KR20080099930A - Keypad and method of manufacturing same - Google Patents

Abstract

A keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure and a manufacturing method thereof are provided to perform functions of a keypad even without a base tape and top tape by comprising a transparent conductive contact in a keypad rubber. A keypad(100) having a transparent conductive contact structure comprises a printed circuit board(110) and a keypad rubber(120). The printed circuit board is located at the lowest bottom of the keypad and has a plurality of contact portions(111) which generate intrinsic signals of each key button when coming in contact with the transparency conductive contact point(127). A plurality of LEDs(113) are equipped within a range that is not overlapped with the contact portions on an upper portion of the printed circuit board. The keypad rubber is installed on the upper portion of the printed circuit board, so that signals can be selectively generated for the contact portions. In the keypad rubber, a plurality of pressing projections(121) are integratedly connected through a connection rib(123) and are protruded upwardly in the same arrangement type as that of the contact portions.

Description

Keypad with transparent conductive contact structure and its manufacturing method {KEYPAD AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME}

1 is a front view showing a conventional keypad rubber,

2 is a sectional view showing the main part of a keypad to which a conventional keypad rubber is applied;

3 is a cross-sectional view of main parts of a keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a cross-sectional view sequentially showing a change state according to the manufacturing process of the keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a process chart showing a change state according to the manufacturing process of the keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

110: printed circuit board 111: contact portion

113: LED 120 keypad keypad

121: push projection 123: connecting rib

125: contact protrusion 127: transparent conductive contact

B: Key Button F: Print Film

S: Coating Layer

The present invention relates to a mobile phone keypad, and more particularly, a base tape for fixing a dome switch and a dome switch of a printed circuit board applied to an existing mobile phone by forming a transparent conductive contact in a keypad rubber forming an internal configuration of the keypad. The present invention relates to a keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure and a method of manufacturing the same, which can reduce the manufacturing cost of the mobile phone and make the mobile phone slim by enabling the function of the keypad without a tape and a top tape.

In general, communication devices are classified into wired communication devices and wireless communication devices.

Here, the wired communication device may be a typical example of an office or home telephone, and the wireless communication device may be a typical example of a mobile phone.

All of these communicators have a key as a switch device for signal generation, and this key has a structure that is installed on top of a printed circuit board having contacts.

In addition, the switch device of the mobile phone adopts a dome switch in the keypad so as to obtain a touch feeling, and the dome switch generates a signal by contacting a contact provided on the printed circuit board by the above-described key operation. It is supposed to be possible.

When the signal is generated, the key pressing the dome switch is made of a hard synthetic resin, and a key made of a resin resin or a silicone rubber material is provided between the key and the dome switch so as to feel a soft touch.

1 is a front view showing a conventional keypad rubber, Figure 2 is a sectional view of the main part showing a keypad to which a conventional keypad rubber is applied.

1 and 2, the keypad of the mobile phone includes a keypad rubber 10 having a plurality of protrusions 11 protruding downward from the bottom thereof; A key button 20 attached to an upper portion of the keypad rubber 10; A dome switch 40 attached to the printed circuit board 30 through a tape F and having a predetermined elastic force, and a contact portion 33 and a light emitting diode 31 provided on an upper surface of the printed circuit board 30. It is provided by.

In this keypad, when the key button 20 is pressed, the protrusion 11 presses the dome switch 40, and when this operation is further performed, the dome switch 40 is grounded with the contact portion 33 to signal. Generate.

Here, when the key button 20 is released, the key button 20 is returned to its original position by the elastic force of the dome switch 40.

The key button 20 of the keypad is protruded to the outside of the front housing 50 through the opening hole 51 formed to be arranged at equal intervals in the front housing 50 of the mobile phone.

However, such a conventional keypad had the following problems.

Conventional keypad structure has a problem that causes a number of limitations in reducing the volume and weight of the product because its internal configuration consists of a complex multilayer structure.

That is, in the conventional keypad structure, a separate dome switch for providing a touch feeling when using a key button and a contact portion and grounding, and an adhesive film for attaching the dome switch to a printed circuit board must be further provided.

In addition, since the design work and manufacturing process for installing the dome switch are unnecessary when the keypad is manufactured, there is a problem that the product cost increases with the increase in the manufacturing cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of a keypad for a conventional mobile phone, the object of which is to form a transparent conductive contact on the keypad rubber constituting the internal configuration of the keypad fixed to the dome switch and the dome switch of the printed circuit board applied to the existing mobile phone Keypad with a transparent conductive contact structure to reduce the manufacturing cost of the mobile phone and to make the mobile phone slim by enabling the function of the keypad without the base tape and the top tape for the purpose. It provides a manufacturing method.

