JP3225171B2 - keyboard - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

This invention comprises a plurality of keys,
The present invention relates to a keyboard that generates a signal by touching each of these keys.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The function of each key of a keyboard may differ depending on the software used.

For example, some keyboards used in electronic toll scales are one-touch keyboards in which one key can be used to input a corresponding product number. By changing the product group handled by such a keyboard (by the page function), the product number corresponding to each key of the keyboard can be changed.

Accordingly, one key has a plurality of functions (
For example, since the corresponding product number) corresponds, it is not possible to print a display indicating the function of each key (the corresponding product number) directly on the key. Further, even if a display for identifying anything is not printed or a display such as a number is simply printed, it is difficult to find a key of a desired function from a large number of keys.

Therefore, a display indicating the function of each key corresponding to the arrangement of each key (corresponding product name)
A plurality of replaceable replacement key sheets on which () is printed are used.

That is, when changing the product group to be handled, the replacement key sheet may be replaced with a replacement key sheet corresponding to a desired product group. And if you touch the part of the product name printed on this replacement key sheet by hand,
The user touches the key located immediately below the product name via the replacement key sheet, and the product number corresponding to the key, that is, the product number corresponding to the product name touched by hand is input.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show three examples of the schematic structure of a conventional keyboard. In the first example shown in FIG. 3, a rectangular flexible transparent protective sheet 1 is placed on a portion of a keyboard 2 where keys are arranged, and a protective sheet outside the portion where the keys are arranged is provided. 3 out of 1 end
The side 3 is bonded and fixed with an adhesive, and the remaining side 4 is opened to form a bag shape, and the replacement key sheet 5 is inserted / removed from the opened side 4 as shown by a dotted arrow in the figure. Things.

In a second example shown in FIG. 4, a rectangular flexible transparent protective sheet 6 is placed on a portion of the keyboard 2 where keys are arranged, and is placed outside the portion where the keys are arranged. One side 7 of the end of a certain protective sheet 1 is bonded and fixed with an adhesive, the remaining three sides are opened, and the transparent protective sheet 1 is lifted to replace the replacement key sheet 5 with a dotted arrow in the figure. Then, the replacement key sheet 5 is inserted and detached.

In a third example shown in FIG. 5, a cover 8 composed of a rectangular flexible transparent protective sheet and a frame holding the protective sheet is attached to a portion of the keyboard 2 where keys are arranged. The storage key 9 is detachably provided in a storage frame 9 provided outside the storage key 9, the replacement key sheet 5 is stored in the storage frame 9, and the cover 8 is attached to the storage frame 9 as shown by a dotted arrow in the figure. It is.

[0010]

In the above-mentioned conventional keyboard, for example, in the keyboard shown in FIGS.
Since the adhesive is used, the transparent protective sheet 5 cannot be removed, so that it is difficult to clean, and dust is accumulated near the adhesive portion of the protective sheet 5 due to the adhesive, so it is difficult to remove and the appearance is poor. There was a problem.

There is another problem that the replacement of the protective sheet 5 is not easy when the transparent protective sheet 5 is deteriorated or damaged.

Further, in the case of FIG. 3, if moisture exists inside the protective sheet, there is a problem that insertion and removal of the replacement key sheet 5 becomes difficult.

On the other hand, in FIG. 5, since the cover 8 can be removed, the cleaning and insertion and removal of the replacement key sheet 5 are easy, but it takes time and effort to remove the cover 8 and burdens the user. There was a problem of becoming.

Further, there is a problem that components such as the frame body of the cover 8 and the storage frame 9 are required, and the cost is high.

