CN1326171C - Keyboard devices - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a keyboard device. It can make the installation of the key top easy and reduce the number of installation steps. It forms a base frame (11) made of metal by processing slip ring supports (14, 15) and slip ring pedestals (16, 17) on a metal plate. A stopper portion (17a) is formed on the outer side of a slip ring base (17) that bends upward to support a sliding slip ring (13). When installing the X slip ring (12) and Y slip ring (13) on the metal base frame, put the upper end of the Y slip ring (13) on the slip ring pedestal (17), and the stop part (17a ) is positioned at the specified position (b). The slip ring support (19, 20) on the top of the key is located at the position (a) of the upper end of the X slip ring and the position (b) of the upper end of the Y slip ring, and the key top can be installed by pressing the key top to the slip ring , No need to adjust the position of the Y slip ring, improving the installation performance.

Description

keyboard device

technical field

The present invention relates to a keyboard device used in computers and the like, and more particularly to a keyboard device aimed at improving installation performance.

Background technique

There are many types of operating mechanisms for keyboard devices. For portable information terminals such as notebook personal computers or PDAs, etc., which require small and light weight, as a keyboard device with a thin structure, it is known that a key top supported by a slip ring mechanism is suitable for this field. Structure. The structure of this keyboard device is that the key frame and the key top as the support base of the key top are connected by a plurality of slip rings, the key top is supported by a cup-shaped rubber contact or a spring, and the key top is moved up and down in parallel by a slip ring mechanism ( For example, Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-31067, FIG. 1; Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-203449, FIG. 1, FIG. 7). The slip ring is fitted with the support on the top of the key and the support of the key frame. The holes of all the supports of the key frame or other supports except one group are long holes, and the lower end of the slip ring passes through the long holes. Sliding allows the top of the key to drop.

When installing the key top, first install the slip ring on the support of the key frame, press the lower open support set under the key top to the slip ring, make the slip ring and the support fit together, and assemble the key top . However, in the operation of installing the key top, because the slip ring can slide freely for the key frame, there is a problem that the positional relationship between the support of the key top and a plurality of slip rings is inconsistent and cannot be installed.

Figure 5 shows an example of a key frame, the key frame 1 is an injection-molded resin component, and adopts the form of two sets of slip ring supports 2, 3 orthogonally arranged (hereinafter referred to as two sets of slip ring supports and slip ring respectively It is X slip ring support 2 and Y slip ring support 3, X slip ring 4 and Y slip ring 5). Inside the top of the key (not shown in the figure), the X slip ring support and the Y slip ring support of the bottom open to fit the X slip ring 4 and the Y slip ring 5 are set, and the X slip ring support and the Y slip ring support on the key top The position of the slip ring support is at points a and b in Fig. 5, and the X slip ring 4 and the The Y slip ring 5 is consistent with the positional relationship between the X slip ring support and the Y slip ring support on the top of the key.

In this state, make the direction of the top of the key the same as that of the X slip ring 4 and Y slip ring 5, and press the X slip ring 4 and Y slip ring 5 from above, the X slip ring 4 and the X slip ring on the top of the key will Support fitting, Y slip ring 5 and the Y slip ring support fitting at the top of the key can fix the top of the key. However, because the Y slip ring 5 can slide freely, there is a situation where the Y slip ring 5 deviates from the position of point b in the figure as shown in Figure 6, so that when the Y slip ring 5 is not at the predetermined point b, even if the key top is turned downward Press, the Y slip ring support on the top of the key and the Y slip ring 5 are also inconsistent, and as a result, the top of the key cannot be installed. Therefore, in this case, the Y slip ring 5 must be slid to point b as shown in Figure 5 by manual operation, which has the disadvantage of labor-intensive and time-consuming installation of the key top.

Contents of the invention

The present invention is proposed in order to realize easy installation of the key top and reduce the number of installation procedures. Its purpose is to provide a keyboard device, which supports the key top on the key frame through a plurality of slip rings. By making the key frame The hole of the slip ring support is used as a long hole, so that the slip ring can slide freely, and the top of the key can be lifted and lowered freely. The lowest position of the slip ring contacts the stopper, and the position of the upper end of the slip ring coincides with the position of the slip ring support hole at the top of the key.

In addition, the above-mentioned stop of the keyboard device is an inclined surface, and the slip ring falling on the above-mentioned key frame falls along the inclined surface of the stop due to its own weight, and automatically matches the specified position.

In addition, the slip ring support and the above-mentioned stopper are processed by sheet metal to form a metal base frame of the keyboard device.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a metal base frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a state where a slip ring is attached to a metal base frame.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along line A-A of Fig. 2 showing a key top mounting step.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of Fig. 2 showing the mounted keyboard device.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing a key frame to which a slip ring is attached according to a conventional example.

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a key frame to which a slip ring is attached according to a conventional example.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a plan view of a metal base frame 11 of a keyboard device, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a state where an X slip ring 12 and a Y slip ring 13 are attached to the metal base frame 11 . The base frame 11 made of metal is a substrate in which an X slip ring holder 14 and a Y slip ring holder 15 perpendicular thereto are formed by sheet metal processing on a metal plate such as an iron plate. The X slip ring 12 is installed on the X slip ring support 14, and the Y slip ring 13 is installed on the Y slip ring support 15.

