CN112992579B

CN112992579B - Key structure

Info

Publication number: CN112992579B
Application number: CN201911283434.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许建士
Original assignee: Darfon Electronics Suzhou Co Ltd; Darfon Electronics Corp
Current assignee: Darfon Electronics Suzhou Co Ltd; Darfon Electronics Corp
Priority date: 2019-12-13
Filing date: 2019-12-13
Publication date: 2022-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-13
Also published as: CN112992579A

Abstract

The invention provides a key structure which comprises a keycap, a base and a lifting mechanism connected between the keycap and the base. The base includes the switch, and the switch includes the first magnetism portion of casing, triggers support, middle support, switches on piece, elastic construction, and two electrical terminals. The trigger support and the intermediate support are rotatably or pivotably arranged. The trigger bracket comprises a second magnetic part and abuts against the middle bracket. The intermediate bracket abuts against the conducting piece. When the keycap is not pressed, magnetic attraction force is generated between the first magnetic part and the second magnetic part, and the triggering support is driven to be in linkage with the conducting piece through the middle support to be far away from the electric terminal. When the key cap is pressed, the magnetic attraction is overcome, so that the conducting piece is driven by the elastic structure to move towards the electric terminals to conduct the two electric terminals. The key cap is pressed by the contact force of the first electric terminal, and the contact force of the first electric terminal is related to the contact force of the contact of the trigger switch.

Description

Key structure

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a key structure, and more particularly, to a key structure with a mechanical switch.

Background

The conventional key structure with mechanical switch usually utilizes the key cap to directly or indirectly trigger the switch contact via the elastic circular protrusion, but no matter what triggering mechanism is mentioned above, the force exerted by the trigger switch contact is directly related to the force exerted by the user pressing the key cap, which makes the contact force borne by the switch contact small and large. This phenomenon may cause excessive wear on the contact surface and affect the contact resistance of the contact, and may also cause fatigue of the elastic structure connecting the contacts (e.g., the elastic structure such as a cantilever structure generates the on/off state of the contact). Therefore, the service life of the switch of the key structure is shortened to different degrees according to the habit of pressing and applying force of a user, that is, the service life of the key structure is shortened, and the user feels that the sensitivity of the switch of the key structure is reduced when operating the switch along with the service life.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the problems in the prior art, the present invention provides a key structure, which uses an indirect triggering manner to conduct a switch contact, so that the pressing force applied to the key cap is independent of the contact force of the trigger switch contact, thereby achieving the effect of protecting the contact; moreover, the key structure can be operated for a long time due to the magnetic attraction force applied by the key structure.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a key structure, comprising:

a keycap;

a base disposed below the keycap, the base including a switch, the switch including a housing, a trigger bracket, a middle bracket, a conduction member, an elastic structure, a first electrical terminal and a second electrical terminal, the housing including a first magnetic portion, the first electrical terminal and the second electrical terminal being fixedly disposed on the housing, the trigger bracket and the middle bracket being rotatably or deflectably disposed on the housing, the trigger bracket including a pressing portion protruding from the housing and located below the keycap, the first magnetic portion and the second magnetic portion generating a magnetic attraction force, the middle bracket including a second pushing portion and a third pushing portion, the second pushing portion being disposed opposite to the first pushing portion, the third pushing portion being disposed opposite to the conduction member, the conduction member being disposed opposite to the first electrical terminal, the elastic structure is connected between the conducting piece and the shell to drive the conducting piece to move towards the first electric terminal; and

the lifting mechanism is arranged between the base and the keycap, and the keycap can move up and down relative to the base through the lifting mechanism;

when the pressing part is not pressed, the magnetic attraction drives the trigger support to rotate towards the first magnetic part, so that the trigger support abuts against the second abutting part through the first abutting part to rotate the middle support, the middle support abuts against the conducting piece through the third abutting part to move the conducting piece, and the conducting piece is far away from the first electric terminal;

when the keycap moves towards the base to press the pressing portion to a set position, the first abutting portion moves towards a direction away from the second abutting portion, the elastic structure drives the conducting piece to move towards the first electrical terminal, so that the conducting piece is in contact with the first electrical terminal to conduct the first electrical terminal and the second electrical terminal, and the conducting piece drives the middle support to rotate through the third abutting portion.

