TW202016963A - Keyswitch - Google Patents

Abstract

A keyswitch includes a board, a cover, a cap, a sleeve, and an acoustic member. The cover is disposed on the board and has a side opening. A pillar extends from the cap toward the board. A rib protrudes outwardly from the pillar. The sleeve is movably disposed through the board and passes through the cover to be detachably connected to the pillar. The acoustic member is disposed outside the board and has a flexible rod to be located under the rib. When the cap drives the sleeve to move downward to make the rib move downward along the side opening and deformation of the flexible rod caused by pressing of the rib is enough to make the flexible rod cross the rib, the flexible rod is released and then moves upward to collide with the cover for making a sound.

Description

button

The invention relates to a key, in particular to a key provided with a sound-generating component outside the base.

As far as the current personal computer usage habits are concerned, the keyboard is one of the indispensable input devices for inputting text, symbols or numbers. Not only that, all consumer electronic products that are touched in daily life or large-scale processing equipment used in the industry need to be provided with a key structure as an input device to operate the above-mentioned electronic products and processing equipment.

In practical applications, in order to provide users with different tactile feedback (tactile feedback), it is necessary to design different specifications of key switches for users to purchase; for example: e-sports keyboard will indicate on the packaging box The key switch used is a red axis, brown axis, black axis or other color axis; different colors are used to inform the user of the pressing feeling of the keyboard keys, for example, it can include: the level of the conductive position of the trigger spring and the trigger contact, and the key press Travel (travel distance), press paragraph sense (tactile or linear), or press sound feedback (clicky or non-clicky), etc.

In terms of the feedback of pressing sound and the design of pressing paragraph, it usually needs to add an additional sound-producing elastic member at a position inside the key switch that can interfere with the convex rib on the sleeve member of the key, so that when the user presses the key down At this time, the sound-emitting elastic member can be pressed and deformed by the convex ribs during the pressing process, and then pass over the convex ribs to produce a sense of paragraph or further hit the internal components of the key switch to generate sound. However, the above design that an additional sound-emitting elastic member must be added inside the key switch often results in a time-consuming and labor-intensive key manufacturing and assembly process, and also causes unnecessary design restrictions on the internal configuration of the key switch.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a key provided with a sound-generating member outside the base to solve the above-mentioned problem.

According to an embodiment, the key of the present invention includes a base, an upper cover, a key cap, a sleeve member, and a sounding member. The upper cover is arranged on the base and has a slotted hole on one side. The key cap extends toward the base to form a connecting post, and a convex rib protrudes outward from a position corresponding to the slotted hole on the side of the connecting post. The sleeve member can be movably penetrated in the base and the upper cover can be detachably connected to the connecting post of the key cap, so that the key cap can be between a higher position and a lower position move up and down. The sound-generating member is disposed outside the base and has a flexible rod portion to be located under the convex rib. When the keycap receives an external force to drive the sleeve member to move downwards so that the rib moves down along the side slotted hole, and the flexible rod portion is flexed by the pressure of the rib When the deformation is insufficient to allow the flexible rod portion to pass over the convex rib, the flexible rod portion flexes and deforms downward with the convex rib. When the deflection of the flexible rod is sufficient to allow the flexible rod to cross the rib, the flexible rod that is deformed and deformed is released and an upward motion strikes the upper cover to make a sound.

According to another embodiment, the key of the present invention includes a base, a keycap, an upper cover, a sleeve member, and a sounding member. The upper cover is arranged on the base and has a slotted hole on one side. The sleeve member can be movably penetrated in the base, and a convex rib protrudes outwardly from a position of the corresponding slotted hole of the sleeve member, and the sleeve member passes through the upper cover to be detachably connected to the base Keycap so that the keycap can move up and down between a higher position and a lower position. The sound-generating member is disposed outside the base and has a flexible rod portion to be located under the convex rib. When the keycap receives an external force to drive the sleeve member to move downwards, the convex rib moves down along the side slotted hole, and the flexible rod is pressed by the convex rib When the deflection deformation is insufficient to allow the flexible rod portion to pass over the convex rib, the flexible rod portion deflects and deforms downward with the convex rib. When the deflection of the flexible rod is sufficient to allow the flexible rod to cross the rib, the flexible rod that is deformed and deformed is released and an upward motion strikes the upper cover to make a sound.

