CA1047939A - Touch plate assembly - Google Patents
Touch plate assemblyInfo
- Publication number
- CA1047939A CA1047939A CA255,188A CA255188A CA1047939A CA 1047939 A CA1047939 A CA 1047939A CA 255188 A CA255188 A CA 255188A CA 1047939 A CA1047939 A CA 1047939A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- touch plate
- touch
- printed circuit
- circuit board
- dielectric plate
- 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.)
- Expired
Links
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 claims description 18
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 claims description 13
- 230000004913 activation Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 239000002650 laminated plastic Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 229920000728 polyester Polymers 0.000 abstract description 9
- 230000000712 assembly Effects 0.000 abstract description 3
- 238000000429 assembly Methods 0.000 abstract description 3
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 abstract 2
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 12
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 8
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 8
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 7
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 7
- 239000003973 paint Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000003990 capacitor Substances 0.000 description 5
- 230000035939 shock Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 4
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000004821 Contact adhesive Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229920006267 polyester film Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 238000012216 screening Methods 0.000 description 2
- 229910000906 Bronze Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 235000008733 Citrus aurantifolia Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 239000004593 Epoxy Substances 0.000 description 1
- OAICVXFJPJFONN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Phosphorus Chemical compound [P] OAICVXFJPJFONN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 235000011941 Tilia x europaea Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- NIXOWILDQLNWCW-UHFFFAOYSA-N acrylic acid group Chemical group C(C=C)(=O)O NIXOWILDQLNWCW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000010974 bronze Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004568 cement Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- KUNSUQLRTQLHQQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N copper tin Chemical compound [Cu].[Sn] KUNSUQLRTQLHQQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000000881 depressing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003989 dielectric material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000012799 electrically-conductive coating Substances 0.000 description 1
- 150000002148 esters Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000001125 extrusion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000005357 flat glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004571 lime Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000005361 soda-lime glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910000679 solder Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000005496 tempering Methods 0.000 description 1
- XOLBLPGZBRYERU-UHFFFAOYSA-N tin dioxide Chemical compound O=[Sn]=O XOLBLPGZBRYERU-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910001887 tin oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
- H03K—PULSE TECHNIQUE
- H03K17/00—Electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making and –breaking
- H03K17/94—Electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making and –breaking characterised by the way in which the control signals are generated
- H03K17/96—Touch switches
- H03K17/962—Capacitive touch switches
-
- 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
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2239/00—Miscellaneous
- H01H2239/004—High frequency adaptation or shielding
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2239/00—Miscellaneous
- H01H2239/006—Containing a capacitive switch or usable as such
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
- H03K—PULSE TECHNIQUE
- H03K2217/00—Indexing scheme related to electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making or -breaking covered by H03K17/00
- H03K2217/94—Indexing scheme related to electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making or -breaking covered by H03K17/00 characterised by the way in which the control signal is generated
- H03K2217/96—Touch switches
- H03K2217/96015—Constructional details for touch switches
- H03K2217/96023—Details of electro-mechanic connections between different elements, e.g.: sensing plate and integrated circuit containing electronics
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
- H03K—PULSE TECHNIQUE
- H03K2217/00—Indexing scheme related to electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making or -breaking covered by H03K17/00
- H03K2217/94—Indexing scheme related to electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making or -breaking covered by H03K17/00 characterised by the way in which the control signal is generated
- H03K2217/96—Touch switches
- H03K2217/9607—Capacitive touch switches
- H03K2217/960755—Constructional details of capacitive touch and proximity switches
- H03K2217/96076—Constructional details of capacitive touch and proximity switches with spring electrode
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A touch plate assembly for a digital control device. The touch plate is sectioned off into a plurality of touch switch areas, each of which repre-sents certain information to be entered into the control circuit. The touch plate and a printed circuit board, carrying the detection circuitry, are held in place by a housing which may carry other circuitry as well. Electrical connections between the detection circuitry and the touch switches are made by resilient spring contact members rigidly mounted on the circuit board and soldered in place as a component. A combination shield-filter assem-bly is bonded to the back of the touch plate. The shield-filter assembly in-cludes a metal-polyester laminate having windows therein, through which the spring contact members make electrical contact to contact areas on the touch plate. In addition, certain portions of the metal layer removed so that light from a light source located on the printed circuit board may be seen by the user of the control.
