JPH046721A - Keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a simple structure at a low cost by constituting an energizing means with one or more stretched belt-shaped elastic body, and arranging multiple key buttons on each belt-shaped elastic body. CONSTITUTION:A force F is applied to the key top section 14 of a key button 12 at the right end, and the key button 12 is depressed against the exciting force of a coil spring 24. The portion of the spring 24 between hook section 30... on both sides of the button 12 is extended by the elastic force. The lower end section of the spring 24 immediately below a pressing section 18 presses the upper face of a contact sheet, and the corresponding contact is closed. The spring 24 is extended only at the depressed portion within the range hooked by the hook section 30..., thus the other portions are moved upward to the original positions by the elastic force of the coil spring 24.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a keyboard.

(Prior Art) Keyboards for word processors, electronic typewriters, and the like are provided with a large number of key buttons.

A key button has a structure that closes its contacts when it is pressed, and normally the contacts are open. 6 Therefore, each key button is equipped with a coil spring as a biasing means, and the key button is pressed. It is constantly biased in the direction away from the contact.

Therefore, only when a finger or the like applies a force to the key button that can resist the biasing force of the coil spring, the key button is closed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional keyboard described above has the following problems.

Because one coil spring must be placed on each key button, the work efficiency during keyboard assembly is poor, especially when the number of key buttons is large, such as in a word processor, which causes an increase in manufacturing costs. There are technical and economic challenges.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a keyboard with a simple structure and low cost.

(Means for solving problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes the following configuration.

That is, in the first configuration, a contact point is always opened or closed by a biasing means, and a plurality of key buttons are provided that close or open the contact point when pressed against the biasing force of the biasing means. In the keyboard, the biasing means is composed of one or more elastic bands having both ends fixed and stretched, and each elastic band biases a plurality of key buttons, Furthermore, a second configuration is characterized in that a movement preventing means is disposed between adjacent key buttons to prevent the elastic band from moving in the longitudinal direction.

In order to close the contacts, the elastic band may be made of a conductive material, or a portion of the elastic band corresponding to the contact may be subjected to conductive treatment to close the contact. It may be characterized by being given.

(effect) The effect will be explained.

In the first configuration, it is possible to bias the key button with one elastic band. Further, if the second configuration is adopted, it becomes possible to prevent the band-shaped elastic body from being displaced in the length direction due to the pressing of the key button.

Furthermore, if the band-shaped elastic body is made of a conductive material, the band-shaped elastic body can be used as an electric circuit, and conduction can be established between the contacts when the contacts are closed. Similarly, when conductive treatment is applied to the portions of the band-shaped elastic body corresponding to the contacts, conduction between the contacts becomes possible.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 1 (a partial sectional view of one column or one row of the keyboard 10).

12... are key buttons, and the key top part 14...
. . and a stem portion 16 hanging vertically from the inner upper surface of the keyed portion 14 . The stem portions 16 have an H-shaped cross section, and a pressing portion 18 is formed in the center.

20 is a frame, and key buttons 12 are provided on the top surface.
A hollow sleeve portion 22 into which the sleeve is inserted is erected. Sleeve part 22... Inside is key button 12...
The stem portion 16 of . . . is loosely inserted so as to be vertically movable.

A coil spring 24 is an example of a band-shaped elastic body, and in this embodiment, it is made of a conductive material and is elongated. The left end of the coil spring 24 is hooked and fixed to a fixing part 26 formed at the left end of the frame 20. Although the right end of the coil spring 24 is not disclosed, it is also attached to the frame 2.
It is fixed to the right end of 0 and stretched in the straight direction.

A pusher 28 is provided on the frame 20 and generates sufficient tension in the coil spring 24 by restricting the coil spring 24 to bend downward.

30... is a latching part which is an example of a movement prevention means,
It is provided on the frame 20. The hooking portions 30 are formed between adjacent sleeve portions 22. The coil spring 24 is latched at the upper part of the latching parts 30, and between the latching parts 30, there is a pressing part 18 formed on the stem part 16 of the key button 12. They are arranged in a repeating pattern that passes through the lower ends of the hooks 30 and is hooked onto the tops of the hooks 30. With this configuration, the coil spring 24 is used for all key buttons 12...
・can be biased upward.

In other words, key button 1 in one row or - row of the keyboard 20
2... can be biased upward by one coil spring 24.

The coil spring 24 is connected to the adjacent key button 12...
When the locking parts 30 provided in the middle of the key buttons 12 are used to lock the keys, the entire coil spring 24 does not displace in the length direction when one of the key buttons 12 is pressed. It is possible to prevent variations in the urging force of the button 12.

In addition, in order to prevent the coil spring 24 from shifting in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the first drawing, grooves 32 are provided at the lower ends of the pressing portions 18 of the key buttons 12 in the length direction of the coil springs 24.・is formed.

Reference numeral 34 denotes a substrate, which is disposed at a predetermined interval with respect to the frame 20. A contact sheet (not shown) is attached to the upper surface of the substrate 34, and contacts are arranged directly below the pressing portions 18 of the key buttons 12 in correspondence with each other. The contact sheet usually has contacts spaced apart from each other, and the contacts close (come into contact) when the upper surface corresponding to the contacts is pressed downward.

Note that the key buttons 12... are the key top portions 14...
The coil spring 24 can be pressed down until the improved surface of the sleeve portion 22 comes into contact with the upper end surface of the sleeve portion 22 . . . At that point, the coil spring 24 is compressed so that its cross section becomes flat, and the contact sheet and the key button 12 . It is located between the pressing part 1B...

