JP2000156133A - Multiple key device for cellular phone - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To select and determine an action instruction image with a single key by providing first to fourth directional protruding parts, arranged almost at equal spaces around a determining center protruding part separable from a center diaphragm, separably from first to fourth diaphragms which are formed almost at equal spaces around the center diaphragm on a printed circuit board mounted with a multiple key top. SOLUTION: A center diaphragm 28 and four peripheral diaphragms 30 circumferentially arranged around the center diaphragm 28 are formed on a printed circuit board 26 which supports a multiple key top 16 through connection parts 24 and support parts 22, and annular and circular fixed contacts are provided under the respective diaphragms. Normally a determining center protruding part 18, serving as a fulcrum, is in contact with the center diaphragm 28 large in working force, and directional protruding parts 20 are spaced from the peripheral diaphragms 20. A switch is turned on by pressing the upper, lower, left and right directional protruding parts 20, and after an action instruction image on an LCD is scrolled in the upper, lower, left and right directions, the determining center protruding part 18 is pressed. A determining key is therefore omitted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a portable telephone, a PH
S, a multi-key device for a portable terminal such as a cordless telephone.

Recently, mobile communication has been rapidly developed in addition to the conventional fixed point-to-point communication. Mobile communication is communication between mobiles (including people) such as ships, automobiles, and aircraft, and general subscriber telephones and offices, and between mobiles. Mobile telephones have become increasingly popular in recent years. There is.

[0003] With the spread of portable telephones, PHSs and the like, a very large number of people use them.
Furthermore, with recent rapid progress and development, a great deal of software has been incorporated into small telephones. Therefore, there is a demand for a key structure that can call and use many functions by a simple key operation.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Mobile phones have been reduced in size, thickness, and weight, and a large number of software programs have been incorporated to provide various functions. In order to operate such a large number of software, it is necessary to operate a very large number of keys, which inevitably complicates key operations and makes it difficult for modern mobile phones to fully utilize the built-in functions. Many users are found.

[0005] Various multi-key devices have been developed to facilitate key operation. For example, a two-way key, a three-way key, a four-way key, and the like have been developed for scrolling an image displayed on a liquid crystal display (LCD).

[0006]

A conventional multi-key device mainly includes a direction key for scrolling an image displayed on an LCD, and in many mobile phones, it is necessary to separately provide a key for determination. was there.

A multi-key device in which a plurality of direction keys and a decision key are integrated has been developed. However, since the multi-key device is thick, it is not suitable for thinning a portable telephone. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a direction key for selecting an operation instruction image displayed on a display such as an LCD and a determination key for determining an operation. The present invention provides a multi-key device for a portable terminal, which integrates the above.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a printed wiring board having a central diaphragm, first to fourth diaphragms arranged around the central diaphragm at substantially equal intervals in a circumferential direction, and the central diaphragm. A central convex portion which is arranged so as to be able to freely contact with and separate from the first and fourth diaphragms which are arranged at substantially equal intervals around the central convex portion for making a decision and which are respectively capable of freely approaching and separating from the first to fourth diaphragms. A multi-key device for a portable terminal, comprising: a multi-key top having a directional projection and mounted on the printed wiring board.

Preferably, the central convex portion for determination is in contact with the central diaphragm, and the convex portions for the first to fourth directions are arranged apart from the first to fourth diaphragms. In order to prevent the central diaphragm from being pressed by mistake, an annular wall or a plurality of pins whose tips contact the printed wiring board may be provided around the central convex for determination.

Further, it is desirable to form an annular groove and / or a radial groove on the surface of the multi-key top so as to divide the surface of the key top into a plurality of parts so as to prevent malfunction.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a plan view of a portable telephone employing a multi-key device according to the present invention. At the upper end of the mobile phone 2, a receiving unit 4 containing a speaker is provided, and at the lower end, a transmitting unit 6 containing a microphone is provided.

A switch unit 10 having a dial function and the like, a power key 12, a menu key 14, and a multi-key 16 are provided in an intermediate portion of the mobile phone 2.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
(A) is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the multi-key top 16 includes a central convex portion 18 for determination and four convex portions (for scrolling) arranged at substantially equal intervals around the central convex portion 18 for determination. 2
It has 0.

