JP2000357429A - Cellular phone operation switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cellular phone operation switch having high-quality appearances and high visibility even in a bright or dark place where the cellular phone being used. SOLUTION: This cellular phone operation switch 20 has a transparent key top 21 and a click 24 disposed on the backside of the key top 21 for clicking when the surface side is pressed. In the switch 20, the key top 21 is printed with characters or symbols on the backside and the backside not printed with the characters or symbols is provided with a magic mirror layer 23 for reflecting the light from the front side and transmitting the light from the backside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation switch for a portable telephone, and more particularly, to an operation switch for a portable telephone which has high quality and high visibility even in a bright or dark environment where the portable telephone is used. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional operation switch for a portable telephone has a key top and a click provided on the back side of the key top and performing a click operation when the front side is pressed, and a plating layer is formed on the surface of the key top. Some are formed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a key top of a conventional operation switch for a cellular phone. The key top 11 is formed of transparent acrylic or the like, and its outer surface is covered with a plating layer 15. A symbol (or character) 12 is printed in color on the surface of the key top 11, and a plating layer 15 is formed on a portion other than the symbol 12.

In a place where the environment where the mobile phone is used is bright, the key top 11 can visually recognize the symbol 12 by the external light LO. In a place where the environment where the mobile phone is used is dark, the key top 11 can be seen from the inside of the plating layer 15. The symbol 12 can be visually recognized by the internal light LI of the light emitting diode (not shown).

[0005]

However, the operation switch for a mobile phone of the prior art has the following problems. As described above, in the conventional operation switch for a mobile phone, the key top 11 has the plating layer 15 formed in a portion other than the symbol 12 so that the reflectance of the plating layer 15 is high in an environment where the mobile phone is used in a bright environment. Since there is a high class feeling, the symbol 12 can be visually recognized by giving a high quality feeling by the external light LO.

On the other hand, in a place where the environment in which the mobile phone is used is dark, reflected light and transmitted light from inside cannot be obtained from the plating layer 15 covering the key top 11, and the surface of the key top 11 becomes dark as a whole. , High quality feeling,
Since the surface of the key top 11 is entirely dark, there is a fear that visibility may be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides an operation switch for a mobile phone which has a high quality and a high visibility in a place where the environment of using the mobile phone is bright or dark. The purpose is to do.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an operation switch for a portable telephone according to the present invention comprises a transparent key top and a click key provided on the back side of the key top and performing a click operation when the front side of the key top is pressed. In the operation switch for a mobile phone having a key top, a character or a symbol is printed on the back side, and the back side where the character or the sign is not printed reflects light from the front side and the back side. And a magic mirror layer that transmits the light.

[0009] Further, in a mobile phone operation switch having a transparent key top and a click provided on the back side of the key top and performing a click operation when the front side of the key top is pressed, the key top comprises: The outside surface part where the letters or symbols are printed on the outside surface and the letters or symbols are not printed is the shape of the letter or symbol that reflects light from the front side and transmits light from the back side It is characterized by having a magic mirror layer.

Further, the key top is formed of a polymer material of acrylic and urethane.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a side view for explaining the overall structure of a mobile phone operation switch 20 according to the present invention.
The operation switch 20 for a mobile phone is provided on a key top 21 formed of a transparent acrylic material, for example, and a back side of the key top 21, and has an elasticity that performs a click operation when the front side of the key top 21 is pressed in the arrow P direction. It is composed of a transparent resin click 24 made of a material and a switch unit 25.

The key top 21 is movably operated when pressed in the direction of arrow P to perform a switch operation.
, And a color character print 22 is printed on the back surface (in some cases, a symbol print). The other back surface portion on which the character print 22 is not printed has a magic mirror layer 23. The magic mirror layer 23 is formed as a thin film by vapor deposition of, for example, mercury, and reflects light from the front side and transmits light from the back side.

The resin click 24 is used to obtain a click feeling when the key top 21 is pressed and to obtain a switching operation, and is formed of an elastic resin material such as silicon. The lower surface of the protruding portion 24A that protrudes below the resin click 24 is carbon-printed to form a switch contact 25A. The resin click 24 is attached to the printed wiring board 27,
Is provided with a pair of contacts 25B and 25C,
The switch section 25 is formed by the switch contact 25A and the pair of contacts 25B and 25C.

