EP0233296A1 - Contact rubber - Google Patents
Contact rubber Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0233296A1 EP0233296A1 EP86904938A EP86904938A EP0233296A1 EP 0233296 A1 EP0233296 A1 EP 0233296A1 EP 86904938 A EP86904938 A EP 86904938A EP 86904938 A EP86904938 A EP 86904938A EP 0233296 A1 EP0233296 A1 EP 0233296A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- rubber
- oil
- key top
- contactor
- layer
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H1/00—Contacts
- H01H1/06—Contacts characterised by the shape or structure of the contact-making surface, e.g. grooved
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H13/00—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch
- H01H13/70—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a plurality of operating members associated with different sets of contacts, e.g. keyboard
- H01H13/78—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a plurality of operating members associated with different sets of contacts, e.g. keyboard characterised by the contacts or the contact sites
- H01H13/785—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a plurality of operating members associated with different sets of contacts, e.g. keyboard characterised by the contacts or the contact sites characterised by the material of the contacts, e.g. conductive polymers
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H13/00—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch
- H01H13/70—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a plurality of operating members associated with different sets of contacts, e.g. keyboard
- H01H13/702—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a plurality of operating members associated with different sets of contacts, e.g. keyboard with contacts carried by or formed from layers in a multilayer structure, e.g. membrane switches
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2201/00—Contacts
- H01H2201/022—Material
- H01H2201/032—Conductive polymer; Rubber
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2205/00—Movable contacts
- H01H2205/002—Movable contacts fixed to operating part
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a structure of contactor rubber in a switching means of, such as, key board for various electronics devices, such as, electronic portable computers, digital watches, word processors, personal computer, video disc arrangements, audio instruments, push-phone and so on, said contactor rubber serving as an interconnector between the electrodes of, such as, printed circuit board, LSI-chips etc.
- contactor rubbers in which the conduction part thereof consists of an electroconductive rubber prepared by dispersing carbon powder in a mass of electrically insulating rubber, bonded under vulcanisation with an electroinsulating rubber; in which the surface of an eiectroinsulating rubber is printed with an electrically conductive ink; and so on.
- a contactor rubber is employed in manipulator key for key operation of, such as, switching key board etc., and is arranged bodily with the key top for finger touch to effect key input.
- fats or organic acid esters on the human finger will be transferred to the key top, which will penetrate through the material of key top and, after a prolonged period of time has been elapsed, reach to the contactor rubber and deposit thereon to cover it, increasing thereby the contact resistance upon contact of the contactor rubber with the pairing contact member.
- oils and lower molecular weight siloxanes contained in the resin material of key top may separate and deposit on the conduction part, to thereby facitit.atc further the increase in the contact resistance and may-even hindcr the electric conduction in an extreme case.
- insulating substances such as, oils, lower siloxanes and fats and esters from human finger onto the conduction part of the contactor rubber, by inserting between the conduction part and the resin body of the key top an oil-resistant layer.
- the invention proposes to arrange an oil-resistant layer inserted between the conduction part and the resin body of the key top.
- an oil-resistant insertion layer By incorporation of such an oil-resistant insertion layer, any deposition or penetration of electroinsulating substances from the environment or from the human finger can be prevented, even though the key board is placed in a factory or in a cooking room etc. where the atmosphere is contaminated with oily mists.
- measures may be taken into consideration, in which a film of resin is interposed between the insulating resin body of the key top and the electroconductive rubber layer, in which said resin film is arranged between two electroconductive rubber layers, in which a layer of oil-resistant rubber is disposed over the electroinsulating key top body, and so on.
- the oil-resistant layer is placed between two electroconductive rubber layers, it is possible that only these electroconductive layers are molded separately and are bonded afterwards onto the contactor rubber body with an adhesive to form an integral body. This is advantageous, since the adhesion work of the electroconductive layers onto the contactor rubber body can be effected without paying attention whether the face of the electroconductive layer is upside-down, permitting thus an easier work.
