Electronic devices

Abstract

The present invention provides an electronic device, which has an operation panel that achieves an improved appearance at a low manufacturing cost, and has an operation key that has high operability and can easily cope with changes in switch specifications. The electronic device comprises: an operation panel (2) formed of a transparent material and having a through hole (16) for switch operation; and an operation key (4) formed integrally on the operation panel in a manner of blocking the through hole and made of an elastic material. The electronic device comprises: a printed circuit board (11) arranged inside a frame (3) and near the operation panel; a switch (14) mounted on the printed circuit board; and a push rod (24) detachably mounted on the operation key to transmit the displacement of the operation key to the switch. The operation key comprises a key body (21) that blocks the through hole and a mounting seat (22) on which the push rod is detachably mounted, and the operation key is arranged on the surface (2c) side of the back side (2a) of the operation panel. Screen printing is performed on the back side of the operation panel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device having an operation panel with operation keys. Background Art

[0002] As conventional electronic devices having an operation panel, there are electronic devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, for example. The electronic device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has: a front cover having a bottomed square tube shape constituting a part of a frame; and a keyboard portion having a bottomed square tube shape accommodated in the front cover in a state overlapping with the inner surface of the front cover. The front surface of the front cover is formed as an operation panel. The keyboard portion is formed of an elastic material. A printed circuit board having switches is provided in the keyboard portion.

[0003] A through hole is formed on the front side of the operation panel, which becomes the front cover, at a position corresponding to the switch. A button key portion protruding from the keyboard portion is inserted into the through hole. The button key portion has a protrusion protruding toward the switch, and the switch is operated by pressing the button key portion.

[0004] Patent document 2 discloses an operation key inserted into a through hole of a frame for an electronic device. The operation key is supported on the wall surface of the through hole by an elastic body. In addition, a protrusion protruding toward a switch in the frame is provided at the inner end of the frame of the operation key. The protrusion is formed to enter the interior of the frame from the inner surface of the frame, and the top end is in contact with the switch. In order to manufacture the frame disclosed in patent document 2, the operation key and the frame can be loaded into a mold in a state where the operation key is positioned in the through hole of the frame, and the elastomer can be integrally molded between the operation key and the wall surface of the through hole.

[0005] However, in order to prevent the operator from touching and peeling off the printing, there are conventional operation panels that are formed of a transparent material and have a color on the back. In addition, such operation panels sometimes have an uncolored transparent portion in order to visually identify the display unit or the display light of the display unit. The coloring of the back of the operation panel that leaves the transparent portion is often performed by screen printing that does not require masking of the transparent portion.

[0006] Prior art literature

[0007] Patent Literature

[0008] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-31102

[0009] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-253427 Summary of the invention

[0010] Problem that the invention aims to solve

[0011] In the electronic device disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the button key portion of the keyboard portion is formed of an elastic material, there is a problem that the button key portion is deformed when the switch is operated, and the operability is deteriorated. As described in Patent Document 2, by adopting a mounting structure in which the operating key of the push switch is mounted in the hole of the frame body through the elastic material, such a problem can be eliminated to some extent. However, if the mounting structure of the operating key shown in Patent Document 2 is applied to the operating panel of the electronic device, two problems caused by the operating key will arise.

[0012] The first problem is that since the protrusion of the operation key protrudes on the back of the operation panel provided with the operation key, the protrusion becomes an obstacle and screen printing cannot be performed on the back of the operation panel. Therefore, in order to color the back of the operation panel formed of a transparent material, painting must be performed instead of screen printing. In this case, in order to leave a transparent part on the operation panel, masking must be performed, which increases the number of working hours and the manufacturing cost.

[0013] The second problem is that when the specification of the switch changes and the total height of the switch (the dimension protruding from the printed circuit board) changes, the operation panel becomes unusable. That is, in the mounting structure of the operation key shown in Patent Document 2, an elastic body is integrally formed between the operation key and the operation panel, and it is not possible to replace only the operation key to adapt to the total height of the switch, so the entire operation panel must be replaced.

[0014] An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device including an operation panel having an improved appearance at a low manufacturing cost and an operation key having high operability and capable of easily coping with a change in switch specifications.

[0015] Technical means of solving problems

[0016] In order to achieve this object, the electronic device of the present invention comprises: an operation panel, which is formed of a transparent material and has a through hole for switch operation, and the operation panel is arranged on the outer surface of a frame for the electronic device; an operation key, which is integrally formed on the operation panel in a manner of blocking the through hole and is composed of an elastic material; a substrate, which is arranged inside the frame for the electronic device and near the operation panel; a switch, which is mounted on the surface of the substrate opposite to the operation panel; and a push rod, which is detachably mounted on the operation key in a state of passing through the through hole of the operation panel, and transmits the displacement of the operation key to the switch, the operation key having a key body that blocks the through hole and a mounting seat on which the push rod is detachably mounted, and the operation key is arranged on the surface side of the back side of the operation panel, and screen printing is implemented on the back side of the operation panel.

[0017] In the electronic device of the present invention, the switches are respectively arranged at multiple positions of the substrate, the through holes of the operation panel are respectively formed at positions corresponding to the multiple switches, and the operation key is formed integrally with the key body and the mounting seat which are respectively arranged at positions corresponding to the multiple through holes.

[0018] In the electronic device of the present invention, the mounting seat has a recessed portion opened toward the inside of the electronic device housing, and the end of the push rod on the opposite side to the switch may be formed into a shape that fits into the recessed portion in a pressed state.

[0019] Effects of the Invention

[0020] In the present invention, screen printing can be performed on the back of the operation panel with the operation keys integrally formed thereon without being hindered by the operation keys. Masking is not required when the operation panel is colored, and the printed surface after screen printing will not be damaged by contact with a mold or the like. In addition, since the operation panel is printed on the back, the printing will not peel off even if it touches the surface, and the surface can be made glossy.

[0021] When the specifications of the switch change and the overall height of the switch changes, the push rod can be replaced with a push rod having a length that can offset the change in the height of the switch, so that the switch can be continued to be used without changing the operation keys or the operation panel.

[0022] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic device including an operation panel that achieves an improved appearance at a low manufacturing cost and an operation key that has high operability and can easily cope with a change in switch specifications. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 An electronic device of the present invention is shown.

[0024] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Sectional view of the main parts along line II-II.

[0025] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional diagram of the operation panel.

[0026] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the main parts with the push rod removed.

[0027] Figure 5 It is a top view showing the back side of the operation panel.

[0028] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view showing part of the operation key and the push rod in an enlarged manner. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Below, refer to Figure 1 to Figure 5 An embodiment of the electronic device of the present invention will be described in detail. Figure 1 The front surface 1a (refer to Figure 1 (B)) is composed of an operation panel 2. Figure 1 (A) is a top view of the electronic device 1, Figure 1 (B) is a front view of the electronic device 1, Figure 1 (C) is a side view of the electronic device 1. The operation panel 2 is used to constitute a part of the electronic device frame 3 (hereinafter referred to as the frame 3), and has an operation key 4 described later. The frame 3 is composed of a bottomed square cylindrical shell 5 opened to the front of the electronic device 1 and an operation panel 2 closing the opening 5a of the shell 5.

[0030] like Figure 2 As shown, inside the opening 5a of the housing 5, a printed circuit board 11, a mask member 12, and a display unit 13 (see Figure 1 (B)) etc.

[0031] The printed circuit board 11 is arranged near the rear of the operation panel 2 in a posture parallel to the operation panel 2, and is fixed to the housing 5 via a bracket (not shown). In this embodiment, the printed circuit board 11 corresponds to the "substrate" in the present invention.

[0032] A plurality of switches 14 are mounted on the front surface 11a of the printed substrate 11 opposite to the operation panel 2. In this embodiment, the first to fifth switches 14a to 14e are mounted on the printed substrate 11. The first to fifth switches 14a to 14e are respectively arranged at a plurality of positions of the printed substrate 11, such as Figure 1 As shown in (B), when the frame 3 is viewed from the front, the first to fifth switches 14a to 14e are arranged at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction of the frame 3 at the lower end of the frame 3. Although these first to fifth switches 14a to 14e are not shown in detail, they are configured to switch the open and closed state of the internal circuit by pressing the end on the opposite side of the printed circuit board 11 against the printed circuit board 11. In this embodiment, the first to fifth switches 14a to 14e are equivalent to the "plurality of switches" mentioned in the present invention.

[0033] Among the first to fifth switches 14a to 14e, Figure 2The first and second switches 14a and 14b located on the left side in the figure are different from the third to fifth switches 14c to 14e in operability. The first and second switches 14a and 14b of this embodiment have different loads required for operation compared to the third to fifth switches 14c to 14e, and use switches with a lower total height. The "total height" mentioned here refers to the dimension protruding from the printed circuit board 11 to the front of the electronic device 1. In addition, in this electronic device 1, switches with the same operability but different total heights can be used.

[0034] The mask member 12 is used to mount the operation panel 2 described later on the housing 5, and is formed in a square shape when viewed from the front, and is fixed in a fitted state to the opening 5a of the housing 5. The opening 5a of the housing 5 of this embodiment is formed so that the opening width is wider in the up-down direction and the left-right direction than the rear side portion of the housing 5, so that the mask member 12 can be fitted.

[0035] The display unit 13 is arranged such that a display area is exposed from a hole in a central portion of the mask member 12 .

