ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus provided with a push button for receiving a depressing operation.

Background of the Invention

An electronic apparatus such as a laptop personal computer (laptop PC), a tablet personal computer (tablet PC), or the like generally has a configuration in which a push button for receiving a depressing operation is provided in the side part of the apparatus where there is provided an electronic board for a touch pad, a keyboard device, a display device, or the like.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a laptop PC which has a touch pad and a pointing stick used as a substitute for a mouse and is provided with push buttons on the front and rear side of the touch pad, where the push buttons serve as click operation buttons (mouse buttons) corresponding to the left and right mouse buttons by being used in combination with the touch pad and the pointing stick.

[Patent Document 1]

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-308166

Conventionally, the push button generally has a configuration in which the push button is supported so as to be vertically movable by a supporting member having a pantograph structure, a rubber dome, or the like provided on the underside of the operation surface of the push button and a depressing operation is detected by a detection switch provided thereunder. Therefore, a large number of parts are required for vertically moving the push button and detecting the vertical movement thereof, thereby increasing cost, reducing manufacturing efficiency, and further leading to a barrier to reduction in thickness of the chassis of a laptop PC or the like. Moreover, in the configuration in which a push button is provided in combination in the side part of a touch pad as in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to connect a distribution cable from a detection switch provided under the push button to an electronic board for the touch pad, which makes it more difficult to reduce cost and thickness.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention has been provided in view of the above problems of the conventional art. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic apparatus capable of reducing cost and the thickness of a chassis.

According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus in which an electronic board is provided in a position apart from the operating direction of a push button for receiving a depressing operation, wherein a detection switch for detecting the depressing operation of the push button is provided on the electronic board.

According to the above configuration, it is unnecessary to provide a detection switch or the like under the push button and unnecessary to connect a distribution cable or the like from the detection switch to the electronic board. Specifically, an adjacent electronic board serves as the detection switch of the push button, and therefore the detection switch, the distribution cable, and the like can be removed from under the push button, thereby enabling improvement in manufacturing efficiency by reducing the number of parts so as to achieve reduction in cost and thickness.

The present invention may have a configuration in which the detection switch is provided on a lower surface side of the electronic board, and the push button is provided adjacent to a side part of the electronic board and includes a vertically-movable operation surface part, which receives a depressing operation, and a detection arm, which protrudes from one edge part of the operation surface part to the lower surface side of the electronic board and presses the detection switch by moving in the opposite direction to the direction of the vertical movement of the operation surface part. Then, the depressing operation of the operation surface part causes the detection arm to move in the opposite direction to the direction of the operation surface part, and therefore the depressing operation of the operation surface part enables the detection switch provided on the lower surface side of the electronic board to be reliably turned on and off by the detection arm.

Preferably the push button has a rotating supporting point in a position between the operation surface part and the pressing part for pressing the detection switch of the detection arm. Then, the depressing operation of the operation surface part causes the pressing part of the detection arm to reliably move in the opposite direction to the direction of the operation surface part, thereby enabling the detection switch to be turned on and off more reliably.

The present invention may have a configuration in which the push button includes: a first rotating supporting point which is provided in the other edge part on the opposite side to one edge part where the detection arm of the operation surface part is provided; a second rotating supporting point which is provided in a position between the operation surface part and the pressing part which presses the detection switch of the detection arm; and a direction change part which is provided in a position between the first rotating supporting point and the second rotating supporting point to change the moving directions of the operation surface part and the detection arm. Then, the detection arm moves in the opposite direction to the direction of the operation surface part by depressing the operation surface part, and therefore the depressing operation of the operation surface part enables the detection switch provided on the lower surface side of the electronic board to be reliably turned on and off by using the detection arm. Additionally, in this configuration, the moving direction is changed at the direction change part between the operation surface part and the detection arm, and therefore, for example, also in the case where the depressed position of the operation surface part is arranged on the detection arm side, the detection switch can be reliably turned on and off.