When the key top 21 is pushed in the direction of arrow P, the switch portion 25
A descends and the switch contact 25A and a pair of contacts 25B, 2
5C comes into contact with the contact 25B and the contact 25C, and the switch is turned on.

In a place where the environment in which the mobile phone is used is bright, the key top 21 is provided with external light LO indicated by an arrow. In a place where the environment in which the mobile phone is used is dark, the light emitting diode mounted on the printed wiring board 27 is used. Lighting (not shown) gives internal light LI indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 2 is a side view when the external light LO and the internal light LI are given to the key top 21, and FIG.
2 shows a case where the external light LO is given, and FIG. 2B shows a case where the internal light LI is given.

In a place where the environment where the portable telephone is used is exposed to a bright external light LO as shown in FIG. 2A, the key top 21 is located at a position where the external light LO is reflected by the magic mirror layer 23 and the colored character print 22 is formed. Since the reflectance is low, the characters on the character print 22 can be easily visually recognized, and the glossy magic mirror layer 23 formed on the back surface of the key top 21 can give a very elegant high quality feeling. .

In a place where the environment using the mobile phone shown in FIG.
In 1, the internal light LI is hardly transmitted through the character print 22 due to the lighting of the light emitting diode (not shown), and is entirely transmitted through the magic mirror layer 23 formed on the back surface of the key top 21.

Therefore, even in a dark place where the mobile phone is used, the key top 21 is generally bright and can be used for character printing 2.
The character 2 can be easily visually recognized, and the glossy magic mirror layer 23 can give a very elegant high quality feeling.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the key top 21.
The key top 21 is provided with a colored character print 22 on the back surface and the other back surface portion on which the character print 22 is not provided has a magic mirror layer 23. Therefore, in a place where the environment using the mobile phone is bright, Key top 21 is external light LO
Is hardly reflected at the colored character print 22 and is reflected at the magic mirror layer 23. In a place where the environment where the mobile phone is used is dark, the internal light LI is turned on by the lighting of the light emitting diode (not shown). 3 shows a situation where the magic mirror layer 23 formed on the back surface of the key top 21 is transmitted almost entirely without being transmitted.

FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the overall structure of a mobile phone operation switch 30 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The operation switch 30 for the mobile phone includes a transparent key top 31, a metal click 34 provided on the back side of the key top 31 and formed of an elastic material that performs a click operation when the front side is pressed, a switch unit 35, A transparent thin resin film 38 formed of an elastic material having a protruding portion 38A between the key top 31 and the metal click 34 is provided.

The key top 31 is movably mounted on the operation panel 36 when pressed in the direction indicated by the arrow P in order to perform a switch operation, and a colored character print 32 is formed on the front surface side. A) The other surface side portion where the character printing 32 is not performed has a magic mirror layer 33.

The metal click 34 is used to obtain a click feeling when the key top 31 is pressed and to obtain a switching operation. The metal click 34 is mounted on a printed wiring board 37 and Since the annular contact 35A connected to the metal click 34 and the circular contact 35B are provided, the switch unit 3 includes the metal click 34, the annular contact 35A, and the circular contact 35B.
5 are formed.

The switch is operated by pressing the key top 31 in the direction of the arrow P, so that the protrusion 3 of the thin resin film 38 is pressed.
8A is lowered and the metal click 34 causes the annular contact 35 to be formed.
A, the contact with the circular contact 35B is turned on and the switch is turned on.

In a place where a mobile phone is used in a bright environment, the key top 31 is provided with external light LO indicated by an arrow. In a place where a mobile phone is used in a dark place, a light emitting diode mounted on a printed wiring board 37 is used. Lighting (not shown) gives internal light LI indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 5 is a side view when the external light LO and the internal light LI are given to the key top 31, and FIG.
5 shows a case where the external light LO is given, and FIG. 5B shows a case where the internal light LI is given.

In a place where the environment using the portable telephone shown in FIG. 5 (A) is exposed to the bright external light LO, the key top 31 is located at a place where the external light LO is reflected by the magic mirror layer 33 and the colored character print 32 is provided. Since the reflectance is low, the characters on the character print 32 can be easily visually recognized, and the glossy magic mirror layer 33 formed on the surface side of the key top 31 can give an extremely elegant high quality feeling. it can.

In a place where the environment using the cellular phone shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes that the internal light LI hardly transmits through the character print 32 but entirely transmits through the magic mirror layer 33 of the key top 31 by turning on a light emitting diode (not shown).

