JP3280358B2 - Key switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a key switch used for a keyboard or the like which is an input device of a word processor, a personal computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a key switch used in this type of keyboard, a key stem protruding downward is formed on a lower surface of a key top having characters and symbols printed on an upper surface thereof, formed on a keyboard housing. A key switch in which a switching member is disposed below a key stem while being supported by being inserted into a key holder portion is generally used. Then, in such a key switch, the key stem is slid up and down in the key holder portion, and when the key top is pressed, the key stem is moved,
The switching member is pressed by the lower part of the key stem,
As a result, a switching operation has been performed.

[0003]

However, in the conventional key switch as described above, if the vertical length of the key holder is shortened in order to increase the vertical movement stroke of the key top, the sliding length with the key stem is reduced. Lack of
When the key top is pressed, a twist occurs. Therefore, the key touch cannot be performed smoothly, so that the vertical length of the key holder cannot be reduced, and the keyboard cannot be made thinner.

In order to solve this problem, the present applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
In the specification of JP-A-310242), the guide means for vertically moving the key top is constituted by a first link and a second link which are arranged in an X-shape in a side view, and an intersecting portion between the two links is rotated. Freely connected, one of the free ends of the first link and the second link is rotatably locked to the lower surface of the keytop and the holder member, and the other free end slides to the lower surface of the keytop and the holder member. A key switch that locks as much as possible and performs a switching operation by depressing the rubber spring with the two links has been proposed.

In this key switch, each link is composed of two locking pins that are rotatably locked and two locking pins that are slidably locked to each other by four locking pins each having a substantially square shape in plan view. Because of the arrangement at the corners, for example, in the case of a triangular key top such as a cursor key, the substantially square formed by each locking pin has to be reduced. In addition, when the operation surface outside the enclosed range is pressed, there is a problem that twisting occurs, and further, there is a problem that the link interferes with the rubber spring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem. Even if any position of the key top is pressed, the key top can be smoothly operated without being twisted.
Is an object of the present invention to provide a key switch that can be that.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems To this end, the holder key switch according to claim 1 is that a key Toppu, is disposed below the key top, a plurality of engaging portions are formed Member, the lower surface of the key top and the holder member
It locked coupling engaged with the plurality of engaging portions, draft the vertical movement of the key Toppu
And a first link member and second link members to the inner, performs a switching operation in accordance with the vertical movement of the key <br/> Toppu
, And the key top is formed in a triangular shape, the key top, so as to move it down the by its pressing operation, the locking portion of the key top side, which was arranged in accordance with the shape of the key top is there.

Further, the key switch according to claim 2, wherein includes a key <br/> Toppu, is disposed below the key top, a plurality of
Holder member with locking part , lower surface of key top and
Coupling engagement locked in a plurality of engaging portions of the fine the holder member, the first link member for guiding the vertical movement of the key Toppu and second phosphorus
And a click member, which performs switching operation in accordance with the vertical movement of the key Toppu, key top formed in a triangular shape
It is, the key top, so that it can move it down the by its pressing operation, in which the engagement portion of the Holder member, arranged in accordance with the shape of the key top.

[0009]

According to the key switch of the present invention having the above structure, when the key top is pressed, the first link member and the second link member move, and the key top is twisted.
It descends smoothly without any. Then, the switching operation with the key top down. On the other hand, when releasing the pressing operation of the key top, the first link member and the second link member returns to the original position in the key top and together.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The key switch 2 has a key top 4 on which characters, symbols, and the like are printed on the upper surface, a guide support member 6 having a first link 8 and a second link 10 arranged in an X shape in side view, A cap-shaped rubber spring 12 pressed by the support member 6, a synthetic resin holder member 14 for supporting the guide support member 6, and the rubber spring 1
2, a flexible printed circuit board 16 provided with a switching section 20 on the lower surface thereof, and a reinforcing plate 18 stretched on the lower surface side thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rubber spring 12 is inserted into the mounting hole 21 of the holder member 14 so as to cover the switching portion 20 of the printed board 16 or is disposed. Glued on top. The rubber spring 12 of the present invention is made of an electrically insulating silicone rubber or EPDM, and has a substantially disk-shaped head in a plan view, and a conical dome extending downward from around the head. The dome is formed integrally with the outer periphery of the dome in the shape of a downwardly open cap comprising a flange portion extending substantially horizontally and radially outward. When the key top 4 is pressed, the lower surface of the head of the rubber spring 12 pressed by the pressing portion 22 of the guide support member 6 is brought into contact with the contact portion of the switching portion 20 to be electrically turned ON / OFF. A movable contact 24 made of conductive rubber having the above-mentioned conductivity is fixed.