A touch plate assembly for a digital control device. The touch plate is sectioned off into a plurality of touch switch areas, each of which repre-sents certain information to be entered into the control circuit. The touch plate and a printed circuit board, carrying the detection circuitry, are held in place by a housing which may carry other circuitry as well. Electrical connections between the detection circuitry and the touch switches are made by resilient spring contact members rigidly mounted on the circuit board and soldered in place as a component. A combination shield-filter assem-bly is bonded to the back of the touch plate. The shield-filter assembly in-cludes a metal-polyester laminate having windows therein, through which the spring contact members make electrical contact to contact areas on the touch plate. In addition, certain portions of the metal layer removed so that light from a light source located on the printed circuit board may be seen by the user of the control.
Description
1~4 793g With the advent of electronic controls for such appliances as micro-wave ovens, ranges, ancl clothes washers has come the need for a simple method of entering information into the control. The keyboard has fulfilled such a need by allowing a user to enter information by depressing a serieæ
of push button switches. However, the keyboard is not entirely desirable in certain instances, especially in appliances, because water and other foreign ~
matter can collect on the surface of the keyboard as well as enter into the in- ~ `
side of the keyboard. To overcome the problems associated with mechanical - ~ - -keyboards, electronic keyboards, sometimes known as "touch plates" have ~ i 10 been developed. A touch plate is generally sectioned off into a plurality of areas each representing certain information to be entered into the control.
In the prior art touch plates have generally formed a part of the cabinet for the appliance with which it is used. In one of the problem areas with prior art touch plate assemblies, breakage of the touch plate glass has re-sulted in exposing the concealed wiring of the appliance. Therefore, in the prior art, breakage of the touch plate has resulted in a potentially dangerous shock hazard.
One method of overcoming this breakage problem has been to temper the glass so as to make it stronger. However, tempering the glass has only -Z0 been effective for glass plates having a relatively large area. The problem of glass breakage of touch plates having relatively small area remains un-solved. ~ -~
It is an object of the present invention to provide a structure for a glass touch plate which minimizes the shock hazard in a touch plate construc-tion should the touch plate be broken. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel structure for a glass touch plate which, in ad-dition to mininlizing shock hazard, also provides a structure for preventing the transfer of spurious electrical signals from circuitry on a printed cir-cuit board behind the touchpla-terand vice versa9 as well as providing an - ~;
~L~47939 optical filter for light elements on the printed circuit board which display in-formation to the user through windows in the touch plate.
These and other objectg of the present invention are accomplished by adhering a laminate comprised of a metal layer and a layer of a preselected optical transmissivity to the back of the touch plate. E;lectrical connection~
are made from circuit~y located behind the touch plate to contact area~ on the back of the touch plate through windows in the laminate. Additionally, windows are provided only in the metal layer at certain locations such that light from a light source mounted on the printed circuit board behind the 10 touch plate is filtered wh en viewed through the touch plate by the user. ~- ,c , "
In the course of the description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention reference will be made to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view o a touch plate and a housing therefor, in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. Zis an elevational view of the underside of the touch plate for use ~ ~ ' , . ::
with the present invention;
FIG. 3is a cross sectional view taken along lines 3 -- 3in FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a combination touch plate shield and filter assembly in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5is a cross sectional view taken along line 5 -- S of FIG. 4; and '~
FIG. 6is a cross sectional view taken along line 6 -- 6 of FIG. 1. ~
Referring now to FIG. 1 a touch plate 10 made of glass or other suit- , able dielectric material is mounted in a housing 12 which also holds a .
printed circuit card~l4 in place. In the preferred embodiment, housi~ng lZ
is extruded from aluminum such that it has a bottom wall 16 and two upstanding sidewalls 18 extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom.
Sidewalls 18 are bowed very slightly inwardly toward one another so that the ' edges of touch plate and printed circuit 14 are frictionally engaged between mounting tabs 22 and ZO re,,s~?ec~ively. Thus, it can be seen that the printed , . , circuit 14 and the touch plate 10 are easily installed into housing lZ by insert-ing them between the proper mounting tabs and sliding them into the housing.
Still referring to FIG. 1 the touch plate 10 has a plurality of electrically conductive coatings 28 therein which each form the plate of a parallel plate capacitor as will hereinafter be described. The coatings 28 may have a bor-der 30 surrounding them which serve to set off each of the coatings. Finally, a legend may be applied over each coating 28 to represent the particular touch switch which is actuated by touching that area.
