JPS5826765B2 - push button switch - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to improvements in push button switches.

More specifically, the present invention provides a push button switch in which a key top is integrated with a spring that supports the key top in a vertically movable manner, wherein a part of the spring is inserted through a through hole provided in the key top. The present invention provides a push button switch characterized in that a key symbol is displayed by a key symbol-shaped convex portion or concave portion provided on the exposed spring surface.

FIG. 1 is an example of a conventional structure of a push button switch used as a human-powered device such as an electronic desktop calculator.

According to FIG. 1, a cabinet 1 forming the main body of the computer
A board 3 on which the contacts 2a and 2b are printed in a comb-like manner is disposed inside, and a conductive rubber sheet 5 is placed on the board 3 via a spacer 4.

An elastic plate 6 made of a metal plate or the like, which partially forms a spring 8 that supports the key top 7 in a vertically movable manner, is placed on the conductive rubber sheet to constitute one push button switch.

A convex portion 9 that engages with a spring 8 is integrally formed at the bottom of the key top 7, and when the key top 7 is pressed down, a part of the rubber sheet 5 located directly below it is pushed down, and the contacts 2a and 2b are closed. short circuit.

According to such a push button switch structure, when assembling an input keyboard for a computer etc. that has a plurality of push button switches,
A key top must be prepared for each push button switch, and each push button switch must be assembled.

This is a very complicated assembly process.

As a push-button switch that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, there is one in which each key top is integrally formed with a spring corresponding to each push-button switch, which is integrally formed across a single elastic plate such as a metal plate.

FIG. 2a is a plan view of a spring which is a component of the above-mentioned push button switch, and a notch is formed in one metal plate by etching as shown in the figure.

In this case, 10 serves as a spring for the push button switch.

The remaining parts 11, 12, and 13 are each stretched into a three-dimensional shape as shown in the cross-sectional view taken from the side along the line CC' in Figure C. A mold is applied to this part and resin is applied. The key top 14 having a substantially square prism is integrally molded by pouring.

When molding this key top 14, the key top 1
In order to express a number or the like in 4, a corresponding number ('0'' in this example) is formed on the mold, and the resin is prevented from flowing into that part.

Therefore, no resin is placed on part A in Figure C, and a portion of the remaining portion 13 of the metal plate (which can now be seen as the number "O") can be seen through.

In the figure B, the resin flows through the hole 15 drilled in the center of the remaining part 13, and thus the number "O" is expressed.

After the key top 14 is molded with resin, the spring 10 is floated as shown in Figure b to support the key top 14 so that it can move up and down.

(In this figure, only one spring is drawn because it is a cross-sectional view.) Figure 3 a shows a molded product made using this type of forming method.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an arrangement of key tops 14 when configuring a plurality of push button switches in each direction of a column, and each key top 14 is represented with numbers 1 to 9.

161/'i Each key top 14, 14... (K
It is a metal plate made of stainless steel or other material that is assembled as a set of 1- and 9).

A metal plate 16 made of stainless steel or the like is etched as described above to form springs 17°17 corresponding to each push button switch.
. . . , and as a result, in the drawing, the remaining portion 1B shown in 7 to 9 is formed even though the key top is not actually formed.
, 19.20 are stretched upward to integrate the key tops 17, and resin is poured into them as shown in FIG. 2.
It will be done.

The situation is shown in Figure 3.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the spring is 17°17...
are formed in an arc shape, and the key tops 14, 14,
... is formed as a cylinder.

Each of the key tops 14, 14, etc. represents the numbers 1 to 9, but symbols that have at least a circle as part of them, such as 0, 6, and 8.9, are In order to flow the resin into the interior of the remaining portion 20, a hole 21 is bored at a position corresponding to the interior of the remaining portion 20, as explained in FIG.

This key top 14, 14... After forming, the metal plate 16 is cut with a press leaving only the periphery 16, as shown in figure a, and then each spring 17, 17,
Complete by making ... stand out as shown in figure b.

