Keyboard apparatus the operation side of which can be illuminated
AssigneeAlps Electric Co., Ltd.
InventorsKazutoshi Watanabe, Kazuhiro Yokoyama, Katsuyuki Suzuki, Satoru Takemori
Life of this patent
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Abstract
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.
Claims18
A keyboard apparatus for a desk-top computer comprising a housing and a plurality of manually operated key switches, each key switch being slidably supported by a seat on the housing and having a keytop, an operation side of each of the keytops being illuminated from underneath by a backlight mechanism,
- wherein said backlight mechanism comprises an electroluminescent (EL) sheet placed on a top surface of the housing, said EL sheet having through holes corresponding to the positions of the key switches, said through holes permitting the seats on the housing to extend upwardly through the EL sheet,
- wherein said EL sheet has light emission portions corresponding to an area beneath each of the key switches, said light emission portions being formed by screen print stacking a transparent electrode layer, a fluorescent layer, a dielectric layer, a back electrode layer, and an isolation resist layer on a transparent sheet, and
- wherein the operation side of each of said keytops comprises a field portion and a character portion, said field portion being made of a light permeable material and said character portion being made of a light impermeable material so as to permit a transmission of light from said light emission portions through the field portion but not through the character portion.
A keyboard apparatus for a desk-top computer comprising a housing and a plurality of manually operated key switches, each key switch being slidably supported by a seat on the housing and having a keytop, an operation side of each of the keytops being illuminated from underneath by a backlight mechanism,
- wherein said backlight mechanism comprises an electroluminescent (EL) sheet placed on a top surface of the housing, said EL sheet having through holes corresponding to the positions of the key switches, said through holes permitting the seats on the housing to extend upwardly through the EL sheet,
- wherein said EL sheet has light emission portions corresponding to an area beneath each of the key switches, said light emission portions being formed by screen print stacking a transparent electrode layer, a fluorescent layer, a dielectric layer, a back electrode layer, and an isolation resist layer on a transparent sheet, and
- wherein the operation side of each of said keytops comprises a field portion and a character portion, said field portion being made of a light impermeable material and said character portion being made of a light permeable material so as to permit a transmission of light from said light emission portions through the character portion but not through the field portion.
A keyboard apparatus incorporated into a portable notebook type personal computer comprising a housing and a plurality of manually operated key switches, each key switch being slidably supported by a seat on the housing and having a keytop, an operation side of each of the keytops being illuminated from underneath by a backlight mechanism,
- wherein said backlight mechanism comprises an electroluminescent (EL) sheet placed on a top surface of the housing, said EL sheet having through holes corresponding to the positions of the key switches, said through holes permitting the seats on the housing to extend upwardly through the EL sheet,
- wherein said EL sheet has light emission portions corresponding to an area beneath each of the key switches, said light emission portions being formed by screen print stacking a transparent electrode layer, a fluorescent layer, a dielectric layer, a back electrode layer, and an isolation resist layer on a transparent sheet, and
- wherein the operation side of each of said keytops comprises a field portion and a character portion, said field portion being made of a light permeable material and said character portion being made of a light impermeable material so as to permit a transmission of light from said light emission portions through the field portion but not through the character portion.
A keyboard apparatus incorporated into a portable notebook type personal computer comprising a housing and a plurality of manually operated key switches, each key switch being slidably supported by a seat on the housing and having a keytop, an operation side of each of the keytops being illuminated from underneath by a backlight mechanism,
- wherein said backlight mechanism comprises an electroluminescent (EL) sheet placed on a top surface of the housing, said EL sheet having through holes corresponding to the positions of the key switches, said through holes permitting the seats on the housing to extend upwardly through the EL sheet,
- wherein said EL sheet has light emission portions corresponding to an area beneath each of the key switches, said light emission portions being formed by screen print stacking a transparent electrode layer, a fluorescent layer, a dielectric layer, a back electrode layer, and an isolation resist layer on a transparent sheet, and
- wherein the operation side of each of said keytops comprises a field portion and a character portion, said field portion being made of a light impermeable material and said character portion being made of a light permeable material so as to permit a transmission of light from said light emission portions through the character portion but not through the field portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.