As an optional technical solution, the housing includes an upper housing, the first magnetic portion is movably disposed on the upper housing, the first magnetic portion and the second magnetic portion are disposed on two sides of the upper housing, and the pressing portion protrudes from the upper housing.

As an optional technical solution, when the keycap moves towards the base to press the pressing portion to the set position, the first abutting portion is located below the second abutting portion.

As an optional technical solution, the intermediate bracket is located between the trigger bracket and the conducting piece.

As an optional technical solution, the trigger bracket includes a first pivot portion, the pressing portion is located between the first pushing portion and the first pivot portion, and the trigger bracket rotates relative to the housing with the first pivot portion as a fulcrum; the middle bracket comprises a second pivot part and is positioned between the second pushing part and the third pushing part, and the middle bracket rotates relative to the shell by taking the second pivot part as a fulcrum.

As an optional technical solution, the housing includes a first pivot structure and a second pivot structure, the trigger bracket is pivotally connected to the first pivot structure by the first pivot portion, and the middle bracket is pivotally connected to the second pivot structure by the second pivot portion.

As an optional technical solution, the triggering bracket rotates relative to the housing in a first rotational axis direction, the middle bracket rotates relative to the housing in a second rotational axis direction, and the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion are located between the first rotational axis direction and the second rotational axis direction.

As an optional technical solution, the triggering support rotates relative to the casing in a first rotational axis direction, the middle support rotates relative to the casing in a second rotational axis direction, the second abutting portion has a contact plane located between the first rotational axis direction and the second rotational axis direction, when the pressing portion is not pressed by the keycap, the contact plane is vertically disposed, and the first abutting portion abuts against the contact plane.

As an optional technical solution, the elastic structure includes an elastic cantilever and an elastic supporting arm, the elastic supporting arm is connected to the elastic cantilever and abuts against the housing, and when the conducting element moves towards the first electrical terminal, the elastic cantilever deviates from the elastic supporting arm.

As an alternative solution, the conducting piece is electrically connected with the second electrical terminal.

As an optional technical solution, the elastic structure has an electrical connection function, the elastic structure electrically connects the conducting piece and the second electrical terminal, the elastic structure includes an elastic cantilever, the second electrical terminal is connected to a fixed end of the elastic cantilever, and the conducting piece is connected to a free end of the elastic cantilever.

As an optional technical solution, the conducting member, the elastic structure and the second electrical terminal are integrally formed by a metal plate.

As an optional technical solution, the housing includes an upper housing piece and a lower housing piece, the upper housing piece is joined with the lower housing piece to form an accommodating space, the first magnetic portion is disposed on the upper housing piece, the middle bracket, the conductive piece, the elastic structure and the first electrical terminal are disposed in the accommodating space, the triggering bracket is partially disposed in the accommodating space, the second magnetic portion and the first abutting portion are disposed in the accommodating space, and the pressing portion protrudes from the upper housing piece.

As an optional technical solution, the middle bracket is located between the conducting member and the triggering bracket, the elastic structure is located below the triggering bracket, and the conducting member is located below the first electrical terminal and the third abutting portion.

As an optional technical solution, the housing includes a metal frame sandwiched between the upper housing and the lower housing and exposed from the housing, the metal frame and the first electrical terminal are integrally formed, the metal frame includes a first connecting structure, the upper housing includes a second connecting structure, the lifting mechanism is connected to the base through the first connecting structure and the second connecting structure, and the metal frame includes a hook structure for clamping the upper housing. The metal frame and the second electric terminal are exposed out of the shell.

As an optional technical solution, the key cap includes a cap body and a plurality of third connecting structures located on a lower surface of the cap body, and the lifting mechanism is connected to the key cap through the plurality of third connecting structures.

As an optional technical solution, the base includes a bottom plate and a light emitting element disposed on the bottom plate, a light emitting direction of the light emitting element faces the keycap, and the housing is disposed on the bottom plate adjacent to the light emitting element.

