JP6830972B2 - Keyboard device manufacturing methods, keyboard devices and electronic devices - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a keyboard device, a keyboard device, and an electronic device.

For example, in a keyboard device used in an electronic device such as a notebook personal computer (notebook PC), a holder component is provided on the upper surface of a base plate formed of a metal plate, and an actuator attached to the holder component raises and lowers a keycap. There is a configuration that can be supported (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Further, in such a keyboard device, an isolation type structure in which each key top is partitioned by a mesh-like frame portion may be adopted. Since the isolation type keyboard device can reduce the gap around the key top, it is possible to improve the appearance quality and suppress the falling of dust and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-43705 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-143176

By the way, when a keyboard device such as the above-mentioned prior art is mounted on a notebook PC housing, for example, a positioning pin protruding from the notebook PC housing is inserted into a positioning hole formed in a base plate for positioning. doing. Therefore, if the positional relationship between the positioning hole formed in the base plate and each holder component is deviated by a predetermined tolerance or more, the housing and each keycap are in a misaligned mounting state. As a result, there is a concern that the appearance quality and operability of the keyboard device may deteriorate. In particular, as in Patent Document 2, when each keycap is partitioned by a frame portion on the housing side and a misalignment occurs, the gap between each keycap and the frame portion is biased and the appearance quality is further deteriorated. Further, there is a concern that each keycap interferes with the frame portion and normal lifting operation cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is a method for manufacturing a keyboard device capable of positioning each keycap with high accuracy with respect to a mounted housing, a keyboard device, and an electronic device. The purpose is to provide.

The method for manufacturing a keyboard device according to the first aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a keyboard device mounted on a housing, in which a metal base plate is set in a mold and resin is injected to eject the resin. A resin positioning component for positioning the housing with respect to the positioning portion provided on the housing, and a plurality of resin holder components for attaching a support mechanism for supporting the keycap on the upper surface side of the base plate. Is joined to the base plate by insert molding.

According to such a method, since the positioning component and the holder component are joined to the base plate by insert molding, the positional relationship between the positioning component and the holder component can be easily and surely within a desired tolerance. As a result, each keycap can be positioned with high accuracy with respect to the housing when the keyboard device after manufacturing is attached to the housing to be mounted.

Before setting the base plate in the mold, at least one first hole portion and a plurality of second hole portions are formed in the base plate, and in the insert molding, the first hole portion is formed. The positioning component is molded by joining the resin to the inner wall surface and the edge portion of the portion, and the holder component is molded by joining the resin to the inner wall surface and the edge portion of the second hole portion. May be good. Then, the joint strength of the positioning component and the holder component with respect to the base plate can be increased, and the misalignment of each component after bonding can be suppressed.

The keyboard device according to the second aspect of the present invention is a keyboard device mounted on a housing, which is joined to a metal base plate and the base plate, and the base plate is attached to a positioning portion provided in the housing. It includes a resin positioning component for positioning the keyboard, and a plurality of resin holder components joined to the base plate and for attaching a support mechanism for supporting the keycap on the upper surface side of the base plate.

According to such a configuration, by keeping the positional relationship between the positioning component and the holder component at a desired intersection, each keycap is positioned with high accuracy with respect to the housing when the keyboard device is attached to the housing. be able to.

The housing has a frame portion that partitions between the adjacent keycaps, and each keycap may be provided so as to be able to move up and down inside a plurality of key insertion holes formed in the frame portion. Even when each keycap has an independent structure partitioned by a frame portion in this way, each keycap is placed in the frame portion because the positional relationship between the positioning component and the holder component is contained in the desired intersection. It is possible to prevent interference.

The positioning portion is a pin-shaped member, and the positioning component is joined to an inner wall surface and an edge portion of a hole formed in the base plate to form a positioning hole into which the pin-shaped member is inserted. It may have a structure having a cylindrical portion.

A membrane sheet for detecting the pressing operation when the keycap is pressed is disposed on the upper surface of the base plate, and the positioning component has a flange portion provided on the upper surface of the base plate. The membrane sheet may be configured so as to be positioned with respect to the base plate by the flange portion. Then, since the membrane sheet is also positioned with respect to the base plate with high accuracy by the positioning component, each switch portion of the membrane sheet can be reliably arranged directly under each key switch.

