TW202422607A - Keyboard device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a keyboard device suitable for a tablet, the tablet has a touch screen, and the keyboard device includes a plurality of key structures. Each key structure includes a bottom plate, a key cap, an actuating cylinder and a conductive film. The bottom plate and the touch screen of the tablet touch each other, and the bottom plate includes a deformable part. The deformable part has a lower surface facing the touch screen. The key cap is disposed on the top of the bottom plate. The key cap includes a pressing surface and an inner surface opposite to each other. The actuating cylinder is disposed on the inner surface of the key cap, and the actuating cylinder extends toward the direction close to the bottom plate and corresponds to the deformable part. The conductive film is disposed on the lower surface of the deformable part. When the key cap is pressed, during the key cap moves down towards the bottom plate, the key cap drives the actuating cylinder to press against the deformable part, so that the deformable part to deform. During the deformation of the deformable part, the deformable part drives the conductive film to contact the touch screen.

Description

Keyboard device

The present invention relates to the field of input devices, and more particularly to a keyboard device suitable for a tablet computer.

Since tablet computers or other electronic devices integrated with touch screens can provide simpler and more intuitive operation modes, they have become an indispensable tool for modern people in life or work. Furthermore, when users need to input text messages, tablet computers or electronic devices often display a virtual keyboard on their touch screens for users to touch and input text messages into the tablet computers or electronic devices. However, due to the size or sensitivity of the touch screen, users can only touch the virtual keyboard on the screen with their fingers. To simulate the action of triggering a key, when the tablet computer or electronic device fails to respond to the user's touch behavior in real time, it is very easy to cause trouble for the user. Therefore, the virtual keyboard displayed on the touch screen is not conducive to performing a large amount of long-term input operations, and it cannot give the user a solid operating feel like a keyboard device.

How to improve the above-mentioned problems has become the focus of relevant personnel in this field.

One of the purposes of the present invention is to provide a keyboard device suitable for a tablet computer, which helps to improve the user's operational experience of inputting text messages on the tablet computer, and the design of the key structure helps to extend the service life of the tablet computer.

Other purposes and advantages of the present invention can be further understood from the technical features disclosed in the present invention.

In order to achieve one or part or all of the above purposes or other purposes, the present invention provides a keyboard device suitable for a tablet computer, the tablet computer has a touch screen, and the keyboard device includes a plurality of key structures. Each key structure includes a key base plate, a key cap, an actuating column and a conductive film. The key base plate contacts the touch screen of the tablet computer, and the key base plate includes a deformable portion. The deformable portion has a lower surface facing the touch screen. The key cap is arranged above the key base plate. The key cap includes a pressing surface and an inner surface opposite to each other. The actuating column is arranged on the inner surface of the key cap, and the actuating column extends in a direction close to the key base plate and corresponds to the deformable portion. The conductive film is arranged on the lower surface of the deformable portion. When the key cap is touched, the key cap moves downward toward the key base plate, and the key cap drives the actuator to press the deformable portion, causing the deformable portion to deform, and in the process of the deformable portion deforming, the conductive film is driven to contact the touch screen.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is a distance between the lower surface of the deformable portion and the touch screen of the tablet computer.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the key base further includes a plate body portion, the deformable portion is formed on the plate body portion, and the thickness of the plate body portion is greater than the thickness of the deformable portion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the material of the plate portion and the material of the deformable portion are the same.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the material of the plate portion and the material of the deformable portion are different from each other.

In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the above-mentioned key structures further includes a frame. The frame is disposed on the key bottom plate and surrounds the movable column, and the key bottom plate is located between the tablet computer and the frame.

In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the key structures further comprises a covering layer. The covering layer covers the key cap and the frame, and the key cap is located between the covering layer and the key base plate.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the material of the covering layer is polyurethane or silicone.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the material of the conductive film is conductive silicone, conductive cotton or conductive fiber.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the keyboard device further includes a magnetic element. The tablet computer further includes a magnetic field sensing element. When the keyboard device is close to the tablet computer, the magnetic field sensing element is used to sense the magnetic field change of the magnetic element so that the tablet computer displays a virtual keyboard on the touch screen.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when the key is no longer pressed, the deformable portion of the key base provides an elastic restoring force to the actuating column during the deformation recovery process, so that the actuating column pushes the key cap to move upward away from the key base to a position before being pressed.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the tablet computer is a foldable tablet computer.

