TWI437598B - Button and electronic device using the same - Google Patents

Description

Button and electronic device applying the button

The invention relates to a button and an electronic device applying the button.

With the development of various types of electronic devices, users have put increasing demands on the thickness and service life of electronic devices. In order to meet such requirements, various electronic device manufacturers have all designed electronic devices in a direction that is thin and has a long service life. To reduce the thickness of electronic devices, electronic device manufacturers typically use thin buttons on electronic devices.

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of prior art buttons. The button 1 includes a key top 11 and a key support portion 13. The key top 11 is made of polycarbonate material (Polycarbonate, PC material for short). The key support portion 13 is adhered to the lower surface of the key top 11 by an adhesive 15. The key support portion 13 includes a body 131, at least two extension portions 133, at least two mounting portions 135, and a contact portion 137. The extending portion 133 is integrally extended symmetrically outward from the bottom portion of the body 131 toward the bottom portion, and has a thickness much smaller than the thickness of the body 131. The extending portion 133 provides a certain elastic force to the key supporting portion 13 to deform the key supporting portion 13 and return to the original shape by itself. The mounting portions 135 are respectively formed vertically at the lower end of the extending portion 133, and the housing of the electronic device (not shown) is fitted during assembly. The contact portion 137 is vertically formed at the center of the bottom surface of the body 131, and is electrically conductively connected to a circuit substrate (not shown) provided in the electronic device.

When the button 1 is used, the key top 11 is pressed with a finger. The key support portion 13 is at the key Under the pressure of the top portion 11, the elastic force of the extension portion 133 is overcome to move downward together. The contact portion 137 provided at the center of the bottom surface of the key supporting portion 13 is in conductive contact with a circuit substrate (not shown) provided in the electronic device when the downward movement is performed, thereby opening or closing the switch on the circuit substrate.

Since the thickness of the extending portion 133 is smaller than the other portions, the extending portion 133 is deformed first and has the largest amount of deformation when the key supporting portion 13 moves downward. That is, the thickness of the extending portion 133 is smaller than other portions and the amount of deformation is larger than other portions, so that the service life of the extending portion 133 is smaller than other portions. After the above-mentioned button 1 is used for a long time, the extension portion 133 having the smallest thickness is broken, and the life of the button 1 is short.

In order to improve the use strength and life of the extension portion 133, a thermoplastic polyimide film 139 is generally disposed on the extension portion 133 and the upper surface of the body 131 by insert molding (Insert Molding), which is generally referred to as Thermoplastic Polyurethane. For TPU film). That is, the TPU film 139 is formed on the upper surface of the body 131 and the two extending portions 133 to cover the entire upper surface of the key supporting portion 13. Since the TPU film 139 has good tensile strength and is tightly bonded to the key supporting portion 13, the strength and life of the extending portion 133 can be effectively improved.

However, the TPU film 139 is easily shrunk when heated to 85 ° C. Therefore, when the button 1 is manufactured by the insert molding method, it is difficult to control the size of the TPU film 139, thereby affecting the dimensional accuracy and quality of the button 1.

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a button for an electronic device having a long service life and high dimensional accuracy and an electronic device using the button.

A button includes a key top and a key support bonded to a lower surface of the top of the key. The key support portion includes a body, a contact portion integrally extending outward from both sides of the body and having a thickness smaller than at least two extension portions of the body, and a contact portion vertically formed on a bottom surface of the key support portion and in electrical contact with the circuit substrate. Wherein, the button further comprises a fabric layer disposed on the upper surface of the extension.

An electronic device provided with a button, the button comprising a key top and a key support portion bonded to a lower surface of the top of the key. The key support portion includes a body, a contact portion integrally extending outward from both sides of the body and having a thickness smaller than at least two extension portions of the body, and a contact portion vertically formed on a bottom surface of the key support portion and in electrical contact with the circuit substrate. Wherein, the button further comprises a fabric layer disposed on the upper surface of the extension.

