This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-229131, filed Oct. 16, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a keyboard.
2. Description of the Related Art
A keyboard is used to enter information into a POS (Point of Sales) system of a store etc. The keyboard is provided with a plurality of keyswitch devices which are formed for predetermined information. By pushing a keyswitch device, predetermined information is input. For example, at the surfaces of the keytops, letters, symbols, and other information to be input are engraved. By pushing a keytop, a key input signal corresponding to the input information which is engraved on the keytop can be sent to the system.
In this regard, in recent years, there has been known a keyboard which enables layout of the keytops (key array) to be changed. Further, there has been known a keyboard which enables the sizes of the keytops to be changed. Such keyboards enable the arrangement of the keyboard and size of the keytops to be changed in accordance with the desire of the user, so the convenience of operation is improved.
Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3023495 discloses a keyboard which enables the keycaps which are used for cash registers to be freely changed. In this keyboard, keybases to which keycaps are to be attached are arranged on a panel at equal intervals. It discloses that by providing connecting columns at predetermined intervals at the back surfaces of the keycaps, replacement is possible without being limited to single dimension keys, double dimension keys, quadruple dimension keys, and other specifications.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-179361A discloses a keyboard which has keytop bases to which keytops which operate contacts of a circuit board by a pushing operation are attached to be able to move in the vertical direction inside a top case and which has keycaps which are attached detachably at the top parts of the keytop bases and stick out upward from the key openings of the top case. In this keyboard, a decorative panel which is attached detachably to the top surface of the top case is provided with keycap insertion holes into which the keycaps are inserted. This discloses that it is possible to replace the keycaps of the keytops simply without disassembling the device case.
As disclosed in Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3023495, in a keyboard where the size of a keytop which the user pushes can be changed, for example, single dimension keytops can be changed to double dimension keytop etc. In this regard, when changing only a keytop, that is, when changing only the parts which the user pushes, sometimes the operating load when pushing the keytop changes. For example, when single dimension keytops are biased by single coil springs to stick out upward, if attaching a double dimension keytop, it will be biased by two coil springs. For this reason, the operating load of a double dimension keytop becomes larger than the operating load of a single dimension keytop. For example, a double dimension keytop would have to be pushed by about double the force. For this reason, when replacing a keytop, the feeling of operation by the user would deteriorate or the keytop would not be sufficiently pushed and the contact would not be connected.
Furthermore, a keyboard is formed with single contacts able to be operated by single dimension keytops, so if changing single dimension keytops to a double dimension keytop, a plurality of contacts would be connected and mistaken operation would be liable to occur.
For this reason, if changing the size of a keytop, for example, it is possible to detach a member pushing against the membrane sheet. After that, a different sized keytop may be attached. In this regard, a coil spring which pushes against the membrane sheet etc. is arranged inside of a slider which supports the keytop. When changing the size of a keytop, the keytop and slider have to be pulled out, then part of the coil springs etc. has to be detached. There is the problem that a long time is taken for assembling the keyboard or changing the layout of the keytops.
The keyboard of the present invention is provided with a base member, moving members provided on the base member, each of which moves when being pushed and unit parts. Each of the unit parts includes a contact which is formed in an electrical connecting member and electrically connected when depressed, an elastic member which is arranged between the moving member and the electrical connecting member, which deforms upon being pushed by the moving member and which pushes the electrical connecting member and a support part provided on the base member that supports the moving member. The moving members include a first moving member which engages with one unit part, and a second moving member which engages with plural unit parts. The first moving member and the second moving member are exchangeably attached to and detached from the base member The second moving member has a structure where the second moving member pushes the elastic member of one unit part among the unit parts which are engaged with and avoids pushing the elastic member of the other unit part.
