Input keyboard for an electronic appliance in entertainment electronics

• US 5,164,697 A
• Filed: 04/03/1991
• Issued: 11/17/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia GmbH (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Unterhaltungselektronik GmbH (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kramer, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Lateef, Marvin M.
• Application Number:
  US07/679,609
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: 338/69, 338/99, 338/114, 84/423 B
• US Class Current: 338/69
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/702 with contacts carried by or formed from layers in a multilayer structure, e.g. membrane switches
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2215/004 Collapsible dome or bubble
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2239/078 Variable resistance by variable contact area or point

Abstract

An input keyboard (1) contains a switching device (3) for pushbuttons (22) wherein the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) on a printed circuit board (10) are bridged by a countercontact (16) operated by the pushbutton (22). The countercontact (16) consists of a carbonized plastic foil (14) and an electrically conducting layer (17) on the side facing away from the contact linings. By virtue of this arrangement there comes into being a bridging resistance between the bridged conductor strips (12.1, 12.2) that depends on the operating pressure (P) applied to the pushbutton, this resistance being then used to cause a control circuit arrangement (6) to generate a control command (Bf) for setting a particular function and an adjustment command (Bw) for setting a particular value or adjustment rate.

Claims

1. An input keyboard for an electronic appliance in entertainment electronics

with pushbuttons guided at right angles to the keyboard cover plate (23) and an insulating printed circuit board carrying, in positions correlated with the pushbuttons, contact linings that are to be electrically connected,

and with switching devices situated between the pushbuttons and the insulating printed circuit board, where each of the switching devices is correlated with one of the pushbuttons and contains a countercontact that, whenever the pushbutton correlated with the switching device is in its depressed position, will provide a large area of electrical connection between the correlated contact linings,

wherein

the countercontact (16) contains a carbonized plastic foil (14) of high electrical resistance that bears against an insulating edge (26) arranged between the printed circuit board (10) and the plastic foil and surrounding the area of the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) correlated with the pushbutton (22), the plastic foil having a certain, though very small electrical conductivity and a thickness (d) that is very small as compared with the distance (a) between the contact linings correlated with the appropriate pushbutton that are to be electrically connected,

on the side of the carbonized carbon foil facing away from the contact linings there is arranged an electrically conducting layer (17) having an electrical conductivity that is very great as compared with the electrical conductivity of the carbonized plastic foil, and

the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) correlated with a given pushbutton are connected to a control circuit arrangement (6) for converting bridging resistance (Rk) of the switching device (3) into a control command (Bf, Bw) that determines both a control or adjustment function and a control or adjustment variable, the bridging resistance depending on the pressure (P) that the depressed pushbutton (22) exerts on the countercontact (16) of that pushbutton.

2. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 1, wherein a spring element (20) is arranged between the bottom (27) of a pushbutton (22) and the countercontact (16) of that pushbutton to ensure a uniform pressure distribution over the contact surface (18) of the countercontact.

3. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 2, wherein the spring element (20) is made of a plastic material having an elastic springing back characteristic against compression.

4. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 1 wherein the spring element (20) correlated with a pushbutton (22) is fixed to the bottom (27) of the pushbutton to constitute a component of the said pushbutton.

5. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 4, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is applied as a terminal layer to the bottom (27) of the pushbutton (22).

6. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 1, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is applied to the side of the carbonized plastic foil (14) facing away from the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) of a switching device (3) at least in the area of the said contact linings.

7. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 1, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is a graphite layer.

8. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) correlated with a pushbutton (22) consist of a graphite layer that is applied to the appropriate conductor surfaces (12.1, 12.2) of the printed circuit board (10).

9. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the insulating edge that provides a bearing for the carbonized plastic foil (14) is the edge (26) of a cutout (25) in a thin insulating plate (13) arranged between the printed circuit board (10) and the carbonized plastic foil, the said cutout surrounding the area of the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) correlated with the pushbutton (22).

10. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 2, wherein the spring element (20) correlated with a pushbutton (22) is fixed to the bottom (27) of the pushbutton to constitute a component of the said pushbutton.

11. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 3, wherein the spring element (20) correlated with a pushbutton (22) is fixed to the bottom (27) of the pushbutton to constitute a component of the said pushbutton.

12. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 10, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is applied as a terminal layer to the bottom (27) of the pushbutton (22).

13. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 11, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is applied as a terminal layer to the bottom (27) of the pushbutton (22).

14. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 2, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is applied to the side of the carbonized plastic foil (14) facing away from the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) of a switching device (3) at least in the area of the said contact linings.

15. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 3, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is applied to the side of the carbonized plastic foil (14) facing away from the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) of a switching device (3) at least in the area of the said contact linings.

16. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 2, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is a graphite layer.

17. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 3, wherein the electrically conducting layer (17) is a graphite layer.

18. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 2, wherein the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) correlated with a pushbutton (22) consist of a graphite layer that is applied to the appropriate conductor surfaces (12.1, 12.2) of the printed circuit board (10).

19. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 3, wherein the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) correlated with a pushbutton (22) consist of a graphite layer that is applied to the appropriate conductor surfaces (12.1, 12.2) of the printed circuit board (10).

20. An input keyboard in accordance with claim 2, wherein the insulating edge that provides a bearing for the carbonized plastic foil (14) is the edge (26) of a cutout (25) in a thin insulating plate (13) arranged between the printed circuit board (10) and the carbonized plastic foil, the said cutout surrounding the area of the contact linings (11.1, 11.2) correlated with the pushbutton (22).