JP3201035B2 - Key switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a key switch used for a keyboard or the like which is an input device of a word processor, a personal computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a key switch used in this type of keyboard, a key stem protruding downward is formed on a lower surface of a key top having characters and symbols printed on an upper surface thereof, formed on a keyboard housing. A key switch in which a switching member is disposed below a key stem while being supported by being inserted into a key holder portion is generally used. Then, in such a key switch, the key stem is slid up and down in the key holder portion, and when the key top is pressed, the key stem is moved,
The switching member is pressed by the lower part of the key stem,
As a result, a switching operation has been performed.

[0003]

However, in the conventional key switch as described above, if the vertical length of the key holder portion is reduced in order to increase the vertical stroke of the key top, the sliding length with the key stem is reduced. Is insufficient, causing a twist when the key top is pressed. Therefore, the key touch cannot be performed smoothly, so that the vertical length of the key holder cannot be reduced, and the keyboard cannot be made thinner.

[0004] To solve this problem, the present applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 3-330160 (JP-A-5-29067).
No. 3 (published on Jan. 1, 1993)), the guide means for the vertical movement of the key top is constituted by a first link and a second link which are arranged in an X-shape in a side view, and an intermediate portion between the two links is formed. Pivotally connected, one of the free ends of the first link and the second link is rotatably locked to the lower surface of the keytop and the holder member, and the other free end to the lower surface of the keytop and the holder member. A key switch that slidably locks and performs a switching operation by depressing a rubber spring by both links is proposed.

[0005] In this key switch, each link is composed of two locking pins that are rotatably locked and two locking pins that are slidably locked.
It is located in one corner. Therefore, as for the holder member, it is necessary to provide four sets of locking portions for each key switch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and eliminates the need for a structure in which a key stem is slid up and down by a holder portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a key switch that can be maintained and that can have three locking portions for first and second links formed on a holder member.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a key switch according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a key top having a locking portion formed on a lower surface, a key top disposed below the key top, and a key switch. A holder member having a stopper, a guide support member that is connected and locked to each of the locking portions of the key top and the holder member, and guides and supports the vertical movement of the key top; And a switching member for performing a switching operation in accordance with the vertical movement of the key top, wherein the guide support member is connected and locked to the key top and the holder member and movably connected to each other. A first link and a second link, wherein the holder member includes the first link;
And two front and rear locking portions for rotatably locking the lower end of the
One slide that slidably locks the lower end of the second link
A locking portion is formed, and these three locking portions are disposed so as to be located at respective vertexes of a triangular shape in plan view.

[0008] The key switch according to the second aspect is the first aspect.
In the key switch according, three engaging portions of said holder member, the distance from said one slide locking unit to the two rotation locking portion is disposed on the apex of the isosceles triangle respectively equal ing.

[0009] The key switch according to claim 3, claim 1,
In the key switch described above , a pair of locking pins protruding inward from a distal end of the second link is formed at a lower end of the second link, and one of the holder members is slidably locked. The portion is formed in a continuous elongated hole shape in a side view, and the width of the sliding locking portion is formed to be equal to or larger than the gap between the pair of locking pins.

The key switch according to the fourth aspect is the first aspect.
3. The key switch according to claim 2 , wherein one of the sliding locking portions of the holder member is opened in a sliding direction of a lower end portion of the second link when the key top is lowered.

The key switch according to the fifth aspect is the first aspect of the present invention.
5. The key switch according to any one of items 1 to 4 , wherein the guide support member is disposed so as to intersect in an X shape in a side view by the first and second links, and is movably connected at the intersection. I have.

[0012]

According to the key switch of the present invention having the above structure, when the key top is not pressed down, the key top is urged upward by the switching member and held upward. When the keytop is pressed from such a state, the keytop descends against the urging force of the switching member. With the lowering operation of the keytop, the respective ends of the first link and the second link of the guide support member rotate or slide in the respective locking portions of the keytop and the holder member, and the lowering operation of the keytop. , And the switching member is pressed by the key top or the guide support member to perform the switching operation. On the other hand, when the keytop is released from being depressed, the keytop is urged upward by the switching member, and is pushed upward by the urging force while being supported by the guide support member, thereby returning to the original position. I do.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The key switch 2 includes a key top 4 on which characters, symbols, and the like are printed on the upper surface, a guide support member 6 in which a first link 8 and a second link 10 are arranged in an X shape in side view, A cap-shaped rubber spring 12 pressed by the support member 6, a synthetic resin holder member 14 for supporting the guide support member 6, and the rubber spring 1
2, a flexible printed circuit board 16 provided with a switching section 20 on the lower surface thereof, and a reinforcing plate 18 stretched on the lower surface side thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rubber spring 12 is inserted into the mounting hole 21 of the holder member 14 so as to cover the switching portion 20 of the printed circuit board 16 or is disposed. Glued on top. The rubber spring 12 of the present invention is made of electrically insulating silicone rubber or EPDM, and has a substantially disk-shaped head in plan view, and a conical dome extending downward from the periphery of the head. The dome is formed integrally with the outer periphery of the dome in the shape of a downwardly open cap comprising a flange portion extending substantially horizontally and radially outward. When the key top 4 is pressed, the lower surface of the head of the rubber spring 12 pressed by the pressing portion 22 of the guide support member 6 is brought into contact with the contact portion of the switching portion 20 to be electrically turned ON / OFF. A movable contact 24 made of conductive rubber having the above-mentioned conductivity is fixed.

