JP2014053273A - Contact member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact member which is used for an operation section of an electrical appliance requiring a large operation stroke, of which the intended operation characteristics can be easily set, and which is mounted to an electric circuit board integrated into the electrical appliance to function as a partial configuration of a switch, thereby constituting the switch presenting a large operation stroke and a stable contact state only with two components.SOLUTION: A contact member is composed of an elastically deformable pressing member and a supporting member including a mounting section that can be soldered. The pressing member is composed of an operation section including a contact part, a pedestal section and a deformation section. A portion of the pedestal section is covered with the supporting member, such that only the operation section and the deformation section are deformed elastically in the case of operation. The elastic deformation of the pedestal section is limited, thereby easily obtaining intended operation feelings in a large operation stroke.

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact member that constitutes a switch by being mounted on an electric circuit board, and includes a support member made of a metal plate and an elastically deformable pressing member.

  There is a switch 100 as shown in FIG. 10 as a switch used in an operation unit that requires a large operation stroke. The switch 100 includes a housing 001 made of a molding material integrally formed with a conductive terminal 002 whose contact surface is exposed at an opening, and a central tongue piece when the outer peripheral portion is placed on the terminal 002. A contact piece 003 formed so as to be separated from the contact piece 003, a mortar-shaped elastic body 004 having a hollow inside and formed with a pedestal portion mounted on the contact piece 003 and receiving a pressing force on the upper portion, and a housing 001 The key stem 005 is slidably fitted in the vertical direction. During operation, a pressing force is applied to the top surface of the key stem 005 to displace the action portion of the elastic body 004 with a large stroke in the downward direction. A terminal having a central contact formed integrally with the housing 001 via the contact piece 003. A terminal having an outer contact on the outside of the central contact is what switch electrically shorted is turned ON.

Japanese Patent No. 4209222

  However, in such a conventional switch 100, when the key stem 005 is pressed, the elastic body 004 is deformed and the contact piece 003 is pressed to perform the ON-OFF operation. At this time, the elastic body 004 The switch 100 can be freely deformed, and the problem that the click feeling caused by the head load obtained during operation is impaired, and the physical distribution as a single switch that performs the ON-OFF operation is possible. When incorporated in an electric device, an electric circuit board (not shown) for mounting the switch 100 and a key top (not shown) for pressing the key stem 005 are indispensable. Further, the switch 100 is composed of five parts such as a housing 001 in which a terminal 002 is integrally formed, a contact piece 003, an elastic body 004, and a key stem 005, which causes a large part cost and assembly cost. Further, since the operation stroke is large, the sliding distance between the housing 001 and the key stem 005 is increased, and this sliding operation is easily hindered by dust or the like.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention is configured with a small number of parts and can operate smoothly even with a large operation stroke. Also, there is no problem in physical distribution, and even when it is incorporated into an electrical device, As with the switch 100, the object is to provide a contact member that can constitute a switch that can be turned on and off by requiring only an electric circuit board and a key top for mounting.

  In order to solve this conventional problem, the contact member according to claim 1 includes an elastically deformable pressing member and a support member having a solderable mounting portion, and the pressing member opens in one direction. And an operating part formed with a conductive contact part facing the open space, a pedestal part to which the support member is attached, and a deformed part continuous to the operating part and the pedestal part. And a part of said base part is covered with the said supporting member, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect, a part of the mounting portion is formed at the same height as the bottom surface of the pedestal portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the support member includes a top surface formed with an opening through which the deformable portion and the operating portion are inserted, and the top surface. And a concave locking recess formed in the pedestal portion, a convex locking piece formed in the side surface, and the locking recess in the locking recess. When the pieces are fitted, the top surface is placed on the upper surface of the pedestal portion, and the pressing member is attached to the support member.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect, at least a part of the bottom surface of the pedestal portion on the opening side is covered and bonded by the support member. is there.

