JPH02291617A - Structure of multiple unitkey used for sheet keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stably and surely carry out operation of plural keyswitchs with light key touch by allowing a keytop supporting hole to continue while leaving one part of its partitioning portion, and also utilizing rigidity of a connecting sheet to substantially integrate the plural koytops with each other. CONSTITUTION:A key top supporting hole 6 provided through a panel 4 is allowed to continue while one part of its partitioning portion is left, and keytops 5 corresponding to an actuator 22 for two switching elements 2 of a printed plate 3 are supported well. These keytops 5 are substantially integrated with each other by rigidity of a connecting sheet 8. With this constitution, operation of plural keyswitchs is stably and surely carried out by pressing of the key part portion 71 of a surface sheet 7 with light key touch without being obstructed by the partitioning portion of the keytop supporting hole.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding the structure of a multi-unit key for a sheet keyboard, the purpose is to provide a light key feel and stable switch operation, and includes a printed board on which a plurality of switch elements are supported, A panel having a plurality of support holes arranged at positions corresponding to each of the switch elements and supported opposite to the printed board, and a panel slidably inserted into the support holes and attached to the switch elements. A plurality of key tops are brought into elastic contact with the panel by an actuator, and a key convex portion formed in a convex shape is provided at a position corresponding to each of the key tops,
and a surface sheet covering the key tops and the panel, and each partition of the plurality of support holes through which at least two adjacent key tops are inserted is continuous with a part of the partition remaining as a protrusion. A connecting sheet is provided in the gap between the inner surface of the key convex portion and the key top to collectively cover at least two adjacent key tops.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to the structure of a multi-unit key for a sheet keyboard.

In recent years, with the development of information processing equipment, various human output devices have come to be used to exchange information between humans and machines, and input devices have become familiar and familiar to the general public. is the keyboard.

Keyboards come in a variety of shapes, from large ones called full keyboards with over 100 keys and switches, to small ones with numeric keys and even a few switches.

In addition, the devices that use keyboards are very wide-ranging, from peripheral terminal devices for large computers to small calculators.
The forms in which they are used have expanded from factory use to office use, store use, home use, and even personal use.

Under these circumstances, for example, keyboards used for informatization and automation in factories and stores, that is, manufacturing sites and stores such as restaurants, are free from electronic devices such as various dust, dust, oil, moisture, and steam. Particularly suitable for devices with electrical contacts such as keyboards.
It is often used in unfavorable environments.

Therefore, so-called sheet keyboards are often used in such keyboards, in which the movable parts of the key tops are covered with a seamless sheet, and the entire keyboard has a nearly sealed structure.

On the other hand, as keyboards themselves become easier to use and more sophisticated, the shape of the key tops is not limited to l-unit keys, in which one key top is attached to one switch element, but also the shape of key tops that connect multiple adjacent switch elements. So-called multi-unit keys, which are collectively regarded as one key, are arranged in various places on the keyboard.

However, in the case of a sheet keyboard, instead of pressing directly on the key tops like in a normal keyboard, the entire surface is covered with a top sheet, and the top sheet corresponding to the key top is treated as a multi-unit key. I'm going to hit it.

Therefore, of course, the central part of the key top, which has a large area,
It is quite difficult to create a switch that feels light no matter which end you press, and that switches function stably.

Therefore, it is desired to develop a multi-unit key that is suitable for sheet keyboards and has an easy-to-use configuration.

[Conventional technology]

Keyboards are classified into various types depending on the type of switch used, and are used depending on the purpose.

In the keyboard, for example, a plurality of striped conductor patterns are provided on two dielectric films and are arranged orthogonally in the X-Y direction, and the intersection points are brought into electrical contact. There are keyboards that switch by detecting changes in capacitance.

This keyboard has a plurality of switch elements arranged in advance on the intersection of the conductor patterns of two dielectric films, for example.
This is a type of keyboard that is arranged by printing, etc., and does not require an arrangement of individual switch elements.

On the other hand, there are also keyboards in which a single switch element called a key switch is arranged and mounted on a printed circuit board with printed wiring, which connects the switch contacts to establish continuity using mechanical or magnetic means. It is widely used.

