JPH0566838U - Key switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The key top is prevented from unnecessarily moving in the horizontal direction both when the key top is pressed and when the key top is not pressed, and the key operability is good, and Provided is a key switch device capable of surely performing a switching operation. The locking pins 15 and 16 of the hinge member 7 and the locking pins 21 and 22 of the hinge member 8 are respectively engaged with the first end edge portion 28 of the locking groove 28 when the key top 1 is not pressed.
A, the key top 1 is positioned by abutting and locking the first end edge portion 29A of the locking groove 29, and when the key top 1 is pressed down, the locking pins 13 and 14 and the locking pins 23 and 24 are locked. The engaging pins 15 and 16 and the engaging pins 21 and 22 are engaged with the end walls 4A and 5A of the engaging grooves 4 and 5, respectively, and the engaging pins 15 and 16 are engaged with the second end edge portion 28B of the engaging groove 28, respectively. The key top 1 is positioned by abuttingly locking the second end edge portion 29B of the groove 29.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a key switch device, and more particularly, it can prevent unnecessary horizontal movement of the key top both when the key top is not pressed and when it is pressed, and is attached to a notebook word processor, a notebook personal computer, or the like. The present invention relates to a key switch device suitable for use in a thin keyboard that is used.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, various types of key switch devices of this type have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-62017 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-7441 disclose the key switch devices of the same type. To do.

The key switch devices described in both publications use a large key such as a space key or a return key to prevent the key from being pressed in an inclined state when the key is pressed. In the key switch device described in (1), the key member is supported by two scissors-shaped members that are crossed in a scissor shape by the shaft, and the switching member is arranged at a position away from the center of the key member. When pressed, it horizontally guides a plurality of pins formed at the ends of each scissor-shaped member between the back surface of the key member and the top surface of the board, and the holder part is provided with a specially provided pressing portion on the key member. The switching member is pushed down by the pushing portion while sliding up and down through the.

The key switch device described in the latter has the same basic configuration as the key switch device described in the former, and is characterized in that the key member is easily attached to and detached from the scissors-like member. Is to have.

The key switch device described in each of these publications maintains the horizontal state regardless of the pressed position of a large key such as a space key, and keeps the key moving up and down. It can be guided.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the key switch device described in each of the above publications, as is apparent from the drawings attached to each publication, each pin formed at each end of the scissors-like member has a back surface of the key member and an upper surface of the substrate. Although it is configured to be slidably guided in horizontal direction by and, respectively, what is for positioning the lower pin of each pin inside the sliding plan formed on the upper surface of the substrate? Not provided.

[0007] Therefore, there is a possibility that the scissors-like member may move unnecessarily in the horizontal direction without being positioned, both when the key member is not pressed and when the key member is pressed. To do.

Particularly, when the key member is pressed, the scissor-shaped member unnecessarily moves in the horizontal direction, so that the operability of the key is poor, and in some cases, the switching member cannot be reliably operated by pressing the key member. There was also a problem that there is a possibility that things may occur.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and the scissors-like member is unnecessarily horizontal when the key top is pressed and when the key top is not pressed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a key switch device which has good key operability by preventing the key switch device from moving in the same direction and which can surely perform a switching operation.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a key top having two first locking portions vertically provided from a back surface thereof, and first key tops provided below the key top and vertically extending to the key top. A holder member in which two second locking portions are formed corresponding to the locking portions, and a key which is connected to each of the first locking portion of the key top and the second locking portion of the holder member, and the key. In a key switch device having a guide support member that guides and supports the vertical movement of the top and a switching member that performs a switching operation in accordance with the vertical movement of the key top, the guide support member has a pair of locking pins at both ends. The two formed hinge members are axially supported in a crossed manner so as to be rotatable with respect to each other at the shaft supporting portion, and the respective second engaging portions are formed with end edge portions facing each other, The key top When the key is pressed, the locking pin of the locking pins that is locked to the second locking portion is abutted and locked to one edge of each of the second locking portions and the key top is not pressed. While retaining the state, when the key top is pressed, the locking pin locked to the second locking portion is slid horizontally in each second locking portion while the other one of the second locking portions is pressed. It is configured such that it is abutted and locked at the edge of the.

