CA1105587A - Keyboard construction - Google Patents
Keyboard constructionInfo
- Publication number
- CA1105587A CA1105587A CA306,512A CA306512A CA1105587A CA 1105587 A CA1105587 A CA 1105587A CA 306512 A CA306512 A CA 306512A CA 1105587 A CA1105587 A CA 1105587A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- keyboard
- overlay
- key
- white
- array
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 title description 7
- 230000000295 complement effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 6
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims 2
- 239000012780 transparent material Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 208000003251 Pruritus Diseases 0.000 abstract 1
- JXSJBGJIGXNWCI-UHFFFAOYSA-N diethyl 2-[(dimethoxyphosphorothioyl)thio]succinate Chemical compound CCOC(=O)CC(SP(=S)(OC)OC)C(=O)OCC JXSJBGJIGXNWCI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 abstract 1
- 230000007803 itching Effects 0.000 abstract 1
- 229940061319 ovide Drugs 0.000 abstract 1
- 239000003086 colorant Substances 0.000 description 9
- 210000000188 diaphragm Anatomy 0.000 description 9
- -1 polyethylene terephthalate Polymers 0.000 description 7
- 229920000139 polyethylene terephthalate Polymers 0.000 description 7
- 239000005020 polyethylene terephthalate Substances 0.000 description 7
- 229920001756 Polyvinyl chloride acetate Polymers 0.000 description 3
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000004800 polyvinyl chloride Substances 0.000 description 3
- 229920000915 polyvinyl chloride Polymers 0.000 description 3
- 238000007650 screen-printing Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000839 emulsion Substances 0.000 description 2
- PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N gold Chemical compound [Au] PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000010931 gold Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052737 gold Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- QTBSBXVTEAMEQO-UHFFFAOYSA-M Acetate Chemical compound CC([O-])=O QTBSBXVTEAMEQO-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 1
- VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-M Chloride anion Chemical compound [Cl-] VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 1
- 239000004593 Epoxy Substances 0.000 description 1
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000004411 aluminium Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000013479 data entry Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000994 depressogenic effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 150000002148 esters Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 229920002457 flexible plastic Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005286 illumination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229920000136 polysorbate Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000001228 spectrum Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H13/00—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch
- H01H13/70—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a plurality of operating members associated with different sets of contacts, e.g. keyboard
- H01H13/83—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a plurality of operating members associated with different sets of contacts, e.g. keyboard characterised by legends, e.g. Braille, liquid crystal displays, light emitting or optical elements
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2207/00—Connections
- H01H2207/022—Plug
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2209/00—Layers
- H01H2209/002—Materials
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2209/00—Layers
- H01H2209/01—Increasing rigidity; Anti-creep
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2209/00—Layers
- H01H2209/014—Layers composed of different layers; Lubricant in between
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2219/00—Legends
- H01H2219/002—Legends replaceable; adaptable
- H01H2219/014—LED
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2219/00—Legends
- H01H2219/028—Printed information
- H01H2219/032—Printed information photographic
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2219/00—Legends
- H01H2219/028—Printed information
- H01H2219/034—Coloured areas
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2219/00—Legends
- H01H2219/036—Light emitting elements
- H01H2219/04—Attachments; Connections
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2223/00—Casings
- H01H2223/002—Casings sealed
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2223/00—Casings
- H01H2223/008—Casings metallic
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2231/00—Applications
- H01H2231/006—Bank automat; Cash register; Vending machine
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2239/00—Miscellaneous
- H01H2239/006—Containing a capacitive switch or usable as such
Landscapes
- Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)
- Push-Button Switches (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
A keyboard having a polarity of electrical s?itching devices which may be of the capacitive or diaphram type are provided for an array of key positions. An overlay carrying a complementary array of key indicia formed photography provides an indicu?
associated with each key position. The method of manufacturing the keyboards consists of fabricating a polarity of electrical switching devices to ??ovide the array of key positions, photographically fabricating the overlay carrying the complenentary array of key indidia and placing the overlay adjacent to the key positions to provide the indicium associated with each key position.
