CN216288119U - Key module and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a key module and an electronic device. The key module comprises a contact component; the magnetic part and the contact assembly are stacked along the polar arrangement direction of the magnetic part, and the magnetic part is connected with the contact assembly; the conductive coil surrounds the magnetic piece, the axial direction of the conductive coil is the same as the polarity arrangement direction of the magnetic piece, and the conductive coil interacts with the magnetic piece when in an electrified state so as to drive the magnetic piece and the contact assembly to move along the polarity arrangement direction.

Description

Key module and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the technical field of terminals, in particular to a key module and electronic equipment.

Background

In order to improve the interaction experience of the user, some electronic devices may be provided with a vibration motor at a position close to the key, and the vibration motor may perform vibration feedback when the user presses the key. However, since the installation position of the vibration motor is not a position where the user directly presses, direct vibration feedback cannot be given; and the size of the vibration motor is in positive correlation with the vibration intensity basically, and under the condition of large demand on the vibration intensity, the volume of the vibration motor is correspondingly increased, so that the whole assembly of the electronic equipment is limited.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present disclosure provides a key module and an electronic device to solve the deficiencies in the related art.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a key module is provided, which includes:

a contact assembly;

the magnetic part and the contact assembly are stacked along the polar arrangement direction of the magnetic part, and the magnetic part is connected with the contact assembly;

the conductive coil surrounds the magnetic piece, the axial direction of the conductive coil is the same as the polarity arrangement direction of the magnetic piece, and the conductive coil interacts with the magnetic piece when in an electrified state so as to drive the magnetic piece and the contact assembly to move along the polarity arrangement direction.

Optionally, the method further includes:

the input module is connected with the conductive coil and used for controlling the current intensity, the current direction and the frequency of the periodic change of the current input into the conductive coil.

Optionally, the magnetic part includes a triggering part or the key module includes a triggering part connected to the magnetic part;

the key module further comprises:

a first circuit board;

the switch module is arranged on the first circuit board, and when the contact assembly is in a pressing state, the trigger part triggers the switch module to be switched to a conducting state; when the contact assembly is in a natural state, the trigger part is separated from the switch module, and the switch module is in a disconnected state.

Optionally, when the magnetic element interacts with the conductive coil, the maximum displacement of the magnetic element is smaller than the separation distance between the trigger and the switch module when the contact assembly is in a natural state.

Optionally, the contact assembly includes a sensing unit and a second circuit board, the sensing unit is disposed on the second circuit board, and the sensing unit is directly connected to the magnetic member; or the sensing unit is connected with the magnetic part through the second circuit board.

Optionally, the sensing unit comprises a fingerprint sensing unit or a pressure sensing unit.

Optionally, the magnetic member comprises a permanent magnet or a permanently magnetized rigid member

Optionally, the magnetic element includes at least one hollow groove, and a depth direction of the hollow groove is perpendicular to an axial direction of the conductive coil.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic apparatus including:

the middle frame comprises a mounting hole;

the key module according to any one of the above claims, wherein the contact member of the key module is assembled in the mounting hole.

Optionally, the middle frame includes an outer side wall and an extension portion extending inward from the outer side wall, and the extension portion and the outer side wall cooperate to form a groove;

the mounting hole penetrates through the outer side wall and is communicated with the groove, and at least part of the magnetic part is positioned in the groove and is arranged at intervals with the bottom surface of the groove, which is vertical to the axial direction of the conductive wire coil.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can have the following beneficial effects:

it can be known from the above embodiments that, in the technical scheme of the present disclosure, through the interaction between the conductive coil 3 wound around the magnetic part and the magnetic part, the vibration feedback of the key module can be realized, compared with the scheme of realizing the vibration feedback by setting a special vibration motor in the related art, the element for realizing the vibration in the technical scheme of the present disclosure is arranged close to the contact assembly, the feedback effect felt by the user is more intuitive, and in the case of meeting the requirement of the same vibration amplitude, the volume of the vibration motor may need to be increased in the related art, but the present disclosure can adjust the magnetic field strength of the conductive coil without increasing the occupied area, and can reduce the assembly limitation on the complete machine configuring the key module.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a key module according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of another key module according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another key module according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of an electronic device shown in accordance with an example embodiment.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the exemplary embodiments below are not intended to represent all implementations consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present disclosure, as detailed in the appended claims.

