JPH0246796A - Exterior panel equipment for electrical equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exterior panel used for electrical equipment, and particularly to an exterior panel integrally provided with an electric circuit pattern on its outer surface.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, an exterior panel 31 (hereinafter referred to as a cabinet) is made of plastic.
When integrating an electrical circuit part such as a printed wiring board with a printed circuit board, an electrical circuit pattern 33 made of copper foil or the like is provided on the surface of a board mainly made of a paper phenol board, and a press switch 36 is attached to the electrical circuit pattern 33. A pattern 32 that allows visual confirmation of the printed circuit board 34 on which the items such as
(hereinafter referred to as a visual pattern) is positioned on the outer surface side of the cabinet 31 whose outer surface has been processed by painting, printing, or hot stamping, and is attached and integrated with screws 36 or the like. A position regulating portion 37 consisting of a plurality of lips or bosses is provided on the outer surface of the cabinet to which the printed circuit board 34 is attached.
Printed circuit board 3 due to pressure on push pressure switch 35, etc.
4 is prevented from deforming backwards. A protective panel 38 made of plastic is provided in front of the printed circuit board 34 to prevent damage to the printed circuit board 34 and contact with the user. The protection panel 38 is provided with a push button 39 located in front of the push switch 36 and configured to be elastically deformable so that the user can push the push switch 35.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above structure, the printed circuit board 3
4 to the cabinet 31, the production of the printed circuit board 34 involves processes such as electrochemical plating and etching to form the electric circuit pattern 33, and further steps to insert the electric parts. Forming using a press requires a huge number of steps. Furthermore, after plastic injection molding is performed for the cabinet 31, it is necessary to perform processing such as painting, printing, hot stamping, etc. Particularly, when multiple colors are required for painting, masking work is required during painting, which is cumbersome.

As mentioned above, the trouble in each process is the printed circuit board 34.
It is easy to understand that each process of molding, painting, or printing the cabinet 31 requires a great deal of work and labor, as each of them forms an independent industry in the current industry.

In addition, since the printed circuit board 34 made of paper phenol is a flat plate, thermal deformation such as warping and warping may occur due to high heat during immersion in a soldering bath during soldering after inserting electrical components etc., as shown in FIG. It was something to do. As an inconvenience,
- For example, when the switch 35 disposed on the printed circuit board 34 is pressed and operated by the push button 39 provided on the protection panel 38, a certain gap is obtained between the push switch 35 and the push button 39. In some cases, if the gap became too large, the push button 39 could not be pressed from the outside. As a countermeasure in such a case, a position regulating section 37 is provided for the purpose of correcting the warpage of the printed circuit board 340, but in order to completely correct the warpage, it is necessary to provide a large number of position regulating sections 37. In such a case, the plastic moldability of the cabinet 31 would be extremely degraded, making it impractical.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an exterior panel for electrical equipment that has better workability and allows for greater rationalization of work.

Means for Solving the Problems The exterior panel of the present invention uses a transfer base film on which a visual pattern and an electric circuit pattern are printed in advance, and simultaneously prints the visual pattern and electric circuit pattern on the cabinet during plastic injection molding of the cabinet. It consists of a structure that is transferred to the outer surface of.