Referring to
In the first state, keytops 4, 5, and 6 of different shapes are arranged. The keytop 4 is a single dimension keytop which corresponds to one unit part. The keytops 5 and 6 correspond to the plurality of unit parts. The keytop 5 is a double dimension keytop which corresponds to two unit parts and has a pushing surface of an area about two times that of the keytop 4. The keytop 6 is a quadruple dimension keytop which corresponds to four unit parts and has a pushing surface of an area about four times that of the keytop 4. A region 91 is a region at which the double dimension keytop 5 is arranged, while a region 92 is a region at which the quadruple dimension keytop 6 is arranged. Further, a connected unit part 50, as explained later, which is a unit part among unit parts which corresponds to one keytop at which a contact is connected when the keytop is pushed, is provided.
The moving members include a first moving member and a second moving member. The keyboard of the present embodiment is formed to enable attachment of the first moving members and the second moving members. A first moving member is a moving member which is provided for one unit part, while second moving member is a moving member which is provided for plural unit parts.
In the present embodiment, a part which includes a contact 60 which is included in a membrane sheet 13, a rubber cup 14 and a support part 12a is called a “unit part”. For example, one unit part supports one slider and includes one contact 60. The keyboard 2 has a plurality of unit parts. In the keyswitch device which is shown in
The first moving member 51 includes a slider 21 onto which a keytop 4 is provided. The keytop 4 is formed into a box shape with one open side. The keytop 4 is supported by one slider 21. The slider 21 engages with one unit part and functions as a first engagement part which pushes the rubber cup 14. In the present embodiment, the keytop 4 is fastened to the slider 21. The keytop 4 and the slider 21 can be detached from and attached to the base member 12 together.
The slider 21 has a sliding part which slides against the support part 12a. The sliding part includes an inside sliding part 29 which slides against the inside surface of the support part 12a and an outside sliding part 30 which slides against the outside surface of the support part 12a. The inside sliding part 29 is inserted in the inside of the support part 12a. In the present embodiment, the inside sliding part 29 and the outside sliding part 30 are engaged with the support part 12a.
The inside sliding part 29 of the slider 21 has stopping tabs 26 which engage the slider 21 with the base member 12. The stopping tabs 26 are engaged with stopping parts 12b which are formed at the base member 12. The stopping tabs 26 catch on the stopping parts 12b and the slider 21 can be prevented from jumping out from the base member 12. Further, at the front end of the inside sliding part 29, a pushing part 27 for pushing the rubber cup 14 is formed.
At the bottom side of the base member 12, a membrane sheet 13 is arranged as an electrical connecting member. The membrane sheet 13 has contacts 60 inside it. Each contact 60 contains a pair of electrodes facing each other. The electrodes contact each other when the contact 60 is pushed and the electrical circuit in which these electrodes are arranged is electrically connected. The membrane sheet 13 is formed so that a contact 60 is electrically connected when a certain location is pushed. The contact 60 is formed so that one electrode and another electrode contact each other, but the invention is not limited to this type of contact. Contact may also be formed to have a plurality pairs of electrodes which contact each other. Further, the membrane sheet 13 may include spacers which form a clearance between an upper layer and a lower layer of the membrane sheet 13. The membrane sheet may also be formed so that each contact includes a plurality of upper electrodes arranged at an upper layer and a plurality of lower electrodes arranged at a lower layer, and the plurality of upper electrodes and the plurality of lower electrodes contact each other. Further, an electrical connecting member is not limited to a membrane sheet. Any member which enables electrical connection by being pushed may be employed.
Between the membrane sheet 13 and a slider 21, an elastic member, which is a rubber cup 14 in this embodiment, is arranged. The rubber cup 14 has elasticity and biases the slider 21 in a direction away from the membrane sheet 13.
The rubber cup 14 has an abutting part 14a which abuts against the pushing part 27 of the slider 21. The abutting part 14a is formed in a tubular shape. The abutting part 14a of the rubber cup 14 is pushed by the pushing part 27 of the slider 21. The rubber cup 14 has a deformation part 14d that deforms when the abutting part 14a is pushed and provides a reaction force to the slider 21. The deformation part 14d causes buckling deformation when the abutting part 14a is pushed. Further, the deformation part 14d returns to its original shape when the pushing force is released. The rubber cup 14 includes a recess 14c through which air circulates when the rubber cup 14 is deformed. The recess 14c is formed at the rubber cup 14 to be recessed from the contact surface with the membrane sheet 13.
