JPH02152127A - Keybutton - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a hard coat unnecessary and to permit making free developments in design, by mounting a colored key bottom on the lower part of a transparent key top and forming such structure as making a print on the joint surface of the lower part. CONSTITUTION:The transparent key top 14 of a keybutton 1 is first moulded of a resin, and then a letter 17 or the like is printed on the reverse of the key top. Subsequently, a colored key bottom 15 is mounted of a resin by utilizing the resin layer printed on the reverse as an insert. Mounting of the colored key bottom 15 on the lower part of the transparent key top 14 makes the projecting part 2 of the surface of the key bottom 15 entirely invisible from the surface of the key top 14 while making the bottom surface of the key top 14 visible as if it were the bottom surface of the key button 1. This makes a hard coat unnecessary while freely setting the color of the key bottom for permitting to select the color of the keybutton itself.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a key button used for, for example, an operation panel switch of a portable wireless device.

[Conventional technology]

4 and 5 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional side view of a conventional key button. In FIG. 0, 1 is a key button, 2 is a protrusion provided at the bottom of this key button 1, and 3 is a key button. 1, 4 is the character print printed on the top of the key button 1, 5 is a hard coat coated on top of the print 4 to prevent the print 4 from peeling off, and 6 is the key button l.
A prism is provided on the bottom to efficiently guide light to the top of the key button 1 during backlighting, 7 is the front cover,
Reference numeral 8 is a frame made of transparent resin and holds key button 1, 9 is an area around key button 1 provided on frame 8, and 10 is a metal element that provides a click feeling and always presses key button 1 against area 9. spring, 11
12 is a membrane switch that obtains a switch structure by folding one sheet and sandwiching a spacer between them, and providing contacts on the opposing inner surfaces. 12 is a print with multiple L E D 13 mounted to illuminate key button 1. It is a board.

Next, the effect will be explained. In general, the operation switches of portable radios, etc. require a backlight, so the structure is such that the key button 1 and the frame 8 are made of transparent resin, and the key button 1 is illuminated by the LED 13 provided on the printed circuit board 12. Then, the light emitted from the LED 13 passes through the transparent frame 8 and is repeatedly reflected, and a part of the light enters the inside of the key button 1. At this time, a small prism 6 is processed on the bottom surface of the key button 1, and the light is diffusely reflected by the prism 6 to be emitted from the top surface of the key button 1 to the outside, thereby illuminating the key button 1.

In addition, regarding key operation, a dome-shaped metal spring 10 is used to create a click feeling, and when the key button 1 is pressed, the convex part 2 on the bottom of the key button presses against the metal spring 10, causing it to warp. At this time, the smaller the convex portion 2 is, the easier the spring 10 is to warp, resulting in a better click feeling. However, in consideration of the backlash caused by the clearance of the key button 1, the size is set to a certain extent.

Furthermore, regarding the display of key buttons, since there is a protrusion 2 on the bottom of the key button 1, characters etc. are always printed 4 on the top surface of the key button 1. In order to prevent this printing 4 from being worn out, the printing 4 is A hard coat 5 is applied on top. Also,
Since the key button 1 is transparent and has a convex part 2 on the bottom surface, the hard coat 5 is of a matte type so that the convex part 2 cannot be seen through.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventional key buttons are configured as described above, so
A convex part is provided on the bottom surface, and printing must be done on the top surface of the key button, which requires a hard coating for wear resistance. There was a problem in that the design was subject to major restrictions, such as:

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a key button that does not require a hard coat and allows for free design development.

[Means to solve the problem]

The key button according to the present invention is composed of two pieces, an upper part made of transparent resin and a lower part made of colored resin, and a protrusion for pressing a metal spring is provided on the bottom surface of the lower colored resin, and the printing is printed on the upper transparent resin and the lower part. It is applied to the joint surface of colored resin.

[Effect]

Since the key button in this invention has a colored part at the bottom, the convexity provided on the bottom of the colored part is completely invisible from the front, and by freely setting the color of the colored part,
You can set the color of the key button. Furthermore, since printing is applied to the joint surfaces, there is no fear of wear and no hard coat is required.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Note that the structure of the panel switches other than the key buttons is the same as before, so a description thereof will be omitted.

1 and 2, 14 is a key top made of transparent resin, 15 is a key bottom made of colored resin, 16 is a joint surface between the key top 14 and key bottom 15, and 17 is printed on the joint surface 16. This is the printing of characters etc.

First, the manufacturing procedure will be explained with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 2, first, the transparent key top 14 of the key button 1 is molded with resin, and characters etc. 17 are printed on the back side.

Thereafter, colored key bottoms 15 are molded from resin using the printed resin as an insert. As a result, an integral key button 1 is formed.

Next, the effect will be explained. In the backlight,
As in the conventional case, the light transmitted through the frame 8 enters the transparent key top 14 portion and is emitted to the outside, so that the key button 1 is illuminated. Further, the convex portion 2 provided on the bottom surface of the key bottom 15 causes the click plate IO to be warped in the same way as in the conventional case to produce a click feeling.

In addition to these, by providing a colored key bottom 15 at the bottom of the transparent key top 14, the protrusion 2 on the bottom of the key bottom is completely invisible from the surface, and the bottom of the key top 14 looks as if it were the bottom of the key button 1. It looks like that.

In the above embodiment, the key button 1 has a transparent key top 14 and a colored key bottom! 5 is shown in which the two pieces are integrally formed as is, but as shown in FIG. It increases the bonding strength and improves the adhesion of printing.

Furthermore, by providing the small irregularities 18, it is possible to achieve the effect of enabling more uniform illumination during backlighting of the key tops.

Moreover, by forming the transparent part with a resin with high surface hardness such as PMMA (acrylic) and the colored part with a resin with a relatively low molding temperature, it is possible to obtain a product with high wear resistance and a good printing yield.

The printing yield can be improved by selecting in advance a resin with a relatively low melting temperature, since the heat of the colored resin may cause the ink to fly when molding the colored part after printing.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the key button according to the present invention has a structure in which a colored key bottom is provided at the lower part of the transparent key top and printing is performed on the joint surface, so a hard coat is not required, defects caused by the hard coat are eliminated, and the key bottom is printed. By freely setting the color of the key button, it is possible to select the color of the key button itself, and furthermore, it has the effect of providing a high degree of design development, such as making it possible to create an image of characters printed on the bottom of the key button.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a key button according to an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a perspective view of a conventional key button, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the conventional key button. In the figure, 1 is a key button, 2 is a convex part, 14 is a key top,
15 is a key bottom, 16 is a joint surface, 17 is a print, and 18 is an uneven surface. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent Masuo Oiwa Figure 3 1? :Q! 3-convex 2nd leapfrog / (spontaneous) 1. Display of the case Japanese Patent Application No. 6B-806568 2. Name of the invention key button 3. Person making the amendment Figure 4. Relationship to the case Patent applicant address Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 2-2-3 Marunouchi Name (601) Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Representative Moriya Shiki 4, Agent address 2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Figure 6, 5, Invention of the specification subject to amendment Detailed Description Column 6, Contents of Correction (1) "Irradiation" on page 2, line 17 of the specification is corrected to "illumination". (2) “In advance...” on page 7, lines 9 to 10.
・Correct "Select" to "Select in advance a colored resin material with a lower melting temperature than the transparent resin material."that's all

Claims (1)

[Claims] It consists of two pieces: a key top made of transparent resin that serves as the exterior design part, and a key bottom made of colored resin with a convex part at the bottom. Letters are printed on the joint surface of the key top and key bottom. A key button characterized by printing such as.