CN217061859U

CN217061859U - Optical switch key

Info

Publication number: CN217061859U
Application number: CN202122499837.3U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张立德; 周柏岳
Original assignee: Huaian Darfon Electronics Co ltd; Darfon Electronics Corp
Current assignee: Huaian Darfon Electronics Co ltd; Darfon Electronics Corp
Priority date: 2021-04-07
Filing date: 2021-10-18
Publication date: 2022-07-26
Anticipated expiration: 2031-10-18
Also published as: TW202240620A; TWI811813B; CN115206716A

Abstract

The utility model discloses an optical switch button contains switch module, key cap, supporting mechanism, elastic component and light source in a poor light. The switch module comprises a circuit board, a light emitter and a light receiver, wherein the light emitter emits light signals corresponding to the light receiver. The key cap has a light-emitting area, and the key cap forms key cap projection district in the first face projection of circuit board. The supporting mechanism is arranged below the keycap and supports the keycap to move up and down. The elastic piece is transversely connected with the supporting mechanism and divides the keycap projection area into a first area and a second area; wherein the light emitter and the light receiver are located in the second area. The backlight source is electrically connected with the circuit board. The backlight source is positioned in the first area to illuminate the light-emitting area of the keycap, and the light emitter and the light receiver are positioned in the second area and trigger the switch module along with the movement of the keycap or the supporting mechanism.

Description

Optical switch key

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an optical switch key, and more particularly to an optical switch key that can change the receiving state of an optical signal by pressing a key cap to actuate a switch.

Background

Membrane switch keys and mechanical keys are the types of keys commonly used in conventional keyboards. The main difference between the membrane switch key and the mechanical key is that the circuit structure for generating signals is different. Generally, a membrane switch key is a switch element using a membrane circuit layer as a signal generation, when a key cap is pressed to trigger the membrane circuit layer, an upper circuit layer is deformed to make a switch contact of the upper circuit layer contact a corresponding switch contact of a lower circuit layer, and then the membrane switch is turned on to generate a signal. However, the thin film circuit layer is easily damaged by frequent use or improper force application, and is difficult to maintain, and when a user presses the key cap to trigger the thin film circuit layer, clear step feedback is lacked, so that the pressing hand feeling is not good, and the manipulation feeling of the user cannot be satisfied.

The mechanical key is a switch element which uses the conduction of the metal sheet and the metal contact as the signal generation. However, the metal sheet and the metal contact are easily worn by impact, which affects the service life of the key, and the metal sheet or the metal contact is corroded by moisture, which results in poor conduction and affects the stability of the key. Furthermore, the conventional mechanical key is not suitable for being applied to a portable electronic device with a high requirement for thin-type, such as a notebook computer, because the structure is complicated and the volume is large.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

An object of the utility model is to provide an optical switch button, it utilizes optical transmitter and optical receiver to constitute the switch module to along with pressing the receiving state that the stroke changed the light signal through the part in the button, provide quick accurate trigger function again.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch key, which integrates an optical switch with a low-profile key structure, so as to be suitable for being applied to a portable electronic device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch button, which includes an optical switch and a mechanical return mechanism, not only providing a pressing feel of the mechanical button, but also improving the maintenance feasibility.

According to an aspect of the utility model provides an optical switch button contains:

the switch module is provided with a circuit board, a light emitter and a light receiver, wherein the circuit board is provided with a first surface and a second surface, and the light emitter and the light receiver are electrically connected with the circuit board; wherein the optical transmitter transmits an optical signal to the optical receiver;

the key cap is positioned above the first surface and provided with a light emitting area, and the key cap forms a key cap projection area by projecting on the circuit board;

the supporting mechanism is arranged below the keycap and supports the keycap to move up and down relative to the circuit board;

the elastic piece is transversely connected with the supporting mechanism and divides the keycap projection area into a first area and a second area;

the separation blade is driven by the keycap or the supporting mechanism to move up and down; and

the backlight source is electrically connected with the circuit board;

the backlight source is positioned in the first area to illuminate the light outlet area of the keycap, the light emitter and the light receiver are positioned in the second area, and the blocking piece moves along with the keycap or the supporting mechanism to trigger the switch module.

As an optional technical solution, the backlight light source is disposed on the first surface, and the light emitter and the light receiver are located on the second surface.

