KR20070037767A - A metal sustained thin film keypad for a portable phone and method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a metal sustained thin film keypad for a mobile phone which presses a corresponding portion of a substrate and has a plurality of keys that can be touched from the outside. The keypad is a PET, PP, PEA or PC. A film formed of a synthetic resin material such as a first film 1 having a printing layer 2 formed by printing numerals, symbols, and letters 2 'for a mobile phone key on its back surface; A metal sustain plate 3 in which regions corresponding to numbers, symbols, and letters 2 'of the printed layer 2 are etched, and a second film of polyurethane material formed on the back surface of the etched metal suspend plate ( 4) and a plurality of switch domes 5 formed by molding and pressing silicon on the second film 4. Preferably, a silicon rib 6 is formed between the plurality of switch domes 4 on the second film 4.

Description

Metal Sustainable Thin Keypad for Mobile Phone and Manufacturing Method Thereof {A METAL SUSTAINED THIN FILM KEYPAD FOR A PORTABLE PHONE AND METHOD OF THE SAME}

1 is a perspective view of a keypad for a mobile phone of the prior art,

Figure 2a is a perspective view of a metal sus keypad for a mobile phone of the prior art,

FIG. 2B is a cross sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 2A;

3A is a perspective view of a first film of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3B is a sectional view thereof,

Figure 4a is a perspective view of a metal suspane of one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4b is a cross-sectional view thereof, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view formed with a silicon switch dome and ribs, Figure 6 is a perspective view seen from the back side,

7 is a cross sectional view of the final completed keypad;

8 is a flowchart of a method of manufacturing a metal sus thin film keypad according to the present invention.

<Description of Major Symbols in Drawing>

1: first film 2: printed layer

3: metal suspended plate 4: second film

5: switch dome 6: rib

40: etching line

The present invention relates to a metal sustained thin film keypad which is not sensitive to heat generation inside a mobile phone, and a manufacturing method thereof.

The keypad is used as an electronic device such as a remote control or various information communication devices (telephones, portable computers, etc.) to input keywords.

1 is a perspective view of a conventional silicon keypad. As shown, the silicone keypad is composed of a pad 10 made of silicone rubber and several buttons 11 protruding from the pad 10. Various numbers, letters, or figures (hereinafter, patterns) are printed on the upper end of the button 11, and a conductive layer (not shown) coated with a carbon layer is formed on the lower end of the button 11.

The silicon keypad is positioned on an upper portion of a circuit board (not shown) in which a plurality of circuit terminals are formed. In this case, a conductive layer provided below the button 11 is positioned above the circuit terminal. Therefore, when the button 11 is pressed, the conductive layer energizes the circuit terminal and another circuit terminal, thereby generating a predetermined signal from the circuit board. This signal is used to control various electronic devices.

On the other hand, in the mobile phone market, slim mobile phones are gaining popularity among the younger generation, and competition among related companies is increasing in reducing the thickness of mobile phones. In reducing the thickness of the cellular phone, conventional keypad methods as described above have limitations in reducing the thickness of the cellular phone. The reason is that in the above-described technique, the body protrudes out of the front housing so that the user presses the protrusion and there is a limit in thickness reduction due to this protruding body.

Due to the limitation of the thickness reduction due to this silicon body, a commercially available technique is, for example, a metal sustain keypad, which etches a metal sus substrate to correspond to a keypad specific shape, and then at the rear of the sus substrate. Application of the urethane film results in the formation of a specific key in each etched portion followed by the formation of a silicon switch dome in the corresponding key region on the back of the urethane film (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). The reason for etching the suspend metal plate is that an organic EL element is interposed between the switch dome and the conductor layer to emit light, and the emitted light passes through the etched portion of the metal plate, thereby allowing the user to pass through the transmitted light. This is because the printed layer can be identified more clearly.

However, while these metal suspend keypads can significantly reduce the thickness of the cell phone, the metal sus substrates may cause burns to the user due to metal heat conduction phenomena due to internal temperature increase due to frequent use and prolonged use of the cell phone. there is a problem.

The present invention provides a metal sus thin-film keypad and a method of manufacturing the same, in which the thickness reduction effect is remarkable without being sensitive to the conduction of heat generated inside the mobile phone and the conduction between circuit terminals is precisely controlled through the conductor under the keypad. Its purpose is to.

Meanwhile, an object of the present invention is to prevent a phenomenon in which an unintentional key is input because another key is affected when a user presses a specific key with excellent click sense.

The present invention provides a synthetic resin such as PET, PP, PEA, or PC in a metal sustained thin film keypad for a mobile phone which presses a corresponding portion of a substrate and has a plurality of keys touchable from the outside. A film formed of a material, comprising: a first film (1) having a printed layer (2) on which a number, a sign, a character for a mobile phone key is printed, and a key of each of the printed layers (2) A metal sustain plate 3 having a plurality of etching lines formed by etching a region corresponding to the circumference thereof, a second film 4 made of polyurethane bonded to the back of the metal sustain plate, and the second film ( It relates to a metal sus thin-film keypad for a mobile phone comprising a plurality of switch domes 5 formed by molding and pressing silicon on 4) and a plurality of ribs 6 formed between the plurality of switch domes.

