Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Yoshihiko Kamimura

Takaya Nakamura

Tetsuo Murakami

Hirofumi Kikuda

Shigeru Shibutani

Takashi Makino

A push-button switch includes an insulating board, an actuator, an urging body and a push button. The insulating board has plural switch-contacts. The actuator is made of resilient material and includes a base section placed on the board, a primary and secondary actuating sections. Both the sections are disposed above the switch-contacts and linked to the base section via respective linking sections. The urging body has a first end rotatably supported by a supporting section formed on the actuator or another supporting section formed on the insulating board, and has a second end for urging the primary actuating section. The push button depresses a mid-section of the urging body. The structure discussed above allows the push-button switch to have various combinations of operating forces and strokes. The push-button switch and a multiple switch employing this push-button switch can be used in various electronic apparatuses.

Push-button switch and multiple switch using the same

Disclosed is a push-switch that comprises a tubular case, a fixed electrical contact in the tubular case, an operation shaft in the tubular case, a contact piece held by a holding part to the operation shaft, a resilient member for urging the operation shaft, and a cover for closing the tubular case. The holding part defines grooves and a recess between the grooves, and the contact piece has a fixing part positioned within the grooves and a protrusion positioned within the recess. The contact piece also includes an arm having an electrical contact thereon for sliding engagement with the fixed electrical contact upon depression of the operation shaft, and the cover includes an opening. The cover also includes a rib projecting downwardly from a lower side thereof, with an inner side of the rib being flush with a contact surface of the fixed electrical contact. To assemble the push-switch the contact piece is attached to the operation shaft via the holding part. Then, the operation shaft is inserted into the opening of the cover such that the electrical contact on the arm of the contact piece flexibly engages an inner side of the rib. Then, while maintaining the flexible engagement between the electrical contact on the arm and the inner side of the rib, the cover is combined with the tubular case.

Push-switch and method for manufacturing the same

Marks having clearly divided plural colors can be formed on a resin molded piece at low cost. A resin molded piece with marks having clearly divided plural colors is obtained. A resin molded piece is formed by combining plural base materials molded and processed by using a mixture of resins and fillers changing in different colors by irradiation with energy ray, and the surface of this resin molded piece is irradiated with energy ray to mark the irradiated positions with plural colors, and forming a marked resin molded piece. Preferably, the resin molded piece is a keytop of keyboard used in an electronic appliance.

Marking method and marked resin molded piece

A switch substrate (,) is provided on the upper surface with a pluralities of fixed contact points (,A,,B), and a driving body (,) made of an elastic material is placed over the switch substrate (,). The driving body (,) is integrally formed of a center press portion (,) and a periphery press portion (,) corresponding respectively to the fixed contact points (,A and,B). The periphery press portion (,) is provided on the bottom surface at the central end region with a first protrusion (,), the cross sectional end shape of which protrusion being round and making contact to the switch substrate (,). The first protrusion (,) works as a fulcrum separating the functions of center press portion (,) and periphery press portion (,) to be independent to each other. As a result, even when an operating force is given on the operating body (,) at a place somewhat deviating from a right targeted area, the operating force can surely bring only a targeted switch into ON-OFF operation.

Growing community of inventors

Fukui, Japan

Yoshihiko Kamimura