CN110828219A

CN110828219A - Keyboard with a keyboard body

Info

Publication number: CN110828219A
Application number: CN201810910392.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林典谕
Original assignee: Chicony Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Chicony Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-10
Filing date: 2018-08-10
Publication date: 2020-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 2038-08-10
Also published as: CN110828219B

Abstract

A keyboard comprises a bottom plate and a plurality of key devices. Each key device comprises a keycap, a first supporting piece and a second supporting piece. The keycap is located above the bottom plate. The first support piece is connected between the base plate and the keycap and comprises a first magnetic suction part. The first magnetic part is provided with a first abutting surface. The second support piece is connected between the bottom plate and the keycap and comprises a second magnetic attraction part configured to attract the first magnetic attraction part. The second magnetic part is provided with a second abutting surface. When the first abutting surface abuts against the second abutting surface, the keycap is located at the highest position relative to the base plate. When the keycap moves from the highest position to the bottom plate, the first abutting surface is at least partially separated from the second abutting surface.

Description

Keyboard with a keyboard body

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a keyboard, and more particularly, to a keyboard that is advantageous for being thinned.

Background

In terms of the current usage habit of personal computers, a key device is one of the indispensable input devices for inputting characters or numbers. Moreover, for consumer-grade electronic products in contact with daily life or large processing equipment used in the industry, a key structure is required to be provided as an input device for operating the electronic products and the processing equipment.

For the keys of the key device, a supporting structure is usually disposed under the key caps of the keys for guiding the key caps to move up and down. For example, the scissors-type supporting structure is formed by two supporting members that are staggered with each other. In addition, to balance the force applied by the user on each key, a balancing bar is typically provided under the key cap of the key. Therefore, the force can be evenly distributed on the whole key cap surface no matter the force is applied to the side edge or the corner of the key cap.

For the current notebook computer, the trend is to reduce the weight and the thickness, so the keyboard structure matched with the notebook computer must be improved in the directions of reducing the overall vertical height of the keys and simplifying the mechanism in order to meet the requirement, and the change direction and the market demand of the current electronic device are met. However, the existing scissor-type supporting structure occupies a certain vertical height, so that a certain height space must be reserved for the keyboard of the notebook computer to facilitate installation, and the thickness of the notebook computer cannot be reduced.

Therefore, how to provide a keyboard capable of solving the above problems is one of the problems that the industry needs to invest in research and development resources to solve.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, an objective of the present invention is to provide a keyboard that can effectively solve the aforementioned problems.

To achieve the above objective, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a keyboard includes a bottom plate and a plurality of key devices. Each key device comprises a keycap, a first supporting piece and a second supporting piece. The keycap is located above the bottom plate. The first support piece is connected between the base plate and the keycap and comprises a first magnetic suction part. The first magnetic part is provided with a first abutting surface. The second support piece is connected between the bottom plate and the keycap and comprises a second magnetic attraction part configured to attract the first magnetic attraction part. The second magnetic part is provided with a second abutting surface. When the first abutting surface abuts against the second abutting surface, the keycap is located at the highest position relative to the base plate. When the keycap moves from the highest position to the bottom plate, the first abutting surface is at least partially separated from the second abutting surface.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, each of the first and second supports has a lower connecting shaft and an upper connecting shaft. The lower connecting shaft and the upper connecting shaft are respectively connected to the base plate and the keycap.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the first supporting member and the second supporting member are horizontally and symmetrically arranged. The distance between the lower connecting shafts is smaller than the distance between the upper connecting shafts.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the first magnetic attraction portion is adjacent to the lower connecting shaft of the first supporting member and away from the upper connecting shaft of the first supporting member, and the second magnetic attraction portion is adjacent to the lower connecting shaft of the second supporting member and away from the upper connecting shaft of the second supporting member.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the key cap has an engaging structure. The engagement structure has an engagement hole. One of the upper engagement shafts is rotatably engaged with the engagement hole.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the engagement hole is in the shape of an elongated slot and extends substantially parallel to the base plate. The upper engaging shaft engaged with the engaging hole is further slidably engaged with the engaging hole.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the bottom plate has a hook. The hook is slidably engaged with one of the lower engagement shafts.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, one of the first supporting member and the second supporting member further has a triggering portion. The trigger part faces the bottom plate and faces away from the keycap.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the first magnetic attraction portion further has a third abutting surface connected to the first abutting surface. When the keycap moves to the lowest position relative to the bottom plate, the third abutting surface abuts against the second abutting surface.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the first magnetic attraction portion further has a third abutting surface connected to the first abutting surface. The second magnetic part is also provided with a fourth abutting surface connected with the second abutting surface. When the keycap moves to the lowest position relative to the bottom plate, the third abutting surface abuts against the fourth abutting surface.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the first supporting member further includes a main body portion. The main body part is connected with the first magnetic part. The first support member includes a metal material. The main body part and the first magnetic part are connected through cold welding agent.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the first supporting member and the second supporting member respectively have a first hollow portion and a second hollow portion. The keyboard further comprises a third support and a fourth support. The third supporting piece is connected between the bottom plate and the keycap and is pivoted to the inner edge of the first hollow-out part. The fourth supporting piece is connected between the bottom plate and the keycap and is pivoted to the inner edge of the second hollow part.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, when the keycap is located at the highest position relative to the base plate, the first supporting member and the third supporting member are combined to form an X shape, and the second supporting member and the fourth supporting member are combined to form an X shape.