The multi key top 16 is connected to four support portions 22 at a connection portion 24, and these support portions 2 are connected to each other.
2 is supported on the printed wiring board 26. Connection part 2
Numeral 4 is thinned in order to facilitate deformation of the multi-key top 16. The multi key top 16 is integrally molded from a material such as silicone rubber or elastomer.

On the printed wiring board 26, a central diaphragm 28 and four peripheral diaphragms 30 arranged around the central diaphragm 28 at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction are formed. The rigidity of the central diaphragm 28 is increased so that the operating force is set several times higher than that of the peripheral diaphragm 30.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the central convex portion 18 for determination comes into contact with the central diaphragm 28 so as to be a certain fulcrum, and the convex portion 20 for direction becomes the peripheral diaphragm 3.
The multi key top 16 is mounted on the printed wiring board 26 so as to be separated from zero.

As shown in FIG. 3 (B), when the surface of the multi-key top 16 corresponding to the left-side directional projection 20 is pressed, the multi-key top 16 is deformed as shown by a broken line and the corresponding surrounding area is deformed. The diaphragm 30 is pushed.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a fixed contact 3 is provided below the central diaphragm 28 or the peripheral diaphragm 30.
2, 34 are formed. As shown in FIG.
The fixed contact 32 is annular, and the fixed contact 34 is circular.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), when the left determining convex portion 30 is pushed, the corresponding peripheral diaphragm 30 is pushed, and the contacts 32 and 34 are brought into contact with each other.
Conduction through 0 causes the switch to turn on. As a result, the operation instruction image on the LCD 8 scrolls to the left, and a new image is displayed.

Referring to FIG. 5, a display image diagram on LCD 8 is shown. To scroll right, the surface of the multi-key top 16 corresponding to the right direction projection 20 is pressed, and to scroll left, the surface of the multi-key top 16 corresponding to the left direction projection 20 is pressed. It is.

In order to scroll down, the surface of the multi-key top 16 corresponding to the lower direction projection 20 is pressed, and to scroll upward, the upper direction projection 2 is pressed.
The surface of the multi-key top 16 corresponding to 0 is pressed.
Then, by pressing the surface of the multi-key top 16 corresponding to the center convex portion 18 for determination, the image selected by scrolling can be determined.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7A is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. FIGS. 7B and 7C show the operation of the multi-key top 16A, respectively.

In this embodiment, an annular wall 36 whose tip contacts the printed wiring board 26 around the central convex portion 18 for determination.
Are integrally formed. As described above, since the multi-key top 16A is formed of a material that is easily deformed such as silicone rubber or an elastomer, when pressing the central convex portion 18 for determination, as shown in FIG.
7 performs a switching operation by compressively deforming, and when pressing the directional convex portion 30, by operating the annular wall 36 as a temporary fulcrum as shown in FIG. It is possible to prevent an erroneous operation in which the center diaphragm 28 is erroneously pushed.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9A is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. FIGS. 9B and 9C show the operation, respectively.

This embodiment is similar to the above-described second embodiment. Instead of the annular wall 36 of the second embodiment, the leading end thereof contacts the printed wiring board 26 around the central convex portion 18 for determination. The pins 38 are provided at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction. This embodiment operates in substantially the same manner as the above-described second embodiment.

That is, when pressing the central convex portion 18 for determination,
When the surrounding pins 38 are compressed and deformed as shown in FIG. 9B, and when the surrounding directional projections 30 are pressed, the pins 38 are temporarily moved as shown in FIG. 9C. By operating as a fulcrum, it is possible to prevent a malfunction such that the central convex portion for determination 18 pushes the central diaphragm 28.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11A is a sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. FIGS. 11B and 11C show the operation, respectively.

In the above-described first to third embodiments, the vicinity of the surface of the multi-key top is integrated, so that the degree of freedom of movement is small. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an annular groove 40 is formed on the surface of the multi-key top 16C so as to define a central surface convex portion 42 facing the determining central convex portion 18 and a peripheral annular convex portion 44. is there.

As a result, the central convex portion for determination 18 can be operated independently of the convex portion 20 for the direction around the central portion, thereby reducing malfunction. FIG. 11B is an image diagram showing an operation of pressing the left-side directional convex portion 20,
FIG. 11C is an image diagram showing the operation of the central convex portion 18 for determination.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13A is a sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 13 (B) and FIG.
(C) shows the respective operations.

