TW201931408A - Optical keyswitch - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical keyswitch includes a housing having a movable portion, a key shaft movable disposed on the housing, a resilient member disposed in the housing and a switch module including a circuit board, an emitter, and a receiver. The key shaft is selectively in a non-pressed position and a pressed position. The emitter emits an optical signal along a light path to the receiver. When the key shaft is in the non-pressed position, the movable portion has a first spatial relation with the light path and the receiver receives the optical signal of a first intensity. When the key shaft moves, in response to a pressing force, from the non-pressed position to the pressed position, the key shaft compresses the resilient member and pushes the movable portion to move, so the optical signal received by the receiver has a second intensity different from the first intensity and the switch module is triggered to generate a triggering signal.

Description

Optical switch button

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention generally relates to an optical switch button. More specifically, the present invention relates to an optical switch button that activates a switch in response to a change in an optical signal receiving state in response to a pressing action.

Membrane switch buttons and mechanical buttons are commonly used button types for conventional keyboards. The main difference between the membrane switch button and the mechanical button is that the circuit structure for generating the signal is different. Generally, the membrane switch button is a switching element generated by using a thin film circuit layer as a signal. When the key cap is pressed to trigger the thin film circuit layer, the upper circuit layer is deformed so that the switch contact of the upper circuit layer contacts the corresponding switch of the lower circuit layer. Point, which in turn causes the membrane switch to conduct to generate a signal. However, the thin film circuit layer is easily damaged when it is frequently used or improperly applied, and it is difficult to repair, and when the user presses the keycap to trigger the thin film circuit layer, there is a lack of sharp step feedback, resulting in a poor hand feeling, which cannot be satisfied. The sense of manipulation.

The mechanical button is a switching element that uses a metal plate and a metal contact to turn on or off as a signal. However, the metal piece and the metal contact are easily damaged by the impact, which affects the service life of the button, and the metal piece or the metal contact is rusted due to moisture, which causes poor conduction and affects the stability of the button. Moreover, the conventional mechanical buttons are generally not suitable for portable electronic devices that require high thinning, such as notebook computers, because of their complicated structure and large size.

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch button that utilizes a light emitter And the switch module formed by the light receiver, and the component in the button changes the receiving state of the optical signal with the pressing stroke, providing a fast and accurate trigger function.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch button that integrates an optical switch in a low-key button structure and selectively changes the receiving intensity of the optical signal by a movable member or a movable portion that can be laterally displaced to reduce the vertical direction. Space requirements, suitable for portable electronic devices.

In one embodiment, the optical switch button of the present invention comprises a housing, a movable shaft, an elastic member and a switch module, wherein the housing has a deformable portion; the movable shaft is movably disposed on the housing, and the movable shaft is pressed according to the pressure The elastic member is disposed in the housing and the elastic member is coupled to the movable shaft. When the pressing force is removed, the elastic member returns the movable shaft to the unpressed position. The switch module comprises a circuit board, a light emitter and a light receiver. The light emitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light emitter emits an optical signal, and the optical signal passes along the optical transmission path to the optical receiver. When the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion has a first spatial relationship with the optical transmission path, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the first intensity; when the movable shaft moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position according to the pressing force The movable shaft moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member and push the deformable portion to move, so that the deformable portion and the optical transmission path system no longer have a first spatial relationship, so that the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the second The intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity, to trigger the switch module to generate the trigger signal.

In an embodiment, when the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion enters the light transmission path portion less, the deformable portion blocks the optical signal amount, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the first intensity; When the shaft is in the pressing position, the deformable portion moves laterally away from the moving path, and the deformable portion enters a portion of the light transmitting path, and the deformable portion blocks the amount of the light signal, and the light is blocked. The optical signal received by the receiver is a second intensity such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity.

In one embodiment, the movable shaft has an acting portion that protrudes along the moving path and corresponds to the deformable portion. When the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the acting portion and the deformable portion at least partially overlap in the direction of the parallel motion path; When the shaft moves along the movement path to push the deformable portion laterally, the acting portion and the deformable portion are at least partially in contact with each other in the direction of the vertical movement path.

In one embodiment, the active portion has a first inclined surface, the deformable portion has a second inclined surface, and the first inclined surface corresponds to the second inclined surface. When the movable shaft moves along the moving path, the first inclined surface moves relative to the second inclined surface to enable The deformation portion moves laterally.

In one embodiment, the circuit board has a escaping space. When the movable shaft is at the pressing position, the end of the acting portion extends beyond the deformable portion into the escaping space.

In one embodiment, the housing is formed by combining an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing has a through hole and an upper engaging portion, and the movable shaft is movably inserted into the through hole to position the elastic member, the deformable portion The lower casing has a lower engaging portion for engaging with the upper engaging portion to connect the upper casing to the lower casing.

In one embodiment, the housing is formed by combining an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing has a through hole and an upper engaging portion, and the movable shaft is movably inserted into the through hole to position the elastic member, the deformable portion The upper housing has a lower engaging portion for engaging with the upper engaging portion to connect the upper housing to the lower housing.

In one embodiment, the housing further has a grating portion, the grating portion has a grating aperture and is located between the light emitter and the light receiver, and the deformable portion has a horizontally extending axis. When the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the horizontally extending shaft fails A grating aperture; the horizontally extending axis passes through the grating aperture as the deformable portion moves laterally away from the path of motion.

In one embodiment, the circuit board further has a positioning hole, and the lower housing has a positioning post, and the positioning post is inserted into the positioning hole to position the housing on the circuit board.

In one embodiment, the optical switch button of the present invention further includes a light guiding column and a backlight source, wherein the light guiding column is disposed in the housing corresponding to the elastic member, and the backlight source is electrically connected to the circuit board corresponding to the light guiding column to provide light to be emitted toward the movable axis.

In another embodiment, the optical switch button of the present invention comprises a housing, a movable shaft, an elastic member, a switch module and a shielding member, wherein the movable shaft is movably disposed on the housing, and the movable shaft can be along the pressing force according to the pressure Moving the path up and down in the unpressed position and the pressed position; the elastic member is disposed in the housing, the elastic member is coupled to the movable shaft, and when the pressing force is removed, the elastic member returns the movable shaft to the unpressed position; The group includes a circuit board, a light emitter and a light receiver. The light emitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light emitter emits an optical signal, and the optical signal passes along the light transmission path to the light receiver; the shielding component is disposed on the optical receiver case. When the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the shielding member has a first spatial relationship with the light transmission path, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the first intensity; when the movable shaft moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position according to the pressing force The movable shaft moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member and drive the shielding member to move, so that the shielding member and the optical transmission path system no longer have a first spatial relationship, so that the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the second intensity, and The second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate the trigger signal.

In an embodiment, when the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the shielding member enters the light transmission path portion less, the shielding member blocks the optical signal amount, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the first intensity; when the movable axis is located; When the position is pressed, the shielding member moves laterally away from the moving path, the shielding member enters the optical transmission path portion, the shielding member blocks the optical signal, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the second intensity, so that the second intensity is less than First strength.

In an embodiment, when the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the shielding member is located in the light transmission path, the shielding member blocks the optical signal, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the first intensity; when the movable axis is at the pressing position, the shielding is performed. The piece moves laterally away from the light transmission path, and the light signal received by the light receiver is a second intensity such that the second intensity is greater than the first intensity.

In one embodiment, the housing is formed by combining an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing has a through hole and an upper engaging portion, and the movable shaft is movably inserted in the through hole to position the elastic member, and the lower housing The lower engaging portion is configured to engage with the upper engaging portion to connect the upper casing to the lower casing, and the casing further has a grating portion, the grating portion has a grating hole and is located between the light emitter and the light receiver The shielding member has a shielding portion, and the shielding portion selectively shields the grating aperture with respect to the light emitting portion according to the movement of the movable shaft.

In another embodiment, the optical switch button of the present invention comprises a key cap, a support mechanism, a return mechanism and a switch module, wherein the support mechanism is disposed under the key cap and supports the keycap to move up/down; the return mechanism is disposed under the key cap In order to provide a restoring force, the key cap is returned to the position before pressing after pressing, the recovery mechanism comprises a housing and an elastic member, the elastic member is disposed in the housing, and the housing has a deformable portion; the switch module comprises a circuit board, The light emitter and the light receiver, the light emitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light emitter emits an optical signal corresponding to the light receiver. When the keycap is not pressed, the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the first intensity; when the keycap is pressed, the keycap drives the supporting mechanism to move, so that the elastic member is compressed and the protruding portion pushes against the deformable portion to change the light. The optical signal received by the receiver is a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal.

In one embodiment, the support mechanism includes an inner bracket and an outer bracket. The inner bracket is pivotally connected to the inner side of the outer bracket to form a scissor supporting mechanism, and the supporting mechanism has a protruding portion, and the protruding portion extends from the inner bracket toward the inner side of the inner bracket. .

In one embodiment, when the button cap is pressed to move the support mechanism, the protrusion pushes against the deformable portion to at least partially block the light signal such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity.

In an embodiment, when the keycap is not pressed, the protruding portion and the deformable portion at least partially overlap in a moving direction parallel to the keycap; when the keycap is pressed, the protruding portion pushes against the deformable portion to move laterally, and the protruding portion At least partial contact with the deformable portion in the direction of movement of the vertical keycap.

In one embodiment, the protruding portion has a first inclined surface, and the deformable portion has a second inclined surface. The first inclined surface corresponds to the second inclined surface. When the keycap drives the supporting mechanism to move, the first inclined surface moves relative to the second inclined surface to enable The deformation portion moves laterally.

In one embodiment, the housing further has a grating portion, and the grating portion is located between the light emitter and the light receiver. When the key cap is pressed, the support mechanism pushes against the deformable portion to change the relative position of the deformable portion and the grating portion. .

Compared with the prior art, the optical switch button of the present invention uses the light emitter and the light receiver as the switching signal, and achieves a fast and accurate pressing signal through any suitable component of the button to change the receiving state of the optical signal with the pressing stroke. The conversion can be applied to various key structures for portable electronic devices. Furthermore, the optical switch button of the present invention can have a grating structure to avoid interference of external light to improve the correctness of operation, and can control the trigger position when pressing to reduce the trigger point error. In addition, the optical switch button of the present invention selectively changes the receiving intensity of the optical signal by means of a laterally displaceable shield (or deformable portion) to reduce the space requirement in the vertical direction.

10, 10', 11, 11' ‧ ‧ optical switch button

100, 100’‧‧‧ shell

110, 110'‧‧‧ lower casing

111‧‧‧Deformable Department

1111‧‧‧second slope

1112‧‧‧Connecting Department

1113‧‧‧ Shield

112‧‧‧Under the Carding Department

113‧‧‧Positioning column

114‧‧‧ Positioning Department

1141‧‧‧ 容部

115‧‧‧Limited

116‧‧‧ Impact Department

117‧‧‧ openings

118‧‧‧Raster Department

1181‧‧‧Grating aperture

120, 120'‧‧‧ upper casing

121‧‧‧through hole

122‧‧‧上卡合部

123‧‧‧Deformable Department

1231‧‧‧second bevel

1232‧‧‧Connecting Department

1233‧‧‧ occlusion

130‧‧‧Activity axis

131‧‧‧Action Department

1311‧‧‧First bevel

132‧‧‧Acoustic Department

133‧‧‧Limited

134‧‧‧ joints

140‧‧‧Flexible parts

141‧‧ ‧ spring body

142‧‧‧ Positioning Department

143‧‧‧Extension arm

150‧‧‧Switch Module

151‧‧‧ circuit board

152‧‧‧Light emitter

153‧‧‧Optical Receiver

154‧‧‧ jack

155‧‧‧ escaping space

160‧‧‧Backlight unit

161‧‧‧Light guide

162‧‧‧Backlight source

170‧‧‧Shields

171‧‧‧ Positioning Department

172‧‧‧ Force Department

1721‧‧‧Slope

173‧‧‧ occlusion

20‧‧‧Optical switch button

200‧‧‧shell

210‧‧‧ Lower case

211a, 211b‧‧‧ card slot

30, 30', 31, 31' ‧ ‧ optical switch button

310‧‧‧Key Cap

320‧‧‧Support institutions

321‧‧‧ bracket

322‧‧‧Outer bracket

323‧‧‧ Highlights

3231‧‧‧First bevel

330‧‧‧Responsive agency

331,331'‧‧‧ shell

332‧‧‧Flexible parts

333‧‧‧Deformable Department

3331‧‧‧second bevel

3332‧‧‧Connecting Department

3333‧‧‧Shield

334, 334'‧‧‧ upper casing

3341‧‧‧through hole

3342‧‧‧上卡合部

3343‧‧‧Gap section

3344‧‧‧ Notch

3345‧‧‧ Left arm

3346‧‧‧Right arm

335, 335’‧‧‧ lower casing

3351‧‧‧Under the Carding Department

3352‧‧‧ Positioning Department

3353, 3354‧‧‧Affiliation

336‧‧‧ Activities Department

3361‧‧‧Limited

3362‧‧‧Acoustic Department

337‧‧‧Raster Department

338‧‧‧Deformable Department

3381‧‧‧Second slope

3382‧‧‧Connecting Department

3383‧‧‧Shield

340‧‧‧Switch Module

341‧‧‧ boards

3411‧‧‧ openings

3412‧‧‧ escaping space

342‧‧‧Light emitter

343‧‧‧Optical Receiver

350‧‧‧floor

351, 352‧‧‧ connectors

360‧‧‧Backlight source

370‧‧‧Handle elastic parts

371‧‧‧ Positioning Department

372‧‧‧Extension arm

400, 400’‧‧‧ shell

410, 410'‧‧‧ lower casing

420‧‧‧Upper casing

421‧‧‧Deformation Department

4211‧‧‧Connecting Department

4212‧‧‧Shield

411‧‧‧Deformable Department

4111‧‧‧Connecting Department

4112‧‧‧Shield

530, 530’ ‧ ‧ replies

531, 531'‧‧‧ shell

534‧‧‧Upper casing

535, 535'‧‧‧ lower casing

533‧‧‧Deformable Department

5331‧‧‧Connecting Department

5332‧‧‧Shield

538‧‧‧Deformable Department

5381‧‧‧Connecting Department

5382‧‧‧Shield

L‧‧‧ horizontal extension axis

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are respectively schematic diagrams showing the explosion of the optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention at different viewing angles.

