A sensor is provided, the sensor comprising a first layer (10) of padding material having an inner face and a second layer (12) of padding material having an inner face. The inner faces of the two layers face one another. The inner face of the first layer (10) is provided with a first printed conductive ink track (13) and the inner face of the second layer (12) is provided with a second printed conductive ink track (15). At least one of the printed tracks (13, 15) passes across the pad in a number of runs at a plurality of spaced locations. The first track (13) on the first layer (10) intersects at a plurality of locations with the second track (15) on the second layer (12). At least one of the layers (10, 12) is provided on its inner surface with a plurality of raised portions (12) arranged over the face of the layer (10, 12) between adjacent runs of the conductive track (13, 15) and facing the inner face of the other layer (12, 10) to maintain the two tracks (13, 15) apart when the sensor pad is unstressed, but which are compressible to deform to allow localised contact between the first and second tracks (13, 15) when pressure is applied to the pad.

A touch input function-equipped protection panel for an electronic device display window which can suppress deterioration of electric properties and appearance quality in a lead wire connection part, includes a touch panel having a flexible upper electrode plate and an inflexible lower electrode plate arranged face-to-face at a prescribed gap in a manner that the electrode surfaces are directed to inside and being formed by sticking the outer circumferential parts of the respective electrode plates with an insulating adhesive layer interposed therebetween; a decorative film having a transparent window part and stuck to the surface of the upper electrode plate; and a pin-equipped lead wire for extracting an electric signal from an electrode terminal of the electrode plate through respective metal pins inserted into a plurality of through holes formed on the lower electrode plate, wherein an elastomeric binder-containing conductive adhesive layer is formed on the electrode terminal of at least one of the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate as an underlayer of a conductive adhesive to be injected into the respective through holes.

The simplification of a mounting structure of a side surface operation part, the simplification of the mounting process, and the reduction of the manufacturing cost can be realized.

An operating device of the present invention has a stacked structure of a contact terminal sheet formed in accordance with a plurality of exposed operation parts and including a plurality of contact terminals for detecting an operation state of each of the operation parts, a flexible cable including a plurality of land parts and wire parts connected to the plurality of connect terminals, and a plate-like frame supporting the contact terminal sheet and the flexible cable wherein the frame is folded to form an operation receiving part for a side surface which corresponds to a side surface operation part disposed in a side surface of the device or the terminal and receives the pressing operation of the side surface operation part; and a contact terminal folded part, which is folded along the operation receiving part for a side surface, supported by the operation receiving part for a side surface, and includes a contact terminal for a side surface corresponding to the side surface operation part, and a land folded part, which includes the land part connected to the contact terminal for a side surface, are respectively provided in the contact terminal sheet and the flexible cable.

In a method for connecting lead wires to a touch panel, the method includes the steps of providing through holes 9a to 9d the number of which corresponds to the number of electrode ends by perforation in a lower electrode plate 3; using a metal-pin 11 having a pin-shaft 11b and a disk shaped pin-head 11a with a diameter larger than an outer diameter of the pin-shaft; inserting the pin-shaft 11b into a metal-pin fixing hole formed corresponding to the through hole 9a at a circuit 10c in a connector tail of a lead wire 10, whereby the pin-shaft 11b is erectly provided on the connector tail of the lead wire 10; and inserting the pin-shafts 11b to 14b into the through holes 9a to 9d, and in addition, electrically connecting the pin-shaft inserted into a lower electrode plate 3 through a conductive adhesive 15 to electrode ends 6c, 7c, 6d, 7d.

In an EL-combined sheet switch, electromagnetic waves are blocked, and appliances with the sheet switch are prevented from malfunctioning. A circuit board 1 having a driving circuit mounted on its back surface and having a switch pattern la formed on its front surface is combined with a contact sheet 3 having a counter electrode 4 on its back surface in such a manner that the counter electrode 4 faces the switch pattern la to construct a switch mechanism. To the front surface of the contact sheet 3, attached is an EL sheet 7, and a shield layer 5 is provided between the contact sheet 3 and the EL sheet 7. In the EL-combined sheet switch with that constitution, the electromagnetic noise from the EL sheet 7 is blocked by the shield layer 5. The shield layer 5 is connected with a ground electrode 1b formed on the circuit board 1.

Die Erfindung betrifft eine Tastatur mit einer Mehrzahl von scheibenförmigen Piezo-Elementen (3), die hinter einer Abdeckfolie (2) in Aussparungen einer eine starre Trägerplatte umfassenden Unterlage und jeweils zwischen zwei Kontaktflächen (7,10) angeordnet sind. Um eine möglichst einfache und funktionssichere Tastatur zu schaffen, sind die Aussparungen für die Piezo-Elemente (3) als abgestufte Ausnehmungen (5) einer zugleich die Trägerplatte zur Aufnahme der auf die Piezo-Elemente (3) ausgeübte Biegekräfte bildenden Leiterplatte (1) ausgebildet, wobei der größere Durchmesser der Ausnehmungen (5) geringfügig größer als der Außendurchmesser der Metallplättchen (4) und der kleinere Durchmesser etwa so groß wie der Durchmesser der Piezo-Elemente (3) und die Tiefe der Ausnehmungen (5) im Bereich ihres größeren Durchmessers etwa so groß wie die Dicke der Metallplättchen (4) und der Piezo-Elemente (3) ist. Die Leiterplatte (1) ist auf ihrer Unterseite mit Leiterbahnen (9,15) versehen, von denen einige über Durchkontaktierungen (8) unmittelbar mit den Kontaktflächen (7) für die Metallplättchen (4) und die anderen ebenfalls über Durchkontaktierungen (14) mit auf der Oberseite der Leiterplatte (1) ausgebildeten Verbindungsflächen (13) verbunden sind, die über Verbindungsflächen (12) und Leiterbahnen (11) an der Unterseite der Abdeckfolie (2) mit den Kontaktflächen (10) für die Piezo-Elemente (3) verbunden sind.

Disclosed is a keypad for use with compact and portable cellular telephone systems in which each key is backlit. A partially translucent overlay layer (10) of flexible material includes a raised key (12). Under the key (12), in a preferred embodiment, is an actuation layer (14), which, during operation, is depressed downward by the key (12). Below the actuation layer (14), is a tactile feedback layer (20) including a dome (30) for each key (12), in which, after being depressed to a predetermined degree, the dome (30) inverts causing a conductor (44) located below the dome (30) to short conductive traces (28) on a substrate (24) upon which the keypad is mounted. In a preferred embodiment, the keys are backlit by a light source (40) extending through the substrate (24) upon which the keypad is mounted. The tactile feedback layer includes a structure for reducing pressure on the light source when the tactile layer (20) is in the inverted condition, resulting in a thinner keypad with a brighter backlit key and a longer lift light source.

An input device has a pair of opposed transparent substrates (1, 2), and transparent electrodes (3, 4) on the inner surfaces of the substrates. The electrode (3) on one of the substrates (1) is conductively connected to the electrode (4) on the other of the substrates (2) by way of a conductive adhesive agent layer (9). A conductive synthetic resin thin film layer (11) softer than the conductive adhesive agent layer is interposed between the respective electrode on at least one of the substrates and the conductive adhesive agent layer.