Further, the sleeve portion 22 is provided with a hole 23, and the stem portion 16 is provided with a claw I7, and the claw 17 is located on the upper edge of the hole 23. Due to the contact, upward movement of the key buttons 12 due to the bias of the coil spring 24 is restricted.

The operation of the keyboard 10 configured in this way will be explained.

Key top part 1 as shown in the rightmost key button 12 in Figure 1.
A force F acts on the key button 4, and the key button 12 is pressed down against the biasing force of the coil spring 24.

Then, the hooks 30 on both sides of the pressed key button 12
. . . The coil spring 240 portion between them expands with elastic force. As a result, the coil spring 2 directly below the pressing part 18
The lower end of 4 presses against the upper surface of the contact sheet, and the corresponding contact closes. At that time, the coil spring 24
Since only the pressed portion expands within the range held by the coil springs 24, the other portions do not move in the length direction of the coil spring 24.

When the force F is released, the key button 12 is moved upward to the previous position by the elastic force of the coil spring 24.

In the above example, the contact sheet was pasted on the board 34, but in the case of this embodiment, since the coil spring 24 is made of a conductive material, the board 34 is attached to the circuit board without using the contact sheet. If a circuit is printed on the top surface of the key button 12 and the two contacts to be closed are placed directly under the pressing part 18 of the key button 12...
By pressing down, the coil spring 24 comes into contact with both contacts, making it possible to conduct between them.

Furthermore, it is also possible to incorporate the coil spring 24 itself into the circuit by utilizing the fact that the coil spring 24 is made of IILTi material. For example, if the coil spring 24 is connected to the circuit on the board 34 at the portion 36 in FIG. 1, it becomes possible to flow current through the coil spring 24.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

It should be noted that the same members as those in the previous embodiment are given the same member numbers as in FIG. 1, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

A protrusion 38 that protrudes downward is formed on a part of the lower edge of the key top 14 of the key button 12 .

A contact sheet 40 is disposed on the frame 20 directly below the protrusion 38.

When the force G acts on the key button 12 and the key button 12 is pressed down against the urging force of the coil spring 24, the protrusion 38 presses the upper surface of the contact sheet 40. This pressing closes the contacts of the contact channel 40.

When the force G is released, the key button 12 is pushed up to the previous position by the biasing force of the coil spring 24, and the contacts of the contact sheet 40 are opened.

If the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is adopted, the keyboard 10 can be made thinner because a circuit board is not required.

In both of the above-mentioned actual flow sides, the coil spring 24 is used as the band-shaped elastic body, but a rubber heald or the like can also be used as the band-shaped elastic body. In this case, the rubber heald can be non-conductive in order to open and close the contacts on the contact sheet with the rubber heald, but if the rubber heald also serves as a circuit or to make two contacts on the circuit board conductive, the rubber heald can be used as a non-conductor. It may be formed from electrically conductive rubber. Furthermore, if only two contacts are to be electrically connected, conductive processing may be performed to make only the portions corresponding to the contacts electrically conductive. Note that even if the coil spring 24 and the rubber heald have a circular cross-sectional shape,
It may be oval, rectangular, or even hollow in cross section.

In addition, in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coil spring 24 can be fixed by being hooked to the hooking portion 30 through the gap around the outer periphery of the coil spring 24, but as shown in FIG. 3(a), Latching part 30
. . . may be formed with a protrusion of an arrow stick, and this may be inserted into the coil spring 24 and latched. Also rubber held 42
In this case, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the hooking hole 44.
. . , or by forming a projection 46 for latching on the rubber heald 42 as shown in FIG. 3(c).
It may be inserted into the hole 47 of... and hooked.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, it may be used in a keyboard that releases contacts when a key button is pressed, or the band-shaped elastic body may not be stretched in a straight line but may be bent through an appropriate member, which deviates from the spirit of the invention. Of course, many more modifications can be made within the scope of the invention.

(Effects of the Invention) When the keyboard according to the present invention is used, a plurality of key buttons can be biased by a single band-like elastic body, so it is possible to have a simple structure, and it is easy to assemble, and the workability in the assembly work is improved. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the keyboard can be reduced. Furthermore, if the structure of claim 2 is adopted, it becomes possible to apply a uniform biasing force to each key button.

In addition, when the structure of claim 3 or 4 is adopted, the conduction of the contact point can be performed by the band-shaped elastic body, and especially in the case of claim 3, the band-shaped elastic body can be further incorporated into the circuit, so that the printed wiring can be improved. It has great effects such as simplification.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing an embodiment of the keyboard according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIG.
The figure is a partial cross-sectional view showing another relationship between the band-shaped elastic body and the hook. lO...Keyboard, 12...Key button,
24...Coil spring, 30...Latching part, 42...Rubber heald.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of key buttons are provided whose contacts are constantly opened or closed by a biasing means and which close or open the contacts when pressed against the biasing force of the biasing means. In the keyboard, the biasing means consists of one or more elastic bands having both ends fixed and stretched, and each elastic band biases a plurality of key buttons. keyboard. 2. The keyboard according to claim 1, further comprising a movement preventing means disposed between adjacent key buttons to prevent the elastic band from moving in the longitudinal direction. 3. The keyboard according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the elastic band is made of a conductive material. 4. The keyboard according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a portion of the band-like elastic body corresponding to the contact point is subjected to a conductive treatment to close the gap between the contact points.