The X slip ring support 14 and the Y slip ring support 15 are formed by drilling and punching and bending. The holes of the X slip ring support 14 arranged in the left and right directions are round holes when viewed from the front, and the Y slip ring support 14 arranged in the front and rear direction is a round hole. The hole of the ring support 15 is a long hole. When the top of the key that fits the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13 is raised and lowered, the X slip ring 12 that fits the X slip ring support 14 follows the circle of the X slip ring support 14. The hole is the center of rotation, and the fulcrum of the Y slip ring 13 fitted on the Y slip ring support 15 moves horizontally in the long hole of the Y slip ring support 15 as the top of the key moves up and down. 11 Maintain an almost parallel posture for lifting.

The X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13 shown in FIG. 2 are bent into a gate shape with thin round metal wires, which can reduce the cost compared with the resin injection molding slip rings used in the prior art. On the base frame 11 made of metal, an X slip ring pedestal 16 and a Y slip ring pedestal 17 are arranged at positions corresponding to the central parts of the front ends of the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13, so that the X slip ring support 14 and the Y slip ring support 14 and the Y slip ring The front ends of the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13 mounted on the ring support 15 are placed on the X slip ring pedestal 16 and the Y slip ring pedestal 17 respectively, and are slightly lifted from the metal base frame 11 . The reason for this is because the bottom open bearing of the key top can be fitted with the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13 when the key top is pressed from the top to the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13.

The Y slip ring pedestal 17 is formed by punching and bending, and the outer edge is bent upwards as a stopper 17a. The Y slip ring 13 placed on the Y slip ring pedestal 17 can be positioned at a predetermined position by the stopper 17a. . That is to say, if the Y slip ring 13 is installed on the metal base frame 11 and the Y slip ring 13 is laid flat, the upper end of the Y slip ring 13 is placed on the Y slip ring pedestal 17 as shown in FIG. The upper end of the ring 13 is regulated to the position of point b by the stopper 17a, and the lower fulcrum of the Y slip ring 13 is located at the outer end of the long hole of the Y slip ring support 15. In addition, because the stopper portion 17a is an inclined surface, when the Y slip ring 13 falls to the Y slip ring base 17 in the state of sliding to the right in the figure, the upper end portion descends along the inclined surface, automatically matching the position of point b.

In this way, because the Y slip ring 13 is positioned at a predetermined position when the Y slip ring 13 is mounted on the metal base frame 11 supporting the key top 18, the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13 are set corresponding to the key top 18. The positional relationship between the X slip ring support 19 and the Y slip ring support 20 is therefore different from the prior art, and there is no need to adjust the position of the slip ring when installing the key top. Also, 21 is a film substrate, and 22 is a rubber contact.

When installing the keyboard device, at first place a thin film substrate (not shown) on the metal base frame 11 shown in Fig. 1, as shown in Fig. Install X slip ring 12 and Y slip ring 13 respectively. Further, in the central portion surrounded by the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13, the key joints of the film substrate 21 and the rubber joints 22 are placed.

On the key top 18 made of resin shown in FIG. The direction of the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13 coincide. If the X slip ring 12 and the Y slip ring 13 are pressed from above, the X slip ring 12 is fitted with the X slip ring support 19 of the key top 18, and the Y slip ring 13 fits with the Y slip ring support 20 of the key top 18 to fix the key top 18. After the key top is fixed, if the key top 18 is released from pressing, the key top 18 rises vertically due to the restoring force of the rubber contact, and becomes the initial state shown in FIG. 4 .

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the structure which combined two slip rings in the X-Y direction was shown as an example, but it is not limited to this, The mechanism which arranges two slip rings in parallel is also possible. In addition, various modifications can be made within the technical scope of the present invention, and the present invention naturally includes variations thereof.

As mentioned above, in the keyboard device of the present invention, when a plurality of slip rings constituting the key top elevating mechanism are installed to the base frame, because the positional relationship of the upper ends of the plurality of slip rings fitted to the key top is set so as to be located on the key. Since the positional relationship of the plurality of slip ring holder holes on the top is consistent, it is not necessary to adjust the position of the slip ring when installing the key top, and the installation performance can be improved. In addition, when the user removes the key top during use, it can be easily installed, saving man-hours required for repair.

In addition, if the metal base frame of the keyboard device is formed by sheet metal processing of the slip ring support and the stopper, the conventional resin key frame can be omitted, and an inexpensive and thin keyboard device can be provided.

Claims (3)

1. key board unit, it utilizes a plurality of slip rings that the key top is supported on the key frame, the hole of the slip ring bearing by making the key frame makes slotted hole, slip ring is free to slide, can make key top free lifting, it is characterized in that, on the key frame, erect the stop that the slip ring that is free to slide is positioned is set, thereby form the position consistency of the slip ring bearing hole at the position of the upper end that makes slip ring contact, make slip ring with stop in the extreme lower position of slip ring and key top.

2. key board unit as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that described stop is the inclined plane, swing on the described key frame slip ring since deadweight descend along the inclined plane of stop and automatically coincide to the precalculated position.

3. key board unit as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, by sheet metal processing slip ring bearing and described stop, forms the metal base frame of key board unit on metallic plate.

Images