EP0820080A1 - Verbesserung von Drucktasten in Tastaturen - Google Patents

Verbesserung von Drucktasten in Tastaturen Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0820080A1
EP0820080A1 EP97111112A EP97111112A EP0820080A1 EP 0820080 A1 EP0820080 A1 EP 0820080A1 EP 97111112 A EP97111112 A EP 97111112A EP 97111112 A EP97111112 A EP 97111112A EP 0820080 A1 EP0820080 A1 EP 0820080A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
head
push button
slide member
guide members
respect
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP97111112A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Giordano Zaina
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
PROMARK Srl
Original Assignee
PROMARK Srl
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by PROMARK Srl filed Critical PROMARK Srl
Publication of EP0820080A1 publication Critical patent/EP0820080A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H3/00—Mechanisms for operating contacts
    • H01H3/02—Operating parts, i.e. for operating driving mechanism by a mechanical force external to the switch
    • H01H3/12—Push-buttons
    • H01H3/122—Push-buttons with enlarged actuating area, e.g. of the elongated bar-type; Stabilising means therefor

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an improved push button device for keyboards of the type adapted to be used in conjunction with a plurality of electric contacts, such as for instance keyboards for computers, electronic cash registers and the like.
  • keyboards are generally known to usually include a support base carrying a set of modular guide members with respect to which a plurality of push buttons are displaceable elastically, in a direction which is orthogonal with respect to the support base, in order to actuate, between a first and a second operational condition, respective electric contacts arranged in correspondence of the same support base.
  • the head portions of the push buttons can have variable dimensions; usually, in fact, a keyboard comprises push buttons with unitary dimensions (ie. push buttons associated to a respective modular guide member) and push buttons with multiple dimensions, ie. having a head with a large surface that extend upon at least a pair of modular guide members.
  • Said large-surface push buttons must be made and provided in such a manner as to enable them to move smoothly and without tilting or jamming, with respect to the corresponding guide members, regardless of the point at which the pressure is applied on their head.
  • push buttons are known in which the head thereof is connected to the associated guide members (which are included in the support base) by means of an appropriate parallelogram-like stabilizing frame which on one side is hinged on a side of the same head and, on the other side, is hinged in correspondence of the guide members.
  • Such a solution calls for the use of a limited number of component parts; nevertheless, it actually turns out to be particularly critical and complex, and therefore undesirably expensive, in connection with the assembly and disassembly of the stabilizing frame and the head of the push button, said component parts being preferably made of plastic material and linked with each other by means of very small, delicate linking and hinging means. Also the overall robustness of the whole push button assembly turns therefore out as being unsatisfactory.
  • the linking means comprise thin and relatively long parts which are therefore all too brittle and cause the whole push button assembly to be poorly reliable.
  • the linking means are preferably of the most complex, ie. double-scissors type, so that they usually call for the use of further intermediate linkage or hinging means which undesirably complicate both the structure and the assembly of the push button.
  • the push button is adapted to be mounted on a keyboard of the type having a support base 2 carrying a plurality of electric contacts 5 (only one of which being shown here for simplicity sake) which can be actuated selectively so as to send corresponding control signals to an associated apparatus.
  • the support base 2 comprises a rigid plastic layer 3 extending upon a flexible rubber layer 4 provided, in correspondence of the electric contacts 5, with respective shaped elastic portions 6 which tend to maintain a normal raised resting position as shown in Figure 3.
  • the rigid layer 3 comprises a plurality of modular guide members 7 which protrude upwards and are provided with an axial through-hole 10 (Figure 5) aligned with a respective elastic portion 6.
  • the push button mainly comprises an actuation head 8 having multiple dimensions, ie. having a large surface extending upon at least a pair of modular guide members 7.
  • the head 8 has a substantially plane configuration extending upon four guide members 7.
  • pushing means are adapted to elastically actuate at least one of the associated electric contacts 5 between a first and a second operational position.
  • said pushing means consist substantially of at least an axial protrusion 9 extending from the lower surface of the head 8 and adapted to freely slide, along a certain length, in one of said guide members 7. The thrust exerted by the corresponding elastic portion 6 tends to keep said protrusion 9, and the whole push button, normally raised, as this will be more clearly appreciated in the following.
  • the free end of said pushing protrusion 9 is capable of being deformed elastically thanks to longitudinal grooves 11 ( Figure 6) , while the edge thereof comprises teeth 12 that protrude radially outwards. As this can be best seen in Figure 3 (resting position), these teeth are adapted to abut against a shoulder 13 provided in the hole 10 so as to define a corresponding end-of-stroke provision for the push-button and to prevent the head 8 from accidentally disengaging from and coming off the keyboard.
  • linking means comprising at least a slide member 14.
  • two such slide members 14 are used, which are substantially similar to each other and are provided in a parallel, side-by-side arrangement, as this is illustrated in Figure 1.
  • the two (or more) slide members in said side-by-side arrangement are preferably interconnected to each other by a crosspiece 15 or similar means.
  • Each slide member 14 is axially joined to, but capable of sliding transversally with respect to the head 8.
  • each slide member 14 is slidably joined by snap-fitting to the head 8 in a disjoinable manner by means of undercuts 16, or the like, which engage appropriate teeth or elastic ribs 17 provided on the head 8.
  • Each slide member 14 has preferably a section in the shape of a U turned upside down, on the stems 18 of which ( Figure 6) there are provided slot-like or similar impressions 19 extending slopingly, preferably with an inclination of 45°, with respect to the support base 2.
  • Figure 6 there is provided a pair of said slots 19 extending upwards from the free end of the same stem.
  • the slots 19 of the slide member 14 interact slidably with pins 20, or similar means, which the guide member 7 are provided with.
  • These guide members in particular, have a square-profiled outer surface on each side of which there is projecting one of said pins 20, which have preferably a profile in the shape of substantially a rhombus whose sides have the same inclination as the slots 19. This enables the slots 19 to selectively engage in a correct manner, according to the angular orientation of the head 8, corresponding pins 20 of the guide members 7.
  • each slide member 14 and the head 8 is provided to rest on the upper surface of the same slide member through lugs 21 ( Figure 6) that are appropriately distributed on the lower surface of the head 8.
  • the upper portion of the slide member 14 comprises of course a recess 22 or similar indentation adapted to possibly accomodate the protrusion 9 pushing the head 8.
  • the head 8 is constantly resting on a large support surface formed by the slide members 14 which therefore constantly ensure a correct parallelism of the same head (regardless of the point at which it is actually pressed), along with a constantly smooth, jam-free operation of the whole push button.
  • the push button according to the present invention is made with the use of a small number of simple component parts that are capable of being snap-fitted to each other in a simply disjoinable manner, enabling the same push button to be most easily disassembled for removal. All such component parts advantageously have a configuration that is substantially free of thin portions and or portions having such a shape as to prove scarcely reliable, ie. undesirable brittle in use. Furthermore, the whole push button, except for the head 8, is advantageously made with modular component parts capable of being linked or associated with each other in accordance with the different application requirements.
  • each slide member 14 integrally includes at least a flexible-tab portion 23 provided with a coupling protrusion 24 ( Figures 1, 3 and 4), the latter being adapted to engage, by passing over a bulge 26, a corresponding impression 25 provided on the lower surface of the head 8.
  • the impression 25 defines a predetermined relative transversal position of the slide members 14 that enables the pins 20 to be taken out of the lower end portion of the slots 19 and, as a result, the head 8 to be disassembled and removed along with the same slide members.
  • a pre-determined transversal position is maintained also after said component parts have been disassembled and removed as described above, so that, when the head 8 and the slide members 14 must be mounted back on the guide members 7, they are still mutually positioned (as shown in Figure 4) in such a manner as required in order to restore the previous pin-and-slot linkage between the slide members 14 and the guide elements 7.
  • the protrusion 24 of the tab 23 is caused to elastically disengage the impression 25 and pass over the bulge 26 in the reverse direction, so as to enable the slide member 14 to regain a normal transversal operational position.
  • the pushing protrusion 9 links up again inside the corresponding guide member 7, so that the push button is again in its afore described resting position shown in Figure 3.
  • the various component parts described may in each case be sized and mutually positioned so as to optimize the operation of the push button for the given application, without however affecting the characteristics as recited in the appended claims.

