JPH08227632A - Push button assembly for control panel and manufacture thereof and manufacturing sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To remarkably simplify continuous injecting process by leading the insert forming using sheet. CONSTITUTION: A push button main body 7, which is slectively moved between two positions for switching operation, is inserted into a fixed frame, and an inscription layer 8, which is formed of a transparent protecting layer 9 and an inscription layer 10 formed as the back side layer and formed with various inscriptions in the back surface side of the protecting layer 9, is positioned in a main body 7. The inscription layer 8 is pushed to the main body 7 by a movable frame so as to adhere the printed layer 10 to the main body 7, and heat is supplied to the adherence surface of the printed layer 10 and the main body 7 so as to thermally fuse the protecting layer 9 and the main body 7 through the printed layer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a push button assembly for a control panel, a method for manufacturing the same, and a seat for manufacturing the same. More specifically, various consumer equipment, industrial machinery, automobiles,
The present invention relates to a push button assembly of a control panel for control operation used for input / output to / from a control device such as a computer, a manufacturing method thereof, and a manufacturing sheet thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Control panels for electrical equipment such as electronic equipment are
It is used in various fields from production machines to consumer products. These devices are expected to penetrate more and more into each field. Such a control panel is required to be waterproof, drip-proof, dust-proof, electrically insulative, and sealed inside the body, stability of the push button for operation, feel, clarity of display function, and energy saving. Light transmission in the dark at night,
In addition to functions such as self-luminance, mass productivity and low cost are increasingly required.

Various household appliances having various functions, such as an electric washing machine, have a control panel for controlling the functions. This control panel turns on the power, OF
An ON / OFF switch for F, a time switch for setting an operation time, and command buttons for operation commands are provided. A control panel that is frequently exposed to water is required to have various functions of waterproofing, dustproofing, and static electricity prevention in order to prevent malfunction of an electric circuit on a printed circuit board. Similar functions are required for pushbuttons of transceivers used outdoors.

No. 60-67241 and 62-
The vehicle operation panel having a switch portion described in No. 167323 is known as a panel of the switch portion covered with a coating film integrally formed of a soft material. In this way, the cover of the control panel including the push button, which is required to be waterproof, drip-proof, and dust-proof, is molded integrally with the main body and has no gaps, so the control circuit part for rain, dust, dust, etc. Is prevented from entering.

Further, industrial robots, machine tools and the like used in the production factory are generally equipped with electronic control devices due to the progress of computerization. These electronic control devices are provided with an operation panel including various switches for changing programs and inputting data. In the production factory, the environment is generally bad, and dust, oil, and the like are scattered, which may enter the electric circuit in the operation panel, the contacts of the switch, and cause an electrical failure. For this reason, recently, electric control devices put a printed circuit board on which electronic components such as switches are mounted in a control box, cover the control box with a panel, and expose the switch from a part of the panel through an opening.
In addition, the entire panel is covered with a thin synthetic resin sheet to seal the control box. There is known a flat type operation panel that drives a switch in the opening of the panel from the upper portion of the flat cover when the switch is operated.
This flat type operation panel is excellent in that it prevents water, dust, oil and the like.

In this flat type panel, in order to clarify the positions of the switch portion which is pushed and pressed with a finger and the panel portion, symbols and characters are printed on the surface of the sheet for distinction. Further, there are also known ones in which the switch portion on the seat surface is made slightly convex so as to be distinguished from other portions, and an outer peripheral projection type in which a small projection is provided on the outer circumference of the portion on the seat surface where a finger contacts.

It is also known that the control panel surface is not flat. In this type, the symbols and characters on the surface of the control panel are not formed by the printing means. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a push button in which a synthetic resin of two kinds of colors is integrally molded and a display portion is formed by color coding. The display part manufactured by multi-color molding of the operation button with two kinds of colors does not disappear easily, but a multi-step processing process, an assembly process, and an injection molding process are required.

Audio equipment, telephones, electronic desk calculators and the like have relatively small pushbuttons. Such an operation button requires a spontaneous return force after the switch is operated. The elastic force of the silicone rubber interposed between the operation button and the main body is applied to such a returning force (for example, USP 4,818,829, USP).
4,636,593 specification).

The control panel of the type that utilizes the elastic force of the silicone rubber as the return force of the push button has a multi-step process including a push button manufacturing process, a silicon rubber manufacturing process, a process of assembling these, and many parts. is necessary. In order to simplify these assembling, there is known a manufacturing method in which a button is supported by an elastic support portion by an injection molding to be assembled into a closed structure, and further, a display portion is incorporated into the button and integrally molded (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 4). -305418).

