CN109920678B - Keyboard switch - Google Patents
Keyboard switch Download PDFInfo
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- CN109920678B CN109920678B CN201711321443.0A CN201711321443A CN109920678B CN 109920678 B CN109920678 B CN 109920678B CN 201711321443 A CN201711321443 A CN 201711321443A CN 109920678 B CN109920678 B CN 109920678B
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- Prior art keywords
- spacer
- keyboard
- key
- plunger
- keyboard switch
- Prior art date
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- 125000006850 spacer group Chemical group 0.000 claims abstract description 70
- 229920001971 elastomer Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 26
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 19
- 239000000806 elastomer Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 6
- 229920003002 synthetic resin Polymers 0.000 description 4
- 239000000057 synthetic resin Substances 0.000 description 4
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 3
- 210000000078 claw Anatomy 0.000 description 2
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000006260 foam Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 2
- JOYRKODLDBILNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ethyl urethane Chemical compound CCOC(N)=O JOYRKODLDBILNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- -1 amine ester Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 239000000470 constituent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004804 winding Methods 0.000 description 1
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- Push-Button Switches (AREA)
Abstract
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a keyboard switch which can change the stroke of a prescribed key in one keyboard. The solution of the present invention is a keyboard switch (3) comprising: a key cap (5) which receives a pressing force and moves up and down; a plunger (7) which is engaged with the lower part of the key cap (5) and moves up and down together with the key cap (5); a rubber cap (9) which is disposed below the plunger (7) and supports the plunger (7) from below; a housing (11) disposed on the outer peripheral side of the plunger (7) and the rubber cap (9); a thin plate (13) supported by the housing (11) and extending in the lateral direction; and a spacer (15) disposed between the thin plate (13) and the key cap (5). The spacer (15) is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the keyboard (1).
Description
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a keyboard switch applied to an input device (e.g., a keyboard) for inputting information into an electronic machine.
Background
There has been previously proposed a keyboard switch described in japanese patent laid-open No. 8-329770 (patent document 1) which is used in an input device (e.g., a keyboard) for inputting information into an electronic machine. As shown in patent document 1, in the prior art, the strokes (strokes) of the keys at the time of input are set to the same size for all the key switches provided in the keyboard.
Documents of the prior art
Patent document
Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 8-329770.
Disclosure of Invention
Problems to be solved by the invention
In recent years, the demand for keyboards has become diversified, and there is a demand for using different keyboards for the purpose of use. That is, for example, in the case of playing a game or the like, a keyboard having keys with a short key stroke is used to quickly tap a predetermined key, whereas in the case of normal operation other than the game or the like, a keyboard having keys with a long key stroke is used, and users who desire such operation are increasing.
Thus, the conventional keyboard has a problem that it is necessary to use different keyboards for different purposes, which is troublesome.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard switch capable of changing a stroke of a predetermined key in one keyboard.
Technical scheme for solving problems
In order to achieve the above object, a keyboard switch according to the present invention includes: a key cap which receives a pressing force to move up and down; a plunger which is engaged with the lower part of the key cap and moves up and down together with the key cap; a rubber cap disposed below the plunger and supporting the plunger from below; a housing disposed on the outer peripheral side of the plunger and the rubber cap; a thin plate supported by the housing and extending in a lateral direction; and a spacer disposed between the thin plate and the keycap; wherein the spacer is configured to be detachable with respect to the keyboard.
ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION
According to the keyboard switch of the present invention, the spacer is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the keyboard. Therefore, when the spacer is disposed between the thin plate and the key top, when the key top is pressed and brought into contact with the spacer, the vertical stroke of the key top at the time of key striking is shortened, and the key striking noise is also reduced. This is advantageous when a predetermined key is clicked quickly in a game or the like, or when the speed of inputting a document is increased.
On the other hand, when the spacer is not provided, the vertical stroke of the key top is increased. Thus, the repulsive force when the key top is pressed is reduced, and the burden on the fingers of the operator is also reduced.
In this way, the operator can freely attach and detach the spacer, and thus can change the stroke of the predetermined key in one keyboard.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a keyboard switch according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of a keyboard switch according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a keyboard switch according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the assembled keyboard switch of fig. 3.
