TW201608585A - Keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

A keyboard includes a board, a keyswitch, and a frame. The keyswitch is disposed on the board and includes a cap and first and second linkages. The first and second linkages are disposed between the board and the cap and are pivotally connected to the board and the cap, so as to make the cap movable relative to the board between a release position and a close position. The frame is movably disposed on the board and has a hole formed corresponding to the keyswitch. The hole sleeves the keyswitch to make the frame abut against the first linkage. When the frame moves transversely toward the keyswitch, the frame pushes the first linkage to rotate so as to make the cap move from the release position to the close position with rotation of the first and second linkages.

Description

keyboard

The present invention relates to a keyboard, and more particularly to a keyboard that uses a keyboard frame to push a first link of a button to pivot to close a keycap.

In terms of the current usage habits of notebook computers, the keyboard is one of the indispensable input devices for entering text, symbols or numbers. Recently, due to the trend of thinning notebook computers, the keyboards applied to notebook computers have also become thinner.

Conventional keys are often provided with elastic elements, such as rubber washers (Rubber Dome), etc., as a source of spring force for the keycap reset when used as a button. However, the conventional elastic member has a specific height, so when the upper cover of the notebook computer is folded with the lower casing, in order to avoid the keycap provided on the lower casing and the display screen disposed on the upper cover, the upper cover and the lower cover There is often a gap between the housings to accommodate the keycaps, which limits the appearance of the notebook, which is not conducive to the thinning trend of the notebook.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a keyboard that uses a keyboard frame to push a first link of a button to pivot to close a keycap to solve the above problem.

According to an embodiment, the keyboard of the present invention includes a bottom panel, at least one button, and a keyboard frame. The at least one button is disposed on the bottom plate and includes a keycap, a first link, and a second link. The first link and the second link are disposed between the bottom plate and the key cap and are pivotally connected to the bottom plate and the key cap to drive the key cap to a release position and a receiving position relative to the bottom plate Move between positions. The keyboard frame is movably disposed on the bottom plate and corresponds to at least one a hole is formed in the position of the button, the hole is sleeved on the at least one button to abut the keyboard frame, and the keyboard frame moves horizontally when approaching the at least one button. The frame urges the first link to pivot such that the keycap moves from the release position to the collapsed position with the first link and the second link.

In summary, the present invention adopts a design in which the keyboard frame is horizontally moved to push the first link of the button to pivot, so that the key cap can be moved to the fold as the first link and the second link pivot. Positioning, thereby achieving the effect of lowering the height of the keycap, so that the keyboard can be in a state in which the height of the keycap is lowered to further reduce the overall height of the keyboard, thereby facilitating the thin design of the portable electronic device and effectively Solve the problem of the keycap injury and display screen mentioned in the prior art.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention will be further understood from the following embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

10‧‧‧ keyboard

12‧‧‧floor

13, 23‧‧‧ shaft seat

14‧‧‧ button

16‧‧‧ keyboard frame

18‧‧‧First magnetic zone

20‧‧‧Second magnetic zone

22‧‧‧Key Cap

24‧‧‧First Link

26‧‧‧Second link

28‧‧‧Breaking

30‧‧‧ protruding guiding groove

32‧‧‧ Slider

34‧‧‧Depression

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a keyboard according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a partial exploded view of the keyboard of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the keyboard of Figure 1 along section line X-X.

Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the keycap of Figure 3 in a collapsed position.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a keyboard 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial exploded view of the keyboard 10 of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the keyboard 10 includes a bottom plate 12, a plurality of buttons 14, and a keyboard frame 16. It should be noted that the keyboard 10 is preferably applied to a portable electronic device (such as a notebook computer) generally having an opening and closing mechanism composed of an upper cover and a lower cover. In practical applications, the keyboard 10 can adopt a common interlocking design to drive the design that the keyboard frame 16 can move horizontally relative to the bottom plate 12. For example, the keyboard 10 can use a link linkage mechanism to cause the keyboard frame 16 to move relatively horizontally as the upper cover of the portable electronic device is opened and closed relative to the lower casing. As for the structural design and function principle of the link linkage mechanism, The system is commonly used in the prior art, so it will not be described here.

