JPH073542Y2 - Keyboard switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a keyboard switch provided in an operation unit of a data terminal device or the like.

<Prior Art> As shown in FIG. 3, a keyboard switch 11 is provided on the operation surface side of the data terminal device 10. In this keyboard switch 11, the key tops 12 are arranged at predetermined intervals in consideration of the function and operability. Normally, the operation surface (top surface) of the key top 12 is about 15 × 10 mm, and the mutual spacing is about 19 mm.
mm, and the stroke amount when pushing the key top 12 to the end is set to about 3.5 mm.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the keyboard switch 11. That is, the contact pattern 21 provided on the substrate 20 is opened and closed via the conductive rubber 31 of the contact rubber sheet 30. In order to make the keyboard switch 11 dustproof and dripproof, the contact rubber sheet 30 seals the substrate 20 itself.

Such contact rubber sheet 30 is for pressing the dome rubber 32 to open and close the contact pattern 21 by the conductive rubber 31 described above, so that the key top 12 is mounted in the slide case 14 integrally provided with the upper cover 13. The pressing lower portion 15 contacts the dome rubber 32. The key top 12 is slidable in the vertical direction in the slide case 14, and is biased upward by the elastic force of the dome rubber 32 contacting the pressing lower portion 15.

In the keyboard switch 11 having such a structure, when the key top 12 is pushed down by the pressing of the operator, the conductive rubber 31 is pressed against the contact pattern 21 against the biasing force of the dome rubber 32, and the contact pattern 21 is electrically connected. Close. When the key top 12 is further pushed down as it is, the lower end 16 of the key top 12 comes into contact with a stopper 33 provided on the contact rubber sheet 30 to be in a so-called push-cut state. Then, when the operator's pressure is released, the elastic force of the dome rubber 32 raises the key top 12 to its original position.

Recently, from the viewpoint of operability, the top size of the key top 12 is doubled from the above size. That is, the top surface size of the key top 12 is approximately 34
The size is about 15 mm, and the operation surface of the key top 12 is widened to facilitate pressing. However, as shown in the schematic sectional view of FIG. 5, if the operator presses on the top surface deviated from the center x of the key top 12, the lower outer surface 12 of the key top 12 is pressed.
a contacts the side wall 14a of the slide case 14, while
12b contacts the opening edge 14b. As a result, it cannot be pushed down smoothly due to the existence of both contact portions. That is, not only a good pressing feeling cannot be obtained, but also the opening / closing accuracy of the switch is affected.

A stabilizer 40 is used as shown in FIG. 6 in order to improve the feeling of pressing the switch and the accuracy of opening and closing the switch. In this stabilizer 40, the shaft portion 41 is supported by clamps 50, 50 provided on the substrate 20, and arm tips 42, 42 are slidably fitted to slide bearings 12c, 12c provided on the inner surface side of the key top 12. It is a thing. The stabilizer 40
Thus, no matter which top surface of the key top 12 is pressed, the key top 12 can be uniformly and smoothly pushed down in the slide case 14.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the stabilizer 40 described above, the shaft portion 41 is a substrate.
In order to support the clamps 50, 50 provided on the 20, the contact rubber sheet 30 must be provided with notches 34, 34 for allowing the clamps 50, 50 to project to the upper surface. The notch 34,34
By providing the contact rubber sheet 30, the sealing performance by the contact rubber sheet 30 is significantly reduced. As a result, the dustproof and dripproof performance of the substrate 20 is significantly reduced, and thus the contact reliability of the keyboard switch is greatly reduced.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention is a keyboard switch made in order to solve the above problems, and a substrate having a contact pattern formed on the upper surface thereof and a conductive rubber facing the contact pattern are provided on the substrate. A contact rubber sheet that seals the contact rubber sheet, an upper cover disposed on the contact rubber sheet, and a key top that is mounted in a slide case integrally formed with the upper cover and that abuts the pressing lower portion against the dome rubber of the contact rubber sheet. In the key top, the stepped portion provided on the outer peripheral side of the key top prevents the key top from being pulled out from the slide case, and the key top is substantially formed by the shaft portion, the arms provided at both ends thereof, and the arm tips formed by bending the arm. Slides in the vertical direction along the side wall of the slide case through a stabilizer having a shape,
The stabilizer shaft is supported by a clamp claw provided on the back side of the top surface of the key top, and the arm tip of the stabilizer is projected from a notch provided in the stepped portion of the key top to face the slide case. It is loosely inserted into the elongated guide hole provided on the side wall.

<Operation> Since the clamp claw for supporting the shaft portion of the stabilizer is provided on the back side of the top surface of the key top, this shaft portion fits inside the key top. Moreover, since the stabilizer arm tip protrudes from the notch provided on the stepped part of the key top and is attached to the side wall, the stabilizer and key top do not interfere with each other and a sufficient pressing stroke can be obtained, and the keyboard itself can be made thin. to enable.

Further, the key top is prevented from coming off through the stepped portion provided on the outer peripheral side portion and slides along the side wall of the slide case, so that the operation stability of the key top is obtained.

<Example> Next, the keyboard switch of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a keyboard switch 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same portion omitted.

