JPS62237618A - Manufacture of keytop - 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 (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing keys 1 to 3 having wear resistance used in keyboards of personal computers, etc., and particularly relates to a method for manufacturing keys 1 to 3 with wear resistance for use in keyboards of personal computers, etc. The present invention relates to an improvement in an overcoating method in which overcoating is performed and the thickness of the overcoating film can be freely changed.

(Prior Art) Generally, characters, figures, symbols, etc. are displayed on the upper surface of the key top by pad printing. However, this display is
Since it easily disappears due to friction, it has been conventional practice to apply a wear-resistant overcoating to its surface.

This conventional key top overcoating method is shown in FIG. In the same figure, 21 is the key top body;
The top surface of this key top body 21 is printed with pads.

Characters 1, figures, symbols, etc. are displayed. The overcoating is applied to the upper surface of this key top body 21 by spraying the ultraviolet curable resin 22 from the part, and then irradiates it with ultraviolet rays to harden the ultraviolet curable resin and form a film on one surface. It is.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional overcoating method described above, when the ultraviolet curable resin is sprayed toward the top surface of the key 1 - lub body 21, the ultraviolet curable resin is applied even to the side surface where overcoating is not required. There is a problem that not only is the material coated, but it also scatters around the key top body, resulting in poor material yield.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the yield of materials by applying an ultraviolet curable resin by a tampo method.

(Means for solving the problems) In the present invention, in order to solve the above conventional problems,
We adopted a method of applying UV-curable resin to the surface of the key top body using a tampo method.

(Function) In the method of the present invention, the ultraviolet curable resin is applied to the surface of the key top body using a tampon method, so the ultraviolet curable resin is applied only to the areas where the tampon contacts, and the side surfaces of the key top body are coated with UV curable resin. The material is not overly coated or unnecessarily scattered in the surrounding area, and therefore the material yield is significantly improved compared to the conventional spray set application method.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1st
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the process of applying ultraviolet curable resin, and Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the key top surface showing the process of applying silica.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an etching plate of another embodiment.

In the coating method of the present invention, the etching groove 2 of the etching plate 1 shown in FIG. 1(A) is filled with a mixture of ultraviolet curing resin 3 and silica powder 4 as shown in FIG. 1(B). Figure 1 (C).

As shown in (D), a pad (silicon rubber) 5 is brought into contact with the ultraviolet curing resin 3, and this is adsorbed to the pad 5. Then, as shown in FIG. 1 (E), a key is placed at the bottom of this pad 5. The top main body 6 is placed, and the pad 5 is pressed against the upper surface of the key top main body 6, thereby producing the result as shown in FIG. 1(F)! ? The external radiation curing resin 3 is transferred onto the upper surface of the key top body 6, and as shown in FIG. A mixture of powder 8 is applied by spraying, the solvent is blown off as shown in Fig. 1 (H), and finally, as shown in Fig. 1 (I), the ultraviolet curing resin 3 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to cure the resin. It hardens.

In this example, among the above steps, FIG. 1(B)
A solvent-free type resin is used as the ultraviolet curing resin 3 to be filled in the step shown in FIG. This is because the solvent evaporates and the amount of the ultraviolet curing resin 3 that enters the etching groove does not change, making it possible to maintain a constant film thickness and improve continuity. .

In addition, in the process shown in FIG. 1 (G), when spraying a mixture of silica-based powder in a solvent, in the process up to that point, the matting silica-based powder mixed with the ultraviolet curing resin 3 As shown in FIG. 2(A), the powder 4 is pushed by the pad 5 and enters the inside of the ultraviolet curing resin 3, causing the surface to become glossy and the matting effect to be reduced. As shown in B), silica-based powder 8 having a particle size of several microns is adhered to the surface of the ultraviolet curable resin 3 in a wet state, thereby obtaining a matting effect.

In this example, the steps shown in FIGS. 1A to 1F are the same as pad printing, and a pad printing machine can be used.

In the case of using the method of this embodiment, the ultraviolet curing resin 3 is applied to the surface of the key top body by the tampon method, so the ultraviolet curing resin 3 is applied only to the areas where the pad 5 contacts, and the key top body 6 The material is not coated on the side surfaces or unnecessarily scattered around, and therefore the material yield is significantly improved compared to the conventional spray set application method.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the etching groove 2 of the etching plate 1 has a satin-like fine unevenness.
This prevents wrinkles from forming on the ultraviolet curable resin when overcoating.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the present invention, since the method of applying the ultraviolet curable resin to the surface of the key top main body using the tampo method is adopted, the ultraviolet curable resin is coated with the UV curable resin.

The material is applied only to the area where the pad comes into contact, and does not spread to the side of the key top body or scatter unnecessarily to the surrounding area. Therefore, the material yield is significantly improved compared to the conventional spray application method. This allows us to reduce manufacturing costs and provide key pieces at low prices.Also, the film thickness of the ultraviolet curing resin can be changed freely by changing the depth of the etching groove, making it easy to change the design. This has the effect that two corresponding words can be created.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, and Figures 1 (A) to (I) are explanatory diagrams showing the process of applying an ultraviolet curable resin, and Figure 2 is a process of applying silica. FIG. 3 is a plan view of an etching plate of another embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional ultraviolet curing resin coating process. 3...Ultraviolet curing resin, 5...Tap, 6...Key 1-tub body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A method for manufacturing a key top, characterized by applying an ultraviolet curing resin to the surface of the key top body using a tampo method.