KR101042919B1 - Keypad assembly for mobile communication - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a keypad assembly for a mobile phone, and more particularly, in a keypad assembly for a mobile phone in which a user's finger is contacted to enable a predetermined electrical operation by the contact, the user's finger is touched and a plurality of keys A key top having a button formed thereon; Light guide means attached to a lower surface of the key top and configured to guide light to emit light toward the key button; And a key base attached to a lower surface of the light guide means and having a protrusion protruding downwardly at a position corresponding to the key button, wherein the light guide means includes:

A light guide sheet having light transparency; A diffuse reflection layer formed on a surface of the light guide sheet as a position corresponding to the key button; And a coating layer formed to cover the surface of the light guide sheet including the diffuse reflection layer, the coating layer being made of a material having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet and having light transmittance.

Keypad, light guide sheet, diffuse reflection layer, coating layer

Description

Keypad assembly for mobile communication

The present invention relates to a keypad assembly for a mobile phone and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, a keypad having a low refractive index on a surface of a light guide sheet, and having a simple structure and a thin laminated structure. It is about the production method.

Recently, electronic products, in particular, mobile communication terminals are being miniaturized, multifunctional, and slim, and various restrictions have been applied in the manufacture of mobile communication terminal devices. As a light emitting device for a keypad for recognizing a key button of such a mobile communication terminal, LED and EL sheets have been used in the past, but a method of emitting light using a light guide sheet has been developed and used.

Among the conventional methods, a method of configuring a keypad light emitting unit using LEDs is a structure for mounting on a printed circuit board (PCB) using a large amount of LEDs despite the advantage that the brightness of the LED light source itself is high. On the other hand, there is a disadvantage that the light does not appear uniformly by indirectly illuminating the light by mounting it on both sides of the metal dome without mounting it directly. In addition, due to the thickness of the LED itself, it is difficult to apply to slimming, which is a trend of recent mobile phones, and also requires a process of mounting LEDs (SMD, SMT) on a printed circuit board (PCB). In addition, a keypad light emitting unit configuration method using an EL sheet is directly attached to the metal dome as a light emitting medium suitable for light weight and slim cell phones, and has the advantage that light is uniformly realized by directly emitting keypad letters and numbers. However, in order to emit light, an inverter for providing an electric signal is separately required, and thus, the unit price is high and it is difficult to apply to a low price mobile phone. In addition, there is a disadvantage in that the brightness is low and the life is short compared with the LED light source, there is a limit to apply widely.

On the other hand, using the recently developed light guide sheet, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the printed circuit board 140 and the LED is located on one side of the printed circuit board 140 used as a light source 160, a metal dome 141 capable of switching contact with a contact formed on the printed circuit board 140, and positioned above the metal dome 141, the light emitted from the LED 120 is advanced in a horizontal direction. A light guide sheet 130 having a reflective layer reflecting light on a lower surface thereof, a key base 120 disposed on an upper side of the light guide sheet, and having a protrusion projecting downward, and a plurality of key buttons positioned on an upper side of the key base. It consists of a formed key top.

On the other hand, the case 150 of the mobile phone is formed on the side of the key top, the keypad assembly is fixed to the case.

The keypad assembly for a mobile phone according to the prior art has the following problems. Since the light guide sheet is positioned between the key base and the dome switch, there is a problem that the feeling of clicking on the entire key button is deteriorated.

In addition, the light guide sheet allows the upper and lower surfaces to come into contact with air so that the light can be totally reflected from the surface. In this case, the structure of the entire keypad assembly is complicated in the process of bringing the surface of the light guide sheet into contact with the air. .

In addition, the light emitted from the light source is emitted through the light guide sheet to the outside through the key base and the key top, there is a problem that the overall light intensity is weakened and the light utilization efficiency is reduced.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, more specifically, the overall click feeling is not degraded, the structure of the keypad assembly is simplified and provides a keypad assembly for a mobile phone and a method of manufacturing the same that can increase the use efficiency of light. It aims to do it.