A keyboard having a polarity of electrical s?itching devices which may be of the capacitive or diaphram type are provided for an array of key positions. An overlay carrying a complementary array of key indicia formed photography provides an indicu?
associated with each key position. The method of manufacturing the keyboards consists of fabricating a polarity of electrical switching devices to ??ovide the array of key positions, photographically fabricating the overlay carrying the complenentary array of key indidia and placing the overlay adjacent to the key positions to provide the indicium associated with each key position.
Description
11~'55~7 1 The present invention relates to the construction of touch sensitive panel keyboards which have data entry applications for computer, industrial, commercial and domestic users.
The conventional keyboard at present in use has a plurality of separate key-buttons which are mounted to allow each key button to be depressed. However there is another type of keyboard which we will call a touch sensitive panel keyboard in this specification. This type of keyboard has no key-buttons but is in the form of a flat panel consisting of a number of layers.
The front layer is called a facia overlay and carries markings indicating an array of key positions each with key indicia such as letters or numbers. The other layers form a complementary array of switching devices which may be operated by touching the facia overlay with a finger or stylus. Depending upon the switching device the facia overlay may require zero depression for example with a cap-acitive type switching device or a depression of about 0.5 millimetres (0.02 inches) for closing the contacts of an electrical diaphragm switch or of an electrical microswitch.
Keyboards including diaphragm switches are described in US
Patents 3,308,253, 3,560,675, 3,668,337 and 4,017,697. Keyboards including capacitive switching are described in UK Patents 1,435,265, 1,457,572 and US Patent 3,244,369. A piezoelectric keyboard is described in the IBM* Technical Disclosure Bulletin, June 1977, pages 315, 316.
One touch sensitive panel keyboard construction of the diaphragm switch type has been used by International Business Machines Corporation in data processing equipment types 3704, 3614, 3203, 5937, 3800 and 3850. With this construction the diaphragm switch is formed by a layer having aperatures at switch positions, which is sandwiched be-tween layers carrying printed circuit switch wiring.
The facia overlay for these keyboards is a laminated structure * Registered Trade Mark ~.
ll~SS8~' 1 requiring numerous manufacturing steps and is thus expensive to pro-duce. As a result these keyboards have only found application in equipment such as cash issuing terminals where appearance is important enough to justify the high cost. Five layers, laminated together are required as detailed below.
Layer 1. Front. Clear polyethylene terephthalate 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) thick.
Layer 2. Clear polyvinyl chloride acetate film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick.
Layer 3. Clear polyvinyl chloride film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick. This third layer is screen printed. Where eight colours are required this involves eight screens and eight separate screen printing operations.
Layer 4. Clear polyvinyl chloride acetate film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick.
Layer 5. Red polyethylene terephthalate film 0.025 mm ~0.001 inches) thick, if required.
The screen printing steps produce opaque colours for key positions, key indicia and other associated graphics, and it may be noted that both white and black can be screen printed. Portions of the facia overlay not screen printed are a transparent red colour due to the presence of the aforementioned red transparent layer 5. This red layer is necessary when portions of the facia overlay are required to transmit red light from selectively illuminated rear indicator lamps.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction of touch sensitive panel keyboards.
According to the present invention a touch sensitive panel key-board comprises a plurality of electrical switching devices providing an array of key positions, and a laminated overlay including a photo-graphic film transparency developed to provide a complementary array of key indicia or graphics associated with key positions.
iS~7 1 According to another aspect of the present inyention a method of manufacturing a touch sensitiye panel keyboard comprises fabrlcating a plurality of electrical switching devices to provide an array of key positions, fabricating a laminated overlay including a photographic film transparency developed to provide a complementary array of key indicia or graphics and placing the overlay over the array of key positions.
According to a further aspect of the present invention a touch sensitive panel keyboard overlay comprises a laminated structure in-cluding a photographic film transparency developed to provide an array of key indicia or graphics and a white backing for colourless portions of the photographic film transparency required to appear white.
