INPUT DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Abstract

Input device (10) comprising an operating input part (22) which is movably mounted above a metal base plate (26), wherein the operating input part (22) comprises: a pad (44) to receive an input operation; a circuit board (42) stacked below the pad (44) to detect an input operation at the pad (44); and a plastic housing plate (40) which is stacked below the circuit board, wherein the base plate (26) has an upper surface on which a protruding piece (50) is arranged to be inserted between the circuit board (42) and the housing plate (40) and to come into contact with a conductive part provided on the circuit board (42).

Description

AREA OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an input device that includes an operating input part to receive an input operation, which is movably mounted above a base plate, and to an electronic device that has such an input device. Background of the invention

[0002] A laptop personal computer (laptop PC) is equipped with various input devices as an alternative to a mouse, in addition to a keyboard, such as a touchpad and a pointing device. A touchpad allows the manipulation of a cursor, which is displayed on a screen in response to a touch operation with a fingertip or stylus.

[0003] For such an input device, which includes a touchpad, the present applicant proposes in patent document 1 a configuration that enables a touch operation and pressure on the touchpad. In this configuration, a plurality of pseudo-key areas are configured on a touch surface of the touchpad, which allows an operator to perform an input operation corresponding to each pseudo-key area by pressing the touchpad while the corresponding pseudo-key area is being touched.

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-25422 A SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Since an input device like a touchpad, configured to enable a print operation as described above, now includes a circuit board to detect a touch input on a touchpad component that moves up and down in response to the input, a countermeasure against static electricity is required for this component. One method for this is to connect it to a ground (GND) wire provided on the circuit board and a metal base plate to allow the touchpad to move vertically with a ground wire. However, this method increases the number of components, the number of assembly steps, and consequently, the cost.

[0006] In view of these problems of conventional methods, the present invention intends to provide an input device that enables a sufficient countermeasure against static electricity, while reducing the number of components or the cost of the assembly process.

[0007] An input device according to the present invention comprises an operating input part that is movably mounted above a metal base plate, wherein the operating input part includes: a pad for receiving an input operation; a circuit board stacked below the pad for detecting an input operation on the pad; and a plastic housing plate stacked below the circuit board, wherein the base plate has an upper surface on which a protruding piece is arranged to be inserted between the circuit board and the housing plate in order to come into contact with a conductive part provided on the circuit board.

[0008] This configuration allows the protruding portion of the metal base plate to make contact with the conductive part of the circuit board while sandwiched between the board and the housing plate. Therefore, it maintains contact between the conductive part and the protruding portion regardless of the movement of the operating input element. This eliminates the need to separately connect the conductive part of the circuit board and the metal base plate with a ground wire or similar device, thus reducing the number of components, the number of assembly steps, and costs. It also allows static electricity generated during operation of the operating input element to dissipate smoothly from the conductive part to the base plate and be discharged to the outside, providing sufficient protection against static electricity.

[0009] The user interface element can be pivotally mounted above the base plate, specifically above the portion of the protruding piece that is sandwiched between the conductive part of the circuit board and the housing plate, acting as a support point. In this configuration, the contact element between the conductive part and the protruding piece serves as a support point for the pivoting movement of the user interface element, thus ensuring a more reliable contact between the conductive part and the protruding piece when the user interface element pivots.

[0010] The housing plate can have an elastic section that has a gap to the circuit board, and the protruding section can be sandwiched between the conductive part of the circuit board and the elastic section of the housing plate. Therefore, after the elastic section of the housing plate engages with the protruding section of the base plate, when the operating input part is pressed to pivot, force can be generated on the bonding surface between the circuit board and the housing plate. This force is absorbed by the elastic section due to the effects of the thickness of the protruding section, its dimensional errors, or similar factors. As a result, delamination of the bonding surface between the circuit board and the housing plate can be prevented.

[0011] The base plate can have an elastic pressure element that has a gap with the protruding piece, and the elastic part of the housing plate can be sandwiched between the elastic pressure element and the protruding piece, so that the elastic pressure element presses the elastic element against the protruding piece. This prevents fluttering of the elastic element when the operating input element is pressed to pivot, thus making the pivoting movement of the operating input element more stable and ensuring a more stable electrical connection between the conductive part and the base plate.

[0012] The protruding piece can have a dome-like convex profile on a surface that comes into contact with the conductive part. This allows the contact status between the conductive part and the protruding piece to be maintained more reliably when the operating input part pivots.

[0013] The pad can include a touchpad to receive a touch operation, and the board can be configured to detect a touch operation on the touchpad and a pressure operation on the touchpad.

[0014] An electronic device according to the present invention comprises: the input device having the configuration mentioned above, a keyboard device, and a display device to indicate an input operation by the input device and the keyboard device accordingly.

[0015] An input device according to the present invention comprises an operating input part which is movably mounted above a metal base plate, wherein the operating input part comprises: a pad for receiving an input operation; a circuit board which is stacked below the pad for detecting an input operation on the pad; and a plastic housing plate which is stacked below the circuit board, wherein the operating input part is pivotably mounted above the base plate, and a conductive part which is provided on the circuit board, and the base plate come into contact at a part which serves as a support point for pivoting the operating input part.

[0016] With this configuration, the conductive part and the base plate make contact at a point that serves as a pivoting point for the operating input element. Therefore, the contact between the conductive part and the protruding piece can be maintained regardless of the operating input element's movement. This eliminates the need to separately connect the conductive part of the circuit board and the metal base plate with a grounding wire or similar, thus reducing the number of components, the number of assembly steps, and costs. It also allows static electricity generated during operation of the operating input element to dissipate smoothly from the conductive part to the base plate and be discharged to the outside, providing sufficient protection against static electricity.

[0017] The present invention can avoid the need to connect the conductive part of the circuit board and the metal base plate separately with a grounding wire or the like, thereby reducing the number of components and the number of steps in the assembly process and reducing costs. It also allows static electricity generated during the actuation of the operating input part to flow gently from the conductive part to the base plate and be discharged to the outside, as a satisfactory and sufficient countermeasure against static electricity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device that includes an input device, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view that schematically shows the configuration of the input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an input device located in Fig. 2 is shown. Fig. Figure 4 is a stretched perspective view showing an enlarged view of the main part of the input device, which is in Fig. 3 is shown. Fig. Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a cross-section of the touch pad and base plate, with a magnified portion of it near the rear end. Fig. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional side view that schematically shows the touch pad and base plate, with a magnified portion of it near the rear end, where Fig. 6(A) shows a state in which the touchpad is not pressed, and Fig. 6(B) shows a state in which the touchpad is pressed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] With reference to the attached drawings, the following describes an input device of the present invention by an embodiment which is preferred with respect to an electronic device comprising this input device.

[0019] Fig. Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device 12, which includes an input device 10, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The following description is based on the use of the input device 10 in the electronic device 12, which is shown in Fig. 2 is shown as a reference, the side closest to the operator is referred to as the front (forward) side, the rear side is referred to as the back (reverse) side, the thickness direction of a sub-housing 14 or body chassis which forms the electronic device 12 is referred to as the vertical direction and the width direction thereof is referred to as the horizontal direction.

[0020] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, the electronic device 12 is a laptop PC that includes the base housing 14, which has the input device 10 and a keyboard device 16, and a display housing 18, which has a display unit 18a, such as a liquid crystal display. The display housing 18 is openable / closeable to the base housing 14 via a pair of left and right hinges 19, 19.

[0021] The base housing 14 internally contains various electronic components, such as a circuit board, a processing unit, a hard disk device, and a memory. The input device 10 and the keyboard device 16 are arranged on the front, and the rear is arranged accordingly on a surface 14a of the base housing 14. A pointing stylus 20 is provided in the center of the keyboard device 16. The pointing stylus 20 is used to manipulate a cursor (mouse pointer) displayed on the display unit 18a, which is an input device that can be used instead of a mouse.

[0022] Although the present embodiment serves as an example of the configuration in which the input device 10 is mounted on the electronic device 12 as a laptop PC, as noted above, the input device 10 can be mounted on a keyboard device as a single substructure to be connected to the desktop PC or the like.

[0023] Next, an example of the configuration of input device 10 will be described.

[0024] Fig. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view that schematically shows the configuration of the input device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the input device 10, which is located in Fig. 2 is shown.

[0025] As in Fig. 1 and Fig. As shown in Figure 2, the input device 10 comprises a touch pad (operating input part) 22 for receiving a touch operation from an operator by bringing a fingertip or the like into contact with it, with three pushbuttons 24a, 24b and 24c arranged along the rear end part of the touch pad 22. Fig. 2 and Fig. As shown in Figure 3, the touch pad 22 and the push buttons 24a to 24c are mounted on the side of the upper surface of the base plate 26, which is a metal plate part.

[0026] First, the pushbuttons 24a to 24c function with respect to cursor manipulation using the pointing pen 20 or the touchpad 22, and are click operation buttons corresponding to a left button, a center button, and a right button of a typical mouse. The pushbuttons 24a to 24c can be located near the front end of the touchpad 22 or can be positioned within a frame of the base housing 14, which is located between the touchpad 22 and the buttons.

[0027] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 2, the pushbuttons 24a to 24c have rear ends 28 which are rotatably engaged with a support 30 projecting from the rear end of the base plate 26, allowing these buttons to pivot about the rear ends 28 as a support point. Therefore, when the front end of each of the pushbuttons 24a to 24c is pressed, an internally arranged rubber dome 32 is compressed, thereby activating a switch (not shown), such as a membrane switch, located on the upper surface of the base plate 26.

[0028] After that, the Touch-Pad 22 is configured as a click-pad, which can also be used to perform a click operation by pressing in addition to a touch operation.

[0029] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, pseudo-key areas 34a and 34b are configured on a portion of a touch-sensitive surface 22a, such as the surface of the touchpad 22 located near the front. The pseudo-key areas 34a and 34b have corresponding areas on the touch-sensitive surface 22a, which are defined by coordinates that are not visible. In response to pressure applied to the touchpad 22 while a fingertip is in contact with one of the pseudo-key areas 34a or 34b, processing or display is performed according to the pseudo-key area 34a or 34b. For example, the two pseudo-key areas 34a and 34b correspond to the left and right buttons of a typical mouse.

[0030] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 2, the touch pad 22 has a three-layer configuration comprising a housing plate 40 as a base plate, which is arranged opposite the base plate 26, a printed circuit board (PCB) 42, which is stacked on the upper surface of the housing plate 40 to detect a touch operation on the touch operating surface 22a, and a pad plate (Pad) 44, which is stacked on the PCB 42, the surface of which is the touch operating surface 22a to receive a touch operation. Fig. Figure 3 omits the representation of the circuit board 42 and the pad board 44.

[0031] The printed circuit board 42 is a circuit board having a rectangular shape in plan view, which represents a sensor for detecting a touch operation on the pad plate 44 or a pressure operation on the touch pad 22. The printed circuit board 42 is connected to a circuit board in the sub-housing 14 via wiring (not shown). Wiring (not shown) connects the pushbuttons 24a to 24c to the printed circuit board 42. The pad plate 44 is a glass or plastic plate having a rectangular shape in plan view and is immovably connected to the upper surface of the printed circuit board 42 by means of an adhesive, double-sided tape, or the like. The printed circuit board 42 is provided with a ground wire G on the lower surface near the rear end, the ground wire being a ribbon-like conductive plate extending along the horizontal direction (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 5).

[0032] As in Fig. 2 and Fig. As shown in Figure 3, the housing plate 40 is a plastic plate with a rectangular shape in plan view and serves as a housing component for holding the printed circuit board 42 and the pad plate 44. The printed circuit board 42 is rigidly fixed to the upper surface of the housing plate 40 using adhesive, double-sided tape, or the like. The housing plate 40 has an inclined surface portion 40a at its rear end and near the front end face of the pushbuttons 24a to 24c, which slopes downwards towards the rear. Due to this inclined surface portion 40a, the touch pad 22 does not obstruct the actuation of the pushbuttons 24a to 24c.

[0033] Fig. Figure 4 is a stretched perspective view, which shows an enlarged view of the main part of the input device 10, which is located in Fig. Figure 3 shows the engagement structure of an elastic piece 46 provided on the housing plate 40 and a protruding piece 50 available on the base plate 26. Fig. Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a cross-sectional section of the touch pad 22 and the base plate 26, to enlarge a portion of it near the rear end. Fig. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing the touch pad 22 and the base plate 26, with a magnified portion of it near the rear end, wherein Fig. 6(A) shows a state in which the touchpad 22 is not pressed, and Fig. 6(B) shows a state in which the touchpad 22 is pressed. In Fig. For the visibility of the drawing, the pad plate 44 and the hatching of the circuit board 42 are omitted.

[0034] As in the Fig. 3, Fig. 4 to Fig. As shown in Figure 5, a pair of left and right elastic pieces 46 are provided on the front face of the inclined surface portion 40a of the housing plate 40 such that they appear to extend towards the rear. The elastic pieces 46 are formed by cutting away their two left and right lateral portions and the rear portions in the thickness direction, so that it is a single piece like a narrow tongue, thus having a cantilever structure to be elastic to a certain degree. Each elastic piece 46 has a nail 46a at its end (rear end) such that it is fastened while curved downwards.The elastic pieces 46 are not rigidly attached to the lower surface of the circuit board 42 and at least the nails 46a are arranged to have a predetermined gap between their upper surfaces and the circuit board 42, whereby the protruding pieces 50, which are formed by cutting the upper surface of the base plate 26 in order to lift it off as described later, are sandwiched between the upper surfaces of the nails 46a and the lower surface of the circuit board 42.

[0035] Furthermore, a plurality (four in the present embodiment) of engagement pieces 47 are provided on the bond side of the inclined surface portion 40a of the housing plate 40 to have a shape essentially similar to that of the nails 46a of the elastic pieces 46 and extending slightly towards the rear end. Each of the engagement pieces 47 also engages with the corresponding projecting piece 50, which is truncated to protrude from the base plate 26 (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 3).

[0036] As in Fig. 2 and Fig. As shown in Figure 3, a pair of left and right tabs 52 are provided on a portion near the front end of the housing plate 40. Each tab 52 has a V-shaped form in a planar view, which engages with a connecting hook 54 formed on the upper surface of the base plate 26 to form an L-shaped form in cross-section. These tabs 52 and the connecting hooks 54 serve to connect the housing plate 40 to the base plate 26 in its stacking direction and to confine it towards the sloping edge of the touch pad 22, while acting as a retainer to prevent it from rising.

[0037] Since the elastic piece 46 and the engagement pieces 47 of the housing plate 40 are rotatably engaged with the corresponding projecting pieces 50 of the base plate 26, the housing plate 40 (touch pad 22) can pivot relative to the base plate 26 about these engaged sections, such as about the support point. In the present embodiment, a guide structure (not shown) vertically guides the housing plate 40 relative to the base plate 26, so that the housing plate 40 is configured to move vertically, while the engaged sections of the elastic pieces 46 and the engagement pieces 47 with their corresponding projecting pieces 50 move backward and forward in a limited manner.

[0038] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 2, a sensing switch 55 is provided in a substantially central part of the lower surface of the housing plate 40 near the forward end. The sensing switch 55 is provided to output a predetermined sensing signal when the touch pad 22 is pressed. The sensing switch 55 is, for example, a metallic dome switch that bulges downward from the lower surface of the housing plate 40, which turns on when the touch pad 22 is pressed until the switch comes into contact with the base plate 26, and this ON signal is detected by the circuit board 42.

[0039] As in the Fig. 3, Fig. 4 to Fig. As shown in Figure 5, the projecting pieces 50 are formed to extend from the upper surface of the base plate 26. Each projecting piece 50 is shaped like an angled U-shaped form in the lateral view, having an abutting plate 50a at its upper end that is bent towards the rear when a portion of the base plate 26 is cut off to extend upwards. A dome-shaped convex profile 50b is provided on the upper surface of the adjacent plate 50a of the projecting piece 50 to bulge upwards. The projecting pieces 50 are positioned according to the elastic pieces 46 and the engagement pieces 47 of the housing plate 40 (see Figure 5). Fig. 3) In the present embodiment, this means that a plurality of (six) protruding pieces 50 are arranged on a part of the base plate 26 near the rear end along the horizontal direction.

[0040] Below these projecting pieces 50, below each pair of projecting pieces 50, corresponding to the pair of elastic pieces 46, an elastic pressure part 56 is arranged, which is formed on the upper surface of the base plate 26. As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. As shown in Figure 5, similar to the elastic pieces 46 of the housing plate 40, the elastic pressure parts 56 are formed by cutting off both their left and right lateral parts and rear parts in the thickness direction, so that they are a piece like a narrow tongue, thus having a free support structure that is extended backwards and is elastic to a certain degree. As shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. As shown in Figure 6, the ends of the elastic pressure parts 56 are arranged above the upper surface of the base plate 26. This means that each of the elastic pressure parts 56 is a spring-like part that is bent upwards from the upper surface of the base plate 26 in order to press the elastic piece 46 against the lower surface of the adjacent plate 50a.

[0041] Therefore, as in Fig. 5 and Fig. Figure 6(A) shows that the input device 10, according to the present embodiment, has a double sandwich structure on a portion of the touch pad 22 and the base plate 26 near the rear end, such that the adjacent plate 50a of the projecting piece 50 of the base plate 26 is sandwiched between the upper surface of the nail 46a of the elastic part 46 of the housing plate 40 and the lower surface of the substrate plate 42, and the nail 46 of the elastic part 46 is then sandwiched between the lower surface of the adjacent plate 50a and the upper surface of the elastic pressure part 56. At this time, the tip surface of the convex profile 50b, which is formed on the upper surface of the adjacent plate 50a of the projecting piece 50 on the base plate 26, comes into contact with the ground line (conductive plate) G, which is provided on the lower surface of the circuit board 42.As a result, the touch pad 22 is supported in a pivotable state above the base plate 26 over the part of the protruding piece 50 of the base plate 26, which is sandwiched between the ground line G of the circuit board 42 and the elastic parts 46 of the housing plate 40 as a support point.

[0042] First, in the state where the touchpad 22 is not pressed, as in the Fig. Figure 6(A) shows the double sandwich structure between the touch pad 22 and the base plate 26, as described above. This sandwich-like arrangement places the adjacent plate 50a of the protruding piece 50 of the base plate 26 between the nail 46a of the elastic piece 46 of the housing plate 40 and the ground wire G, which is provided on the lower surface of the circuit board 42. This means that the ground wire G and the base plate 26 are electrically connected. This allows any static electricity generated during the actuation of the touch pad 22 to flow smoothly from the ground wire G to the base plate, so that the electricity can be discharged to the outside of the sub-housing 14 of the electronic device 12 via the base plate 26.

[0043] Next, if the touchpad is 22, as in Fig. As shown in Figure 6(B), when the touchpad 22 is pressed, it pivots while moving a portion of it near its front end downwards over the base plate 26, over the portion of the protruding piece 50 of the base plate 26 that is sandwiched between the ground wire G of the circuit board 42 and the elastic parts 46 of the housing plate 40 as a support point. This activates the detection switch 55, which is provided on the lower surface of the housing plate 40 near its front end, because it is pressed by the upper surface of the base plate 24.

[0044] During such a printing process of the touch pad 22, the double sandwich structure between the touch pad 22 and the base plate 26, as described above, is also maintained (see Fig. 6(B)). This means that during the printing process on the touch pad 22, the sandwich-like state of the adjacent plate 50a between the nail 46a of the elastic part 46 and the ground wire G is always maintained, and therefore the static electricity generated on the touch pad 22 can be gently discharged from the ground wire G to the base plate 26. Since the dome-like convex profile 50b is provided on the upper surface of the adjacent plate 50a of the protruding piece 50, the contact state between the ground wire G and the protruding piece 50 can be maintained more reliably, even if the touch pad 22 is pivoted during the printing process.

[0045] As stated above, the input device 10 according to the present embodiment has a configuration such that the touch pad 22 is movably supported as an operating input element above the metal base plate 26, the touch pad 22 comprising: the pad plate 44 for receiving an input operation; the circuit board 42 stacked below the pad plate 44 for detecting an input operation on the pad plate 44; and the plastic housing plate 40 stacked below the circuit board 42, in which the upper surface of the base plate 26 is provided with the protruding pieces 50 that are inserted between the circuit board 42 and the housing plate 40 and come into contact with the ground line G as a conductive part provided on the circuit board 42.

[0046] Therefore, the protruding pieces 50 of the metal base plate 26 come into contact with the ground line G of the circuit board 42, while they are sandwiched between the circuit board 42 and the housing plate 40, regardless of whether a printing operation of the touch pad 22 is performed or not (see Fig. 6(A) and Fig.6(B)). This eliminates the need to separately connect the ground wire G to the circuit board 42 and the metal base plate 26 with a grounding wire, thus reducing the number of components and assembly steps, and lowering costs. Additionally, the ground wire G and the protruding pieces 50 of the base plate 26 are always in contact and electrically connected, regardless of whether a pressure operation is performed on the touch pad 22. This allows the static electricity generated during touch pad 22 operation to dissipate smoothly from the ground wire G to the base plate 26, discharging it to the outside.

[0047] In other words, the touchpad 22, as the operating input part of the input device 10 according to the present embodiment, is pivotably supported above the base plate 26, and the ground line G, which is provided on the circuit board 42 and the base plate 26, comes into contact at the part as the pivoting point. This allows the ground line G and the base plate 26 to always be in contact and maintain their electrical connection state without adding a component such as a separate ground wire, and regardless of whether a pressure operation is performed on the touchpad 22 or not.

[0048] In this input device 10, the housing plate 40 has elastic pieces 46 that form a gap with the printed circuit board 42, and some of the protruding pieces 50 are sandwiched between the ground line G of the printed circuit board 42 and the elastic pieces 46 of the housing plate 40. This allows force to be generated on the bond surface of the printed circuit board 42 and the housing plate 40 after the elastic pieces 46 of the housing plate 40 engage with the protruding pieces 50 of the base plate 26 when the touch pad 22 is pressed to pivot. This force is generated due to the effects of the thicknesses of the adjacent plates 50a and the protruding pieces 50, whose dimensional defects or similar are absorbed by the elastic pieces 46. As a result, detachment of the bond surface between the printed circuit board 42 and the housing plate 40 can be prevented.

[0049] In this input device 10, the base plate 26 has elastic pressure parts 56 which have a gap with the protruding pieces 50, so that the elastic pieces 46 of the housing plate 40 are sandwiched between the elastic pressure parts 56 and the protruding pieces 50, such that the elastic pressure parts 46 press the elastic pieces 46 against the protruding pieces 50. This means that, since the nails 46a of the elastic pieces 46 of the housing plate 40 are sandwiched between the lower surfaces of the adjacent plates 50a of the protruding pieces 50 and the elastic pressure parts 56, shaking of the elastic parts 46 can be prevented when the touch pad 22 is pressed to pivot. As a result, the pivoting movement of the touch pad 22 becomes more stable, and the electrical connection between the ground wire G and the base plate 26 can be maintained more reliably.

[0050] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and may be freely modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0051] For example, the above embodiment is configured such that the elastic pieces 46 are provided on the housing plate 40 and the elastic pressure pieces 56 are provided on the base plate 26 to correspond with some of the protruding pieces 50 among the multitude of protruding pieces 50 provided on the base plate 26, and the other protruding pieces 50 engage with the engagement pieces 47 of the housing plate 40. In another embodiment, the elastic pieces 46 and the elastic pressure pieces 56 can be arranged to correspond with all of the protruding pieces 50.

[0052] The present invention is also applicable to input devices other than a click pad, including a touch pad 22 which is movably held above the base plate 26. [Description of symbols] 10 Input device 12 electronic device 14 Under-cabinet housings 16 Keyboard device 18 Display housings 18a Display unit 20 Pointing pencil 22 Touch-Pad 22a Touch control surface 24a to 24c push button 26 Base plate 40 Housing plate 42 circuit boards 44 Pat plate 46 elastic pieces 46a Nail 47 Intervention piece 50 prominent pieces 50a adjacent plate 50b Convex profile 55 detection switches 56 elastic pressure part G Ground wire

Claims

[1] Input device (10) comprising an operating input part (22) which is movably mounted over a metal base plate (26), wherein the operating input part (22) comprises: a pad (44) to receive an input operation; a circuit board (42) stacked below the pad (44) to detect an input operation at the pad (44); and a plastic housing plate (40) which is stacked below the circuit board, wherein the base plate (26) has an upper surface on which a protruding piece (50) is arranged to be inserted between the circuit board (42) and the housing plate (40) and to come into contact with a conductive part provided on the circuit board (42). [2] Input device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the operating input part is pivotably mounted above the base plate over the part of the protruding piece (50) which is sandwiched between the conductive part of the circuit board (42) and the housing plate (40) as a support point. [3] Input device (10) according to claim 2, wherein the housing plate (40) has an elastic piece (46) which has a gap with the circuit board (42), and the protruding piece (50) is arranged sandwich-like between the conductive part of the circuit board (42) and the elastic piece (46) of the housing plate (40). [4] Input device (10) according to claim 3, wherein the base plate (26) has an elastic pressure part (56) which has a gap with the protruding piece (50), and the elastic piece (46) of the housing plate (40) is arranged sandwich-like between the elastic pressure part (56) and the protruding piece (50), so that the elastic pressure part (56) presses on the elastic piece (46) against the protruding piece (50). [5] Input device (10) according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the protruding part (50) has a dome-like convex profile on a surface thereof which comes into contact with the conductive part. [6] Input device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pad (44) comprises a touch pad to receive a touch operation, and the assembly detects a touch operation on the touch pad and a pressure operation on the touch pad. [7] Electronic device (12) comprising: the input device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, a keyboard device (16), and a display device to indicate according to an input operation by the input device and the keyboard device. [8] Input device (10) comprising an operating input part (22) movably mounted above a metal base plate (26), the operating input part (22) comprising: a pad (44) for receiving an input operation; a circuit board (42) stacked below the pad (44) for detecting an input operation on the pad (44); and a plastic housing plate (40) stacked below the circuit board (42), the operating input part (22) being pivotably mounted above the base plate (26), and a conductive part provided on the circuit board (42), and the base plate (26) coming into contact at a part that serves as a support for pivoting the operating input part (22).

Images