JPH09198954A - Assembling method for keyboard switch and device for its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lessen the number of processes in manufacturing key tops for a keyboard switch of an electronic apparatus. SOLUTION: In a lower die 5 having a locating pin 1, key tops 3, 4, and 7 are formed and held in such a way that the top face 7 and the undercut 9 are positioned below and above, respectively, and a mechanism chassis 10 provided with a guide hole 2 and insert holes 12 mating with the undercuts 9 of the key tops 3, 4, and 7 is inserted fast in the lower die so that lump shaping and assembling are conducted. This facilitates the manufacture and permits reducing the number of processes in manufacturing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for assembling a keyboard switch used in electronic equipment and a manufacturing apparatus for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional method of forming a key top for a keyboard switch and assembling the same is shown in, for example, FIG.
As shown in the plan view of the mold of (c), differently shaped key tops 23 to 28 used for the keyboard switch.
Molds 21a having a plurality of surfaces for injecting a predetermined resin molding material from the runner portions 22a to 22c and individually molding
After molding, the key tops having the same shape are stored.

The keytops 23 to 28 required when stored at the time of assembly are aligned by a parts feeder or the like, sucked and transferred by an air chuck or the like, and mounted and assembled at a predetermined mechanical chassis position. Met.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, molds 21a to 21c for molding the respective key tops 23 to 28 are required, and since molding and assembling are separate steps, a plurality of devices are required. However, there is a problem that the number of steps increases.

The present invention is intended to solve such a conventional problem, and a keyboard switch assembling method in which the assembling apparatus is simple and the number of steps can be reduced by forming and assembling the key top in the same step. And an apparatus for manufacturing the same.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a keyboard switch assembling method and a manufacturing apparatus therefor according to the present invention use a molding die arranged in the same configuration as the arrangement of key tops required as a keyboard switch. Mold the required key tops, then supply the mechanical chassis for assembly to the key tops held in the lower mold, insert all the key tops in the lower mold into the mechanical chassis, and mount it Then, the assembly is performed.

According to the present invention, there is no need to store and align the key tops, the assembling apparatus is easy, the molding and assembling steps are the same step, and the number of steps can be reduced.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is
Using the upper and lower molds that match the keyboard switch arrangement, the key top is molded with the top surface facing down and the undercut that serves as the engaging protrusion for mounting on the mechanical chassis facing up. After that, the mold is opened to remove only the upper mold, and then the mechanical chassis with the insertion holes corresponding to the undercut is supplied to the keytop held in the lower mold to undercut the keytop. All the parts are inserted into the mechanical chassis insertion holes at once, and then the mechanical chassis is pulled up and the key tops are taken out from the lower mold for assembly, and the key tops are stored. Also, it has the effect that the steps can be made identical without the need for alignment.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a lower mold having a cavity portion forming the top and side surfaces of the key top and a mechanical chassis mounting provided on the back side of the key top are mounted. A first molding die for forming an inner peripheral side of an undercut portion which is an engaging convex portion for use in the same manner, and a second molding die for forming an outer peripheral side of the undercut portion. An undercut is a manufacturing device for assembling a keyboard switch, which is composed of an upper mold which is arranged so as to face the lower mold so as to form an outer peripheral portion on the lower surface side which is the rest of the key top. It has an effect that the key top can be held in the lower mold even when the part is on the top.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the key top in the mechanical chassis in the embodiment, FIG.
3A to 3E are cross-sectional views of a main part showing the assembled state in the order of steps, FIGS. 3A to 3F are cross-sectional views of the main part showing the molding of the key top in the order of steps, and FIG. 4 is a keyboard. It is a top view showing arrangement and arrangement of key tops of the switch.

1 to 4, reference numerals 3, 4 and 7 are key tops having a predetermined shape which constitute a keyboard switch, and are formed of various resin molding materials. Reference numeral 5 is a lower mold for molding the key tops 3, 4 and 7 with the upper mold 6, and the positioning pins 1 are provided on the upper surfaces of four places at each corner.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a mechanical chassis for mounting the key tops 3, 4 and 7 to assemble a keyboard switch. The mechanical chassis 10 has the positioning pin 1 described above.
The four guide holes 2 for guiding and positioning by the, and a plurality of undercut portions 9 which are formed in the key tops 3, 4 and 7 and which are claw portions for preventing removal from the mechanical chassis 10 after mounting. A required number of insertion holes 12 for inserting and mounting are provided corresponding to the undercut portions 9.

Reference numeral 6 denotes an upper die including a movable die A13, a movable die B14 and a movable die C15 which can be independently movable and removed in a pair corresponding to the lower die 5, and 8 is a fitting with a boss portion 11 in the mechanical chassis 10. Key tops for matching 3,4
And 7 are boss portions, and 16 is a peripheral portion of the key tops 3, 4 and 7.

