JP2006331867A - Switch button device and cellular phone equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide such a switch button device that has a head part of its operating button protruded by a given volume from the surface of its outer package board only at use, as well as a cellular phone or the like equipped with the same. <P>SOLUTION: The switch button device is provided with a switch button 1 with an electric insulation property having a pressing part 1a and a flange part 1b equipped with a slanted face 1b', an outer package cover 2 equipped with an opening 2a capable of protruding the pressing part 1a, a main body 3 equipped with a switch 4 on the surface covered with the outer package cover 2 and capable of being closed by pressing of the pressing switch 1a, a cushion plate 6 intercalated between the flange part 1b and the outer package cover 2 for depressing the switch button 1 so as the pressing part 1a not to be protruded from the opening 2a, and a slanted face 5a' intercalated between the cushion plate 6 and the main body 3 in free movement and capable of getting in sliding touch with the slanted face 1b' of the flange part 1b. It is further provided with an electrically insulated elastic plate 5 with a tongue part 5a entering an underside of the flange part 1b through the slanted face 5a' and capable of compressing the cushion plate in order to have he pressing part 1a further protruded than the opening 2a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of a switch button device and a mobile phone using the switch button device.

In general, in a small portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, various switch operation buttons having a surface area that can be hidden behind an adult's fingertips are densely arranged in the console portion, and the top surface of these operation buttons is exterior. It is slightly immersed from the surface of the plate or only slightly protruded from the surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-235589

  Such an exterior state is unavoidable in terms of downsizing of the device, but it easily causes operational problems such as pressing the adjacent switch operation button at the time of operation. In order to solve this problem, the pressing portion of the switch button may be configured to protrude a predetermined amount from the surface of the exterior plate. However, this causes a problem that the request for downsizing cannot be sufficiently achieved.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a switch button device in which the pressing portion of the switch button protrudes a predetermined amount from the surface of the exterior plate only during use, and the same It is to provide a mobile phone or the like equipped with.

  In order to achieve the above object, a switch button device according to the present invention includes an electrically insulating switch button having a pressing portion and a flange portion having an inclined surface, an exterior cover having an opening for projecting the pressing portion, A main body having a switch that is covered with an exterior cover and can be closed by pressing the pressing portion on the surface; and the pressing portion protrudes from the opening interposed between the collar portion and the outer covering. A cushion plate for repressing the switch button, and a slope that is movably interposed between the cushion plate and the main body so as to be slidable against the slope of the flange, and the pressing portion protrudes from the opening For this purpose, an electrically insulating elastic plate having a tongue-like portion capable of entering the lower side of the flange portion through the inclined surface and pressing the cushion plate is provided.

  The switch button device according to the present invention is covered with an electrically insulating switch button having a pressing portion and a flange portion having a slope, an exterior cover having an opening for projecting the pressing portion, and the exterior cover. And a main body having a switch that can be closed by pressing the pressing portion on the surface, and interposed between the collar portion and the main body to repress the switch button so that the pressing portion protrudes from the opening. A switch plate is slidably interposed between the cushion plate and the exterior cover and the cushion plate, and the switch button is moved to the position where the pressing portion does not protrude from the opening by sliding contact with the inclined surface of the flange portion. An electrically insulating elastic plate having a tongue-like portion having a slope that can be pressed against elasticity is provided.

  In the switch button device of the present invention, it is preferable that a protrusion or groove that can be fitted to the groove or protrusion formed in the tongue-like portion is formed in the collar portion.

  In the switch button device of the present invention, it is preferable that the elastic plate is placed between the main body and the elastic plate at positions corresponding to a state where the pressing portion protrudes from the opening and a state where the pressing portion does not protrude. Click means that can be locked are provided.

  The mobile phone according to the present invention includes any one of the switch button devices.

  Further, the mobile phone according to the present invention includes any one of the switch button devices described above, and moves the elastic plate in conjunction with a switching operation from the non-use state to the use state so that the pressing portion of the switch button is It is comprised so that it may protrude from opening.