  The contact member according to claim 5 is mounted on an electric circuit board having a mounting pattern to which the mounting portion is solder-connected and a conductive substrate contact portion in addition to the configuration of claim 1, 2, 3 or claim 4. By doing so, the contact portion is positioned away from the substrate contact portion, the operation portion is pressed from the outside, the deformation portion is deformed, and the contact portion is in contact with the substrate contact portion. It is a feature.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the contact member is provided with a support member having a mounting portion solderable to the elastically deformable pressing member, and at least a part of the pedestal portion formed below the pressing member is supported. Since it is covered with a member and the supporting member has a mounting portion, it can be easily mounted on the circuit board by connecting the mounting portion of the supporting member by soldering, etc. When the contact member is mounted and operated on the substrate, the pressing member is deformed by the pressing force applied to the operating portion of the pressing member. At this time, at least a part of the pedestal portion of the pressing member is supported by the support member. By being covered, the deformation of the pedestal portion is limited, so that the pressing force is consumed only for deforming the deforming portion, and therefore the head load (click feeling) inherent to the pressing member is lost. Ukoto without it is possible to operation of the switch in a clear feeling.
In addition, since the contact member is composed of only two parts, that is, the support member and the elastically deformable pressing member, it is possible to reduce the component cost and the assembly cost, and the conductivity formed in the operating portion. Since the contact portion having the electrical function has an electrical function, the selection range of the material of the portion excluding the contact portion of the pressing member is increased, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in setting the operating characteristics and the durability. Higher performance can be obtained. Further, since the stroke of the pressing member can be easily increased, the operation stroke can be easily increased, and the operation stroke can be set freely. It is possible to easily configure a switch that can perform an ON-OFF operation only by providing an electric device with an electric circuit board for mounting the contact member and a key top for pressing. Since a switch can be configured only by providing a central contact point composed of two independent circuit patterns on the electric circuit board at a position facing the contact part of the pressing member, the electric circuit board can be routed. Can be easily achieved, and this makes it possible to greatly reduce the restrictions on circuit routing.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the part of the mounting portion of the support member is formed at the same height as the bottom surface of the pedestal portion, when the contact member is mounted on the electric circuit board, the reflow soldering device is used. Surface mounting is possible, and the pedestal portion is covered with the electric circuit board and the support member, so that deformation of the pedestal portion during operation is limited, and an intended operational feeling can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the top surface of the support member is placed on the top surface of the pedestal portion of the pressing member, the top surface of the pedestal portion is covered with the top surface, and the pedestal portion is fitted and supported by the locking pieces of the support member. In addition, since the pedestal portion is firmly fixed to the support member, deformation that occurs during the operation of the pedestal portion is further limited, a better feeling can be obtained, and the support member can be easily attached to the pressing member. It becomes possible.

  According to the invention of claim 4, it is necessary to complete the attachment of the support member to the pressing member by an easy method such as adhering the support member to at least a part of the bottom surface of the pedestal portion, and to complicate the shape of the support member. Therefore, the shape of the support member can be easily made to correspond to pressing members of various sizes.

    According to the invention of claim 5, since the contact member is constituted by only two parts of the support member and the elastically deformable pressing member, it is possible to reduce the component cost and the assembly cost, and the operation unit Since the conductive contact portion formed on the surface assumes an electrical function, the material selection range for the portion excluding the contact portion of the pressing member is increased, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in setting operation characteristics and the like. Therefore, higher performance can be obtained in terms of durability. Further, since the stroke of the pressing member can be easily increased, the operation stroke can be easily increased, and the operation stroke can be set freely. It is possible to easily configure a switch that can perform an ON-OFF operation only by providing an electric device with an electric circuit board for mounting the contact member and a key top for pressing. Since a switch can be configured only by providing a central contact point composed of two independent circuit patterns on the electric circuit board at a position facing the contact part of the pressing member, the electric circuit board can be routed. This makes it possible to greatly reduce the restrictions on circuit routing.

Front perspective view of a contact member according to the present invention The exploded back perspective view of the contact member concerning the present invention The exploded front perspective view of the contact member and electric circuit board concerning the present invention Front perspective view of the contact member according to the present invention mounted on an electric circuit board Sectional drawing in the aa line of FIG. Sectional drawing in the aa line | wire of FIG. 4 in the state by which the contact member based on this invention was operated by pressing force The rear perspective view about the Example of the other contact member which concerns on this invention The exploded back perspective view about the example of the other contact member concerning the present invention Front perspective view of a state in which another contact member according to the present invention is mounted on an electric circuit board Exploded perspective view of a conventional switch

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a contact member according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded rear perspective view of the contact member according to the present invention. Is an exploded front perspective view of the contact member and the electric circuit board according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the contact member according to the present invention mounted on the electric circuit board, and FIG. 5 is a line aa in FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line aa of FIG. 4 in a state in which the contact member according to the present invention is operated by a pressing force, and FIG. 7 is a back view of an embodiment of another contact member according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is an exploded rear perspective view of an embodiment of another contact member according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the other contact member according to the present invention mounted on an electric circuit board. The contact member 01 includes a pressing member 10 and a support member 30.

