JPH0679042U - Key top mounting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a keytop mounting structure that is suitable for making the keytop mounted on a case rattle and illuminating. [Structure] A key top 10 having a push rod 13 for pressing a switch contact and a case 40 having a hole 41 at a predetermined position thereof are provided. Key top 1 in hole 41 of case 40
No.0 push rod 13 is inserted and the supporting rod 1 of the key top 10
The protrusions 17, 17 at the tips of 5, 15 are pivotally supported in locking holes 45, 45 provided in the case 40. Key top 10
Repulsion arm 2 that repels the upper surface around the hole 41 of the case 40 and pushes the key top 10 upward in the lower edge of the outer peripheral edge
3 is formed integrally with the key top 10. The resilient arm 23 resiliently blasts the upper surface of the case 40, and the key top 10 is always urged in the upward direction and does not rattle.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a swingable keytop mounting structure used for a push button switch or the like.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, some key tops have such a structure that when the key top is pressed, the key top oscillates toward the front side like a keyboard of a piano, and a switch contact disposed under the key top is turned on. there were.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side sectional view showing a mounting structure of this type of key top. In the same figure, the key top 80 has a support rod 83 from the lower surface of the key top body 81 (two support rods 83 are provided on the front side and the back side of the paper surface, but only the back side is shown in the figure). ) And a push rod 87, and a projection 85 is provided at the tip of the support rod 83 so as to project in the width direction (front side or back side in the drawing in the figure). Further, a contact protrusion 86 is provided on the lower surface of the left end of the key top 80.

On the other hand, the case includes an upper case 91 and a lower case 95, a hole 92 is provided at a predetermined position of the upper case 91, and a support base pivotally supporting a protrusion 85 on the lower surface of the upper case 91. It is configured by providing 93.

A switch board 97 is arranged on the lower case 95, and a click plate 98 is attached to a predetermined position on the upper surface of the switch board 97. Switch contacts are provided on the switch base plate 97 below the click plate 98.

In the key top 80, the support rod 83 and the push rod 87 are inserted into the hole 92 of the upper case 91, and the projection 85 at the tip of the support rod 83 is rotatable in the support base 93 of the upper case 91. Is pivotally supported. At this time, the key top 80 is held in this position by the projection 85, the lower end of the push rod 87 that is in contact with the click plate 98, and the contact projection 86 that is in contact with the upper surface of the upper case 91.

When the key-top body 81 is pressed in the direction of arrow a, the key-top 80 rotates in the direction of arrow b around the protrusion 85, and the lower end of the push rod 87 presses the click plate 98 to move it below. Turn on the switch contact of.

When the pressing on the keytop body 81 is released, the restoring force of the click plate 98 pushes up the keytop body 81 to the original position, and the switch contact is turned off.

[0009]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 As described above, the key top 80 is held in this position by the pressing rod 87 and the contact projection 86 contacting the click plate 98 and the upper case 91, respectively.

Therefore, there may be a case where a gap is generated between the click plate 98 and the push rod 87 (conversely, between the upper case 91 and the contact protrusion 86) due to a dimensional error or an assembly error of each component. Yes, in this case, the key top 80 is loose.

When rattling occurs in the key top 80, for example, when a device using the key top 80 is mounted in an automobile, vibration of the automobile causes rattling noise from the key top 80.

In order to solve this problem, a urethane sponge or a spring is inserted between the upper case 91 and the lower case 95 so that the key top 80 is always urged upward. A method of setting it is possible.

However, when these methods are used, the number of parts is increased, and a light source or a light guide member is arranged under the key top 80 to illuminate the key top 80 brightly from below. When attempting to emit the light, there is a problem that the sponge or spring interferes with the optical path and the light cannot be effectively applied to the lower surface of the keytop main body 81.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and an object thereof is to provide a keytop mounting structure suitable for making the keytop attached to the case rattle and illuminating. To provide.

[0015]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises a key top having a push rod for pressing a switch contact, and a case having a hole at a predetermined position thereof, and the key top is pushed in the hole of the case. In a keytop mounting structure in which a rod is inserted and the keytop is pivotally supported on a case, the keytop is repelled at the lower end of the outer peripheral edge of the keytop by the upper surface around the hole of the case. An elastic arm that pushes upwards is formed integrally with the key top.