[0011]

[Action]

 In the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, the locking pin that is locked to the second locking portion of the locking pins of the two hinge members that form the guide support member when the key top is not pressed is The two engaging portions are abutted and engaged with the respective one edge portions. When the key top in such a state is pushed down, the hinge members rotate relative to each other via the shaft supporting portions, and the pair of locking pins formed at both ends of each hinge member lock the first locking members. Is horizontally slid in the first portion and the second locking portion.

Further, when the key top is pushed down, the switching member is pushed down through the shaft support portion to perform the switching operation. Then, after this, the locking pin in the second locking portion is abutted and locked at each of the other edge portions of the second locking portion. As a result, when the key top is pressed, the hinge member is positioned at the pressed position without being further moved in the horizontal direction unnecessarily.

On the other hand, when the depression of the key top is released, each hinge member is returned to the original position together with the key top by the elastic restoring force of the switching member.

[0014]

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the key switch device showing a state in which the key top is slightly depressed, and FIG. 2 is an exploded explanatory view of the key switch device.

In these figures, the key top 1 is molded from a synthetic resin such as ABS resin, and letters such as alphabets are formed on the upper surface by printing or the like. Further, from the back surface of the keytop 1, a holding member B is provided integrally with the main body of the keytop 1, in which two locking portions 2 and 3 are vertically hung.

The locking portion 2 is composed of two locking grooves 4 (only one on the front side is shown in the drawing) arranged in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. The locking portion 3 is composed of two locking grooves 5 (only one on the front side is shown in the figure) arranged in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG.

On the locking portion 2, the locking pins 13 and 14 formed at one end of one of the two hinge members 7 and 8 to be described later are slid horizontally and the end wall 4A is provided with a locking groove 4 capable of abutting and locking, and the locking portion 3 has locking pins 23 and 24 formed at one end of the other hinge member 8 in the horizontal direction. A locking groove 5 is formed which can be slid and abutted and locked on the end wall 3A. The lengths of the locking grooves 2, 3 and the locking grooves 4, 5 are all equal, and the interval between the locking grooves 2, 3 and the interval between the locking grooves 4, 5 are equal.

A guide support member 6 for guiding and supporting the vertical movement of the key top 1 is disposed below the key top 1, and the guide support member 6 is composed of the hinge members 7 and 8.

As shown in FIG. 3, one hinge member 7 is formed by integrally forming two base end portions 10 and 11 on both ends of a base portion 9. A shaft 12 extends from one side surface of the central portion of the base 9, and the shaft 12 is pivotally supported in a shaft hole 20 formed in the other hinge member 8 described later.

The locking pins 13 and 14 and the locking pins 15 and 16 of the hinge member 7 are arranged in a straight line with the shaft 12 as the center, and are arranged so that the distance from the shaft 12 is equal. Further, the locking pins 21 and 22 and the locking pins 23 and 24 of the hinge portion 8 are arranged in a straight line with the shaft hole 20 as the center, and the distances from the shaft hole 20 are equal.

The two hinge members 7 and 8 are bent so as to be convex upward at the positions of the base end portions 11 and 18 when the shaft 12 and the shaft hole 20 are rotatably connected. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, it is configured to have a large space on the lower side of the shaft support A, and a rubber spring 31 having a substantially trapezoidal side view described later is efficiently arranged on the lower side of the shaft support A. It can be stored.

Further, locking pins 13 and 14 are extended from the side surfaces of the extending portions 10 A of both ends of the base end portion 10. The locking pins 13 and 14 are the locking portions 2 of the key top 1 described above. It is to be locked in the locking groove 4 provided in the. Further, the base end portion 11 is formed in a U shape in a plan view, and locking pins 15 and 16 similar to the above are extended from the side surfaces of the U-shaped both-end extension portions 11A. The locking pins 15 and 16 are locked to a locking portion 26 formed on a holder plate 25 described later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the hinge member 8 is formed by integrally forming two base end portions 18 and 19 at both ends of the base portion 17. A shaft hole 20 is formed in the center of the base portion 17, and the shaft 12 provided on the base portion 9 of the hinge member 7 is inserted into the shaft hole 20 as described above. Further, the base end portion 18 is formed in a U-shape in a plan view, and locking pins 21 and 22 are extended from the U-shaped end extension portions 18A. The locking pins 21 and 22 are locked to a locking portion 27 formed on a holder plate 25 described later.

