TW201731276A - Electronic device and key module - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic device and a key module are provided. The electronic device includes a case, a key plate, a switch, a location sensor and a processor. The case has a first hole. The key plate is slidably disposed at the inner wall of the case. Portion of the key plate is exposed at the first hole, and the key plate is configured to slide between a first location and a second location. The switch is disposed at the case. The key plate is suitable for pressing the switch to enable the switch to send a switch signal. The location sensor is disposed at the case for sensing whether the key plate is located at the first location or the second location. The processor is electrically coupled to the switch and the location sensor and responses the switch signal by performing a first command or a second command according the sensing result of the location sensor.

Description

Electronic device and button module

The present invention relates to an electronic device and a button module, and more particularly to an electronic device and a multiplex button module.

In recent years, with the development of the technology industry, electronic devices such as notebook computers, tablet computers, and mobile phones have been widely used in daily life. The types and functions of electronic devices are becoming more diverse, and the convenience and practicality make these electronic devices more popular. In order to be portable, the user is increasingly strict with the requirements of whether the electronic device is thin or light. For this reason, how to make each component on the electronic device play more functions becomes a subject that needs to be studied.

The invention provides an electronic device and a button module, which can solve the problem that the button can only be simplex in the prior art.

The electronic device of the present invention comprises a casing, a button piece, a switch, a position sensor and a processor. The housing has a first opening. The button piece is slidably disposed on the inner wall of the housing. A portion of the button sheet is exposed to the first opening, and the button sheet is slidable between a first position and a second position. The switch is disposed in the housing. The button piece is adapted to be pressed in both the first position and the second position to actuate the switch to send a switching signal. The position sensing unit is disposed in the housing to sense that the button piece is in the first position or the second position. The processor is electrically coupled to the switch and the position sensing unit for responding to the switching signal according to the sensing result of the position sensing unit to perform a first command or a second command.

The button module of the present invention is mounted on an electronic device and includes a button piece, a switch and a position sensor. A housing of the electronic device has a first opening. The button piece is slidably disposed on the inner wall of the housing. A portion of the button sheet is exposed to the first opening, and the button sheet is slidable between a first position and a second position. The switch is configured to be disposed in the housing. The button piece is adapted to be pressed in both the first position and the second position to actuate the switch to send a switching signal. The position sensing unit is configured to be disposed in the housing and configured to sense that the button piece is in the first position or the second position. A processor of the electronic device is electrically coupled to the switch and the position sensing unit for responding to the switching signal according to the sensing result of the position sensing unit to perform a first command or a second command.

Based on the above, in the electronic device and the button module of the present invention, only a single switching signal can cause the processor to execute two kinds of instructions, thereby achieving the purpose of multiplexing.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. 2A is an internal schematic view of the electronic device of FIG. 1 at a button module. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A , in the embodiment, the electronic device 100 includes a housing 110 , a button piece 120 , a switch 130 , a position sensor 140 , and a processor 150 . The housing 110 has a first opening 112. The key sheet 120 is slidably disposed on an inner wall of the housing 110. A portion of the key sheet is exposed to the first opening 112. In other words, the key sheet 120 is slidably disposed in the electronic device 100, and at least a portion of the key sheet 120 can be seen through the first opening 112 from the outside of the electronic device 100. The key sheet 120 of the present embodiment is partially housed in the first opening 112, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The key sheet 120 is used to slide between a first position P12 of FIG. 2A and a second position P14 of FIG. 2B. The switch 130 is disposed on the housing 110. The button piece 120 is adapted to be pressed at the first position P12 of FIG. 2A and the second position P14 of FIG. 2B to actuate the switch 130 to send a switching signal.

