WO2013150906A1

WO2013150906A1 - Touch switch and manufacturing method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2013150906A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/058555
Authority: WO
Inventors: 勇小松; 拓矢町田; 貫一山本
Original assignee: 興国インテック株式会社
Priority date: 2012-04-04
Filing date: 2013-03-25
Publication date: 2013-10-10
Also published as: JP2013218784A

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a touch switch that, by integrally molding a pressure detection switch with a packing material, has a simpler configuration, and performs an excellent pressure detection function, and a method for manufacturing the touch switch. This touch switch has a conductive core material (5) and a pair of conductive wire materials (3, 4) which are provided parallel to the conductive core material (5), and is characterized in that a first electrode (7) is constructed by covering one of the pair of wire materials and the core material (5) with a conductive rubber material (6) in a state wherein the wire material is held with a predetermined space from the core material, a second electrode (8) is constructed by covering the other of the pair of wire materials with the conductive rubber material (6), the peripheries of the first electrode (7) and the second electrode (8) are covered with an insulating rubber material (2) such that a hollow section (9) where the first electrode (7) and the second electrode (8) face each other with the predetermined space (L) therebetween is formed, and the first electrode (7) and the second electrode (8) come into contact with each other as the hollow section (9) is deformed when a compressive force is applied thereto.

Description

Touch switch and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to a touch switch that is integrally formed by incorporating a pressure detection sensor that opens and closes a contact point by an external press on an upper part of a welt fitted in a door frame or the like, and a method for manufacturing the touch switch.

Pressure detection sensors are installed continuously along the outer periphery of the vehicle door and touched by a line to stop the door from opening and closing when a hand is caught in the vehicle door. Need to be detected.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a cord switch formed in a string shape and a pressure detection device as a pressure detection sensor. As shown in FIG. 5, the cord switch 17 is inserted into the cylindrical holder 12 at the top of the welt 16 that is attached to the edge of the vehicle door or window frame by the mounting portion 15. The welt 16 is formed with a cylindrical holder 12 having a hollow structure for covering the core material 13 with a rubber material 14 and holding the cord switch. In order to be inserted into the cylindrical holder 12 of the welt 16, the cord switch 17 has a cylindrical cable structure, and the hollow portion 20 in the cable covered with the flexible elastic body 18 has a plurality of switch electrodes serving as switch electrodes. The metal conductor wires 19 are arranged so as not to contact each other. When the cord switch 17 is pressed from the outside, the hollow portion 20 in the cable is crushed, and the metal conductor wire 19 having a stranded wire structure disposed in the hollow portion 20 is brought into contact with the cord switch 17 to exhibit a switch function.

Further, for example, in Patent Document 2, a cylindrical holder made of packing material is provided on the top of the welt 16, a conductor is arranged on the inner wall of the cylindrical holder to expose a part of the opposing metal core material, and an electrode of a switch contact A touch switch having a simple structure used as the above is disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 3707996 Published Utility Model No. 61-87718

However, the cord switch 17 disclosed in Patent Document 1 shown in FIG. 5 has an excellent pressure detection function and versatility due to the structure specialized in the switch function, but the welt 16 and the cord fitted into the flange portion of the door or the like. The switch 17 is created separately. Therefore, a step of inserting the cord switch 17 into the cylindrical holder 12 above the welt 16 is required.

Also, the manufacturer of the welt fitted into the flange part of the door and the manufacturer of the pressure detection sensor are different from each other. In the manufacture of the pressure detection device using the pressure detection sensor, the cost, delivery time, quality assurance and Adjustment of the scope of responsibility is required for each company, and there is a problem that delays in response when a problem occurs.

In the case of the touch switch disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is impossible to perform extrusion molding while a part of the metal surface of the metal core material is completely exposed, and the electrode surface to be exposed of the metal core material is thin. Rubber burrs stick and cause poor contact. Therefore, as a post-process, a process of removing the rubber burrs adhering to the electrode surface of the metal core material and completely exposing the electrode surface is required.

The present invention has been made paying attention to the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pressure detection sensor having a simpler and simpler configuration by incorporating a switch element into a hollow portion above the welt and integrally forming the switch element. And

The present invention has the following configurations (1) to (4) in order to achieve the above object.

(1) It has a conductive core and a pair of conductive wires arranged in parallel with the core, and one of the pair of wires is held at a predetermined distance from the core. A first electrode coated with a conductive rubber material, a second electrode coated with the conductive rubber material on the other of the pair of wires, and the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval. The outer periphery of the first electrode and the second electrode is covered with an insulating rubber material so as to have a hollow portion, and the first electrode and the second electrode are in contact with each other when the hollow portion is pressed and deformed. A touch switch characterized by that.

