JP2009169817A - Electronic appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure operability and then to secure further space inside a body casing without inviting situations in which external dimensions largely increase. <P>SOLUTION: A keyboard unit 40 of a notebook computer to be an electronic appliance includes a plurality of key tops 42 operably disposed on an upper surface of a support panel 41 and a membrane sheet 43 laid between the support panel 41 and the key top 42. In the support panel 41, a stage shape is composed so that an end side panel part 41b positioned at the end of a body casing 10 is positioned above a front side panel part 41a positioned on the front side, and an operation stroke of a low frequency key top 42L disposed at the end side panel part 41b is made shorter than that of a high frequency key top 42H disposed at the front side panel part 41a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus that includes a keyboard unit on an upper surface of a main body housing such as a notebook personal computer and can cover an upper area of the keyboard unit with a lid member.

  As this type of electronic device, for example, a notebook personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as “notebook PC”) as described in Patent Document 1 is well known. This notebook PC is provided with a keyboard unit on the upper surface of the main body casing. The keyboard unit is configured by arranging a plurality of key tops on the upper surface of a support plate serving as a base. In this keyboard unit, when an arbitrary key top is operated, a contact portion corresponding to the key top is turned on, and an input signal corresponding to the key top is output.

  On the other hand, a lid member is swingably supported at the rear edge of the main body casing. The lid member is provided with a liquid crystal display on the surface facing the main body casing.

  In the notebook PC configured as described above, when the lid member is opened with respect to the main body casing, the keyboard unit can be operated, and the liquid crystal display on the lid member can be visually confirmed, and the display information on the liquid crystal display can be confirmed. However, the keyboard unit can be input.

  On the other hand, when the lid member is closed with respect to the main body casing, the keyboard unit is covered with the lid member, and at the same time, the liquid crystal display faces the upper surface of the main body casing. Therefore, in this state, even when the notebook PC is carried, it is possible to prevent a situation where an external force is applied to both the keyboard unit and the liquid crystal display.

JP 11-316647 A

  By the way, in a notebook PC with high functionality as in recent years, it is desirable to secure a space for airflow as a countermeasure against heat generation in addition to a space for housing components in the main body housing. However, if the space for airflow is simply secured, the external dimensions of the main body casing will increase greatly as it is, which may lead to problems such as impaired portability.

  As a method of securing the space inside the main body casing without causing a situation in which the external dimensions of the main body casing are significantly increased, it is conceivable to shorten the operation stroke of the key top. In other words, if the top position of the key top is left as it is and the operation stroke is shortened, the support plate of the keyboard unit can be moved upward without changing the external dimensions, and the bottom plate of the main body casing to the support plate can be moved. It becomes possible to secure a space by increasing the distance. However, the key tops of the keyboard unit, particularly alpha numeric keys, are frequently used by touch typing, and are elements that greatly affect the operability of the notebook PC. Therefore, it cannot be denied that the operability is remarkably impaired in a notebook PC with a shortened operation stroke.

  In view of the above circumstances, the object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device capable of ensuring a further space inside the main body housing while ensuring operability without incurring a situation in which the external dimensions greatly increase. To provide equipment.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a keyboard unit on an upper surface of a main body casing, and a lid member is pivotally supported on a rear side edge of the main body casing. In the electronic apparatus in which the lid member covers the upper area of the keyboard unit when it is swung toward the side, the keyboard unit has a plurality of operably disposed on the upper surface of the support plate serving as a base. It is laid between the key top, the support plate and the key top, and has a contact portion at a portion corresponding to each key top, and the corresponding contact portion is turned on when an arbitrary key top is operated. The back side plate part located in the back of the main body housing in the support plate is configured in a step shape so as to be located above the front side plate part located on the near side. And wherein the Rukoto.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the membrane sheet includes a contact portion corresponding to the key top disposed on the back side plate portion, and a contact portion corresponding to the key top disposed on the front side plate portion. It is desirable to provide a plurality of notches along the step at a portion corresponding to the step between the back side plate portion and the near side plate portion.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the notch is formed in such a manner that the membrane sheet positioned between the contact portions adjacent to each other across the step between the back side plate portion and the front side plate portion is divided. It is desirable.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the holding member that holds the membrane sheet between the upper surface of the support plate is held at a portion of the front side plate portion of the support plate close to the rear side plate portion. desirable.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the clamping member includes a plurality of pressing pieces at a distal end portion of a base portion, and sandwiches a membrane sheet between the base portion and a front side plate portion of the support plate, and It is desirable that the membrane sheet is brought into contact with the upper surface of the rear side plate portion by a plurality of pressing pieces.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the operation stroke of the key top disposed on the back side plate portion is shorter than the operation stroke of the key top disposed on the front side plate portion.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the top surface of the key top disposed on the back side plate portion is positioned above the top surface of the key top disposed on the near side plate portion.