Therefore, the present invention provides a keyboard which is inexpensive, can be easily cleaned, can easily insert and remove a replacement key sheet without removing a transparent protective sheet, and can easily exchange the protective sheet. The purpose is to provide.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a keyboard having a plurality of keys and generating a signal by a contact action on each of the keys. Mounting hole, a transparent protective sheet having a through-hole formed at a position corresponding to the mounting hole, and a protective sheet attached to one side portion while being detachably attached to the mounting hole through the through-hole of the protective sheet. Replacement key, which is inserted between the mounting member to be energized, the portion where the keys are arranged, and the protective sheet, and is formed with graphics such as characters and marks corresponding to the contents indicated by each key in accordance with the key arrangement. And a sheet.

[0017]

In the present invention having such a configuration, the attachment member is attached to the attachment hole formed on one side of the keyboard through the through hole of the transparent protection sheet, and urges the protection sheet toward the one side.

A replacement key sheet is interposed between the protection sheet and the portion where the keys of the keyboard are arranged.
The replacement key sheet is protected by the protection sheet.

In the protective sheet, since the portion where the through hole is formed is fixed only to one side of the keyboard,
The other parts are open and open in the direction away from the keyboard without removing the protection sheet, and insert or remove the replacement key sheet.

The replacement of the protective sheet is performed by attaching and detaching the mounting member.

Further, the keyboard is cleaned by removing the replacement key sheet and removing the mounting member and the protection sheet, thereby exposing the portion where the keys of the keyboard are arranged.

Further, an attaching member is required, but the attaching member has a simple structure that can be detachably attached to the attaching hole, and can be inexpensive.

[0023]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an assembly view showing a main part of a keyboard to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a main part of the keyboard.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a rectangular keyboard body having a plurality of keys. Mounting holes 13-1, 13-2, and 13-3 (hereinafter referred to as all mounting holes) at three locations arranged on the upper side outside the portion where the plurality of keys 12 of the keyboard body 11 are arranged. 13) is formed.

The portion where the key 12 is arranged and the portion where the mounting hole 13 is formed are a storage portion 14 in which the surface of the keyboard main body 11 is formed in a concave shape one step lower than other portions. The plurality of keys 12
Is disposed at the bottom of the storage section 14.

The upper surface of each of the mounting holes 13 is
Replacement key sheet 15 and protection sheet 1 from the bottom height of 4
6 is formed at least as high as the total thickness. Also,
At the lower end side of the storage part 14, locking parts 14-1 and 14-2 protruding toward the storage part 14 are formed at two places.

The replacement key sheet 15 has a mark 16 composed of characters or the like corresponding to the arrangement of the keys 12 of the keyboard body 11 printed on the surface thereof, and the upper end thereof corresponds to the mounting holes 13. Groove 17-1, 17-2,
17-3 (hereinafter referred to as "17" when referring to all the flutes) is formed at its lower end, and is engaged with the lower end of the storage portion 14 and protrudes outward for finger picking. A part 18 is formed.

The protective sheet 16 is formed of a highly flexible and transparent resin sheet, and has through holes 19-1, 19-2, 19-3 (hereinafter, all through holes) corresponding to the mounting holes 13. At the lower end thereof, a protective sheet engaging portion 20 is formed, which is engaged with the lower end of the housing portion 14 and protrudes outward for picking with a finger. The inner diameter of the through hole 19 is substantially the same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the mounting hole 13.

The locking portions 14-1 and 14-2 formed at two places on the lower end side of the storage portion 14 are locked at the lower ends of the replacement key sheet 15 and the protection sheet 16.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a snap band as a mounting member, which is a snap band 22-1, 22-2, 22-3 (hereinafter referred to as "22" when all snaps are indicated) which can be attached to and detached from the mounting hole 13 with a single touch. ) Is formed integrally with the band 23.

Each snap 22 of the snap band 21
Are attached to the respective mounting holes 13 of the keyboard main body 11 through the respective through holes 19 of the protection sheet 16,
The protection sheet 6 does not come off, and the portion (upper end portion) where the through hole 19 is formed is fixed.

In this embodiment having such a structure, first, the protective sheet 16 is stored in the storage portion 14 of the keyboard body 11.
Is stored, and each snap 22 of the snap band 21 is attached to the attachment hole 13 through the through hole 19 of the protection sheet 16 with one touch.