(2) A first electrode having a conductive core and a conductive wire arranged in parallel to the core, the core being covered with a conductive rubber material, and the wire being a conductive rubber Insulating rubber material on the outer periphery of the first electrode and the second electrode so as to have a second electrode covered with a material, and a hollow portion in which the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval The touch switch is characterized in that the first electrode and the second electrode come into contact with each other when the hollow portion is pressed and deformed.

(3) The touch switch according to (1) or (2), wherein the insulating rubber material has a function as a welt.

(4) The touch switch manufacturing method according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the core material and the wire are arranged at predetermined positions, and the conductive rubber material is used for the touch switch. A step of covering the core material and the wire, and a step of covering an outer periphery of the first electrode and the second electrode covered with the conductive rubber material with an insulating rubber material, the cross-sectional shape being predetermined A method of manufacturing a touch switch, characterized by being formed continuously in a shape.

Since the pressure detection sensor and the welt are manufactured by the same manufacturer, it is possible to provide a pressure detection sensor having a simpler and simpler configuration by incorporating the switch element into the hollow portion above the welt and integrally molding the switch element. As a result, it is possible to provide a touch switch that exhibits a simple configuration and an excellent pressure detection function, and a method for manufacturing the touch switch, omitting the step of assembling the pressure detection sensor and greatly reducing the cost.

Structure diagram of touch switch according to this embodiment The touch switch molding process according to the present embodiment is shown, (a) a view showing the arrangement of two conductors and a core material to be a switch element, and (b) a conductive rubber material around the two conductors and the core material. The figure which shows the electrode covered, (c) The figure which shows the touch switch which further covered the electrode with the insulating rubber material, and was extrusion-molded to the predetermined shape In the configuration example of the electrode of the touch switch according to the present embodiment, (a) a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electrode having two conductors and a core as a core, and (b) an electrode having one conductor and a core as a core. Diagram showing the configuration of (A) The figure which shows the state where the finger was pinched, (b) The figure which shows the state which the touch switch operated in the operation example of the touch switch pinching prevention function concerning a present Example The figure which shows the conventional touch switch which inserted the cord switch in the upper part of the welt

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

The touch switch according to this embodiment is a pressure detection sensor laid on a floor surface, a fence or a veranda that functions as an intrusion prevention sensor for a boundary line of a press device or a building, or a door or window frame of an automobile or various devices. The welt fitted into the edge is a string-like pressure detection sensor that functions as a pinch prevention sensor for fingers or the like, a pinch prevention sensor such as an automatic shutter, or a safety sensor for a part that automatically operates a care-related device.

In addition, the touch switch manufacturing method according to this embodiment includes a step of covering a linear conductor as an electrode and a reinforcing core material with a conductive rubber material at the core, and further covering the outer periphery of the electrode with an insulating rubber material. This is a manufacturing method by extrusion molding in which a conductor and a core material are simultaneously covered with a conductive rubber material and an insulating rubber material and are integrally formed in a predetermined shape by a process.

In this embodiment, in order to simplify the description, a touch switch in which a pressure detection sensor is formed in a hollow portion at the top of a welt having a mounting portion fitted into a flange portion of a vehicle door of an automobile or the like will be described as an example.

<Touch switch structure and function>
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a touch switch 1 integrally formed into a predetermined shape by extrusion molding as a welt attached to a flange portion of a vehicle door. The touch switch 1 has a

twisted wire conductors

3 and 4 disposed as opposed to each other as switch elements and a U-shaped core material 5 directly or electrically connected to one conductor 4 as cores. Is coated with a conductive rubber material 6 (6a, 6b, 6c), and the outer periphery thereof is further coated with an insulating rubber material 2, and is integrally molded into a predetermined shape by extrusion molding.

The touch switch 1 has a structure in which a U-shaped mounting portion 10 having a locking function for attaching to a flange portion or a frame of a vehicle door, and an electrode having a protruding structure formed of

conductive rubber materials

6a and 6b are predetermined. It consists of a hollow cylindrical portion 9 that is arranged to face each other at an interval L. On the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 9, a conductive rubber material 6c having the conductor 4 and the core material 5 arranged in parallel as a core, and a protruding portion formed of the conductive rubber material 6c is disposed opposite to the first electrode 7. A pressure detection sensor is formed in which the protruding portion of the conductive rubber material 6 having the core 3 is the second electrode 8 and the electrodes come into contact with each other by pressing.

The touch switch 1 maintains the shape of the mounting portion 10 of the welt and reduces the circuit resistance by using the core material 5 inserted to improve the removal force as a part of the electrode of the touch switch 1. The function to secure a stable feedback current is exhibited. Furthermore, the

conductive rubber materials

6a and 6b covering the

conductors

3 and 4 are continuously formed on the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 9 as electrodes having a protruding structure, so that the first electrode 7 of the switch contact is a hard backbone of the core material 5. It becomes a structure fixed at the top and arrange | positioned with the 2nd electrode 8 and the uniform contact space | interval L, and can improve the stability and sensitivity of the contact operation of the touch switch 1. When the cylindrical portion 9 is deformed by being pressed from the outside, the first electrode 7 is fixed on the hard spine of the core member 5 with a protruding structure, thereby eliminating a contact failure between the electrodes during operation and stabilizing the switch. Can be ensured.

