Patent Application
20210366633
The present invention relates to a variable resistor whose resistance value changes when a slide member moves on a surface of a resistive element and that is, for example, used as a position detection device.
A variable resistor includes a substrate on which a resistive element is provided and a slide member that moves (slides) on the resistive element while keeping contact with a surface of the resistive element. When the slide member slides on the resistive element including an electric conductor and a relative position changes, an electric resistance value of a circuit connected to the resistive element and the slide member fluctuates. This allows the variable resistor to, for example, detect a position of an external moving body that moves in association with the slide member on the basis of a voltage that changes according to the resistance value.
In a variable resistor, a lubricant such as oil is sometimes applied onto a surface of a resistive element in order to improve reliability resulting from a reduction in sliding noise (microlinearity) and resistance to wear that occurs when a sliding body slides on the surface of the resistive element. In this case, the oil needs to be held on the surface of the resistive element in order to maintain a lubricating effect. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-317971 describes a position sensor in which at least a part of a resistive element (membrane) surface has irregularities.
However, the position sensor described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-317971 undesirably has poor microlinearity since the irregular part of the resistive element surface causes a change in resistance value within a minute range. Furthermore, forming predetermined irregularities on the resistive element surface undesirably leads to a decrease in productivity.
The present invention provides a variable resistor that can stably hold oil on a surface of a resistive element without forming irregularities on the surface of the resistive element.
A variable resistor according to the present invention includes a substrate, a resistive element disposed on the substrate, oil that coats a surface of the resistive element, a slide member that slides on the surface of the resistive element coated with the oil, wherein an output changes as a position at which the slide member makes contact with the resistive element changes, and an oil repellent part that surrounds at least a part of the resistive element in plan view viewed from a side where the resistive element is disposed on the substrate and that has smaller surface free energy than the resistive element.
Since the resistive element is surrounded by the oil repellent part having smaller surface free energy than the resistive element, a film of oil can be held on the surface of the resistive element.
It is desirable that the oil has a weight-average molecular weight of 2000 or more and has a kinetic viscosity of 40 [mm2/s] or more at 20° C. Use of the oil having this property makes it possible to suppress a change in whole resistance value of the resistive element.
It is preferable that the surface free energy of the oil repellent part is 50 [mJ/m2] or less. It is preferable that the oil repellent part is formed by using resin paste using an epoxy resin as a base resin. According to these configurations, the oil repellent part has a high oil repellent property, and it is therefore possible to stably hold a film of oil having a low kinetic viscosity on the resistive element surface.
It is preferable that the oil repellent part is disposed so as to surround the resistive element along a periphery of the resistive element in plan view. It is preferable that a height from a surface of the substrate to a surface of the oil repellent part is larger than a height from the surface of the substrate to the surface of the resistive element. It is preferable that the oil repellent part has an overlapping part disposed on the surface of the resistive element. According to these configurations, it is possible to prevent a film of oil from diffusing through a gap between the resistive element and the oil repellent part, thereby stably holding the film of oil on the resistive element surface.
According to the variable resistor according to the present invention, in which an oil repellent part having small oil wettability is disposed around a resistive element, oil on a resistive element surface is prevented from flowing to a portion other than the resistive element surface. It is therefore possible to stable hold oil on the resistive element surface without forming irregularities on the resistive element surface.
An embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical members are given identical reference signs, and description thereof is omitted as appropriate.
A variable resistor 50 includes a substrate 1, a gripping member 8, a slide member 9, and a shaft member 10. The substrate 1 has a circular first base 1a and a rectangular second base 1b protruding from the first base 1a, and has a central hole 1c at a center of the first base 1a.
The substrate 1 is mainly made of an insulating molded body such as a phenolic laminated substrate, a glass-containing epoxy substrate, a molded resin substrate, or a ceramics substrate, and a resistive element 5 is provided on a surface of the substrate 1.
