TW202427520A - Keycap - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a keycap, which includes a lower plate and an upper cover. The lower plate has two extensions respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the lower plate and respectively extending toward two ends in a horizontal direction. The upper cover is configured to be detachably assembled on the lower plate, in which the upper cover has two accommodating grooves respectively disposed on two opposite inner sides of the upper cover and respectively corresponding to the two extensions, and each of the accommodating grooves is configured to accommodate at least one portion of the corresponding extension.

Description

Keycaps

The present invention relates to a key cap, in particular to a key cap comprising a lower plate and an upper cover, wherein the upper cover is arranged to be detachably assembled on the lower plate.

The key caps of the key structure of the existing keyboard device cannot be replaced. If the user wants to replace the key caps with other key caps (for example, key caps with different appearances), the entire keyboard device must be replaced, which is very inconvenient.

The present invention provides a key cap, which includes a lower plate and an upper cover. The lower plate has two extensions, which are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the lower plate and extend toward two ends of a horizontal direction. The upper cover is arranged to be detachably assembled on the lower plate, wherein the upper cover has two receiving grooves, which are respectively arranged on two opposite inner sides of the upper cover and correspond to the two extensions, and each of the receiving grooves is arranged to receive at least a part of the corresponding extension.

In some embodiments of the present invention, after the upper cover is assembled on the lower plate, the upper cover contacts the upper surface of the lower plate.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the lower plate has four connecting portions disposed on the lower surface of the lower plate, and the four connecting portions are configured to respectively connect four parts of the scissor-type connecting element.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the Shore hardness of the upper cover is less than the Shore hardness of the lower plate.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the Shore hardness of the cover is between about 50 and about 70.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the upper cover includes silicone.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the two accommodating grooves are two limiting grooves, and the overlapping distance between the extension portion and the corresponding limiting groove in the horizontal direction is between about 0.1 mm and about 0.2 mm.

In some embodiments of the present invention, at least one of the two extensions has an end away from the lower plate having an upper slope and/or a lower slope.

In some embodiments of the present invention, an end of at least one of the two extensions far from the lower plate has a lower slope, and the receiving groove corresponding to the at least one of the two extensions has an abutting slope wall arranged to face the lower slope.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the upper cover further has two adjacent walls respectively located below the two receiving grooves and respectively adjacent to the two receiving grooves.

In some embodiments of the present invention, at least one of the two extensions has an upper slope at one end away from the lower plate, and an adjacent wall of the receiving groove adjacent to the corresponding at least one of the two extensions has a lower slope away from the receiving groove, and the lower slope and the upper slope complement each other.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the two receiving grooves are two open grooves, and each of the open grooves has an open end and a closed end.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the upper surface of the lower plate has an anti-slip concave portion, and the lower surface of the upper cover has an anti-slip convex portion corresponding to the anti-slip concave portion.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the upper cover has a locking portion disposed on an inner side other than two opposite inner sides of the upper cover, and the locking portion is disposed to lock a side other than the two opposite sides of the lower plate.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the length of the lower plate in another horizontal direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction is smaller than the length of the inner top surface of the upper cover in the other horizontal direction.

The advantages and features of the present invention and the methods for achieving the same will be described in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings so as to be more easily understood. However, the present invention can be implemented in different forms and should not be understood to be limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, for those having ordinary knowledge in the art, the embodiments provided will make the present invention more thorough and comprehensive and fully convey the scope of the present invention.

The spatially relative terms used herein, such as "lower" and "upper", are used to facilitate the description of the relative relationship between one element or feature and another element or feature in the drawings. The true meaning of these spatially relative terms includes other orientations. For example, when the drawings are flipped 180 degrees up and down, the relationship between one element and another element may change from "lower" to "upper". The spatially relative descriptions used in this article should also be interpreted in the same way.

