JP2002216575A - Keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyboard having a shielding member, which prevents fluid from soaking into a contact part of a membrane switch when someone mistakenly spills the fluid, such as water, on the key switch. SOLUTION: The keyboard comprise a plurality of key tops 1 held on a board 7 so that the key tops are free to move up and down, elastic members 9 applying an upward force to the key tops 1, first and second levers 4, 5 holding the key tops 1 against the board 7 in the way the key tops are free to move up and down, and a membrane sheet 8 having contact part for performing on-and-off switching in response to the up-and-down move of the key tops 1. The shielding member 11 shields the upper part of plurality of key tops, and the space 10 formed between the membrane sheet 8 and the key tops 1, so that, if the fluid, such as a drop, is spilled on the upper part of the key switch K, the shielding member 11 shuts out the fluid in a waterproofing manner. Therefore, the fluid is prevented from soaking into the contact of the membrane sheet 8 and a high-quality keyboard, free from contact failure and the like, can be provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a keyboard device, and more particularly to a keyboard device suitable for use as various input devices such as a personal computer and a word processor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a key switch used in a keyboard device which is strongly demanded to be thin, a lower end portion of a pair of lever members linked in a cross shape is held on a substrate. Various proposals have been made in which the upper end of the member is supported by a key top, and the angle at which the link of the pair of lever members intersects changes as the key top moves up and down.

For example, one lever member whose upper end portion is rotatably engaged with the back surface of the key top and another lever member whose upper end portion is slidably engaged with the back surface of the key top are connected to each other. A key switch is disclosed in which a link is integrated at a crossing portion of the key and integrated, and the integrated pair of lever members guides the elevating operation of the key top. In this type of key switch, when an operator presses a key top, a pair of lever members are tilted and folded,
When the keytop is lowered by a predetermined amount, an elastic member such as a rubber spring is pressed by the keytop and deformed, and a contact of a switch circuit on the substrate is switched to be turned on.

When the pressing operation force on the key top is released in this switch ON state, the deformed elastic member returns to its original shape by its own elastic force, and the contact of the contact portion formed on the substrate is switched. With the switch turned off, the keytop is pushed up to the initial position while the pair of tilted lever members is raised.
As described above, by adopting the configuration in which the key top is supported by the pair of lever members so as to be able to move up and down, better operability is achieved as compared with the conventional general key switch in which the key stem slides along the guide wall. There is an advantage that the height dimension of the switch can be significantly reduced and the size of the switch can be significantly reduced. A conventional keyboard device is configured by arranging the key switches as described above in a plurality of rows.

[0005]

However, in this type of conventional keyboard device, when a desired key top is pressed and input, the adjacent key tops do not touch each other so as to prevent contact between adjacent key tops. Is formed with a predetermined gap. For this reason, if the operator accidentally spills liquid such as water from above the key top while operating the key switch, this liquid will enter the contact points of the membrane switch, causing the membrane switch to have poor contact, resulting in incorrect input. Or there was a risk that input could not be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is intended to prevent a liquid such as water from spilling from above a key switch from entering a contact portion on a substrate. It is an object to provide a keyboard device having a member.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a keyboard device comprising: a plurality of key tops which are held on a substrate so as to be movable up and down; An elastic member for urging, and first and second levers for holding the key top so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the substrate, wherein a contact portion for performing a switching operation with the elevation of the key top is provided on the substrate. The top of the plurality of key tops and a gap between the key tops and the substrate are shielded by a shielding member.

As a second means for solving the above problems, the shielding member is formed in a film shape, is flexible, and has a shielding portion for shielding the gap.
The lower end of the shield was mounted on the substrate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the shielding member includes a bending inducing portion formed in the shielding portion, and the key top is pressed down to the substrate side. The shielding part is configured to be folded from the bending inducing part to the gap so as to be housed.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A keyboard device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a key switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 illustrates operation of the key switch of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a key switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

First, the key switch K1 used in the keyboard device according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a key top 1 made of a synthetic resin as shown in FIG. Operation surface 1 having not shown)
a is gently curved. Further, on the lower surface of the key top 1, a rotation support portion 2 and a slide support portion 3 as support portions are formed so as to protrude downward. The rotation support portion 2 is provided with a support hole 2a that is open at the bottom, and the slide support portion 3 is formed with a horizontally elongated rectangular slide support hole 3a.