FIG. 1C is a schematic top view showing the combination of the upper housing of the optical switch button of FIG. 1A.

Figure 1D is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper housing along the line AA of Figure 1C.

2A and 2B are schematic views of the housing at different viewing angles according to an embodiment of the invention.

2C is a schematic view showing the position of the housing of the lower portion of FIG. 2B together with the light emitter and the light receiver.

3A-3D are schematic cross-sectional views of the optical switch button along the tangent line BB of FIG. 1C including the upper housing at different stroke positions.

4A and 4B are schematic diagrams showing the explosion of the optical switch button at different viewing angles according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

4C is a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical switch button according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

5A to 5D are schematic cross-sectional views of the optical switch button of FIG. 4A at different stroke positions.

6A and FIG. 6B are respectively schematic diagrams showing explosions of optical switch buttons at different viewing angles according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6C is a schematic top view showing the combination of the upper housings of the optical switch button of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 6D is a perspective view showing the partial cutout of the upper casing of the optical switch button of FIG. 6A.

Figure 7 is a schematic view showing the assembly of the housing and the shield member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8A and 8B are partial top views of the optical switch button in an unpressed position and a pressed position, respectively.

9A and FIG. 9B are respectively partial top views of the optical switch button in the unpressed position and the pressed position according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic exploded view of an optical switch button according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

11A and 11B are schematic views of the upper and lower housings of the optical switch button of FIG. 10, respectively.

12A and FIG. 12B are a top view and a perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 10 not showing the key cap Figure.

FIG. 13 is a schematic exploded view of an optical switch button according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

14A and 14B are schematic views of the housing of the optical switch button of FIG. 13 at different viewing angles.

15A and 15B are a top view and a perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 13 not showing the keycap.

16A and FIG. 16B are respectively exploded views of the optical switch button according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention at different viewing angles.

FIG. 16C is a schematic top view showing the combination of the upper housings of the optical switch button of FIG. 16A.

Figure 16D is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper housing taken along line CC of Figure 16C.

17A and 17B are schematic views of the housing at different viewing angles according to an embodiment of the invention.

18A and 18B are schematic cross-sectional views showing the optical switch button including the upper case at the unpressed position and the pressed position along the line DD of FIG. 16C.

19A and FIG. 19B are respectively exploded views of the optical switch button according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention at different viewing angles.

FIG. 19C is a schematic top view showing the combination of the upper housings of the optical switch button of FIG. 19A.

Figure 19D is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line EE of Figure 19C.

20A and 20B are schematic views of the housing at different viewing angles according to an embodiment of the invention.

21A and 21B are schematic cross-sectional views showing the optical switch button including the upper case at the unpressed position and the pressed position along the tangent line FF of FIG. 19C.

Figure 22 is a schematic exploded view of an optical switch button according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 23 is a schematic view of the lower housing of the optical switch button of Figure 22.

24A and FIG. 24B are a top view and a perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 22 not showing the key cap Figure.

Figure 25 is a schematic exploded view of an optical switch button in accordance with a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 26 is a schematic view of the upper housing of the optical switch button of Figure 25.

27A and 27B are a top view and a perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 25 not showing the keycap.

The present invention provides an optical switch button that can be applied to any push-type input device (such as a keyboard) or integrated into any suitable electronic device (such as a button of a portable electronic device or a keyboard of a notebook computer) to provide fast It also has precise triggering and is suitable for a variety of key structure designs. The structure and operation of the components of the optical switch button of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

1A to FIG. 5D are schematic diagrams of the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are respectively exploded views of the optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1C is the optical switch button of FIG. 1A. The upper schematic view of the upper housing is not shown, and FIG. 1D is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper housing along the tangent AA of FIG. 1C. As shown in FIG. 1A to FIG. 1D, the optical switch button 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 100, a movable shaft 130, an elastic member 140, and a switch module 150. The housing 100 has a deformable portion 111. The movable shaft 130 is movably disposed on the housing 100, and the movable shaft 130 is movable up and down along the movement path to the unpressed position and the pressed position in response to the pressing force. The elastic member 140 is disposed in the housing 100, and the elastic member 140 is coupled to the movable shaft 130. When the pressing force is removed, the elastic member 140 returns the movable shaft 130 to the unpressed position. The switch module 150 includes a circuit board 151, a light emitter 152, and a light receiver 153. The light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 are electrically connected to the circuit board 151, and the light emitter 152 emits an optical signal, and the optical signal reaches the optical interface along the optical transmission path. Receiver 153. When the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 111 has a first spatial relationship with the optical transmission path, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the first intensity. When the movable shaft 130 moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position in response to the pressing force, the movable shaft 130 moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member 140 and push against the deformable portion 111, so that the deformable portion 111 and the light transmitting path are not The first spatial relationship is obtained, so that the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity, so that the switch module 150 is triggered to generate the trigger signal.

In addition, the optical switch button 10 can optionally include a backlight unit 160 for generating light to form a light-emitting button. For example, the backlight unit 160 includes a light guide column 161 and a backlight source 162. The light guide column 161 is disposed in the housing 100 corresponding to the elastic member 140, and the backlight source 162 is electrically connected to the circuit board 151 corresponding to the light guide column 161 to provide light.

The housing 100 is preferably formed by combining the upper housing 120 and the lower housing 110 to form an accommodation space therein for providing other components of the optical switch button 10 (for example, the elastic member 140, the light guide column 161, and the like). In this embodiment, the upper housing 120 has a through hole 121 and an upper engaging portion 122. The movable shaft 130 is movably inserted into the through hole 121 to position the elastic member 140. The lower housing 110 has a lower engaging portion 112 for engaging with the upper engaging portion 122, so that the upper housing 120 is coupled to the lower housing 110 to form a housing 100 having an accommodating space therein for receiving the elastic member. 140, light guide column 161, and the like. For example, the upper engaging portion 122 is preferably formed on the opposite sides of the upper casing portion 120, and the lower engaging portion 112 is a hook corresponding to the card slot, but is not limited thereto. According to an actual application, the upper engaging portion 122 may be a hook formed on the upper casing portion 120, and the lower engaging portion 112 is a corresponding slot of the hook.

Moreover, the housing 100 can be positioned on the lower panel (eg, the circuit board 151 or the bottom board (not shown)) by, for example, snapping, locking, adhering, bearing, or the like. In this embodiment, the housing 100 is preferably disposed on the circuit board 151, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the housing 100 is disposed at the bottom. When the board is used, the circuit board 151 can be selectively disposed above or below the bottom plate according to practical applications. In one embodiment, the housing 100 is preferably positioned on the circuit board 151 by a positioning mechanism. For example, the lower housing 110 can have a positioning post 113, and the circuit board 151 has a receiving hole 154 corresponding to the positioning post 113, so that the housing 100 can be fixed to the circuit by the positioning post 113 of the lower housing 110 being inserted into the jack 154. Board 151, but not limited to this. In other embodiments, the positions of the positioning posts and the jacks may also be interchanged depending on the actual application.

The through hole 121 of the upper casing 120 preferably has a shape corresponding to the top of the movable shaft 130, so that the movable shaft 130 can be movably passed through the through hole 121 of the upper casing 120 from below the upper casing 120, and the movable shaft 130 The top of the protrusion protrudes from the through hole 121. The movable shaft 130 preferably has an acting portion 131, an actuating portion 132, a limiting portion 133, and a joint portion 134. For example, the movable shaft 130 is preferably sleeve-shaped, and the action portion 131, the actuating portion 132 and the limiting portion 133 are preferably disposed along the circumference of the lower end of the movable shaft 130, and the engaging portion 134 is preferably disposed at the top of the movable shaft 130. .

Specifically, the acting portion 131 protrudes along the moving path (for example, a path parallel to the Z-axis direction) and corresponds to the deformable portion 111. For example, the acting portion 131 may be a stud or a bump extending downward in the Z-axis direction to correspond to the deformable portion 111 of the housing 100. In an embodiment, the action portion 131 preferably has a first slope 1311. In this embodiment, the first inclined surface 1311 is preferably formed at the free end (ie, the lower end) of the acting portion 131 and is inclined inward along the moving path. For example, the first slope 1311 preferably extends downward in the Z-axis direction and is inclined toward the inside of the movable shaft 130. The actuating portion 132 is disposed corresponding to the extending arm 143 of the elastic member 140, and the actuating portion 132 is preferably in the form of a bump (for example, an angular block) for interfering with the extending arm 143 of the elastic member 140 to provide a pressing feel. The limiting portion 133 is preferably a cylinder protruding radially from both sides of the movable shaft 130 such that the distance between the two cylinders is greater than the diameter of the through opening 121 of the upper casing 120, thereby preventing the movable shaft 130 from being opposed to The lower housing 110 is detached from the upper housing 120 when moving in the through hole 121. The engaging portion 134 can be, for example, a cross-shaped engaging post formed on the top of the movable shaft 130 for Engaged with a keycap (not shown), but not limited to this. In other embodiments, the joint 134 can be in other forms (eg, snap holes, bumps) to engage or abut the key cap.

In this embodiment, the elastic member 140 preferably includes a spring body 141, a positioning portion 142, and an extending arm 143, and the positioning portion 142 connects the spring body 141 and the extending arm 143. For example, the positioning portion 142 and the extending arm 143 are preferably bent from a rod body extending from one end (for example, the lower end) of the spring body 141, and the positioning portion 142 and the extending arm 143 are used as the optical switch button 10. Feel elastic, but not limited to this. In this embodiment, the positioning portion 142 preferably extends horizontally from one end of the spring body 141 and then substantially upwardly bent in the Z-axis direction, and the extension arm 143 is bent and extended relative to the positioning portion 142. In this embodiment, the angle between the extending arm 143 and the positioning portion 142 is preferably not more than 120 degrees. In another embodiment, the elastic member 140 can be implemented as a spring structure having only the spring body 141 without the positioning portion 142 and the extension arm 143, and the optical switch button 10 can additionally include a handle elastic member separated from the spring body 141 (for example The torsion spring) provides a pressing feel corresponding to the actuating portion 132 of the movable shaft 130. In still another embodiment, the elastic member 140 may have only the spring body 141, and the optical switch button 10 may not additionally provide the handle elastic member, and thus the movable shaft 130 may not include the corresponding actuation portion 132. In addition, the elastic member 140 is implemented in the form of a spring, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the elastic member 140 can be implemented as an elastic body and located between the lower housing 110 and the movable shaft 130 to provide a restoring force after pressing.

2A and 2B, the structural details of the lower casing 110 and the arrangement relationship of the components to the lower casing 110 will be described in detail. Corresponding to the elastic member 140, the lower housing 110 further has a positioning portion 114 such that the spring body 141 can be positioned at the positioning portion 114. For example, the positioning portion 114 is an annular wall extending from the bottom of the lower casing 110 toward the upper casing 120 such that one end of the spring body 141 can be sleeved on the annular wall, and the other end of the spring body 141 abuts the movable shaft 130. Bottom of the ground while making the event The top of the shaft 130 protrudes from the through hole 121 of the upper casing 120. Thereby, the movable shaft 130 compresses the spring body 141 when a pressing force is applied to the key cap such that the movable shaft 130 moves from the unpressed position toward the lower housing 110 to the pressing position. When released by the pressing force, the spring body 141 can provide an elastic restoring force to move the movable shaft 130 in a direction away from the lower housing 110 to an unpressed position. Furthermore, the lower housing 110 preferably has a more limited portion 115 to correspond to the positioning portion 142 of the elastic member 140. The positioning portion 142 is positioned by the limiting portion 115 on the lower housing 110, and the extending arm 143 extends corresponding to the actuation portion 132. The limiting portion 115 preferably corresponds to the upper portion of the positioning portion 142 (ie, the upright portion adjacent to the extension arm 143) for limiting the displacement of the positioning portion 142. Specifically, when the spring body 141 is sleeved on the positioning portion 114 of the lower casing 110, the positioning portion 142 of the elastic member 140 preferably extends horizontally to the limiting portion 115, so that the upper portion of the positioning portion 142 is supported by the limiting portion. The positioning is performed while the extension arm 143 extends below the actuation portion 132 relative to the positioning portion 142. For example, the limiting portion 115 may be a groove formed on the wall surface of the lower casing 110 or a wall surface at which the positioning portion 142 and the extending arm 143 can be connected. Further, the lower housing 110 may selectively have an impact portion 116. When the movable shaft 130 moves toward the lower casing 110 according to the pressing force, the actuating portion 132 moves relative to the extending arm 143 as the movable shaft 130 moves downward, so that the user's finger first feels a large resistance, and then the extending arm When the 143 is depressed from the actuation portion 132, the user feels that the resistance is greatly reduced, thus providing the user with a sense of a sense of step on the tactile sense, and the extension arm 143 can generate an audible sound by bounce the impact portion 116. When the pressing force is released, the elastic body 141 provides a restoring force to move the movable shaft 130 upward, causing the actuating portion 132 to move upward, and the extending arm 143 slides back relative to the actuating portion 132 to return to the original position.

In addition, the lower case 110 preferably has a receiving portion 1141 to correspond to the backlight unit 160. For example, the accommodating portion 1141 can be a space surrounded by the annular wall of the positioning portion 114 for accommodating the light guiding column 161. That is, the light guide column 161 is disposed on the inner side of the positioning portion 114, and the spring is The body 141 is sleeved on the outer side of the positioning portion 114. Furthermore, the lower housing 110 preferably forms an opening corresponding to the bottom of the accommodating portion 1141 , and the light source 162 is correspondingly disposed under the light guiding column 161 to emit light toward the light guiding column 161 . In this embodiment, the light source 161 is preferably a light emitting diode, but is not limited thereto.