The keypad assembly for a mobile phone for achieving the above object is a keypad assembly for a mobile phone that enables a predetermined electrical operation by the contact of the user's finger, the user's finger is contacted and a plurality of key buttons are formed Key top; Light guide means attached to a lower surface of the key top and configured to guide light to emit light toward the key button; And a key base attached to a lower surface of the light guide means and having a protrusion protruding downwardly at a position corresponding to the key button, wherein the light guide means includes:

A light guide sheet having light transparency;

A diffuse reflection layer formed on a surface of the light guide sheet as a position corresponding to the key button; And

It is formed to cover the surface of the light guide sheet including the diffuse reflection layer, made of a material having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet, the coating layer having a light transmission; consists of.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone, an outer case is disposed on a side of the key top so as to face an edge of the key top, and a light source fixed to a printed circuit board is formed below the outer case.

The key top, the light guide means and the key base are bent so that the edge portion thereof can be placed on the lower side of the rear side of the outer case, and the light guide sheet of the light guide means is preferably arranged such that its side faces the light source. Do.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone, an adhesive or an adhesive for attaching the light guide means to the key top and the key base is preferably provided between the key top and the coating layer or between the key base and the coating layer.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone, the coating layer is preferably made of an adhesive or adhesive for attaching the light guide sheet to the key top or key base.

A method for manufacturing a keypad assembly for a mobile phone of the present invention for achieving the above object, comprising: preparing a key base provided with a plurality of protrusions on the bottom; Forming a diffuse reflection layer on a lower surface of the light guide sheet; Providing a coating layer having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet so as to cover a lower surface of the light guide sheet including a diffuse reflection layer; Inserting the light guide sheet into a predetermined mold and pouring molten resin into the mold so that a key top can be attached to an upper surface of the light guide sheet by insert injection; And attaching the key base to the surface of the coating layer.

In the manufacturing method of the keypad assembly for a mobile phone of the present invention for achieving the above object, preparing a key top provided with a plurality of key buttons; Forming a diffuse reflection layer on a lower surface of the light guide sheet; Providing a coating layer having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet so as to cover an upper surface of the light guide sheet; Inserting the light guide sheet into a predetermined mold and pouring molten resin into the mold so that a key base provided with a protrusion is attached to a lower surface of the light guide sheet by insert injection; And attaching the key base to an upper surface of the light guide sheet.

Keypad assembly for a mobile phone of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the keypad assembly for a mobile phone that enables a predetermined electrical operation by the contact of the user's fingers, the key button is formed on the upper side A key body portion having a protrusion protruding downwardly at a position corresponding to the key button; And a light guide means for contacting and attaching to an upper surface of the key body and guiding light to emit light upward.

The light guide means includes a light guide sheet having light transmittance;

A position corresponding to the key button is composed of a diffuse reflection layer formed on the surface of the light guide sheet, wherein the key body portion is made of a material having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone of the present invention, the diffuse reflection layer is preferably formed on the lower surface of the light guide sheet.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone, the key button is preferably formed to protrude upward.

In the keypad assembly for the mobile phone,

The key body portion is preferably made of any one of silicon, polycarbonate, polymethacrylate, and polyurethane.

In the keypad assembly for the mobile phone,

It is preferable that a pattern layer is formed between the key body portion and the light guide sheet or above the light guide sheet.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone of the present invention for achieving the above object, a step of forming a reflective layer on the surface of the light guide sheet having a light transmission; The light guide sheet is placed in a mold, and the mold is poured with molten resin having a low refractive index to form a key body having a key button on the upper side and a protrusion on the lower side. Is done.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the keypad assembly for a mobile phone which enables a predetermined electrical operation by the contact of the user's fingers, the user's fingers are contacted and a plurality of A key top on which a key button is formed; First light guide means attached to a bottom surface of the key top and configured to guide light to emit light toward the key button; Second light guide means attached to a lower surface of the first light guide means and configured to guide light to emit light toward the key button; And a key base attached to a lower surface of the second light guide means and having a protrusion protruding downward at a position corresponding to the key button.

