JP4534393B2 - Portable terminal device and electronic device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device and a mobile electronic device such as a mobile phone having operation keys.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone is provided with a plurality of operation keys, and these operation keys are provided with an illumination device so that they can be clearly seen even when used in the dark.
As an illuminating device, it is necessary to illuminate each operation key with a constant illuminance and to uniformly illuminate a plurality of operation keys without unevenness.
[0003]
Therefore, the conventional portable terminal device has a light source 2 made up of a number of light emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged on the substrate 1, and each of the light sources 2 is an operation key of the key sheet 3 arranged on the substrate 1. 4 is illuminated so that when the operation key 4 protrudes from the key insertion hole 6 of the housing 5, the display of the operation key 4 can be confirmed.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the conventional portable terminal device is configured to illuminate the operation key 4 by the illumination of the light source 2 composed of a large number of light sources, it is necessary to increase the number of light sources. In addition, the light source 2 is arranged near the operation key 4 on the key sheet 3 and illuminates the vicinity of the operation key 4 (the portion denoted by reference numeral 7) by irradiating from the bottom to the top. was there.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal device and an electronic apparatus that can realize substantially uniform illumination with a small number of light sources and no illumination unevenness.
[0006]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention according to claim 1, a key sheet having a plurality of operation keys are arranged on the substrate, face each other are mounted on the substrate across the key sheet A pair of light sources that extend along the short direction of the key sheet and irradiate light in the longitudinal direction of the key sheet; and a translucent front surface that is disposed above the substrate so as to cover the key sheet The front case is provided with a key insertion hole through which the operation key is inserted and a light source storage recess for storing the light source, and a surface layer portion of the front case is irradiated with light from the light source. A coating film is provided to prevent light from leaking to the outside of the front case, and the irradiation light from the light source passes through the front case from the peripheral end surface of the light source housing recess to pass through the key insertion hole. Derived from the peripheral end surface Light is characterized in that it is configured to illuminate a circumferential surface of the operation key.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show an embodiment in which a mobile terminal device according to the present invention is applied to a mobile phone, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a casing, a key sheet, and a substrate of the mobile phone, FIG. The perspective view of the principal part which shows the state which assembled the key sheet | seat and the housing | casing, FIG. 3 is operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of illumination at the time of incorporating a board | substrate, a key sheet | seat, and a housing | casing similarly.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a housing that forms a front case of a mobile phone, 12 denotes a key sheet having a plurality of operation keys 13 a to 13 c, and 14 denotes a substrate. As shown in FIG. A key sheet 12 is disposed and a substrate 14 is disposed below the key sheet 12. The lower part of the substrate 14 is covered with a back case (not shown).
[0008]
A key insertion hole 15 is formed in the housing 11 at a position corresponding to the operation keys 13 a to 13 c provided on the key sheet 12. When the key sheet 12 is assembled into the housing 11, the operation keys 13 a to 13 c are 2 and 3, the key is inserted through the key insertion hole 15, and the upper surface is exposed to the outside.
[0009]
The operation keys 13a to 13c are provided on the key sheet 12 so as to protrude upward integrally therewith. A telephone number, a symbol, etc. are written on the surface side of the operation key 13a to 13c. By operating, a desired function can be obtained.
[0010]
The substrate 14 is configured as a circuit necessary for having a communication function or the like as a mobile phone, and an illumination device (not shown) having a light source 16 is provided on the upper surface thereof.
The light source 16 is made up of light emitting diodes and the like disposed on the substrate 14 so as to face each other in the longitudinal direction, and when illuminated, the illumination light passes through the housing 11 and the operation keys on the key sheet 12. The lights 13a to 13c are illuminated.
[0011]
That is, when the light source 16 is turned on, the light source 16 irradiates along the surface of the substrate 14 so as to face each other in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 1, and has a certain irradiation effective angle θ as shown in FIG. So that it can be illuminated.
[0012]
Therefore, in this embodiment, the illumination device has the operation keys 13a to 13b when the irradiation light from the light source 16 passes through the housing 11 and is guided to the peripheral end surface 15a that forms the key insertion hole 15 of the housing 11. It hits the peripheral side surface of 13c, and thereby illuminates the peripheral side surfaces of the operation keys 13a to 13c.