  According to the present invention, the back side plate portion of the support plate constituting the keyboard unit is configured in a step shape so as to be positioned higher than the front side plate portion, and the operation stroke of the key top disposed on the back side plate portion is set to the front side. Because the operating stroke of the key top arranged on the side plate is shorter than that of the key top, a new space is secured on the back side of the main unit casing by the level difference of the support plate without incurring a situation where the external dimensions increase significantly. It becomes possible to do. Moreover, in the keyboard unit, a key top that is not frequently used is arranged on the back side plate portion of the main body housing, while a key top that is frequently used is arranged on the front side plate portion, which is sufficient for a key top that is frequently used. Since the operation stroke can be secured, the operability as an electronic device is not significantly impaired.

  Exemplary embodiments of an electronic device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic apparatus exemplified here is a so-called notebook personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “notebook PC”), and includes a main body housing 10.

  Although not clearly shown in the figure, the main body housing 10 is a thin flat box that accommodates components of a notebook PC such as a CPU, memory, and battery. A lid member 20 is attached to the main body casing 10 at the rear edge.

  The lid member 20 is a thin box having an open front, and is supported by the main body casing 10 via a hinge member 30 so as to be able to open and close with respect to the upper surface of the main body casing 10. . Inside the lid member 20, a display device 22 such as a liquid crystal display is accommodated in such a manner that the display surface 22a is exposed to the outside through the opening 21 on the front surface.

  The lid member 20 exposes the display surface 22a of the display device 22 to the outside and opens the upper surface of the main body casing 10 toward the front side of the main body casing 10 when opened. It becomes a state. On the other hand, when the lid member 20 is closed with respect to the upper surface of the main body housing 10, the entire upper surface of the main body housing 10 is covered with the lid member 20, and at the same time, the display surface 22 a of the display device 22 is covered with the main body housing 10. Will be covered by.

  On the other hand, on the upper surface of the main body housing 10, a palm rest area 11 is secured in a part on the front side, and a keyboard unit 40 is provided in a recess 12 provided in a part far behind the palm rest area 11. .

  The keyboard unit 40 is an input device configured by appropriately arranging a plurality of key tops 42 on the upper surface of a support plate 41. Although not clearly shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, a key top (hereinafter referred to as a distinction) such as an alpha numeric key or the like in the regular area 12a that is about 3/4 from the palm rest area 11 to the back. In this case, the “high frequency key top 42H” is arranged in five rows in the front-rear direction, while the function area is relatively frequently used in the emergency area 12b, which is about 1/4 of the depth away from the palm rest area 11. A keyboard unit 40 in which two low-key tops (hereinafter referred to as “low-frequency key top 42L” when distinguished) are arranged in two lines in the front-rear direction is applied.

  The support plate 41 is a base of the keyboard unit 40, and is configured by a relatively rigid thin plate such as a metal plate. As is apparent from the figure, in the present embodiment, a support plate 41 having a front side plate portion 41a corresponding to the above-described regular region 12a and a back side plate portion 41b corresponding to the emergency region 12b is applied. Yes. The front side plate portion 41a and the back side plate portion 41b each have a flat plate shape, and are connected to each other via the vertical plate portion 41c so that the back side plate portion 41b is positioned above the front side plate portion 41a. It is configured in the shape.