For any type of keyboard, if it is to be used in the harsh environments mentioned above, the entire top surface of the keyboard, including the key tops, must be completely covered with a single sheet called the top sheet. A structured sheet keyboard is suitable.

In such sheet keyboards, as keyboards become more diverse and sophisticated, it has become an important issue how to configure multi-unit keys that are easy to use.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a multi-unit key.

In the same figure, (A) is an example of a basic one-unit key.

The switch element 2 is fixed at its terminal 2l by soldering to the printed board 3.

On the other hand, a support hole 6 is provided in the panel 4, which is supported with a predetermined gap from the printed board 3 via a spacing tube 9, into which the key top 5 is fitted with ample margin so as to slide therein.

The key top 5 fits into the support hole 6 from below, but the key top 5 is caught in the support hole 6 by the protrusion at the bottom of the side wall of the key top 5, so that it does not come out.

Therefore, the key top 5 fitted into the support hole 6 is attached to the actuator 22 having spring properties attached to the switch element 2.
is pushed up from below by the spring 4, and is held in a state in which it is always in elastic contact with the spring 4.

Further, a surface sheet 7 formed in a convex shape at a position corresponding to the position of the key top 5 covers the panel 4 and the key top 5.

The actuator 22 also has the role of a lever for connecting and disconnecting contacts (not shown) of the switch element 2, and generally, when the actuator 22 is pushed downward, the switch is connected.

Therefore, when the key top 5 is pressed down through the front sheet 7, the actuator 22 is deflected and the contacts of the switch element 2 are connected, and when the key top 5 is released from being pressed,
As the actuator 22 is activated, the key top 5 is pushed up and the contact of the switch element 2 is cut off.

The l-unit key has a structure in which one key top 5 and one switch element 2 correspond to each other.

Most of the key tops on a keyboard are made up of this l unit key.

(mouth) is an example of a 1.5 unit key, in which one switch element 2 is operated by a key top 1.5 times the size of one unit.

By the way, in the case of a multi-unit key with two or more unit keys, a plurality of switch elements 2 in one unit are connected in parallel, so that no matter where on the key top is pressed, one of the switch elements 2 is connected in parallel. It is configured so that it only needs to be connected to a switch.

(C) is an example of a 2-unit key.

(2) is an example of a 3-unit key, and although there are also long key tops lined up horizontally, this one is an example of a key top bent at a right angle, such as used for a line feed key.

The unit structure of key tops is such that large key tops are generally allocated to frequently used function keys, etc. For example, for the space key, there are long key tops such as 6 unit keys and 8 unit keys.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the configuration of a conventional two-unit key, with FIG. 3(A) being a side view of one example, and FIG. 3(B) being a side view of another example.

(A) of the same figure is an example in which two 1-unit keys are combined into one 2-unit key, and (A) is a side view when the key is at rest.

That is, there are two switch elements 2, two key tops 5 that fit into each of the two support holes 6 of the panel 4, and a convex key convex portion 7l formed on the front sheet 7. The size is also the same as that of a 2 unit key.

In this configuration, each of the two key tops 5 is pushed up by the actuator 22;
(mouth), only one of the key tops 5 moves or both move simultaneously depending on which position of the key convex portion 71 of the front sheet 7, that is, the two-unit key, is pressed.

Moreover, when the pressed position is at the center of the key convex portion 71, the front sheet 7 closes the partition 6 between the two support holes 6.
1 and does not move lower than that, making it difficult for the switch element 2 to operate stably.

On the other hand, the same figure (B) shows a configuration in which the key top 5 is made into a large key top 5l which is made up of two unit keys, and the support hole 6 is also made into a large support hole 61 which is made by putting two holes together. This is an example, and (a) is a side view when the vehicle is at rest.

In this example, when (mouth) is operated, the actuators 22 of the two switch elements 2 are moved by the integrated large key top 51, and since the key top 51 can be pushed in sufficiently deeply, the intermittent operation of the switch element 2 is It can be done stably.

However, since two actuators 22 are pressed down, twice the pressing force is required, especially when pressing down on the center part.
It becomes difficult to satisfy the light feel when typing keys that is required of a keyboard.

