JP2000284857A - Keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyboard which secures sufficient key strokes when used and reduces its thickness when housed. SOLUTION: This keyboard has key tops 18 exposed from a housing, action rods 14 which are connected to the tops 18 and are for abutting on key switches 12 to be turned on, elastic members 13 which lie between the switches 12 and the rods 14 and bias the work rods and key tops upward and a hold member 15 holding many rods 14 in a vertically movable way. In such a case, a plate 17 is arragned on the member 15 in a movable way in the moving direction of the key tips, and the member 15, the rods 14 and the tops 18 are moved in such a direction that the tops 18 are pressed down against the biasing force of the members 13 by pressing down the plate 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard, and more particularly, to a keyboard capable of securing sufficient keystrokes when used and having a reduced thickness when stored.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A keyboard as an input device is provided integrally with a main body of a notebook personal computer, a portable information terminal or the like. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a notebook personal computer in which such a main body and a keyboard are integrated. The notebook computer 33 includes a main body 35 and a lid 36, and a casing 38 of the main body 35 is provided with a keyboard 38.
A liquid crystal display 39 is provided on the lid 36 of the notebook computer 33.
Is equipped.

FIG. 9 is a sectional perspective view of one key portion of a keyboard. The printed circuit board 4 is provided in the housing 37 of the main body 35.
1 are mounted, and the switches 42 are mounted on the printed circuit board 41 by the number of keys. An inverted bowl-shaped rubber cup 43 is placed on the switch 42, and a rectangular guide 44 is mounted on the rubber cup 43, for example.
Is held movably up and down in a holder 45.

The holder 45 holds a large number of guides 44 and has an integral structure as a whole.
8 also serves as the entire frame. A groove is provided in the upper part of the guide 44 protruding from the holder 45, and the engaging projection of the key top 47 fits into this groove.
A conductive rubber contact 48 is attached to the center of the bowl of the rubber cup 43, and when the key top 47 is not pushed down, it is in an ascending position where it does not come into contact with the contact of the switch 42.

FIG. 10 is a sectional perspective view showing a state in which the key top 47 is depressed. When the key top 47 is pressed down, the guide 44 is also pressed down along the hole of the holder 45, the bowl portion of the rubber cup 43 is crushed, and the conductive rubber contact 48 comes into contact with the contact of the switch 42 and is pressed. The key is switched on.

[0006]

By the way, in the keyboard of the above-mentioned notebook personal computer, when the height of the rubber cup 43 is increased, a large key stroke can be secured, and the operation feeling of the key can be improved and the comfort can be improved. Can be operated. However, if the keystroke is increased, the height of the rubber cup is increased, and accordingly,
The keyboard will be thicker. In recent years, notebook computers, portable information terminals, and the like have been made thinner, and accordingly, thinner keyboards have been required. on the other hand,
If the keyboard is made thinner, the height of the rubber cup must be reduced, so that the keystroke becomes smaller, a sufficient keystroke cannot be secured, and the key operation feeling is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a keyboard in which sufficient keystrokes are ensured when used and the thickness is reduced when stored.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a keyboard having a key top exposed from a housing, an operation rod connected to the key top for abutting on a key switch to turn on the key switch, the key switch and the operation switch. A keyboard interposed between the rods and having an elastic member that urges the operation rod and the key top upward, and a holding member that holds a large number of the operation rods so as to be movable in a vertical direction; By disposing a plate movably on the key top in the moving direction of the key top and depressing the plate, the holding member, the working rod, and the key top are pressed against the urging force of the elastic member. Is moved in the direction in which the is pushed.

In the keyboard according to the present invention, when the plate is pushed down, the holding member, the operating rod and the key top move in the direction in which the key top is pushed in against the urging force of the elastic member, and the thickness of the entire keyboard is reduced. .

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a keyboard according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a notebook computer to which a keyboard according to the present invention is applied. The notebook computer 1 includes a main body 2 and a lid 3, and a keyboard 5 is provided on a housing 5 of the main body 2. The lid 3 of the notebook computer 1 is equipped with a liquid crystal display 8.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the keyboard 7 according to the present invention. A printed circuit board 11 is mounted in the housing 5 of the main body 2.
Has been implemented. On the switch 12 is the switch 12
Bowl-shaped rubber cup 13 which is an elastic member so as to cover
Is mounted on the rubber cup 13, for example, a rectangular bar-shaped guide 14 as an action rod is mounted. The guide 14 is inserted and held in a square hole 15a-1 to be described later in a prism portion 15a of the holder 15 as a holding member. That is, the guide 14 can be moved up and down smoothly in the prism 15 a of the holder 15.

