JPH05174667A - Rubber actuator for key switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an actuator of high productivity that can also be used for key switchs of different size or different key arrangement by forming a cross section in the longitudinal direction into a predetermined long beam shape. CONSTITUTION:A rubber actuator 11 is provided with an angular groove 11a to be mounted on a circuit board 12 of a circuit structure member, on a fixed part 11b, and its end part is shaped like a beam provided with a plurality of slits lid of cross sectional shapes in the longitudinal direction, each of which is provided with a bank-like press part 11c-1', and a continuous bar 11c-2 that can be freely buckled, on the upper part and on the lower part, respectively. When one press part 11c-1' is pushed by a key top 2, the other press part 11c-1' is pressed to be in contact with a contact region of the board 12. Because of the shape that can be easily molded, a rubber actuator for key switch of high productivity, that can be commonly used for key switches of different size or of different arrangement, is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a rubber actuator used for a key switch of an information input keyboard, and particularly to a key switch having a different size or a key switch having a different key arrangement pitch. The present invention relates to a rubber actuator for a key switch, which is configured so as to be commonly used to improve productivity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the main structure of a keyboard using a conventional rubber actuator.
1) is a cross-sectional view showing the assembled state as a keyboard switch plate, and (7-2) is a perspective view showing only the rubber actuator and showing it in a cross section passing through the center line.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a pressing characteristic of a conventional rubber actuator. A keyboard switch plate 1 located inside a casing (not shown in (7-1) in the figure) is a switch panel 3 made of a resin molded product in which a plurality of key tops 2 are mounted and held so as to be vertically movable in a matrix with a predetermined pitch. Then, by pressing in the thickness direction at a position corresponding to each key top mounting position of the switch panel 3 or releasing the pressing, the signal corresponding to the pressed position can be turned off 0N-OFF, the entire surface of the membrane sheet 4. The support panel 5 made of metal held by the above and the dome-shaped rubber actuator 6 interposed between the key top and the membrane sheet 4 at each key top mounting position of the switch panel 3 are configured as main constituent members. ..

The support panel 5 to which the membrane sheet 4 is attached and the switch panel 3 are, for example, the fixed claw 3a and the support panel 5 formed on the switch panel 3 with the rubber actuator 6 interposed. After fixing and fixing the fixing claw 3a and the hole 5a formed at the corresponding position by means such as fitting, the key top 2 is attached to the key top attaching position of the switch panel 3 as shown in FIG. Keyboard switch board 1 shown in
Is configured.

In particular, the rubber actuator 6 in this case is
Lower end of dome with multiple air vent holes 6a as shown in (7-2)
The surface is formed with a flange 6b protruding to the periphery, and
The ring-shaped projection 6c formed in the area and the
Curved surface 6 in the opposite direction from the protrusion 6c _-1In the center after going through
The curved surface 6 along the center axis_-1Contact protruding on both sides of
The point pressing shaft 6d is formed by molding.

The upper end surface 6d 'of the contact pressing shaft 6d is lower than the upper surface 6c' of the ring-shaped projection 6c, and the contact pressing shaft 6d is
The lower end surface 6d ″ of the above is located above the lower end surface 6b ′ of the flange 6b.

The key top 2 is in the normal state (7-1) in which the lower end surface 2a thereof is pushed up by the ring-shaped projection 6c of the rubber actuator 6 when no pressing force is applied.

[0008] Therefore is pressed the key top 2, but the lower end surface 2a causes first lowering the ring projection 6c turn contacts the pressing shaft 6d by deformation of the dome wall _6-2, the contact pressing shaft
After the lower end surface 6d ″ of 6d comes into contact with the surface of the membrane sheet 4, the ring-shaped protrusion is formed by the deformation of the curved surface 6 _−1.
Only 6c descends.

After the lower end surface 2a of the key top 2 comes into contact with the upper end surface 6d 'of the contact pressing shaft 6d, the contact pressing shaft 6d is directly pressed, so that the pressing force of the contact pressing shaft 6d itself. The corresponding signal on the membrane sheet 4 by
It can be N.

When the pressing force is released, the key top 2 rises due to the restoring force of the rubber actuator 6 (7-1)
The signal returns to the initial state shown in and the above signal returns to OFF. In FIG. 8 showing operation characteristics at the time of pressing operation, (8-1) is a center line sectional view of the rubber actuator 6 described in FIG.
2) is a rubber actuator eta pressing characteristic diagram in which the vertical axis Y is the pressing force F and the horizontal axis X is the pressing amount S of the key top 2.