Compared with the prior art buttons, the upper surface of the extension portion of the button of the present invention is provided with a fabric layer. Since the fabric layer has high tensile strength and is tightly intertwined with the extension portion, the fabric layer can effectively improve the use strength and service life of the extension portion. That is, after the button is used for a long time, the extension portion is not broken, so the service life of the button can be improved. Moreover, the heat shrinkage rate of the fabric layer is similar to that of the key support portion, so that it does not excessively shrink or excessively expand when heated, so that the dimensional accuracy can be effectively controlled and the dimensional accuracy of the button can be improved when the button is manufactured.

Compared with the electronic device of the prior art, the upper surface of the extension of the button of the electronic device of the present invention is provided with a fabric layer. Since the fabric layer has high tensile strength and is tightly intertwined with the extension portion, the fabric layer can effectively improve the use strength and service life of the extension portion.

3‧‧‧ buttons

31‧‧‧ key top

33‧‧‧Key support

331‧‧‧ Ontology

333‧‧‧Extension

335‧‧‧Installation Department

337‧‧‧Contacts

35‧‧‧Adhesive

37‧‧‧ fabric layer

5‧‧‧ buttons

51‧‧‧ key top

53‧‧‧Key support

531‧‧‧Ontology

533‧‧‧Extension

535‧‧‧Installation Department

537‧‧‧Contacts

55‧‧‧Adhesive

57‧‧‧ fabric layer

7‧‧‧Electronic devices

71‧‧‧ buttons

73‧‧‧ display

1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art button; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a button for an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 3 is a schematic diagram of a button for an electronic device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic view of a button 3 for an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The button 3 includes a key top 31, a key support portion 33, and a fabric layer 37 formed inside the key support portion 33. The electronic device refers to a product such as a mobile phone or a personal handheld computer.

The key top 31 is made of a polycarbonate material (Polycarbonate, PC material for short) by an injection molding method. The key top 31 is provided with a pattern for recognizing characters, digits, symbols, and the like.

The key support portion 33 is made of a silicone material bonded to the lower surface of the key top portion 31 by a bonding agent 35. The key support portion 33 includes an integrally formed body 331, at least two extension portions 333, at least two mounting portions 335, and a contact portion 337. The extending portion 333 integrally extends symmetrically outward from the two sides of the body 331 near the bottom surface, and has a thickness much smaller than the thickness of the body 331. The extending portion 333 is elastically deformed and can be restored to its original shape by itself, thereby returning the key supporting portion 33 to the original position. The mounting portions 335 are respectively formed vertically at the lower end of the extending portion 333, and cooperate with the housing of the electronic device (not shown) when assembled. The contact portion 337 protrudes from the center of the bottom surface of the body 331. When the key support portion 33 moves downward, it is in conductive contact with a circuit substrate (not shown) provided in the electronic device.

In this embodiment, the fabric layer 37 is a mesh fabric, and the fabric layer 37 is disposed on the inner surface of the body 331 and the upper surface of the two extending portions 333. The fabric layer 37 and the extending faces of the opposite second extensions 333 are parallel to each other. The fabric layer 37 is integrally formed in the interior of the body 331 and the two extensions 333 by an insert molding method (Insert Molding). Above the surface. At the time of molding, the molten tantalum resin constituting the key supporting portion 33 penetrates into the mesh of the fabric layer 37 to form an integral body. That is, the fabric layer 37 and the resin constituting the key supporting portion 33 are intertwined with each other, so that the key supporting portion 33 and the fabric layer 37 are closely joined to each other. It will be appreciated that the fabric layer 37 utilizes a metallic mesh or fibrous web similar to the heat shrinkage of the resin.

As described above, the upper surface of the extending portion 333 and the inside of the body 331 are provided with a fabric layer 37 which is manufactured by an in-mold decoration method. Since the fabric layer 37 has high tensile strength and is tightly intertwined with the extending portion 333, the fabric layer 37 can effectively improve the use strength and service life of the extending portion 333. That is, after the button 3 is used for a long time, the extension portion 333 does not break, so the service life of the button 3 can be improved. Moreover, the fabric layer 37 does not excessively shrink or excessively expand when heated, so that the size of the button 3 can be effectively controlled and the dimensional accuracy and quality of the button 3 can be improved.

To meet various requirements, the fabric layer 37 may also be disposed on the upper surface of the key support portion 33, that is, on the extension portion 333 and the upper surface of the body 331.