As an optional technical solution, the circuit board has a slot, and the blocking sheet passes through the slot to block the optical path between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver.

According to the utility model discloses an on the other hand, the utility model discloses still provide an optical switch button, contain:

the switch module is provided with a circuit board and an optical switch, the circuit board is provided with a first surface and a second surface, and the optical switch is electrically connected with the circuit board; the optical switch comprises an optical transmitter and an optical receiver, wherein the optical transmitter transmits an optical signal to the optical receiver;

the key cap is positioned above the first surface and forms a key cap projection area by projecting on the circuit board;

the supporting mechanism supports the keycap to move up and down relative to the circuit board;

the backlight source is electrically connected with the circuit board; and

the blocking piece is driven by the keycap or the supporting mechanism to move up and down so as to trigger the optical switch when the keycap is pressed;

the optical switch and the backlight light source are positioned on different surfaces of the first surface and the second surface, and the optical switch and the backlight light source are positioned on different areas of the keycap projection area.

As an optional technical solution, the supporting mechanism has a first support and a second support, and the first support and the second support are movably connected between the circuit board and the keycap.

As an optional technical solution, the first bracket and the second bracket respectively include a bracket body and at least one side arm, the at least one side arm extends from the bracket body, and the blocking piece is disposed on the at least one side arm or the bracket body.

As an optional technical solution, the blocking sheet is disposed on one of the first support and the second support of the supporting mechanism, the circuit board has a slot, the optical switch is disposed on the second surface, and the blocking sheet can pass through the slot to block the optical signal.

As an alternative solution, the optical signal is emitted along an optical path, and the optical path is perpendicular or parallel to the elastic element.

As an optional technical solution, the blocking piece is parallel or perpendicular to the elastic member.

As an optional technical solution, the supporting mechanism further comprises a bottom plate, the bottom plate is combined with the first surface of the circuit board; the bottom plate is provided with a light hole area corresponding to the first area and a hole breaking area corresponding to the second area, the backlight source corresponds to the light hole area, and the light path of the optical switch is at least partially exposed in the hole breaking area.

As an optional technical solution, the key cap has a blocking piece, the circuit board has a slot, and the blocking piece passes through the slot to block the optical signal.

As an optional technical solution, the backlight source emits light downward, and the circuit board is provided with at least one opening through which the light passes and irradiates toward the keycap.

As an optional technical solution, the backlight module further comprises a reflective sheet disposed corresponding to the backlight source for reflecting the light toward the at least one opening.

To sum up, compare in the conventional art, the utility model discloses an optical switch button utilizes optical transmitter and optical receiver as trigger switch, and any suitable part reaches the conversion of quick, accurate pressing signal along with pressing the receiving state that the stroke changed the light signal in the button, and can be applied to various button framework in order to be applicable to portable electronic device. Furthermore, the backlight source, the light emitter and the light receiver of the present invention are disposed on different sides of the circuit board and also on different sides of the elastic member. The circuit board and the elastic piece have a shielding effect on the illumination light emitted by the backlight source, and the interference of the illumination light on the light receiver is effectively avoided.

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of an optical switch key according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the key cap, the supporting mechanism and the elastic member according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a top view of the key cap projection area in an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 and 6 are sectional views of the optical switch key according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of an optical switch key according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a key cap is omitted.

Fig. 8 is an exploded view of a portion of a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of an optical switch key according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of an optical switch key according to a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a key cap is omitted.

Fig. 12 is an exploded view of an optical switch key according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a plan view of an optical switch key according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which a key cap is omitted.

