Membrane switch having improved switch tail

Claim 1

A membrane switch assembly of the type comprising a substrate, a membrane which is of a flexible insulating material, and a spacer between the membrane and the substrate, the substrate and the membrane having opposed switch electrodes thereon at switch sites, the spacer having openings therein at the switch sites, circuit conductors extending between and among the switch sites, and a tail extending from the assembly, the circuit conductors having leads which extend into the tail, the membrane switch assembly being characterized in that: the substrate is also of a flexible insulating material, the tail comprises a substrate tail section which extends from the substrate and a membrane tail section which extends from the membrane, the tail sections being in parallel planes, being substantially co-extensive, and having opposed first and second tail surfaces which are contiguous with the opposed first and second surfaces of the substrate and the membrane respectively. the substrate and the membrane each have circuit conductors thereon, the circuit conductors on the substrate having substrate leads which extend onto the first tail surface, the circuit conductors on the membrane having membrane leads which extend onto the second tail surface, the substrate leads extending parallel to the membrane leads and being offset with respect to the membrane leads, the substrate tail section and the membrane tail section each having a free end and side edges extending to the free end, each tail section having an end portion which extends from a location adjacent to its free end to its free end, the substrate leads and the membrane leads extending to the free end of the substrate tail section and the membrane tail section respectively and having contact portions extending across the end portions of the substrate tail section and the membrane tail section, the contact portions being exposed with the contact portions of the substrate leads facing oppositely with respect to the contact portions of the membrane leads, and the membrane tail section and the substrate tail section each have at least one slot extending transversely of the side edges of the tail sections, the slots being spaced from the free ends of the tail sections, a part of the end portion of the substrate tail section extending through the slot in the membrane tail section, a part of the end portion of the membrane tail section extending through the slot in the substrate tail section, the parts of the end portions which extend through the slots having the contact portions of conductors thereon.