JPH0373974B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a keyboard used for inputting signals to electronic equipment and the like.

[Prior art]

In recent years, in this type of keyboard, in order to improve the operability of the keys arranged on the keyboard, attempts have been made to make the key operation surface composed of the top surfaces of multiple keys curved from an ergonomic point of view. is being carried out.

Conventionally, the following two methods have been proposed for making the key operation surface of such a keyboard into a curved surface.

(1) One method is to form a key array plate 2 having a large number of guide holes 1 from a steel plate in advance so as to have a predetermined curved surface, as shown in Fig. 1. By fitting a stem guide 5 for slidingly guiding a key stem 4 having a key top 3 into the key top 3, a key operation surface 6 formed by the top surface of the key top 3 is made into a curved surface.

However, in this method, it is necessary to fit the stem guide 5 into each guide hole 1 after forming the key arrangement plate 2, which is very time-consuming and reduces the efficiency of the assembly work significantly. Put it away.

In addition, since the key arrangement plate 2 is formed from a steel plate through plastic processing, it is advantageous in that it can maintain its original curved surface semi-permanently, but it is inevitably heavy, so it is difficult to increase the weight of the entire keyboard. Considering the current demand for weight reduction, this is not very desirable.

(2) Another method is to mold the stem guide part 8 integrally with the upper case 7 of the keyboard as shown in FIG. Each surface is formed into a different curved surface, so that the key operation surface 11 constituted by the top surface of each key top 10 is formed as a curved surface as a whole.

However, even with this method, it is necessary to mold the top surface of each key top 10 into a different curved surface,
Therefore, since many types of molds are required to mold the key top 10, the cost increases, resulting in an increase in the cost of the keyboard.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, to integrally mold the upper case and the key array plate, and to curve the key operation surface constituted by the top surface of the key top of each key member arranged on the key array plate. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a keyboard that is both low cost and easy to operate.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on FIGS. 3 to 8. FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the keyboard according to this embodiment, and the keyboard main body 20 is composed of an upper case 21 made of synthetic resin and a lower case 22 made of synthetic resin. The upper case 21 has a rectangular opening 23 as shown in FIG.
is bored, and downwardly curved hanging portions 24 and 25 are suspended from the left and right side edges of the opening 23.
From the lower ends of these hanging parts 24, 25, a key array plate 26 is inserted as shown in FIG.
are integrally molded continuously at the middle part of both left and right ends. The key array plate 26 is formed in a flat plate state during molding, and is then curved during assembly as will be described later. Further, the key array plate 26 includes a key top 27 and a key stem 28 on its upper surface, and a stem guide 31 for inserting a key member 30, which is provided with a bottom plate 29 having a substantially square planar shape below the key stem 28. The same number of key members 30 are integrally molded. In addition, four concave grooves 34 are formed on the lower surface of the key array plate 26 at intervals in the short side direction and parallel to the front and rear side edges 32, 33 of the opening 23, as shown in FIG. In addition, a thin elastic portion 34a is formed on the key arrangement plate 26. Further, each key stem 28 is integrally suspended from the lower surface of the key array plate 26 and is partitioned by a partition plate 35 having approximately the same size as the bottom plate 29, so that it is guided against the vertical slide and its rotation. Efforts are being made to prevent this.
Here, the concave groove 34 is formed when the hanging part 2 of the upper case 21 is inserted into the key arrangement plate 26 when assembling the keyboard as described later.
4 and 25, and its depth increases as it goes from the center of the key array plate 26 to both sides. Further, bosses 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 4 are arranged downward from the back surface of the upper case 21.
2,43 are provided, among which bosses 40,
41, 42, 43, a regulating plate 44, which is provided with a predetermined curved surface in advance, is attached to set screws 45, 46,
47 and 48 are screwed. Three protruding walls 49, 50, and 51, which are erected from the bottom surface of the lower case 22 to match the curved surface of the regulating plate 44, are in contact with the lower surface of the regulating plate 44. Further, a circuit board 52 on which a predetermined contact circuit is formed by printed wiring is placed on the upper surface of the regulation plate 44, and the regulation plate 44 and the circuit board 52 are connected to each other by set screws 53, 54, and 52.
5,56 to the bosses 36,3 of the upper case 21
7, 38, and 39, thereby giving the circuit board 52 also bendability. Furthermore, a rubber-like elastic body 58 in which a plurality of cup-shaped parts 57 are formed is placed on the upper surface of the circuit board 52 , and the cup-shaped parts 5
As shown in FIG. 6, 7 further includes an electrode plate 61 made of a flexible aluminum foil film facing a pair of fixed contacts 60 formed on the circuit board 52 on the lower surface of a sponge member 59 fixed to its inner upper wall. A flexible, ultra-thin insulating film 61a made of synthetic resin is attached to its lower surface. Note that a capacitor is constituted by the pair of fixed contacts 60 and the electrode plate 61 facing them.

