JPH01172993A - Keyboard switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the structure and to reduce the cost by reflecting the light, which is made incident on a flexible resin member from a light source, by a light reflecting material, irregularly reflecting the light by the surface of high surface roughness of this resin member and illuminating a printed indication on a surface resin sheet to distinctly indicate it. CONSTITUTION:A flexible resin member 21 which faces a metallic diaphragm 11 is placed on the side of spacers 4 and 20 of a surface resin sheet 10, and the surface roughness of the surface facing the metallic diaphragm 11 and the opposite surface of the resin member 21 is so set that the light in the resin member 21 is irregularly reflected by these surfaces. A light reflecting material 22 which reflects the light toward the surface resin sheet 10 is provided on the surface facing the metallic diaphragm 11 of the resin member 21, and light sources 23 are arranged in end parts of the resin member 21. Thus, the cost is reduced with the simple structure without considerably changing the structure of a conventional keyboard witch to illuminate and distinctly indicate the printed indication of a key part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard switch whose keys can be illuminated.

"Prior Art" Conventionally, there is a keyboard switch configured as shown in FIG. 2 as an example of a keyboard switch. In this device, a fixed contact (lower electrode) 2 is provided on a fixed contact resin sheet l made of a flexible resin sheet, and a space 3 is provided around the fixed contact 2 on the fixed contact resin sheet l. A spacer 4 made of an electrical insulator is bonded with an adhesive 5, and a movable contact resin sheet 6 made of a flexible resin sheet is bonded with an adhesive 5 on top of the spacer 4. A movable contact (upper electrode) 7 facing the fixed contact 2 is provided on the sheet 6, and a space 8 is formed on the movable contact resin sheet 6 by leaving a portion located above the movable contact 7 and its surroundings.
A non-spacer 9 is attached using adhesive 5, a surface resin sheet 10 is attached on top of this spacer 9 using adhesive 5, and a dome-shaped metal diaphragm (metal dome) 11 is placed in space 8 with its apex The arrangement of the key tops (switch operation buttons) is displayed by printing on the part of the surface resin sheet 10 facing the metal dome 11, and by pressing this printed display part. Movable contact 7 via metal dome 11
is brought into contact with the fixed contact 2, and the fixed contact 2. □Turn on the switch consisting of movable contact 7, and at this time metal dome 1
The elasticity of No. 1 makes it possible to obtain a click feeling.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" By the way, in the keyboard switch, for example, when the surrounding illuminance is insufficient, the surface resin sheet IO
There was a problem in that the printed display was difficult to understand, that is, it was unclear to distinguish between areas of the surface resin sheet with and without the display.

Therefore, in order to clarify the printed display on the surface resin sheet IO in the conventional keyboard switch shown in FIG. 2, an attempt was made to install a light source 12 at position A shown in the figure in order to illuminate the key part. Metal dome! 1 blocks the direct light from the light source 12, making it impossible to sufficiently illuminate the printed display on the surface resin sheet 10. Therefore, the light source 12 was installed at position B shown in the same figure. In this case, it becomes necessary to use an acrylic resin plate that has light guiding properties and hardness for the spacer 9, and when an acrylic resin plate is used for the spacer 9, the keyboard switch as a whole does not have flexibility and is smooth. It becomes difficult to install the keyboard switch on a curved surface, and the light source 12 must be placed at the end of the spacer 9 (position B), which limits the degree of freedom in installing the keyboard switch. In order to dispose the light source 12 at a position other than the end of the spacer 9, a complicated light guide means must be used to guide the light to the metal diaphragm, resulting in a complicated structure and high cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard switch that solves the above-mentioned problems of conventional keyboard switches.

"Means for Solving the Problems" The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object. That is, a spacer is interposed between a fixed contact resin sheet having fixed contacts, a movable contact resin sheet having movable contacts, and a surface resin sheet having a display portion, respectively.
The fixed contact and the movable contact are made to face each other so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from each other, and a dome-shaped metal diaphragm is interposed between the movable contact resin sheet and the surface resin sheet such that the apex of the metal diaphragm is located on the surface resin sheet side. , in the keyboard switch in which the respective resin sheets are spaced apart from each other in a layered manner, a flexible resin member is interposed on the spacer side of the surface resin sheet so as to face the metal diaphragm; The surface facing the metal diaphragm and the surface opposite thereto are roughened to diffusely reflect the light within the resin member, and the surface of the resin member facing the metal diaphragm is configured to reflect light toward the surface resin sheet. A light reflecting object is provided to reflect light, and a light source is provided at the end of the resin member.

"Operation" Light incident on the flexible resin member from the light source is reflected by the light reflecting object and diffusely reflected on the rough surface of the flexible resin member, illuminating the printed display on the surface resin sheet. The elasticity of the metal diaphragm allows you to feel a click when operating the keys.

