JPH03229316A - Item input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily change the entry paper by making a supporting sheet super- posed on a surface sheet of rubber material, and also, providing a transparent recessed part opposed to a projecting part. CONSTITUTION:A supporting sheet 4 is made, for instance, by executing hot press working to a silicone rubber sheet, its thickness is 700 mum, and a recessed part 41 of 500 mum depth is used so that a projecting part 31 of a surface sheet 3 escapes. As a result, thickness of the top of the recessed part 41 comes to 200 mum, the inside is transparent, and also, it is constituted so that a gap to the surface of the projecting part 31 opens by 300 mum. In such a state, a membrane sheet 2 is placed and fixed on a supporting plate 1, the surface sheet 3 is placed thereon, and also, a supporting sheet 4 is placed, by which a sheet membrane keyboard is constituted. In such a way, entry paper 5 can be changed simply, and the use convenience of the item input device can be improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding an item input device, the purpose is to easily replace the entry paper of a sheet membrane keyboard, and the present invention includes a support plate, a membrane switch, a top sheet, a support sheet, and an entry paper. The support plate supports a membrane switch, and the membrane switch has a lower sheet and an upper sheet provided with conductor patterns that face and intersect with each other through switch holes provided in the spacing sheet. , are layered with a spacing sheet in between, the top sheet is placed over the top sheet and has a transparent convex portion facing the switch hole, and the support sheet is The paper is made of a rubber material and has a transparent concave part facing a convex part, and is placed on top of the top sheet. It is configured to be sandwiched between the convex portion of the topsheet or between the convex portion and the concave portion of the support sheet.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an item input device, and more particularly to a sheet membrane type item input device that allows easy replacement of entry forms.

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

Among these various input/output devices, the keyboard is overwhelmingly used as an input device.

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

Furthermore, devices equipped with keyboards are widely used, ranging from peripheral terminal devices for large computers to small calculators.

Furthermore, the locations where it is used range from factory use in factories, offices, stores, etc.
Electronic devices that are widely used in the home and even for personal use almost always include some form of keyboard on the control panel or maintenance panel.

Under these circumstances, POS (Point of 5ales) is a device that has come to be used as the core of store use, that is, the informationization and automation of stores.

Large retail stores and chain stores such as convenience stores,
In addition, it is rapidly becoming popular in wide-area chain stores such as fast food and family restaurants.

This means that PO3 terminals can be used with conventional mechanical registers, ECR
Unlike electronic cash registers (electronic cash registers), it is a system that can handle various information necessary for store management.

Therefore, in POS terminals, collecting data for each item is an important task.

Therefore, in stores that are highly computerized and information-oriented, for example, barcodes are printed on the packaging of individual products, or barcode labels are affixed to each product. The league collects basic data such as readings, product names, and unit prices.

However, when it is not possible to attach labels to products that are not individually packaged, such as food on tableware in a restaurant, it is necessary to manually sort and input the items into the PO3 terminal. , this uses an item input device that allows input for each item.

This item input device allows each item to be written on a sheet of paper and assigned to each key. Another advantage is that the user can freely rewrite this item at any time, and the ease of replacing the entry form is important.

C. Prior Art] Item The human powered device is a type of so-called keyboard, so
From now on, I will refer to it as the keyboard.

Keyboards are classified into various types depending on the sui-nochi method used, and are used depending on the purpose.

The switch method that was once the mainstream of keyboards and is still widely used today is a so-called key switch, which is a single keyboard switch that physically contacts the switch contacts to establish continuity. This is a keyboard that is arranged and mounted on a printed circuit board.

However, the use of such a stand-alone key switch has become a dying technology, and the price range has reached its limit.

In its place, membrane keyboards have been developed with the aim of lowering the price.

A membrane is a thin film, and a keyboard is constructed by combining multiple dielectric sheets to form a membrane switch. Membrane keyboards are not only thin and inexpensive, but also have recently improved reliability, so they have been developed to the point where they are used for industrial purposes.

