CN111834156A

CN111834156A - Key structure

Info

Publication number: CN111834156A
Application number: CN201910314497.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑企宏; 陈佳鑫
Original assignee: Qun Optoelectronics Suzhou Co ltd
Current assignee: Qun Optoelectronics Suzhou Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-04-18
Filing date: 2019-04-18
Publication date: 2020-10-27

Abstract

A key structure comprises a key cap, a lifting guide structure, a plastic connecting piece and a bottom plate. The lifting guide structure is positioned below the keycap and comprises at least one pivoting shaft; the plastic connecting piece comprises a connecting groove, wherein at least one pivoting shaft is connected with the connecting groove. The bottom plate comprises at least one fixing piece, and the plastic connecting piece covers the at least one fixing piece so as to be fixedly arranged on the bottom plate.

Description

Key structure

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a key structure, and more particularly, to a key structure capable of increasing the structural strength between a lifting guide structure and a bottom plate.

Background

Electronic products have become indispensable tools for modern people due to the continuous advancement of science and technology, and keyboards are indispensable input tools in terms of the use habits of computer users. When a user clicks the key cap, the lifting guide structure drives the key cap to move up and down to generate an input signal. If the keyboard is manufactured, the overall structural strength of the keys is insufficient, so that the keys are prone to shaking or shifting, and the user feels poor when knocking. Or before the keyboard commodities leave the factory, the keyboard commodities cannot pass quality control inspection because the lifting guide structure cannot be stably combined with the bottom plate, and the manufacturing cost is wasted.

For example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,586, a fixing element is additionally installed on the bottom plate to fix the pivot shaft of the lifting guide structure, but when the thickness of the bottom plate is reduced due to the requirement of thinning and lightening the keyboard, the lifting guide structure cannot be firmly combined with the bottom plate because the combining strength between the fixing element and the bottom plate is not sufficient, and the problems of key shaking or quality control inspection failure, etc. occur, so there is a need for improvement.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to a key structure capable of increasing the structural strength between a lifting guide structure and a bottom plate.

In order to achieve the above object, the key structure of the present invention includes a key cap, a lifting guide structure, a plastic connecting member and a bottom plate. The lifting guide structure is positioned below the keycap and comprises at least one pivoting shaft; the plastic connecting piece comprises a connecting groove, wherein at least one pivoting shaft is connected with the connecting groove. The bottom plate comprises at least one fixing piece, and the plastic connecting piece covers the at least one fixing piece so as to be fixedly arranged on the bottom plate.

By means of the clamping force between the fixing piece and the plastic connecting piece, the structural strength between the lifting guide structure and the bottom plate is enhanced, the stability of combination between the pivot shaft and the connecting groove of the lifting guide structure is kept, and the phenomenon that the key is not prone to key shaking or key deviation occurs when the key cap is knocked is avoided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a key structure according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the first embodiment of the key structure of the present invention.

Fig. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the key structure of the present invention along the cross-sectional line shown in the AA line of fig. 1.

Fig. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a key structure according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a key structure according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of the key structure of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the section line shown in fig. 4 of the first embodiment of the key structure of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is an exploded view of a third embodiment of the key structure of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the base plate of the present invention.

Wherein the reference numerals are:

