JPH0429465Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Field of Application The present invention relates to an operating device, and in particular, the operating device is operated in a forward motion by elastically deforming a thin skirt connected to the base of the operating device. It relates to an operating device.

〓Summary of the invention〓 The present invention provides an operating device in which an operator is provided at an edge portion of an elastic body, and a portion of a skirt portion is omitted by this edge portion. By increasing the thickness of the end portion of the skirt, the lack of elastic restoring force in the missing portion of the skirt portion is compensated for.

<Prior Art> Rubber keys are provided as operating devices for performing various operations. The rubber key is integrally connected to a rubber sheet, and a thin elastically deformable skirt portion is formed at the base of the rubber key. Therefore, when a key is pressed, this skirt section is elastically deformed and operated forward, and when the key is released, the elastic restoring force of the skirt section causes the key to return to its original position. . This skirt part is provided with a uniform thickness around the entire circumference of the key.
A straight elastic restoring force is generated in the axial direction.

〓Problems to be solved by the invention〓 However, when forming such a rubber key on the edge of the rubber sheet, a part of the skirt portion is missing due to the edge of the rubber sheet, and this problem occurs. The missing skirt portion causes an imbalance in the elastic restoring force. In other words, since no elastic restoring force is generated in the part where the skirt part is missing, the key tends to tilt, which worsens the feeling of operation and makes it difficult for the contacts provided on the underside of the key to make proper contact. There is a possibility that the movement will not be performed, or there will be a drawback that the backward movement will not be performed smoothly.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is intended for cases where an operator such as a rubber key is provided at the edge of an elastic body, and the part of the skirt that generates the elastic restoring force is It is an object of the present invention to provide an operating device that generates an appropriate elastic restoring force even when the elastic restoring force is absent, thereby allowing correct operation to be performed.

〓Means for solving the problem〓 This invention operates the operator forward by elastically deforming the thin skirt connected to its base, and when the force applied to the operator is released. In the operating device which is moved back to the original position by the elastic restoring force of the skirt portion, the operating element is provided at an edge portion of the elastic body, and the edge portion is provided with a missing portion. The thickness of the end portion of the skirt portion is increased.

〓Effect〓 Therefore, according to the present invention, the elastic restoring force of the portion lacking due to the thick portion at the end of the skirt portion is compensated for, thereby preventing the tilting of the operator. , or it becomes possible to avoid unstable operation.

〓Embodiments〓 The present invention will be explained below with reference to illustrated embodiments. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. A rubber sheet 10 has a plurality of rubber keys 11 and 12 integrally connected thereto. A thin skirt portion 13 is formed at the base of each of the rubber keys 11 and 12, and the rubber key 1 is connected to the rubber key 1 through this skirt portion 13.
1 and 12 are connected to the rubber sheet 10.
The elastic restoring force of the skirt portion 13 causes the backward motion to be performed. Further, the rubber key 12 provided at the edge 14 of the rubber sheet 10 has a part of the skirt portion 13 missing, and the skirt portion 13 is not formed on the side surface on the edge 14 side. In order to compensate for the lack of elastic restoring force due to the lack of the skirt portion 13, a thick portion 15 is formed at the end of the skirt portion 13.

In the above configuration, the rubber sheet 10
Like the rubber key 11 on the inside, the rubber key 12 facing the edge 14 is also provided with a contact 16 made of conductive rubber on its lower surface, as shown in FIG. They are now facing each other. Therefore, when the upper part of the rubber key 12 protruding through the opening 20 of the front panel 19 is pressed, the rubber key 12 is lowered by elastic deformation of the skirt portion 13, and the contact point 16 short-circuits the pair of wiring patterns 18. , thereby achieving a predetermined operation. When the finger is removed from the top of the key 12, the elastic restoring force of the skirt portion 13 causes the rubber key 11 to rise and the contact point 16 to be separated from the wiring pattern 18.

Further, according to the operating device according to this embodiment, the skirt portion 13 that is missing due to the edge 14
The lack of elastic restoring force is compensated for by the thick wall portion 15 formed at the end of the skirt portion 13. Therefore, when the key 12 is pressed, the key 12 is prevented from falling toward the edge side where the skirt portion 13 is missing, and an elastic restoring force is generated directly upward. Therefore, the feeling of operation is improved, and furthermore, the contact made of conductive rubber 16 properly contacts the wiring pattern 18 to perform a predetermined switching operation.
Reliability will improve. Furthermore, the thick part 15
By forming this at the end of the skirt portion 13, the edge portion of the skirt portion 13 is prevented from tearing when the edge portion of the rubber sheet 10 is deburred.

Next, the second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 to 10.
This will be explained with reference to the diagram. The operating device according to the second embodiment is equipped with circular rubber keys 11 and 12, which are connected to a skirt portion 13, respectively.
It is connected to the rubber sheet 10 via. Also in this embodiment, the rubber key 12 formed at the edge of the rubber sheet 10 is
A portion of the skirt portion 13 is missing, and a thick portion 15 is formed at the end of the skirt portion 13 correspondingly.

Therefore, by this thick part 15, the skirt part 1
It becomes possible to compensate for the lack of elastic restoring force due to the missing portion of the rubber key 12, and it becomes possible to prevent the rubber key 12 from falling down. This improves the operational feel and allows the contacts 16 provided on the lower surface of the key 12 to properly contact the wiring pattern 18 of the circuit board 17. Also, this thick part 15
This prevents the skirt portion 13 from tearing when deburring the edge 14.

〓Effects of the invention〓 As described above, the present invention provides the control element at the edge portion of the elastic body, and thickens the wall thickness of the end portion of the skirt portion which is missing due to the edge portion. This is how it was done. Therefore, this thicker part can compensate for the elastic restoring force of the missing part of the skirt, preventing the operator from falling over and allowing the operator to operate correctly. You will be able to do this.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the skirt portion of a rubber key according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the rubber key, FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the rubber key. Figure 5 is the same side view, Figure 6 is the same rear view, and Figure 7 is the same side view.
8 is a plan view of the rubber key according to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same,
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line X--X in FIG. 8. In the symbols used in the drawings, 10...Rubber sheet, 12...Rubber key, 13...Skirt portion, 14...Edge, 15...Thick wall portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The operator is operated by elastically deforming a thin skirt connected to its base, and
In the operating device, the operating element is moved back to the original position by the elastic restoring force of the skirt portion when the force applied to the operating element is released, and the operating element is provided at an edge portion of the elastic body. Additionally, the operating device is characterized in that the end portion of the skirt portion that is missing by the edge portion is thickened.