The flexible printed board 16 forming the switching section 20 may be a board such as a membrane switch circuit board. In this case, it is not necessary to fix the movable contact 24 to the rubber spring 12.

The key top 4 is formed of a synthetic resin such as an ABS resin and has a triangular operation surface as shown in FIG. A longitudinal groove-shaped sliding locking portion 28 for locking the locking portion 26 so as to be slidable in a substantially horizontal direction, and a locking pin 30a, 30b on the upper end side of the second link 10 can be rotated only. A hole-shaped rotation locking portion 32 for locking is projected.

Next, the structure of the first link 8 and the second link 10 made of a synthetic resin such as a POM resin will be described. FIG.
3A is a plan view of the first link 8, and FIG. 3B is a plan view of the second link 10. The first link 8 is formed integrally with the base 34 and the locking pins 26 and the locking pins 36a and 36b so as to be substantially triangular in plan view.
A support hole 38 is formed in a lateral direction on the side surface, and locking pins 36a and 36b are protruded in a lateral direction on an outer surface of a lower end portion, and the locking pin 26 is provided on an upper end portion.

The second link 10 also has a base 40 and a locking pin 30.
a, 30b and the locking pin 42 are integrally formed in a substantially triangular shape in plan view. A pivot shaft 44 projects laterally from the inner surface of the base 40, and the pivot shaft 44 is rotatably fitted into the support hole 38 of the first link 8. A locking pin 4 is provided at the lower end of the second link 10.
2 are provided, and locking pins 30a, 3
0b protrudes sideways. The first link 8 and the second link 10 assembled as described later are arranged so as to overlap the operation surface of the key top 4 in plan view.

In this embodiment, when viewed from the side, the first
The distance from the center line of the support hole 38 in the link 8 to the center line of the upper and lower locking pins 26 and 36a;
From the center line of the pivot shaft 44 at the locking pins 30a, 42
Are formed to be equal to each other. With the above configuration, the guide support member 6 is connected to the first link 8.
The key top 4 is pivotally displaced about the lower end side locking pins 36a and 36b and the upper end side locking pin 30a and 30b of the second link 10 so that the key top 4 is moved relative to the upper surface of the holder member 14. It can move up and down while maintaining a horizontal state.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a part of the holder member 14 made of a synthetic resin such as an ABS resin.
A mounting hole 21 in which the cap-shaped rubber spring 12 can be arranged is formed in one side edge of the mounting hole 21. A pair (two) of rotation locking portions 46 and the other side edge are provided on one side edge of the mounting hole 21. Is integrally injection-molded with one sliding groove 48 in the form of a longitudinal groove. The pair of rotation locking portions 46 and one sliding locking portion 48 are disposed on three vertices forming an isosceles triangle in plan view.

Next, an assembling process of the key switch having the above configuration will be described.
10 is assembled in a side view X-shape at the position of the pivot shaft 44 and the support hole 38, and then the lower end locking pins 36 a and 36 b of the first link 8 are attached to the rotation locking portion 46 of the holder member 14. , The lower end locking pin 4 of the second link 10
2 are respectively inserted into the sliding locking portions 48, and the upper locking pin 26 of the first link 8 is connected to the sliding locking portion 28 of the keytop 4, and the upper locking pin 30 of the second link 10 is
a and 30b are assembled by locking the rotation locking portions 32 respectively.

At this time, the locking pins 36a, 36b and 4
2 and the shape and dimensions of the rotation locking portion 46 and the sliding locking portion 48 are such that the first link 8 and the second link 10 are substantially immovable in the left-right direction in FIG. 2 are determined so as not to hinder sliding in the left-right direction.

With this configuration, when the key top 4 is pressed, the first link 8 rotates downward about the rotation locking portion 46 of the holder member 14 while the second link 10 rotates.
Rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 about the pivot shaft 44. Then, the head of the rubber spring 12 is pressed downward by the pressing portion 22 of the first link 8, and the movable contact 24 on the lower surface thereof contacts the switching portion 20 to perform a switching operation.

When the locking pins 26 of the first link 8 and the locking pins 30a, 30b of the second link are arranged around the key top 4 having a triangular operation surface as in this embodiment, The key top 4 is a triangle connecting the locking pins with a straight line.
It almost matches the operation surface of. In other words, there is no area that cannot be surrounded by each locking pin, and even if any part of the operation surface is pressed, the key top 4 is held by the holder member 1.
4 can be moved up and down while maintaining a horizontal state with respect to the upper surface.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the present invention can be applied to a key top 60 having an L-shaped operation surface such as a return key. The first link 8 and the second link in this case
Since the structure and arrangement relationship of the link 10 and the rubber spring 12 are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment,
Detailed description is omitted.