  According to the present invention, the pressing portion of the switch button protrudes a predetermined amount on the surface of the exterior plate only during use with a relatively simple configuration, and the pressing portion can be immersed in the exterior plate when not in use. In addition, it is possible to provide a switch button device, a mobile phone, and the like that are easy to use even if they are small, and that can be further reduced in size and size, and that are relatively inexpensive.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the illustrated examples.
FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a first embodiment of a switch button device according to the present invention, where (a) shows a state when not in use, (b) shows a state when in use, and (c) shows It is a right view of (b). 2 is a plan view of an essential part of a console portion of an example of a mobile phone provided with the switch button device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of an elastic plate used in the mobile phone shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. It is a partial enlarged view of a board.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a switch button made of an electrically insulating hard resin having a pressing portion 1a and a flange portion 1b having a slope 1b 'and a protrusion 1b ", and 2 denotes a pressing portion 1a of the switch button 1 to be inserted. An exterior cover of the console portion having an opening 2a, 3 is covered with the exterior cover 2, and has a button-type switch 4 having a well-known structure on the surface and a guide pin 3a that also serves as a click means. Is interposed so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow (see FIG. 1 (a)), and is fitted to the inclined surface 5a 'slidably contacted with the inclined surface 1b' of the flange 1b and the protrusion 1b "of the flange 1b. A possible groove 5a "and a tongue 5a formed with a ridge 5a '" on the bottom surface, a hole or recess 5b (see FIG. 4) which serves as a click means in cooperation with the guide pin 3a, and an operation knob 5c (see FIG. 3), an electrically insulating elastic plate, 6 is a switch 1 is inserted between the flange 1b and the exterior cover 2 so that the top surface of the press part 1a is flush with the surface of the exterior cover 2 (see FIG. 1A). This is a sponge-like cushion plate that repels pressure. The elastic plate 5 has a certain degree of rigidity and its spring constant is selected to be larger than that of the cushion plate 6.

  Since the present switch button device is configured as described above, the slope 5a ′ of the tongue-like portion 5a of the elastic plate 5 and the slope 1b ′ of the collar 1b of the switch button 1 are merely in light contact with each other. In the state (a), the switch button 1 is pressed downward (in the direction of the arrow) by the elasticity of the cushion plate 6, and the protrusion 1 b ″ on the bottom surface of the flange 1 b of the switch button 1 makes a slight contact with the top surface of the switch 4. (In this contact state, the switch 4 is not yet operated), and the pressing portion 1a is immersed in the opening 2a and the top surface thereof is held at a position at least flush with the surface of the exterior cover 2.

  In this state, if the elastic plate 5 is slid to the right by a predetermined amount (this predetermined amount is regulated by the click means by the cooperative action of the guide pin 3a and the hole 5b), the inclined surface 5a ′ of the tongue 5a. And the inclined surface 1b 'of the flange 1b are in sliding contact with each other, the flange 1b of the switch button 1 is pushed up while partially crushing the cushion plate 6, and the top surface of the pressing portion 1a protrudes from the surface of the exterior cover 2 by a predetermined amount. (See FIG. 1B). In this case, since the groove 5a ″ of the tongue-shaped portion 5a is fitted and moved with the protrusion 1b ″ of the flange portion 1b, this moving motion is performed stably and smoothly.

  If the switch button 1 is pushed down with the fingertip in this state, the tongue-like portion 5a is bent downward, and the switch 4 is pushed and closed by the protrusion 5b '"on the lower surface of the tongue-like portion 5a. Then, the switch button 1 is returned to the position shown in FIG. 1B by the restoring force of the bent tongue portion 5a.

  In this state, if the elastic plate 5 is moved to the left by a predetermined amount (this predetermined amount is regulated by the click means by the cooperative action of the guide pin 3a and the hole 5b), the tongue-shaped portion 5a is separated from the flange portion 1b. It escapes from the polymerization state and returns to the position shown in FIG. Due to the restoring force of the cushion plate 6 that is restored to its original shape in accordance with the return movement, the flange 1b, that is, the switch button 1 is pushed downward, so that the top surface of the pressing portion 1a is flush with the surface of the exterior cover 2. Is immersed in the opening 2a.

  As is clear from this description, the protruding amount of the pressing portion 1a is determined by the thickness of the elastic plate 5, but when this switch button device is used in a small device such as a mobile phone, a small protruding amount is sufficient. Can reach the goal. Even when the height of the switch button 1 and the thickness of the elastic plate 5 are extremely small, the required operation is performed by the sliding contact between the inclined surface 1b 'and the inclined surface 5a', so that the operation is reliable and smooth.