  The key tops 42 are individually movably arranged in a manner of approaching and separating from the support plate 41 by a link mechanism (not shown). The high-frequency key tops 42H arranged on the front side plate portion 41a have the same operation stroke, and each upper surface position is substantially the same as the upper surface of the palm rest region 11 when it is farthest from the upper surface of the front side plate portion 41a. It is comprised so that it may become. On the other hand, the low-frequency key tops 42L arranged on the back side plate portion 41b have the same operation stroke and a smaller operation stroke than the high-frequency key tops 42H arranged on the front side plate portion 41a. The low-frequency key top 42L is configured such that each top surface position is slightly higher than the top surface of the palm rest region 11 when it is farthest from the top surface of the back side plate portion 41b. However, the low-frequency key top 42L arranged on the back side plate portion 41b has a slight gap between the lid member 20 and the lid member 20 even when the lid member 20 is closed with respect to the main body housing 10. It is never manipulated.

  A membrane sheet 43 is laid between the support plate 41 and the key top 42. The membrane sheet 43 is a synthetic resin multilayer thin film member having a sufficient size to cover the front side plate portion 41a and the back side plate portion 41b of the support plate 41, as shown in FIGS. A rubber dome 44 is provided at a portion corresponding to the top 42, and a contact portion 45 is provided at a portion that is a lower region of the rubber dome 44. The rubber dome 44 is a hemispherical member made of an elastic member, and is attached to the upper surface of the membrane sheet 43 so as to protrude upward. The upper end of the rubber dome 44 is in contact with the lower surface of the key top 42. Although not shown in the drawing, the contact portion 45 is configured to include a pair of contacts that are open in the normal state. When pressed, the membrane sheet 43 is elastically deformed, and the contact is Closed and turned on. When the pressing force is removed, the pair of contacts are returned to the open state again by the elastic restoring force of the membrane sheet 43.

  As is apparent from the figure, in the membrane sheet 43, at the boundary between the near side sheet portion 43a laid on the near side plate portion 41a and the back side sheet portion 43b laid on the back side plate portion 41b, the entire width thereof is set. A plurality of slits 46 are provided so as to be in a straight line. The slit 46 is a notch that divides the near side sheet portion 43 a and the back side sheet portion 43 b at a portion corresponding to the vertical plate portion 41 c of the support plate 41 when the membrane sheet 43 is laid on the upper surface of the support plate 41. The slits 46 are arranged so that the lengths along the extending direction of the vertical plate portion 41 c (for example, the left-right direction in FIG. 3) are substantially the same and substantially uniform over the entire width of the membrane sheet 43. is there. The positions where the slits 46 are formed in the width direction of the membrane sheet 43 are at least the contact portions 45 of the near-side sheet portion 43a and the contact portions 45 of the back-side sheet portion 43b that are adjacent to each other across the vertical plate portion 41c of the support plate 41. It is the place which divides between. The slits 46 located on both side edges of the membrane sheet 43 are respectively membrane sheets in order to reduce as much as possible the influence on the other when one side is deformed between the front side sheet part 43a and the back side sheet part 43b. 43 is opened at the side edge. A sub slit 47 is formed in the closed end portion of each slit 46 in a manner orthogonal to the extending direction.

  Although not explicitly shown in the figure, wiring patterns for electrically connecting the front sheet portion 43a and the back sheet portion 43b to the connecting portions 43c located between the slits 46 in the membrane sheet 43, respectively. Is provided. The plurality of connecting portions 43c are preferably configured to be as small as possible in width, and are preferably evenly distributed in the width direction of the membrane sheet 43.

  According to the membrane sheet 43 configured as described above, the front-side sheet portion 43a and the back-side sheet portion 43b are only continuous by the communication portion 43c having a small width. As a result, even when deformation occurs in one of the sheet portions in the vicinity of each other, the influence on the contact portion 45 of the other sheet portion can be reduced as much as possible. In addition, since the width of the connecting portion 43c is sufficiently small compared to the entire width of the membrane sheet 43, a situation in which the deformation of the connecting portion 43c itself affects the front side seat portion 43a and the back side seat portion 43b. It can be reduced as much as possible.

  Accordingly, even when the front side plate portion 41a and the back side plate portion 41b are configured to be stepped by the vertical plate portion 41c as the support plate 41, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIGS. When the portion 43c is appropriately deformed, a step due to the vertical plate portion 41c of the support plate 41 is absorbed, and the front side seat portion 43a and the back side seat portion 43b are both laid on the upper surface of each support plate 41 in a flat state. Will be. In particular, since the slits 46 located on both side edges of the membrane sheet 43 are open to the side edges, the side edge portions of the near side sheet portion 43a and the side edge portions of the back side sheet portion 43b are discontinuous, and each is flat. It becomes easy to maintain the state.