The first light guide means may include a first light guide sheet having light transmittance; A first diffuse reflection layer formed on a surface of the first light guide sheet as a position corresponding to the key button; A first coating layer formed to cover the surface of the first light guide sheet including the first diffuse reflection layer, the material having a refractive index lower than that of the first light guide sheet, and having a light transmissivity;

The second light guide means may include a second light guide sheet having light transparency; A second diffuse reflection layer formed on a surface of the second light guide sheet as a position corresponding to the key button; It is formed to cover the surface of the second light guide sheet including the second diffuse reflection layer, the first coating layer made of a material having a lower refractive index than the second light guide sheet, and has a light transmittance.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the keypad assembly for a mobile phone to enable a predetermined electrical operation by the contact of the user's fingers, a key button is formed on the upper side, A key body portion having a protruding portion protruding downward at a position corresponding to the key button; Second light guide means for contacting and attaching to an upper surface of the key body and guiding light to emit light upward; And first light guide means for contacting and attaching to an upper surface of the second light guide means and guiding light to emit light upward.

The first light guide means may include a first light guide sheet having light transmittance;

A first diffused reflection layer formed on a surface of said first light guide sheet, said second light guide means comprising: a second light guide sheet having light transparency;

And a second diffuse reflection layer formed on a surface of the second light guide sheet, wherein the key body portion is formed of a material having a lower refractive index than the second light guide sheet.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone, it is preferable that a semi-transmissive layer is formed on the first light guide sheet, and a UV-reactive ink including a photochromic ink is pattern-printed on the upper surface of the transflective layer.

The keypad assembly for a mobile phone according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, since the assembly cost is lowered by integrating the whole, there is an effect that can reduce the overall product manufacturing cost.

Second, the structure is simple and the overall laminated structure is thinner than the existing.

Third, since the light from the light guide sheet is transmitted through the light guide sheet without diffusion or scattering, the efficiency of using the light is excellent, and thus the brightness is brighter than the prior art with the same light source.

Hereinafter, the keypad for a mobile phone of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to each embodiment and the drawings of the embodiments.

≪ Example 1 >

3 is a view showing a keypad assembly for a mobile phone according to the first embodiment, Figure 4a is a view showing a separated state before assembling the keypad for the mobile phone of Figure 3, Figure 4b is a combination of Figure 4a.

The keypad assembly 10 for a mobile phone according to the present embodiment enables a predetermined electrical operation by contacting a user's finger, and includes a key top 20, a key base 40, and a light guide means 30. )

The key top 20 is a user's finger is in contact with a plurality of key buttons 21 are formed, made of a conventional synthetic resin material. Recognizable key button symbols are formed on the key top 20 by printing or the like.

The key base 40 is attached to the lower surface of the light guide means and is in contact with the lower dome switch 51. The key base 40 is formed with a protrusion 41 protruding downward at a position corresponding to the key button 21 of the key top 20. The protruding portion 41 performs a function of touching the dome switch 51 by moving downwards as the user presses the key button 21 of the key top.

The light guide means 30 is disposed between the key top 20 and the key base 40. Specifically, the light guide means 30 is attached to the lower surface of the key top 20 to direct light incident from the side toward the key button. It is a light emitting means for emitting a user can easily recognize the desired key button.

The light guide means 30 is composed of a light guide sheet 31, a diffuse reflection layer 33, and a coating layer 32. The light guide sheet 31 is made of a synthetic resin material in the form of a thin sheet, the sheet is made of a transparent material with excellent light transmission so that light can be easily moved.

The diffuse reflection layer 33 is a position corresponding to the key button 21 and is formed on the surface of the light guide sheet 31 to diffuse the light incident into the light guide sheet 31 to the outside. It is to perform the function of releasing. The diffuse reflection layer 33 includes a plurality of white pigments or fluorescent pigments, such that the light can be emitted to the outside in the desired color, but is not limited to this can be used in various ways.

The coating layer 32 is formed on the surface of the light guide sheet 31 to perform a function of allowing the light passing through the inside of the light guide sheet 31 to totally reflect near its surface. In the prior art, an air layer is formed on the surface of the light guide sheet 31 so that light is propagated instead of coming out from the surface. In this embodiment, the light guide sheet 31 is formed on the surface of the light guide sheet 31. A coating layer having a low refractive index was formed to perform a function similar to air.

The coating layer 32 may be any material having a lower refractive index than that of the light guide sheet 31, but is preferably made of a synthetic resin material.