Fig. 14 and 15 are sectional views of an optical switch key according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention provides an optical switch key 1, which can be applied to any push-type input device (e.g. keyboard), or integrated into any suitable electronic device (e.g. portable electronic device key or notebook computer keyboard), to provide quick and accurate triggering function, and is suitable for various key structure designs, and to enhance the maintenance feasibility. Hereinafter, the structure and operation of each element of the optical switch key 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 2 and fig. 3, the optical switch key 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a switch module 607, a key cap 604, a supporting mechanism, an elastic component 605 and a backlight light source 643.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 2 and fig. 3, the switch module 607 includes a circuit board 644, an optical transmitter 641 and an optical receiver 642, and the optical transmitter 641 and the optical receiver 642 are electrically connected to the circuit board 644 respectively to form an optical switch. The switch module 607 of the different embodiments of the present invention at least includes the circuit board 644 and the optical switch electrically connected to the circuit board 644, however, the present invention discloses an optical switch not limited to the optical transmitter 641 and the optical receiver 642, and the integrated optical transceiver can also realize the optical switch function through the refraction or the reflected optical path. The circuit board 644 has a first surface 644a and a second surface 644b, and the optical transmitter 641 and the optical receiver 642 are electrically connected to the circuit board 644. The optical transmitter 641 correspondingly transmits the optical signal to the optical receiver 642, so that the optical receiver 642 receives the optical signal to obtain an optical signal strength. When the key cap 604 is not pressed, the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 642 is a first intensity; when the key cap is pressed 604, the key cap 604 drives the supporting mechanism to move, and the key cap 604 or the supporting mechanism blocks the optical signal, so that the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 642 is reduced to a second intensity. Pressing the key cap 604 changes the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 642, so that the switch module 607 is triggered to generate a trigger signal.

As shown in fig. 1, 2, and 3, the key cap 604 is supported by the support mechanism and is located above the first surface 644a, and the key cap 604 has a light exit area 604 b. The light exit area 604b may be a hollowed-out area of the key cap 604, and the hollowed-out area may be filled or not filled with a light-transmitting material. Alternatively, the key cap 604 is made of a light-transmitting material, and is coated with a light-opaque coating, and the light exit region 604b is left uncoated. Although the light-emitting area 604b is shown as a block-shaped area, it may be a light-permeable area in a character form to present a character corresponding to the key cap 604. The key cap 604 is projected on the circuit board 644 to form a key cap projection area 604a (covering the first face 644a and the second face 644 b). The support mechanism is disposed below the keycap 604 and supports the keycap 604 for up and down movement relative to the circuit board 644. The supporting mechanism has a first bracket 601 and a second bracket 602. If the whole bottom board 603 is not provided, the first connecting element 631 and the second connecting element 632 can be directly fixed on the circuit board 644, the first bottom board end 6012 of the first support 601 and the second bottom board end 6022 of the second support 602 can be movably connected to the first connecting element 631 and the second connecting element 632 on the circuit board 644 respectively (i.e., the first bottom board end 6012 of the first support 601 can be movably connected to the first connecting element 631 on the circuit board 644, and the second bottom board end 6022 of the second support 602 can be movably connected to the second connecting element 632 on the circuit board 644), and the first key cap end 6014 of the first support 601 and the second key cap end 6024 of the second support 602 can be movably connected to the key cap 604.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 2 and fig. 3, specifically, the key cap 604 may be an injection molded rectangular key cap 604, and the lower surface of the key cap 604 has a first coupling element 6042 and a second coupling element 6044 for coupling with the supporting mechanism. The first coupling member 6042 may be a coupling structure having a shaft hole, and the second coupling member 6044 may be a coupling structure having a sliding groove; or the first coupling element 6042 and the second coupling element 6044 are both coupling structures having sliding grooves. The first key cap end 6014 of the first support 601 and the second key cap end 6024 of the second support 602 are rotatably coupled to the first coupling part 6042 and the second coupling part 6044 of the key cap 604, respectively (i.e., the first key cap end 6014 of the first support 601 is rotatably coupled to the first coupling part 6042 of the key cap 604 and the second key cap end 6024 of the second support 602 is rotatably coupled to the second coupling part 6044 of the key cap 604), and at least one of the key cap ends is slidable with respect to the corresponding coupling part (i.e., at least the first key cap end 6014 is slidable with respect to the corresponding first coupling part 6042, or at least the second key cap end 6024 is slidable with respect to the corresponding second coupling part 6044), so that the other ends of the first support 601 and the second support 602 are movably coupled to the key cap 604.

As shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2, the supporting mechanism further includes a bottom plate 603, and the bottom plate 603 has a first connecting member 631 and a second connecting member 632. The bottom board 603 is coupled to the first surface 644a of the circuit board 644, and the first connector 631 and the second connector 632 protrude away from the circuit board 644. The first connecting element 631 and the second connecting element 632 are preferably hook-type connecting elements protruding from the surface of the bottom plate 603 toward the key cap 604. The first bottom board end 6012 of the first bracket 601 and the second bottom board end 6014 of the second bracket 602 are movably connected to the first connector 631 and the second connector 632 of the bottom board 603, respectively (i.e., the first bottom board end 6012 of the first bracket 601 is movably connected to the first connector 631 of the circuit board 644 and the second bottom board end 6022 of the second bracket 602 is movably connected to the second connector 632 of the circuit board 644), so that the first bottom board end 6012 of the first bracket 601 and the second bottom board end 6022 of the second bracket 602 are indirectly connected to the circuit board 644. In the present invention, it is not excluded to omit the bottom plate 603, and the first bottom plate end 6012 and the second bottom plate end 6022 are directly pivoted to the circuit board 644. The first bracket 601 and the second bracket 602 may be arranged in a cross configuration and pivoted to each other, and may be arranged in a scissors configuration.

As shown in fig. 1, 2 and 4, the elastic member 605 is connected to the supporting mechanism transversely along a connecting direction, and the orthographic projection of the elastic member 605 divides the key cap projection region 604a into a first region 604a1 and a second region 604a 2. In at least one embodiment, the elastic member 605 is a tension spring, and connects the first bracket 601 and the second bracket 602 along the connection direction X. The first bracket 601 includes a first bracket body 613, a first side arm portion 611, and a second side arm portion 612, and the second bracket 602 includes a second bracket body 623, a third side arm portion 621, and a fourth side arm portion 622. In the first bracket 601, the first side arm portion 611 and the second side arm portion 612 extend from the first bracket body 613 and are movably connected to the circuit board 644; in the second bracket 602, the third side arm portion 621 and the fourth side arm portion 622 extend from the second bracket body 623. The first support body 613 and the second support body 623 are perpendicular to the connection direction X of the elastic element 605, and the elastic element 605 is connected to the first support body 613 and the second support body 623, so that a pulling force is normally provided to the first support body 613 and the second support body 623 to make the first support body 613 and the second support body 623 approach each other, thereby forming a restoring force for pushing the key cap 604 upwards.

