JP4519051B2 - Mobile terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal device including a key operation unit having a plurality of button keys arranged in a matrix.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a conventional key operation unit of a mobile terminal device represented by a mobile phone terminal has a housing portion 710 between adjacent button keys 711. That is, each button key 711 has a structure that protrudes outward from an opening provided on the housing 710 corresponding to each key.

  Regarding the key operation unit of the portable terminal device, the key size depends on the size of the device. That is, if the device size is reduced, the key size must be reduced in proportion to the device size. Therefore, operability is impaired. On the other hand, when the key size is determined with priority given to the usability of the operation unit, the key size increases with the device size.

  In addition, in the case of a structure in which the button key protrudes outward from the surrounding casing, the button key may be accidentally pressed by an unintended operation.

  The miniaturization of portable terminal devices and the ease of use are both extremely difficult issues, and have become an impediment to development.

  Furthermore, if the key size is reduced, an image that is difficult to use psychologically precedes and an erroneous operation may be induced.

  In such a background, an object of the present invention is to provide a key structure capable of reducing the possibility of erroneous operation even with a small button key while maintaining basic performance, and a portable terminal device having this key structure.

  A portable terminal device according to the present invention includes a key operation unit having a plurality of button keys arranged in a matrix, and a casing in which the key operation unit is accommodated, and is adjacent in at least one direction of the key operation unit. The housing portion is not interposed between the button keys, and the cross-sectional shape of the outer surface along the one direction is curved in the negative direction at the side portion of the button key.

  Since the casing portions are adjacent to each other without interposing between the adjacent button keys in at least one direction of the key operation unit, the interval between the adjacent button keys can be reduced. As a result, the area occupied by the key operation unit can be reduced, and the apparatus can be downsized.

  In addition, since the cross-sectional shape of the outer surface along the one direction is curved in the negative direction at the side of the button key, even if the interval between adjacent button keys is reduced, the operation by the actual user When one button key is pressed with one finger, the possibility of an erroneous operation in which the same finger comes into contact with the adjacent button key and is simultaneously pressed is reduced.

  According to the mobile terminal device of the present invention, even if the interval (pitch) between the button keys of the operation unit is reduced to reduce the size of the entire device, the possibility of erroneous operation is reduced by devising the shape of the button key. Can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a mobile terminal device 100 (also simply referred to as a mobile terminal) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the mobile terminal 100 of FIG.

Here, a communication portable terminal is taken as an example, but the present invention is applicable to any portable terminal provided with a key operation unit. Moreover, the example of a figure has shown what is called a straight type portable terminal. In the case of the straight type, since the display unit 130 and the operation unit 140 are accommodated in the same casing, the size of the arrangement area of the operation unit 140 is limited when trying to reduce the size of the entire apparatus. Therefore, the present invention is suitable for application to such a straight type portable terminal having a limitation. However, application to other types of portable terminals such as a folding type and a sliding type is not excluded.

  The mobile terminal 100 of FIG. 1 has a display unit 130 and an operation unit 140 housed in a space formed by a front housing 110 and a back housing 120. One surface of the display unit 130 and the operation unit 140 is exposed to the front side from the openings 110a and 110b (FIG. 2) of the front case 110, respectively. The operation unit 140 has a plurality of button keys 141 arranged in a matrix of 5 rows and 3 columns. The button key 141 is an element for performing a predetermined operation such as a telephone number input or a calling operation. The prepared button keys include numbers 0 to 9 and symbol keys * and #.

  The front case 110 and the button keys 141 are the parts related to the main part of the present invention, and constitute the structure of a communication portable terminal that achieves both easy operation and prevention of erroneous operation. Each button key 141 in the present embodiment is a substantially rectangular part and has a feature in its surface shape. Moreover, a housing | casing part does not interpose a some button key between each other. Further, the surface shape of each button key 141 has a feature as described later, and the side surface 161 in contact with the operation unit 140 of the front housing 110 has an outer surface shape that substantially matches the surface shape of the button key array. That is, by adopting a mountain shape (uneven shape) having substantially the same shape as the button key arrangement and matching the uneven position on the side portion 161 of the front housing 110, the button key is produced while providing a sense of unity in design. Can maintain a sense of independence.

  3A is a plan view showing a configuration of the operation unit 140, FIG. 3B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along arrow YY, and FIG. 3C is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along arrow XX. It is.