The flexible printed board 16 forming the switching section 20 may be a board such as a membrane switch circuit board. In this case, it is not necessary to fix the movable contact 24 to the rubber spring 12.

[0014] The key top 4 is molded of a synthetic resin such as ABS resin, have a triangular operating surface as shown in FIG. 1, the lower surface thereof, the upper end of the first link 8 you later And the locking pin 26a, 30b on the upper end side of the second link 10 can be rotated only. And a hole-shaped rotation locking portion 32 for locking the projection.

Next, the structure of the first link 8 and the second link 10 made of synthetic resin such as POM resin will be described. FIG.
3A is a plan view of the first link 8, and FIG. 3B is a plan view of the second link 10. The first link 8 is formed integrally with the base 34 and the locking pins 26 and the locking pins 36a and 36b so as to be substantially triangular in plan view.
The support hole 38 is oriented sideways on the side surface of FIG.
( Up and down direction) , and locking pins 36a and 36b are laterally provided on the outer surface of the lower end (upper and lower in FIG. 3 (a)).
And a locking pin 26 is provided at the upper end.

The second link 10 also includes a base 40 and a locking pin 30.
a, 30b and the locking pin 42 are integrally formed in a substantially triangular shape in plan view. A pivot shaft 44 is provided on the inner surface of the base 40 in a horizontal direction (up and down direction in FIG. 3B).
The pivot 44 is rotatably fitted in the support hole 38 of the first link 8. Second link 1
0, a locking pin 42 is provided at the lower end, and locking pins 30a, 30b are laterally arranged on the outer surface of the upper end (FIG. 3).
(The vertical direction in (b)) . And
First link 8 and second link 10 assembled as described below
Are arranged so as to overlap the operation surface of the key top 4 in plan view.

In this embodiment, when viewed from the side, the first
The distance from the center line of the support hole 38 in the link 8 to the center line of the upper and lower locking pins 26 and 36a;
From the center line of the pivot shaft 44 at the locking pins 30a, 42
Are formed to be equal to each other. With the above configuration, the guide support member 6 is connected to the first link 8.
The key top 4 is pivotally displaced about the lower end side locking pins 36a and 36b and the upper end side locking pin 30a and 30b of the second link 10 so that the key top 4 is moved relative to the upper surface of the holder member 14. It can move up and down while maintaining a horizontal state.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a part of the holder member 14 made of a synthetic resin such as an ABS resin.
A mounting hole 21 in which the cap-shaped rubber spring 12 can be arranged is formed in one side edge of the mounting hole 21. A pair (two) of rotation locking portions 46 and the other side edge are provided on one side edge of the mounting hole 21. Is integrally injection-molded with one sliding groove 48 in the form of a longitudinal groove. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair (two) of the rotation locking portions 46 and one sliding locking portion 48 are arranged on three vertexes forming an isosceles triangle in plan view. .

Next, an assembling process of the key switch having the above configuration will be described.
10 is assembled in an X-shape in side view at the position of the pivot shaft 44 and the support hole 38, and then, in the assembled state, the lower end locking pins 36 a, 36 b of the first link 8 are turned. After the lower locking pin 42 of the second link 10 is fitted into the sliding locking part 48 and the lower locking pin 42 of the second link 10 respectively, the upper locking pin 26 of the first link 8 is inserted.
And the upper locking pins 30 a and 30 b of the second link 10 are locked to the rotation locking portion 32, respectively.