key cap 10 of key structure 1, 1a, 1b

Lift guide structure 20 with pivot shaft 21

Plastic connecting

piece

30, 30a connecting groove 31

Bottom plate

40,

40a fixing member

41, 41b, 41c

First connection portions

411, 411a and

second connection portions

412, 412a

First side 431 of first through hole 43

Third side 433 second through hole 44

Surface

45, 45a circuit board 50

Connecting body 32 thread 451

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical content of the present invention more comprehensible, preferred embodiments are described below.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 3A and fig. 3B, a schematic diagram, an exploded view of the key structure, a cross-sectional diagram along a section line AA of fig. 1, and a cross-sectional diagram of the key structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention are shown.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 3A and fig. 3B, in the present embodiment, the key structure 1 of the invention includes a key cap 10, a lifting guide structure 20, a plastic connecting member 30, a bottom plate 40 and a circuit board 50. The lifting guide structure 20 is located under the key cap 10, and the lifting guide structure 20 includes at least one pivot 21. The plastic connecting member 30 includes a connecting groove 31, wherein at least one pivot shaft 21 is connected to the connecting groove 31 to fix the lifting guide structure 20. The circuit board 50 is located between the base plate 40 and the elevation guide structure 20. The bottom plate 40 includes at least one fixing member 41, wherein the fixing member 41 is embedded in the plastic connecting member 30, when the lifting guide structure 20 drives the key cap 10 to move up and down (lift) relative to the bottom plate 40, the bonding force embedded in the plastic connecting member 30 by the fixing member 41 increases the overall structural strength of the key structure 1, so that the lifting guide structure 20 is not easily separated from the bottom plate 40, and the stability of the combination between the pivot shaft 21 of the lifting guide structure 20 and the connecting groove 31 is maintained, and the key cap 10 is not easily shaken or shifted when being knocked. It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the fixing element 41 is embedded in the plastic connecting element 30 by an in-mold injection molding technique, that is, the plastic connecting element 30 completely covers the fixing element 41, and the fixing element 41 is integrally formed and combined with the bottom plate 40 by stamping.

As shown in fig. 2, the lifting guiding structure 20 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of pivot shafts 21, and each pivot shaft 21 is provided with a corresponding plastic connecting member 30 so that the pivot shaft 21 is combined with a corresponding connecting groove 31. It should be noted that, in order to match the component structure configuration of the key structure 1 of the present invention, the plastic connecting member 30 of the present embodiment has two

embodiments

30 and 30a, wherein the plastic connecting member 30 includes a plurality of connecting bodies 32, the plastic connecting member 30a includes only a single connecting body 32, and the bottom plate 40 includes a plurality of fixing members 41, wherein as shown in fig. 3A and 3B, at least one fixing member 41 or a plurality of fixing members 41 may be embedded in the connecting body 32.

As shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3A, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the bottom plate 40 further includes a first through hole 43, wherein the first through hole 43 includes a first side 431, the fixing member 41 includes a first connecting portion 411 and a second connecting portion 412, wherein the first connecting portion 411 of each fixing member 41 is connected to the first side 431, and the second connecting portion 412 is connected to the first connecting portion 411. In this embodiment, the first connecting portion 411 is vertically connected to the second connecting portion 412, so that the fixing member 41 is L-shaped. In the embodiment, the plastic connecting member 30 includes two connecting bodies 32 to pivotally connect the pivot shaft 21 to the connecting groove 31 between the two connecting bodies 32, wherein the first side 431 of the first through hole 43 is provided with two fixing members 41, and the two fixing members 41 are disposed in the same direction (the second connecting portion 412 is disposed extending along the same direction), the plastic connecting member 30 is disposed on the two fixing members 41 in an injection molding manner, and the two connecting bodies 32 respectively cover the two fixing members 41, thereby increasing the strength of the two connecting bodies 32, avoiding the plastic connecting member 30 from being damaged when the pivot shaft 21 is assembled or disassembled, and in addition, the plastic connecting member 30 fills up the first through hole 43 during the injection molding, thereby increasing the strength and flatness of the bottom plate 40. The plastic connecting element 30a is covered by the single fixing element 41 through an injection molding process to pivotally and slidably connect the pivot shaft 21 to the connecting groove 31 of the plastic connecting element 30a, and the connecting body 32 of the plastic connecting element 30a is covered by the fixing element 41, thereby increasing the strength of the plastic connecting element 30 a. It should be noted that the plastic connector 30 is different from the snap-fit or embedded assembly method in that the plastic connector is injection molded to cover the fixing element 41, and the plastic connector 30 cannot be removed after being molded and covered, so that the problem that the plastic connector 30 falls off when the key is pressed or pulled can be avoided.

Referring to fig. 4 to 6, a schematic diagram, an exploded view, and a cross-sectional view along the cross-sectional line shown by the BB line of fig. 4 of the second embodiment of the key structure of the present invention will be described.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the bottom plate 40 further includes a second through hole 44, and the fixing element 41 includes an L-shape and an inverted U-shape (41b), wherein when the fixing element 41 is L-shaped, the first connecting portions 411 of two adjacent fixing elements 41 are respectively disposed at the adjacent sides of the first through hole 43 and the second through hole 44, and the second connecting portions 412 of two adjacent fixing elements 41 are extended along opposite directions, and the two connecting bodies 32 are respectively wrapped around the two fixing elements 41 by injection molding, so as to increase the combining force between the plastic connecting element 30 and the bottom plate 40, so that the lifting guiding structure 20 is less likely to be separated from the bottom plate 40, and the stability of the combination between the pivot shaft 21 and the connecting groove 31 of the lifting guiding structure 20 is increased, so that the keycap 10 is less likely to shake or shift when being knocked. As shown in fig. 5, when the fixing element 41b is in an inverted U shape, two opposite sides of the fixing element 41b are respectively connected to the first side 431 of the first through hole 43 and the third side 433 of the first through hole 43 (the first side 431 and the third side 433 correspond to each other). The connecting body 32 of the plastic connecting member 30a is injection molded to cover the fixing member 41b, thereby increasing the strength of the plastic connecting member 30 a.