When the flat type control box is a metal frame, a rubber sheet is further interposed between the sheet and the metal frame to improve the touch feeling of a finger when a person pushes the switch with a finger. . The push button is required to have good contact feeling between the finger surface and the button surface. If it is slippery, the operation will occur, and if it is rough, the fingers will be inflamed.

Various push buttons are known as well, which are arranged on the control panel of mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones and cordless handsets. LE, which is made of transparent or translucent resin and is built into the panel as a push button for the control panel of mobile electronic devices that are often used in dark places and at night
What is illuminated by D is known. It is also known to use a luminous paint embedded in a transparent or semi-transparent resin to distinguish between the display portion of the button surface and the non-display portion of the cloth portion. The display part manufactured by multi-color molding of the operation button in two colors including the transparent part does not disappear easily, but in this case also multi-step processing process, assembly process is injection molding process Is required.

[0012] For a mobile phone which is often used in a dark place, it is not appropriate to apply a normal fluorescent paint because the amount of light is insufficient. It is known that a push button is formed of a transparent / translucent material and is illuminated with an LED from the inside. In this case, the energy of the battery is consumed due to the illumination, the life of the battery, which consumes much energy due to the radio wave oscillation, becomes too short, and the battery needs to be replaced frequently.

Radioactive luminescent paints are disliked. Strontium aluminate (SrAl ₂ O ₄ ), which has recently been developed as a non-radioactive substance, is known to have high brightness and be effective overnight. This phosphor is mainly made of high-purity alumina, mixed with strontium carbonate and several kinds of rare earth elements that are activators, and is used in a reducing atmosphere at a temperature of 1,200 ° C or higher for about 3 hours. It is synthesized by firing. Both brightness and afterglow time are 10 times higher than those of conventional non-radioactive luminescent paints. The wavelength of the excitation light is also widely distributed.

[0014]

In order to use such a luminescent coating, the injection process and the assembling process are further simplified, and the control panel having the functions of hermeticity, translucency, touch and stability is provided. The challenge is to establish a technical means for mass production of push button assemblies.

An object of the present invention is to provide a push-button assembly for a control panel and a method of manufacturing the same, which can reduce the number of manufacturing steps and the number of assembling steps to mass-produce and reduce the cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a push button assembly for a control panel having a good feel and a method for manufacturing the same.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a push-button assembly for a control panel having a light-transmitting property and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0018]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To solve the above problems, the following means are adopted.

A push-button assembly for a control panel according to the first aspect of the present invention is a push-button assembly for a control panel for inputting an electrical symbol to various control circuits of electric equipment, which is operated between two positions by a driving force of a finger. To the pushbutton body (7) for selectively moving the pushbutton body (7) and restoring the movement of the pushbutton body (7) to the electric device body (5) including a casing. Elastic support means (15) for elastically supporting 7) and a notation layer (8) integrally provided on the surface side of the push button body (7).
A transparent protective layer (9) constituting a front side layer of the notation layer (8) and a back side layer of the notation layer (8), and various inscriptions are formed on the back side of the protection layer by printing. Printed layer (10).

A push-button assembly for a control panel according to a second aspect of the present invention is the fusion-bonding device according to the first aspect, which is formed between the protective layer (9) and the push-button body (7) and contains a pigment of a printing ink. And a layer (11).

A push-button assembly for a control panel according to the third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the printing layer (10) contains a fluorescent pigment.

A push button assembly for a control panel according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the push button main body (7) has a transparent layer containing a phosphor at least on a surface layer side.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a push-button assembly for a control panel, wherein the push-button assembly for a control panel for inputting an electrical symbol to various control circuits of an electric device is fixed side type A.
A method of manufacturing a push-button assembly for a control panel, which is manufactured by using a movable side mold B that is relatively movable with respect to a movable side mold B, for selectively moving between two positions by a driving force of a finger to perform a switching operation. A plurality of push button bodies (7) are fixed type A (25
From the inserting step of inserting into a) and the transparent protective layer (9) constituting the front side layer and the printing layer (10) constituting the back side layer and having various inscriptions formed by printing on the back side of the protective layer. A step of positioning the notation layer (8) on the push button body (7) such that the printed layer (10) faces the push button body (7), and the notation layer (8) A contact step of pressing (8) from the surface side to the push button body (7) by the movable mold B (25b) to bring the notation layer (8) and the push button body (7) into close contact, and the printing layer. (10) comprises a bonding step for supplying heat to the contact surface between the push button body (7) and the push button body (7) to bond the protective layer (9) and the push button body (7) via the printing layer. .

A method for manufacturing a push-button assembly for a control panel according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the method for manufacturing a push-button assembly for a control panel according to the fifth aspect, wherein the bonding in the bonding step is heat fusion. .