In this embodiment, an annular wall 36 is added to the above-described fourth embodiment. Thus, the annular groove 40
By providing the annular wall 36 under the center, it is possible to effectively prevent a malfunction of the central determining projection 18. FIG.
FIG. 13B is an image diagram showing the operation of the left direction projection 20, and FIG. 13C is an image diagram showing the operation of the determination central projection 18.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15A is a sectional view taken along line 15-15 of FIG. 15 (B) and FIG.
(C) shows the respective operations.

This embodiment is obtained by adding four radial grooves 46 to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. As a result, the surface of the multi key top 16E becomes
It is divided into two and four peripheral annular projections 48.

By forming the convex portions on the surface so as to correspond to the central convex portion 18 for determination and the four convex portions 20 for direction as described above, each portion can easily operate independently. Malfunction can be prevented. FIG.
(B) is an image diagram when the left-side directional convex portion 20 operates, and FIG. 15 (C) is an image diagram when the determining central convex portion 18 operates.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a seventh embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 17A is a sectional view taken along line 17-17 of FIG. FIG. 17B and FIG.
Indicates its operation.

This embodiment is obtained by adding an annular wall 36 to the sixth embodiment. By providing the annular wall 36 under the annular groove 40 in this manner, independent operation can be ensured, and the central convex portion 18 for determination can be secured.
Can be prevented more effectively.

FIG. 17B is an image diagram showing the operation when the left-side directional projection 20 is pressed, and FIG.
7 is an image diagram when the central convex portion for determination 18 is pressed.

[0039]

Since the multi-key device of the present invention is configured as described in detail above, the operation instruction image displayed on the LCD or the like can be selected and confirmed with one key, and the determination key is omitted. Therefore, the number of operation keys can be reduced. Further, it is possible to contribute to a reduction in thickness and cost of a portable terminal such as a portable telephone.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mobile phone employing a multi-key device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a contact portion.

FIG. 5 is a display image diagram of an LCD.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a seventh embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 4 receiver unit 6 transmitter unit 8 LCD 16, 16A to 16F multi-key top 18 central convex portion for determination 20 convex portion for direction 26 printed wiring board 28 central diaphragm 30 peripheral diaphragm 36 annular wall 38 pin 40 annular groove 46 radial groove 46

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Takahashi 4-1-1, Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Fujitsu Limited (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Kato 4-1-1, Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture No. 1 Fujitsu Limited F-term (reference) 5G006 AA02 AB25 AZ01 BA01 BA02 BA09 BB03 CB04 CD05 FB04 5K023 AA07 BB04 BB11 GG03 GG07 GG08 LL01

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A central diaphragm, and first to fourth peripheral members arranged around the central diaphragm at substantially equal intervals in a circumferential direction.
A printed wiring board having a diaphragm, a central convex portion for determination arranged removably to the central diaphragm, and contacting with the first to fourth diaphragms at substantially equal intervals around the central convex portion for determination. A multi-key device for a mobile terminal, comprising: a multi-key top having releasably disposed first to fourth direction projections, mounted on the printed wiring board. 2. In a state where the multi-key top is not pressed, the central convex portion for determination contacts the central diaphragm, and the first to fourth direction convex portions are separated from the first to fourth diaphragms. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is separated.
A multi-key device for a portable terminal according to the above. 3. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the multi-key top has an annular wall around the center convex portion for determination, the tip of which is in contact with the printed wiring board. Multi-key device. 4. The multi-key top according to claim 1, wherein the multi-key top has a plurality of pins around the center convex portion for determination, the tips of which contact the printed wiring board. Multi-key device for mobile terminals. 5. The multi-key top has an annular groove on its surface, so that the surface of the multi-key top is formed into a central surface convex portion facing the determining central convex portion and a peripheral annular convex portion. The multi-key device for a portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the multi-key device is divided. 6. The multi-key top further has four radial grooves on its surface, so that the surface of the multi-key top has a central surface convex portion facing the determining central convex portion; 6. The multi-key device for a portable terminal according to claim 5, wherein the first to fourth peripheral surface convex portions facing the first to fourth direction convex portions are divided.