Panasonic Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Minoru Karaki

Nobumasa Nakao

Akira Kamie

Koji Tanabe

Masahiro Ito

Hirotoshi Watanabe

Yousuke Chikahisa

Takahiro Nishimura

Yasutaka Yamamoto

Makoto Sadakane

A panel switch includes an insulating substrate, a resist layer provided on an upper surface of the insulating substrate, a cover sheet, an adhesive layer bonded onto an upper surface of the resist layer, and plural push switches activated upon being pressed via the cover sheet. The resist layer has plural contact openings and a communication opening provided therein. The contact openings and the communication opening exposes the upper surface of the insulating substrate from the contact openings and the communication opening. The communication opening allows the contact openings to communicate with each other. The adhesive layer is provided entirely on a lower surface of the cover sheet and covers the contact openings and the communication opening. The push switches are accommodated in the contact openings, respectively. In this panel switch, the adhesive layer can easily be printed on the cover sheet and bond the cover sheet securely to the insulating substrate.

Panel switch

The invention relates to a movable contact used for a sheet having a movable contact for example used for an electronic device such as a mobile phone and provides a movable contact that realizes, even when having a smaller size, a required pressing force and a favorable click touch response. To realize this, a part surrounded by a conical circumferential edge in which a circular outer circumference edge when seen from the upper side has an inclined surface forms a spherical surface-like section that swells in an upward direction. Both ends of the circle having an identical distance to center line of the circle are straightly cut off. Then, parts at which these straight cut edges intersect with the circular edges are chamfered to have a circular arc to provide a movable contact having a substantially oval shape having circular arc corners.

Movable contact, sheet having movable contact, and switch apparatus using the same

A movable contact unit includes a base sheet made of polyurethane resin, a domed movable contact made of thin metal sheet, and a pushing protrusion. The movable contact is held on a first face side of the base sheet. The pushing protrusion is formed on a second face of the base sheet at a place corresponding to a domed top of the movable contact.

Movable contact unit and switch using the same

A movable contact includes a dome portion having substantially a dome shape and a periphery, and four projections provided on a concave surface of the dome portion. The periphery of the dome portion has substantially an oval shape having a longitudinal direction. The periphery having two linear peripheries in parallel with the longitudinal direction and two arcuate peripheries connected to the two linear peripheries at four corners. The four corners are arcuate. Two diagonal lines connecting the four corners intersect at a center of the dome portion. The four projections are located on the two diagonal lines at identical distances from the center. The movable contact contacts a fixed contact stably with an excellent click feeling on a pushing operation.

Movable contact and push switch using the same

A movable contact assembly includes a base sheet made of insulating film, a contact provided under a bottom surface of the base sheet, and a conductive layer comprising silver paste on the base sheet. The silver paste contains 12 wt % to 15 wt % of resin binder and 35 wt % to 88 wt % of silver particles. The resin binder includes polyester resin having a glass-transition point ranging from 30&#xb0; C. to 40&#xb0; C. and an average molecular weight ranging from 30000 to 35000. The silver particles contain 70 wt % to 80 wt % of flake-shaped silver particles and 20 wt % to 30 wt % of dendritic silver particles. This conductive layer of the movable contact assembly can be baked at a low temperature, and does not have cracks and is not peeled off even when being bent. In addition, this conductive layer can easily cope with static electricity and has high reliability.

Growing community of inventors

Okayama, Japan

Minoru Karaki