On the other hand, the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a metal sus thin-film keypad for a mobile phone which presses the corresponding portion of the substrate and is provided with a plurality of keys that can be touched from the outside, a synthetic resin material such as PET, PP, PEA or PC Forming a printed layer 2 on which a number, a sign, or a character for a mobile phone key is printed on a rear surface of the first film 1 formed of the first film 1; Forming an etching line 40 of the polyurethane, adhering a second polyurethane film 4 of polyurethane material to the back of the metal sustain plate on which the etching lines are formed, and forming the second film 4 on the second film 4. Forming and pressing silicon to form a plurality of switch domes 5 and a plurality of ribs 6 formed between the plurality of switch domes, and the first film 1 and the metal sus plate 3. Metal suss for mobile phones comprising the step of bonding It relates to a method for manufacturing a thin film keypad.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 3A or 3B, a first film 1 formed of a synthetic resin material such as PET, PP, PEA, or PC is formed (S100), and on the rear surface of the first film 1 A printed layer 2 is formed to allow a user to recognize a function to be performed when a key is pressed, such as letters, numbers, or symbols (S200). That is, as shown, the printed layer is formed as a whole, but letters, numbers, symbols, etc. are printed in different colors in some areas. Here, the area in which the letter, number, or symbol is printed is, of course, an area corresponding to each key. Of course, the type and thickness of the pigment used to form the printing layer should be used so that light by the organic EL element under the switch dome to be formed later can be transmitted to the user.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the metal sustain plate 3 is etched, but the circumferential position of each key region is etched to form a plurality of etching lines 40. The reason why such an etching line is formed is to allow an accurate key operation by pressing only a portion of each key when the key is pressed.

As shown in FIG. 5, a second film 4 made of polyurethane is formed on the back surface of the etched metal sustain plate. Here, the polyurethane film is usually firmly formed on the back of the metal sustain plate by thermoforming. The polyurethane film is transparent so that light must pass through the light emission of the organic EL element on the conductive layer. This polyurethane film fills the etched area of the metal plate.

As shown in the perspective schematic view of FIG. 6, a plurality of switch domes 5 are formed on the back surface of the second film by molding and pressing silicon in each key region, and at the same time when the switch dome is formed, the switch dome A plurality of silicon ribs 6 are formed between (5) (S500). The switch dome is preferably made of a transparent silicon material, which is then essential for conducting electricity between circuit terminals by applying pressure to a conductive layer under the organic light emitting element. The silicon switch dome has a conductive layer (not shown) coated with a carbon layer on the bottom thereof, and the conductive layer is positioned on the upper portion of the circuit board (not shown) on which a plurality of circuit terminals are formed. At this time, the conductive layer energizes the circuit terminal and another circuit terminal, thereby generating a predetermined signal from the circuit board. This signal is used to control various electronic devices.

On the other hand, the silicon ribs provide excellent click sensitivity and good connection precision. The plurality of silicon ribs 6 are formed between the switch domes to prevent the adjacent keys from being pressed simultaneously when the user presses a key, thereby improving the connection accuracy between the circuit terminals and, on the other hand, excellent click sensitivity.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 7, the keypad is completed by adhering the first film 1 to the metal sustain plate 3 (S600). The first film 1 and the metal suspended plate 3 are bonded to each other by a binder 5, where the binder is a binder usually composed of a primer and a bond.

In the present invention, the thickness reduction effect is remarkable without the keypad overheating phenomenon, and the connection effect when each key is pressed has a sophisticated effect.

On the other hand, the present invention has the effect that when the keypad is pressed, the click sensitivity is excellent, and when the user presses a specific key, other keys are affected to prevent an unintentional key input phenomenon.

The present invention provides a metal sus thin film keypad in which the thickness reduction effect is remarkable without being sensitive to the heat conduction generated inside the mobile phone and precisely controlled conduction between circuit terminals through a conductor under the keypad.

Claims (2)

In a metal sustained thin film keypad for a mobile phone that presses a corresponding portion of the substrate and is integrally provided with a plurality of touchable keys from the outside, A film formed of a synthetic resin material such as PET, PP, PEA, or PC, comprising: a first film 1 having a printed layer 2 on which a number, a sign, a character for a mobile phone key is printed, , A metal sustain plate 3 having a plurality of etching lines in which regions corresponding to the circumference of each key of the printing layer 2 are etched; A second film 4 made of polyurethane bonded to the back of the metal susp plate; And a plurality of switch domes 5 formed by molding and pressing silicon on the second film 4 and a plurality of ribs 6 formed between the plurality of switch domes. Metal thin film keypad for mobile phones. In the method of manufacturing a metal sus thin film keypad for a mobile phone which presses a corresponding portion of the substrate and is provided with a plurality of keys that can be touched from the outside, Forming a printed layer 2 on which a number, a sign or a letter for a mobile phone key is printed on a back surface of the first film 1 formed of a synthetic resin material such as PET, PP, PEA or PC, Etching the metal sustain plate 3 to form a plurality of etching lines 40; Adhering a second polyurethane film 4 made of polyurethane to the rear surface of the metal sustain plate on which the plurality of etching lines are formed; Forming and pressing silicon on the second film 4 to form a plurality of switch domes 5 and a plurality of ribs 6 formed between the plurality of switch domes; Bonding the first film 1 and the metal sustain plate 3 to each other. Method of manufacturing metal sus thin film keypad for mobile phones.

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