In summary, the keyboard of the present invention utilizes the two supporting members to guide the keycap to move toward and away from the bottom plate, and the two magnetic attraction members respectively disposed on the two supporting members attract each other to achieve the purpose of resetting the keycap when not being pressed. The magnetic part can replace the existing rubber dome, thereby effectively shortening the stroke of the keycap and being beneficial to thinning the keyboard. Moreover, since the first support member and the second support member are horizontally and symmetrically arranged and each at least partially comprises a metal material, the keyboard adopting the first support member and the second support member has enough structural strength even if the existing balance bar is not installed.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the problems, solutions to problems, and other aspects of the present invention, and the specific details thereof are set forth in the following description and the related drawings.

Drawings

In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the invention more comprehensible, the following description is given:

fig. 1A is a perspective view illustrating a keyboard according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1B is an exploded perspective view illustrating the key device of the keyboard of fig. 1A and a partial bottom plate and a circuit board.

FIG. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the key device of the keyboard in FIG. 1A, wherein the keycap is located at the highest position relative to the base plate.

FIG. 2B is another cross-sectional view of the key device of the keyboard in FIG. 1A, wherein the key cap is located at the lowest position relative to the bottom plate.

FIG. 3A is a schematic partial cross-sectional view illustrating a key device of a keyboard according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein the key cap is located at the highest position relative to the base.

FIG. 3B is a partial cross-sectional view of the key device shown in FIG. 3A, wherein the key cap is located at the lowest position relative to the bottom plate.

FIG. 4A is a schematic partial cross-sectional view illustrating a key device of a keyboard according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein the key cap is located at the highest position relative to the base.

FIG. 4B is a partial cross-sectional view of the key device shown in FIG. 4A, wherein the key cap is located at the lowest position relative to the base.

FIG. 5A is a schematic partial cross-sectional view illustrating a key device of a keyboard according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein the key cap is located at the highest position relative to the base.

FIG. 5B is a partial cross-sectional view of the key device of FIG. 5A, wherein the key cap is located at the lowest position relative to the bottom plate.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a key device of a keyboard and a partial bottom plate and a circuit board according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein a keycap is located at a highest position relative to the bottom plate.

Wherein the reference numerals are:

100: keyboard with a keyboard body

100A, 200A, 300A, 400A, 500A: key device

110: base plate

111: clamping hook

120: circuit board

130. 330 and 430: first support member

131. 331, 431: first magnetic part

131a, 331a, 431 a: first abutting surface

132. 142: main body part

133. 143: lower connecting shaft

134. 144, and (3) 144: upper connecting shaft

135. 145: trigger part

136: the first hollow part

140. 440, a step of: second support member

141. 441: second magnetic part

141a, 441 a: second abutting surface

146: the second hollow part

150. 250: key cap

151. 251: linking structure

151 a: inlet port

151b, 251 b: connection hole

331b, 431 b: third abutting surface

441 b: fourth abutting surface

530: third support member

540: fourth supporting member

Detailed Description

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous implementation details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that these implementation details are not to be interpreted as limiting the invention. That is, in some embodiments of the invention, such implementation details are not necessary. In addition, for the sake of simplicity, certain conventional structures and elements are shown in the drawings in a simplified schematic manner, and the same elements in different embodiments are labeled with the same reference numerals.

