JPH09190252A - Flexible lighting-type key - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily conduct assembly by only previously purchasing a key pad incorporating a key top from a maker. SOLUTION: A key top supporting part 1d is formed on the key pad 1 having an operation part made of the rubber of translucent silicon rubber, EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Dien Rubber) and the like or made of translucent elastomer. The translucent key top 2 made of synthetic resin where a flange part 2a is provide at a lower part and the pattern printing layer 2b of a character, a mark and a graphic is formed at the back is loaded on the key top supporting part 1d. A film 3 where a key top through hole is piercingly provided so that a part of the key top 2 protrudes is laid and fixed on the key pad 1 and the key top 2 is held.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention can be used as an illuminated key for various mobile communications such as a mobile phone or a car phone, or as an electronic keypad or other terminal illuminated key for use at night or in a dark place. The present invention relates to a flexible illuminated key which is convenient and easy to assemble.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional illuminated key of this type is a plate-shaped non-operating portion obtained by molding a translucent silicone rubber,
A key pad is formed by integrally molding an operating portion including a key top supporting portion that is connected to the non-operating portion and is supported by a skirt portion that rises obliquely upward from the lower portion of the plate thickness of the non-operating portion. Was there. In order to incorporate a resin-made key top into this key pad, the key top was adhered and fixed on the key top supporting portion via an adhesive. The key top is made of a light-transmissive hard synthetic resin having a collar portion on the bottom and a pattern printing layer of characters, symbols, figures, etc. formed on the back surface.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned conventional illuminated key.
Key on each corresponding keytop support of the keypad.
Since there is a work process for adhering and fixing the top, the number of adhering processes increases, which not only takes time but also increases cost. In addition, the user has to assemble the key tops in the key pad, and since the disassembled key tops are fixed on the corresponding key top supporting portions through the adhesive, the assembling work is difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention that there is no need to fix a key top to a key pad through an adhesive, and a user can use the key.
It is not necessary to assemble the key top on the pad one by one, all you have to do is to purchase the key pad that has the key top built in from the manufacturer beforehand, and the key top is made of film until the user assembles it. The key top can be held on the key pad, and the key top can be held by the frame after the assembly is completed, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible illuminated key for simplifying the assembly.

[0005]

A flexible illuminated key according to the present invention comprises an actuating portion and a non-actuating portion made of translucent silicone rubber, EPDM or other rubber or translucent elastomer. A key pad is installed, and a key top supporting portion for mounting the key top is formed at an operating portion on the key pad, and a collar portion is provided on a lower portion and letters, symbols, and
The translucent synthetic resin keytop on which a pattern printing layer such as a figure is formed is placed on the keytop supporting portion, and a keytop through hole is formed so that a part of the keytop is projected. Is laid and fixed on the upper surface of the key pad, and the key top is held by the film.

A flexible illuminated key according to the present invention
Has a thickness of 25 when the film is made of rubber.
The thickness is 0 μm to 500 μm, the thickness of the resin material is 25 μm to 125 μm, and the thickness of the metal material is 50 μm to 500 μm.

Further, the flexible illuminated key according to the present invention has a backside of a film as means for laying and fixing a film having a keytop through hole so that a part of the keytop is projected on the upper surface of the keypad. An adhesive or an adhesive is applied to and fixed on.

The flexible illuminated key according to the present invention is a key for laying and fixing a film having a key-top through hole so that a part of the key-top is projected on the upper surface of the key pad. The boss formed on the upper surface of the pad is tightly fitted into the fitting hole formed on the film, and the escape hole is formed on the back surface of the corresponding portion of the key pad on which the boss is formed.

A flexible illuminated key according to the present invention
The above-mentioned film used in 1. has a non-translucent coating layer formed on the surface thereof and a white or other light reflecting layer formed on the back surface thereof. Further, the film used in the flexible illuminated key according to the present invention is one in which a light-reflecting layer having conductivity such as a metal vapor deposition film such as aluminum vapor deposition is formed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of a resin film such as a PET film. Is.

[0010]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a translucent keypad, which is translucent silicone rubber or ethylene propylene rubber (EP
M), various synthetic rubbers such as ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM), or various thermoplastic elastomers such as vinyl chloride elastomer, polyolefin elastomer, polystyrene-polybutadiene copolymer thermoplastic elastomer, ethylene vinyl acetate elastomer, etc. It is integrally formed of a material and is composed of a plate-shaped operating portion 1a and a non-operating portion 1b. As shown in FIG. 1, the actuating portion 1a is a key that is integrally supported by a thin skirt portion 1c that rises obliquely upward from the lower side surface of the non-actuating portion 1b and an upper portion of the skirt portion 1c.
In addition to the case of the top support portion 1d, as shown in FIG. 2, without forming the skirt portion, the key top support portion 1d extending horizontally from the plate thickness side surface of the non-operation portion 1b is formed. The structure is not limited to the above structure as long as it can support the key top 2. If the skirt portion 1c is provided, this skirt portion 1c
Will perform a click operation. The operating portion 1a is a movable contact located above a position corresponding to a fixed contact (not shown) on a substrate (not shown), and a conductive contact member is formed on the back surface, or The structure is such that it can be moved via a dome switch (not shown).