As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the deformable portion 111 is disposed on the lower casing 110 to correspond to the acting portion 131 of the movable shaft 130. Specifically, the deformable portion 111 is a resilient arm disposed on the lower casing 110 such that the deformable portion 111 can be displaced (or elastically deformed) in response to the movement of the acting portion 131, thereby changing the deformable portion 111 relative to the light emitting portion. The spatial relationship (or relative position) of the light transmission path between the 152 and the light receiving portion 153 is to trigger the switch unit 150 to generate a trigger signal. In this embodiment, the deformable portion 111 is preferably integrally formed with the lower casing 110. For example, the bottom of the lower casing 110 has an opening 117, and the deformable portion 111 extends from the wall surface on the side adjacent to the opening 117 toward the opposite side of the opening 117. In other words, the deformable portion 111 is preferably disposed in the opening 117, and one end of the deformable portion 111 is connected to the wall portion defining the opening 117 of the lower casing 110, and the opposite end of the deformable portion 111 is the free end located in the opening 117. . The deformable portion 111 preferably extends substantially horizontally parallel to the bottom of the lower housing 110 in the opening 117 such that the deformable portion 111 has a horizontally extending axis L. In other words, the horizontally extending axis L is preferably the long axis of the connecting end to the free end of the deformable portion 111. In this embodiment, the deformable portion 111 is preferably an L-shaped elastic arm including a connecting portion 1112 and a blocking portion 1113. The long axis of the L-shaped elastic arm is preferably a connecting portion 1112 parallel to the bottom of the lower housing 110, and is L-shaped. The short axis of the extension arm is a shielding portion 1113 that protrudes from the free end of the deformable portion 111 toward the bottom of the lower casing 110. In other words, one end of the connecting portion 1112 of the deformable portion 111 is connected to the lower case 110, and the other end of the connecting portion 1112 is connected to the blocking portion 1113.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the shielding portion 1113 extends downward from the connecting portion 1112, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the shielding portion 1113 may extend upward from the connecting portion 1112 according to an actual application. Furthermore, this embodiment shows that the connecting portion 1112 is a parallel lower housing. The connecting arm of the straight line at the bottom of 110 is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, depending on the practical application, the connecting portion 1112 may be a rod portion or an arm portion having any suitable shape to serve as an arm that is elastically deformed (or displaced) by the deformable portion 111. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2C, the light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 are preferably disposed on opposite sides of the shielding portion 1113 of the deformable portion 111, and are preferably located below the connecting portion 1112, so that the deformable portion 111 is deformed. At the time of displacement, the light emitter 152 (or the light receiver 153) does not hinder the lateral displacement of the connecting portion 1112 and the blocking portion 1113.

In this embodiment, the deformable portion 111 preferably has a second inclined surface 1111 corresponding to the first inclined surface 1311 of the acting portion 131, so that when the movable shaft 130 moves along the moving path, the first inclined surface 1311 moves relative to the second inclined surface 1111. The deformable portion 111 is moved laterally. Specifically, the second inclined surface 1111 is preferably an inner side surface of the shielding portion 1113 (ie, a side surface facing the direction of the movable shaft 130), and extends downward in the Z-axis direction and is inclined outward such that the second inclined surface 1111 corresponds to The first slope 1311.

Furthermore, the housing 100 preferably has a grating portion 118. The grating portion 118 has a grating aperture 1181 and is located between the light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153. Specifically, in this embodiment, the grating portion 118 is disposed on the lower casing 110, and the grating portion 118 is disposed corresponding to the light emitter 152 or the light receiver 153 to define a stroke for pressing the keycap to generate a trigger signal. That is, the grating portion 118 may be a gate grating structure having a grating aperture 1181, preferably disposed between the light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 and adjacent to the transmitting end of the light emitter 152 or the receiving end of the light receiver 153. The grating portion 118 can control the trigger position of the pressing by controlling the size and corresponding position of the grating hole 1181, thereby reducing the trigger error. For example, the triggering error that may be generated when pressing is about the thickness of the light emitter 152 or the light receiver 153, and may be reduced by the size of the corresponding control grating aperture 1181 being smaller than the thickness of the light emitter 152 or the light receiver 153. Trigger error. In an embodiment, the grating portion 118 of the lower casing 110 is disposed on The optical receiver 153 is adjacent to the optical receiver 153, so that the optical signal is less susceptible to external light interference at the receiving end, and the possibility of false triggering is more effectively reduced, but not limited thereto. Depending on the actual application, the position of the light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 can be interchanged with the design of the circuit board 151 such that the grating portion 118 is adjacent to the light emitter 152. Furthermore, corresponding to the grating portion 118, the deformable portion 111 is located on one side of the grating portion 118 such that the deformable portion 111 is selectively changed and deformed relative to the lower casing 110 in response to the movement of the acting portion 131. The relative position of the grating apertures 1181, in turn, changes the intensity of the optical signals received by the optical receiver 153. For example, the width and length of the shielding portion 1113 of the deformable portion 111 are preferably greater than or equal to the width and length of the grating hole 1181, so that when the deformable portion 111 is displaced according to the movement of the acting portion 131, the shielding portion 1113 is selectively The grating aperture 1181 is blocked.

The light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 are disposed on the circuit board 151 and electrically connected to the circuit board 151. Specifically, the circuit board 151 preferably has a switch line, and the light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 are electrically connected to the switch circuit of the circuit board 151, so that the light emitter 152 can emit an optical signal toward the light receiver 153, and when When the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 changes, the trigger switch module 150 generates a trigger signal. For example, the light emitter 152 can be any emitter that emits a light signal having a suitable wavelength, and the light signal emitted by the light emitter 152 can include electromagnetic waves, infrared rays, or visible light. The optical receiver 153 is any suitable receiver that can receive a corresponding optical signal. The light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 are preferably arranged in a straight line such that the light transmission path is a straight path. The circuit board 151 preferably has a escaping space 155, and the escaping space 155 communicates with the opening 117. When the movable shaft 130 is in the pressing position, the end of the acting portion 131 preferably enters the escape space 155 to increase the pressing stroke to increase the operational feel. For example, the escaping space 155 can be a escaping groove (or a escaping hole) formed on the circuit board 151, and the light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 are disposed on opposite sides of the escaping groove.

In addition, the circuit board 151 preferably has a drive corresponding to the arrangement of the backlight source 162. The light source line of the backlight source 162. The backlight source 162 can be disposed on the circuit board 151 and electrically connected to the light source circuit of the circuit board 151 to provide light into the light guide column 161 and then from the keycap of the optical switch button 10. In one embodiment, the backlight source 162 is preferably a light-emitting diode, and the wavelength of the light emitted by the backlight source 162 is preferably different from the wavelength of the light signal emitted by the light emitter 152 to reduce interference, but is not limited thereto.

The operation of the optical switch button 10 of FIG. 1A will be described later with reference to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D are schematic cross-sectional views of the optical switch button 10 including the upper casing 120 at different stroke positions along the tangent BB of FIG. 1C, for example. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are schematic cross-sectional views of the optical switch button 10 in an undepressed position, a contact position of the action portion 131 with the deformable portion 111, a trigger position, and a lowest position, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3A, when the movable shaft 130 is in the undepressed position, the acting portion 131 preferably at least partially overlaps the deformable portion 111 in the direction of the parallel motion path. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 111 preferably overlap at least partially in the Z-axis direction, that is, the vertical projection of the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 111 in the lower housing 110 is at least partially Partial overlap. Moreover, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 111 has a first spatial relationship with the light transmission path, and the optical signal received by the light receiver 153 is the first intensity. In this embodiment, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 111 enters the light transmitting path portion less, the deformable portion 111 blocks the lower amount of the optical signal, and the optical receiver receives the optical signal received by the 153. A strong intensity. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the horizontally extending axis L of the deformable portion 111 preferably does not pass through the grating hole 1181, that is, the deformed portion 111 is preferably located in the light emitter 152, the grating hole 1181, and the light. One side of the virtual connection (ie, optical transmission path) of the receiver 153 is such that the optical signal emitted by the optical transmitter 152 is preferably received by the optical receiver 153 without being blocked by the deformable portion 111, so that the optical signal strength is relatively Stronger (eg unblocked/attenuated optical signal strength).

As shown in FIG. 3B to FIG. 3D, when the movable shaft 130 moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position in response to the pressing force, the movable shaft 130 moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member 140 and push against the deformable portion 111 to move. The deformation portion 111 and the optical transmission path system no longer have a first spatial relationship, so that the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger. Signal. In other words, when the movable shaft 130 moves toward the pressing position toward the bottom of the lower casing 110 along the moving path, the acting portion 131 is pushed against the deformable portion 111 to change the spatial relationship between the deformable portion 111 and the light transmitting path, thereby changing the light receiving. The intensity of the optical signal received by the device 153 is used to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger signal. In this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents the deformable portion 111 away from the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 111 does not substantially change the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 153. When the deformable portion 111 and the light transmission path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the deformable portion 111 enters the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 111 attenuates the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 153 such that the second intensity is less than The first intensity is used to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the keycap is pressed to move the movable shaft 130 toward the bottom of the lower casing 110, the acting portion 131 moves downward along the moving path along the movable shaft 130, so that the end of the acting portion 131 is caused. The lower end is abutted against the deformable portion 111. For example, the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 111 at least partially overlap in the direction of the parallel motion path (for example, the Z-axis direction), that is, the deformed portion 111 is partially located on the moving path of the acting portion 131, so that the acting portion 131 moves downward. At the time, the end of the action portion 131 (for example, the first slope 1311) abuts against the tip end of the deformable portion 111 (for example, the second slope 1111).

As shown in FIG. 3C, when the movable shaft 130 continues to move toward the bottom of the lower housing 110 to the trigger position along the movement path, the first slope 1311 of the action portion 131 is opposite to the second portion of the deformable portion 111. The inclined surface 1111 is moved to move the deformable portion 111 laterally, and the spatial relationship between the deformable portion 111 and the light transmission path is changed, thereby changing the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 153 to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal. . For example, when the movable shaft 130 continues to move toward the bottom of the lower casing 110 to the trigger position along the moving path, the deformable portion 111 moves laterally away from the moving path, and the deformable portion 111 enters the light transmitting path portion, and the deformable portion The blocking light signal is relatively high, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is a relatively small second intensity (ie, the second intensity is less than the first intensity) to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal. Specifically, when the acting portion 131 abuts against the deformable portion 111, the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 111 at least partially contact in the direction of the vertical moving path, that is, the first inclined surface 1311 contacts and is opposite to the second inclined surface 1111. The lower movement moves to generate a lateral component force to push the deformable portion 111 laterally away from the direction of the action portion 131, for example, toward the light transmission path. In an embodiment, when the deformable portion 111 moves laterally away from the moving path, the horizontally extending axis L preferably passes through the grating hole 1181, so that the deformable portion 111 substantially completely blocks the optical signal emitted by the light emitter 152 (ie, light receiving). The 153 does not receive the optical signal and the second intensity is zero. It should be noted that, by changing the circuit design of the circuit board 151, the switch module 150 can generate a trigger signal according to the change of the amount of light received by the light receiver 153, and can also receive the optical signal according to whether the light receiver 153 receives the light signal. To generate a trigger signal.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, when the movable shaft 130 is at the pressing position (for example, the lowest position), the distal end of the acting portion 131 passes beyond the deformable portion 111 and enters the escape space 155. Specifically, when the movable shaft 130 continues to move downward from the trigger position to the lowest position, the acting portion 131 protrudes through the opening 117 to the bottom of the lower casing 110 and enters the escape space 155 of the circuit board 151, so that the pressing stroke Increase and increase the operational feel. When the pressing force is released, the movable shaft 130 can be returned to the unpressed position as shown in FIG. 3A by the restoring force provided by the elastic member 140 (ie, the spring body 141), and The deformable portion 111 is brought back to the original position.

4A to FIG. 5D are schematic diagrams showing a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are exploded views of the optical switch button according to the second embodiment of the present invention at different viewing angles, and FIG. 4C is a second embodiment of the present invention. A schematic cross-sectional view of the light switch button. As shown in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C, the optical switch button 10' of the second embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 100', a movable shaft 130, an elastic member 140, and a switch module 150, and the optical switch button 10' can be selectively selected. A backlight unit 160 is included. The optical switch button 10' of Fig. 4A differs from the optical switch button 10 of Fig. 1A in that the lower casing 110' does not have the deformable portion 111, but the deformable portion 123 is disposed in the upper casing 120'. Therefore, the structural details and connection relationships of the remaining components of the optical switch button 10' (eg, the movable shaft 130, the elastic member 140, the switch module 150, the backlight unit 160, etc.), and the structural details of the housing 100' and the housing 100 are corresponding. For reference, refer to the related description of the optical switch button 10 of the first embodiment, and details are not described herein again. Hereinafter, the difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment will be highlighted.

In this embodiment, the housing 100' is formed by combining the upper housing 120' and the lower housing 110'. The deformable portion 123 is preferably a resilient arm extending downward from the lower surface of the upper housing 120'. The deformation portion 123 corresponds to the opening 117 of the lower casing 110'. Specifically, the deformable portion 123 is preferably an L-shaped elastic arm including a connecting portion 1232 and a blocking portion 1233, wherein one end of the connecting portion 1232 of the deformable portion 123 is connected to the upper casing 120', and the other end of the connecting portion 1232 The blocking portion 1233 is connected. Specifically, the connecting portion 1232 preferably extends along the moving path of the parallel acting portion 131 and does not interfere with the moving path, and the blocking portion 1233 is the free end of the deformable portion 123, and preferably the end of the connecting portion 1232 is parallel to the lower end. The bottom surface of the housing 110' extends. The shielding portion 1233 preferably corresponds to the acting portion 131 and is located in the opening 117 of the lower casing 110' (or above the opening 117). Furthermore, the width and length of the shielding portion 1233 are preferably greater than or equal to the width and length of the grating hole 1181, so that the deformable portion 123 is adapted to the movement of the acting portion 131. When displaced, the shielding portion 1233 can selectively block the grating aperture 1181. It should be noted that the deformable portion 123 is an L-shaped elastic arm including the connecting portion 1232 and the blocking portion 1233, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the deformable portion 123 can be any elastic arm having any suitable shape, so that the deformable portion 123 has a free end corresponding to the acting portion 131 and a connecting end connecting the upper casing 120', and is free. The end portion can be displaced by the action portion 131 against the connection end (or elastically deformed).

Furthermore, the deformable portion 123 preferably has a second inclined surface 1231 corresponding to the first inclined surface 1311 of the acting portion 131. Specifically, the second inclined surface 1231 is preferably an inner side surface of the shielding portion 1233 (ie, a side surface facing the direction of the movable shaft 130), and extends downward in the Z-axis direction and is inclined outward such that the second inclined surface 1231 corresponds to The first slope 1311.

