JP2012168869A - Portable terminal and key operation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal for enabling accurate and easy information input.SOLUTION: A portable terminal 10 includes: a main body 1; a touch panel 11 provided on the main body 1 and capable of inputting information by pressing each of plural input areas 111 on its surface; and a key operation unit 2 having a cover part 23 provided on the touch panel 11 in a detachable manner, and plural key parts 25 aligned on the cover part 23 so as to correspond to each of the input areas 111 on the touch panel 11 and capable of being operated by press-down. Each of the key parts 25 has a key top part 21 where a user presses down, and a pusher part 221 formed smaller than the key top part 21 and coming into contact with the input areas 111 on the touch panel 11 upon pressing down the key top part 21. Plural stabilizers 222 are each provided between each of the pusher parts 221 of the key parts 25 in parallel with the pusher parts 221.

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal and a key operation device capable of inputting information accurately and easily.

  In recent years, an increasing number of portable terminals are equipped with a touch panel that can easily input information by pressing a plurality of input areas on the surface. Along with this, there are increasing opportunities for users to perform fine contact operations with their fingertips on the touch panel.

  For example, when a QWERTY keyboard or the like is displayed in the input area 102 of the touch panel 101 mounted on the portable terminal 100 as shown in FIG. 15, it is required to perform a contact operation in a small reaction range on a flat surface with respect to the fingertip. Is done. Furthermore, it is difficult for the user to recognize the reaction range of each key and its boundary with the fingertip alone, and problems such as accurate input and contact operation at the target position have occurred without carefully watching the screen.

  In order to solve this problem, for example, an input support body including a keypad panel placed on the surface of a touch panel is known (see Patent Document 1). When the user depresses the key top portion of the keypad panel, the pusher portion of the key top portion comes into contact with the surface of the touch panel, and input is easily performed.

  Similarly, a portable terminal having a touch panel and a protective cover attached to the main body so as to be openable and closable so as to cover the touch panel and having a touch key for the touch panel is known (see Patent Document 2).

JP-A-2005-174114 JP-A-8-297639 JP 2006-054120 A

  However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the input area of the touch panel that is in contact with the pusher changes depending on the direction in which a load is applied when the key top portion is pressed, and accurate input may be difficult. is there. In addition, since the size of the key top part depends on the size of the pusher that touches the touch panel, for example, when each input area becomes small like a QWERTY keyboard, it is difficult to secure the size of each key top part. There is a risk of becoming.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal and a key operation device capable of inputting information accurately and easily.

  One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is that a main body, a touch panel provided on the main body and capable of inputting information by pressing a plurality of input areas on the surface, and attachable to and detachable from the touch panel A key unit having a cover unit provided and a plurality of key units arranged on the cover unit so as to correspond to the input areas of the touch panel and capable of being pressed down, respectively, Each of the key portions includes a key top portion that is pressed by a user, and a pusher portion that is formed smaller than the key top portion and contacts the input area of the touch panel in response to the pressing of the key top portion. In the portable terminal, a plurality of stabilizers are provided in parallel with the pusher portions between the pusher portions of the respective key portions.

  On the other hand, according to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a cover portion that is detachably provided on a touch panel on which information can be input by pressing a plurality of input areas on the surface, and the cover portion includes the cover portion. A plurality of key units arranged to correspond to the input areas of the touch panel and capable of being pressed down, respectively, wherein each key unit includes a key top unit pressed by a user, A presser part that is formed smaller than the key top part and contacts the input area of the touch panel when the key top part is pressed, and between the presser parts of the key parts, The key operation device may be characterized in that a plurality of stabilizers are provided in parallel with the pusher portion.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the portable terminal and key operation apparatus which can input information correctly and easily can be provided.

