Coded data generation or conversion – Bodily actuated code generator – Including keyboard or keypad
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-27
2004-01-20
Horabik, Michael (Department: 2635)
Coded data generation or conversion
Bodily actuated code generator
Including keyboard or keypad
C200S0050EA, C200S00600C, C200S244000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06680676
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch unit operated by pushing a keypad, and to a portable terminal device having such a switch unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a portable terminal device such as a portable telephone or the like, which has a switch unit provided with selector cursor key switches for selecting data displayed on a display portion, and a fixer key switch for fixing the selected data, those switches being operated by pushing keypads. JP-A-9-261311 discloses an example of a portable telephone which uses such selector cursor key switches and a fixer key switch instead of conventional ten-keys (number keys). There is also conventionally known a portable terminal device, such as a portable telephone, having selector cursor key switches and a fixer key in addition to ten-key switches. In such a portable telephone, a housing is generally constituted by a casing
1
and a cover
2
as shown in FIG.
7
. In addition, the cover
2
is provided with ten-keypads
3
through which a numerical value such as a phone number or the like is inputted, a selector cursor keypad
4
having a scrolling function, a fixer keypad
5
having a fixer switch function, transmitter and receiver portions
6
and
7
, a display portion
8
for displaying input characters or figures, and an antenna
9
. To register a phone number in this portable telephone, the selector cursor keypad
4
is first used to confirm a phonebook registration area displayed on a menu section of the display portion
8
, and then the fixer keypad
5
is pushed. Thus, registration with a phonebook is permitted. The ten-keypads
3
are pushed in this state to thereby input a name and a phone number to be registered, and then the fixer keypad
5
is pushed to perform registration.
Alternatively, JP-A-8-96665 discloses another multi-input switch for generating a signal corresponding to the tilting direction of an operating shaft tilted by a tilting operation, and a signal corresponding to a push operation. In such a multi-input switch, generally, as shown in
FIG. 8
, a switch board
13
is disposed on the bottom surface of a switch casing
12
retained in a switch chassis
11
, and a first switch
14
is disposed at the center of the top surface of the switch board
13
while a second switch
15
is disposed around the first switch
14
. In addition, an operating shaft
16
constituted by a straight rod portion and a flange portion is disposed so that a protrusion portion on the lower surface of the flange portion faces the first and second switches
14
and
15
on the switch board
13
, and the straight rod portion projects tiltably on the top surface of the switch casing
12
. A switch cad
17
is attached to the top of the projecting straight rod portion.
In addition, JP-A-139880 discloses a multi-input switch in which the tilt of the operating lever brings a movable contact member or a metal operating lever into an electrical connection with a predetermined place of an annular resistor, and makes electrical conduction between the resistor and a fixed electrode, so that an electric signal corresponding to the tilting direction of the operating lever can be extracted. Thus, the multi-input switch can be made small and thin.
In the background-art portable terminal device such as a portable telephone or the like having selector cursor key switches and a fixer key switch and described with reference to
FIG. 7
, the selector cursor keypad
4
and the fixer keypad
5
are disposed separately, so that the area occupied by the key input portion becomes large as a whole, and it will be an obstacle to prospective miniaturization of the portable terminal device. Thus, it is considered that the multi-input switch disclosed in JP-A-8-96665 described with reference to
FIG. 8
is applied to the case where selector cursor key switches and a fixer key switch are disposed adjacently to each other, and the selector cursor key switches and the fixer key switch are integrated. However, in the background-art multi-input switch, as described above, the switch board
13
is disposed on the bottom surface of the switch casing
12
retained in the switch chassis
11
, and the first switch
14
is disposed at the center of the top surface of the switch board
13
while the second switch
15
is disposed around the first switch
14
. In addition, the operating shaft
16
constituted by the straight rod portion and the flange portion is disposed so that the protrusion portion on the lower surface of the flange portion faces the first and second switches
14
and
15
on the switch board
13
, and the straight rod portion projects tiltably on the top surface of the switch casing
12
. The switch pad
17
is attached to the top of the projecting straight rod portion. Accordingly, the switch unit is large as a whole, and the structure thereof is complicated, so that the cost increases. As disclosed in JP-A-6-139880, there is another multi-input switch which is designed to extract an electric signal in accordance with the tilting direction of an operating lever without using a push switch, so that the multi-input switch can be made small and thin. However, also in this case, the multi-input switch has a basic structure similar to that shown in FIG.
8
. That is, the switch unit is large as a whole, and the structure is complicated, so that the cost increases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a switch unit operated by pushing a keypad, the switch unit being reduced in size and simplified in structure in order to reduce the cost, while two kinds of switches can be disposed adjacently to each other. It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal device in which the above-mentioned switch unit is used so that the portable terminal device can be reduced in space for a key input portion, and in size and cost as s whole, and is superior in operation performance.
According to the present invention, there is provided a switch unit in which two layers of printed boards are provided with switches respectively so that the switches can be operated by pushing keypads provided on the housing. In addition, according to the present invention, such a switch unit is used in the portable terminal device.
According to this switch unit, two kinds of switches can be allocated to two layers of printed boards so as to be disposed adjacently to each other in planar view. Accordingly, keypads for the switches can be disposed at a place, and also can be made into one keypad miniaturized by integral forming, so that the switch unit can be miniaturized. In addition, the switches are disposed at high and low levels separately. The degree of freedom on mechanism is therefore increased so that the structure can be simplified, and the cost can be restrained. In addition, when this switch unit is used in the portable terminal device, for example, selector cursor key switches and a fixer key switch can be disposed adjacently to each other in planar view so that their keypads can be integrated. As a result, the space for a key input portion can be reduced, so that it is possible to obtain a portable terminal device which is small in size, low in cost and superior in operation performance.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a switch unit comprising two layers of printed boards disposed inside a housing, the printed boards being provided with switches respectively so that the switches can be operated by pushing keypads provided on the housing. Thus, the two kinds of switches can be disposed adjacently to each other in planar view. Accordingly, the switch unit can be miniaturized, and the structure can be also simplified, so that the cost can be restrained.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a switch unit comprising two layers of printed boards disposed inside a housing, the printed boards being provided with switches respectively so that
Hasegawa Akira
Hayashi Takahiro
Ohmura Hiroshi
Sato Hiroyuki
Tomobe Shinji
Dang Hung Q
Horabik Michael
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Pearne & Gordon LLP
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