JP2010129324A - Portable electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable electronic device provided with a key input device, which is easy to operate even when a key top is pressed obliquely. <P>SOLUTION: The portable electronic device is provided with the key input device 2. The key input device 2 includes a key substrate 3 having a plurality of pressing switches 31 arranged on a surface thereof; a key rubber 4 disposed to cover the surface of the key substrate 3; and a plurality of key tops 5 for pressing and operating the pressing switches 31, disposed to cover the surface of the key rubber 4. A plurality of projections 41 is formed on the surface of the key rubber 4 respectively corresponding to the plurality of key tops 5. A flat plate-like sheet 6 formed of a material larger in elastic modulus than the material of the key rubber 4 is interposed between the key rubber 4 and the plurality of key tops 5, and the surface of the plurality of projections 41 of the key rubber 4 and the reverse side of the plurality of key tops 5 are fixed to both sides of the flat plate-like sheet 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and more particularly to a portable electronic device characterized by the configuration of a key input device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a key input device is provided in portable electronic devices such as a mobile phone and a PDA (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As shown in FIG. 11, the key input device includes a key board 102 having a plurality of push-type switches 101 provided on the surface, a key rubber 103 provided to cover the surface of the key board 102, and a surface of the key rubber 103. And a plurality of key tops 104 for pressing the pressing switch 101. The key rubber 103 is made of an elastic material such as silicon rubber, and a plurality of protrusions 105 are formed on the surface of the key rubber 103 so as to correspond to the plurality of key tops 104, respectively. The back surface of the key top 104 is fixed.

When the key top 104 is pressed in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the key rubber 103, the protrusion 105 is elastically displaced vertically downward with the surface kept horizontal, and as a result, the key top 104 is pushed in without wobbling. Will be.
JP 2007-207686 A

  However, when the key top 104 is pressed in an oblique direction inclined with respect to the vertical direction, the protrusion 105 is elastically displaced in the lateral direction, and the surface of the protrusion 105 is inclined, as shown by an arrow in FIG. There was a problem that the key top 104 wobbled. If the key top 104 is wobbled, the operability is deteriorated.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 12, it has been proposed to cover a region different from the region where the protrusions 105 are formed on the surface of the key rubber 103 with a single metal plate 106 (see Patent Document 1). . However, since the contact area between the metal plate 106 and the key rubber 103 is small, the problem that the key top 104 wobbles has not been solved.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a portable electronic device having a key input device, which is easy to operate even when a key top is pressed in an oblique direction.

  A portable electronic device according to the present invention includes a key input device (2), and the key input device (2) includes a key board (3) having a plurality of push-type switches (31) disposed on a surface thereof, and the key input device (2). A key rubber (4) disposed over the surface of the key substrate (3), and a plurality of key tops (5) disposed over the surface of the key rubber (4) for pressing the push-type switch (31). ), And a plurality of protrusions (41) are formed on the surface of the key rubber (4) so as to correspond to the plurality of key tops (5).

  In the portable electronic device, a single flat sheet (6) made of a material having a larger elastic coefficient than the material of the key rubber (4) is provided between the key rubber (4) and the plurality of key tops (5). ) And the surfaces of the plurality of protrusions (41) of the key rubber (4) and the back surfaces of the plurality of key tops (5) are fixed to both surfaces of the sheet (6).

  In a specific configuration, the elastic coefficient of the flat sheet (6) is 60 MPa or more and 70 MPa or less. For example, the sheet (6) is made of any material of urethane, polyethylene terephthalate, and polycarbonate.

  According to the portable electronic device, the flat sheet (6) is made of a material having a larger elastic coefficient than the material of the key rubber (4), and thus is less likely to expand and contract than the key rubber (4). Therefore, the flat sheet (6) is resistant to deformation in the lateral direction. As a result, even when the key top (5) is pressed obliquely, the area of the pressed flat sheet (6) is mainly It will be displaced vertically downward. Therefore, even when the key top (5) is pressed in an oblique direction, the key top (5) is less likely to wobble and the operability is good.

