ALPS Unveils New SKPR Series TACT Switch

Automobiles have increasingly been designed with a variety of switches on the steering wheel, rather than on hard-to-reach instrument panels. This allows the driver to directly operate onboard devices such as audio equipment and air-conditioners. First installed primarily in luxury vehicles, these devices are proliferating to other vehicle types every year. However, such steering controls require a high operation force in order to prevent unintentional operation while driving.

The SKPR Series TACT Switch™ enhances vehicle comfort and safety by providing a more definite clicking sensation, due to its operating force of five newtons. With an operating life of 100,000 cycles the SKPR Series can withstand frequent usage over a long period of time. ALPS' quality, analysis and 3D-CAD engineering achieved these properties by developing a new, compact rubber spring design, which also realizes silent, smooth and comfortable operation to meet requirements for quiet and luxurious vehicle interiors.

By using silver contact points the SKPR Series also limits contact resistance to 100mΩ, making it is easier to develop circuit designs for vehicle-mounted devices operated by this product. Recognizing the need for compact designs to cope with limited installation space for steering-wheel-mounted switches, ALPS developed the SKPR Series TACT Switch™ to be highly compact, measuring 7.5mm in width, 7.8mm in depth and 6.5mm in height, thus contributing to greater space conservation. These features have been made possible by utilizing the Company's proprietary thin-wall mold engineering, ultra-high-precision press processing engineering and automatic assembly engineering.