On the other hand, if the keyboard is
If the keyboard is used in a bad environment with a lot of moisture or steam, or if it is operated with wet or dirty hands, the key tops are covered with a top sheet and the entire keyboard is constructed in a sealed structure. A so-called sheet keyboard is suitable.

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a conventional sheet membrane keyboard, Fig. 7 is a sectional view of Fig. 6 when it is at rest, Fig. 8 is a sectional view of Fig. 6 when it is in operation, and Fig. 9 is a top sheet FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of peripheral edge processing.

In the figure, 1 is a support plate, 2 is a membrane sheet, 2a is a spacing sheet, 2b is a lower sheet, 2C is an upper sheet, 22 is a conductor pattern, 3 is a top sheet, and 5 is a writing paper.

The support plate 1 is made of a thin metal plate, a plastic plate, or the like.

The membrane sheet 2 includes a spacing sheet 2a and a lower sheet 2.
1) and an upper sheet 2c.

For the spacing sheet 2a, the lower sheet 2b, and the upper sheet 2c, a polyester film having a bite thickness of, for example, around 100 μm, weather resistance, chemical resistance, relatively rigidity, and mechanical strength is often used.

Conductor patterns 22 that cross each other are provided on each of the lower sheet 1-2b and the upper sheet 2c by, for example, screen printing.

A plurality of penetrating switch holes 21 are provided in the spacing sheet 2a at positions corresponding to the intersections of the upper and lower conductor patterns 22.

On the support plate 1, a lower sheet 2b, a spacing sheet 2a, and an upper sheet 2c are stacked in this order so that the upper and lower conductor patterns 22 face each other through the switch holes 21 with a distance of Ha, and each switch hole 21 is stacked on the support plate 1. is a membrane switch.

That is, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the membrane switch when it is at rest, and shows the conductor pattern 2 provided on the lower sheet 2b.
2 and the conductor pattern 22 provided on the upper sheet 2c are connected to each other through the spacing sheet 2a at a height of, for example, 125 μm, which corresponds to the thickness of the spacing sheet 2a, and the hole diameter of the switch hole 21 is a disk having a hole diameter of, for example, 4 mm. The top and bottom of the space are opposite to each other.

This is one type of switch called a membrane switch.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view during operation, and when the upper sheet 2c is pressed down as shown by the arrow, the upper sheet 2c bends downward and the upper and lower conductive patterns 22 come into contact with each other and are electrically connected. This means that the contact is closed.

When the pressing force is released, the upper sheet 2c returns upward due to its own rigidity, the upper and lower conductive patterns 22 are separated, and the contact points are opened.

Although the mechanism for pressing down the upper sheet 2c is not shown, a separate keyboard called a key top may be provided to press down the upper sheet 2c, or the pressing blade may be made smaller to obtain a light key feel. Various ideas have been made, such as applying a lever or using an actuator using a spring material.

In the case of a sheet membrane keyboard, there is no such pressing means, and the surface of the membrane sheet is pressed directly with a finger.

For this purpose, in FIG. 5, a top sheet 3 made of, for example, a polyester sheet having a thickness of about 100 μm is further superimposed on the top sheet 2c. This top sheet 3 has switch holes 2 of the membrane sheet 2.
The position corresponding to 1 is embossed so as to protrude slightly, and a transparent convex portion 31 of a size as required is provided, for example, at a height of about 200 am.

This convex portion 31 allows you to know the position of the switch when you touch the flat membrane sheet 2 with your finger.
Moreover, since the thickness of the interval seam Ha is about 100 μm, it is provided to increase the stroke of depression.

The entry form 5 includes the upper sheet 2c and the convex portions 31 of the top sheet 3.
sandwiched between. The entry form 5 has a food menu written thereon, for example in a restaurant, and the written contents can be seen through the convex portion 31.

In this way, a sheet membrane keyboard with a combined structure of a membrane keyboard and a sheet keyboard is completed.

