JPH0458129B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention improves the tactile feel of keys in office machines such as typewriters, computer input/output devices, and word processors, thereby reducing the need for long-time key operations. This relates to keyboard keys that are designed to withstand high temperatures.

[Conventional technology]

The keys on the keyboards of various office machines are attached to key levers that are movable up and down and have a tendency to return upwards, and have letters, symbols, etc. displayed on the top or on the top and front. Usually made of synthetic resin.

In consideration of operability, this type of key has a small mass and is operated with a light pressing force. However, if the tracking ability is too good for fingers that lack a sense of weight, you will not be able to get a firm touch, and if the pressing force is too large, you will receive a large reaction force, making it difficult to operate the keys for a long time. However, I had the inconvenience of having pain in my fingers.

Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the weight of the keys and make the keys feel heavier to the touch, but in that case, various problems as described below would occur, and this would be impractical.

In other words, at the initial stage of pressing, that is, at the moment when the finger tries to press down on the key, the key suddenly tries to move from a resting state, but since the key has sufficient inertia due to the increased weight, the acceleration α is theoretically infinite. (Actually, the finger and the key are not completely rigid bodies, so they take a finite value), and as shown by F = mα (where F is the force and m is the mass of the entire key), a large force F is required. do.

Therefore, the moment a finger hits a key, the reaction force acts on the finger as a very large force, causing pain in the fingers and joints and making it impossible to withstand key operations for a long time.

Also, if we consider the process in which a key starts moving with an acceleration α that is close to infinity and moves to its full stroke, the key has sufficient inertia, so once it starts moving, it continues to move against the force of the return spring. It tries to move, sometimes faster than the fingers can move.

Therefore, the reaction force against the finger becomes small, and the touch feeling disappears. In order to prevent this, it is possible to increase the force of the spring, but if this is done, the reaction force of the spring increases as the key is pressed down, reducing operability.

Next, if we consider when the key is pressed down to its full stroke and then stopped, the speed will be zero, contrary to the initial pressing described above, so theoretically an acceleration of -∞ will occur. Therefore, a large reaction force acts on the fingers at this time as well, causing pain to the fingers and joints.

The relationship between the dynamic load (corresponding to the reaction force and the strength of the touch feeling) and time during a conventional key press operation, which is simply increased in mass, is shown by the imaginary line in FIG. As is clear from this figure, a very large dynamic load is generated at the initial and final stages of pressing (the most pressed position), resulting in a strong touch feeling, but in the middle, the dynamic load is almost gone, so there is no touch feeling.

Furthermore, considering the case where the key returns to its original position, especially when the key is played in a statuscato style on a piano, the key will return to its original state due to the force of the spring when it is released from the finger, but it will stop at the upper limit position. When this happens, the rising speed of the key becomes zero, and the acceleration α
becomes a value close to −∞.

Therefore, the key sinks slightly due to the recoil,
If the return to the initial position is delayed and the keys sink, you will not be able to feel the touch when pressing the same key in conjunction.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

This invention was made in order to solve various problems with the keys of conventional keyboards, and improves the touch feeling when operating keys.
Moreover, the purpose is to make it possible to easily perform key operations for a long time without feeling pain in the fingers or joints.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the key of the keyboard according to the present invention has a weight member inside the key attached to a key lever which is vertically movable and has an upward return habit, and a weight member is inserted through a member capable of exerting a damper effect. It was arranged as follows.

As the member capable of exhibiting the damper effect (damper member), a molded product of natural rubber or synthetic rubber, a foamed resin, a spring, a viscous fluid, or the like can be used.

[Effect]

The key of the keyboard according to the present invention has the following effect due to the relatively large inertial force of the weight member disposed inside the key and the tampering effect of the damper member holding the weight member.

In other words, when the key starts to descend at the initial stage of pressing, the damper effect of the damper member reduces the influence of the inertial force that tries to keep the weight member stationary, reducing the reaction force applied to the finger, and then the weight The member also moves in unison with the key, so the key follows the movement of the finger while providing an appropriate touch feeling, and even when the key reaches its lowest position and stops descending, the weight member will still tamper with its inertia. Since the member continues to descend slightly while storing energy, no sudden large reaction force is generated.

Thereafter, when the key attempts to move upward due to the energy stored in the damper member, the finger will feel the reaction force.