[0027]

According to the key switch of the first aspect,
The first and second links are movably connected to guide and support the vertical movement of the keytop, and the switching member is configured to perform a switching operation in accordance with the vertical movement of the keytop. This eliminates the need for a configuration in which the key stem is slid up and down by the holder portion, so that the keyboard can be reduced in thickness while maintaining the size of the key stroke.

Further , the lower ends of the first and second links are locked.
There are three locking portions provided on the holder member.
These three locking parts are two rotating locking parts and one sliding locking
Unit. In other words, link
With two rotation locking parts that can be locked, the link is firmly
One sliding locking part that is difficult to lock
Since it is arranged so as to be located at each vertex of the triangle,
Stably supports the guide support member even with three locking parts
There is an effect that can be. Moreover, the first and
The guide support member provided with the second link is rotated by the rotation of the holder member.
While holding it in the horizontal direction with the locking part,
Since the downward movement can be guided, move the key top horizontally.
Guide the key top up and down while fixing
There is an effect that can be.

According to the key switch according to claim 2, wherein, 請
In addition to the effects of the key switch described in claim 1 ,
The three locking parts of the holder member are two slides from one sliding locking part.
They are arranged on the vertices of an isosceles triangle having the same distance to the two rotation locking portions. Therefore, there is an effect that the guide support member formed by the first and second links can be supported symmetrically (equally) in plan view.

[0030] According to the key switch according to claim 3, wherein, 請
In addition to the effects provided by the key switch according to claim 1 or 2 , furthermore, one of the sliding locking portions of the holder member is formed in a continuous elongated hole shape in a side view. At the lower end of the second link locked by the dynamic locking portion, a pair of locking pins projecting inward from the distal end thereof is formed. Therefore, by widening the gap between the pair of locking pins, the locking pins can be inserted into the sliding locking portions. Moreover, since the width of the sliding locking portion is formed to be equal to or larger than the gap between the pair of locking pins of the second link, the locking pin once fitted and inserted into the sliding locking portion. There is an effect that it can be held.

According to the key switch according to claim 4, wherein, 請
In addition to the effects provided by the key switch according to claim 1 or 2 , further, one of the sliding locking portions of the holder member is opened in the sliding direction of the lower end of the second link when the keytop is lowered. ing. Therefore, by inserting the lower end of the second link from its opening, there is an effect that the second link can be easily locked to the holder member.

[0032] According to the key switch according to claim 5, wherein, 請
In addition to the effects provided by the key switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , furthermore, the first and second links allow the side view X to be obtained.
The configuration in which the key top is vertically supported and guided by the guide support members arranged in a cross shape is unnecessary, and the configuration in which the key stem is slid up and down by the holder is unnecessary. Therefore, while maintaining the size of the keystroke,
The keyboard can be reduced in thickness, the operability of key input can be improved, and reliable key input without twisting can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment embodying the configuration of a key switch according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the key switch shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a guide support member used in the key switch of the present invention, wherein (a) is a plan view of a first link 8,
FIG. 2B is a plan view of the second link 10.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mounting hole of a holder member in the key switch of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the key switch shown in FIG. 2 taken along line AA.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration of a return key according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Key switch 4 Key top 6 Guide support member 8 First link 10 Second link 12 Rubber spring 14 Holder member 20 Switching section 28 Sliding locking section 32 Rotating locking section 46 Rotating locking section 48 Sliding locking Department

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-64-7441 (JP, A) JP-A-4-76224 (JP, U) JP-A-2-5236 (JP, U) JP-A-63 172028 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01H 13/14

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A key top having a locking portion formed on a lower surface, a holder member provided below the key top and having a locking portion, and each locking of the key top and the holder member. A guide support member that is connected and locked to the respective parts and guides the vertical movement of the key top, and a switching member that urges the key top upward and performs a switching operation in accordance with the vertical movement of the key top. Wherein the guide support member is connected and locked to the key top and the holder member and is movably connected to each other.
A link and a second link, wherein the holder member is rotatable at a lower end of the first link.
And two lower locking portions and a lower end of the second link
And one sliding locking portion for slidably locking the portion is formed.
The key switch, wherein the three locking portions are disposed at respective vertices of a triangular shape in plan view. 2. The three locking portions of the holder member are disposed on vertices of an isosceles triangle in which the distance from the one sliding locking portion to the two rotation locking portions is equal. The key switch according to claim 1, wherein 3. The lower end of the second link has a second
A pair of locking pins protruding inward from the distal end of the link are formed, and one of the sliding locking portions of the holder member is formed as a continuous elongated hole having no break in side view. the width of the sliding locking unit, a key switch according to claim 1 or 2 in serial <br/> mounting, characterized in that it is formed in the gap width of at least the pair of locking pins. One slide locking portion according to claim 4, wherein said holder member,
Key switch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is open to the sliding direction of the lower end portion of the second link during the downward movement of the key top. Wherein said guide supporting member, said first and second
The key switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the key switch is arranged so as to intersect in an X shape in a side view by a link, and is movably connected at the intersection.