On a surface of the first base 1a, a current collecting part 4 made of an electrically conductive material containing silver or the like is provided in an annular shape around the central hole 1c. A terminal 2 is connected to a lower surface (a surface on a Z2 side in a Z1-Z2 axis) of the current collecting part 4, and the current collecting part 4 and the terminal 2 are set to the same potential.
The resistive element 5 having an arc shape in which a part of a circular ring is cut is provided around the current collecting part 4. Ends 5a and 5b of the resistive element 5 are electrically connected to terminals 3a and 3b through electrodes 6A and 6B, respectively, and the terminals 3a and 3b and the ends 5a and 5b of the resistive element 5 are set to the same potential, respectively.
The resistive element 5 is typically formed by using resistive element paste formed by dispersing an electric conductor such as carbon black in a binder resin dissolved in an appropriate solvent and further adding a solvent as needed. A pattern of a predetermined shape is formed by using the resistive element paste by a known screen printing method to provide the resistive element 5. The formation of the resistive element 5 may include removal of the solvent by drying and burning as needed.
As the binder resin of the resistive element paste, a phenolic resin, a polyimide resin, or the like is used to give heat resistance or the like. The resistive element paste preferably contains a filler such as a carbon fiber or silicon oxide, for example, to give wear resistance. Furthermore, the resistive element paste that forms the resistive element 5 may contain an additive such as a defoamant in addition to the above materials.
In a case where the resistive element 5 is formed in an arc shape (horseshoe shape) as illustrated in
Typically, the pair of electrodes 6A and 6B are provided by, for example, screen printing electrically conductive paste such as silver on the substrate 1 before the resistive element 5 is provided. The pattern of the resistive element 5 such as an arc shape is provided so as to connect the pair of electrodes 6A and 6B, so that the electrodes 6A and 6B are provided at the ends 5A and 5B of the resistive element 5, respectively. The resistive element 5 is preferably provided so as to cover the electrodes 6A and 6B from above.
As illustrated in
The oil 11 may contain another oil or an additive as needed, but a weight % of the fluorine-based oil in the oil 11 is preferably 80% or more, more preferably 100%.
A film thickness (a thickness in a Z1-Z2 axis direction in
A weight-average molecular weight of the oil 11 is preferably 2000 to 18000, more preferably 4500 to 18000. A kinetic viscosity at 20° C. is preferably 40 [mm2/s] (cSt) to 500 [mm2/s] (cSt), more preferably 150 [mm2/s] to 500 [mm2/s].
The kind of the oil 11 used as a lubricant is not limited. Examples of a commercially-available product that can be used as the oil 11 include Fomblin series produced by Solvay Specialty Polymers, Demnum series produced by Daikin Industries, Ltd., Krytox series produced by Chemours, and MORESCO PHOSFAROL produced by Moresco.
As illustrated in
The wettability of the oil repellent part 15 is set smaller than wettability of the resistive element 5 from the perspective of holding the oil 11 on the surface of the resistive element 5. The surface free energy of the oil repellent part 15 is preferably 50 [mJ/m2] or less, more preferably 40 [mJ/m2] or less. The surface free energy is a value calculated from measurement values of contact angles of three kinds of liquid (water, bromonaphthalene, and ethylene glycol) whose surface free energy is known based on the Kitazaki-Hata theory.
The oil repellent part 15 is typically formed by using resin paste formed by adding additives such as a pigment and a defoamant to a resin dissolved in an appropriate solvent as needed. A pattern of the resin paste having a predetermined shape is formed on the surface of the resistive element 5 by a known screen printing or the like to provide the oil repellent part 15. The formation of the oil repellent part 15 may include removal of the solvent by drying and burning as needed. A resin that is contained most in the resin paste used for formation of the oil repellent part 15 is referred to as a “base resin” as appropriate.
