JPH01294323A - Panel keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to carry out a stable switching operation by forming the switching operation clearance large or small responding to the size of the switching operation scope. CONSTITUTION:An insulating spacer 24 is composed to make the thickness of the spacer part thin to form a specific switching operation clearance large or small depending on the size of the switching operation scope, and a small penetration hole 25 is engraved at the part of the thin spacer 24 while a large penetration hole 26 is engraved at the part of the thick spacer. As a result, regardless of the size of the switching operation scope, the strokes in the switching operation clearances of movable contact patterns 17 and 18 to fixed contact patterns 15 and 16 can be set small or large. Consequently, the operation pressure or the action pressure necessary to open or close the switch is made relatively even, and a stable switching operation can be maintained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to a panel keyboard that has wide applicability as an operation input switch means for various electrical and electronic devices, and in particular, the present invention relates to a panel keyboard that has wide applicability as an operation input switch means for various electrical and electronic devices. The present invention also relates to a panel keyboard designed to stabilize operating pressure.

[Prior art and its problems J As shown in FIG. An insulating spacer 4 is arranged to form a switch operation gap 3 in conjunction with the fixed contact pattern l, and a switch 9 is arranged on the spacer 4 and corresponds to each fixed contact pattern l. As is well known, this is a diaphragm type keyboard switch structure which can basically be constructed from a flexible switch sheet 6 having a movable contact pattern 5 for operation, and a bonding layer 7 made of an adhesive between these components. Currently, various proposals have been put into practical use as operation input switch means suitable for various electrical and electronic devices.

In order to specify the switch selection operation and the mounting design, such a panel keyboard generally has an operation display sheet 8, commonly called a decorative panel, on the switch sheet 6 to facilitate the operator's operation. ing.

A panel keyboard 9 equipped with such an operation display sheet 8
As conceptually shown in FIG. 2, the sheet 8 is provided with a mixture of, for example, large switch operation areas A, B, and C and small switch operation areas a-h, depending on the nature of the input information. However, in the case of a structure in which the through holes to be drilled in the insulating spacer 4 are simply formed in sizes corresponding to the sizes of the switch operation areas, it is necessary to form the through holes in the small switch operation areas a to h. In comparison, the required operating pressure or operating pressure of those large A-C becomes light. In other words, there is a strong tendency for input to be made immediately with a slight touch to large switch operation areas A-C;
This tends to lead to incorrect input by the operator, and depending on the usage environment or the number of operations, the corresponding parts of the switch sheet 6 belonging to these large switch operation areas A to C may gradually approach or close to the corresponding parts of the base member 2. There is also a high possibility that the switch will be displaced and it will be impossible to maintain proper switch operation.

``Object and Structure of the Invention'' The present invention provides a thick and thin integral or separate insulator that corresponds to the size of the switch operation area so as to appropriately solve the above problems and ensure stable switch operation pressure or operating pressure. A new and improved panel keyboard using a spacer, a base member and a switch sheet adapted to the spacer is provided.

For this reason, in the present invention, a switch sheet having movable contact patterns formed at positions corresponding to the fixed contact patterns is disposed above a base member having a required number of fixed contact patterns, and between each of these contact patterns. In a keyboard switch that forms a switch operation gap,
In order to form the switch operation gap to be large or small according to the size of each of the switch operation areas, an insulating spacer is formed to have a thick or thin thickness corresponding to the size of the switch operation area; A first base member or switch sheet provided with a required fixed contact pattern or movable contact pattern in the small portion of the switch operation area, and a required fixed contact pattern or movable contact pattern in the large portion of the switch operation area. It is configured to include a second base member or a switch seat. Here, the insulating spacer can be integrally formed with respect to its thickness portion or can be constructed separately, and the first and second base members and switch sheets may be formed of a single sheet base material. Can be configured.

"Example" Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail according to the illustrated example. In FIG. 3, 27 is a first base member;
24 is an insulating spacer disposed on both the first and second base members 27.11, 13 is a switch sheet, and 14 is a switch. This is a decorative board, that is, an operation display sheet, on which various symbols, markings, input information displays, etc. are attached so that selection operations can be identified.

The insulating spacer 24 is capable of stabilizing the above-mentioned operating pressure or operating pressure by itself, and as shown in the figure, the required switch operation gap is formed to be large or small depending on the size of the switch operation area. The main idea is to make the corresponding spacer part thick and thin so that the spacer 24 can have a small through hole 25 in a thin part, and a large through hole 26 in a thick part of the spacer 24. drilled.

As a means for forming the spacer 24 having such a thick portion, it is possible to attach a separate spacer only to the area corresponding to the area of the large through hole 26, or to thicken the spacer 24 with various types of resin such as thermosetting or photosetting resin. In addition, it is also possible to configure each thick book portion separately.

On the first base member 27, only the required fixed contact pattern 15 is formed in the part that belongs to the small through hole 25, and for the second base member 11, the required fixed contact pattern 15 is formed in the part that belongs to the large through hole 26. In addition, the switch sheet 13 has fixed contact patterns 15.1 located in each of the large and small through holes 25.26.
A movable contact pattern 17, 18 is provided at a location associated with alignment with 6.