The position sensing unit 140 is disposed in the housing 110 for sensing that the key sheet 120 is located at the first position P12 of FIG. 2A or the second position P14 of FIG. 2B. The processor 150 is electrically coupled to the switch 130 and the position sensing unit 140 for responding to the switching signal according to the sensing result of the position sensing unit 140 to perform a first command or a second command. In the drawings, the electrical coupling relationship between the processor 150, the switch 130 and the position sensing unit 140 is not shown. Because the processor 150 is electrically coupled to the switch 130 and the position sensing unit 140 is only a representation, the switching signal provided by the switch 130 can be transmitted to the processor 150 in an electrical form, and the sensing result provided by the position sensing unit 140 can be The form of the electrical is passed to the processor 150, and the manner in which the various electrical signals are transmitted is acceptable, and the invention is not limited thereto. In general, the relative position of the housing 110 and the switch 130 is fixed, and the key sheet 120 is movable relative to the housing 110. In addition, the key sheet 120, the switch 130 and the position sensor 140 constitute a key module 100A according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As can be seen from the above, when the user presses the button 120 when the button 120 is in the first position P12 of FIG. 2A, the button 120 presses the switch 130 to send the switch signal. At the same time, the position sensing unit 140 senses that the key sheet 120 is located at the first position P12. Therefore, the processor 150 will respond to the switching signal to perform the first command, for example, to cause the electronic device 100 to enter the photographing mode. On the other hand, when the user presses the button 120 when the button 120 is in the second position P14 of FIG. 2B, the button 120 also presses the switch 130 to send the switch signal. At the same time, the position sensing unit 140 senses that the key sheet 120 is located at the second position P14. Therefore, the processor 150 will respond to the switching signal for the second command, for example, to cause the electronic device 100 to enter the dialing mode. Thereby, the user can input two kinds of operation commands only by the single button piece 120. Moreover, the user's acceptance of a button having a sense of pressing is generally high. In addition, since the position sensing unit 140 can sense the position change of the key sheet 120, the movement of the key sheet 120 can also be used as an input command, and can be divided into two input commands even depending on the moving direction. In summary, the present invention can provide more than two kinds of operation commands with only a single button piece 120.

The electronic device 100 of the present embodiment is exemplified by a smart phone, but the electronic device of the present invention may also be a tablet computer or other electronic device. In addition, the position sensing unit 140 of the present embodiment includes a magnetic sensor 142 and a magnet 144. The magnetic sensor 142 is disposed on the housing 110, and the magnet 144 is disposed on the button 120. The magnetic sensor 142 is used for sensing. The position of the magnet 144 is measured. Because the relative position of the magnet 144 and the button piece 120 is fixed, the magnetic sensor 142 senses the position of the magnet 144 to determine that the sensing button piece 120 is located at the first position P12 of FIG. 2A or the second position P14 of FIG. 2B. . The magnetic sensor 142 can be a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor or other type of magnetic sensor.

The key sheet 120 of this embodiment has a second opening 122, and the housing 110 has a positioning post 114. The positioning post 114 passes through the second opening 122 and is confined to the second opening 122, thereby confining the key sheet 120 between the first position P12 of FIG. 2A and the second position P14 of FIG. 2B. The width of the middle section 122A of the second opening 122 of this embodiment is smaller than the width of the positioning post 114. Therefore, if the key sheet 120 is not deformed by force, the positioning post 114 is restrained at both ends of the second opening 122, so that the key sheet 120 is restrained at the first position P12 of FIG. 2A and the first position of FIG. 2B. Two positions between P14. When the user wants to change the position of the key sheet 120, an appropriate force is applied to push the key sheet 120 to be elastically deformed. At this time, the positioning post 114 can pass through the middle portion 122A of the second opening 122. Further, the housing 110 has, for example, a plurality of hooks 116. With these hooks 116, the key sheet 120 can be restricted in its sliding direction to prevent the key sheet 120 from being detached from the housing 110. In addition, the key sheet 120 of the present embodiment has a pressing portion 124. When the key sheet 120 is at the first position P12 of FIG. 2A or the second position P14 of FIG. 2B, the position of the pressing portion 124 corresponds to the switch 130. In other words, the protruding pressing portion 124 can be used to press the switch 130 in both positions.

3 is a schematic diagram of a button module according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the key module of this embodiment is similar to the previous embodiment, and only the difference between the two is explained here. The housing 210 of the embodiment has a first positioning post 212 and a second positioning post 214. When the key sheet 220 is located at the first position P22 and the second position P24, the first positioning post 212 and the second positioning post 214 are respectively abutted. That is, the first positioning post 212 and the second positioning post 214 limit the button piece 220 between the first position P22 and the second position P24.