This configuration in which the conductive rubber material 6 covers the

conductors

3 and 4 of the switch element and the core material 5 reverses the disadvantage of extrusion molding in which a thin rubber burr sticks to the electrode metal surface of the touch switch described in Patent Document 2. And a structure in which the surfaces of the conductor 4 and the core material 5 are positively covered with the conductive rubber material 6 to be electrically connected, and a projecting structure ensures a stable contact surface between the electrodes; It has become.

In addition, since the shape of the mounting portion 10 is formed in a U shape or a convex shape depending on the mounting location, the shape of the reinforcing core material 5 to be incorporated is not limited to the U shape shown in the embodiment. .

<Manufacturing method to integrally mold touch switch>
A molding process by extrusion molding of the touch switch 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2A shows the arrangement of the two stranded

conductors

3 and 4 and the core material 5 of the switch element as the core of the electrode, and FIG. 2B shows the arrangement of the two stranded

conductors

3 and 4 FIG. 2C shows a state in which the core material 5 is covered with the conductive rubber material 6 (6a, 6b, 6c), and FIG. 2C shows the

switch material

3 and 4 and the core material 5 covered with the conductive rubber material 6. The state where the cord-like touch switch 1 having a predetermined cross-sectional shape is formed by being pushed out from the mold while being covered with the insulating rubber material 2 is shown.

When the touch switch 1 of this embodiment is manufactured by extrusion molding, the core material 5 serving as the core of the electrode, the conductive rubber material 6 covering the

conductors

3 and 4, and the insulating rubber material 2 serving as the outer sheath of the welt are covered. Is a manufacturing method in which all of the forming processes are integrally formed in a single continuous process. In actual extrusion, the states shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are performed simultaneously. This reversely utilizes the disadvantage of extrusion molding in which a thin rubber burr sticks to the electrode metal surface of the touch switch shown in Patent Document 2.

The

conductors

3 and 4 of the switch element are made of stainless steel stranded wire, nickel-plated copper stranded wire, tin-plated copper stranded wire, silver-plated copper stranded wire or the like, carbon fiber or other fiber and resin conductive twist. Use wire rods. Each conductor in the figure is shown as a single wire, but it corresponds to the application and size of the touch switch 1 and avoids disconnection of the switch circuit due to disconnection of the

conductors

3 and 4 and breakage of the core material 5. For this purpose, the number of

conductors

3 and 4 may be increased, and a plurality of stranded wires may be arranged. By electrically connecting the conductor 4 and the core material 5, the electrical resistance is lowered, and there is an effect of increasing the feedback current of the touch switch 1 and increasing the switch sensitivity.

The core material 5 is formed of a conductive material such as a fish bone shape or a concave cross-sectional shape metal material or a conductive resin material composed of a plurality of rib portions 5b orthogonal to the spine portion 5a, but is usually inexpensive and strong. Metal conductive materials such as iron and plated iron are used. Since the mounting portion 10 of the touch switch 1 is fitted so as to sandwich a flange such as a curved vehicle door from both sides, the fishbone-shaped core material 5 that can be bent freely is bent into a U-shaped cross section. ing. Further, by fixing the conductor 4 of the switch element on the spine 5a of the core material 5, it becomes possible to keep the distance L between the electrodes having the

conductors

3 and 4 as the core constant, and further receive the pressure. A stable contact operation of the touch switch 1 can be ensured. An output terminal 11 for connection to an external detection device is formed on the

conductors

3 and 4 or the core material 5.

The conductive rubber material 6 that covers the

conductors

3 and 4 and the core material 5 is coated using a conductive material of EPDM (ethylene / propylene / diene rubber) having a volume resistivity of 10 ² Ω · cm or less. When covering the conductor 4 and the core material 5, the discharge ports of the

conductive rubber materials

6 b and 6 c are arranged so that the conductive rubber material 6 covering each of them is integrally formed. Moreover, it is also possible to omit the conductor 4 and the electrode protrusions of the conductive rubber material 6b disposed on the cylindrical portion 9 according to the use and cost (see FIG. 3B).

An insulating material of EPDM having a volume resistivity of 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm or more is used for the insulating rubber material 2 that forms the outer shape of the touch switch 1 as a welt, and is extruded from a mold having a predetermined cross-sectional shape. Thus, the outer shape of the welt is formed. The double coated rubber material of the touch switch 1 uses the same EPDM material only with different electrical characteristics, so that it does not become a laminated structure after formation but is integrated, so that the conductive rubber material 6 and the insulating rubber material of the jacket 2 has a single structure and does not peel off individually at its bonding boundary.