The control panel pushbutton assembly manufacturing sheet according to the present invention 7 is used in a manufacturing process for manufacturing a control panel pushbutton assembly for inputting electrical symbols to various control circuits of electric equipment. A sheet for manufacturing a button assembly, the protective layer (9) comprising a transparent sheet, and a printing layer (10) formed by printing on the back side of the protective layer (9).
Consists of

The sheet for manufacturing a push button assembly for a control panel according to the present invention 8 is the sheet for producing a push button assembly according to the invention 7, wherein the printing layer (1) is used.
0) is characterized by containing a phosphorescent fluorescent pigment whose main component is strontium aluminate.

[0027]

The push-button assembly of the control panel of the present invention performs a switching operation while being selectively moved between two positions by the driving force of a finger and restored. Since the transparent sheet of the protective layer forming the surface of the push button assembly is mirror-like, it gives a soft and hard feel to the skin of fingers. Through the protective layer, you can see the notation on the back side. Notation does not wear out due to finger friction. The notation can be freely selected by printing any pattern made of thin lines.

In the method of manufacturing the push button assembly for the control panel of the present invention, the notation is formed by printing instead of injection molding. The process of integrating the print sheet and the button body is performed between the front and rear injection processes. The thin sheet is tightly integrated with the button body by heat fusion.

In the push-button assembly manufacturing sheet of the control panel of the present invention, a free picture is printed in color on the transparent sheet. The characters and patterns printed on the front and back of the transparent sheet are confirmed.

[0030]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a mobile phone 1 to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. The phone body 5 of the mobile phone 1 is
It is composed of a handset 2, a control panel 3, and a liquid crystal display unit 4. The control panel 3 has a plurality of push buttons 6,6.
..., equipped with 6. Each push button 6 is supported by the telephone body 5 so as to be retractable from the surface of the telephone body 5 including the casing. The push button 6 has a cylindrical shape or an elliptic cylindrical shape.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along the line bb of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the push button 6 includes a push button body 7 and a notation layer 8 in which notations such as symbols, numbers, and figures are described. The notation layer 8 is the push button body 7
Is integrally formed on the front side of. The notation layer 8 is composed of two layers, and the outer side is a protective layer 9.

A printing layer 10 is formed on the back side of the protective layer 9. As the notation layer 8, as described later, a notation layer 8 printed on a transparent sheet or a transparent film (hereinafter referred to as a transparent sheet) is used. The push button body 7 and the notation layer 8, that is, the push button body 7 and the printing layer 10,
It is integrated by heat fusion.

Therefore, the heat fusion layer 11 is formed between the push button body 7 and the notation layer 8. The surface of the protective layer 9 is a surface with which a finger contacts. As such a transparent sheet, any sheet such as a polyester sheet or a vinyl chloride sheet can be used as long as it can adhere the ink described later and is not worn and is strong. Such a sheet gives the finger a hard feel.

The push button body 7 which operates as an actuator for switching is made of a synthetic resin of a thermoplastic elastic body having excellent rubber elasticity. The thermoplastic elastic body is selected from polyester elastomer, nylon elastomer, polyurethane elastomer, olefin resin, and the like. In this embodiment, polyester elastomer is used. For users who prefer hardness, hard thermoplastics are used.

The heat fusion layer 11 is a boundary surface where the polymer of the push button body 7 and the printing ink of the printing layer 10 or the polymer of the protective layer 9 are mixed or combined with each other and adhered.
Therefore, the heat fusion layer 11 constitutes a strong joint surface. The bonding strength, that is, the tensile strength is usually higher than the tensile strength of the thermoplastic elastic body that constitutes the push button body 7. However, the bonding strength differs depending on the selected combination of materials.

A push projection 13 is provided on the bottom surface of the push button body 7. The outer periphery of the push button main body 7 has an annular thin elastic portion 15 made of a synthetic resin of a thermoplastic elastic body having excellent rubber elasticity similar to that of the push button main body 7. They are integrally molded and connected.

The elastic portion 15 is formed in a tapered tubular shape. A flat ring-shaped thick welded portion 16 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the elastic portion 15. The welded portion 16, the elastic portion 15, and the push button body 7 form an integrally molded product made of the same material. The welded portion 16 is welded to the back surface of the telephone body 5 and integrated with the telephone body 5. The elastic portion 15 is easily deformed when pressed from above. When the upper surface of the writing layer 8 is pressed with a finger, the elastic portion 15 bends downward and dents.

The relationship between the time when the elastic portion 15 is dented and the applied pressure is as follows. When a predetermined pressurizing force is applied, the reaction force of the elastic portion 15 with respect to the pressurizing force is rapidly reduced when the pressurizing member is depressed to a certain position or more. The feeling of the finger at this time is called a click feeling. The peak pressure value is
It is necessary to determine the optimum value for human fingers. The peak value of this pressing force is determined by the thickness and shape of the elastic portion 15.