The rubber cup 14 has a pushing part 14b which pushes a region where a contact 30 of the membrane sheet 13 is arranged. The pushing part 14b is arranged at inside surface of the rubber cup 14 so as to face the membrane sheet 13. Further, the slider 21 is formed with a rod-shaped part 28 which pushes the pushing part 14b.
In the keyswitch device of the present embodiment, when the user pushes a keytop 4 to a direction as shown by the arrow 101, the keytop 4 and the slider 21 move toward the base member 12. When the moving member 51 moves, the inside sliding part 29 and outside sliding part 30 of the slider 21 slide with respect to the support part 12a, and the slider 21 moves along the support part 12a. The pushing part 27 of the slider 21 which moves downward as illustrated pushes the abutting part 14a of the rubber cup 14 and the deformation part 14d of the rubber cup 14 deforms. Further, along with downward movement of the slider 21, the rod-shaped part 28 of the slider 21 pushes the pushing part 14b of the rubber cup 14, so the pushing part 14b of the rubber cup 14 contacts and pushes the membrane sheet 13. Due to this, the contact 60 which is provided inside of the membrane sheet 13 is electrically connected.
When a user releases his or her finger from the keytop 4, the rubber cup 14 returns to its original shape, so the elasticity of the rubber cup 14 causes the keytop 4 and the slider 21 to return to their original positions. Due to this, the membrane sheet 13 is no longer pushed by the pushing part 14b, so the contact 60 is released. In this way, the keyswitch device can connect and disconnect the contact 60 which is formed in the membrane sheet 13.
Referring to
The unit parts which engage with the sliders 21 and 22 may be classified as a unit part at which a contact 60 is connected, and a unit part at which a contact 60 is not connected and the open state is maintained when the second moving member 52 is pushed. A unit part at which a contact 60 is connected is called a “connected unit part”, while a unit part at which a contact 60 is not connected and an open state is maintained is called a “non-connected unit part”. A region 95 is a region of a connected unit part, while a region 96 is a region of a non-connected unit part. Further, the region 95 is a region at which the first engagement part is arranged, while the region 96 is a region where the second engagement part is arranged.
The structure of the slider 21 which is arranged at the region 95 is similar to the structure of the slider 21 of the keyswitch device which includes the single dimension keytop 4 which is shown in
The second moving member 52 includes a slider 22 which engages with the non-connected unit part at the region 96. The slider 22 includes an inside sliding part 32 and an outside sliding part 30. The inside sliding part 32 of the slider 22 is formed shorter than the inside sliding part 29 of the slider 21 which engages with the connected unit part. The inside sliding part 32 of the slider 22 is formed short so that when the keytop 5 is pushed, the front end of the inside sliding part 32 will not contact the rubber cup 14. That is, the inside sliding part 32 of the slider 22 does not push the abutting part 14a of the rubber cup 14. Further, the rod-shaped part 31 of the slider 22 is formed shorter than the rod-shaped part 28 of the slider 21. The rod-shaped part 31 avoids pushing the pushing part 14b of the rubber cup 14. In this way, the slider 22 of the second moving member 52 can avoid pushing the rubber cup 14.
When the user pushes the keytop 5 in the direction which is shown by an arrow 101 at the connected unit part, the inside sliding part 29 of the slider 21 pushes the rubber cup 14 and the contact 60 at the inside of the membrane sheet 13 is connected. In this regard, at the non-connected unit part, the inside sliding part 32 and rod-shaped part 31 of the slider 22 do not reach the rubber cup 14, so the contact 60 at the inside of the membrane sheet 13 is maintained in an open state.
In this way, the second moving member 52 is supported by a plurality of support parts 12a and pushes the rubber cup 14 of one unit part to connect the contact 60. Furthermore, the second moving member 52 can avoid pushing the rubber cup 14 of the other unit part. By employing this configuration, the operating load when a first moving member 51 which includes a single slider is arranged at a single unit part and the operating load when a second moving member 52 which includes a plurality of sliders at a plurality of unit parts can be made substantially the same.