The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It is to be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "when … …" or "in response to a determination", depending on the context.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a key module 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 1, the key module 100 may include a contact element 1, a magnetic element 2 and a conductive coil 3. The contact assembly 1 and the magnetic member 2 may be stacked along the polarity arrangement direction of the magnetic member 2, and the magnetic member 2 may be fixedly connected to the contact assembly 1. For example, in the embodiment of fig. 1, the magnetic member 2 may be directly connected and fixed with the contact assembly 1, and in other embodiments, the contact assembly 1 may also be indirectly connected and fixed with the magnetic member 2, which is not limited by the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the polarity arrangement direction of the magnetic member 2 is the left-right direction, so the magnetic member 2 and the contact assembly 1 can be stacked and arranged along the left-right direction in fig. 1.

The conductive coil 3 may be disposed around the magnetic member 2, and the axial direction of the conductive coil 3 is the same as the polarity arrangement direction of the magnetic member 2, that is, in the embodiment of fig. 1, the axial direction of the conductive coil 3 is the left-right direction. The conductive coil 3 is electrified and can generate a magnetic field when being in an electrified state, the conductive coil 3 can interact with the magnetic part 2 at the moment, mutual repulsion or mutual attraction can be formed between the conductive coil 3 and the magnetic part, so that an acting force along the axial direction of the conductive coil 3 is generated, the magnetic part 2 and the contact assembly 1 can be driven to move along the polarity arrangement direction through the acting force, and the key module 100 can vibrate along the left and right directions in the figure 1 integrally. For example, the conductive coil 3 may be energized to provide vibratory feedback on the user's motion when it is determined that the user is acting on the contact assembly 1. The manner in which the user determines the action on the contact assembly 1 differs depending on the contact assembly 1, and will be described in detail in the following embodiments.

It can be known from the above embodiments that, in the technical scheme of the present disclosure, through the interaction between the conductive coil 3 wound around the magnetic part 2 and the magnetic part 2, the vibration feedback of the key module 100 can be realized, compared with the scheme of arranging a special vibration motor to realize the vibration feedback in the related art, in the technical scheme of the present disclosure, an element for realizing the vibration is arranged close to the contact assembly 1, the feedback effect felt by the user is more intuitive, and in the case of meeting the same vibration amplitude requirement, the volume of the vibration motor may need to be increased in the related art, and in the present disclosure, the magnetic field strength of the conductive coil 3 may be adjusted without increasing the occupied area, so that the assembly limitation on the whole machine configuring the key module 100 can be reduced. Wherein, the magnetic member 2 may include a permanent magnet, or the magnetic member 2 may also include a permanently magnetized rigid member, which is not limited by the present disclosure.

Still referring to fig. 1, the key module 100 may further include an input module 4, the input module 4 may be connected to the conductive coil 3 for conducting electricity, and the input module 4 may be configured to control the current intensity, the current direction, and the frequency class of the current that is input to the conductive coil 3. For example, in order to drive the magnetic element 2 to reciprocate along the axial direction of the conductive coil 3, the input module 4 may control to input a current with a first value and in a clockwise direction to the conductive coil 3, and when the current in the clockwise direction lasts for a first time period, the input module 4 may control to input a current value with a first value and in a counterclockwise direction to the conductive coil 3, so that a direction of a magnetic field generated by the conductive coil 3 may be changed, so that the conductive coil 3 and the magnetic element 2 are changed from an attraction state to a repulsion state; or the magnetic member 2 is changed from the repulsive state to the attractive state, and the movement direction of the magnetic member 2 is changed, so that the reciprocating movement of the magnetic member 2 is realized. The vibration frequency of the key module 100 can be increased by increasing the current intensity and the frequency of the current periodic variation.

In the above embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the key module 100 may further include a triggering portion 5, a first circuit board 6, and a switch module 7, where the triggering portion 5 may be connected to the magnetic member 2, and the switch module 7 may be disposed on the first circuit board 6 and electrically connected to an internal circuit of the first circuit board 6. The contact assembly 1 can be used for pressing and switching to a pressing state, when the contact assembly 1 is switched to the pressing state, the magnetic member 2 can move along with the contact assembly 1, and the trigger part 5 moves along with the contact assembly 1, so that the switch module 7 can be triggered by the trigger part 5, and the electronic device provided with the key module 100 can be instructed to execute a corresponding key function; after the contact assembly 1 is in the natural state, i.e. the contact assembly 1 is not pressed or the contact assembly 1 automatically resets after the user releases the force, the trigger 5 can be separated from the switch module 7 and the switch module 7 is switched to the off state.