A printed board 20 is provided inside the telephone main body 5. On the printed board 20, a contact circuit 21 is formed of a conductive material 21 by a known means such as printing or plating used for making an electric circuit on the printed board. An insulating plate 22 made of a synthetic resin or a rubber plate is placed on the printed board 20. The insulating plate 22 is open only at the contact circuit 21 portion. On the insulating plate 22,
A thin plate-shaped conductive sheet 23 made of a conductive material is placed. The conductive sheet 23 is a conductor for conducting electricity, which is made of a rubber material or a synthetic resin containing a conductive material inside.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. The printing layer 10 between the push button body 7 and the protective layer 9 is illuminated by light from the outside through the protective layer 9. It is reflected and scattered by the pigment of the print layer 10 and again passes through the protective layer 9. Look at the notation,
Press the protective layer 9 of the writing layer 8. The surface of the protective layer 9 gives the finger a hard feeling, while the mirror-like surface of the protective layer 9 gives the finger a smooth feel and does not rub the finger to cause irritation.

As the protective layer 9 is pushed, the elastic portion 15 bends downward and the push button body 7 descends. By this lowering, the lower end surface of the pressing protrusion 13 of the push button body 7 presses the conductive sheet 23. The conductive sheet 23 electrically connects the flexure contact circuit 21 slightly. When the pressing on the protective layer 9 is stopped, the elastic portion 15 is elastically deformed, so that the original shape is restored, and the lower end surface of the pressing protrusion 13 returns to the original upper position, and the power supply is stopped.

(Manufacturing Method of First Embodiment) FIGS. 3 and 4 show a notation sheet 8a used for manufacturing the push button assembly of the first embodiment. The writing sheet 8a has two layers. The first layer is the protective layer 9 which should become the protective layer 9 after molding.
a. The second layer is a printing layer 10a that should become the printing layer 10 after molding. A carrier layer 9b can be formed on the surface of the printed layer 10a opposite to the protective layer 9a so that the printed layer 10a serves as an intermediate layer (see FIG. 5).

In this case, at least one of the protective layer 9a and the carrier layer 9b is transparent or semitransparent. Printing layer 10
a is composed of, for example, a red ink pigment adhering body that is a notation area a of the notation numeral "3" and a white ink pigment adhering body that is a background area b other than the notation area of the notation numeral "3", and is a plane layer. Is formed.

FIG. 6 shows a manufacturing process of a push button assembly using such a notation sheet 8a. Welded part 1
An integral body composed of 6, the elastic portion 15 and the push button main body 7 is inserted into the fixed side mold 25a. The notation sheet 8a is placed on the surface of the push button body 7. The details of positioning the notation sheet 8a with respect to the push button body 7 will be described later.
For simplicity, for example, the outer peripheral line (oval) of the notation sheet 8a shown in FIG. 3 is aligned with the edge of the surface of the push button body 7.

A hot plate 26 is provided on the inner surface of the movable mold 25b that slides with respect to the fixed mold 25a. A heat source is connected to the hot plate 26 by means not shown. A vibrating body may be used instead of the hot plate 26, and an ultrasonic oscillator may be connected to the vibrating body. The inner surface of the hot plate 26 is formed into a curved surface along the surface of the push button body 7.

The movable die 25b is lowered by a constant weak pressure corresponding to the elasticity of the push button main body 7 and, as shown in FIG. 6, a notation sheet 8a is provided between the hot plate 26 and the push button main body 7. When heat is supplied to the hot plate 26 by sandwiching, the heat is concentrated on the inner surface of the protective layer 9 and the surface of the push button main body 7, and the print layer 10 is formed on the heat seal layer 11 of the protective layer 9 and the push button main body 7. The pigments of When ultrasonic waves are applied to the writing sheet 8a, heat is concentrated on the joint surface between the protective layer 9 and the push button body 7.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a rectangular light-transmitting push button assembly. The telephone body 5 is, for example, an outer case of a desk telephone. Various engineering plastics are used for the telephone body 5. For example,
It is selected from relatively hard materials such as ABS resin, nylon, polycarbonate, PBT and polypropylene.

The telephone main body 5 has a plurality of button movable holes 5a, which are equal in number to the buttons described later. The welded portion 16 is connected to the cutout portion 27 which is connected to the inner end of the button movable hole 5a and is formed in a lattice shape on the inner surface side of the telephone main body 5.
Is heat-welded. Similar to the first embodiment, the tapered tubular elastic portion 15 is integrally connected to the welded portion 16. A support body 28 that supports the push button body 7 is integrated with the inner end of the upper end of the elastic portion 15.