Through the above design, since the present invention adopts the configuration in which the sound-generating member is directly arranged outside the base without adding a sound-generating member inside the key switch, the present invention can not only effectively solve the need for additional sound-elasticity mentioned in the prior art The problem of time-consuming and labor-intensive key manufacturing and assembly process caused by the components inside the key switch can also increase the flexibility of the component configuration of the key in the internal space between the upper cover and the base, which is conducive to the thin design of the key.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention can be further understood through the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is a partial exploded schematic view of the key 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view of the key cap 16 of FIG. 1 from another perspective, As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the key 10 includes a base 12, an upper cover 14, a keycap 16, a sleeve member 18, and a sound-emitting member 20. The upper cover 14 is disposed on the base 12 and has a side slotted hole 22. The key cap 16 extends toward the base 12 to form a connecting post 24, and the rib 26 protrudes outward from the position of the corresponding slot hole 22 of the connecting post 24. The sleeve member 18 is movably disposed in the base 12 and penetrates the upper cover 14 to be detachably connected to the connecting post 24 of the keycap 16, so that the keycap 16 can move up and down between the upper position and the lower position mobile. The sound-generating member 20 is disposed outside the base 12 and has a flexible rod portion 28 to be located below the rib 26. In more detail, in this embodiment, the upper cover 14 may have a protrusion 30, and the upper cover 14 protrudes outward A stop block 32 is formed, and the sound-emitting element 20 may further have a spring portion 34. The flexible rod portion 28 extends from the spring portion 34 toward the stop block 32. The spring portion 34 is sleeved on the boss 30 and stops The block 32 preloads the flexible rod 28.

In practical applications, in order to improve the convenience of assembly, the sleeve member 18 may preferably extend toward the connecting post 24 to form a convex shaft 19 (preferably cross-shaped, but not limited thereto), the connecting post 24 corresponds to the convex The position of the shaft 19 may have a groove 25, whereby the convex shaft 19 may be inserted into the groove 25 to detachably connect the key cap 16 to the sleeve member 18. In addition, the key 10 may further include an elastic member 36. The elastic member 36 may be preferably a spring (but not limited to this) and is disposed between the sleeve member 18 and the base 12, thereby, when the key cap When the 16 is not pressed by an external force, the elastic member 36 can drive the keycap 16 to return to a higher position via the sleeve member 18, thereby generating the effect that the keycap 16 can automatically return to position, so that the user can perform subsequent keycap pressing operations.

Through the above design, after the keycap 16 is connected to the sleeve member 18, the key 10 can provide a pressing feel with a sense of frustration and a pressing sound during the process of the user pressing the keycap 16, for more details, please refer to Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure 5, Figure 3 is the front view of the key 10 of Figure 1 when the keycap 16 is assembled to the sleeve member 18, Figure 4 is the rib 26 of Figure 3 The front view of the keycap 16 moves downward and presses down the deflectable rod portion 28 to flex and deform downward. FIG. 5 is a front view of the key 10 of FIG. 4 when the keycap 16 is pressed to a lower position, for clarity The structural actuation relationship between the flexible rod portion 28 and the rib 26 is shown, and the keycap 16 is schematically shown by a broken line in FIGS. 3 to 5. When the keycap 16 is located at a higher position as shown in FIG. 3 (at this time, the rib 26 is located above the flexible rod portion 28) and the keycap 16 receives external force to drive the sleeve member 18 to move downward and cause the rib to move When the 26 moves downward along the side slotted hole 22, during the downward movement of the keycap 16, the flexible rod portion 28 will correspondingly cross the rib 26.

In the above process, when the keycap 16 moves downwards, and the flexible rod portion 28 is pressed against the rib 26, the deflection caused by the pressing force is insufficient to make the flexible rod portion 28 pass the rib 26. The flexure bar portion 28 flexes and deforms with the rib 26 downward and away from the stopper 32 (as shown in FIG. 4 ). Next, when the upward restoring force generated by the flexural deformation of the flexible rod portion 28 increases enough to allow the flexible rod portion 28 to pass over the rib 26, the flexible rod portion 28 due to the deflection deformation is no longer The rib 26 abuts the depression, so the flexible rod portion 28 can be released correspondingly, and then move upward to return to the position shown in FIG. 5 and hit the stopper 32 of the upper cover 14 to make a sound In this way, the key 10 can provide a sense of frustration when the flexible rib 26 presses the flexible rod portion 28 under deflection and then the flexible rod portion 28 is released, and the flexible rod portion 28 strikes When reaching the stopper 32 of the upper cover 14, a pressing sound is given. Finally, when the keycap 16 is moved to a lower position as shown in FIG. 5, the sleeve member 18 can perform the switch trigger operation of the key 10 (relevant descriptions of key switch trigger design and principles are common in the prior art , Which will not be repeated here), so that the key 10 can perform the function that the user wants to input accordingly.

