CN113270283A

CN113270283A - Key structure

Info

Publication number: CN113270283A
Application number: CN202010096597.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈弘基; 林承翰
Original assignee: Acer Inc
Current assignee: Acer Inc
Priority date: 2020-02-17
Filing date: 2020-02-17
Publication date: 2021-08-17

Abstract

The invention provides a key structure which comprises a bottom plate, a keycap, a positioning seat, a positioning cover and a spring. The keycap is arranged above the bottom plate, wherein the keycap is provided with a bottom surface, and the bottom surface faces the bottom plate. The positioning seat is connected with the bottom surface of the keycap and is provided with a positioning groove. The positioning cover is in sliding connection with the positioning seat, wherein the positioning cover is inserted into the positioning groove and comprises a bottom and a side wall connected with the bottom. The bottom contacts the bottom plate. The spring comprises a first spring part and a second spring part opposite to the first spring part. The first spring is positioned in the positioning groove and contacts the bottom surface of the keycap. The second spring portion is located in the position cover and contacts the bottom of the position cover. The first spring part is positioned on a path of the side wall of the positioning cover sliding towards the bottom surface of the keycap.

Description

Key structure

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a key structure, and more particularly, to a key structure for a keyboard.

Background

Keyboards are commonly used as physical input devices and are widely used in desktop computers, notebook computers, or other electronic devices. Generally, the keyboard is composed of a plurality of key structures, and the shaft body of the key structure may include a mechanical shaft, a rubber dome (dome) shaft or a spring shaft.

Taking the key structure using a spring shaft (e.g., a compression spring) as an example, the structural design of the key structure is mostly integrated with a spring plate, so that the spring plate is touched by the key cap to make a sound in the process of pressing down the key cap, thereby improving the auditory sense of a user when operating the key structure. However, the above-mentioned acoustic structure design has a problem of poor structure integration, and is not easy to satisfy the design requirement of product miniaturization.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is directed to a key structure having a better structural integration.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the key structure includes a bottom plate, a key cap, a positioning seat, a positioning cover and a spring. The keycap is arranged above the bottom plate, wherein the keycap is provided with a bottom surface, and the bottom surface faces the bottom plate. The positioning seat is connected with the bottom surface of the keycap and is provided with a positioning groove. The positioning cover is in sliding connection with the positioning seat, wherein the positioning cover is inserted into the positioning groove and comprises a bottom and a side wall connected with the bottom. The bottom contacts the bottom plate. The spring comprises a first spring part and a second spring part opposite to the first spring part. The first spring is positioned in the positioning groove and contacts the bottom surface of the keycap. The second spring part is positioned in the positioning cover and contacts the bottom of the positioning cover, and the first spring part is positioned on a path of the side wall of the positioning cover sliding towards the bottom surface of the keycap.

Based on the above, the key structure of the present invention integrates the sound structure design into the positioning cover and the spring, so that the key structure has a better structure integration degree (structural integration) and can meet the design requirement of product miniaturization. In detail, when the key cap is pressed down (or called, the key cap moves towards the bottom plate), the positioning cover slides towards the bottom surface of the key cap, and the first spring part of the spring is touched and extruded by the positioning cover to make a sound, so as to improve the auditory sense when a user operates the key structure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a key structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the key structure of FIG. 1 being transformed to another state;

fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the key structure of fig. 2 being switched to a next state.

Description of the reference numerals

100: a key structure;

110: a base plate;

120: a keycap;

121: a bottom surface;

130: positioning seats;

131: positioning a groove;

132: a first positioning protrusion;

140: a positioning cover;

141: a bottom;

142: a side wall;

143: a second positioning portion;

150: a spring;

151: a first spring portion;

152: a second spring portion;

153: a third spring portion;

ID: an inner diameter;

OD 1-OD 3: an outer diameter;

p1, P2: pitch.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a key structure according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the key structure of fig. 1 switched to another state. Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the key structure of fig. 2 being switched to a next state. Referring to fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the key structure 100 can be applied to a keyboard and used as a physical operation interface for a user to input a signal to a desktop computer, a notebook computer or other electronic devices. Specifically, the key structure 100 includes a base plate 110, a key cap 120, a positioning base 130, a positioning cover 140 and a spring 150, wherein the key cap 120 is disposed above the base plate 110, and the spring 150 is used for supporting the key cap 120. The spring 150 is located between the key cap 120 and the base plate 110, and covered by the positioning seat 130 and the positioning cover 140. That is, the positioning seat 130 and the positioning cover 140 are located between the keycap 120 and the base plate 110.

