JPH07253836A - Key board - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the cost of the key board by simplifying the structure of the key board. CONSTITUTION:In the key board provided with a key top 11 used to select a character or its function, a dome section 61 whose height is reduced when the key tope 11 is depressed and whose height is restored to the original height when the pressing force is lost, a contact 5 switching the electric conduction from the off state to the on state or vice versa corresponding to the position of the key tope 11, and a circuit pattern 7 used to deliver a signal from the contact 5, a key board section 50 is provided with a dome forming sheet 60 integrating the key top 11 and the dome section 61.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard for an information processing apparatus, and particularly, to simplify the structure or reduce the number of parts to reduce the cost of the keyboard.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 5 (a), 5 (b) and 5 (c) are schematic perspective views showing a structural example of a conventional keyboard and a sectional view taken along the line AA, and FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). And (c) are a perspective view and a side sectional view of an essential part for explaining one structural example of the constituent member and its operation.

As shown in FIG. 5 (a), this keyboard includes a case 58 for accommodating a keyboard section 50X and a monitor section.
It is equipped with a lid portion 55 on which 57 is arranged, and a hinge 70 that connects the lid portion 55 and the case 58 in an openable and closable manner. In the figure, 11X is a key top for notifying the user what kind of character or function can be realized by pressing it, and 30 is a housing of the keyboard section 50X.

The above case will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 (b) and 5 (c).
The structure and operation of the keyboard unit 50X housed in the 58 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 5 (b) and 5 (c), the keyboard portion 50X has a key top 11X and its height decreases when the key top 11X is pressed, and when the pressing force disappears, the original The dome part 61 that returns to the height and this key top 11
A pair of switch elements 5 (hereinafter referred to as contacts 5) for switching electrical conduction from off to on or from off to on according to the position of X.
Signal), which is provided for transmitting the signal from the contact 5 (switch on / off signal).
(Hereinafter referred to as circuit pattern 7). The conventional keyboard section 50X has a key top 11X and a dome forming sheet 60X, as is apparent from FIGS. 5 (b) and 5 (c).
Are separate parts.

The dome portion 61 maintains the posture shown in FIG. 5 (b) when the key top 11X is not pressed.
When the key top 11X is pressed in the direction of the arrow D, the posture changes to that shown in FIG. 5 (c) and the height of the key top is temporarily reduced (the height is lowered). Therefore, when the key top 11X is not pressed, the protrusion 62 formed on the dome portion 61 side does not press the membrane sheet 10, so that the contact 5 is turned off [Fig. 5 (b)].
[See]. However, when the key top 11X is pressed in the direction of the arrow D, the protrusion 62 causes the membrane sheet to move.
Since 10 is pressed, the contact 5 is turned on [see FIG. 5 (c)]. The dome portion 61, whose height has been reduced by pressing the key top 11, immediately returns to its original posture (height) due to the disappearance of this pressing force. This is because it is made of an elastic material. The dome portions 61 provided for the respective key tops 11 are collectively formed on the dome-forming sheet 60X as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b).

5 (b) and 5 (c), 31 is a guide portion into which the key top 11X is engaged in a loosely fitted state, 45 is a support panel for holding the keyboard portion 50X, and 62 is provided in the dome portion 61. The protrusions and 10 are membrane sheets, respectively. The membrane sheet 10 including the lower sheet 1, the spacer 2 and the upper sheet 3 is turned on when the key top 11X is pressed in the direction of arrow D, and turned off when the pressing force disappears. The contact 5 to the lower sheet 1
Side and upper seat 3 side are equipped with each other as a pair.

An example of the structure of the membrane sheet and its operation will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b) and 6 (c). As shown in FIGS. 6 (a), (b) and (c), the membrane sheet 10
Has a plurality of contacts 5 and an upper sheet 3 having a circuit pattern 7 connected to the contacts 5 disposed on the lower surface thereof, and a contact 5 at a position facing the contacts 5 formed on the upper sheet 3 side, A spacer formed by forming a lower sheet 1 having a circuit pattern 7 connected to each of the contacts 5 on its upper surface and a hole 8 having a size larger than each of the contacts 5 corresponding to an arrangement position of each of the contacts 5. 2 and.

This membrane sheet 10 is shown in FIG. 6 (b).
As shown in (c), the contact 5 arranged on the upper sheet 3 side and the contact 5 arranged on the lower sheet 1 side face each other through a hole 8 formed on the spacer 2 side. Are combined in various ways. The upper sheet 3
When the portion where the contact point 5 is arranged is pressed in the direction of arrow D, the contact point 5 is deformed as shown in FIG. 6 (c) and the contact point 5 is turned on. When the pressing force in the direction of the arrow D disappears, the restoring force of the device returns to the original posture and the contact 5 is turned off.

[0009]

As is apparent from the above description, the conventional keyboard is equipped with the key top 11X and the dome forming sheet 60X which are separately manufactured, or the structure of the membrane sheet 10 is different. Complicated,
Due to the above reasons, it could not be manufactured at low cost.

The present invention is intended to realize a keyboard cost reduction by simplifying the structure of the keyboard portion and reducing the number of parts.

[0011]

As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), a keyboard according to the present invention has a key top 11 for selecting a character or a function, and when the key top 11 is pressed. Has a dome portion 61 that is reduced in height and returns to its original height when this pressing force disappears, and a contact 5 that switches electrical conduction from off to on or from on to off according to the position of the key top 11. A circuit pattern 7 for transmitting a signal from the contact 5; and a dome forming sheet 60 in which the key top 11 and the dome portion 61 are integrated in the keyboard portion 50. Characterize.