In this way, since the present invention adopts a configuration in which the sound-generating member is directly arranged outside the base without adding a sound-generating member inside the key switch, the present invention can not only effectively solve the problem mentioned in the prior art, which requires additional sound-elasticity The problem of time-consuming and labor-intensive key manufacturing and assembly process caused by the components inside the key switch can also increase the flexibility of the component configuration of the key in the internal space between the upper cover and the base, which is conducive to the thin design of the key.

It should be noted that, as can be seen from the above, since the keycap 16 is detachably connected to the sleeve member 18, the key 10 can allow the user to adjust the pressing feel of the key 10 by replacing the keycap, for example , When the user wants to switch the button 10 to a pressing feel that can provide no frustration and no sound when the user presses the keycap, the user only needs to use the adjusting jig or pliers hand tool to change the keycap 16 is detached from the sleeve member 18, and then the conventional standard keycap without the ribs 26 is assembled to the sleeve member 18, as a result, during the process of the user pressing the keycap The flexible rod portion 28 will not be actuated by the rib 26 abutting and pressing down, and then over the rib 26 to hit the stopper 32 and emit a pressing sound. Therefore, the key 10 can provide a sense of no frustration and Pressing feel without pressing sound.

In addition, the structural design of the sound-generating member may not be limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, please refer to FIG. 6, which is a front view of the key 10' according to another embodiment of the present invention. The structural design and configuration of the sound-generating member 20'. The keycap 16 is shown in broken lines in FIG. 6, and the elements with the same number in this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiment have the same structure. Or functions, the relevant descriptions are not repeated here. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the key 10 ′ includes the base 12, the upper cover 14, the keycap 16, the sleeve member 18, and the sound-generating member 20 ′. The sound-generating member 20 ′ is provided outside the base 12 and may have a flexible rod portion 28 and the torsion spring portion 38, the flexible rod portion 28 can extend from the torsion spring portion 38 to the stop block 32, the torsion spring portion 38 can be connected to the upper cover 14 (for example, the torsion spring portion 38 is sleeved on the upper cover 14 On the side convex point and one end of the torsion spring portion 38 abuts on the bottom edge of the upper cover 14 (as shown in FIG. 6), but not limited to this). For other relevant descriptions of the key 10' (such as the connection design between the key cap and the sleeve member, the structural actuation relationship between the rib and the flexible rod portion, the configuration of the elastic member, etc.), it can refer to the above embodiment The analogy will not be repeated here.

It is worth mentioning that the configuration of the ribs may not be limited to the above embodiments. For example, please refer to FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10. FIG. 7 is another implementation according to the present invention. An example of a partial exploded view of the key 100 proposed in the example, FIG. 8 is a front view of the rib 106 of FIG. 7 above the flexible rod portion 28, and FIG. 9 is a view of the rib 106 of FIG. 8 pressing down the flexible rod FIG. 10 is a front view of the deflection deformation of the portion 28. FIG. 10 is a front view of the flexible rod portion 28 of FIG. 9 being released over the rib 106, in order to clearly show the relationship between the flexible rod portion 28 and the rib 106 For the structure actuation relationship, the illustration of the keycap 16 is omitted in FIGS. 8 to 10, and the elements with the same numbers in this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiments represent the same structure or function. The relevant description is not repeated here. As can be seen from FIGS. 7 to 10, the key 100 includes a base 12, an upper cover 14, a key cap 102, a sleeve member 104, and a sounding member 20. In this embodiment, the key cap 102 extends toward the base 12 to form a connection The post 24 is formed with a convex rib 106 protruding outward from the position of the corresponding slotted hole 22 of the sleeve member 104. The sleeve member 104 may preferably extend toward the connecting post 24 to form a convex shaft 19 (preferably cross-shaped, But not limited to this), the position of the connecting post 24 corresponding to the convex shaft 19 may have a groove 25, whereby the convex shaft 19 of the sleeve member 104 can be inserted into the groove 25 of the key cap 102 to make the key cap 102 detachable地连接到袖件104。 Ground connection 104.