The present invention may have a configuration in which the electronic board is provided in an operation-input part which receives a depressing operation by rotating via a rotating supporting point provided on the lower surface side of the electronic board; and the axial direction of the rotating supporting point of the push button and the axial direction of the rotating supporting point of the operation-input part are parallel to each other and, when viewed in the axial direction of the rotating supporting point of the operation-input part, the rotating supporting point of the operation-input part and the detection switch are arranged in positions where both overlap with each other. Then, the board for detecting the operation-input part is able to be effectively used for detecting the push button provided in the vicinity of the board. Furthermore, even in the case of a configuration where the axial direction of the rotating supporting point of the push button is parallel to the axial direction of the rotating supporting point of the operation-input part, the rotating supporting point of the operation-input part and the detection switch are arranged in positions where both overlap with each other when viewed in the axial direction of the rotating supporting point of the operation-input part, thereby preventing interference between the depressing operations of the push button and the touch pad and thus preventing an erroneous operation.

The electronic board may be for use in detecting a touch operation on a touch pad for receiving a touch operation. Then, the board for detecting the touch operation on the touch pad is able to be effectively used for detecting the push button provided in the vicinity of the board.

According to the present invention, an adjacent electronic board serves as the detection switch for the push button, and therefore the detection switch, the distribution cable, and the like can be removed from under the push button, thereby enabling improvement in manufacturing efficiency by reducing the number of parts so as to achieve reduction in cost and thickness.

Brief Description of the Drawings

• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an input device mounted on the electronic apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a sectional side view schematically illustrating the configuration of the input device illustrated in FIG. 2.
• FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state where a touch pad of the input device illustrated in FIG. 3 is depressed.
• FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating a state where the push button illustrated in FIG. 3 is depressed.
• FIG. 6 is a sectional side view illustrating the configuration of an input device according to a variation of the input device mounted on the electronic apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1: FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a state where a push button is not depressed; and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a state where the push button is depressed.
• FIG. 7 is a sectional side view illustrating the configuration of an input device according to a variation of the input device illustrated in FIG. 6.
• FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration in which a detection switch for the push button is provided on the electronic board of a keyboard device.
• FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration in which a detection switch for the push button is provided on an electronic board of a display device for an electronic apparatus composed of a tablet PC.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Hereinafter, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail by giving preferred embodiments with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the following, with the use style illustrated in FIG. 1 as normal with respect to the electronic apparatus 10, the near side is referred to as "front side (fore)," the far side is referred to as "rear side (back)," the thickness direction of a body chassis 14 constituting the electronic apparatus 10 is referred to as "vertical direction," and the width direction of the body chassis 14 is referred to as "horizontal direction" in the description of the electronic apparatus 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the electronic apparatus 10 is a laptop PC including the body chassis 14 having an input device 12 and a keyboard device 16 and a display housing 18 having a display device 18a such as a liquid crystal display. The display housing 18 is connected to the body chassis 14 through a pair of right and left hinges 19 and 19 so as to be opened and closed.

The body chassis 14 houses various electronic components, which are not illustrated, such as a board, an arithmetic processing unit, a hard disk device, a memory, and the like. The input device 12 and the keyboard device 16 are arranged in the front and rear direction on the upper surface 14a of the body chassis 14. Substantially in the center of the keyboard device 16, a pointing stick 20 is provided. The pointing stick 20 is for use in operating a cursor (a mouse pointer) displayed on the display device 18a and is an input means operable as a substitute for a mouse.

Subsequently, an example of the configuration of the input device 12 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the input device 12 mounted on the electronic apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional side view schematically illustrating the configuration of the input device 12 illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state where a touch pad 22 of the input device 12 illustrated in FIG. 3 is depressed. Furthermore, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating a state where a push button 24a illustrated in FIG. 3 is depressed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the input device 12 includes a touch pad (an operation-input part) 22 for receiving a touch operation through the approach, contact, or the like of a fingertip or the like and three push buttons 24a, 24b, and 24c arranged along the rear side part of the touch pad 22. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the touch pad 22 and the push buttons 24a to 24c are supported by the upper surface of a baseplate 26 which is a metallic plate-like member.