Further, locking pins 23 and 24 similar to the above are extended from both end extending portions 19 A of the base end portion 19. The locking pins 23 and 24 are the locking portions 3 of the key top 1 described above. It is slidably locked in the locking groove 5 formed in the.

As described above, the guide support member 6 is configured by inserting the shaft 12 formed in the base portion 9 of the one hinge member 7 into the shaft hole 20 formed in the base portion 17 of the other hinge member 8. Both hinge members 7 and 8 are rotatable with respect to each other via a shaft support portion A including a shaft 12 and a shaft hole 17. The shaft support portion A is arranged so as to face the central portion of the top portion of the rubber spring 31 as described later.

In the state where the hinge members 7 and 8 are attached to the key top 1, the tips of the locking pins 13, 14, 23 and 24 are in contact with the end walls 3A and 4A, so Rattling in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 is prevented.

Next, a holder plate 25 is disposed below the guide support member 6, and a locking pin extending from the base end portion 11 of the hinge member 7 is disposed on the holder plate 25. Locking portions 26 and 27 for locking the locking pins 21 and 22 extending from the hinges 15 and 16 and the base end portion 18 of the hinge member 8 are provided, respectively.

The engaging portion 26 is integrally formed in a convex shape from the holder plate 25 and is provided with an elongated hole-like engaging groove 28 having a notched portion 28C which is partially cut away. Locking pins 15 and 16 of the hinge member 7 are locked to 28 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction. The locking pins 15 and 16 are inserted into the locking grooves 28 via the notches 28C.

Here, at both ends of the locking groove 28, there are two end edges, a first end edge portion 28A (left side in FIG. 1) and a second end edge portion 28B (right side in FIG. 1). Parts are formed. Of these respective edge portions 28A, 28B, the first edge portion 28A slides the locking pins 15, 16 of the hinge member 7 to the left in FIG. 1 when the key top 1 is not pressed, as will be described later. The second end edge portion 28B restricts the sliding of the locking pins 15 and 16 to the right in FIG. 1 when the key top 1 is pressed.

Further, the locking portion 27 is formed integrally with the holder plate 25 in a convex shape similarly to the locking portion 26, and is provided with a locking groove 29 having a notched portion 29C partially cut away. The locking pins 21 and 22 of the hinge member 8 are slidably locked in the locking groove 29 like the locking pins 15 and 16 of the hinge member 7. The locking pins 21 and 22 are inserted into the locking groove 29 via the notch 29C.

Here, at both ends of the locking groove 29, like the locking groove 28, a first end edge portion 29A (right side in FIG. 1) and a second end edge portion 29B (left side in FIG. 1). Side) and two edges are formed. Of these respective end edge portions 29A, 29B, the first end edge portion 29A slides the locking pins 21, 22 of the hinge member 8 to the right in FIG. 1 when the key top 1 is not pressed, as described later. The second end edge portion 29B restricts the sliding of the locking pins 21 and 22 to the left in FIG. 1 when the key-top 1 is pressed.

When the key top is not pressed, the locking pins 13, 14 and 23, 24 are in contact with the inner ends 4B, 5B of the locking groove, and the backlash of the key top is prevented.

As a result, when the key top 1 is not pressed, each locking pin 15 of the hinge member 7 is attached to the first end edge portion 28 A of the locking groove 28 and the first end edge portion 29 A of the locking groove 29. , 16 and the locking pins 21 and 22 of the hinge member 8 abut and cooperate with each other to regulate the sliding of the hinge members 7 and 8 to the left and right in FIG. As a result, the key top 1 is held in the non-depressed state in combination with the upward elastic force of the rubber spring 31 which will be described later.

When the key top 1 is pressed down, the locking pins 15, 16 of the hinge member 7 and the second end edge portion 28B of the locking groove 28 and the second end edge portion 29B of the locking groove 29, and The locking pins 21 and 22 of the hinge member 8 come into contact with each other and cooperate with each other to regulate the sliding of the hinge members 7 and 8 to the right and left in FIG. As a result, the key top 1 prevents the key top 1 from sliding further in the horizontal direction after the key top 1 presses the rubber spring 31 via the shaft support portion A to perform the switching operation as described later. Is.

When the key top is pressed, the locking pins 13, 14 and 23, 24 are in contact with the inner ends 4A, 5A of the locking groove, and the backlash of the key top is prevented. In any case, the locking pieces 35, 36 prevent the hinge members 7, 8 from rattling, and prevent the shaft 12 from coming out of the shaft hole 20.