In embodiments of the present invention the screen printed prior art facia overlay on touch sensitive panel keyboards, described above is replaced by a facia overlay in which coloured key positions, key indicia and other associated graphics are produced on a photographic film colour transparency. The overlay may extend beyond the actual key positions to provide desired additional information, graphics or illustrations. This provides an improved manufacturing process as all colours, except white, required may be reproduced by one exposure, whereas the prior art requires a separate screen printing step for each required colour with resulting high production costs.
The prior art facia overlay requires an additional transparent red layer for rear illuminated portions, whereas the colour trans-parency of the present invention provides transparent portions of any desired colour without the need of additional transparent coloured layers.
Although black may be reproduced on the colour transaprency white cannot. Thus where white indicia or graphics are required these are produced by transparent uncoloured portions accompanied by a backing layer with selectively applied white portions.
As a touch sensitiye panel keyboard embodying the present inven-llG5587 1 tion is not restricted to a few colours as required with the prior artscreen printed keyboards, the designer Is glven greater colo~r freedom of the whole colour spectrum to proYide a Yisually attractiYe multi-coloured keyboard with elaborate graphics or illustrations. ~lso characters in the many languages required may be provided at little additional cost.
In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a schematic showing the components of a diaphragm type keyboard embodying the present invention.
FIGURE 2 is a schematic showing the components of a capacitive type keyboard embodying the present inYention.
FIGURE 3 shows the layout of keys for a typical touch sensitive panel keyboard.
Referring now to Figure 1 which shows the components of a dia-phragm type touch sensitive panel keyboard. The keyboard is assembled in an aluminium base 1 with a sealing gasket 3. Base 1 carries peripheral slots (not s~wn) into which the other layers of the key-board slide. Location is by a pair of dowel pins 2 which mate with corresponding holes in the other layers. Base 1 also has a plurality of apertures 4 to accommodate a corresponding plurality of light emitting diodes 5 mounted on printed circuit board 6 to provide selectiYe illumination of the keyboard. When used in equipment the assembled keyboard is mounted by means of bracket 7, whilst board 6 is plugged into a separate socket.
Next to base 1 is substrate 8 of glass filled epoxy aperatured at 9 to transmit light ~rom light emitting diodes 5. Substrate 8 carries gold plated printed circuit wiring (not shown~ in a generally Yertical direction along columns of key positions and which crosses each key position as is well known in the art, The printed circuit wiring terminates on edge contacts 10.
SS8~7 1 The next layer is separator 11 of polyethylene terephthalate which has a plurality of holes 12 one for each key position. AboYe separator 11 is diaphragm 13 which carries gold plated printed circuit wiring (not shown) in a generally horizontal direction along rows of key positions and crosses each key position. The printed circuit terminates on edge contacts 14.
The next layer 15 of flexible plastics material is called an under-lay which carries a switch element at each key position 16. Each switch element consists of two adjacent rectangular holes separated by a strip of the flexible material.
The last layer is facia overlay 17 with a plurality of key positions 18 whose construction is described in detail later. The assembly is completed by screws 19 which pass through clamp 20, pad 21, overlay 17, underlay 15, diaphragm 13, separator 11, substrate 10 to secure the layers to base 1.
Pressure at a key position 18 on the front of the keyboard de-presses the strip of flexible material of a switch element at position 16 to operate a flexible diaphragm switch in layers 13, 11 and 8.
Facia overlay 17 consists of three layers of flexible material bonded together with adhesive to form a multilayer laminate.
Layer 1. Front film of clear polyethylene terephthalate 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) thick to provide wear resistance as it is contacted by an operator's finger, and antiglare.
Layer 2. Photographic film colour transparency with emulsion down to provide coloured key positions, key indicia, and other re~uired graphics and illustrations. Suitable photographic colour film is commercially aYailable from photographic film manufacturers haYing an ester or acetate base, Layer 3. White opaque polyYinly chloride film 0.12 m~ (0.005 inches) thick to proYlde white characters which are formed on the colour transparency by colourless characters and brighter colours when Yiewed from the front. Lay~r 3 is apertured to pro~ide light iS~7 1 transmission for light emitting diodes 5.