Referring now to FIG. 2 the back of the touch plate 10 may be coated -10 with a suitable electrically non-conductive coating 32 covering the entire ;
backside except the area Z4 which is left clear so that a digital display lo-.
cated on the printed circuit 14 behind the touch plate 10 may be viewed by a person operating the control through windows Z4. In the same manner, win-dows Z6 allow a person operating the control to view a single light source located on printed circuit board 14.
Over the electrically non-conductive coating 32 is a first electrically ~ -conductive coating 34 which includes three generally parallel strips which : ,. ...
are electrically connected together at the bottom. A plurality of spaced ~-apart conductive coatings 36 are also located on the backside of the touch 20 plate. Itwill be seen from FIG. 3 that the glass 10 of the touch plate forms a dielectric for a plurality of pairs of series connected parallel plate capa-citors. Still referring to FIG. 3 it can be seen that conductive coating 36 foxms a parallel plate capacitor with each conductive coating Z8, and each conductive coating 34 also forms a parallel plate capacitor with coating 28. -~
Thus, each of the areas representing information to be entered into the con~
trol has a pair of serially connected capacitors associated with it. `
Referring to FIGS, 4 and S the combination shield-filter assembly for r, : use with a touch plate in accordance with the present invention essentially ;
;includes an aluminum layer~and a po~ester layer bonded to one another with ~L~47939 portions of each layer selectively removed 80 as to allow electrical connec- -tions to be made to the contact areas on the back of the touch plate and to provide an optical filter for light sources on the printed circuit. The shield- ~
filter assembly is preferably comprised of an aluminum layer 38 which i9 ; ! .
bonded by suitable adhesive means 40 to a polyester material 42 having a predetermined transmission wavelength. Adhesive means 44ig provided on the back of polyester 42 for attaching the combination shield-filter assembly to the back of the touch plate 10. Preferably, adhesive 44is a contact adhe-sive but other adhesives may be used as well. A plurality of windows or cut-10 outs 46 are provided in the polyester layer 42 so as to expose the conductive coatings 36 for the purpose of making electrical contact thereto. In the same manner, a window or cutout 50 in the alurninum layer 38 surrounds a window or cutout 52 in the polyester layer 42 so as to expose a portion of conductive coating 34 for the purpose of making electrical connections thereto. Addi~
tionally, a plurality of windows or cutouts 54 are selectively provided in the ~ ~
aluminum layer only so as to expose the transparent polyester layer 4Z. ~-Inasmuch as the cutouts 54 are aligned with the transparent areas 26 in the paint 32 on the touch plate, it can be seen that the light from a light source located on the printed circuit 14 will be optically filtered by the polyester 20 layer 42 when observed by a person using the touch plate.
In practice~ it has been found that a suitabl e glass for the touch plate is conventional soda lime glass. A suitable paint for the paint 32 may be ~ ;
any conventional paint which is electrically non-conductive and which adheres to the sod a lime glass such as an epoxy or acrylic base paint. It has been found that the material 34 and 36 on the back of the touch plate can be any ``
electrically conductive coating which may be applied to the back of the touch plate by a silk screening process or by other conventional processes. On the front of the toudh plate, the conductive areas 28 are preferably formed by conventionally silk screening a tin oxide coating thereon.
`
., .
~ L7~39 For the combination shield-filter assembly it has been found that layer 38 may be formed from a 3 mil thick aluminum sheet. Further, the polyester layer 42 rnay be a 7 mil thick polyester film with a transmission wavelength of approximately 6500 A if it is desired that th~3 displays and the indicator lights appear red to the user. Of course, other films with other transmis-sion wavelengths may be used and the adhesive used to bond the aluminum to the polyester layer may be any adhesive suitable for that purpose. As was stated above, the adhesive 44 is preferably a contact adhesive which will bond the polyester film to the paint on the back of the touch plate.
