KR20080008649A - Keypad for the computer - Google Patents

Abstract

A key input device for a computer is provided to prevent an incorrect operation of the computer such as a mobile terminal by preventing keys around the pressed key from being pressed due to bend when a user presses one key, and realize a wide and thin key input device. A touch panel(110) is made of an elastic body, and a supporter(130) supports the touch panel and includes a plurality of punched key forming holes(131). A key signal generator generates a key signal corresponding to the touch panel pressed through the key forming hole. A touch transferor(140) is installed between the supporter and the key signal generator, is an elastic body bent by downward pressing of a button, and forms a plate panel in an upper side attached with the supporter. The touch transferor forms a pressing projection, which presses the key signal generator to generate a key signal by the downward pressing of the touch panel, to a rear part corresponding to each key forming hole, and a bending prevention member preventing other pressing projections from pressing the key signal generator by forming a higher sill than the pressing projection around each pressing projection.

Description

Key input device for computer {keypad for the computer}

1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional keypad that can be applied to a handheld-based handheld device,

Figure 1a is a planar photo showing an example of the metal foil shown in Figure 1,

2 is an exploded perspective view of a key input device for a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a rear view of the touch transmitting unit shown in FIG. 2;

Figure 3a is an enlarged perspective view of the 'B' portion shown in Figure 3,

4 is a cross-sectional view taken in the AA direction of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion 'C' shown in FIG. 4 and a key signal generating means to be placed below it.

*** Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ***

10: metal touch pad 11: metal foil

12: silicon pad 14: boundary line

20: dome switch 30: LED

40: PCB

110: touch flat plate 121: adhesive plate

123: adhesive tape 130: support

131: key forming hole 133: border

140: touch transfer unit 141: push projection

143: warpage preventing members 111, 121a, 135: pad hole

150: dome switch 160: PCB

161: key signal generation unit

The present invention relates to a key input device for a computer. In particular, the key input device applied to a small device such as a mobile communication terminal is thin, but the number of buttons is much larger and wider than this, and the user can operate the buttons correctly. It relates to a key input device for a computer to be input.

In general, the keypad (keypad) is a device for generating a key signal corresponding to various numbers, letters or symbols, etc. Applicant has applied for a keypad that can be applied to a handheld-based small device in Korea Patent No. 525320 I have suggested.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional keypad that can be applied to a handheld-based small device, Figure 1a is a plan view showing an example of the metal foil shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a printed circuit board (PCB) 40 having a dome switch 20 and a light emitting emitter diode (LED) 30 installed below the keypad having a form proposed by the present applicant. The metal touch pad 10 in which the metal foil 11 and the silicon pad 12 are integrated is positioned at an upper portion thereof. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the metal foil 11 is perforated with a boundary line 14 for distinguishing each key, and protrudes from the silicon pad 12 placed under the boundary line 14. The site is exposed to the outside.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 16 denotes letters, numbers, or symbols engraved on each key by an etching technique, and 15 denotes an epoxy film which prevents foreign matter from entering into the keypad.

The metal touch pad 10 has a thickness within 0.5 mm, particularly preferably about 0.2 mm. Therefore, for example, a small device to which the metal touch pad 10 is applied, there is an advantage that the thickness of the cellular phone is significantly thinner.

However, according to the above-described conventional keypad, when applied to a computer such as a notebook, desktop or laptop that requires a larger number of keys than the small device, the metal touch pad 10 If the purpose key is pressed, the keypad is bent due to the thin thickness, and thus, a key malfunctions due to the press of the dome switch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and when a key is pressed, other keys around the key are prevented from being pressed, thereby preventing the computer from malfunctioning and ultimately reducing the thickness of the computer. The object is to provide a key input device.

In order to achieve the above object, a key input device for a computer of the present invention includes an elastic touch plate; A pedestal supporting the touch flat plate and having a plurality of key forming holes formed therein; A key signal generating means for generating a key signal corresponding to the touch plate pressed down through the key forming hole and between the pedestal and the key signal generating means, the elastic body being bent by pressing down the touch plate, The upper surface to which the pedestal is attached is a flat plate, and a pressing protrusion for pressing down the key signal generating means is formed at a back portion corresponding to each of the key forming holes so that the key signal is generated by pressing down the touch plate. A circumference prevention member is formed around each of the pressing protrusions to prevent the other pressing protrusions from pressing the key signal generating means when a certain pressing protrusion presses the key signal generating means. Provided is a key input device for a computer including a touch transfer unit.

A key input device for a computer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a key input device for a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a key input device applied to a notebook. Of course, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the computer of this structure. 3 is a rear view of the touch transmission unit shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3A is an enlarged perspective view of a portion 'B' shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, a key input device for a computer (internal key input device) of the present invention includes a touch flat panel 110 that largely implements a plurality of button functions; Pedestal 130 for supporting the touch plate 110; A touch transmission unit 140 to which the pedestal 130 is attached and which transmits the pressure applied to the touch plate 110 to a key signal generating means to be formed at the lower portion thereof, for example, to a Doom switch; It comprises an adhesive plate 121 for bonding the touch plate 110 and the pedestal 130 and the adhesive tape 123 for bonding the pedestal 130 and the touch transfer unit 140.

In the above-described configuration, reference numerals 111, 121a, and 135 denote touch pads that sense touch of a finger or a pen, respectively, and accordingly, a touch pad for moving a cursor on a computer screen such as a mouse is provided. The pad hole is drilled in the lower end of the touch plate 110, the adhesive plate 121 and the pedestal 130 to be exposed.