  The pressing member 10 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and has a pedestal portion 11 having a constant thickness and a substantially cubic outer shape, and a substantially cylindrical operation portion 12 having a planar pressing surface 17 on the upper surface. Are connected by a deformed portion 13 formed of a thin wall, and as a whole shape, a mortar-like space is formed on the inner side in a form that opens upside down on the side of the pedestal portion 11. A pressing portion 14 protrudes at a position facing the opening direction in the inner mortar-shaped space 18 on the surface opposite to the pressing surface 17 of the operating portion 12, and the tip portion thereof is almost at the pressing surface 17. A conductive contact portion 19 made of an elastic material containing carbon having parallel planes is formed by adhesion or integral molding. The substantially cuboid pedestal 11 has a concave locking recess 21 extending from the bottom surface 15 to the side surface 20. In addition, the surface where the opening is formed in the pedestal portion 11 is the bottom surface 15, and the surface parallel to the bottom surface 15 and connected to the deformable portion 13 is the upper surface 16.

  The support member 30 is obtained by processing a metal plate, and a circular opening 32 is formed on the top surface 34 that is a substantially square plane, and the vertical direction extends from four sides of the top surface 34. The side wall 36 bent downward is formed, and the side wall 36 and the above-described top surface 34 form an accommodating portion 38 having a substantially cubic space. Then, a convex locking piece 35 that is notched and extends downward is formed at substantially the center of the pair of opposing side walls 36, 36 in the four directions, and the other pair of side walls 36, 36 is substantially the same. The central portion is bent outward at a substantially right angle with respect to the side wall 36 and attached to the pressing member 10 to be described later, so that a surface having substantially the same height as the bottom surface 15 of the pedestal portion 11 of the pressing member 10 is formed. A mounting portion 33 to be formed is formed.

  Next, assembly of the contact member 01 using the above-described components and mounting on the electric circuit board 40 will be described. The contact member 01 is completed by attaching the support member 30 to the pressing member 10. By passing the operating portion 12 and the deformable portion 13 of the pressing member 10 through the opening 32 of the supporting member 30 and covering the supporting member 30 from above the pressing member 10, the upper surface 16 of the pedestal 11 has the top surface 34 of the supporting member 30. More specifically, the upper surface 16 of the pedestal portion 11 is covered by and touched by the top surface 34 of the support member 30 in an area substantially excluding the area of the opening 32. In this state, the mounting surface 37 formed on the pair of mounting portions 33, 33 of the support member is positioned at substantially the same height as the bottom surface 15 of the pedestal portion 11. In addition, the pair of locking pieces 35 of the support member 30 is bent toward the locking recess 21 so that the shape extending downward at a position overlapping the locking recess 21 of the pedestal 11 is slightly changed to the locking recess 21. The mating is performed with the bite. Thereby, the base member 11 is held by the top surface 34 of the support member 30 and the locking piece 35, and the contact member 01 is completed in a state where the upper surface 16 of the base member 11 and the top surface 34 of the support member 30 are firmly in contact. In addition, it is possible to prevent accidents such as the support member 30 coming off from the pressing member 10 during assembly and transportation during distribution. Since the contact member 01 has the support member 30 attached only to the pedestal portion 11 of the pressing member 10 as described above, if the shape of the pedestal portion 11 is the same, the shapes of the deformable portion 13 and the operating portion 12 are different. Even if one kind of support member 30 is used, a plurality of different contact members 01 can be completed. As a result, the assembled contact member 01 is mounted on an electric circuit board 40 and incorporated in an electric device as described later. It is possible to easily design the shape according to the state to be achieved, and to easily avoid interference with various components provided in the electric device.

  When the contact member 01 thus completed is incorporated in an electric device, the pedestal portion of the pressing member 10 is mounted on the electric circuit board 40 provided in the electric device as shown in FIGS. This functions as a switch with the electric circuit board included.

  On the electric circuit board 40, a mounting pattern 43 that can be soldered is formed at a position corresponding to the mounting surface 37 of the mounting portion 33 of the contact member 01. The mounting pattern 43 is mounted at a position corresponding to the contact portion 19 when viewed from above. A central contact portion 41, which is an electric circuit pattern that can come into contact with the contact portion 19 independent of the pattern 43, is formed, and the mounting surface 37 of the contact member 01 is soldered to the mounting pattern 43. The mounting on the circuit board is completed, so that the contact portion 19 is positioned so as to be spaced substantially directly above the central contact portion 41. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the central contact portion 41 is formed by arranging two independent contact patterns concentrically or in a comb-like shape at a predetermined interval. At this time, the electric circuit pattern extending from the center contact portion 41 is arranged below the bottom surface 15 of the pedestal portion 11 and further extends to be continuous with the intended circuit. At this time, in this embodiment, since the pedestal portion 11 is made of an insulating material such as rubber, it is not always necessary to subject the electric circuit pattern located below the bottom surface 15 to resist treatment.