First, the touch pad 22 is formed as a click pad on which a click action can be performed by a depressing operation in addition to the touch operation.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, pseudo button areas 28a and 28b are set in the front side of the touch operation surface 22a, which is a surface of the touch pad 22. The pseudo button areas 28a and 28b are defined by coordinates with respect to the respective areas on the touch operation surface 22a and therefore are invisible. If the touch pad 22 is depressed with a fingertip in contact with one of the pseudo button areas 28a and 28b, processing or display corresponding to the pseudo button area 28a or 28b is performed. For example, the two pseudo button areas 28a and 28b correspond to the left and right buttons in a general mouse.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the touch pad 22 has a three-layer structure having a housing plate 30 which serves as a bottom surface plate arranged opposite to the baseplate 26, a board plate 32 which is laminated on the upper surface of the housing plate 30 to detect a touch operation on the touch operation surface 22a, and a pad plate 34 which is laminated on the top of the board plate 32 so that the surface thereof serves as a touch operation surface 22a for receiving the touch operation.

The board plate 32 is an electronic board having a rectangular shape in a plan view and is connected to a board in the body chassis 14 by wiring not illustrated. The board plate 32 is a sensor for detecting a touch operation on the pad plate 34 and a depressing operation on the touch pad 22 and also a sensor for detecting a depressing operation on the push buttons 24a to 24c.

On the lower surface on the rear end side of the board plate 32, detection switches 35a to 35c for detecting a depressing operation of the push buttons 24a to 24c are aligned in the horizontal direction (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The detection switches 35a to 35c are, for example, metal dome switches swollen from the lower surface of the board plate 32 and are exposed downward from a notched portion of the housing plate 30. The detection switches 35a to 35c are turned on by being pressed by a detection arm 52 for the push buttons 24a to 24c described later when the push buttons 24a to 24c are depressed and the board plate 32 detects the ON signal.

The pad plate 34 is a glass or resin plate having a rectangular shape in a plan view and is fixed to the upper surface of the board plate 32 by using an adhesive, a double-sided tape, or the like.

The housing plate 30 is a resin plate having a rectangular shape in a plan view and is a chassis member for holding the board plate 32 and the pad plate 34. The board plate 32 is fixed to the upper surface of the housing plate 30 by using an adhesive, a double-sided tape, or the like.

On the rear end side of the housing plate 30, there is provided an elastic nail 36 having a cantilever structure which extends backward and is provided with a certain degree of elasticity. The elastic nail 36 is not fixed to the lower surface of the board plate 32 and is disposed with a predetermined gap provided between at least the tip thereof and the board plate 32, by which a protruding piece 40 formed by cutting and raising the upper surface of the baseplate 26 is put between the upper surface of the elastic nail 36 and the lower surface of the board plate 32. Under the protruding piece 40, a leaf-spring-type elastic pressing part 41, which is formed on the upper surface of the baseplate 26, is arranged, so that the elastic nail 36 of the housing plate 30 is put between the elastic pressing part 41 and the protruding piece 40. The elastic nail 36, the protruding piece 40, and the elastic pressing part 41 are aligned in the horizontal direction.

A pair of latch parts 42 are provided in the horizontal direction on the front end side of the housing plate 30. Each latch part 42 has substantially V-shape in a plan view and is engaged with a coupling hook 44 which is formed upright in an L shape in cross section on the upper surface of the baseplate 26. The latch part 42 and the coupling hook 44 are portions for coupling the housing plate 30 to the baseplate 26 in a direction where the housing plate 30 is put on the baseplate 26 and also function as a stopper for preventing upward coming-off while setting the rising limit of the touch pad 22.