Through the above design, after the key cap 102 is connected to the sleeve member 104, the key 100 can provide a pressing feel with a sense of frustration and a pressing sound during the process of pressing the key cap 102 by the user. As shown in FIGS. 10 to 10, when the sleeve member 104 moves downward with the keycap 102 and causes the rib 106 to move downward along the side slotted hole 22, during the downward movement of the sleeve member 104, The flexible rod portion 28 will pass over the rib 106 accordingly.

In the above process, when the flexible rod portion 28 is not sufficiently deformed by the ribs 106 to press against the ribs 106, the flexible rod portion 28 follows the convex The rib 106 flexes and deforms downward and away from the stop block 32 (as shown in FIG. 9 ). Next, when the deflection of the flexible rod portion 28 is sufficient to allow the flexible rod portion 28 to cross the rib 106, the flexible rod portion 28 can be released correspondingly, and then move upward to return to the 10th The position shown in the figure hits the stopper 32 of the upper cover 14 to make a sound. In this way, the key 100 can provide the deflectable rod portion 28 to flex and deform under the pressure of the rib 106 and then the deflectable rod portion The sense of frustration when 28 is released and the feeling of pressing when the flexible rod 28 hits the stopper 32 of the upper cover 14.

In this way, through the design in which the rib 106 is directly formed on the sleeve member 104, the key 100 allows the user to directly replace the key switch (ie, the push switch device constructed by the upper cover, the sleeve member and the base) To adjust the pressing feel of the button 100, for example, when the user wants to switch the button 100 to a pressing feel that can provide no frustration and no sound when the user presses the keycap, the user only needs to Remove the key cap 102 from the sleeve member 104 using an adjustment jig or pliers hand tool, and then replace the push switch device including the sleeve member 104 with the rib 106 to the one without the rib 106 and the sounding member 20 By pressing the switch device, the button 100 can provide a feeling of pressing without frustration or pressing sound. As for other related descriptions of the button 100 (such as the configuration of the elastic member, the design of the sound-emitting member, etc.), it can be referred to the above embodiment by analogy, and will not be repeated here. The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

10, 10', 100: key 12: base 14: upper cover 16, 102: keycap 18, 104: sleeve member 19: convex shaft 20, 20': sounding member 22: side slotted hole 24: connecting post 25: Groove 26, 106: rib 28: flexible rod portion 30: boss 32: stopper 34: spring portion 36: elastic member 38: torsion spring portion

FIG. 1 is a partial exploded view of a key according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view of the keycap of FIG. 1 from another perspective. Figure 3 is a front view of the button of Figure 1 when the keycap is assembled to the sleeve member. FIG. 4 is a front view of the rib of FIG. 3 as the key cap moves downward and presses down the deflectable rod portion to flex and deform downward. Figure 5 is a front view of the button of Figure 4 when the keycap is pressed to a lower position. FIG. 6 is a front view of a button according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a partial exploded view of a key according to another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 8 is a front view of the rib of Fig. 7 located above the flexible rod portion. Fig. 9 is a front view of the rib of Fig. 8 pressing down on the deflectable rod portion. FIG. 10 is a view before the flexible rod portion of FIG. 9 is released over the rib.

10: Button

12: Base

14: upper cover

16: keycap

18: sleeve parts

19: convex shaft

20: sound piece

22: Side slotted hole

24: connecting column

25: groove

26: ribs

28: Flexible rod

30: convex column

32: stop

34: Spring part

36: Elastic piece

Claims (10)

