Button-less push switch boards

Claim 1

A button-less push switch board having a plurality of push switches which comprises: insulator plate means having a plurality of holes penetrating therethrough at predetermined locations on the main surface thereof where said switches are to be disposed; cover plate means of a light transparent flexible sheet material mounted on said insulator plate means to cover said main surface, said cover plate means having identification marks of respective switches at locations corresponding to said holes of of said insulator plate means; printed circuit plate means affixed to said insulator plate means to cover the reverse surface thereof and having at least one pair of adjacent fixed contact electrodes thereon at each location corresponding to each hole of said insulator plate means, and terminals connected through leads to said contact electrodes; light transparent body means fitted slidably in said holes of said insulator plate means; means for elastically supporting respective transparent body means so that the top end surface thereof comes into contact with said cover plate means and permitting respective transparent body means to be pushed down towards said circuit plate means in response to pushing of the area of said cover plate means corresponding to the body means; at least one movable contact means supported on the bottom surface of each transparent body means for short-circuiting said at least one pair of contact electrodes when said transparent body means is pushed down; and a plurality of light emitting means mounted on said printed circuit plate means and disposed in respective holes of said insulator plate means, each light emitting means being connected to terminals formed on said printed circuit plate means which are to be connected to an external drive circuit, whereby each light emitting means is illuminated in response to shortcircuiting of each pair of fixed contact electrodes by the corresponding movable contact electrodes by pushing of said cover plate means, said printed circuit means having two pairs of said fixed contact electrodes at each location corresponding to each hole of said insulator plate, and two pairs of fixed contact electrodes being disposed at both sides of said light emitting means disposed in the hole, said movable contact means comprising two movable contact electrodes supported by said light transparent body means disposed in the hole, each of said light transparent body means including two of said elastically supporting means affixed to the bottom surface thereof, each of said elastically supporting means comprising a cup-like member of elastic material having a bottom portion affixed to the bottom surface of said light transparent body means and an open edge portion in contact with said printed circuit plate means, each of said movable contact electrodes being mounted on the inner bottom surface of each cup-like member.