[0013]
Therefore, the housing 11 is made of a material that can transmit the illumination light from the light source 16, and is formed of a synthetic resin such as transparent polycarbonate or acrylic, for example, as shown in FIG. A light source housing recess 17 is provided at a position corresponding to the light source 16 on the substrate 14.
[0014]
On the other hand, a coating film 18 is applied to the surface portion of the housing 11 so as to improve the appearance. The coating film 18 is selected in various colors to determine the design of the housing 11. Further, the coating film 18 is configured so that light transmitted through the housing 11 does not leak from the housing 11 to the outside (front) when illuminated from the light source 16. It is also a component of the device.
[0015]
In the cellular phone configured as described above, when the light source 16 disposed on the substrate 14 is turned on, the operation keys 13a to 13c are illuminated with the irradiated light.
In that case, the irradiation light from the light source 16 is irradiated to the side as indicated by an arrow A shown in FIG. 3, and thus the light is transmitted through the housing 11 and the transmitted light passes through the key insertion hole 15 of the housing 11. By being led out from the peripheral end surface 15a to be formed (hatched portion in FIGS. 2 and 3), the peripheral side surfaces of the operation keys 13a to 13c are illuminated.
[0016]
In addition, not only one light source disposed on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14 but also a light source disposed on the other end side is turned on and illuminates through the housing 11 from the opposite side. Uniform and non-uniform illumination can be accurately performed around the periphery of 13a to 13c.
[0017]
Accordingly, the irradiation light from the light source 16 is transmitted through the casing 11 and the transmitted light illuminates the peripheral side surfaces of the operation keys 13a to 13c. Therefore, unlike the conventional technique in which the light source 16 illuminates upward, many A light source is not required, it is possible to reliably illuminate with a small number of light sources, and a substantially uniform illumination with no unevenness can be realized with respect to the operation keys 13a to 13c.
[0018]
On the other hand, a coating film 18 is provided on the surface layer portion of the housing 11, and by changing the color of the coating film 18, the coating design as a mobile phone can be customized.
In addition, since the coating film 18 can prevent light passing through the housing 11 from leaking outward during illumination, illumination with a small number of light sources can be performed more accurately.
[0019]
In the illustrated embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a mobile phone has been described. In addition to the portable terminal device, it can also be used for a portable electronic device such as a portable information terminal (PDF) called a mobile, a notebook personal computer, an electronic dictionary, or the like.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the irradiation light from the light source is transmitted through the front case, and the transmitted light illuminates the peripheral side surface of the operation key, so that many light sources are not required. Thus, it is possible to reliably illuminate with a small number of light sources, and to achieve substantially uniform illumination without unevenness with respect to the operation keys. In particular, there is a secondary effect that power saving can be realized by illuminating with as few light sources as possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment in which a mobile terminal device according to the present invention is applied to a mobile phone.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state in which a substrate, a key sheet, and a housing are assembled.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of an action at the time of illumination when a substrate, a key sheet, and a housing are similarly incorporated.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a substrate, a key sheet, and a housing in a conventional portable terminal device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Housing | casing 12 Key sheet 13a-13c Operation key 14 Board | substrate 15 Key insertion hole 15a Peripheral end surface 16 Light source 17 of an illuminating device 17 Light source accommodation recessed part 18 Paint film

Claims (1)

A key sheet disposed on the substrate and having a plurality of operation keys;
A pair of light source for irradiating light to face each other are mounted on the substrate across the key sheet, extends along a lateral direction of the key sheet, towards the longitudinal direction of the key sheet,
A translucent front case disposed over the substrate and covering the key sheet;
The front case is provided with a key insertion hole through which the operation key is inserted, and a light source storage recess that stores the light source,
On the surface layer portion of the front case, a coating film is applied to prevent the irradiation light from the light source from leaking to the outside of the front case,
The irradiation light from the light source passes through the front case from the peripheral end surface of the light source housing recess and is derived from the peripheral end surface of the key insertion hole, and the derived light illuminates the peripheral side surface of the operation key. The portable terminal device characterized by the above-mentioned.

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