Function: The exterior panel for the electrical equipment of the present invention is easy to create because the electrical circuit pattern and visual markings are printed on the transfer base film in advance. Furthermore, since the electric circuit pattern and the visual pattern are transferred to the outer surface of the cabinet at the same time as the injection molding of the cabinet, there is no need to carry out separate processes for each.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an exterior panel for an electrical device according to a first example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transfer film, in which a visual pattern 2 and an electric circuit pattern 3 are printed on a transfer base film 1. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the main part of FIG. 1. The visual pattern 2 is composed of a character printing section 4, color printing sections 6, 6, etc. Further, the electric circuit pattern 3 consists of a wiring pattern part and an insulating layer 8 whose purpose is to insulate the wiring pattern part 7. Note that the wiring pattern 7 is determined by the electric circuit of the electric device, so it is arbitrary, and since the electric circuit has no relation to the present invention, its explanation will be omitted. . Further, when the visual pattern 2 and the electric circuit pattern 3 are transferred to a predetermined location, the portion where the insulating layer 8 is not located on the wiring pattern 7 becomes a land portion that can be soldered. Note that the metal paste for printing the wiring pattern 7 that can be soldered may be any paste such as gold, silver, copper, carbon, etc., and each metal material has different electrical properties such as resistance value. Therefore, it is only necessary to select a metal paste that satisfies the electrical circuit. Further, a release layer 9 is provided between the visual pattern 2 and the electric circuit pattern 3 and the transfer base film 1.
is provided, and the peeling layer 9 protects the transfer film when the cabinet 11 injection-molded in the mold is removed by moving the movable part while the transfer film is positioned between the fixed part and the movable part of the mold. The peeling becomes easy when the visual pattern 2 and the electric circuit pattern 3 transferred to the outer surface of the cabinet 11 are automatically peeled off from the transfer base film 1 by the movement of the front rotating part. The purpose is to

For the release layer 9, acrylic resin or cellulose resin is used as a thermoplastic resin, and melamine resin, unsaturated polyester resin, urethane resin, etc. are usually used as a thermosetting resin. Further, the visual pattern section 2,
An adhesive layer 10 is provided on the upper surface of the electric circuit pattern 3, and when the cabinet 11 is molded, the electric circuit pattern 3 is peeled off from the transfer base film 1 visually, and the cabinet 11 is removed. firmly attached to the outer surface of the

Further, the transfer base film 1 can withstand the heat curing temperature of the thermosetting resin used as the release layer 9 after each printing process of the visual pattern 2 and the electric circuit pattern 3, and the resin temperature during injection molding of the cabinet 11. A heat-resistant film is essential; polyester film can be used. or,
The visual pattern 2 and the electric circuit pattern 3 can be printed by a gravure method, a screen method, etc., and if they are printed continuously on the roll-shaped transfer base film 1, the cabinet 11 can be formed as shown in FIG. Sometimes the fixed part 1 of the mold
2, position the transfer film at a predetermined position between the movable part 130, and move the transfer film to the movable part 13 in that state.
is moved in the direction of the arrow and positioned at the position shown by the two-dot chain line, and then injection molded so that the transfer film is brought into close contact with the surface of the fixing part 12, so that the cabinet 11 is sequentially injection molded. In the molding cycle to be carried out, a mechanism is provided for winding and rewinding the transfer film onto the roll 14 and the roll 15, and the cabinet 1 is sequentially moved.
By moving the transfer film to the predetermined position according to the molding cycle in step 1, mass production is possible. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the cabinet 11 is a cabinet obtained by the process explained in FIG. 3, and the visual pattern 2 and the electric circuit pattern 3 provided on the transfer base film 1 have steps. The images are transferred to the first outer surface 16 and the second outer surface 17, respectively, which are located at the same position. A lip 18 protrudes from the second outer surface 17 of the back surface of the cabinet 11 to maintain flatness. Of course, regarding the shape of the lip 18, when attaching the mounting hole provided at the position of the electric circuit pattern 3, an electric component such as the push pressure switch 19 is inserted into the hole 22, and the electric component and the electric circuit pattern 3 are attached.
The shape and shape of
It goes without saying that the wall thickness is closely related to the wall thickness of the second outer surface 17 of the cabinet 11. Further, on the second outer surface 17, a switch 19 and the like are arranged on the electric circuit pattern 3.
The mounting hole 22 required for insertion into the predetermined position of the mold is easily provided with a pin provided on the fixed part 12 or the movable part 13 of the mold, so it is difficult to install it like in conventional printed circuit boards. With Komei, the process becomes unnecessary. Note that soldering after inserting electrical parts such as the push pressure switch 19 into the predetermined positions of the electric circuit pattern 3 can be done by dipping them in a solder bath, or by applying cream solder or the like to the predetermined positions. After that, any method such as melting or flow method in a high temperature atmosphere is possible.