A first lever 4 is slidably engaged with the sliding engagement hole 3a. The first lever 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of arms 4a facing each other at a predetermined interval and a connecting portion 4b connecting one side of the pair of arms 4a on the right side in the drawing are formed, and the planar shape is substantially U.
It is shaped like a letter. A pair of arm portions 4a are formed with support pins 4c projecting vertically outward from one end on the right side in the drawing, and support protrusions 4d are formed outward on the other end on the left side in the drawing. Each is formed to protrude. Also,
Shaft holes 4e are formed in the pair of arm portions 4a near the center in the longitudinal direction on the inner surfaces facing each other.

A second support hole 2a of the rotation support portion 2 has a second
The lever 5 is rotatably engaged with the second lever 5.
As shown in FIG. 2, the base 5a is formed in a substantially rectangular shape.
A hole 5b through which an elastic member 9 to be described later can be inserted is formed at a substantially central portion of the base 5a. Also, the base 5
A pair of engaging pins 5c are formed at one end of the right side of FIG. 3a so as to protrude outward in the vertical direction. Axis 5
d is formed to protrude. A pair of arms 5e facing each other are formed at a predetermined interval on the other side of the base 5a on the left side in the drawing, and a pair of inwardly projecting protrusions are formed at the left ends of the arms 5e in the drawing. A support protrusion 5f is provided.

The first and second levers 4 and 5 are arranged such that the base 5a of the second lever 5 is located inside the pair of arms 4a of the first lever 4, and the first and second levers 4 and 5 are attached to the shaft 5d of the base 5a. Lever 4
By assembling the shaft hole 4e of the arm portion 4a, the arm portion 4a is assembled so as to intersect in an X shape in a side view as shown in FIG.
And a shaft hole 4e.

A substrate 7 made of a metal plate also serving as a chassis, for example, is disposed below the key top 1 and opposed to each other, as shown in FIG. A pair of first slit grooves 7a extending in the left-right direction
As shown in FIG. 1, a portion sandwiched between the pair of first slit grooves 7a has a sliding engagement portion 7b protruding upward, and the sliding engagement portion 7b is provided with a second lever. A sliding support groove 7c is formed in which the five support protrusions 5f can be slidably engaged.

The substrate 7 has a pair of second slit grooves 7d on one side of the side opposite to the side where the first slit grooves 7a are formed, where the engaging pin 4c of the first lever 4 is located. Are formed in two sets. As shown in FIG. 1, the two sets of rotation support portions 7e protrude upward from the pair of second slit grooves 7d to form a rotation support groove 7f. The support pin 4c of the first lever 4 is rotatably engageable with the movement support portion 7f.

The shaft hole 4e and the shaft 5d, which are the intersections 6, are provided.
X-shaped first and second levers 4 and 5 pivotally support the support pin 4c on the right side in the drawing of the first lever 4 with the rotation support groove 7f of the substrate 7 and are shown in the drawing. The left engaging projection 4d is slidably engaged with the sliding engaging portion 3 of the key top 1, and the right engaging pin 5c of the second lever 5 is turned to the rotating engaging portion 2 of the key top 1. It is movably supported, and is assembled by slidably supporting the supporting protrusion 5f on the left side of the drawing with the sliding supporting portion 7b of the substrate 7. That is, the key top 1 includes the first and second levers 4 and 5.
And is held so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the substrate 7 via the substrate 7.

Further, a membrane sheet 8 is disposed on the substrate 7, and the membrane sheet 8 is laminated with a spacer between an upper sheet and a lower sheet (not shown). Are formed with contact portions, and these contact portions are arranged to face each other with a predetermined gap by the spacer. A rubber spring 9 that elastically urges the key top 1 upward is disposed on the substrate 7 via the membrane sheet 8. The rubber spring 9 is made of an elastically deformable material such as silicone rubber, and has a hollow dome shape with an open lower portion.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rubber spring 9 has an annular bottom portion 9a formed at a lower portion, and the annular bottom portion 9a is fixed to the surface of the membrane sheet 8 with an adhesive or the like. The rubber spring 9 has a thin and dome-shaped elastic wall portion 9b, and a bowl-shaped top portion 9c is formed on the upper portion of the elastic wall portion 9b. A drive projection 9d is provided to protrude downward from the inner ceiling.

