Patent ID: 7358654

Claim:
A piezoelectric switch comprising: (a) a housing shaped to define an interior cavity, the housing including a touch plate which comprises an inner surface and an outer surface, the outer surface of the touch plate being accessible for tactile input, (b) a piezoelectric element, the piezoelectric element comprising a piezoelectric plate and a conductive plate, the piezoelectric element being characterized by generating an electrical signal upon its deformation, (c) a printed circuit board assembly, the printed circuit board assembly comprising a printed circuit board that is electrically connected to the piezoelectric element, wherein deformation of the piezoelectric plate produced by applying downward pressure to outer surface of the touch plate causes the piezoelectric element to generate an electrical signal which passes to the printed circuit board, and (d) a carrier for holding the piezoelectric element and for retaining the printed circuit board, the carrier being separate from the housing, the carrier being sized and shaped to fit within the interior cavity of the housing, (e) wherein the carrier is designed to engage the housing to retain the carrier fixed in place within the interior cavity such that the piezoelectric element is coupled to the inner surface of the touch plate.