  On the other hand, in the keyboard unit 40 of the present embodiment, a decorative bar (clamping member) 50 is attached from the upper surface to an end edge portion of the front side sheet portion 43a of the membrane sheet 43 that is close to the back side sheet portion 43b. .

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the decorative bar 50 includes a bar main body 51 formed to have a length extending over the entire width of the membrane sheet 43, and the bar main body 51 is connected to the front side sheet portion 43 a of the membrane sheet 43. The front side plate portion 41a of the support plate 41 is supported from the upper surface. In this state, the back side edge portion of the front side seat portion 43a is sandwiched between the bar body 51 of the decorative bar 50 and the support plate 41, and the back side edge portion of the front side seat portion 43a is supported. The situation of separating from the upper surface of the plate 41 is prevented. Further, the decorative bar 50 is configured such that the upper surface of the bar main body 51 is lower than the upper surface of the high-frequency key top 42H. However, the makeup bar 50 is visually and visually separated between the high-frequency key top 42H and the low-frequency key top 42L. It will perform the function of physically partitioning.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the bottom surface of the bar main body 51, through portions 51 a penetrating along the extending direction of the connecting portions 43 c are provided in portions corresponding to the connecting portions 43 c of the membrane sheet 43. The through groove 51 a has a width that can accommodate the corresponding connecting portion 43 c and is formed to have a height larger than the thickness of the connecting portion 43 c, and communicates between the decorative bar 50 and the support plate 41. The portion 43c has a function of allowing the portion 43c to bend upward.

  Further, the decorative bar 50 is provided with a pressing piece 52 at a portion corresponding to the connecting portion 43 c of the membrane sheet 43. The pressing piece 52 protrudes from the upper end of the bar main body 51 toward the back, and is configured to have a length in which each protruding end reaches the upper surface of the back side plate portion 41b. In these pressing pieces 52, the lower surfaces of the projecting end portions are in contact with the upper surface of the membrane sheet 43, and the connecting portion 43c of the membrane sheet 43 and the portion close to the connecting portion 43c in the back side sheet portion 43b are supporting plates. 41 has a function of restricting deformation in a direction away from the rear side plate portion 41b of 41.

  Therefore, according to the keyboard unit 40 including the decorative bar 50, the front side plate portion 41a on which the front side sheet portion 43a of the membrane sheet 43 is laid and the back side plate portion on which the rear side sheet portion 43b of the membrane sheet 43 is laid. Although there is a step between the sheet 41b and each of the sheet portions 43a and 43b, the sheet portions 43a and 43b are surely laid flat along the upper surface of the support plate 41, and the deformation occurring in the sheet portion on one side is the other sheet portion. There is no risk of affecting your work.

  In the notebook PC to which the keyboard unit 40 described above is applied, as shown in FIG. 1, the back side plate portion 41b of the support plate 41 is configured in a step shape so as to be positioned above the front side plate portion 41a, and the back side plate The operation stroke of the low-frequency key top 42L disposed in the portion 41b is shorter than the operation stroke of the high-frequency key top 42H disposed in the front side plate portion 41a. Therefore, it is possible to secure a new space on the back side of the main body housing 10 by the level difference of the support plate 41 without causing a situation in which the external dimensions are greatly increased. More specifically, the portion 10A2 corresponding to the back side plate portion 41b is positioned above the portion 10A1 corresponding to the front side plate portion 41a of the keyboard unit 40 in the upper plate 10A constituting the upper surface of the main body housing 10. And its internal volume can be increased. As a result, for example, a space for airflow can be secured in addition to a space for housing parts, and sufficient heat generation measures can be taken even when applied to recent highly functional notebook PCs. Can be applied.

  Moreover, in the keyboard unit 40, the low frequency key top 42L such as a function key is disposed on the back side plate portion 41b of the main body housing 10, while the high frequency key top 42H such as an alpha numeric key is disposed on the near side plate portion 41a. Thus, a sufficient operation stroke can be secured for the high-frequency key top 42H, and the operability as a notebook PC is not significantly impaired.