[0012]

[Function] The dome forming sheet 60 is the key top 11
Since the dome portion 61 and the dome portion 61 are integrated, the assembly work for combining the key top 11 and the dome portion 61 unlike the conventional case is not required.

[0013]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are schematic side sectional views showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are schematic main portions showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view, FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic side sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the keyboard of the first embodiment has a key top 11 for selecting a character or a function and a height when the key top 11 is pressed. A dome portion 61 that is reduced and returns to its original height when the pressing force disappears, a contact 5 that switches electrical conduction from off to on or from on to off according to the position of the key top 11, and the contact 5 A circuit pattern 7 provided for transmitting signals from the keyboard, and a dome forming sheet 60 in which the key top 11 and the dome portion 61 are integrated is provided on the keyboard portion 50. Is a structural feature.

As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the key top 11 is composed of a main body 11a and a cap 11b arranged so as to cover the upper surface of the main body 11a. The main body portion 11a is integrated with the dome portion 61 provided on the dome forming sheet 60. The cap portion 11b is for protecting the main body portion 11a integrally formed with the dome portion 61 made of an elastic material such as synthetic rubber, and is made of, for example, hard plastic. To be done. In the figure, 30 indicates a housing, and 31 indicates a guide portion into which the key top 11 is engaged in a loosely fitted state.

The first embodiment has a structure in which the key top 11 and the dome portion 61, which are conventionally composed of separate parts, are integrated, so that the key top 11 and the dome portion 61 are combined together. No assembly work required. Therefore, when this first embodiment is applied, it is possible to reduce the number of manufacturing steps.

Also in the case of the first embodiment, the projection 62 is formed by pressing the key top 11 with the finger 90 in the direction of arrow D.
Presses the upper sheet 3 of the membrane sheet 10 and contacts 5
Is turned on and when the finger 90 is released from the key top 11, the dome part
The basic operation of the keyboard unit 50 in which 61 restores its original posture [the tall posture shown in FIG. 1 (a)] by its own restoring force to turn off the contact 5, is the same as the conventional keyboard (see FIG. 5). Is.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b). This second embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), one of the contacts 5 (upper contact 5) arranged in a pair of upper and lower sides is moved to the dome portion 61 side, and the circuit pattern 7 is provided to the dome forming sheet 60 side. It has a curved shape. In the figure, reference numeral 65 denotes a conductive portion provided to electrically connect the contact 5 and the circuit pattern 7. The conductive portion 65 is a conductive coating material (conductive coating material) containing a conductive polymer as a base material. Is applied to the dome portion 61.

In the second embodiment, the circuit pattern 7 provided on the upper sheet 3 side is transferred to the dome-forming sheet 60 side, and the contact 5 provided on the upper sheet 3 side.
The upper sheet 3 can be deleted by moving the to the dome portion 61 side.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a guide portion 31 for controlling the moving direction of the key top 11 is provided.
Is equipped with a dome forming body 80 that extends from the arrangement surface of the key top 11 to the formation starting point K of the dome portion 61, and the other structure is the book described in FIG. This is the same as the second embodiment of the invention. The dome forming body 80 includes the dome portion 61 and the dome forming sheet.
Manufactured using the same elastic material as 60.

When the third embodiment is applied, the upper sheet 3 and the housing 30 are not required, so that the keyboard structure is further simplified. Next, the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Examples will be described. In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a decorative panel 81 made of a hard plastic material or the like is arranged on the upper surface of the dome forming body 80 except for the area where the guide portion 31 is formed. The rest of the structure is the same as that of the third embodiment of the present invention described in FIG. The decorative panel 81 is provided to protect the upper surface portion of the dome body 80 made of synthetic rubber or the like.

[0022]

As is apparent from the above description, the keyboard according to the present invention is a keyboard in which the key top and the dome portion are integrated or one of the contacts is moved to the dome portion side. It is possible to reduce the cost of, and the effect is extremely large.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a schematic side sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a structure example of a conventional keyboard and a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view and a side sectional view of an essential part for explaining one structural example of a constituent member and its operation;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lower Sheet 2 Spacer 3 Upper Sheet 5 Contact 7 Circuit Pattern 10, 10A Membrane Sheet 11, 11X Keytop 11a Body 11b Cap 30 Housing 31 Guide 45 Support Panel 50, 50X Keyboard 58 Case 60, 60X Dome Forming Sheet 61 Dome part 62 Protrusion 65 Conductive part 80 Dome forming body 81 Decorative panel 90 Finger K Origin of forming dome part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A key top (11) for selecting a character or a function, and when the key top (11) is pressed, its height is reduced, and when the pressing force disappears, the original height is restored. Dome part (6
1) and a switch element (5) for switching electrical conduction from on to off or from off to on according to the position of the key top (11)
And a signal transmission means (7) provided for transmitting a signal from the switch element (5), wherein the key top (11) and the dome portion (61) are integrated. A push button switch, characterized in that the keyboard portion (50) is provided with the dome forming sheet (60). 2. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein one of the switch elements (5) is transferred to the dome portion (61) side. 3. A dome formation in which a guide portion (31) for controlling a moving direction of the key top (11) is extended from a formation starting point (K) of the dome portion (61) to a disposition surface of the key top (11). Body (8
The keyboard according to claim 2, wherein the keyboard is equipped with 0). 4. The keyboard according to claim 3, wherein a decorative panel (81) is arranged on an upper surface portion of the dome body (80) except for a region where the guide portion (31) is formed.