Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Satoru Takemori

Naoki Yamada

Ryuichi Hagiya

Kazuhiro Yokoyama

Kazutoshi Watanabe

Katsuyuki Suzuki

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

The keyboard apparatus includes a plurality of key switches manipulated by keytops and a backlight means comprising an EL sheet for illuminating the operation side S constituted of the keytops from under it wherein the key switches are provided with permeable keytops and impermeable character portions and the backlight means has light emission positions allocated corresponding to key placements.

Keyboard apparatus the operation side of which can be illuminated

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 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.

Growing community of inventors

Fukushima-ken, Japan

Satoru Takemori