Now, when a push-button switch is assembled using the key top and spring integrated in this way, the result will be as shown in FIG. 4.

Here, the symbols for each part are replaced if they are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

According to this diagram, the movements of each part associated with its operation are almost the same as those in Figure 1, but when assembling the push button switch, the effort of attaching the key tops one by one can be eliminated.
Conventionally, codes that express switch functions such as numbers formed on key tops have been expressed using two-colored resin (for example, as shown in Figure 5, the number part a is white, and the key top b itself is made of resin. As shown in Figure 2, the color of the metal plate 1 in the remaining part 13 can be seen through the part A where no resin is placed. With the help of comparison, you can read the codes clearly.

Conventional two-color resin expressions were a cause of high manufacturing costs for key tops, but we solved this problem by adopting a structure that only uses one color resin for push button switches.

The one shown in Fig. 6 has an arcuate portion 10.10 formed on a part of the spring 10 shown in Fig. 4, thereby eliminating the need for the rubber sheet 5 shown in Fig. 2a,
2b is shorted.

Figures T a and b show several configuration examples of how to form the code expressed on the key top when the spring and key top are integrated.

The symbols for each part are those shown in Figure 2.

According to the drawing A, part of the remaining part 13 of the metal plate is pressed.For example, in this drawing, the number '2'' is expressed, but it is made convex and shaped according to the corresponding code. Code part 13
′ is formed.

When forming such a convex part and pouring the resin into the mold, if you make sure that the key top surface is flat with the convex part as shown in the figure, the metal plate itself will be exposed in a state corresponding to the symbol. From this, the symbol to be represented can be seen more clearly.

In figure b, the remaining part 13 is cut out and this is made into a code part 13',
This takes advantage of the contrast between the color of the metal of the remaining portion 13 and the color of the resin that can be seen through the coded portion 13'.

The present invention provides another pushbutton switch configuration that can achieve the same effects as the pushbutton switch described above.

That is, the present invention provides a push button switch in which a key top is integrated with a spring that supports the key top so as to be movable up and down, a part of the spring being exposed through a through hole provided in the key top, The present invention provides a push button switch characterized in that a key symbol is displayed by a key symbol-shaped convex or concave portion provided on the exposed spring surface.

Examples will be described below.

FIGS. 8a, 8b and 8c show examples of the structure of key tops used in the push button switch of the present invention.

Note that the reference numerals for each part are those in FIG. 7.

In Figure a, the symbol portion 13' of the remaining portion 13 is removed by half-etching, and this level difference is utilized.

In contrast to this, Figure b shows a half-etching process for the periphery 13', leaving the coded part 13.

Figure C is a diagram in which the step on the key top surface of the remaining portion 13 in the example of Figure A has been removed.

According to the present invention constructed as described above, since the key top is integrally molded with the spring, the assembly process of the push button switch is simplified, and the code expressed on the key top is one of the plates forming the spring. Since the present invention utilizes a large number of parts, it is possible to provide an inexpensive push button switch.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a diagram showing a conventional push button switch mechanism, Figure 2 is a diagram showing a conventional push button switch mechanism.
Fig. 1 shows a specific example of a key top incorporated in a push button switch that eliminates the drawbacks of the push button switch, Fig. 3 shows an example in which a plurality of key tops are arranged, Fig. 5 shows an example of a conventional key top configuration, FIG. 6 shows another example of a push button switch mechanism that eliminates the drawbacks of the push button switch shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 shows an example of the push button switch mechanism shown in FIG. 1. An example of the structure of a key top used in a push-button switch that eliminates defects. FIG. 8 shows an example of the structure of a key top used in a push-button switch of the present invention. 10 Spring, 13; Remaining notch of metal plate, 13'
: Half-etched part, 14; Key top.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A push button switch in which a key top is integrated with a spring that supports the key top so as to be movable up and down, wherein a part of the spring is exposed through a through hole provided in the key top. A push-button switch characterized in that a key symbol is displayed by a key symbol-shaped convex portion or concave portion provided on the exposed spring surface.