JP2820840B2 - Illuminated switch device and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable telephone and a small VTR.
The present invention relates to an illuminated switch device used for an operation switch of a small device such as a camera, and particularly to a small illuminated switch device that can be surface-mounted and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

[Prior art]

(Conventional Example 1) As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the illuminated switch device of Conventional Example 1 has a resin portion 2 in which a lead frame 1 is insert-molded at a lower portion, and a spring type or the like is provided on the upper surface thereof. It incorporates a switch contact that is not to be used, a pressing member 3 that is turned on and off by pushing it with a finger, an on-display LED section 4, and an off-display LED section 5.

(Conventional Example 2) As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, an illuminated switch device of Conventional Example 2 has the same function as that of Conventional Example 1, and a switch for switching the switch contact on and off with a finger. Lumber 3
Are translucent, and an on-display LED section and an off-display LED section are housed inside. These two LEDs
The unit identifies on / off by changing colors.

(Conventional example 3) FIG. 5 shows a conventional illuminated membrane switch device used for an operation panel of a small device. This has a structure in which a conductive pattern 7 is formed on a substrate 6, a switch portion 8 and an LED portion 9 are incorporated, and the structure is closed by a light-transmitting film 10. The first portion is separated by a spacer 8a. When the contact 8b and the second contact 8c come into contact with each other by receiving an external force, the switch portion 8 is turned on, and LE
The D section 9 emits light. It is mainly used for portable equipment which requires a thinner type, for example, because the illuminated switch device of Conventional Example 1 cannot be used due to the problem of the height of the product.

[0005]

(1) Conventional examples 1 and 2 require a lead frame 1, a resin part 2, a switch contact, a pressing member 3, and a pair of display LED parts 4 and 5, so that the number of parts is small. As a result, the cost of component materials, the cost of assembling and the like increase. In addition, since various components are combined, the component height is as high as 2.5 mm.

(2) In Conventional Example 3, the height can be reduced to about 1 mm. But usually LE
Since the D section 9 and the switch section 8 are separate areas, and the switch section 8 itself does not shine, the visibility at the time of switch operation is poor.

[0007] As an improvement proposal example of the conventional example 3, FIG.
As described above, a structure in which the LED section 9 is incorporated below the switch section 8 (conventional example 4) has been devised (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-1393).
No. 0). In this case, the above-mentioned visibility is improved,
The multilayer structure results in an increase in the thickness of the product and an increase in the number of manufacturing steps, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost.

(3) A common problem common to the conventional examples 3 and 4 is that the board 6 of the membrane switch panel is adapted to the design of the switch section 8 and the LED section 9 of the operation panel of the device.
The spacer 8a and the film 10 have to be manufactured using dedicated dies, jigs and the like. That is, every time the design of the operation panel of the device is changed,
Production of jigs and tools is required. Therefore, it is not suitable for high-mix low-volume production and must be a labor-intensive product.

(4) As a problem common to the conventional examples 1 to 4, there is an operation failure due to metal wear and corrosion of the contact of the switch portion 8.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an illuminated switch device which has good visibility at the time of switch operation, reduces the number of parts and manufacturing costs, and is suitable for high-mix low-volume production.

[0011]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an illuminated type in which an on / off switching display of an electrical contact 11 is performed by emitting light from a display light emitting element 12 is shown. In the switch device, the electric contact 11 is
An elastic body 27 disposed adjacent to the mounting position of the display light-emitting element 12 of the package 13 and elastically supporting the first end portion 25 and the second end portion 26 so as to be detachable from each other; The first electrode 28 formed on the portion 25 and the second electrode 29 formed on the second end portion 26 of the elastic body 27, depending on whether the first electrode 28 and the second electrode 29 are in contact with each other. The display light emitting element 1 is configured to be electrically switched on and off, and the package 13 as a molded product is
The two-dimensional wiring portion 22 on which the 2 is mounted and the two electrodes 28 and 29 of the electrical contact 11 are formed three-dimensionally by a method such as chemical plating (MID method).

[0012]

In the means for solving the problems according to the first and second aspects, the package 13 is formed by the MID method, and the components are integrated as much as possible to simplify the structure, to reduce the size and the thickness.
Achieve low cost.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illuminated switch device showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2A is a plan view of an illuminated switch device showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Is A in (A)
-A sectional view, (C) is a front view, (D) is a bottom view, (E) is a left side view, and (F) is B- of (A).
FIG. 2G is a right side view. In FIGS. 1 and 2A, the light-transmitting sealing resin in the concave portion is omitted for convenience.

