Patent ID: 7019242

Claim:
An electroluminescent (EL) metal dome keypad comprising: a printed circuit board having a plurality of fixed contact terminals; a plurality of domes disposed at positions corresponding to the fixed contact terminals of the printed circuit board, and brought into contact with or separated from the fixed contact terminals by means of elastic deformation; a base tape laminated on the printed circuit board and having a plurality of holes formed at positions corresponding to the domes, said base tape being used to mount the domes to the printed circuit board by inserting and holding the domes into the formed holes; double-sided adhesive tape laminated on the base tape and the domes, which are inserted into and held to the holes formed in the base tape, said double-sided adhesive tape being used to attach and hold the base tape and the dome thereon; an EL sheet attached and laminated on the double-sided adhesive tape and emitting light by itself when a power supply voltage is applied, said EL sheet further comprising a rear protective sheet, a rear electrode layer, an insulation layer, a luminous electrode layer, a dielectric layer, a luminous layer, a transparent electrode layer, a color filter layer, and a front protective sheet all sequentially laminated together; a key top disposed on the EL sheet and having protrusions for pressing the domes at positions corresponding to the domes; and a front case disposed on the key top.