In fig. 5, fig. 5(a) is a plan view of the spacer according to embodiment 1, and fig. 5(b) is a side view of the spacer of fig. 5 (a).
Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the dimensions of the components of the keyboard switch according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a graph schematically showing the relationship between the distance of pressing the key top and the repulsive force in the keyboard switch according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a keyboard switch according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a plan view of a keyboard switch according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.
In fig. 10, fig. 10(a) is a plan view of the spacer according to embodiment 2, and fig. 10(b) is a side view of the spacer of fig. 10 (a).
In fig. 11, fig. 11(a) is a plan view of a spacer according to another embodiment, and fig. 11(b) is a side view of the spacer of fig. 11 (a).
Wherein the reference numerals are as follows:
1. 101 a keyboard; 3, a keyboard switch; 5, key caps; 7, a plunger; 9 a rubber cap; 11 a housing; 13 a thin plate; 15. 115, 215 spacers; 17 a coil spring; 55 gap.
Detailed Description
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The keyboard switch of the embodiment of the present invention is used for inputting information into an input device, i.e., a keyboard, in an electronic machine.
(embodiment 1)
First, embodiment 1 of the present invention is explained.
As shown in fig. 1 to 5, the keyboard 1 has a plurality of keys arranged in parallel in the lateral direction and the longitudinal direction.
The keyboard switch 3 includes: a key cap 5 that moves up and down by receiving a pressing force from an operator; a plunger 7 that engages with the lower portion of the key top 5 and moves up and down together with the key top 5; a rubber cap 9 disposed below the plunger 7 and supporting the plunger 7 from below; a housing 11 disposed on the outer peripheral side of the plunger 7 and the rubber cap 9; a thin plate 13 supported by the housing 11 and extending in the lateral direction; a spacer 15 disposed between the thin plate 13 and the key top 5; and a coil spring 17 disposed below the rubber cap 9. The spacer 15 is configured to be detachable from the keyboard 1. The keyboard switch 3 is disposed on the substrate 19. This will be explained in detail below.
The key cap 5 is formed of a material such as a synthetic resin, and is integrally formed of: a key cap body 21 having an outer peripheral shape formed in a truncated pyramid shape; a side surface portion 23 extending obliquely downward from an outer peripheral end of the key cap body portion 21; and a cylindrical connecting portion 25 that extends downward from the center of the lower surface of the key top 21 and engages with the plunger 7. The upper surface of the key top body 21 is formed as a pressing surface 27, and a central portion in the left-right direction in a side view is formed in a curved shape recessed downward so as to be easily pressed by a finger of an operator.
The plunger 7 is formed of a material such as synthetic resin, and moves up and down together with the key top 5. The plunger 7 is integrally formed by: a cylindrical portion 29 disposed on the upper side; an abutting portion 31 extending in the lateral direction from the lower end of the cylindrical portion 29; and a claw portion 33 bent at the tip of the contact portion 31 and extending downward. The contact portion 31 can contact a pressing portion 35 of the rubber cap 9 described later, and the lower end 37 of the claw portion 33 can contact a base portion 39 of the rubber cap 9.
The rubber cap 9 is made of elastic rubber or the like, and is disposed below the plunger 7. The rubber cap 9 is integrally formed by the following parts: a pressing portion 35 which is an upper surface; a leg portion 41 which is cylindrical and extends downward from the outer peripheral edge of the pressing portion 35; and a base portion 39 which is flat and extends in the lateral direction from the lower end of the leg portion 41.
The housing 11 is formed of a material such as a synthetic resin, and is integrally formed of: a housing body 43 having a corner-pillar shape and disposed on the lower side; and a cylindrical coupling projection 45 disposed on the upper side of the housing body 43. A projection 47 projecting in the lateral direction is formed on the lower side of the housing main body 43, and a support surface 49 for supporting the thin plate 13 is formed on the upper end of the projection 47. A projection 51 is formed on the side surface of the housing main body 43 above the support surface 49. Further, the cylindrical portion 29 of the plunger 7 is inserted into the inner peripheral side of the coupling projection 45.