In the example described above, there were two unit keys, but if there were more unit keys, the key feel would become heavier by a multiple of the number of unit keys, making it even less practical.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

As mentioned above, among the multi-unit key configurations of conventional sheet keyboards, in the configuration using multiple unit keys, each of the multiple key keys is
Although the key tops are pushed up by the actuator 22, depending on which position of the key protrusion corresponding to multiple unit keys on the front sheet 7 is pressed down, only one key top may move or multiple keys may move at the same time. It moves.

Furthermore, when the pressed position is between the unit keys, the button hits the partition between the support holes.

Therefore, the pressing pressure is almost the same as the l unit key and is light, but
There was a problem that made it difficult to operate stably.

In addition, when using a large key top made up of multiple unit keys, the support hole is also integrally opened, so the movement of the key top is stable and the switch can be operated reliably. .

However, since the actuators of multiple switch elements must be pressed down at the same time, the pressing pressure becomes large.
There was a problem in that it was not possible to meet the requirement for a light key feel.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above-mentioned problem was solved by a printed board supporting a plurality of switch elements, a plurality of support holes provided at positions corresponding to each of the switch elements, and a printed board supported facing the printed board. a panel, a plurality of key tops that are slidably inserted into the support hole and are brought into elastic contact with the panel by an actuator attached to a switch element; Each partition of the plurality of support holes is provided with a key convex portion and a surface sheet covering the key top and the panel, and each of the plurality of support holes through which each of at least two adjacent key tops is inserted is provided with a partition of the partition. For sheet keyboards with a structure in which the key tops are continuously punched with one part left as a protrusion, and a connecting sheet is arranged in the gap between the inner surface of the key convex part and the key top to cover at least two adjacent key tops at once. Achieved by multi-unit keys.

[For production]

In the present invention, even if the number of key tops and therefore the number of switch elements is plural, a multi-unit key consisting of at least two adjacent key tops has a support hole through which the key tops are inserted and a key top. The novel structure of the covering surface sheet provides a light key feel and stable switch operation.

In other words, the support hole through which the key top is inserted is made into a continuous hole with a part of the partition between the holes left in the shape of a protrusion, instead of the conventional holes where each hole is independent or a completely continuous hole. This ensures that the light feel of the unit keys is not impaired.

In addition, a connecting sheet with the same shape as a multi-unit key is interposed in the gap between the key top and the top sheet, and by taking advantage of the rigidity of the connecting sheet, we have created a large key with multiple key tops integrated into one. It is designed to reproduce the stable switch operation of the top.

In this way, the same die as before can be used for forming the support hole for the key top in the panel, and the same key top as the conventional one-unit product can be used. A multi-unit key for sheet keyboards with unprecedented light key feel and stable switch operation is obtained.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is an exploded perspective view, (B) is a configuration diagram of a panel, (C) is a configuration diagram of a top sheet, and ( D) is a side view at rest/operation.

In the same figure (A), a unit key 1 includes a printed board 3 to which a switch element 2 is fixed, a panel 4 supported via a spacer tube 9, and a key top 5 fitted into a support hole 6. It is composed of a connecting sheet 8 that covers the key top 5 and a surface sheet 7 that covers the entire panel 4.

First, the switch element 2 has contacts that are mechanically connected and disconnected.
A so-called mechanical switch was used.

This mechanical switch has an operating stroke of 1. 3 m
m, that is, the actuator 22 is 1. 3mm
When bent, the switch has the ability to connect.

Then, the terminals 2l of the switch elements 2 were inserted into the holes of the printed board 3 and fixed with solder, and wires were connected so that the switch elements 2 in each unit key were connected in parallel.

On the other hand, the panel 4 is made of a steel plate with a thickness of 0.8M, and as shown in FIG. The width partitions 61 were connected with a protrusion 62 having a length of 3 mm left.

In addition, although not shown, support holes 6 for a hook-shaped 3-unit key and a horizontally long 5-unit key are also provided.

Next, a polyurethane sheet with a thickness of 0.2 mm is used for the surface sheet 7, and as shown in FIG. Key protrusion 7l that matches the position and shape of the unit key
has been established.