The electronic device according to the third aspect of the present invention has a keyboard device having the above configuration, the housing on which the keyboard device is mounted, and a display, and is rotatable with respect to the housing via a hinge. It includes a connected display housing.

According to the above aspect of the present invention, each keycap of the keyboard device can be positioned with high accuracy with respect to the mounted housing.

FIG. 1 is a view looking down on an electronic device provided with a keyboard device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part schematically showing the configuration of the keyboard device. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a main part schematically showing the configuration of the keyboard device. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view for explaining a method of joining the holder component and the positioning component to the base plate. FIG. 5A is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part schematically showing a state in which a holder part and a positioning part are insert-molded with the base plate set at a predetermined position when the base plate is set in the mold. FIG. 5B is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part schematically showing a state in which a holder part and a positioning part are insert-molded in a state where the base plate is misaligned from a predetermined position when the base plate is set in a mold. is there. FIG. 6 is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part schematically showing a configuration of a keyboard device according to a modified example.

Hereinafter, the keyboard device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, exemplifying an electronic device provided with this device and giving a suitable embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a view looking down on an electronic device 12 provided with a keyboard device 10 according to an embodiment. The electronic device 12 is a clamshell notebook PC in which a main body housing 14 provided with a keyboard device 10 and a display housing 18 provided with a display 16 are connected to each other by a hinge 20 so as to be openable and closable. The present invention may be used for electronic devices other than notebook PCs. Further, the present invention may be used for, for example, an external keyboard device used for a desktop PC or the like, a keyboard device as an expansion device to which a tablet PC can be attached and detached, and the like.

Hereinafter, the keyboard device 10 is mounted on the electronic device 12 as shown in FIG. 1, and the front side is referred to as a front, the back side is referred to as a rear, the thickness direction is referred to as up and down, and the width direction is referred to as left and right, based on the state in which the user uses the keyboard device 10. It will be explained in.

The main body housing 14 houses various electronic components such as a substrate, an arithmetic processing unit, a hard disk device, a memory, and a battery device (not shown) inside. The keyboard device 10 is provided on the upper surface of the main body housing 14. The display housing 18 has a display 16 composed of a liquid crystal display or the like on the front surface. The display housing 18 is rotatably connected to the rear end of the main body housing 14 via a hinge 20.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part schematically showing the configuration of the keyboard device 10. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a main part schematically showing the configuration of the keyboard device 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the keyboard device 10 has a plurality of key switches 22. The keyboard device 10 of the present embodiment is an isolation type keyboard device in which the periphery of the key cap 24, which is the operation unit of each key switch 22, is partitioned by the frame unit 26.

The keyboard device 10 includes a plurality of key switches 22, a base plate 28, a plurality of holder components 30, a positioning component 32, and a membrane sheet 34.

Each key switch 22 has a key cap 24 and a support mechanism 36. The support mechanism 36 is an actuator that supports the keycap 24 on the upper surface 28a side of the base plate 28 so as to be able to move up and down. The support mechanism 36 has a pantograph mechanism in which a pair of frame bodies 36a and 36b rotatably intersecting each other are bridged between the lower surface of the keycap 24 and the upper surface 28a of the base plate 28, and a rubber dome (not shown).

In the configuration example shown in FIG. 2, in the support mechanism 36, the upper rotation shafts of the frame bodies 36a and 36b are supported on the lower surface side of the keycap 24 so as to be rotatable and horizontally movable, and the support mechanism 36 of the frame bodies 36a and 36b. The lower rotating shafts 36c and 36d are rotatably supported by the holder component 30 arranged on the upper surface 28a. The rubber dome is a dome-shaped member formed of a flexible elastic material such as silicone rubber, and is inserted into the inner openings of the frame bodies 36a and 36b, and is inserted between the lower surface of the keycap 24 and the membrane sheet 34. Is intervening in. Each keycap 24 elastically deforms the rubber dome to press the membrane sheet 34 when the pressing operation is received, and returns to the original position by the elastic force of the rubber dome when the pressing operation is released.