Based on this, the key module 100 can provide vibration feedback for the user while instructing the electronic device to execute the corresponding key function. Specifically, after the switch module 7 is switched to the conductive body, the input module 4 may be instructed to input current to the conductive coil 3, so as to give vibration feedback to the user; alternatively, the contact assembly 1 may include a touch sensor, and after the touch sensor detects a user operation, the input module 4 is instructed to input a current to the conductive coil 3, so as to give a vibration feedback to the user. Of course, in order to avoid that the movement of the magnetic element 2 causes the triggering part 5 to trigger the switch module 7 when the magnetic element 2 interacts with the conductive coil 3, the maximum displacement of the magnetic element 2 when the magnetic element 2 interacts with the conductive coil 3 is smaller than the separation distance between the triggering part 5 and the switch module 7 when the contact assembly 1 is in the natural state.

In the embodiment of fig. 2, the triggering portion 5 is taken as an example of a component that is independent from the magnetic element 2 and is connected to the magnetic element 2, and actually, in other embodiments, the magnetic element 2 may include the triggering portion 5, for example, the magnetic element 2 may protrude toward the switch module 7 by a protrusion, which is the triggering portion; the first circuit board 6 can be fixed on a housing of an electronic device equipped with the key module 100, and the switch module 7 is further fixed by the first circuit board 6.

Furthermore, as shown in fig. 3, the contact assembly 1 may include a sensing unit 11 and a second circuit board 12, the sensing unit 11 may be disposed on the second circuit board 12, the second circuit board 12 may be connected and fixed with the magnetic member 2, and thus the sensing unit 11 may be connected and fixed with the magnetic member 2 through the second circuit board 12. The sensing unit 11 may have a function of sensing a user operation, so that when the user presses the contact assembly 1, the sensing unit 11 may simultaneously perform a corresponding sensing function, and when the sensing unit 11 senses the user operation, the input module 4 may control the conductive coil 3 to be turned on, thereby giving a feedback to the user vibration. Therefore, the sensing function of the sensing unit 11 and the key function of the key module 100 can be simultaneously realized by the same key module 100, and the number of openings on the electronic device can be reduced.

For example, the sensing unit 11 may include a fingerprint sensing unit, which may be used to sense a user fingerprint. For example, when the user presses the contact assembly 1, the sensing unit 11 starts to collect the fingerprint of the user, the input module 4 controls the conductive coil 3 to be powered on, and the triggering part 5 triggers the switch module 7. When the collected user fingerprint is matched with the preset fingerprint, the input module 4 controls the conductive coil 3 to be electrified, so that the magnetic part 2 reciprocates to give vibration feedback to the user; alternatively, the input module 4 may control the conductive coil 3 to be powered on when the fingerprint sensing unit starts to capture a fingerprint, so that the magnetic member 2 reciprocates to give a feedback to the vibration of the user, which is not limited in this disclosure. In other embodiments, the sensing unit 11 may further include a pressure sensing unit, and the input module 4 may control the conductive coil 3 to be powered on when the pressure sensing unit detects any pressure value greater than zero, so that the magnetic element 2 reciprocates to give a vibration feedback to the user.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of fig. 3, the second circuit board 12 is connected to the sensing unit 11, and the magnetic member 2 is connected to the second circuit board 12, so that the sensing unit 11 is connected to the magnetic member 2 through the second circuit board 12; in other embodiments, the sensing unit 11 and the second circuit board 12 may also be connected to the magnetic member 2 respectively, and in this case, the sensing unit 11 may be directly connected to the magnetic member 2, which may be designed as required, and the disclosure does not limit this.

Still referring to fig. 3, the magnetic member 2 may include a hollow-out groove 21, and a depth direction of the hollow-out groove 21 is perpendicular to an axial direction of the conductive coil 3, so as to prevent a depression from occurring on an axially perpendicular surface of the magnetic member 2 and the conductive coil 3, which may affect an assembling flatness of a part connected to the magnetic member 2 and an assembling effect of the key module 100 as a whole. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the magnetic member 2 includes one hollow groove 21 for illustration, in other embodiments, the magnetic member 2 may also include two or more hollow grooves 21, the depth directions of the plurality of hollow grooves 21 may be the same, and the shapes thereof may be the same or different, and the disclosure does not limit this.