As an optional technical solution, the bottom plate is a circuit board, the circuit board includes a first pad and a second pad, the first electrical terminal is soldered to the first pad, and the second electrical terminal is soldered to the second pad.

As an optional technical solution, one of the first magnetic part and the second magnetic part is a magnet, the other of the first magnetic part and the second magnetic part is a paramagnetic metal piece, the trigger bracket includes a plastic body, and the second magnetic part is embedded in the plastic body.

The key structure of the invention comprises a key cap, a base and a lifting mechanism connected between the key cap and the base. The base includes the switch, and the switch includes casing, first magnetism portion, triggers support, middle support, switches on piece, elastic construction, and two electrical terminals. The trigger support and the intermediate support are rotatably or pivotably arranged. The trigger bracket comprises a second magnetic part and abuts against the middle bracket. When the key cap is not pressed, magnetic attraction is generated between the first magnetic part and the second magnetic part, the middle support is abutted against the conduction piece, the triggering support is driven to conduct the conduction piece through the linkage of the middle support to be away from the electric terminal, and the connection of the two electric terminals is disconnected. When the key cap is pressed, the magnetic attraction is overcome, and the elastic structure is connected to the conduction piece to order about the conduction piece to move towards the electric terminal, and two electric terminals are conducted.

Compared with the prior art, when the key structure is actuated, the pressing force applied to the key cap is irrelevant to the contact force of the contact point (namely the electric terminal) of the trigger switch, and the contact force of the contact point (namely the electric terminal) of the trigger switch is controlled by the resilience force of the elastic structure connected with the conducting piece, so that the contact force of the conducting piece contacting the first electric terminal can be designed, and even if the key cap is pressed by a large pressing force or a small pressing force, the excessive abrasion of the contact point of the switch can not be caused, and the key structure has the effect of protecting the contact point, so that the service life of the switch is far longer than that of a mechanical switch in the prior art, and the service life of the key structure is longer than that of the key structure in the prior art.

Drawings

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

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a partial explosion of the key structure in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partially exploded view of the base of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the base of fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the base of fig. 2 taken along line X-X.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the base of fig. 2 taken along line Y-Y.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the base when the pressing part of the trigger bracket of fig. 5 is pressed.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the base in fig. 6 when the pressing portion of the trigger holder is pressed.

Detailed Description

In order to further understand the objects, structures, features and functions of the present invention, the following embodiments are described in detail.

Please refer to fig. 1 to 8. The key structure 1 of the embodiment of the invention includes a key cap 12, a lifting mechanism 14 and a base 16. The base 16 is disposed below the keycap 12. The elevating mechanism 14 is provided between the base 16 and the key cap 12, and the key cap 12 is movable up and down with respect to the base 16 via the elevating mechanism 14. The base 16 includes a switch 162. The switch 162 includes a housing 1622, a trigger bracket 1624, an intermediate bracket 1626, a conductive member 1628, an elastic structure 1630, a first electrical terminal 1632, and a second electrical terminal 1634. First electrical terminal 1632 and second electrical terminal 1634 are fixedly disposed on housing 1622. A trigger bracket 1624 and an intermediate bracket 1626 are rotatably disposed on the housing 1622. The lead 1628 is disposed opposite the first electrical terminal 1632. The trigger support 1624 includes a pressing portion 1624a, a second magnetic portion 1624b, and a first pushing portion 1624c, the pressing portion 1624a protrudes from the housing 1622 and is located below the keycap 12, so that the keycap 12 can move downward to press the pressing portion 1624 a. The housing 1622 includes a first magnetic portion 1622a, and a magnetic attraction force F1 (shown with a double arrow in fig. 5 and 7) is generated between the first magnetic portion 1622a and the second magnetic portion 1624 b. The middle support 1626 includes a second abutting portion 1626a and a third abutting portion 1626b, the second abutting portion 1626a is disposed opposite to the first abutting portion 1624c, and the third abutting portion 1626b is disposed opposite to the conducting member 1628. The conductive member 1628 is disposed opposite the first electrical terminal 1632. The elastic structure 1630 is connected between the conductive member 1628 and the housing 1622 to drive the conductive member 1628 to move toward the first electrical terminal 1632.