According to the structure of such a panel keyboard, regardless of the size of the switch operation area, the movable contact patterns 17, 18
Since the stroke in the switch operation gap for the fixed contact pattern 15 and 16 can be set to small and large,
It becomes possible to maintain stable switch operation by relatively equalizing the operating pressure required when opening and closing the switch.

Further, according to the panel keyboard having this structure, it is therefore sufficient to provide the first base member 27 only in the portion corresponding to the thin spacer.

As is clear from the figure, both the base members 11, 27 and the switch sheet 13 can also be integrally constructed of a suitable flexible sheet base material as shown in the virtual diagrams 32 and 33, and in such a case, is each required contact pattern 15 to 1
8 can be deposited and formed all at once on the same surface of the base material, which is expected to contribute to process and work efficiency and a reduction in the number of parts. Also, depending on the nature of the sheet base material used.

It is also possible to perform the bonding process between each member with or without using an adhesive.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the same method as the embodiment of FIG. 3, in which the thick protruding part of the spacer 24 is arranged upward, and the switch sheet is arranged in the thin spacer part, as shown in the figure. The base member 30 is formed of a single piece, and the base member 30 is formed of a single piece, and the base member 30 is made of a single piece and has a first switch seat 28 and a second switch seat 29 disposed in the thick spacer portion. A display sheet 31 is provided, and the base member 30 and both switch sheets 28 and 29 are formed into a single flexible sheet base material, as shown by imaginary lines 32 and 33, similar to the embodiment in FIG. It is possible to mold it in one piece.

In this way, the panel keyboard of the present invention can adopt an optimal operating pressure or a constant operating pressure structure by comprehensively considering the form of the operation display sheet, the operation situation, or both. Furthermore, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications or substitutions may be made without departing from the gist of the invention described in the claims. It can be seen that it is possible to implement it. Therefore, for example, although it is explained that the base member in each embodiment is made of the same material as the flexible switch sheet,
This is constructed from a hard circuit board, and on the other hand, for example, the parts corresponding to the individual movable contact patterns to be provided on the switch sheet are formed into a dome shape or protrusion shape, so that the operator can complete the snap action or switch operation when operating. It is also possible to configure the device so that it can be perceived.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, the panel keyboard according to the present invention has the following features in this type of tire-flam type keyboard switch structure:
In order to form the switch operation gap to be large or small according to the size of each switch operation area, an insulating spacer is formed to have a thicker or thinner thickness depending on the size of the switch operation area, and A first base member or switch sheet having a required fixed contact pattern or a movable contact pattern in the small area, and a second base member or switch sheet having a required fixed contact pattern or movable contact pattern in the large area of the switch operation area. Since the present invention is configured to include two base members or switch sheets, the above structure can be used with a high degree of freedom to meet the specifications of the panel keyboard depending on the size of the switch operation area.

Further, the insulating spacer having the thick portion can be easily configured as one body or separate pieces, and furthermore, both the first and second base members and the switch sheet can be assembled into a single piece that is easy to fold and assemble. Since it can be constructed from a flexible sheet base material, assembly processing can be performed easily.

Therefore, with this structure, it is possible to ensure an optimum switch operation gap depending on the size of the switch operation area, so that the operational reliability of this type of panel keyboard can be significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are conceptual cross-sectional configuration diagrams and overall perspective views of a conventional panel keyboard, FIG. 3 is a conceptual cross-sectional configuration diagram of an embodiment of a panel keyboard constructed according to the present invention, and FIG. The figure is a similar conceptual cross-sectional diagram of a panel keyboard constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 11... Second base member 13... Switch sheet 14... Operation display sheet 15... Fixed contact pattern 16... Fixed contact pattern 17... ... Movable contact pattern 18 ... Movable contact pattern 24 ... Insulating spacer 25 ... Small through hole 26
...... Large through hole 27...
... First base member 28 ... First switch seat 29 ...
Second switch sheet 30... Single base member 31... Operation display sheet Fig. 1 Fig. 3 Fig. 4

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A switch sheet with a movable contact pattern formed at a position corresponding to the fixed contact pattern is arranged above the base member having the required number of fixed contact patterns, and a switch operation gap is provided between each of these contact patterns. In order to form the switch operation gap to be large or small depending on the size of each switch operation area, the keyboard switch is formed to have a thick or thin thickness corresponding to the size of the switch operation area. an insulating spacer, a first base member or switch sheet provided with a required fixed contact pattern or a movable contact pattern at a location belonging to the small switch operation area, and a required fixed contact pattern at a location belonging to the large switch operation area. A panel keyboard comprising a second base member or a switch sheet provided with a contact pattern or a movable contact pattern. (2) The panel keyboard according to claim (1), wherein both the first and second base members and the switch sheet are constructed from a single flexible sheet base material. (3) Claim (1) or (2) in which the insulating spacer is configured integrally or separately with respect to its thick portion.
) panel keyboard.