JP6271671B1 - INPUT DEVICE, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING INPUT DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

An input device capable of ensuring appearance quality and operability, an electronic apparatus including the input device, and an assembling method of the input device are provided. An input device includes a pad plate that is a touch operation unit that accepts a touch operation, a substrate that is stacked on a lower surface side of the pad plate, detects a touch operation on the pad plate, and a lower surface of the substrate. The housing plate 26 is laminated on the side, and the reinforcing member 60 is interposed between the substrate 28 and the housing plate 26. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device including a substrate unit that detects a touch operation on a touch operation unit, an electronic device including the input device, and a method for assembling the input device.

  For example, in a notebook personal computer (notebook PC), various input devices such as a touch pad and a function switch that replace a mouse are provided in addition to a keyboard device. For example, a touch pad operates a cursor displayed on a display device in response to a touch operation with a fingertip or a pen tip.

  With regard to an input device including such a touch pad, the present applicant has proposed a configuration in which a touch operation and a pressing operation can be performed in Patent Document 1. In this configuration, a substrate unit is provided under the touch operation unit serving as the touch surface of the touch pad, and the touch operation is detected by the substrate unit.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-099660

  By the way, an electronic component may be bonded and fixed to a board portion of an input device such as a touch pad by reflow soldering. As a result, the board portion may be warped due to the influence of heat during the soldering process. If it does so, the influence of the curvature of this board | substrate part will affect the whole touchpad, and external appearance quality will fall. In addition, for example, in the case of a configuration corresponding to the pressing operation, there is a problem that the touch pad is bottomed out during the pressing operation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and provides an input device that can ensure appearance quality and operability, an electronic apparatus including the input device, and a method for assembling the input device. For the purpose.

  An input device according to the present invention includes a touch operation unit that accepts a touch operation, a substrate unit that is stacked on a lower surface side of the touch operation unit, detects a touch operation on the touch operation unit, and a lower surface side of the substrate unit. An input device including a housing portion, wherein a reinforcing material is interposed between the substrate portion and the housing portion.

  According to such a structure, the curvature of the board | substrate part produced by the soldering process of an electronic component can be correct | amended with a reinforcing material, for example. As a result, it is possible to prevent the entire apparatus from warping only by installing the reinforcing material without performing the flattening process on the substrate portion, and the appearance quality and operability are improved.

  The board part may have a configuration in which an electronic component is joined and fixed to the lower surface side by soldering, and the reinforcing material is fixed in close contact with the upper surface of the housing part and the lower surface of the substrate part. . If it does so, it can prevent more reliably that the curvature of a board | substrate part reaches the whole apparatus with a reinforcement.

  The upper surface of the housing part may be provided with a recess for arranging the reinforcing material. If it does so, a reinforcing material can be positioned easily and reliably between a housing part and a board | substrate part.

  The reinforcing material may have a bar shape arranged along a predetermined side of the substrate portion. If it does so, sufficient curvature suppression effect is acquired, minimizing the installation space of a reinforcing material.

  The touch panel includes an operation plate having the touch operation portion, the substrate portion, and the housing, and the operation plate has a rectangular shape having a pair of long sides and a pair of short sides, and the reinforcing material is The structure arrange | positioned along the said longitudinal side may be sufficient. If it does so, the curvature of the direction in alignment with the longitudinal side in which a curvature tends to be large can be suppressed reliably.

  The base part which supports the said operation board part so that an up-and-down movement is possible, and the structure which can receive pressing operation with respect to the said operation board part may be sufficient. If it does so, since the curvature of the operation board part which moves up and down can be suppressed, the bottoming and interference at the time of the operation | movement will be suppressed, and smooth pressing operation will be attained.

  The operation plate portion can receive the pressing operation by rotating around a rotation shaft portion supported with respect to the base portion, and the rotation shaft portion is one side surface of the operation plate portion. Extending in a direction from the one side to the other side opposite to the one side surface, and the rotating shaft portion is disposed at a position closer to one side than the center of the operation plate portion in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction. The reinforcing member may be arranged on the other side opposite to the one side where the rotation shaft portion is provided in the orthogonal direction. If it does so, bottoming at the time of pressing operation of an operation board part can be controlled more certainly, and sufficient pressing stroke can be secured.

