JPH0628754Y2 - Operation panel with flat keyboard switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial application] The present invention relates to an operation panel with a flat keyboard switch provided on an operation panel of an electronic device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a flexible substrate provided with a so-called membrane switch has been used as a flat keyboard switch. In this membrane switch, a movable contact and a fixed contact that form a contact portion are formed at opposing portions on a flexible wiring board composed of an upper layer sheet and a lower layer sheet, respectively, and the both contacts are spaced at predetermined intervals via a spacer. I kept it. Then, the movable contact of the upper layer sheet is pushed down to bring the contact portion into conduction, and an output signal is sent out.

Further, a metal thin plate having an elastic portion is usually provided between the upper portion of the upper layer sheet and the operation button, and the elastic portion performs a concavo-convex operation to give a click feeling at the time of operation. In this thin metal plate, a plurality of bulging portions having a function of a reversing spring are formed on a strip-shaped thin plate so as to correspond to each switch, and the bulging portions are the elastic portions described above. The thin metal plate is provided in a state of being electrically insulated from the circuit in the electric device.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the case of the above conventional technique, when a charged human finger presses an operation button, the static electricity is transmitted to the metal thin plate, and further, a microcomputer for controlling an electronic device through a membrane switch. There is a problem in that it may malfunction and destroy the circuit after entering. This often occurs especially when the surface of the operation button is metal-plated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional technique, and provides an operation panel with a flat keyboard switch that does not affect a circuit in an electronic device even if static electricity enters from an operation button and does not cause a malfunction. The purpose is to

[Means for Solving the Problem] The present invention is provided with a thin metal plate having a plurality of elastic portions correspondingly provided below the operation portion against which a human finger hits, and corresponding to each operation portion under the thin metal plate. Is equipped with a membrane switch,
A portion including the elastic portion at one end of the thin metal plate is folded back to the opposite side across the membrane switch to form a folded portion, and the elastic portion of the folded portion is formed on the reinforcing plate having conductivity and reinforcing the operation panel. Is an operation panel with a flat keyboard switch that is elastically contacted and electrically connected.

[Operation] In the operation panel with a flat keyboard switch according to the present invention, a part of the elastic part formed on the thin metal plate is folded back and brought into contact with the reinforcing plate, and the elastic force of the elastic part and the return of the folded piece on the reinforcing plate. It uses the elastic force of the direction to make sure that the earth is obtained. This ensures that the electronic circuit is protected from static electricity.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an operation panel with a flat keyboard switch according to this embodiment. A nameplate 1 made of aluminum inlay is attached to a mold case 2 made of ABS resin or the like from the outside, and operation buttons holes for the nameplate 1 and the mold case 2 are attached. An operation button 4 is fitted into the mold case 3 from the back side of the molded case 2 to form an operation section. Below the operation button 4, a cover sheet 5 of polyethylene terephthalate (hereinafter referred to as PET) is provided so that the inside cannot be seen through the gap of the operation button hole 3.

Further, a metal thin plate 6 such as a phosphor bronze plate is located below the operation button 4, and the metal thin plate 6 is a thin strip-shaped thin plate at a predetermined interval corresponding to the operation button 4, as shown in FIG. And elastic part 7
Are formed. The elastic portion 7 is formed by punching the thin metal plate 6 into a disc shape, leaving the connecting portion, and pressing the portion of the disc so as to bulge upward, and the bulged portion is in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the metal thin plate 6. It is elastically deformable.

A flexible substrate 8 is provided below the thin metal plate 6, and the flexible substrate 8 has a circuit pattern formed inside the PET films stacked thereon, and a membrane provided with contacts corresponding to the respective operation buttons 4. It is a switch. An under sheet 9 made of PET or the like is interposed below the sheet.

A reinforcing plate 10 made of metal such as aluminum is attached under the undersheet 9 and fixed to the mold case 2 with screws 11.

Here, the metal thin plate 6 is, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
One end of the thin metal plate 6 is folded back so as to sandwich the flexible substrate 8 which is a membrane switch and the undersheet 9 so that the bulging portion of the elastic portion 7 bulges outward, and the folded portion 12 is formed. The elastic portion 7 of the folded portion 12 is elastically deformed and elastically abuts the reinforcing plate 10. The elastic contact is performed by fitting the reinforcing plate 10 to the mold case 2, positioning and fixing the reinforcing plate 10 by a protrusion (not shown) of the mold case 2, and screwing.
The reinforcing plate 10 is surely pressed to the mold case 2 side by means of 11, and the elastic portion 7 of the folded-back portion 12 is elastically deformed and brought into pressure contact.