As described in the prior art, the keycaps of the key structure of the existing keyboard device cannot be replaced. If the user wants to replace the keycap with another keycap (for example, a keycap with a different appearance), the entire keyboard device must be replaced, which is very inconvenient. Accordingly, the present invention provides a keycap, which includes a lower plate and an upper cover. The user can easily remove the upper cover from the lower plate and assemble the upper cover or another upper cover on the lower plate, that is, the user can replace the upper cover of the keycap at will, which is very convenient. Various embodiments of the keycap of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG1 is a top-view exploded schematic diagram of a key structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG1 , the key structure includes a key cap 10, a scissor-type connection element 20, a thin film circuit board 30, and a key bottom plate 40, wherein the thin film circuit board 30 and the key bottom plate 40 are located below the scissor-type connection element 20, and the scissor-type connection element 20 is located below the key cap 10. In some embodiments, the key structure further includes an elastic element (not shown), which is between the key cap 10 and the thin film circuit board 30.

FIG. 2 is a bottom-view exploded schematic diagram of the key cap of FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the key cap 10 includes a lower plate 12 and an upper cover 14. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , the lower plate 12 has four connecting portions (e.g., two hook portions 123 and two slide grooves 124), which are disposed on the lower surface of the lower plate 12, and the four connecting portions are disposed to respectively connect the four parts of the scissor-type connecting element 20 as shown in FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , the key bottom plate 40 has four hook portions (not shown), and the four hook portions are disposed to respectively connect the other four parts of the scissor-type connecting element 20. In this way, it can be ensured that the scissor-type connecting element 20 will not separate from the lower plate 12 of the key cap 10 and the key bottom plate 40 when the key structure is in operation. However, the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments, and the lower plate 12 may also have a connecting portion with other structures disposed on the lower surface of the lower plate 12 to match other components located below the lower plate 12 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the lower plate and the upper cover of FIG. 2 when they are separated from each other. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper cover of FIG. 2 after being assembled on the lower plate. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the lower plate 12 has two extensions 122, which are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the lower plate 12 and extend toward two ends of the horizontal direction D1. The upper cover 14 is arranged to be detachably assembled on the lower plate 12. The upper cover 14 has two receiving grooves 142, which are respectively arranged on opposite inner sides of the upper cover 14 and correspond to the two extensions 122. Each of the receiving grooves 142 is arranged to accommodate at least a portion of the corresponding extension 122. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4 , after the upper cover 14 is assembled on the lower plate 12 , the upper cover 14 contacts the upper surface of the lower plate 12 .

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , the two receiving grooves 142 are two limiting grooves, and the size and position of the limiting grooves are roughly matched with the size and position of the extension portion 122. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4 , the overlapping distance d1 (or interference amount) between the extension portion 122 and the corresponding limiting groove in the horizontal direction D1 is between about 0.1 mm and about 0.2 mm. However, the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments, and the aforementioned overlapping distance d1 can be appropriately adjusted according to the hardness of the upper cover 14 or other parameter conditions, so that the user can apply appropriate force to open the upper cover 14 and assemble it on the lower plate 12 or remove it from the lower plate 12.

In some embodiments, the Shore hardness of the upper cover 14 is less than the Shore hardness of the lower plate 12. In some embodiments, the Shore hardness of the upper cover 14 is between about 50 and about 70. In some embodiments, the upper cover 14 includes silicone, other suitable materials or combinations thereof. In this way, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, before assembling the upper cover 14 on the lower plate 12, the user can easily open the opposite sides of the upper cover 14 with lower hardness, where the receiving grooves 142 are provided, and then put it on the lower plate 12, so that the two extensions 122 of the lower plate 12 can be firmly stuck in the two receiving grooves 142 of the upper cover 14, respectively. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 3 , the user can also easily open the two opposite sides of the upper cover 14 with lower hardness where the receiving grooves 142 are provided and move upward to separate the upper cover 14 from the lower plate 12 .

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 , the extension portion 122 has an end (not shown) far from the lower plate 12. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , the end of the extension portion 122 is completely parallel or substantially parallel to the edge of the lower plate 12 adjacent to the extension portion 122. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , the end of at least one of the two extension portions 122 far from the lower plate 12 has an upper slope 122u and/or a lower slope 122b. In some embodiments, the end has an upper slope 122u, a lower slope 122b, and a connecting surface 122c, the upper slope 122u is located above the lower slope 122b, and the connecting surface 122c is connected between the upper slope 122u and the lower slope 122b.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the end of at least one of the two extensions 122 away from the lower plate 12 has a lower slope 122b, and the receiving groove 142 corresponding to the at least one of the two extensions 122 has an abutting inclined wall 142a. The abutting inclined wall 142a is arranged to face the lower slope 122b. The abutting inclined wall 142a can support the extension 122. In some embodiments, the abutting inclined wall 142a and the lower slope 122b complement each other, so that when the user applies force to the opposite sides of the upper cover 14 to make it slightly move outward, the upper cover 14 is easy to detach from the lower plate 12 (please refer to FIGS. 4 and 3 ).