In this way, the electric circuit pattern 3 in which electric parts such as the push pressure switch 19 are installed is protected by the protective panel 2o located in front of it, and the protective panel 20 is attached to the cabinet 11. The attachment provided in the hole 22 and the protection panel 2o is arranged by removably engaging the claw 23. At this time, the gap between the switch 19 and the push button 21 which is located in front of the push switch 19 provided on the panel 20 and elastically deforms so that the push switch 19 can be pushed is the second outer surface of the cabinet 11. Due to the effect of preventing plane deformation of the lip 18 provided on the back surface of the push button 17, a constant gap is created, and stable operability of the push button 21 is obtained.

Therefore, the first part of the cabinet 11 located with a step difference
The visual pattern 2 and the electric circuit pattern 3 of the transfer base film 1 are easily transferred to the outer surface 16 and the second outer surface 17 of the transfer device, respectively, and a large number of steps can be omitted.

An exterior panel for an electrical device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 is that the first outer surface 16 and the second outer surface 17 of the cabinet 11 are on the same plane. In this case, the visual pattern 2 and the electric circuit pattern 3 on the transfer base film 1 can be easily and accurately distinguished from each other in the process. Therefore, visual pattern 2 and electrical circuit pattern 3 remain separated.
are the first outer surface 16 and the second outer surface 17 of the cabinet 11.
Since the first outer surface 17 and the second outer surface 17 are transferred to each other, as in the past, a masking operation is performed to separate the first outer surface and the second outer surface 17 during printing and painting, and the separation is further improved in accuracy. Therefore, it is unnecessary to form a masking groove at the boundary between the first outer surface 16 and the second outer surface 17, which would impair the appearance.

Effects of the Invention As described above, when integrating an electric circuit pattern into a cabinet, the present invention prints a visual pattern and an electric circuit pattern on a transfer base film in advance, and transfers them onto the outer surface of the cabinet at the same time as injection molding of the cabinet. The exterior panels of electrical equipment with integrated electrical circuits can be easily replaced.

For this reason, it has excellent workability and can greatly streamline work, and furthermore, in the circuit configuration of electrical equipment, it is possible to provide it on the outer surface of the cabinet of electrical equipment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transfer film for manufacturing an exterior panel of an electrical device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an exterior of the same electrical device. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the state in which the exterior panel of the electrical device is used; FIG. 6 is a back view of the exterior panel of the electronic device; FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the state in which the exterior panel of an electrical device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is used, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a conventional electrical device. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state of thermal deformation of a 7-lint plate attached to the exterior panel of the electrical equipment. 1...Base film for thermal transfer, 2...
Visual pattern, 3... Electric circuit pattern, 4.
...Character printing part, 5,6...Coloring print part, 7...Wiring pattern part, 8...Insulating layer, 9... Peeling layer, 1o...adhesive layer,
11... Cabinet, 12... Fixed part, 13... Movable part, 14.15...
Roll, 16...First outer surface, 17...
・Second outer surface, 18...Rep, 19...
・Press pressure switch, 2o...Protection panel, 21
......Push button, 22......Hole for mounting, 2
3..--.With mounting hole, pawl, 24..--locking hole. Name of Agent: Patent Attorney Shigetaka Awano et al. 16 Figures / - Ikketsu Kyouun Photography Base Film Total - Publication 7 Kakuno (Turn 3 - Electrical Circuit Pattern - Figure 2 Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure A Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] An exterior panel for electrical equipment in which a visually recognizable pattern and an electrical circuit pattern are transferred to the outside of the panel from a transfer base film during injection molding.