The holder 15 is formed of a prism 15a for holding the guide 14, a flat plate 15b, and a cup 15c made of an inverted bowl-shaped elastic member to be described later. The whole has an integral structure, and also serves as a frame of the entire keyboard 7. A plate 17 having a number of square holes 17a is placed on the flat plate portion 15b of the holder 15. That is, the prism 15 a of the holder 15 projects from the many square holes 17 a of the plate 17. A groove 14a-1 is formed in the upper portion 14a of the guide 14 protruding from the square hole 15a-1 in the prism portion 15a of the holder 15, and the groove 14a-1 is formed.
The engagement protrusion of the key top 18 is fitted to the.

According to the present invention, when the notebook computer 1 is stored with the lid 3 closed, the entire keyboard 7 is pushed down by the plate 17 and the plate 17 is locked to the housing 5 in this state, thereby reducing the thickness of the keyboard 7 at the time of storage. I try to make it thin.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the plate 17. The plate 17 has, for example, a pair of front and rear protrusions 23 on both left and right sides. The protruding portion 23 is formed of an inclined portion 23a and a protruding surface portion 23b. For example, the front side is the inclined portion 23a.
On the other hand, an engagement member 25 for engaging with the projection 23 is provided on the housing 5 side so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. The engaging member 25 is provided on a pair of front and rear engaging pins 25a, a connecting plate 25b connecting the pair of engaging pins 25a, and protruding outside the connecting plate 25b, and is provided with a long hole 6 of the housing 5 (see FIG. 1). ) To housing 5
And a grip portion 25c protruding outside the frame.

When the keyboard 7 is in use, the engaging pin 25a of the engaging member 25 does not engage with the projection 23 and abuts on the upper surface of the plate 17. When the keyboard 7 is stored, when the gripping portion 25c is operated to slide the engaging member 25 rearward, the engaging pin 25a comes into contact with the inclined portion 23a of the projecting portion 23 and then with the projecting surface portion 23b. Therefore, the plate 17 is moved downward by the height of the protrusion 23 and is locked.

FIG. 4 is a sectional perspective view of one key portion of the keyboard 7 in a used state, and shows a state where the key top 18 is not pressed down. The guide 14 is inserted and held in a hole 15a-1 in the prism 15a of the holder 15, and an upper portion 14a of the guide 14 projects upward from the hole 15a-1. Holder 15 is the guide 1 in order from the top.
4, a prism portion 15a for holding the plate 4, a flat plate portion 15b,
It is formed of a cup portion 15c made of an inverted bowl-shaped elastic member that abuts on the peripheral portion of the rubber cup 13 so as to cover the rubber cup 13. A conductive rubber contact 20 is attached to the center of the bowl of the rubber cup 13. When the key top 18 is not depressed, the conductive rubber contact 20 contacts the switch 12 of the printed circuit board 11. It is in a raised position where it does not touch.

FIG. 5 is a sectional perspective view of one key portion of the keyboard 7 in a used state, and shows a state where the key top 18 is depressed. When the key top 18 is pressed down, the guide 14 is also pressed down, the bowl portion of the rubber cup 13 is crushed by the lower part of the guide 14, and the conductive rubber contact 20 of the rubber cup 13 contacts the contact of the switch 12, The switch of the key is turned on.

FIG. 6 is a sectional perspective view of one key portion of the keyboard 7 in the housed state, and shows a state where the plate 17 is pressed down. When the plate 17 is pushed down by operating the engagement member 25, the prism 15a and the flat plate portion 15b of the holder 15 are pushed down by the plate 17, the cup portion 15c is compressed and bent, and the guide 14 is pushed down accordingly. Then, the conductive rubber contact 20 of the rubber cup 13 comes into contact with the contact of the switch 12. Thereby, the thickness of the entire keyboard 7 can be reduced.

When the depression of the plate 17 is released by operating the engaging member 25, the cup portion 15c made of the elastic member of the holder 15 returns from the bent state to the bowl-shaped state as shown in FIG. With it, holder 15
The prism portion 15a and the flat plate portion 15b move upward, the rubber cup 13 returns to the original bowl shape due to elasticity, and the guide 14 and the key top 18 are pushed up.

