JPH1153976A - Panel switch and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To reduce the number of assembling steps and eliminate assembling problems and waste of materials. SOLUTION: A through hole having a predetermined size is formed in a substrate 11 made of an insulating material, and a plurality of electrodes 12 are arranged around the through hole.
To form a wiring board 1. A holding and fixing portion 21 that is in close contact with and fixed to the through hole of the wiring board 1 with the edge of the through hole sandwiched therebetween, a movable portion 22 that moves by receiving an external force, and a predetermined distance between the movable portion 22 and the holding and fixing portion 21. The push switch rubber 2 is deformed when the external force is applied to the connecting movable portion 22 and returns to its original shape when the external force is removed. A movable conductor 31 is formed so as to cover the push switch rubber 2 and is fixed to the movable portion 22 and at a position corresponding to the electrode 12. When the movable portion 22 receives an external force, the movable conductor 31
A key top 3 is provided which comes into contact with the electrode 12 and makes the electrodes 12 conductive.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a panel switch and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to controlling the contact and non-contact of a plurality of electrodes on a substrate with a conductor by utilizing the deformation and restoring force of rubber, thereby making the switch more compact. The present invention belongs to a panel switch having a structure for controlling on / off and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In household electronic devices such as televisions, conductive rubber is used to control the contact and non-contact of a plurality of electrodes on a printed wiring board by utilizing the deformation and restoring force of rubber, thereby making the switch 2. Description of the Related Art A remote control switch having a panel switch structure for performing on / off control (hereinafter, referred to as a remote control switch) is often used. FIG. 3 shows a typical conventional example of a panel switch including such a remote control switch. This panel switch is formed on a substrate 11x having a through hole for a press-fit boss formed thereon, a plurality of electrodes 12x formed at predetermined positions on the substrate 11x, and connected to each of the plurality of electrodes 12x. The wiring board 1x including the wiring (not shown) and the protruding press-fit boss 25 are press-fitted into the press-fit boss through holes of the board 11x so as to cover the area other than the areas on the plurality of electrodes 12x of the board 11x. A base portion 24 closely adhered to the base, a movable portion 22x provided at a predetermined distance from the plurality of electrodes 12x, and a predetermined portion between the movable portion 22x and the plurality of electrodes 12x. A silicone push switch rubber 2x including an elastically deforming portion 23x that connects with a space, and the movable portion 22x fixed to the movable portion 22x in a space between the movable portion 22x and the plurality of electrodes 12x. A conductive rubber 5 was kicked, case panels 4 covering the portions other than the movable portion 22x
x.

In this panel switch, when an external force is applied to the movable portion 22x by a finger or the like and the movable portion 22x is pushed in, the elastically deformable portion 23x is deformed, and the conductive rubber 5 is connected to the plurality of electrodes 1x.
The switch 2x is brought into contact with the electrodes 2x to make the electrodes 12x conductive, and the switch is turned on. The movable part 22
When the external force is removed from x, the elastically deformable portion 23x returns to its original shape (the movable portion 22x also returns to its original position), and the conductive rubber 5 separates from the plurality of electrodes 12x and separates the electrodes 12x from each other. The switch is turned on and the switch is turned off.

In this panel switch, the push switch rubber 2x is formed alone (separately from the wiring board 1x and the like) by a predetermined process, and thereafter, the movable portion 22x
The conductive rubber 5 is adhered and fixed to a predetermined surface of the
5 is pressed into the through-hole for the press-fit boss of the substrate 11x, and assembly proceeds.

[0005]

In this conventional panel switch, the push switch rubber 2x is connected to the wiring board 1x.
Apart from the above, the structure is such that the wiring board 1x and the like are formed independently by a predetermined process to assemble the wiring board 1x and the like, which increases the number of assembling steps. In addition, there is a problem that the base portion 24 does not match, and the base portion 24 actually spreads out of the movable portion 22x, the elastic deformation portion 23x, and the base portion 24 connected thereto other than the peripheral portions of the plurality of electrodes 12x. Therefore, there is a problem that much material is wasted.

[0006] Furthermore, the push switch rubber 2x made of silicone requires 5 to 7 minutes for primary vulcanization and 2 to 4 hours for secondary vulcanization, resulting in a long molding time and poor productivity. There is. Since the vulcanization temperature is about 200 ° C. and since the conductive rubber 5 is integrally molded on the surface of the movable portion 22x on the substrate 1x side, the push switch rubber 2x is directly molded on the wiring substrate 1x. Can not.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to reduce the number of assembling steps, eliminate assembling problems and waste of materials, and form a push switch rubber in a short time to improve productivity. An object of the present invention is to provide a panel switch that can be improved.