Further, below the holder plate 25, a flexible circuit board 30 on which a predetermined circuit pattern (not shown) including switch electrodes is formed is arranged, and a switching circuit is provided at a position corresponding to the switch electrode. An inverted cup-shaped rubber spring 31 is placed as a member. The rubber spring 31 has a well-known movable electrode inside, and a shaft supporting portion A for rotatably supporting the above-mentioned two hinge members 7 and 8 mutually opposes at the center of the upper surface thereof. Will be placed. The top portion of the rubber spring 31 is formed to a thickness such that it is not deformed even when it is pressed by the shaft support portion A.

As a result, when the shaft support A moves downward with the pressing of the key top 1, the shaft support A presses the rubber spring 31, and when the pressing amount exceeds a certain limit, the rubber spring 31 buckles. The movable electrode in the rubber spring 31 short-circuits the switch electrode. At this time, since the locking pins 13, 14 and the like slide horizontally in the locking grooves 4 and the like, the shaft support portion A is substantially centered at the top of the rubber spring 31 as the key top 1 is pushed. The rubber spring 31 can be vertically pressed while being abutted against the.

Further, a switch support plate 32 is disposed below the flexible circuit board 30, and the switch support plate 32 is a guide support that supports the flexible circuit board 30, the rubber spring 31, and the key top 1 described above. Support the member 6.

Next, the operation of the key switch device having the above configuration will be described. First, when the key top 1 is not pressed down, the locking pins 15 and 16 of the hinge member 7 abut on the first end edge portion 28 A of the locking groove 28 together with the upward elastic force of the rubber spring 31. Since the lock pins 21 and 22 of the hinge member 8 are abutted and locked to the first end edge portion 29A of the lock groove 29, the key top 1 does not move in the horizontal direction. The non-pressed state is retained.

When the key top 1 is pushed down, the locking pins 13 and 14 of the hinge member 7 move horizontally in the locking groove 4 of the locking portion 2 as the key top 1 moves downward ( While sliding in the left direction in FIG. 1, the locking pins 23 and 24 of the hinge member 8 slide in the locking groove 5 of the locking portion 3 in the horizontal direction (right direction in FIG. 1). At the same time, the locking pins 21 and 22 of the hinge member 8 slide horizontally (leftward in FIG. 1) in the locking groove 29 of the locking portion 27 of the holder plate 25, and the hinge member 7 moves. The locking pins 15 and 16 slide horizontally (rightward in FIG. 1) in the locking groove 28 of the locking portion 26.

As a result, the pivotal support portion A that pivotally supports the hinge members 7 and 8 moves downward and gradually pushes down the rubber spring 31, and when the pushing amount exceeds a certain limit, the rubber The spring 31 is buckled. As a result, the movable electrode in the rubber spring 31 short-circuits the switch electrode on the flexible circuit board 30 to perform a predetermined switching operation.

After such a switching operation, the key top 1 is further depressed due to key operation. At this time, the locking pins 13 and 14 of the hinge member 7 slide in the locking groove 4 and the end wall 4A. The engaging pins 23 and 24 of the hinge member 8 slide in the engaging groove 5 and abut and engage with the end wall 5A. At the same time, the locking pins 15 and 16 of the hinge member 8 slide in the locking groove 28 to abut and lock the second end edge portion 28B, and the locking pins 21 and 25 of the hinge member 7, 22 slides in the locking groove 29 and is brought into contact with and locked by the second edge portion 29B.

As a result, the key top 1 performs the switching operation by pressing the rubber spring 31 via the shaft support portion A so that the movable electrode in the rubber spring 31 and the fixed electrode on the flexible circuit board 30 perform the switching operation. By the cooperation of the respective locking pins 13 and the like and the respective end walls 4A, 5A and the end edges 28B, 29B, the positioning is performed at the depressed position, so that it is not unnecessarily moved in the horizontal direction. ..

When the depression of the key top 1 is released, the shaft supporting portions A of both the hinge members 7 and 8 are pushed upward by the elastic restoring force of the rubber spring 31. Along with this, the respective locking pins 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 perform the reverse operation to the above, and as a result, the key top 1 is returned to the original non-pressed position. ..