For simplicity of explanation, the following is only for the structural design between the bottom plate 12 and the keyboard frame 16 and the single button 14, and the structural design between the other buttons 14 and the bottom plate 12 and the keyboard frame 16 can be deduced. Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, and FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the keyboard 10 of FIG. 1 along a section line X-X. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the keyboard 10 is magnetically attracted to achieve the effect that the button 14 can be automatically returned. For example, the bottom plate 12 has a first magnetic area 18 and a button. 14 includes a second magnetic zone 20, a keycap 22, a first link 24, and a second link 26 disposed at a location of the keycap 22 corresponding to the first magnetic zone 18. The first magnetic region 18 may be a protruding plate that is bent and formed from the bottom plate 12, in other words, the first magnetic region 18 may be integrally formed with the bottom plate 12, and when the bottom plate 12 is made of a magnetic conductive material (for example, iron or other metal), The first magnetic region 18 is a magnetically permeable material. The second magnetic region 20 can be a magnetic member (e.g., a magnet) to create a magnetic attraction with the first magnetic region 18. It should be noted that the first magnetic region 18 may also be a magnetic member or a magnetic conductive material independently disposed on the bottom plate 12. When the first magnetic region 18 is a magnetic member, the second magnetic region 20 may also be a magnetically permeable material disposed on the keycap 22. In addition, in another embodiment, the first magnetic region 18 and the second magnetic region 20 may both be magnetic members. In other words, in the present invention, one of the first magnetic region 18 and the second magnetic region 20 It is a magnetic member, and the other of the first magnetic region 18 and the second magnetic region 20 is a magnetic member or a magnetic conductive material, depending on the practical application.

The first link 24 and the second link 26 are disposed between the bottom plate 12 and the keycap 22 and are rotatably coupled to the bottom plate 12 and the key cap 22, respectively. In this embodiment, the first link 24 and the second link 26 are parallel to each other and rotatable in the same direction, and the first link 24 is rotatably coupled to the rotating shaft seat 13 of the bottom plate 12 and the rotating shaft of the key cap 22, respectively. The seat 23 and the second link 26 are rotatably respectively The rotating shaft seat 13 of the bottom plate 12 and the rotating shaft seat 23 of the keycap 22 are connected (but not limited thereto) to drive the keycap 22 to move up and down relative to the bottom plate 12. The keyboard frame 16 is movably disposed on the bottom plate 12 and has a hole 28 formed at a position corresponding to the button 14 , and the hole 28 is sleeved on the button 14 to abut the keyboard frame 16 against the first link 24 (as shown in FIG. 3 ) Shown).

In addition, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the bottom plate 12 can be extended with a protruding guiding groove 30 and the keyboard frame 16 can have a corresponding slider 32 (shown in broken lines in FIG. 3), the slider The 32 series is slidably disposed in the protruding guiding groove 30 to guide the keyboard frame 16 to move horizontally relative to the bottom plate 12, thereby further preventing the keyboard frame 16 from being obliquely displaced during the movement relative to the bottom plate 12 and the button 14 Other components cause interference jamming or collision damage. It should be noted that the design of the present invention for guiding the horizontal movement of the keyboard frame 16 relative to the bottom plate 12 is not limited to the above embodiment, and other common structural guiding designs may be used, for example, a guiding design using a slider and a guide rail to cooperate with each other. Etc., the related descriptions are common in the prior art, and will not be described again here.

The following is a detailed description of the principle of the height adjustment of the button 14, please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, and FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the keycap 22 of the third figure at the folding position. When the keyboard frame 16 is horizontally moved from the position as shown in FIG. 3 to the bottom plate 12 to the position shown in FIG. 4 (that is, when moving horizontally in the direction of the proximity of the button 14), the first link 24 is abutted. The keyboard frame 16 will push the first link 24 to pivot so that the first link 24 and the second link 26 pivot together with respect to the bottom plate 12, with the first link 24 and the second link 26 The second magnetic region 20 fixed to the keycap 22 can overcome the magnetic attraction between the second magnetic region 20 and the first magnetic region 18 and move away from the first magnetic region 18 to the fourth The position shown in the figure further causes the keycap 22 to move from the release position as shown in Fig. 3 to the collapsed position as shown in Fig. 4 in a corresponding manner in an arcuate path. In this way, when the keyboard 10 is applied to a portable electronic device (such as a notebook computer) generally having an opening and closing mechanism composed of an upper cover and a lower casing, the keyboard frame 16 can be carried along with the linkage mechanism. The upper cover of the electronic device is closed relative to the lower casing and horizontally moved relative to the bottom plate 12, so that The keycap 22 is pushed by the keyboard frame 16 to move to the folded position as shown in FIG. 4, thereby achieving the effect that the keycap 22 can lower its height as the portable electronic device is closed, in other words, when the keyboard The frame 16 is horizontally moved relative to the bottom plate 12 to a position as shown in FIG. 4, and the keyboard 10 can be in a state in which the height of the keycap is lowered to further reduce the overall height of the keyboard 10, thereby facilitating the thin design of the portable electronic device. And effectively solve the problem of the keycap injury and the display screen mentioned in the prior art. It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the keyboard frame 16 may be formed with a recess 34 corresponding to the position at which the first link 24 is pivotally connected to one end of the bottom plate 12, whereby the keyboard frame 16 is formed. When the first link 24 is pivoted to move the keycap 22 to the position of the retracted position as shown in FIG. 4, the recessed portion 34 can accommodate the first link 24 to be pivotally connected to one end of the bottom plate 12, thereby effectively The problem that the keyboard frame 16 interferes with the first link 24 to jam or collide is prevented.