  An electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes the input device configured as described above and a display device that performs display based on an input operation on the input device. Therefore, the electronic device can be suitably used as a notebook PC, for example.

  An input device assembly method according to the present invention includes: a touch operation unit that accepts a touch operation; a substrate unit that is stacked on a lower surface side of the touch operation unit and detects a touch operation on the touch operation unit; An assembly method of an input device having a housing portion laminated on a lower surface side, wherein the substrate portion has a central portion on the touch operation portion side in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface opposite to the one side surface. A reinforcing material having a bulging concave shape and having a concave shape in a direction opposite to the concave shape of the substrate portion by causing the central portion to bulge toward the housing portion in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface of the substrate portion. It is interposed between the substrate part and the housing part. Therefore, for example, the warpage of the board portion caused by the soldering process of the electronic component can be easily and reliably corrected by the reinforcing material. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the entire apparatus from warping only by installing the reinforcing material without performing the flattening process on the substrate portion, and the appearance quality and operability are improved and the manufacturing efficiency is also improved.

  The reinforcing material may be tightly fixed to the upper surface of the housing portion and the lower surface of the substrate portion. If it does so, it can prevent more reliably that the curvature of a board | substrate part reaches the whole apparatus with a reinforcement.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the entire apparatus from warping only by installing a reinforcing material, and the appearance quality and operability are improved.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic apparatus including an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the input device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the input device shown in FIG. FIG. 4A is a plan view showing a state immediately before the stabilizer member is assembled to the base plate. FIG. 4B is a plan view showing a state in which the stabilizer member is assembled to the base plate. FIG. 5 is an essential part enlarged perspective view showing the operation of assembling the stabilizer member to the base plate. FIG. 6A is a plan view showing a state in which the protruding portion of the stabilizer member is applied to the engaging concave portion of the support portion. FIG. 6B is a plan view showing a state in which the engaging concave portion of the support portion is elastically displaced by receiving a pressing force from the protruding portion of the stabilizer member. FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6B. FIG. 8A is a partial cross-sectional front view schematically showing an operation of bonding and fixing the housing plate and the substrate. FIG. 8B is a partial cross-sectional front view schematically showing a state in which the housing plate and the substrate are bonded and fixed from the state shown in FIG. 8A. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the operation of assembling the reinforcing material to the housing plate.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an input device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings by giving preferred embodiments in relation to an electronic device including the input device.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device 12 including an input device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following, the input device 10 is referred to as a front side (front) and the back side (rear side) is referred to as the front side (front side), and the electronic device 12 is referred to based on the usage pattern in the state of being mounted on the electronic device 12 shown in FIG. In the following description, the thickness direction of the main body casing 14 is referred to as the vertical direction and the width direction is referred to as the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 12 is a notebook PC including a main body housing 14 having an input device 10 and a keyboard device 16, and a display housing 18 having a display device 18 a such as a liquid crystal display. The display housing 18 is connected to the main body housing 14 by a pair of left and right hinges 19, 19 so as to be openable and closable.

  Various types of electronic components such as a substrate, a processing unit, a hard disk device, and a memory (not shown) are accommodated in the main body housing 14. The input device 10 and the keyboard device 16 are arranged side by side on the upper surface of the main body housing 14. A pointing stick 20 is provided in the approximate center of the keyboard device 16. The pointing stick 20 is for operating a cursor (mouse pointer) displayed on the display device 18a, and is an input means that can be operated as a substitute for a mouse.

  Next, a configuration example of the input device 10 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the input device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the input device 10 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the input device 10 includes a touch pad (operation plate unit) 22 that accepts a touch operation by approaching or touching a fingertip or the like. The input device 10 is for operating a cursor (mouse pointer) displayed on the display device 18a, and is an input means operable as a substitute for a mouse.