As described in detail above, in the key switch device according to the present embodiment, the locking pins 15 and 16 of the hinge member 7 are attached to the first edge portion 28 A of the locking groove 28 when the key top 1 is not pressed. Since the locking pins 21 and 22 of the hinge member 8 are contacted and locked at the first end edge portion 29A of the locking groove 29, the rubber spring is not pressed when the key top 1 is not pressed. Along with the upward elastic force of 31, the key top 1 is positioned while being prevented from moving in the horizontal direction.

When the key top 1 is pushed down, the locking pins 13 and 14 of the hinge member 7 and the locking pins 23 and 24 of the hinge member 8 are connected to the end wall 4 A of the locking groove 4 and the locking groove, respectively. 5, the locking pins 15 and 16 of the hinge member 7 and the locking pins 21 and 22 of the hinge member 8 are respectively locked to the end wall 5A of the second end edge portion 28B of the locking groove 28. Since the second groove 29B of the locking groove 29 is brought into contact with and locked by the second edge 29B, the key top 1 is pressed to switch between the movable electrode of the rubber spring 31 and the fixed electrode of the flexible circuit board 30. The key top 1 is prevented from being moved in the horizontal direction after the operation is performed, and the key top 1 is positioned at the pressed position.

As described above, in the key switch device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the key top 1 from moving unnecessarily in the horizontal direction both when the key top 1 is not pressed and when it is pressed. Therefore, it is possible to realize a key switch device which has a good key operability and enables a reliable switching operation.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the position of the key top is restricted when the key top is not pressed and when the key top is at the lowest position, there is almost no rattling of the key top, and it is comfortable. A key touch can be realized.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the key top 1 is not pressed down, the locking pins 15 and 16 are in the first end edge portion 28A of the locking groove 28, and the locking pins 21 and 22 are in the first position of the locking groove 29. The non-pressed state of the key top 1 is held by abuttingly locking the end edge portion 29A. In addition to this, the locking pins 13 and 14 are opposed to the end wall 4A of the locking groove 4. It is needless to say that the engaging pins 23 and 24 may be brought into abutment engagement with the end wall and the abutment engagement of the engagement pins 23 and 24 with the end wall facing the end wall 5A of the engagement groove 5.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the key top 1 can move in the left-right direction in FIG. 5 while the key top 1 is being pressed, the usability (key touch) is slightly deteriorated. .. In order to prevent this, a groove-shaped recess that engages with the shaft support portion A may be provided on the top of the rubber spring 31, and the elasticity of the rubber spring may restrict the movement of the keytop 1 in the left-right direction during pressing. it can.

Further, it is needless to say that the hinge members 7 and 8 in the present embodiment can also obtain the same effect by using the same kind of members combined in a pantograph shape.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, the key operation is prevented by preventing the hinge member from moving unnecessarily in the horizontal direction both when the key top is pressed and when the key top is not pressed. It is possible to provide a key switch device that is excellent in performance and can perform a switching operation reliably, and the industrial effect thereof is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a key switch device showing a state in which a key top is slightly pressed down.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the key switch device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one hinge member.

FIG. 4 is a plain view of the other hinge member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Key Top 2, 3, 26, 27 Locking Part 4, 5, 28, 29 Locking Groove 6 Guide Support Member 7, 8 Hinge Member 13, 14, 15, 16 21, 22, 23, 24 Locking Pin 25 Holder plate 28A, 29A First edge portion 28B, 29B Second edge portion 30 Flexible circuit board 31 Rubber spring A Shaft support portion

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. Corresponding to a key top on which two first locking portions are vertically provided from the back surface, and each first locking portion which is disposed below the key top and is vertically provided on the key top. And a holder member having two second locking portions formed thereon, and a first locking portion of the key top and a second locking portion of the holder member, respectively, and guides vertical movement of the key top. In a key switch device having a guide support member for supporting and a switching member that performs a switching operation according to the vertical movement of the key top, the guide support member has two hinges each having a pair of locking pins formed at both ends. The members are axially supported in a cross shape so as to be rotatable relative to each other at the shaft supporting portions, and end edges facing each other are formed in each of the second locking portions, and the key top is not pressed. Sometimes, each locking The locking pin that is locked to the second locking portion is abutted and locked to one edge of each second locking portion to hold the key top in the non-pressed state, and When the key top is pressed, the locking pin locked to the second locking portion is slid horizontally in each second locking portion while being abutted at each other end edge of the second locking portion. A key switch device characterized by being engaged and locked.