JP2002245887A - Keytop and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keytop plate which enables to make thin further the electronic equipment using the keytop plate which is made by forming a keytop on a film plate, and its manufacturing method. SOLUTION: This is a keytop plate 10 which is made by forming a keytop 30, which is made of molded resin and has a brim part 31 protruding from its periphery, on a film plate 20 made of a resin film having flexibility. A recessed part 21 which houses the lower part of the keytop 30 including the brim part 31 is provided at the part where the lower face of the keytop 30 of the film plate 20 including the brim part 31 contacts. The recessed part 21 is made as deep as to make the surface of the brim part 31 flush with the surface of the film plate 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a key top plate suitable for use in a push button switch and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, it has been practiced to brightly illuminate characters, figures, and the like printed on a key top by emitting light from a light emitting means provided below the key top. In particular, the display layer (printing layer) for characters and figures on the underside of the keytop
If the key top is configured to illuminate the front side of the key top, the key top can be given a high-class feeling.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a main part of a conventional key top plate 200 satisfying such a demand. As shown in this figure, the key top plate 200 is transparent, and a transparent molded resin key top 211 is placed on a resin film plate 201 on which a desired display layer 205 is displayed (printed) on the lower surface. Is formed.

[0004] To fix the film plate 201 and the key top 211, a part of the resin constituting the key top 211 is passed through a through hole formed in the film plate 201.
This is performed by a fixing portion 217 that reaches the back surface side of FIG. Also, a flange 215 is provided from the outer periphery of the key top 211.
Is provided to overhang. The flange 215 is formed in the opening 2 of the case 220 that covers the upper surface of the key top plate 200.
When the key top 211 is inserted into the
To restrict the upward movement of the key top 211.

Since the key top plate 200 having the above-described structure uses the film 201, the size and thickness can be reduced. In addition, since the display layer 205 such as characters and figures can be easily arranged on the back side of the key top 211 by printing on the film board 201 which is easy to print, the display layer 205 is installed on the back side of the key top board 200. By emitting light from a light emitting unit (not shown), characters, figures, and the like can be effectively illuminated toward the front side of the key top 211, and the key top 211 can be given a high-grade appearance.

However, the key top plate 20 having the above structure
In the case of 0, since the collar portion 215 is provided on the upper surface of the film plate 201, the thickness K of the case 220 is increased by the thickness thereof, and it is not possible to further reduce the thickness of the electronic device using the keytop plate 200. was there.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to further reduce the thickness of an electronic device using a keytop plate formed by forming a keytop on a film plate. An object of the present invention is to provide a key top plate and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a key top made of a mold resin and having a brim extending from the outer periphery thereof on a film plate made of a flexible resin film. In the molded key top plate, a recess for accommodating the collar portion is provided at least in a portion of the film plate where the collar portion of the key top is located.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the depth of the concave portion is formed so that the surface of the collar portion is flush with the surface of the film plate.

The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a key top plate, comprising: forming a key top made of a mold resin on a top surface of a film plate made of a flexible resin film and having a brim extending from an outer periphery thereof. A step of forming a recess by recessing at least a portion of the film plate where the collar portion of the key top is located at a predetermined depth, and a first mold having a cavity having the same shape as the shape of the upper portion of the key top; A step of sandwiching the film plate between the film plate and a second mold having a cavity configured to receive a concave portion of the film plate; and a step of introducing molten resin into the cavities provided in the first and second molds. Injecting and filling these cavities with molten resin, and removing the first mold and the second mold after the molten resin is solidified to form a keytop on the film plate Characterized by comprising the step of taking out the key top plate.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a main part showing a part of one key top 30 in a key top plate 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1A is a schematic sectional view (A in FIG. 1B). -A cross section), and FIG. 2B is a plan view. Note that a plurality of key tops 30 are actually arranged on the key top plate 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the key top plate 10 has a key top 30 on the upper surface of the film plate 20.
Is formed. The key top 30 is provided with a flange portion 31 projecting from the outer periphery thereof. A lower portion of the key top 30 including the flange portion 31 is housed in a concave portion 21 formed in the film plate 20. Hereinafter, each component will be described.