The thin plate 13 is made of a material such as metal or synthetic resin, and has a rectangular opening 53 into which the housing 11 is inserted. The peripheral edge of the opening 53 is placed on the support surface 49 of the housing 11, and the peripheral edge of the opening 53 is sandwiched from above and below by the support surface 49 of the housing 11 and the projection 51.
The spacer 15 is made of rubber such as urethane foam, but the material is not particularly limited as long as it is an elastomer. The spacer 15 is formed as a rectangular (annular) frame in a plan view, and has a notch 55 on the inner peripheral side of the frame. Specifically, as shown in fig. 5(a), the spacer 15 is formed in a square shape in a plan view, and is integrally formed from the following portions in fig. 5 (a): a vertical side portion 57 extending in the vertical direction; and a lateral side portion 59 extending in the left-right direction. The pair of opposing vertical side portions 57 have notches 55 formed in the inner peripheral side of the central portion in the extending direction of the vertical side portions 57. Here, in the present embodiment, the spacer 15 is provided at the position of the key shown in fig. 1 and 2, but the position where the spacer 15 is disposed is not particularly limited and can be arbitrarily selected.
The coil spring 17 is formed in a spiral shape whose diameter gradually increases from the upper side to the lower side when no load is applied, and is housed on the inner peripheral side of the rubber cap 9. The coil spring 17 is formed by winding a conductive coil wire, and is configured to be elastically deformable in the vertical direction.
A switch mechanism constituted by a pair of electrode portions 61, 61 is provided on the surface of the substrate 19. When the pressing portion 35 of the rubber cap 9 is pressed downward to crush the coil spring 17, the amount of the electrostatic capacitive coupling between the coil spring 17 and the pair of electrode portions 61 and 61 is increased, and thus the key cap 5 can be detected by the switch mechanism as being pressed.
Next, the dimensional relationship of each constituent member will be described with reference to fig. 6.
The vertical distance between the lower end 63 of the side surface portion 23 of the key top 5 and the upper surface 65 of the spacer 15 is S1, the vertical distance between the lower end 63 of the side surface portion 23 of the key top 5 and the upper surface 67 of the thin plate 13 is S2, and the thickness of the spacer 15 is t. Then, the relational expression of S2 to S1 is satisfied. The thickness t of the spacer 15 can be set to any thickness.
When the pressing surface 27 of the key top 5 is pressed, the plunger 7 descends together with the key top 5, and the lower end 63 of the side surface portion 23 of the key top 5 abuts against the upper surface 65 of the spacer 15. Since the spacer 15 is an elastic body, there is some flexural deformation, but in the case where the spacer 15 is attached, the up-down key stroke of the key top 5 is approximately S1. On the other hand, when the spacer 15 is not attached, the plunger 7 descends together with the key top 5 when the pressing surface 27 of the key top 5 is pressed, and the lower end 63 of the side surface portion 23 of the key top 5 abuts on the upper surface 65 of the thin plate 13. When the spacer 15 is not attached, the vertical stroke of the key top 5 is S2. In this way, the vertical stroke of the key top 5 is short in the case where the spacer 15 is provided.
Further, a relationship between the pressing force F when the key top 5 is pressed and the key stroke S of the key top 5 will be described with reference to a graph of fig. 7.
Once the key cap 5 is pressed, the plunger 7 descends together with the key cap 5, and the rubber cap 9 and the coil spring 17 are elastically deformed. The pressing force F1 acts until the key stroke S1 due to the repulsive force of the rubber cap 9 and the coil spring 17. Then, when the lower end 63 of the side surface portion 23 of the key top 5 comes into contact with the upper surface 67 of the thin plate 13, the repulsive force of the spacer 15 is added, and the pressing force F2 acts after the key stroke S1.
The action and efficacy of embodiment 1 will be described below.
(1) The keyboard switch 3 includes: a key cap 5 which receives a pressing force and moves up and down; a plunger 7 which is coupled (engaged) to a lower portion of the key top 5 and moves up and down together with the key top 5; a rubber cap 9 disposed below the plunger 7 and supporting the plunger 7 from below; a housing 11 disposed on the outer peripheral side of the plunger 7 and the rubber cap 9; a thin plate 13 supported by the housing 11 and extending in the lateral direction; and a spacer 15 disposed between the thin plate 13 and the key top 5. The spacer 15 is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the keyboard 1.
Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the key top 5 is removed by using a jig, the spacer 15 is attached, and then the key top 5 is attached, whereby the spacer 15 can be attached to a desired key. When the spacer 15 is disposed between the thin plate 13 and the key top 5, the key top 5 is pressed down and abuts against the spacer 15, so that the vertical stroke of the key top 5 is shortened and the key hitting noise is reduced. This is advantageous when a predetermined key is clicked quickly in a game or the like, or when the speed of inputting a document is increased.
On the other hand, when the spacer 15 is not provided, the vertical stroke of the key top 5 becomes long. Accordingly, the repulsive force when the key top 5 is pressed is reduced, and the burden on the fingers of the operator is also reduced.
In this way, since the operator can freely attach and detach the spacer 15, it is not necessary to replace the keyboard depending on the purpose of use, and it is possible to cope with various purposes with one keyboard 1.
(2) The spacer 15 is configured to be able to arbitrarily select the arrangement position in the keyboard 1.
Therefore, the spacer 15 can be provided only in the key which is particularly commonly used by the operator, and the keyboard 1 can be customized to make the operator feel comfortable.
(3) The spacer 15 is formed of an elastic body. When the key top 5 is pressed down and abuts against the spacer 15, the spacer 15 is elastically deformed, and the magnitude of the clicking sound when the key is clicked decreases.
(4) The spacer 15 can be set to any thickness. Accordingly, the vertical stroke of the key top 5 can be arbitrarily changed according to the thickness of the spacer 15.
(5) The spacer 15 is formed in a rectangular (annular) frame in a plan view, and has a notch 55 on the inner peripheral side of the frame.
Since the notch 55 is provided on the inner peripheral side of the frame, when the spacer 15 is to be removed, a finger can be inserted into the notch 55 of the frame to grasp the spacer 15, thereby improving the work efficiency when the spacer 15 is removed.
(6) The spacer 15 is formed corresponding to a single key in the keyboard. Thus, the spacer 15 can be attached only to a specific key desired by the operator, and the effect of improving the ease of use can be obtained.
(embodiment 2)
Next, embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 8 to 10. However, the same reference numerals are attached to the same components as those in embodiment 1, and the description thereof will be omitted.
The spacer 115 according to embodiment 2 is integrally formed corresponding to a plurality of adjacent keys of the keyboard 101. The spacer 115 is formed of rubber such as an amine ester foam, but the material is not particularly limited as long as it is an elastomer.
Specifically, the spacer 115 shown in fig. 10(a) corresponds to the 4 keys of the W key 110, the a key 120, the S key 130, and the D key 140 in the keyboard 101, as shown in fig. 8 and 9. The W key 110, the a key 120, the S key 130, and the D key 140 are keys commonly used in games, and are adjacent 4 keys.
That is, 4 frames each having a square shape in a plan view are coupled to the spacer 115. Each frame is formed as a rectangular (annular) frame in a plan view, and has a notch 55 on the inner peripheral side of the frame. Specifically, as shown in fig. 10(a), each frame is formed in a square shape in a plan view, and is integrally formed from the following portions in fig. 10 (a): a vertical side portion 57 extending in the vertical direction; and a lateral side portion 59 extending in the left-right direction. The pair of opposing vertical side portions 57, 57 have notches 55 formed in the inner peripheral side of the central portion in the extending direction of the vertical side portion 57.
The action and efficacy of embodiment 2 will be described below.
(1) The spacer 115 is integrally formed corresponding to the plurality of adjacent keys of the keyboard 101.
Thus, for example, in a game, since W, A, S, D are commonly used as four keys, it is possible to respond to such an operator's desire to quickly tap the keys while playing the game.
The keyboard switch of the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the configuration of each part may be replaced with any configuration having the same function.
For example, in embodiment 2, the spacers 115 corresponding to the W, A, S, D four keys have been described, but as shown in fig. 11, the present invention can also be applied to the spacers 215 corresponding to the arrow keys.