In addition, the material of the conductive rubber material 6 and the insulating rubber material 2 may be a rubber material or a thermoplastic elastic body having the same performance as the above-described EPDM material, and is not limited to EPDM.

<Example of touch switch configuration>
FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of electrodes formed on the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 9 of the touch switch 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3A shows a second electrode 8 of a conductive rubber material 6a having a conductor 3 as a nucleus and a first electrode of a conductive rubber material 6b having a conductor 4 as a nucleus. 7 shows a protruding structure, and the protruding portion of the electrode contacts as a switch terminal. The switch sensitivity can be adjusted by changing the distance L between the first electrode 7 and the second electrode 8 by changing the thickness of the protruding portions of the

conductive rubber materials

6a and 6b.

FIG. 3B shows a core material in which the second electrode 8 of the conductive rubber material 6a having the conductor 3 as a core and the conductive rubber material 6b having the conductor 4 as a core formed on the upper surface of the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 9 is omitted. This is a switch configuration in which a conductive rubber material 6 c having 5 as a core is used as a first electrode 7. This can be used when the gap L between the switch electrodes needs to be increased.

The cost can be reduced by omitting the protrusions of the conductor 4 and the conductive rubber material 6b, and the conductive rubber material 6c that covers the spine 5a of the core material 5 is used as the first electrode 7. The interelectrode distance L and the contact surface of the conductive rubber material 6a with the second electrode 8 can be widened.

<Operation of touch switch pinching sensor>
FIG. 4 shows an operation example as a pinch prevention sensor of the touch switch 1 attached to the flange portion D3 of the sliding doors D1 and D2 of an automatic door or an automobile.

The operation of the pinch prevention function by the touch switch 1 according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. 4 when a hand is mistakenly inserted between the doors D1 and D2 to be closed as shown in FIG. As shown in (b), the shape of the cylindrical portion 9 of the touch switch 1 is crushed by pressing, the protruding portions of the first electrode 7 and the second electrode 8 come into contact with each other, the pinching prevention sensor operates, and the doors D1 and D2 Stop closure. The touch switch 1 exhibits a function of a pressure detection sensor that detects contact with a line by being continuously installed along the outer periphery of the doors D1 and D2.

As described above, since the touch switch incorporated in the welt can be manufactured by the same manufacturer, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, the manufacturing method can be changed according to the specification, and a prompt response can be made when a problem occurs. Moreover, since the pressure detection sensor is already incorporated in the customer who uses it, a simple work process in which the process for incorporating the pressure detection sensor is reduced can be constructed.

1 Touch switch 2 Insulating rubber 3 Conductor (corresponding to wire)
4 Conductor (corresponding to wire)
5 Core material 6 Conductive rubber material 7 First electrode 8 Second electrode 9 Cylindrical portion 10 Mounting portion 11 Output terminal 12 Cylindrical holder 13 Metal core material 14 Rubber material 15 Mounting portion 16 Welt 17 Code switch 18 Elastic body 19 Metal conductor wire 20 Hollow part D1 Door D2 Door D3 Flange L Distance between electrodes

Claims

Having a conductive core and a pair of conductive wires arranged in parallel with the core;
A first electrode in which one of the pair of wires is covered with a conductive rubber material in a state where a predetermined interval is maintained on the core;
A second electrode in which the other of the pair of wires is covered with a conductive rubber material;
Covering the outer periphery of the first electrode and the second electrode with an insulating rubber material so that the first electrode and the second electrode have a hollow portion opposed to each other at a predetermined interval,
The touch switch is characterized in that the first electrode and the second electrode come into contact with each other when the hollow portion is deformed by being pressed.
Having a conductive core and a conductive wire disposed in parallel with the core;
A first electrode in which the core material is coated with a conductive rubber material;
A second electrode in which the wire is covered with a conductive rubber material;
Covering the outer periphery of the first electrode and the second electrode with an insulating rubber material so that the first electrode and the second electrode have a hollow portion opposed to each other at a predetermined interval,
The touch switch is characterized in that the first electrode and the second electrode come into contact with each other when the hollow portion is deformed by being pressed.
The touch switch according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the insulating rubber material has a function as a welt.
It is a manufacturing method of the touch switch of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3, Comprising:
Arranging the core and the wire in a predetermined position;
Coating the core and the wire with the conductive rubber material;
Covering the outer periphery of the first electrode and the second electrode covered with the conductive rubber material with an insulating rubber material,
A method for manufacturing a touch switch, wherein a cross-sectional shape is formed continuously in a predetermined shape.