As shown in fig. 1 and 4, the backlight 643 is electrically connected to the circuit board 644 for projecting the illumination light toward the key cap 604. The light switches and backlight light sources 643 are located on different ones of the second faces 644a and 644b, while the light switches and backlight light sources 643 are located in different ones of the first zone 604a1 and the second zone 604a 2. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the backlight light source 643 is located in the first region 604a1 to illuminate the light exiting region 604b of the key cap 604. The light emitter 641 and the light receiver 642 are located in the second region 604a2, and trigger the switch module 607 when the key cap 604 or the supporting mechanism moves. Since the first region 604a1 and the second region 604a2 are substantially separated by the elastic member 605, the blocking and reflection of the elastic member 605 can reduce the intensity of the illumination light in the second region 604a2, thereby reducing the interference of the illumination light with the light receiver 642. The aforesaid different plane and different zone arrangements also make the illumination light reach the optical switch in a longer distance, or through multiple reflection or shielding of the key cap 604, the elastic member 605, the bottom plate 603 and the circuit board 644, the intensity of the illumination light is lost, the interference of the backlight light 643 to the optical switch is reduced, and the accuracy of triggering the optical switch is provided.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, one of the first bracket 601 and the second bracket 602 has a blocking portion 650, and the blocking portion 650 extends toward the circuit board 644. The circuit board 644 has a slot 645, and the light emitter 641 and the light receiver 642 are respectively disposed on two sides of the slot 645. As shown, the blocking piece 650 is disposed on the first bracket body 613 or the second bracket body 623, and the blocking piece 650 is parallel to the slot 645 so as to move through the slot 645. The middle blocking piece 650 of the present invention does not necessarily pass through the cutting groove 645 to interrupt the light path of the optical switch when moving downward; conversely, when the key cap 604 is pressed, the blocking piece 650 may be moved from a position blocking the optical signal and the optical path to a position allowing the optical signal to pass and the optical path to be conducted, for example, the blocking piece 650 may be disposed near the first bottom end of the first frame 601 or the second bottom end 6012 of the second frame 602 (regardless of whether the first frame 601 and the second frame 602 are disposed in a positive V or a negative V). The middle blocking piece 650 of the utility model is not always matched with the cutting groove 645 in the whole moving process; when the path of travel of the flap 650 is non-perpendicular to the slot 645 (e.g., an arcuate path), the flap 650 may travel to the highest or lowest point to merge across the slot 645.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, the first bracket 601 and the second bracket 602 are omitted for simplicity. When the key cap 604 is pressed, the first bracket 601 and the second bracket 602 (not shown in the figure) swing to drive the blocking piece 650 to pass through the slot 645 to block the optical signal, so as to reduce the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 642, and the switch module 607 is triggered to generate the trigger signal. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the optical signal is emitted along the optical path, which is perpendicular to the connection direction X of the elastic member 605; meanwhile, the slot 645 and the flap 650 are both parallel to the connecting direction X.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 4, fig. 5 and fig. 6, in the first embodiment, the backlight light source 643 is disposed on the first face 644a, and the light emitter 641 and the light receiver 642 (the whole set of light switches) are disposed on the second face 644b, so as to further block the illumination light of the backlight light source 643 through the circuit board 644, and reduce the interference of the illumination light on the light receiver 642. In addition, since the bottom plate 603 is coupled to the first surface 644a, in order to avoid the bottom plate 603 interfering with the light emitter 641, the light receiver 642 and the backlight light source 643, the bottom plate 603 has a light transmissive hole region 603a and a perforated hole region 603b, the light transmissive hole region 603a and the perforated hole region 603b correspond to the first region 604a1 and the second region 604a2, respectively, and the light transmissive hole region 603a at least partially overlaps with the first region 604a1, and the perforated hole region 603b at least partially overlaps with the second region 604a 2. The optical paths of the optical switches (the optical transmitter 641 and the optical receiver 642) are at least partially exposed to the perforated area 603b of the base 604 and the cut-out 64 of the circuit board 644. As shown, the light-transmitting hole region 603a and the cut-out region 603b may be opened to form a large hole, so that the projected area of the circuit board 644 is larger than the backlight light source 643 and the cut-out 645, thereby ensuring that the backlight light source 643 and the cut-out 645 respectively fall in the light-transmitting hole region 603a and the cut-out region 603b (i.e. ensuring that the backlight light source 643 falls in the light-transmitting hole region 603a and the cut-out 645 falls in the cut-out region 603 b). In various embodiments, the light transmissive hole region 603a and the broken hole region 603b may also be completely matched with or slightly larger than the outlines of the backlight light source 643 and the slits 645 (i.e., the light transmissive hole region 603a may also be completely matched with or slightly larger than the outline of the backlight light source 643, and the broken hole region 603b may also be completely matched with or slightly larger than the outline of the slits 645), so that the projection of the circuit board 644 is larger than and coincides with the projection of the backlight light source 643 and the slits 645. The light-transmissive hole region 603a and the hole-breaking region 603b may also be combined into a single large hole region, and accommodate the backlight light source 643 and the cutting groove 645. The backlight light source 643 is located in the light transmissive hole region 603a, and the light emitter 641 and the light receiver 642 are located in the hole-breaking region 603 b. Therefore, the arrangement of the backlight light source 643, the light emitter 641 and the light receiver 642, or the emission and the reception of the light can not be interfered by the bottom plate 603. The bottom plate 603 and the circuit board 644 of the present invention can both have the effect of shielding the light of the backlight light source 643; although generally the backlight light source 643 generates visible light and the light switches (the light emitter 641 and the light receiver 642) use infrared light, the receiving spectrum of the light receiver 642 may cover local visible light, so it is necessary to dispose the light source 643 and the entire set of light switches on different surfaces of the circuit board 644 or on different areas of the keyboard projection area in order to reduce the interference of the light source 643 or the ambient light source on the light switches.

Referring to fig. 5, 6 and 7, in order to further reduce the interference of the illumination light to the light receiver 642 and enhance the illumination effect of the backlight light source 643 on the keycap 604, the optical switch key 1 further includes a diffusion sheet 661. The diffusion sheet 661 is coupled to the bottom plate 603 and disposed in the first region 604a 1. The diffusion sheet 661 covers the backlight light source 643, and is located between the backlight light source 643 and the key caps 604. The illumination light emitted from the backlight 643 can be widely irradiated onto the inner surface of the key cap 604 through the diffusion sheet 661. In addition, the side wall 661a for disposing the diffusion sheet 661 can be made of a light-shielding material to provide a light-shielding effect and reduce light emitted in the horizontal direction, thereby preventing the illumination light from interfering with the light signal received by the light receiver 642.