A recess 29 is provided in the center of the support 28 in a direction toward the inside of the telephone main body 5. Depression 2
9, the support 28, the elastic portion 15, and the welded portion 16 are integrally molded. This integrally molded product is hereinafter referred to as a button body supporting molded body 30. The button body supporting molded body 30 is
It is transparent or translucent. The lower end surface of the push button body 7 is joined to the upper surface of the support 28 and the upper surface of the recess 29. The push button body 7 fitted in this way is also transparent or translucent. As shown in FIG. 8, the molded body 30 for supporting the button main body is formed in a grid shape as a whole by taking out only this, and is formed into a welding tube 16 which constitutes the grid and has a tapered tubular shape integrally with the welding section 16. The elastic part 15 is integrated.

The integrally molded product including the elastic portion 15 and the push button body 7 are made of a thermoplastic elastic material. As the thermoplastic elastic material, a relatively soft thermoplastic elastomer is used, and a light transmissive material is selected from synthetic resins such as nylon elastomer, polyurethane elastomer, and olefin elastomer. For users who prefer a hard material for the push button body 7, light transmissive ABS resin, nylon, polycarbonate, PB
Engineering plastics selected from T, polypropylene, etc. are selected.

A ring-shaped (square ring-shaped in this embodiment 1) space S is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the push button main body 7 and the inner surface of the button movable hole 5a of the telephone main body 5. Such a space S inevitably occurs as a press-cutting gap in a die of about 0.8 mm. A clear cover 31 as a space covering member that substantially covers the annular gap S is attached so as to cover the push button body 7. The clear cover 31 is made of a transparent material.

As shown in FIG. 7, the push button 6 is composed of a push button body 7 and a notation layer 8 in which symbols, numbers, figures and the like are indicated. The notation layer 8 is the push button body 7
Is integrally formed on the front side of. The notation layer 8 is composed of two layers, and the outer side is a protective layer 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the print layer 10 is formed on the back surface side of the protective layer 9. Writing layer 8
Is a transparent sheet having a marking layer printed thereon.

The print layer 10 is divided into three areas. As shown in FIG. 9, the printed layer is, for example, an adhered body of a red ink pigment, which is an area portion a of the numeral “3”, a transparent transparent area b adjacent to the area portion of the numeral “3”, and an outer ring. And an adherent body of an opaque white ink pigment which forms a background region c.

The clear cover 31 and the notation layer 8 are as follows:
The clear cover 31 and the print layer 10 are integrated by heat fusion. Therefore, the thermal fusion bonding layer 11 is formed between the clear cover 31 and the notation layer 8. The surface of the protective layer 9 is a surface with which a finger contacts. As in the first embodiment, such a transparent sheet may be made of a polyester sheet, a vinyl chloride sheet, or the like, as long as it can adhere ink described later and is strong without abrasion.

As shown in FIG. 9, the clear cover 31 has a ring-shaped edge 32. A ring groove or a plurality of depressions 33 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the edge 32. As shown in FIG. 10, the push ring or the protrusions 34 at a plurality of positions that fit into the recess 33 and fit into the recess 33 have a structure as shown in FIG.
Is provided on the outer peripheral surface of. When the clear cover 31 is pushed into the push button body 7, the projection 34 of the push button body 7 fits into the recess 33 of the clear cover 31, and the push button body 7 and the clear cover 31 are united.

As shown in FIG. 7, a step portion 35 is provided on the inner surface of the button movable hole 5a. The outer surface of the step portion 35 is
The inner end surface 36 (see FIG. 9) of the clear cover 31 forms an abutting portion for infiltration positioning that abuts when intruding into the movable hole 5a. A grid-like conductive layer 37 is formed on the inner end surface of the recess 29.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment having the above configuration will be described. In the second embodiment, a light emitting diode (not shown) is provided as an illumination source in the telephone body 5. Illumination light such as electroluminescence emitted from the light emitting diode passes through the button body supporting molded body 30, the push button body 7 and the clear cover 31 and further through the transparent region b of the printing layer 10.

Part of the light transmitted through the area b is the area part a.
The red ink pigment is scattered at the periphery of the adhered body, and the periphery of the number “3”, for example, shines. The gap S is hidden by the region c through which light does not pass and cannot be seen. If there is room lighting, it is not necessary to turn on the light emitting diode. When the outside is bright, the number “3” can be seen through the protective layer 9 by the scattered light of the external light that strikes the number “3”.