  The touch pad 22 is configured as a click pad that can be clicked by a pressing operation in addition to a touch operation. For example, a plurality of pseudo button areas are set on the touch operation surface 22 a which is the surface of the touch pad 22. Each pseudo button area is defined by coordinates of each area on the touch operation surface 22a and is not visible. The pseudo button area corresponds to, for example, a left button and a right button with a general mouse. When the touch pad 22 is pressed with the fingertip in contact with any of the pseudo button areas, processing and display corresponding to the pseudo button area are performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the touch pad 22 is rotatably supported on the upper surface side of a base plate (base portion) 24 that is a metal plate member. The touch pad 22 has a three-layer structure including a housing plate (housing portion) 26, a substrate (substrate portion) 28, and a pad plate (touch operation portion) 30 in order from the lower side, which is the base plate 24 side, toward the upper side. It is.

  The housing plate 26 is disposed facing the base plate 24 and serves as a bottom plate of the touch pad 22. The housing plate 26 is a resin plate having a rectangular shape in plan view. The housing plate 26 is a housing member that holds the substrate 28 and the pad plate 30. Positioning portions 31 are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the rear end side of the housing plate 26 (see FIG. 3). The positioning part 31 can be elastically displaced in the left-right direction. The positioning unit 31 elastically contacts the inner wall surface of the opening when the input device 10 is disposed in the opening of the main body housing 14, and positions the input device 10 in the left-right direction within the opening. Is.

  The board | substrate 28 is laminated | stacked on the upper surface of the housing plate 26, and detects the touch operation with respect to the touch operation surface 22a. The substrate 28 is a rectangular substrate in plan view. The substrate 28 is a sensor that detects a touch operation on the pad plate 30 and a press operation on the touch pad 22. The substrate 28 is fixed to the upper surface of the housing plate 26 with an adhesive, double-sided tape, or the like. The substrate 28 is connected to the substrate in the main body housing 14 by wiring (not shown).

  The pad plate 30 is laminated on the top of the substrate 28, and the surface thereof serves as a touch operation surface 22a that accepts a touch operation. The pad plate 30 is a glass plate or resin plate having a rectangular shape in plan view. The pad plate 30 is fixed to the upper surface of the substrate 28 with an adhesive, a double-sided tape or the like.

  On the rear end side of the housing plate 26, a plurality (for example, four) of elastic pieces 32 extending rearward are provided side by side. The elastic piece 32 is a portion of a cantilever structure having a certain degree of elasticity by cutting out the left and right side portions and the rear portion thereof in the plate thickness direction to form a narrow-width tongue piece. At the tip (rear end) of the elastic piece 32, there is provided a claw portion 32a that is bent downward and displaced. The elastic piece 32 is not fixed to the lower surface of the substrate 28, and at least the claw portion 32 a is disposed with a predetermined gap between the elastic piece 32 and the substrate 28. The nail | claw part 32a pinches | interposes the protrusion piece 34 which cut and raised the upper surface of the baseplate 24 between the upper surface and the lower surface of the board | substrate 28. As shown in FIG.

  A pair of left and right latch portions 36 are provided on the front end side of the housing plate 26. The latch part 36 is substantially V-shaped in plan view. The latch portion 36 is engaged with a coupling hook 38 erected on the upper surface of the base plate 24 in an L-shaped cross section. The latch portion 36 and the coupling hook 38 have a function of coupling the housing plate 26 to the base plate 24 in a direction in which the housing plate 26 is overlapped.

  The housing plate 26 is engaged with the projections 34 of the base plate 24 so that the claw portions 32a of the elastic pieces 32 can rotate. Thus, the housing plate 26 (touch pad 22) is supported so as to be rotatable (movable up and down) with respect to the base plate 24 with the engaging portion of the claw portion 32a and the protruding piece 34 as a fulcrum. At this time, the claw portion 32 a is pressed by the elastic pressing portion 40 protruding so as to be elastically displaceable on the upper surface of the base plate 24, and is securely sandwiched between the protruding piece 34 and the elastic pressing portion 40. Like the elastic piece 32 of the housing plate 26, the elastic pressing portion 40 is formed in a narrow tongue shape by cutting out the left and right side portions and the rear portion in the plate thickness direction, and thus has a certain degree of elasticity and is rearward. This is a leaf spring-like member having a cantilever structure extending to the bottom.

  A detection switch 42 is disposed in the vicinity of the front end of the lower surface of the housing plate 26 substantially at the center. The detection switch 42 transmits a predetermined detection signal when the touch pad 22 is pressed. The detection switch 42 is, for example, a metal dome switch that swells downward from the lower surface of the housing plate 26. The detection switch 42 is turned on by abutting on the base plate 24 when the touch pad 22 is pressed, and this on signal is detected by the substrate 28.

  Therefore, in the input device 10, when the touch pad 22 is pressed down, the touch pad 22 uses the engaging portion between each claw portion 32 a and each protruding piece 34 as a rotation fulcrum, and the front end side is downward on the base plate 24. It rotates (moves up and down) while moving. As a result, the detection switch 42 provided on the lower surface of the front end side of the housing plate 26 is pressed by the upper surface of the base plate 24 and turned on. Thus, the engaging portion between each claw portion 32a and each projecting piece 34 arranged in a line in the left-right direction becomes the rotation shaft portion 44 of the touch pad 22.

  As described above, the touch pad 22 has a push switch structure that can move up and down despite being thin and wide. For this reason, in the input device 10, when the left and right ends of the touch operation surface 22a are subjected to a pressing operation, the touch pad 22 may be twisted or tilted, and smooth vertical movement may be hindered. Therefore, in the input device 10 according to the present embodiment, the stabilizer member 46 is interposed between the housing plate 26 and the base plate 24. The stabilizer member 46 is a stabilizer that stabilizes the force in the left-right width direction of the touch pad 22 and suppresses its twist and inclination.

  4A is a plan view showing a state immediately before the stabilizer member 46 is assembled to the base plate 24, and FIG. 4B is a plan view showing a state where the stabilizer member 46 is assembled to the base plate 24. FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part showing the operation of assembling the stabilizer member 46 to the base plate 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, the stabilizer member 46 is formed by forming a thin metal round bar such as stainless steel in a substantially U shape. The stabilizer member 46 includes a shaft portion 46a and a pair of left and right projecting portions 46b and 46b.

  The shaft portion 46a is a long rod-like portion extending in the left-right direction. A bearing portion 48 is provided on the lower surface side of the housing plate 26 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The shaft portion 46a is supported by the bearing portion 48 in a rotatable state (see FIG. 2).

  Each protrusion 46b is a short bar-like portion that protrudes backward from the left and right ends of the shaft 46a. In the present embodiment, each protrusion 46b is orthogonal to the shaft 46a. Each protruding portion 46b may protrude slightly inclined in a direction approaching or separating from both end portions of the shaft portion 46a. Each protrusion 46b engages with a support 50 provided on the base plate 24 in a rotatable state (see FIG. 5).

  As shown in FIGS. 4A to 5, a pair of support portions 50 are provided on the left and right side surfaces on the front end side of the base plate 24. Each support part 50 is comprised by the left-right symmetric structure. Each support portion 50 includes an arm member 52 and an engagement recess 54.

  The arm member 52 is disposed along an escape recess 56 in which the side surface of the base plate 24 is slightly recessed inward, and protrudes from the rear side toward the front side. The arm member 52 is a plate-like member that is formed wide along the vertical direction and narrow along the left-right direction. The arm member 52 is provided on the side surface of the base plate 24 via a relief recess 56, and is an elastically deformable narrow tongue-like portion having a base end (rear end) having a cantilever structure. That is, the arm member 52 is a leaf spring-like member that can be elastically deformed in the left-right direction.

  The engaging recess 54 is a recess that is provided on the distal end surface of the portion where the distal end side (front end side) of the arm member 52 is bent outward, and can engage the protruding portion 46b having a circular cross section. Each engagement recessed part 54 of each support part 50 is arrange | positioned facing the other side (outside) in the state which mutually made the back surface oppose. Therefore, each engagement recessed part 54 (support part 50) is elastically displaceable in the direction which expands / contracts a mutual space | interval, at least the direction which reduces.