Specific examples of the resin contained in the resin paste include thermosetting resins such as an epoxy resin, polyimide, and melamine, thermoplastic resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polycarbonate, and photocurable resins. A resin containing a small amount of —OH is preferable and a resin containing no —OH is more preferable from the perspective of forming the oil repellent part 15 having low surface free energy. A thermosetting resin is preferable from the perspective of resistance to the oil 11.
The oil repellent part 15 is disposed along a periphery of the resistive element 5 so as to surround the resistive element 5 in plan view (when an XY plane of the substrate 1 in
As illustrated in
A height (a film thickness of the oil repellent part 15 in the Z1-Z2 axis direction) from a surface 1S of the substrate 1 to a surface 15S of the oil repellent part 15 is larger than a height (a film thickness of the resistive element 5 in the Z1-Z2 axis direction) from the surface 1S of the substrate 1 to a surface 5S of the resistive element 5. Therefore, the oil repellent part 15 can stably hold the oil 11 on the surface of the resistive element 5 due to a difference in height from the surface 1S of the substrate 1 in addition to a difference in surface free energy from the resistive element 5.
For example, in a case where the film thickness of the resistive element 5 is approximately 10 μm to 15 μm, the film thickness of the oil repellent part 15 in the Z1-Z2 axis direction is preferably approximately 20 μm to 50 μm. A difference between the height h1 and the height h1, that is, a height X from the surface 5S of the resistive element 5 to the surface 15S of the oil repellent part 15 is preferably 10 μm to 40 μm, more preferably 15 μm to 35 μm, still more preferably 20 μm to 30 μm.
The oil repellent part 15 has an overlapping part 15L disposed on the surface of the resistive element 5. The overlapping part 15L is a part provided on the surface of the resistive element 5 so as to overlap the resistive element 5 when the substrate 1 is viewed in plan view from the Z1 side in the Z1-Z2 axis in
As illustrated in
The slide member 9 formed from a leaf spring made of a metal such as phosphor bronze is fixed to a lower part of the gripping member 8. The slide member 9 has a slider 9a that slides while slightly elastically pressing the surface of the current collecting part 4 and a slider 9b that slides while slightly elastically pressing the surface of the resistive element 5. Parts of the slider 9a and the slider 9b that make contact with the current collecting part 4 and the resistive element 5 are sliding contact points.
As the slide member 9, a noble metal material that can keep good contact with the resistive element 5 even after long-term sliding is used. Specifically, nickel silver (an alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel) having a gold-plated or silver-plated surface or an alloy of palladium, silver, platinum, nickel, or the like can be used. In particular, in a case where there is a concern about surface oxidation at a high temperature, it is desirable to use a noble metal alloy in order to keep a stable contact state.
The shaft member 10 passes through the hole 8a of the gripping member 8 and the central hole 1c of the substrate 1, and a front end of the shaft member 10 is held on a rear surface side of the substrate 1 so that the shaft member 10 does not come out of the central hole 1c of the substrate 1. The gripping member 8 is rotatable together with the slide member 9 while facing the substrate 1.
When rotation is given to the gripping member 8, the sliders 9a and 9b of the slide member 9 slide on the surfaces of the current collecting part 4 and the resistive element 5, respectively, and therefore a resistance value between the terminal 2 and the terminals 3a and 3b changes. Since a position of an external moving body that moves in association with rotation of the gripping member 8 can be detected based on the resistance value, the variable resistor 50 can be used as a position detection device. Note that a constant voltage may be applied between the terminal 3a and the terminal 3b and a position may be detected from a change in output voltage while using a potential at a position of contact of the slider 9b as an output.
The present invention is further specifically described by using Example and others, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to Example and others.
Oil was applied onto a resistive element provided with an oil repellent part so that an initial oil film thickness became 1.2 μm, and an oil film thickness on a resistive element surface was measured after a high-temperature storage test (after 86 hours).
