Transparent touch switch

• US 5,243,162 A
• Filed: 09/04/1991
• Issued: 09/07/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Masakazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Recla, Henry J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BARRETT, GLENN
• Application Number:
  US07/754,860
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 200/511, 200/512, 200/514, 200/515, 200/5 A, 427/110, 427/58
• US Class Current: 200/512
• 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 2209/038 transparent
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2209/06 transparent
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2209/082 transparent
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2211/01 Ink
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2211/024 Peripheral edge deformable

Abstract

An optically transparent touch switch is described. The switch is of the type which comprises a pair of glass sheets, transparent electrodes formed on one side of each glass sheet in such a way that the transparent electrodes are facing each other, and a spacer provided between the paired glass sheets to establish a given gap therebetween. The spacer is made of a dispersion which comprises an adhesive resin, spherical fine particles of a transparent resin, and hard fine particles of glass fibers having substantially the same diameter as a size of the spherical fine particles.

Claims

1. An optically transparent touch switch comprising:

a transparent first sheet and a transparent second sheet,

at least one transparent first electrode disposed on a surface of said transparent first sheet and at least one transparent second electrode disposed on a surface of said transparent second sheet,

a spacer connecting said first and second transparent sheets such that said first and second transparent electrodes are facing each other and a non-conductive gap is created between said first and second transparent electrodes,

said spacer comprising a dispersion of transparent soft spacing particles and transparent hard spacing particles in a transparent adhesive material.

2. The optically transparent touch switch according to claim 1, wherein said transparent adhesive material is an epoxy resin.

3. The optically transparent touch switch according to claim 1, wherein said transparent soft spacing particles and said transparent hard spacing particles are, respectively, contained in amounts of 2.0% by weight and 3.3% by weight of said transparent adhesive material.

4. The optically transparent touch switch according to claim 1, wherein said transparent soft spacing particles are made of resin and said transparent hard spacing particles are made of glass.

5. The optically transparent touch switch according to claim 1, wherein said transparent soft spacing particles are spherical and said transparent hard spacing particles are fibers.

6. The optically transparent touch switch according to claim 5, wherein said transparent soft spacing particles and said transparent hard spacing particles have substantially the same diameter.

7. The optically transparent touch switch according to claim 6, wherein said transparent adhesive material is an epoxy resin, said transparent soft spacing particles are made of resin and contained in an amount of 2.0% by weight of said transparent adhesive material, and said transparent hard spacing particles are made of glass and contained in an amount of 3.3% by weight of said transparent adhesive material.