Referring to
When the user starts to push a keytop 5, that is, when a stroke increases from zero, the rubber cup 14 deforms and the operating load becomes larger. At a predetermined stroke, the deformation part 14d of the rubber cup 14 cause buckling and the local maximum point 81 appears. If the stroke becomes larger than the position of the local maximum point 81, the operating load gradually decreases. When the stroke becomes further larger, a local minimum point 82 appears. The contact 60 of the membrane sheet 13 is, for example, connected at the local minimum point 82. If the stroke becomes larger than the position of the local minimum point 82, the operating load again rises.
The second moving member of the present embodiment is formed so as to push the rubber cup of one unit part. The load when pushing the second moving member 52 with a double dimension keytop 5 becomes substantially the same as the load when pushing the first moving member 51 with a single dimension keytop 4. That is, even when pushing the first moving member 51, the load becomes substantially the same as the load of the solid line which is shown in
Here, a keyboard of a comparative example will be explained. A moving member of the keyboard of the comparative example pushes elastic members at a plurality of unit parts and pushes a plurality of contacts with the unit parts.
Further, each slider 23 has a coil spring 41 attached to it. The coil spring 41 pushes the membrane sheet 13 when the keytop 5 is pushed. In the comparative example which is shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Further, referring to
As opposed to this, in the present embodiment, referring to
In the second keyboard, the second moving member 54 includes a slider 24 which engages with a non-connected unit part of the region 96. The slider 24 functions as a second engagement part. The slider 24 does not have an inside sliding part. Furthermore, the slider 24 does not have a rod-shaped part 28 which pushes the pushing part 14b of the rubber cup 14. On the other hand, the slider 24 includes outside sliding parts 30 and 33 which slide against the outer surfaces of the support parts 46a and 46c of the base member 46.
The base member 46 of the second keyboard has a support part 46a and a stopping part 46b. Furthermore, the base member 46 has a support part 46c. The support part 46a is formed in a tubular shape. The support part 46c is connected to an end of the support part 46a. The support part 46c is formed so as to bulge outward from the support part 46a. The outside sliding part 30 is formed so as to face the support part 46a and slides against the support part 46a. The outside sliding part 33 is formed so as to face the support part 46c and slides against the support part 46c. In this way, the inside sliding part can be eliminated from the slider 24. The insides of the support parts 46a and 46c form empty spaces.
In the second keyboard as well, when the second moving member 54 is pushed, it is possible to avoid the rubber cup 14 which is arranged at the non-connected part at the region 96 from being pushed. Further, it is possible to keep the load from changing when replacing a moving member. When pushing a keytop 5, at the connected unit part of the region 95, the contact 60 of the membrane sheet 13 is connected, while at the non-connected unit part of region 96, the contact 60 of the membrane sheet 13 can be maintained in the open state.
Further, in the second moving member 54, even if the slider 24 is not formed with an inside sliding part, the outside sliding parts 30 and 33 may slide with respect to the support parts 46a and 46c to enable the slider 24 to stably move with respect to the base member 46. That is, the second moving member 54 can be made to stably move. The slider 24 which is arranged in the region 96 is not limited to this. Any structure can be used for support by the support parts 46a and 46c of the base member 46.
The third keyboard is formed so as to enable attachment of a second moving member 55 which engages with a plurality of unit parts. The second moving member 55 includes a slider 35 which functions as a first engagement part and a slider 25 which functions as a second engagement part.
The rubber cup 14 in the third keyboard is formed smaller than the rubber cup 14 of the first keyboard. The inside sliding part 38 of the slider 35 includes stopping tabs 36 and a pushing part 37. The stopping tabs 36 are formed to be able to engage with stopping parts 12b of the base member 12. The pushing part 37 is formed so as to push the abutting part 14a of the rubber cup 14. The structure of the region 95 is similar to the structure of the first keyboard (see
In the third keyboard, the slider 25 of the second moving member 55 includes an inside sliding part 39 which has stopping tabs 49. The stopping tabs 49 are formed to engage with stopping parts 12b of the base member 12. The inside sliding part 39 is formed so as to be arranged at the outside of the rubber cup 14 when the keytop 5 is pushed. The interval between the facing stopping tabs 49 is formed to be larger than the outside diameter of the rubber cup 14.