Each elastic nail 36 is rotatably engaged with each protruding piece 40 (and each elastic pressing part 41) of the baseplate 26, by which the housing plate 30 is rotatable with respect to the baseplate 26 with the engagement part as a rotating supporting point (see FIG. 4).

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in the vicinity of the front end substantially in the center of the lower surface of the housing plate 30, a click detection switch 45 is disposed. The click detection switch 45 is used to transmit a predetermined detection signal when the touch pad 22 is depressed. The click detection switch 45 is, for example, a metal dome switch swollen from the lower surface of the housing plate 30. The click detection switch 45 is turned on by abutting on the baseplate 26 when the touch pad 22 is depressed and the board plate 32 detects the ON signal.

Therefore, when the touch operation surface 22a of the touch pad 22 is depressed as illustrated in FIG. 4, the front portion of the touch pad 22 is pushed down with the engagement part between the elastic nail 36 of the housing plate 30 and the protruding piece 40 of the baseplate 26 as a rotating supporting point, by which the click detection switch 45 is turned on.

The push buttons 24a to 24c function in cooperation with a cursor operation through the pointing stick 20 or the touch pad 22 and are click operation buttons corresponding to the left, middle, and right buttons in a general mouse, respectively. The push buttons 24a to 24c may be arranged in the front side part or the right and left parts of the touch pad 22 or may be arranged with a frame of the body chassis 14 interposed between the push buttons 24a to 24c and the touch pad 22.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the push button 24a on the left side includes a vertically-movable operation surface part 50 which receives a depressing operation and a detection arm 52 protruding forward from the front edge part of the operation surface part 50. The push button 24c on the right side has substantially the same structure since the push button 24c is bilaterally symmetrical with respect to the push button 24a on the left side. Although the push button 24b in the center is different in the shape and size from the push buttons 24a and 24c, the push button 24b has substantially the same structure as the push buttons 24a and 24c in the structure of the vertical movement with respect to the depressing operation on the push button. Therefore, with respect to these push buttons 24b and 24c, the same reference numerals denote elements having the same or similar functions or effects as or to the respective elements of the push button 24a and detailed description is omitted here.

The operation surface part 50 is a button part provided adjacent to the rear side part of the touch pad 22. The operation surface part 50 is able to be satisfactorily depressed by the thumb, for example, while operating the pointing stick 20 by the index finger due to the provision of an inclined surface extending downward to the rear in the rear end part of the operation surface part 50. The detection arm 52 protrudes downward to the front from the front edge part of the operation surface part 50, by which the detection arm 52 is inserted into the lower surface side of the touch pad 22. A protrusive pressing part 52a is provided on the upper surface of the tip side (the front end side) of the detection arm 52, where the protrusive pressing part 52a is for use in pressing a detection switch 35a of the board plate 32. Naturally, the upper surface of the detection arm 52 may be used as a pressing part without the provision of the protrusive pressing part 52a.

The push button 24a has a seesaw structure in which a rotating shaft part 54 serving as a rotating supporting point of the push button 24a is provided in a position between the operation surface part 50 and the pressing part 52a of the detection arm 52, or the connecting part between the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52 in this embodiment. The rotating shaft part 54 is a protruding part which protrudes downward from the connecting part between the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52 with the tip getting down on the upper surface of the baseplate 26. Alternatively, the rotating shaft part 54 may be provided on the baseplate 26 side so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the baseplate 26 to support the push button 24a.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the push button 24a is rotatably supported on the baseplate 26 by the rotating shaft part 54 getting down on the baseplate 26 and the detection arm 52 being inserted into the gap between the baseplate 26 and the touch pad 22 (the board plate 32).

As illustrated in FIG. 5, when the operation surface part 50 of the push button 24a (24b, 24c) is depressed, the operation surface part 50 is pushed downward with the rotating shaft part 54 as a rotating supporting point, while the detection arm 52 which is opposite the rotating shaft part 54 is pushed in the opposite direction to the direction of the operation surface part 50, in other words, in the upward direction. Thereby, the pressing part 52a presses the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) on the lower surface of the board plate 32, by which the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) is turned on.