Then, the ground metal fitting 13 is fitted to one side edge of the reinforcing plate 10, and the other ground metal fitting 15 attached to the other end of the ground lead 14 extending from the ground metal fitting 13 is connected to the ground portion of the electronic device body. is doing. Further, the grounding metal fitting 13 is mounted so as to sandwich the mold case 2 at the notch 16 portion of the mold case 2, and the tip end portion 13 a is brought into contact with the back side of the name plate 1. Further, the other tip 13 of the grounding metal 13
The b is in contact with the opposite surface of the reinforcing plate 10 and the inner surface of an aluminum ornament (not shown). Aluminum ornament
This is a holding member made of aluminum that holds the flat keyboard switch.

In the operation panel with a flat keyboard switch of this embodiment, the nameplate 1, the metal thin plate 6, and the reinforcing plate 10 are grounded by the grounding metal 13, and static electricity does not enter the circuit of the electronic device. Especially when the operation button 4 is plated with metal, static electricity is easily transmitted from the human body during operation.
Since the metal thin plate 6 therebelow is grounded, it does not cause any damage to the microcomputer or the like in the electronic device.

Also, in this embodiment, the flexible substrate 8 and the reinforcing plate 10 are
Since the undersheet 9 is interposed between the reinforcing sheet 10 and the undersheet 9, the electrostatic capacitance between the circuit pattern of the flexible substrate 8 and the reinforcing plate 10 is reduced, and the influence on the circuit is reduced.

The operation panel with a flat keyboard switch according to the present invention can be used not only for a keyboard of an AV device such as a VTR or a CD player but also for various electronic devices.

Further, the operation portion of the flat keyboard of the present invention may be a flat one in which the operation buttons are integrally formed with the sheet on the operation panel surface, and the reinforcing plate may be made of metal or resin with metal inserted, and grounded. Anything can be taken.

Further, the membrane switch may be provided on a hard circuit board other than the flexible circuit board.

[Effect of the Invention] The operation panel with a flat keyboard switch of the present invention is not grounded by the thin metal plate and adversely affects the microcomputer even if static electricity is transmitted from the operation button. Moreover, since the thin metal plate is simply folded back and brought into contact with the reinforcing plate, the existing man-hours can be used as they are without increasing the number of assembling steps due to grounding or requiring new parts.

Further, the metal thin plate is folded back so that the bulging portion of the elastic portion formed of the bulging portion of the metal thin plate is on the outside, and the bulging portion of the folded portion elastically contacts the reinforcing plate. It is possible to obtain a ground connection portion which is strong against vibration and the like and which is extremely reliable without causing contact failure between the thin metal plate and the reinforcing plate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an operation panel with a flat keyboard switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a thin metal plate of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an operation panel with a flat keyboard switch of this embodiment. FIG. 4 ... Operation button, 6 ... Metal thin plate, 7 ... Elastic part 8 ... Flexible board, 10 ... Reinforcing plate 12 ... Folding part

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A plurality of operation units operated by a human finger,
A thin metal plate that is provided under the operating portion and is provided to face each operating portion, an elastic portion that is formed by molding the thin metal plate and has a bulge portion corresponding to each operating portion, and a thin metal plate. In an operation panel with a flat keyboard switch, which includes a membrane switch having a contact formed on a circuit board corresponding to each operation unit below, a mold case constituting the operation panel and a conductive material for reinforcing the mold case. A reinforcing plate having a metal thin plate and a membrane switch is disposed between the molded case and the reinforcing plate, and a portion including the elastic portion at one end of the metal thin plate is sandwiched between the membrane switches. The elastic portion is folded back toward the reinforcing plate so that the bulging portion of the elastic portion is located on the outer side to form a folded portion, and the elastic portion bulged outside the folded portion is elastically brought into contact with the reinforcing plate. An elastic part other than the folded part is brought into contact with the mold case side, the reinforcing plate is fixed to the mold case, and the thin metal plate and the reinforcing plate are electrically connected to each other. Operation panel with keyboard switch.