  As can be seen from FIG. 3, the operation unit 140 includes a button key frame 145, a silicon rubber 142, and a button key 141 as support members. The operation unit 140 according to the present embodiment includes a first part 140a related to a numeric keypad and a second part 140b related to other instruction keys. The part related to the present invention is the first part 140 a of the operation unit 140.

  The button key frame 145 is a frame made of a relatively hard plastic having openings at positions corresponding to the button keys 141 and other instruction keys, as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the button key frame 145 is a component responsible for mechanical strength and integrity of the operation unit 140 in connection with a configuration in which no housing portion is interposed between the button keys 141. is there. Silicon rubber 142, which is an elastic member, is further integrally formed with a predetermined shape with respect to the molded button key frame 145. As shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C, the button key frame 145 and the silicone rubber 142 are formed on the lower surface of the center part of each button key with a protrusion for pressing a contact point on the key board described later. 142a is formed. Further, the button keys 141 are configured independently of each other, and are adhered to the corresponding positions on the silicon rubber 142. The button / key frame 145 and the silicone rubber 142 shown in FIG. 4 constitute the “support member” of the present invention.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the button key 141 (particularly key top) in the present embodiment. 5A is a partially omitted plan view of the button key 141, FIG. 5B is a partially omitted front view of the button key 141, and FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of the button key 141. FIG.5 (d) is sectional drawing of XX of another shape. As can be seen from FIG. 5A, the button key 141 in the present embodiment has a rectangular shape when viewed from directly above, and has chamfered portions 141d at the upper left and right ends. The size of the button key 141 of this embodiment is about 5 mm in length, about 10 mm in width, and a maximum thickness of about 1 mm. By chamfering, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation in the left-right direction when the user operates toward the terminal. Furthermore, it is possible to produce a sense of independence of each button key, and to have an appealing effect of operability such as design impression and ease of use. Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, the surface shape of each button key 141 has a positive curved portion 141a at the upper center, as can be seen from the cross-sectional shape along the short side of the rectangle. It terminates via a negative curved portion 141b on both the left and right sides from 141a. That is, the curve changes from a positive curve to a negative curve at an inflection point 141e on the cross-sectional shape. As a modified example, as shown in FIG. 5D, a flat portion 141c may be provided on the top of the button key. Also in this case, an inflection point 141e is provided. The significance of the cross-sectional shape of the button key 141 in the present embodiment will be described later.

  6 (a), 6 (b), and 6 (c) are respectively a plan view, including an apparatus portion incorporating the operation unit 140 shown in FIG. 3, a YY arrow enlarged cross-sectional view, and an XX arrow view. It is an expanded sectional view. A key substrate 175 and other internal structures 180 are accommodated between the front housing 110 and the back housing 120. In this embodiment, the front housing 110 is composed of a first portion 110c and a second portion 11d. The first portion 110c is on the inner side, and a mountain shape is formed on the side portion 161 thereof. On the surface of the key substrate 175, a sheet key 171 constituting a key contact is arranged for each key. When the button key 141 is pressed by the user, the protrusion 142a of the silicone rubber 142 described above is pressed in response to the key contact of the sheet key 171.

  As best shown in FIG. 6B, the height when the button key 141 is not pressed is set slightly higher than the height of the front case 110 (110c). This raises the operability by raising the button keys 141 from the front casing 110. However, this height difference is such that when the terminal is placed on a table or the like with the button key surface facing back, the button key does not operate even if the button key is pressed by the difference. Set to a large size.

  The significance of the shape of the button key in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This figure is a diagram showing the cross-sectional shape of the button key in the cross-section taken along the line XX in FIG. FIG. 7A shows an example in which a casing portion exists between the conventional button keys as shown in FIG. The cross-sectional shape is a cross-sectional shape like a mirror. FIG. 7B shows an example in which the casing portion between the button keys is eliminated with the same cross-sectional shape as FIG. FIG. 7C shows an example in which the casing between the button keys is eliminated as in FIG. 7B, and the button key cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 5C according to the present embodiment is used. Show.

  In the structure of FIG. 7A, the center distance between the first and second button keys having the height h adjacent to each other is C0, and the center position of the first button key and the height h of the second button key. The shortest distance to the surface position of / 2 is d0. In the structure shown in FIG. 7B, the center distance C1 between the first and second button keys is smaller than C0 compared to the structure shown in FIG. ) Therefore, inevitably, the shortest distance between the center position of the first button key and the surface position of the height h / 2 of the second button key is d1 which is smaller than d0. As a result, the area of the housing portion existing between the button keys can be allocated to the area of the button keys, so that the arrangement interval of the button keys can be reduced, and the operation unit can be downsized. However, in this structure, when the user presses the center of the first button key with the finger, the possibility that the same finger contacts the adjacent second button key is increased. This causes an erroneous operation.