A key top 2 is placed on a key top supporting portion 1d. The key top 2 has a collar portion 2a at a lower portion thereof and a pattern printing layer 2b of characters, symbols, figures and the like on a back surface thereof. It is made of translucent hard synthetic resin. The flange portion 2a is formed such that the upper surface thereof is located substantially flush with the non-actuating portion 1b. The pattern printing layer 2b has a so-called positive shape in which only characters or the like are printed, or a so-called negative shape in which the characters or the like is punched out and the other portions are colored. Good.

Reference numeral 3 is a film laid on the upper surface of the key pad 1, and a key top through hole 3a is formed so that a part of the key top 2 projects upward. Key top through hole 3a
Is a hole of a size that fits into the base portion of the key top 2 and is locked to the flange portion 2a. It is important that the key top 2 does not come out of the key top through hole 3a. is there.
Further, since the film 3 plays a role of holding the key top 2 so as not to come out of the key top supporting portion 1d which is the operating portion 1a of the key pad 1, the film 3 itself requires a certain amount of waist strength. For this reason, a certain amount of thickness is required, and if it is too thick, it becomes bulky, which violates the demand for compactness. Therefore, when the film 3 is a rubber material, the thickness is 250 μm to 50 μm.
The thickness is preferably 0 μm, the thickness of the resin material is preferably 25 μm to 125 μm, and the thickness of the metal material is required to be 50 μm to 500 μm.

The material of the film 3 is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC).
Various resins such as
Rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NB
R), NBR / PVC Blends, NBR / EPD
Various rubber materials such as M Blends and ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM) are used, and various metal materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, and galvanized steel sheet are used as the metal material. Further, as one of means for laying and fixing the film 3 having the key top through hole 3a so that a part of the key top 2 is projected upward, an adhesive or a pressure sensitive adhesive is provided on the back surface of the film 3. Adhesive 4 is applied and fixed.

Further, in the flexible illuminated key according to the present invention, a film 3 having a key top through hole 3a so that a part of the key top 2 projects upward is laid and fixed on the upper surface of the key pad 1. As another means to do so, a boss 5 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the key pad 1 in advance using the same material, and the boss 5 is tightly fitted into a boss fitting hole 3b previously formed in the film 3. Also, the key pad 1 with the boss 5 formed
An escape hole 6 is formed on the back surface of the corresponding portion. After the user uses the frame and case 7 to assemble the frame and case 7, the key top 2 is attached by the frame and case 7.
Can be securely and firmly held, and at the same time, the boss 5
Is pushed by the frame and case 7 and moved to the side of the escape hole 6 so that the upper surface of the boss 5 coincides with the upper surface of the film 3.

A flexible illuminated key according to the present invention.
The film 3 used in 1. has a non-translucent coating layer 3c on its surface.
Can be formed into a so-called negative film having a white or other light-reflecting layer 3d formed on the back surface, and the film 3 itself can be a transparent or black colored film or a so-called positive film such as a white film. May be A non-translucent coating layer 3c for blocking light is formed on the front surface of the film 3 by black printing or the like so as to prevent the internal light from leaking to the outside. By forming the reflective layer 3d, the film 3 itself plays a role of holding the key top 2, and when used as an illuminated key, the reflection efficiency is increased, the brightness is increased and the number of light sources is reduced. be able to. The film 3 used in the flexible illuminated key according to the present invention has a light-reflecting layer having conductivity such as a metal vapor deposition film such as aluminum vapor deposition formed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of a resin film such as a PET film. By connecting the vapor-deposited metal film to the ground, the film 3 itself plays a role of holding the key top 2, and when used as an illuminated key, the reflection efficiency is increased, the brightness is increased and the number of light sources is increased. In addition to being able to reduce the number, even if the fingertip of the person who strikes the key is charged with high-voltage static electricity, the printed wiring etc. will be electrostatically destroyed (ES
D) does not occur, and the wiring and the like in the terminal device are not affected by external electromagnetic radiation (EMI), and stable and good electrical characteristics can be obtained.