Accordingly, when the plate 17 is pressed down, the key top 18 is also pressed down, and the key top 18 is locked in this state. Therefore, the thickness of the keyboard 7 when it is stored can be reduced. Can be reduced in thickness. When the plate 17 is made of metal, it can be used as a heat radiating plate for radiating heat in the housing 5.

Next, a keyboard according to a second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the keyboard of the second embodiment uses a plate 27 instead of the plate 17, and the rest is configured in the same manner as the keyboard of the above-described first embodiment. The plate 27 has a square hole 2 wider in the front-rear direction than the square hole 17a of the plate 17, for example.
7a are drilled, and holes 27b are drilled at the four corners to penetrate the columns 28, which are the engaging members erected on the housing 5. On both left and right sides of the plate 27, gripping members 29 are protruded outward, and the tips protrude from the holes 30 of the housing 5 and can be operated from the outside. The pair of gripping members 29 are pushed down along the hole 30 of the housing 5 to
Press down. Next, the holding member 29 is inserted into the hole 30 of the housing 5.
When the plate 27 is pushed rearward to the lower notch 30a, the hole 27b of the plate 27 is formed wider in the front-rear direction than the column 28, so that one end of the hole 27b of the plate 27 is engaged with the engagement groove 28a of the column 28. To the plate 2
7 is locked immovably in the vertical direction.

When the pair of gripping members 29 are operated to move forward from the engagement notch 30a of the hole 30 of the housing 5, the engagement between one end of the hole 27b of the plate 27 and the engagement groove 28a of the column 28 is achieved. The lock is released, that is, the lock in the vertical direction is released, and in this state, when the hand is released from the gripping member 29, the plate 27 is raised as described above, and the holder 15, the guide 14, and the key top 18 are accordingly moved. Pushed up.

Accordingly, when the plate 27 is pressed down, the key top 18 is also pressed down, and the key top 18 is locked in this state, so that the thickness of the keyboard 7 when it is stored can be reduced. Can be reduced in thickness. In addition, since the lock can be achieved only by pressing down the plate 27 and then moving the plate 27 laterally, a highly reliable keyboard compression mechanism with a simple mechanism can be realized. Although the support 28 is used as the engaging member, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is a matter of course that another engaging member such as an engaging protrusion provided on the housing 5 may be used.

In the first and second embodiments, the keyboard is applied to the notebook personal computer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the keyboard may be applied to a portable information terminal. Further, the cup 15c made of an elastic member is provided in the holder 15, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the cup 15c can be omitted.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the plate is pressed down, the key top is also pressed down and locked in this state, so that the thickness of the keyboard when it is stored can be reduced. In addition, since the lock can be achieved only by pushing down the plate and then moving the plate laterally, a simple and highly reliable keyboard compression mechanism can be realized. Further, when the plate is made of a metal member, it can also be used as a heat radiating plate for radiating heat in the housing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a notebook computer to which a keyboard according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the keyboard according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a plate according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view of one key portion of the keyboard in a used state.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view of one key portion in a state where a key top is pressed down.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view of one key portion of the keyboard in a stored state.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a plate of a keyboard according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional notebook computer.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional perspective view of one key portion of a conventional keyboard.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional perspective view of one key portion in a state where a key top of a conventional keyboard is depressed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laptop computer 2 Main body 3 Lid 5 Case 6 Elongated hole 7 Keyboard 11 Printed circuit board 12 Switch (key switch) 13 Rubber cup (elastic member) 14 Guide (working rod) 15 Holder (holding member) 17 Plate 18 Key top 20 Conductive Rubber contact 23 protruding part 25 engaging member 27 plate 28 support (engaging member) 29 gripping member 30 hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A key top exposed from a housing, an action rod connected to the key top for abutting on a key switch and turned on, interposed between the key switch and the action rod, In the keyboard which has the elastic member which urges the said key top upward, and the holding member which hold | maintains many said operation | movement rods so that movement in the up-down direction is possible, it is movable in the moving direction of the said key top on the holding member By pressing down the plate, the holding member, the operating rod, and the key top move in the direction in which the key top is pushed in against the urging force of the elastic member. Characteristic keyboard. 2. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the plate is engaged with an engaging member of the housing and locked by pushing down and moving the plate laterally. 3. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the plate is made of a metal member, and also serves as a heat radiating plate for radiating heat in the housing.