In (8-1), the rubber actuator 6 has a diameter D including the flange 6b at the dome lower end surface 6b 'and a contact pressing shaft.
The distance from the lower end surface 6d ″ of 6d to the lower end surface 6b ′ is S ₁ ,
From the upper end surface 6d 'of the contact pressing shaft 6d to the ring-shaped projection upper surface
Suppose the distance to 6c ′ is S ₂ .

When the key top 2 located above the ring-shaped projection 6c is pressed down, the dome wall 6 _-2 of the rubber actuator 6 begins to flex while being tensioned, and the pressing force F gradually increases. When the Fa point shown in 8-2) is reached, the dome wall 6 _-2 is inverted, so that the pressing force F rapidly decreases and reaches the Fb point, after which the pressing force F turns to increase and the pressing force changes. A pressing characteristic curve that reaches the point Fd through the point Fc is shown.

The point Fb in this case is the position where the lower end surface 6d "of the contact pressing shaft 6d reaches the dome lower end surface 6b '.
Further, between Fb and Fc corresponds to a region where the lower end surface 2a of the key top 2 comes into contact with the upper surface 6c 'of the contact pressing shaft 6d, that is, a bending region of the curved surface 6 _-1 of the rubber actuator 6 in the opposite direction. ..

Therefore, from the base point P to the position corresponding to the Fb point on the horizontal axis X corresponds to "S ₁ " in (8-1), and from the base point P to the position corresponding to the Fc point. Corresponds to "S ₁ + S ₂ " in (8-1).

This means that in the area beyond the point Fb, the lower end surface 6d "of the contact pressing shaft 6d presses the switch portion of the membrane sheet 4 in contact with the rubber actuator 6, and the position beyond the point Fc further. Means that the switch portion of the membrane sheet 4 is directly pressed by the contact pressing shaft 6d.

Therefore, by using the rubber actuator exhibiting such a pressing characteristic curve, it is possible to construct a keyboard which can realize a switching action excellent in touch.

[0017]

By the way, a keyboard generally has a configuration in which key tops having different sizes and shapes are mixed, and various pitches between the key tops have been put into practical use. There is.

However, the conventional rubber actuator has a large occupying area (shadow area) in mounting because it has a circular dome shape having a diameter D in a plan view. For example, a key switch having a small and narrow key pitch such as a function key or an edit key. Etc. cannot be shared.

Therefore, in a conventional keyboard using a rubber actuator, it is necessary to separately prepare a rubber actuator suitable for each area of a small keytop array area or an area having a narrow key pitch, and it is expected that the productivity will be improved. There was a problem that I could not do it.

[0020]

The above object is to press a plurality of contact regions formed in alignment with a circuit component member with a key top arranged corresponding to each of the contact regions via a rubber actuator. Or a rubber actuator used in a key input device for switching switching in the contact area by releasing its pressing, the means comprising means capable of being fixed between the contact area rows on the circuit component. The rubber actuator having a length that covers at least all of the aligned contact areas has a pressing force from the key top in a state where the cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is fixed to the circuit component member. This is achieved by a rubber actuator for a key switch, which is formed and shaped so that it can be transmitted to the contact region only.

[0021]

The long beam-shaped rubber actuator can be easily formed by the usual extrusion molding technique.

Therefore, in the present invention, a long rubber actuator having a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction formed in such a shape that a pressing force from above can be transmitted downward only in the pressing force application region is provided between the key top rows, and by extension. By arranging the key switch between the key switch rows, it can be commonly used for a small key top array area and a narrow key pitch area.

Therefore, a keyboard having any key layout can be handled with one type of rubber actuator, and improvement in productivity can be expected.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the shape of a rubber actuator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the pressing characteristic of the rubber actuator eta, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state of attachment to a keyboard. ..

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second example of the shape of the rubber actuator, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the third example of the shape, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the rubber actuator. Note that, in each of the drawings, the case where the invention is applied to the keyboard described in FIG. 7 is taken as an example, and thus the same target members as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same symbols.