The outer case 70 is disposed on the side surface of the key top 20 according to the present embodiment so as to face the edge of the key top 20, and fixed to the printed circuit board 50 under the outer case 70. When the light source 80 is formed, the key top 20, the light guide means 30, and the key base 40 are bent so that the edge portion thereof can be placed under the rear side of the outer case 70. The light guide sheet 31 of the light guide means 30 is disposed such that its side faces the light source 80. The reason why the side of the keypad assembly is bent as described above is that in the related art, the light guide means may be disposed between the key base and the dome switch to be located at the light source and the side surface. This is because the light source cannot be located on the side of the light guide sheet.

Meanwhile, the light guide means, the key top, and the key base may be attached to the key top or the key base by the adhesive or the adhesive 60. The adhesive or adhesive 60 may be disposed between the key top 20 and the coating layer 32 or between the key base 40 and the coating layer 32.

In this case, the adhesive used may be a UV curable adhesive or an instant adhesive. As the pressure-sensitive adhesive, any one of a general double-sided tape, a low-refractive index adhesive-coated double-sided tape, pressure-sensitive adhesive printing, low-tension index adhesive printing, and UV-curable pressure-sensitive adhesive coating (liquid before UV curing, adhesive after curing) can be used.

In the keypad assembly for a mobile phone according to the present invention, such a keypad assembly for a mobile phone can be manufactured by the following manufacturing method.

First, a key base provided with a plurality of protrusions on the lower surface is prepared, and a diffuse reflection layer is formed on the lower surface of the light guide sheet. Thereafter, a coating layer having a lower refractive index than that of the light guide sheet is provided to cover the lower surface of the light guide sheet including the diffuse reflection layer. In addition, a key top having a plurality of key buttons formed thereon is prepared. When the preparation is completed, after placing up and down as shown in Fig. 4A, the respective components are attached to each other as shown in Fig. 4B using the adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive.

The embodiment according to the present invention is not only easy to assemble the whole is integrated, but also significantly reduced manual labor is reduced manufacturing costs. In addition, there is no need to provide an air layer near the surface of the light guide sheet, such as a simple structure, but the overall thickness can be thinner than conventional. In addition, the light guide sheet is placed directly under the key top, so that the thickness of the resin layer through which light is transmitted becomes thin, so that the overall light utilization efficiency is good.

<Example 2>

In Example 1, after forming a coating layer having a low refractive index on the upper and lower surfaces of the light guide sheet, each of them is attached to each other by placing a separate adhesive or adhesive between the coating layer and the key top or key base, but is not limited thereto.

That is, as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the adhesive or the adhesive may be attached to the light guide sheet 31, the key top 20, or the key base 40 using the adhesive layer. By using a material having a low refractive index, the manufacturing process can be simplified. In this case, after providing the light guide sheet 31 having the diffuse reflection layer 33 formed on the key top 20, the key base 40, and the lower surface, as shown in FIG. The light guide sheet 31 may be attached to the key top 20 and the key base 40 by using the coating layer 32 having adhesiveness or adhesiveness. The light incident into the light guide sheet moves while totally reflecting by the adhesive or the adhesive having the low refractive index.

&Lt; Example 3 >

6A and 6B show Example 3. FIG. In the third embodiment, after the key base 40 and the light guide means 30 are integrally formed with each other, the light guide means 40 and the key top 20 are adhered to each other. Specifically, in the first and second embodiments, the key top and the key base are manufactured separately from the light guide means, and then, the method of attaching the key top and the key base to each other is used. Molding is to be produced by insert injection in the mold.

In a specific manufacturing method, a key base provided with a plurality of protrusions on a lower surface is prepared, and a diffuse reflection layer is formed on the lower surface of the light guide sheet. Thereafter, the light guide means is manufactured by providing a coating layer having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet so as to cover the lower surface of the light guide sheet including the diffuse reflection layer. Thereafter, the light guide sheet is placed in a predetermined mold to pour molten resin into the mold so that the key top can be attached to the upper surface of the light guide sheet by insert injection. Thereafter, after aligning the key top 20 with the light guide means 30 in which the key base 40 is integrally formed as shown in FIG. 6A, as shown in FIG. 6B, the adhesive or adhesive 60 is applied to the key top 20. By attaching the key base 40 to the surface of the coating layer 32.