[0016]

As can be seen from the above description, the flexible illuminated key according to the present invention is a translucent silicone rubber,
A key top is provided in which a key pad consisting of an operating portion and a non-operating portion made of EPDM or other rubber or translucent elastomer is installed, and the key top is placed at the operating portion on the key pad. The key top made of a translucent synthetic resin, which has a support part formed on the bottom and a pattern printing layer of characters, symbols, figures, etc. on the back side, is mounted on the key top support part. Since the film is placed on the upper surface of the key pad and the key top is bored so that a part of the key top projects, the key top is held by the film. , It is not necessary to fix the key top to the key pad via an adhesive. In addition, the user does not need to incorporate the key top into the key pad, only purchasing the key pad incorporating the key top from the manufacturer in advance, and the user can assemble the assembly. The key top can be held on the key pad with a film until it is done, and the key top can be held with the frame after the assembly is completed, and the user can realize the simplification of the assembly. it can.

The flexible illuminated key according to the present invention.
Has a thickness of 25 when the film is made of rubber.
The thickness is 0 μm to 500 μm, the thickness is 25 μm to 125 μm in the case of a resin material, and the thickness is 50 μm to 500 μm in the case of a metal material. Can be sufficiently held, and since the film itself is not too thick, it does not become bulky and can satisfy the demand for compactness.

The flexible illuminated key according to the present invention further comprises a back surface of the film as means for laying and fixing a film having a key top through hole so that a part of the key top is projected on the upper surface of the key pad. Since the adhesive or the adhesive is applied and fixed to the above, it can be easily fixed without increasing the bulk as a whole.

The flexible illuminated key according to the present invention is used as a means for laying and fixing a film having a key top through hole so that a part of the key top is projected on the upper surface of the key pad. Since the boss formed on the upper surface of the pad is tightly fitted in the fitting hole formed on the film, and the escape hole is formed on the back surface of the corresponding portion of the key pad on which the boss is formed, the film is securely fixed, The boss is pushed by the frame and the case during assembly and moves to the escape hole side, and the upper surface of the boss is also flush with the upper surface of the film, so that the boss can be made compact without being bulky.

The flexible illuminated key according to the present invention
The above-mentioned film used in 1. forms a non-translucent coating layer on its surface and forms a white or other light-reflecting layer on the back surface so that the film itself has a function of holding a key top, and an illuminated key. When used as −, the reflection efficiency can be increased, the brightness can be increased, and the number of light sources can be reduced. Furthermore, the film used in the flexible illuminated key according to the present invention has a light-reflecting layer having conductivity such as aluminum vapor deposition on at least one surface of the resin film,
In order to prevent electrostatic damage to the printed wiring, etc. due to the static electricity accumulated in the finger of the person who hits the key, the static electricity is grounded through the conductive light-reflecting layer with ESD resistance. In addition, it is possible to effectively shield the external radio wave radiation and to make the electric characteristics good and stable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic enlarged sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1 before assembly.

FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 key pad 1a operating part 1b non-operating part 1c skirt part 1d key top support part 2 key top 2a collar part 2b pattern printing layer 3 film 3a key top through hole 3b fitting hole 3c non-permeable Optical coating layer 3d Light reflection layer 4 Adhesive or adhesive 5 Boss 6 Escape hole 7 Frame, case

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A key pad comprising an operating part and a non-operating part made of translucent silicone rubber, EPDM or other rubber or translucent elastomer is provided, and the operating part on the key pad is provided. A key top support portion for mounting a key top is formed at a position, and a collar portion is formed on the lower portion, and a pattern printing layer of characters, symbols, figures, etc. is formed on the back surface, which is made of a transparent synthetic resin. The key top is placed on the key top supporting portion, and a film having key top through holes formed so that a part of the key top is projected is laid and fixed on the upper surface of the key pad, and the key top is fixed. A flexible illuminated key, characterized in that the top is held by the film. 2. The thickness of the film made of a rubber material is 250 μm to 500 μm, the thickness of a resin material is 25 μm to 125 μm, and the thickness of the metal material is 50 μm to 500 μm. The flexible illuminated key according to claim 1, wherein 3. An adhesive or an adhesive is applied to the back surface of the film as a means for laying and fixing a film having key top through holes so that a part of the key top is projected so as to be laid and fixed on the upper surface of the key pad. The flexible illuminated key according to claim 1 or 2, which is fixed. 4. A boss formed on the upper surface of the key pad is attached to the film as a means for laying and fixing the film having the key top through hole so that a part of the key top is projected on the upper surface of the key pad. The flexible illuminated key according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the formed fitting hole is tightly fitted and an escape hole is formed on a back surface of a corresponding portion of the key pad having the boss. 5. The flexible illumination according to claim 1, wherein the film has a non-translucent coating layer formed on the surface thereof and a white or other light reflecting layer formed on the back surface thereof. Expression key. 6. The film according to claim 1, wherein a conductive light reflecting layer such as a metal vapor deposition film such as aluminum vapor deposition is formed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of a resin film such as a PET film. Flexible illuminated key according to item 3, 4 or 5.