In summary, in the electronic device and the button module of the present invention, the processor can execute different commands according to the user pressing the button at different positions. Therefore, the configuration of a single button chip can provide more than two command input options, which not only saves the space required for the button configuration, but also meets the needs of multiplex.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Electronic devices
100A‧‧‧ button module
110, 210‧‧‧ shell
112‧‧‧First opening
114‧‧‧Positioning column
116‧‧‧ hook
120‧‧‧Keys
122‧‧‧Second opening
122A‧‧‧The middle section of the second opening
124‧‧‧ Pressing Department
130‧‧‧ switch
140‧‧‧ position sensing unit
P12, P22‧‧‧ first position
P14, P24‧‧‧ second position
212‧‧‧First positioning column
214‧‧‧Second positioning column

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. 2A is an internal schematic view of the electronic device of FIG. 1 at a button module. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of the key sheet of the button module of FIG. 2A moved to another position. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a button module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

100A‧‧‧ button module

110‧‧‧shell

114‧‧‧Positioning column

116‧‧‧ hook

120‧‧‧Keys

122‧‧‧Second opening

122A‧‧‧The middle section of the second opening

124‧‧‧ Pressing Department

130‧‧‧ switch

140‧‧‧ position sensing unit

142‧‧‧Magnetic sensor

144‧‧‧ magnet

P12‧‧‧ first position

Claims (14)

An electronic device includes: a casing having a first opening; a button piece slidingly disposed on an inner wall of the casing, wherein a portion of the button piece is exposed to the first opening, and the button piece is used a switch is disposed between the first position and the second position; a switch is disposed in the housing, wherein the button is adapted to be pressed in the first position and the second position to actuate the switch to send a switch signal a position sensing unit disposed in the housing for sensing the button piece in the first position or the second position; and a processor electrically coupled to the switch and the position sensing unit The switching signal is returned according to the sensing result of the position sensing unit to perform a first command or a second command. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the position sensing unit comprises a magnetic sensor and a magnet, the magnetic sensor is disposed in the housing, and the magnet is disposed on the button, the magnetic force A sensor is used to sense the position of the magnet. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the button piece has a second opening, the housing has a positioning post, and the positioning post passes through the second opening to limit the button piece to the Between the first position and the second position. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein a width of a middle portion of the second opening is smaller than a width of the positioning post, and the positioning post can pass through a middle portion of the second opening when the button piece is elastically deformed. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the housing has a first positioning post and a second positioning post, and the button piece is respectively located against the first positioning when the first position and the second position are located; a post and the second positioning post. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the housing has a plurality of hooks for limiting the button to be in a sliding direction thereof. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the button piece has a pressing portion, and the position of the pressing portion corresponds to the switch when the button piece is in the first position and the second position. A button module for mounting on an electronic device, comprising: a button piece for sliding on an inner wall of a casing of the electronic device, wherein a part of the button piece is exposed to a first part of the casing Opening a hole, and the button piece is for sliding between a first position and a second position; a switch for being disposed in the housing, wherein the button piece is suitable for both the first position and the second position Pressing to activate the switch to send a switch signal; and a position sensing unit configured to be disposed in the housing and configured to sense the button piece in the first position or the second position, wherein the electronic device is The processor is electrically coupled to the switch and the position sensing unit for responding to the sensing result of the position sensing unit to switch the signal to perform a first command or a second command. The button module of claim 8, wherein the position sensing unit comprises a magnetic sensor and a magnet, the magnetic sensor is disposed in the housing, and the magnet is disposed on the button, A magnetic sensor is used to sense the position of the magnet. The button module of claim 8, wherein the button piece has a second opening, the housing has a positioning post, the positioning post passes through the second opening to limit the button to the button Between the first position and the second position. The button module of claim 10, wherein a width of a middle portion of the second opening is smaller than a width of the positioning post, and the positioning post can pass through a middle portion of the second opening when the button is elastically deformed . The button module of claim 8, wherein the housing has a first positioning post and a second positioning post, and the button piece is respectively located against the first position and the second position. a positioning post and the second positioning post. The button module of claim 8, wherein the housing has a plurality of hooks for limiting the button to be in a sliding direction thereof. The button module of claim 8, wherein the button piece has a pressing portion, and the position of the pressing portion corresponds to the switch when the button piece is in the first position and the second position.