Alternatively the third layer may be of clear polyvinyl chloride film selectively screen printed white as backing to provide characters of white appearance. When intense red appearance of indicators is required, an additional fourth layer of red transparent polyethylene terephthalate film 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) thick is added as the last layer. These layers are bonded together by adhesive to form facia overlay 17.
The exposure of the colour film requires the preparation of a hand made coloured artwork master including photographic illustrations if required which is photographed to produce a working master. The artwork master may exclude indicia which change with language. These may be included on a series of transparencies, one for each language.
These are placed in front of the artwork master before photographing so that one artwork master can provide a working master for each language.
Figure 2 shows the components of a capacitance type touch sensitive panel keyboard including associated electronics. A facia overlay 25 provides a plurality of key positions 26 with the required key indicia 27 and graphics (not shown). This facia overlay is similar to the overlay
The conventional keyboard at present in use has a plurality of separate key-buttons which are mounted to allow each key button to be depressed. However there is another type of keyboard which we will call a touch sensitive panel keyboard in this specification. This type of keyboard has no key-buttons but is in the form of a flat panel consisting of a number of layers.
The front layer is called a facia overlay and carries markings indicating an array of key positions each with key indicia such as letters or numbers. The other layers form a complementary array of switching devices which may be operated by touching the facia overlay with a finger or stylus. Depending upon the switching device the facia overlay may require zero depression for example with a cap-acitive type switching device or a depression of about 0.5 millimetres (0.02 inches) for closing the contacts of an electrical diaphragm switch or of an electrical microswitch.
Keyboards including diaphragm switches are described in US
Patents 3,308,253, 3,560,675, 3,668,337 and 4,017,697. Keyboards including capacitive switching are described in UK Patents 1,435,265, 1,457,572 and US Patent 3,244,369. A piezoelectric keyboard is described in the IBM* Technical Disclosure Bulletin, June 1977, pages 315, 316.
One touch sensitive panel keyboard construction of the diaphragm switch type has been used by International Business Machines Corporation in data processing equipment types 3704, 3614, 3203, 5937, 3800 and 3850. With this construction the diaphragm switch is formed by a layer having aperatures at switch positions, which is sandwiched be-tween layers carrying printed circuit switch wiring.
The facia overlay for these keyboards is a laminated structure * Registered Trade Mark ~.
ll~SS8~' 1 requiring numerous manufacturing steps and is thus expensive to pro-duce. As a result these keyboards have only found application in equipment such as cash issuing terminals where appearance is important enough to justify the high cost. Five layers, laminated together are required as detailed below.
Layer 1. Front. Clear polyethylene terephthalate 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) thick.
Layer 2. Clear polyvinyl chloride acetate film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick.
Layer 3. Clear polyvinyl chloride film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick. This third layer is screen printed. Where eight colours are required this involves eight screens and eight separate screen printing operations.
Layer 4. Clear polyvinyl chloride acetate film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick.
Layer 5. Red polyethylene terephthalate film 0.025 mm ~0.001 inches) thick, if required.
The screen printing steps produce opaque colours for key positions, key indicia and other associated graphics, and it may be noted that both white and black can be screen printed. Portions of the facia overlay not screen printed are a transparent red colour due to the presence of the aforementioned red transparent layer 5. This red layer is necessary when portions of the facia overlay are required to transmit red light from selectively illuminated rear indicator lamps.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction of touch sensitive panel keyboards.
According to the present invention a touch sensitive panel key-board comprises a plurality of electrical switching devices providing an array of key positions, and a laminated overlay including a photo-graphic film transparency developed to provide a complementary array of key indicia or graphics associated with key positions.
iS~7 1 According to another aspect of the present inyention a method of manufacturing a touch sensitiye panel keyboard comprises fabrlcating a plurality of electrical switching devices to provide an array of key positions, fabricating a laminated overlay including a photographic film transparency developed to provide a complementary array of key indicia or graphics and placing the overlay over the array of key positions.