In FIG. 1, a rubber actuator 11 has a fixing portion 11b having a rectangular groove 11a whose cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction extends along the longitudinal direction. The pressing force transmitting portion 11c is integrally molded so as to have an additional shape. In particular, the pressing force transmitting portion 11c in this case projects from the upper and lower two positions of the side surface and is circled outside each tip thereof. Pressing part protruding in an arc shape 11c _-1 ′
It is composed of two plate-like beams 11c _-1 formed with a ridge and a connecting bar 11c _-2 connecting between the tip portions thereof.

The rubber actuator 11 has an arbitrary region (A in the figure) on the pressing portion 11c- ₁ 'along the longitudinal direction in a state where the actuator 11 is fixed by the fixing portion 11b.
When the area) is pressed as indicated by the arrow a, the pressing force transmitting portion 11
Only the vicinity area including the area A of c is adapted to project and deform in the pressing direction as shown by the broken line b.

If a slit 11d as shown by the broken line B is provided in the area of the plate-like beam 11c _-1 , the deformation in the pressing direction shown by the broken line b does not affect the adjacent portion even if the pitch area is small. Can be generated.

Now referring to FIG. 2, the rubber actuator
The pressing characteristics of 11 will be described. In Fig. 2, (1) to (4) show the deformation state as a rubber actuator in a time series, and (5) shows the time series deformation with a pressing characteristic curve similar to that in Fig. 9. Is.

In FIG. 1A, the rubber actuator 11 described with reference to FIG. 1 is fixed on the substrate 12 by a fixing portion 11b having a square groove 11a. And the fixed actuator 11
Means that the uppermost point of the pressing portion 11c _-1 ′ located on the upper side thereof is at the position h ₁ from the surface of the substrate 12, and the pressing portion 1c located on the lower side is
The lowest point of 1c _-1 ′ is assumed to be h ₂ from the surface of the substrate 12.

In the figure (1), the vertical axis Y is the pressing force F and the horizontal axis X is the pressing amount S of the key top 2, as in FIG. It corresponds. Therefore, when the key top 2 located in contact with the pressing portion 11c _-1 ′ located on the upper side is pressed, initially the pressing force F increases with the pressing deformation of the two plate-shaped beams 11c ₋₁ , but it is shown in (2). As described above, when the pressing portion 11c _-1 ′ located on the lower side comes into contact with the substrate 12 (that is, when h ₂ becomes zero and at (5)).
As shown in (3), the connecting bar 11c _-2 buckles and the pressing force F suddenly decreases, so that a pressing feeling is generated.

This time point corresponds to the position indicated by (5). Then, when the key top 2 is further pressed, (4)
To exhibit depression characteristic curve to reach the definitive the pressing portion 11c _-1 pressing force F is increased since the contacts 'with the pressing portion 11c _-1 positioned on the lower side' (5) located above, as shown in Becomes

When the substrate 12 in FIG. 2 is replaced with the membrane sheet 4 described in FIG. 7, the pressing force acts on the sheet 4 at the time of (2) above, that is, when h ₂ becomes zero. The sheet 4 at the time of (5)
The above signal can be switched from OFF to ON.

Therefore, it is possible to obtain the same pressing characteristic as that of the rubber actuator 6 described with reference to FIG. The rubber actuator 11 having such a structure can be easily obtained by a usual extrusion molding technique.

In FIG. 3 showing an example of a keyboard structure, a keyboard switch plate 21 located inside a casing (not shown) holds a plurality of key tops 2 so as to be vertically movable in a matrix of a predetermined pitch. At the same time, long rectangular protrusions 22a that can fix and fix the rubber actuator 11 described in FIG. 1 by the square groove 11b formed in the fixing portion 11b are formed between the rows of the keytop mounting positions. A switch panel 22 made of a resin molded product and FIG.
The support panel 5 that holds the membrane sheet 4 described in 1 above and the rubber actuator 11 that is mounted on the switch panel 22 by the rectangular protrusions 22a are mainly configured.

The support panel 5 to which the membrane sheet 4 is attached and the switch panel 22 are formed in the same manner as in FIG. After fixing and positioning by means such as fitting and the like, the keyboard top plate 21 shown in the figure can be constructed by mounting the key top 2 at the key top mounting position of the switch panel 22.

In particular, the rubber actuator 11 in this case is
As described with reference to FIG. 1, since the signal corresponding to the pressed portion can be switched by the pressing operation at an arbitrary position along the length direction, a plurality of keys arranged in a row by one actuator 11 as a result. The top 2 can be dealt with and the actuator 11 can deal with any key pitch region in the same row.