  The contact member 01 mounted in this manner is operated as follows. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, first, a pressing force is applied to the pressing surface 17 of the operating portion 12 of the pressing member 10 via a key top (not shown) provided in the electric device. As a result, the operating portion 12 is displaced downward while the deforming portion 13 is elastically deformed, and the contact portion 19 at the tip of the pressing portion 14 comes into contact with the central contact portion 41. As a result, two independent contact patterns forming the central contact portion 41 of the electric circuit board 40 are electrically short-circuited via the contact portion 19, and a switch constituted by the contact member 01 and the electric circuit board 41. Is turned on.

  As described above, the contact member 01 according to the present invention is configured only by the pressing member 01 and the support member 30 and functions as a part of the configuration of the switch only by being mounted on the electric circuit board. In addition, a large operation stroke can be obtained by using the pressing member 10.

  Further, as described above, the pedestal portion 11 of the pressing member 10 has the upper surface 16 firmly in contact with the top surface 34 of the support member 30, and the pedestal portion 11 is placed on the electric circuit board 40 so that the mounting portion 33 of the support member 30 is mounted. By being soldered to the mounting pattern 43, the base portion 11 is restricted from being elastically deformed by the top surface 34 of the support member 30 and the electric circuit board 40, and the operating portion 12 is moved downward while the deformable portion 13 is elastically deformed. The base 11 does not elastically deform even in a change in the form of displacement, for example, so that the click feeling when the deformed portion 13 is reversed is not impaired, and the intended operating characteristics when operating, particularly the click feeling. Can be easily obtained.

  Further, since only the contact portion 19 of the pressing member 10 comes into contact with the central contact portion 41 of the electric circuit board 40, the electrical operation of the switch is performed. Therefore, the portion excluding the contact portion 19 of the pressing member 10 is particularly conductive. This eliminates the need for electrical performance, such as having a greater degree of freedom, and this increases the degree of freedom in selecting the material of the portion excluding the contact portion 19 so that the setting of the load characteristics including the operation stroke and the operation load can be made freely.

  Furthermore, since the switch is electrically opened / closed only by the contact part 19 of the pressing member 10 and the central contact part 41 of the electric circuit board 40, the contact pattern required for the electric circuit board 40 is only the central contact part 41. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce the restrictions on routing the circuit on the electric circuit board 40.

  In the above embodiment, the upper surface 16 of the pedestal portion 11 of the pressing member 10 is covered with the support member 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other forms as shown in FIGS. There are also examples. Hereinafter, another embodiment will be described. In addition, about the structural member and each part equivalent to the above-mentioned Example, the same each part name and attached code | symbol are attached | subjected and demonstrated.

  First, since the pressing member 10 has the same form as the above-described embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. Next, the support member 30 will be described. The flat plate portion 39 includes a flat plate portion 39 that is a substantially rectangular plane, and a mounting portion 33 that protrudes from the flat plate portion 39. One side of the flat plate portion 39 is open to the pedestal portion 11 of the pressing member 10. Cut out in the shape of an arc that is substantially concentric with the opening circle 23, and bent at the both ends of the other side opposite to the one side to be bent upward with a certain angle with the flat plate portion 39. A mounting portion 33 having a substantially square surface is formed.

  In this embodiment, two support members 30 having the same shape are attached to the pressing member as follows. First, an undercoat paint for facilitating adhesion is applied to at least one of the bottom surface 15 having the opening circle 23 of the pressing member 10 and the flat plate portion 39 of the support member 30 (primer treatment), and then the adhesive is applied. The support member 30 is applied such that the arc of the flat plate portion 39 is concentric with the opening circle 23 of the pedestal portion 11 and the bent side of the mounting portion 33 is substantially coincident with one side of the bottom surface 15 of the pressing member 10. The contact member 01 is completed by bonding to the pressing member 10.

  When the contact member 01 thus completed is incorporated in an electric device, the flat plate portion 39 of the indicating member 30 is mounted on the electric circuit board 40 provided in the electric device as shown in FIG. It functions as a switch in a state including the electric circuit board 40.