As shown in the figure, the illuminated switch device of the present embodiment is used for an operation switch of a small device such as a mobile phone or a small VTR camera, and displays on / off switching of the electrical contact 11 for displaying light. Light emission is performed by the element 12.

A Molded Interconnection for obtaining a small and thin integrated part without using a lead frame as the package 13.
The device method (hereinafter, referred to as the MID method) is used. Here, the MID method is one in which an electric circuit is formed by a method such as chemical plating on a molded product obtained by injection molding or extrusion molding.

The package 13 has heat resistance and electrical insulation as shown in FIGS.
In order to have sufficient elasticity, epoxy resin is used, and a mold is formed so that several tens of devices are arranged in a row on one organic resin rod. Dicing is divided.

In the area occupying the right half of the upper surface of the package 13, as shown in FIGS.
An inverted truncated cone-shaped display recess 21 for mounting the display light-emitting element 12 is formed.

In the display concave portion 21, a display three-dimensional wiring portion 22 on a thin film is formed three-dimensionally by a plating method.
(C) As shown in FIG.
2D through the top and side surfaces of the package 13.
As shown in FIG.

The display light emitting element 12 is mounted on the display three-dimensional wiring section 22 in an upward direction. The display recess 21
Is adjacent to the electrical contact 11 in order to improve the visibility at the time of switch switching.

Note that the three-dimensional wiring section 22 is
2 as well as a function of improving the light directivity by reflecting the irradiation light from the light emitting element 12 on the inclined wall surface of the concave portion 21.

The electric contact 11 is, as shown in FIGS.
An area occupying the left half of the package 13 is used as it is, and an elastic body 27 for elastically supporting the upper first end portion 25 and the lower second end portion 26 so as to be able to freely contact and separate from each other. A first electrode 28 formed on the first tip 25,
The second electrode 29 formed on the second tip portion 26 of the elastic body 27
The first electrode 28 and the second electrode 29 are electrically switched on and off according to the presence or absence of contact.

The elastic body 27 is formed in a substantially U-shape in side view by connecting the upper and lower arms 31 and 32 at the back of the package 13. And, as described above, the package 1
By using an elastic resin or the like as 3, the arm 31 that supports the first distal end portion 25 has elasticity in the vertical direction.

The first electrode 28 and the second electrode 29 are
On the inner surface of the elastic body 27, a thin-film wiring portion similar to the three-dimensional wiring portion 22 is formed to be three-dimensionally opposed by a plating method. The first electrode 28 on the upper side is the package 1
3 is routed to the bottom surface of the package 13 through the back surface.

The display light emitting element 12 is connected by an external circuit (not shown) so as to emit light only when the switch is in an ON state, for example.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 35 denotes a bonding wire (fine metal wire), and reference numeral 36 denotes a light-transmitting sealing resin such as a silicone resin or an epoxy resin filled in the recess 21.

The above-mentioned illuminated switch device is manufactured as follows.

First, packages 13 of a number of plating grades are integrally formed in a row for a plurality of devices. At this time, the display recess 21 is formed on the upper surface of the region occupying the right half of each device, and the U-shaped elastic body 27 is formed in the region occupying the left half. In addition,
With respect to the mold used at this time, the direction of pulling out the upper mold for the concave portion 21 is set to the upward direction, and the two end portions 25,
The direction in which the lower mold is pulled out to form a gap between 26 is the front direction.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, gold or silver is applied to the concave portion 21 to form the three-dimensional wiring portion 22 and the electrodes 28 and 29 of the electrical contact 11 by a masking method. Note that the three-dimensional wiring section 22 is routed to the back surface of the package 13 via a side surface inside the package 13.

Next, the light emitting element for display is mounted on the three-dimensional wiring portion 22 using a conductive paste or the like, and the bonding wire 3 is formed.
5 is used for bonding connection, and the upper portion is sealed with a light-transmitting sealing resin 36.

Thereafter, it is cut into chips by a dicing saw to form an illuminated switch device shown in FIGS.

As described above, the MID method, that is, a required metal layer is formed on a resin molded product without using a lead frame, and a switch device in which the respective functional parts of the display light emitting element and the electrical contact are integrated is manufactured. To be able to
Compared to the conventional product group shown in FIGS.
There is an advantage of (3).

(1) Since it has a resin-integrated structure that does not use a lead frame using the MID method, the number of parts can be reduced and cost can be reduced. Also, the product height can be about 1 mm, which is 50% or less as compared with 2.5 mm of Conventional Examples 1 and 2.