The resistive element was formed on a substrate by using resin paste (carbon black/graphite was used as an electric conductor, and a phenolic resin was used as a binder resin). The height h2 (see
The oil repellent part was formed by using resin paste containing approximately 60% epoxy resin by weight as a base resin. The oil repellent part was formed so as to surround the resistive element so that the height h1 from the substrate surface to the oil repellent part surface became 36 μm to 38 μm and a difference X between h1 and the height h of the resistive element became 23 μm to 26 μm (see
A resistive element identical to the resistive element of Example 1 except for that no oil repellent part was provided was formed. Oil identical to the oil of Example 1 was applied to a resistive element surface so that a film thickness of the oil became 0.7 μm, 1.2 μm, and 1.6 μm (Comparative Examples 1, 2, and 3), and a film thickness of the oil on the resistive element surface was measured after a high-temperature storage test (after 86 hours).
As a storage test under a high-temperature condition assuming long-term storage, the film thickness of the oil on the surface of the resistive element was measured after 86-hour storage at 128° C. In addition, a state of the resistive element surface after the test was visually checked. During the storage at the high temperature, the variable resistor was placed so that the XY plane (see
Table 1 and
In the variable resistor of Example 1, the surface of the resistive element onto which the oil was applied still had a dark color and a wet state even after the high-temperature storage test. Furthermore, the oil on the surface of the resistive element still had a film thickness enough to produce a lubricating function. This result shows that the film thickness of the oil formed on the surface of the resistive element can be kept for a long term under a high-temperature condition in a case where the oil repellent part is provided so as to surround the resistive element pattern. Meanwhile, in all of the variable resistors of Comparative Examples 1 to 3, the surface of the resistive element onto which the oil was applied had a light color and failed to keep a wet state. Furthermore, the film thickness of the oil on the surface of the resistive element was not enough to produce a lubricating function.
From the graph of weight losses under 120° C. and 150° C. conditions illustrated in
It can be said that the variable resistor of Example 1 could keep a film of oil on the resistive element surface since the oil repellent part surrounding the resistive element suppressed flux of the oil.
A storage test under a high-temperature condition was conducted in a manner similar to Example 1 except for that the resin paste used to form the oil repellent part was changed as described below.
Resin paste containing approximately 50% xylene resin by weight as a base resin was used instead of the resin paste of Example 1. Surface free energy of the oil repellent part was 136.9 [mJ/m2].
A storage test under a high-temperature condition was conducted in a manner similar to Example 1 except for that the resin paste used to form the oil repellent part was changed as described below.
Resin paste containing approximately 40% phenolic resin by weight as a base resin was used instead of the resin paste of Example 1. Surface free energy of the oil repellent part was 159.8 [mJ/m2].
Table 2 and
In a case where the oil repellent part was formed by using resin paste using phenol or xylene as a base resin, a sufficient film thickness of the oil on the surface of the resistive element could not be kept after the high-temperature storage test. This is considered to be because the oil repellent parts of Comparative Examples 4 and 5 have larger surface free energy than the resistive element and have good oil wettability and therefore could not prevent the oil on the resistive element surface from flowing to a portion other than the resistive element surface.
Meanwhile, the oil repellent part of Example 1 formed by using resin paste using epoxy as a base resin have smaller surface free energy than the resistive element. It can therefore be said that the oil on the resistive element surface could be prevented from flowing to a different portion due to an oil repelling effect of the oil repellent part that has poor oil wettability.
These results show that an oil repellent part provided so as to surround a resistive element needs to have smaller surface free energy than the resistive element and have poor oil wettability to function as a barrier preventing the oil on the resistive element surface from flowing to a different portion. It is therefore preferable to use a resin having an oil repelling property as a base resin of resin paste used to form an oil repellent part.
The present invention is a variable resistor having high reliability under a high-temperature condition and can be used, for example, as a position detection device or the like.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-056198 | Mar 2019 | JP | national |
This application is a Continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2020/009628 filed on Mar. 6, 2020, which claims benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-056198 filed on Mar. 25, 2019. The entire contents of each application noted above are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2020/009628 | Mar 2020 | US |
| Child | 17394037 | US |