It is a perspective view which shows the schematic structure of the portable terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the schematic structure of the portable terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the top view which looked at the portable terminal concerning an embodiment of the invention from the upper part. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective enlarged view in which the cross section when the mobile terminal shown in FIG. It is the cross-sectional enlarged view which expanded the cross section at the time of cut | disconnecting the portable terminal shown in FIG. 3 by the straight line BB. It is the disassembled perspective view which decomposed | disassembled the key operation part of the portable terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and was seen from the diagonal. It is the disassembled cross-sectional perspective enlarged view which cut | disconnected and expanded the portable terminal shown in FIG. 3 by the straight line AA. It is the rear view seen from the back of a key operation part. It is a partial expanded sectional view at the time of cut | disconnecting the portable terminal shown in FIG. 3 by the straight line AA, and is a figure which shows the state by which the presser part of the key part was pressed down. It is a partial expanded sectional view at the time of cut | disconnecting the portable terminal shown in FIG. 3 by the straight line BB, and is a figure which shows the state by which the presser part of the key part was pressed down. It is a figure which shows the modification of the portable terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification of the portable terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification of the portable terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification of the portable terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional portable terminal.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing a schematic configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile terminal 10 according to the present embodiment can input arbitrary information. For example, a small terminal such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a tablet PC (Personal Computer), a car navigation system, a remote controller, a digital camera, etc. It is.

  The mobile terminal 10 is provided on the main body 1 and the main body 1, and a touch panel 11 that can input arbitrary information by pressing a plurality of input areas 111 on the surface, and a cover that can be attached to and detached from the touch panel 11. A key operation unit (key operation device) 2 having a unit 23 and a plurality of key units 25 arranged on the cover unit 23 so as to correspond to the input area 111 of the touch panel 11 and capable of being pressed down, respectively. I have.

  A plurality of hooks 231 provided on a cover portion 23 of the key operation portion 2 described later engage with the plurality of groove portions 12 formed in the main body 1 (FIG. 1), respectively. Can be easily and accurately positioned and attached (FIG. 2), and conversely, the key operation unit 2 can be easily detached from the main body 1. The main body 1 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs control processing, arithmetic processing, and the like, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores control programs, arithmetic programs, and the like executed by the CPU, processing data, and the like. And a RAM (Random Access Memory) for storing the hardware.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the key operation unit 2 is attached to the main body 1, the user can change the operation state of each key unit 25 by using a plurality of concave and convex key units 25 provided on the key operation unit 2. Therefore, it is possible to input information more accurately and easily than the flat touch panel 11. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, when the key operation unit 2 is removed from the main body 1, the entire touch panel 11 can be visually recognized, which leads to improved visibility. Thus, not only the operability of the mobile terminal 10 but also the visibility can be improved.

  FIG. 3 is a top view of the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment as viewed from above. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective enlarged view in which the cross section of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an enlarged cross section when the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 3 is cut along a straight line BB.

  Each key unit 25 of the key operation unit 2 is formed to be smaller than the key top unit 21 pressed by the user and the key top unit 21, and presses the input area 111 of the touch panel 11 in response to the pressing of the key top unit 21. A child portion 221. In addition, a plurality of stabilizers 222 are provided between the pusher portions 221 so as to protrude toward the input area 111 of the touch panel 11 and in parallel with the pusher portions 221. As described above, by forming the pusher portion 221 to be smaller than the key top portion 21, the key top portion 21 to be pressed by the user's finger is formed to be large and easy to push, while conversely, the pusher portion 221 is formed. It is possible to prevent the pusher portion 221 from being erroneously brought into contact with the input region 111 of the touch panel 11 by being formed small. That is, both operability and accuracy can be achieved.

  For example, when the key top portion 21 is pressed by the user's finger, the pusher portion 221 is lowered accordingly, and the tip surface thereof contacts the input area 111 of the touch panel 11 so that information is input to the touch panel 11. The

  The touch panel 11 is configured as a capacitance type. When the presser portion 221 formed of a conductive member comes into contact with the input area 111 of the touch panel 11, the touch panel 11 captures the change in the capacitance of the input area 111 and operates the operation position of the key top portion 21 pressed. Is detected.