When the protective layer 9 is pressed with a finger, the clear cover 31
In the same manner, the recess 29 of the button body supporting molded body 30 sneaks inwardly into the movable hole 5a. At the time of this infiltration, the elastic portion 15 of the button body supporting molded body 30 is bent as shown in FIG. When the clear cover 31 is pushed sufficiently, the clear cover 31 hits the step portion 35 and does not penetrate further. The conductive layer 37 formed on the inner end surface of the button support portion when infiltrated hits a grid-shaped electrode and a comb-shaped electrode (not shown) that are formed in the telephone body 5 in the same body as the telephone body 5, Conducts switching between electrodes by conducting electricity.

When the finger is released from the clear cover 31, the refracting elastic portion 15 elastically suddenly returns from the infiltration position to the original outer position beyond the top dead center by the restoring force of the refracting portion. Similar to the first embodiment, the clicking action of the annular elastic portion 15 causes the finger to feel a click when returning.

(Manufacturing Method of Embodiment 2) FIGS.
7 illustrates a notation sheet 40 used to manufacture the push button assembly of Example 2. The writing sheet 40 corresponds to the writing sheet 8a of the first embodiment. Writing sheet 40
Consists of two layers. The first layer is a protective layer 9a which should become the protective layer 9 after molding. The second layer is the printing layer 10 after molding.
The printed layer 10a is to be formed. A carrier layer 9b (not shown) may be formed on the surface of the printed layer 10a opposite to the protective layer 9a so that the printed layer 10a serves as an intermediate layer.

In this case, at least one of the protective layer 9a and the carrier layer 9b is transparent or semitransparent. Printing layer 10
a is an opaque white color, for example, a red ink pigment adherent which is a notation area a of the notation number "3", a transparent transparent area b adjacent to the notation area of the notation number "3", and an outer annular area c. It is composed of an adhered body of ink pigment and a region d described later.

The notation sheet 40 has notation parts 41 composed of areas a, b, and c at a plurality of locations. As shown in FIG. 12, the plurality of notation parts 41 are arranged between the grid-shaped regions d. Numbers, symbols, figures, etc. are printed on the notation section 41. Perforation lines 42 like perforations are provided on the writing sheet 40 on the vertical and horizontal center lines of the lattice area d between the writing portions. The break line 42 is the notation sheet 4
It is a guide line for inducing a fracture in this line when a tensile force acts on 0.

14 and 15 show one step in the manufacturing process of a push button assembly using such a notation sheet 40. The push button body 7 and the clear cover 31 are already integrated. The composite 43 of the push button body 7 and the clear cover 31 is inserted into the fixed side mold 25a.
Four composite bodies 43 are arranged in the horizontal direction. Although not shown in the figure, a required number of composites 43 are also arranged and inserted in the fixed side mold 25a in the vertical direction.

On the lower surface of the movable mold 25b, which is movable with respect to the fixed mold 25a, hot plates 44 corresponding to the positions and the number of the composites 43 are arranged. A heat source is connected to the hot plate 44 by means not shown. A vibrating body may be used instead of the hot plate 44, and an ultrasonic oscillator may be connected to the vibrating body. The lower surface of the hot plate 44 is formed along the surface of the composite body 43 so as to have a curved surface which is about the thickness of the notation sheet 40 and is larger than the composite body 43.

The notation sheet 40 is placed on the surface of the push button body 7. Although a detailed description of the alignment of the writing sheet 40 and the composite 43 is omitted, for example, if the writing sheet 40 is provided with a positioning hole and the stationary mold 25a is provided with a positioning pin. Easy alignment is possible.

As shown in FIG. 15, the movable die 25b is lowered to sandwich the notifying sheet 40 between the hot plate 44 and the composite body 43. Notation sheet 40 is broken line 4
The sheet is broken at 2, and the broken end surface 45 appears on the notation sheet 40. When heat is supplied to the hot plate 44, heat is concentrated on the boundary between the inner surface of the protective layer 9 a that should become the protective layer 9 and the surface of the clear cover 31, and the heat fusion layer 11 of the protective layer 9 and the clear cover 31 is absorbed. The pigment of the printing layer 10a that should become the printing layer 10 is trapped.

With the pigment enclosed, the protective layer 9 and the clear cover 31 are fused by heat and integrated. Ultrasonic waves may be applied to the writing sheet 40 to generate heat at the joint surface between the protective layer 9 and the clear cover 31. By forming the peripheral edge of the lower end of the hot plate 44 into a sharp shape like a blade, it is possible to trim the protruding portion of the sheet having the protruding break end surface 45 around the clear cover 31.

The assembled state shown in FIG. 7 can be achieved by the following steps. The recess 29, the support 28, and the elastic portion 15
The button body supporting molded body 30 and the electric device body 5 which are integrally molded products of the welding part 16 and the welding part 16 are integrally molded by heat-sealing the welding part 16 and the electric device body 5 by the insert injection molding method. . Next, the notch portion of the button body supporting molded body 30 formed by insert molding of the notifying layer 8 and the button body 7 with the clear cover 31 (this is referred to as a button) manufactured in the steps shown in FIGS. Plug in 29.

