JP2008159346A - Portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To uniformly guide light from a light emitting means to an operation key while making key operation nice in a portable electronic equipment. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of fixed contacts 16 is provided in a print substrate 15 and a plurality of operation keys 7 is arranged for the plurality of fixed contacts 16 in a through hole for keys in a cabinet on a front surface side covering the print substrate 15. An elastic sheet 22 with a plurality of projections 23 projecting to the substrate 15 side in positions corresponding to the plurality of fixed contacts 16 on its inner surface side is provided. An LED emitting light and a conductive sheet 21 receiving the light from the LED and guiding the light to the plurality of operation keys 7 are provided on the print substrate 15 side. A plurality of conductive moving contacts 20 corresponding to the fixed contacts 16 is provided more on the print substrate 15 side than the conductive sheet 21. A sheet for pressurizing 24 is provided to be pressurized against the projections 23 when each operation key 7 is pressed down and the conductive moving contacts 20 are made to carry out conduction to the fixed contacts 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device having an operation key that can be seen in the dark, such as a portable communication device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, portable electronic devices where portability is important have been known to improve the operability while suppressing the height of the operation keys.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a portable electronic device having a key switch that operates by pressing the top, in which the key base portion of the key switch is formed of a resin film sheet having a uniform thickness. Yes.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a key formed of a resin, a stroke member formed of an elastic material and provided immediately below the key, a contactor pressed through the stroke member by pressing the key, and the contact A portable terminal device having an operation button composed of a key switch having electrodes on a substrate to be described is described.

Further, in Patent Document 3, a key sheet on which a plurality of key buttons are formed and a printed circuit board are mounted in a housing having an upper case and a lower case, and an opening for exposing the operation parts of the plurality of key buttons is provided on the upper side. A key input device structure of a portable communication device formed in a case is disclosed. In this key input device structure, a restricting member that restricts the relative displacement of the key sheet with respect to the opening is protruded from the fixed portion adjacent to the key sheet toward the key sheet.
JP 11-329149 A JP 2003-281965 A JP 2006-66157 A

  By the way, in recent years, there are known devices that illuminate operation keys brightly in order to use a portable electronic device in a dark place. In such a case, in order to illuminate all of the plurality of operation keys with a small number of light emitting means (for example, LED lamps), a light guide sheet that guides light of the light emitting means to each operation key is used. Since the light guide sheet uses a material that easily guides light, the light guide sheet has relatively high rigidity and is less likely to bend than a resin film sheet or the like as in the prior art.

  For this reason, for example, when this light guide sheet is arranged on the inner surface side of the stroke member of Patent Document 2, there is a problem that when the operation key is pressed, the light guide sheet is difficult to bend and the operation key moves poorly.

  On the other hand, in order to solve this problem, if an opening is provided in the light guide sheet corresponding to each operation key, there is a problem that a large amount of light leaks from the opening and light unevenness can occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to make the operation keys feel good while uniformly guiding the light from the light emitting means to the operation keys.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a pressing means that is pressed by the protruding portion of the elastic sheet when each operation key is pressed down to electrically connect the conductive movable contact to the fixed contact.

Specifically, in the first invention, a substrate provided with a plurality of fixed contacts,
A housing body that covers the substrate from the surface side and has a key through hole;
A plurality of operation keys arranged corresponding to the plurality of fixed contacts in the key through hole;
An elastic sheet provided on the inner surface side of the plurality of operation keys, and having a plurality of projecting portions projecting toward the substrate side at positions corresponding to the plurality of fixed contacts;
A light emitting means provided on the substrate side of the elastic sheet and emitting light;
A light guide sheet that is provided closer to the substrate than the elastic sheet, receives light from the light emitting means, and guides the light to the plurality of operation keys;
A plurality of conductive movable contacts provided on the substrate side of the light guide sheet so as to correspond to the plurality of fixed contacts;
It is assumed that there is provided pressing means that is pressed by the projecting portion when each of the operation keys is pressed down, and that electrically connects the conductive movable contact to the fixed contact.

