KR200429738Y1 - Waterprooting keypad - Google Patents

Abstract

A keypad is disclosed that can protect an electrical circuit from external moisture ingress. The keypad is provided on the surface layer in response to a button sheet including a surface layer located on the top surface and an electric circuit located below the surface layer, an adhesive pattern provided on the surface layer corresponding to the button area of the button sheet, and an area other than the adhesive pattern. And a button attached to the button sheet via the waterproof pattern and the adhesive pattern. The light emitting part using inorganic EL or organic EL and other electric circuits can be protected from moisture, and a button made of a plastic material and a surface layer formed of a polyurethane material, which are difficult to adhere to each other through an adhesive pattern, can be easily adhered to each other.

Button sheet, adhesive pattern, waterproof pattern, key pad

Description

Waterproof key pad {WATERPROOTING KEYPAD}

1 is a perspective view of a keypad for explaining a keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of a keypad for explaining a keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exploded perspective view of a personal portable terminal equipped with a keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: personal portable terminal 110: terminal body

112: front case 114: rear case

200: Key pad 210: Button sheet

212 ： Electric circuit 220 ： Adhesion pattern

230: Waterproof pattern 240: Button

The present invention relates to a keypad of a personal portable terminal, and more particularly, to a keypad that can protect the electrical circuit from external moisture penetration.

Recently, a mobile phone using a keypad having a light emitting function for aesthetics of a keypad for key input of a mobile phone and for the convenience of a user has been generally used. Non-contact sensors that can generate input signals in response to the approach are also widely used.

In general, a key pad including a light emitting diode (LED) or an electroluminescent pad (EL pad) is widely used to emit light of a keypad of a mobile phone. For example, an LED is installed below the keypad, and an LED light In order to make the number or letter stand out by means of the button, a number or letter-shaped hole is formed or a printing pattern that can selectively pass light is formed. Also, as another example, the EL pad may also be provided below the keypad and form a number or letter-shaped hole or printing pattern on the keypad.

However, the light emitting method using the LED and the EL pad described above is very sensitive to moisture, and its components can be easily broken by moisture penetrating into the keypad. In general, as a material of a widely used keypad, a good feel of polyurethane is used when the keypad is pressed. However, since polyurethane has a property of permeating moisture, internal components that react sensitively to moisture other than not only LEDs, EL pads, various electric circuits, but also other moisture circuits are formed through polyurethane. It can have a negative impact on

Conventionally, in order to prevent moisture penetration of a keypad that easily penetrates moisture as described above, a PET film may be attached to a surface of a keypad formed of a polyurethane material to prevent moisture penetration. In addition, PET has excellent tensile strength, mechanical strength, friction resistance, and dimensional stability, and is suitable as a material for covering a keypad exposed to the outside, and thus PET is generally used as a coating material for a keypad.

However, by providing PET (polyethylene terephthalate) in the form of a film to prevent the penetration of moisture through the keypad using a polyurethane material, while protecting the surface of the keypad exposed to the outside, plastic buttons Since it is not easily adhered to, there is a difficulty in the process of attaching the button to the PET formed on the surface of the polyurethane material.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a keypad that can protect the electrical circuit from external moisture ingress.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a keypad that can be easily attached to the plastic button on the surface layer formed of a polyurethane material, does not fall easily.

The keypad of the present invention can be mounted on a personal portable terminal, and the personal portable terminal is mounted at the bottom of the keypad and the terminal body including a keypad hole to which the front surface can be exposed to prevent physical changes of the buttons. It may include a key input sensor unit for generating an input signal correspondingly.

The keypad according to the present invention includes a button sheet, an adhesive pattern, a waterproof pattern, and a button.

The button sheet includes a surface layer located on the top surface and an electric circuit located below the surface layer, and generally can be formed using a polyurethane that feels good when pressed by a user. The electric circuit may include an EL light emitting part, a non-contact sensor, and other various internal components formed corresponding to the position of the button, and the electric circuit is preferably protected from moisture because it is sensitive to moisture.