The operation of the optical switch button 10' of FIG. 4A is described with reference to FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D. FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D respectively show the optical switch button 10' in the unpressed position, the action portion 131 and the deformable portion. A cross-sectional view of the contact position, the trigger position, and the lowest position of the portion 123. As shown in FIG. 5A, when the movable shaft 130 is in the undepressed position, the acting portion 131 preferably at least partially overlaps the deformable portion 123 in the direction of the parallel motion path. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the shielding portion 1233 of the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 123 preferably overlaps at least partially in the Z-axis direction, that is, the acting portion 131 and the blocking portion 1233 are in the lower housing 110'. The vertical projections at least partially overlap. Moreover, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 123 has a first spatial relationship with the light transmission path, and the optical signal received by the light receiver 153 is the first intensity. In this embodiment, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 enters the light transmitting path portion, and the deformable portion 123 blocks the light signal amount to be low, and the light receiver 153 receives the received light. The first intensity of the optical signal is strong. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the level of the blocking portion 1233 The extending axis (ie, the extending axis in the direction of the substantially parallel light transmitting path) preferably does not pass through the grating hole 1181, that is, the deforming portion 123 is preferably located in the virtual connection of the light emitter 152, the grating hole 1181, and the light receiver 153 (ie, One side of the light transmission path, such that the light signal emitted by the light emitter 152 is preferably received by the light receiver 153 without being blocked by the deformable portion 123, so that the light signal intensity is relatively strong (for example, no blocking/attenuating Optical signal strength).

As shown in FIG. 5B to FIG. 5D, when the movable shaft 130 moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position in response to the pressing force, the movable shaft 130 moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member 140 and push against the deformable portion 123 to move. The deformation portion 123 and the light transmission path system no longer have a first spatial relationship, so that the optical signal received by the light receiver 153 is a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger. Signal. In other words, when the movable shaft 130 moves to the pressing position toward the bottom of the lower casing 110' along the moving path, the acting portion 131 is pushed against the deformable portion 123 to change the spatial relationship between the deformable portion 123 and the light transmitting path, thereby changing the light. The intensity of the optical signal received by the receiver 153 is used to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger signal. In this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents that the shielding portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 is away from the light transmission path, and the shielding portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 substantially does not change the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 153. When the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 and the light transmitting path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 enters the light transmitting path, and the deformable portion 123 attenuates the light received by the light receiver 153. The signal strength is such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the keycap is pressed to move the movable shaft 130 toward the bottom of the lower casing 110', the acting portion 131 moves downward along the moving path along the movable shaft 130, so that the acting portion 131 The end (ie, the lower end) abuts against the shielding portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123. For example, The blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 at least partially overlaps the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 in the direction of the parallel motion path (for example, the Z-axis direction), that is, the blocking portion 1233 of the deformed portion 123 is located on the moving path of the acting portion 131, and thus the acting portion When the 131 moves downward, the end of the acting portion 131 (for example, the first inclined surface 1311) abuts against the distal end of the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 (for example, the second inclined surface 1231).

As shown in FIG. 5C, when the movable shaft 130 continues to move toward the bottom of the lower housing 110' along the movement path to the trigger position, the first inclined surface 1311 of the acting portion 131 moves relative to the second inclined surface 1231 of the deformable portion 123, so that The deformable portion 123 moves laterally, and changes the spatial relationship between the deformable portion 123 and the light transmission path, thereby changing the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 153 to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal. For example, when the movable shaft 130 continues to move toward the bottom of the lower casing 110' to the trigger position along the moving path, the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 moves laterally away from the moving path, and the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 enters the light. The transmission path portion is more, the deformable portion 123 blocks the optical signal amount, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is a relatively small second intensity (ie, the second intensity is less than the first intensity) to trigger the switch module. 150 generates a trigger signal. Specifically, when the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 is moved downward by the acting portion 131, the blocking portion 1233 of the deformable portion 123 at least partially contacts the direction of the vertical motion path (for example, the Y-axis direction). For example, the first inclined surface 1311 contacts and moves downward relative to the second inclined surface 1231 and generates a lateral component force to push the deformable portion 123 laterally away from the direction of the action portion 131, for example, toward the light transmission path. In an embodiment, when the deformable portion 123 moves laterally away from the moving path, the horizontally extending axis of the blocking portion 1233 preferably passes through the grating hole 1181, so that the deformable portion 123 substantially completely blocks the light signal emitted by the light emitter 152 ( That is, the optical receiver 153 does not receive the optical signal, and the second intensity is zero.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5D, when the movable shaft 130 is at the pressing position, the end of the acting portion 131 extends beyond the deformable portion 123 into the escape space 155 of the circuit board 151. in particular, When the movable shaft 130 continues to move downward from the trigger position to the lowest position, the acting portion 131 protrudes from the bottom of the lower casing 110 ′ through the opening 117 and enters the escape space 155 of the circuit board 151 to increase the pressing stroke and thereby increase Operation feel. When the pressing force is released, the movable shaft 130 can be returned to the unpressed position as shown in FIG. 5A by the restoring force provided by the elastic member 140 (ie, the spring body 141), and the deformable portion 123 is brought back to the original position.

It should be noted that, in the foregoing embodiment, although the deformable portion (for example, 111 or 123) is pushed into the light transmission path by the action portion 131, it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, by changing the design of the deformable portion 111 or 123 and the action portion 131, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 111 or 123 enters the blocked light signal amount and is active. When the shaft 130 is in the pressing position, the deformable portion 111 or 123 is laterally displaced by the action portion 131, so that the deformable portion 111 or 123 blocks the amount of the optical signal, and the optical signal intensity received by the optical receiver 153 is further received. Stronger (ie, the second intensity is greater than the first intensity), and the trigger switch module 150 generates a trigger signal. Furthermore, in the foregoing embodiment, the deformable portion 111 or 123 is preferably formed integrally with the lower case 110 or the upper case 120', but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the deformable portion 111 or 123 can be disposed to the lower housing 110 or the upper housing 120' by suitable engagement means (e.g., adhesive, snap, lock, etc.).

6A to FIG. 8B are schematic diagrams showing a third embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are respectively exploded views of the optical switch button according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6C is the optical switch button of FIG. 6A. A schematic diagram of a combination of upper casings is shown, and FIG. 6D is a schematic view of a partial cutout of the upper casing, which is not shown in the optical switch button of FIG. 6A. As shown in FIG. 6A to FIG. 6D, the optical switch button 20 of the third embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 200, a movable shaft 130, an elastic member 140, a switch module 150, and a shielding member 170. The movable shaft 130 is movably disposed on the housing 200, and the movable shaft 130 is movable up and down along the movement path to the unpressed position and the pressed position in response to the pressing force. Elastic part The 140 is disposed in the housing 200 and the elastic member 140 is coupled to the movable shaft 130. When the pressing force is removed, the elastic member 140 returns the movable shaft 130 to the unpressed position. The switch module 150 includes a circuit board 151, a light emitter 152, and a light receiver 153. The light emitter 152 and the light receiver 153 are electrically connected to the circuit board 151, and the light emitter 152 emits an optical signal, and the optical signal reaches the light receiver 153 along the light transmission path. The shielding member 170 is disposed on the housing 200. When the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the shielding member 170 has a first spatial relationship with the optical transmission path, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the first intensity; and when the activity is active When the shaft 130 moves from the unpressed position to the pressing position according to the pressing force, the movable shaft 130 moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member 140 and drive the shielding member 170 to move, so that the shielding member 170 and the optical transmission path system no longer have the first space. The relationship is such that the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal.

It should be noted that, similar to the foregoing embodiment, the optical switch button 20 can selectively have a backlight unit 160 including a light guide column 161 and a backlight source 162, and the movable shaft 130, the elastic member 140, and the switch module of the optical switch button 20 The backlight unit 160 and the backlight unit 160 may have the same or similar structural details and connection relationships as the foregoing embodiments (for example, the optical switch buttons 10, 10'), and may be referred to the related description of the foregoing embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the housing 200 is formed by combining the upper housing 120 and the lower housing 210, and the shielding member 170 is disposed in the lower housing 210. It should be noted here that the structural details of the upper casing 120 (such as the through hole 121 and the upper engaging portion 122) and the partial structural details of the lower casing 210 (for example, the lower engaging portion 112, the positioning post 113, the positioning portion 114, and the capacity) For the description of the embodiment of FIG. 1A, reference may be made to the related description of the embodiment of FIG. 1A, and details are not described herein again. Referring to FIG. 7 at the same time, the structural details of the shield 170 and its connection relationship with the lower casing 210 will be highlighted. As shown in FIGS. 6C-6D and FIG. 7, the shielding member 170 It is preferably in the form of a shrapnel, such as a metal dome or a plastic shrapnel. In one embodiment, the shielding member 170 includes a positioning portion 171, a force receiving portion 172, and a shielding portion 173. The positioning portion 171 and the force receiving portion 172 are disposed at opposite ends of the shielding member 170, and the shielding portion 173 is connected to the force receiving portion 172. . The positioning portion 171 is used to connect the lower housing 210 to position the shield 170 to the lower housing 210. Specifically, the positioning portion 171 is located at the connecting end of the shielding member 170, and the force receiving portion 172 and the shielding portion 173 are located at the free end of the shielding member 170. The force receiving portion 172 corresponds to the acting portion 131 of the movable shaft 130, and moves relative to the acting portion 131 in response to the vertical movement of the movable shaft 130, thereby changing the spatial relationship (or relative position) of the blocking portion 173 and the light transmitting path. For example, in this embodiment, the shielding member 170 can be bent by, for example, a T-shaped metal piece, wherein the horizontal top of the T-shaped metal elastic piece is bent into an L shape, and the opposite ends thereof are respectively a positioning portion 171 and The force receiving portion 172 is adjacent to adjacent sides of the lower casing 210. That is, the positioning portion 171 and the force receiving portion 172 are connected in an arc shape or an L shape. The upright portion of the T-shaped metal dome is used as the shielding portion 173, and the shielding portion 173 is preferably connected below the force receiving portion 172.

Corresponding to the positioning portion 171 of the shielding member 170, the lower housing 210 has a card slot 211a, 211b. The shielding member 170 can be inserted into the card slot 211a, 211b by the positioning portion 171 to fix one end of the shielding member 170 to the lower housing 210. Further, the force receiving portion 172 and the shielding portion 173 form a free end that is movable or bent and deformed with respect to the positioning portion 171. Corresponding to the action portion 131, the force receiving portion 172 preferably has a slope 1721 so that the action portion 131 can move along the slope 1721 to drive the force receiving portion 172 and the shield portion 173 to move. In this embodiment, the inclined surface 1721 is preferably disposed at the top of the force receiving portion 172, and is inclined by the direction toward the action portion 131 and extends downward. Moreover, the shielding portion 173 preferably extends at least partially with respect to the force receiving portion 172 such that at least a portion of the shielding portion 173 can selectively interfere with the light transmission path. For example, the shielding portion 173 is bent at least partially toward the direction of the action portion 131, so that when the force receiving portion 172 is relatively moved by the action portion 131, the force receiving portion 172 drives the shielding portion 173 into or away. The light transmission path. In another embodiment, depending on the actual application, the shielding portion 173 can be designed to be bent at least partially away from the action portion 131. In addition, in the present embodiment, the shielding member 170 is bent so that the positioning portion 171 and the force receiving portion 172 correspond to adjacent sides of the lower casing 210, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the positioning portion 171 and the force receiving portion 172 of the shielding member 170 can be linearly disposed, that is, the positioning portion 171 and the force receiving portion 172 are connected in a straight line to correspond to the same side of the lower housing 210. For example, the shielding member 170 can be The above-mentioned horizontal top has no bent T-shaped shrapnel.

Moreover, similar to the previous embodiment, the shield portion 173 of the shield 170 preferably corresponds to the opening 117 of the lower housing 210, such as in the opening 117. When the movable shaft 130 moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position in response to the pressing force, the acting portion 131 of the movable shaft 130 moves the blocking portion 173 of the shield 170 in the opening 117 to change the position with respect to the light transmitting path.

The operation of the optical switch button 20 of FIG. 6A will be described later with reference to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B. FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are partial top views of the optical switch button 20 in an unpressed position and a pressed position, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the acting portion 131 preferably at least partially overlaps with the shielding member 170 in the direction of the parallel motion path, and the shielding member 170 has a first spatial relationship with the optical transmission path. The optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the first intensity. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the action portion 131 and the force receiving portion 172 preferably overlap at least partially in the Z-axis direction, that is, the vertical projection of the action portion 131 and the force receiving portion 172 on the lower housing 210 is at least partially Partially overlapping, or the force receiving portion 172 is partially located on the moving path of the acting portion 131. Moreover, in this embodiment, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the shielding member 170 enters the light transmission path portion less, the shielding member 170 blocks the lower amount of the optical signal, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the first. A strong intensity. That is, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the blocking portion 173 of the shielding member 170 enters the light transmitting path portion less, the blocking portion 173 blocks the lower amount of the optical signal, and the optical receiver receives 153. The first intensity of the optical signal is strong. In an embodiment, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the shielding portion 173 preferably does not substantially enter the light transmission path (or does not block the grating aperture 1181), that is, the shielding portion 173 is preferably located in the light emitter 152 and One side of the light transmission path of the light receiver 153 is such that the light signal emitted by the light emitter 152 is preferably not received by the light receiver 153 by the blocking portion 173, so that the light signal intensity is relatively strong (for example, no blocking). /Attenuated optical signal strength).

As shown in FIG. 8B, when the movable shaft 130 moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position according to the pressing force, the movable shaft 130 moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member 140 and drive the shielding member 170 to move, so that the shielding member 170 and the light transmission The path system no longer has a first spatial relationship, so that the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal. In this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents substantially no effect (or no contact) between the force receiving portion 172 of the shielding member 170 and the acting portion 131, and the shielding portion 173 of the shielding member 170 does not substantially change the receiving by the light receiver 153. The intensity of the incoming signal. When the shielding portion 173 of the shielding member 170 and the light transmission path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the relative displacement of the force receiving portion 172 and the working portion 131 causes the shielding portion 173 to enter the light transmission path, and the shielding portion 173 attenuates the light receiver 153. The intensity of the received optical signal is such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal.

