JP2012138254A - Keyboard switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyboard switch having a cushioning material reducing interference sounds and having high durability.SOLUTION: A keyboard switch 1 comprises a key top 2 for receiving a pressing force of an operator; a plunger 3 coupled to a lower part of the key top 2 and moving upward and downward together with the key top 2; a cup rubber 4 arranged on a lower side of the plunger 3 and supporting the plunger 3 from below; a housing 5 covering the plunger 3 and the cup rubber 4; and a cushioning material 6 arranged between the plunger 3 and the housing 5. The cushioning material 6 is provided between a top face of the plunger 3 and an upper position restraining wall 53a of the housing 5, and the cushioning material 6 is formed into a double layer structure of a first layer (PET resin layer 61) and a second layer (urethan foam layer 62). The first layer has hardness larger than that of the second layer.

Description

  The present invention relates to a keyboard switch used in an input device for inputting information to an electronic device.

  Conventionally, as a keyboard switch used in an input device for inputting information to an electronic device or the like, for example, one described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-52333 (Patent Document 1) has been proposed. In this keyboard switch, the noise of the keyboard switch during operation is reduced by using a sound deadening material (buffer material) made of rubber.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-52333

  However, since the sound deadening material used in Patent Document 1 described above is made of rubber, there is a problem that it is easily deteriorated by long-term use and has low durability.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard switch having a shock-absorbing material that reduces interference noise and has high durability. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, a keyboard switch according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a key top that receives a pressing force from an operator, and a plan that is coupled to a lower portion of the key top and moves up and down together with the key top. A jar, a cup rubber disposed below the plunger and supporting the plunger from below, a housing covering the plunger and the cup rubber, and the plunger and the housing. A buffer material, and the housing is provided with an upper position regulating wall portion that abuts on the upper surface of the plunger and regulates the upper position when the plunger is raised, and the buffer material is provided on the upper surface of the plunger. And the upper position regulating wall portion of the housing, and the cushioning material is formed in a two-layer structure from a first layer and a second layer, and the first layer is Than the second layer, wherein the hardness is large.

  A keyboard switch according to a second aspect of the present invention is the keyboard switch according to the first aspect, wherein the first layer of the cushioning material is made of PET resin and the second layer is made of foamed urethane. Features.

  The keyboard switch according to a third aspect of the present invention is the keyboard switch according to the first or second aspect, wherein the cushioning material moves up and down together with the plunger, and the first layer is on the upper side. The two layers are arranged so as to be on the lower side.

  A keyboard switch according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the keyboard switch according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the second layer is formed thicker than the first layer. It is characterized by.

  A keyboard switch according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the keyboard switch according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the plunger extends upward to engage the key top. The shock absorbing material is formed in an annular shape, and is inserted into the tubular portion of the plunger.

  According to the keyboard switch of the present invention described in claim 1, since the cushioning material is interposed between the plunger and the upper position restriction wall portion in the housing, the upper surface of the plunger and the upper position restriction wall portion of the housing are separated from each other. Interference sound generated when hitting can be effectively reduced by the cushioning material.

  Moreover, the buffer material formed in the two-layer structure of the first layer and the second layer reduces the interference sound by the second layer, and suppresses the decrease in the durability of the second layer by the first layer. can do. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a keyboard switch that has high durability and can reduce interference sound.

  According to the keyboard switch of the present invention described in claim 2, since the cushioning material is made of PET resin and urethane foam, it is possible to further reduce interference noise and suppress a decrease in durability.

  According to the keyboard switch of the present invention described in claim 3, since the cushioning material moves up and down together with the plunger, the first layer is arranged on the upper side and the second layer is arranged on the lower side. When moving up and down, the first layer hits the upper position regulating wall portion of the housing. And the durability of the cushioning material can be effectively improved by arranging the first layer having high hardness on the upper side so as to hit the position regulating wall portion.

  According to the keyboard switch of the present invention described in claim 4, the second layer that controls interference sound is thickened to increase the sound reduction effect, and the first layer that controls durability is made thin. Thus, the thickness of the entire cushioning material can be reduced.

