JP3216060B2 - Illuminated rubber key with photoluminescence - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a compact light source which is convenient for use at night or in a dark place as a key for various mobile communications such as a cellular phone or a car phone, or as an electronic notepad or various terminal keys. The present invention relates to an illuminated rubber key by luminescence.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The inventor of the present invention has previously described a sheet-shaped non-operating portion 1.
a and an operating portion 1b formed of one having or not having a click operation swelling out of the non-operating portion is formed of a translucent elastomer 10, and the remaining portion except for the flat upper surface of the operating portion is formed. Forming a non-light-transmitting light-shielding layer 11 on each surface of the working part and the non-working part, and forming a colored light-transmitting printing layer 12 on a flat upper surface of the working part; An illuminated key in which a printed character printed layer 13 of numbers, symbols, etc. is formed on the upper surface and a transparent conductive film is formed on the back surface of the operating section has been developed (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 4-251898).

[0003]

The invention according to the above-mentioned application uses an average of 6 to 10 light emitting diodes (LEDs) as a light source to illuminate a blank character portion such as a numeral or a symbol. In addition, there is a drawback that the load on the battery is large and the battery is greatly consumed. Also, since the light source (LED) and the illuminated portion (key printing surface) are far apart, it is very difficult to design a lighting that uniformly illuminates the entire key on which characters and the like are displayed. In addition, LED on the printed board,
Since a large number of various mounting components such as LED drive ICs and registers are set, circuit design is more difficult. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a light emitting diode (LE) as a light source.
Photoluminescence which does not use D) at all and utilizes a luminescence generated by light excitation so that a key portion displaying characters and the like for a long time can uniformly emit light at night or in a dark place. An object of the present invention is to provide an illuminated rubber key with sense.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided an illuminated rubber key by photoluminescence which comprises a non-translucent rubber pad integrally formed with a working part and a non-working part. phosphorescent coating of oxides fixation formed, phosphorescent coating of oxide
Uses high-purity alumina as the main material and mixes rare earth elements
A phosphorescent pigment containing ceramics sintered by
A positive or negative character print layer is formed on the upper surface of the luminous coating film. The illuminated rubber key by photoluminescence according to the present invention is a non-translucent rubber pad in which an operating part and a non-operating part are integrally formed. And the phosphorescent coating film of the oxide is
Using high-purity alumina as the main raw material and mixing rare earth elements
A phosphorescent pigment containing sintered ceramics , provided with a translucent keytop having a positive or negative blank character printing layer formed on the upper surface of the phosphorescent coating film on the back surface. Then, an oxide luminous coating is fixedly formed on the upper surface of the non-translucent rubber pad in which the operating portion and the non-operating portion are integrally formed, and the oxide luminous coating has a high purity. alumina
Ceramics made of
A phosphorescent pigment containing a box, the phosphorescent coating on the formed light-transmitting key - is obtained by forming a positive or outline character print layer of the negative to the top upper surface.

[0005]

The luminous pigment of an oxide is stimulated by light in a wide range of wavelengths such as indoor lighting or sunlight, has a large ability to store light energy, and has a long saturation time of the energy. In a dark place or at night, the light emitted by light excitation does not lose its luminance even after a long time (eight hours), and the light is transmitted through the positive or negative blank character portion of the character print layer displayed in the key portion. Characters and the like clearly appear in the eyes and can be fully recognized. In addition, since the rubber pad in which the operating portion and the non-operating portion are integrally formed does not need to use a light-transmitting material, each of the flat upper surface of the operating portion except for the character portion and its periphery and the non-operating portion is not required. There is no need for any troublesome work such as covering the surface with a non-light-transmitting light-shielding layer.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an illuminated rubber key by photoluminescence showing one embodiment of the present invention. Numeral 1 denotes a non-light-transmitting material such as a non-light-transmitting material such as black silicone rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, or a thermoplastic elastomer such as polyester or polyimide. This is a keypad formed in the above. In this example, the operating portion 1b is formed by a flat bulging portion 1c whose upper portion bulges from the upper surface of the non-operating portion 1a and a projecting portion 1d whose central portion on the back surface projects downward, but is not necessarily limited to this. Although not shown, the operating portion 1b is supported by a thin skirt bulging upward from an upper portion, a middle portion, or a lower portion of the side surface of the non-operating portion 1a. Either the case where the thin skirt portion makes a click movement or not when the switch is turned on and off is included.