The key array plate 26 is placed on the curved surface of a regulation plate 44 screwed to the upper case 21 via a partition plate 35 from the lower surface thereof, and is further provided on the lower surface of the key array plate 26. Due to the elastic action of the thin elastic portion 34 a formed by the four concave grooves 34 , the key arrangement plate 26 is given a curved surface having almost the same curvature as the curved surface of the regulating plate 44 , and thereby the top surface of each key top 27 is curved. The key operation surface 62 is formed into a predetermined curved surface. At this time, the key arrangement plate 26 closes the opening 34 of the upper case 21, and the bottom of the key stem 28 inserted through the stem guide 31 is placed on the upper surface of the cup-shaped part 57 of the rubber-like elastic body 58. 6, and is normally held in the non-operating position shown in FIG. 6 by the elastic restoring force of the cup-shaped portion 57.

[Operation of the embodiment]

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. To perform a switching operation using the keyboard constructed as described above, first, the key top 27 is pressed down. When the key top 27 is pressed down, the key stem 28 integrated therewith is guided downward along the stem guide 31, and the bottom of the key stem 28 presses against the cup-shaped portion 57 of the rubber-like elastic body 58. When the cup-shaped portion 57 is pressed, the electrode plate 61 attached therein via the sponge member 59 comes into contact with a pair of fixed electrodes 60 formed on the circuit board 52 via an insulating film 61a. As a result, the fixed electrodes 60 are short-circuited in an alternating current manner, and a high frequency signal is transmitted from one fixed electrode 60 to the other fixed electrode 60 forming a pair. At this time, in this embodiment, since the electrode plate 61 is attached to the inner upper wall of the cup-shaped portion 57 via the sponge member 59, the electrode plate 61 is fixed via the insulating film 61a due to the elastic deformation of the sponge member 59. It is possible to ensure close contact with the electrode 60 and obtain sufficient capacity for transmitting high frequency signals. Next, when the depression of the key top 27 is released, the key stem 28 is pushed upward by the elastic restoring force of the cup-shaped portion 57, and the electrode plate 61 and the fixed electrode 60 are separated, thereby stopping signal transmission and the key top 27 Restore to original position. In this restored position, a bottom plate 29 provided below the key stem 28 prevents the key stem 28 from slipping out of the stem guide 31, and cooperates with the partition plate 35 to prevent the key stem 28 from slipping out.
8 is prevented from rotating.

Next, a method for assembling the keyboard according to this embodiment will be explained. To assemble the keyboard,
First, the circuit board 52 is placed on the regulation plate 44, and then the rubber-like elastic body 58 is placed thereon. These are screwed to the bosses 36, 37, 38, and 39 of the upper case 21 using setscrews 53, 54, 55, and 56 from below the key arrangement plate 26 in which the key stem 28 of the key member 30 is inserted into the stem guide 31 in advance. do. Furthermore, the key arrangement plate 26 is connected to the regulation plate 44.
The set screw 45 is curved along the curved surface of the
46, 47, and 48 are screwed to the bosses 40, 41, 42, and 43 of the upper case 21 from below the regulating plate 44. As a result, the key arrangement plate 26 is connected to the concave groove 3.
4 is regulated by the regulating plate 44 together with the circuit board 52, and is held in the upper case 21 while maintaining the curved state along the curved surface of the regulating plate 44. It is. As a result, the key operation surface 62 formed by the top surface of the key tops 27 arranged on the key arrangement board 26 is formed into a curved surface having almost the same curvature as the curvature given to the key arrangement board 26. After that, the upper case 21 configured as described above
The keyboard is completed by assembling the keyboard and lower case 22 together.

