This Application is a Section 371 National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/JP2006/315792, filed Aug. 10, 2006, published as WO 2007/018256, not in English, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety
The present invention relates to a technology for thinning an entire key sheet on which a plurality of keys being input means for handy mobile equipment such as a portable phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or the like are collectively disposed.
A conventional key sheet was a component (subassembly) constituting a keyboard portion of handy mobile equipment such as a portable phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or the like, and such key sheet was configured so that a plurality of key tops which are push buttons indicating an alphabetical and/or numerical key or a functional key were arrayed and adhered onto the top surface of a sheet-shaped member referred to as a keypad. A material for the above-mentioned keypad was a soft sheet having rubber elasticity such as a silicone rubber or a thermoplastic elastomer or the like.
On the undersurface of the keypad thus configured, small projections referred to as pressing elements are attached to the area corresponding to each of the above-mentioned key tops, and furthermore the pressing elements are closely disposed to a printed circuit board formed independently which has a plurality of normal open contacts closed by pressing the push button, and according to those, a push button switch is formed.
Since the key sheet is thus configured in the manner that a plurality of components are piled up in layers, the thickness of each component is accumulated, which causes substantial total thickness of the key sheet. Therefore, it is required that whole of the handy mobile equipment should be thinned more so as to enhance the further portability thereof.
For example, the Patent References 1 and 2 set forth a production method of a key sheet using a method so called the mold printing where the key sheets is formed by transferring and pressure-bonding a resin filled in a plurality of convex portions provided on the surface of a rotating cylinder to a substrate sheet.
[Patent Reference 1]
Japanese Laid-Open Patent [Kokai] Publication No. H-11-156871
[Patent Reference 2]
Japanese Laid-Open Patent [Kokai] Publication No. 2003-127225
However, since a key sheet formed by the production methods set forth in the Patent References 1 and 2 has a configuration by means of a conventional layered structure formed by superposing key tops or the like as each individual part (component) on a keypad having rubber elasticity such as a silicone rubber, a thermoplastic elastomer or the like, there is a structural limitation for further thinner configuration. That is, there is a limitation for further thinner configuration of the keypad having rubber elasticity such as a silicone rubber, a thermoplastic elastomer or the like in the view of ensuring a click feeling and a strength when pressing a normal open contact. Therefore, it is not possible to thin a keypad to 0.2 mm or less, even if the pressing element portion which is the thickest portion is excluded.
Further, a method of integrally forming a projection such as a pressing element or a key top on a film made of a thin resin using the above-mentioned mold printing can be considered. In this case, if the key top is formed by means of the mold printing, the pressing element is necessary on the opposed undersurface side of the film. However, it is not possible, in the mold printing, to form projections on both surfaces of a single film. Therefore, when forming the key tops and the pressing elements together by means of the mold printing, it is necessary, for example, to adhere together a film having the pressing elements provided on its one side by means of the mold printing and a film having the key tops provided on its one side by the mold printing.
In addition, a key top formed by means of the mold printing is not good in its operational feeling, since the key top is, in many cases, made of relatively soft materials such as PVC, acrylic UV-cured resins or the like.
Further, a method of forming key tops on one side of the sheet by means of the mold printing and forming pressing elements only by dropping a resin onto the back surface of the film using a dispenser or the like can also be considered. However, it is quite difficult to control precisely an amount of the resin to be dropped, since the pressing elements become very small only by the simple dropping method. That is, this method involves a problem in which the size of a pressing element is affected by an amount of the resin to be dropped.
The present invention aims to overcome the above-mentioned various problems and to reduce the thickness of handy mobile equipment as much as possible so as to further improve the portability thereof.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aim, on the condition that a combination of a key pad and a key top made of a silicone rubber or thermoplastic elastomer, which has a limitation for thinner configuration is not employed, one embodiment of the present invention employs a method of adopting a single sheet of a resin film as a material for constituting a base portion of a key sheet and forming pressing elements on the undersurface thereof, and forming key tops on the top surface being the opposite side of the same resin film, so that a key sheet is formed in which the key tops and the pressing elements are integrally formed on the top surface and the undersurface thereof so as to have thinned configuration.
a) and (b) are enlarged longitudinal sectional views showing an alternative plan for a drawing die and a using method thereof.
a), (b) and (c) are enlarged longitudinal sectional views illustrating three embodiments of attaching a key top to the upper side of the resin sheet provided with a pressing element according to the present invention.
Hereinafter, embodiments and examples of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the drawings.