Further, as described with reference to FIG. 2, since it is possible to exhibit a pressing characteristic almost equal to that of the conventional rubber actuator 6, it is not necessary to consider the reduction of the pressing feeling. The rubber actuator 15 in FIG. 4 is a connecting bar 1c corresponding to the connecting bar 11c _-2 of the rubber actuator 11 described in FIG.
The arrangement of 5a _-2 is installed at a position retracted from the tip of the plate beam 15a _-1 , and the other shapes are the same as those of the rubber actuator 11.

Particularly, in this case, there is an advantage that the pushing force increasing characteristic after the buckling deformation of the connecting bar 15a _-2 can be set lower than that in the case of FIG. The rubber actuator 16 shown in FIG. 5 is formed by removing the connecting bar of the rubber actuator 11 shown in FIG. 1 and integrating the plate-shaped beam 16a with a pipe-shaped pressing portion 16a _-1 along the longitudinal direction. Yes,
Other configurations are similar to those of the rubber actuator 11.

In particular, in this case, there is an advantage that the displacement after the contact operation can be obtained with the linear characteristic that there is no pressing feeling.
A rubber actuator 17 in FIG. 6 showing another configuration example of the rubber actuator is the rubber actuator 11 described in FIG.
The pressing portion 17a corresponding to the pressing portion 11c- ₁ 'located on the lower side of the
_The conductive paste 17b is formed on the lower surface of _-1 'by a technique such as printing or coating.

Particularly in this case, the conductive switch pattern exposed on the circuit board or the membrane sheet is directly turned on-of.
There is an advantage that a rubber actuator that can perform F can be configured. It is obvious that the same effect can be obtained by forming the conductive film on the rubber actuator 16 described with reference to FIG.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, a key switch for which the productivity can be improved by being configured to be commonly used for key switches having different sizes and key switches having different key arrangement pitches, etc. A rubber actuator can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a shape example of a rubber actuator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a pressing characteristic of the rubber actuator.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state of attachment to a keyboard.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second example of the shape of the rubber actuator.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a third shape example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another configuration example of a rubber actuator.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of a keyboard using a conventional rubber actuator.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a pressing characteristic of a conventional rubber actuator.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Key top 4 Membrane sheet 5 Support panel 11,15,16 Rubber actuator 11a Square groove 11b Fixed part 11c Pressing force transmission part 11c _-1 , 15a _-1 , 16a Plate beam 11c _-1 ', 15a _-1 ',
16a _-1 Pressing part 11c _-2 , 15a _-2 Connecting bar 11d Slit 12 Circuit board (circuit component) 21 Keyboard switch board 22 Switch panel 22a Square protrusion

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method of pressing a plurality of contact areas formed in alignment with a circuit component member with a key top arranged corresponding to each contact area via a rubber actuator or releasing the pressing. The rubber actuator for use in a key input device for switching switching in the contact area, comprising means capable of being fixed between the contact area rows on the circuit component and aligning all contact areas. The rubber actuator having at least the covering length can transmit the pressing force from the key top to the contact area only in the pressing force application area in a state where the cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is fixed to the circuit component member. A rubber actuator for a key switch, which is characterized by being formed in such a shape. 2. The cross section of the rubber actuator for a key switch according to claim 1, which is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, is a circuit component member.
Fixing part (11b) having fixing means (11a) for (12) on the upper side
And a pressing force transmitting part formed on one side face connected to the upper side of the fixing part (11b) so as to project in a plate shape from the side face, and the pressing force transmitting part is formed from two positions above and below the side face. Two plate-like beams (11) that project in parallel and have a bank-shaped pressing portion (11c _-1 ′) formed on the outer surface along each tip side thereof.
c _-1) and their respective leading edge or between the anterior end connecting between neighboring buckling possible articulated bars (11c _-2) and de key rubber actuator switch characterized in that it is configured. 3. The pressing force transmitting portion according to claim 2,
Formed integrally with the plate beam (16a) protruding from the surface and its tip side
Pipe-shaped pressing part (16a _-1) And
Rubber actuator for key switch characterized by being made
Cheetah. 4. A rubber actuator for a key switch, wherein the pressing portion according to claim 2 or 3 is constituted by providing a conductive film on a surface of a region which comes into contact with a contact region of a circuit component member.