JP2003346601A - Multistage switching device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multistage switching device with a manufacturing cost reduced and thinning enhanced. <P>SOLUTION: A reversible evaginated part 2a is fitted at one upper-layer sheet part 2 made by folding a sheet of flexible board 1, and an upper contact point 4 is printed on an undersurface of the evaginated part 2a, while, an inner fixed contact point 7 and an outer contact point 8 are printed on the top face of the other lower-layer sheet part 3. Further, a tact spring 10 is loaded on the lower-layer sheet 3 in a state always in contact with the outer fixed contact point 8, and an outer periphery part of the tact spring 10 is held by a holding sheet 11. With this structure, when the evaginated part 2a is pushed in to be reversed, the upper contact point 4 is conducted with the outer fixed contact point 8 through the tact spring 10, and when the evaginated part 2a is further pushed in in that state to reverse the tact spring 10, the inner and the outer fixed contact points 7, 8 are conducted with each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-stage switch device capable of outputting two types of pressing input signals according to the length of an operation stroke.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A multi-stage switch device has two stages of pressing strokes having different operation strokes, such that a first contact portion is turned on when an operating body is pushed shallowly, and a second contact portion is turned on when pushed deeply. An operable switch device. As a conventional example of such a multi-stage switch device, there is known a configuration in which a first contact portion is mounted on a drive body which can be raised and lowered, and a second contact portion is mounted below the drive body. Have been. In such a conventional multistage switch device,
When the operating body is pushed in by a predetermined amount, the first contact portion is switched on via a tact spring or the like disposed on the driving body, and a first-stage pressing input signal is output, and the first contact portion is switched on. When the operating body is further depressed in this state and the driving body is lowered by a predetermined amount, the second contact portion is turned on via a tact spring or the like disposed below the driving body, and the second stage pressing input is performed. A signal is output. However, the above-described conventional example has a configuration in which the first contact portion and the second contact portion are disposed above and below the vertically movable driver.
There is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the thickness.

In order to reduce the thickness of this type of multi-stage switch device, conventionally, an inner fixed contact made of a metal piece and first and second outer fixed contacts are arranged on an insulating substrate by insert molding. A configuration has been proposed in which a small diameter tact spring is mounted on a first outer fixed contact and a large diameter tact spring is mounted on a second outer fixed contact.

In such a conventional proposal, a small-diameter concave portion and a large-diameter annular concave step portion are formed in an insulating substrate which is a molded product, and the small-diameter concave portion has a central portion and a peripheral portion on an inner bottom surface, respectively. An inner fixed contact and a first outer fixed contact are arranged, and a second outer fixed contact is arranged in a higher annular concave step surrounding the recess. That is, a large-diameter tact spring is arranged so as to cover the small-diameter tact spring. Upon contact, the first and second outer fixed contacts become conductive, and a first-stage pressing input signal is output. Further, when the operating body is further pushed in by a certain amount after the large diameter tact spring is inverted, the small diameter tact spring is inverted and the first outer fixed contact and the inner fixed contact become conductive, and the second stage pressing is performed. An input signal is output. By inverting the large-diameter tact spring in this way, if the large-diameter tact spring is configured to contact the small-diameter tact spring to output an ON signal, the tact spring moves up and down between the two tact springs. Since there is no need to interpose a possible driver, the multi-stage switch device can be made thinner.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional proposal which enables the multi-stage switch device to be made thinner, an inner fixed contact and first and second outer fixed contacts are formed on an insulating substrate by using an insert molding technique. However, insert molding has a problem that it cannot be manufactured inexpensively due to an increase in mold cost and the like. Further, since an insulating substrate as a molded product needs a corresponding thickness dimension, there is room for improvement in terms of thinning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a multi-stage switch device capable of reducing manufacturing costs and promoting thinning.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a multi-stage switch device according to the present invention comprises an inner fixed contact printed on an insulating substrate, and a periphery of the inner fixed contact on the insulating substrate. An outer fixed contact printed on
A reversible metal contact placed on the outer fixed contact and facing the inner fixed contact so as to be able to contact and separate from the inner fixed contact; a holding sheet stacked on the insulating substrate to hold an outer peripheral portion of the metal contact; A flexible substrate having a swelling portion and laminated on the holding sheet, and an upper contact provided on a ceiling surface of the swelling portion and facing the metal contact so as to be able to contact and separate from the metal contact. The upper contact contacts the metal contact and the upper fixed contact and the outer fixed contact are brought into conduction by pushing the portion to invert, and in this state, the bulging portion is further pushed in to invert the metal contact. Thereby, the metal contact contacts the inner fixed contact and the inner fixed contact and the outer fixed contact are electrically connected.