  In the present embodiment, the interval between the pair of protrusions 46b, 46b of the stabilizer member 46 is set slightly smaller than the interval between the engagement recesses 54, 54 of the pair of support portions 50, 50. For this reason, if a pair of protrusion part 46b, 46b is engaged with a pair of engagement recessed parts 54 and 54, a pair of arm members 52 and 52 will elastically deform in the direction which adjoins mutually. Thereby, a pair of engagement recessed parts 54 and 54 will be in the state elastically displaced in the direction which the space | interval reduces (refer FIG. 4B). As a result, the engagement recesses 54 of the support portions 50 are sandwiched between the protrusions 46b of the stabilizer member 46, and the stabilizer member 46 is engaged and supported by the support portions 50 without rattling.

  When assembling such a stabilizer member 46 to the input device 10, first, the shaft portion 46 a of the stabilizer member 46 is pivotally supported by the bearing portion 48 of the housing plate 26. In this state, the housing plate 26, the substrate 28, and the pad plate 30 are laminated and fixed to form the touch pad 22. Subsequently, the claw portions 32 a of the elastic pieces 32 of the touch pad 22 are rotatably engaged with the protruding pieces 34 of the base plate 24. Further, the protrusions 46 b of the stabilizer member 46 are engaged with the engagement recesses 54 of the support portions 50.

  Thereby, the stabilizer member 46 is provided between the base plate 24 and the touch pad 22 (housing plate 26). That is, in the stabilizer member 46, the shaft portion 46a is pivotally supported by the bearing portion 48 of the housing plate 26, and the protruding portion 46b is engaged and supported by the support portion 50 (engagement recess 54) of the base plate 24 (FIG. 2).

  At this time, the stabilizer member 46 is provided on the front end side of the touch pad 22 on the side opposite to the rotation shaft portion 44 at a position close to the rear end side of the touch pad 22. Therefore, when the touch pad 22 moves up and down about the rotation shaft portion 44, the stabilizer member 46 rotates while the shaft portion 46a is pivotally supported by the bearing portion 48 and the protrusion 46b engages with the engagement recess 54. It turns up and down in the state. As a result, the stabilizer member 46 stabilizes the left and right forces at the portion on the distal side of the rotation shaft portion 44 of the touch pad 22 and suppresses the twist and inclination thereof.

  FIG. 6A is a plan view showing a state in which the protruding portion 46 b of the stabilizer member 46 is applied to the engaging recess 54 of the support portion 50. FIG. 6B is a plan view showing a state in which the engagement concave portion 54 of the support portion 50 is elastically displaced by receiving a pressing force from the protruding portion 46 b of the stabilizer member 46. FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6B.

  If the support portion 50 is configured not to be elastically displaced, the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion 46b of the stabilizer member 46 is in surface contact with the inner peripheral surface of the engaging recess 54 as shown in FIG. 6A. If it does so, the sliding resistance between the protrusion part 46b which moves up and down, and the engagement recessed part 54 will increase, and the smooth vertical movement of the stabilizer member 46 may not be performed. In particular, in a state where the protruding portion 46b of the stabilizer member 46 is engaged with the engaging recess 54 of the support portion 50 without rattling, the smooth vertical movement of the stabilizer member 46 becomes more difficult.

  On the other hand, in the input device 10, since the support portion 50 is elastically displaced inward, the engaging recess 54 is inclined with respect to the protruding portion 46b of the stabilizer member 46 as shown in FIG. 6B, and the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion 46b. And the inner peripheral surface of the engaging recess 54 are in a substantially line contact state. For this reason, the sliding resistance between the engaging recessed part 54 and the protrusion part 46b which moves up and down is suppressed to the minimum, and the smooth up-and-down movement of the stabilizer member 46 is attained.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the contact portion between the engagement recess 54 and the protrusion 46b is a cross-sectional view cut along a perpendicular to the engagement recess 54, and the protrusion 46b has an elliptical shape. As a result, a certain amount of gap G is formed above and below the contact portion between the protruding portion 46b and the engaging recess 54, so that the vertical movement of the protruding portion 46b becomes smoother. At that time, since the urging force in the direction in which the protrusion 46b and the engagement recess 54 are always in contact with each other is applied by the arm member 52, the protrusion 46b does not rattle due to the gap G. .