Each holder component 30 is arranged on the upper surface 28a of the base plate 28, and is a rectangular frame-shaped member for supporting the rotating shafts 36c and 36d below the support mechanism 36. The holder component 30 is joined to the base plate 28 by insert molding of a resin material. Each holder component 30 is joined to the inner wall surface 38a and the edge 38b of the hole 38 formed at each position corresponding to each key switch 22 of the base plate 28. Specifically, the holder component 30 is joined to the edge 38b of the hole 38 on the upper surface 28a, and further joined to the inner wall surface 38a in a state where the pin-shaped convex portion 30a protruding from the lower surface is fitted to the hole 38. Has been done. As a result, the holder component 30 is firmly joined to the base plate 28 without rattling. Bearing holes 30b and 30c for supporting the rotating shafts 36c and 36d are formed on the upper surface of the holder component 30.

The base plate 28 is a mounting plate for each key switch 22. The base plate 28 is made by punching or molding a metal plate such as a thin stainless steel plate or an aluminum plate. The base plate 28 is formed with a plurality of holes 38 corresponding to each key switch 22 and at least one hole 40. As shown in FIG. 1, in the case of the present embodiment, three hole portions 40 are provided side by side in the left-right direction, and a positioning component 32 is provided for each hole portion 40.

Each positioning component 32 positions the base plate 28 with respect to the positioning portion 42 provided on the frame portion 26. The positioning component 32 is joined to the base plate 28 by insert molding of a resin material. Each positioning component 32 is joined to the inner wall surface 40a and the edge portion 40b of each hole portion 40. The positioning component 32 has a cylindrical portion 32a joined to the inner wall surface 40a and flange portions 32b and 32c joined to the edge portion 40b. In the case of the present embodiment, the positioning portion 42 is a pin protruding downward from the lower surface of the frame portion 26. A positioning hole 32d into which the positioning portion 42 is inserted is formed through the cylindrical portion 32a. The flange portion 32b is joined to the upper surface 28a of the base plate 28, and the flange portion 32c is joined to the lower surface 28b of the base plate 28. The positioning component 32 is firmly joined to the base plate 28 by the cylindrical portion 32a and the flange portions 32b and 32c.

The membrane sheet 34 is a switch sheet for detecting the pressing operation of each keycap 24, and is laminated on the upper surface 28a of the base plate 28 (see FIG. 2). In FIG. 2, only a part of the membrane sheet 34 is shown by a chain double-dashed line, but the actual membrane sheet 34 is placed on substantially the entire surface of the upper surface 28a of the base plate 28 so as to be arranged below all the key switches 22. It has spread. The membrane sheet 34 is, for example, a switch sheet having a three-layer structure in which the contacts close when pressed. In the membrane sheet 34, for example, when the position where the fixed contact and the movable contact overlap is pressed by the rubber dome, the fixed contact and the movable contact come into close contact with each other, thereby closing the contact. In the case of the present embodiment, the membrane sheet 34 is positioned with respect to the base plate 28 by inserting the flange portion 32b of the positioning component 32 into the hole portion 34a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the frame portion 26 is a mesh-shaped frame material having a plurality of key insertion holes 26a into which each key cap 24 is vertically inserted. As a result, each keycap 24 is partitioned from the other adjacent keycaps 24 by the frame portion 26b of the frame portion 26, and each is arranged independently. The frame portion 26 constitutes a part of the main body housing 14, and may be integrally molded with the upper cover 14a (see FIG. 1) of the main body housing 14, or may be formed separately from the upper cover 14a. It may be the one that has been done.

Next, one procedure of the manufacturing method of the keyboard device 10 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view for explaining a method of joining the holder component 30 and the positioning component 32 to the base plate 28.

In the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 4, a base plate 28 having holes 38 and 40 formed in advance by machining or the like is set in a mold 44 composed of an upper mold 44a and a lower mold 44b. In the base plate 28, each hole 38 is arranged corresponding to each cavity 44c, and each hole 40 is arranged corresponding to each cavity 44d. The cavity 44c is a portion for molding the holder component 30. The cavity 44d is a portion for molding the positioning component 32.

