JP2003308752A - Lighting structure for operation part of portable terminal and portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce numbers of parts, size, weight, thickness and cost in an operation part lighting structure of a portable terminal. <P>SOLUTION: A key circuit pattern 5 is formed on a light guiding plate 2 with eliminating a key flexible printed board which is conventionally needed to provide the key circuit pattern 5. The light guiding plate 2 for guiding light of LED 1 to a lighting part 3 provided to correspond to keys is commonly used for forming the key pattern circuit pattern 5. Accordingly, the key flexible printed board needed to form the key circuit pattern 5 can be eliminated to reduce size, weight, thickness and cost. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operating structure illumination structure for a portable terminal and a portable terminal, and more particularly to improvement of an illumination structure for a key operating part.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional illumination structure in a key operation portion of this type will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional example, in which an LED (light emitting diode) 1
Is a light source, and the light from the LED 1 is taken into the light guide plate 2 and repeatedly reflected inside the light guide plate 2
The light propagates over the entire area. Illumination units 3 are provided on the upper surface of the light guide plate 2 at positions corresponding to the operation keys provided on the key (KEY) sheet 8. The illumination units 3 are propagated inside the light guide plate 2. It has a function of irradiating the surface of the illuminated object with the illuminating light.

5 (A) to 5 (C) are cross-sectional views of respective examples showing the relationship between the light guide plate 2 and the illumination section 3.
(A) is an example in which the surface treatment of the illumination unit 3 is performed by conical dot processing, and (B) is an example in which prism surface processing is performed. Further, (C) shows that the illuminating section 3 is formed by blasting, and the surface of the light guide plate 2 is processed so as to be rough like a paper file.
Therefore, the irradiation direction becomes non-uniform.

The key flexible printed board 4 has a key circuit pattern 5 formed on the upper surface thereof, and a transparent polyester is used as a base material of the key flexible printed board 4, so that the light emitted from the illumination unit 3 is easily transmitted. Has become.
On the upper surface of the key flexible printed board 4, a pair of contact portions 6A and 6 electrically connected to the operation keys of the key sheet 8 by pressing the operation keys.
B is provided.

A contact dome 7 is provided between the key flexible printed board 4 and the key sheet 8 so as to correspond to the operation key. When the corresponding operation key is pressed, the contact dome 7 is shown in FIG. The state is changed to the state shown in FIG. 6B, and the pair of contact portions 6A and 6B are brought into contact so as to be electrically connected to each other. Therefore, the contact dome 7 is made of a conductive metal. The pair of contact portions 6A and 6B have a positional relationship such that the contact portion 6B concentrically surrounds the contact portion 6A. The key circuit pattern 5 is a wiring for transmitting the fact that the key is operated to the control circuit (not shown) by the contact of the contact portions 6A and 6B.

As is clear from FIGS. 6A and 6B,
Since the contact dome 7 is formed in a dome shape, the contact portions 6A and 6B are normally in an electrically open state (see FIG. 6 (A)), and when the corresponding key is pressed, the contact is made. The parts 6A and 6B are electrically connected via the contact dome 7 (see FIG. 6B), and the fact that the key has been pressed is transmitted to the control circuit via the key circuit pattern 5. Of.

The key sheet 8 is mainly exposed on the surface of the portable terminal so that the user can press the key. Also the lighting unit 3
It is formed of a material that easily transmits the light emitted from the. Also, numbers, letters, symbols, etc. indicating the function of each key are coated and written on the surface (omitted in FIG. 4) so that the user can recognize these letters, numbers, etc. There is.

It is assumed that the PWB (printed wiring board) 9 provided at the lowermost portion is equipped with a control circuit for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal. The connection connector 10 is for electrically connecting the key flexible printed board 4 on which the key circuit pattern 5 is formed and the PWB 9 on which the control circuit is mounted.

[0009]

As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional lighting structure including an operation unit in a portable terminal has a PW structure.
B9, the light guide plate 2, the key flexible printed board 4, the contact dome 7, and the key sheet 8 are laminated in total of five sheets.

On the other hand, in recent years, mobile terminals have rapidly become thinner and lighter, and each manufacturer has been making reductions and deletions in units of 10 μm, so that creative efforts have been made to keep competitors from following. ing. In this case, it is considered whether there is a component that can be reduced or deleted without deteriorating the function and operability. However, the operation lighting structure described above has room for consideration, and further reduction of the component,
It is being deleted.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in accordance with the above demands, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the number of parts and reduce the size, weight and cost of a portable terminal. To provide the structure.