  Further, the upper surface of the low frequency key top 42L is positioned above the upper surface of the high frequency key top 42H. Therefore, as the low-frequency key top 42L, it is not necessary to apply the support plate 41 with the operation stroke shortened by an amount corresponding to the level difference between the front side plate portion 41a and the back side plate portion 41b. Nonetheless, the operability is not significantly impaired. In this case, according to the notebook PC, the low-frequency key top 42L is disposed in the emergency area 12b located on the rear side on the upper surface of the main body housing 10, in other words, the lid member 20 is closed. Even when an external force is applied to the outer surface of the lid member 20 in the state, the low-frequency key top 42L is disposed in the region where the deformation amount is small. There is no fear of causing a situation of interfering with the 22 display surface 22a.

  In the above-described embodiment, a notebook PC is illustrated. However, a keyboard unit is provided on the upper surface of the main body casing, and the lid is provided when the cover member provided on the rear edge of the main body casing is swung. Any electronic device that covers the upper area of the keyboard unit with a member can be applied to other devices.

  In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of slits 46 are formed in the membrane sheet 43 at portions corresponding to the steps between the rear side plate portion 41b and the front side plate portion 41a of the support plate 41. It is not necessary, if the sheet portion on the other side is not affected when the sheet portion on one side is deformed between the front side sheet portion and the back side sheet portion of the membrane sheet, For example, a number of small holes may be formed in other forms such as perforations in a straight line.

1 is a sectional side view conceptually showing an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part top view of the membrane sheet applied to the electronic device shown in FIG. It is a principal part top view which shows the state which laid the membrane sheet shown in FIG. 2 on the upper surface of the support plate. It is a principal part perspective view of the membrane sheet shown in FIG. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the state which laid the membrane sheet shown in FIG. 2 on the upper surface of the support plate. It is a principal part cross-sectional side view of the keyboard unit applied to the electronic device shown in FIG. It is a principal part cross-sectional side view of the keyboard unit applied to the electronic device shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main body housing | casing 20 Lid member 30 Hinge member 40 Keyboard unit 41 Support plate 41a Front side plate part 41b Back side plate part 41c Vertical plate part 42H High frequency key top 42L Low frequency key top 43 Membrane sheet 43a Front side sheet part 43b Back side sheet 43c Contact 44 Rubber Dome 45 Contact 46 Slit (Notch)
47 Sub-slit 50 Cosmetic bar (clamping member)
51 Bar body 51a Through groove 52 Pressing piece

Claims (7)

A keyboard unit is provided on the upper surface of the main body casing, and a lid member is swingably supported on an inner edge of the main body casing. When the lid member is swung toward the front side, In an electronic device that covers an upper area of the keyboard unit with a lid member,
The keyboard unit is
A plurality of key tops operably disposed on the upper surface of the base support plate;
A membrane sheet that is laid between the support plate and the key top, has a contact portion at a portion corresponding to each key top, and the corresponding contact portion is turned on when an arbitrary key top is operated; An electronic apparatus comprising: a stepped plate so that a back side plate portion located in the back of the main body housing in the support plate is positioned above a front side plate portion located on the near side. The membrane sheet has a contact portion corresponding to the key top disposed on the back side plate portion, and a contact portion corresponding to the key top disposed on the front side plate portion,
The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of notches are provided along a step corresponding to a step between the back side plate portion and the near side plate portion.   The said notch was formed in the mode which parted the membrane sheet located between the contact parts which adjoined each other across the level difference of the back side board part and the near side board part. Electronics.   4. A holding member that holds the membrane sheet between the upper surface of the support plate is held in a portion of the front side plate portion of the support plate close to the rear side plate portion. The electronic device as described in any one of.   The sandwiching member includes a plurality of pressing pieces at a distal end portion of a base portion, and sandwiches the membrane sheet between the base portion and a front side plate portion of the support plate, and the back side plate holds the membrane sheet by the plurality of pressing pieces. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the electronic apparatus is brought into contact with an upper surface of the portion.   6. The operation stroke of the key top disposed on the back side plate portion is shortened from the operation stroke of the key top disposed on the front side plate portion, according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The electronic device described.   The upper surface of the key top disposed on the back side plate portion is positioned higher than the upper surface of the key top disposed on the front side plate portion. The electronic device described.

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