In another specific configuration, a light emitting element (7) is provided on the surface of the key substrate (3), and the flat sheet (6) is made of a light-transmitting material.
According to this specific configuration, the key top (5) can be illuminated from the back surface using light emitted from the light emitting element (7). As a result, it is possible to visually recognize the mark on the surface of the key top (5) even in a dark place.

  More specifically, the flat sheet (6) has a light reflecting surface in a region between adjacent key tops (5). Thereby, it is possible to prevent light emitted from the light emitting element (7) from leaking between the adjacent key tops (5). As a result, the light of the light emitting element (7) is transmitted to the key top (5). It becomes easy to be led to the back side.

  According to the portable electronic device according to the present invention, even when the key top is pressed in an oblique direction, the key top is less likely to wobble and the operability is good.

Hereinafter, embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a mobile phone will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
A mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 1 and a key input device 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As for the main body 1, the outer peripheral surface is formed of the main body cabinet 14, and the main body cabinet 14 is comprised from the surface cabinet 141 and the back surface cabinet 142 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, inside the main body cabinet 14, a display device 11 for displaying characters input by the key input device 2, a microphone 12 for capturing sound, and a speaker for outputting sound. (Not shown) etc. are deployed. The front cabinet 141 is formed with a sound collecting hole 121 for guiding external sound to the microphone 12 and a sound emitting hole 122 for guiding sound from the speaker to the outside one by one.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a main part related to the key input device 2 in the cross section (FIG. 4) along the line IV-IV shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the key input device 2 includes a key board 3 having a plurality of dome-shaped push switches 31 provided on the surface, a key rubber 4 provided to cover the surface of the key board 3, and a key rubber. 4 includes a plurality of key tops 5 that are disposed so as to cover the surface of 4 and operate to press the pressing switch 31, and a flat sheet 6.
The key input device 2 is arranged in the cabinet body 14 so that the key top 5 can be pressed from the cabinet surface 141 side. The surface of the key top 5 is marked with letters such as letters and numbers.

  A plurality of pairs of protrusions 41 and 42 are formed on the front and back surfaces of the key rubber 4, and each pair of protrusions 41 and 42 is disposed at a position facing each other. The plurality of protrusions 41 formed on the surface of the key rubber 4 respectively correspond to the plurality of key tops 5, and the plurality of protrusions 42 formed on the back surface of the key rubber 4 respectively correspond to the plurality of push-type switches 31. It corresponds to.

  As a result, the plurality of key tops 5 and the plurality of push-type switches 31 are associated with each other, and the corresponding key tops 5 and the push-type switches 31 are positioned so as to overlap each other via the pair of protrusions 41 and 42. Will be placed. Therefore, when a plurality of key tops 5 are arranged in a matrix as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of push-type switches 31 are also arranged in a matrix as shown in FIG. It becomes.

  The flat sheet 6 is interposed between the key rubber 4 and the plurality of key tops 5. On both surfaces of the flat sheet 6, the surfaces of the plurality of protrusions 41 of the key rubber 4 and the back surfaces of the plurality of key tops 5 are provided. Is fixed.

  Further, the flat sheet 6 is made of a material having a larger elastic coefficient than the material of the key rubber 4 and having translucency. Specifically, the elastic coefficient of the flat sheet 6 is 60 MPa or more and 70 MPa or less, and the material of the flat sheet 6 is, for example, urethane, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, or the like.

  According to the mobile phone described above, the flat sheet 6 is made of a material having a larger elastic coefficient than the material of the key rubber 4, and therefore is less likely to expand and contract than the key rubber 4. Therefore, the flat sheet 6 is resistant to lateral deformation, and as a result, even when the key top 5 is pressed obliquely, the area of the pressed flat sheet 6 is mainly displaced vertically downward. It becomes. Therefore, even when the key top 5 is pressed in an oblique direction, the key top 5 is less likely to wobble and has good operability.