[0012]

According to the present invention, an operating portion having an operating key, a light emitting element, and a plate arranged to face the operating portion and guiding light from the light emitting element to the operating key. An operation part illumination structure in a mobile terminal, including a striped light guide member, wherein the light guide member is also used as a wiring board for a circuit pattern of the operation key. To be

That is, it is characterized in that the upper surface of the light guide member is provided with a contact portion which is electrically conducted by pressing the operation key and a key circuit pattern. Further, a printed wiring board provided on the lower surface of the light guide member is provided, and terminals for connecting the printed wiring board and the key circuit pattern are arranged so as to be in direct contact with each other. There is.

The operation of the present invention will be described. Conventionally,
The light guide plate for guiding the light from the LED and the wiring board for the circuit pattern of the operation key are physically separated from each other.
By using the light guide plate also as a wiring board, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, reduce the weight, reduce the cost, and further reduce the number of laminated layers to reduce the thickness.

Further, the connector for electrical connection between the key circuit pattern and the control circuit on the PWB is eliminated, and instead, the connection terminal of the key circuit pattern on the light guide plate and the connection terminal of the control circuit are eliminated. And are in direct contact with each other.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals. Referring to FIG. 1, the key flexible printed board 4 in the conventional configuration shown in FIG. 4 is eliminated, and the key circuit pattern 5 and the contact portions 6A and 6B are provided on the light guide plate 2. That is, the light guide plate 2 also serves as a key flexible printed board.

On the upper surface of the light guide plate 2, a pair of contact portions 6A and 6 are provided in addition to the illumination portion 3 corresponding to each key of the key sheet 8.
B, the key circuit pattern 5 is directly formed. Examples of the method of forming the key circuit pattern 5 and the contact portions 6A and 6B include printing, thermal transfer, and plating.

The other structure is the same as that of the example of FIG. 4, and the description thereof is omitted. Reference numeral 11 denotes a flexible cable for PWB connection, which electrically connects the key circuit pattern 5 and a terminal of a control circuit (not shown) on the PWB 9. In this example, the connector 10 on the PWB 9 is connected. It is connected to the.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention, in which the same parts as in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. Figure 1
In the present embodiment, the connector 10 for electrical connection between the key circuit pattern 5 and the control circuit on the PWB 9 will be eliminated, and instead of the embodiment shown in FIG. The light guide plate contact portion 13 is provided.

That is, the key circuit pattern 5 and the PWB contact portion 12 are directly formed on each of the front surface, the side surface, and the bottom surface of the light guide plate 2, and the light guide plate contact portion 13 formed on the surface (top surface) of the light guide plate 2. Both contact portions 12 and 13 are formed in such a positional relationship that they are in direct contact with. By doing this, in the state where the operation part lighting structure is stacked, assembled and mounted,
As shown in FIG. 3, it is apparent that both contact portions 12 and 13 are in direct contact with each other, and an electrical connection can be made without a connector.

In the present embodiment, the key flexible printed board can be omitted, and the connector for connection can also be deleted, so that the number of parts can be reduced accordingly, and the portable terminal can be reduced in size and weight and the cost can be reduced.

The above-described embodiments are widely applicable to portable terminal equipment, and it goes without saying that they are also applicable to mobile phones and portable information processing equipment.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the key circuit pattern is directly formed on the light guide plate, the key flexible printed board for the key circuit pattern is unnecessary, and the size, weight and thickness are reduced. There is an effect that reduction in cost and cost can be achieved. Further, since the connector for electrically connecting the key circuit pattern and the control circuit can be deleted, further size reduction, weight reduction, thickness reduction and cost reduction can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the structure of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a light guide plate 2 and a lighting unit 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between a contact dome and a contact portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 LED (light emitting diode) 2 Light guide plate 3 Lighting section 5 key circuit pattern 6A, 6B contact part 7 contact dome 8 key sheet 9 PWB (printed wiring board) 10 Contact connector 11 PWB contact flexible cable 12 PWB contact part 13 Light guide plate contact part

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A mobile terminal including: an operation unit having operation keys; a light emitting element; and a plate-shaped light guide member that is arranged to face the operation unit and guides light from the light emitting element to the operation key. 2. The operation unit illumination structure according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member is also used as a wiring board for a circuit pattern of the operation key. 2. The operation part illumination structure according to claim 1, wherein a contact part that is electrically conducted by pressing the operation key and a key circuit pattern are provided on an upper surface of the light guide member. 3. A printed wiring board provided on the lower surface of the light guide member, wherein terminals for connecting the printed wiring board and the key circuit pattern are arranged so as to be in direct contact with each other. The operating portion lighting structure according to claim 2, wherein: 4. A mobile terminal having the operation part illumination structure according to claim 1. 5. The mobile terminal according to claim 4, wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile phone.