[0008] In the multi-stage switch device configured as described above, since the inner fixed contact and the outer fixed contact are formed by printing, insert molding is not required. As a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the thickness of the insulating substrate can be considerably reduced. can do.

In addition to the above structure, a sliding pattern printed on a flat portion of the flexible substrate which is continuous with the bulging portion, and a slider sliding on the sliding pattern with a sliding operation. In the case of a multi-stage switch device having
Not only is it possible to output two types of pressing input signals according to the length of the operation stroke, but also it is possible to output a slide input signal by a slide operation such as rotating a slider around a bulging portion. The device can be multifunctional without particularly complicated structure.

[0010] If the insulating substrate is a flexible substrate separate from the flexible substrate, the thickness of the insulating substrate can be considerably reduced. However, the flexible substrate is formed in a two-fold shape in which the upper sheet portion and the lower sheet portion are continuous via the folded portion,
If the swelling portion is provided in the upper sheet portion and the lower sheet portion is used as the insulating substrate, all the contacts can be formed by printing on a single flexible substrate. Not only is it advantageous, but also the number of parts can be reduced and cost reduction is promoted, and the position accuracy of each contact is improved and reliability is easily increased.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multi-stage switch device comprising: an inner fixed contact printed on a flexible substrate; and a printed contact formed on the flexible substrate around the inner fixed contact. A first outer fixed contact, a second outer fixed contact printed on the flexible substrate around the first outer fixed contact, and a second outer fixed contact placed on the first outer fixed contact. A first metal contact that can be turned over and opposes the inner fixed contact, a first holding sheet that holds an outer peripheral portion of the first metal contact, and a second metal sheet that is placed on the second outer fixed contact. A second metal contact that can be turned over and opposed to the first metal contact so as to be able to contact and separate from the first metal contact; and a second holding sheet that covers and holds the second metal contact. Pushing metal contacts to flip them As a result, the second metal contact comes into contact with the first metal contact, and the first and second outer fixed contacts are electrically connected. In this state, the second metal contact is further pushed in and the first metal contact is further pressed. By inverting the metal contact, the first metal contact comes into contact with the inner fixed contact, and the inner fixed contact and the first outer fixed contact are electrically connected.

In the case of the multi-stage switch device having the above-described structure, since the inner fixed contact and the first and second outer fixed contacts are formed by printing, insert molding is not required, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the thickness can be reduced. Easy to plan. In addition, if the inner fixed contact and the first and second outer fixed contacts are all formed by printing with the same material to the same thickness, the printing process can be performed in one step.
There is an advantage that the number of turns is small, and each fixed contact can be formed with high positional accuracy at low cost. It should be noted that this configuration also includes a sliding pattern printed on the flexible substrate in an area adjacent to the second holding sheet, and a slider that slides on the sliding pattern in accordance with the sliding operation. Thus, it is possible to output two types of pressing input signals according to the length of the operation stroke and a slide input signal accompanying a slide operation such as rotation.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-stage switch device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the multi-stage switch device according to the first embodiment, a single flexible board 1 is folded in a U-shape at a folding section 1a to form an upper sheet section 2 and a lower sheet section 3. This is assembled as a two-layered flexible substrate, which is distinguished from the above. A dome-shaped bulging portion 2a is formed in the upper sheet portion 2 by embossing, and the bulging portion 2a is arranged so as to cover a tact spring 10 described later. An upper contact 4 is printed in advance on the ceiling surface (lower surface) of the bulging portion 2a, and the upper contact 4 can be brought into contact with and separated from a tact spring 10 described later. On the lower surface of the upper sheet portion 2, not only the upper contact 4 but also a routing pattern 5 derived from the upper contact 4 is formed by printing, and the upper surface of the upper sheet portion 2 surrounds the bulging portion 2a. Annular sliding pattern 6 located on the flat portion 2b
And a drawing pattern (not shown) derived from the above are formed by printing.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the lower sheet portion 3, an inner fixed contact 7, an outer fixed contact 8 located around the inner fixed contact 7, and a routing pattern derived from these fixed contacts 7,8. 9 are printed. A tact spring 10 is placed on the lower sheet portion 3 in a state of being constantly in contact with the outer fixed contact 8, and the tact spring 10 functions as a reversible metal contact (movable contact).
Further, an insulating holding sheet 11 is interposed between the upper sheet section 2 and the lower sheet section 3, and the holding sheet 11 holds the outer peripheral portion of the tact spring 10.