In the keyboard device of the embodiment of the present invention, after the key structure is pressed, the actuating column presses against the deformable portion of the key base plate, and then drives the conductive film to contact the touch screen of the tablet computer during the deformation process of the deformable portion. Under the structural design that the actuating column indirectly contacts the touch screen, the actuating column with a relatively rigid texture can be prevented from directly contacting the touch screen of the tablet computer, thereby effectively protecting the touch screen of the tablet computer and reducing the probability of damage to the touch screen of the tablet computer. In addition, the keyboard device of the embodiment of the present invention has no electronic materials or flexible circuit boards inside, and has the advantage of low manufacturing cost. Also, since there are no electronic materials or flexible circuit boards inside, there is no need to design a more sophisticated waterproof structure to prevent external moisture from entering the keyboard device.

In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, preferred embodiments are specifically described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a keyboard device and a tablet computer used in combination with it according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the key structure shown in Figure 1 and the touch screen of the tablet computer before being pressed. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the key structure shown in Figure 1 and the touch screen of the tablet computer after being pressed. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the function blocks of the keyboard device shown in Figure 1 and the tablet computer used in combination with it.

As shown in FIG1 , the keyboard device 1 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of key structures 10. These key structures 10 can be classified into general keys, numeric keys, function keys, etc. The keyboard device 1 of the present embodiment is mainly used in conjunction with a tablet computer 2. When the tablet computer 2 is in a text message input mode, the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2 will display an image of a virtual keyboard. When the keyboard device 1 is placed on the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2, these key structures 10 correspond to a plurality of touch positions in the virtual keyboard representing different input characters and functions.

The following further describes the detailed structure of the key structure 10 of the keyboard device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the key structure 10 of the present embodiment includes a key base plate 101, a key cap 102, an actuating column 103, and a conductive film 104. The key base plate 101 contacts the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2, and the key base plate 101 includes a deformable portion 1011. The deformable portion 1011 of the key base plate 101 has a lower surface F facing the touch screen 20. The key cap 102 is disposed above the key base plate 101, and the key cap 102 includes a pressing surface 1021 and an inner surface 1022 facing each other. The actuator column 103 is disposed on the inner surface 1022 of the key cap 102, and the actuator column 103 extends from the inner surface 1022 of the key cap 102 toward the key base plate 101 and corresponds to the deformable portion 1011 of the key base plate 101. The conductive film 104 is disposed on the lower surface F of the deformable portion 1011.

In this embodiment, when the key cap 102 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 3 , the key cap 102 moves downward toward the key bottom plate 101, and the key cap 102 drives the actuator column 103 to move toward the key bottom plate 101 and press the deformable portion 1011 of the key bottom plate 101, so that the deformable portion 1011 of the key bottom plate 101 is concave downward. During the process of the deformable portion 1011 being deformed downward, the deformable portion 1011 drives the conductive film 104 to contact the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2. At this time, one of the touch positions of the virtual keyboard displayed on the touch screen 20 is triggered by the conductive film 104, thereby generating a touch signal for inputting characters or functions corresponding to the touch position.

In this embodiment, when the key cap 102 is no longer pressed, the deformable portion 1011 of the key base plate 101 provides an elastic restoring force to the actuating cylinder 103 during the deformation recovery process, so that the actuating cylinder 103 pushes the key cap 102 to move upward away from the key base plate 101 to the position before being touched as shown in FIG. 2 .

In this embodiment, the key cap 102 and the actuator column 103 are, for example, an integrally formed structure, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the key cap 102 and the actuator column 103 may be independent components. In addition, in this embodiment, the material of the conductive film 104 is, for example, conductive silicone, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the material of the conductive film 104 is, for example, conductive cotton or conductive fiber.

As can be seen from the above, in the keyboard device 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, after the key structure 10 is touched, the actuating column 103 presses against the deformable portion 1011 of the key base plate 101, and then drives the conductive film 104 to contact the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2 during the deformation process of the deformable portion 1011. In other words, the actuating column 103 contacts the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2 in an indirect contact manner, thereby effectively achieving the purpose of protecting the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2, thereby reducing the probability of damage to the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , there is a gap G between the lower surface F of the deformable portion 1011 of the key bottom plate 101 of the present embodiment and the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2. The gap G is used to provide a travel distance for the key cap 102 to move downward when pressed and a space for the deformable portion 1011 of the key bottom plate 101 to deform downward. Specifically, the key bottom plate 101 of the present embodiment further includes a plate body 1010, the deformable portion 1011 is formed on the plate body 1010, and the thickness T1 of the plate body 1010 is greater than the thickness T2 of the deformable portion 1011, thereby generating the above-mentioned gap G between the lower surface F of the deformable portion 1011 and the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2.