  As described above, each pusher portion 221 is formed of a conductive member, and each stabilizer 222 provided between the pusher portions 221 is formed of a non-conductive member. In addition, each non-conductive stabilizer 222 that does not react to electrostatic capacity is disposed between the presser portions 221 (for example, around each presser portion 221 or a boundary portion of each key portion 25). Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the pusher unit 221 other than the pressed pusher unit 221 from being erroneously brought into contact with the input region 111 of the touch panel 11, and the other than the pressed pusher unit 221 to be the input region of the touch panel 11. Reaction with 111 (incorrect input) can be prevented.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view in which the key operation unit of the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment is disassembled and viewed obliquely. 7 is an exploded cross-sectional perspective enlarged view of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 3 cut along a straight line AA, disassembled, and enlarged.

  The key operation unit 2 includes a plurality of key top portions 21, a cover portion 23, and a rubber 22 provided with a plurality of pusher portions 221 and a stabilizer 222. The rubber 22 is bonded and fixed to the cover portion 23 with a fixing tape 24. Thereby, the pusher part 221 is held in a state where it does not contact the input area 111 of the touch panel 11 except when the pusher part 221 of the rubber 22 is pressed by the key top part 21. In addition, although the key top part 21 and the rubber | gum 22 are adhere | attached and fixed by heat welding, for example, not only this but arbitrary fixing methods are applicable.

  FIG. 8 is a rear view of the key operation unit as viewed from the back. As shown in FIG. 8, in the rubber 22, the key top portions are formed so that each pusher portion 221 is positioned at the center of the corresponding keytop portion 21, and each stabilizer 222 surrounds each pusher portion 221. It protrudes on the back side of 21. In addition, arrangement | positioning of the pusher part 221 and the stabilizer 222 shown in FIG. 8 is an example, and can arrange | position arbitrarily, without restricting to this.

  The pusher portion 221 is formed of, for example, a conductive elastic material such as conductive silicon rubber, but is not limited thereto, and may be formed of any conductive member. The pusher portion 221 contacts and reacts with the input area 111 of the capacitive touch panel 11 that detects a key operation position by detecting a change in capacitance.

  On the other hand, the stabilizer 222 is formed of a non-conductive elastic material such as a non-conductive silicon rubber that does not change the capacitance of the touch panel 11, but is not limited thereto, and may be formed of any non-conductive member. Good. The stabilizer 222 suppresses the bending of the rubber 22 so that the pusher portions 221 other than the pushed pusher portion 221 do not come into contact with the input area 111 of the touch panel 11, thereby preventing erroneous input. The pusher portion 221 and the stabilizer 222 are integrally formed with the rubber 22, but may be formed separately.

  The cover portion 23 is formed with a plurality of hooks 231 for attaching the key operation portion 2 to the main body 1, and the main body 1 is formed with the plurality of groove portions 12 described above at positions corresponding to the hooks 231 of the cover portion 23. ing. 1 and FIG. 8 are only examples of the groove portion 12 of the main body 1 and the hook 231 of the cover portion 23, and the number, shape, and position of the groove portion 12 of the main body 1 and the hook 231 of the cover portion 23 may be arbitrary. .

Next, the operation of the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.
9 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view when the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 3 is cut along a straight line AA, and FIG. 10 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view when the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 3 is cut along a straight line BB. It is a figure and is a figure which shows the state by which the pusher part of the key part was pressed down.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the key operation part 2 is attached to the main body 1 by engaging each hook 231 of the cover part 23 with each groove part 12 of the main body 1 (FIG. 2).

  Thereafter, when the key top portion 21 is pressed, the rubber 22 bends and the pusher portion 221 of the rubber 22 contacts the input area 111 of the touch panel 11 (FIGS. 9 and 10).

  Since the pusher part 221 is formed of a conductive member, the capacitance changes in the input region 111 of the touch panel 11 in contact with the pusher part 221. The touch panel 11 detects an operation position of each key unit 25 operated by capturing a change in capacitance of the input area 111.