Recessed portion 29 of the button body supporting molded body 30
The joining means with and are concavo-convex fitting, ultrasonic heat fusion, insertion of a pushpin-like insertion tool (see FIG. 16), adhesion with an adhesive, heat spot welding, etc., and various means not described here are available. Applied.

(Sheet Ink of Examples 1 and 2) FIG.
Fluorescent pigment ink is used as the pigment ink of the notation sheet 8a shown in FIG. 4 and the notation sheet 40 shown in FIGS. The particularly selected fluorescent pigment ink is a fired product containing strontium aluminate (SrAl2O4) as a main component. This is Nemoto Special Chemical Company (Suginami Ward, Tokyo)
Can be used as a phosphorescent-free phosphorescent paint that does not contain radioactive substances, which has been recently developed by J.K.

Strontium carbonate, several kinds of rare earth elements as activators, and flux were mixed, aluminum oxide was added and mixed, and the mixture was calcined in a reducing atmosphere at about 1200 ° C., cooled, ground and sieved. The powder having a uniform particle size distribution is used to form an ink by a conventional method. This ink has a peak value of intensity distribution of 520 nm (green) and has good luminosity, and both the afterglow luminance and the afterglow time are of the conventional products (ZnS: C).
It is about 10 times better than that of u), and it is effective for overnight to store light due to excitation by a fluorescent lamp in a room. Therefore, it is possible to put a luminous phosphorescent material into practical use.

This ink is applied by printing on a transparent sheet by screen printing with a layer thickness of 0.1 mm. The fluorescent ink is printed on the writing area 8a of the writing sheet 8a and the writing sheet 40. Notation sheet 8a of Example 1
In this case, the notation area may be printed with normal ink and the background area around it may be printed with fluorescent ink.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 17 shows a third embodiment of the button.
Indicates. The button body 7 may be transparent or opaque. The clear cover 31 is transparent, but the powder containing strontium aluminate (SrAl2O4) as a main component is 5% by weight.
% Is included. With this content, the transparency is slightly lowered, but it is transparent to the extent that a part of the fluorescent light emitted inside goes out of the clear cover 31. On the surface of the clear cover 31,
The notation layer 8 including the print layer 10 and the protective layer 9 is integrated.

In this case, the print layer 10 is printed with transparent ink (or no ink), for example, "3" in the notation. The fluorescent light emitted from the fluorescent substance passes through the transparent clear cover 31, the notation portion and the protective layer 9 and enters the eyes.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 18 shows a fourth embodiment of the button.
Indicates. This is a modified example for attaching the clear cover clear cover 31 to the button body 7 which is integrally formed with the elastic support means 15. The clear cover 31
Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 7, the void covering member substantially covers the annular gap S. The clear cover 31 is made of a transparent material. The push button 6 is composed of a push button body 7 and a notation layer 8 including notations such as symbols, numbers and figures.

The notation layer 8 is integrally formed on the front side of the push button body 7. The notation layer 8 is composed of two layers, and the outside is a transparent protective layer 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the print layer 10 is formed on the back surface side of the protective layer 9. As the notation layer 8, a transparent sheet having the notation layer printed thereon is used. The button body 7 and the clear cover 31 are joined together by means of physical and chemical joining means such as concave and convex fitting and heat welding.

(Fifth Embodiment) A fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 19 is substantially the same as the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 18 except that the means for connecting the clear cover 31 and the button body 7 is different. The mounting hole 50 is penetrated through the center of the button body 7, and the mounting shaft 51 protruding from the lower center of the clear cover 31 is inserted into the mounting hole 50. The elastic force of the split structure mounting shaft 51 connects the button body 7 and the clear cover 31. A bulge 52 is provided at the lower end of the mounting shaft 51 having a split structure to prevent the shaft from being pulled out.

(Other Embodiments) The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be freely modified according to design changes such as use, cost, material change, and size. For example, the push button main body 7 and the clear cover 31 are separately configured because the push button main body 7 needs to be a transparent body.
It may be an integrally molded body. In this case, the composite body of the push button body 7 and the clear cover 31 becomes
Is called. The button refers to the entire movable portion excluding the elastic support member, but the button assembly refers to a composite body of the button and the elastic support member. The bonding between the notation layer 8 and the button body 7 (including the clear cover 31) is not limited to heat fusion, but can be performed with an adhesive, for example.