[0008]

The present invention has the following means in order to achieve the above object. That is, the panel switch of the present invention is a substrate made of an insulating material of a predetermined size in which a through hole of a predetermined size is formed, a plurality of electrodes formed at predetermined positions around the through hole of the substrate, And a wiring board connected to each of the plurality of electrodes and including a wiring formed on the board, and a holding and fixing portion that adheres and fixes the edge portion of the through hole of the board so as to sandwich the edge portion, A movable portion that moves by receiving an external force, and the movable portion and the holding and fixing portion are connected in a predetermined shape, and when the external force is applied to the movable portion, the movable portion is deformed with a click feeling, and the original force is removed when the external force is removed. A push switch rubber including an elastically deforming portion that returns to the shape of the push switch rubber; and a movable conductor fixed to the movable portion of the push switch rubber and corresponding to the plurality of electrodes to cover the push switch rubber. And a key top made of insulating material in which the movable conductor and conductive state between the electrodes in contact with the plurality of electrodes when receiving an external force to the movable portion is formed as. The push switch rubber is formed by molding an elastomer resin.

Further, according to the method for manufacturing a panel switch of the present invention, a mold comprising a fixed mold and a movable mold is provided inside a mold.
The wiring board is incorporated and positioned, and a resin for a push switch rubber is injected into the mold to directly mold the push switch rubber on the wiring board.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the panel switch according to the present invention is that a plurality of through holes of a predetermined size are formed in a substrate made of an insulating material of a predetermined size, and a plurality of holes are formed at predetermined positions around the through holes. An electrode and a wiring connected to each of the plurality of electrodes are formed to form a wiring board, and a holding and fixing portion that adheres and fixes the edge portion of the through hole of the wiring board so as to sandwich the edge portion. A movable part that moves under external force,
And an elastically deforming portion that connects the movable portion and the holding and fixing portion in a predetermined shape, deforms with a click feeling when an external force is applied to the movable portion, and returns to the original shape when the external force is removed. A push switch rubber is provided, a movable conductor is formed at a position corresponding to the plurality of electrodes and is formed on the push switch rubber so as to cover the push switch rubber, and is provided with a movable conductor at a position corresponding to the plurality of electrodes. A structure in which a key top made of an insulating material is provided in which the movable conductor comes into contact with the plurality of electrodes to make the electrodes conductive is provided.

With such a structure, the push switch rubber can be easily formed directly on the wiring board, the number of assembling steps can be reduced, and the push switch rubber 2 for the wiring board 1 can be reduced.
It is possible to accurately maintain the mounting positional relationship and to eliminate waste of materials such as a push switch rubber. Also, by molding the push switch rubber from the elastomer resin, the molding time becomes several tens of seconds, compared with the conventional primary vulcanization of 5 to 7 minutes and the secondary vulcanization of 2 to 4 hours.
It can be greatly reduced. Further, since the molding temperature (mold temperature) is as low as 10 to 60 ° C., even if the push switch rubber is directly molded on the wiring board, there is no adverse effect on the wiring board.

[0012]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a panel switch according to one embodiment of the present invention. The panel switch includes a substrate 11 made of an insulating material having a predetermined size in which a through hole having a predetermined size (for example, a diameter) is formed, and a plurality of electrodes formed at predetermined positions around the through hole of the substrate 11. 12, the wiring board 1 including the wiring (not shown) formed on the substrate 11 connected to each of the plurality of electrodes 12, and closely adhered to the edge of the through hole of the substrate 11 by sandwiching the edge. Holding / fixing section 21 for moving and fixing, movable section 2 moving under external force
2. An elastically deforming portion that connects the movable portion 22 and the holding and fixing portion 21 in a trapezoidal shape and deforms with a click when receiving an external force on the movable portion 22, and returns to its original form when the external force is removed. 23, and a movable conductor 31 fixed to the movable portion 22 of the push switch rubber 2 and provided at a position corresponding to the plurality of electrodes 12 so as to cover the push switch rubber 2 and move. When the movable conductor 31 comes into contact with the plurality of electrodes 12 when an external force is applied to the portion 22, the key top 3 made of an insulating material (for example, made of a hard resin) that makes the electrodes 12 conductive is provided on the wiring board 1. And a case panel 4 that covers a part other than the key top 3 of FIG.

In this panel switch, when an external force is applied to the key top 3 in the vertical direction to the wiring board 1, the external force is transmitted to the movable portion 22 of the push switch rubber 2, and the movable portion 22 and the key top 3 move. The elastically deforming portion 23 deforms with a click feeling. When the external force is removed, the elastically deforming portion 23 returns to its original shape, and the movable portion 22 and the key top 3 also return to their original positions.

When an external force is applied to the key top 3 and the movable part 22 to deform the elastically deformable part 23, the movable conductor 31 provided on the key top 3
And the electrodes 12 are brought into conduction. That is, it is in a switch-on state. When the external force is removed from the key top 3 and the movable portion 22, they return to their original positions, the movable conductor 31 separates from the plurality of electrodes 12, and the electrodes 12 are in a non-conductive state. That is, the switch is off.

Since the panel switch has the above-described structure, the push switch rubber 2 can be easily formed directly on the wiring board 1, and therefore, the number of assembling steps can be reduced. In addition, the mounting position of the push switch rubber 2 with respect to the wiring board 1 can be accurately maintained. Further, since the push switch rubber 2 is formed only in a portion that performs a so-called switch operation, there is no waste of material.