Please refer to fig. 1A and fig. 1B. Fig. 1A is a perspective view of a keyboard 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1B is an exploded perspective view illustrating the key device 100A of the keyboard 100 in fig. 1A and a partial bottom plate 110 and a circuit board 120. As shown in fig. 1A and fig. 1B, the keyboard 100 of the present embodiment may be an external keyboard (e.g., a PS2 interface keyboard or a USB interface keyboard) for a desktop computer or an input device including keys (e.g., a touch pad on a notebook computer), but is not limited thereto. In other words, the concept of the keyboard 100 of the present invention can be applied to any electronic product using pressing as an input method. In the present embodiment, the keyboard 100 includes a bottom plate 110, a circuit board 120 and a plurality of key devices 100A. The structure and function of each element included in the keyboard 100 and the connection relationship between each element will be described in detail below.

Please refer to fig. 2A and fig. 2B together. Fig. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the key device 100A of the keyboard 100 in fig. 1A, and fig. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another key device 100A of the keyboard 100 in fig. 1A.

In the present embodiment, each of the key devices 100A includes a first supporting member 130, a second supporting member 140 and a key cap 150. As shown in fig. 2A, where keycap 150 is in an uppermost position relative to base plate 110; as shown in fig. 2B, in which keycap 150 is at a lowermost position relative to base plate 110. Keycap 150 is positioned over base plate 110. The circuit board 120 is disposed on the bottom plate 110 and located between the bottom plate 110 and the key cap 150. The first support 130 and the second support 140 are connected between the base plate 110 and the keycap 150, and are configured to guide the keycap 150 to move toward and away from the base plate 110. The first support 130 includes a first magnetic attraction portion 131. The second support 140 includes a second magnetic portion 141. The second magnetic portion 141 is configured to attract the first magnetic portion 131. As shown in fig. 2B, the first magnetic part 131 has a first abutting surface 131a, and the second magnetic part 141 has a second abutting surface 141 a. When the first abutting surface 131a abuts against the second abutting surface 141a (see fig. 2A), the key cap 150 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110. When the key cap 150 moves from the highest position toward the bottom plate 110 (see fig. 2B), the first abutting surface 131a is at least partially separated from the second abutting surface 141 a. For example, the first abutting surface 131a abuts against the second abutting surface 141a only at the lower edge in fig. 2B.

With the above structure configuration, the key device 100A of the present embodiment can attract each other through the first magnetic attraction portion 131 and the second magnetic attraction portion 141 respectively disposed on the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140, so as to achieve the purpose of resetting the key cap 150 to the highest position when not being pressed. Therefore, the combination of the first magnetic portion 131 and the second magnetic portion 141 can replace the conventional rubber dome (rubber dome), thereby effectively shortening the stroke of the key cap 150 and facilitating the thinning of the key device 100A and the keyboard 100.

As shown in fig. 2A and 2B, the first abutting surface 131a and the second abutting surface 141a are both flat surfaces, so that the keycap 150 is positioned at the highest position with respect to the bottom plate 110 when the two are completely attached, but the invention is not limited thereto. In practical applications, it is only necessary to make the first abutting surface 131a and the second abutting surface 141a have complementary shapes.

As shown in fig. 1B, the first support 130 has a lower coupling shaft 133 and an upper coupling shaft 134, and the second support 140 has a lower coupling shaft 143 and an upper coupling shaft 144. The

lower coupling shafts

133, 143 are coupled to the base plate 110, and the

upper coupling shafts

134, 144 are coupled to the key cap 150. As shown in fig. 2A, the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 are horizontally and symmetrically arranged. That is, the first support 130 and the second support 140 are symmetrically arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the path of the key cap 150 moving up and down relative to the base 110. Further, the first supporting member 130 further includes a main body portion 132. The body 132 is connected to the first magnetic part 131. The second supporting member 140 further includes a main body portion 142. The body 142 is connected to the second magnetic part 141. The

main body portions

132, 142 include a metal material. With this configuration, even if the existing balance bar is not installed, the key device 100A of the present embodiment can still have sufficient structural strength by using the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140, and can effectively avoid the problem of function failure due to deflection (wobbling) when the corners of the key cap 150 are pressed.

