JP2003092620A - Switch device, personal digital assistant, and device operating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-stage switch for contributing to improvement of the operability of various devices. SOLUTION: A plurality of pieces 12 are formed at a circumferential part of a middle part of a conductive member 11 made of an elastic material and the middle part of which is upwardly convexed. Further, first terminals 14 and a second terminal 15 are respectively placed to positions corresponding to the circumferential edge and the middle part of the conductive member 11 at the positions opposed to the conductive member 11. When the conductive member 11 is half-depressed, the pieces 12 are deflected to make the first terminals 14 conductive and to cause a first conductive state, and when the conductive member 11 is fully-depressed, the middle part is deflected to make the first terminals 14 and the second terminal 15 conductive with each other and to cause a difference conductive state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a switch device suitable for being installed in a portable information terminal device such as a mobile phone and used for inputting various instruction operations such as character input. The present invention also relates to a portable information terminal device equipped with such a switch device, and a device operating method for performing various instruction operations to various electronic devices using such a switch device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, mobile phones and PDAs (Pe
2. Description of the Related Art A portable information terminal device such as a rsonal Digital Assistant) device is provided with a plurality of input keys for inputting characters and various instruction operations for the device.

A conventional input key is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a conductive member 100 formed of a conductive material in a hemispherical shape (dome shape), and this conductive member. 4 (c) on the substrate arranged below 100.
Terminal portion 1 formed in a concentric pattern as shown in FIG.
10 and 10. 4A is a plan view of the conductive member 100, FIG. 4B is a front sectional view of the conductive member 100, and FIG.
It is a top view which shows the pattern of 0.

The conductive member 100 is formed in a hemispherical shape from, for example, thin plate stainless steel, and its peripheral portion is erected on the outer peripheral terminal portion 111 of the terminal portion 110 and is pressed. As a result, the central portion bends as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4B and comes into contact with the central terminal portion 112 of the terminal portion 110. As a result, the outer peripheral terminal portion 111 and the central terminal portion 112 are electrically connected via the conductive member 100, and the switch is turned on.

In the conventional input key, since the conductive member 100 is made of stainless steel or the like and has appropriate elasticity, it is possible to obtain an appropriate pressing feeling, that is, a click feeling when pressed. Has been done.

[0006]

By the way, in a conventional mobile phone or the like, characters or operation contents input by the input key are written on the main surface (key top) of the input key or in the vicinity of the input key. However, as a result of the progress of miniaturization, there was a problem that the written characters became smaller and the readability deteriorated. For this reason, it is extremely difficult for a person with poor visual acuity, such as an elderly person, to input characters and perform various instruction operations.

Further, in the portable information terminal device, the number of input keys to be arranged is naturally limited in order to cope with miniaturization, but it is necessary to perform an instruction operation for many functions. There is. Therefore, for example, in a conventional mobile phone, for example, it is necessary to give each input key a plurality of functions, or to press each input key a plurality of times when inputting a predetermined character, The operation is becoming more and more complicated. For this reason, there is a problem in that not only it takes a long time to master the operation, but also an erroneous operation frequently occurs and the operability is deteriorated.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and can be installed in a portable information terminal device which is being miniaturized and multifunctional to contribute to improvement of operability. An object is to provide a possible switch device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable information terminal device equipped with such a switch device as an input key, and a device operating method for performing various instruction operations to various electronic devices by using such a switch device. .

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a switch device, wherein a central portion is made of a conductive elastic material so that the central portion has a convex shape, and a plurality of pieces are formed on a peripheral portion of the central portion. A conductive member having a portion, and a first terminal portion provided at a position corresponding to the peripheral portion of the conductive member,
A second terminal portion disposed at a position corresponding to the central portion of the conductive member, wherein the piece portion bends when the conductive member is pressed by a predetermined force. Portion and the first terminal portion come into contact with each other to be in the first conductive state, and when the conductive member is pressed down with a force larger than this, the central portion bends and the central portion and the Second
And a second conductive state is brought into contact with the terminal portion of the.

Claim 1 of the present invention constructed as described above
The switch device according to (1) has two conduction states, a first conduction state that is a half-depressed state and a second conduction state that is a fully-depressed state. Together with the states, there can be three operating states.
In addition, since the central part of the conductive member is bent in the fully-pressed state, a so-called click feeling can be generated. Therefore, the operator can reliably distinguish between the half-pressed state and the fully-pressed state. can do. Further, since it is possible to continuously shift from the half-pressed state to the full-pressed state simply by increasing the pressing force, it is possible to select the three states extremely easily and input the instruction operation.