When the pressing portion 1624a is not pressed (as shown in fig. 5 and 6), the magnetic attraction force F1 drives the trigger support 1624 to rotate toward the first magnetic portion 1622a, so that the trigger support 1624 abuts against the second abutting portion 1626a via the first abutting portion 1624c to rotate the intermediate support 1626, and the intermediate support 1626 abuts against the conductive member 1628 via the third abutting portion 1626b to move the conductive member 1628, so that the conductive member 1628 is away from the first electrical terminal 1632. When the keycap 12 (e.g., pressed by a user) moves toward the base 16 and overcomes the magnetic attraction F1 to press the pressing portion 1624a to a set position (as shown in fig. 7 and 8), the first abutting portion 1624c moves away from the second abutting portion 1626a, and the elastic structure 1630 in the pressed state drives the conducting member 1628 to move toward the first electrical terminal 1632, so that the conducting member 1628 contacts the first electrical terminal 1632 to conduct the first electrical terminal 1632 and the second electrical terminal 1634, wherein the conducting member 1628 drives the middle support 1626 to rotate via the third abutting portion 1626 b. Therefore, the contact force of the conducting element 1628 contacting the first electrical terminal 1632 is independent of the pressing force (e.g., applied by the user) applied to the key cap 12 or the pressing force (e.g., direct contact or pressing from the key cap 12) received by the pressing portion 1624a, so that the contact force of the conducting element 1628 contacting the first electrical terminal 1632 can be designed to achieve the effect of protecting the contact, and the service life of the switch 162 is much longer than that of a mechanical switch in the prior art.

In this embodiment, the housing 1622 includes an upper housing piece 1622b and a lower housing piece 1622c, the upper housing piece 1622b is engaged with the lower housing piece 1622c to form an accommodating space 1622d, and the first magnetic portion 1622a is disposed on the upper housing piece 1622 b. The middle bracket 1626, the conductive member 1628, the elastic structure 1630, and the first electrical terminal 1632 are disposed in the accommodating space 1622 d. The trigger support 1624 is partially disposed in the accommodating space 1622d, the second magnetic portion 1624b and the first pushing portion 1624c are disposed in the accommodating space 1622d, and the pressing portion 1624a protrudes out of the upper housing 1622 b. The middle support 1626 is located between the conducting member 1628 and the triggering support 1624, and the triggering support 1624 and the middle support 1626 are linked by rotation. In practice, the triggering support 1624 may also be designed to couple the intermediate support 1626 by deflecting, for example, the triggering support 1624 is in a cantilever structure (for example, one end of the triggering support is fixed in the housing 1622), so that the triggering support 1624 is arranged on the housing 1622 in a deflecting manner, and also couples the intermediate support 1626. Similarly, the middle bracket 1626 is the same, and will not be described in detail.

In addition, in the embodiment, the trigger support 1624 includes a first pivot portion 1624d at one end thereof, and the pressing portion 1624a is located between the first pushing portion 1624c and the first pivot portion 1624 d. The housing 1622 includes a first pivot structure 1622e (for example, but not limited to, two grooves formed on the upper housing member 1622 b), and the trigger support 1624 is rotatably disposed on the first pivot structure 1622e via a first pivot portion 1624d relative to the first rotation axis a1 to be pivotally connected to the housing 1622, so that the trigger support 1624 can rotate relative to the housing 1622 with the first pivot portion 1624d as a fulcrum. The middle bracket 1626 includes a second pivot portion 1626c located between the second pushing portion 1626a and the third pushing portion 1626 b. The housing 1622 includes a second pivot structure 1622f (e.g., but not limited to, four studs formed on the upper housing piece 1622 b), and the intermediate support 1626 is pivotally disposed on the second pivot structure 1622f via a second pivot portion 1626c relative to the second rotation axis a2 to be pivotally connected to the housing 1622, such that the intermediate support 1626 can rotate relative to the housing 1622 with the second pivot portion 1626c as a fulcrum.