  Here, the rubber 22 is securely fixed by the cover portion 23 and the fixing tape 24 between the key top portions 21 as shown in FIG. 9 in response to an erroneous input in which the key top portion 21 is pressed down in the vertical direction. Therefore, the bending of the rubber 22 such that the pusher portions 221 other than the pressed pusher portion 221 come into contact with the input region 111 of the touch panel 11 can be suppressed, and erroneous input can be prevented.

  In addition, the stabilizer 222 is placed on the touch panel 11 before the pusher portion 221 against an erroneous input when the keytop portion 21 is not pushed straight down in the vertical direction (when the keytop portion 21 is pushed tilted). By making contact, it is possible to suppress the bending of the rubber 22 such that the adjacent presser portion 221 contacts the input area 111 of the touch panel 11 and to prevent erroneous input.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, when the stabilizer 222 comes into contact with the touch panel 11 before the pusher portion 221 with respect to an erroneous input pushed while being shifted in the left-right direction, the pusher portion 221 being pushed down. It is possible to suppress the bending of the rubber 22 such that the other presser portion 221 contacts the input area 111 of the touch panel 11, thereby preventing erroneous input.

  As described above, according to the mobile terminal 10 according to the present embodiment, when the key top portion 21 is pressed, the corresponding pusher portion 221 is configured to reliably contact the corresponding input area 111 of the touch panel 11. The contact area of the pusher part 221 is always constant, and erroneous input can be prevented.

  Further, by forming the presser portion 221 smaller than the keytop portion 21, the keytop portion 21 that is touched by the user's fingertip is formed larger, and the presser portion 221 is input to the touch panel 11 while improving operability. The range in contact with the region 111 is reduced to prevent erroneous input and improve accuracy.

  Further, the touch panel 11 is of a capacitive type, the pusher portion 221 is formed of a conductive member, and the stabilizer 222 is formed of a non-conductive member, so that other than the pressed pusher portion 221 is input to the touch panel 11. The contact with the region 111 is suppressed, and the input accuracy is improved. That is, information can be input to the mobile terminal 10 accurately and easily.

  When it is desired to visually recognize the entire touch panel 11 or to perform a conventional touch operation with a fingertip, the key operation unit 2 is detached from the main body 1, while when it is desired to operate the button easily and accurately, the key operation unit 2 is attached to the main body 1. In this way, by configuring the key operation unit 2 so that it can be attached and detached, the visibility and operability of the mobile terminal 10 can be improved at the same time.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, for example, when the shape of the input area 111 of the touch panel 11 changes, the shape of the key part 25 of the key operation unit 2 can be changed in accordance with the shape of the input area 111 (see FIG. 11). For example, when performing a game operation or the like in which input objects are frequently switched, a more accurate operation can be performed by attaching the key operation unit 2 to the main body and operating the key unit 25.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the center position 21a of the keytop part 21 and the center position 221a of the presser part 221 may shift | deviate, and you may make it arrange | position the keytop part 21 and the presser part 221 respectively (FIG. 12). Thereby, for example, even when the input areas 111 on the touch panel 11 are close to each other as in QWERTY, a larger surface area of the key top portion 21 that is touched by the user's fingertip can be ensured, and accuracy and operability are improved. Can be improved.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the key operation part 2 was comprised so that removal from the main body 1 was carried out, it is not restricted to this, For example, even if the key operation part 2 is attached to the main body 1 so that opening and closing is possible. Good (FIG. 13). By opening the key operation unit 2, it is possible to secure a large touch panel 11 and improve visibility. On the other hand, when the key operation unit 2 is in the closed state, the operability and accuracy can be improved by pressing each key unit 25 of the key operation unit 2.

  In the above embodiment, a capacitive touch panel is applied. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a pressure sensitive touch panel may be applied (FIG. 14). In this case, the stabilizer 222 as in the above embodiment is not provided between the pusher portions 221.