The adhesive pattern is provided on the surface layer corresponding to the button region of the button sheet, and a waterproof pattern may be formed on the surface layer corresponding to the region other than the adhesive pattern to which the button is attached.

In general, the surface layer of the button sheet can be formed using polyurethane. However, since polyurethane has a property of permeating moisture, moisture passing through a keypad formed of polyurethane material is sensitive to not only LEDs, EL pads, various electric circuits, but also other internal components that are sensitive to moisture. It can have a negative impact.

Therefore, the adhesive pattern is formed only in the region to which the button is attached, and the waterproof pattern is formed on the surface layer corresponding to the region other than the adhesive pattern.

Water can be prevented from penetrating through the button sheet by the waterproof pattern formed on the surface layer of the button sheet, the button may be attached to the surface of the button sheet via the adhesive pattern.

Therefore, the light emitting part using inorganic EL or organic EL and other electric circuits can be protected from moisture, and the buttons of the plastic material and the surface layer formed of the polyurethane material, which are difficult to adhere to each other through the adhesive pattern, can be easily adhered to each other. .

In addition, since the buttons of the plastic material and the surface layer formed of the polyurethane material, which are difficult to adhere to each other through the adhesive pattern, are easily adhered to each other, as described above, in order to prevent moisture penetration of the keypad which easily penetrates the water, the waterproof property is excellent. In addition, PET, which is excellent in tensile strength, mechanical strength, friction resistance, and dimensional stability and which covers a keypad exposed to the outside, can be used.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the following embodiments are examples for understanding the present invention and the present invention is not limited or limited by the following embodiments. In addition, the same reference numerals may be used for the same or similar components in the drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a keypad for explaining a keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the keypad for explaining the keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the keypad 200 according to the present invention includes a button sheet 210, an adhesive pattern 220, a waterproof pattern 230, and a button 240.

The button sheet 210 includes a surface layer 211 located on the top surface and an electric circuit 212 located below or below the surface layer 211. In general, the surface layer 211 is a polyurethane that feels good when pressed by a user. It can be formed using. In this embodiment, the electric circuit 212 is provided as an EL light emitting portion formed corresponding to the position of the button 240. However, in some cases, the electrical circuit may include a non-contact sensor and other various internal components. However, the above-described electric circuit is preferably protected from moisture because it reacts sensitively to moisture.

The adhesive pattern 220 is provided on the surface layer 211 corresponding to the button area of the button sheet 210, and is waterproof on the surface layer 211 corresponding to an area other than the adhesive pattern 220 to which the button 240 is attached. The pattern 230 is formed.

In the present embodiment, the button sheet 210 is formed using polyurethane, but when the user presses a button, elastic rubber and synthetic resin that can move up and down by its force may be used. However, it is preferable to use a synthetic resin made of a transparent material so that light of the EL light emitting part can pass therethrough.

Since the polyurethane forming the surface layer of the button sheet 210 has a property of permeation of moisture, the moisture passing through the button sheet 210 formed of the polyurethane material is not good for the electric circuit, that is, the EL light emitting part, which is sensitive to moisture. Can affect

Therefore, in the present exemplary embodiment, the adhesive pattern 220 is formed only in the region where the button 240 is attached, and the waterproof pattern 230 is formed on the surface layer 211 corresponding to the region other than the adhesive pattern 220.

Water penetrates through the button sheet 210 by the waterproof pattern 230 formed on the surface layer 211 of the button sheet 210 and prevents the penetration of the button sheet 210 through the adhesive pattern 220. The surface of the button 240 is attached. In this embodiment, the button 240 is formed in a protrusion shape using a plastic material.

The waterproof pattern 230 is formed using an ultraviolet curable resin such as epoxy acrylate, urethane acrylate or polyester acrylate, and in some cases, the waterproof layer may be formed using a hydrophobic ink.

Therefore, the surface layer formed of a polyurethane material with a button 240 made of a plastic material that can protect the EL light emitting part and other electric circuits using inorganic EL or organic EL from moisture, and which are difficult to adhere to each other through an adhesive pattern 220. It can be easily attached to 211.