In the present embodiment, the distance between the

lower coupling shafts

133, 143 is smaller than the distance between the

upper coupling shafts

134, 144. In addition, the first magnetic attraction portion 131 is adjacent to the lower connecting shaft 133 and away from the upper connecting shaft 134, and the second magnetic attraction portion 141 is adjacent to the lower connecting shaft 143 and away from the upper connecting shaft 144. Therefore, the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 form a V-shape as shown in fig. 2A, and the attraction position between the first magnetic attraction portion 131 and the second magnetic attraction portion 141 is located between the lower connecting

shafts

133 and 143. One end of the body 132 is connected to the first magnetic attraction portion 131, and the other end of the body 132 is connected to the upper engagement shaft 134. One end of the body 142 is connected to the second magnetic attraction part 141, and the other end of the body 142 is connected to the upper engagement shaft 144.

However, the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 may also form an inverted V shape. That is, the distance between the upper connecting

shafts

134 and 144 is smaller than the distance between the lower connecting

shafts

133 and 143, the first magnetic attraction portion 131 is adjacent to the upper connecting shaft 134 and away from the lower connecting shaft 133, and the second magnetic attraction portion 141 is adjacent to the upper connecting shaft 144 and away from the lower connecting shaft 143. Therefore, the first and second

magnetic attraction parts

131 and 141 are attracted to each other between the upper connecting

shafts

134 and 144. One end of the body 132 is connected to the first magnetic attraction portion 131, and the other end of the body 132 is connected to the lower engagement shaft 133. One end of the body 142 is connected to the second magnetic attraction part 141, and the other end of the body 142 is connected to the lower engagement shaft 143.

In some embodiments, the first magnetic portion 131 is a magnet, and the second magnetic portion 141 includes a ferromagnetic material, so as to achieve attraction.

In some embodiments, the first magnetic portion 131 of the first support 130 and the main body portion 132 are connected by a cold solder, but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second magnetic portion 141 of the second supporting member 140 and the main body portion 142 comprise the same material. In some embodiments, the second support 140 is an integrally formed one-piece element.

As shown in fig. 2A, keycap 150 has engagement structures 151 (only one is representatively labeled). The engagement structure 151 has an engagement hole 151b (indicated by a dotted line). The

upper coupling shafts

134 and 144 of the first and

second supports

130 and 140 are rotatably coupled to the coupling hole 151 b. The bottom surface of the engagement structure 151 further has an inlet 151a communicating with the engagement hole 151b, and the inlet 151a is recessed with respect to the engagement hole 151b, so that the combination of the inlet 151a and the engagement hole 151b can also be referred to as a drop hole. In assembly, the user presses the

upper coupling shafts

134 and 144 through the inlet 151a (by the plastic deformation capability of the coupling structure 151), so that the

upper coupling shafts

134 and 144 are rotatably coupled to the coupling hole 151 b.

As shown in fig. 2A, the base plate 110 has hooks 111 (only one is representatively labeled). The hook 111 passes through the circuit board 120 and slidably engages with the

lower engagement shafts

133, 143.

However, the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the engagement between the key cap 150 and the

upper engagement shafts

134, 144 can be interchanged with the engagement between the bottom plate 110 and the

lower engagement shafts

133, 143. That is, the

upper engagement shafts

134, 144 are instead slidably engaged with the key cap 150, and the

lower engagement shafts

133, 143 are instead rotatably engaged with the base plate 110, respectively.

In addition, as shown in fig. 2A, the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 respectively have triggering

portions

135 and 145. The

trigger portions

135, 145 face the base plate 110 and face away from the keycap 150. Thus, when the key cap 150 is pressed to be located at the lowest position relative to the bottom plate 110 as shown in fig. 2B, the triggering

portions

135 and 145 can contact the circuit board 120 to conduct the switch circuit thereon, so that the key device 100A can achieve the purpose of outputting an electrical signal.