(2) Since the electrical contact 11 and the light emitting portion for display can be integrated and thinned, it is necessary for the conventional examples 1 and 2 shown in FIGS. Metal springs, springs, etc. are unnecessary, and special structures such as the membrane switch shown in FIGS.
It is possible to use a general surface mounting method that has been reflowed through a chip mount.

(3) Since the electrical contacts 11 and the display light-emitting portion are integrated, they can be directly mounted on the substrate, so that the design of the operation panel is shortened and the degree of freedom in the design is increased.

From the above, the illuminated switch device can be integrated as much as possible, and the structure can be simplified, miniaturized, thinned, and reduced in cost.

Further, there is no problem such as peeling due to a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the lead frame and the molding resin of the package, and the heat resistance at the time of solder reflow and the quality against thermal shock are improved. obtain.

Furthermore, since the lead pins do not have to be projected outside as in the conventional case, deformation of the lead pins due to external force can be prevented.

In use, the upper end 31 of the electrical contact 11 is pressed with a finger or the like, and the first tip 2
5 is brought into contact with the second distal end portion 26 of the lower arm 32 to connect the electrodes 28 and 29 inside the arm and switch ON / OFF. The display light emitting element 22 is turned on or off in accordance with the switch operation, thereby facilitating recognition of the switch operation.

At this time, the light from the display light emitting element 22 is
Since the light is reflected by the inclined side wall of the concave portion 21, the amount of irradiation light can be increased, and the light can be efficiently extracted to the upper portion.

Further, as described above, since the metal springs, springs and the like as in the prior art examples 1 and 2 can be omitted, the structure becomes extremely simple, and hence the number of failures is reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that many modifications and changes can be made to the above-described embodiment within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the electric contacts 11
Although one device type has a single light emitting unit and one display light emitting unit, a plurality of devices may be continuously formed.

Although the three-dimensional wiring portion 22 and the electrodes 28 and 29 are formed by the plating method in the above embodiment, they may be formed by other methods such as metal deposition.

[0044]

As is apparent from the above description, the first and second aspects of the present invention have the following effects.

1) By using an injection molded three-dimensional wiring component technology such as the MID method, it becomes possible to incorporate a light emitting element for display and an electric contact into a package in which it is integrated, thereby increasing the efficiency of using the insulating material of the package. Thus, the illuminated switch device can be reduced in size, thickness, and cost.

2) Further, a complicated structure such as a conventional membrane is not required, and each element can be directly surface-mounted on a substrate, so that the design of the operation panel can be shortened and the cost can be reduced.

3) Furthermore, since the structure is simple, there is no failure, and there is an excellent effect when the life is long.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illuminated switch device showing one embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a plan view of an illuminated switch device showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
(C) is a front view, (D) is a bottom view, (E) is a left side view,
(F) is a BB sectional view of (A), (G) is a right side view.

FIG. 3 is an illuminated switch device of Conventional Example 1, and FIG.
Is a plan view, (B) is a side view

FIG. 4 is an illuminated switch device of Conventional Example 2, and (A)
Is a plan view, (B) is a side view

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an illuminated switch device of Conventional Example 3.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an illuminated switch device of Conventional Example 4.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Electrical contact 12 Display light emitting element 13 Package 21 Display recess 22 Display three-dimensional wiring part 25 First tip part 26 Second tip part 27 Elastic body 28 First electrode 29 Second electrode

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01H 9/16 H01H 13/02 H01H 21/00 330

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An illuminated switch device for performing on / off switching display of an electric contact by emitting light from a display light emitting element, wherein a display recess for mounting the display light emitting element is formed on an upper surface of a package. In the display recess, a thin-film display three-dimensional wiring portion is formed three-dimensionally, the display light emitting element is mounted on the display three-dimensional wiring portion, and the electrical contact is adjacent to the display recess. A U-shaped elastic body that resiliently supports the first tip and the second tip so that the first tip and the second tip can be separated from each other; a first electrode formed at the first tip of the elastic; and a second tip of the elastic body The first electrode and the second electrode are formed by forming a thin film-shaped wiring portion in a three-dimensional manner, and depending on the presence or absence of contact between the first electrode and the second electrode, Illumination characterized by being selectively switched on and off Type switch device. 2. A display concave portion for mounting a display light emitting element is formed on an upper surface of a package, and a U-shaped elastic body is formed adjacent to the display concave portion in a side view. A thin-film first electrode is formed three-dimensionally at one end, a thin-film second electrode is formed three-dimensionally at the second end of the elastic body, and a thin-film display solid is formed in the display recess. A method for manufacturing an illuminated switch device, comprising: forming a wiring portion three-dimensionally; and mounting the display light-emitting element on the display three-dimensional wiring portion.