The push switch rubber 2 is injection-molded with an elastomer resin. By doing so, the molding time is several tens of seconds, and the molding time can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional example, and the productivity can be improved. When the push switch rubber 2 is directly formed on the wiring board 1, the temperature of the elastomer resin at the time of filling the mold is about 200 ° C. However, after reaching the wiring board 1, the elastomer resin is instantaneously cooled and solidified in the mold. There is no adverse effect on

Next, a method of manufacturing the panel switch will be described with reference to FIG. Push switch rubber 2
The mold 100 for injection-molding is a fixed mold 110.
And a movable mold 120. The fixed mold 110 has a pinpoint gate 11 for injecting an elastomer resin.
A cavity for forming the outer wall of the push switch rubber 2 projecting from the surface of the wiring board 1 is formed at the tip of the wiring board 1.

The movable mold 120 is provided with the wiring board 1.
Is formed, and positioning pins 122 for positioning the wiring board 1 and the fixed mold 110 are provided.
Further, there are provided a convex portion for molding the inner wall portion of the push switch rubber 2 and the rear surface portion of the wiring board 1, and a board pressing ring 123 and a spring 124 for pressing the wiring board 1 against a fixed mold.

The wiring board 1 has a positioning hole 13 formed therein. The wiring board 1 is set in the board setting recess 121 of the movable mold 120, and the positioning pins 122 are inserted into the positioning holes 13 of the wiring board 1. To position the wiring board 1.

The fixed mold 110 and the movable mold 120 are brought into close contact with each other, and at the same time, the wiring board 1 is pressed against the fixed mold 110 by the substrate pressing ring 123 and the spring 124, and, for example, an elastomer resin is injected from the pinpoint gate 111. Then, the push switch rubber 2 is formed. At this time, since the wiring substrate 1 is pressed against the fixed mold 110, the elastomer resin does not cover the electrodes 12, and therefore, no conduction failure occurs.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a through-hole having a predetermined size, a plurality of electrodes around the through-hole, and wirings connected to these electrodes are formed on a substrate made of an insulating material. Then, a holding and fixing portion that closely adheres and fixes the through-hole portion so as to sandwich the edge of the through-hole, a movable portion that moves by receiving an external force, and is movable by connecting the movable portion and the holding and fixing portion in a predetermined shape. A push switch rubber comprising an elastically deforming portion that deforms when an external force is applied to the portion and returns to its original shape when the external force is removed, is formed so as to cover the push switch rubber, is fixed to the movable portion, and A structure in which a movable conductor is provided at a position corresponding to each of the electrodes and a key top is provided so that the movable conductor comes into contact with a plurality of electrodes when an external force is applied to the movable portion, and a conductive state is established between these electrodes. Allows The push switch rubber can be easily formed directly on the board, reducing the number of assembling man-hours. In addition, by molding the push switch rubber with an elastomer resin, there is an effect that the molding time can be greatly reduced without adversely affecting the substrate, and the productivity can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a panel switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a mold in which a wiring board is incorporated for explaining a method of manufacturing the panel switch of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional panel switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1, 1x wiring board 2, 2x push switch rubber 3 key top 4, 4x case panel 5 conductive rubber 11, 11x substrate 12, 12x electrode 13 positioning hole 21 holding and fixing part 22, 22x movable part 23, 23x elastic deformation part 24 Base 31 Movable conductor 100 Mold 110 Fixed mold 111 Pinpoint gate 120 Movable mold 121 Substrate setting recess 122 Positioning pin 123 Substrate pressing ring 124 Spring

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate made of an insulating material having a predetermined size in which a through hole having a predetermined size is formed, a plurality of electrodes formed in predetermined positions around the through hole in the substrate, and a plurality of electrodes formed in the substrate. A wiring board connected to each of the electrodes and including wiring formed on the board, and a holding and fixing portion that tightly fixes the edge portion of the through hole of the board so as to sandwich the edge portion, and receives an external force. The movable part that moves, and the movable part and the holding and fixing part are connected in a predetermined shape, and when the movable part receives an external force, it deforms with a click feeling and returns to the original shape when the external force is removed. A push switch rubber including an elastic deformation portion, and a movable conductor fixed to the movable portion of the push switch rubber and provided at a position corresponding to the plurality of electrodes so as to cover the push switch rubber, and A panel switch, comprising: a key top made of an insulating material, wherein the movable conductor comes into contact with the plurality of electrodes when an external force is applied to the movable portion to make the electrodes conductive. 2. The panel switch according to claim 1, wherein said push switch rubber is formed of an elastomer resin. 3. The positioning of the wiring board in a mold comprising a fixed mold and a movable mold, wherein a resin for a push switch rubber is injected into the mold and directly into the wiring board. A method for manufacturing a panel switch, wherein the push switch rubber is molded.