  According to the keyboard switch of the present invention described in claim 5, since the cushioning material is formed in an annular shape, the cushioning material can be assembled by a simple operation of inserting the cushioning material into the cylindrical portion of the plunger.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the keyboard switch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. In this figure, (a) is a sectional view of the assembled keyboard switch, and (b) is a plan view of (a) viewed from above, but the key top and the housing are omitted. It is a partial cross section perspective view of the shock absorbing material which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of a keyboard switch according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  A keyboard switch according to an embodiment of the present invention is used for an input device (for example, a keyboard) for inputting information to an electronic device.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the keyboard switch 1 supports a key top 2 that receives a pressing force from an operator, a plunger 3 that is coupled to the lower portion of the key top 2, and the plunger 3 from below. A cup rubber 4, a housing 5 that covers the plunger 3 and the cup rubber 4, and a cushioning material 6 disposed between the plunger 3 and the housing 5 are provided.

  The key top 2 is formed of a material such as synthetic resin, and is integrally formed from a key top main body portion 22 whose outer peripheral shape is formed in a truncated pyramid shape and a plunger connecting cylinder portion 21 that is connected to the plunger 3. Has been. The plunger connecting cylinder portion 21 has a cylindrical shape, and is formed with a connecting groove portion 23 that engages with a connecting protrusion 33 (see FIG. 2B) described later. The upper surface of the key top main body 22 is formed on the pressing surface 24, and is formed in a shape in which the lateral width dimension gradually increases from the pressing surface 24 downward (housing 5 side) in a side view. Further, although the pressing surface 24 is formed flat, the central portion may be formed in an arc shape that is recessed downward so that the operator can easily press it with a finger.

  The plunger 3 is made of a material such as a synthetic resin and moves up and down together with the key top 2. The plunger 3 includes a pressing contact portion 31 whose back side (lower side) contacts the cup rubber 4, and a key top connecting cylinder portion that extends upward (key top 2 side) and engages the key top 2. (Cylindrical part) 32 and are integrally formed. In the pressing contact portion 31, a pair of claw portions 34 that contact the side position restriction wall portion 53b of the position restriction wall portion 53 extend downward. When the key top 2 receives a pressing force, the claw portion 34 moves downward and the claw portion tip portion 35 comes into contact with the cup rubber 4. The key top connecting cylinder part (cylindrical part) 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the plunger connecting cylinder part 21 is inserted into the key top connecting cylinder part 32. As shown in FIG. 2B, a connecting projection 33 is formed inside the keytop connecting cylinder portion 32 so as to protrude to the inner peripheral side. As described above, the connecting projection 33 is inserted into the connecting groove 23 when the plunger connecting cylinder 21 and the plunger 3 are connected, so that the rotation of the plunger connecting cylinder 21 is restricted. Can do.

  The cup rubber 4 is formed of elastic rubber or the like and is disposed below the plunger 3. The cup rubber 4 includes a pressing portion 41 that receives a downward pressing force from the pressing contact portion 31, a flexible support leg 42 that bends and deforms downward when receiving the pressing force, and a keyboard circuit board (not shown). And a base portion 43 that is in contact with the base. The pressing portion 41 has a circular shape in a top view, and moves to the base portion 43 side when receiving a downward pressing force from the pressing contact portion 31. When the pressing portion 41 receives a pressing force from the pressing contact portion 31, the flexible support leg portion 42 is bent and deformed toward the base portion 43 side. The base portion 43 has a quadrangular shape when viewed from above, and is fixed by fixing means (not shown) while being sandwiched between the keyboard circuit board and the lower end of the lower end cylindrical portion 52 of the housing 5.

  In addition, a switch mechanism (not shown) is disposed on the surface of the keyboard circuit board facing the inner peripheral portion of the flexible support leg 42. When the pressing contact portion 31 is pressed with a pressing force equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it can be detected that the key is pressed by the switch mechanism. As the switch mechanism, any switch mechanism such as a contactless capacitance switch or a contacted membrane switch can be applied.

  The housing 5 is formed of a material such as synthetic resin, and includes a main body cylinder portion 51 into which the key top connection cylinder portion 32 is inserted together with the plunger connection cylinder portion 21 and a lower end cylinder portion 52 provided at the lower end portion. And an upper position restricting wall portion 53a that contacts the upper surface of the plunger 3 when the plunger 3 moves up, and a side position restricting wall that engages the claw portion 34 of the plunger 3 to restrict the lateral position. Part 53b. The position restricting wall 53 includes an upper position restricting wall 53a and a side position restricting wall 53b. The main body cylinder part 51 has a cylindrical shape, and the key top connection cylinder part 32 holding the plunger connection cylinder part 21 is inserted therein. The plunger connecting cylinder part 21 and the key top connecting cylinder part 32 move up and down (slide) inside the main body cylinder part 51 based on the pressing operation from the operator.