Next, a plurality of key forming holes 131 embodying a button function are drilled in the pedestal 130, and an edge 133 is formed around the key forming holes 131. Here, the key-shaped hole 131 of the round shape formed on the top of the pedestal 130 is a hole for implementing the function of the power on / off button, that is, three key forming holes formed under the pad hole 125 Reference numeral 131 is a hole for implementing the function of the cursor control button, the key forming hole 131 formed in the center portion is a hole for implementing the function of the key input button for input of numbers, letters or symbols. In addition, the present applicant, for convenience in the following description, the edge 133 is limited to the area of the pedestal 130 within a predetermined area, for example, within 1mm around each key forming hole 131.

Next, when the user contacts the touch plate 110, the user should be able to recognize the edge 133 attached to the lower portion of the touch plate 110 as a touch. Accordingly, the thickness of the touch plate 110 may be within 0.2 mm. It is preferable.

Next, when the touch plate 110 and the pedestal 130 are bonded to each other, a portion of the adhesive plate 121 corresponding to the key forming hole 131 is drilled.

Next, the upper surface of the touch transmission unit 140, that is, the surface facing the pedestal 130 and the touch plate 110, is preferably flat.

Next, each portion of the touch plate 110 corresponding to the key forming hole 131 is preferably engraved letters, numbers, symbols, etc. by the etching (etching) technique.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A, a key signal generating means, for example, a pressing protrusion 141 for pressing a Doom switch, is to be placed at the bottom of the touch transmission unit 140. It is formed on a portion corresponding to the upper surface of the touch transmission unit 140 to be attached (110), the circumference of the pressing projection 141, the jaw bending prevention member 143 is higher than the pressing projection 141 is the rim It is formed in the portion corresponding to 133. Here, the bending preventing member 143 is a surface on which the touch transmission unit 140 is to be placed, for example, a jaw that is in contact with the PCB surface, and does not contact the touch plate 110 when an arbitrary touch plate 110 is pressed. Prevent the site from bending.

On the other hand, the touch plate 110 is an elastic body, the material of which is a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), urethane (URETHAN) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN).

The material of the pedestal 130 is a metal such as stainless steel, phosphor bronze, brass or aluminum, or a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylic (ACRYL) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). It is preferable that is within 0.5 mm.

The adhesive plate 121 and the adhesive tape 123 may be a tape or a film having adhesiveness on both sides, but in some cases, the adhesive in the form of a liquid may be applied to the touch plate 110 and the support base 130, or touch transfer. It may be applied directly to the portion 140.

The touch transmission unit 140 is an elastic body, the material is preferably silicon (Silicon).

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the AA direction of FIG. 2 in a coupled state, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion 'C' shown in FIG. 4 and a key signal generating means to be placed thereunder.

As shown in Fig. 5, the key signal generating means applicable to the present invention includes a dome switch 150 placed inward of each bending preventing member 143, and a dome switch placed under the dome switch 150. It includes a PCB 160 having a key signal generator 161 for generating an arbitrary key signal when contacted with 150.

Hereinafter, a preferred key input process of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, the user exerts a force on the touch plate 110 in the 'd' direction. Therefore, the portion of the touch plate 110 that is pressed is bent toward the key forming hole 131, the portion of the touch plate 110 and the touch transmission unit 140 is in contact, ultimately the pressure of the pressing projection 141 The dome switch 150 and the key signal generator 161 are in contact with each other.

Here, the force applied to the touch plate 110 is applied to the whole of the touch transmission unit 140 in addition to the direction of 'd', the bending preventing member 143 formed around the pressing projection 141 is directly applied To prevent the touch transfer unit 140 from being bent by dispersing the force in the 'e' direction other than the 'd' direction to the PCB 160, thereby preventing contact between the other dome switch and the key signal generator.

The computer key input device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

According to the computer key input device of the present invention as described above, by preventing the overall bending due to the pressing pressure to prevent the other keys around the key is pressed when a key is pressed, accordingly To prevent malfunction.

Therefore, a wider and thinner key input device can be implemented, which can significantly reduce the thickness of a computer, for example, a notebook or a keyboard.

Furthermore, by providing a touch plate instead of a button, the external appearance is neat and foreign matters are not caught between the buttons, there is an advantage that a keyboard cover aka, keyskin is not required.

Claims (5)

An elastic touch plate; A pedestal supporting the touch flat plate and having a plurality of key forming holes formed therein; Key signal generating means for generating a key signal corresponding to the touch plate pressed down through the key forming hole; It is provided between the pedestal and the key signal generating means, the elastic body is bent by the pressing down of the touch plate, the upper surface is attached to the pedestal is a flat plate, the back portion corresponding to each of the key forming hole is the touch plate A pressing protrusion for pressing down the key signal generating means is formed so that the key signal is generated by pressing down, and each of the pressing protrusions has a jaw higher than the pressing protrusion so that any pressing protrusion generates the key signal. When the means is pressed, the computer key input device comprising a touch transmission unit is formed a bending preventing member for preventing the other pressing projections to press the key signal generating means. The method of claim 1, Further comprising an adhesive for bonding the touch plate and the pedestal to the touch transfer unit, The adhesive is a key input device for a computer, characterized in that the adhesive tape on both sides or a film. The method of claim 2, The key input device for a computer, characterized in that the material of the touch transmission unit is silicon. The method of claim 3, wherein The support is a key input device for a computer, characterized in that the material is metal or synthetic resin, the thickness is less than 0.5mm. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, And the touch plate has a thickness of 0.2 mm or less.

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