JPS62133618A - Touch switch device - 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 is a touch-switch/notch device that can open and close contacts by displacing an elastic layer using a bend touch, and is capable of preventing malfunctions due to manual contact, and is capable of position detection. accurate,
And a touch switch device with improved durability of the insulating sheet.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional touch switch device is described, for example, in Nikkei Electronics, No. 6.8, 1981, in the section of a see-through type finger/notch input device in which a coordinate detection surface is superimposed on a display screen. This touch switch Sochi device will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

In these figures, 1 is a transparent first insulating sheet that is easily displaced by stress, and 2 is a very thin transparent conductive film, such as a metal oxide, provided on this first insulating sheet 1. A fixed electrode group, 3 is a fixed contact that is a part of the fixed electrode group 2, 4 is an extraction electrode from the fixed electrode group 2, 5 is a transparent second insulating sheet similar to the insulating sheet 1, 6 7 corresponds to the fixed contacts 3; 7 corresponds to the fixed contacts 3; and 7 corresponds to the fixed contacts 3; A movable contact is a part of the movable electrode group 6, 8 is an extraction electrode from the movable electrode group 6, and 9 is a dot-shaped transparent resin provided on the fixed electrode group to separate the two electrode groups. This is a spacer. The movable electrode group 6 and the fixed electrode group 2 are assembled facing each other. As shown in FIG. 6, this touch switch device is placed with the fixed electrode group 2 facing down and the movable electrode group 6 facing upward.
When the second insulating sheet 5 is pushed downward, the movable contact 7 that is in close contact with it also moves downward, and the distance between the movable contact 7 and the fixed contact 3, which were separated by the tod-shaped spacer 9, gradually decreases. Eventually, the movable contact 7 and the fixed contact 3 come into contact, turning on the circuit. At this time, the signal is from the extraction electrode 8. Movable contact 7, fixed contact 3. The signal is transmitted in the order of the extraction electrodes 4. When the external stress that was pushing the second insulating sheet 5 decreases, the second insulating sheet 5 begins to return to its original flat state,
Along with this, the displacement of the movable electrode 6 also begins to return to its original state, so that it is finally turned off.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the conventional touch switch device described above, the insulation between the fixed contact and the movable contact is maintained by dot-shaped spacers arranged at a pitch that allows connection by pressing with a finger, and the gap between both contacts is set to be minute. , there is a problem that if you apply concentrated pressure to a predetermined area with Bentouch input, the touched area will also turn on and malfunction, making it impossible to perform drawing input.
If the dot pitch were made finer, it would be possible to prevent malfunctions due to manual operation, but there would be a problem in that the areas where the dots were provided would become non-conductive, reducing the reliability of input.

Moreover, since the abrasion resistance of the transparent conductive films that make up both transparent electrodes is low, they are easily scratched during handling and work.
Once scratched, it loses its conductivity. Therefore, careful process control was necessary. Furthermore, the insulating sheet of the conventional touch switch device has a drawback of poor durability.

This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and allows bench-touch input, prevents malfunctions caused by manual input, ensures reliable input position detection, and has transparent electrodes and insulating sheets with improved durability. The purpose is to provide a touch switch that is easy to use.

Means for Solving Problem C] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a method for solving problem C. Longitudinal fixed and movable electrodes were buried in the second insulating sheet so that a portion of each electrode was exposed, and a spacer between the electrodes was formed of an elastic layer made of a pressure-sensitive conductive material.

[Effect]

When pen pressure is applied from the second insulating sheet side, the elastic layer corresponding to the area where the pen pressure is applied becomes electrically conductive, and a predetermined movable electrode and fixed electrode are electrically conductive through this electrically conductive portion, allowing detection of a bend touch. .

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view and side view of the second insulating sheet, Fig. 3 is a plan view and side view of the spacer, and Fig. 4 is the first insulating sheet. FIG. 3 is a plan view and a side view of the sheet. In these figures, the first.1.5 with similar performance. The second insulating sheet 10 is a group of fixed wire electrodes (fixed electrode ), 11 is the wire fixed contact that actually opens and closes the load among the fixed electrode group 10, 12 is the first lead-out electrode of the wire electrode other than this fixed contact 11, and 13 is the second insulating sheet 5 that covers the entire surface thereof. A group of wire movable electrodes (movable electrodes) partially exposed from the inner surface 13a of the sheet 5, arranged orthogonally to the wire fixed electrode group 10 and at a constant pitch, and embedded in the inner surface of the sheet 5; 14 is the wire fixed contact 1;
A movable contact at a portion of the wire movable electrode facing 1, 15
16 is a second lead-out electrode of the wire movable electrode other than the movable contact 14, and 16 is interposed between the first insulating sheet 1 and the second insulating sheet 5, and is made of transparent and pressure-sensitive conductive rubber. It is an elastic layer. This elastic layer also includes one in which conductors 17 are dispersed at a rate of, for example, 100 conductors/2.