  The buffer material 6 is disposed between the pressing contact portion 31 of the plunger 3 and the upper position restricting wall portion 53a of the position restricting wall portion 53, and is formed in an annular shape (ring shape) in plan view.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the buffer material 6 has a two-layer structure of a PET resin layer (first layer) 61 and a urethane foam layer (second layer) 62. The buffer material 6 is formed with a thickness A (see FIG. 2A) of about 0.5 mm and a ring width B (see FIG. 2B) of about 1.2 mm. It is not limited to these dimensions. Further, the inner diameter of the buffer material 6 is formed to be approximately the same as the inner diameter of the plunger connecting cylinder portion 21. Furthermore, the buffer material 6 moves up and down together with the plunger 3 and has a two-layer structure so that the PET resin layer (first layer) 61 is on the upper side and the urethane foam layer (second layer) 62 is on the lower side. Is formed.

  The PET resin layer 61 is made of a resin having a hardness higher than that of the foamed urethane layer 62, and the thickness D of the foamed urethane layer 62 is formed to be thicker than the thickness C of the PET resin layer 61 (FIG. 2A). FIG. 3). The foamed urethane layer 62 is made of foamed urethane having a hardness lower than that of the PET resin, and the thickness D of the foamed urethane layer 62 is formed to be thicker than the thickness C of the PET resin layer 61 (FIG. 2A). (See FIG. 3).

  Next, a procedure for assembling the keyboard switch according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plunger 3 is disposed above the cup rubber 4.

  Next, the cushioning material 6 formed in an annular shape is inserted into the key top connecting cylinder portion 32 of the plunger 3. At that time, the PET resin layer 61 (first layer) is disposed on the upper side (key top side) and the urethane foam layer 62 (second layer) is disposed on the lower side (cup rubber 4 side). By inserting the cushioning material 6 into the key top connecting cylinder portion 32, the cushioning material 6 moves up and down together with the plunger 3.

  Then, after surrounding the buffer material 6, the plunger 3, and the cup rubber 4 with the housing 5, the key top 2 is coupled to the plunger 3. Specifically, the coupling projection 23 of the plunger 3 housed in the housing 5 is inserted into the coupling groove 23 provided in the plunger coupling cylinder portion 21 of the key top 2 to be coupled.

  Next, operational effects according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  (1) A keyboard switch 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a key top 2 that receives a pressing force from an operator, a plunger 3 that is coupled to a lower portion of the key top 2 and moves up and down together with the key top 2, and a plan. A cup rubber 4 disposed below the jar 3 and supporting the plunger 3 from below, a housing 5 covering the plunger 3 and the cup rubber 4, and an intervening space between the plunger 3 and the housing 5. The housing 5 is provided with an upper position regulating wall portion 53a that abuts on the upper surface of the plunger 3 to regulate the upper position when the plunger 3 is raised. Is interposed between the upper surface of the plunger 3 and the upper position restricting wall portion 53a of the housing 5, and the cushioning material 6 includes a first layer (PET resin layer 61) and a second layer (foamed urethane layer). Is formed 2) and a two-layer structure, the first layer (PET resin layer 61), the hardness is larger than the second layer (foam urethane layer 62).

  Therefore, it is possible to reduce the interference sound generated when the upper surface of the plunger 3 and the upper position restricting wall portion 53a of the housing 5 hit each other by the buffer material 6. With this buffer material 6, it is possible to reduce a keystroke sound of, for example, about 7 dB. Further, since the buffer material 6 is formed in a two-layer structure from the first layer (PET resin layer 61) and the second layer (foamed urethane layer 62), the second layer (foamed urethane layer 62). Thus, the interference noise can be reduced, and the first layer (PET resin layer 61) can suppress a decrease in durability of the second layer (foamed urethane layer 62).

  (2) Since the first layer of the cushioning material 6 is made of PET resin and the second layer is made of foamed urethane, interference noise can be further reduced and durability can be further improved.