[0080]

The surface of the push button of the control panel of the present invention is mirror-like and therefore smooth against the skin of the finger,
It does not irritate the fingers but, conversely, gives it a stiff feel that is preferred by buttons. Since the finger does not touch the notation, no matter how thin the line is, it will not wear out due to friction, and the pattern will be stored semipermanently. The notation can be freely selected by printing any pattern made of thin lines. Even complex inscriptions can be molded faster than injection molding. Since the notation can be seen from both sides, it is easy to handle. For example, it is easy to align the pattern background with the object to which it is attached.

In the method for manufacturing the push button of the control panel of the present invention, the notation is formed by printing instead of injection molding, and the injection step is performed by incorporating the integrated step of the print sheet and the button body between the front and rear injection steps. An inexpensive mass production process can be realized by the process and the integrated process of the notation layer.

In the push-button manufacturing sheet of the control panel of the present invention, a free picture is printed in color on the transparent sheet.
Any pattern can be easily created arbitrarily, and the manufacturing process can be extremely simplified. According to the present invention, even a button with a delicate pattern, which is impossible only by injection molding, can be mass-produced in a simple process.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a mobile phone to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of a part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a notation sheet used in the manufacturing method of Example 1.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view showing another embodiment of the writing sheet.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an assembling process by molding a push button assembly.

FIG. 7 is a front sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a part of a control panel section of the electric device.

FIG. 9 is a front sectional view showing a part of the button.

FIG. 10 is a front cross-sectional view of the button body 7.

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view showing an operating process of the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a notation sheet used for manufacturing the button of Example 2.

FIG. 13 is a front sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a front cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the button according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a front cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the button according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a front cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the button.

FIG. 17 is a front cross-sectional view showing a third modified example of the button.

FIG. 18 is a front cross-sectional view showing Embodiment 4 of another modified example of the button.

FIG. 19 is a front sectional view showing a fifth embodiment of another modification of the button.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 ... Electric device main body 7 ... Push button main body 8 ... Notation layer 9 ... Protective layer, 10 ... Printing layer 11 ... Thermal fusion bonding layer 15 ... Elastic support means 25a ... Fixed type 25b ... Movable type 30 ... Button body supporting molding body

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A push-button assembly of a control panel for inputting an electrical symbol to various control circuits of an electric device, the switch being operated by selectively moving between two positions by a driving force of a finger. And a push button body (7) for restoring the movement of the push button body (7) to the electric device body (5) including a casing.
An elastic supporting means (15) for elastically supporting the notch layer, a notation layer (8) integrated on the surface side of the push button body (7), and a front side layer of the notation layer (8). It comprises a transparent protective layer (9) constituting the print layer, and a printing layer (10) constituting a back side layer of the notation layer (8) and having various inscriptions formed by printing on the back side of the protective layer (9). Control panel pushbutton assembly. 2. The heat-sealing layer (11) according to claim 1, wherein the heat-sealing layer (11) is formed between the protective layer (9) and the push button body (7) and contains a pigment of printing ink. Control panel push button assembly. 3. The pushbutton assembly for a control panel according to claim 1, wherein the printed layer (10) contains a fluorescent pigment. 4. The push button assembly according to claim 1, wherein the push button body (7) has a transparent layer containing a phosphor on at least a surface layer side. 5. A push-button assembly of a control panel for inputting an electrical symbol to various control circuits of an electric device is fixed side type A.
Is a method for manufacturing a push-button assembly for a control panel, which is manufactured using a movable side mold B that is relatively movable with respect to a movable side mold B. An inserting step of inserting a plurality of push button bodies (7) into the fixed mold A (25a), a transparent protective layer (9) constituting a front side layer and a back side layer, and a back side of the protective layer (9). A notation layer (8) comprising a printing layer (10) on which various notations are formed by printing, and the notation layer (8) is arranged so that the printing layer (10) faces the push button body (7) side. Positioning step for positioning the push button body (7), and pressing the write layer (8) against the push button body (7) from the front side by the movable mold B (25b).
And a step of closely contacting the push button main body (7) with each other, and supplying heat to the contact surface between the print layer (10) and the push button main body (7) so that the protective layer ( 9)
A method of manufacturing a push button assembly for a control panel, which comprises a bonding step of bonding the push button body (7) to each other. 6. The method for manufacturing a push button assembly for a control panel according to claim 5, wherein the bonding in the bonding step is heat fusion. 7. A sheet for manufacturing a push button assembly of a control panel, which is used in a manufacturing process for manufacturing a push button assembly of a control panel for inputting electrical symbols to various control circuits of electric equipment, the sheet being transparent. A sheet for manufacturing a push button assembly for a control panel, comprising a protective layer (9) made of a sheet, and a printing layer (10) formed on the back side of the protective layer (9) by printing. 8. The sheet for manufacturing a push button assembly of a control panel according to claim 7, wherein the printed layer (10) contains a phosphorescent fluorescent pigment containing strontium aluminate as a main component.