Reference numeral 2 denotes an oxide luminous coating film formed on the flat upper surface 1e of the operating portion 1b. Oxide phosphorescent coating 2 shape
For the formation, a phosphorescent pigment containing ceramics obtained by mixing and sintering a rare earth element with high purity alumina as a main material is used, and is formed by an ink or a paint containing the phosphorescent pigment. For sulfides and organic substances, the persistence time is short,
Not practical. The luminous pigment of the oxide used here has a large ability to store light energy, emits light continuously for several hours or more even when the light is turned off, and has a luminance such that characters displayed on the key can be clearly seen. It is provided. The binder of the ink or the paint prevents the phosphorescent coating film 2 of the oxide from peeling off from the operating portion 1b after being dried and solidified. For example, when the key pad 1 is made of silicon rubber, the same kind of silicon rubber or different urethane is used. Use the system.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a positive or negative character printing layer formed on the upper surface of the oxide phosphorescent coating film 2. That is, non-light-transmitting negative printing, such as black characters, in which the character portion is a blank character, or positive printing reverse thereto, or a combination of the negative printing and light-transmitting colored printing may be used. The positive or negative character printing layer 3 is printed on the back surface of a transparent or translucent key top 4 with a binder having an adhesive property with the key top 4. Thus, the key top 4 and the operating portion 1b are composed of the luminous coating film 2 and the printed character printing layer 3 made of oxide.
Is firmly adhered through.

In this embodiment, a transparent or translucent key top 4 is used.
However, the present invention is not limited to this case. The key top 4 is not provided, and the upper surface of the printed character printing layer 3 is covered with a transparent protective cover (not shown). Alternatively, an oxide luminous coating film 2 is interposed between the operating portion 1b and the key top 4, and a blank character print layer 3 is formed on the upper surface of the key top 4, and the character print layer 3 is protected by a protective cover ( (Not shown). In the figure, 5
Denotes a metal bubble switch that protrudes so as to abut on the protruding portion 1d on the back surface of the operating portion 1b, and 6 denotes a printed board.

[0010]

According to the present invention, as can be seen from the above description,
Since there is no need to use a light source such as an LED at all, there is no need to consider battery consumption. In addition, a large number of various mounting components such as LEDs, LED drive ICs, registers, etc. are set on the printed circuit board. However, the circuit design can be made without considering the mounting position of the power supply, and circuit design is easy. In addition, the present invention provides an integrated
An oxide luminous coating is fixedly formed on the upper surface of the operating portion of the formed non-translucent rubber pad, and the luminous coating of the oxide is high.
High-purity alumina is the main raw material, mixed with rare earth elements
A phosphorescent pigment containing sintered ceramics, in which a positive or negative character printing layer is formed on the upper surface of the phosphorescent coating film, and the phosphorescent pigment is directly in contact with the character printing layer. In a dark place or at night, the characters and the like displayed in-can be radiated in a clear state over a long period of time, and uniformly.

In particular, since the phosphorescent coating film of an oxide uses a high-purity alumina as a main raw material and a phosphorescent pigment containing a ceramic mixed with a rare earth element and sintered, it can be used for indoor lighting lamps or sunlight rays. It is stimulated by light in a wide wavelength range, has a large ability to store light energy, and has a long saturation time of the energy. Therefore, in a dark place or at night, light emission caused by light excitation takes a long time (eight hours). Even if the luminance does not decrease, the emitted light will pass through the positive or negative character portion of the character printing layer displayed in the key portion, and the characters and the like will clearly appear on the eyes, and can be sufficiently visually recognized. In addition, since the rubber pad in which the operating portion and the non-operating portion are integrally formed does not need to use a light-transmitting material, each of the flat upper surface of the operating portion except for the character portion and its periphery and the non-operating portion is not required. There is no need for any troublesome work such as covering the surface with a non-light-transmitting light-shielding layer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of an illuminated rubber key by photoluminescence showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Key pad 1a Non-operation part 1b Operation part 2 Luminous coating film of oxide 3 Character printing layer 4 Key top

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An oxide phosphorescent coating is fixedly formed on an upper surface of a non-translucent rubber pad integrally formed with an active portion and a non-active portion, the oxide phosphorescent coating. Is high purity Al
Sera that is made from sinter, with rare earth elements as the main raw material
An illuminating rubbery by photoluminescence, comprising a luminous pigment containing a mix , wherein a positive or negative character printing layer is formed on the upper surface of the luminous coating film. Wherein the working portion and a non-operating portion formed integrally impermeable light of mule - on the upper surface of the operating portion of the pad, a phosphorescent coating of oxides fixed form, phosphorescent coating of oxide Is high purity Al
Sera that is made from sinter, with rare earth elements as the main raw material
A phosphorescent pigment containing a mix, translucent key has a positive or negative outline character print layer formed on the upper surface of the accumulating light coating on the rear surface - according to claim 1, characterized in that a top Illuminated rubber key by photoluminescence. Wherein the working portion and a non-operating portion formed integrally impermeable light of mule - on the upper surface of the operating portion of the pad, a phosphorescent coating of oxides fixed form, phosphorescent coating of oxide Is high purity Al
Sera that is made from sinter, with rare earth elements as the main raw material
A phosphorescent pigment containing a mix, translucent key formed on the phosphorescent coating - claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the formation of the outline character print layer of positive or negative to the top upper surface
Illuminated rubber with the described photoluminescence.