Referring back to FIG. 19 electrical contacts from the printed circuit 14 to the contact areas 34 and 36 on the back of the touch plate are made by plurality spring contact members, generally indicated by reference numeral 58, which are formed from a suitable electrically conductive metal which can be formed easily but which retains its resiliency once it is formed. Such spring contacts may be constructed of a phosphor bronze material. It will be understood that there is one such spring contact for each conductive con~
tact area 36 and one for the conductive contact area 34, as well as one for the aluminum sheet 38 for grounding purposes. Referring to FIG.6, each spring contact 58 includes a base portion 60 which lies flat against the sur-20 face of printed circuit board 14. A pair of connection tabs 62 extend down-wardly from the base portion through a~ 63 in the printed circuit and solder connections are made to the tabs 62 in the same manner as a con-ventional component on the printed circuit board. The spring contact member S8 aIso includes a pair of resilient fingers 64 which extend upwardly away from the printed circuit board 14 toward the underside of the touch plate 10.
The ends of fingers 64 are bent downwardly so as to form a camming surface 66 which cams along the undersurface of the touch plate-shield-filter assembly when it is inserted into the housing in the direction indicated by the arrow on FIG. 1. When the tcLuch plate and housing are properly aligned, it : - . - , ~: :: : ..
~ 1~347939 can be appreciated that the camming surface 66 of each spring contact mem~
ber 58 will abwt against one of the conductive areas 36 or against the conduc-tive area 3~, thus completing a conductive path from the printed circuit to the conductive area on the touch plate.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the touch plate assembly is easily assembled with a minimum amount of time and ; ~ ~
labor. In assembling this touch plate assembly, the larger components such ~ -as transformers and other components requiring heat sinking are mounted inside the aluminum extrusion 12 by conventional means. Secondly, the -~
printed circuit card 14 is inserted between the mounting tabs 20 by spreading the walls 12 and sliding the printed circuit board into the housing in the direc-tion indicated by the arrow in FIC:~. 1. The touch plate with the shield-filter assembly attached to the underside is then inserted between mounting tabs ZZ - -`-and inserted in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1. Inasmuch as the walls 18 of the housing are slightly bowed inwardly, it will be appreciated that both the printed circuit card 14 and the touch plate 10 will be frictionally engaged and held in the housing. If desired, a suitable cement may be placed along the mounting tabs 20 and 22 to insure that the printed circuit and the touch plate are held in place.
Z0 The combination shield-filter assembly for use with the touch plate not only provides an electrical shield which minimizes the transfer of spurious electrical signals from the touch plate to the circuitry on the printed circuit -~
board and vice versa, and an optical filter for light sources located on the printed circuit, but also surprisingly provides a means for minimizing elec-trical shock hazard. Inasmuch as the shield-filter assembly is bonded to the ~ .
back of the touch plate, it has been found that it prevents the removal of broken pieces of glass if the touch plate is broken. Additionally, even if the touch plate i9 broken and pieces of glass are removed, the shield-filter assem-bly which remains still minimizes electrical shock by preventing a person ~-- 6 , ., ., ., .. . .,, ,.. . . ~ . .
, ., - , . ... .. . . ..
~4~939 from inserting his fingers into the printecli circuit. `~
While a specific example of the present invention has been disclosed, obvious variations will occur to those skilled in the art. There~ore, it i~
intended that the invention be defined in the appended claims.
~ ':
.:
-~, ',- ' ~' :....
.~, ';~ , . ~ ' : ' :
~: :
~.
:~ :
7 ;` ~` ~
. . . . .
: -:
of push button switches. However, the keyboard is not entirely desirable in certain instances, especially in appliances, because water and other foreign ~
matter can collect on the surface of the keyboard as well as enter into the in- ~ `
side of the keyboard. To overcome the problems associated with mechanical - ~ - -keyboards, electronic keyboards, sometimes known as "touch plates" have ~ i 10 been developed. A touch plate is generally sectioned off into a plurality of areas each representing certain information to be entered into the control.
In the prior art touch plates have generally formed a part of the cabinet for the appliance with which it is used. In one of the problem areas with prior art touch plate assemblies, breakage of the touch plate glass has re-sulted in exposing the concealed wiring of the appliance. Therefore, in the prior art, breakage of the touch plate has resulted in a potentially dangerous shock hazard.