However, conventionally, a polyester film is often used for the top sheet 3 of a sheet membrane keyboard because durability is required. However, polyester film
It is rigid and tends to curl easily. Therefore, in order to prevent the peripheral edge 33 of the topsheet 3 from curling up, the peripheral edge 33 of the topsheet 3 is pasted with adhesive tape 6 as shown in FIG. As shown in B), it is held between guide covers 7.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The top sheet of a sheet membrane keyboard is pressed down directly by fingers, so durability is required, and a polyester sheet is used.

However, polyester sheets are relatively rigid and have the property of being easily curled or unable to return to their original state once they are creased. Therefore, the peripheral edge of the top sheet used in conventional sheet membrane keyboards has been fixed by being attached with adhesive tape or sandwiched between guide covers.

For this reason, the advantage of sheet keyboards, which are characterized by the ability to rewrite and replace the entry forms, is hindered, and there is a problem in that the entry forms cannot be easily replaced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet membrane type item input device in which a heavy support sheet is placed on the top sheet or the top sheet itself is made heavy so that it is possible to easily replace entry forms.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above-mentioned problem includes a support plate, a membrane switch, a support sheet, and an entry sheet, the support plate supports a membrane switch, and the membrane switch has a spacer sheet. A lower sheet and an upper sheet provided with conductive patterns that face and intersect with each other through switch holes provided in the lower sheet are layered with a spacer sheet in between, and the top sheet is layered on the upper sheet. The support sheet has a transparent convex portion facing the switch hole, and the support sheet is superimposed on the top sheet and is made of a rubber material and has a transparent convex portion facing the convex portion. The entry form has a concave part, on which items are written, and is held between the top sheet and the convex part of the top sheet, or between the convex part and the concave part of the support sheet. The problem is solved by an item input device configured to be

Function] As mentioned above, in conventional sheet membrane type item input devices, the peripheral edge of the top sheet is pasted or clamped with a cover to prevent it from being rolled up. However, in the present invention, such support is not provided at all.

In other words, a polyester film is used for the top sheet due to the need for durability, and a flexible yet heavy support sheet is first placed on top of this flexible and light top sheet to hold it down. . and,
This support sheet is made of a rubber material that has no rigidity and does not have any tendency to roll up, and has the property of being well-fitted and returning to its original shape even if it is greatly deformed.

A transparent concave portion is provided on the support sheet at a position opposite to a transparent convex portion provided on the topsheet, so that the support sheet comes into close contact with the topsheet.

The items written on the entry form can be visually checked through the recesses of the support sheet, or through the projections of the top sheet and the recesses of the support sheet.

In this way, while the support sheet presses down on the topsheet, the peripheral edge of the support sheet rests comfortably under the weight of the topsheet itself and does not roll up.

Therefore, there is no need to attach or pinch the peripheral edge of the support sheet. This is the first invention.

Next, the top sheet has a two-layer structure of a lower layer sheet and an upper layer sheet, and a rubber material is used for the lower layer sheet.

Then, a through hole is provided in the lower layer sheet at a position opposite to the transparent convex portion of the upper layer sheet, and the items written on the entry form are as follows:
The protrusions on the upper sheet and the through holes on the lower sheet allow for visual inspection.

In this way, the circumferential edge of the topsheet will settle down due to its own weight and will not curl up. Therefore, there is no need to attach or pinch the peripheral edge of the top sheet. This is the second invention.

In this way, according to the present invention, the peripheral edges of the support sheet and top sheet can be kept as free ends, so that by turning up the peripheral edges of the support sheet and top sheet, the entry form can be replaced. It's easy to do.

[Example] Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of the great invention, Fig. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of Fig. 7, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another first embodiment of the invention. 4 is a sectional view showing another first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a support plate, 2 is a membrane sheet, 3 is a top sheet, 4 is a support sheet, and 5 is a writing paper.