  According to the above configuration, since the light guide sheet receives light from the light emitting means and guides the light to the plurality of operation keys, the operation keys can be easily operated even in a dark place. This light guide sheet is relatively rigid and difficult to bend to make it easier to guide light. However, when each operation key is pressed down, the pressing means is pressed by the protruding portion of the elastic sheet, and the pressing force is applied to the conductive movable contact. Therefore, the operability of the operation keys is not deteriorated. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide an opening in a portion of the light guide sheet corresponding to each operation key, and a large amount of light does not leak from the opening and light unevenness cannot occur.

In the second invention, in the first invention,
The said press means shall consist of a sheet | seat for a press each affixed on the back surface side of the said light guide sheet in the position corresponding to each said electroconductive movable contact.

  According to the above configuration, the pressing force is gathered on the pressing sheet when each operation key is pressed by attaching the pressing sheet to the back side of the light guide sheet positioned on the surface of each conductive movable contact. The conductive movable contact is reliably conducted to the fixed contact. By sticking a pressing sheet having a rigidity lower than that of the light guide sheet to the light guide sheet having a particularly high rigidity, a cushion function is achieved, and the touch when the operation key is pressed is improved.

In the third invention, in the second invention,
The light guide sheet is made of polycarbonate,
The pressing sheet is formed by applying an adhesive to a material having rigidity lower than that of polycarbonate.

  According to said structure, since polycarbonate (PC) has high transparency, it is easy to guide the light from a light emission means to each operation key. Further, by making the pressing sheet have a lower rigidity than polycarbonate (for example, polyethylene terephthalate), the touch when the operation key is pressed becomes soft. Further, the pressing sheet is easily attached to the light guide sheet with an adhesive.

In the fourth invention, in the first invention,
The said press means shall consist of the protrusion for a press each integrally provided in the position corresponding to each said electroconductive movable contact on the back surface side of the said light guide sheet.

  According to the above configuration, by providing the pressing protrusion integrally on the back surface side of the light guide sheet located on the surface of each conductive movable contact, the pressing force is applied to the pressing protrusion when each operation key is pressed down. As a result, the conductive movable contact is reliably conducted to the fixed contact. Further, by integrally forming the pressing means on the light guide sheet, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembly steps can be reduced.

In the fifth invention, in the fourth invention,
The light guide sheet is made of polycarbonate,
The pressing protrusion is made of a cured UV curable resin.

  According to said structure, since polycarbonate is highly transparent, it is easy to guide the light from a light emission means to each operation key. Further, the pressing protrusion is formed integrally by irradiating the ultraviolet curable resin with ultraviolet rays, so that it is very easy to mold. Further, by making the pressing protrusions to be lower in rigidity than polycarbonate, the touch when the operation key is pressed becomes soft.

In a sixth invention, in any one of the second to fifth inventions,
Each conductive movable contact is affixed to the back side of the switch sheet,
A contact opening is formed in the switch sheet corresponding to the central portion of each conductive movable contact.

  According to the above configuration, by attaching each conductive movable contact to the back side of the switch sheet, it becomes easy to position the conductive movable contact and the fixed contact, and by providing the contact opening, Since the pressing force of the pressing means is easily applied to the central portion of the conductive movable contact, the feeling of the operation keys is improved. Furthermore, by providing the contact opening, the height is reduced by the thickness of the switch sheet.

In a seventh invention, in the first invention,
Each conductive movable contact is affixed to the back side of the switch sheet,
The pressing means includes pressing protrusions that are integrally provided at positions corresponding to the conductive movable contacts on the surface side of the switch sheet.

  According to said structure, positioning of an electroconductive movable contact and a fixed contact becomes easy by sticking each electroconductive movable contact to the back surface side of the sheet | seat for switches, respectively. In addition, when the pressing protrusion is integrally formed on the surface side of the switch seat located on the surface of each conductive movable contact, the number of parts is reduced, the number of assembly steps is reduced, and each operation key is pressed down In addition, the pressing force is easily transmitted from the protruding portion to the pressing protrusion, and the conductive movable contact is reliably conducted to the fixed contact.

In the eighth invention, in the seventh invention,
The light guide sheet is made of polycarbonate,
The switch sheet is made of polyethylene terephthalate.