A contact pattern 2a is formed at a predetermined position on the substrate 2. The contact rubber sheet 3 is attached on the substrate 2.
The contact rubber sheet 3 has a bulged dome rubber 3a corresponding to the contact pattern 2a, and a conductive rubber 3b is provided in the dome rubber 3a so as to face the contact pattern 2a. The contact rubber sheet 3 seals the substrate 2 in such a state. Therefore, the keyboard switch 1
Has a dustproof and swollen structure.

An upper cover 4 is arranged on the contact rubber sheet 3. In this upper cover 4, a slide case 4c is arranged in a state of accommodating the contact pattern 2a and the corresponding dome rubber 3a. The slide case 4c is formed by side walls 4a, 4a integrated with the upper cover 4 and an opening 4b in the upper part. Moreover, the opening 4b is formed to be slightly larger than the size of the key top 5 which will be described later, because the pressing operation of the key top 5 is smoothly performed.

On the other hand, as described in the conventional example, when the key top 5 having a top surface that is twice the normal size, that is, a size of about 34 × 15 mm is used, the operator may perform an end pushing operation. However, clamp pawls 5b, 5b are formed integrally and elastically deformable on the rear surface of the top surface of the key top 5, and the clamp pawls 5b, 5b support a shaft portion of a stabilizer 6 which will be described later. The stabilizer 6 is formed by bending the shaft portion 6a, the arms 6b and 6b and the arms 6b and 6b outward, and forms a substantial shape together with the arm tips 6c and 6c. Even if the shaft portion 6a is supported by the clamp claws 5b, 5b, the top surface of the key top 5 does not become so high because the clamp claws 5b, 5b are provided on the rear surface side of the top surface. Clamp claws 5b and 5b on the shaft 6a.
In order to support it on the clamp claws 5b, 5b, the shaft portion 6a may be pressed into the clamp claws 5b, 5b.
It is rotatably supported with respect to b.

Also, the arm tips 6c, 6c are stepped portions 5 provided on the outer peripheral side of the key top 5.
d is projected from the cutouts 5c, 5c formed by cutting out,
It is loosely inserted into the guide long holes 4d, 4d provided on the side walls 4a, 4a of the slide case.

In order to assemble the key top 5 into the upper cover 4, as shown in FIG. 2, the key top 5 with the stabilizer 6 supported is mounted on the top surface from the lower side of the slide case 4c, and the key top 5 is notched. With the arm tip 6c protruding from the portion 5c, the guide elongated holes 4d, 4d are loosely inserted. In such a state, the upper cover 4 is arranged on the contact rubber sheet 3. Then, both are fixed via screws and bosses not shown.

Next, the operation of the keyboard switch having the above configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operator pushes down a point Y deviated from the center X of the key top 5 as an action point (end pushing operation). By this operation, the key top part on the side of the point of action Y
When 5R is pushed down, the step portion 5d slides along the side wall 4a. Then, the shaft portion 6a of the stabilizer 6 is clamped by the clamp claws 5b, 5b.
While rotating inside, the arm tips 6c, 6c slide along the guide elongated hole 4d. Therefore, the key top portion 5L on the side opposite to the point of action Y is also lowered, and the entire key top 5 is pushed down in a stable state.

As described above, even if the top surface deviated from the center of the key top 5 is pushed down, the key top 5 itself descends smoothly, and the conductive rubber 3b surely presses the contact pattern 2a.

<Effect of Device> As described above, according to the keyboard switch of the present invention, even if the top surface size of the key top is increased from the viewpoint of improving operability, the operability of the key top is not impaired, and the switch It does not reduce the dustproof or dripproof performance.

Also, the stabilizer itself is stored inside the key top,
Moreover, since there is no interference with the key tops, it is possible to obtain a sufficient stroke despite its thin shape, and as a result, electrical reliability is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a keyboard switch, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a key top with a part thereof omitted, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a data terminal device, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional keyboard switch. FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing an operation of a keyboard switch having a large top surface, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a structure of the stabilizer. 1 ... Keyboard switch, 2 ... Board, 2a ... Contact pattern, 3
… Contact rubber sheet, 3a… Dome rubber, 3b… Conductive rubber, 4… Upper cover, 4a… Side wall, 4b… Opening, 4c… Slide case, 4d…
Guide long hole, 5… Key top, 5a… Pressing lower part, 5b… Clamping claw, 5c… Notch part, 5d… Step part, 6… Stabilizer, 6a… Shaft part, 6b
… Arm, 6c… Arm tip.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A substrate having a contact pattern formed on an upper surface thereof, a contact rubber sheet for sealing the substrate with a conductive rubber facing the contact pattern, an upper cover arranged on the contact rubber sheet, A keyboard switch comprising a key top mounted in a slide case integrally formed with an upper cover and having a pressing lower portion in contact with a dome rubber of the contact rubber sheet, wherein the key top is formed by a step portion provided on an outer peripheral side thereof. Removal from the slide case is prevented, and the stepped portion is provided on the side wall of the slide case through a stabilizer that is substantially formed by a shaft portion, arms provided at both ends of the shaft portion, and an arm tip formed by bending the arm. Along the vertical direction, the shaft portion of the stabilizer is supported by a clamp claw provided on the back side of the top surface of the key top. A keyboard switch, characterized in that the loosely inserted into guide slot formed in the opposed side walls of the slide case from the notch portion provided in the stepped portion is protruded arm tip of the stabilizer.