Specifically, when the movable shaft 130 is in the pressing position, the shielding member 170 moves laterally away from the moving path, the shielding member 170 enters the optical transmission path portion, and the shielding member 170 blocks the optical signal amount, and the optical receiver 153 receives the optical signal. The optical signal is a weaker second intensity (ie, the second intensity is less than the first intensity). In other words, when the movable shaft 130 moves from the unpressed position to the pressing position from the unpressed position to the pressing position, the acting portion 131 pushes the force receiving portion 172 laterally away from the moving path, and drives the blocking portion below the force receiving portion 172. 173 moves into the light transmission path part more, making The blocking portion 173 blocks the amount of the optical signal, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is a second intensity that is relatively weak to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal. In an embodiment, when the acting portion 131 moves downward to push the force receiving portion 172, the first inclined surface 1311 of the acting portion 131 contacts and moves downward with respect to the inclined surface 1721 of the force receiving portion 172 to generate a lateral component force to force the force. The portion 172 drives the shielding portion 173 to be laterally deformed and displaced relative to the positioning portion 171, so that the shielding portion 173 substantially completely blocks the light signal emitted by the light emitter 152 (for example, blocking the grating aperture 1181), so that the light receiver 153 does not receive the light receiving device 153. Optical signal (ie, the second intensity is zero). Moreover, similarly, when the movable shaft 130 is in the pressing position, the end of the acting portion 131 can enter the escape space 155 of the circuit board 151 through the opening 117 of the lower casing 210, so that the pressing stroke is increased to enhance the operational hand feeling. When the pressing force is released, the movable shaft 130 can be returned to the unpressed position as shown in FIG. 8A by the restoring force provided by the elastic member 140 (for example, the spring body 141), and the shutter 170 is returned to the original position (or shape). ).

It should be noted that in the third embodiment, although the shielding member 170 is pushed by the action portion 131 to block the blocking portion 173 from entering the blocking light signal, it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, by changing the design of the shielding member 170 and the action portion 131, the shielding member 170 is driven by the action portion 131 to move the shielding portion 173 away from the light transmission path. 9A and FIG. 9B are respectively partial top views of the optical switch button in the unpressed position and the pressed position according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9A, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the shielding member 170 is located in the light transmission path, the shielding member 170 blocks the optical signal, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the weak first intensity. Specifically, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the acting portion 131 abuts against the force receiving portion 172 of the shield 170, so that the force receiving portion 172 is elastically deformed relative to the positioning portion 171 in a direction away from the acting portion 131, thereby further The shielding portion 173 under the driving force receiving portion 172 is located in the light transmission path, for example, substantially blocks the grating aperture 1181, so that the optical receiver 153 does not substantially receive the optical signal (ie, the first intensity is zero). As shown in Figure 9B It is shown that when the movable shaft 130 is in the pressing position, the shielding member 170 moves laterally away from the light transmission path, and the optical signal received by the light receiver 153 is a stronger second intensity (ie, the second intensity is greater than the first intensity), The trigger switch module 150 generates a trigger signal. Specifically, when the movable shaft 130 is moved from the unpressed position to the pressed position, the acting portion 131 moves relative to the force receiving portion 172 of the shield 170 and passes over the force receiving portion 172 (for example, moves to the lower side of the force receiving portion 172), so that The force receiving portion 172 is no longer pushed by the action portion 131 and rebounds relative to the positioning portion 171 in the direction of approaching the action portion 131, thereby driving the shield portion 173 to move away from the light transmission path (ie, the portion of the shield portion 173 entering the light transmission path) The light receiver 153 can receive the light signal transmitted by the light emitter 152 along the light transmission path to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of FIGS. 9A and 9B , the inclined surface of the force receiving portion 172 is preferably disposed below the force receiving portion 172 and extends from the upper side to the lower side and inclined away from the action portion 131 . Therefore, when the pressing force is released, the movable shaft 130 can be moved upward along the inclined surface of the force receiving portion 172 by the restoring force of the elastic member 140, and return to the acting portion 131 shown in FIG. 9A to push the force. The portion 172 blocks the unpressed pressing position of the optical signal. Furthermore, in the embodiment of FIGS. 8A-8B and 9A-9B, the optical switch button generates a trigger signal by changing the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 by the shielding member 170 disposed in the housing 200, and thus only The shading effect of the shield 170 is considered, and the material and color of the housing 200 are not limited by the shading requirement.

10 to 12B are schematic views of a fifth embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the optical switch button according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 11A and 11B are respectively the upper switch of the optical switch button of FIG. FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B are a top view and a perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 10 not showing the keycap. As shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 12B, the optical switch button 30 of the fifth embodiment of the present invention includes a key cap 310, a support mechanism 320, a return mechanism 330, and a switch module 340. And the bottom plate 350. The support mechanism 320 is disposed under the keycap 310 and supports the up/down movement of the keycap 310, and the support mechanism 320 has a protrusion 323. The return mechanism 330 is disposed under the keycap 310 to provide a restoring force to return the keycap 310 to the position before pressing after pressing. The return mechanism 330 includes a housing 331 and an elastic member 332 , wherein the elastic member 332 is disposed in the housing 331 , and the housing 331 has a deformable portion 333 . The switch module 340 includes a circuit board 341, a light emitter 342, and a light receiver 343. The light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343 are electrically connected to the circuit board 341, and the light emitter 342 transmits the optical signal corresponding to the light receiver 343. When the keycap 310 is not pressed, the optical signal received by the light receiver 343 is the first intensity; when the keycap 310 is pressed, the keycap 310 drives the support mechanism 320 to move, so that the elastic member 332 is compressed and the protruding portion 321 is pushed. The deformable portion 333 moves to change the optical signal received by the light receiver 343 to a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 340 to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, the keycap 310 can be, for example, an injection molded rectangular keycap, and the lower surface of the keycap 310 has a coupling (not shown) coupled to the support mechanism 320. The coupling member can be a coupling structure having a shaft hole or a chute. Furthermore, depending on the practical application, the keycap 310 can be a light-transmitting keycap having a light transmitting portion for application to an illuminated keyboard. For example, the light transmissive portion may be in the form of a character to indicate an instruction to input a key.

The bottom plate 350 can serve as a structural strength support plate for the optical switch button 30 and has connectors 351 and 352 that connect the support mechanisms 320. In one embodiment, the bottom plate 350 is preferably stamped from sheet metal. The connecting members 351 and 352 are preferably hook-and-loop connectors that are bent from the surface of the bottom plate 350 toward the keycap 310. It should be noted here that when the circuit board 341 has sufficient structural strength, the connectors 351 and 352 can be selectively disposed on the circuit board 341 without the use of the bottom plate 350.

The support mechanism 320 preferably includes an inner bracket 321 and an outer bracket 322, and the inner bracket 321 The inner side of the outer bracket 322 is pivotally connected to form a scissor support mechanism. The inner bracket 321 and the outer bracket 322 are preferably, for example, an injection molded rectangular frame, and the inner bracket 321 and the outer bracket 322 are rotatably connected by, for example, a pivot shaft and a shaft hole mechanism. For example, the opposite side of the middle portion of the inner bracket 322 has an outwardly projecting pivot, and the opposite inner side of the outer bracket 322 has a shaft hole corresponding to the pivot so that the middle portion of the inner bracket 321 and the middle portion of the outer bracket 322 are coupled to each other. In addition, the inner bracket 321 and the outer bracket 322 are movably connected to the keycap 310 and the bottom plate 350 respectively. For example, the key end of the inner bracket 321 is rotatably coupled to the coupling of the keycap 310, and the bottom end of the inner bracket 321 is movably coupled to the connector 351 of the bottom plate 350. Similarly, the keycap end of the outer bracket 322 is movably coupled to the coupling of the keycap 310, and the bottom end of the outer bracket 322 is movably coupled to the connector 352 of the baseplate 350. Thereby, the support mechanism 320 can smoothly support the up/down movement of the keycap 310 with respect to the bottom plate 350.

The protruding portion 323 is disposed on the inner bracket 321 and protrudes from the inner bracket 321 toward the inner side of the inner bracket 321 . For example, the protruding portion 321 is preferably disposed on the inner side of the key end of the inner bracket 321 , and the protruding portion 323 preferably has a first inclined surface 3231 . In this embodiment, the first inclined surface 3231 of the protruding portion 323 is disposed at the end of the protruding portion 323 (ie, away from the free end of the inner bracket 321), and preferably from the end end surface of the protruding portion 323 toward the connecting end of the connecting inner bracket 321 It is inclined downward to face the deformable portion 333 of the housing 331.

The circuit board 341 is preferably disposed on the bottom plate 350, and the circuit board 341 has an opening 3411 to allow the connectors 351, 352 of the bottom plate 350 to pass through to connect the support mechanism 320. The light emitter 342 and the light receiver 342 are disposed on the circuit board 341 and electrically connected to the circuit board 341. Specifically, the circuit board 341 preferably has a switch line, and the light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343 are electrically connected to the switch circuit of the circuit board 341, so that the light emitter 342 can emit an optical signal toward the light receiver 343, and When the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 changes, the trigger switch module 340 generates a trigger signal. In other words, the operation of the switch module 340 to generate the trigger signal is similar to the switch module 150 of the previous embodiment. The circuit board 341 preferably has a relief space 3412 for receiving a portion of the protrusion 333 (e.g., the end of the protrusion 333). For example, the escaping space 3412 can be a escaping slot formed on the circuit board 341, and the light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343 are disposed on opposite sides of the escaping slot.

Additionally, the optical switch button 30 can optionally have a backlight source 360. Circuit board 341 preferably has a light source line that drives backlight source 360. The backlight source 360 can be disposed on the circuit board 341 and electrically connected to the light source circuit of the circuit board 341 to provide light to the light transmitting portion of the keycap 310. The backlight source 360 is preferably disposed on the opposite side of the light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343, and is preferably located in the vertical projection area of the inner bracket 321 in the bottom plate 350. For example, the light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343 are preferably disposed adjacent to the key end of the inner bracket 321 , and the backlight source 360 is correspondingly disposed adjacent to the bottom end of the inner bracket 321 .

The recovery mechanism 330 is disposed between the keycap 310 and the bottom plate 350 (or the circuit board 341) and includes a housing 331 and an elastic member 332. In this embodiment, the elastic member 332 is preferably a spring to provide a mechanical pressing operation, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the resilient member 332 can be an elastomer to provide a restoring force after compression. The housing 331 is formed by combining the upper housing 334 and the lower housing 335 to enclose an accommodation space for providing the elastic member 332. The return mechanism 330 further includes a movable portion 336, and the movable portion 336 can be slidably coupled to the upper housing 334 with respect to the upper housing 334 (or the lower housing 335). Specifically, the elastic member 332, the upper casing 334, the lower casing 335, and the movable portion 336 constitute a return mechanism 330 having a casing 100 (or 100', 200), a movable shaft 130, and an elastic member similar to the foregoing embodiment. 140 structural details and connection relationship. For example, the upper housing 334 has a through hole 3341 and an upper engaging portion 3342 (for example, a card slot). The movable portion 336 is movably inserted from the bottom to the top in the through hole 3341 to position the elastic member 332 as an actuating member when the key cap 310 is pressed. Lower housing 335 has a lower engaging portion 3351 (for example, a hook) for engaging with the upper engaging portion 3342 so that the upper casing 334 is coupled to the lower casing 335.

In this embodiment, the upper casing 334 is preferably a rectangular cover structure having a notch portion 3343. The upper engaging portion 3342 is preferably disposed on both sides of the notch portion 3343 so that the left arm portion 3345 is formed between the left upper engaging portion 3342 and the notch portion 3343, and the right upper engaging portion 3342 and the notch portion 3343 are formed. Right arm 3346. When the return mechanism 330 is disposed on the circuit board 341, the light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343 are preferably covered by the housing 331 to achieve dustproofness and reduce external light interference. For example, the light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343 are respectively located on opposite sides of the notch portion 3343 and are covered by the upper casing portion 334. In one embodiment, the lower housing 335 preferably has a substantially U-shaped horizontal cross-section. The left arm portion 3345 and the right arm portion 3346 of the upper casing 334 protrude from the sides of the U-shaped horizontal section toward the center of the U-shaped horizontal section toward the lower casing 335 (that is, the left arm portion 3345 of the upper casing 334 and the right side). The vertical projection of the arm portion 3346 extends beyond the vertical projection range of the lower housing 335 to form a notch portion 3343 between the left arm portion 3345 and the right arm portion 3346. The light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343 are preferably located under the left arm portion 3345 and the right arm portion 3346, respectively, to achieve the effect of dust prevention, but not limited thereto. Moreover, when the keycap 310 is pressed, the protruding portion 323 preferably moves outside the elastic member accommodating space surrounded by the upper casing 334 and the lower casing 325 (ie, moves in the notch portion 3343).

The movable portion 336 is preferably sleeve-shaped, and the movable portion 336 has a more limited portion 3361 and an actuating portion 3362 on the opposite side of the sleeve, wherein the limiting portion 3361 is for limiting the displacement of the movable portion 336 relative to the upper casing 334. The actuating portion 3362 cooperates with a feel elastic member (such as the extension arm 143 or the torsion spring of the elastic member 140 of the foregoing embodiment) to provide tactile feedback. It should be noted that the structural details of the limiting portion 3361 and the actuating portion 3362 and the interaction relationship between the limiting portion 3361 and the actuating portion 3362 can refer to the limiting portion 133 and the actuating portion 132 of the movable shaft 130 of the foregoing embodiment. The relevant description will not be repeated here.

The lower housing 335 further has a positioning portion 3352 for positioning the elastic member 332. Yu Yishi In the embodiment, the positioning portion 3352 protrudes from the bottom surface of the lower casing 335 corresponding to the movable portion 336 toward the upper casing 334. When the recovery mechanism 330 is assembled, the spring-type elastic member 332 is sleeved outside the positioning portion 3352 of the lower housing 335 such that the elastic member 332 is positioned between the movable portion 336 and the lower housing 335. When the keycap 310 is pressed, the movable portion 336 is movable downward relative to the upper housing 334 to compress the elastic member 332. When the keycap 310 is released, the elastic member 332 provides an elastic force, so that the movable portion 336 drives the key cap 310 to move upward relative to the upper housing portion 334, and is positioned by the limiting portion 3361 at a position before pressing.