3 is a schematic diagram of a button for an electronic device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The button 5 shown in FIG. 3 includes a key top 51, a key support portion 53, and a fabric layer 57 formed inside the key support portion 53. The key support portion 53 is bonded to the lower surface of the key top 51 by a bonding agent 55, which includes a body 531, at least two extension portions 533, at least two mounting portions 535, and a contact portion 537.

The button 5 shown in FIG. 3 is different from that of FIG. 2 in that the connection between the body 531 and the extension portion 533 and the connection between the extension portion 533 and the mounting portion 535 are provided with chamfers R1 and R3. The chamfers R1 and R3 can avoid stress concentration at the joint, so the service life of the extension portion 533 can be further improved. That is, after the button 5 is used for a long time, the extension portion 533 is not broken, so that the service life of the button 5 can be further improved.

In the button 3 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper surface of the extending portion 333 is provided with a fabric layer 37 which is manufactured by in-mold decoration and interwoven with each other. Since the fabric layer 37 has high tensile strength and is tightly intertwined with the extending portion 333, the fabric layer 37 can effectively improve the use strength and service life of the extending portion 333. That is, after the button 3 is used for a long time, the extension portion 333 does not break, so the service life of the button 3 can be improved. Moreover, the fabric layer 37 does not excessively shrink or excessively expand when heated, so that the size of the button 3 can be effectively controlled when the button 3 is manufactured, and the dimensional accuracy of the button 3 is improved.

In the button 5 shown in FIG. 3, the connection between the body 531 and the extension portion 533 and the connection between the extension portion 533 and the mounting portion 535 are chamfered (only the extension portion 533 and the mounting portion 535 are shown in the figure). Chamfer at the joint). The chamfering can avoid stress concentration at the joint, so the service life of the extension 533 can be further improved. That is, after the button 5 is used for a long time, the extension portion 533 is not broken, so that the service life of the button 5 can be further improved.

4 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device refers to a mobile phone, a personal palmtop computer, etc., and is explained by the mobile phone 7 in the present embodiment for ease of understanding. The front of the mobile phone is provided with a keyboard 71, a display 73 and the like. The structure of the keyboard 71 is the same as that of the button shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, and therefore will not be described here.

3‧‧‧ buttons

31‧‧‧ key top

33‧‧‧Key support

331‧‧‧ Ontology

333‧‧‧Extension

335‧‧‧Installation Department

337‧‧‧Contacts

35‧‧‧Adhesive

37‧‧‧ fabric layer

Claims (10)

A button includes a key top and a key support portion bonded to a lower surface of the top of the key; the key support portion includes a body extending integrally outward from both sides of the body and having a thickness smaller than at least two extensions of the body, vertical A contact portion formed on a bottom surface of the key support portion and in conductive contact with the circuit substrate; the improvement is that the button further includes a fabric layer disposed on an upper surface of the extension portion. The button of claim 1, wherein the fabric layer is formed on the upper surface of the extension portion and the inside of the key support portion by an in-mold insert molding method. The button of claim 2, wherein the key support portion penetrates into the mesh of the fabric layer to form a solid body. The button of claim 1, wherein the key support portion further comprises at least two mounting portions formed vertically at a lower end of the extension portion and mated with the electronic device housing during assembly. The button of claim 4, wherein the connection between the body and the extension and the connection between the extension and the mounting portion are chamfered. The button of claim 1, wherein the top of the key is made of a polycarbonate material. The button of claim 1, wherein the key support portion is made of a resin material. The button of claim 1, wherein the key support is bonded to the lower surface of the top of the key by a bonding agent. An electronic device provided with a button, wherein the button comprises a key top and a key support portion bonded to a lower surface of the top of the key; the key support portion comprises a body extending integrally from both sides of the body and having a thickness smaller than the body The at least two extension portions are formed at a contact portion perpendicular to the bottom surface of the key support portion and in conductive contact with the circuit substrate; and the improvement is that the button further comprises a fabric layer disposed on the upper surface of the extension portion. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the fabric layer is formed by an in-mold insert The molding method is formed on the upper surface of the extension portion and the inside of the key support portion.