In this way, the touch feeling when operating keys is always good, and there is no excessive reaction force generated at the beginning or end of pressing, so the operator almost never feels pain in his or her fingers or joints. This makes it easier to use keys for long periods of time.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the keys of the keyboard according to the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a keyboard, 2 is a key lever which is arranged to be vertically movable through an insertion hole 3 provided in the keyboard 1, has a key 4 attached to its upper end, and is operatively connected to a push switch 5 at its lower end. This key lever 2 is always given an upward return habit by a coil spring 6.

The key 4 includes a cylindrical or cubic main body 4A that is integrally formed of synthetic resin;
The main body 4A is also made of synthetic resin.
It forms a shell structure with a lid 4B that closes the opening at the lower end, and predetermined characters,
Symbols, etc. are displayed, and a weight member 7 is disposed inside via a member 8 that can exert a damper effect (hereinafter referred to as a "damper member").

As the weight member 7, a mass body made of iron, lead, etc. is used. On the other hand, as the damper member 8, natural rubber,
An elastic molded product such as synthetic rubber or a foamed resin such as foamed urethane or silicone foam is used, and the weight member 7 is embedded within the damper member 8 . Note that 9 is a printed circuit board or chassis to which the push switch 5 is attached.

Next, the pressing operation of the key having the above configuration and its effects will be explained based on FIG. 2.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 1, that is, before pressing, the weight member 7 is located approximately in the center of the damper member 8 with its own weight compressing the lower side of the damper member 8 corresponding to the weight member 7 by a predetermined amount. are doing.

In this state, when the top surface of the key 4 is pressed with a finger as shown in FIG. The weight member 7 is maintained in a stationary state by the action of the damper member 8.

That is, the lower side of the damper member 8 corresponding to the weight member 7 expands and the upper side is compressed, so that the weight member 7 attempts to maintain a stationary state, and energy is accumulated by the compression of the damper member 8.

Therefore, even though the weight member 7 is provided, the reaction force R to the finger is not large at the initial stage of pressing, and the operation can be performed with the same operation force as a light key, and the aforementioned energy is stored. The reaction force gradually increases according to the amount of force applied.

The amount of compression of the damper member 8 increases as the pressing operation progresses, and finally reaches an amount that gives acceleration to the weight member 7, causing the weight member 7 to move together with the key 4.

FIG. 2b shows the state at this time. In this case, the reaction force R during the pressing becomes the maximum value of the reaction force felt by the finger, but due to the action of the damper member 8, neither the reaction force R nor the acceleration α can ever reach a value close to infinity.

Here, when the operator changes the pressing force,
For example, if the pressing force is changed to increase, the upper side of the damper member 8 will be further compressed by the weight member 7, and the accumulation of energy will increase, so the reaction force R
The weight also increases, resulting in a heavier key touch.
Conversely, if you change the pressing force in a direction that weakens it, only the weight member 7 will try to move with the energy of the damper member 8, but the reaction will be applied to the key 4 itself, so the key 4 as a whole will be affected by the movement of your finger. Follow.

As the pressing further progresses, the energy of the damper member 8 and the reaction force R due to the inertia of the weight member 7 remain balanced unless the pressing force of the finger is changed, so that a sufficient operational feeling can be obtained. FIG. 2c shows the state at this time.

Next, when the key 4 descends to its maximum stroke and stops at the lowest position as shown in FIG. 2d, the key 4 itself stops at that position, but the weight member 7 continues to move further downward due to inertia. Therefore, the acceleration α of the weight member 7 takes only a very small value.

Further, although the key 4 body has a relatively large finite acceleration, its mass is small, so the force F represented by F=mα does not take a very large value, and therefore the reaction force R is also small.

In addition, if the weight member 7 continues to move downward and stores energy by compressing the lower side of the damper member 8, this energy causes the main body of the key 4 to also move downward, albeit slightly. The reaction force R felt becomes even smaller.

Inside the key 4 that has stopped at the lowest position in this way, the weight member 7 compresses the lower side of the damper member 8 and stops while storing energy, and then reversely attempts to move upward by releasing energy. Therefore, the fingers can feel the reaction force.

Further, the subsequent movement of the weight member 7 attempts to repeat vertical movement (vibration) inside the damper member 8, but the damper action of the damper member 8 quickly attenuates the vibration, and the action of removing the finger from the key 4 It causes almost no hindrance.