[0016]

[Action]

 Since the repulsive arm provided on the key top repels the upper surface of the case, the key top is always urged upward and does not rattle.

Since the elastic arm is not inside the hole of the case, when the key top is to be illuminated from below, the elastic arm does not hinder the irradiation of the light.

[0018]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts showing one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, this embodiment includes a key top 10 and an upper case 40 to which the key top 10 is attached, and the protrusions 17 and 17 provided at the tips of the support bars 15 and 15 of the key top 10 are attached to the upper case. The locking holes 45 provided in the base 40 are rotatably engaged with each other. Each component will be described below.

Here, FIG. 2 is a view showing the key top 10, in which FIG. 2 (a) is a plan view (a view of the key top 10 shown in FIG. 1 viewed in the direction of arrow A), and FIG. The right side view and the same figure (c) are rear views.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 1, the keytop 10 includes a keytop main body 11 having a substantially box-like shape and an open bottom surface, and a long push from the center of the bottom surface of the keytop main body 11. It is configured by projecting a rod 13 and projecting support rods 15, 15 from both corners of the lower surface of the key top body 11. Protrusions 17 and 17 are provided on the outer surfaces of the lower ends of the support bars 15 and 15 so as to project outward.

In the vicinity of the push rod 13 on the lower surface of the key top 10, there is provided a locking projection 19 that projects downward and has a claw 21 at its tip.

Further, elastic arms 23, 23 are provided at the lower ends of both sides of the outer periphery of the key top 10. These resilient arms 23, 23 have a shape that protrudes downward from the outer peripheral lower end side of the key top 10, is then bent at a substantially right angle, and extends along the lower end side of the key top 10. It is configured by providing arcuate contact portions 25, 25 projecting downward.

Further, small projections 27, 27 that come into contact with the upper surface of the case 40 described below are provided at the lower end of the front end side of the key top 10.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the case 40 has a plate shape, and a hole 41 into which the push rod 13 of the key top 10 is inserted is provided at a predetermined position thereof, and the entire outer circumference of the hole 41 is provided. A standing plate 43 is provided so as to surround the hole 41, and the supporting rods 15 and 15 of the key top 10 are housed in the vicinity of the hole 41 and the protrusions 17 and 17 thereof are rotatably supported. It is configured by providing locking holes 45, 45. The locking holes 45, 45 may have any structure as long as they can pivotally support the protrusions 17, 17 of the key top 10.

To attach the keytop 10 to the case 40, the support rods 15 and 15 of the keytop 10 are inserted into the locking holes 45 and 45 provided in the case 40, and the protrusions 17 and 17 at the tips thereof are attached. The locking projections 19 provided on the key top 10 are inserted into the holes 41 provided on the case 40, and the claws 21 are attached to the lower surface of the case 40. It can be locked.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view showing a state in which the case 40 to which the key top 10 is attached in this manner is fixed on the substrate 60. As shown in the figure, the switch substrate 60 is constructed by placing a flexible base plate 63 on a resin base 61. A switch contact 65 is provided at a predetermined position on the flexible substrate 63, and a click plate 67 is mounted on the switch contact 65. The lower end of the push rod 13 of the key top 10 is in contact with the click plate 67.

Further, as shown in the figure, the abutting portion 25 at the tip of the elastic arm 23 provided on the keytop 10 elastically springs the upper surface of the case 40, whereby the keytop 10 is always in the upward direction. On the other hand, the upward movement of the key top 10 is restricted by the claw 21 of the locking projection 19 engaged with the lower surface of the case 40.

That is, even if the lower end of the push rod 13 of the key top 10 does not come into direct contact with the click plate 67 due to a dimensional error or an assembly error of each component, the key top 10 is always driven by the resilient arm 23. Since the key top 10 is biased upward, the key top 10 does not rattle.

