JP2006352414A - Portable communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a flange and a step from producing sound by being brought into contact with each other after operation keys are pressed or when vibration is applied while maintaining a gap between the flange and the step, and also, to prevent the occurrence of variations in height between the operation keys. <P>SOLUTION: The operation key 14 is arranged in a through-hole 12 for a key of a case body 10 covering a substrate 7 from the surface side, so that the flange 15 is hidden under the step 13 provided to the inner face at the peripheral edge of the through-hole 12 for a key. An elastic sheet 16 has a protrusion 18 for allowing a conductive movable contact 22 to be conductive with a fixed contact 23 on the substrate 7, when the operation key 14 is depressed to the inner face side of the operation key 14. A gap is formed between the step 13 and the flange 15 by providing a rib 25 (a depressing means) for depressing the elastic sheet 16 closer to the outer peripheral side than the step 13 of the through-hole 12 for a key. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone having a plurality of operation keys.

  Conventionally, as this type of portable communication device, for example, a device such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, this portable communication device covers the substrate 107 from the surface side, and is disposed in the case main body 110 having a plurality of key through holes 112 and the key through holes 112. An operation key 114 having a flange 115 that sinks into a step 113 provided on the inner surface of the peripheral edge of the key through hole 112, and an electrically conductive movable contact 122 provided on the inner surface side of the operation key 114 when the operation key 114 is depressed. And an elastic sheet 116 having a protruding portion 118 that conducts to a fixed contact 123 on the substrate 107.
JP 2003-281965 A (FIGS. 4 and 5)

  However, in the conventional portable communication device, the operation key 114 does not always push down the movable contact 122, and the flange 115 of the operation key 114 pushed back to the movable contact 122 after pressing the operation key 114 penetrates the key. A gap S is provided between the flange 115 and the step portion 113 so as not to contact the step portion 113 of the hole 112. This gap S is kept to some extent in order to absorb a plate thickness error of the substrate 107 and the like.

  For this reason, when the portable communication device is held and shaken, there is a problem that the flange 115 comes into contact with the stepped portion 113 to make a sound.

  Further, there is a problem that the height of the surface of the operation key 114 varies after the operation key 114 is attached due to an error in the thickness of the substrate 107 and the appearance is poor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the object of the present invention is to maintain the clearance between the flange and the stepped portion, and press the operation key or when vibration is applied. And the stepped portion are in contact with each other to prevent the sound from being produced and to prevent variations in the height of the operation keys.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a pressing means for pressing down the elastic sheet is provided on the outer peripheral side of the step portion of the key through hole.

Specifically, in the first invention, a housing body that covers the substrate from the surface side and has a plurality of key through holes,
An operation key having a flange that is disposed in the key through-hole and sinks into a step portion provided on the inner surface of the peripheral edge of the key through-hole;
An elastic sheet provided on the inner surface side of the operation key, and having a protruding portion that conducts the conductive movable contact to the fixed contact on the substrate when the operation key is depressed;
A pressing means provided on the outer peripheral side than the step portion of the key through-hole, and pressing down the elastic sheet;
A gap is formed between the stepped portion and the flange.

  According to the above configuration, the operation key does not continue to push the movable contact at normal time because the flange of the operation key is inserted into the step portion of the peripheral portion of the key through hole while keeping a gap. Further, since the elastic sheet is pushed down by the pressing means and pulled to the substrate side with a predetermined force, even if the operation key is pushed down and then pushed back to the movable contact, or even if vibration is applied by shaking the mobile communication device, the flange will be stepped. There is no contact with the part.

  In the second invention, the pressing means is a rib provided on the housing body so as to protrude toward the substrate side along the peripheral edge of the key through hole.

  According to said structure, the press means which pushes down an elastic sheet appropriately can be obtained only by providing a rib in a housing body.

  In the third invention, the pressing means is a rib provided on the elastic sheet so as to protrude toward the housing body along the peripheral edge of the key through hole.

  According to said structure, the press means which pushes down an elastic sheet appropriately can be obtained only by providing a rib in an elastic sheet.

  In the fourth invention, the rib is formed discontinuously.

  According to said structure, an elastic sheet is pulled to the board | substrate side with appropriate force.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the flange of the operation key is inserted into the step portion of the peripheral portion of the through hole for the key so as to keep a gap, and the elastic sheet is pushed down by the pressing means. . For this reason, it is possible to prevent the operation key from being pressed all the time, and when the mobile communication device is shaken, the flange comes into contact with the stepped portion and a sound is generated or the height of the operation key varies. Can be prevented.