"Example" An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the same parts as in the conventional example are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, instead of the hard spacer 9 having light guiding properties in the conventional example, a spacer 20 made of a flexible resin that does not particularly require light guiding properties is provided, and the spacer 20 side of the surface resin sheet 10 is provided. A flexible resin member 2l made of, for example, polymethacrylic resin is interposed facing the metal diaphragm 11, and the surface roughness of the surface of the resin member 21 facing the metal diaphragm 11 and the surface on the opposite side thereof are as follows. The resin member 21 has a rough surface that diffusely reflects light, and a light reflecting sheet (light reflecting object) 22 is provided on the portion of the resin member 21 facing the metal diaphragm 11, and a surface resin sheet IO is attached to the spacer 20 with an adhesive 5. Light sources 23.23 are provided at both ends of the resin member 21, and a power source is connected to these light sources 23.23.

Note that the resin member 21 may be made of resin and have an oval cross section, or may be made of an aggregate of a large number of resin wires with circular cross sections arranged with their outer peripheral surfaces adjacent to each other. good.

When the light sources 23.23 are turned on, these light sources 23.
．． The light 23 enters into the resin member 21, and the light from the resin member 21
The surface roughness of the surface of the resin member 21 facing the metal diaphragm 11 and the surface opposite thereto is reflected by the reflective sheet 22 to the surface resin sheet IO side.
Since the rough surface diffusely reflects the light inside the resin member 21, the light inside the resin member 21 is diffusely reflected toward the surface resin sheet IO side, and the printed display provided on the surface resin sheet 10 is illuminated to clearly indicate this. In order to illuminate the printed display portion of the surface resin sheet 10 in this way, the spacer 20 does not need light guiding properties and may just be a simple spacer. Since it is only necessary to interpose the member 21 and the reflective sheet 22, the structure is simple and there is no particular increase in cost.
The keyboard switch is thin, soft and flexible, and can be mounted on a smooth curved surface. By curving the resin member 21, the light source can be installed at a location other than the end of the spacer 20. The keyboard switch can be installed anywhere, and the restrictions on the degree of freedom in installing the keyboard switch are significantly reduced compared to conventional keyboard switches.

In the above embodiment, the light sources 23 and 23 were provided at both ends of the resin member 21, but the invention is not limited to this, and the light sources 23 and 23 may be provided only at one end of the resin member 21, or the light source 23 may be used as one light source. In some cases, both ends of the resin member 21 may be curved to be close to the light source 23.

"Effects of the Invention" According to the present invention, a fixed contact resin sheet having fixed contacts and a movable contact resin sheet having movable contacts are provided.

A spacer is interposed between each of the surface resin sheets having display portions, and the fixed contact and the movable contact face each other so as to be able to come into contact and separate, and a dome-shaped metal diaphragm is inserted between the movable contact resin sheet and the surface resin sheet. In the keyboard switch, in which the respective resin sheets are arranged in a layered manner and spaced apart from each other, the apex of the surface resin sheet is located on the side of the surface resin sheet, and the resin sheet is provided on the spacer side of the surface resin sheet, facing the metal diaphragm. A flexible resin member is interposed, and the surfaces of the resin member facing the metal diaphragm and the opposite side thereof are roughened to diffusely reflect light within the resin member, and the metal of the resin member A light reflecting object is provided on the surface facing the diaphragm to reflect light toward the surface resin sheet, and a light source is provided at the end of the resin member, so the structure can be simplified without significantly changing the structure of the conventional keyboard switch. It is possible to prevent high costs and clearly display some printed information by illuminating the keyboard switch, and the thickness of the keyboard switch is thinner than that of conventional keyboard switches, and it is soft and flexible. Because of this, it is possible to install this keyboard switch on a smooth curved surface, and by curving the flexible resin material, the range in which the light source can be installed is significantly wider than that of conventional keyboard switches, making it possible to install the keyboard switch more freely. degree constraints are significantly reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially omitted longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially omitted longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional keyboard switch. l...Fixed contact resin sheet, 2...Fixed contact (lower electrode) 4.20...Spacer, 6
...... Movable contact resin sheet, 7... Movable contact (upper electrode), 10... Surface resin sheet,
11...Metal diaphragm (metal dome),
21... Resin member, 22... Light reflecting object (light reflecting sheet), 23... Light source.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A spacer is interposed between a fixed contact resin sheet having a fixed contact, a movable contact resin sheet having a movable contact, and a surface resin sheet having a display portion, so that the fixed contact and the movable contact face each other so as to be able to freely approach and separate, and the movable contact resin sheet has a movable contact. A keyboard switch in which a dome-shaped metal diaphragm is interposed between a contact resin sheet and a surface resin sheet such that the apex of the metal diaphragm is located on the surface resin sheet side, and the resin sheets are spaced apart from each other and arranged in a layered manner. ,
interposing a flexible resin member on the spacer side of the surface resin sheet, facing the metal diaphragm;
The surface of the resin member facing the metal diaphragm and the surface opposite thereto are roughened to diffusely reflect the light within the resin member, and the surface resin sheet is provided on the surface of the resin member facing the metal diaphragm. A keyboard switch characterized in that a light reflecting object is provided on the side to reflect light, and a light source is provided at an end of the resin member.