US5407721A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Illuminated switches and rubber material for the cover piece therefor
Assignee: Polymatech Co Ltd
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Filing: 1993-11-19
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Granted: 1995-04-18
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Expires: 2013-11-19
Abstract
Abstract A finger touch member of an illuminated switch prepared by a process comprising printing or coating a surface of a multicomponent rubber material composed of, as essential components, 90-70% by weight of EPDM and 5-30% by weight of liquid polymerized butadiene rubber, with an ink of contemplated color, covering the entire top face of the resulting printed or coated cover piece with a light blocking coating layer and irradiating the so covered top face with a laser beam to cut out the coating layer in a contemplated pattern.
Inventors
- 👤 Masahisa Fujigaki
- 👤 Yasuko Kimura
- 👤 Keiko Hartgae
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 09:55
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01H; H01H3/00; H01H3/02; H01H3/12; C; C08; C08K; C08K3/00; C08K3/01; C08K3/013; C08L; C08L23/00; C08L23/02; C08L23/16; C08L9/00; C08L2555/00; C08L2666/00; C08L2666/02; C08L2666/04; H01H2209/00; H01H2209/002; H01H2221/00; H01H2221/07; H01H9/00; H01H9/18; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/23; Y10T428/234; Y10T428/24; Y10T428/24802; Y10T428/24851; Y10T428/24893; Y10T428/24917
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
98 words
A finger touch member of an illuminated switch prepared by a process comprising printing or coating a surface of a cover piece made of a multicomponent rubber material composed of, as essential components, 90-70% by weight of EPDM and 5-30% by weight of a liquid polymerized butadiene rubber, with an ink of contemplated color, covering the entire top face of the resulting printed or coated cover piece with a light blocking coating layer, and irradiating the so covered top face of the cover piece with a laser beam to cut out the coating layer in a contemplated pattern.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
98 words
A finger touch member of an illuminated switch prepared by a process comprising printing or coating a surface of a cover piece made of a multicomponent rubber material composed of, as essential components, 90-70% by weight of EPDM and 5-30% by weight of a liquid polymerized butadiene rubber, with an ink of contemplated color, covering the entire top face of the resulting printed or coated cover piece with a light blocking coating layer, and irradiating the so covered top face of the cover piece with a laser beam to cut out the coating layer in a contemplated pattern.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The member of claim 1 wherein the ink is based on a polyester or polyurethane.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
The member of claim 1 wherein the coating material for the light blocking coating is based on a polyurethane.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The member of claim 1 wherein the ink is based on a polyester or polyurethane and the coating material for the light blocking coating is based on a polyurethane.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
162 words
A finger touch member of an illuminated switch prepared by a process comprising printing or coating a surface of a cover piece made of a multicomponent rubber material composed of, as essential components, 90-65% by weight of EPDM, 5-25% by weight of a first liquid polymerized butadiene rubber and 5-10% by weight of a second liquid polymerized butadiene rubber, with an ink of contemplated color, covering the entire top face of the resulting printed or coated cover piece with a light blocking coating layer, and irradiating the so covered top face of the cover piece with a laser beam to cut out the coating layer in a contemplated pattern, said first polymerized butadiene providing the multicomponent rubber material with high resiliency and with bonding affinity for such ink layer and said second polymerized butadiene being different from the first in providing correspondingly higher resiliency to the multicomponent rubber material and correspondingly increased bonding of the resulting printed or coated ink layer thereto.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
162 words
A finger touch member of an illuminated switch prepared by a process comprising printing or coating a surface of a cover piece made of a multicomponent rubber material composed of, as essential components, 90-65% by weight of EPDM, 5-25% by weight of a first liquid polymerized butadiene rubber and 5-10% by weight of a second liquid polymerized butadiene rubber, with an ink of contemplated color, covering the entire top face of the resulting printed or coated cover piece with a light blocking coating layer, and irradiating the so covered top face of the cover piece with a laser beam to cut out the coating layer in a contemplated pattern, said first polymerized butadiene providing the multicomponent rubber material with high resiliency and with bonding affinity for such ink layer and said second polymerized butadiene being different from the first in providing correspondingly higher resiliency to the multicomponent rubber material and correspondingly increased bonding of the resulting printed or coated ink layer thereto.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
The member of claim 5 wherein the ink is based on a polyester or polyurethane.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
The member of claim 5 wherein the coating material for the light blocking coating is based on a polyurethane.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
The member of claim 5 wherein the ink is based on a polyester or polyurethane and the coating material for the light blocking coating is based on a polyurethane.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4656078A
Cited
US5234744A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-04-17 | 1998-10-17 | 1999-04-18 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-04-17 | 2002-10-17 | 2003-04-18 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-04-17 | 2006-10-17 | 2007-04-18 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |