Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Naoki Yamada

Ryuichi Hagiya

Hideto Matsufusa

Satoru Takemori

Hiroshi Shigetaka

Hideaki Nagakubo

Kazutoshi Watanabe

Koichi Yamamoto

Keiji Takagi

Katsuyuki Katayama

Shinichiro Kimura

Takenobu Kimura

Naoya Akiyama

Masahiro Ishida

Toshinobu Hosaka

Naomi Sato

An input device includes a plurality of manipulation portions; an input function portion manipulated by the manipulation portions to perform an input function; a light guiding sheet facing the rear side of the plurality of manipulation portions; and a light source applying light into the light guiding sheet, wherein a rear surface opposite to a front surface of the light guiding sheet facing the manipulation portions is provided with a plurality of concave portions which is depressed to the inside of the light guiding sheet, wherein each concave portion has a circular opening and an inner surface which is a smooth concave curve surface, and wherein light propagated through the inside of the light guiding sheet is reflected by the inner surface toward the inside of the light guiding sheet, and the light is applied from the front surface of the light guiding sheet to the manipulation portions.

Input device and keyboard device having illumination function

A keyboard input device includes an elastic spring member bonded to a overcoat provided on a film substrate by an adhesive so that a movable contact part provided in the elastic spring member is disposed over a pair of fixed contact parts provided on the film substrate. An air-passage hole is provided on the ceiling of the elastic spring member including the movable contact part, the air-passage hole being disposed in the vertical moving direction of the movable contact part. Grooves are provided in a key-top at a portion thereof to be in contact with the top of the elastic spring member, the air-passage grooves being formed in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the air-passage hole to communicate with the air-passage hole. The air in the hollow elastic spring member is discharged, when the key-top is pressed to deform the elastic spring member, to the outside of the elastic spring member through the air-passage hole and the air-passage grooves.

Keyboard input device

A coordinate data input device is fabricated by stacking a sensing board having a film provided with a plurality of parallel x-electrodes on its front surface, a plurality of parallel y-electrodes extending perpendicularly to the first electrodes on its back surface, and through holes formed at one end of each electrodes, and a printed wiring board provided with a plurality of through holes at positions corresponding to the through holes formed in the film of the sensing board at the ends of the first and the second electrodes, and a circuitry formed on its back surface, for driving and controlling the first and the second electrodes of the sensing board. Conductive films are formed on the side surfaces of the through holes of the sensing board and those of the printed wiring board so as to electrically connect the first and the second electrodes of the sensing board to the circuitry of the printed wiring board.

Coordinate data input device and method of fabricating the same

A sheet-shaped switch including a first insulating sheet having a plurality of fixed electrodes formed on an upper surface thereof, a second insulating sheet having movable electrodes which are formed on a lower surface thereof such that the movable electrodes are opposed to the fixed electrodes, and an insulating spacer sandwiched between the upper surface of the first insulating sheet and the lower surface of the second insulating sheet, the insulating spacer defining through-holes which are aligned with the fixed electrodes and the movable electrodes such that each fixed electrode is able to contact an associated movable electrode through one of the through-holes. Protrusions in the form of elongated ridges are disposed between the first insulating sheet and the insulating spacer and/or between the second insulating sheet and the insulating spacer, and are formed around the through holes within 5 mm of the through holes. The protrusions facilitate a thinner switch by allowing the insulating spacer to be 75 .mu.m or less.

Sheet-shaped switch

A coordinate data input device comprises: a sensing board fabricated by forming a plurality of parallel first electrodes on the front surface of a film and forming a plurality of parallel second electrodes perpendicularly to the first electrodes on the back surface of the film, and capable of providing a current corresponding to an electrostatic capacitance between the respective groups of the first and the second electrodes; a resist layer of a thickness equal to that of the first electrodes, formed in regions in the front surface of the film in which the first electrodes are not formed; and a protective sheet adhesively bonded to the respective surfaces of the filling layer and the first electrodes.

Coordinate data input device

A sheet-like switch is disclosed in which the migration of silver can be prevented without requiring the provision of an overcoat. An upper electrode sheet is formed by disposing upper contacts and upper conductive patterns electrically connected to each other on an insulating sheet. A lower electrode sheet is formed by disposing lower contacts and lower conductive patterns electrically connected to each other on an insulating sheet. The upper and lower electrode sheets are stacked on each other across a spacer film provided with a hole. The upper and lower contacts are placed to opposedly face each other within the hole, and the upper and lower conductive patterns located within the hole are extended to the exterior in different directions, so that the upper and lower conductive patterns positioned on the peripheral portion of the hole can be prevented from overlapping each other across the spacer film in the upward and downward direction. Further, the length along the peripheral portion of the hole defined between the upper and lower conductive patterns positioned on the peripheral portion may preferably be 0.5 mm or greater.

Sheet-like switch with nonoverlapping conductive patterns

A coordinate input apparatus has a film sensor substrate. An X electrode array having a plurality of electrodes in parallel to each other is disposed on the obverse surface of the sensor substrate. A Y electrode array having a plurality of electrodes in parallel to each other is disposed on the reverse surface of the sensor substrate in a direction orthogonal to the X electrode array. A first through hole is formed at one end of the X electrode array, while a first land is formed at one end of the Y electrode array. A second land is disposed on the sensor substrate so that it can be electrically connected to the first through hole.

Growing community of inventors

Fukushima-ken, Japan

Naoki Yamada