Next, the resin material for forming the holder component 30 and the positioning component 32 is injected into the mold 44. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5A, the holder component 30 and the positioning component 32 are joined to the base plate 28 by insert molding with the same mold 44. After that, the production of the keyboard device 10 is completed by attaching the key switch 22 and the membrane sheet 34 to the base plate 28 to which the holder component 30 and the positioning component 32 are joined. Further, the keyboard device 10 manufactured in this way is positioned with respect to the main body housing 14 by inserting the positioning portion 42 of the frame portion 26 into the positioning hole 32d of the positioning component 32. At the same time, each keycap 24 is arranged in each key insertion hole 26a, and then the frame portion 26 and the base plate 28 are fixed by screwing or the like to complete mounting on the electronic device 12.

By the way, the configuration example shown in FIG. 5A shows a state in which the holder component 30 and the positioning component 32 are insert-molded in a state where the base plate 28 is securely set at a predetermined position when the base plate 28 is set in the mold 44. There is. Therefore, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5A, the center line C1 of the positioning hole 32d formed in the positioning component 32 and the center line C2 of the hole portion 40 coincide with each other. Further, the center line C3 of the holder component 30 and the center line C4 of the hole 38 coincide with each other.

Then, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 5A, the distance between the center line C1 of the positioning hole 32d which is the reference for positioning with respect to the frame portion 26 and the center line C3 of the holder component 30 which is the reference for positioning the keycap 24 ( Pitch) is within the desired tolerance. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when the keyboard device 10 is mounted on the main body housing 14, when the positioning portion 42 on the frame portion 26 (main body housing 14) side is inserted into the positioning hole 32d on the base plate 28 side, each key is inserted. The positional relationship between the cap 24 and each key insertion hole 26a of the frame portion 26 falls within a desired tolerance. As a result, each keycap 24 is arranged in the center of each key insertion hole 26a, and a gap C (see FIG. 3) between the keycaps 24 and the surrounding frame portion 26b is formed evenly and in a desired size. As a result, each keycap 24 is prevented from interfering with the frame portion 26, and the appearance quality of the keyboard device 10 and the electronic device 12 is improved.

On the other hand, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 5B, when the base plate 28 is set on the mold 44, the holder component 30 and the positioning component 32 are insert-molded in a state where the base plate 28 is misaligned from a predetermined position and set. Shown.

Therefore, in the state of the configuration example shown in FIG. 5B, if only the holder component 30 is insert-molded without using the positioning component 32 as in the configuration of the prior art, a hole serving as a reference for positioning with respect to the frame portion 26 is formed. The distance (pitch) between the center line C2 of the portion 40 and the center line C3 of the holder component 30, which is the reference for positioning the keycap 24, does not fall within the desired tolerance. As a result, there is a concern that each keycap 24 interferes with the frame portion 26b and the gap C also varies.

In this respect, in the present embodiment, the holder component 30 and the positioning component 32 are formed in the same mold (mold 44) in a state of being simultaneously and mutually positioned by insert molding. Therefore, also in the configuration example shown in FIG. 5B, between the center line C1 of the positioning hole 32d, which is the reference for positioning the frame portion 26, and the center line C3 of the holder component 30 which is the reference for positioning the keycap 24. The distance (pitch) is within the desired tolerance as in the configuration example shown in FIG. 5A. As a result, each keycap 24 is prevented from interfering with the frame portion 26, and the appearance quality of the keyboard device 10 and the electronic device 12 is improved. That is, in the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the holder component 30 and the positioning component 32 are formed by insert molding at the same time, so that even if the set position of the base plate 28 is displaced with respect to the mold 44, the center line is formed. The pitch between C1 and C3 is set to fit in the desired intersection.

As described above, the keyboard device 10 of the present embodiment is joined to the base plate 28, and is attached to the resin positioning component 32 for positioning the base plate 28 with respect to the positioning portion 42 on the main body housing 14 side, and the base plate 28. It is provided with a resin holder component 30 for attaching a support mechanism 36 that is joined and supports the keycap 24 on the upper surface 28a side of the base plate 28.

Therefore, in such a keyboard device 10, by keeping the positional relationship between the positioning component 32 and the holder component 30 at a desired intersection, when the keyboard device 10 is attached to the main body housing 14, each keycap 24 is attached to the main body housing 14 or the frame. It can be positioned with high accuracy with respect to the unit 26. Further, in the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, since the positioning component 32 and the holder component 30 are joined to the base plate 28 by insert molding, the positional relationship between the positioning component 32 and the holder component 30 can be easily and surely set to a desired tolerance. Can fit.