At this time, the locking pins 36a, 36b and 4
2 and the shape and dimensions of the rotation locking portion 46 and the sliding locking portion 48 are such that the first link 8 and the second link 10 are substantially immovable in the left-right direction in FIG. to 2
It is determined so as not to interfere with the sliding of the definitive lateral direction.

With this configuration, when the key top 4 is pressed, the first link 8 rotates downward around the rotation locking portion 46 of the holder member 14 (clockwise in FIG. 2).
Rotates) while the second link 10 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 about the point of pivot shaft 44. Then, the rubber spring 1 is pressed by the pressing portion 22 of the first link 8.
2 is pressed downward, and the movable contact 24 on the lower surface thereof contacts the switching unit 20 to perform a switching operation.

When the locking pins 26 of the first link 8 and the locking pins 30a, 30b of the second link are arranged around the key top 4 having a triangular operation surface as in this embodiment, The key top 4 is a triangle connecting the locking pins with a straight line.
It almost matches the operation surface of. In other words, there is no area that cannot be surrounded by each locking pin, and even if any part of the operation surface is pressed, the key top 4 is held by the holder member 1.
4 can be moved up and down while maintaining a horizontal state with respect to the upper surface.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the present invention can be applied to a key top 60 having an L-shaped operation surface such as a return key. The first link 8 and the second link in this case
Since the structure and arrangement relationship of the link 10 and the rubber spring 12 are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment,
Detailed description is omitted.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description,
According to the key switch of the present invention, key Toppu and, disposed below the key top, a plurality of the plurality and the holder member engaging portion is formed of, the key top bottom surface and the holder member
It locked coupling engaged with the locking portion, to guide the vertical movement of the key Toppu
That first and a link member and a second link member, performs a switching operation in accordance with the vertical movement of the key top Monodea
Ri, key top, so that it can move it down the by its pressing operation, the key top side engagement of the locking portion or the holder member
The engagement portion, is it arranged in accordance with the shape of the key top
When the key top is formed in a triangular shape
But no matter what position of the key top is pressed ,
It can go down smoothly without any kink
Operability is not impaired.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment embodying the configuration of a key switch according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the key switch shown in FIG. 1;

[Figure 3] is a plan view of the guide support member used in the key switch of the present invention, (a) is a plan view of a first link,
(B) is a plan view of the second link.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mounting hole of a holder member in the key switch of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the key switch shown in FIG. 2 taken along line AA.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration of a return key according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Key switch 4 Key top 6 Guide support member 8 First link 10 Second link 12 Rubber spring 14 Holder member 20 Switching section 28 Sliding lockDepartment 3 2 Rotation lockingDepartment 4 6 Rotation lockingDepartment 4 8 Sliding lockDepartment

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01H 13/14

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] (1)Ki-And the key top, Multiple locking partsFormed
Holder member,Plural locking of the lower surface of the key top and the holder member
Part, -Move the top up and downThe first to guide
A link member and a second link member,  A switching operation is performed in accordance with the vertical movement of the key top.
UA key switch, The key top is formed in a triangular shape, That The key top is pressedunderCan move towards
So the key topSide clerkStop part, key top shape
Key switch characterized by being arranged according to. (2)Ki-And the key top, Multiple locking partsFormed
Holder member,Plural locking of the lower surface of the key top and the holder member
Part, -Move the top up and downThe first to guide
A link member and a second link member,  A switching operation is performed in accordance with the vertical movement of the key top.
UA key switch, The key top is formed in a triangular shape, That The key top is pressedunderCan move towards
So that the holder memberPerson in chargeToe, key top shape
Key switch characterized by being arranged according to the shape.