  According to said structure, since polycarbonate is highly transparent, it is easy to guide the light from a light emission means to each operation key. Further, since the switch sheet having the pressing protrusion is made of polyethylene terephthalate having a rigidity lower than that of polycarbonate, the touch when the operation key is pressed becomes soft. Furthermore, if it is a polyethylene terephthalate, it will be easy to arrange the white sheet advantageous for reflection efficiency improvement.

In a ninth invention, in any one of the first to eighth inventions,
The peripheral portions of the plurality of operation keys are supported by a stainless steel sheet attached to the elastic sheet.

  According to said structure, while the rigidity of an elastic sheet improves, the light leak from the operation key periphery is prevented reliably.

In a tenth invention, in any one of the first to ninth inventions,
The mobile electronic device is a mobile phone.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to obtain a mobile phone provided with operation keys that are easy to see when the light from the light emitting means is uniformly guided to the operation keys and that is easy to see.

  As described above, according to the first invention, a light guide sheet that receives light from the light emitting means and guides the light to the plurality of operation keys is provided on the substrate side of the elastic sheet, and the light guide sheet is operated. Without providing an opening for improving the performance, when each operation key is pressed down, the pressing force is concentrated on the conductive movable contact by the pressing means so that the conductive movable contact is conducted to the fixed contact. For this reason, it is possible to make the operation key feel good while guiding the light from the light emitting means uniformly to the operation key, so that a portable electronic device with very good appearance and good operability can be obtained.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the pressing sheet is attached to the back side of the light guide sheet at a position corresponding to each conductive movable contact, and the pressing force when each operation key is pressed is collected in the pressing sheet. Thus, the conductive movable contact is conducted to the fixed contact. For this reason, it is possible to make the operation keys feel good while guiding light from the light emitting means uniformly to the operation keys with a simple configuration.

  According to the third aspect, the pressing sheet is made of a material having a lower rigidity than the polycarbonate light guide sheet, and is adhered to the back side of the light guide sheet with the adhesive. For this reason, while being able to affix a sheet | seat for a press to a light guide sheet easily and the touch when an operation key is pressed becomes soft, operativity can be improved further.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the pressing protrusion is integrally provided on the back surface side of the light guide sheet at a position corresponding to each conductive movable contact, and the pressing force when each operation key is pressed is applied to the pressing sheet. Collectively, the conductive movable contact is conducted to the fixed contact. For this reason, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, and the operation key can be made to feel good while the light from the light emitting means is uniformly guided to the operation key with a simple configuration.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the pressing protrusion is formed integrally with the light guide sheet by irradiating the ultraviolet curable resin with ultraviolet rays. For this reason, the pressing protrusion can be formed very easily.

  According to the sixth aspect, since the conductive movable contact is attached to the back side of the switch sheet and unitized, the conductive movable contact and the fixed contact can be accurately and reliably positioned. In addition, by providing a contact opening in the switch sheet, the pressing force of the pressing means is easily applied to the central portion of each conductive movable contact to improve the feel of the operation key and the height of the operation key. Can be reduced. For this reason, a compact portable electronic device with good operability can be obtained.

  According to the seventh aspect, since the conductive movable contact is attached to the back side of the switch sheet to form a unit, the conductive movable contact can be accurately and reliably positioned. Further, the pressing projection is integrally formed on the switch sheet on the surface of the conductive movable contact, and the pressing force when each operation key is depressed is collected in the pressing projection so that the conductive movable contact is conducted to the fixed contact. I have to. For this reason, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, and the operation key can be made to feel good while the light from the light emitting means is uniformly guided to the operation key with a simple configuration.

  According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the polycarbonate having high transparency is used as the light guide sheet, and the switch sheet is made of polyethylene terephthalate having rigidity lower than that of the polycarbonate. For this reason, an operation key having a good appearance and a soft touch can be obtained.

  According to the ninth aspect, the peripheral edges of the plurality of operation keys are supported by the stainless steel sheet attached to the elastic sheet to improve the rigidity of the elastic sheet and prevent light leakage from the light emitting means. . For this reason, a portable electronic device that is hard to break and looks good can be obtained.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the mobile electronic device is a mobile phone, a mobile phone with a high merchantability that allows easy viewing of the operation keys and good operability can be obtained.