A method of attaching a key top may be any methods including adhesion. And the key sheet is completed by forming pressing elements on the undersurface of the same resin film 3. As an example of a means for forming a plurality of pressing elements 4 in a projecting manner as shown in
On the male die 5a, a plurality of projections 5aa are provided in a projecting manner at positions corresponding to appropriate positions on the back side of a plurality of key tops 2a, 2b and 2c or the like as shown in
The resin film 3 with a concave portions 3a as illustrated in
A draw mold 10 for forming a pressing element of the above-mentioned round-head column shape is illustrated in
A resin film 3 with a concave portion for forming a pressing element as illustrated in
A pressing element 4 is a trans-missive element for transmitting the movement of the key top to a normal open contact having a metal dome or the like on a printed circuit board positioned at the underneath thereof so as to change it into the closed state, when a key top is pushed. In order to achieve such trans-missive function, a resin 3b composed of a material which is in a liquid form in the initial state and can be subsequently cured such as, for example, various adhesives, UV-cured resins and thermosetting resins is injected or filled into the concave portion 3a using the dispenser 6. A relatively hard film on the surface of the pressing element and the material 3b injected or filled at this time become a decisive factor to give a better click feeling.
The following can be exemplified for the thermosetting resin; phenol resin, furan resin, xylene formaldehyde resin, ketone formaldehyde resin, urea resin, melamine resin, aniline resin, alkyd resin, unsaturated polyester resin, epoxy resin or the like.
In the next place, an explanation will be given for a step for providing a key top 2 on the surface of a resin film 3 having the back surface on which a pressing element 4 is formed. In each enlarged longitudinal sectional view in
a) shows an example 1 for attaching a key top. Regarding the key top 2, a plurality of key tops 2a, 2b, 2c or the like having various indications are attached onto the respective predetermined positions and lined alongside on the sheet. In this illustration, however, the enlarged partial sectional view of
The decorative layer is a layer for giving ornamentation, as well as indication of a ten-key 2a, a function key 2b, a cursor key 2c, or the like which should be indicated by each key top, and includes, for example, a positive form in which the shapes of letters, symbols or the like are formed directly by means of printing and so on, or a what is called drawn-letter (negative) form in which the peripheral parts of letters, symbols or the like which are the parts other than the shapes of the letters, symbols or the like are formed by means of printing and so on. The key top 2 having the decorative layer 8 at the underneath thereof is individually adhered onto the resin film 3 provided with a pressing element 4 through the adhesive layer 7, so that a thin key sheet is accomplished.
b) shows an example 2 for attaching a key top. The key top 2 is provided with a first resin film 3 having the undersurface on which a plurality of pressing elements 4 with resin being filled therein are formed in a projecting manner by means of the heating drawing and a second resin film 3′ having the top surface on which a plurality of key tops 2a, 2b, 2C, or the like having various indications are disposed at the respective predetermined positions by means of the mold printing. And the top face of the first resin film 3 and the undersurface of the second resin film 3′ are superposed together, so that the whole films are configured in a sheet shape. In this illustration, however, the enlarged partial sectional view of
For the material of the second resin film 3′, a resin film having a transparency such as PC, PET, PU or the like can be used in the same manner as the first resin film 3. Further, the thickness of the second resin film 3′ is considered to be, for example, 0.5 mm or less, preferably 0.2 mm or less, and more preferably 0.1 mm or less, in the same manner as the first resin film 3. The same material and the same thickness can be adopted for both the first resin film 3 and the second resin film 3′, and different materials and different thicknesses can also be adopted for each of them.
c) shows an example 3 for attaching a key top. In this example, the decoration of the key top 2 exists on the top face instead of the undersurface of the key top 2 as a decorative layer 8. Since the decorative layer 8 is exposed to the outer surface, a coating (overcoat) may be applied thereon for the protection.
Only an adhesive layer 7 is interposed between the layer of the resin film 3 provided with a pressing element 4 and the key top 2.
Since the present invention relates to a thin key sheet for use in mobile equipment such as a portable phone, and a personal digital assistants (PDA), it has a wide range of applicability in industrial fields seeking for a thinner configuration of the equipment provided with keys, including manufacturing industries of electronic equipment and the various components thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2005-231982 | Aug 2005 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP2006/315792 | 8/10/2006 | WO | 00 | 2/5/2008 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2007/018256 | 2/15/2007 | WO | A |
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20030213683 | Shimizu et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
20060188946 | Munekane et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090229960 A1 | Sep 2009 | US |