Further, in the present embodiment, the triggering portion 135 is adjacent to the lower connecting shaft 133 and away from the upper connecting shaft 134, and the triggering portion 145 is adjacent to the lower connecting shaft 143 and away from the upper connecting shaft 144. Under this configuration, since the triggering

portions

135, 145 may be closer to the circuit board 120 when the key cap 150 is located at the highest position (as shown in fig. 2A) relative to the base plate 110, the triggering

portions

135, 145 may more easily trigger the switch circuit on the circuit board 120.

In practical applications, the key device 100A may also have only the triggering portion 135 disposed on the first supporting member 130, or only the triggering portion 145 disposed on the second supporting member 140.

Referring back to fig. 1B, in the present embodiment, the first supporting element 130 and the second supporting element 140 respectively have a first hollow portion 136 and a second hollow portion 146. The first hollow portion 136 and the second hollow portion 146 are closed, so that the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 are annular. With this structure configuration, the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 of the present embodiment not only can provide sufficient structural strength, but also can achieve the effect of reducing material cost.

Please refer to fig. 3A and fig. 3B. Fig. 3A is a partial cross-sectional view of a key device 200A of the keyboard 100 according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein the key cap 250 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110. FIG. 3B is a partial cross-sectional view of the key device 200A in FIG. 3A, wherein the key cap 250 is located at the lowest position relative to the base 110. Compared to the embodiment shown in fig. 2A, the key device 200A of the present embodiment is mainly modified with respect to the connecting structure 251 of the key cap 250, and the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 (not shown, refer to fig. 2A) included in the key device 200A can refer to the related description, which is not repeated herein. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the engagement hole 251b has a long slot shape and extends substantially parallel to the bottom plate 110. The upper engagement shaft 134 engaged with the engagement hole 251b is further slidably engaged with the engagement hole 251 b. That is, the upper engagement shaft 134 slidably and rotatably engages the engagement hole 251 b.

With the above-mentioned structural configuration, when the key cap 250 is located at the lowest position relative to the base plate 110 (refer to fig. 2B), the upper coupling shaft 134 can slide to one end of the coupling hole 251B. Therefore, the engaging hole 251b having a long slot shape in a direction substantially parallel to the bottom plate 110 can provide a moving space for the first support 130 during actuation. With the above-mentioned structural configuration, when the key cap 250 is located at the lowest position relative to the base plate 110, the lower edges of the first abutting surface 131a and the second abutting surface 141a are prevented from being excessively pushed and damaged.

In some embodiments, the upper engagement shaft 144 of the second support 140 may also engage another engagement hole 251b to slidably and rotatably engage the other engagement hole 251 b.

Please refer to fig. 4A and fig. 4B. FIG. 4A is a partial cross-sectional view of a key device 300A of the keyboard 100 according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein the key cap 150 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110. FIG. 4B is a partial cross-sectional view of the key device 300A in FIG. 4A, wherein the key cap 150 is located at the lowest position relative to the base 110. Compared to the embodiment shown in fig. 2A, the key device 300A of the present embodiment is mainly modified with respect to the first magnetic absorption portion 331 of the first support 330, and the second support 140 and the key cap 150 included in the key device 300A can refer to the related description, which is not repeated herein. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the first magnetic attraction portion 331 has a third abutting surface 331b in addition to the first abutting surface 331 a. The third abutting surface 331b connects the first abutting surfaces 331 a. When the key cap 150 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110, the first abutting surface 331a abuts against the second abutting surface 141a, and at this time, the third abutting surface 331b inclines away from the second abutting surface 141 a. When the key cap 150 moves to the lowest position relative to the base plate 110, the first abutting surface 331a leaves the second abutting surface 141a, and the third abutting surface 331b abuts against the second abutting surface 141 a. That is, the first magnetic attraction portion 331 and the second magnetic attraction portion 141 of the first support 330 and the second support 140 attract each other, and the first abutting surface 331a abuts against the second abutting surface 141a, so as to achieve the purpose of resetting the key cap 150 to the highest position when not being pressed. When the first abutting surface 331a abuts against the second abutting surface 141a (see fig. 4A), the key cap 150 is located at the highest position with respect to the base plate 110. When the key cap 150 moves from the highest position toward the bottom plate 110 (see fig. 4B), the first abutting surface 331a is separated from the second abutting surface 141a, and the third abutting surface 331B abuts against the second abutting surface 141 a.

