Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Yoshirou Koutaka

Hideki Ito

Tsuyoshi Narusawa

Kazutoshi Watanabe

Takahiro Murakami

Hiromi Chiba

Masaaki Kageyama

Kunio Hosono

Katsuyuki Katayama

In a keyboard input unit whose cover member covering the top of a keyboard body is divided into at least a first segment and a second segment, the segments are foldably connected by a connecting section. The connecting section has: a first cylindrical part with a through hole provided on the first segment; a second cylindrical part provided on the second segment and having at one end a pin stopping section, the second cylindrical part being arranged on substantially the same axial line as the first cylindrical part; a connecting pin inserted from the first cylindrical part through the second cylindrical part; and an elastic stopper formed integrally with the first segment or the second segment in a position on the first cylindrical part contrary to the second cylindrical part.

Keyboard input unit having foldable cover

A keyboard device includes a plurality of keyswitches each having a keytop movable up and down, wherein the angle of the keytop varies depending on whether the keytop is in an initial position or in a pressed position. In this structure, the keytop moves in a direction corresponding to the motion of an operator's finger and thus smooth operations can be achieved, as opposed to a conventional keyboard device in which a keytop moves vertically while maintaining itself horizontal and thus the motion of the keytop occurs in a direction different from the motion of an operator's finger.

Keyboard device having plurality of keyswitches

A keyboard has an upper case, a lower case, and a stacked functional structure formed by stacking and fastening together a membrane switch sheet, a rubber sheet and a housing supporting keys in that order on a curved plate and a flat plate. When assembling the stacked functional structure, the membrane switch sheet and the rubber sheet are placed in that order on the curved plate and the flat plate supported in place on the bottom wall of the lower case and support ribs formed on the inner surface of the bottom wall of the lower case, connecting hooks formed integrally with the housing are inserted through aligned slots formed in the rubber sheet, the membrane switch sheet, the curved plate and the flat plate so that the connecting hooks engage with the lower surfaces of the curved plate and the flat plate with the membrane switch sheet and the rubber sheet are sandwiched firmly between the housing, and the curved plate and the flat plate. The stacked functional structure is sandwiched between the upper and the lower case, and then the upper and the lower case are fastened together to complete the keyboard.

Keyboard

Data entry keyboard

A push button switch including a casing unit composed of an upper casing and a lower casing, a switch device provided in the casing unit, a stem slidably supported to the casing unit for switching on and off the switch device, an elastic member for normally elastically biasing the stem in such a direction as to restore an initial condition of the stem, and a clicking leaf spring adapted to abut against the stem for giving a click feeling to an operator upon depression of the stem. The clicking leaf spring is made up of a base portion having opposite ends abutting against opposed inner surfaces of the upper casing and the lower casing and thereby being held between the upper casing and the lower casing, and a spring portion split from the base portion by a pair of slits each having a closed end. A spring fulcrum is defined by the straight-line distance between the closed ens. The spring portion is such that it is removed from both the upper casing and the lower casing. Upon depression of the stem, the spring portion of the leaf spring is elastically deformed at the spring fulcrum thus increasing a deformation span of the spring portion.

Growing community of inventors

Fukushima-ken, Japan

Yoshirou Koutaka