  FIG. 8A is a partial cross-sectional front view schematically showing an operation of bonding and fixing the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28. FIG. 8B is a partial cross-sectional front view schematically showing a state in which the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28 are bonded and fixed from the state shown in FIG. 8A. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the operation of assembling the reinforcing member 60 to the housing plate 26.

  In the input device 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a substrate 28 is laminated on the upper surface of the housing plate 26, and both are bonded and fixed using an adhesive, a double-sided tape or the like.

  However, as shown in FIG. 8A, the substrate 28 has an electronic component 58 soldered to the lower surface thereof by, for example, a reflow method. Accordingly, the substrate 28 before bonding to the housing plate 26 and the pad plate 30 is a concave portion whose center portion swells upward (pad plate 30) in the plate thickness direction from the upper surface side to the lower surface side due to the influence of heat during soldering. It has a shape. Conventionally, a flattening process is applied to the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28 before bonding, and the entire touch pad 22 is prevented from warping due to the concave shape of the substrate 28. For this reason, the conventional input device has a lot of labor and cost at the time of manufacture.

  On the other hand, in the input device 10 according to the present embodiment, when the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28 are bonded, the reinforcing member 60 is interposed therebetween, thereby correcting the concave shape of the substrate 28 and the entire touch pad 22. To prevent it from affecting.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, the reinforcing member 60 is a thin plate member having a bar shape formed of a metal such as stainless steel. A recess 62 extending in the left-right direction is formed at the front end of the upper surface of the housing plate 26. The reinforcing member 60 is fitted and disposed in the recess 62. The lower surface of the reinforcing member 60 is closely fixed to the upper surface of the housing plate 26 in the recess 62, and the upper surface thereof is firmly fixed to the lower surface of the substrate 28. The reinforcing member 60 is fixed to the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28 with, for example, an adhesive or a double-sided tape. By providing the recess 62, the reinforcing member 60 can be easily and reliably positioned between the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28. Note that reference numeral 63 in FIG. 9 is a switch pressing portion that is turned on when the detection switch 42 is landed.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the four sides of the touch pad 22 formed in a rectangular shape are composed of a pair of long sides 64a and 64b on the front and back sides thereof and a pair of short sides 65a and 65b on the left and right sides thereof. The long sides 64a and 64b are longer than the short sides 65a and 65b. That is, the touch pad 22 has a rectangular shape whose left and right length is longer than the front and rear length. The reinforcing material 60 is disposed close to the longitudinal side 64 a that forms the front edge of the touch pad 22. Therefore, the recess 62 is also formed at a position close to the longitudinal side 64 a of the front edge of the housing plate 26. In other words, the rotation shaft portion 44 extends in the left-right direction of the touch pad 22 and is disposed at a position closer to the rear end side than the center in the front-rear direction. And the reinforcing material 60 is arrange | positioned along the longitudinal side 64a by the front end side which is the opposite side to the rear end side in which the rotation axis | shaft part 44 was provided in the front-back direction.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, prior to fixing the reinforcing member 60 to the concave portion 62 of the housing plate 26, the central portion of the reinforcing member 60 is swelled downward (base plate 24) in the thickness direction from the upper surface side to the lower surface side in advance. It has a shape. That is, the concave shape of the reinforcing member 60 is opposite to the concave shape of the substrate 28 and swells in a direction in which the centers are separated from each other. Therefore, when the reinforcing member 60 is fixed to the thin plate-like housing plate 26, the housing plate 26 is in a state of forming the same concave shape as that of the reinforcing member 60 due to the concave shape of the reinforcing member 60.

  Therefore, such a reinforcing material 60 is interposed between the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28 and fixed to each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, the concave shape of the substrate 28 and the concave shape of the reinforcing member 60 cancel each other, and the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28 are formed in a flat plate shape having no concave shape. That is, in the input device 10, it is possible to prevent the touch pad 22 from warping only by installing the reinforcing member 60 without performing the planarization process on the substrate 28. At this time, since the reinforcing member 60 is formed in a rod shape, a sufficient warp suppressing effect can be obtained while minimizing the installation space. Note that when the housing plate 26 and the substrate 28 are tightly fixed with the reinforcing member 60 interposed therebetween, the electronic component 58 is disposed corresponding to, for example, holes 66 provided at various locations of the housing plate 26 (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 3). (See FIG. 9).

  Incidentally, the concave shape of the substrate 28 is generated not only in the left-right direction along the long sides 64a, 64b but also in the front-rear direction along the short sides 65a, 65b. However, in the present embodiment, the reinforcing material 60 is not provided because the influence in the short direction along the short sides 65a and 65b is small even if warping occurs. In addition, when the touch pad 22 has a warp along the longitudinal side 64a on the front end side that is the distal side of the rotation shaft portion 44, the touch pad 22 can be moved to the bottom surface of the base plate 24 or the main body housing 14 at the time of pressing operation. As a result, there is a possibility that a sufficient pressing stroke cannot be secured. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the reinforcing material 60 is disposed along the longitudinal side 64a on the front end side. Of course, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 9, the reinforcing member 60 may be provided in the vicinity of the other long side 64b and the short sides 65a and 65b.

  As described above, the input device 10 according to the present embodiment supports the touch pad 22, which is an operation plate unit that accepts a pressing operation, on the upper surface side of the base plate 24 so as to be movable up and down. 22 is configured to detect a pressing operation by moving up and down. The input device 10 includes a shaft portion 46a that is pivotally supported by the touch pad 22, and a pair of projecting portions 46b that project from both ends of the shaft portion 46a in a direction intersecting the extending direction of the shaft portion 46a. The base plate 24 includes a pair of support portions 50 that respectively engage and support the pair of projecting portions 46b, and the pair of support portions 50 are elastically displaceable in a direction that reduces the mutual interval. is there.

  Therefore, in the input device 10, the pair of left and right protrusions 46 b of the stabilizer member 46 are elastically supported by the pair of left and right support portions 50 that can be elastically displaced in the direction of approaching each other. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the rattling between the protrusion part 46b of the stabilizer member 46 and the support part 50 of the baseplate 24 can be suppressed, generation | occurrence | production of the noise by metal contact can be prevented, and the quality of the input device 10 improves. To do. In addition, the input device 10 is configured to be elastically displaceable between the support portions 50 and 50 that support it, not between the protrusions 46b and 46b of the stabilizer member 46. For this reason, even if the dimensional tolerance between the projecting portions 46b and 46b and between the support portions 50 and 50 is relaxed, rattling of the stabilizer member 46 can be prevented, and the manufacturing efficiency is improved.

  The arm member 52 that constitutes the support portion 50 is formed in a plate-like shape that is formed wide in the vertical direction in which the touch pad 22 moves up and down and narrow in the extending direction of the shaft portion 46 a of the stabilizer member 46. It is a member. In other words, the arm member 52, which is a leaf spring-like member, is elastically deformed in the direction of expansion / contraction between the protrusions 46 b, 46 b of the stabilizer member 46, but is elastically deformed in the vertical direction, which is the operation direction of the touch pad 22. do not do. For this reason, the arm member 52 can be elastically deformed smoothly in the direction of reducing the interval between the pair of protrusions 46b, 46b of the stabilizer member 46 while having high rigidity.

  Further, in the input device 10 according to the present embodiment, a pad plate 30 that is a touch operation unit that receives a touch operation, a substrate 28 that is stacked on the lower surface side of the pad plate 30, and detects the touch operation on the pad plate 30, and a substrate The housing plate 26 is laminated on the lower surface side of the substrate 28, and the reinforcing member 60 is interposed between the substrate 28 and the housing plate 26.

  Therefore, in the input device 10, the warp of the substrate 28 caused by the soldering process of the electronic component 58 can be corrected by the reinforcing material 60. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the touch pad 22 from warping only by installing the reinforcing member 60 without performing the planarization process on the substrate 28. As a result, the input device 10 has improved appearance quality and operability.