With the above-mentioned structural configuration, when the key cap 150 is located at the lowest position relative to the bottom plate 110 (refer to fig. 4B), the loss caused by the excessive pushing of the lower edges of the first magnetic attraction portion 331 and the second magnetic attraction portion 141 can be avoided.

In some embodiments, in order to move the key cap 150 between the highest position and the lowest position relative to the bottom plate 110 more smoothly, the boundary between the first abutting surface 331a and the third abutting surface 331b may be designed to form an arc angle.

Please refer to fig. 5A and 5B. FIG. 5A is a partial cross-sectional view of a key device 400A of the keyboard 100 according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein the key cap 150 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110. FIG. 5B is a partial cross-sectional view of the key device 400A in FIG. 5A, wherein the key cap 150 is located at the lowest position relative to the base 110. Compared to the embodiment shown in fig. 2A, the key device 400A of the present embodiment is mainly modified with respect to the first magnetic absorption portion 431 of the first support 430 and the second magnetic absorption portion 441 of the second support 440, and the key cap 150 included in the key device 400A can refer to the related description, which is omitted here. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the first magnetic part 431 has a third abutting surface 431b in addition to the first abutting surface 431 a. The third abutting surface 431b connects the first abutting surfaces 431 a. The second magnetic attraction part 441 has a fourth abutting surface 441b in addition to the second abutting surface 441 a. The fourth abutting surface 441b is connected to the second abutting surface 441 a. When the key cap 150 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110, the first abutting surface 431a abuts against the second abutting surface 441a, and at the same time, the third abutting surface 431b and the fourth abutting surface 441b are inclined away from each other. When the key cap 150 moves to the lowest position relative to the base plate 110, the first abutting surface 431a leaves the second abutting surface 441a, and the third abutting surface 431b abuts against the fourth abutting surface 441 b. That is, the first magnetic attraction portion 431 and the second magnetic attraction portion 441 on the first support 430 and the second support 440 are attracted to each other, and the first abutting surface 431a abuts against the second abutting surface 441a, so as to achieve the purpose of resetting the key cap 150 to the highest position when not being pressed. When the first abutting surface 431a abuts against the second abutting surface 441a (see fig. 5A), the key cap 150 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110. When the key cap 150 moves from the uppermost position toward the bottom plate 110 (see fig. 5B), the first abutting surface 431a is separated from the second abutting surface 441a, and the third abutting surface 431B abuts against the fourth abutting surface 441B.

With the above-mentioned structural configuration, when the key cap 150 is located at the lowest position relative to the base plate 110 (refer to fig. 5B), the first magnetic portion 431 and the second magnetic portion 441 are prevented from being excessively pushed and worn.

In some embodiments, in order to move the key cap 150 between the highest position and the lowest position relative to the base plate 110 more smoothly, the boundary between the first abutting surface 431a and the third abutting surface 431b may be designed to form a circular arc angle, and/or the boundary between the second abutting surface 441a and the fourth abutting surface 441b may be designed to form a circular arc angle.

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a key device 500A of the keyboard 100 and a partial bottom plate 110 and a circuit board 120 according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein the key cap 150 is located at a highest position relative to the bottom plate 110. Compared to the embodiment shown in fig. 2A, the key device 500A of the present embodiment also includes the first support 130, the second support 140 and the key cap 150, and these elements can refer to the related descriptions, which are not repeated herein. In addition, the key device 500A of the present embodiment further includes a third supporting member 530 and a fourth supporting member 540. The third supporting element 530 is connected between the base plate 110 and the key cap 150, and pivotally connected to an inner edge of the first hollow portion 136 (refer to fig. 1B). The fourth supporting element 540 is connected between the bottom plate 110 and the key cap 150, and pivotally connected to an inner edge of the second hollow portion 146 (refer to fig. 1B).