According to a further aspect of the present invention a touch sensitive panel keyboard overlay comprises a laminated structure in-cluding a photographic film transparency developed to provide an array of key indicia or graphics and a white backing for colourless portions of the photographic film transparency required to appear white.
In embodiments of the present invention the screen printed prior art facia overlay on touch sensitive panel keyboards, described above is replaced by a facia overlay in which coloured key positions, key indicia and other associated graphics are produced on a photographic film colour transparency. The overlay may extend beyond the actual key positions to provide desired additional information, graphics or illustrations. This provides an improved manufacturing process as all colours, except white, required may be reproduced by one exposure, whereas the prior art requires a separate screen printing step for each required colour with resulting high production costs.
The prior art facia overlay requires an additional transparent red layer for rear illuminated portions, whereas the colour trans-parency of the present invention provides transparent portions of any desired colour without the need of additional transparent coloured layers.
Although black may be reproduced on the colour transaprency white cannot. Thus where white indicia or graphics are required these are produced by transparent uncoloured portions accompanied by a backing layer with selectively applied white portions.
As a touch sensitiye panel keyboard embodying the present inven-llG5587 1 tion is not restricted to a few colours as required with the prior artscreen printed keyboards, the designer Is glven greater colo~r freedom of the whole colour spectrum to proYide a Yisually attractiYe multi-coloured keyboard with elaborate graphics or illustrations. ~lso characters in the many languages required may be provided at little additional cost.
In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a schematic showing the components of a diaphragm type keyboard embodying the present invention.
FIGURE 2 is a schematic showing the components of a capacitive type keyboard embodying the present inYention.
FIGURE 3 shows the layout of keys for a typical touch sensitive panel keyboard.
Referring now to Figure 1 which shows the components of a dia-phragm type touch sensitive panel keyboard. The keyboard is assembled in an aluminium base 1 with a sealing gasket 3. Base 1 carries peripheral slots (not s~wn) into which the other layers of the key-board slide. Location is by a pair of dowel pins 2 which mate with corresponding holes in the other layers. Base 1 also has a plurality of apertures 4 to accommodate a corresponding plurality of light emitting diodes 5 mounted on printed circuit board 6 to provide selectiYe illumination of the keyboard. When used in equipment the assembled keyboard is mounted by means of bracket 7, whilst board 6 is plugged into a separate socket.
Next to base 1 is substrate 8 of glass filled epoxy aperatured at 9 to transmit light ~rom light emitting diodes 5. Substrate 8 carries gold plated printed circuit wiring (not shown~ in a generally Yertical direction along columns of key positions and which crosses each key position as is well known in the art, The printed circuit wiring terminates on edge contacts 10.
SS8~7 1 The next layer is separator 11 of polyethylene terephthalate which has a plurality of holes 12 one for each key position. AboYe separator 11 is diaphragm 13 which carries gold plated printed circuit wiring (not shown) in a generally horizontal direction along rows of key positions and crosses each key position. The printed circuit terminates on edge contacts 14.
The next layer 15 of flexible plastics material is called an under-lay which carries a switch element at each key position 16. Each switch element consists of two adjacent rectangular holes separated by a strip of the flexible material.
The last layer is facia overlay 17 with a plurality of key positions 18 whose construction is described in detail later. The assembly is completed by screws 19 which pass through clamp 20, pad 21, overlay 17, underlay 15, diaphragm 13, separator 11, substrate 10 to secure the layers to base 1.
Pressure at a key position 18 on the front of the keyboard de-presses the strip of flexible material of a switch element at position 16 to operate a flexible diaphragm switch in layers 13, 11 and 8.
Facia overlay 17 consists of three layers of flexible material bonded together with adhesive to form a multilayer laminate.
Layer 1. Front film of clear polyethylene terephthalate 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) thick to provide wear resistance as it is contacted by an operator's finger, and antiglare.