When this switch button device is incorporated in a mobile phone as shown in FIG. 2, for example, the elastic plate 5 has a plurality of tongue-shaped portions corresponding to various switch buttons 1 as shown in FIG. When the pressing portion 1a of each switch button 1 is projected on the exterior cover 2, that is, when it is in use, the elastic plate 5 is moved in the direction of the arrow (see FIG. 2) via the operation knob 5b. If it slides in the direction of the opposite arrow from that state, the top surfaces of the pressing portions 1a of the switch buttons 1 are all immersed into the opening 2a of the exterior cover 2 and are not used. It becomes a state.
In this case, the range of movement of the elastic plate 5 is restricted by the click means, but in the case of a foldable mobile phone, it moves in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the lid 7 using a known appropriate link mechanism or the like. You may make it make it.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a second embodiment of the switch button device according to the present invention. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the pressing portion 1a of the switch button 1 protrudes on the exterior cover 2 and is put into use in a normal state. That is, in this embodiment, except for the area of the switch 4, the switch button 1 is normally pressed upward by the cushion plate 6 'interposed between the collar part 1b and the main body 3, so that the collar part 1b Due to the sliding contact between the formed inclined surface 1b 'and the inclined surface 5a' formed on the tongue-like portion 5a of the elastic plate 5, the switch button 1 resists the elasticity while partially crushing the cushion plate 6 ', It is configured to be immersed in the opening 2 a of the exterior cover 2.

  In the case of the second embodiment, as is apparent from FIG. 5, the inclined surface 1b 'is on the upper side of the flange portion 1b, the inclined surface 5a' is on the lower side of the tongue-shaped portion 5a, and the inclination direction is the same as in the case of the first embodiment. In addition, the protrusion 1b '"is formed at the central portion of the inclined surface 1b' along the inclined surface, and the tongue-shaped portion 5a is opened downward so that it can be fitted to the protruding item 1b '". Each groove 5a '"is formed.

  When the switch button device of the second embodiment is incorporated in a mobile phone or the like, the first embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the switch button 1 is normally protruded on the exterior cover 2. The description is omitted because it is substantially the same as the case described with reference to FIG.

  As mentioned above, although two Example was described, this invention is not limited to the structure of these Examples, For example, provided with the protrusion which fits this with the groove | channel on the tongue-like part 5a in the collar part 1b. In a small electric device such as a mobile phone, the pressing portion of the button is slightly protruded on the surface of the console outer cover so as not to erroneously operate the switch button only at the time of use. Various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention in which the device is immersed in the opening of the console unit outer cover to realize further downsizing of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a principal part expanded sectional view of the 1st Example of the switch button apparatus based on this invention, (a) shows the state at the time of non-use, (b), respectively, (c) is the right side surface of (b) FIG. It is a principal part top view of the console part of an example of the mobile telephone provided with the switch button apparatus shown in FIG. It is a top view of the elastic board used for the mobile phone shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the elastic plate shown in FIG. 3. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of the 2nd Example of the switch button apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Switch button 1a Press part 1b Gutter part 1b ', 5a' Slope 1b ", 1b '" Projection 2 Exterior cover 2a Opening 3 Main body 3a Pin 4 Switch 5 Elastic board 5a Tongue part 5a ", 5a'" Groove 5b Hole Or hollow 5c Operation knob 6, 6 'Cushion plate 7 Lid

Claims (6)

  An electrically insulating switch button having a pressing portion and a flange portion having a slope, an exterior cover having an opening for projecting the pressing portion, and a surface covered with the exterior cover and closed by pressing the pressing portion A body having a switch that can be used, a cushion plate that is interposed between the flange portion and the exterior cover and that presses the switch button so that the pressing portion does not protrude from the opening, and the cushion A slope is provided between the plate and the main body so as to be slidable so as to be slidable in contact with the slope of the flange, and enters the lower side of the flange through the slope to project the pressing portion from the opening. A switch button device comprising an electrically insulating elastic plate having a tongue-like portion capable of pressing the cushion plate.   An electrically insulating switch button having a pressing portion and a flange portion having a slope, an exterior cover having an opening for projecting the pressing portion, and a surface covered with the exterior cover and closed by pressing the pressing portion A body having a switch that can be used, a cushion plate that is interposed between the collar and the body and presses the switch button so that the pressing portion protrudes from the opening, the exterior cover, and the cushion A slope that is slidably interposed between the plate and the slidable surface of the collar, and that can press the switch button against the elasticity of the cushion plate to a position where the pressing portion does not protrude from the opening. A switch button device comprising an electrically insulating elastic plate having a tongue-like portion.   The switch button device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a protrusion or groove that can be fitted to a groove or protrusion formed in the tongue-like portion is formed in the flange portion.   Between the main body and the elastic plate, click means is provided that can lock the elastic plate at a position corresponding to a state in which the pressing portion protrudes from the opening and a state in which the pressing portion does not protrude. Item 4. The switch button device according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   A mobile phone comprising the switch button device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   The mobile phone according to claim 5, wherein the elastic plate is moved in conjunction with a switching operation from a non-use state to a use state so that the pressing portion protrudes from the opening.