[0036] The operation panel 2 is formed of a transparent plastic material into a plate shape. Figure 1 As shown in (B), it is arranged on the outer surface of the frame 3. Figure 2 As shown, the operation panel 2 of this embodiment is adhered and fixed to the mask member 12 by an adhesive tape 15 .

[0037] On the back side 2a of the operation panel 2 (see Figure 5 ) is printed with a coating of a predetermined color by screen printing. The back surface 2a of the operation panel 2 is formed as a flat surface over the entire area. Figure 5 Screen printing is performed on the entire area of ​​the back surface 2a except the transparent portion 2b so that the transparent portion 2b remains in the hatched area, that is, the portion facing the display area of ​​the display unit 13.

[0038] like Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , a plurality of through holes 16 for switch operation are formed in the operation panel 2. The through holes 16 are formed at positions corresponding to the first to fifth switches 14a to 14e, respectively.

[0039] A plurality of through holes 16 are formed at the bottom of a recess 17 opened on the surface 2c of the operation panel 2. The recess 17 is formed for arranging the operation keys 4 described later, and extends from one side of the operation panel 2 to the other side so as to include all the through holes 16. Two through holes 18 are formed on the bottom of the recess 17 and between the through holes 16 adjacent to each other.

[0040] The operation key 4 is formed of an elastic material and is integrally molded on the operation panel 2 in a manner that blocks the through-holes 16. As the elastic material forming the operation key 4, an elastomeric material or a rubber material can be used. The integral molding is performed by a molding method called two-color molding, in which the operation panel 2 is molded into a final shape using a mold (not shown), and then the operation key 4 is molded in the recess 17 using the operation panel 2 as a part of the mold. In this way, by integrally molding the operation key 4 with the operation panel 2, a plurality of through-holes 16 are sealed liquid-tightly by the operation key 4 on the surface 2c side of the operation panel 2. When molding the operation key 4, the material of the operation key 4 in a molten state flows into the through-hole 18 of the operation panel 2. Therefore, the operation key 4 is integrally molded on the operation panel 2 in a state of being engaged with the through-hole 18.

[0041] like Figure 4 As shown, the operation key 4 has: from the front of the frame 3 ( Figure 4 The electronic device 1 includes a key body 21 (the lower side in the figure) that blocks the through hole 16 of the operation panel 2, and a mounting seat 22 that protrudes backward from the key body 21. The key body 21 is a portion that the operator presses with a finger when operating a key, and is formed into a rectangular bottomed square tube shape when viewed from the front of the electronic device 1. The key body 21 of this embodiment protrudes from the surface 2c of the operation panel 2 to the front of the frame 3.

[0042] The mounting seat 22 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and is inserted into the through hole 16 of the operation panel 2. The mounting seat 22 has a recess 23 that opens toward the inner side of the frame 3. Figure 6 As shown, the recess 23 is formed so that the bottom portion 23a is wider than the opening portion 23b.

[0043] The key body 21 and the mounting seat 22 are respectively provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of through holes 16 of the operation panel 2. The operation key 4 is formed by integrally forming the key body 21 and the mounting seat 22 in each of the through holes 16. All the key bodies 21 are formed in the same shape, and all the mounting seats 22 are formed in the same shape.

[0044] like Figure 6 As shown, the rear end of the mounting seat 22 close to the printed circuit board 11 is located at a distance d from the back 2a of the operation panel 2 to the surface 2c. That is, the operation key 4 is provided at a distance d from the back 2a of the operation panel 2 to the surface 2c.

[0045] A push rod 24 is detachably mounted on the mounting seat 22. The push rod 24 transmits the displacement of the key body 21 when the key body 21 is pressed by a finger to the first to fifth switches 14a to 14e. The push rod 24 of this embodiment is formed so that the front end portion, which is the end portion on the opposite side to the switch 14, becomes an engaging protrusion 25, and is detachably mounted on the mounting seat 22 through the engaging protrusion 25. The rear end portion of the push rod 24 is formed so as to contact the operated portion, which is the front end portion of the switch 14, or to be separated from the operated portion with a predetermined gap. In this embodiment, there are a first push rod and a second push rod 24a and 24b that transmit the operating force to the first and second switches 14a and 14b, which have a relatively low total height, and a third push rod to a fifth push rod 24c to 24e that transmit the operating force to the third to fifth switches 14c to 14e, which have a relatively high total height. The length of the first and second push rods 24a and 24b is longer than the length of the third to fifth push rods 24c to 24e.

[0046] The engaging protrusion 25 of the push rod 24 (first to fifth push rods 24a to 24e) is formed in a shape that fits into the recess 23 of the mounting seat 22 in a press-fit state. Figure 6 As shown, the engaging protrusion 25 has a large diameter portion 25a pressed into the bottom portion 23a of the recess 23 and a shaft portion 25b fitted into the opening portion 23b of the recess 23. The large diameter portion 25a is tapered at its tip.