In this state, the through holes 19 of the protection sheet 16 are
When the opposite side (lower end portion) of the portion where the is formed is lifted, the space between the protection sheet 16 and the keyboard body 11 is largely opened, and the replacement key sheet 15 is easily inserted.

The replacement key sheet 15 is inserted into the groove 17 of the replacement key sheet 15 through the mounting hole 13 of the keyboard body 11. After the replacement key sheet 15 is inserted, the protection sheet 16 is lowered to the keyboard body 11 and the lower end of the protection sheet 14 is inserted under the locking portions 14-1 and 14-2. It doesn't move easily and is protected from moisture and dust.

By performing the procedure reverse to the above, the replacement key sheet 15 is extracted.

When the protection sheet 16 is replaced, the protection sheet 16 can be easily removed by lifting the snap band 21 with a finger or the like, and the protection sheet 16 is easily replaced. After that, the protective sheet 16 is fixed by mounting the snap band 21 on the mounting hole 13 again after placing the protective sheet 16 on the storage portion 14.

When the keyboard body 11 is to be cleaned, the snap band 21 is removed, and the protective sheet 16 and the replacement key sheet 15 are removed together. When the cleaning is completed, the protection sheet 16 and the replacement key sheet are attached together, and the snap band 21 is attached.
Is attached, the protection sheet 16 is fixed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the three mounting holes 1 formed on the outer upper side of the portion where the key 12 is arranged are provided.
3, a protective sheet 16 having a through hole 19 formed corresponding to the mounting hole 13 and a snap band 21 attached to the mounting hole 13 through the through hole 19 of the protective sheet 16. If the snap band 21 is removed, the protection sheet 16 and the replacement key sheet 15 can be easily inserted and removed. Therefore, cleaning can be easily performed, the protection sheet 16 can be easily replaced, and the protection sheet 16 can be easily replaced.
Since the upper end of the key sheet 12 is fixed to the mounting hole 13, the space for insertion and removal of the key 12 from the upper surface of the key 12 is greatly opened just by lifting the protection sheet 16, and the insertion and removal of the replacement key sheet 15 is easy. Can be. Also,
The above-described effects can be obtained with an inexpensive configuration in which only the snap band 21 is provided.

In this embodiment, the snap band 21 in which three snaps are integrated by a band as a mounting member has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the snap band 21 as a mounting member. For example, only the snaps 21-1, 21-2, and 21-3 may be used, or an attachment member that can be easily attached and detached can be applied. Also, the number of mounting holes and mounting members is applicable if it is two or more.

[0041]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
A keyboard can be provided which is inexpensive, can be easily cleaned, can easily insert and remove the replacement key sheet without removing the transparent protective sheet, and can easily exchange the protective sheet.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an assembly view showing a schematic configuration of a keyboard according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the keyboard of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an assembly view showing a first example of a schematic configuration of a conventional keyboard.

FIG. 4 is an assembly view showing a second example of a schematic configuration of a conventional keyboard.

FIG. 5 is an assembly view showing a third example of a schematic configuration of a conventional keyboard.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11: Keyboard body, 12: Key, 13-1, 13-2, 13-3: Mounting hole, 15: Replacement key sheet, 16: Protective sheet, 19-1, 19-2, 19-3: Through hole, 21: Snap band, 22-1, 22-2, 22-3: Snap, 23: Band.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-61-192333 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/023 330

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A keyboard having a plurality of keys and generating a signal by an action of touching each of the keys,
A plurality of mounting holes formed on one side portion around the portion where the key is arranged; a transparent protective sheet having a through hole formed at a position corresponding to the mounting hole; An attachment member that is detachably attached through a through hole and urges the protection sheet toward the one side portion, and is inserted between the portion where the key is arranged and the protection sheet, and is arranged in the key. A keyboard provided with a replacement key sheet on which graphics such as characters and marks corresponding to the contents indicated by each key are formed.