Based on the technical solution of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the present disclosure further provides an electronic device 200, where the electronic device 200 may include the key module 100 and the middle frame 201 described in any of the above embodiments, the middle frame 201 may include a mounting hole 2011, the contact assembly 1 of the key module 100 may be assembled in the mounting hole 2011, and a part of the contact assembly 1 may protrude from the mounting hole 2011, so that a user can operate the key module 100. In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the key module 100 is located at the side of the electronic device 200 to form a side key, and in other embodiments, the key module 100 is also located at the front of the electronic device 200 to serve as a HOME key. The key module 100 may be used as a power key or a volume key of the electronic device 200, which is not limited in this disclosure.

The bezel 201 may also include an outer sidewall 2012 and an extension 2013 extending from the outer sidewall 2012 inward of the electronic device 200, the extension 2013 can cooperate with the outer sidewall 2012 to form a groove 2014, the mounting hole 2011 can extend through the outer sidewall 2012 and communicate with the groove 2014, the magnetic element 2 can be at least partially positioned in the groove 2014, and the magnetic element 2 and the bottom surface of the groove 2014, which is perpendicular to the axial direction of the conductive coil 3, are arranged at intervals, so that a space can be provided for the reciprocating motion of the magnetic element 2, meanwhile, when the key module 100 includes the first circuit board 6 and the switch module 7, a space may be provided for the installation of the first circuit board 6 and the switch module 7, specifically, the first circuit board 6 may be fixed on the bottom surface of the groove 2014, the switch module 7 is connected to the first circuit board 6, and the first circuit board 6 may be connected to the main board of the electronic device 200 through the avoiding hole disposed on the extending portion 2013. The electronic device 200 may include an electronic device, a tablet, an e-reader, and the like, which is not limited by the present disclosure.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure following, in general, the principles of the disclosure and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

It will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A key module, comprising:

a contact assembly;

the magnetic part and the contact assembly are stacked along the polar arrangement direction of the magnetic part, and the magnetic part is connected with the contact assembly;

the conductive coil surrounds the magnetic piece, the axial direction of the conductive coil is the same as the polarity arrangement direction of the magnetic piece, and the conductive coil interacts with the magnetic piece when in an electrified state so as to drive the magnetic piece and the contact assembly to move along the polarity arrangement direction.

2. The key module of claim 1, further comprising:

the input module is connected with the conductive coil and used for controlling the current intensity, the current direction and the frequency of the periodic change of the current input into the conductive coil.

3. The key module according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic member comprises a triggering portion or the key module comprises a triggering portion connected to the magnetic member;

the key module further comprises:

a first circuit board;

the switch module is arranged on the first circuit board, and when the contact assembly is in a pressing state, the trigger part triggers the switch module to be switched to a conducting state; when the contact assembly is in a natural state, the trigger part is separated from the switch module, and the switch module is in a disconnected state.

4. The key module of claim 3, wherein when the magnetic element interacts with the conductive coil, a maximum displacement of the magnetic element is less than a separation distance between the trigger and the switch module when the contact assembly is in a natural state.

5. The key module according to claim 1, wherein the contact assembly comprises a sensing unit and a second circuit board, the sensing unit is disposed on the second circuit board, and the sensing unit is directly connected to the magnetic member; or the sensing unit is connected with the magnetic part through the second circuit board.

6. The key module of claim 5, wherein the sensing unit comprises a fingerprint sensing unit or a pressure sensing unit.

7. The key module of claim 1, wherein the magnetic member comprises a permanent magnet or a permanently magnetized rigid member.

8. The key module according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic member comprises at least one hollow groove, and a depth direction of the hollow groove is perpendicular to an axial direction of the conductive coil.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

the middle frame comprises a mounting hole;

the key module of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the contact elements of the key module are assembled to the mounting holes.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the middle frame comprises an outer side wall and an extension extending inwardly from the outer side wall, the extension cooperating with the outer side wall to form a groove;

the mounting hole penetrates through the outer side wall and is communicated with the groove, and at least part of the magnetic part is positioned in the groove and is arranged at intervals with the bottom surface of the groove, which is vertical to the axial direction of the conductive wire coil.

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