  Furthermore, part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Appendix 1)
A main body, a touch panel provided on the main body and capable of inputting information by pressing a plurality of input areas on the surface, a cover portion provided on the touch panel so as to be detachable, and input of the touch panel to the cover portion A key operation unit having a plurality of key units arranged to correspond to each region and capable of being pressed down, wherein each key unit is a key top unit pressed by a user And a pusher portion that is formed smaller than the key top portion and contacts an input area of the touch panel in response to depression of the key top portion, and between the pusher portions of the key portions. Is a mobile terminal characterized in that a plurality of stabilizers are provided in parallel with the pusher portion.
(Appendix 2)
(Supplementary note 1) The mobile terminal according to (Appendix 1), wherein the touch panel is a capacitance type, the pusher portion of the key portion is formed of an elastic conductive member, and the stabilizer is formed of an elastic non-conductive member. A portable terminal characterized by that.
(Appendix 3)
The mobile terminal according to (Appendix 1) or (Appendix 2), wherein the key operation unit includes the plurality of key top units, the cover unit, the plurality of pusher units, and a stabilizer, and the cover unit And a rubber fixed to the mobile terminal.
(Appendix 4)
The mobile terminal according to (Appendix 3), wherein the stabilizer is disposed so as to surround the pusher portion, and is formed on the rubber so as to protrude toward the touch panel. .
(Appendix 5)
The mobile terminal according to any one of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 4), wherein a center position of the key top portion and a center position of the pusher portion are misaligned.
(Appendix 6)
A cover part that can be attached to and detached from the touch panel capable of inputting information by pressing a plurality of input areas on the surface, and the cover part is arranged so as to correspond to the input areas of the touch panel, respectively. A plurality of key units, each key unit being formed to be smaller than a key top unit pressed by a user and the key top unit, and for pressing the key top unit. Accordingly, a plurality of stabilizers are provided in parallel with the pusher portions between the pusher portions of the key portions, respectively. A key operation device characterized by that.

  The present invention is applicable to portable terminals such as a mobile phone, a PDA, a tablet PC, a car navigation, a remote controller, and a digital camera that can input arbitrary information on a touch panel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Key operation part 10 Mobile terminal 11 Touch panel 21 Key top part 22 Rubber 23 Cover part 24 Fixed tape 25 Key part 111 Input area 221 Pusher part 222 Stabilizer

Claims (6)

The body,
A touch panel provided on the main body and capable of inputting information by pressing a plurality of input areas on the surface,
A key operation unit comprising: a cover part provided on the touch panel so as to be attachable / detachable; and a plurality of key parts arranged on the cover part so as to correspond to the input areas of the touch panel and capable of being pressed down, respectively. ,
A mobile terminal comprising:
Each of the key portions includes a key top portion that is pressed by a user, and a pusher portion that is formed smaller than the key top portion and contacts the input area of the touch panel in response to the pressing of the key top portion. And
A portable terminal characterized in that a plurality of stabilizers are provided in parallel with the pusher portions between the pusher portions of the respective key portions. The mobile terminal according to claim 1,
The touch panel is a capacitive type,
A portable terminal, wherein the pusher portion of the key portion is formed of an elastic conductive member, and the stabilizer is formed of an elastic non-conductive member. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 or 2,
The key operation unit includes the plurality of key top units, the cover unit, and a rubber provided with the plurality of pusher units and a stabilizer and fixed to the cover unit. Mobile terminal. The mobile terminal according to claim 3,
The mobile terminal, wherein the stabilizer is disposed on the rubber so as to surround the pusher portion and protrudes toward the touch panel. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A mobile terminal, wherein a center position of the key top portion and a center position of the pusher portion are shifted. A cover part that is detachably provided on a touch panel on which information can be input by pressing a plurality of input areas on the surface;
A plurality of key portions arranged on the cover portion so as to correspond to the input areas of the touch panel, respectively, and capable of being pressed down;
A key operation device comprising:
Each of the key portions includes a key top portion that is pressed by a user, and a pusher portion that is formed smaller than the key top portion and contacts the input area of the touch panel in response to the pressing of the key top portion. And
A key operating device is characterized in that a plurality of stabilizers are provided in parallel with the pusher portions between the pusher portions of the respective key portions.

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