Keyboard switch assembly

• US 4,527,021 A
• Filed: 02/03/1984
• Issued: 07/02/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Shin-Etsu Polymer Company Limited (Shin-Etsu Chemical Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Shin-Etsu Polymer Company Limited (Shin-Etsu Chemical Company Limited)
• Inventors: Morikawa, Yoshitsugu, Okada, Kenichi, Nomoto, Kiyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Scott, J. R.
• Application Number:
  US06/576,872
• Time in Patent Office: 515 Days
• Field of Search: 200/5 A, 200/159 B, 200/264, 200/265, 200/292, 200/306, 200/243
• US Class Current: 200/5.00A
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/702 with contacts carried by or formed from layers in a multilayer structure, e.g. membrane switches
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/703 characterised by spacers between contact carrying layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2203/02 Interspersed fingers
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2203/054 for redundancy, e.g. several contact pairs in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2209/002 Materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2211/028 Contacts in depressions of layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2213/002 with external pressure
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2217/024 Profile on actuator

Abstract

A key-board switching unit for electronic instruments is constructed with a printed circuit board provided with a plural number of pairs of fixed contact points on the surface and an insulating covering sheet member mounted on or above the printed circuit board and provided on the bottom surface with movable contact points to face the fixed contact points. Different from conventional units in which exact correspondence in the positions of the fixed and movable contact points is required with time- and labor-consuming assembling works, the movable contact points in multiple numbers distributed over the whole bottom surface of the covering sheet member in such a manner that, when the covering sheet member is pushed and depressed at the switching position, the fixed contact points forming a pair of the counter-electrodes are contacted and electrically connected with at least one movable contact point even without exact positioning of the covering sheet member and the printed circuit board to give a great advantage of the increased productivity in the works of assembling. In particular, the movable contact points are formed of a pressure-sensitive electroconductive rubber.

Claims

1. A key-board switching unit which comprises (a) a printed circuit board provided with a plural number of pairs of fixed contact points on a first surface thereof, and (b) an insulating covering sheet member having a bottom surface provided with a multiplicity of electroconductive members formed of a pressure-sensitive electroconductive rubber forming movable contact points, said bottom surface arranged facing said first surface, the size of each of the electroconductive members being sufficiently small in comparison with the dimensions of the fixed contact points, the electroconductive members forming the movable contact points are distributed over the whole bottom surface and are supported relative to the printed circuit board so that a switch is formed with each pair of the fixed contact points on the printed circuit board and at least one movable contact point with the density of distribution of the electroconductive members forming the movable contact points being sufficiently large to ensure that at least one electroconductive member is contacted with the fixed contact points to bridge therebetween when the covering sheet member is pressed toward the printed circuit board due to the pressure sensitive electroconductive material forming the electroconductive members.

2. The key-board switching unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the surface of each of the multiplicity of the electroconductive members facing said surface of said printed circuit board is flush with the bottom surface of the insulating covering sheet member.

3. The key-board switching unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein the insulating covering sheet member provided with the multiplicity of the electroconductive members is mounted on the printed circuit board in direct contact therewith and said electroconductive members due to the pressure-sensitive electroconductive material thereof only forming bridging contact with said fixed contacts when the covering sheet member is pressed toward said printed circuit board.

4. The key-board switching unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein a multiplicity of the electroconductive members are each protruded out of the bottom surface of the covering sheet member.

5. The key-board switching unit as claimed in claim 4 wherein the electroconductive members have the same height of protrusion out of the bottom surface of the covering sheet member.

6. The key-board switching unit as claimed in claim 4 wherein the electroconductive members have different heights of protrusion out of the bottom surface of the covering sheet member.

7. The key-board switching unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pressure-sensitive electroconductive rubber has a volume resistivity of 10⁷ to 10⁵ ohm.cm in the absence of a compressive force and 10⁴ to 10² ohm.cm under a compressive force of 10 to 25 g with a finger tip.