Example 4

Example 4 shows an example in which the coating layer formed on the light guide means in Example 3 is used as an adhesive or an adhesive, and is shown in Figs. 7A and 7B. That is, after the key base 40 is formed on the light guide sheet 31 on which only the diffuse reflection layer 33 is formed by using the coating layer 32 as a material having an adhesive component or adhesive component, an adhesive having a low refractive index or The light guide means 30 is attached to the key top 20 by the adhesive 60.

&Lt; Example 5 >

In the fifth embodiment, unlike the third embodiment, the key top 20 is molded and manufactured on the light guide means 30, and then attached to the previously produced key base 40. Specifically, the key top 20 provided with the plurality of key buttons 21 is prepared, and the diffuse reflection layer 33 is formed on the lower surface of the light guide sheet 31. Thereafter, the coating layer 32 having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet is provided to cover the upper surface of the light guide sheet 31, and the light guide sheet 31 is placed in a predetermined mold and melted in the mold. The resin is poured so that the key base 40 having the protrusion is attached to the lower surface of the light guide sheet by insert injection. Thereafter, the key base 40 is attached to the upper surface of the light guide sheet 31 to complete the manufacture.

Example 6

Example 6 shows an example in which the coating layer formed on the light guide means in Example 5 is used as an adhesive or an adhesive, and is shown in Figs. 9A and 9B.

Example 7

The seventh embodiment is shown in Figure 10, the present embodiment is a light guide sheet 31 is exposed to the surface, after the light guide sheet 31 is produced, it is inserted into a mold and silicon molded to produce in a molding step To an integrated keypad assembly. In detail, a key button 11a is formed at an upper side, and a key body portion 11 having a protrusion 11b projecting downward at a position corresponding to the key button; And a light guide means for contacting and attaching to an upper surface of the key body portion 11 and guiding light to emit light upward. The light guide means includes a light guide sheet 31 having light transmittance; It is a position corresponding to the said key button 11a, and is comprised from the diffuse reflection layer 33 formed in the surface of the said light guide sheet. In this case, the key body portion 11 is made of a material having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet 31.

In the manufacturing method, after the reflective layer is formed on the surface of the light guide sheet having light transmittance, the light guide sheet is placed in a mold, and the mold is poured with molten resin having a low refractive index. The upper side is provided with a key button and the lower side forms a key body provided with a protrusion.

At this time, the diffuse reflection layer is formed on the lower surface of the light guide sheet, the key button is formed to protrude upwards, so that the user can easily recognize the key button. At this time, the key body portion is made of silicon, and specifically, the key body portion is manufactured by silicon injection molding together with the light guide sheet in the mold after manufacturing the light guide sheet. In this case, the key body portion in contact with the light guide sheet uses a material having a lower refractive index than the light guide sheet.

This Example 7 is comparable to a silicone keypad and a PU film insert silicone molded keypad (also known as an EF type keypad), which is a low cost and simple structure but requires a separate system for writing. This will be.

In contrast, the seventh embodiment is similar in structure and thickness to a conventional EF keypad, and includes a lighting system, thereby reducing the overall manufacturing cost. In addition, the light guide sheet layer is integrated without being constituted separately, thereby improving the feeling of click. In addition, the lighting brightness is superior to that of the conventional keypad.

<Example 8>

Embodiment 8 relates to the keypad assembly for the mobile phone shown in FIG. 11, which is a structure in which the light guide sheet 31 is exposed to the surface of the key top 11a and the protrusion 11b protrudes downward. Same as 7, except that the light guide sheet is manufactured by plastic injection molding into a mold and then produced by an injection molding step.

In contrast to this Example 8, there is a PET or PC film insert injection molded keypad (hereinafter referred to as an IML type keypad). Although the keypad of the prior art is inexpensive and simple in structure, there is a disadvantage in that a separate structure for writing is required. On the contrary, the present embodiment includes a lighting system having a structure and thickness similar to that of a conventional IML type keypad, thereby reducing the overall manufacturing cost. In addition, the light guide sheet is integrated without being separately configured to improve the click feeling. In addition, the writing brightness is superior to that of the conventional keypad. In addition to the resin used in the injection is a PC, PMMA, PU, etc. of a hard material is used than the silicon used in Example 7, so that the click feeling can be better than in Example 7.