  Furthermore, in the mobile phone according to the present embodiment, a configuration is employed in which the mark on the surface of the key top 5 is illuminated even in a dark place so as to be visible. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) 7 are mounted on the surface of the key substrate 3 at positions between adjacent key tops 5.

  As described above, since the key rubber 4 and the flat sheet 6 are made of a light-transmitting material, the light emitted from the LED 7 can reach the back surface of the key top 5. Will be illuminated by light.

However, with the configuration as described above, the LED 7 is disposed between the adjacent key tops 5, so that the light generated from the LED 7 leaks from between the key tops 5 to the outside.
Therefore, in the telephone set according to the present embodiment, as shown by hatching in FIG. 10, the flat sheet 6 has a back surface that can reflect light to an area between adjacent key tops 5 ( A reflection portion 61 having a light reflection surface is formed by printing.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a reflective sheet 8 having a white surface capable of reflecting light is provided on the surface of the key substrate 3, and the reflective sheet 8 is disposed on the surface of the key substrate 3. Of these, a region different from the region where the LEDs are arranged is covered.

  According to such a configuration, the light emitted from the LED 6 does not leak to the outside from between the key tops 5. In addition, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 9, the light emitted from the LED 6 is reflected by the reflecting portion 61 and the reflecting sheet 8 of the flat sheet 6, so that the light is easily guided to the back surface of the key top 5. . FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the main part related to the configuration for illuminating the mark of the key top 5 in the cross-section (FIG. 8) along the line VIII-VIII shown in FIG.

  In addition, each part structure of this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the technical scope as described in a claim. For example, the technology described above can be applied not only to a cellular phone but also to various portable electronic devices having a key input device such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

  Further, the elastic coefficient of the flat sheet 6 is not limited to the above-described range, and an appropriate value larger than the elastic coefficient of the key rubber 4 can be adopted. Further, the material of the flat sheet 6 is not limited to the above-described material, and various materials can be used.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the LED is used as the light emitting element mounted on the surface of the key substrate 3, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various light emitting elements may be used.

1 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the top view which looked at this mobile telephone from the surface side. It is a disassembled perspective view of this mobile phone. It is sectional drawing which follows the IV-IV line | wire shown by FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a V region shown in FIG. 4. It is a top view which shows the arrangement | sequence of a some key top. FIG. 3 is a plan view in which a part of the mobile phone is broken. It is sectional drawing which follows the VIII-VIII line shown by FIG. It is an enlarged view of IX area | region shown by FIG. It is a top view which shows the reflection part currently printed on the flat sheet. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the conventional mobile telephone. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of the conventional mobile telephone.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Key input device 3 Key board 31 Push type switch 4 Key rubber 41 Protrusion part 5 Key top 6 Flat sheet 61 Reflection part 7 LED
8 Reflective sheet

Claims (5)

The key input device includes a key board having a plurality of push-type switches provided on a surface thereof, a key rubber provided to cover the surface of the key board, and a key rubber provided to cover the surface of the key rubber. A portable electronic device comprising a plurality of key tops for pressing the push-type switch, and a plurality of protrusions formed on the surface of the key rubber corresponding to each of the plurality of key tops. In the equipment,
Between the key rubber and the plurality of key tops, a single flat sheet made of a material having a larger elastic coefficient than the material of the key rubber is interposed, and a plurality of protrusions of the key rubber are formed on both sides of the sheet. A portable electronic device, wherein a front surface and back surfaces of the plurality of key tops are fixed.   The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein an elastic coefficient of the flat sheet is 60 MPa or more and 70 MPa or less.   The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the flat sheet is made of any material of urethane, polyethylene terephthalate, and polycarbonate.   The portable electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a light emitting element is provided on a surface of the key substrate, and the flat sheet is made of a light-transmitting material.   The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the flat sheet has a light reflecting surface formed in a region between adjacent key tops.

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