Referring to fig. 8 and 9, a switch module 607 according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown for replacing the switch module 607 in one or more embodiments of the present invention. The switch module 607 includes a circuit board 644, an optical transmitter 641 and an optical receiver 642.

As shown in fig. 8 and 9, the switch module 607 further includes a reflector 660 and a spacer 662. The backlight light source 643 is disposed on the second face 644 b. An opening 646 is provided on the circuit board 644 adjacent to the backlight light source 643, and the opening 646 overlaps the light transmission hole area 603a of the bottom plate 603. The spacer 662 is disposed on the second surface 644b, and the reflective sheet 660 is coupled to the spacer 662 such that the reflective sheet 660 is disposed corresponding to the second surface 644b and overlaps the opening 646. The reflective sheet 660 and the second face 644b are spaced apart, and the backlight 643 is located between the reflective sheet 660 and the second face 644 b. The reflection surface of the reflection sheet 660 faces the second face 644b, and the backlight 643 projects the illumination light toward a direction away from the second face 644b, that is, toward the reflection sheet 660 (downward irradiation). Therefore, the reflective sheet 660 reflects the illumination light toward the opening 646, so that the illumination light is irradiated to the key cap 604 through the opening 646. In this embodiment, the optical emitter 641 and the optical receiver 642 are disposed on the first face 644a and still located on both sides of the notch 645. The slot 645 is configured to prevent the base 603 from interfering with the shutter 650, so that the shutter 650 has a sufficient moving stroke to block the optical path of the optical signal. Since the light emitter 641 and the light receiver 642 are disposed on the first face 644a, interference of the backlight light source 643 on the light receiver 642 can be effectively reduced. In addition, the backlight 643 disposed on the second face 644b can adjust the illumination intensity of the key cap 604 through the size of the opening 646 to avoid the illumination intensity from being too high.

Referring to fig. 10 and 11, an optical switch key 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The optical switch key 1 includes a switch module 607, a key cap 604, a supporting mechanism, an elastic member 605 and a backlight 643.

In the third embodiment, the blocking portion 650 is disposed on one of the side arm portions of the first bracket 601 and the second bracket 602 (i.e., the blocking portion 650 is disposed on one of the first side arm portion 611, the second side arm portion 612, the third side arm portion 621, and the fourth side arm portion 622, in this example, the blocking portion 650 is disposed on the first side arm portion 611), and the blocking portion 650 extends toward the circuit board 644. As shown in fig. 10 and 11, the stop 650 and the slot 645 are parallel to the connection direction X of the elastic element 605, and the optical path of the optical signal is still perpendicular to the connection direction X. When the key cap 604 is pressed, the first side arm portion 611, the second side arm portion 612, the third side arm portion 621, and the fourth side arm portion 622 swing downward to drive the blocking piece 650 to move through the slot 645 and block between the optical transmitter 641 and the optical receiver 642, and the blocking piece 650 at least partially blocks the optical signal to reduce the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 642, so as to trigger the switch module 607 to generate the trigger signal.

Referring to fig. 12 and 13, an optical switch key 1 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The optical switch key 1 includes a switch module 607, a key cap 604, a supporting mechanism, an elastic member 605 and a backlight 643.

In the fourth embodiment, the blocking piece 650 is disposed on the bracket body of one of the first bracket 601 and the second bracket 602 (i.e. the blocking piece 650 is disposed on the first bracket body 613 of the first bracket 601 or the second bracket body 623 of the second bracket 602, for example, the blocking piece 650 is disposed on the second bracket body 623 of the second bracket 602), and the blocking piece 650 extends toward the circuit board 644. As shown in fig. 12 and 13, the stop 650 and the slot 645 are perpendicular to the connection direction X of the elastic element 605, and the optical path of the optical signal is disposed parallel to the connection direction X. When the key cap 604 is pressed, the first side arm portion 611, the second side arm portion 612, the third side arm portion 621, and the fourth side arm portion 622 swing downward to drive the blocking piece 650 to move through the slot 645 and block between the optical transmitter 641 and the optical receiver 642, and the blocking piece 650 at least partially blocks the optical signal to reduce the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 642, so as to trigger the switch module 607 to generate the trigger signal.