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , the upper cover 14 further has two adjacent walls 144, which are respectively located below the two receiving grooves 142 and respectively adjacent to the two receiving grooves 142. In some embodiments, the end of at least one of the two extensions 122 away from the lower plate 12 has an upper inclined surface 122u, and the adjacent wall 144 adjacent to the receiving groove 142 corresponding to the at least one of the two extensions 122 has a lower inclined surface 144b away from the receiving groove 142, and the lower inclined surface 144b and the upper inclined surface 122u complement each other. In some embodiments, the adjacent wall 144 further has a connecting surface 144c, which is connected between the abutting inclined wall 142a and the lower inclined surface 144b. Please refer to FIG3 , when the upper cover 14 is assembled on the lower plate 12, the lower inclined surface 144b of the adjacent wall 144 will first contact the upper inclined surface 122u of the extension portion 122. Since the lower inclined surface 144b and the upper inclined surface 122u complement each other, the resistance generated after the contact between them is very small, which is conducive to the subsequent contact of the extension portion 122 with the connecting surface 144c (please refer to FIGS. 3 and 4 ).

However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. The cross-sectional shape of the end of the extension portion of the lower plate and the limiting groove and adjacent wall of the upper cover can be appropriately adjusted according to certain parameter conditions to facilitate the disassembly and assembly of the upper cover and to ensure that the overall structure is stable after the upper cover is assembled to the lower plate.

Fig. 5 is a top view of a key cap according to an embodiment of the present invention. The key cap 10 of Fig. 5 can also be matched with the scissor-type connecting element 20, the thin film circuit board 30, the key bottom plate 40 and the elastic element as shown in Fig. 1 to form a key structure.

FIG6 is a bottom-view exploded schematic diagram of the key cap of FIG5 . Referring to FIG5 and FIG6 , the key cap 10 includes a lower plate 12 and an upper cover 14. In some embodiments, the lower plate 12 of the key cap 10 has four connecting portions (e.g., two hook portions 123 and two slide grooves 124), which are disposed on the lower surface of the lower plate 12, and the four connecting portions are disposed to respectively connect the four parts of the scissor-type connecting element 20 shown in FIG1 .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , the lower plate 12 has two extensions 122, which are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the lower plate 12 and extend toward two ends of the horizontal direction D1. The upper cover 14 is configured to be detachably assembled on the lower plate 12. The upper cover 14 has two receiving grooves 142, which are respectively disposed on opposite inner sides of the upper cover 14 and correspond to the two extensions 122. Each of the receiving grooves 142 is configured to receive at least a portion of the corresponding extension 122 (e.g., the entire extension 122).

FIG. 7 is a bottom-view stereoscopic diagram of the upper cover of FIG. 6 when it is placed on the lower plate. FIG. 8 is a bottom-view stereoscopic diagram of the lower plate and the upper cover after the upper cover of FIG. 7 slides. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the two receiving grooves 142 are two open grooves (or can be called sliding grooves), each of which has an open end and a closed end. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the length of the lower plate 12 in another horizontal direction D2 perpendicular to the horizontal direction D1 (i.e., the extension direction of the extension portion 122) is less than the length of the inner top surface (not marked) of the upper cover 14 in the other horizontal direction D2, so that the upper cover 14 can slide in both directions along the horizontal direction D2 to realize the assembly and disassembly of the upper cover 14.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG5 , the upper surface of the lower plate 12 has an anti-slip concave portion 125; as shown in FIG6 , the lower surface (inner top surface) of the upper cover 14 has an anti-slip convex portion 146 corresponding to the anti-slip concave portion 125. The anti-slip concave portion 125 and the anti-slip convex portion 146 are provided to prevent the upper cover 14 from sliding toward the open end of the open slot and detaching from the lower plate 12 after assembly.