Example 9

Example 9 is shown in Figure 12, similar to the seventh and eighth embodiment of the light guide sheet 31 is exposed to the surface and the structure of the protrusion 11b is formed in the key body 11 is similar, but the light There is a difference in that the key base is implemented by UV molding on the guide sheet 31.

The prior art is a film type flat type slim keypad. This conventional flat slim keypad has a disadvantage that there is no separate writing structure. On the contrary, the present embodiment includes a lighting system while having a structure and thickness similar to that of a conventional flat slim keypad, thereby reducing the overall manufacturing cost. In addition, the light guide sheet layer is integrated without being constituted separately, thereby improving the feeling of click. In addition, the writing brightness is superior to that of the conventional keypad.

<Example 10>

Example 10 is shown in Figs. 13 and 14, specifically, the structure of the light guide sheet is exposed to the surface is similar to the above embodiment, but applying a predetermined pattern layer 34 to the light guide sheet There is a difference in that. Specifically, after the writing pattern is implemented on the fabric film of the flat light guide sheet 31, a pattern may be formed by adding a design to form a desired shape. Such a pattern layer can be implemented on the back side of the light guide sheet as shown in FIG. 13. In this case, printing, painting, transfer, lamination, or the like may be used. Printing may be generally used screen printing, pad printing, offset printing, digital printing, and the like. Painting can be done with a single color spray if the colors are the same throughout. The transfer can be composed by transferring the hologram effect, various visual effects that are difficult to implement by printing. The paper can be used by laminating a separate designed sheet to the back of the light guide sheet.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 14, a pattern layer may be formed on the upper surface of the light guide sheet. At this time, it can be implemented by printing and painting.

<Example 11>

Example 11 is shown in FIG. 15, and consists of a multilayer of light guide sheets. Specifically, the user's finger is in contact with the key top 20 and the plurality of key buttons 21 are formed, and attached to the lower surface of the key top 20 to guide the light to emit light toward the key button First light guide means (30a); And second light guide means (30b) attached to a lower surface of the first light guide means (30a) and guiding light to emit light toward the key button. And a key base 40 attached to a bottom surface of the second light guide means 30b and having a protrusion projecting downward at a position corresponding to the key button 21. The first light guide means 30a has a light transmissive first light guide sheet 31a and a position corresponding to the key button, and is formed on the surface of the first light guide sheet 31a. The light reflecting layer 32a and the first light reflecting layer 32a are formed to cover the surface of the first light guide sheet 31a, and the refractive index is lower than that of the first light guide sheet 31a. And a first coating layer 33a having light transmittance. The second light guide means (30b) is a second light guide sheet (31b) having a light transmittance, and the position corresponding to the key button, the second light guide sheet (31b) formed on the surface The diffuse reflection layer 32b is formed to cover the surface of the second light guide sheet 31b including the second diffuse reflection layer 32b, and has a refractive index lower than that of the second light guide sheet 31b. And a second coating layer 33b having light transparency.

 In this multimode type, a transflective layer for implementing a multimode may be disposed between the light guide sheet and the key top.

In the multimode lighting mode, a semi-transmissive layer exists so that the lighting patterns of the two modes are not visible when the light is not emitted. If the character is difficult to recognize even after writing, the character is printed on the upper surface of the transflective layer by using the ink that reacts to the ultraviolet rays included in the sunlight to ensure daytime visibility. . The UV-responsive ink is an ink containing a photochromic pigment, and the characteristic of the ink is a transparent color in an environment without ultraviolet rays, and is colored in response to ultraviolet rays. With this ink, characters appear in a single mode on the surface under daylight, which is difficult to use in multimode indoors, and it is possible to overcome the limitations of multimode lighting by printing icons, numbers, and characters that are commonly used in daylight. have. As a method of implementing the transflective layer, smog printing, vapor deposition, the addition of the transflective layer, and the light guide sheet transflective treatment may be performed. Smog printing is implemented by adding transflective printing to the back of the key top during the manufacturing process of the key top. Deposition is achieved by adding deposition to the back of the keytop during the manufacture of the keytop. Adding a transflective layer is achieved by adding a transflective layer between the key top and the light guide sheet. The semi-transmissive process is implemented as a semi-transmissive layer on the upper surface of the light guide sheet so that the semi-transmissive layer is provided between the light guide sheet and the key top.