The film plate 20 is made of a transparent resin film having flexibility. In this embodiment, a polycarbonate film is used. Of course, other various resin films may be used. Then, a portion of the film plate 20 in contact with the key top 30 (specifically, the collar portion 31)
Is provided on the entire lower surface of the key top 30 including the key top 30, and a display layer (hereinafter referred to as a “print layer” in accordance with this embodiment) 23 is provided on the lower surface of the concave portion 21. Displayed (printed). A through hole 25 is provided at one corner of the concave portion 21.

On the other hand, the key top 30 is made of a thermoplastic transparent material. In this embodiment, a polycarbonate resin is used. Of course, other various molding resins may be used. The collar portion 31 is provided so as to project in a substantially ring shape from the lower outer periphery of the key top 30 outward. A tongue-shaped protruding portion 33 protrudes from one corner of the brim portion 31, and the film plate 20 is provided below the protruding portion 33.
Are located.

In the present embodiment, the lower surface of the key top 30 including the flange 31 is provided with the concave portion 2 of the film plate 20.
1, the surface (upper surface) of the collar portion 31 and the surface (upper surface) of the film plate 20 are made to be flush. In other words, the concave portion 2 is formed such that the surface (upper surface) of the flange portion 31 and the surface (upper surface) of the film plate 20 are flush with each other.
1 is formed.

If the key top plate 10 is configured in this way, as shown in FIG. 2, even when the case 60 is disposed thereon and the key top 30 projects from the through hole 61 provided in the case 60, Since the surface of the portion 31 and the surface of the film plate 20 are flush with each other, the
The thickness L of the key top plate 10 can be reduced, and the electronic device using the key top plate 10 can be reduced in thickness.

If a switch contact (not shown) is arranged below the key top 30 and the key top 30 is pressed,
The switch contact turns on. If a light emitting means such as a light emitting diode is arranged below the key top plate 10 and the light is guided to the key top 30, the transparent film plate 20 and the printing of a pattern or the like printed on the film plate 20 through the key top 30. The layer 23 is brightly illuminated on the surface of the key top 30.

Next, a method of manufacturing the key top plate 10 will be described. FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a method of manufacturing the key top plate 10. As shown in FIG. 3A, a printing layer 23 including desired characters, numerals, patterns, and the like is printed on the lower surface of the film plate 20 first. Next, a through hole 25 is provided at a predetermined position of the film plate 20 (a portion where the protruding portion 33 in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG.
0 key top 30 (that is, key top 3)
The concave portion 21 is formed by drawing a portion of the lower surface including the zero flange portion 31 that comes into contact with the die using a die. The shape of the concave portion 21 is the key top 30 including the flange portion 31.
The shape is the same as the shape of the lower surface side of the
1 is the same as the thickness dimension.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the film plate 20 having been subjected to the drawing process is put into first and second molds 40 and 50.
Sandwiched between. Here, the first die 40 has a key top 3
A cavity 41 having the same shape as the shape of the upper part of 0 is provided. Further, the second mold 50 has a concave portion 2 of the film plate 20.
1 and a film plate 2
And a pin gate 53 provided at a position connected to the 0 through-hole 25.

In this state, the molten resin is press-fitted from the pin gate 53 to fill the cavities 41 and 51 of the first and second molds 40 and 50 with the molten resin. Then, if the first and second molds 40 and 50 are removed after the molten resin is solidified, the key top plate 10 shown in FIG. 1 is completed.

In the above embodiment, the film plate 2
Both the material of the key top 30 and the material of the key top 30 are made of polycarbonate, so that they are bonded by the heat and pressure of the molten resin without an adhesive material. A material layer may be applied, or an adhesive may be mixed in the molten resin.