The elastic layer made of pressure-sensitive conductive rubber has pressure-sensitive characteristics as shown in FIG. However, when using a bend touch, the pressure at the pen pressure point becomes several times higher than when pressing with a finger, so the resistance that was 106 Ω or more when no pressure was applied is shown in characteristic B. It has a characteristic of being several tens of ohms or less. Therefore, the touch switch device of this embodiment is
When pressed with a finger or by hand, the elastic layer does not conduct and does not operate, but with Bentouch, the elastic layer corresponding to the Bentouched part conducts and the movable contact 14 and fixed contact 11 are electrically connected, turning on the circuit. Signals are transmitted in the same order as in conventional touch switch devices.

When the pressure due to the bend touch decreases, the pressure applied to the elastic layer 16 also decreases, and the elastic layer resistance returns to its original value, and the resistance increases, so that the electrical connection between the movable contact 14 and the fixed contact 11 is severed, and the circuit is turned off.

In this example, the positioning of the pressing point was performed using a digital method in which the electrode groups arranged in a matrix were sequentially scanned, but an analog method was used in which a resistor for position detection was printed at the end of the electrode group and a voltage drop occurred at this portion. It can be done.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The touch switch device of this invention has the following features: 1. A configuration in which each longitudinal electrode is partially exposed and embedded in the second insulating sheet; Since it has a structure in which an elastic layer made of a pressure-sensitive conductive material is interposed between the second insulating sheet, the durability of the insulating sheet is greatly improved and the touch switch does not become conductive depending on the touch. This has the effect that inputs such as Bentouch drawing can be performed accurately by touching the device.

Furthermore, the insulating sheet and elastic layer have the advantage that they do not malfunction due to temperature changes. Furthermore, since the electrode is embedded, wear resistance can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view and side view of the second insulating sheet, Fig. 3 is a plan view and side view of the spacer, and Fig. 4 is the first insulating sheet. A plan view and a side view of the sheet, FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between spacer resistance and pressure, FIG. 6 is a side view of the conventional example, FIG. 7 is a plan view and side view of the second insulating sheet, FIG. 8 is a plan view and a side view of the first insulating sheet. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... First insulating sheet, 5... Second insulating sheet, 10... Fixed electrode group, 10a... First insulating sheet inner surface, 11... Fixed contact, 13... movable electrode group,
13a... Inner surface of second insulating sheet, 14... Movable contact, °16... Elastic layer. Compiled by agent Masuo Oiwa (and 2 others) 1
Figure 16 Nishakuhachi 1°-5 Flu (a) (a) Name of touch switch device, relationship to the amended case Patent applicant address 2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Name (601) Moriya Shiki, representative of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, agent address Tokyo 2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Miyako/
-ゝ- 5. Column for detailed explanation of the invention subject to amendment. 6. Contents of amendment (1) On page 2 of the specification, lines 17 to 18, "1 is a transparent first insulating sheet that is easily displaced by stress" has been replaced with "1 is a transparent first insulating sheet". "insulating sheet". (2) In the second and third lines of page 3 of the same book, "5 is a transparent second insulating sheet similar to the above-mentioned insulating sheet 1" is replaced with "5 is a transparent second insulating sheet that is easily displaced by stress.""Second insulating sheet". (3) In the same book, page 8, lines 10 to 11, the phrase "analog system can be used." is corrected to "analog system can also be used."that's all

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) first and second insulating sheets positioned to face each other, and a longitudinal fixed electrode embedded in the inner surface of the first insulating sheet so as to be partially exposed from the inner surface of the first insulating sheet; , a longitudinal movable electrode embedded in the inner surface of the second insulating sheet so as to be orthogonal to the fixed electrode and partially exposed from the inner surface of the second insulating sheet, and between the first and second insulating sheets. What is claimed is: 1. A touch switch device comprising: an elastic layer made of a pressure-sensitive conductive material interposed therein; (2) The touch switch device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second insulating sheets are made of transparent members. (3) The touch switch device according to claim 1, wherein the fixed electrode and the movable electrode are each made of a wire, and the fixed contact and the movable contact are formed at respective opposing portions. (4) The touch switch device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic layer is made of silicone rubber mixed with a conductive material.