That is, a 2-unit key using two switch elements 2 and a 3-unit key using three switch elements 2 bent into a hook shape.
Key convex portions 7l for three types of multi-unit keys, including a unit key and a horizontally long 5-unit key using three switch elements 2, were each provided by heat pressing to have a height of l a+m.

In addition, in practical terms, the position of the key top, the name of the key top, etc. are printed on the back side of the front sheet 7, but since only the function is evaluated here, the back side of the front sheet 7 is printed. The printing on the back side has been omitted.

Furthermore, for the connecting sheet 8, a polyester sheet with a thickness of 0.3 is used, which is cut into shapes that match the three types of multi-unit keys, and is cut into shapes that match the three types of multi-unit keys. Glued to.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the key top 5 is inserted through the panel 4, and brought into elastic contact with the panel 4 from below by the actuator 22 of the switch element 2 soldered to the printed board 3. and panel 4 were fixed.

A sample of the multi-unit key of the present invention thus assembled was pressed to evaluate key feel, stability of switch operation, etc.

Figure (D) shows the case of 2 unit keys.
(A) is a side view when the vehicle is at rest.

In this state, it is not much different from the conventional two-unit key shown in Figure 3 (A), but even if you press the center part as shown in (mouth) or the end part as shown in (c), , with a light key feel,
It was also confirmed that the switch operation was stable, and good effects were also confirmed for samples with 3 unit keys and 5 unit keys.

In this case, a polyester sheet was used as the connecting sheet, but the same effect can be obtained with a thin metal sheet such as phosphor bronze or tui+, and various modifications can be made to the material and thickness of the sheet.

In addition, although the connecting sheet is adhered to the inner surface of the key convex portion of the top sheet, it basically only needs to be placed in the gap between the inner surface of the key convex portion and the key top.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the multi-unit keys for sheet keyboards according to the present invention can solve the conventional problems of heavy key feel and unstable switch operation.

That is, by using a soft surface sheet, a good and stable switch operation can be obtained without impairing the light touch of keys, which is not much different from that of a one-unit key.

Therefore, not only can the application range of the sheet keyboard be expanded, but also the conventional key tops can be used as is, which has a great manufacturing effect.

In the figure, l is unit key 21 is a terminal, 3 is a printed board, 5 is the key top, 61 is a partition 7 is the top sheet, 8 is a connecting sheet, It is.

2 is a switch element, 22 is the actuator, 4 is the panel, 6 is a support hole; 62 is a protrusion; 7l is the key convex part, 9 is a spacer tube,

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a multi-unit key. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of a conventional two-unit key. The composition of Pafujire (A) Disassembled strabismus ear The present invention’) Daikanta 1. Figure 1 (Zone 1) CG) #I entry on the front sheet 1st explanation of the invention Figure 1 ('t-2) CD) Kyusho III-IV movement watch / 1st page Akira Mizutaka/1 Daijo da j explanatory diagram Figure 1 (zo03) q〕 N 7 surface ute (stomach) funi,,tokey C mouth) f51 2, l toki (c) 2uni,,F key (2) 3 uni, zoto t Example of composition by Shio Yuji Sotoya Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] A printed board (on which a plurality of switch elements (2) are supported)
3), a plurality of support holes (6) are arranged at positions corresponding to each of the switch elements (2), and the printed board (3)
a panel (4) supported opposite to the support hole (6);
), and the switch element (2) is slidably inserted into the switch element (2).
A plurality of key tops (5) are brought into elastic contact with the panel (4) by an actuator (22) attached to the key top (5), and a key convex shape is formed in a convex shape at a position corresponding to each of the key tops (5). (71) and a surface sheet (7) that covers the key top (5) and the panel (4), and each of the at least two adjacent key tops (5) Each partition (61) of a plurality of support holes (6) to be inserted
) are continuously punched leaving a part of the partition (61) as a protrusion (62), and at least two adjacent protrusions are provided in the gap between the inner surface of the key protrusion (71) and the key top (5). A connecting sheet (8) that collectively covers the key tops (5) of
) is arranged for a multi-unit key structure for a sheet keyboard.