Specifically, the detection arm 52 is able to press the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) on the lower surface of the board plate 32 since the moving direction of the detection arm 52 is opposite to the direction of the vertical movement of the operation surface part 50. Therefore, the rotating shaft part 54 serving as a rotating supporting point of the push button 24a (24b, 24c) may be set in a position where the operation surface part 50 and the pressing part 52a can be vertically moved in directions opposite to each other like a seesaw, in other words, a position between the operation surface part 50 and the pressing part 52a of the detection arm 52.

As described hereinabove, in the electronic apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, the board plate 32 is provided with the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) for detecting a depressing operation of the push button 24a (24b, 24c) in a configuration where the board plate 32, which is an electronic board, is provided in a position apart from the operating direction of the push button 24a (24b, 24c) for receiving a depressing operation, specifically, in a position outside the vertical movement range of the push button 24a (24b, 24c).

Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide a detection switch, a rubber dome for assisting the pressing operation thereof, or the like under the operation surface part 50 of the push button 24a (24b, 24c) and further unnecessary to connect a distribution cable or the like from the detection switch to the board plate 32. Specifically, since the adjacent board plate 32 serves as the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) of the push button 24a (24b, 24c), the detection switch, the distribution cable, and the like can be removed from under the push button 24a (24b, 24c), thereby improving the manufacturing efficiency by reducing the number of parts and enabling reduction in cost and thickness. In other words, a space is able to be secured under the operation surface part 50 of the push button 24a (24b, 24c). Therefore, it is also possible to install any other apparatus such as a battery for the electronic apparatus 10 by cutting out the baseplate 26 in this space or the like.

The detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) is provided on the lower surface side of the board plate 32 and the push button 24a (24b, 24c) is provided adjacent to the side part of the board plate 32. The push button 24a (24b, 24c) includes the vertically-movable operation surface part 50, which receives a depressing operation, and a detection arm 52, which protrudes from one edge part of the operation surface part 50 to the lower surface side of the board plate 32 and presses the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) by moving in the opposite direction to the direction of the vertical movement of the operation surface part 50. Accordingly, a depressing operation of the operation surface part 50 causes the detection arm 52 to move in the opposite direction to the direction of the operation surface part 50, thereby enabling reliable turning on or off of the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c), which is provided on the lower surface side of the board plate 32, with the detection arm 52 by depressing the operation surface part 50.

In this case, the push button 24a (24b, 24c) has a rotating shaft part 54 serving as a rotating supporting point in a position between the operation surface part 50 and the pressing part 52a for pressing the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) of the detection arm 52. Accordingly, a depressing operation of the operation surface part 50 causes the pressing part 52a of the detection arm 52 to move in the opposite direction to the direction of the operation surface part 50 reliably, thereby enabling more reliable turning on or off of the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) .

In this embodiment, the axial direction of the rotating shaft part 54, which serves as a rotating supporting point of the push button 24a (24b, 24c), and the axial direction of the rotating supporting point (an engagement part between the elastic nail 36 and the protruding piece 40) of the touch pad 22 are parallel to each other in the horizontal direction (see FIGS. 3 to 5). When viewed in the axial direction (horizontal direction) of the rotating supporting point of the touch pad 22, the rotating supporting point of the touch pad 22 and the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) are arranged in positions where both overlap with each other. Specifically, the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) is disposed to the side of the engagement part between the elastic nail 36 serving as a rotating supporting point of the touch pad 22 and the protruding piece 40. This prevents interference between the depressing operations of the push button 24a (24b, 24c) and the touch pad 22. Specifically, when the push button 24a (24b, 24c) is depressed, the touch pad 22 is prevented from being erroneously operated by moving following the depressing operation. Meanwhile, when the touch pad 22 is depressed, the push button 24a (24b, 24c) is prevented from being erroneously operated by moving following the depressing operation.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view illustrating the configuration of an input device 12A according to a variation of the input device 12 mounted on the electronic apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1: FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a state where a push button 60a is not depressed; and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a state where the push button 60a is depressed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the input device 12A includes push buttons 60a to 60c having a different structure from the push buttons 24a to 24c of the input device 12 illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5. Also in the input device 12A, the structure of vertical movement relative to the depressing operation or the like is substantially identical with respect to the push buttons 60a to 60c. Therefore, detailed description of the push buttons 60b and 60c are omitted here.