Referring to fig. 7 and 8, an exploded view of a third embodiment of the key structure and a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the bottom plate according to the present invention are shown.

As shown in fig. 7, the fixing member 41 includes an L-shape and an arc-shape (41c), and when the fixing member 41c is in the arc-shape, two opposite sides of the fixing member 41c are respectively connected to the first side 431 of the first through hole 43 and the third side 433 of the first through hole 43. The connecting body 32 of the plastic connecting member 30a is injection molded to cover the fixing member 41c, thereby increasing the strength of the plastic connecting member 30 a.

In addition, as shown in fig. 8, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the surface 45a of the bottom plate 40a is provided with a plurality of lines 451 by stamping or chemical treatment, so that the surface 45a is a rough surface, thereby increasing the friction between the surface 45a and the plastic connecting member 30, making the plastic connecting member 30 less prone to be separated from the bottom plate 40a, and maintaining the stability of the combination between the pivot shaft 21 of the lift guiding structure 20 and the connecting groove 31.

By the clamping force between the fixing member 41 and the plastic connecting member 30, the overall structural strength of the key structure 1 is enhanced, the structural strength between the lifting guide structure 20 and the bottom plate 40 is enhanced, and the production yield of the key structure 1 is increased, so as to avoid the problem of manufacturing cost waste caused by failure of quality control inspection in the prior art. Meanwhile, the stability of the combination between the pivot shaft 21 of the lifting guide structure 20 and the connecting groove 31 can be maintained by the engaging force between the fixing member 41 and the plastic connecting member 30, so that the key is not prone to key shaking or key shift when the key cap 10 is knocked. Meanwhile, the fixing member 41 has various changeable implementation modes so as to match with the internal design of the key structure 1, thereby increasing the applicability and flexibility of the present invention.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples for convenience of description, and the claimed invention should not be limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but should be limited only by the claims.

Claims

1. A key structure, comprising:

a key cap;

the lifting guide structure is connected with the keycap and comprises at least one pivoting shaft;

a plastic connecting piece, which comprises a connecting groove, wherein the at least one pivoting shaft is connected with the connecting groove; and

and the bottom plate comprises at least one fixing piece, and the plastic connecting piece covers the at least one fixing piece so as to be fixedly arranged on the bottom plate.

2. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the at least one securing element is L-shaped, arc-shaped, or inverted U-shaped.

3. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the at least one securing member is a plurality of securing members, and each securing member is L-shaped, arc-shaped, or inverted U-shaped.

4. The key structure of any one of claims 2 or 3, wherein the bottom plate further comprises a first through hole, wherein the first through hole comprises a first side and a third side, and wherein when the fixing member is in the shape of the arc or the inverted U, two opposite sides of the fixing member are respectively connected to the first side and the third side.

5. The key structure of claim 3, wherein the plastic connector comprises a plurality of connecting bodies, wherein each connecting body is provided with at least one fixing element.

6. The key structure of claim 3, wherein the plastic connector comprises two connecting bodies, wherein each connecting body is provided with at least one fixing element.

7. The key structure of claim 3, wherein the number of each of the fixing members is two, and the two fixing members are L-shaped, wherein the two fixing members include a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion, the bottom plate further includes a first through hole, the first connecting portions of the two adjacent fixing members are disposed in the first through hole, and the second connecting portions of the two adjacent fixing members extend in the same direction.

8. The key structure of claim 3, wherein the number of each of the fixing members is two, and the two fixing members are L-shaped, wherein the two fixing members include a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion, the bottom plate further includes a first through hole and a second through hole, wherein the first connecting portions of the two adjacent fixing members are respectively disposed in the first through hole and the second through hole, and the second connecting portions of the two adjacent fixing members extend in opposite directions.

9. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the base plate includes a surface, wherein the at least one securing element is disposed on the surface, and wherein the surface includes a plurality of ridges, thereby increasing the friction between the surface and the plastic connector.

10. The key structure of claim 7, wherein the plurality of ridges are formed by stamping or chemical treatment.