- Fig. 1 shows one example of an arrangement according to the present Invention in a vertical section.
- Fig. 2 is another example of the present invention shown also in a vertical section.
- a key top of a key board has on its bottom face a layer of clcctroconduction part 2 under an interposition of an oil-resistant layer 3.
- 4 is an electrode on a printed circuit board substrate 5.
- the key top 1 is prepared by molding an insulating rubber.
- an oil-resistant layer 3 is disposed by printing thereon with an oil-resistant substance derived from a non-vulcanized silicone rubber, such as those in which halogen or an organic compound is grafted on the principal siloxane polymer chain, or so on (such as fluorosilicone rubber, NBR, fluoride rubber, acrylic rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber etc.), and the surface of this oil-resistant layer 3 is further provided with an electroconductive layer 2 formed by printing an electroconductive ink thereon.
- a non-vulcanized silicone rubber such as those in which halogen or an organic compound is grafted on the principal siloxane polymer chain, or so on (such as fluorosilicone rubber, NBR, fluoride rubber, acrylic rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber etc.)
- an electroconductive layer 2 formed by printing an electroconductive ink thereon.
- Fig. 2 which illustrates another embodiment of the present invention
- the bottom face of the key top body 11 is provided with an electroconductive layer 14, an oil-resistant layer 13 and a further electroconductive layer 12.
- the inner most electroconductive rubber layer 14, the resin film 13 and the outermost electroconductive rubber layer 12 are prepared separately each in a form of film, from which the respective sheet pieces are cut out by punching them in a predetermined shape, which are then bonded on the bottom face of the key top body 1 by an adhasive in the sequence mentioned above.
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a structure of contactor rubber in a switching means of, such as, key board for various electronics devices, such as, electronic portable computers, digital watches, word processors, personal computer, video disc arrangements, audio instruments, push-phone and so on, said contactor rubber serving as an interconnector between the electrodes of, such as, printed circuit board, LSI-chips etc.
- There have been known contactor rubbers, in which the conduction part thereof consists of an electroconductive rubber prepared by dispersing carbon powder in a mass of electrically insulating rubber, bonded under vulcanisation with an electroinsulating rubber; in which the surface of an eiectroinsulating rubber is printed with an electrically conductive ink; and so on.
- A contactor rubber is employed in manipulator key for key operation of, such as, switching key board etc., and is arranged bodily with the key top for finger touch to effect key input. Upon such a finger touch onto the key top, fats or organic acid esters on the human finger will be transferred to the key top, which will penetrate through the material of key top and, after a prolonged period of time has been elapsed, reach to the contactor rubber and deposit thereon to cover it, increasing thereby the contact resistance upon contact of the contactor rubber with the pairing contact member. Also, oils and lower molecular weight siloxanes contained in the resin material of key top may separate and deposit on the conduction part, to thereby facitit.atc further the increase in the contact resistance and may-even hindcr the electric conduction in an extreme case.
- By the present invention, it is contemplated to prevent deposition of insulating substances, such as, oils, lower siloxanes and fats and esters from human finger onto the conduction part of the contactor rubber, by inserting between the conduction part and the resin body of the key top an oil-resistant layer.
- Thus, the invention proposes to arrange an oil-resistant layer inserted between the conduction part and the resin body of the key top. By incorporation of such an oil-resistant insertion layer, any deposition or penetration of electroinsulating substances from the environment or from the human finger can be prevented, even though the key board is placed in a factory or in a cooking room etc. where the atmosphere is contaminated with oily mists.
- For incorporating an oil-resistant layer, measures may be taken into consideration, in which a film of resin is interposed between the insulating resin body of the key top and the electroconductive rubber layer, in which said resin film is arranged between two electroconductive rubber layers, in which a layer of oil-resistant rubber is disposed over the electroinsulating key top body, and so on.
