Patent ID: 8354606

Claim:
A push switch equipped with a capacitance sensor, the switch comprising: an operating member including a top portion whose front surface serves as an operation surface; a detecting electrode in contact with the rear surface of the top portion; a holding member fixed to the operating member, the holding member having a through-hole that faces the detecting electrode; a conductive coil spring inserted through the through-hole, one end of the coil spring being in resilient contact with the detecting electrode; a support supporting the operating member so that the member is movable forward and backward; an urging member elastically urging the operating member in a backward moving direction; a wiring substrate provided with an electrode portion in resilient contact with the other end of the coil spring; and a contact portion generating a switch-on signal when driven by the operating member which is pushed, the detecting electrode generating a detection signal on the basis of a change in capacitance caused when the operation surface is touched by a human body, wherein the operating member having a storage space between the rear surface of the top portion and the holding member, the detecting electrode in the form of a plate-shaped spring more resistant to resilient deformation than the coil spring being received in the storage space, the detecting electrode including a detecting portion in resilient contact with the rear surface of the top portion, a base in resilient contact with the one end of the coil spring, and a height adjusting portion coupling the detecting portion to the base, and the amount of compression of the detecting electrode being defined depending on the height of the storage space.