Layer 2. Photographic film colour transparency with emulsion down to provide coloured key positions, key indicia, and other re~uired graphics and illustrations. Suitable photographic colour film is commercially aYailable from photographic film manufacturers haYing an ester or acetate base, Layer 3. White opaque polyYinly chloride film 0.12 m~ (0.005 inches) thick to proYlde white characters which are formed on the colour transparency by colourless characters and brighter colours when Yiewed from the front. Lay~r 3 is apertured to pro~ide light iS~7 1 transmission for light emitting diodes 5.
Alternatively the third layer may be of clear polyvinyl chloride film selectively screen printed white as backing to provide characters of white appearance. When intense red appearance of indicators is required, an additional fourth layer of red transparent polyethylene terephthalate film 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) thick is added as the last layer. These layers are bonded together by adhesive to form facia overlay 17.
The exposure of the colour film requires the preparation of a hand made coloured artwork master including photographic illustrations if required which is photographed to produce a working master. The artwork master may exclude indicia which change with language. These may be included on a series of transparencies, one for each language.
These are placed in front of the artwork master before photographing so that one artwork master can provide a working master for each language.
Figure 2 shows the components of a capacitance type touch sensitive panel keyboard including associated electronics. A facia overlay 25 provides a plurality of key positions 26 with the required key indicia 27 and graphics (not shown). This facia overlay is similar to the overlay
2~ 17 described earlier and includes a photographic colour film. As key indicia 27 are white, a white dielectric screen printed white backing sheet 28 is required to give transparent key indicia on the photographic film a white appearance as previously explained.
The next layer is a printed circuit card 29 with a capacitance pad 30 corresponding to each key position 26. Each capacitance pad 30 is associated with a pair of capacitance elements on the rear of the cards which are selectively connected to edge contacts 31. The three layers consisting of overlay 25, dielectric sheet 28 and printed circuit card 29 are bonded together to form a rigid structure with edge contacts 31 projecting to plug into a connector 32 attached to a conventional electronic printed circuit card 33 which carries printed wiring 34 and electronic components 35. Printed circuit card 33 provides the UK9-77-01~ - 7 -ii~
l electronic to sense the capacitance change when a key position is touched.
An alternative construction of a facia overlay for use in embodiments of the invention follows:
Layer 1. Front film of clear polyethylene terephthalate 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) thick to provide wear resistance, and antiglare.
Layer 2. Photographic film colour transparency with emulsion down.
This layer provides coloured key positions, key indicia, other illus-trations or graphics.
Layer 3. Clear polyvinyl chloride film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick. White colour is selectively screened onto this layer to pro-vide a white backing for layer 2. The white backing is omitted in areas where light transmission from indicator lamps through the panel is required or in areas where layer 2 is black.
Layer 4. Clear polyvinyl chloride acetate film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick.
Layer 5. Red polyethylene terephthalate film 0.025 mm (O.OOl inches) thick. This layer is optional and is only required when intense red appearance of indicator lamps is specified.
~ The above layers are bonded together with adhesive to form a laminated structure.
Where a coloured keyboard is not required layer 2 is replaced by a "black and white" film to give a lower cost overlay. Also red layer 5 may be omitted and self coloured light emitting diodes used for the indicator lamps. White is obtained as previously by the use of a white backing film.
Figure 3 illustrates the appearance of a typical banking terminal keyboard facia overlay 17 which may be used in embodiments of the present invention. The length is approximately 15 inches and width approximately 8 inches. This figure is reproduced as a line drawing with no attempt to indicate colours. The keyboard is black external to key positions and nearly all the characters are white.
UK9-77-0l6 - 8 -1 l~SSt~7 l The eight keys 40 have white characters on a blue background whilst keys 41 have white characters on a green background. Keys 40 and 41 each have a transparent circular red indicator 42 outlined in black.
The twelve numerical keys 43 have white characters on a red background.
The colours of the remaining right hand keys follow with back-ground followed by character: 44 red, white : 45 white : 46 yellow, black : 47 green, white.