On the other hand, when lighting in the multi-mode as in the present embodiment due to the semi-transmissive layer used to make the lighting pattern of the two modes invisible when the light is not emitted, when the ambient light is bright, for example under the sunlight in the daytime Sometimes letters or numbers are hard to recognize. In this case, in order to secure daytime visibility, if the ink is printed on the upper surface of the transflective layer in response to ultraviolet rays contained in the sunlight, there is an advantage that can be recognized without additional lighting under daylight.

The ink that reacts to the ultraviolet ray is an ink containing a photochromic ink. The characteristic of the ink is a transparent color in an environment without ultraviolet rays, but when ultraviolet rays are applied, a color that can be recognized by a user can be recognized. It is worn.

In the case of using the UV-responsive ink, it is used in a multi-mode indoors, and in daylight, which is difficult to use in multi-mode, the characters appear in a single mode on the surface. Overcome the limitations of mode lighting.

<Example 12>

Embodiment 12 is shown in Figure 16, the keypad assembly for a mobile phone that allows a predetermined electrical operation by the contact of the user's fingers, the key button (11a) is formed on the upper side, A key body portion 11 having a protrusion 11b projecting downward at a position corresponding to the key button; Second light guide means (30b) contacting and attached to an upper surface of the key body portion (11) and guiding light to emit light upward; And first light guide means 30a which is in contact with and attached to an upper surface of the second light guide means 30b and guides light to emit light upward. In this case, the first light guide means 30a includes a first light guide sheet 31a having light transparency and a first diffuse reflection layer 33a formed on the surface of the first light guide sheet 31a. It consists of. At this time, the second light guide means 30b includes a second light guide sheet 31b having light transparency and a second diffuse reflection layer 33b formed on the surface of the second light guide sheet 31b. The key body portion 11 is made of a material having a lower refractive index than the second light guide sheet. In this case, it is preferable that a transflective layer exists for the multi-mode implementation on the upper surface of the light guide sheet exposed to the surface. In addition, an ultraviolet reaction ink may be printed on an upper surface of the transflective layer. Although the present invention has been described in detail by way of examples, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a keypad assembly for a mobile phone according to the prior art.

Figure 2 is a view showing a state in which the keypad for the mobile phone of Figure 1 is coupled to the case.

3 is a cross-sectional view of a keypad assembly for a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a view showing a state of assembling the keypad for a mobile phone according to FIG.

5 to 9 is a view showing a state of assembling the keypad for a mobile phone according to another embodiment of the present invention.

10 to 16 are cross-sectional views of a keypad for a mobile phone according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Brief Description of Drawings>

10 ... Keypad assembly 20 ... Keytop

21 ... key button 30 ... light guide means

31 ... Light guide sheet 32 ... Coating layer

33 ... reflective layer 40 ... key base

41.Protrusion

Claims (15)

delete A keypad assembly for a mobile phone, in which a user's finger is in contact, thereby enabling a predetermined electrical operation by the contact. A key body formed at an upper side thereof, and a key body portion having a protrusion protruding downwardly at a position corresponding to the key button; Second light guide means for contacting and attaching to an upper surface of the key body and guiding light to emit light upward; And And first light guide means for contacting and attaching to an upper surface of the second light guide means and guiding light to emit light upward. The first light guide means, A first light guide sheet having light transmittance; It is composed of a first diffuse reflection layer formed on the surface of the first light guide sheet, The second light guide means, A second light guide sheet having light transmittance; It is composed of a second diffuse reflection layer formed on the surface of the second light guide sheet, The key body unit is a keypad assembly for a mobile phone, characterized in that made of a material having a lower refractive index than the second light guide sheet. The method of claim 2, A transflective layer is formed on the first light guide sheet, and a UV-reactive ink containing photochromic ink is pattern-printed on the upper surface of the transflective layer. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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