WO2000074093A1

WO2000074093A1 - Adhesive elevator keypad

Info

Publication number: WO2000074093A1
Application number: PCT/FI2000/000467
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rauno Hatakka; Petri Huotari
Original assignee: Kone Corporation
Priority date: 1999-05-31
Filing date: 2000-05-23
Publication date: 2000-12-07
Also published as: FI105956B; AU4760100A; FI991238A0

Abstract

Elevator keypad comprising one or more keys. The keypad further comprises an adhesion surface (1) placed bottommost against the mounting, on top of the adhesion layer a switch layer (2) with an integrated cable connection, and a continuous protective layer (3) covering the switch layer and provided with key patterns (4).

Description

ADHESIVE ELEVATOR KEYPAD

The present invention relates to a keypad for an elevator, as defined in the preamble of claim 1.

When buildings are being constructed, there is a need to get the elevators ready for operation as soon as possible so as to allow them to be used already during construction. In these circumstances, the elevator is subject to heavy wear. The dust, dirt and humidity present during construction as well as the dirty hands and clothes of the elevator users and the goods transported in the elevator, all these lead to relatively heavy wear of the elevator during construction. In particular, the keypad is subject to heavy wear as it is an elevator component that every passenger has to touch.

As a consequence of the wearing use and heavy wear de- scribed above, it is necessary to make repairs in the elevator after the building has been completed, and often the entire keypad has to be renewed. Repairing the keypad or even partially renewing it increases the costs significantly.

The object of the invention is to eliminate the problems referred to above. A specific object of the invention is to disclose a new type of keypad for an elevator that is simple and cheap and has a good re- sistance to impurities and wear. A further object of the invention is to disclose a new type of temporary keypad for an elevator that can be easily removed and replaced with a new permanent keypad after the building has been completed. As for the features characteristic of the invention, reference is made to the claims.

The elevator keypad of the invention comprises an ad- hesion surface which is placed bottommost against the base on which the keypad is to be mounted. The adhesion surface may consist of e.g. a sticker surface. Placed on top of the adhesion surface is a switch layer which contains the required number of switches and which also comprises an integrated cable connection. In addition, the entire switch layer is covered by a continuous film-like protective layer provided with patterns representing the switches in the switch layer, arranged at positions corresponding to the switch positions. The continuous protective layer covering the switch layer consists of protective tape, the entire keypad thus consisting of an elastic and flexible sheet which, by means of a sticker surface or other adhesion surface, can be fastened to straight as well as curved surfaces, even across corners.

As to their technical structure, the keys themselves, placed between the protective layer and the adhesion surface, may consist of various solutions known in themselves. Thus, the switch layer may comprise reduced-strength areas, springs or bubbles which form the switches under the keys.

In the keypad of the invention, the protective layer placed topmost is preferably made of a suitable plastic material on which it is possible, using known printing techniques, to make various patterns and markings to represent different keys. On the material it is also easy to produce various relief figures and even Braille characters, so the keypad can be used by visually disabled persons as well. The keypad of the invention can be used in elevators in standard operation instead of normal traditional buttons. Thanks to the simplicity of its use and structure and the ease of installation, the keypad is also excellently applicable for use as a temporary- keypad which is removed from the elevator e.g. upon completion of the building and replaced with a permanent keypad .

A cable connection to the keypad sheet may be provided at the edge of the sheet so that, after the keypad has been fastened to a suitable surface, a surface mounted cable suitably located can be connected to it. The ca- ble can be temporarily attached to the surface e.g. with tape. Another way to mount the component is to drill a small hole in the mounting surface in question and pass the cable through the hole under the surface, whereupon the keypad is glued onto the hole. Thus, the keypad sheet covers the hole and the cable remains completely out of sight and is protected against vandalism.

As compared with prior art, the keypad of the inven- tion designed for continuous or temporary use has significant advantages. The keypad is very simple and cheap to manufacture. The keypad can be installed on any relatively even surface to which a suitable adhesion surface will adhere. The keypad is completely protected against dirt, dust and humidity, so it is excellently applicable for use in construction time conditions as well. Moreover, the keypad comprises no projecting or parts or protrusions or parts that may come loose, so it has a good resistance to external blows and vandalism. When a keypad installed for temporary use is no longer needed, it can be easily ripped off the surface and replaced with a permanent elevator keypad.

In the following, the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 presents a keypad according to the invention in top view, and

Fig. 2 presents a sectional view of one key in the keypad in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 presents a top view of the keypad of the invention for temporary or continuous use. In other words, the keypad consists of a relatively thin film-like sandwich structure having a continuous protective plastic layer 3 as a cover surface, which is provided with key patterns 4 indicating the positions and functions of the keys.

Fig. 2 presents a section of the keypad in Fig. 1 taken at the level of one of the key patterns 4. The bottommost surface of the keypad is a sticker surface 1 serving as a surface of adhesion, allowing the key- pad to be glued to a desired mounting. Above the sticker surface is a switch layer 2. The switch layer comprises a circuit board 5 with an integrated cable connection. Placed on top of the circuit board is a metal spring 6 to give the key a resilient property. The actual switching elements 7, a resistor 8 and a LED 9 indicating the action of the key are placed in the edge areas of the key pattern. The whole structure is covered by an elastic protective layer 3, which covers and hides the entire switch structure under it. The keypad may comprise two arrow keys as shown in the figure, or only one arrow key. Similarly, a keypad de- signed for an elevator car may comprise a large number of numbered keys depending on the number of floors in the building.

In the foregoing, the invention has been described by way of example with reference to the attached drawings while different embodiments of the invention are possible in the scope of the inventive idea defined in the claims.

Claims

1. Elevator keypad comprising one or more keys, characterized in that the keypad comprises an adhesion surface (1) to be placed bottommost against a mounting surface, on top of the adhesion layer a switch layer (2) with an integrated cable connection, and a continuous protective layer (3) covering the switch layer and provided with key patterns (4) .

2. Keypad as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the protective layer (3) consists of protecting tape.

3. Keypad as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the keypad is a temporary keypad.

4. Keypad as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the adhesion surface consists of a sticker surface.

5. Keypad as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the switch layer (2) comprises areas of reduced strength, springs or bubbles forming the switches of the keys .

6. Keypad as defined in any one of claims 1 - 5, characterized in that the keypad is surface-mounted on existing surfaces, such as door jambs, frames, elevator wall, and so on.

7. Keypad as defined in any one of claims 1 - 6, characterized in that the cable connected to the keypad is surface-mounted.

8. Keypad as defined in any one of claims 1 - 6, characterized in that a hole is made in the mounting surface, through which the cable connected to the key- pad is passed, the hole being covered by the adhesion surface of the keypad.