The key cap 120 has a bottom surface 121 facing the bottom plate 110, wherein the positioning seat 130 is connected to or protruded from the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, and the positioning seat 130 has a positioning groove 131 for accommodating the spring 150. The positioning cover 140 is slidably connected to the positioning base 130 and inserted into the positioning slot 131. Further, the positioning cover 140 includes a bottom 141 and a sidewall 142 connecting the bottom 141, and the bottom 141 contacts the bottom plate 110. On the other hand, the spring 150 includes a first spring portion 151 and a second spring portion 152 opposite to the first spring portion 151, wherein the first spring portion 151 is located in the positioning groove 131 and contacts the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120. The second spring portion 152 is located within the positioning cap 140 and contacts the base portion 141. That is, the spring 150 indirectly contacts the base plate 110 through the bottom 141 of the position cover 140.

The spring 150 may be a compression spring and the key structure shown in fig. 1 is in an initial state. As shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3, when the key cap 120 is pressed down (or, the key cap 120 moves toward the bottom plate 110), the spring 150 is pressed by the key cap 120 to generate compression deformation, and the positioning cover 140 slides toward the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120 relative to the positioning seat 130. Once the downward pressure applied to the key cap 120 is removed, the elastic force of the spring 150 drives the key cap 120 and the positioning seat 130 to move away from the base 110, so as to return to the initial state shown in fig. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the first spring portion 151 is located on a path along which the side wall 142 of the positioning cover 140 slides toward the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, so that when the key cap 120 is pressed (or the key cap 120 moves toward the bottom plate 110), the positioning cover 140 slides toward the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, and the first spring portion 151 of the spring 150 is touched and pressed by the side wall 142 of the positioning cover 140 to generate a sound, thereby improving an auditory sensation when a user operates the key structure 100. That is, the button structure 100 integrates the sound structure design into the positioning cover 140 and the spring 150, so that it has a better structure integration degree (structural integration) and can meet the design requirement of product miniaturization.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, after the positioning cover 140 slides toward the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, the first spring 151 is pressed by the side wall 142 of the positioning cover 140 and moves into the positioning cover 140. As shown in fig. 1, the outer diameter OD1 of the first spring portion 151 is larger than the inner diameter ID of the positioning cover 140, so as to ensure that the positioning cover 140 sliding toward the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120 can contact and press the first spring portion 151. On the other hand, the outer diameter OD1 of the first spring part 151 is gradually enlarged toward the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, and the outer diameter OD1 of the first spring part 151 is larger than the outer diameter OD2 of the second spring part 152. Further, the first spring part 151 includes a plurality of coils, one of which contacting the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120 has the largest outer diameter, and the other of which closest to the second spring part 152 has the smallest outer diameter.

Referring to fig. 1 to fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the spring 150 further includes a third spring portion 153 located between the first spring portion 151 and the second spring portion 152, and the third spring portion 153 extends from the positioning slot 131 of the positioning seat 130 into the positioning cover 140. After the positioning cover 140 slides toward the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, the first spring portion 151 and the third spring portion 153 move into the positioning cover 140.

In detail, the outer diameter OD2 of the second spring portion 152 is equal to the outer diameter OD3 of the third spring portion 153, wherein the outer diameter OD1 of the first spring portion 151 is larger than the outer diameter OD3 of the third spring portion 153, and the outer diameters OD2 and OD3 of the second spring portion 152 and the third spring portion 153 are smaller than the inner diameter ID of the positioning cover 140.