One method of overcoming this breakage problem has been to temper the glass so as to make it stronger. However, tempering the glass has only -Z0 been effective for glass plates having a relatively large area. The problem of glass breakage of touch plates having relatively small area remains un-solved. ~ -~
It is an object of the present invention to provide a structure for a glass touch plate which minimizes the shock hazard in a touch plate construc-tion should the touch plate be broken. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel structure for a glass touch plate which, in ad-dition to mininlizing shock hazard, also provides a structure for preventing the transfer of spurious electrical signals from circuitry on a printed cir-cuit board behind the touchpla-terand vice versa9 as well as providing an - ~;
~L~47939 optical filter for light elements on the printed circuit board which display in-formation to the user through windows in the touch plate.
These and other objectg of the present invention are accomplished by adhering a laminate comprised of a metal layer and a layer of a preselected optical transmissivity to the back of the touch plate. E;lectrical connection~
are made from circuit~y located behind the touch plate to contact area~ on the back of the touch plate through windows in the laminate. Additionally, windows are provided only in the metal layer at certain locations such that light from a light source mounted on the printed circuit board behind the 10 touch plate is filtered wh en viewed through the touch plate by the user. ~- ,c , "
In the course of the description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention reference will be made to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view o a touch plate and a housing therefor, in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. Zis an elevational view of the underside of the touch plate for use ~ ~ ' , . ::
with the present invention;
FIG. 3is a cross sectional view taken along lines 3 -- 3in FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a combination touch plate shield and filter assembly in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5is a cross sectional view taken along line 5 -- S of FIG. 4; and '~
FIG. 6is a cross sectional view taken along line 6 -- 6 of FIG. 1. ~
Referring now to FIG. 1 a touch plate 10 made of glass or other suit- , able dielectric material is mounted in a housing 12 which also holds a .
printed circuit card~l4 in place. In the preferred embodiment, housi~ng lZ
is extruded from aluminum such that it has a bottom wall 16 and two upstanding sidewalls 18 extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom.
Sidewalls 18 are bowed very slightly inwardly toward one another so that the ' edges of touch plate and printed circuit 14 are frictionally engaged between mounting tabs 22 and ZO re,,s~?ec~ively. Thus, it can be seen that the printed , . , circuit 14 and the touch plate 10 are easily installed into housing lZ by insert-ing them between the proper mounting tabs and sliding them into the housing.
Still referring to FIG. 1 the touch plate 10 has a plurality of electrically conductive coatings 28 therein which each form the plate of a parallel plate capacitor as will hereinafter be described. The coatings 28 may have a bor-der 30 surrounding them which serve to set off each of the coatings. Finally, a legend may be applied over each coating 28 to represent the particular touch switch which is actuated by touching that area.
Referring now to FIG. 2 the back of the touch plate 10 may be coated -10 with a suitable electrically non-conductive coating 32 covering the entire ;
backside except the area Z4 which is left clear so that a digital display lo-.
cated on the printed circuit 14 behind the touch plate 10 may be viewed by a person operating the control through windows Z4. In the same manner, win-dows Z6 allow a person operating the control to view a single light source located on printed circuit board 14.
Over the electrically non-conductive coating 32 is a first electrically ~ -conductive coating 34 which includes three generally parallel strips which : ,. ...
are electrically connected together at the bottom. A plurality of spaced ~-apart conductive coatings 36 are also located on the backside of the touch 20 plate. Itwill be seen from FIG. 3 that the glass 10 of the touch plate forms a dielectric for a plurality of pairs of series connected parallel plate capa-citors. Still referring to FIG. 3 it can be seen that conductive coating 36 foxms a parallel plate capacitor with each conductive coating Z8, and each conductive coating 34 also forms a parallel plate capacitor with coating 28. -~
Thus, each of the areas representing information to be entered into the con~
trol has a pair of serially connected capacitors associated with it. `
Referring to FIGS, 4 and S the combination shield-filter assembly for r, : use with a touch plate in accordance with the present invention essentially ;
;includes an aluminum layer~and a po~ester layer bonded to one another with ~L~47939 portions of each layer selectively removed 80 as to allow electrical connec- -tions to be made to the contact areas on the back of the touch plate and to provide an optical filter for light sources on the printed circuit. The shield- ~
filter assembly is preferably comprised of an aluminum layer 38 which i9 ; ! .