The portable information terminal device according to claim 3 of the present invention is a portable information terminal device having a plurality of input keys for inputting various instruction operations, wherein the input keys are elastic and have conductivity. A conductive member having a plurality of pieces formed in a peripheral portion of the central portion, the conductive member having a central portion formed in a convex shape, and a first member disposed at a position corresponding to the peripheral portion of the conductive member. No. 1 terminal portion and a second terminal portion provided at a position corresponding to the central portion of the conductive member, and when the conductive member is pressed by a predetermined force, the one portion is When the piece is brought into contact with the first terminal portion by bending to be in a first conductive state, and when the conductive member is pressed with a force larger than this,
When the central portion is bent, the central portion and the second terminal portion come into contact with each other to be in the second conductive state, and the input key is in the first conductive state, and an instruction by the input key is given. Confirming the operator to confirm or execute the operation content, and confirming or executing the operation content indicated by the input key while the input key is in the second conductive state. It is a feature.

Further, a device operating method according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is a device operating method of inputting various instruction operations to a device by an input key, wherein the input key is formed of a conductive elastic material at a central portion thereof. A conductive member that is formed as a convex shape and has a plurality of pieces that are formed on the peripheral portion of the central portion, and a first terminal portion that is disposed at a position corresponding to the peripheral portion of the conductive member. A second terminal portion arranged at a position corresponding to the central portion of the conductive member, and by pressing the input key with a predetermined force, the piece portion is bent and the piece portion is bent. And an operation confirmation step of asking the operator to confirm that the content of the instruction operation by the input key is confirmed or executed in this state by electrically connecting the input terminal and the first terminal portion, and the input key is confirmed. In case of step By pressing with a much greater force, the central portion is bent to bring the central portion and the second terminal portion into conduction, and in this state, an operation of confirming or executing the content of the instruction operation by the input key And a determining step.

A third aspect of the present invention configured as described above
According to the portable information terminal device of the present invention and the device operating method of claim 7, the content of the instruction operation by the input key is confirmed or set by setting the input key to the first conduction state in which the input key is half-pressed. The operator can be asked to confirm the action to be performed, so to speak, “temporary input” can be performed, and further stronger force can be applied to the input key to actually confirm or execute the action. Therefore, it is possible to confirm or input the instruction operation while confirming with the operator, and it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation and perform a reliable and smooth input operation.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, as one configuration example to which the present invention is applied, a switch device 10 as shown in FIG. 1 will be described first.

The switch device 10 is formed of a conductive elastic material, such as stainless steel, having a convex central portion, and as shown in FIG. A plurality of divided pieces 12
And a terminal portion 13 located on the substrate disposed below the conductive member 11 and having a pattern as shown in FIG. 1E. Note that FIG. 1A is a plan view of the conductive member 11 of the switch device 10 as seen from the convex side, and FIG.
It is the top view which looked at the terminal part 13 of from the electroconductive member 11 side.

The terminal portion 13 is, as shown in FIG.
The first terminal portion 14 is formed at a position corresponding to the peripheral edge Φ of the conductive member 11, and the plurality of second terminal portions 15 is formed at a position corresponding to the central portion of the conductive member 11. ing. That is, as shown in FIG. 1E, the terminal portion 13 is formed by forming a plurality of first terminal portions 14 around the second terminal portion 15.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the conductive member 11 has the outer peripheral edge portion (that is, the end portion of the piece portion 12) of the terminal portion 13 in a state where no force is applied from the outside. It stands on the formation surface. In this state, since the terminal portion 13 is formed in the region inside the standing conductive member 11, the conductive member 11 and the terminal portion 13 are not in contact with each other, and they are electrically conductive. I haven't.

When the conductive member 11 is pressed with a predetermined force, each of the pieces 12 is bent as shown in FIG. 1C, so that the central peripheral edge Φ of the conductive member 11 is bent. The portion corresponding to is in contact with the first terminal portion 14. At this time,
The first terminal portions 14 adjacent to each other are electrically connected to each other when the central peripheral edge Φ of the conductive member 11 is in contact with each other. Hereinafter, this state is referred to as a first conduction state.

Further, when the conductive member 11 is pushed down with a force larger than that in the first conductive state, the central portion bends as shown in FIG. 1 (d), and the central portion has the second terminal. Part 1
Touch 5. As a result, the first portion constituting the terminal portion 13
The terminal portion 14 and the second terminal portion 15 are electrically connected via the conductive member 11. Hereinafter, this state is referred to as a second conductive state.

The switch device 10 constructed as described above.
Has two conductive states, a first conductive state that is a half-pressed state and a second conductive state that is a fully-pressed state, so that it is not electrically conductive "OFF".
In addition to the above states, there can be three operating states. Further, in the fully-pressed state, a so-called click feeling can be generated when the central portion of the conductive member 11 bends, so that the operator can reliably distinguish between the half-pressed state and the fully-pressed state. It can be operated. Further, it is possible to continuously shift from the half-pressed state to the fully-pressed state simply by increasing the pressing force, and it is possible to select the three states and input the input operation very easily.