An operation body 12 is arranged above the bulging portion 2a of the upper sheet portion 2 so as to be able to move up and down. Operation body 1
2 is supported by the support case 13, and the leg 13a of the support case 13 is placed between the bulging portion 2a and the flat portion 2b, and presses the upper sheet portion 2 downward.
A rotary knob 14 is rotatably arranged around the operation body 12. A slider receiver 15 is fixed to the rotary knob 14, and a slider 16 mounted on the lower surface of the slider receiver 15 is in sliding contact with the sliding pattern 6 on the flat portion 2b.

In the multi-stage switch device constructed as described above, when the operator pushes the operating body 12 by a predetermined stroke to reverse the bulging portion 2a of the upper sheet portion 2, the upper contact 4 comes into contact with the tact spring 10. Therefore, the upper contact 4 and the outer fixed contact 8 are electrically connected via the tact spring 10, and the first-stage pressing input signal is output. Further, in this state, when the operating body 12 is further pushed in by a fixed amount and the central portion of the tact spring 10 is inverted through the bulging portion 2a in the inverted state, the tact spring 10 comes into contact with the inner fixed contact 7, so that
The inner fixed contact 7 and the outer fixed contact 8 are electrically connected via the tact spring 10, and a second-stage pressing input signal is output. When the operator rotates the rotary knob 14, the slider 16 attached to the slider receiver 15 integrally rotates and slides on the sliding pattern 6, so that the slider 16 and the slider 16 slide. A rotation input signal corresponding to the contact position with the moving pattern 6 is output.

That is, the multi-stage switch device according to the first embodiment not only can output two types of pressing input signals according to the length of the operation stroke, but also can rotate a rotary switch, a rotary encoder, or the like by a rotation operation. An input signal can be output, and the device can be multifunctional without particularly complicated configuration. In the first embodiment, the sliding pattern 6 is formed in an annular shape so as to enable the rotary sliding operation. The sliding element may be configured to slide on the sliding pattern.

Further, in the first embodiment, since all the wiring patterns are printed on one flexible substrate 1, the number of components can be reduced and the positional accuracy of each wiring pattern can be increased. . Moreover, since insert molding is not required, there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced, and the entire apparatus can be easily made thin. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the tact spring 10
Is held between the upper sheet portion 2 and the lower sheet portion 3 so that the routing pattern 5 provided on the lower surface of the upper sheet portion 2 and the upper surface of the lower sheet portion 3 are provided. Can be reliably prevented from short-circuiting with the routing pattern 9 provided in the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, one flexible substrate 1 is folded in two to obtain the upper sheet portion 2 and the lower sheet portion 3. However, the flexible substrate corresponding to the upper sheet portion 2 and the lower Even if the flexible substrate corresponding to the sheet portion 3 is separate, substantially the same effect can be expected except that the number of components increases.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-stage switch device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and portions corresponding to FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the multi-stage switch device according to the second embodiment, an inner fixed contact 18 and a plurality of first fixed members 18 located around the inner fixed contact 18 are provided on the upper surface of a flexible substrate 17. An outer fixed contact 19, a plurality of second outer fixed contacts 20 located around the plurality of first outer fixed contacts 19, and a sliding pattern 2 for rotating operation;
1, and a drawing pattern (not shown) derived from each of the fixed contacts 18 to 20 and the sliding pattern 21 are formed by printing. Further, a first tact spring 22 is mounted on the flexible board 17, and an outer peripheral portion of the first tact spring 22 is held by a first holding sheet 23. The first tact spring 22 is connected to the first outer fixed contact 1.
9, the first tact spring 22 functions as a reversible metal contact (movable contact). Further, a large-diameter second tact spring 24 is provided on the flexible substrate 17 in a state of being constantly in contact with the second outer fixed contact 20.
The second tact spring 24 also functions as a reversible metal contact. The large-diameter second tact spring 24 is arranged to cover the small-diameter first tact spring 22, and the second holding sheet 25 covers and holds the second tact spring 24. The second tact spring 24 contacts the first tact spring 22 when the center is inverted, and the first tact spring 22 contacts the inner fixed contact 18 when the center is inverted.