bonded by suitable adhesive means 40 to a polyester material 42 having a predetermined transmission wavelength. Adhesive means 44ig provided on the back of polyester 42 for attaching the combination shield-filter assembly to the back of the touch plate 10. Preferably, adhesive 44is a contact adhe-sive but other adhesives may be used as well. A plurality of windows or cut-10 outs 46 are provided in the polyester layer 42 so as to expose the conductive coatings 36 for the purpose of making electrical contact thereto. In the same manner, a window or cutout 50 in the alurninum layer 38 surrounds a window or cutout 52 in the polyester layer 42 so as to expose a portion of conductive coating 34 for the purpose of making electrical connections thereto. Addi~
tionally, a plurality of windows or cutouts 54 are selectively provided in the ~ ~
aluminum layer only so as to expose the transparent polyester layer 4Z. ~-Inasmuch as the cutouts 54 are aligned with the transparent areas 26 in the paint 32 on the touch plate, it can be seen that the light from a light source located on the printed circuit 14 will be optically filtered by the polyester 20 layer 42 when observed by a person using the touch plate.
In practice~ it has been found that a suitabl e glass for the touch plate is conventional soda lime glass. A suitable paint for the paint 32 may be ~ ;
any conventional paint which is electrically non-conductive and which adheres to the sod a lime glass such as an epoxy or acrylic base paint. It has been found that the material 34 and 36 on the back of the touch plate can be any ``
electrically conductive coating which may be applied to the back of the touch plate by a silk screening process or by other conventional processes. On the front of the toudh plate, the conductive areas 28 are preferably formed by conventionally silk screening a tin oxide coating thereon.
`
., .
~ L7~39 For the combination shield-filter assembly it has been found that layer 38 may be formed from a 3 mil thick aluminum sheet. Further, the polyester layer 42 rnay be a 7 mil thick polyester film with a transmission wavelength of approximately 6500 A if it is desired that th~3 displays and the indicator lights appear red to the user. Of course, other films with other transmis-sion wavelengths may be used and the adhesive used to bond the aluminum to the polyester layer may be any adhesive suitable for that purpose. As was stated above, the adhesive 44 is preferably a contact adhesive which will bond the polyester film to the paint on the back of the touch plate.
Referring back to FIG. 19 electrical contacts from the printed circuit 14 to the contact areas 34 and 36 on the back of the touch plate are made by plurality spring contact members, generally indicated by reference numeral 58, which are formed from a suitable electrically conductive metal which can be formed easily but which retains its resiliency once it is formed. Such spring contacts may be constructed of a phosphor bronze material. It will be understood that there is one such spring contact for each conductive con~
tact area 36 and one for the conductive contact area 34, as well as one for the aluminum sheet 38 for grounding purposes. Referring to FIG.6, each spring contact 58 includes a base portion 60 which lies flat against the sur-20 face of printed circuit board 14. A pair of connection tabs 62 extend down-wardly from the base portion through a~ 63 in the printed circuit and solder connections are made to the tabs 62 in the same manner as a con-ventional component on the printed circuit board. The spring contact member S8 aIso includes a pair of resilient fingers 64 which extend upwardly away from the printed circuit board 14 toward the underside of the touch plate 10.
The ends of fingers 64 are bent downwardly so as to form a camming surface 66 which cams along the undersurface of the touch plate-shield-filter assembly when it is inserted into the housing in the direction indicated by the arrow on FIG. 1. When the tcLuch plate and housing are properly aligned, it : - . - , ~: :: : ..
~ 1~347939 can be appreciated that the camming surface 66 of each spring contact mem~
ber 58 will abwt against one of the conductive areas 36 or against the conduc-tive area 3~, thus completing a conductive path from the printed circuit to the conductive area on the touch plate.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the touch plate assembly is easily assembled with a minimum amount of time and ; ~ ~
labor. In assembling this touch plate assembly, the larger components such ~ -as transformers and other components requiring heat sinking are mounted inside the aluminum extrusion 12 by conventional means. Secondly, the -~
printed circuit card 14 is inserted between the mounting tabs 20 by spreading the walls 12 and sliding the printed circuit board into the housing in the direc-tion indicated by the arrow in FIC:~. 1. The touch plate with the shield-filter assembly attached to the underside is then inserted between mounting tabs ZZ - -`-and inserted in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1. Inasmuch as the walls 18 of the housing are slightly bowed inwardly, it will be appreciated that both the printed circuit card 14 and the touch plate 10 will be frictionally engaged and held in the housing. If desired, a suitable cement may be placed along the mounting tabs 20 and 22 to insure that the printed circuit and the touch plate are held in place.