For example, the inner edge of the first hollow portion 136 of the first supporting member 130 is provided with a shaft hole, and the third supporting member 530 has a connecting shaft, so that the third supporting member 530 can be rotatably connected to the first supporting member 130 by the connecting shaft being received in the shaft hole; when the keycap 150 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110, the first support 130 and the third support 530 form an X shape in combination (refer to fig. 6). The inner edge of the second hollow portion 146 of the second supporting member 140 is provided with a shaft hole, and the fourth supporting member 540 has a connecting shaft, so that the fourth supporting member 540 can be rotatably connected to the second supporting member 140 by the connecting shaft being accommodated in the shaft hole; when the keycap 150 is located at the highest position relative to the base plate 110, the second support 140 and the fourth support 540 are combined to form an X shape (refer to fig. 6).

With the above structure configuration, the key device 500A of the present embodiment can further provide more structural strength and stability by the third supporting member 530 and the fourth supporting member 540.

As can be seen from the above detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, the keyboard of the present invention uses the two supporting members to guide the keycap to move toward and away from the bottom plate, and the two magnetic attraction portions respectively disposed on the two supporting members attract each other to achieve the purpose of resetting the keycap when the keycap is not pressed. The magnetic part can replace the existing rubber dome, so that the stroke of the keycap is effectively shortened, and the thinning of the keyboard is facilitated. Moreover, since the first support member and the second support member are horizontally and symmetrically arranged and each at least partially comprises a metal material, the keyboard adopting the first support member and the second support member has enough structural strength even if the existing balance bar is not installed.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A keyboard, comprising:

a base plate; and

a plurality of key devices, each of the key devices comprising:

a keycap located above the bottom plate;

the first supporting piece is connected between the base plate and the keycap and comprises a first magnetic suction part which is provided with a first abutting surface; and

a second support member connected between the bottom plate and the keycap and including a second magnetic attraction portion configured to attract the first magnetic attraction portion, the second magnetic attraction portion having a second abutting surface,

when the first abutting surface abuts against the second abutting surface, the keycap is located at a highest position relative to the bottom plate, and when the keycap moves from the highest position to the bottom plate, at least part of the first abutting surface is separated from the second abutting surface.

2. The keyboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first and second supports has a lower connecting shaft and an upper connecting shaft respectively connected to the bottom plate and the keycap.

3. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein the first support member and the second support member are horizontally symmetrically arranged, and the distance between the lower connecting axes is smaller than the distance between the upper connecting axes.

4. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein the first magnetic portion is adjacent to the lower connecting shaft of the first supporting member and away from the upper connecting shaft of the first supporting member, and the second magnetic portion is adjacent to the lower connecting shaft of the second supporting member and away from the upper connecting shaft of the second supporting member.

5. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein the key cap has an engagement structure having an engagement hole, and one of the upper engagement shafts is rotatably engaged with the engagement hole.

6. The keyboard as claimed in claim 5, wherein the engagement hole is elongated and extends substantially parallel to the base plate, and the upper engagement shaft engaged with the engagement hole is further slidably engaged with the engagement hole.

7. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein the base plate has a hook slidably engaged with one of the lower engagement shafts.

8. The keyboard as claimed in claim 2, wherein one of the first support and the second support further has a trigger portion facing the bottom plate and facing away from the keycap.

9. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the first magnetic part further comprises a third abutting surface connected to the first abutting surface, and the third abutting surface abuts against the second abutting surface when the key cap moves to a lowest position relative to the bottom plate.

10. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the first magnetic part further comprises a third abutting surface connected to the first abutting surface, the second magnetic part further comprises a fourth abutting surface connected to the second abutting surface, and the third abutting surface abuts against the fourth abutting surface when the key cap moves to a lowest position relative to the bottom plate.

11. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the first support member further comprises a main body portion connected to the first magnetic portion, the first support member comprises a metal material, and the main body portion and the first magnetic portion are connected by a cold solder.

12. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the first and second supporting members respectively have a first hollow portion and a second hollow portion, and the key device further comprises:

the third supporting piece is connected between the bottom plate and the keycap and is pivoted with the inner edge of the first hollow part; and

and the fourth supporting piece is connected between the bottom plate and the keycap and is pivoted on the inner edge of the second hollow part.

13. The keyboard of claim 12, wherein when the keycap is at the highest position relative to the base plate, the first support and the third support combine to form an X-shape, and the second support and the fourth support combine to form an X-shape.