  The electric circuit board 40 has the same configuration as that used in the above-described embodiment, and the mounting portion 33 of the contact member 01 is soldered to the mounting pattern 43, whereby the electric circuit board 40 of the contact member 01 is transferred to the electric circuit board 40. As a result, the contact portion 19 is positioned substantially directly above the central contact portion 41.

  In the contact member 01 thus completed and mounted, the pressing force is applied to the pressing surface of the operation unit 12 so that the contact unit 19 contacts the center contact unit 41 and the center of the electric circuit board 40 is the same as in the above-described embodiment. Two independent contact patterns forming the contact portion 41 are electrically short-circuited via the contact portion 19, and a switch constituted by the contact member 01 and the electric circuit board 40 is turned on.

  As described above, the contact member 01 includes only the pressing member 10 and the supporting member 30 and is not an intricate three-dimensional shape, but is formed by only the flat plate portion 39 and one bend and the supporting member 30 and the pressing member. Despite being configured only by bonding with the member 01, it functions as a part of the configuration of the switch only by being mounted on the electric circuit board 40. In addition, a large operation stroke can be obtained by using the pressing member 10.

  Further, the base portion 11 of the pressing member 10 is restricted from being elastically deformed because the bottom surface 15 is firmly bonded to the flat plate portion 39 of the support member 30, and the operating portion 12 is lowered while the deforming portion 13 is elastically deformed. The base 11 does not elastically deform even in the change of the aspect such as the displacement in the direction, so that the click feeling when the deformed portion 13 is reversed is not impaired, and the intended operation characteristics when operating, particularly the click. Feeling can be easily obtained.

  In addition, since only the contact portion 19 of the pressing member 10 contacts the central contact pattern 41 of the electric circuit board 40 to perform the electrical operation of the switch, the portion of the pressing member 10 excluding the contact portion 19 is particularly Electrical performance such as conductivity is no longer necessary, and this increases the degree of freedom in selecting the material of the portion excluding the contact portion 19, thereby making it possible to freely set the load characteristics including the operation stroke and the operation load. .

  Furthermore, since the switch is electrically opened / closed only by the contact portion 19 of the pressing member 10 and the central contact portion 41 of the electric circuit board 40, only the central contact pattern 41 is required for the electric circuit board 40. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce the restrictions on routing the circuit on the electric circuit board 40.

  As mentioned above, although two examples were described, the form concerning the present invention is not restricted to this, and a part of the pedestal part only needs to be covered with the support member, for example, a method of attaching the support member to the pressing member Various methods such as providing a slit in the pressing member and fitting a part of the support member to this portion can be applied.

01 contact member 10 pressing member 11 pedestal portion 12 operating portion 13 deforming portion 14 pressing portion 15 bottom surface 16 upper surface 17 pressing surface 18 space 19 contact portion 20 side surface 21 locking recess 23 opening circle 30 support member 32 opening portion 33 mounting portion 34 top Surface 35 Locking piece 36 Side wall 37 Mounting surface 38 Housing portion 39 Flat plate portion 40 Electric circuit board 41 Central contact portion 43 Mounting pattern 100 Switch 001 Housing 002 Terminal 003 Contact piece 004 Elastic body 005 Key stem

Claims (5)

  It consists of an elastically deformable pressing member and a support member having a mounting part that can be soldered, and the pressing member is opened in one direction, and a conductive contact part is formed facing the open space. An operating portion; a pedestal portion to which the support member is attached; and a deformable portion continuous to the operating portion and the pedestal portion, wherein a part of the pedestal portion is covered by the support member. Feature contact member.   The contact member according to claim 1, wherein a part of the mounting portion is formed at the same height as a bottom surface of the pedestal portion.   The support member has a top surface formed with an opening through which the deformable portion and the operation portion are inserted, and a side surface bent substantially perpendicular to the top surface, and the pedestal portion has a concave shape. A locking recess is formed, a convex locking piece is formed on the side surface, and the top surface is placed on the upper surface of the pedestal portion by fitting the locking piece into the locking recess. The contact member according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member is attached to the support member.   The contact member according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of a bottom surface on the opening side of the pedestal portion is covered and bonded by the support member.   The mounting part is mounted on an electric circuit board having a mounting pattern to which the mounting part is soldered and a conductive board contact part, so that the contact part is spaced apart from the board contact part, and the operation part is externally provided. The contact member according to claim 1, wherein the deforming portion is deformed by being pressed, and the contact portion is in contact with the substrate contact portion.

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