  According to the second aspect, the elastic sheet is pushed down by the rib provided on the housing body side. According to the third aspect, the elastic sheet is pushed down by the rib provided on the elastic sheet side. According to these inventions, it is possible to prevent the operation key from being constantly pressed with a simple and inexpensive configuration, and when the mobile communication device is shaken, the flange comes into contact with the stepped portion and a sound is generated. The key height can be prevented from varying.

  According to the fourth aspect, by forming the ribs discontinuously, the elastic sheet can be appropriately bent and pulled to the substrate side with an optimum force. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the operation key from being constantly pressed more reliably, and when the mobile communication device is shaken, the flange comes into contact with the stepped portion and a sound is produced or the height of the operation key varies. Can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a mobile phone 1 as a mobile communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the cellular phone 1 includes a first casing 3 having a liquid crystal display unit 2, a second casing 5 having an operation unit 4 on the surface, and the first casing 3 and the second casing 5. And a hinge portion 6 that can be folded and opened. As shown in FIG. 2, a substrate 7 is provided in the second housing 5.

  The second housing 5 is made of a resin molded product, and includes a housing body 10 on the front surface side and a back cover 11 that covers the back surface side of the housing body 10. The housing body 10 covers the substrate 7 from the surface side and has a plurality of key through holes 12.

  An operation key 14 is disposed in each of the key through holes 12. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a stepped portion 13 that is recessed toward the surface side is formed on the inner surface of the peripheral portion of the key through hole 12. The operation key 14 is made of a resin molded product, and has a flange 15 that sinks into the step portion 13 while maintaining a predetermined gap S (S = 0.1 to 0.15 mm in the present embodiment).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the operation key 14 is attached to a rubber elastic sheet 16 with an adhesive 17 or the like. As shown also in FIG. 2, the elastic sheet 16 includes, for example, a truncated cone-shaped projecting portion 18 that projects toward the substrate 7 directly below the operation key 14. In a region where each protrusion 18 is not disposed, a plurality of contact portions 19 that are higher than the protrusions 18 and contact the substrate 7 are provided to protrude toward the substrate 7 side. Thus, a space 21 (shown only in FIG. 4) is formed between the elastic sheet 16 and the substrate 7 in a state where the contact portion 19 is in contact with the substrate 7. The elastic sheet 16 has a plurality of mounting holes 16 a at the periphery thereof, and the elastic sheet 16 is attached to the housing body 10 by fitting the mounting holes 16 a into mounting protrusions 10 a protruding from the back surface of the housing body 10. It is supposed to be.

  For example, the elastic sheet 16 is substantially translucent, the center portion of the operation key 14 is transparent, and the flange 15 does not transmit light, so that the center of the operation key 14 is brightened by the backlight, and the flange 15, it is also possible to prevent leakage of light from the backlight from the lower side of the operation key 14.

  On the other hand, the substrate 7 is provided with a movable contact 22 that protrudes in a mountain shape toward the surface side and has a circular force in plan view. A fixed contact 23 is provided on the back side of the movable contact 22. In a state where the operation key 14 is not depressed, the protruding portion 18 hardly abuts against the movable contact 22 or is slightly abutted with a force that does not depress the movable contact 22.

  When the operation key 14 is pushed down, the projecting portion 18 pushes down the conductive movable contact 22, so that the movable contact 22 is electrically connected to the fixed contact 23, and an input to the substrate 7 is performed by each operation key 14. It has become. The operation key 14 is pushed back by the movable contact 22 when the user lifts his / her finger.

  As a feature of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, ribs as pressing means are provided on the outer peripheral side of the step portion 13 of the key through hole 12 so as to protrude toward the substrate 7 side. 25 is provided. In the present embodiment, the rib 25 is divided into four parts and arranged so as to surround the key through hole 12.

  The elastic sheet 16 is pushed down to the substrate 7 side by the ribs 25, and a predetermined stress is applied to the contact portion, and the elastic sheet 16 is bent to the substrate 7 side. Specifically, the height of the rib 25 is such that the protrusion 18 does not always press the movable contact 22, and the flange 15 of the operation key 14 forms a gap S in the step portion 13 at the peripheral portion of the key through hole 12. It is set to a height that keeps you dive.

-Action-
Next, the operation of the rib 25 of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the elastic sheet 16 is fitted into the housing body 10.