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the push button 60a has a structure where the operation surface part 50 is connected to the detection arm 52 via a hinge part 62 with a first rotating shaft part 64 provided in the rear end edge part of the operation surface part 50 and with a second rotating shaft part 65 provided on the rear end side of the detection arm 52.

The first rotating shaft part 64 is formed by folding back the rear end edge part of the operation surface part 50 and rotatably engaged with a hook-shaped supporting piece 66 which is formed in a standing manner in the rear end edge part of the baseplate 26, thereby serving as a rotating supporting point (a first rotating supporting point) of the operation surface part 50. A second rotating shaft part 65 is a protruding part which protrudes downward from the position between the hinge part 62 and the pressing part 52a of the detection arm 52, or in the position on the rear end side of the detection arm 52 in this embodiment with the tip getting down on the upper surface of the baseplate 26. Alternatively, the second rotating shaft part 65 may be provided on the baseplate 26 side so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the baseplate 26 to support the push button 24a.

The hinge part 62 is a portion functioning as a direction change part which changes the moving directions of the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52 and is formed by, for example, a flexible resin sheet.

The push button 60a has a configuration where the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52 vertically move by using two rotating supporting points, the first rotating shaft part 64 provided on the rear side of the operation surface part 50 and the second rotating shaft part 65 provided on the front side thereof. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, when the operation surface part 50 of the push button 60a (60b, 60c) is depressed, the front end side of the operation surface part 50 is pushed downward with the first rotating shaft part 64 as a rotating supporting point, while the rear end side of the detection arm 52 is pushed down by the hinge part 62 together with the operation surface part 50, by which the front end side of the detection arm 52 is pushed in the opposite direction to the direction of the operation surface part 50, in other words, in the upward direction with the second rotating shaft part 65 as a rotating supporting point. Thereby, the pressing part 52a presses the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) on the lower surface of the board plate 32, by which the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) is turned on.

Also in the case of the push button 60a (60b, 60c), the detection arm 52 is able to press the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) on the lower surface of the board plate 32 since the moving direction of the detection arm 52 is opposite to the direction of the vertical movement of the operation surface part 50. Therefore, the rotating shaft part 64 serving as the first rotating supporting point of the push button 60a (60b, 60c) may be set in a position on the rear side of the front edge part where the detection arm 52 of the operation surface part 50 is provided. In addition, the rotating shaft part 65 serving as the second rotating supporting point may be set in a position between the operation surface part 50 and the pressing part 52a of the detection arm 52 and the hinge part 62 may be set in a position between the two rotating shaft parts 64 and 65.

Therefore, also in the configuration including the push button 60a (60b, 60c) provided with this type of hinge part 62, cost and thickness can be reduced in the same manner as the configuration including the aforementioned push button 24a (24b, 24c). In addition, in the push button 60a (60b, 60c), the moving directions of the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52 are changed at the hinge part 62 serving as a direction change part. Therefore, also in the case of setting the depressed position of the operation surface part 50 on the detection arm 52 side (the front end side) as illustrated in FIG. 6, the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) can be reliably turned on and off.

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view illustrating the configuration of an input device 12B according to a variation of the input device 12A illustrated in FIG. 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the input device 12B includes push buttons 70a to 70c different in the structure from the push buttons 60a to 60c of the input device 12A illustrated in FIG. 6. This push button 70a (70b, 70c) does not have a hinge part 62 between the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52, with the front end part of the operation surface part 50 arranged abutting on the rear end part of the detection arm 52 in a state where the front end part is able to depress the rear end part.