A key comprising: a base; an upper cover which is provided on the base and has a slotted hole on one side; a keycap which extends toward the base to form a connecting post, and a rib from the connecting post corresponds to the side The position of the slotted hole protrudes outward; a sleeve member is movably penetrated in the base and penetrates the upper cover to be detachably connected to the connecting post of the key cap, so that the key cap can be Moving up and down between a higher position and a lower position; and a sounding element, which is arranged outside the base and has a flexible rod portion to be located under the rib; wherein, when the keycap accepts a An external force drives the sleeve member to move downward so that the convex rib moves downward along the side slotted hole, and the deflection deformation caused by the flexible rod portion being pressed by the convex rib is insufficient to make the flexible rib deform When the flexure bar part crosses the rib, the flexure bar part deflects downward with the rib; when the deflection of the flexure bar part is sufficient to cause the flexure bar part to cross the rib At this time, the flexibly deformed flexible rod portion is released and the upward movement hits the upper cover to make a sound. The key according to claim 1, wherein the upper cover has a convex post and the upper cover protrudes outwardly to form a stop block, the sound-emitting member further has a spring portion, and the flexible rod portion extends from the spring portion to the stop The stopper is extended, the spring portion is sleeved on the convex post and the stopper pre-compresses the flexible rod portion, when the flexible rod portion is pressed by the convex rib to make the flexible rod portion When the deflection deformation of the deflectable rod portion is far enough away from the stop block and the deflectable rod portion passes the rib, the flexibly deformed flexural rod portion is released and the upward movement hits the The stop block makes a noise. The key according to claim 1, wherein the upper cover protrudes outwardly to form a stop block, and the sound-generating member further has a torsion spring portion, and the flexible rod portion extends from the torsion spring portion toward the stop block, The torsion spring part is connected to the upper cover and the stopper block pre-compresses the flexible rod part, when the flexible rod part is pressed by the convex rib to make the flexible rod part downward away from the stopper block Moreover, when the deflection deformation of the flexible rod portion is sufficient to make the flexible rod portion pass the rib, the flexural deformation of the flexible rod portion is released and the upward motion hits the stop block to make a sound. The key according to claim 1, further comprising: an elastic member disposed between the sleeve member and the base, and used for driving the keycap to return to the higher position via the sleeve member. The key according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve member extends toward the connecting post to form a convex shaft, the position of the connecting post corresponding to the convex shaft has a groove, and the convex shaft is inserted into the groove to make the key The cap is detachably connected to the sleeve member. A button, comprising: a base; a key cap; an upper cover, which is provided on the base and has a slotted hole on one side; a sleeve member, which can be movably penetrated in the base, and a rib from The sleeve member is formed to protrude outward at a position corresponding to the side slotted hole, and the sleeve member passes through the upper cover to be detachably connected to the key cap, so that the key cap can be in a higher position and a lower one Moving up and down between positions; and a sounding member, which is arranged outside the base and has a flexible rod portion to be located under the rib; wherein, when the keycap receives an external force to drive the sleeve member downward The movement causes the convex rib to move down along the side slotted hole, and the deflection deformation caused by the flexible rod portion being pressed against by the convex rib is insufficient to make the flexible rod portion pass the convex When the rib is ribbed, the flexible rod part flexes and deforms downward with the convex rib; when the flexible rod part is deformed enough to make the flexible rod part pass the convex rib, the flexible rod The flexible rod portion is released and the upward movement hits the upper cover to make a sound. The key according to claim 6, wherein the upper cover has a convex post and the upper cover protrudes outwardly to form a stop block, the sound-emitting member further has a spring portion, and the flexible rod portion extends from the spring portion to the stop The stopper is extended, the spring portion is sleeved on the convex post and the stopper pre-compresses the flexible rod portion, when the flexible rod portion is pressed by the convex rib to make the flexible rod portion When the deflection deformation of the deflectable rod portion is far enough away from the stop block and the deflectable rod portion passes the rib, the flexibly deformed flexural rod portion is released and the upward movement hits the The stop block makes a noise. The key according to claim 6, wherein the upper cover protrudes outward to form a stop block, and the sound-generating member further has a torsion spring portion, and the flexible rod portion extends from the torsion spring portion toward the stop block, The torsion spring part is connected to the upper cover and the stopper block pre-compresses the flexible rod part, when the flexible rod part is pressed by the convex rib to make the flexible rod part downward away from the stopper block Moreover, when the deflection deformation of the flexible rod portion is sufficient to make the flexible rod portion pass the rib, the flexural deformation of the flexible rod portion is released and the upward motion hits the stop block to make a sound. The key according to claim 6, further comprising: an elastic member disposed between the sleeve member and the base, for driving the key cap to return to the higher position via the sleeve member. The key according to claim 6, wherein the sleeve member extends toward the connecting post to form a convex shaft, the position of the connecting post corresponding to the convex shaft has a groove, and the convex shaft is inserted into the groove to make the key The cap is detachably connected to the sleeve member.

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