The triggering support 1624 is rotatable relative to the housing 12 through a first rotational axis a1 (shown in fig. 3 and 4 by a key line and shown in fig. 6 and 8 by a cross mark), the intermediate support 1626 is rotatable relative to the housing 1622 through a second rotational axis a2 (shown in fig. 4 by a key line and shown in fig. 5 to 8 by a cross mark), the first rotational axis a1 is parallel to the second rotational axis a2, and the first abutting portion 1624c and the second abutting portion 1626a are located between the first rotational axis a1 and the second rotational axis a 2. In actual practice, the first rotational axis a1 and the second rotational axis a2 are not parallel to each other, and the trigger support 1624, the intermediate support 1626, and the conducting member 1628 can be linked as described above.

In this embodiment, the elastic structure 1630 is located below the trigger bracket 1624, the conducting element 1628 is located below the first electrical terminal 1632 and the third pushing portion 1626b, and the elastic structure 1630 drives the conducting element 1628 to move upward to contact the first electrical terminal 1632. In the embodiment, the elastic structure 1630 generally provides elasticity by a cantilever structure, wherein the elastic structure 1630 includes an elastic cantilever 1630a and an elastic support arm 1630b, the elastic support arm 1630b is connected with the elastic cantilever 1630a and abuts against the lower casing 1622c, the conducting element 1628 is connected to a free end of the elastic cantilever 1630a, and a fixed end of the elastic cantilever 1630a is sandwiched between the upper casing 1622b and the lower casing 1622 c. When the lead 1628 moves toward the first electrical terminal 1632, the elastic cantilever 1630a deflects away from the elastic support arm 1630 b. In practical applications, the elastic structure 1630 may be other structures that can provide elastic force, such as a spring (elastically compressed between the conducting element 1628 and the lower housing 1622 c). In practice, the elastic supporting arm 1630b may be omitted if the elastic cantilever 1630a can provide enough elastic force. In practice, the elastic supporting arm 1630b may be replaced by a spring (e.g., elastically compressed between the elastic cantilever 1630a and the lower housing 1622 c).

In addition, in the embodiment, the elastic structure 1630 has an electrical connection function, and the conductive element 1628 and the second electrical terminal 1634 are electrically connected via the elastic structure 1630; the conductive member 1628 is connected to the free end of the elastic cantilever 1630a, and the second electrical terminal 1634 is connected to the fixed end of the elastic cantilever 1630 a. The conducting element 1628, the elastic structure 1630 and the second electrical terminal 1634 are integrally formed by a metal plate (for example, bending the metal plate), and the second electrical terminal 1634 is exposed out of the housing 1622. In practical operation, the conductive element 1628, the elastic structure 1630 and the second electrical terminal 1634 may be made of other materials, and only need to have a conductive function (for example, a conductive layer is formed on the plastic element). In practice, the conductive member 1628 may be electrically connected to the second electrical terminal 1634 by other methods, such as directly connecting with a wire. In practical applications, the first electrical terminal 1632 and the second electrical terminal 1634 can be disposed adjacent to each other but separated from each other, such that when the pressing portion 1624a is pressed to a predetermined position, the conductive member 1628 contacts the first electrical terminal 1632 and the second electrical terminal 1634 at the same time, and when the pressing portion 1624a is not pressed, the conductive member 1628 is away from the first electrical terminal 1632 and the second electrical terminal 1634 at the same time. In practical applications, the first electrical terminal 1632 and the second electrical terminal 1634 are disposed opposite to each other, and at least one of the first electrical terminal and the second electrical terminal can be pushed by the conducting member 1628 (for example, the first electrical terminal 1632 is movable), so that when the pressing portion 1624a is pressed to the set position, the conducting member 1628 contacts and moves the first electrical terminal 1632, so that the first electrical terminal 1632 contacts the second electrical terminal 1634 to conduct therebetween; the conductive element 1628 is not limited to have a conductive function.