Next, a method of assembling the keyboard switch according to this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

First, with the arrangement and arrangement of the key tops of the keyboard switch as shown in FIG. 4, the key tops 3, 4 and 7 are molded with a resin material using the upper mold 6 and the lower mold 5.

The state of the key top 7 at that time is shown in FIG.
Shown in At this time, the top surface 7a of the key top 7 is formed on the inner bottom surface of the cavity portion of the lower die 5, and the undercut portion 9 is formed by the upper die 6 (a drive mechanism is not shown). The same applies hereinafter).

Next, the upper die 6 is moved in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 2 (b) to be removed, and the die is opened so that the key top 7 is retained and retained in the lower die 5. As shown in FIG. 3 for details, first, as described above, the lower die 5, the movable die A13, the movable die B14 and the movable die C15 are used.
Clamping is completed by the upper die 6 consisting of, and the key top 7 is molded (FIG. 3A).

Next, by simultaneously raising the entire upper die 6 by about 0.5 mm in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3 (b), the key top 7 also moves integrally, and the top surface 7a is moved above the lower die 5. Release the mold. Then, the entire upper die 6 is simultaneously moved down again to return the key top 7 to the original holding position of the lower die 5 (FIG. 3 (c)).

Next, only the movable mold B14 of the upper mold 6 is shown in FIG.
The undercut portion 9 is lifted in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.
Release the outer part of.

Next, the movable mold C15 of the upper mold 6 is shown in FIG.
Undercut portion 9 is raised in the direction of the arrow shown in (e).
The inner part and the boss 8 are released. In addition, the key top 7 including the above is still in the holding position of the lower die 5 because the peripheral portion 16 is sandwiched by the movable die A13 that does not move upward.

Next, the movable die A13 of the upper die 6 is shown in FIG.
Movable die B14 and movable die C1 in the direction of the arrow shown in (f)
By removing the entire upper die 6 including 5 by removing it, the undercut portion 9 and the boss portion 8 shown in FIG. The mold opening with the mold 5 inserted and held is completed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the mechanical chassis 10 is guided by the guide hole 2 and the positioning pin 1 and supplied, and is lowered so as to approach the molded key top 7.

The state of the key top 7 at that time is shown in FIG. 2 (c).
Shown in Then, by further lowering the mechanical chassis 10, the boss portion 8 and the boss portion 11 are fitted to each other, and the undercut portion 9 is inserted into the insertion hole 12 to fit into each other,
The claw portion of the undercut portion 9 is caught on the upper and inner side of the insertion hole 12 and the key top 7 is incorporated and integrated into the mechanical chassis 10 (FIG. 2 (d)).

Next, the mechanical chassis 10 is lifted to release the key top 7 from the lower mold 5 and take it out, whereby the molding and assembly is completed. Although only the key tops 7 have been described in the above description, actually, all the key tops constituting the keyboard, including the key tops 3 and 4, are handled at the same time and the molding and assembling are performed.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, since all the key tops of the keyboard can be molded and assembled in the same step, it is not necessary to store and align the individual key tops, and a manufacturing apparatus for assembling. It is possible to obtain an advantageous effect that it is easy and the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of a key top on a mechanical chassis according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing the assembly state in the order of steps.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing the molding of the key top in the order of steps.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the arrangement and arrangement of key tops of the keyboard switch.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a key top in a conventional mold.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Locating Pin 2 Guide Hole 3 Key Top 4 Key Top 5 Lower Mold 6 Upper Mold 7 Key Top 7a Top Surface 8 Boss 9 Undercut 10 Mechanical Chassis 11 Boss 12 Insertion Hole 13 Movable A 14 Movable B 15 Movable C 16 peripheral part

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Osamu Yamamoto 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A key using an upper mold and a lower mold that match the arrangement of keyboard switches, with the top surface facing down and the undercut portion serving as an engaging protrusion for mounting on a mechanical chassis facing up. Mold the top, then open the mold to remove only the upper mold, and then supply the mechanical chassis with the insertion hole corresponding to the undercut to the key top held in the lower mold. A keyboard switch assembling method in which the undercut parts of the key tops are all inserted and installed in the mechanical chassis insertion holes all together, then the mechanical chassis is pulled up and the key tops are taken out from the lower mold and assembled. 2. A lower mold having a cavity forming the top and side surfaces of a key top, and an inner peripheral side of an undercut portion serving as an engaging projection for mounting a mechanical chassis provided on the back side. A first molding die and a second molding die that also forms the outer peripheral side of the undercut portion are slidably incorporated to form the outer peripheral portion on the lower surface side that is the rest of the key top. 2. The manufacturing apparatus used for the method for assembling a keyboard switch according to claim 1, wherein the manufacturing apparatus comprises an upper mold disposed so as to face the lower mold.