  (3) The cushioning material 6 moves up and down together with the plunger 3, and is arranged so that the PET resin (first layer) 61 is on the upper side and the urethane foam layer (second layer) 62 is on the lower side. Therefore, the lowering of the durability of the buffer material 6 can be effectively suppressed by arranging the PET resin layer 61 having a high hardness on the upper side so as to hit the upper position regulating wall portion 53a.

  (4) The urethane foam layer (second layer) 62 is formed thicker than the PET resin layer (first layer) 61. Therefore, the thickness of the entire cushioning material 6 is reduced by increasing the thickness of the urethane foam layer 62 that controls interference noise and maintaining the sound reduction effect high, and by reducing the thickness of the PET resin layer 61 that controls durability. Can do.

  (5) Furthermore, since the shock absorbing material 6 is formed in an annular shape, the shock absorbing material 6 can be assembled by a simple operation of inserting it into the cylindrical portion (key top connecting tube portion 32) of the plunger 3.

  (6) Furthermore, the durability of the cushioning material 6 can be effectively improved by disposing the PET resin layer 61 having a high hardness on the upper side that contacts the upper position regulating wall portion 53a.

  (7) Moreover, since the buffer material 6 is formed in an annular shape, it can be assembled by a simple operation of inserting it into the key top connecting cylinder portion 32 of the plunger 3. For this reason, by improving the assembly workability, the number of assembly steps can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  (8) When the housing 5 and the key top 2 are coupled, the coupling protrusion 33 is inserted into the coupling groove 23, so that the rotation of the plunger coupling cylinder portion 21 is restricted. Therefore, even when the pressing force is received from the key top 2, the keyboard switch 1 does not rotate and the high-quality keyboard switch 1 can be provided.

  The keyboard switch of the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration of each part may be replaced with an arbitrary configuration having the same function. it can.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the buffer material 6 has been described with respect to the case where the first layer is made of the PET resin layer 61 and the second layer is made of the foamed urethane layer 62. If the material has a hardness higher than that of the second layer, the materials of the first layer and the second layer can be appropriately changed.

  Moreover, although the buffer material 6 demonstrated the case where it inserted in the cylindrical part (key top connection cylinder part 32) of the plunger 3, a cylindrical part is formed in the housing 5 side, and it inserts in this cylindrical part Alternatively, the cushioning material 6 may be bonded to the housing 5 via a bonding agent.

  The present invention is extremely useful in providing a keyboard switch with reduced interference sound and improved durability.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Keyboard switch 2 Key top 3 Plunger 4 Cup rubber 5 Housing 6 Cushioning material 21 Plunger connection cylinder part 22 Key top main-body part 23 Connection groove part 24 Press surface 31 Press contact part 32 Key top connection cylinder part (cylindrical part)
33 connecting protrusion 34 claw part 35 claw part tip part 41 pressing part 42 flexible support leg part 43 base part 51 main body cylinder part 52 lower end cylinder part 53a upper position restriction wall part 61 PET resin layer (first layer)
62 Urethane foam layer (second layer)

Claims (5)

A key top that receives a pressing force from an operator, a plunger that is coupled to the lower portion of the key top and moves up and down together with the key top, and is disposed below the plunger, and supports the plunger from below. A cup rubber, a housing that covers the plunger and the cup rubber, and a cushioning material disposed between the plunger and the housing,
The housing is provided with an upper position restricting wall portion that abuts on the upper surface of the plunger and restricts the upper position when the plunger is raised, and the cushioning material includes the upper surface of the plunger and the upper position restricting wall of the housing. Between the two parts,
The buffer material is formed of a first layer and a second layer in a two-layer structure, and the first layer has a hardness higher than that of the second layer.   The keyboard switch according to claim 1, wherein the first layer of the cushioning material is made of PET resin, and the second layer is made of foamed urethane.   3. The keyboard switch according to claim 1, wherein the cushioning material moves up and down together with the plunger, and is arranged such that the first layer is on the upper side and the second layer is on the lower side. 4.   The keyboard switch according to claim 1, wherein the second layer is formed thicker than the first layer.   The plunger has a cylindrical portion that extends upward and engages with a key top, and the cushioning material is formed in an annular shape and is inserted into the cylindrical portion of the plunger. The keyboard switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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