When the key top 10 is pressed, it swings around the protrusion 17, and the push rod 13 presses the click plate 67, which is inverted and the switch contact 65 under it is turned on. The key top 10 is restricted from moving downward by the small protrusions 27, 27 contacting the upper surface of the case 40.

When the pressing on the key top 10 is released, the key top 10 is returned to its original position by the restoring force of the click plate 67 and the elastic force of the elastic arm 23, and the switch contact 65 is turned off.

In the embodiment described above, the key top 10 is provided with the locking projection 19, and the claw 21 at the tip of the locking projection 19 engages the key top 10 with the lower surface of the case 40. However, even if an external force is applied to pull the key top 10 upward, the key top 10 cannot be removed easily.

On the other hand, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 4, when an external force is applied to pull out the key top 80 in the upward direction, the contact projection 86 serves as a fulcrum to break the projection 85 pivotally supported by the support base 93. However, in the case of the present embodiment, such a force is not applied by the claw 21 and the destruction can be avoided.

Further, since the claw 21 is engaged with the lower surface of the case 40, the levelness of the key top 10 can be maintained more accurately. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, the horizontality of the key top 80 is maintained by the contact protrusion 86 contacting the upper surface of the upper case 91. Since the distance is short, even if there is a slight dimensional error in the height direction between the contact protrusion 86 and the protrusion 85, the horizontal degree of the key top 80 is greatly affected.

On the other hand, since the distance from the claw 21 used in the present embodiment to the rotary shaft (protrusion 17) is long, even if a dimensional error in the height direction occurs between the two, the horizontal position of the keytop 10 is higher than that of the conventional example. The influence on the degree can be considerably reduced.

By the way, a light source is arranged between the case 40 and the switch substrate 60 shown in FIG. 3, or a light guide member is arranged between the case 40 and the switch substrate 60 and the light source is arranged at another place. When the light is guided to the bottom of the top 10 and the key top 10 is configured to illuminate brightly from the bottom, a standing plate 43 is provided around the hole 41 of the case 40. Since the light has entered the inside of the key top 10, light does not leak from the gap w between the key top 10 and the case 40. That is, the key top 10 can be effectively illuminated.

Particularly in the case of the present invention, since the elastic arm 23 for pushing the key top 10 upward is not inside the hole 41 of the case 40, it does not hinder the advance of the light. Therefore, the key top 10 can be easily illuminated.

When the key top 10 is illuminated, for example, the key top 10 itself is molded with a transparent synthetic resin, gray paint is applied to the entire upper surface thereof, and then black paint is applied onto it. It is only necessary to remove only the paint of the above with a laser so that it has a predetermined shape. This makes gray letters and patterns appear on a black background.

Next, FIG. 5 is a view showing a key top 10 'used in another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 (a) is a plan view and FIG. 5 (b) is a rear view. In the figure, the same parts as those in the above-mentioned embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. This embodiment is different from the above-mentioned embodiment only in that the resilient arm 23 'is provided at the lower end of the outer periphery front side of the keytop body 11. A contact portion 25 'is provided at the tip of the elastic arm 23', as in the above embodiment. Even with this configuration, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained. It should be noted that two elastic arms may be provided at the lower end of the front side of the keytop body 11 instead of one.

[0039]

[Effect of device]

 As described above in detail, according to the key top mounting structure of the present invention, the key top mounted on the case does not rattle, the number of parts is small, and the key top can be illuminated from below. It has the excellent effect that it can be easily performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an essential part showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a key top 10.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a case 40 having the keytop 10 attached thereto is fixed on a substrate 60.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side sectional view showing a conventional keytop mounting structure.

FIG. 5 is a key top 10 'used in another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10,10 'Key top 13 Push rod 23,23' Repulsive arm 40 Case 41 Hole 65 Switch contact

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A key top provided with a push rod for pressing a switch contact, and a case having a hole at a predetermined position thereof. The push rod of the key top is inserted into the hole of the case and the key is provided. In a keytop mounting structure in which a top is swingably supported on a case, an upper surface around the hole of the case is elastically ejected to a lower end of an outer peripheral edge of the keytop to push the keytop upward. A mounting structure for a key top, characterized in that the emitting arm is formed integrally with the key top.