In addition, since the buttons 240 made of a plastic material, which are hard to adhere to each other, may be easily attached to the surface layer 211 formed of a polyurethane material, the button sheet 210 easily transmits moisture as described above. In order to prevent the penetration of water), it is excellent in waterproof properties, and excellent in tensile strength, mechanical strength, friction resistance, and dimensional stability, and suitable for coating a keypad exposed to the outside, PET can be used.

The EL light emitting part includes a transparent electrode pattern 213 disposed under the surface layer 211, a light emitting pattern 214 disposed under the transparent electrode pattern 213, and a back electrode pattern 215 formed under the light emitting pattern 214. It may include. The EL light emitting units are formed under the button 240, respectively, and can emit light due to electrical influences around them.

3 is an exploded perspective view of a personal portable terminal equipped with a keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the personal portable terminal 100 includes a terminal body 110, a keypad 200, and a key input sensor unit 130.

The terminal body 110 may include a case including internal terminal functions, internal and external components, and a circuit configuration. For example, in the case of a mobile phone, the terminal body 110 may include a terminal case, a key input unit, a display module, a wireless transmission / reception module, a battery, a microphone and a receiver. In addition, although the terminal body 110 of FIG. 12 has a shape of a foldable terminal, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the terminal body has a bar type, a flip type, a slide type, and a swing. It can be formed in various kinds of styles such as swing type.

The terminal body 110 includes a front case 112 and a rear case 114, a liquid crystal display unit is mounted on the front upper part of the front case 112, and a keypad hole for mounting the keypad 200 on the lower part of the front case 112. 116 is provided.

The keypad 200 is mounted on the inner surface of the front case 112, and the key input sensor unit 130 is provided inside the keypad 200. The keypad 200 is formed in substantially the same shape as the keypad hole 116, and may be provided in the keypad hole 116 to provide a key input unit that forms a single wall, that is, the keypad 200. Together with the 200, a wall surface for blocking the keypad hole 116 can be provided.

The key pad 200 may be installed in the keypad hole 116 to provide a key input unit at a time. Therefore, the assembly can be completed simply and the cost required for manufacturing can be significantly reduced.

The key input sensor unit 130 includes a push sensor, and the push sensor has a structure using the dome switch 132 and the contact electrode 134. The dome switch 132 and the contact electrode 134 of the key input sensor unit 130 are provided under each button 240 so as to correspond to each button 240 of the keypad 200. Therefore, when the user presses the button 240 of the keypad 200, the pressing force is transmitted to the dome switch 132 through the button 240, and the dome switch 132 is temporarily deformed to open the contact electrode 134. Can be electrically connected. An input signal is generated in response to the connection of the contact electrode 134, and an input signal corresponding to each button may be specified and used for inputting numbers or letters.

The keypad of the present invention may include a waterproof pattern to protect sensitive electric circuits from moisture from light emitting units, non-contact sensors, and other moisture.

In addition, it is possible to easily adhere to the surface layer of the button sheet formed of a polyurethane material which is difficult to adhere to the plastic button via the adhesive pattern.

As described above, although described with reference to the embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be able to variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. It will be appreciated.

Claims (7)

A button sheet including a surface layer disposed on an upper surface and an electrical circuit located on a bottom surface of the surface layer; An adhesive pattern provided on the surface layer corresponding to the button area of the button sheet; A waterproof pattern provided on the surface layer corresponding to a region other than the adhesive pattern; And A button attached to the button sheet via the adhesive pattern; Key pad having a. The method of claim 1, And the electric circuit is an EL light emitting portion formed corresponding to the position of the button. The method of claim 1, And the electric circuit is a non-contact sensor formed corresponding to the position of the button. The method of claim 1, The button is characterized in that the key pad is formed in a protruding protrusion shape using a plastic material. The method of claim 1, The surface layer of the button sheet is a keypad, characterized in that formed using polyurethane. The method of claim 1, The waterproof pattern is a keypad, characterized in that formed using an ultraviolet curable resin, such as diazo resin, azide resin, acrylic acid resin, polyamide, polyester. The method of claim 1, And the waterproof pattern is formed using a hydrophobic ink.

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