Referring to fig. 14 and 15, an optical switch key 1 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The optical switch key 1 includes a switch module 607, a key cap 604, a supporting mechanism (not shown), an elastic member 605 and a backlight 643.

As shown in fig. 14 and 15, in the fifth embodiment, the first bracket 601 and the second bracket 602 (not shown) of the supporting mechanism are not provided with the blocking piece 650. The blocking piece 650 is disposed at the bottom of the key cap 604 and extends toward the circuit board 644. When the key cap 604 is pressed, the key cap 604 drives the blocking piece 650 to move linearly, the blocking piece 650 moves through the slot 645 and blocks between the optical transmitter 641 and the optical receiver 642, and the blocking piece 650 at least partially blocks the optical signal to reduce the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 642, so as to trigger the switch module 607 to generate the trigger signal. In the sixth embodiment, the blocking piece 650 driven by the key cap 604 moves linearly, so that the alignment between the blocking piece 650 and the slot 645 is relatively easy to solve. In the drawing, the blocking piece 650 is parallel to the connection direction X of the elastic element 605, and the optical path of the optical signal is perpendicular to the connection direction X; it is not excluded that the blocking piece 650 is perpendicular to the connection direction X of the elastic member 605, and the optical path of the optical signal is parallel to the connection direction X.

Compared with the prior art, the optical switch key 1 of the present invention utilizes the optical transmitter 641 and the optical receiver 642 as the switch signal, and achieves the fast and accurate conversion of the pressing signal by changing the receiving state of the optical signal along with the pressing stroke through any suitable component in the key, and can be applied to various key structures to be suitable for the portable electronic device. Furthermore, the backlight 643, the light emitter 641 and the light receiver 642 of the present invention are disposed on different sides of the circuit board 644 and are also disposed on different sides of the elastic member 605. The circuit board 644 and the elastic member 605 block the illumination light emitted by the backlight light source 643, so as to effectively prevent the illumination light from interfering with the light receiver 642.

The above mentioned is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and all the equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An optical switch key, comprising:

the blocking piece is driven by the keycap or the supporting mechanism to move up and down; and

the backlight source is electrically connected with the circuit board;

2. The optical switch key of claim 1, wherein the backlight source is disposed on the first side, and the optical transmitter and the optical receiver are disposed on the second side.

3. The optical switch key of claim 2, wherein the circuit board has a slot, and the blocking plate passes through the slot to block the optical path between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver.

4. An optical switch key, comprising:

the backlight source is electrically connected with the circuit board; and

5. The optical switch key of claim 1 or 4, wherein the supporting mechanism has a first support and a second support, the first support and the second support are movably connected between the circuit board and the key cap.

6. The optical switch key of claim 5, wherein the first and second supports respectively comprise a support body and at least one side arm, the at least one side arm extends from the support body, and the blocking piece is disposed on the at least one side arm or the support body.

7. The optical switch key of claim 4, wherein the blocking plate is disposed on one of the first and second supports of the supporting mechanism, and the circuit board has a slot, and the optical switch is disposed on the second surface, and the blocking plate can pass through the slot to block the optical signal.

8. An optical switch button as claimed in claim 4, wherein said optical signal is emitted along an optical path, said optical path being perpendicular or parallel to said elastic member.

9. The optical switch key of claim 4, wherein the blocking piece is parallel or perpendicular to the elastic member.

10. The optical switch key according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the supporting mechanism further comprises a bottom plate coupled to the first surface of the circuit board; the bottom plate is provided with a light hole area corresponding to the first area and a hole breaking area corresponding to the second area, the backlight source corresponds to the light hole area, and the light path of the optical switch is at least partially exposed in the hole breaking area.

11. An optical switch key as claimed in claim 1 or 4, wherein the key cap has a blocking piece, the circuit board has a slot, and the blocking piece passes through the slot to block the optical signal.

12. The optical switch key of claim 1 or 4, wherein the backlight source emits light downward, and the circuit board is provided with at least one opening for the light to pass through and irradiate toward the key cap.

13. The optical switch key of claim 12, further comprising a reflector disposed corresponding to the backlight source for reflecting the light toward the at least one opening.