As described in detail above, in this embodiment, the key array plate 26 with the stem guide 31 integrally molded is integrally molded by continuing from the lower ends of the hanging parts 24 and 25 of the upper case 21, so that the number of parts can be reduced. By greatly reducing the number of parts, the cost of parts can be reduced, and the efficiency of assembly work can be improved.

In addition, the key arrangement board 26 is as shown in FIG.
Since the structure is such that the stem guide 31 and the partition plate 35 are molded into a flat plate and then curved when the keyboard is assembled, there is no problem in removing the mold from the mold when molding the stem guide 31 and the partition plate 35 together.
Can be easily molded. Furthermore, since four concave grooves 34 are formed on the lower surface of the key array plate 26 to form a thin elastic portion 34a, when the key array plate 26 is curved along the curved surface of the regulation plate 44, the upper case 21 can be easily curved along the lower ends of the hanging parts 24, 25 of the key member 3.
Even if all the same key members 30 are used without using anything special, the key operation surface 62 formed by the top surface of each key top 27 can be easily made into a curved surface, and the operability is improved due to low cost. But you can get a good keyboard.

Further, in this embodiment, since the flexible electrode plate 61 is attached to the inner upper wall of the cap-shaped portion 57 of the rubber-like elastic body 58 via the sponge member 59, the switching operation is performed by pressing down the key top 27. Even if the circuit board 52 is curved during the switching operation, the elastic deformation of the sponge member 59 allows the switching operation to be performed reliably.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the concave groove 34 formed on the lower surface of the key arrangement plate 26 in the previous embodiment is
It is the same as the above-described embodiment except that a semicircular groove 62 is formed on the lower surface of the thin elastic portion 62a instead of the thin elastic portion 62a.

FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, a concave groove 34 formed on the lower surface of the key arrangement plate 26 in the first embodiment is used.
The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that a triangular groove 63 is formed on the lower surface of the thin elastic portion 62a.

FIG. 11 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, instead of the concave grooves 34 formed on the lower surface of the key array plate 26 in the first embodiment, semicircular grooves 64 are formed on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the key array plate 26 to provide thin elasticity. The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the portion 64a is formed.

FIG. 12 shows a fifth embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, instead of the concave grooves 34 formed on the lower surface of the key array plate 26 of the first embodiment, three semicircular grooves are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the key array plate 26, which are offset from each other. 65 to form a thin elastic part 65
This embodiment is the same as the previous embodiment except that a is formed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention has a structure in which a large number of grooves are formed at intervals in the short side direction of the key arrangement plate to form a thin elastic portion, and the key arrangement plate is curved along the lower end of the hanging portion. This makes it possible to provide a keyboard with a curved key operation surface and good operability at low cost, which has great effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show cross-sectional views of a conventional keyboard. 3 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the keyboard, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the keyboard, FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the upper case, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the keyboard. is an enlarged explanatory diagram to explain the key switch part, Figure 7 is a plan view of the key layout board,
Figure 8 is an enlarged view of line 8-8' in Figure 7;
8 shows the second embodiment, FIG. 10 shows the third embodiment, and FIG. 8 shows the fourth embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8 showing the fifth embodiment. In the figure, 21 is the upper case, 22 is the lower case, 23
24 and 25 are openings, 24 and 25 are hanging parts, 26 is a key arrangement board, 30 is a key member, 44 is a regulation plate constituting a regulation member, 52 is a circuit board, 34, 62, and 63
and 64 and 65 are grooves, 34a and 62a
and 63a, 64a and 65a are thin elastic parts,
Numerals 45 to 48 and 53 to 56 are set screws constituting regulating members.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An upper case made of synthetic resin, which is provided with a rectangular opening and a hanging portion extending downward from the left and right edges of the opening, and a large number of keys arranged on the upper surface. a key array board made of synthetic resin; a circuit board disposed below the key array board and formed with a contact circuit that is opened and closed by the keys; and a lower case disposed below the circuit board; The key array plate and the upper case are integrally molded by forming predetermined portions of the right and left edges of the key array plate into a shape that continues from the hanging portion, and the key array plate is provided with intervals in the short side direction thereof. a plurality of grooves are formed in the upper case to form a thin elastic part, and the key arrangement plate is held in the opening part of the upper case in a state of being curved with the predetermined part as a base point by the thin elastic part. A keyboard characterized by having a member.