.

Furthermore, the adhesive layer 130 of the present embodiment is a hot melt adhesive or a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), which can be applied to at least one of the first film 110 and the second film 120 by screen printing, wherein the adhesive layer 130 The thickness can thus reach 10 μm to 20 μm. At the same time, when hot melt adhesive is used, its melting point is 130 ° C to 150 ° C. This allows the membrane switch 100 to not melt easily as it is subjected to subsequent other related processes. Take In terms of thickness, the prior art exists due to the interlayer, and the adhesive layer is also applied to the opposite surfaces of the separator to bond the separator to the first film and the second film, so that the first film and the first film A gap of about 90 μm is caused between the two films. In contrast, in the present embodiment, since the first film 110 and the second film 120 are attached only by the adhesive layer 130, the pitch of the first film 110 and the second film 120 can be effectively controlled to the thickness of the adhesive layer 130 (the aforementioned 10 μm to 20 μm). .

In addition, more importantly, as shown in FIG. 1, the adhesive layer 130 of the present embodiment also forms the air passage 132 while being coated, that is, when the air passage 132 is at the viewing angle shown in FIG. 2, it and the adhesive layer 130. The air channels 132 are substantially in the same plane, and the air passages 132 are used to connect the gap between the electrode pairs 142 to the external environment. As described above, the adhesive layer 130 is applied by screen printing, so that the user can apply the adhesive layer 130 to the first film 110 or/and the second film 120 by the structural design of the screen. The desired air passage 132 (the area where the adhesive layer 130 is not applied) has been formed. Conversely, since the spacer of the prior art is not required in the present embodiment, the attaching action of the first film 110 and the second film 120 is performed only by the alignment of the first electrode A1 and the second electrode A2. There is no need to consider the spacer alignment action of the compartment, so it can effectively save the process and cost. At the same time, the air passage 132 formed in synchronization with the adhesive layer 130 also eliminates the process steps and costs required in the prior art to separately construct the air passage structure.

3 is a top plan view of a membrane switch of another embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the membrane switch of FIG. 3 taken along line B-B. Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 simultaneously, unlike the foregoing embodiment, the membrane switch 100 of the present embodiment further includes an insulating structure 150 disposed between the adhesive layer 130 and the film. Here, absolutely The edge structure 150 includes a first insulating layer 152 and a second insulating layer 154 having a thickness of 10 μm to 20 μm, respectively, wherein the first insulating layer 152 is disposed between the adhesive layer 130 and the first film 110, and the second insulating layer 154 is disposed at Between the adhesive layer 130 and the second film 120, an insulating effect between the conductive layers 140 is provided. In terms of thickness, the thickness of the adhesive layer 130, the first insulating layer 152, and the second insulating layer 154 of the present embodiment is 60 μm, which is still lower than the thickness (90 μm) of the barrier layer and the adhesive layer in the prior art.

It should be noted here that the first insulating layer 152 substantially completely covers the area of the first film 110 except the first electrode A1, and the second insulating layer 154 completely covers the area of the second film 120 except the second electrode A2, as shown in the figure. 3, which shows the area where the insulating structure exists in a dot, the range of which substantially covers the line 144 and the air passage 132, that is, the insulating structure 150 only covers the electrode pair 142 and its peripheral area, so that in addition to providing sufficient insulation effect, In the production, it is only necessary to cover the first film 110 and the second film 120 with an integral insulating film.

It should be noted that, in the prior art, the membrane switch is a separator for insulation, and as described above, a spacer is still needed in the spacer to facilitate contact of the electrodes, so that the more the number of pairs, the more representative The number of the spacers in the interlayer also needs to be increased, which results in the interlayer being liable to be scattered due to excessive pores during the manufacturing process, and is not conducive to the alignment and attachment action with the film, and is not conducive to the overall structural strength. . In contrast, in the present embodiment, the integral structure of the insulating film can provide a more convenient and accurate attachment and alignment action in the fabrication.

In addition, FIG. 5 is a partial top view of the membrane switch of another embodiment of the present invention. Here, the partial structure of two adjacent membrane switches is shown, please refer to FIG. As described above, in addition to improving the manufacturing efficiency, the integral structure of the insulating film also provides considerable convenience for the configuration of the wire structure. As shown, the lateral line 144 and the longitudinal line 146 meet in the spaced regions of adjacent membrane switches 100 (shown in the dashed box range), and by the presence of the insulating structure 150 (the dots shown), The jumper structure 146a of line 146 easily spans line 144.

6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a membrane switch according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, unlike the foregoing embodiment, the membrane switch of the present embodiment has only one insulating structure, and the second insulating layer 154 is disposed between the second film 120 and the adhesive layer 130 as shown in the drawing. As in the foregoing, the second insulating layer 154 also covers the area of the second film 120 except the second electrode A2 when viewed from the top view of the membrane switch, thereby also providing insulation between the first film 110 and the second film 120. Use.

In summary, in the above embodiment of the present invention, the first film and the second film are structurally bonded directly to each other only by the adhesive layer, thereby eliminating the thickness in the prior art when the barrier layer is still present. Effectively make the membrane switch light and thin. At the same time, since the overall thickness can be reduced, the aperture between the first electrode and the second electrode can also be reduced in a bird's eye view, that is, between the first film and the second film. The area in which the adhesive layer is disposed can be greatly improved, thereby improving the waterproof effect of the membrane switch.

Moreover, the air passage of the membrane switch is completed by the screen printing method when the adhesive layer is applied, which can effectively simplify the structure and avoid the inconvenience caused by the prior art that the air passage is additionally provided by the components and the process.

In addition, by arranging at least one insulating layer between the first film and the second film, the insulating film of the integral structure is substituted for the spacer layer in the prior art, and the corresponding interlayer is required, thereby improving the convenience of the process. Sexuality and effectively reduce production costs.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the novel creation, and any person skilled in the art can make some changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel creation. Retouching, the scope of protection of this new creation is subject to the definition of the scope of the patent application attached.

100‧‧‧ membrane switch

130‧‧‧Adhesive layer

132‧‧‧ airway

140‧‧‧ Conductive layer

142‧‧‧electrode pairs

144‧‧‧ lines

A-A‧‧‧ cut line

Claims (10)

A membrane switch comprising: a first film; a first electrode disposed on the first film; a second film; a second electrode disposed on the second film, and the first electrode and the second electrode Opposite to each other; and an adhesive layer, the first film and the second film are bonded together by the adhesive layer, and a gap exists between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein The adhesive layer forms at least one airway that communicates the gap with the external environment. The membrane switch according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer is applied to at least one of the first film and the second film by screen printing, and is formed at the same time as coating. The at least one airway. The membrane switch of claim 1, further comprising: at least one insulating layer disposed on at least one of the first film and the second film, and the at least one insulating layer is located at the adhesion Between the layer and the first film or between the adhesive layer and the second film. The membrane switch of claim 3, wherein the at least one insulating layer comprises a first insulating layer and a second insulating layer, the first insulating layer being located between the adhesive layer and the first film The second insulating layer is located between the adhesive layer and the second film. The membrane switch of claim 3, wherein the at least one insulating layer completely covers a region of the first film except the first electrode. The membrane switch of claim 3, wherein the at least one insulating layer completely covers a region of the second film except the second electrode. The membrane switch of claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer is a hot melt adhesive or a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA). The membrane switch according to claim 7, wherein the hot melt adhesive has a melting point of 130 ° C to 150 ° C. The membrane switch according to claim 3, wherein the at least one insulating layer has a thickness of 10 μm to 20 μm. The membrane switch according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer has a thickness of 10 μm to 20 μm.