In this embodiment, the recovery mechanism 330 can be positioned on the circuit board 341 by the lower housing 335. Specifically, the lower casing 335 may include bearing portions 3353 and 3354, which are preferably disposed on opposite sides of the lower casing 335 such that the bearing portion 3353 bears against the light emitter 342 and the light adjacent to the circuit board 341. At the receiver 343, the bearing portion 3354 bears against the circuit board 341 adjacent to the backlight source 360. In one embodiment, the bearing portion 3353 can be a pair of bearing arms that extend toward the lower casing 335, and the corresponding light emitter 342 and the light receiver 343 are respectively located at the left arm portion 3345 and the right of the upper casing 334. Below the arm 3346. The bearing portion 3354 can be a pair of bearing recesses extending from the lower housing 335 so that the upper housing portion 334 is formed with a notch 3344 corresponding to the bearing portion 3354, and the backlight source 360 is preferably disposed corresponding to the recess. Mouth 3344. As a result, the light emitted by the backlight source 360 is blocked by the recovery mechanism 330, thereby avoiding affecting the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 343, thereby preventing the switch module 340 from erroneously generating the trigger signal.

In this embodiment, the recovery mechanism 330 further includes a handle elastic member 370 for providing tactile feedback when pressed. For example, the handle elastic member 370 can be implemented as a torsion spring, and one end of the torsion spring is used as a positioning portion (for example, 371 shown in FIG. 13), and the other end of the torsion spring is used as the extension arm 372. The lower housing 335 correspondingly has a positioning hole. When the tactile feedback member 370 is disposed on the lower housing 335, the positioning portion is coupled to the positioning hole, and the extension arm 372 corresponds to the actuation portion 3362 of the movable portion 336. When the keycap 310 is pressed When the keycap 310 moves downward, the actuation portion 3362 is displaced relative to the extension arm 372 of the torsion spring, so that the user's finger first feels a large resistance, and then the extension arm 372 is depressed from the actuation portion 3362. The user feels that the resistance is greatly reduced, thus providing the user with a tactile sense of step, and the extension arm 372 can strike the upper housing portion 334 or the lower housing portion 335 to produce an acoustic sound. When the keycap 310 is released, the resilient member 332 provides a restoring force to cause the keycap 310 to move upward, causing the actuating portion 3362 to move upward, and the extending arm 372 slides back relative to the actuating portion 3362 to return to the original position.

It should be noted here that, similar to the foregoing embodiment, the housing 331 may have a grating portion 337 and the grating portion 337 is preferably disposed on the upper housing 334. For example, the grating portion 337 can be disposed on the left arm portion 3345 or the right arm portion 3346 of the upper casing 334 and adjacent to the light emitter 342, but is not limited thereto. According to the practical application, the grating portion 337 can be adjacent to the light receiver 343, thereby making the optical signal less susceptible to external light interference at the receiving end, and effectively reducing the possibility of false triggering.

As shown in FIG. 11B, in this embodiment, the deformable portion 333 of the housing 331 is disposed to the lower housing 335 to correspond to the protruding portion 323 of the support mechanism 320. Specifically, the deformable portion 333 is a resilient arm that is disposed on the lower casing 335 and extends toward the key cap 310 (for example, upward), so that the deformable portion 333 can be displaced (or elastically deformed) in response to the movement of the protruding portion 323. Further, the spatial relationship (or relative position) of the deformable portion 333 with respect to the light transmission path between the light emitting portion 342 and the light receiving portion 343 is changed to trigger the switching unit 340 to generate a trigger signal. In this embodiment, the deformable portion 333 is preferably integrally formed with the lower casing 335, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the deformable portion 333 can be coupled to the lower housing 335 by any suitable engagement mechanism. In this embodiment, the deformable portion 333 can extend from the wall surface of the bottom end of the U-shaped horizontal section of the lower casing 335 toward the open end of the U-shaped horizontal section. In other words, one end of the deformable portion 333 is preferably connected to the lower housing 335, and the opposite end of the deformable portion 333 is a free end located in the notch portion 3343 of the upper housing 334. In this embodiment, the deformable portion 333 is preferably The elastic arm includes a connecting portion 3332 and a shielding portion 3333. The connecting portion 3332 is preferably a connecting arm extending horizontally parallel to the bottom surface of the lower housing 335 to connect the lower housing 335 and the shielding portion 3333. The shielding portion 3333 extends from the connecting portion 3332 toward the keycap 310 (ie, extends upward in the Z-axis direction) to be located in the notch portion 3343 of the upper casing 334 and corresponds to the protruding portion 323 of the support mechanism 320.

Furthermore, the deformable portion 333 preferably has a second inclined surface 3331 to correspond to the first inclined surface 3231 of the protruding portion 323. When the keycap 310 drives the support mechanism 320 to move, the first slope 3231 moves relative to the second slope 333 to move the deformable portion 333 laterally. Specifically, the second inclined surface 3331 is preferably an outer side surface of the shielding portion 3333 (ie, a side surface facing the direction of the protruding portion 323), and extends downward in the Z-axis direction and is inclined outward such that the second inclined surface 3331 corresponds to The first slope 3231.

The operation of the optical switch button 30 of the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to Figs. 12A and 12B. As shown in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B, when the keycap 310 is not pressed, the protruding portion 323 and the deformable portion 333 at least partially overlap in the moving direction (for example, the Z-axis direction) of the parallel keycap 310, and the deformable portion 333 and the light transmission The path has a first spatial relationship, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 is the first intensity. When the keycap 310 is pressed, the keycap 310 drives the support mechanism 320 to move, so that the elastic member 332 is compressed and the protrusion 323 is pushed against the deformable portion 333, so that the deformable portion 333 and the light transmission path system no longer have the first space. The relationship is such that the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 340 to generate the trigger signal.

In this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents the deformable portion 333 away from the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 333 does not substantially change the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 343. When the deformable portion 333 and the light transmission path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the deformable portion 333 enters the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 333 attenuates the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 343 such that the second intensity is less than The first intensity is used to trigger the switch module 340 to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, when the button cap 310 is pressed to drive the support mechanism 320 to move, the protrusion 323 pushes against the deformable portion 333 to at least partially block the light signal such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity. In one embodiment, when the key cap 310 is pressed, the protruding portion 323 pushes against the deformable portion 333 to move laterally, and the protruding portion 323 and the deformable portion 333 are at least partially in contact with the moving direction of the vertical keycap 310, such as the protruding portion 323. At least partial contact with the deformable portion 333 in the Y-axis direction. Specifically, when the keycap 310 drives the support mechanism 320 to move, the first inclined surface 3231 of the protruding portion 323 moves relative to the second inclined surface 3331 of the deformable portion 333 and generates a lateral component force to laterally deform the deformable portion 333. Move into the light transmission path. For example, the first inclined surface 3231 of the protruding portion 323 moves relative to the second inclined surface 3331 of the deformable portion 333 and generates a lateral component force such that the deformable portion 333 faces the bottom of the U-shaped horizontal section of the lower housing 335. The direction (ie, away from the direction of the connection end of the protrusion 323 and the inner bracket 321 , the direction of movement is indicated by the arrow A) laterally moves to change the relative position of the deformable portion 333 and the grating portion 337 (eg, at least partially obscuring the grating portion 337) The grating apertures are such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity, thereby causing the switch module 340 to generate a trigger signal.

In one embodiment, when the button cap 310 is pressed to move the protrusion 323, the deformable portion 333 preferably blocks the optical signal completely, so that the light receiver 343 does not receive the optical signal (ie, the second intensity is zero). It should be noted that, by changing the circuit design of the circuit board 341, the switch module 340 can generate a trigger signal according to the change of the amount of light received by the light receiver 343, and can also receive the optical signal according to whether the light receiver 343 receives the light signal. To generate a trigger signal.

13 to FIG. 15B are schematic views of a sixth embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 10 is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 14A and 14B are respectively upper housings of the optical switch button of FIG. FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B are a top view and a perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 13 not showing the keycap. As shown in FIG. 13 to FIG. 15B, the sixth embodiment of the present invention The optical switch button 30' of the embodiment includes a keycap 310, a support mechanism 320, a return mechanism 330', a switch module 340, and a bottom plate 350, and the optical switch button 30' can selectively include a backlight source 360. The optical switch button 30' of Fig. 13 differs from the optical switch button 30 of Fig. 10 in that the lower casing 335' does not have the deformable portion 333, but the deformable portion 338 is disposed in the upper casing 334'. Therefore, the structural details and connection relationships of the remaining components of the optical switch button 30' (eg, the keycap 310, the support mechanism 320, the switch module 340, the bottom plate 350, the backlight source 360, etc.), and the housing 331' correspond to the housing 331 For details of the structure, refer to the related description of the optical switch button 30 of the fifth embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the housing 331' is formed by combining the upper housing 334' and the lower housing 335', and the deformable portion 338 is preferably a resilient arm extending from the upper housing 334'. Specifically, the deformable portion 338 is preferably an L-shaped elastic arm including a connecting portion 3382 and a blocking portion 3383, and is preferably disposed corresponding to the opening of the notch portion 3343, wherein one end of the connecting portion 3382 is connected to the upper housing 334', and The other end of the connecting portion 3382 is connected to the shielding portion 3383. The connecting portion 3382 of the deformable portion 338 is preferably a rod-shaped portion or an arm portion having any suitable shape, wherein one end of the connecting portion 3382 is preferably connected to one of the right arm portion 3346 or the left arm portion 3345, and the connecting portion The other end of the 3382 extends in the direction of the other arm to connect the blocking portion 3383 to form a free end of the deformable portion 338. For example, one end of the connecting portion 3382 of the deformable portion 338 is connected to the right arm portion 3346, and the other end of the connecting portion 3382 extends in the direction of the left arm portion 3345 and partially corresponds to the opening of the notch portion 3343. The shielding portion 3383 preferably extends downward from the connecting portion 3382 in the Z-axis direction and corresponds to the protruding portion 323. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the shielding portion 3383 is extended downward from the connecting portion 3332, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the shielding portion 3383 may extend upward from the connecting portion 3382 according to an actual application. Furthermore, depending on the practical application, the deformable portion 338 can be a resilient arm having any suitable shape such that the deformable portion 338 has a free end corresponding to the protruding portion 323 and a connecting end connecting the upper housing 334', and the free end can be Sudden The outlet portion 323 is pushed against displacement (or elastic deformation) with respect to the joint end.

Similarly, the deformable portion 338 preferably has a second slope 3381 to correspond to the first slope 3231 of the protrusion 323. Specifically, the second inclined surface 3381 is preferably an outer side surface of the shielding portion 3383 (ie, a side surface facing the direction of the protruding portion 323), and is adjacent to the top of the shielding portion 3383 and extends downward in the Z-axis direction and is inclined outward. The second slope 3381 is made to correspond to the first slope 3231.

The operation of the optical switch button 30' of the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to Figs. 15A and 15B. As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, when the keycap 310 is not pressed, the protruding portion 323 and the deformable portion 338 at least partially overlap in the moving direction (for example, the Z-axis direction) of the parallel keycap 310, and the deformable portion 338 and the light transmission The path has a first spatial relationship, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 is the first intensity. When the keycap 310 is pressed, the keycap 310 drives the support mechanism 320 to move, so that the elastic member 332 is compressed and the protrusion 323 is pushed against the deformable portion 338, so that the deformable portion 338 and the light transmission path system no longer have the first space. The relationship is such that the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 340 to generate the trigger signal. Similarly, in this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents the deformable portion 338 away from the light transmitting path, and the deformable portion 338 does not substantially change the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 343. When the deformable portion 338 and the light transmission path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the deformable portion 338 enters the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 338 attenuates the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 343 such that the second intensity is less than The first intensity is used to trigger the switch module 340 to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, when the keycap 310 is pressed to move the support mechanism 320, the protrusion 323 pushes against the deformable portion 338 to at least partially block the light signal such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity. In an embodiment, when the key cap 310 is pressed, the protruding portion 323 pushes against the deformable portion 338 to move laterally, and the protruding portion 323 and the deformable portion 338 are at least partially in contact with the moving direction of the vertical keycap 310, For example, the protruding portion 323 and the deformable portion 338 are at least partially in contact in the Y-axis direction. Specifically, when the keycap 310 drives the support mechanism 320 to move, the first inclined surface 3231 of the protruding portion 323 moves relative to the second inclined surface 3381 of the deformable portion 338 and generates a lateral component force to laterally deform the deformable portion 338. Move into the light transmission path. For example, the first inclined surface 3231 of the protruding portion 323 moves relative to the second inclined surface 3381 of the deformable portion 338 and generates a lateral component force such that the deformable portion 338 faces the bottom end of the notch portion 3343 of the upper housing 334'. The direction (ie, away from the connecting end direction of the protruding portion 323 and the inner bracket 321 and the moving direction as indicated by the arrow A) is laterally moved to at least partially block the optical signal, so that the second intensity is less than the first intensity, thereby causing the switch module 340 to generate Trigger signal.

In one embodiment, when the button cap 310 is pressed to move the protrusion 323, the deformable portion 338 preferably blocks the optical signal completely, so that the optical receiver 343 does not receive the optical signal (ie, the second intensity is zero). It should be noted that, by changing the circuit design of the circuit board 341, the switch module 340 can generate a trigger signal according to the change of the amount of light received by the light receiver 343, and can also receive the optical signal according to whether the light receiver 343 receives the light signal. To generate a trigger signal.

It should be noted that in the first to sixth embodiments, the optical switch button drives the deformable portion of the housing (for example, 111, 123, 333 or by the action portion 131 of the movable shaft 130 or the protruding portion 323 of the support mechanism 320. 338) or the shielding member 170 disposed on the housing is substantially laterally moved (or horizontally moved) relative to the pressing direction to change the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver (eg, 153 or 343), thereby triggering the switch module (eg, 150) Or 340) generating a trigger signal, thereby reducing the space requirement of the optical switch button in the Z-axis direction, and effectively reducing the button height, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the optical switch button can move (or vertically move) the deformable portion of the housing in a substantially parallel pressing direction by the action portion 131 of the movable shaft 130 or the protruding portion 323 of the support mechanism 320, so that the switch module (for example, 150 or 340) is triggered.

16A to FIG. 18B are schematic diagrams of a seventh embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B are respectively exploded views of the optical switch button according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 16C is an optical switch button of FIG. 16A. A schematic diagram of the combination of the upper casing is not shown, and FIG. 16D is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper casing along the tangent CC of FIG. 16C. As shown in FIG. 16A to FIG. 16D, the optical switch button 11 of the seventh embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 400, a movable shaft 130, an elastic member 140, and a switch module 150, and the optical switch button 11 optionally includes a backlight unit. 160. The difference between the optical switch button 11 of FIG. 16A and the optical switch button 10 of FIG. 1A is in the form of a deformable portion 411 of the lower housing 410. Therefore, the structural details and connection relationships of the remaining components of the optical switch button 11 (eg, the movable shaft 130, the elastic member 140, the switch module 150, the backlight unit 160, etc.), and the corresponding structural details of the housing 400 and the housing 100 can be Reference is made to the related description of the optical switch button 10 of the first embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the housing 400 is formed by combining the upper housing 120 and the lower housing 410. The deformable portion 411 is preferably a resilient arm extending from the lower housing 410 in the opening 117. As shown in FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B, the deformable portion 411 is preferably a resilient arm including a connecting portion 4111 and a blocking portion 4112. The connecting portion 4111 is preferably a connecting arm extending horizontally parallel to the bottom surface of the lower housing 410 to connect. The lower case 410 and the shielding portion 4112. The shielding portion 4112 is located at the free end of the deformable portion 411 and corresponds to the acting portion 131 of the movable shaft 130. The shielding portion 4112 can be pushed by the action portion 131 such that the deformable portion 411 is bent downward and displaced. When the shielding portion 4112 is pushed by the action portion 131, the shielding portion 4112 elastically deforms the connecting portion 4111 with respect to the lower casing 410. In an embodiment, the shielding portion 4112 of the deformable portion 411 preferably has a size that can substantially completely block the optical signal, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the blocking portion 4112 of the deformable portion 411 at least partially blocks the optical signal.

The optical switch according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to FIGS. 18A and 18B. The operation of the key 11 is shown in FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B respectively. The optical switch button 11 includes a cross-sectional view of the upper casing in the unpressed position and the pressed position along the tangent line DD of FIG. 16C. As shown in FIG. 18A, when the movable shaft 130 is in the undepressed position, the acting portion 131 preferably at least partially overlaps the deformable portion 411 in the direction of the parallel motion path. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 411 preferably overlap at least partially in the Z-axis direction, that is, the vertical projection of the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 411 in the lower housing 410 is at least partially Partial overlap. Moreover, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 411 has a first spatial relationship with the light transmission path, and the optical signal received by the light receiver 153 is the first intensity. In this embodiment, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 411 enters the light transmitting path portion less, the deformable portion 411 blocks the lower amount of the optical signal, and the optical receiver receives the optical signal received by the 153. A strong intensity. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 411 is preferably located above the light transmission path, so that the light signal emitted by the light emitter 152 is preferably received by the light without being blocked by the deformable portion 411. Receiver 153 receives the optical signal with a relatively strong intensity (eg, unblocked/attenuated optical signal strength).

As shown in FIG. 18B, when the movable shaft 130 is moved from the unpressed position to the pressed position in response to the pressing force, the movable shaft 130 moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member 140 and push against the deformable portion 411, so that the deformable portion 411 is moved. The optical signal is no longer in the first spatial relationship, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal. In other words, when the movable shaft 130 moves along the movement path toward the bottom of the lower casing 410 to the pressing position, the acting portion 131 pushes down against the deformable portion 411 to change the spatial relationship between the deformable portion 411 and the light transmission path, thereby changing The optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is used to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger signal. In this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents the deformable portion 411 away from the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 411 does not substantially change the light reception. The intensity of the optical signal received by the device 153. When the deformable portion 411 and the light transmission path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the deformable portion 411 enters the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 411 attenuates the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 153 such that the second intensity is less than The first intensity is used to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, when the key cap is pressed to move the movable shaft 130 toward the bottom of the lower casing 410, the acting portion 131 moves downward along the moving path along the movable shaft 130, so that the end (ie, the lower end) of the acting portion 131 abuts. The shielding portion 4112 of the deformable portion 411 is pressed downward against the shielding portion 4112 such that the deformable portion 411 is elastically deformed downward with the connecting end of the connecting portion 4111 as a fulcrum, and the blocking portion 4112 at least partially blocks the optical signal (for example, at least partially The grating aperture 1181 is blocked such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity, thereby causing the switch module 150 to generate a trigger signal.

19A to FIG. 21B are schematic diagrams showing an eighth embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B are respectively exploded views of the optical switch button according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 19C is an optical switch button of FIG. 19A. The upper schematic view of the upper casing is not shown, and FIG. 19D is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper casing along the tangent line EE of FIG. 19C. As shown in FIG. 19A to FIG. 19D, the optical switch button 11' of the seventh embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 400', a movable shaft 130, an elastic member 140, and a switch module 150, and the optical switch button 11' can be selectively selected. A backlight unit 160 is included. The difference between the optical switch button 11' of Fig. 19A and the optical switch button 10' of Fig. 4A is in the form of the deformable portion 421 of the upper casing 420. Therefore, the structural details and connection relationship of the remaining components of the optical switch button 11' (for example, the movable shaft 130, the elastic member 140, the switch module 150, the backlight unit 160, etc.), and the structure corresponding to the housing 400' and the housing 100' For details, refer to the related description of the optical switch buttons 10, 10' of the first or second embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the housing 400' is combined by the upper housing 420 and the lower housing 410'. The deformable portion 421 is preferably a resilient arm extending from the upper housing 420. As shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, the deformable portion 421 is preferably a resilient arm including a connecting portion 4211 and a blocking portion 4212. For example, the connecting portion 4211 is preferably an L-shaped connecting arm, wherein the connecting portion 4211 extends vertically downward from the lower surface of the upper housing 420 toward the lower housing 410', and then extends horizontally to connect the blocking portion 4212 and correspondingly The action portion 131 of the movable shaft 130. In other words, the length of the connecting portion 4211 extending downward from the upper casing 420 is preferably such that the connecting portion 4211 partially extends horizontally below the acting portion 131. The shielding portion 4212 is located at the free end of the deformable portion 421, and the size of the shielding portion 4212 is preferably larger than the size of the connecting portion 4211, so that the connecting portion 4211 has a large elastic deformation force with respect to the shielding portion 4212. When the horizontal section of the connecting portion 4211 is pushed by the acting portion 131, the blocking portion 4212 is elastically deformed downward with respect to the lower casing 410'. In one embodiment, the shielding portion 4212 of the deformable portion 421 preferably has a size that can substantially completely block the optical signal, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the shielding portion 4212 of the deformable portion 421 at least partially blocks the optical signal.

21A and 21B, the operation of the optical switch button 11' of the eighth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. FIG. 21A and FIG. 21B are respectively the optical switch button 11' along the tangent line FF of FIG. 19C in the unpressed position and the pressed position. Schematic diagram of the section. As shown in FIG. 21A, when the movable shaft 130 is in the undepressed position, the acting portion 131 preferably at least partially overlaps the deformable portion 421 in the direction of the parallel motion path. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 421 preferably overlap at least partially in the Z-axis direction, that is, the vertical projection of the acting portion 131 and the deformable portion 421 in the lower casing 410'. At least partially overlap. Moreover, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 421 has a first spatial relationship with the light transmission path, and the optical signal received by the light receiver 153 is the first intensity. In this embodiment, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 421 enters the light transmission path portion less, and the deformable portion 421 blocks the lower amount of the light signal, and the light receiver The first intensity of the received optical signal is strong. For example, when the movable shaft 130 is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion 421 is preferably located above the light transmission path, so that the light signal emitted by the light emitter 152 is preferably received by the light without being blocked by the deformable portion 421. Receiver 153 receives the optical signal with a relatively strong intensity (eg, unblocked/attenuated optical signal strength).

As shown in FIG. 21B, when the movable shaft 130 is moved from the unpressed position to the pressed position in response to the pressing force, the movable shaft 130 moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member 140 and push against the deformable portion 421 to move, so that the deformable portion 421 The optical signal is no longer in the first spatial relationship, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 150 to generate the trigger signal. In other words, when the movable shaft 130 moves along the movement path toward the bottom of the lower casing 110 to the pressing position, the acting portion 131 pushes down against the deformable portion 421 to change the spatial relationship between the deformable portion 421 and the light transmission path, thereby changing The optical signal received by the optical receiver 153 is used to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger signal. In this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents the deformable portion 421 away from the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 421 does not substantially change the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 153. When the deformable portion 421 and the light transmission path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the deformable portion 421 enters the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 421 attenuates the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 153 such that the second intensity is less than The first intensity is used to trigger the switch module 150 to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, when the keycap is pressed to move the movable shaft 130 toward the bottom of the lower casing 410', the acting portion 131 moves downward along the moving path with the movable shaft 130, so that the end (ie, the lower end) of the acting portion 131 is abutted. And pressing down the deformable portion 421 (for example, the horizontal portion or the shielding portion 4212 of the connecting portion 4211), so that the deformable portion 421 is elastically deformed downward with the connecting end of the connecting portion 4211 as a fulcrum, and at least partially blocks the optical signal ( For example, at least partially blocking the grating aperture 1181) such that the second intensity Less than the first intensity, the switch module 150 generates a trigger signal.

22 to FIG. 24B are schematic diagrams showing a ninth embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 22 is a schematic exploded view of the optical switch button according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 23 is a schematic view of the lower housing of the optical switch button of FIG. 24A and 24B are a top view and a perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 22 not showing the keycap. As shown in FIG. 22 to FIG. 24B, the optical switch button 31 of the ninth embodiment of the present invention includes a key cap 310, a support mechanism 320, a return mechanism 530, a switch module 340, and a bottom plate 350, and the optical switch button 31 can be selectively selected. A backlight source 360 is included. The optical switch button 31 of FIG. 22 differs from the optical switch button 30 of FIG. 10 in the form of a deformable portion 533 of the lower housing 535. Therefore, the structural details and connection relationship of the remaining components of the optical switch button 31 (for example, the keycap 310, the support mechanism 320, the switch module 340, the bottom plate 350, the backlight source 360, etc.), and the corresponding structure of the return mechanism 530 and the return mechanism 330 For details and connection relationship, refer to the related description of the optical switch button 30 of the fifth embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the housing 531 is formed by combining the upper housing 334 and the lower housing 535. The deformable portion 533 is preferably a resilient arm extending from the lower housing 535 in the notch portion 3343 of the upper housing 334. As shown in FIG. 23, the deformable portion 533 is preferably a resilient arm including a connecting portion 5331 and a blocking portion 5332. The connecting portion 5331 preferably extends from the wall surface of the bottom end of the U-shaped horizontal section of the lower casing 535 toward the open end of the U-shaped horizontal section, and extends upward in the direction of the upper casing 334, and then extends horizontally in the direction of the action portion 131. Below the portion 131. In this embodiment, the length of the connecting portion 5331 extending upward from the lower casing 535 is preferably such that the connecting portion 5331 partially extends horizontally above the light transmission path. The shielding portion 5332 is located at the free end of the deformable portion 533. When the horizontal section of the connecting portion 5331 is pushed by the acting portion 131, the blocking portion 5332 is elastically deformed downward with respect to the lower casing 535. In an embodiment, the shielding portion 5332 of the deformable portion 533 preferably has a size that substantially completely blocks the optical signal, but does not This is limited. In other embodiments, the shielding portion 5332 of the deformable portion 533 at least partially blocks the optical signal.

The operation of the optical switch button 31 of the ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to Figs. 24A and 24B. As shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, when the keycap 310 is not pressed, the protruding portion 323 and the deformable portion 533 at least partially overlap in the moving direction (for example, the Z-axis direction) of the parallel keycap 310, and the deformable portion 533 and the light transmission The path has a first spatial relationship, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 is the first intensity. When the keycap 310 is pressed, the keycap 310 drives the support mechanism 320 to move, so that the elastic member 332 is compressed and the protruding portion 323 is pushed against the deformable portion 533, so that the deformable portion 533 and the optical transmission path system no longer have the first space. The relationship is such that the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 340 to generate the trigger signal.

In this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents the deformable portion 533 away from the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 533 does not substantially change the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 343. When the deformable portion 533 and the light transmission path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the deformable portion 533 enters the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 533 attenuates the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 343 such that the second intensity is less than The first intensity is used to trigger the switch module 340 to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, when the pressing of the keycap 310 drives the supporting mechanism 320 to move, the protruding portion 323 pushes against the connecting portion 5331 or the blocking portion 5332 of the deformable portion 533, so that the blocking portion 5332 is connected with the lower housing 535 by the connecting portion 5331. The end is elastically deformed downward as a fulcrum, thereby at least partially blocking the optical signal such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity. In one embodiment, when the button cap 310 is pressed to move the protrusion 323, the deformable portion 533 preferably blocks the optical signal completely, so that the light receiver 343 does not receive the optical signal (ie, the second intensity is zero). It should be noted that, by changing the circuit design of the circuit board 341, the switch module 340 can generate a trigger signal according to the change of the amount of light received by the light receiver 343, and can also receive the optical signal according to whether the light receiver 343 receives the light signal. To generate a trigger signal.

25 to 27B are schematic views of a tenth embodiment of the optical switch button according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 26 is a schematic view of the upper housing of the optical switch button of FIG. 27A and 27B are a top view and a perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 25 not showing the keycap. As shown in FIG. 25 to FIG. 27B, the optical switch button 31' of the tenth embodiment of the present invention includes a key cap 310, a support mechanism 320, a return mechanism 530', a switch module 340, and a bottom plate 350, and the optical switch button 31' can be The selectivity further includes a backlight source 360. The difference between the optical switch button 31' of Figure 25 and the optical switch button 30' of Figure 13 is in the form of a deformable portion 538 of the upper housing 534. Therefore, the structural details and connection relationships of the remaining components of the optical switch button 31' (eg, the keycap 310, the support mechanism 320, the switch module 340, the bottom plate 350, the backlight source 360, etc.), and the recovery mechanism 530' and the recovery mechanism 330, For the corresponding structural details and the connection relationship of the 330', refer to the related description of the optical switch button of the fifth or sixth embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the housing 531' is formed by combining the upper housing 534 and the lower housing 535'. The deformable portion 538 is preferably a resilient arm extending from the upper housing 534 to the notch portion 3343 of the upper housing 534. As shown in FIG. 26, the deformable portion 538 is preferably a resilient arm including a connecting portion 5381 and a blocking portion 5382. One end of the connecting portion 5381 is connected to the upper casing 534, and the other end of the connecting portion 5381 is connected to the shielding portion 5383. The connecting portion 5381 of the deformable portion 538 is preferably a rod-shaped portion or an arm portion having any suitable shape, wherein one end of the connecting portion 5381 is preferably connected to one of the right arm portion 3346 or the left arm portion 3345, and the connecting portion The other end of the 5381 extends in the direction of the other arm to connect the blocking portion 5382 to form a free end of the deformable portion 538. For example, one end of the connecting portion 5381 of the deformable portion 538 is connected to the right arm portion 3346, and the other end of the connecting portion 5381 extends in the direction of the left arm portion 3345 and partially corresponds to the opening of the notch portion 3343. The shielding portion 5382 is preferably laterally connected from the end of the connecting portion 5381 and extends downward in the Z-axis direction. Moreover, depending on the practical application, the deformable portion 538 can have any suitable shape. The elastic arm is shaped such that the deformable portion 538 has a free end corresponding to the protruding portion 323 and a connecting end connecting the upper casing 534, and the free end can be displaced by the protruding portion 323 against displacement (or elastic deformation) with respect to the connecting end. In an embodiment, the shielding portion 5382 of the deformable portion 538 preferably has a size that can substantially completely block the optical signal, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the obscuring portion 5382 of the deformable portion 538 at least partially obscures the optical signal.