Even in a keyboard device having a configuration that does not have a frame portion 26 for partitioning each keycap 24 as described above, by having such a positioning component 32 and a holder component 30, they are lined up on the outermost side of the keyboard device. The gap between each keycap 24 and the wall surface of the housing can be evenly configured, and interference between the two can be prevented.

Further, in the present embodiment, the membrane sheet 34 is also positioned by the positioning component 32. Therefore, since the membrane sheet 34 is positioned with respect to the base plate 28 with high accuracy, each switch portion of the membrane sheet 34 can be reliably arranged directly under each key switch 22.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and of course, it can be freely changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

In the above, the configuration in which the pin-shaped positioning portion 42 is inserted into the positioning component 32 and the keyboard device 10 is positioned on the frame portion 26 (main body housing 14) is illustrated. In this positioning structure, as shown in FIG. 6, the positioning component 32 is provided with a positioning pin 32e protruding upward, and the frame portion 26 (main body housing 14) is provided with a positioning hole 26c into which the positioning pin 32e is inserted. May be.

In the above, the configuration in which the keyboard device 10 is mounted on the main body housing 14 of the electronic device 12 is illustrated, but when the keyboard device 10 is configured to be externally attached to, for example, a desktop PC, the keyboard device 10 is externally attached. It suffices to be positioned with respect to the housing of the device.

10 Keyboard device 12 Electronic equipment 14 Main body housing 18 Display housing 22 Key switch 24 Key cap 26 Frame part 26a Key insertion hole 28 Base plate 30 Holder part 32 Positioning part 32a Cylindrical part 32b, 32c Flange part 32d Positioning hole 34 Membrane sheet 34a , 38, 40 Hole 36 Support mechanism 38a, 40a Inner wall surface 38b, 40b Edge 42 Positioning 44 Mold

Claims (7)

It is a manufacturing method of the keyboard device mounted on the housing.
By setting the metal base plate in the mold and injecting the resin, the resin positioning component for positioning the base plate with respect to the positioning portion provided in the housing and the upper surface side of the base plate. A method for manufacturing a keyboard device, which comprises joining a plurality of resin holder parts for attaching a support mechanism for supporting a keycap to the base plate by insert molding. The method for manufacturing a keyboard device according to claim 1.
Before setting the base plate in the mold, at least one first hole portion and a plurality of second hole portions are formed in the base plate.
In the insert molding, the positioning component is formed by joining the resin to the inner wall surface and the edge portion of the first hole portion, and the resin is joined to the inner wall surface and the edge portion of the second hole portion. A method for manufacturing a keyboard device, which comprises molding the holder component. A keyboard device mounted on the housing
With a metal base plate
A resin positioning component joined to the base plate for positioning the base plate with respect to a positioning portion provided in the housing.
A plurality of resin holder parts joined to the base plate and for attaching a support mechanism for supporting the keycap on the upper surface side of the base plate.
A keyboard device characterized by being equipped with. The keyboard device according to claim 3.
The housing has a frame portion that partitions between adjacent keycaps.
A keyboard device characterized in that each keycap is provided so as to be able to move up and down inside a plurality of key insertion holes formed in the frame portion. The keyboard device according to claim 3 or 4.
The positioning portion is a pin-shaped member and
The keyboard device is characterized by having a cylindrical portion formed with a positioning hole formed by being joined to an inner wall surface and an edge portion of a hole formed in the base plate and into which the pin-shaped member is inserted. .. The keyboard device according to claim 5.
On the upper surface of the base plate, a membrane sheet that detects the pressing operation when the keycap is pressed is arranged.
The positioning component has a flange portion provided on the upper surface of the base plate.
A keyboard device characterized in that the membrane sheet is positioned with respect to the base plate by the flange portion. It has the keyboard device according to any one of claims 3 to 6, the housing on which the keyboard device is mounted, and a display, and is rotatably connected to the housing via a hinge. An electronic device characterized by having a display housing and a display housing.

Images