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

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a first housing of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention is opened. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the first housing of the mobile phone is closed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the substrate unit. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the board unit. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the stainless steel sheet.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 1 includes a first housing 2 and a second housing 3 that are long in the vertical direction.

  The first casing 2 has a vertically long display unit 5 on the surface thereof that is long in the vertical direction, and a receiver unit 6 is provided on the upper side of the display unit 5. The display unit 5 may be a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

  The second housing 3 has an operation unit 8 including a plurality of operation keys 7 for operating the mobile phone 1. A receiving unit 9 is provided below the operation unit 8. The operation keys are made of a resin material that allows light to pass through and numbers and letters are printed on it.

  The 2nd housing | casing 3 is provided with the surface side cabinet 3a and the back surface side cabinet 3b as a housing | casing main body. The substrate unit 10 provided with the operation unit 8 is sandwiched between the front surface side cabinet 3a and the back surface side cabinet 3b.

  A plurality of (three in this embodiment) key through holes 11, 12, 13 are formed in the front surface side cabinet 3a. For example, a plurality of operation keys 7 made of function keys are arranged in the upper key through-hole 11, and a plurality of operation keys 7 made of number keys are arranged in the center-side key through-hole 12. One operation key 7 is disposed in the lower key through hole 13.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the substrate unit 10 includes a magnesium frame 14 as a rigid frame. A main board 25 for controlling the mobile phone 1 is provided on the back side of the magnesium frame 14. A printed circuit board 15 is provided on the front surface side. The printed circuit board 15 is provided with a plurality of fixed contacts 16 and is connected to the main board 25 on the back surface side. Each operation key 7 is arranged directly above each fixed contact 16. The upper and lower ends of the printed board 15 are provided with LEDs 17 as a pair of light emitting means.

  A switch sheet 18 is attached to the surface side of the printed circuit board 15. The switch sheet 18 is made of, for example, PET (polyethylene terephthalate). Polyethylene terephthalate has the advantage that it is easy to arrange a white sheet that is advantageous for increasing the reflection efficiency. In addition, in order not to block the light of the LED 17, the surface side of the LED 17 is not covered with the switch sheet 18. In the switch sheet 18, contact openings 19 are formed at positions corresponding to the respective fixed contacts 16. A conductive movable contact 20 is disposed in each contact opening 19. The conductive movable contact 20 has a dome shape and is deformed when pressed from the surface side, and is electrically connected to the fixed contact 16. By providing the contact opening 19, it becomes easy to apply a pressing force from the operation key 7 to the central portion of each conductive movable contact 20, and the touch of the operation key 7 is improved. Further, by providing the contact opening 19, the height is reduced by the thickness of the switch sheet 18.

  A light guide sheet 21 that receives light from the LED 17 and guides the light to the plurality of operation keys 7 is provided on the surface side of the switch sheet 18. The light guide sheet 21 is made of polycarbonate (PC). Since polycarbonate is highly transparent, the light from the LED 17 can be easily guided to the operation keys 7. An adhesive is applied to the periphery of the rear surface side of the light guide sheet 21. Thus, the light guide sheet 21 can be easily attached to the printed circuit board 15.

  An elastic sheet 22 made of silicon or elastomer is provided on the surface side of the light guide sheet 21. The operation keys 7 are affixed to the surface side of the elastic sheet 22 corresponding to the fixed contacts 16. A stainless steel sheet 26 (shown in FIG. 6) is provided between each operation key 7 and the elastic sheet 22 in order to increase the rigidity of the elastic sheet 22 and prevent light leakage from the LED 17. For example, the stainless steel sheet 26 is divided into upper and lower parts, and each is attached to the elastic sheet 22. Each operation key 7 applied with an adhesive only from the upper side to the center of each stainless steel sheet 26 is attached. Thus, when the operation key 7 is pressed, the load applied to the peripheral edge thereof is supported by the periphery of the opening 26a of the stainless steel sheet 26, and light is appropriately guided from the opening 26a to the operation key 7. .

  On the back surface side of the elastic sheet 22, a plurality of protrusions 23 that protrude toward the printed circuit board 15 are formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of fixed contacts 16.

  As a feature of the present invention, a pressing sheet 24 as pressing means is attached to the back side of the light guide sheet 21 at a position corresponding to each conductive movable contact 20 with an adhesive or the like. The pressing sheet 24 plays a role of making it easy to transmit the pressing force transmitted to the protruding portion 23 to the conductive movable contact 20 so that the conductive movable contact 20 is electrically connected to the fixed contact 16 when each operation key 7 is pressed down. . The pressing sheet 24 is made of a material having a lower rigidity than polycarbonate (for example, polyethylene terephthalate) formed into a circle. By making the pressing sheet 24 polyethylene terephthalate having rigidity lower than that of polycarbonate, the touch when the operation key 7 is pressed is softened.

-Assembly procedure of mobile phone 1-
First, the fixed contact 16 and the LED 17 are provided on the printed circuit board 15.

  Next, the switch sheet 18 having the conductive movable contact 20 attached to the printed board 15 is attached using an adhesive or the like. At this time, each conductive movable contact 20 is affixed to the back side of the switch sheet 18, so that the conductive movable contact 20 and the fixed contact 16 can be easily positioned.

  Next, the pressing sheet 24 is attached to the light guide sheet 21. For example, although not shown, an adhesive is applied to both sides of the pressing sheet 24, and the pressing sheet 24 is attached to a fixed position of a resin sheet and covered with a film. When the film is peeled, positioned on the light guide sheet 21, and pressed, the pressing sheet 24 is accurately and easily attached to the fixed position by the adhesive.

  Next, the light guide sheet 21 is attached to the printed circuit board 15.

  Next, the printed board 15 is attached to the magnesium frame 14 and connected to the main board 25.

  Next, the elastic sheet 22 to which the stainless steel sheet 26 and the operation key 7 are attached is attached to the magnesium frame 14 from the top of the printed circuit board 15, and the substrate unit 10 is completed.

  Finally, from the upper side of the substrate unit 10, the key through holes 11, 12, and 13 are positioned on the operation key 7, covered with the front surface side cabinet 3a, and sandwiched between the lower side and the back surface side cabinet 3b.

-Action of pressing sheet-Since the light guide sheet 21 receives light from the LED 17 and guides the light to the plurality of operation keys 7, the operation key 7 can be easily operated even in a dark place. The light guide sheet 21 is relatively rigid and difficult to bend in order to easily guide light. However, when each operation key 7 is pressed down, the pressing sheet 24 is pressed by the protruding portion 23 of the elastic sheet 22 and pressed. Since the pressure concentrates on the conductive movable contact 20 and conducts to the fixed contact 16, the operability of the operation key 7 does not deteriorate. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide an opening in the light guide sheet 21 corresponding to each operation key 7, and a large amount of light does not leak from the opening and light unevenness does not occur.

  By sticking the pressing sheet 24 to the back side of the light guide sheet 21 located on the surface of each conductive movable contact 20, when the respective operation keys 7 are pressed down, the pressing force gathers on the pressing sheet 24, The conductive movable contact 20 is reliably conducted to the fixed contact 16. In particular, by attaching a pressing sheet 24 having a lower rigidity than the light guide sheet 21 to the light guide sheet 21 having a high rigidity, a cushion function is achieved, and the feeling when the operation key 7 is pressed is improved. .

-Effect of the embodiment-
Therefore, according to the portable electronic device according to the present embodiment, according to the first invention, the light guide that receives the light from the LED 17 closer to the printed circuit board 15 than the elastic sheet 22 and guides the light to the plurality of operation keys 7 is performed. When the operation keys 7 are pressed down without providing the sheet 21 and the light guide sheet 21 with an opening for improving operability, the pressing force is concentrated on the conductive movable contact 20 by the pressing means. The conductive movable contact 20 is conducted to the fixed contact 16. Therefore, it is possible to make the operation key 7 feel good while uniformly guiding the light from the LED 17 to the operation key 7, so that the cellular phone 1 having a very good appearance and good operability can be obtained.

  The pressing sheet 24 is attached to the back surface side of the light guide sheet 21 at a position corresponding to each conductive movable contact 20, and the pressing force when each operation key 7 is pressed is collected on the pressing sheet 24 to conduct the conductive movement. The contact 20 is electrically connected to the fixed contact 16. For this reason, it is possible to make the operation key 7 feel good while guiding light from the LED 17 uniformly to the operation key 7 with a simple configuration.

  The pressing sheet 24 is made of polyethylene terephthalate having a rigidity lower than that of the polycarbonate light guide sheet 21 and is attached to the back surface side of the light guide sheet 21 with an adhesive. For this reason, the pressing sheet 24 can be easily attached to the light guide sheet 21 and the touch when the operation key 7 is pressed becomes soft, so that the operability can be further improved.

  Since the conductive movable contact 20 is attached to the back side of the switch sheet 18 to form a unit, the conductive movable contact 20 and the fixed contact 16 can be accurately and reliably positioned. Further, by providing the contact opening 19 in the switch sheet 18, the pressing force of the pressing sheet 24 is easily applied to the central portion of each conductive movable contact 20 to improve the feel of the operation key 7. The height of the operation key 7 can be reduced. For this reason, the compact mobile phone 1 with good operability can be obtained.

-Modification 1 of embodiment-
In the above embodiment, the pressing means is separate from the light guide sheet 21 as the pressing sheet 24, but as shown in FIG. 7, the conductive movable contacts 20 are provided on the back side of the light guide sheet 21. It is good also as what consists of the protrusion 124 for a press each provided integrally in the corresponding position.

  Specifically, the pressing protrusion 124 is formed by applying an ultraviolet curable resin to the light guide sheet 21 at a position corresponding to the protruding portion 23 of the elastic sheet 22 and curing it with ultraviolet rays.

  By making the pressing protrusion 124 to be lower in rigidity than polycarbonate, the touch when the operation key 7 is pressed becomes soft.

  In this way, by providing the pressing protrusion 124 integrally on the back surface side of the light guide sheet 21 positioned on the surface of each conductive movable contact 20, the pressing force is pressed when each operation key 7 is pressed down. The conductive movable contact 20 gathers at the protrusion 124 and is reliably conducted to the fixed contact 16. Further, by integrally forming the pressing protrusion 124 on the light guide sheet 21, the number of parts is reduced and the number of assembling steps is reduced.

  Therefore, according to the mobile phone 1 according to the present modification, the pressing protrusion 124 can be formed very simply by forming the pressing protrusion 124 integrally with the light guide sheet 21 by irradiating the ultraviolet curable resin with ultraviolet rays. Can do.

  In addition, pressing protrusions 124 are integrally provided on the back side of the light guide sheet 21 at positions corresponding to the respective conductive movable contacts 20, and the pressing force when the respective operation keys 7 are pressed down is collected on the pressing sheet 24. The conductive movable contact 20 is electrically connected to the fixed contact 16. For this reason, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, and the operation key 7 can be made to feel good while the light from the LED 17 is uniformly guided to the operation key 7 with a simple configuration.

  In this modification, the ultraviolet curable resin is irradiated with ultraviolet rays and integrally formed with the light guide sheet 21, but polyurethane (PU) may be integrally formed.

-Modification 2 of embodiment-
In this modification, as shown in FIG. 8, the pressing means includes pressing protrusions 224 that are integrally provided at positions corresponding to the conductive movable contacts 20 on the surface side of the switch sheet 18. .

  By integrally forming the pressing protrusion 224 on the surface side of the switch sheet 18 positioned on the surface of each conductive movable contact 20, the number of parts is reduced, the number of assembly steps is reduced, and each operation key 7 is depressed. When this occurs, the pressing force collects on the pressing protrusion 224, and the conductive movable contact 20 is reliably conducted to the fixed contact 16.

  Further, the pressing projections 224 are integrally formed on the switch sheet 18 on the surface of the conductive movable contact 20 and the pressing force when the respective operation keys 7 are pushed down is collected in the pressing projections 224 so that the conductive movable contact 20 is provided. The fixed contact 16 is made conductive. For this reason, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, and the operation key 7 can be made to feel good while the light from the LED 17 is uniformly guided to the operation key 7 with a simple configuration.

  Further, since the switch sheet 18 having the pressing protrusion 224 is made of polyethylene terephthalate having a rigidity lower than that of polycarbonate, the touch when the operation key 7 is pressed becomes soft.

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

  That is, in the above embodiment, the mobile electronic device is a mobile phone, but it may be a PHS, PDA, PC, mobile tool, electronic dictionary, calculator, copier, or the like.

  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 portable electronic device such as a portable communication device that can be operated even in the dark by guiding light from a light emitting means to an operation key.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the 1st housing | casing of the mobile telephone concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which closed the 1st housing | casing of the mobile telephone. It is a perspective view which shows a board | substrate unit. It is a disassembled perspective view of a board | substrate unit. It is the VV-line expanded sectional view of FIG. It is a top view of a stainless steel sheet, (a) shows an upper stainless steel sheet and (b) shows a lower stainless steel sheet. FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 according to Modification 1 of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 according to a second modification of the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile phone (mobile electronic device)
3a Front side cabinet (case body)
7 Operation Key 11 Upper Key Through Hole 12 Center Key Through Hole 13 Lower Key Through Hole 15 Printed Circuit Board 16 Fixed Contact 17 LED (Light Emitting Unit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 Switch sheet | seat 19 Contact opening 20 Conductive movable contact 21 Light guide sheet 22 Elastic sheet 23 Protrusion part 24 Press sheet | seat (pressing means)
26 Stainless steel sheet 124 Pressing protrusion (Pressing means)
224 Pressing projection (pressing means)

Claims (10)

A substrate provided with a plurality of fixed contacts;
A housing body that covers the substrate from the surface side and has a key through hole;
A plurality of operation keys arranged corresponding to the plurality of fixed contacts in the key through hole;
An elastic sheet provided on the inner surface side of the plurality of operation keys, and having a plurality of projecting portions projecting toward the substrate side at positions corresponding to the plurality of fixed contacts;
A light emitting means provided on the substrate side of the elastic sheet and emitting light;
A light guide sheet that is provided closer to the substrate than the elastic sheet, receives light from the light emitting means, and guides the light to the plurality of operation keys;
A plurality of conductive movable contacts provided on the substrate side of the light guide sheet so as to correspond to the plurality of fixed contacts;
A portable electronic device, comprising: a pressing unit that is pressed by the protrusion when each of the operation keys is pressed down, and that electrically connects the conductive movable contact to the fixed contact. The portable electronic device according to claim 1,
The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing means is composed of a pressing sheet attached to a back surface side of the light guide sheet at a position corresponding to each of the conductive movable contacts. The portable electronic device according to claim 2,
The light guide sheet is made of polycarbonate,
The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing sheet is formed by applying an adhesive to a material having lower rigidity than polycarbonate. The portable electronic device according to claim 1,
The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing means includes pressing protrusions integrally provided at positions corresponding to the conductive movable contacts on the back side of the light guide sheet. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein
The light guide sheet is made of polycarbonate,
A portable electronic device, wherein the pressing protrusion is made of a cured ultraviolet curable resin. The portable electronic device according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
Each conductive movable contact is affixed to the back side of the switch sheet,
A portable electronic device, wherein a contact opening is formed in the switch sheet corresponding to a central portion of each conductive movable contact. The portable electronic device according to claim 1,
Each conductive movable contact is affixed to the back side of the switch sheet,
The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing means includes pressing protrusions integrally provided at positions corresponding to the conductive movable contacts on the surface side of the switch sheet. The portable electronic device according to claim 7, wherein
The light guide sheet is made of polycarbonate,
The portable electronic device, wherein the switch sheet is made of polyethylene terephthalate. The portable electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The peripheral part of the plurality of operation keys is supported by a stainless steel sheet affixed to the elastic sheet. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the portable electronic device is a cellular phone.

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