The reason why the film plate 20 is drawn in the method of manufacturing the key top plate 10 is as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the film plate 20 is sandwiched between the first and second molds 40 and 50 and the molten resin is injected from the pin gate 53 without drawing, the gap between the film plate 20 and the second mold 50 is reduced. The molten resin is filled directly into the cavity 51 of the second mold 50 from the gap generated in
A film plate 2 is provided on the lower surface of the key top 30 as shown in FIG.
This is because the key top plate 10 having the structure to which 0 is attached cannot be manufactured. At that time, the film plate 20 may be deformed into an irregular shape such as waving in the cavities 41 and 51 due to the heat and pressure of the molten mold resin, resulting in a defective product.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical idea described in the specification and the drawings. Is possible. Note that any shape, structure, or material not directly described in the specification and drawings is within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention as long as the effects and effects of the present invention are exhibited. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the depth of the concave portion 21 of the film plate 20 is formed such that the surface of the flange portion 31 is flush with the surface of the film plate 20. It may be smaller. However, if the surface of the flange 31 and the surface of the film plate 20 are made the same, the electronic device using the key top plate can be most effectively reduced in thickness. In the above embodiment, the printing layer 23 is provided on the lower surface of the film plate 20, but may be provided on the upper surface. Also, the film plate 20 of the key top 30
The fixation may be performed using a fixing portion 217 as shown in FIG. In the above embodiment, a printed layer is used as a display layer. However, a display layer formed by vapor deposition means other than printing may be used.

The method of forming the concave portion 21 is not limited to the above-described drawing, and other various forming methods such as vacuum forming and pressure forming may be used. In the above-described embodiment, the pin gate 53 is provided on the second mold 50 side, and the film plate 20 is provided.
Although the molten resin is injected into the cavities 41 and 51 from the through holes 25 provided in the cavities 41, the pin gate 43 is provided on the first mold 40 side as shown in FIG. You may comprise so that a molten resin may be injected. In this case, the through hole 25 of the film plate 20 is unnecessary.

[0025]

As described in detail above, the present invention has the following excellent effects. Since the concave portion for accommodating the collar portion is provided at least in the portion of the film plate where the collar portion of the key top is located, the thickness of an electronic device using the key top plate can be reduced.

At least a portion of the film plate on which the collar of the key top is located is recessed to a predetermined depth to form a concave portion, and the film plate is sandwiched between the first and second molds to form the first and second molds. Since the key top plate is manufactured by injecting the molten resin into the cavity provided in the mold, a key top plate having a structure in which the collar portion of the key top is housed in the concave portion of the film plate can be easily manufactured. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a key top plate 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1A is a schematic sectional view (FIG. 1).
FIG. 1B is a plan view, and FIG. 1B is a plan view.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a key top plate 10 is arranged on a lower surface of a case 60.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a method of manufacturing the key top plate 10. FIGS.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a problem in a case where a film plate 20 that is not drawn is sandwiched between first and second molds 40 and 50 and a molten resin is injected from a pin gate 53;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional key top plate 200.

FIG. 6 is a view showing another method of manufacturing the key top plate 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 key top plate 20 film plate 21 concave portion 23 print layer (display layer) 25 through hole 30 key top 31 collar portion 33 projecting portion 40 first mold 41 cavity 50 second mold 51 cavity 53 pin gate 60 case 61 penetrating Hole

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenzo Goto 335 Karijuku, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Teikoku Telecommunications Industry Co., Ltd. 5G006 CD03 EA03 FB14 JA01 JF02 5G023 AA12 BA05 CA19 CA41

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A key top plate formed by molding a key top made of a mold resin and projecting a brim portion from an outer periphery thereof on a film plate made of a flexible resin film, wherein at least the brim of the key top is formed. A key top plate, wherein a recess for accommodating the collar portion is provided in a portion of the film plate where the portion is located. 2. The key top plate according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion is formed at a depth such that the surface of the collar portion is flush with the surface of the film plate. 3. A method of manufacturing a key top plate, comprising molding a key top made of a mold resin and projecting a brim portion from an outer periphery thereof on an upper surface of a film plate made of a flexible resin film; A step of forming a recess by previously recessing a portion of the film plate at which a top brim is located; a first mold having a cavity having the same shape as the shape of the upper portion of the key top; and A step of sandwiching the film plate between a second mold having a cavity having a shape for accommodating a concave portion of the plate; and injecting a molten resin into the cavities provided in the first and second molds. A step of filling these cavities with a molten resin, and removing a first mold and a second mold after the molten resin is solidified, thereby forming a key top on a film plate. Method for producing a keytop plate characterized by comprising the step of taking out the up plate.