On the other hand, if the keyboard frame 16 is horizontally moved back from the position shown in Fig. 4 back to the position shown in Fig. 3 (i.e., horizontally moving away from the button 14), in the process, due to the keyboard frame 16 The first link 24 is no longer abutted, and therefore the magnetic attraction generated between the first magnetic zone 18 and the second magnetic zone 20 drives the keycap 22 with the first link 24 and the second link 26. It pivots and moves back from the retracted position as shown in Fig. 4 to the release position as shown in Fig. 3 in an arcuate path. In this way, when the keyboard 10 is horizontally moved relative to the bottom plate 12 by the linkage mechanism with the upper cover of the portable electronic device being opened relative to the lower casing, the key cap 22 can be interlocked as shown in FIG. The release position moves back to the original height for the user to perform a subsequent pressing operation, that is, when the keycap 22 is in the release position as shown in FIG. 3, the user can apply a force to press the keycap 22 to The keycap 22 is moved downward to a position where the button signal can be triggered to complete the button pressing operation to perform a corresponding input function. At this time, the second magnetic region 20 disposed on the keycap 22 is moved downward by the key cap 22. Driving to overcome the magnetic attraction between the first magnetic region 18 and the second magnetic region 20 and then moving away from the first magnetic region 18, and when the user stops pressing the key cap 22, the second magnetic region 20 Driven by the magnetic attraction between the first magnetic region 18 and the second magnetic region 20, the position is moved back to the position shown in FIG. 3, thereby driving the keycap 22 to move back to the release as shown in FIG. The position is used to achieve the function of automatically returning the keycap 22 for the user to perform the next button press operation.

It is worth mentioning that the design of the automatic returning of the driving keycap 22 is not limited to the magnetic attraction method adopted in the above embodiment, and other common automatic returning design can also be adopted, for example, using a spring or rubber washer (Rubber Dome) The design of the keycap 22 and the bottom plate 12 to provide the return spring force, etc., as for its related description, is common in the prior art, and therefore will not be described herein.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention adopts a design in which the keyboard frame is horizontally moved to push the first link of the button to pivot, so that the key cap can be moved to and close with the pivoting of the first link and the second link. Positioning, thereby achieving the effect of lowering the height of the keycap, so that the keyboard can be in a state in which the height of the keycap is lowered to further reduce the overall height of the keyboard, thereby facilitating the thin design and effective of the portable electronic device. The problem of the keycap injury and the display screen mentioned in the prior art is solved.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

10‧‧‧ keyboard

12‧‧‧floor

13, 23‧‧‧ shaft seat

14‧‧‧ button

16‧‧‧ keyboard frame

18‧‧‧First magnetic zone

20‧‧‧Second magnetic zone

22‧‧‧Key Cap

24‧‧‧First Link

26‧‧‧Second link

28‧‧‧Breaking

30‧‧‧ protruding guiding groove

32‧‧‧ Slider

34‧‧‧Depression

Claims (8)

A keyboard comprising: a bottom plate; at least one button disposed on the bottom plate, the at least one button comprising: a key cap; and a first link and a second link disposed on the bottom plate and the key cap And being pivotally connected to the bottom plate and the key cap to drive the key cap to move between a release position and a folding position relative to the bottom plate; and a keyboard frame movably disposed on the bottom plate And forming a hole in the position corresponding to the at least one button, the hole is sleeved on the at least one button to make the keyboard frame abut the first link, when the keyboard frame is in a direction close to the at least one button When moved, the keyboard frame urges the first link to pivot such that the keycap moves from the release position to the collapsed position with the first link and the second link. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the bottom plate has a first magnetic region, the at least one button further comprises a second magnetic region, wherein the second magnetic region is disposed at a position corresponding to the first magnetic region of the keycap When the keyboard frame moves horizontally away from the at least one button, the magnetic attraction generated between the first magnetic region and the second magnetic region drives the keycap to accompany the first link and the second connection The rod moves from the collapsed position to the released position. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein one of the first magnetic region and the second magnetic region is a magnetic member, and the other of the first magnetic region and the second magnetic region is a A magnetic member or a magnetically conductive member. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein the first magnetic zone is a protruding plate that is bent from the bottom plate. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the keyboard frame forms a recess corresponding to a position at which the first link is pivotally connected to one end of the bottom plate, and the keyboard frame pushes the first link to pivot the key When the cap moves to the position of the folding position, the recess portion accommodates the end of the first link pivotally connected to the bottom plate. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein a protrusion guiding groove is formed on the bottom plate, the keyboard frame has a corresponding one of the sliders, and the slider is slidably disposed in the protruding guiding groove to guide the keyboard. The frame moves horizontally relative to the bottom plate. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the first link and the second link are parallel to each other and pivotable in the same direction to drive the keycap relative to the bottom plate between the release position and the retracted position mobile. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the trajectory of the key cap moving relative to the bottom plate between the release position and the retracted position is curved.