Landscapes

  • Push-Button Switches (AREA)
  • Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)
EP97111112A 1996-07-19 1997-07-03 Verbesserung von Drucktasten in Tastaturen Withdrawn EP0820080A1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITPN960045 1996-07-19
IT96PN000045A IT1289388B1 (it) 1996-07-19 1996-07-19 Pulsante perfezionato per tastiera

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0820080A1 true EP0820080A1 (de) 1998-01-21

Family

ID=11395172

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP97111112A Withdrawn EP0820080A1 (de) 1996-07-19 1997-07-03 Verbesserung von Drucktasten in Tastaturen

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0820080A1 (de)
IT (1) IT1289388B1 (de)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105940475A (zh) * 2014-01-30 2016-09-14 株式会社电装 操作部件以及操作部件的操作部制造方法

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2175105A1 (de) * 1972-03-08 1973-10-19 Leuenberger Peter
US4902862A (en) * 1987-06-13 1990-02-20 Preh Elektrofeinmechanische Werke Jakob Preh Nachf Gmbh & Co. Keyboard switch device for facilitating removal and replacement of push buttons
DE4316998A1 (de) * 1993-05-21 1994-11-24 Eaton Controls Gmbh Elektrischer Drucktastenschalter

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2175105A1 (de) * 1972-03-08 1973-10-19 Leuenberger Peter
US4902862A (en) * 1987-06-13 1990-02-20 Preh Elektrofeinmechanische Werke Jakob Preh Nachf Gmbh & Co. Keyboard switch device for facilitating removal and replacement of push buttons
DE4316998A1 (de) * 1993-05-21 1994-11-24 Eaton Controls Gmbh Elektrischer Drucktastenschalter

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105940475A (zh) * 2014-01-30 2016-09-14 株式会社电装 操作部件以及操作部件的操作部制造方法
US20170032907A1 (en) * 2014-01-30 2017-02-02 Denso Corporation Operating member, and method of manufacturing operating portion of operating member
US9847187B2 (en) * 2014-01-30 2017-12-19 Denso Corporation Operating member, and method of manufacturing operating portion of operating member
CN105940475B (zh) * 2014-01-30 2018-06-19 株式会社电装 操作部件以及操作部件的操作部制造方法

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IT1289388B1 (it) 1998-10-02
ITPN960045A0 (de) 1996-07-19
ITPN960045A1 (it) 1998-01-19

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