Therefore, even in an environment where the mobile phone is used in a dark environment, the key top 31 has a bright surface shape as a whole, and the characters can be easily visually recognized. 33 makes it possible to give a very elegant and high quality feeling.

FIG. 6 shows a key top 41 made of a flexible material.
Is shown. The key top 41 is formed of, for example, a flexible material of a polymer material of acrylic and urethane, and has a depression 41A when the key top 41 is partially pressed. Therefore, a person who has a long fingernail 51 of the finger 50
Even when 1 is pressed, the key top 41 is partially formed with the claw 51 to form the depression 41A, and the key top 41 can be pressed with a good feeling without feeling uncomfortable.

This key top 41 is a key top 21
As shown in FIG. 1, a magic mirror layer can be formed on the back side and used, or a magic mirror layer can be formed on the front side.

In the above embodiment, the operation switch for the mobile phone has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The same can be done for operation switches used in bright and dark places.

[0034]

The operation switch for a portable telephone according to the present invention has a transparent key top and a click provided on the back side of the key top and performing a click operation when the front side of the key top is pressed. In the telephone operation switch, the key top is printed with characters or symbols on the back surface, and the back portion where the characters or symbols are not printed reflects light from the front side and transmits light from the back side. With the magic mirror layer, where the environment where the mobile phone is used is exposed to bright external light, the characters printed on the characters can be easily viewed and the glossy magic formed on the back of the keytop The mirror layer can give a very elegant high quality feeling,
Even in a place where the environment where the mobile phone is used is provided with dark internal light, the key top is bright overall, and the characters of the character print can be easily recognized, and the glossy magic mirror layer makes the key top extremely elegant. High quality feeling can be given.

In a portable telephone operation switch having a transparent key top and a click provided on the back side of the key top and performing a click operation when the front side of the key top is pressed, the key top is The outside surface part where the letters or symbols are printed on the outside surface and the letters or symbols are not printed is the shape of the letter or symbol that reflects light from the front side and transmits light from the back side With the magic mirror layer, where the environment where the mobile phone is used is exposed to bright external light, the characters printed on the characters can be easily recognized and the glossy surface formed on the key top surface side The magic mirror layer can give a very elegant high quality feeling,
Furthermore, even in a place where a mobile phone is used in a place where dark internal light is given, the key top has a bright surface as a whole, so that characters can be easily recognized and a glossy magic mirror is provided. The layers can give a very elegant and high quality feel.

Further, since the key top is formed of a polymer material of acrylic and urethane, even if a person with a long fingernail presses the keytop, the keytop is partially recessed by the nail, so that the user does not feel uncomfortable. The key top can be pressed with a good feeling without touch.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view for explaining the entire structure of a mobile phone operation switch according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are side views when an external light and an internal light are applied to the key top. FIG. 2A shows a state when the external light is applied, and FIG. 2B shows an internal light. Indicates time.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a key top according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the overall structure of a mobile phone operation switch according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5A and 5B are side views when an external light and an internal light are applied to the keytop, FIG. 5A shows a case where the external light is applied, and FIG. 5B shows a case where the internal light is applied. Indicates time.

FIG. 6 shows a key top according to the present invention formed of a flexible material.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a key top of a conventional operation switch for a mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 21, 31, 41 Key top 15 Plating layer 20, 30 Operation switch for mobile phone 22, 32 Character printing 23, 33 Magic mirror layer 24 Resin click 25, 35 Switch section 26, 36 Operation panel 27, 37 Printed wiring board 34 Metal click 38A Projection 38 Thin resin film

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A mobile phone operation switch comprising: a transparent key top; and a click provided on the back side of the key top and performing a click operation when the front side of the key top is pressed. Characters or symbols are printed on the back surface, the back portion where the characters or symbols are not printed is provided with a magic mirror layer that reflects light from the front side and transmits light from the back side. Operation switch for mobile phone. 2. A mobile phone operation switch comprising: a transparent key top; and a click provided on a back side of the key top and performing a click operation when a front side of the key top is pressed. The outside surface part where the letters or symbols are printed on the outside surface and the letters or symbols are not printed is the shape of the letter or symbol that reflects light from the front side and transmits light from the back side An operation switch for a mobile phone, comprising a magic mirror layer. 3. The operation switch according to claim 1, wherein the key top is formed of a polymer material of acrylic and urethane.