The relationship between the dynamic load (reaction force: touch feeling) and time during the pressing operation of the key of the above-mentioned embodiment is shown by the solid line in Fig. 4, and compared to the conventional key (simply increased mass The reaction force at the initial and final stages of pressing (lowest position) is smaller than that of other materials, and it is possible to obtain an ideal touch feeling that is in close contact with the structure of the finger. Moreover, since excessive reaction force is not generated, there is less pain in fingers, joints, etc., and operation can be performed for a long time.

Also, when the key returns to the highest position and stops,
Since the weight member 7 continues to move up and down for a short time while receiving a damper effect within the damper member 8, the reaction force becomes small, the amount of bounce of the key 4 can be reduced, and the return to the initial position is accelerated. be able to.

In this case, if the natural frequencies of the key 4 body and the weight member 7 are made different, they will interfere with each other and the key 4
This prevents the keys from bouncing, making it possible to return to the initial position even more quickly and providing a good touch feeling when repeatedly operating the same key.

Note that it is possible to change the touch feeling by selecting materials for the weight member 7 and damper member 8 and adjusting the thickness of the portions of the damper member 8 located above and below the weight member 7.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention, in which a shows an example in which a viscous fluid 20 such as grease or oil is used as a damper member, and b shows a weight member with a total of four coil springs 21, one pair at the top and the bottom. 7 is elastically supported, c is an example where the weight member 7 is supported by a pair of leaf springs 22, d is a damper member 2 made of rubber, foam, etc.
An example in which metal powder 24 as a weight member is mixed in 3,
And e is an example using a suspension of viscous fluid 20 and metal powder 24.

Note that even if a metal powder having an appropriate mass is used as the weight member, the total weight of the metal powder stored inside the key 4 will be the same as the optimal mass of the weight member 7, although the weight of each particle is small. If such an amount is mixed into the damper member, it will sufficiently function as a weight member.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3e, when the viscous fluid 20 is used as the damper member, the weight member 7 or the metal powder 24, which has a higher specific gravity, will sink to the bottom when the key 4 is at rest. ,
At the initial stage of pressing, the weight member 7 or the metal powder 24
The key 4 is pressed while receiving the damping action of the viscous fluid 20.
There is no problem since the reaction force can be reduced by being relatively displaced in the direction of floating from the lower surface of the press, and in the direction of sinking at the end of the pressing.

Other variations include the combination of FIGS. 3a and 3b, ie, the viscous fluid 20 and the coil spring 2
Various changes are possible, such as using 1 and 1 together to provide a damper effect, or combining a and e.

Furthermore, in the configuration of d in the same figure, the metal powder 2
It is possible to injection mold the damper member 23 made of rubber or the like containing the weight member 7 into the key 4, or after insert molding the weight member 7 in rubber or the like, the main body of the key 4 may be multi-molded to form an integral structure. .

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the keys of the keyboard according to the present invention have a weight member disposed therein through a member capable of exerting a damper effect, so that the keys are tightly attached to the fingers and when pressed by the fingers. Energy can be converted into the kinetic energy of the keys most efficiently, improving the touch feel when pressing keys, and eliminating excessive reaction force at the beginning and end of pressing, which reduces the pressure on the fingers and joints of the operator. There is almost no pain in the keys, and it is possible to operate the keys for a long time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the key according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the pressing operation and effect, where a is the initial pressing, b is mid-pressing, c is the late pressing, and d is a diagram for explaining the pressing operation and effect. is stopped at the lowest position, Figure 3a~
e is a sectional view of a key showing another embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 4 is a relationship between dynamic load (touch feeling) and time during pressing operation of the key of this invention and a conventional key with simply increased mass. It is a line diagram which compares and shows. 1...Keyboard, 2...Key lever, 4...
Key, 5... Push switch, 6... Compression coil spring, 7... Weight member, 8... Damper member, 2
0...Viscous fluid, 21...Coil spring, 22...
Leaf spring, 23... Damper member, 24... Metal powder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A weight member is disposed inside a key attached to a key lever that is vertically movable and has an upward return habit, via a member that can exert a damper effect. keyboard keys. 2. The keyboard key according to claim 1, wherein the member capable of exhibiting a damper effect is a molded product of natural or synthetic rubber. 3. The keyboard key according to claim 1, wherein the member capable of exhibiting a damper effect is a foamed resin. 4. The keyboard key according to claim 1, wherein the member capable of exerting a damper effect is a spring. 5. The keyboard key according to claim 1, wherein the member capable of exerting a damper effect is a viscous fluid.