[0047] When the engaging protrusion 25 is mounted on the mounting seat 22, the large diameter portion 25a of the engaging protrusion 25 enters the recess 23 while expanding the diameter of the opening portion 23b of the recess 23 by elastic deformation, and fits with the bottom portion 23a of the recess 23 in a pressed state. When the engaging protrusion 25 is mounted on the mounting seat 22, the engaging protrusion 25 is engaged with the recess 23, so that the push rod 24 cannot be easily removed from the mounting seat 22. However, by strongly pulling the push rod 24 backward relative to the operation key 4, the opening portion 23b of the recess 23 is expanded due to elastic deformation, and the engaging protrusion 25 can be pulled out of the recess 23 and the push rod 24 can be removed from the mounting seat 22.

[0048] In the electronic device 1 thus constructed, since the operation key 4 is arranged on the side of the surface 2c relative to the back side 2a of the operation panel 2, in the final stage after the operation key 4 is arranged on the operation panel 2, the back side 2a of the operation panel 2 can be screen-printed without being hindered by the operation key 4. When the operation panel 2 is colored, since it can be performed by screen printing, masking is not required, and the printed surface after screen printing will not be damaged by contact with a mold, etc. In addition, since the operation panel 2 is printed on the back side 2a, the paint will not peel off even if it contacts the surface 2c, and the surface 2c can be made glossy.

[0049] In this electronic device 1, when the specifications of the switch 14 change and the total height of the switch 14 changes, the push rod 24 can be replaced with a push rod of a length that can offset the height change of the switch 14, and the operation panel 2 or the operation key 4 can continue to be used without changing.

[0050] Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide an electronic device having an operation panel that achieves an improved appearance at a low manufacturing cost and having operation keys that have high operability and can easily cope with changes in switch specifications.

[0051] The switches 14 of this embodiment are respectively provided at a plurality of positions on the printed circuit board 11. The through holes 16 of the operation panel 2 are respectively formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of switches 14 (first to fifth switches 14a to 14e). The operation key 4 is formed by integrally forming a key body 21 and a mounting seat 22 respectively provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of through holes 16.

[0052] Therefore, all the mounting seats 22 can be formed to have the same shape and size, so when selecting the push rod 24 with a length corresponding to the overall height of the switch 14 , it can be easily performed according to the overall height of the switch 14 .

[0053] The mounting seat 22 of this embodiment has a recess 23 opened toward the inside of the frame 3. The end (engagement protrusion 25) of the push rod 24 on the opposite side to the switch 14 is formed in a shape that fits into the recess 23 in a press-fit state.

[0054] Therefore, the push rod 24 can be detachably held by utilizing the elasticity of the operation key 4 , so that the push rod 24 can be easily attached and detached.

[0055] The operation panel 2 shown in this embodiment is integrally formed with the operation key 4 in a manner that blocks the plurality of through holes 16. Although such an operation panel 2 has a plurality of through holes 16, it is substantially a single plate. Therefore, by mounting the operation panel 2 on the frame 3 via a sealing member (not shown) in a state that the operation panel 2 blocks the opening of the frame 3, it is possible to easily realize a liquid-tight electronic device 1.

[0056] Explanation of symbols

[0057] 1 ... electronic device, 2 ... operation panel, 4 ... operation key, 11 ... printed circuit board, 16 ... through hole, 14a to 14e ... first to fifth switches, 21 ... key body, 22 ... mounting seat, 23 ... recessed portion, 24a to 24e ... first to fifth push rods.

Claims

1. An electronic device, characterized in that: have: An operation panel, which is formed of a transparent material and has a through hole for switch operation, and is arranged on an outer surface of a housing for the electronic device; An operating key, which is integrally formed on the operating panel in a manner of blocking the through hole and is made of an elastic material; A substrate disposed inside the electronic device housing and near the operation panel; a switch mounted on a surface of the substrate opposite to the operation panel; and a push rod which is detachably mounted on the operation key while passing through the through hole of the operation panel, and transmits the displacement of the operation key to the switch, The operation key has a key body that closes the through hole and a mounting seat that can detachably mount the push rod, and the mounting seat of the operation key is arranged on the surface side of the back side of the operation panel. Screen printing is performed on the back surface of the operation panel.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The switches are respectively arranged at a plurality of positions on the substrate, The through holes of the operation panel are formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of switches, respectively. The operation key is formed by integrally forming the key main body and the mounting seat which are respectively provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of through holes.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The mounting seat has a recessed portion opening toward the inner side of the electronic device housing. The end portion of the push rod on the opposite side to the switch is formed in a shape that fits into the recess in a pressed-in state.

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