It should be particularly noted that in this embodiment, the material of the plate body 1010 of the key bottom plate 101 is, for example, the same as the material of the deformable portion. In other words, the plate body 1010 and the deformable portion 1011 are, for example, an integrally formed structure. For example, the plate body 1010 and the deformable portion 1011 are both made of a flexible elastic material and are directly formed on the plate body 1010. The deformable portion 1011 is thin and easy to deform, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the material of the plate body 1010 of the key base plate 101 and the material of the deformable portion can also be different from each other. For example, the plate body 1010 is made of rigid plastic or metal, and the deformable portion 1011 is made of flexible elastic material.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the key structure 10 of the present embodiment further includes a frame 105. The frame 105 is disposed on the key base plate 101 and surrounds the movable column 103. The key base plate 101 is located between the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2 and the frame 105. The key cap 102 can move downward or upward relative to the key base plate 101 in the frame 105.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the key structure 10 of the present embodiment further includes a covering layer 106. The covering layer 106 covers the key cap 102 and the frame 105, and the key cap 102 is located between the covering layer 106 and the key base plate 101. Specifically, the covering layer 106 covers the pressing surface 1021 of the key cap 102 and the top surface of the frame 105. The function of the covering layer 106 is to prevent foreign matter or moisture from entering the interior of the keyboard device 1 through the gap between the key cap 102 and the frame 106, thereby improving the service life of the keyboard device 1. In this embodiment, the material of the covering layer 106 is, for example, polyurethane (PU for short), but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the material of the covering layer 106 is, for example, silicone.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the keyboard device 1 of the present embodiment further includes a magnetic element 11, and the tablet computer 2 used in conjunction with the keyboard device 1 further includes a magnetic field sensing element 21. In the present embodiment, when the keyboard device 1 is close to the tablet computer 2, the magnetic field sensing element 21 of the tablet computer 2 is used to sense the magnetic field change of the magnetic element 11 disposed on the keyboard device 1, so that the tablet computer 2 displays a virtual keyboard 200 on the touch screen 20. When the keyboard device 1 is placed on the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 2, the key structures 10 of the keyboard device 1 correspond to a plurality of touch positions (not shown) in the virtual keyboard 200 representing different input characters and functions. In the present embodiment, the magnetic element 11 is, for example, a permanent magnet, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the magnetic field sensing element 21 is, for example, a Hall coil, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the magnetic element 11 is, for example, disposed on the key bottom plate 101 or the frame 105 of any key structure 10. The present invention does not limit the configuration position of the magnetic element 11, and the configuration position of the magnetic element 11 can be adjusted in accordance with the configuration position of the magnetic field sensing element 21.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the tablet computer 2 used with the keyboard device 1 is, for example, a foldable tablet computer, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG1 , the touch screen 20 of the tablet computer 1 includes a first touch screen 201 and a second touch screen 202. In general use, the first touch screen 201 and the second touch screen 202 will jointly display an image screen. When the keyboard device 1 of this embodiment is close to the tablet computer 2, the magnetic field sensing element 21 disposed in the tablet computer 2 senses the magnetic field change of the magnetic element 11 of the keyboard device 1, so that the magnetic field sensing element 21 transmits a sensing signal to the controller (not shown). As shown), after receiving the sensing signal, the controller controls the first touch screen 201 to display the virtual keyboard 200, and the image picture originally displayed by the first touch screen 201 and the second touch screen 202 is switched to be displayed only by the second touch screen 202. The user can place the keyboard device 1 on the first touch screen 201 of the tablet computer 2, and press the key structure 10 to trigger the corresponding touch position in the virtual keyboard 200, thereby achieving the purpose of text message input.

In summary, in the keyboard device of the embodiment of the present invention, after the key structure is pressed, the actuating column presses against the deformable portion of the key base plate, and then drives the conductive film to contact the touch screen of the tablet computer during the deformation process of the deformable portion. Under the structural design that the actuating column indirectly contacts the touch screen, the actuating column with a relatively rigid texture can be prevented from directly contacting the touch screen of the tablet computer, thereby effectively protecting the touch screen of the tablet computer and reducing the probability of damage to the touch screen of the tablet computer. In addition, the keyboard device of the embodiment of the present invention has no electronic materials or flexible circuit boards inside, and has the advantage of low manufacturing cost. Also, since there are no electronic materials or flexible circuit boards inside, there is no need to design a more sophisticated waterproof structure to prevent external moisture from entering the keyboard device.