The support plate 1 is made of, for example, a thin metal plate or a plastic plate with a thickness of about 1 mm, and the peripheral end surface is bent at a 90 degree angle with a height of 1 mm.

The membrane sheet 2 includes a spacing sheet 2a and a lower seal l-
2b and an upper sheet 2c, the lower sheet 2b and the upper sheet 2c have a film thickness of, for example, around 100 μm, and are often made of durable polyester film.

Conductor patterns 22 that cross each other are provided on each of the lower sheet 2b and the upper sheet 2c. The conductor pattern 22 is made of, for example, a double layer of Ag paste and carbon paste, and is provided by screen printing or the like.

Since the spacing sheet 2a determines the specifications of the membrane switch, it is specified to have a film thickness of 125 μm, for example.In addition, a plurality of penetrating switches are placed at positions corresponding to the intersections of the upper and lower conductor patterns 22. Hole 21
is provided, and the diameter of this hole is, for example, 4 mmφ. That is, each membrane switch has a disc shape with a height of 125 μm and a hole diameter of 4 mm.

In this way, the lower sheet 2b and the upper sheet 2c are bonded together with the spacing sheet 2a in between, and the membrane sheet 2 is completed.

Next, as the top sheet 3, a polyester film with a thickness of 100 μm is used, again taking durability into consideration. Then, a convex portion 3 with a height of 200 um is formed by embossing at a position facing the sui-edge hole 21 of the membrane sheet 2.
1 is provided in the shape of a key switch.

The support sheet 4 is made, for example, by hot pressing a silicone rubber sheet. The thickness of the support sheet 4 is 700μ
m, and a recess 41 with a depth of 500 μm is used so that the convex portion 31 of the topsheet 3 can escape.

As a result, the thickness of the ceiling of the recess 41 is 200 μm,
The inside looks transparent. Further, the gap between the convex portion 31 and the surface thereof is 300 μm.

A membrane sheet 2 is placed and fixed on a support plate 1, a top sheet 3 is placed thereon, and a support sheet 4 is placed thereon to complete the sheet membrane keyboard of the present invention.

Since the top sheet 3 and the support sheet 4 are bent around the support plate 1, they are prevented from shifting in the front, rear, left and right directions.

The stroke of this keyboard switch is based on the gap between the surface of the convex portion 31 and the ceiling of the concave portion 41 of 300 μm, and the distance between the convex portion 3
1 and the thickness of the interval sheet t-2a, that is, the height of the switch hole 21, which is 125 μm,
It becomes 625 μm.

Example=1 In FIGS. 1 and 2, the entry form 5 is cut into shapes corresponding to the recesses 41 of the support sheet 4, that is, the shapes of the key switches. Then, it is sandwiched between the convex portions 31 of the top sheet 3 and the concave portions 41 of the support sheet 4, thereby completing the item input device of the present invention.

This is an individual exchange type, and is configured so that the entry form 5 can be exchanged for each item.

Example: 2 In FIG. 3, the entry form 5 is large enough to cover the entire surface of the membrane sheet 2, and is sandwiched between the membrane sheet 2 and the top sheet 3 to complete the item input device of the present invention.

All items corresponding to the recesses 41 of the support sheet 4 are written on the entry form 5.

Therefore, this form is a so-called batch exchange type, and the form 5
can be replaced all at once by turning over the top sheet 3 and support sheet 4.

Embodiment 3 In Embodiments I and 2, the surface of the support sheet 40 is completely flat, so the position corresponding to the key switch cannot be determined from the touch of the finger.

Therefore, in FIG. 4, a protrusion 42 or a border 43 facing away from the recess 41 is provided on the surface of the support sheet 4.

This way, you can check the position of the key switch just by feeling it with your fingers, without having to look at it visually.

Example: 4 In FIG. 5, the top sheet 3 has a film thickness of, for example, 6001.
Im lower layer sheet 3a made of neoprene rubber sheet and upper layer sheet 3 made of polyester film with a film thickness of 100 μm
It has the laminated structure shown in b.