In the present embodiment, the second pushing portion 1626a has a contact plane 1626d located between the first rotational axis a1 and the second rotational axis a 2. As shown in fig. 5, when the pressing portion 1624a is not pressed by the keycap 12, the contact plane 1626d is vertically disposed, and the first abutting portion 1624c abuts against the contact plane 1626 d. Thus, the triggering support 1624 can effectively prevent or at least inhibit the intermediate support 1626 from rotating accidentally to allow the conducting member 1628 to conduct the first electrical terminal 1632 and the second electrical terminal 1634 accidentally. In addition, as shown in fig. 6, when the keycap 12 moves toward the base 16 to press the pressing portion 1624a to the set position, the first abutting portion 1624c is located below the second abutting portion 1626 a. Therefore, when the keycap 12 is no longer pressed, the trigger support 1624 is driven by the magnetic attraction force F1 to rotate, and because the first abutting portion 1624c is located below the second abutting portion 1626a, the trigger support 1624 rotates to drive the first abutting portion 1624c to move upwards to abut against the second abutting portion 1626a, so that the middle support 1626 is easy to rotate.

In addition, in the embodiment, the first magnetic portion 1622a and the second magnetic portion 1624b are disposed on two sides of the upper casing 1622b, and the first magnetic portion 1622a is movably disposed on the upper casing 1622b, so that the position of the first magnetic portion 1622a may slightly change before and after the trigger support 1624 rotates relative to the casing 1622, which helps the first magnetic portion 1622a and the second magnetic portion 1624b approach each other when the pressing portion 1624a is not pressed by the keycap 12, so that the magnetic attraction force F1 can easily maintain the position of the trigger support 1624. In addition, in this embodiment, one of the first magnetic part 1622a and the second magnetic part 1624b is a magnet, and the other of the first magnetic part 1622a and the second magnetic part 1624b is a paramagnetic metal; in practice, the first magnetic part 1622a and the second magnetic part 1624b may be both magnets. In this embodiment, the trigger bracket 1624 includes a plastic body 1624e, and the second magnetic portion 1624b is embedded in the plastic body 1624 e. In practice, the whole of the trigger support 1624 may also be directly made of paramagnetic metal.

In this embodiment, the housing 1622 further includes a metal frame 1622g sandwiched between the upper housing 1622b and the lower housing 1622c and exposed from the housing 1622. In practical operation, when the metal frame 1622g is not directly connected to the first electrical terminal 1632, the first electrical terminal 1632 may protrude from the housing 1622 to the outside from the inside of the housing 1622. Referring to fig. 4, in the embodiment, the metal frame 1622g includes a first connecting structure 1622h (which may be a sliding groove formed by a pair of hooks in actual operation) and a hook structure 1622i (which may be a pair of hooks in actual operation), and the hook structure 1622i is configured to clamp the upper housing 1622 b. The upper housing piece 1622b includes a second connecting structure 1622j (which may be a pair of card slots in actual operation). The keycap 12 includes a cap body 122 and a plurality of third connection structures 124 on a lower surface thereof. The lifting mechanism 14 is connected to the base 16 via the first and

second connection structures

1622h and 1622j, while the lifting mechanism 14 is connected to the keycap 12 via the third connection structure 124. In the embodiment, the lifting mechanism 14 is a scissor-leg support, but the invention is not limited thereto, and for example, a cantilever structure, a telescopic structure of a nested tubular structure, or two separately disposed supports are used as the lifting mechanism. In addition, in the embodiment, the base 16 includes a bottom plate 164, and the housing 1622 is disposed on the bottom plate 164. In practice, the lifting mechanism 14 may be connected to the base plate 164 instead, or to both the housing 1622 and the base plate 164 of the switch 162 (e.g., one of the brackets is connected to the base plate 164, and the other bracket is connected to the housing 1622).