The third spring portion 153 is used to connect the first spring portion 151 and the third spring portion 153, wherein the third spring portion 153 includes a plurality of coils, and a pitch of any two adjacent coils is P2. On the other hand, the first spring portion 151 includes a plurality of coils, and a pitch of any two adjacent ones of the coils is P1. In detail, the pitch P2 of the third spring 153 is greater than the pitch P1 of the first spring 151, and when the key cap 120 is pressed (or the key cap 120 moves toward the bottom plate 110), the first spring 151 and the third spring 153 are the main deformation regions of the spring 150.

In view of the above, the third spring 153 is more easily stressed to generate compression deformation than the first spring 151, so that the hand feeling of the user can be fed back to the sectional type (or called as two-stage type). On the other hand, since the outer diameter OD1 of the first spring portion 151 gradually expands toward the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, when the key cap 120 is pressed down (or called, the key cap 120 moves toward the bottom plate 110), the first spring portion 151 is stressed to collapse, so as to feed back a special operation feeling to the user.

Referring to fig. 1 to fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the positioning seat 130 includes a first positioning protrusion 132 far away from the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, and an orthographic projection of the first positioning protrusion 132 on the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120 falls in the positioning groove 131. On the other hand, the positioning cover 140 further includes a second positioning protrusion 143 protruding from the sidewall 142 and away from the bottom 141, wherein the second positioning protrusion 143 is slidably disposed in the positioning groove 131 and configured to slide between the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120 and the first positioning protrusion 132. Furthermore, the first positioning protrusion 132 is located on the path where the second positioning protrusion 143 slides away from the bottom surface 121 of the key cap 120, so that the positioning cover 140 can be prevented from being separated from the positioning seat 130.

In summary, the button structure of the present invention integrates the sound structure design into the positioning cover and the spring, so that it has a better structure integration degree (structural integration) and can meet the design requirement of product miniaturization. In detail, when the key cap is pressed down (or called, the key cap moves towards the bottom plate), the positioning cover slides towards the bottom surface of the key cap, and the first spring part of the spring is touched and extruded by the positioning cover to make a sound, so as to improve the auditory sense when a user operates the key structure.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and not to limit the same; while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A key structure, comprising:

a base plate;

a keycap disposed over the base plate, wherein the keycap has a bottom surface, and the bottom surface faces the base plate;

the positioning seat is connected with the bottom surface of the keycap and is provided with a positioning groove;

the positioning cover is in sliding connection with the positioning seat, is inserted into the positioning groove and comprises a bottom and a side wall connected with the bottom, and the bottom is in contact with the bottom plate; and

a spring, including first spring portion with for the second spring portion of first spring portion, first spring portion is located in the constant head tank and contact the key cap the bottom surface, second spring portion is located in the position cover and contact the position cover the bottom, just first spring portion is located the position cover the lateral wall toward the key cap on the gliding route of bottom surface.

2. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the first spring portion has an outer diameter greater than an outer diameter of the second spring portion.

3. The key structure of claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of the first spring portion is larger than an inner diameter of the positioning cover.

4. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the outer diameter of the first spring portion is gradually enlarged toward the bottom surface of the key cap.

5. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the spring further comprises a third spring portion located between the first spring portion and the second spring portion, and the third spring portion extends from the positioning slot of the positioning socket into the positioning housing.

6. The key structure of claim 5, wherein the first spring portion has an outer diameter greater than an outer diameter of the third spring portion.

7. The key structure of claim 5, wherein the pitch of the third spring portion is greater than the pitch of the first spring portion.

8. The key structure of claim 5, wherein the outer diameter of the second spring portion is equal to the outer diameter of the third spring portion, and the outer diameters of the second spring portion and the third spring portion are smaller than the inner diameter of the positioning cover.

9. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the positioning seat comprises a first positioning protrusion far away from the bottom surface of the key cap, the positioning cover further comprises a second positioning protrusion protruding from the sidewall and far away from the bottom, the second positioning protrusion is slidably disposed in the positioning groove, and the first positioning protrusion is located on a path along which the second positioning protrusion slides away from the bottom surface of the key cap.