- If the oil-resistant layer is placed between two electroconductive rubber layers, it is possible that only these electroconductive layers are molded separately and are bonded afterwards onto the contactor rubber body with an adhesive to form an integral body. This is advantageous, since the adhesion work of the electroconductive layers onto the contactor rubber body can be effected without paying attention whether the face of the electroconductive layer is upside-down, permitting thus an easier work.
- Fig. 1 shows one example of an arrangement according to the present Invention in a vertical section.
- Fig. 2 is another example of the present invention shown also in a vertical section.
- In Fig. 1, a key top of a key board has on its bottom face a layer of
clcctroconduction part 2 under an interposition of an oil-resistant layer 3. 4 is an electrode on a printedcircuit board substrate 5. The key top 1 is prepared by molding an insulating rubber. On the underside of the key top I projecting downwards, an oil-resistant layer 3 is disposed by printing thereon with an oil-resistant substance derived from a non-vulcanized silicone rubber, such as those in which halogen or an organic compound is grafted on the principal siloxane polymer chain, or so on (such as fluorosilicone rubber, NBR, fluoride rubber, acrylic rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber etc.), and the surface of this oil-resistant layer 3 is further provided with anelectroconductive layer 2 formed by printing an electroconductive ink thereon. Of course, it is possible to incorporate oil-resistant layer by inserting it therebetween. - In Fig. 2, which illustrates another embodiment of the present invention, the bottom face of the key
top body 11 is provided with an electroconductive layer 14, an oil-resistant layer 13 and a furtherelectroconductive layer 12. The inner most electroconductive rubber layer 14, theresin film 13 and the outermostelectroconductive rubber layer 12 are prepared separately each in a form of film, from which the respective sheet pieces are cut out by punching them in a predetermined shape, which are then bonded on the bottom face of the key top body 1 by an adhasive in the sequence mentioned above.
Claims (3)
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP1985125217U JPH0138822Y2 (en) | 1985-08-16 | 1985-08-16 | |
JP125217/85 | 1985-08-16 | ||
JP93444/86 | 1986-04-24 | ||
JP61093444A JPS62252016A (en) | 1986-04-24 | 1986-04-24 | Formation of continuity part of rubber contact |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0233296A1 true EP0233296A1 (en) | 1987-08-26 |
EP0233296A4 EP0233296A4 (en) | 1989-06-21 |
Family
ID=26434808
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19860904938 Withdrawn EP0233296A4 (en) | 1985-08-16 | 1986-08-14 | Contact rubber. |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0233296A4 (en) |
KR (1) | KR900003800B1 (en) |
DK (1) | DK192087A (en) |
ES (1) | ES2001524A6 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1987001235A1 (en) |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0322514A2 (en) * | 1987-12-30 | 1989-07-05 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Keyboard switch system |
EP0366075A2 (en) * | 1988-10-25 | 1990-05-02 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Image processing method and system for radiological diagnostics |
US7798413B2 (en) | 2001-12-24 | 2010-09-21 | L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc. | Covert variable information on ID documents and methods of making same |
US7804982B2 (en) | 2002-11-26 | 2010-09-28 | L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc. | Systems and methods for managing and detecting fraud in image databases used with identification documents |
US8083152B2 (en) | 2001-12-24 | 2011-12-27 | L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc. | Laser etched security features for identification documents and methods of making same |
Families Citing this family (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2605163A1 (en) * | 1986-10-01 | 1988-04-15 | Mcb | KEYBOARD WITH READING DEVICE |
CA2118544A1 (en) * | 1993-12-30 | 1995-07-01 | Henry W. Krautter | Reliability elastomeric keypads and method for making same |
JP4442963B2 (en) * | 1999-10-26 | 2010-03-31 | パナソニック株式会社 | Button switch |
US7815124B2 (en) | 2002-04-09 | 2010-10-19 | L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc. | Image processing techniques for printing identification cards and documents |