In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the operating body 12 is arranged above the second holding sheet 25 covering the second tact spring 24 so as to be able to move up and down. The leg 13 a of the support case 13 supporting the operating body 12 presses the peripheral portion of the second holding sheet 25 downward. A slider receiver 15 is fixed to a rotary knob 14 rotatably disposed around the operating body 12. A slider 16 attached to the lower surface of the slider receiver 15 is provided with a sliding pattern 21. Is in sliding contact with

In the multi-stage switch device configured as described above, when the operator pushes the operating body 12 by a predetermined stroke, the central portion of the second tact spring 24 reverses and comes into contact with the first tact spring 22, At this time, the second holding sheet 2
5 also elastically deforms to the same shape as the second tact spring 24. When the first and second tact springs 22 and 24 come into contact with each other in this manner, the first and second outer fixed contacts 19 and 20 are turned on, so that a first-stage pressing input signal is output. In this state, when the operating body 12 is further pushed in by a fixed amount and the center of the first tact spring 22 is inverted through the second tact spring 24 in the inverted state, the first tact spring 22
Contact the inner fixed contact 18 so that the inner fixed contact 18
And the first outer fixed contact 19 are conducted through the first tact spring 22 to output a second-stage pressing input signal.
When the operator rotates the rotary knob 14,
As in the first embodiment, the slider 16 attached to the slider receiver 15 rotates integrally and slides on the sliding pattern 21, so that the slider 16 and the sliding pattern 21 A rotation input signal corresponding to the contact position is output.

Therefore, also in the case of this multi-stage switch device, it is possible to output two types of pressing input signals corresponding to the length of the operation stroke and a rotation input signal associated with the rotation operation with a relatively simple configuration. Moreover, since insert molding is not required, manufacturing costs can be reduced, and the entire device can be easily made thin. Further, in the case of this multi-stage switch device, the inner fixed contact 18 and the first and second outer fixed contacts 19, 2
Since all 0s are formed by printing with the same material and having the same thickness, there is an advantage that only one printing process is required, and the fixed contacts 18 to 20 can be formed with high positional accuracy and at low cost.

[0026]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects.

When the bulging portion of the flexible substrate is pushed in and reversed, the upper contact provided on the lower surface of the bulging portion comes into contact with the metal contact, and the upper contact and the outer fixed contact on the insulating substrate are electrically connected. In this state, the bulging portion is further pushed in to invert the metal contact, so that the metal contact comes into contact with the inner fixed contact on the insulating substrate and the inner fixed contact and the outer fixed contact are conducted. In the case of the configured multi-stage switch device, since the inner fixed contact and the outer fixed contact are formed by printing on the insulating substrate, the insert molding becomes unnecessary, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced and
The thickness dimension of the insulating substrate is considerably reduced, so that the device can be made thinner.

Further, in such a multistage switch device,
If a sliding pattern is printed and formed on the flat portion of the flexible substrate which is continuous with the bulging portion, and the sliding element is slid on the sliding pattern, the sliding with the sliding operation such as rotation can be performed. Since the input signal can be output, the device can be easily multifunctional.

Further, in such a multi-stage switch device,
If the insulating substrate is a flexible substrate, thinning of the device is promoted. In particular, a bulging portion is provided on one upper layer portion obtained by folding one flexible substrate, and the other lower layer portion is formed as an insulating substrate. If this is the case, all the contacts can be printed on a single flexible substrate, which is advantageous not only in promoting thinning, but also in reducing the number of parts and cost, and in the positional accuracy of each contact. And reliability is also easily increased.