In the third keyboard as well, the slider 25 which functions as the second engagement part enables the rubber cup 14 to be kept from being pushed and enables a change in load at the time of change of a keytop to be suppressed. Further, it is possible to obtain electrical connection at the contact 60 of the connected unit part and to avoid electrical connection at a non-connected unit part.
The fourth keyboard is provided with auxiliary biasing members 16 which are arranged around the outsides of each support part 12a. The auxiliary biasing member 16 of the present embodiment 16 is a rubber cup. The auxiliary biasing member 16 includes a tubular part 16a which contact the outside sliding part 34 of the slider 19 and 20. The auxiliary biasing member 16 includes an elastically deformable deformation part 16b which is connected to the tubular part 16. The deformation part 16b is formed so as to cause buckling deformation when the keytop 5 is pushed down. The deformation part 16b biases the second moving member 56 in a direction separating from the membrane sheet 13. That is, the auxiliary biasing member 16 provides a reaction force against a pushing operation. The elastic force of the auxiliary biasing member 16 is formed to become smaller than the elastic force of the rubber cup 14.
The auxiliary biasing members 16 are arranged at the surface of the base member 12. The auxiliary biasing member 16 is fastened to the base member 12, but the invention is not limited to this. The auxiliary biasing member may also be fastened to the outside sliding part 34 of the slider 19 and 20. That is, the auxiliary biasing member 16 may be formed so as to detach along with the moving member when replacing the moving member.
The second moving members 52, 54, and 55 of the above-mentioned keyboard are formed so as to push one rubber cup 14 of the connected unit part among the plurality of rubber cups 14. The reaction force from the rubber cup 14 is generated at the region of the connected unit part and is not generated at the region of the non-connected unit part. For this reason, the keytop 5 quickly returns to its original position at the region of the connected unit part, while sometimes becomes slower in returning to its original position at the region of the non-connected unit part.
In the fourth keyboard of the present embodiment, the auxiliary biasing members 16 are arranged corresponding to the respective unit parts. If the user pushes the keytop 5, in the auxiliary biasing members 16, the tubular part 16a moves in parallel and pushes down the corresponding deformation part 16b. The deformation part 16b deforms toward the outside. The auxiliary biasing members 16 provide a reaction force to the sliders 21 and 22. For this reason, when the finger is released from the keytop 5, the keytop 5 can quickly be returned to its original position. In particular, it can quickly return to the original position at the region of the non-connected unit part which is shown by the arrow mark 96.
In this way, the auxiliary biasing member 16 is arranged to return the second moving member 56 to its original position. Therefore, the elastic force of the auxiliary biasing member 16 is preferably sufficiently smaller than the elastic force of the rubber cup 14. The elastic force of the auxiliary biasing member 16 is preferably sufficiently small so as to not have a substantial impact on the load when pushing the keytop 5.
For example, referring to
The auxiliary biasing member of the present embodiment is a rubber cup, but the invention is not limited to this. The auxiliary biasing member can employ any structures which bias the moving member. For example, as the auxiliary biasing member, at least one of a rubber cup, a spring member which is formed by wire in a linear shape, and a coil spring may be included.
Referring to
As opposed to this, the keytop 5 which is shown in
In the present embodiment, a keytop and a slider are formed as separate parts, but the invention is not limited to this. The keytop and the slider may also be formed integrally from a single material.
The keyboard of the present embodiment includes a single membrane sheet in which contacts are formed, but the invention is not limited to this. A plural membrane sheet can be used.
The above embodiments may be suitably combined. In the above figures, the same or corresponding parts are assigned the same reference numerals. Note that the above embodiments are illustrations and do not limit the invention. Further, in the embodiments, the changes in the embodiments which are shown in the claims are included.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2012-229131 | Oct 2012 | JP | national |