Figure 3 illustrates that embodiments of the invention may provide touch sensitive keyboard panels which use colours freely and no rest-riction is placed on the selection of colours from the human factors point of view.
Another keyboard facia overlay (not shown) which may be used inembodiments of the present invention is what could be called a customer choice keyboard overlay. This overlay has a number of key positions each of which is associated with pictures illustrating the possible choices. Instructions for operating the keyboard are included on the overlay located on a portion of the overlay remote from the key positions.
The next layer is a printed circuit card 29 with a capacitance pad 30 corresponding to each key position 26. Each capacitance pad 30 is associated with a pair of capacitance elements on the rear of the cards which are selectively connected to edge contacts 31. The three layers consisting of overlay 25, dielectric sheet 28 and printed circuit card 29 are bonded together to form a rigid structure with edge contacts 31 projecting to plug into a connector 32 attached to a conventional electronic printed circuit card 33 which carries printed wiring 34 and electronic components 35. Printed circuit card 33 provides the UK9-77-01~ - 7 -ii~
l electronic to sense the capacitance change when a key position is touched.
An alternative construction of a facia overlay for use in embodiments of the invention follows:
Layer 1. Front film of clear polyethylene terephthalate 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) thick to provide wear resistance, and antiglare.
Layer 2. Photographic film colour transparency with emulsion down.
This layer provides coloured key positions, key indicia, other illus-trations or graphics.
Layer 3. Clear polyvinyl chloride film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick. White colour is selectively screened onto this layer to pro-vide a white backing for layer 2. The white backing is omitted in areas where light transmission from indicator lamps through the panel is required or in areas where layer 2 is black.
Layer 4. Clear polyvinyl chloride acetate film 0.12 mm (0.005 inches) thick.
Layer 5. Red polyethylene terephthalate film 0.025 mm (O.OOl inches) thick. This layer is optional and is only required when intense red appearance of indicator lamps is specified.
~ The above layers are bonded together with adhesive to form a laminated structure.
Where a coloured keyboard is not required layer 2 is replaced by a "black and white" film to give a lower cost overlay. Also red layer 5 may be omitted and self coloured light emitting diodes used for the indicator lamps. White is obtained as previously by the use of a white backing film.
Figure 3 illustrates the appearance of a typical banking terminal keyboard facia overlay 17 which may be used in embodiments of the present invention. The length is approximately 15 inches and width approximately 8 inches. This figure is reproduced as a line drawing with no attempt to indicate colours. The keyboard is black external to key positions and nearly all the characters are white.
UK9-77-0l6 - 8 -1 l~SSt~7 l The eight keys 40 have white characters on a blue background whilst keys 41 have white characters on a green background. Keys 40 and 41 each have a transparent circular red indicator 42 outlined in black.
The twelve numerical keys 43 have white characters on a red background.
The colours of the remaining right hand keys follow with back-ground followed by character: 44 red, white : 45 white : 46 yellow, black : 47 green, white.
Figure 3 illustrates that embodiments of the invention may provide touch sensitive keyboard panels which use colours freely and no rest-riction is placed on the selection of colours from the human factors point of view.
Another keyboard facia overlay (not shown) which may be used inembodiments of the present invention is what could be called a customer choice keyboard overlay. This overlay has a number of key positions each of which is associated with pictures illustrating the possible choices. Instructions for operating the keyboard are included on the overlay located on a portion of the overlay remote from the key positions.
Claims (11)
1. A touch sensitive panel keyboard comprising a plurality of electrical switching devises providing an array of key positions, and a laminated overlay including a photographic film transparency de-veloped to provide a complementary array of key indicia or graphics associated with key positions.
2. A keyboard as claimed in claim 1 in which said photographic film transparency is a colour film.
3. A keyboard as claimed in claim 2 in which portions of white appearance of said laminated overlay are produced by colorless por-tions of said photographic film transparency and a white backing for at least the colorless portions.
4. A keyboard as claimed in claim 3 in which said white backing comprises a layer of white material apertured to provide light trans-mission for indicator light sources.