The rubber spring 9 attached to the membrane sheet 8 has a dome-shaped elastic wall portion 9b.
The top 9c is inserted into the hole 5b of the lever 5 and the key top 1 is
And is elastically biased upward to the upper position.
When the key top 1 is lowered from the raised position to the lowered position against the elastic force of the rubber spring 9, the driving projection 9d is moved to the upper sheet (not shown) of the membrane sheet 8.
Is pressed, the upper and lower contact portions come into contact with each other to conduct electricity, the contacts are switched, and the switches are turned ON.
A gap 10 having a predetermined dimension is formed between the key top 1 and the substrate 7 with the membrane sheet 8 interposed therebetween. The gap 10 has a maximum dimension when the key top 1 is in the raised position and is lowered from the raised position. And the drive protrusion 9d presses the membrane sheet 8 to turn on the switch.
The minimum size is obtained at the lowering position where it is moved.

A plurality of such key switches K are mounted on the substrate 7 in a line, and a predetermined gap is formed between the adjacent key tops 1 so that the adjacent key tops 1 do not come into contact with each other. ing. Further, in the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a shielding member 11 for shielding the upper part of the key top 1 and the gap 10 is provided. The shielding member 11 is made of a resin material, is formed in a film shape, has flexibility, and has a shielding portion 11a that hangs down from the keytop 1 to the substrate 7 via the lower rubber sheet 8; The upper part of the key top 1 and the gap part 10 are shielded by the shield part 11a.

Further, the lower end 11b of the shielding portion 11a, which hangs down to the surface of the rubber sheet 8 on the substrate 7, is connected to the substrate 7 via the rubber sheet 8 by an adhesive (not shown) or the like.
Attached to the surface. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the shielding portion 11a hanging down from the key top 1 has:
A bending inducing portion 11c is formed in which a substantially central portion is bent inward at an obtuse angle toward the gap 10 side. Such a shielding member 11 is formed by forming a film-shaped member into the same shape as the operation surface 1a of the keytop 1 by vacuum molding or the like, covering the same on the keytop 1, and forming the upper surface of the keytop 1 and the membrane sheet 8 Is fixed with an adhesive or the like. Then, when the key top 1 is lowered to the membrane sheet 8 side, the shielding portion 11a is folded from the bending inducing portion 11c to the gap portion 10 and can be stored in the narrow gap portion 10 as shown in FIG. ing.

In the keyboard device having such a configuration, when the operator presses the operation surface 1a of the key top 1, the key top 1 is lowered from the raised position shown in FIG. 1 to the lowered position shown in FIG. At this time, the first and second levers 4, 5
The operation of (1) is as follows.
Slides in the direction of arrow G in the sliding engagement hole 3a on the left side of FIG.
The support pin 5c of the second lever 5 rotates in the support hole 2a on the right side of the key top 1 in the figure, and the support pin 4c of the first lever 4 rotates in the support groove 7f on the right side of the substrate 7 in the figure. And the supporting protrusion 5f of the second lever 5 slides in the sliding supporting groove 7c on the left side of the substrate 7 in the direction of arrow G.

As a result, the first and second levers 4 and 5 fall with the intersection 6 as a fulcrum, and the key top 1 is guided downward by the first and second levers 4 and 5. Then
The rubber spring 9 is pressed downward by the key top 1, and the elastic wall portion 9b is elastically deformed and buckled to generate a click feeling. Immediately thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the key top 1 is located at the lowered position and approaches the membrane sheet 8, and the driving projection 9d presses the upper sheet (not shown) of the membrane sheet 8 to contact the upper and lower contacts. The parts (not shown) come into contact and conduct, and the switch is turned ON. At this time, the shielding portion 11a of the shielding member 11 is folded and stored in the narrow gap 10 from the bending inducing portion 11d.

When the pressing force applied to the key top 1 is released in this state, the rubber spring 9 returns to the original dome shape by the elastic force of the elastic wall portion 9b, and the key top 1 is pushed upward. Then, the support projection 4b on the key top 1 side of the first lever 4 slides in the sliding support hole 3a in the direction of arrow H, and the support pin 5c of the second lever 5 moves through the support hole 2a. Rotate. At the same time, the support pin 4c of the first lever 4 on the substrate 7 side rotates in the rotation support groove 7f, and
The engaging projection 5f of the lever 5 slides in the direction of the arrow H in the sliding engaging groove 7c.