  Next, the substrate 7 is attached so that the surface side of the substrate 7 contacts the elastic sheet 16.

  Then, the flange 15 of the operation key 14 keeps the gap S in the step portion 13 at the peripheral portion of the key through hole 12 in a state where the contact portion 19 of the elastic sheet 16 contacts the substrate 7 and the space 21 is formed. As a result, the gap 25 is formed between the step portion 13 and the flange 15 while the rib 25 of the housing body 10 pushes down the elastic sheet 16 and pulls it toward the substrate 7 with a predetermined force.

  Finally, the back cover 11 is attached.

  By assembling in this way, even if the operation key 14 does not continue to press the movable contact 22 at the normal time, and is pushed back to the movable contact 22 after the operation key 14 is depressed, or even if vibration is applied by shaking the mobile phone 1 Since the elastic sheet 16 is pulled by the rib 25, the flange 15 does not come into contact with the step portion 13.

-Effect of the embodiment-
Therefore, according to the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment, the flange 15 of the operation key 14 is caused to sink into the step 13 of the peripheral portion of the key through hole 12 so as to maintain the gap S, and the elastic sheet 16 is pushed down by the rib 25. Like that. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the operation key 14 from being pressed all the time, and when the mobile phone 1 is shaken, the flange 15 comes into contact with the step portion 13 to make a sound or the height of the operation key 14 varies. Can be prevented.

  In addition, by pressing down the elastic sheet 16 with the rib 25 provided on the housing body 10, it is possible to prevent the operation key 14 from being constantly pressed with a simple and inexpensive configuration, and when the mobile phone 1 is shaken. In addition, it is possible to prevent the flange 15 from coming into contact with the stepped portion 13 to make a sound or the height of the operation key 14 to vary.

  Further, since the ribs 25 are formed discontinuously, the elastic sheet 16 can be appropriately bent and pulled toward the substrate 7 with an optimum force. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the operation key 14 from being constantly pressed more reliably. Further, when the mobile phone 1 is shaken, the flange 15 comes into contact with the step portion 13 and sounds. It is possible to prevent variation.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention may be configured as follows with respect to the above embodiment.

  That is, in the above embodiment, as the pressing means, the rib 25 is provided on the casing body 10 so as to protrude toward the substrate 7, but the rib 25 is provided on the elastic sheet 16 so as to protrude toward the casing body 10. May be. In this case, since the rib 25 on the elastic sheet 16 side contacts the inner surface of the peripheral edge of the key through hole 12, the elastic sheet 16 is pulled downward as in the above embodiment. As a result, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

  In addition, the above embodiment is an essentially preferable illustration, Comprising: It does not intend restrict | limiting the range of this invention, its application thing, or a use.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone having a plurality of operation keys.

1 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the 2nd housing | casing from the back side. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the through-hole for keys. It is side sectional drawing which expands and shows an operation key and its periphery. It is side sectional drawing which expands and shows a rib and its periphery. It is a perspective view which expands and shows an elastic sheet and an operation key. It is side sectional drawing which expands and shows the operation key of a prior art, and its periphery. It is side sectional drawing which expands and shows the rib of an operation key, and its periphery.

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile phone (mobile communication equipment)
7 Substrate 10 Housing Body 12 Key Through Hole 13 Step 14 Operation Key 15 Flange 16 Elastic Sheet 18 Protruding Portion 22 Movable Contact 23 Fixed Contact 25 Rib (Pressing Unit)
S clearance

Claims (4)

A housing body that covers the substrate from the surface side and has a plurality of key through holes;
An operation key having a flange that is disposed in the key through-hole and sinks into a step portion provided on the inner surface of the peripheral edge of the key through-hole;
An elastic sheet provided on the inner surface side of the operation key, and having a protruding portion that conducts the conductive movable contact to the fixed contact on the substrate when the operation key is depressed;
A pressing means provided on the outer peripheral side than the step portion of the key through-hole, and pressing down the elastic sheet;
A portable communication device, wherein a gap is formed between the stepped portion and the flange. The mobile communication device according to claim 1,
The portable communication device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing means is a rib provided on the casing body so as to protrude toward the substrate side along the peripheral edge of the key through hole. The mobile communication device according to claim 1,
The portable communication device, wherein the pressing means is a rib provided on the elastic sheet so as to protrude toward the housing body along the peripheral edge of the key through hole. The portable communication device according to claim 2 or 3,
The said rib is formed discontinuously, The portable communication apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

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