The present invention for achieving the above object

A printed circuit board having a plurality of contact parts and LEDs disposed at equal intervals;

Located on the upper portion of the printed circuit board, the front surface is formed so that a plurality of pressing projections having the same arrangement structure as the contact portion to protrude upward through the connecting rib, the lower portion of each pressing projection A contact protrusion protruding from the contact protrusion is formed, and at the end of the contact protrusion, a transparent conductive contact printed with transparent conductive ink (ITO) is formed to generate a signal unique to the key button when contacted with the contact portion. On the surface of the film layer (urethane film / PET film / PC film) attached to the surface, a printing layer is formed on the surface of the LED (LED) light to be emitted and blocked to the outside, and the inner surface is treated with a primer coating layer. A silicon material keypad rubber;

Characterized in that it comprises a key button that is integrally attached to the upper surface of each push projection of the keypad rubber.

Manufacturing method of the keypad

The film printing process of forming a printing layer on the surface of a thin film (urethane film / PET film / PC film) so that the LED light emitted from the printed circuit board can be emitted and blocked to outside in actual use. ;

A forming process of pressing the printed film into a press to form a plurality of protrusions having concavo-convex shapes forming an evenly spaced array;

The printing film is moved and seated by a mold press, and a predetermined amount of liquid silicone is added to the bottom portion, and then thermocompression molding is performed to form the same shape as the printing film so that a plurality of pressing protrusions, connecting ribs, and contact protrusions are provided. Process;

A primer coating process of forming a coating layer on the bottom surface of the keypad rubber to have wear resistance and heat resistance;

ITO printing process for forming a transparent conductive contact by printing the lower end of the contact projections with transparent conductive ink (ITO) and

The molded keypad rubber is characterized in that it comprises a cutting process for cutting the rim to match the shape of the product.

Hereinafter, a keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a cross-sectional view of main parts of a keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the keypad 100 having the transparent conductive contact structure of the present invention includes a printed circuit board 110 and a keypad rubber 120.

The printed circuit board 110 is positioned at the lowermost end of the keypad 100, and a plurality of contact parts 111 can generate a signal unique to the key button when the printed circuit board 110 contacts the transparent conductive contact 127, which will be described later. ) Is provided in an equally spaced arrangement.

In addition, a plurality of LEDs 113 are arranged on the printed circuit board 110 in a range that does not overlap with the contact portion 111.

Here, the LED (LED) 113 receives the battery power of the mobile phone (not shown) to emit light.

Meanwhile, the keypad rubber 120 is installed on the printed circuit board 110 so as to selectively generate a signal from the plurality of contact parts 111.

At this time, the keypad rubber 120 is a plurality of pressing protrusions 121 protruding upwards in the same arrangement as the contact portion 111 therein is integrally connected through the connecting rib 123, each pressing The lower portion of the protrusion 121 is integrally formed with a contact protrusion 125 protruding downward.

Here, the push protrusion 121 is attached to a key button (B) is printed numbers and letters on the upper surface.

In addition, the bottom end of the contact protrusion 125 is provided with a transparent conductive contact 127 to generate a signal unique to the key button when the contact portion 111 is in contact with the intention of the user.

At this time, the keypad rubber 120 is made of silicon or urethane material to have its own elastic force, and the portion to which the key button B is attached is white or transparent so that the light of the LED (LED) 113 can be transmitted and emitted to the outside. It is preferable to carry out printing processing.

In addition, the transparent conductive contact 127 is also made transparent, so that the light of the LED (LED) 113 can be easily transmitted through the key button via a specific portion of the keypad rubber 120 which is easily printed. B) By allowing it to be diverted to the outside, the numbers and letters printed on the upper surface of the key button 121 can be more clearly displayed at night.

In addition, the keypad rubber 120 has a printing film (F) attached to the upper surface, the coating layer (S) by the primer coating is formed on the lower portion of the keypad rubber 120 has heat resistance and wear resistance.

At this time, the printing film (F) and the coating layer (S) is preferably made of a transparent body.

Thus, the present invention made of a combination configuration as described above forms a transparent conductive contact on the keypad rubber forming the internal configuration of the keypad base tape for fixing the dome switch and the dome switch of the printed circuit board applied to the existing mobile phone (base tape) By enabling the function of the keypad without using the top tape and the top tape, the manufacturing cost of the mobile phone can be reduced and the slimming of the mobile phone can be achieved. .

First, when the key button B is pressed to transmit a call and text using a mobile phone, the contact protrusion 125 of the keypad rubber 120 spaced apart from the contact portion 111 through the connecting rib 123 is The connecting rib 123 is bent by the user's pressing force to provide a touch feeling to the user and at the same time contact with the contact portion 111.

In this case, the transparent conductive contact 127 printed on the lower part of the contact protrusion 125 is grounded with the contact part 111, and the contact part 111 generates a signal corresponding thereto.

In addition, when the pressed key button B is released, the transparent conductive contact 127 is spaced apart from the contact portion 111 by the elastic restoring force of the connecting rib 123 to block the generated signal.