Z0 The combination shield-filter assembly for use with the touch plate not only provides an electrical shield which minimizes the transfer of spurious electrical signals from the touch plate to the circuitry on the printed circuit -~
board and vice versa, and an optical filter for light sources located on the printed circuit, but also surprisingly provides a means for minimizing elec-trical shock hazard. Inasmuch as the shield-filter assembly is bonded to the ~ .
back of the touch plate, it has been found that it prevents the removal of broken pieces of glass if the touch plate is broken. Additionally, even if the touch plate i9 broken and pieces of glass are removed, the shield-filter assem-bly which remains still minimizes electrical shock by preventing a person ~-- 6 , ., ., ., .. . .,, ,.. . . ~ . .
, ., - , . ... .. . . ..
~4~939 from inserting his fingers into the printecli circuit. `~
While a specific example of the present invention has been disclosed, obvious variations will occur to those skilled in the art. There~ore, it i~
intended that the invention be defined in the appended claims.
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Claims (3)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS;
1. A touch plate assembly for entering information into a digital control circuit, comprising;
a flat dielectric plate having front and back faces, and a coating on one of said faces;
a plurality of touch switches on said dielectric plate;
contact areas on said back face, said contact areas being electrically connected to said touch switches;
a printed circuit board containing circuitry for de-tecting the activation of said touch switches and having one or more displays thereon which are seen by a user through windows in said coating;
a plurality of bifurcated contacts extending from said printed circuit board toward said dielectric plate, said bi-furcated contacts being electrically connected to said circuitry and abutting against said contact areas to electrically connect said circuitry and said touch switches;
a combination electrical shield-optical filter sub-assembly comprising a metal-plastic laminate bonded to the back face of said flat dielectric plate said electrical shield-optical filter subassembly having a plurality of cutouts therein each of which is aligned with a contact area and which enable said bi-furcated contacts to make electrical contact to said contact faces, said electrical shield-optical filter subassembly further having a plurality of windows in the metal layer of said laminate aligned with the windows in said coating through which a user views said displays.
a flat dielectric plate having front and back faces, and a coating on one of said faces;
a plurality of touch switches on said dielectric plate;
contact areas on said back face, said contact areas being electrically connected to said touch switches;
a printed circuit board containing circuitry for de-tecting the activation of said touch switches and having one or more displays thereon which are seen by a user through windows in said coating;
a plurality of bifurcated contacts extending from said printed circuit board toward said dielectric plate, said bi-furcated contacts being electrically connected to said circuitry and abutting against said contact areas to electrically connect said circuitry and said touch switches;
a combination electrical shield-optical filter sub-assembly comprising a metal-plastic laminate bonded to the back face of said flat dielectric plate said electrical shield-optical filter subassembly having a plurality of cutouts therein each of which is aligned with a contact area and which enable said bi-furcated contacts to make electrical contact to said contact faces, said electrical shield-optical filter subassembly further having a plurality of windows in the metal layer of said laminate aligned with the windows in said coating through which a user views said displays.
2. The touch plate assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising;
housing means for holding said dielectric plate and said printed circuit board substantially parallel to one another, said housing means including first means for engaging a first edge of said flat dielectric plate and a first edge of said printed circuit board, and second means for engaging the opposite edge of said flat dielectric plate and the opposite edge of said printed circuit board.
housing means for holding said dielectric plate and said printed circuit board substantially parallel to one another, said housing means including first means for engaging a first edge of said flat dielectric plate and a first edge of said printed circuit board, and second means for engaging the opposite edge of said flat dielectric plate and the opposite edge of said printed circuit board.
3. The touch plate assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said housing means includes resilient means for normally urging said first and second means toward one another.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US05/631,596 US4056699A (en) | 1975-11-13 | 1975-11-13 | Touch plate assembly |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1047939A true CA1047939A (en) | 1979-02-06 |
Family
ID=24531905
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA255,188A Expired CA1047939A (en) | 1975-11-13 | 1976-06-18 | Touch plate assembly |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4056699A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1047939A (en) |
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-
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- 1975-11-13 US US05/631,596 patent/US4056699A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1976
- 1976-06-18 CA CA255,188A patent/CA1047939A/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US4056699A (en) | 1977-11-01 |
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