US7824029B2 (en) | 2002-05-10 | 2010-11-02 | L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc. | Identification card printer-assembler for over the counter card issuing |
ATE491190T1 (en) | 2003-04-16 | 2010-12-15 | L 1 Secure Credentialing Inc | THREE-DIMENSIONAL DATA STORAGE |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2472214A (en) * | 1947-10-22 | 1949-06-07 | Hurvitz Hyman | Pressure responsive electrical resistor |
US4528428A (en) * | 1983-04-20 | 1985-07-09 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Key-holding structure of keyboard with curved operating surface of keys |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS5485375U (en) * | 1977-11-30 | 1979-06-16 | ||
JPS6222020Y2 (en) * | 1979-08-08 | 1987-06-04 | ||
JPS5929932B2 (en) * | 1980-04-26 | 1984-07-24 | アルプス電気株式会社 | Method for manufacturing a movable contact member for a push button switch |
JPS59196517A (en) * | 1983-11-02 | 1984-11-07 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Keyboard |
-
1986
- 1986-08-14 KR KR1019870700310A patent/KR900003800B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1986-08-14 ES ES868601136A patent/ES2001524A6/en not_active Expired
- 1986-08-14 EP EP19860904938 patent/EP0233296A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1986-08-14 WO PCT/JP1986/000419 patent/WO1987001235A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
-
1987
- 1987-04-14 DK DK192087A patent/DK192087A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2472214A (en) * | 1947-10-22 | 1949-06-07 | Hurvitz Hyman | Pressure responsive electrical resistor |
US4528428A (en) * | 1983-04-20 | 1985-07-09 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Key-holding structure of keyboard with curved operating surface of keys |
Non-Patent Citations (2)
Title |
---|
ELECTRONIC ENGINEERIRNG September 1984, LONDEN page 189 - 192; "SPECIFYING AND USING RUBBER" * |
See also references of WO8701235A1 * |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0322514A2 (en) * | 1987-12-30 | 1989-07-05 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Keyboard switch system |
EP0322514A3 (en) * | 1987-12-30 | 1990-09-12 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Keyboard switch system |
EP0366075A2 (en) * | 1988-10-25 | 1990-05-02 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Image processing method and system for radiological diagnostics |
EP0366075A3 (en) * | 1988-10-25 | 1991-02-06 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Image processing method and system for radiological diagnostics |
US7798413B2 (en) | 2001-12-24 | 2010-09-21 | L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc. | Covert variable information on ID documents and methods of making same |
US8083152B2 (en) | 2001-12-24 | 2011-12-27 | L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc. | Laser etched security features for identification documents and methods of making same |
US7804982B2 (en) | 2002-11-26 | 2010-09-28 | L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc. | Systems and methods for managing and detecting fraud in image databases used with identification documents |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO1987001235A1 (en) | 1987-02-26 |
KR900003800B1 (en) | 1990-05-31 |
ES2001524A6 (en) | 1988-06-01 |
KR880700442A (en) | 1988-03-15 |
EP0233296A4 (en) | 1989-06-21 |
DK192087D0 (en) | 1987-04-14 |
DK192087A (en) | 1987-04-14 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PUAI | Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase |
Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012 |
|
17P | Request for examination filed |
Effective date: 19870619 |
|
AK | Designated contracting states |
Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): AT BE CH DE FR GB IT LI NL SE |
|
RIN1 | Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected) |
Inventor name: OSAWA, YASUHISA Inventor name: KIMURA, YASUKO |
|
A4 | Supplementary search report drawn up and despatched |
Effective date: 19890621 |
|
17Q | First examination report despatched |
Effective date: 19901217 |
|
STAA | Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent |
Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN |
|
18D | Application deemed to be withdrawn |
Effective date: 19910628 |
|
RIN1 | Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected) |
Inventor name: KIMURA, YASUKO Inventor name: OSAWA, YASUHISA |