In this embodiment, the base 16 further includes a light emitting element 166 (such as, but not limited to, a light emitting diode) disposed on the bottom plate 164, wherein a light emitting direction D1 (indicated by an arrow in fig. 5 and 7) of the light emitting element 166 faces the keycap 12 (for example, to provide backlight). A housing 1622 is disposed on the base 164 adjacent the light emitting element 166. In the present embodiment, the bottom plate 164 is a circuit board or a board having a circuit formed thereon, and the bottom plate 164 includes first pads 1642 (which have a contour conforming to the contour of the metal frame 1622g, and both of which are substantially C-shaped) and second pads 1644. First electrical terminal 1632 is soldered to first solder pad 1642 (e.g., via soldering of metal frame 1622g to first solder pad 1642), and second electrical terminal 1634 is soldered to second solder pad 1644. In practice, the switch 162 may also be fixed on the base plate 164 by other methods, such as but not limited to, the housing 1622 being embedded on the base plate 164 (e.g., through a groove or an opening formed on the base plate 164), or the housing 1622 being fixed on the base plate 164 by adhesion or by a fixing member (e.g., a screw or a hook structure). In addition, in the embodiment, the first electrical terminal 1632 (e.g., via the metal frame 1622g) and the second electrical terminal 1634 of the switch 162 protrude from the housing 1622, so in practical operation, when the key structure 1 is applied to a keyboard, the keyboard includes a plurality of key structures 1, the key structures 1 can share the same circuit board (or the bottom board 164), and the switch 162 of the key structures 1 can be soldered to the shared circuit board, for example, but not limited to, by a surface mount technology.

The key structure of the invention comprises a key cap, a base and a lifting mechanism connected between the key cap and the base. The base contains the switch, and the switch contains casing, first magnetism portion, triggers support, middle support, switches on piece, elastic construction and two electric terminals. The trigger support and the intermediate support are rotatably or pivotably arranged. The trigger bracket comprises a second magnetic part and abuts against the middle bracket. When the key cap is not pressed, magnetic attraction is generated between the first magnetic part and the second magnetic part, the middle support is abutted against the conduction piece, the triggering support is driven to conduct the conduction piece through the linkage of the middle support to be away from the electric terminal, and the connection of the two electric terminals is disconnected. When the key cap is pressed, the magnetic attraction is overcome, and the elastic structure is connected to the conduction piece to order about the conduction piece to move towards the electric terminal, and two electric terminals are conducted.

Compared with the prior art, when the key structure is actuated, the pressing force applied to the key cap is irrelevant to the contact force of the contact point (namely the electric terminal) of the trigger switch, and the contact force of the contact point (namely the electric terminal) of the trigger switch is relevant to the resilience force of the elastic structure connected with the conducting piece, so that the contact force of the conducting piece contacting the first electric terminal can be designed, and even if the key cap is pressed by a large pressing force or a small pressing force, the excessive abrasion of the contact point of the switch can not be caused, so that the key structure has the effect of protecting the contact point, the service life of the switch is far longer than that of a mechanical switch in the prior art, and the service life of the key structure is longer than that of the key structure in the prior art.

The present invention has been described in relation to the above embodiments, which are only exemplary of the implementation of the present invention. It should be noted that the disclosed embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention. Rather, it is intended that all such modifications and variations be included within the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A key structure, comprising:

a keycap;

a base disposed below the keycap, the base including a switch, the switch including a housing, a trigger bracket, a middle bracket, a conduction member, an elastic structure, a first electrical terminal and a second electrical terminal, the housing including a first magnetic portion, the first electrical terminal and the second electrical terminal being fixedly disposed on the housing, the trigger bracket and the middle bracket being rotatably or deflectably disposed on the housing, the trigger bracket including a pressing portion protruding from the housing and located below the keycap, the first magnetic portion and the second magnetic portion generating a magnetic attraction force, the middle bracket including a second pushing portion and a third pushing portion, the second pushing portion being disposed opposite to the first pushing portion, the third pushing portion being disposed opposite to the conduction member, the conduction member being disposed opposite to the first electrical terminal, the elastic structure is connected between the conducting piece and the shell so as to drive the conducting piece to move towards the first electric terminal; and

when the pressing part is not pressed, the magnetic attraction drives the trigger support to rotate to the first magnetic part, so that the trigger support abuts against the second abutting part through the first abutting part to rotate the middle support, the middle support abuts against the conducting piece through the third abutting part to move the conducting piece, and the conducting piece is far away from the first electric terminal;

2. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises an upper housing, the first magnetic portion is movably disposed on the upper housing, the first magnetic portion and the second magnetic portion are disposed on two sides of the upper housing, and the pressing portion protrudes from the upper housing.