Claims (5)
1. A keyboard switch is characterized in that a keyboard switch is arranged on a keyboard,
the keyboard switch includes: a key cap which receives a pressing force to move up and down; a plunger which is clamped at the lower part of the keycap and moves up and down together with the keycap; a rubber cap disposed below the plunger and supporting the plunger from below; a housing disposed on the outer peripheral side of the plunger and the rubber cap; a thin plate supported by the housing and extending in a lateral direction; and a spacer disposed between the thin plate and the key cap,
the spacer is configured to be detachable with respect to the keyboard,
the spacer is formed into an annular frame in a plan view and has a notch on the inner peripheral side of the frame,
when the spacer is to be disassembled, fingers can be inserted into the notches to grasp the spacer.
2. The keyboard switch of claim 1, wherein said spacer is configured to be able to arbitrarily select an arrangement position in the keyboard.
3. The keyboard switch of claim 1 or 2, wherein said spacer is formed of an elastomer.
4. The keyboard switch of claim 1 or 2, wherein said spacer is formed in correspondence with a single key in the keyboard.
5. The keyboard switch of claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacer is integrally formed in the keyboard corresponding to the adjacent plurality of keys.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN201711321443.0A CN109920678B (en) | 2017-12-12 | 2017-12-12 | Keyboard switch |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN201711321443.0A CN109920678B (en) | 2017-12-12 | 2017-12-12 | Keyboard switch |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CN109920678A CN109920678A (en) | 2019-06-21 |
| CN109920678B true CN109920678B (en) | 2022-06-28 |
Family
ID=66957864
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN201711321443.0A Active CN109920678B (en) | 2017-12-12 | 2017-12-12 | Keyboard switch |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CN (1) | CN109920678B (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112185039B (en) * | 2020-09-30 | 2021-11-23 | 郑州工程技术学院 | Economics teaching is with special ware of racing to be first to answer a question in wisdom classroom |
| CN216056962U (en) * | 2021-08-17 | 2022-03-15 | 东莞市凯华电子有限公司 | Switch convenient to assemble |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5516996A (en) * | 1993-07-02 | 1996-05-14 | Btc Corporation | Keyboard apparatus |
| JP2001216070A (en) * | 2000-01-31 | 2001-08-10 | Topre Corp | Keyboard |
| JP2012138254A (en) * | 2010-12-27 | 2012-07-19 | Topre Corp | Keyboard switch |
Family Cites Families (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN2315652Y (en) * | 1997-12-23 | 1999-04-21 | 明碁电脑股份有限公司 | Key |
| JP2001250450A (en) * | 2000-03-07 | 2001-09-14 | Alps Electric Co Ltd | Push button switch |
| US20100116629A1 (en) * | 2008-11-12 | 2010-05-13 | Milo Borissov | Dual action push-type button |
| CN201936778U (en) * | 2010-12-21 | 2011-08-17 | 三星电子株式会社 | Side key of portable-type electronic device and portable-type electronic device |
| TWI456614B (en) * | 2011-12-05 | 2014-10-11 | Giga Byte Tech Co Ltd | Input device and manufacturing method thereof |
| CN104252986A (en) * | 2013-06-28 | 2014-12-31 | 技嘉科技股份有限公司 | Keycap, key structure and keyboard with key structure |
| CN205721645U (en) * | 2016-04-14 | 2016-11-23 | 安徽德合信息科技有限公司 | A kind of water proof type computor-keyboard |
| CN105826111A (en) * | 2016-05-10 | 2016-08-03 | 苏州达方电子有限公司 | Key structure |
-
2017
- 2017-12-12 CN CN201711321443.0A patent/CN109920678B/en active Active
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5516996A (en) * | 1993-07-02 | 1996-05-14 | Btc Corporation | Keyboard apparatus |
| JP2001216070A (en) * | 2000-01-31 | 2001-08-10 | Topre Corp | Keyboard |
| JP2012138254A (en) * | 2010-12-27 | 2012-07-19 | Topre Corp | Keyboard switch |
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| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CN109920678A (en) | 2019-06-21 |
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