  In the input device 10, such a reinforcing member 60 is used in combination with the stabilizer member 46. As a result, it is possible to suppress warping of the touch pad 22 and to prevent twisting and tilting of the touch pad during the pressing operation, and the product quality of the input device 10 is greatly improved. However, depending on the specifications of the input device 10 and the like, the reinforcing member 60 and the stabilizer member 46 may not be used together, and each may be used alone. Further, the reinforcing member 60 can be suitably used for a normal touch pad device that does not accept a pressing operation.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be freely changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the input device 10 is mounted on the electronic device 12 that is a notebook PC is illustrated, but the input device 10 is mounted on a single keyboard device or the like connected to a desktop PC or the like. Also good. Further, the input device 10 may have a configuration other than a click pad that accepts a touch operation and a press operation. For example, the stabilizer member 46 and the support portion 50 that supports the stabilizer member 46 can be suitably used for a thin and wide key such as the space key 16a of the keyboard device 16, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the engaging portion between the claw portion 32a and the protruding piece 34 is the rotation shaft portion 44 is exemplified, but the rotation shaft portion is a configuration in which the shaft pin is supported by the bearing, and the like. Also good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Input device 12 Electronic device 14 Main body case 16 Keyboard device 18 Display case 18a Display device 22 Touch pad 22a Touch operation surface 24 Base plate 26 Housing plate 28 Substrate 30 Pad plate 44 Rotating shaft portion 46 Stabilizer member 46a Shaft portion 46b Projection Part 48 Bearing part 50 Support part 52 Arm member 54 Engaging recess 58 Electronic component 60 Reinforcing material 62 Recessed part 64a, 64b Long side 65a, 65b Short side

Claims (9)

An input having a touch operation unit that receives a touch operation, a substrate unit that is stacked on a lower surface side of the touch operation unit, detects a touch operation on the touch operation unit, and a housing unit that is stacked on a lower surface side of the substrate unit. A device,
A reinforcing material is interposed between the substrate portion and the housing portion ,
In the board part, electronic parts are bonded and fixed to the lower surface side by soldering,
The reinforcing material is tightly fixed to the upper surface of the housing portion and the lower surface of the substrate portion, respectively.
In the state where the reinforcing material is not interposed, the substrate portion has a concave shape in which a central portion swells toward the touch operation portion side in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface opposite to the one side surface,
The reinforcing material has a concave shape opposite to the concave shape of the substrate portion, and the reinforcing material is interposed between the housing portion and the substrate portion, so that the concave shape of the substrate portion and the An input device, wherein the concave shape of the reinforcing material cancels each other . The input device according to claim 1 ,
An input device, wherein an upper surface of the housing part is provided with a recess for arranging the reinforcing material. The input device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The input device according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member has a bar shape arranged along a predetermined side of the substrate portion. The input device according to claim 3 .
An operation plate portion having the touch operation portion, the substrate portion, and the housing portion;
The operation plate portion has a rectangular shape having a pair of long sides and a pair of short sides, and the reinforcing member is disposed along the long sides. The input device according to claim 4 , wherein
An input device comprising: a base portion that supports the operation plate portion so as to move up and down, and is capable of accepting a pressing operation on the operation plate portion. The input device according to claim 5 , wherein
The operation plate part can accept the pressing operation by turning around a turning shaft part supported with respect to the base part,
The rotating shaft portion extends in a direction from one side surface of the operation plate portion toward the other side surface opposite to the one side surface, and the rotating shaft portion operates in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction. It is arranged at a position closer to one side than the center of the plate part,
The input device according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is disposed on the other side opposite to the one side where the rotation shaft portion is provided in the orthogonal direction. An electronic apparatus comprising: an input device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and a display device that performs display based on the input operation to the input device. An input having a touch operation unit that receives a touch operation, a substrate unit that is stacked on a lower surface side of the touch operation unit, detects a touch operation on the touch operation unit, and a housing unit that is stacked on a lower surface side of the substrate unit. A method for assembling the apparatus,
The substrate portion has a concave shape in which a central portion swells toward the touch operation portion in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface opposite to the one side surface,
A reinforcing member having a concave shape opposite to the concave shape of the substrate portion is formed by expanding the central portion toward the housing portion in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface of the substrate portion, and the substrate portion and the housing portion. A method for assembling an input device, comprising: The assembly method of the input device according to claim 8 .
A method of assembling an input device, wherein the reinforcing material is tightly fixed to the upper surface of the housing portion and the lower surface of the substrate portion, respectively.

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