The second holding sheet coated on the second holding sheet
The metal contact of the second is pushed in and turned over,
Is in contact with the first metal contact, and the first and second outer fixed contacts on the flexible substrate are electrically connected to each other. In this state, the second metal contact is further depressed and the first metal contact is further pressed.
Multi-stage switch device configured such that the first metal contact comes into contact with the inner fixed contact on the flexible substrate and the inner fixed contact and the first outer fixed contact are conducted by inverting the metal contact of In the case of (1), since all the fixed contacts are formed by printing on one flexible substrate, insert molding becomes unnecessary, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the thickness can be easily reduced. In this case, if all the fixed contacts are printed and formed to the same thickness with the same material, there is an advantage that only one printing process is required, and each fixed contact can be formed with high positional accuracy and at low cost. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a multi-stage switch device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a multi-stage switch device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,17 Flexible board 1a Folded part 2 Upper sheet part 2a bulge 2b Flat part 3 Lower seat 4 Top contact 6,21 sliding pattern 7, 18 Inner fixed contact 8 Outside fixed contact 10 Tact spring (metal contact) 11 Holding sheet 12 Operation body 14 Rotary knob 16 Slider 19 First outer fixed contact 20 second outer fixed contact 22. First tact spring (first metal contact) 23 1st holding sheet 24 Second tact spring (second metal contact) 25 Second holding sheet

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    F term (reference) 5G006 AA01 AA02 AB25 AC01 AZ01                       BA01 BA02 BB03 BC04 FB01                       FB02 FB03 FB04 FB22 FB29                       FB35

Claims (7)

[Claims] An inner fixed contact printed on an insulating substrate; an outer fixed contact printed around the inner fixed contact on the insulating substrate; and an outer fixed contact mounted on the outer fixed contact. A reversible metal contact that is detachably opposed to the inner fixed contact, a holding sheet laminated on the insulating substrate to hold an outer peripheral portion of the metal contact, and a holding sheet having a dome-shaped bulging portion A flexible substrate laminated thereon, and an upper contact provided on a ceiling surface of the bulging portion and facing the metal contact so as to be able to contact and separate from the metal contact. When the contact contacts the metal contact, the upper contact and the outer fixed contact are conducted, and in this state, the swelling portion is further pushed to invert the metal contact, whereby the metal contact becomes the inner fixed contact. Touching Multistage switch device characterized by a inner fixed contact and said outer fixed contact is configured to be conductive. 2. The sliding pattern according to claim 1, wherein the sliding pattern is formed by printing on a flat portion of the flexible substrate that is continuous with the bulging portion, and slides on the sliding pattern with a sliding operation. A multi-stage switch device comprising a slider. 3. The multi-stage switch device according to claim 1, wherein the insulating substrate is formed of a flexible substrate separate from the flexible substrate. 4. The flexible substrate according to claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is formed in a folded shape in which an upper sheet portion and a lower sheet portion are continuous via a folded portion, and the bulging portion is formed on the upper sheet portion. Wherein the lower sheet portion is formed as the insulating substrate. 5. An inner fixed contact printed on a flexible substrate, a first outer fixed contact printed around the inner fixed contact on the flexible substrate, and the first fixed contact printed on the flexible substrate. A second outer fixed contact printed around the outer fixed contact, and a reversible first metal mounted on the first outer fixed contact and opposed to the inner fixed contact so as to be able to contact and separate therefrom. A contact, a first holding sheet for holding an outer peripheral portion of the first metal contact, and a reversible mounted on the second outer fixed contact and opposed to the first metal contact so as to be able to contact and separate from the first metal contact; A second metal contact, and a second holding sheet that covers and holds the second metal contact, and the second metal contact is pushed in and inverted to form the second metal contact. Contacting the first metal contact and the first metal contact; Beauty second outer fixed contact each other is conductive,
In this state, the second metal contact is further pushed in to invert the first metal contact, so that the first metal contact comes into contact with the inner fixed contact and the inner fixed contact and the first outer contact. A multi-stage switch device characterized in that it is configured to be electrically connected to a fixed contact. 6. The multi-stage switch device according to claim 5, wherein the inner fixed contact and the first and second outer fixed contacts are all formed by printing the same material to the same thickness. . 7. The sliding pattern according to claim 5, wherein the sliding pattern is formed by printing on the flexible substrate in a region adjacent to the second holding sheet, and the sliding pattern is formed on the sliding pattern by a sliding operation. A multistage switch device comprising: a sliding slider that slides.