The lower sheet 3a is provided with through holes 32 by punching at positions corresponding to the switch holes 21 of the membrane sheet 2.

On the other hand, the upper sheet 3b has through holes 32 in the lower sheet 3a.
A convex portion 31 with a height of 11001I is provided at a position opposite to .

The top sheet 3 is constructed by pasting the lower sheet 3a and the upper sheet 3b together so that the positions of the through holes 32 and the convex portions 31 match.

Although the entry form 5 is held between the upper sheet 2c and the top sheet 3 of the membrane sheet 2, it may be an individually replaceable type in which it is divided into individual items and stored in the through holes 32 as in the first embodiment. The item input device can also be used for a batch exchange type in which all items are written on one entry form 5 as in 2.

In this way, it can be confirmed that in each of the examples, the peripheral end 33 of the top sheet 3 can be prevented from being rolled up even without pasting or pinching the peripheral end 33 as in the conventional method. Ta.

Various modifications can be made to the material, film thickness, shape, dimensions, etc. of the membrane sheet, surface sheet, and support sheet.

In addition, in Example 1.2.3, since the ceiling of the recessed part of the support sheet must be transparent, silicone rubber, neoplastic rubber, etc. that does not contain additives that inhibit transparency are used. In Example 4, the lower sheet does not need to be transparent because the through holes are provided therein. Therefore,
For example, various colored rubbers can be used, and various modifications are possible.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in conventional sheet membrane type item input devices, the peripheral edge of the top sheet is fixed by pasting or clamping, making it difficult to replace the entry form.

In contrast, in the present invention, it is possible to prevent the topsheet from curling up even without fixing the peripheral edge by pressing the topsheet using its own weight.

Therefore, the entry form can be easily replaced, and the present invention greatly contributes to improving the usability of the item input device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing another first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 6 is an exploded view of an example of a conventional sheet membrane keyboard. The seventh is a sectional view of FIG. 8 at rest, FIG. 8 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 during operation, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of processing of the peripheral edge of the top sheet. In the figure, 1 is a support plate, 2a is a spacing sheet i, 2c is an upper sheet i, 22 is a conductor pattern, 2 is a membrane sheet, 2b is a lower sheet, 21 is a switch hole, 3 is a top sheet, 3b is an upper layer sheet, 32 is a through hole, 4 is a support sheet, and 5 is a writing paper. 3a is a lower sheet, 31 is a convex portion, 41 is a concave portion,

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) The support plate (1) has a support plate (1), a membrane sheet (2), a top sheet (3), a support sheet (4), and an entry form (5); ) supports the membrane sheet (2), and the membrane sheet (2) has conductor patterns (22) that face each other and cross each other through switch holes (21) provided in the spacing sheet (2a). The lower seat (2
b) and the upper sheet (2c) are arranged so that the spacing sheet (2a)
The top sheet (3) is superimposed on the top sheet (2c), and has a transparent convex portion (2) at a position facing the switch hole (21). 31), the support sheet (4) is placed over the top sheet (3), is made of a rubber material, and has a transparent support sheet at a position opposite to the convex portion (31). The entry form (5) has a recess (41) on which items are entered,
Something that is sandwiched between the top sheet (2c) and the convex part (31) of the top sheet (3), or between the convex part (31) and the concave part (41) of the support sheet (4). An item input device characterized by: 2) It has a support plate (1), a membrane sheet (2), a top sheet (3), and an entry form (5), and the top sheet (3) is superimposed on the top sheet (2c). The top sheet (3) is made of a rubber material and has a through hole (32) at a position opposite to the switch hole (21), and the top sheet (3) is made of a rubber material. An upper layer sheet (3b) having a transparent convex portion (31) is pasted at a position facing the hole (32), and the entry form (5) is composed of the upper sheet (2c) and the lower layer sheet. 2. The item input device according to claim 1, wherein the item input device is sandwiched between the device and the item input device (3a).