As described above, a keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention forms a transparent conductive contact on a keypad rubber constituting an internal structure thereof to fix the dome switch and the dome switch of a printed circuit board applied to an existing mobile phone. By performing the function of the keypad without the base tape (base tape) and the top tape (top tape) to achieve, there is an effect that can reduce the manufacturing cost of the mobile phone.

4 is a cross-sectional view sequentially showing a change state according to a manufacturing process of a keypad rubber having a transparent conductive contact structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is a transparent conductive contact structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention It is a process chart which shows the change state by the manufacturing process of a keypad rubber.

Looking at the manufacturing process of the above-described keypad with reference to Figures 4 and 5;

This first film printing step (S ₁₎ yarn using a printed circuit board 110, the LED light emitted from the image through: a thin plate shape so that light may be emitted to the outside and blocking (LED 113), the film (F: urethane film / A print layer (not shown) is formed on the surface of the PET film / PC film.

Thereafter, the printed film F is pressed through a forming process S ₂ by pressing to form a plurality of protrusions and protrusions (H) having an equally spaced shape.

Subsequently, in the molding process S ₃ , the printing film F is moved and seated by a mold press (not shown), but a certain amount of liquid silicon is added to the bottom portion, and then thermo-compression is applied to the same shape as the printing film F. Molded to form a shape to form a plurality of pressing projections 121, the connecting ribs 123 and the contact projections 125 are provided.

In addition, the silicon forming the keypad rubber 120 is manufactured using urethane.

Subsequently, in the primer coating process S ₄ , a coating layer S having wear resistance and heat resistance is formed at the bottom of the keypad rubber 120.

Thereafter, in the ITO printing process S ₅ , the bottom end of the contact protrusion 125 is printed with transparent conductive ink (ITO) to form the transparent conductive contact 127.

Accordingly, the transparent conductive contact 127 generates a signal unique to the contact portion 111 of the above-described printed circuit board 110 and the key button B when grounded.

Subsequently, in the cutting process S ₆ , the molded keypad rubber 110 is cut along the shape of the product.

Through this manufacturing process it is possible to manufacture a keypad that can implement the slimming of the entire mobile phone.

According to the present invention, by forming a transparent conductive contact on the keypad rubber forming the internal configuration of the keypad, a base tape and a top tape for fixing the dome switch and the dome switch of a printed circuit board applied to an existing mobile phone. By performing the function of the keypad without), it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the mobile phone and to make the mobile phone slim.

In addition, the printing process of the conductive contacts making contact with the keypad rubber and the contact portion on the printed circuit board by the transparent transparent ink (ITO) having high light transmittance in the internal structure of the keypad further increases the number and letters printed on the key buttons at night. The effect is vivid.

Claims (2)

A printed circuit board 110 having a plurality of contact parts 111 and LEDs 113 arranged at equal intervals; Is positioned above the printed circuit board 110, the front surface of the plurality of push projections 121 having the same arrangement structure as the contact portion 111 to form a shape protruded upward through the connecting rib 123. And a contact protrusion 125 protruding downward from the lower portion of each of the pressing protrusions 121, and a key button for contacting the contact portion 111 at an end portion of the contact protrusion 125. B) A transparent conductive contact 127 printed with transparent conductive ink (ITO) is formed to generate an inherent signal, and a film layer (F: urethane film / PET film / PC film) attached to the surface is formed. On the surface is formed a printed layer to allow the LED (113) light to be emitted and blocked to the outside, the inner surface is a silicon keypad rubber 120 is treated with a primer coating layer (S); The keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure, characterized in that it comprises a key button (B) integrally attached to the upper surface of each push projection (121) of the keypad rubber (120). Printing layer on the surface of thin film (F: urethane film / PET film / PC film) so that the light of the LED (LED: 113) emitted from the printed circuit board 110 can be emitted and blocked to the outside when the yarn is used. Film printing process (S ₁ ) for forming a; Forming process (S ₂ ) of pressing the printed film (F) by pressing to form a plurality of projections and concave-convex shape (H) forming an equally spaced array; The printing film (F) is moved and seated by a mold press, a predetermined amount of liquid silicon is added to the bottom portion and then subjected to thermocompression molding to form the same shape as the printing film (F) to form a plurality of pressing projections 121 and A forming step (S ₃ ) for forming the connecting ribs 123 and the contact protrusions 125; A primer coating process (S ₄ ) for forming a coating layer (S) on the bottom surface of the keypad rubber 120 to have abrasion resistance and heat resistance; An ITO printing process (S ₅ ) for forming a transparent conductive contact (127) by printing the lower end of the contact protrusion (125) with transparent conductive ink (ITO); Method for manufacturing a keypad having a transparent conductive contact structure, characterized in that comprises a cutting step (S ₆ ) for cutting the edge of the molded keypad rubber 120 according to the shape of the product.

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