JPS58209020A - Keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a keyboard equipped with a plurality of key switches.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of a keyboard used in an electronic portable computer, etc., the configuration shown in FIG. 1 (1) has been provided. In this Figure 1, 1 is the spring/I
/2 a plurality of holes formed; 3 a plurality of key dogs inserted into each hole 1 from below without being removed; 4 a board disposed below the panel 2; 5 a board 4; A plurality of pairs of fixed contacts are formed thereon by printed wiring means, plated wiring means, or the like. Reference numeral 6 denotes a deformable member made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber, which has a cap-shaped elastic deformable part 6a and a protrusion 6 at each part facing the key top 5 from below.
b, and the fixed contact 5 is located at the lower end of the protrusion 6b.
A movable contact 7 made of conductive rubber and facing with a predetermined distance from the
is attached. In the keyboard with such a configuration, when the key top 3 is pressed down, the elastic deformation portion 68 is buckled and the movable contact 7 comes into contact with the fixed contact 5, and when the key top 3 is released, the elastic deformation section 68 buckles and deforms. The deformable portion 6a is rearwardly deformed and the key top 3 is returned to its original position. However, the above-mentioned conventional keyboard has the problem that the laborious assembly work of inserting a plurality of separate key tops 6 into the holes 1 is required, and the workability is poor. When the key tops 3 are marked with display symbols, there is a great possibility that the key tops 5 may be misaligned during assembly.

In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, conventionally,
A configuration has also been considered in which the key top is made of the same material as the deformable member and these are integrally molded. However, the deformable member is generally made of silicone rubber, and if the key top is made of such a material, it is unlikely that the key top will have a beautiful gloss or finish.
The key tops become easily soiled with dirt from hands, etc., resulting in a deterioration of the overall appearance of the design.Furthermore, when printing symbols, etc. for display on the key tops, the printability is poor and the appearance of the Yahari design deteriorates. There was a problem that made things worse.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard that can improve assembly workability and has the effect (5) of eliminating the risk of deterioration of the design appearance and incorrect arrangement of key tops. .

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention is characterized in that a deformable member made of an elastic material and having movable contacts is integrated with a plurality of key tops made of an inelastic material.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, 8 is a panel of a portable microcomputer, for example, and a plurality of holes 9 are formed in this panel. Reference numeral 10 denotes a board arranged below and parallel to the panel 8, and at each position on the board 10 facing the through hole 9, a pair of fixed contacts 11 are provided by printed wiring means or plating means. It is formed. Well, 12
is a deformable member made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber.
The protrusion 12b hanging downward from the center of the lower surface of a and each elastic deformable part 128 attached to the substrate 10. It has a structure that integrally has a support plate part 120 that can support the base of. In this case, the upper end of the elastically deformable portion 12a is inserted into the hole 9 from below, and the upper end of each elastically deformable portion 12a is provided with a key top made of a non-elastic material such as metal or the like. 15 are respectively deposited. The key top 13 is inserted into the deformable member 12 when the deformable member 12 is molded, and is thereby integrated with the deformable member 12. As a result,
The deformable member 12 and the plurality of key tops 15 can be handled as one component. In addition, 14 is a protrusion 12't
) is a movable contact attached to the upper end of the contact point 11 so as to face the pair of fixed contacts 11 at a predetermined distance, and is made of conductive rubber or the like.

In the above configuration, when a predetermined key dog 3 is pressed down, the elastic deformation portion 12a of the deformation member 120 is buckled and the movable contact 14 bridges the pair of fixed contacts 11, thereby causing the fixed contact to 11 and the movable contact 14, the key switch (5) 15 is turned on. After this, when the pressing operation of the key top 3 is released, the elastic deformation portion 12a returns to deformation.
As a result, the key switch 15 is turned off and the key top 1 is turned off.
3 is returned to its original position.

According to the present embodiment described above, since the deformable member 12 and the plurality of key tops 16 can be handled as a single component, the workability during assembly is much simpler than in the past. There is no risk of erroneously arranging the key dogs 13 during work. Furthermore, since the key top 13 is made of a non-elastic material such as pufnutik or metal, the key dog 16 can be made with a sufficiently beautiful gloss and finish, and stains caused by hand marks can be minimized, which makes it possible to minimize the stains caused by hand marks and the like. It would be unavoidable to cause the appearance of the design to deteriorate.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention which has the same effects as the above-mentioned embodiment, and hereinafter only the parts different from the above-mentioned embodiment will be explained.

That is, 16 is a concave portion formed on the side of the elastically deformable portion 17a of the deformable member 17, and 18 is a convex portion formed in the key top 19 in the shape C6), and these concave portions 16 and convex portions 18 are engaged with each other. This allows the deformable member 17 and the key top 19 to be integrated.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the keyboard according to the present invention is formed of a deformable member made of an elastic material, and includes a plurality of movable contacts,
Since the structure is provided with a plurality of key tops made of inelastic material, which are provided so as to correspond to each of these movable contacts and are integrated with the deformable member, it is possible to improve the assembly workability, and to This has the advantage that there is no risk of deterioration of the design appearance or incorrect arrangement of the key tops.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view for explaining a conventional example, FIG. 2 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. It is. In the figure, 12.17 is a deformable member, 13.19 is a key top, 14 is a movable contact, 16 is a concave portion, and 18 is a convex portion. (7) Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of movable contacts formed on a deformable member made of an elastic material, and a plurality of movable contacts made of an inelastic material that are provided to correspond to the movable contacts and are integrated with the deformable member. A keyboard characterized by comprising a number of key tops. 2. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein one of the deformable member and the key top is formed with a concave portion, and the other is formed with a convex portion that engages with the concave portion.