Tactile affirmative response membrane switch

Claim 1

An improved tactile affirmative response membrane switch comprising: a top sheet formed from a nonconductive material, with a portion of said top sheet designated thereon for manual pushing to operate the switch, said portion having an upwardly disposed dome shape, manually operable between two positions and having an upwardly disposed first position when the switch is not operating and is in the "off" position and to affirmatively snap into a downwardly disposed second position when the switch is operated to the "on" position, with said dome portion automatically returning affirmatively and snapping to the first position upon manual release thereof, thereby to provide an affirmative and detectible tactile response thereto; a pair of electronic switch circuit leads disposed in the same plane in noncontacting mutually relative close proximity, said pair of electronic switch circuit leads each comprising a plurality of intertwined but non-contacting elongated bars, said bars having a designated width; supporting means for said electronic switch circuit leads; spacer means disposed between said top sheet and said supporting means, and having an opening therein at the location of said dome shaped portion of said top sheet; a substantially planar circuit completing means of a size and shape to correspond with at least a portion of said pair of switch circuit leads, formed from conductive material, and disposed in spaced array and substantially parallel to said switch circuit leads; and a nonconductive circuit spacer means comprising a grid, said grid comprising a plurality of substantially intersecting lines of a nonconductive material, said substantially intersecting lines of said grid having a width which is substantially narrow relative to the selected width of said elongated bars of said electronic switch circuit leads, said substantially intersecting lines of said grid disposed directly between said pair of electronic circuit leads and said circuit completing means, said circuit spacer means grid having a plurality of apertures therein formed by said substantially intersecting lines of said grid and having a selected grid density sufficient to provide a selected touch pressure during pushing at least a portion of the said circuit completing means appearing through the apertures in said spacer grid into contact with at least a portion of the pair of electronic switch circuit leads to complete the circuit and to operate the switch.