Therefore, also in the case of the push button 70a (70b, 70c), when the operation surface part 50 is depressed, the front end side of the operation surface part 50 is pushed downward with the first rotating shaft part 64 as a rotating supporting point, while the rear end side of the detection arm 52 is pushed down by the front end part of the operation surface part 50, by which the front end side of the detection arm 52 is pushed in the opposite direction to the direction of the operation surface part 50, in other words, in the upward direction with the second rotating shaft part 65 as a rotating supporting point. Thereby, the pressing part 52a presses the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) on the lower surface of the board plate 32, by which the detection switch 35a (35b, 35c) is turned on. Specifically, the contact position between the front end part of the operation surface part 50 and the rear end part of the detection arm 52 corresponds to a direction change part which changes the moving directions of the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52.

Therefore, in the configuration including the push button 70a (70b, 70c), the moving directions of the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52 can be made opposite to each other without providing the hinge part 62 between the operation surface part 50 and the detection arm 52, thereby enabling the component structure to be simplified.

It, however, should be noted that the front end side of the operation surface part 50 easily comes off upward in the case of the push button 70a (70b, 70c) and therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 7, there may be used a configuration where an engagement hook 72 is provided in a protruding condition on the lower surface (the rear surface) of the operation surface part 50 and the engagement hook 72 is engaged with an engagement hole 74, which is formed upright in a gate shape, on the upper surface of the baseplate 26, so that the engagement hook 72 and the engagement hole 74 function as a stopper for preventing upward coming-off while setting the rising limit of the push button 70a (70b, 70c). Naturally, the coming-off prevention structure composed of the engagement hook 72 and the engagement hole 74 may be applied to the operation surface part 50 of the aforementioned push buttons 24a to 24c and 60a to 60c since the structure is simple and can be easily reduced in size.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Naturally, various modifications or variations to the present invention may be freely made within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Although the above embodiments illustrate a configuration in which the detection switch 35a and the like for detecting a depressing operation of the push button 24a and the like provided on the side part of the touch pad 22 are provided on the board plate 32 on the touch pad 22 side, it is also possible to dispose, for example, the push buttons 24a and 24b on the side part of the keyboard device 16 as illustrated in FIG. 8 and to provide the detection switches 35a and 35b on an electronic board 80 for detecting key operations on the keyboard device 16. Furthermore, although the electronic apparatus 10 which is a laptop PC is illustrated in the above embodiments, the present invention may be applied to an electronic apparatus 10A which is a tablet PC as illustrated in FIG. 9. In this electronic apparatus 10A, it is also possible to use the present invention having a configuration where, for example, the push button 24a is disposed in the side part of a display device 82 and the detection switch 35a for the push button 24a is provided on an electronic board 84 for detecting touch operations on the display device 82. Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to various types of electronic apparatus such as a smartphone, an electronic organizer, a pen-type input means (a pen tablet) where an input operation is performed on a touch operation surface by using a pen-type device, and the like.

[Description of Symbols]

10, 10A

Electronic apparatus

12, 12A, 12B

Input device

14

Body chassis

16

Keyboard device

18

Display housing

18a, 82

Display device

20

Pointing stick

22

Touch pad

22a

Touch operation surface

24a to 24c, 60a to 60c, 70a to 70c

Push button

26

Baseplate

30

Housing plate

32

Board plate

34

Pad plate

35a to 35c

Detection switch

36

Elastic nail

40

Protruding piece

41

Elastic pressing part

45

Click detection switch

50

Operation surface part

52

Detection arm

52a

Pressing part

54

Rotating shaft part

62

Hinge part

64

First rotating shaft part

65

Second rotating shaft part

66

Supporting piece

80, 84

Electronic board