Furthermore, the keyboard device of the embodiment of the present invention has the following advantages: 1. In the design of other known keyboard devices, the actuator cylinder triggers the touch screen by direct contact, so a hole must be formed on the key bottom plate for the actuator cylinder to pass through. In this case, liquid and dirt can easily enter the keyboard device through the hole of the key bottom plate, and the hole itself is not easy to clean. Since the keyboard device of the embodiment of the present invention, its actuator cylinder contacts the touch screen of the tablet computer by indirect contact, there is no hole on the key bottom plate, which effectively prevents liquid and dirt from entering the keyboard device and is easy to clean. 2. In other known keyboard device designs, the actuator column directly contacts the touch screen, so a conductive film needs to be formed on the actuator column of each key structure, which increases the difficulty of production and assembly, resulting in increased costs. However, the keyboard device of the present invention has a key base plate configured as a whole piece of one-piece structure, which can effectively reduce the difficulty of production and assembly, thereby reducing costs.

However, the above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should not be used to limit the scope of the implementation of the present invention. That is, all simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application and the content of the invention description are still within the scope of the present invention. In addition, any embodiment or patent application of the present invention does not need to achieve all the purposes, advantages or features disclosed by the present invention. In addition, the abstract and title are only used to assist in searching for patent documents, and are not used to limit the scope of rights of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. mentioned in this specification or patent application are only used to name the element or distinguish different embodiments or scopes, and are not used to limit the upper or lower limit of the number of elements.

1: Keyboard device 2: Tablet computer 10: Keyboard structure 11: Magnetic element 20: Touch screen 21: Magnetic field sensing element 101: Keyboard base 102: Keyboard cap 103: Actuating column 104: Conductive film 105: Frame 106: Covering layer 200: Virtual keyboard 201: First part of touch screen 202: Second part of touch screen 1010: Plate body 1011: Deformable part 1021: Pressing surface 1022: Inner surface F: Lower surface G: Spacing T1, T2: Thickness

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a keyboard device and a tablet computer used in combination with it according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the key structure shown in FIG. 1 and the touch screen of the tablet computer before being pressed. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the key structure shown in FIG. 1 and the touch screen of the tablet computer after being pressed. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the function blocks of the keyboard device shown in FIG. 1 and the tablet computer used in combination with it.

10: Button structure

20: Touch screen

101: Button base

102: Keycaps

103: Make a moving column

104: Conductive film

105:Frame

106: Covering layer

1010: Plate body

1011: Deformable part

1021: Press the surface

1022: Inner surface

F: Lower surface

G: Spacing

T1, T2: thickness

Claims (12)

A keyboard device is suitable for a tablet computer having a touch screen. The keyboard device includes: A plurality of key structures, each of which includes: A key base plate in contact with the touch screen of the tablet computer, and the key base plate includes a deformable portion, and the deformable portion has a lower surface facing the touch screen; A key cap is arranged above the key base plate, and the key cap includes a pressing surface and an inner surface opposite to each other; An actuating column is arranged on the inner surface of the key cap, and the actuating column extends toward the key base plate and corresponds to the deformable portion; and A conductive film is arranged on the lower surface of the deformable portion; When the key cap is pressed, the key cap moves downward toward the key base plate, and the key cap drives the actuating column to press the deformable portion, causing the deformable portion to deform, and drives the conductive film to contact the touch screen during the deformation of the deformable portion. A keyboard device as described in claim 1, wherein there is a distance between the lower surface of the deformable portion and the touch screen of the tablet computer. A keyboard device as described in claim 1, wherein the key base further includes a plate portion, the deformable portion is formed on the plate portion, and the thickness of the plate portion is greater than the thickness of the deformable portion. A keyboard device as described in claim 3, wherein the material of the plate portion and the material of the deformable portion are the same. A keyboard device as described in claim 3, wherein the material of the plate portion and the material of the deformable portion are different from each other. A keyboard device as described in claim 1, wherein each of the key structures further includes a frame, which is configured on the key base plate and surrounds the actuating column, and the key base plate is located between the tablet computer and the frame. A keyboard device as described in claim 6, wherein each of the key structures further includes a covering layer, the covering layer covers the key cap and the frame, and the key cap is located between the covering layer and the key base plate. A keyboard device as described in claim 7, wherein the material of the covering layer is polyurethane or silicone. A keyboard device as described in claim 1, wherein the material of the conductive film is conductive silicone, conductive cotton or conductive fiber. The keyboard device as described in claim 1 further includes a magnetic element, and the tablet computer further includes a magnetic field sensing element. When the keyboard device is close to the tablet computer, the magnetic field sensing element is used to sense the magnetic field change of the magnetic element so that the tablet computer displays a virtual keyboard on the touch screen. A keyboard device as described in claim 1, wherein when the key is no longer pressed, the deformable portion of the key base provides an elastic restoring force to the actuating column during the process of deformation recovery, so that the actuating column pushes the key cap to move upward away from the key base to a position before being pressed. A keyboard device as described in claim 1, wherein the tablet computer is a foldable tablet computer.