3. The key structure of claim 2, wherein when the key cap moves toward the base to press the pressing portion to the predetermined position, the first pushing portion is located below the second pushing portion.

4. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the middle support is located between the triggering support and the conducting member.

5. The key structure of claim 4, wherein the trigger bracket includes a first pivot portion, the pressing portion is located between the first pushing portion and the first pivot portion, and the trigger bracket rotates relative to the housing with the first pivot portion as a fulcrum; the middle bracket comprises a second pivot part and is positioned between the second pushing part and the third pushing part, and the middle bracket rotates relative to the shell by taking the second pivot part as a fulcrum.

6. The key structure of claim 5, wherein the housing includes a first pivot structure and a second pivot structure, the triggering frame is pivotally connected to the first pivot structure via the first pivot portion, and the middle frame is pivotally connected to the second pivot structure via the second pivot portion.

7. The key structure of claim 5, wherein the triggering frame rotates relative to the housing in a first rotational axis direction, the middle frame rotates relative to the housing in a second rotational axis direction, and the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion are located between the first rotational axis direction and the second rotational axis direction.

8. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the triggering frame rotates relative to the housing in a first rotational axis direction, the middle frame rotates relative to the housing in a second rotational axis direction, the second pushing portion has a contact plane located between the first rotational axis direction and the second rotational axis direction, the contact plane is disposed vertically when the pressing portion is not pressed by the key cap, and the first pushing portion abuts against the contact plane.

9. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the elastic structure comprises an elastic cantilever and an elastic supporting arm, the elastic supporting arm is connected to the elastic cantilever and abuts against the housing, and the elastic cantilever deviates from the elastic supporting arm when the conducting element moves towards the first electrical terminal.

10. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the pass-through member is electrically connected to the second electrical terminal.

11. The key structure of claim 10, wherein the elastic structure has an electrical connection function, the elastic structure electrically connects the conducting element and the second electrical terminal, the elastic structure comprises an elastic cantilever, the second electrical terminal is connected to a fixed end of the elastic cantilever, and the conducting element is connected to a free end of the elastic cantilever.

12. The key structure of claim 11, wherein the conductive member, the elastic structure and the second electrical terminal are integrally formed by a metal plate.

13. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises an upper housing part and a lower housing part, the upper housing part and the lower housing part are connected to form an accommodating space, the first magnetic part is disposed on the upper housing part, the middle bracket, the conducting part, the elastic structure and the first electrical terminal are disposed in the accommodating space, the triggering bracket is partially disposed in the accommodating space, the second magnetic part and the first pushing part are disposed in the accommodating space, and the pressing part protrudes from the upper housing part.

14. The key structure of claim 13, wherein the middle support is located between the conducting member and the triggering support, the elastic structure is located below the triggering support, and the conducting member is located below the first electrical terminal and the third pushing portion.

15. The key structure of claim 13, wherein the housing comprises a metal frame sandwiched between the upper housing and the lower housing and exposed from the housing, the metal frame being integrally formed with the first electrical terminal, the metal frame comprising a first connecting structure, the upper housing comprising a second connecting structure, the lifting mechanism being connected to the base via the first connecting structure and the second connecting structure, the metal frame comprising a hook structure for engaging the upper housing, the metal frame and the second electrical terminal both being exposed from the housing.

16. The key structure of claim 15, wherein the key cap comprises a cap body and a plurality of third connecting structures located on a lower surface of the cap body, and the lifting mechanism is connected to the key cap via the plurality of third connecting structures.

17. The key structure of claim 13, wherein the base comprises a bottom plate and a light emitting element disposed on the bottom plate, the light emitting element emits light toward the key cap, and the housing is disposed on the bottom plate adjacent to the light emitting element.

18. The key structure of claim 17, wherein the base plate is a circuit board, the circuit board including a first pad and a second pad, the first electrical terminal being soldered to the first pad, the second electrical terminal being soldered to the second pad.

19. The key structure of claim 1, wherein one of the first magnetic part and the second magnetic part is a magnet, the other of the first magnetic part and the second magnetic part is a paramagnetic metal member, the trigger bracket comprises a plastic body, and the second magnetic part is embedded in the plastic body.