As a result, the first and second levers 4 and 5 rise up while rotating about the intersection 6 as a fulcrum.
Rises and returns to the initial ascending position. Further, the membrane sheet 8 is switched off when the contact portion of the upper sheet is separated from the contact portion of the lower sheet. Then, the shielding portion 11a housed in the gap portion 10 is pulled by the ascending key top 1 and returns to the initial state shown in FIG. Such a keyboard device according to the first embodiment includes:
Even if an operator accidentally spills water droplets such as coffee on the key switch K, the shielding member 11 can prevent water droplets from flowing into the contact portions of the membrane sort 8 and prevent input errors due to poor contact or the like. can do.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the shielding unit 1
Although the lower end 11b of 1a has been described as being attached to the substrate 7 via the membrane sheet 8, as a second embodiment, as shown in FIG.
a is not extended to the membrane sheet 8 and the lower end 21
b may be floated from the membrane sheet 8. Such a keyboard device does not need to fold the shielding portion 21a even when the key top 1 is lowered, and does not need the bending inducing portion 11c as in the first embodiment, so that the manufacturing of the shielding member 11 is easy. Become.

Further, in the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the description has been given of the case where the membrane sheet 8 is disposed on the substrate 7, but the pair of contacts are insulated from each other on the surface of the substrate 7. A contact portion (not shown) is formed, the tip of the driving projection 9d of the rubber spring 9 above the contact portion is formed flat, and an electrode portion (not shown) is formed at the tip of the flat driving projection 9d. May be done. In the keyboard device having such a configuration, when the key top 1 is pressed and the driving projection 9 d of the rubber spring 9 descends toward the substrate 7, the electrode portion at the tip of the driving projection 9 d comes into contact with a pair of contacts on the substrate 7. The membrane sheet 8 described in the first and second embodiments becomes unnecessary, and the number of components can be reduced.

[0029]

According to the present invention, the upper portions of the plurality of key tops and the gap between the key tops and the substrate are shielded by the shielding member, so that the operator can erroneously remove liquid such as water from above the key switch. Even if it is spilled, it is possible to provide a keyboard device having a high-performance waterproof structure that can prevent a liquid such as water from flowing into the contact portion of the rubber sheet by the shielding member and prevent the contact portion from being in poor contact. .

The shielding member is formed in a film shape and is flexible, and has a shielding portion for shielding the gap.
Since the lower end of the shield is mounted on the substrate, the shield does not move even when the key top is pressed, and the life of the shield can be extended.

Further, the shielding member has a folding inducing portion formed in the shielding portion, and when the key top is pressed down to the substrate side, the shielding portion is folded from the folding inducing portion into the gap and stored. When the keytop is lowered to the substrate side, the shielding part can be stored in the narrow gap,
It is possible to provide a keyboard device that can switch by reliably operating the contact portion on the board, has good operability, and has a waterproof structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a key switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining operation of the key switch of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of a key switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Key top 1a Operation surface 2 Rotation support part 2a Support hole 3 Sliding support part 3a Sliding support hole 4 First lever 4a Arm part 5 Second lever 5a Base 6 Intersection 7 Substrate 7a First slit groove 7d Second slit groove 8 Membrane sheet 9 Rubber spring 9b Elastic wall 10 Void 11 Shielding member 11a Shielding portion 11c Bend inducing portion

Claims (3)

[Claims] A plurality of key tops which are held on a substrate so as to be able to move up and down, an elastic member which urges the key tops upward, and a first which holds the key tops so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the substrate. A second lever, and a contact portion for performing a switching operation in accordance with the elevation of the key top is formed on the substrate, and the plurality of key tops and a gap between the key top and the substrate are formed. The keyboard device is characterized by being shielded by a shielding member. 2. The shielding member is formed in a film shape and is flexible, and has a shielding portion that shields the gap.
2. The keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein a lower end of the shielding portion is mounted on the substrate. 3. The shielding member forms a bending inducing portion in the shielding portion, and when the key top is pressed down to the substrate side, the shielding portion is folded from the bending inducing portion to the gap. 4. The keyboard device according to claim 3, wherein the keyboard device can be stored.