JPH0217890B2 - - Google Patents

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 relates to a panel keyboard designed to stabilize operating pressure.

"Prior art and its problems" As shown in FIG. 1, a panel keyboard includes a flexible or hard base member 2 on which a plurality of required fixed contact patterns 1 are formed, and each An insulating spacer 4 is arranged to form a switch operation space 3 in conjunction with the fixed contact pattern 1, and an insulating spacer 4 is arranged on the spacer 4 to perform switch operation separately in correspondence with each of the fixed contact patterns 1. This is a diaphragm type keyboard switch structure which can basically be constructed from a flexible switch sheet 6 having a movable setting pattern 5 and a bonding layer 7 made of an adhesive or the like between these constituent members, and as is well known, 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 operations. ing.

As conceptually shown in FIG. 2, the appearance of the panel keyboard 9 equipped with such an operation display sheet 8 is as follows.
Depending on the nature of the input information, the sheet 8 will be provided with, for example, large switch operation areas A, B, and C and small switch operation areas a to h, etc.; In the case of a structure in which the through holes are simply formed in sizes corresponding to the sizes of the switch operation areas,
The required operation pressure or operating pressure for the large switches A to C is light compared to the small switch operation areas a to h. In other words, there is a strong tendency for large switch operation areas A to C to be input immediately after being slightly touched, which can easily lead to erroneous input by the operator. Those big switch operation areas A~
There is also a high possibility that the corresponding part of the switch seat 6 belonging to C will gradually approach or be displaced from the corresponding part of the base member 2, making it 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 is provided using a spacer, a base member adapted to the spacer, and a switch sheet.

To this end, 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 a switch sheet is provided between each of these contact patterns. In a keyboard switch in which a switch operation hole is formed, the through hole for the switch operation hole is formed in a large or small size corresponding to the size of each switch operation area, and the thickness is made thick or thin. A first base member provided with an insulating spacer and provided with a required fixed contact pattern, which is located in a thin part of the insulating spacer and is a part belonging to the small part of the switch operating area; The base member is constituted by a second base member which is located at a thick portion of the insulating spacer and is provided with other required fixed contact patterns. Here, the insulating spacer can be integrally molded or constructed separately for its thick and thin parts, and the first and second base members and switch sheets can also be constructed from a single sheet base material. can.

``Example'' The present invention will be described in more detail according to the illustrated example. In FIG. 24 is an insulating spacer arranged on both the first and second base members 27 and 11; 13 is a switch sheet; and 14 is various symbols to identify the switch selection operation. , a decorative board with markings or display of input information, that is, an operation display sheet.

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 operating pressure can be adjusted to a larger or smaller value depending on the size of the switch operating area. The main idea is to make the spacer part thick and thin in order to form the spacer 24.
A small through hole 25 is made in the thin part of the body, and a large through hole 26 is made in the thick part of the body.

The means for forming the spacer 24 having such a thick and thin portion include attaching a separate spacer only to the area corresponding to the area of the large through hole 26, or thickening the spacer with various resins such as thermosetting or photosetting resin. It is also possible to construct the thick and thin parts separately.

The first base member 27 has a small through hole 25.
The required fixed contact pattern 15 is formed only in the part that belongs to the large through hole 26, and the fixed contact pattern 16 is formed only in the part that belongs to the large through hole 26 for the second base member 11. The switch sheet 13 has large and small through holes 25,
The movable contact patterns 17 and 18 are provided at positions related to alignment with the fixed contact patterns 15 and 16 located at 26.

According to the structure of such a panel keyboard,
Regardless of the size of the switch operation area, it is possible to set the stroke within the switch operation space of the movable contact patterns 17, 18 relative to the fixed contact patterns 15, 16 to be small or large, so the operating pressure or operating pressure required when opening and closing the switch can be set to be small or large. It becomes possible to maintain stable switch operation by relatively equalizing the

Also, according to the panel keyboard with this configuration,
Therefore, it is sufficient to provide the first base member 27 only in the portion corresponding to the thin spacer.

As is clear from the figure, both base members 11, 27
The switch sheet 13 can also be integrally constructed of a suitable flexible sheet base material as shown by imaginary lines 32 and 33, and in such a case, each of the required contact patterns 15 to 18 can be formed on the base material. Since it can be deposited on the same surface of the material all at once, it is expected to contribute to reducing the process, workability, and number of parts. Also, depending on the properties of the sheet base material used,
It is also possible to perform the bonding process between each member with or without adhesive.

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, it is not possible to construct the base member from a rigid circuit board, and on the other hand, For example, the parts corresponding to the individual movable contact patterns to be provided on the switch seat may be formed into a dome shape or a protrusion shape so that the operator can perceive that the snap action or switch operation has been completed. is also possible.

``Effects of the Invention'' As described above, the panel keyboard according to the present invention has a diaphragm type keyboard switch structure of this type, in which through-holes for the switch operation area are provided corresponding to the size of each switch operation area. An insulating spacer is formed to be large and small and thick and thin, and a required fixed contact pattern is provided at a thin part of the insulating spacer that belongs to the small part of the switch operation area. and a second base member, which is located in a large part of the switch operation area and is disposed in a thick part of the insulating spacer, and is provided with other required fixed contact patterns. Since the base member is configured, 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.

Furthermore, the insulating spacer having thick and thin parts 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 flexible structure 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 area depending on the size of the switch operation area, and therefore, the operation reliability of this type of panel keyboard can be significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are conceptual cross-sectional configuration diagrams and overall perspective views of conventional panel keyboards;
The figure is a conceptual cross-sectional configuration diagram of an embodiment of a panel keyboard constructed according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Second base member, 13... Switch sheet, 14... Operation display sheet, 15... Fixed contact pattern, 16... Fixed contact pattern, 1
7... Movable contact pattern, 18... Movable contact pattern, 24... Insulating spacer, 25... Small through hole, 26... Large through hole, 27... First base member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. 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 a switch sheet is provided between each of these contact patterns. In a keyboard switch in which a switch operation hole is formed, the through hole for the switch operation hole is formed in a large or small size corresponding to the size of each switch operation area, and the thickness is made thick or thin. A first base member provided with an insulating spacer and provided with a required fixed contact pattern, which is located in a thin part of the insulating spacer and is a part belonging to the small part of the switch operating area; The panel keyboard is characterized in that the base member is constituted by a second base member which is arranged in a thick part of the insulating spacer and is provided with another required fixed 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. The panel keyboard according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the insulating spacer is constructed integrally or separately with respect to its thick and thin portions.