5. A keyboard as claimed in claim 3 in which said white backing comprises a layer of colourless material selectively printed white.
6. A keyboard as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3 in which said laminated overlay comprises a colored transparent layer to provide an intense colour light transmission for indicator light sources.
7. A keyboard as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3 in which said lam-inated overlay comprises a front layer of transparent material to provide wear resistance and antiglare.
8. A keyboard as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3 in which said lam-inated overlay extends beyond said array of key positions to provide graphics, illustrations, instructions or information.
9. A method of manufacturing a touch sensitive panel keyboard comprising fabricating a plurality of electrical switching devices to provide an array of key positions, fabricating a laminated overlay including a photographic film transparency developed to provide a complementary array of key indicia or graphics and placing the overlay over the array of key positions.
10. A method as claimed in claim 9 in which said photographic film transparency is a colour film.
11. A method as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10 comprising giving a white appearance to portions of said laminated overlay by producing colorless portions of said photographic film transparency and pro-viding a white backing to at least the colorless portions.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB40814 | 1977-09-30 | ||
| GB7740814A GB1542558A (en) | 1977-09-30 | 1977-09-30 | Keyboard construction |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1105587A true CA1105587A (en) | 1981-07-21 |
Family
ID=10416757
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA306,512A Expired CA1105587A (en) | 1977-09-30 | 1978-06-29 | Keyboard construction |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (2) | JPS5464422A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1105587A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2841447A1 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2404877A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1542558A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1159149B (en) |
Families Citing this family (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS5641618A (en) * | 1979-09-14 | 1981-04-18 | Nissan Motor | Picture display switch |
| US4356755A (en) * | 1980-01-11 | 1982-11-02 | Cbs Inc. | Organ stop control panel |
| FR2481031B1 (en) * | 1980-04-22 | 1988-06-10 | Telephonie Ind Commerciale | UNIVERSAL INTERCOMMUNICATION TERMINAL |
| JPS57116521U (en) * | 1981-01-12 | 1982-07-19 | ||
| JPS5841934U (en) * | 1981-09-15 | 1983-03-19 | アンリツ株式会社 | flat switch |
| JPS5931519A (en) * | 1982-08-13 | 1984-02-20 | キヤノン株式会社 | Keyboard switch |
| JPS6142632U (en) * | 1984-08-22 | 1986-03-19 | 富士ゴム株式会社 | Electromagnetic shielded input device |
| US4796007A (en) * | 1987-01-05 | 1989-01-03 | Ncr Corporation | Micro-motion keyboard |
| JPH0610583Y2 (en) * | 1987-06-10 | 1994-03-16 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Membrane switch |
Family Cites Families (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3507378A (en) * | 1968-06-10 | 1970-04-21 | Ibm | Keyboard for displaying one of a plurality of symbolic sets stored therein |
| US3591749A (en) * | 1969-05-12 | 1971-07-06 | Singer Co | Printed circuit keyboard |
-
1977
- 1977-09-30 GB GB7740814A patent/GB1542558A/en not_active Expired
-
1978
- 1978-06-29 CA CA306,512A patent/CA1105587A/en not_active Expired
- 1978-08-21 FR FR7824967A patent/FR2404877A1/en active Granted
- 1978-09-23 DE DE19782841447 patent/DE2841447A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1978-09-26 JP JP11754578A patent/JPS5464422A/en active Pending
- 1978-09-29 IT IT28245/78A patent/IT1159149B/en active
-
1986
- 1986-08-08 JP JP1986121077U patent/JPS6237843U/ja active Pending
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| IT7828245A0 (en) | 1978-09-29 |
| IT1159149B (en) | 1987-02-25 |
| FR2404877B1 (en) | 1981-02-06 |
| JPS5464422A (en) | 1979-05-24 |
| JPS6237843U (en) | 1987-03-06 |
| DE2841447A1 (en) | 1979-04-12 |
| GB1542558A (en) | 1979-03-21 |
| FR2404877A1 (en) | 1979-04-27 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |