JP2008186716A - Portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable electronic equipment capable of improving visibility and design of each keytop even in the dark place by suppressing unevenness of illumination on the keytop, while realizing downsizing and thinness of a case. <P>SOLUTION: The portable electronic telephone is provided with a rubber sheet 25 which is installed in a first case 2 and is capable of elastic deformation, a keytop 23 which is fixed on the surface 25a of the rubber sheet 25 and is exposed from the surface of the first case 2 and is capable of pushing down operation, and a light source part 50 which is arranged at a position adjoining the keytop 23 inside the first case 2 and emits light to the outside of the case 2 through the rubber sheet 25. A slanted portion 60 which is inclined opposed to the light source part 50a is formed at the bottom face of the keytop 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), digital cameras, digital video cameras, and notebook personal computers are known.
In this portable electronic device, a plurality of key tops that are exposed from the surface of the casing and can be pressed down are fixed as operation keys on a rubber sheet made of an elastic body such as silicon rubber. In addition, a light source such as a light emitting diode that illuminates from the inside of the housing to the outside of the housing through a rubber sheet is provided so that the operation keys can be operated even in a dark place (for example, see Patent Document 1).

By the way, in such a portable electronic device, for the convenience of pressing the key top, the light source is shifted from directly below the key top and arranged between the adjacent key tops, and the radial light is emitted from one or two light sources. Each key top itself or information such as characters printed on the key top is illuminated by the light emitted from the key top.
JP-A-9-62201

  However, in the conventional portable electronic device, since the light source is arranged at a position shifted from directly below the key top, light is received from only one light source (for example, on the side of the housing surface). In the key top (provided in the above, etc.), as the distance from the light source to the key top increases, there is a problem that unevenness in illumination light occurs.

  That is, since the bottom surface of the key top is formed smoothly (see FIG. 6), a difference in optical path length occurs between the light source and the key top, and the incident angle of light on the key top increases as the distance from the light source increases. Therefore, a difference in the amount of received light occurs. As a result, the information printed on each keytop cannot be sufficiently visually recognized, and the operability of the portable electronic device in a dark place or the like is lowered, and the design is lowered due to uneven brightness. There's a problem.

  Further, in recent years, there has been a demand for further downsizing and thinning of the housing in portable electronic devices, so it is difficult to increase the number of light sources and eliminate the difference in the amount of received light.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and after reducing the size and thickness of the housing, uneven illumination light on the key top is suppressed, and the visibility of each key top is visible even in a dark place. It aims at providing the portable electronic device which can improve property and designability.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
A portable electronic device according to the present invention includes an elastically deformable rubber sheet provided inside a casing, a key top that is fixed to the surface of the rubber sheet and is exposed from the surface of the casing and can be pressed. In a portable electronic device including a light source unit disposed adjacent to the key top inside the housing and emitting light through the rubber sheet outside the housing, the light source is disposed on the bottom surface of the key top. An inclined portion that is inclined to face the portion is formed.

  The portable electronic device according to the present invention is characterized in that the inclined portion is subjected to a light diffusion process for diffusing light emitted from the light source portion.

  Moreover, the portable electronic device according to the present invention is characterized in that the light diffusion treatment is formed on a contact surface of the bottom surface of the key top with the surface of the rubber sheet.

  Moreover, the portable electronic device according to the present invention is characterized in that the light diffusion process is a textured process.

  Further, the portable electronic device according to the present invention is characterized in that the embossing is roughly formed as the distance from the light source portion increases.

  Further, the portable electronic device according to the present invention is characterized in that the embossing is formed more as the distance from the light source portion is increased.

  According to the present invention, since the inclined portion that is inclined to face the light source portion is formed on the bottom surface of the key top, a difference in optical path length to the light source portion can be suppressed even on the same key top. In addition, the amount of light received from the light source unit can be improved by the inclined portion. Therefore, as compared with a conventional case where a key top having a smooth bottom surface is adhered on a rubber sheet, the brightness at the same key top can be made uniform and uneven illumination light can be suppressed. Accordingly, the size and thickness of the casing can be reduced, and the visibility of each key top can be improved even in a dark place, so that the key top can be easily operated and the brightness is uniformed. Therefore, the designability can be improved.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a mobile phone.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state where the first and second housings of the mobile phone are opened to each other.
As shown in FIG. 1, a mobile phone (mobile electronic device) 1 according to the present embodiment includes a first housing 2 and a second housing that can be overlapped in the thickness direction of the first housing 2. A body 3 and a hinge portion 5 that foldably connects the two casings 2 and 3 to each other are provided. The hinge portion 5 is disposed so as to connect the end portions 2a and 3a (hereinafter referred to as the base end portions 2a and 3a) of the two casings 2 and 3 to each other.

  Inside the second housing 3, there are provided a display unit 7 having a display surface 7 a for displaying various information such as characters, symbols, images, etc., and a speaker unit 9 for calling, such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Yes. The display surface 7a of the display unit 7 is exposed outward from the facing surface 3c side of the second housing 3 that faces the first housing 2 in a state where the two housings 2 and 3 are overlapped with each other. ing. The speaker unit 9 is disposed on the distal end portion 3b of the second casing 3 located on the side opposite to the base end 3a, and the second casing 3 extends from the facing surface 3c of the second casing 3. 3 is exposed to the outside through an opening 3d penetrating into the internal space 3.

  A microphone portion 13 is provided on the distal end portion 2 b side of the first housing 2. The microphone unit 13 is used for a call together with the speaker unit 9 described above, and is externally connected through an opening 2d penetrating from the facing surface 2c of the first housing 2 to the internal space of the first housing 2. It is exposed towards. Reference numeral 19 in the figure denotes an antenna for performing wireless communication with the base station.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cellular phone in a state where the first and second casings 2 and 3 are opened to each other, and is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the operation keys and the light source unit. In FIG. 2, the first housing 2 is mainly shown.
As shown in FIG. 2, the first housing 2 includes a key operation unit 11 and a plurality of light source units 50 (50a, 50b).
The key operation unit 11 includes a plurality of operation keys 51a to 51e, 52a to 52e, 53a to 53e, 54a to 54d, 55, 17a, such as a numeric keypad and an end key, a call key, a direction key, a menu key, and a page key. 17b.

  The light source unit 50 (50a, 50b) is formed of a light emitting diode or the like, and each operation key 51a-51e, 52a-52e, 53a-53e, 54a-54d, 55, 17a, 17b itself is formed using light emitted radially. Or it illuminates information such as characters drawn on the surface. The light source unit 50 (50a, 50b) is disposed adjacent to each operation key 51a to 51e, 52a to 52e, 53a to 53e, 54a to 54d, 55, 17a, and 17b so as not to overlap in plan view.

  For example, the light source unit 50a disposed on the base end 2a side of the first housing 2 is disposed between the operation key 55 and the operation key 17a, illuminates the operation key 55, and sets the operation key 17a to 1. It illuminates from the direction. The light source units 50b and 50b arranged on the front end 2b side of the first housing 2 are arranged on the diagonal line of the operation key 51c with the operation key 51c interposed therebetween, and illuminate the operation key 51c from two directions. It is.

3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the operation key 17a taken along line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view. In FIG. 4, only the key top 23 and the light source unit 50a are shown for easy understanding.
Here, the configuration of the operation key that receives light from one direction using the operation key 17a will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the operation key 17a is configured by adhering a key top 23 to a surface 25a of one elastically deformable rubber sheet 25 formed in a thin film shape.
The key top 23 is made of a material that transmits light, and the surface is exposed to the outside through an opening 2 e that penetrates from the facing surface 2 c of the first housing 2 to the internal space.

The rubber sheet 25 is formed so as to transmit light in the thickness direction while diffusing light inside, and is disposed on the surface 27a of the key substrate 27 disposed inside the first housing 2. Yes. A pusher portion 25 c is formed on the back surface of the rubber sheet 25 so as to face the switch pattern 29 formed on the front surface 27 a of the key substrate 27.
The operation key 17 a can be pressed, and when the key top 23 is pressed toward the surface 27 a of the key substrate 27, the rubber sheet 25 is elastically deformed so as to come into contact with the switch pattern 29. It has become. The switch pattern 29 is electrically connected to a control unit (not shown). This configuration is the same for the various operation keys 51a to 51e, 52a to 52e, 53a to 53e, 54a to 54d, 55, and 17b.

  Here, the bottom surface of the key top 23 of the operation key 17 a is formed with an inclined portion 60 that is inclined to face the light source portion 50. The inclined portion 60 is formed from the one side 60 a (light source unit 50 side) of the bottom surface of the key top 23 to the other side 60 b so as to form a depression angle with respect to the surface of the key top 23.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the surface 25 a of the rubber sheet 25 and the adhesive surface 60 c (contact surface) of the inclined portion 60 are subjected to a light diffusion process that diffuses light emitted from the light source unit 50 inside. Yes. In this light diffusion treatment, fine irregularities and the like are formed on the bottom surface of the key top 23. It is preferable that the texture is formed roughly as the distance from the light source unit 50 increases. Furthermore, it is preferable that the density of the texture increases as the distance from the light source unit 50 increases.
The inclined portion 60 is formed at an angle that does not cause the user to feel uncomfortable when pressing the up page key 17a. This configuration is the same for the operation keys 17b and 54a to 54d described above.

Next, the operation will be described. Here, based on FIG. 3, the operation when the operation key 17a is pressed will be described.
First, the light source unit 50a emits light by opening the housings 2 and 3 from the folded state. The light emitted from the light source unit 50a is emitted radially, and the user can visually recognize the information drawn on the surface of the key top 23 through the rubber sheet 25.

  Here, FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a conventional operation key in a portion corresponding to the line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, when the key top 58 is illuminated only by the light from the light source unit 50, the key top 58 is separated from the light source unit 50 if the bottom surface of the key top 58 is formed smoothly as in the prior art. Accordingly, even on the same key top 58, a difference in optical path length occurs between the optical path F ′ to the one side 59a close to the light source unit 50 and the optical path G ′ to the other side 59b. In addition, a large amount of light can be received on one side 59a of the key top 58 close to the light source unit 50, but a difference in the amount of received light occurs because the incident angle α ′ is small on the other side 59b. As a result, the brightness is not uniform even on the same key top 58, and unevenness of illumination light occurs.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, since an inclined portion 60 that is inclined to face the light source portion 50a is formed on the bottom surface of the key top 23, light is emitted from the light source portion 50a and reaches one side 60a of the key top 23. The difference in the optical path length between the optical path F and the optical path G reaching the other side 60b is suppressed. Further, by making the inclined portion 60 face the light source portion 50a, the incident angle α of light on the other side 60b of the key top 23 is increased, and the amount of received light can be secured. Further, a texture is formed in the inclined portion 60 as a light diffusion process, and the texture becomes rough as the distance from the light source unit 50a increases, so that light diffusion on the other side 60b of the key top 23 is improved. Thus, a lot of light can be emitted to the key top 23.

  Therefore, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, since the inclined part 60 which inclines opposite to the light source part 50a is formed in the bottom face of the key top 23, the optical path length of the light to the light source part 50a on the same key top 23 Can be suppressed. In addition, the inclined portion 60 can increase the incident angle of light even on one side 60b of the key top 23 away from the light source 50a, so that the amount of received light can be ensured. Therefore, the brightness between the one side 60a and the other side 60b of the same key top 23 can be increased as compared with the case where the key top 58 having a smooth bottom surface is bonded onto the rubber sheet 25 as in the prior art. Unevenness of illumination light can be suppressed by making it uniform.

Further, a wrinkle is formed as a light diffusion process in which light emitted from the light source unit 50a is diffused inside the inclined surface 60 of the key top 23 and on the adhesive surface 60c with the surface 25a of the rubber sheet 25. As the distance from the light source unit 50a increases, the texture becomes rough and many are formed. Therefore, by adjusting the light diffusibility between the one side 60a and the other side 60b of the key top 23, the unevenness of the illumination light on the same key top 23 can be suppressed.
Accordingly, the mobile phone 1 can be easily reduced in size and thickness, and the key top 17a can be easily operated even in a dark place, and the brightness can be made uniform. Therefore, the designability can be improved.

Next, an operation key that receives light from two directions using the operation key 51c will be described. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 2, and is a cross-sectional view of the operation key 51c.
As shown in FIG. 2, the operation key 51 c provided on the side of the surface 2 c in the first housing 2 includes two light source units 50 b. It is illuminated by the light from 50b.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the operation key 51c that illuminates using the two light source parts 50b and 50b, an inclined part 70 that is inclined to face the light source parts 50b and 50b is formed. The inclined portion is inclined toward the center from both sides 70a and 70b on the diagonal line of the key top 71, and is formed in a V shape in a side view. In addition, a wrinkle is formed on the adhesive surface 70c between the surface 25a of the rubber sheet 25 and the key top 71 as a light diffusion process. The wrinkles are rougher and more densely formed as they move away from the light source portions 50b, 50b, specifically toward the center of the key top 71.
The inclined portion 70 is formed at an angle that does not cause the user to feel uncomfortable when the user presses the operation key 51c, like the operation key 17a described above. This configuration is the same for the operation keys 51a to 51d and 53a to 53d described above.

  Thus, the operation key 51c illuminated using the two light source units 50b and 50b can achieve the same effect as the operation key 17a illuminated using the one light source unit 50a described above. .

  It should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes those in which various modifications are made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, a mobile phone including two casings connected to each other by a hinge portion has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a mobile phone including a single casing may be used. Further, the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, and may be applied to, for example, a PDA, a digital camera, a digital video camera, or a notebook personal computer.

  Furthermore, as long as the optical path length from the light source unit is uniform, the design can be changed as appropriate, such as the formation of a curve, in addition to the inclined unit described above. In addition, the light diffusing process is not textured, but the shape and the like can be changed as appropriate as long as it forms a fine groove on the adhesive surface between the rubber sheet surface and the key top to diffuse light inside. .

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the state which opened the 1st, 2nd housing | casing of the mobile telephone which concerns on embodiment of this invention mutually. It is a top view which shows the state which opened the 1st, 2nd housing | casing of the mobile telephone which concerns on embodiment of this invention mutually. It is an expanded sectional view which follows the AA line of FIG. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of FIG. 3. It is an expanded sectional view which follows the BB line of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view equivalent to the AA line of FIG. 2 in the conventional mobile phone.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile telephone (mobile electronic device) 2 ... 1st housing | casing (casing) 2c ... Opposite surface, 23, 71 ... Key top 25 ... Rubber sheet 50, 50a, 50b ... Light source part 60, 70 ... Inclined part 60c 70c: Adhesive surface (contact surface)

Claims (6)

A rubber sheet provided inside the housing and elastically deformable;
A key top that is fixed to the surface of the rubber sheet and is exposed from the surface of the housing and can be pressed;
In a portable electronic device comprising: a light source unit disposed adjacent to the key top inside the housing and emitting light through the rubber sheet outside the housing;
A portable electronic device, wherein an inclined portion that is inclined to face the light source portion is formed on a bottom surface of the key top.   The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the inclined portion is subjected to a light diffusion process for diffusing light emitted from the light source portion.   The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the light diffusion process is formed on a contact surface of the bottom surface of the key top with the surface of the rubber sheet.   The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the light diffusion process is a textured process.   The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the embossing is roughly formed as the distance from the light source part increases.   6. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the embossing process is formed more as the distance from the light source unit increases.

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