Further, the switch device 10 can be realized with a very simple structure of the dome-shaped conductive member 11 having the piece portion 12 and the terminal portion 13 having a predetermined electrode pattern, which is thin and lightweight. It is easy to achieve Further, the number of parts can be significantly reduced, and the material cost and the assembly cost can be significantly reduced, as compared with the case where a plurality of input states are realized by a complicated configuration.

The switch device 10 includes a conductive member 1.
It is stated that the number of slits formed in 1, the shape of the piece portion 12, or the electrode pattern in the terminal portion 13 is not particularly limited and can be appropriately designed without departing from the scope of the present invention. There is no end.

Next, in the following, the switch device 1 described above is used.
A portable information terminal device configured by using 0 will be described. Hereinafter, as such a mobile information terminal device, a mobile phone 20 as shown in FIG. 2 will be described as an example. However, the switch device 10 is the mobile phone 2
The present invention is not limited to the application to 0, but can be widely applied to various PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) devices and small personal computer devices.

The portable telephone 20, as shown in FIG.
A speaker 2 for outputting sound is provided on the main surface of the main body case 21.
2, a microphone 23 for inputting voice, a display section 24 for displaying various information such as a telephone number, and an input section 25 for inputting various instruction operations. Further, an antenna 26 for wirelessly transmitting various information to and from a base station is provided on the upper portion of the main body case 21.

The display unit 24 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and displays the telephone number of the other party who is called, the telephone number of the other party who received the call, or the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery and the state of the radio wave. The input unit 25 is configured by a plurality of input keys as shown in FIG. 2, and at least a part of each input key is configured by the switch device 10 described above.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, inside the main body case 21, a control unit 27 for controlling the operation of the portable telephone 20 as a whole and for performing arithmetic processing on various data, and an antenna 26. And a transmission / reception module 28 for inputting / outputting a signal to be received / transmitted by radio waves via.

Here, the mobile phone 20 has a network connection function for connecting to a computer network such as the Internet, in addition to a phone function for realizing a voice call with another phone. ing. Using this network connection function, for example, it is possible to create or send / receive an e-mail, or perform a browsing operation to acquire and display information accumulated in an external computer device.

As described above, when composing an electronic mail or browsing, it is required to input characters. In the mobile phone 20, it is necessary to press a plurality of input keys constituting the input unit 25. By control unit 2
7 identifies the input character and controls the display unit 24 to sequentially display the character.

At this time, since the input keys of the portable telephone 20 are composed of the above-described switch device 10, each input key has three operations of "OFF", half-pressed state, and full-pressed state. Have a state. Then, when the input key is half-pressed, the characters input by the input key and the contents of the instruction operation are confirmed and displayed on the display unit 24, and when the input key is fully pressed, the input key is pressed. The control unit 27 controls the input characters and numbers or the content of the instruction operation to be determined.

The "instruction operation" referred to here is an operation for inputting various instructions to the mobile phone 20 by the operator, and for example, an operation for transmitting an electronic mail or a call is placed. These include operations (calling) and moving to the next page while browsing.

Further, as the confirmation display when each input key is half-pressed, for example, the characters to be input and the contents of the instruction operation are highlighted, highlighted, and enlarged on the display unit 24. And so on. The display is not limited to being displayed on the display unit 24. For example, a light emitting element provided in each input key is caused to emit light, or an input character or content of an instruction operation is output via the speaker 22. The operator may be asked to confirm by giving guidance by outputting a voice. This kind of operation
This can be easily realized by the control unit 27 controlling each unit.

When the input key is pressed halfway down, the operator is asked to confirm as described above, and when the operator presses the input key to the full-pressed state, the control unit Reference numeral 27 determines the characters input by this input key and the contents of the instruction operation.

If the input key pressed in the half-pressed state does not correspond to the input of the intended character or operation, the operator stops pressing the input key,
Try pressing another input key.

The portable telephone 20 configured as described above
Presses the input key halfway to ask the operator to confirm whether to confirm or execute the content of the instruction operation by this input key, so to speak, “temporary input”, and even stronger. It can actually be confirmed or executed by applying force to the input keys. Therefore, it is possible to confirm or input the instruction operation while confirming with the operator, and it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation and perform a reliable and smooth input operation.

Therefore, as the portable telephone 20 becomes smaller, the interval between the input keys becomes narrower,
Even when the display size of the display unit 24 is reduced, it is possible to perform a quick operation while checking the characters input by each input key and the content of the function, and it has extremely high operability. .