  On the other hand, in the structure shown in FIG. 7C, the center position of the first button key and the height of the second button key, despite the same adjacent button key interval C1 as in FIG. 7B. The shortest distance to the h / 2 surface position is d2 which is larger than d1. In the example of FIG. 7, this d1 is larger than d0 of FIG. (However, the relationship of d2> d0 need not be guaranteed). With this configuration, when the user presses the center position of the first button key with the finger, the possibility that the same finger contacts the adjacent second button key is reduced. This reduces the possibility of erroneously pressing adjacent button keys simultaneously, even though the button key interval is narrowed.

  Further, due to the mountain shape as described above, even when the button keys are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction, a sense of independence between the individual keys can be obtained visually. (As described above, a sense of independence is obtained in the left-right direction by the chamfering described above.)

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to satisfy all conditions such as design, operation feeling, and psychological image, and to realize a communication portable terminal that is easy to use without impairing operability even with a small size. Became possible.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various modifications and changes other than those mentioned above can be made.

  For example, in the above, an example in which no housing part is interposed between adjacent button keys in either one direction (longitudinal direction of the terminal) of the button keys arranged in a matrix and the orthogonal direction thereof is shown. The present invention can be applied to any configuration that lacks a casing portion only at the long-side boundary of the key.

  The mobile terminal of the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, and can be applied to any device having a button key group such as a PDA, a calculator, a remote controller of various electronic devices, an electronic dictionary, and the like. It is assumed to be included in the portable terminal of the present invention.

  Further, the specific numerical values given in the above-described embodiment, for example, the size of the matrix, the size of the keys, etc. are merely examples, and are not limited to the above numerical values.

1 is an external view of a mobile terminal device (also simply referred to as a mobile terminal) according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the disassembled perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG. (A) is a top view which shows the structure of the operation part of the portable terminal of FIG. 1, (b) is the YY arrow expanded sectional view, (c) is an XX arrow expanded sectional view. is there. It is a figure which shows the structure of the button key frame and silicon rubber which were shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the button key (especially key top) in embodiment of this invention. (A) (b) (c) is a plan view, including an apparatus part incorporating the operation unit shown in FIG. 3, respectively, an YY arrow enlarged sectional view, an XX arrow enlarged sectional view. It is. It is a figure for demonstrating the significance of the shape of the button key in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the conventional key operation part of a portable terminal device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Portable terminal device, 110 ... Front housing | casing, 110a, 110b ... Opening, 120 ... Back housing | casing, 130 ... Display part, 140 ... Operation part, 140a ... 1st part, 140b ... 2nd part, 141 ... Button key, 141a ... Positive curved portion, 141b ... Negative curved portion, 141c ... Flat portion, 141d ... Chamfered portion, 141e ... Inflection point, 142 ... Silicon rubber, 142a ... Projection portion, 145 ... Button key frame, 161 ... Side part, 171 ... Sheet key, 175 ... Key board, 180 ... Internal structure

Claims (8)

A key operation unit having a plurality of button keys arranged in a matrix;
A housing for accommodating the key operation unit,
Without housing portion interposing between the vertical direction and adjacent contact button keys in the left-right direction both of the key operation unit, and the cross-sectional shape of the outer surface along the vertical direction of the button key is at the side of the button key A mobile terminal device that is curved in a negative direction and has a linear cross-sectional shape on the outer surface along the left-right direction . The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of an outer surface along the vertical direction of the button key is curved in a positive direction at a top portion of the button key. Setting the side of the housing is the height from the configured slightly lower Rutotomoni, the height difference only button key is pressed high even as the button key not operate of the plurality of button keys of the key operation unit It is a portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the a.   2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of button keys is bonded to a support member having elasticity at least in part.   5. The portable terminal device according to claim 4, wherein a projection for pressing a contact on the key board is formed on the back surface of the support member for each button key. The mobile phone according to claim 1 or 3 , wherein the casing has a concavo-convex shape having a shape substantially the same as a cross-sectional shape of the plurality of button keys at a side portion in contact with the key operation unit and the concavo-convex position coincides. Terminal device. 2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of button keys is chamfered at both upper ends in the left-right direction.   The portable terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the portable terminal device is a straight-type portable terminal device in which the key operation unit is accommodated together with a display unit in the same housing.