The operation of the optical switch button 31' of the tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to Figs. 27A and 27B. As shown in FIGS. 27A and 27B, when the keycap 310 is not pressed, the protruding portion 323 and the deformable portion 538 at least partially overlap in the moving direction (for example, the Z-axis direction) of the parallel key cap 310, and the deformable portion 538 and the light transmission The path has a first spatial relationship, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 is the first intensity. When the keycap 310 is pressed, the keycap 310 drives the support mechanism 320 to move, so that the elastic member 332 is compressed and the protruding portion 323 is pushed against the deformable portion 538, so that the deformable portion 538 and the optical transmission path system no longer have the first space. The relationship is such that the optical signal received by the optical receiver 343 is the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 340 to generate the trigger signal.

In this embodiment, the first spatial relationship represents the deformable portion 538 away from the light transmission path (eg, above the light transmission path), and the deformable portion 538 does not substantially change the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 343. When the deformable portion 538 and the light transmission path no longer have a first spatial relationship, the deformable portion 538 enters the light transmission path, and the deformable portion 538 attenuates the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 343 such that the second intensity is less than The first intensity is used to trigger the switch module 340 to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, when the pressing of the keycap 310 drives the supporting mechanism 320 to move, the protruding portion 323 pushes against the connecting portion 5381 or the shielding portion 5382 of the deformable portion 538, so that the blocking portion 5382 is connected with the upper casing 534 by the connecting portion 5381. The end is elastically deformed downward as a fulcrum, and at least partially blocks The optical signal is such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity. In one embodiment, when the button cap 310 is pressed to move the protrusion 323, the deformable portion 538 preferably blocks the optical signal completely, so that the optical receiver 343 does not receive the optical signal (ie, the second intensity is zero). It should be noted that, by changing the circuit design of the circuit board 341, the switch module 340 can generate a trigger signal according to the change of the amount of light received by the light receiver 343, and can also receive the optical signal according to whether the light receiver 343 receives the light signal. To generate a trigger signal.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of FIG. 1A to FIG. 15B, the changing action portion 131 (or the protruding portion 323) and the deformable portion have a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface, so that the deformable portion is received. The action portion 131 (or the protruding portion 323) is laterally displaced by the pushing, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, by changing the design of the action portion 131 (or the protrusion 323) and the deformable portion, the action portion 131 (or the protrusion portion 323) and the deformable portion only have a suitable slope, which may also The deformable portion and the acting portion 131 (or the protruding portion 323) move relative to each other along the inclined surface, thereby pushing the lateral displacement of the deformable portion. In the embodiment of FIGS. 16A to 27B, the acting portion 131 (or the protruding portion 323) does not have a corresponding inclined surface with the deformable portion, so that the deformable portion is subjected to the action portion 131 or the protruding portion 323 when the pushing portion is attached to the writing portion. 131 or protrusion 323 moves along the path of motion. In the embodiment of FIG. 16A to FIG. 27B , the deformable portion is pushed by the action portion 131 or the protruding portion 323 to block at least the optical signal, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, by changing the design of the deformable portion and the acting portion (or the protruding portion), when the optical switch button is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion enters the optical transmission path portion more or blocks the optical signal amount. When the optical switch is pressed at the pressing position, the deformable portion is pushed downward by the acting portion (or the protruding portion) to be displaced downward, so that the amount of the optical signal blocked by the deformable portion is small, and the optical receiver 153 is received. The intensity of the optical signal is strong (ie, the second intensity is greater than the first intensity), and the trigger switch module 150 generates a trigger signal.

In addition, in the fifth, sixth, ninth and tenth embodiments described above, The protruding portion 323 of the brace mechanism 320 is pushed against the deformable portion of the housing, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the design of the deformable portion can be changed while the deformable portion is pushed by the bracket itself of the support mechanism 320 without the need to provide a protrusion. Specifically, when the position keycap is not pressed, the deformable portion may have a length extending below the support mechanism 320 such that when the keycap is pressed, the support mechanism 320 moves downward to push the deformable portion to move to change the light reception. The intensity of the optical signal received by the device. For example, when the keycap is not pressed, the vertical projection of the deformable portion and the key end of the inner bracket 321 of the support mechanism 320 on the bottom plate substantially overlaps at least partially, that is, the deformation portion extends below the key end of the inner bracket 321 . Therefore, when the keycap is pressed and the support mechanism 320 is moved downward, the key end of the inner bracket 321 can be pushed against the deformable portion to change the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver. Furthermore, depending on the actual application, the inner edge of the inner end of the inner bracket 321 and the deformable portion may or may not have a corresponding inclined surface, so that when the keycap is pressed, the inner bracket 321 pushes against the lateral displacement or the direct displacement of the deformable portion.

The present invention has been described by the above embodiments, but the above embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments specifically described herein may have other modifications of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is intended to cover such modifications and are only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (22)

An optical switch button comprises: a casing having a deformable portion; and a movable shaft movably disposed on the casing, wherein the movable shaft can move up and down along a moving path in response to a pressing force a pressing position and a pressed position; an elastic member disposed in the housing, the elastic member coupled to the movable shaft, the elastic member returning the movable shaft to the unpressed position when the pressing force is removed And a switch module comprising a circuit board, a light emitter and a light receiver, the light emitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light emitter emits an optical signal, the optical signal Arriving the optical receiver along an optical transmission path; wherein when the movable axis is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion has a first spatial relationship with the optical transmission path, and the optical receiver receives the The optical signal is a first intensity; wherein when the movable shaft moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position due to the pressing force, the movable shaft moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member and push the deformable portion mobile, The optically deformable portion and the optical transmission path system no longer have the first spatial relationship, such that the optical signal received by the optical receiver is a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity, Triggering the switch module generates a trigger signal. The optical switch button of claim 1, wherein when the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the deformable portion enters the light transmitting path portion less, and the deformable portion blocks the light signal amount is lower, the light The optical signal received by the receiver is the first intensity; wherein when the movable axis is located at the pressing position, the deformable portion moves laterally away from the moving path, and the deformable portion enters the optical transmission path portion more. The deformable portion blocks the higher amount of the optical signal, and the optical receiver receives the The optical signal is the second intensity such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity. The optical switch button of claim 1, wherein the movable shaft has an acting portion that protrudes along the moving path and corresponds to the deformable portion. When the movable shaft is located at the unpressed position, the active portion is The deformable portion at least partially overlaps in a direction parallel to the moving path; when the movable shaft moves along the moving path to push the deformable portion laterally, the acting portion and the deformable portion are perpendicular to the moving path At least partially in contact. The optical switch button of claim 3, wherein the active portion has a first inclined surface, the deformable portion has a second inclined surface, the first oblique surface facing the second inclined surface, and the movable shaft moves along the moving path The first slope is moved relative to the second slope to move the deformable portion laterally. The optical switch button of claim 3, wherein the circuit board further has a escaping space, and when the movable shaft is located at the pressing position, the end of the acting portion extends beyond the deformable portion into the escaping space. The optical switch button of claim 1, wherein the housing is formed by a combination of an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing having a through hole and an upper engaging portion, the movable shaft being movably inserted Positioning the elastic member in the through hole, the deformable portion is disposed on the lower casing, and the lower casing has a lower engaging portion for engaging with the upper engaging portion to make the upper casing The lower casing is joined. The optical switch button of claim 1, wherein the housing is formed by a combination of an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing having a through hole and an upper engaging portion, the movable shaft being movably inserted Positioning the elastic member in the through hole, the deformable portion is disposed on the upper casing, and the lower casing has a lower engaging portion for engaging with the upper engaging portion to make the upper casing The lower casing is joined. The optical switch button of claim 7, wherein the housing further has a grating portion, the grating portion has a grating aperture and is located between the light emitter and the light receiver, the deformable portion has a level Extending the shaft, the horizontally extending shaft does not pass through the grating aperture when the movable shaft is in the unpressed position; the horizontally extending shaft passes through the grating aperture when the deformable portion moves laterally away from the moving path. The optical switch button of claim 7, wherein the circuit board further has a positioning hole, and the lower housing has a positioning post, and the positioning post is inserted into the positioning hole to position the housing on the circuit board. The optical switch button of claim 7, further comprising a light guide column and a backlight source, wherein the light guide column is disposed in the housing corresponding to the elastic member, and the backlight source is electrically connected to the circuit board corresponding to the light guide column A light is emitted toward the active axis. An optical switch button comprises: a housing; a movable shaft movably disposed on the housing, wherein the movable shaft can move up and down along an movement path to an unpressed position and is pressed according to a pressing force Positioning; an elastic member disposed in the housing, the elastic member coupled to the movable shaft, the elastic member returning the movable shaft to the unpressed position when the pressing force is removed; a switch module, The invention comprises a circuit board, an optical transmitter and an optical receiver, wherein the optical transmitter and the optical receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the optical transmitter emits an optical signal, and the optical signal is along an optical transmission path. Arriving at the optical receiver; and a shielding member disposed on the housing, wherein when the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the shielding member has a first spatial relationship with the optical transmission path, and the optical receiver receives The optical signal is a first intensity; wherein when the movable axis moves from the unpressed position to the pressed position due to the pressing force, the movable shaft moves along the moving path to compress the elastic member and drive the shielding Piece shift , So that the shield member and the light transmission path of the system no longer has a first spatial relationship, so that the light receiving The optical signal received by the device is a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal. The optical switch button of claim 11, wherein when the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the shielding member enters the optical transmission path portion, and the shielding member blocks the optical signal to be low, the optical receiver The received optical signal is the first intensity; wherein when the movable axis is in the pressing position, the shielding member moves laterally away from the moving path, and the shielding member enters the optical transmission path portion, and the shielding member blocks The optical signal is higher, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the second intensity, such that the second intensity is less than the first intensity. The optical switch button of claim 11, wherein when the movable shaft is in the unpressed position, the shielding member is located in the light transmission path, the shielding member blocks the optical signal, and the light received by the optical receiver The signal is the first intensity; wherein when the movable axis is in the pressing position, the shielding member moves laterally away from the optical transmission path, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver is the second intensity, so that the second The intensity is greater than the first intensity. The optical switch button of claim 11, wherein the housing is formed by a combination of an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing having a through hole and an upper engaging portion, the movable shaft being movably inserted Positioning the elastic member in the through hole, the lower housing has a lower engaging portion for engaging with the upper engaging portion, so that the upper housing is coupled to the lower housing, and the housing further has a grating portion having a grating aperture between the light emitter and the light receiver, the shielding member having a shielding portion, the shielding portion corresponding to the movement of the movable shaft is selectively opposite to the light emitting portion The grating aperture is shielded. An optical switch button comprises: a key cap; a support mechanism disposed under the key cap and supporting the key cap to move up/down; a returning mechanism is disposed under the keycap to provide a restoring force to return the keycap to a position before pressing after pressing, the returning mechanism comprising a casing and an elastic member, wherein the elastic component is disposed on the shell In the body, the housing has a deformable portion; and a switch module comprising a circuit board, a light emitter and a light receiver, the light emitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the The light emitter emits a light signal corresponding to the light receiver, wherein when the key cap is not pressed, the light signal received by the light receiver is a first intensity; when the key cap is pressed, the key cap drives the light The supporting mechanism is moved such that the elastic member is compressed and the supporting mechanism is pushed against the deformable portion to change the optical signal received by the optical receiver to be a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity To trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal. The optical switch button of claim 15, wherein the support mechanism comprises an inner bracket and an outer bracket, the inner bracket is pivotally connected to the inner side of the outer bracket to form a scissor support mechanism, and the support mechanism has a protrusion The protruding portion protrudes from the inner bracket toward an inner side of the inner bracket. The optical switch button of claim 16, wherein when the keycap is pressed to move the support mechanism, the protruding portion pushes against the deformable portion to at least partially block the optical signal, such that the second intensity is less than the first An intensity. The optical switch button of claim 16, wherein the protrusion and the deformable portion at least partially overlap in a moving direction parallel to the keycap when the keycap is not pressed; when the keycap is pressed, the protrusion Pushing the deformable portion laterally, and the protruding portion and the deformable portion are at least partially in contact with the moving direction of the keycap. The optical switch button of claim 16, wherein the protrusion has a first slope, the variable The first inclined surface corresponds to the second inclined surface, and when the keycap drives the supporting mechanism to move, the first inclined surface moves relative to the second inclined surface to move the deformable portion laterally . The optical switch button of claim 15, wherein the housing is formed by a combination of an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing having a through hole and an upper engaging portion, the deformable portion being disposed under the a housing, and the lower housing has a lower engaging portion for engaging with the upper engaging portion to connect the upper housing to the lower housing. The optical switch button of claim 15, wherein the housing is formed by a combination of an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing having a through hole and an upper engaging portion, wherein the deformable portion is disposed thereon a housing, and the lower housing has a lower engaging portion for engaging with the upper engaging portion to connect the upper housing to the lower housing. The optical switch button of claim 20 or 21, wherein the housing further has a grating portion, the grating portion is located between the light emitter and the light receiver, and when the keycap is pressed, the support mechanism pushes The deformable portion is moved to change the relative position of the deformable portion and the grating portion.