[0036]

The switch device according to the first aspect of the present invention has two conduction states, a first conduction state which is a half-pushed state and a second conduction state which is a full-pushed state. Therefore, in combination with the "OFF" state where there is no conduction, 3
There can be one operating state. In addition, since the central part of the conductive member is bent in the fully-pressed state, a so-called click feeling can be generated. Therefore, the operator can reliably distinguish between the half-pressed state and the fully-pressed state. can do. Further, since it is possible to continuously shift from the half-pressed state to the full-pressed state simply by increasing the pressing force, it is possible to select the three states extremely easily and input the instruction operation. Also, it is possible to realize a switch with a half-push function that is lightweight, compact, and inexpensive.

According to the portable information terminal device according to claim 3 of the present invention and the device operating method according to claim 7,
By setting the input key to the first conduction state, which is a half-pressed state, the operator is asked to confirm that the content of the instruction operation by this input key is to be confirmed or executed, so to speak, "temporary input" In addition to being able to perform, it is possible to actually confirm or execute by applying a stronger force to the input key. Therefore, it is possible to confirm or input the instruction operation while confirming with the operator, and it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation and perform a reliable and smooth input operation.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the operability of various portable information terminal devices represented by, for example, mobile phones and PDA devices.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a switch device shown as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a mobile phone equipped with the same switching device.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing functions provided in the mobile phone.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a conventional dome type switch.

[Explanation of symbols] 10 Switch device 11 Conductive member 12 pieces 13 terminals 14 First terminal part 15 Second terminal part 20 mobile phones 22 speakers 23 microphone 24 Display 25 Input section 27 Control unit

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04B 7/26 H04M 1/23 E H04M 1/23 H04B 7/26 U

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A conductive member having a central portion formed in a convex shape by an elastic material having electrical conductivity, and having a plurality of pieces separated from each other formed in a peripheral portion of the central portion, and the conductive member. A first terminal portion disposed at a position corresponding to the peripheral edge portion of the above, and a second terminal portion disposed at a position corresponding to a central portion of the conductive member, wherein the conductive member is When pressed with a predetermined force, the edge portion and the first terminal portion come into contact with each other due to the bending of the piece portion, and the first conductive state is established, and the conductive member has a force larger than this. The switch device, wherein the central portion bends and the second terminal portion comes into contact with each other to be brought into a second conductive state when pressed by. 2. The first terminal portion is arranged at a position for electrically connecting adjacent first terminals adjacent to each other in a state where the piece portion is bent. Switch device. 3. A portable information terminal device comprising a plurality of input keys for inputting various instructing operations, wherein the input keys are made of a conductive elastic material and have a convex central part. A conductive member having a plurality of pieces formed on the peripheral edge, a first terminal portion disposed at a position corresponding to the peripheral edge of the conductive member, and a central portion of the conductive member A second terminal portion disposed at a position where the edge portion and the first terminal portion are bent by bending the piece when the conductive member is pressed by a predetermined force. Come into contact with each other to be in a first conductive state, and when the conductive member is pressed with a force larger than this, the central portion bends to separate the central portion and the second terminal portion. Upon contact, the second conductive state is established, and the input key is in the first conductive state. In this state, the operator is asked to confirm whether to confirm or execute the content of the instruction operation by the input key, and the input key is in the second conductive state. A portable information terminal device, characterized in that the content of the instruction operation by the user is determined or executed. 4. A display unit for displaying various kinds of information is further provided, and in the state where the input key is in the first conductive state, the content of the instruction operation by the input key is enlarged and displayed on the display unit. The portable information terminal device according to claim 3. 5. A voice output section for outputting voice information is further provided, and the content of the instruction operation by the input key is voice-output by the voice output section when the input key is in the first conductive state. The portable information terminal device according to claim 3, wherein 6. The portable information terminal device according to claim 3, wherein at least letters or numbers are input by the input keys. 7. A device operating method for inputting various instructing operations to a device with an input key, wherein the input key is formed of a conductive elastic material with a central portion having a convex shape, and a peripheral portion of the central portion. A conductive member having a plurality of formed piece portions, and a first terminal portion arranged at a position corresponding to the peripheral portion of the conductive member,
A second terminal portion disposed at a position corresponding to a central portion of the conductive member; and pressing the input key with a predetermined force causes the piece portion to bend and the peripheral portion and the peripheral portion. An operation confirmation step of asking the operator to confirm whether to establish or execute the content of the instruction operation by the input key in this state by bringing the first terminal portion into conduction, and the input key in the confirmation step. By pressing with a larger force than in the case, the central portion is bent to bring the central portion and the second terminal portion into conduction, and in this state, the content of the instruction operation by the input key is confirmed or executed. An apparatus operation method comprising: an operation confirmation step.