The following describes the assembly method of the upper cover 14. Please refer to Figures 7 and 8. First, the user places the upper cover 14 on the lower plate 12, and then slides the upper cover 14 along one end of the horizontal direction D2 so that the closed end of the open groove engages the extension portion 122, and the anti-slip protrusion 146 enters the corresponding anti-slip recess 125 (refer to Figures 5 and 6). The following describes the disassembly method of the upper cover 14. Please refer to Figures 8 and 7. The user slides the upper cover 14 along the other end of the horizontal direction D2 so that the open groove leaves the extension portion 122, and the anti-slip protrusion 146 leaves the corresponding anti-slip recess 125 (refer to Figures 5 and 6), so that the upper cover 14 can be moved upward and leave the lower plate 12.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 , the upper cover 14 has a snap-fit portion (or a stabilizing latch) 148, which is disposed on an inner side other than the two opposite inner sides of the upper cover 14. The snap-fit portion 148 is disposed to snap-fit one side other than the two opposite sides of the lower plate 12. Referring to FIG. 8 , the snap-fit portion 148 can help improve the stability of the upper cover 14 after assembly to prevent the upper cover 14 from shaking when the key cap 10 is pressed. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 6 , the anti-slip protrusion 146 and the snap-fit portion 148 are disposed on opposite sides. However, the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments, and the positions of the snap-fit portion 148, the anti-slip protrusion 146, and the anti-slip recess 125 can be appropriately adjusted.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 9, the cross-sectional shape of the extension portion 122 and the cross-sectional shape of the open groove can substantially match.

In some embodiments, please refer to Figures 5 to 9, the Shore hardness of the upper cover 14 is less than the Shore hardness of the lower plate 12. In some embodiments, the Shore hardness of the upper cover 14 is between about 50 and about 70. In some embodiments, the upper cover 14 includes silicone, other suitable materials or combinations thereof. In this way, the upper cover 14 can be slightly elastically deformed and can slide in both directions along the horizontal direction D2 to achieve assembly and disassembly of the upper cover 14. However, the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments. Since the upper cover 14 slides to engage the open slot with the extension portion 122 or leave the extension portion 122, the hardness of the upper cover 14 can also be greater than or equal to the hardness of the lower plate 12.

FIG. 10 is a top-view three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram of a key cap according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a bottom-view three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram of the key cap of FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a bottom-view three-dimensional schematic diagram of the upper cover of FIG. 11 placed on the lower plate. FIG. 13 is a bottom-view three-dimensional schematic diagram of the lower plate and the upper cover after the upper cover of FIG. 12 slides. Some embodiments of FIG. 10 to 13 may be the same as some embodiments of FIG. 5 to 9, so they are not described here in detail. As for the difference between the embodiments of FIG. 10 to 13 and the embodiments of FIG. 5 to 9, as shown in FIG. 11 to 12, the anti-slip protrusion 146 and the engaging portion 148 are arranged on the same side.

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 part and the title are only used to assist the search of patent documents, and are not used to limit the scope of the rights of the present invention.

10: Key cap 12: Lower plate 122: Extension 122b: Lower slope 122c: Connection surface 122u: Upper slope 123: Hook 124: Slide 125: Anti-slip concave 14: Upper cover 142: Accommodation groove 142a: Abutment inclined wall 144: Adjacent wall 144b: Lower slope 144c: Connection surface 146: Anti-slip convex part 148: Engagement part 20: Scissor-type connection element 30: Thin film circuit board 40: Key bottom plate D1, D2: Horizontal direction d1: Overlap distance

The following will be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and various aspects of the present invention can be best understood according to the following embodiments. However, it should be understood that, according to the customary practice in the industry, the various features are not necessarily drawn to scale. In fact, for the sake of clarity, the shapes of the various features may be appropriately adjusted, and the sizes of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or decreased.

FIG. 1 is a top-view exploded schematic diagram of a key structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom-view exploded perspective view of the key cap of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the lower plate and the upper cover of FIG. 2 when they are separated from each other.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the upper cover of FIG. 2 after being assembled on the lower plate.

FIG. 5 is a top-view exploded schematic diagram of a key cap according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a bottom-view exploded perspective view of the key cap of FIG. 5 .

FIG. 7 is a bottom-view three-dimensional schematic diagram of the upper cover of FIG. 6 placed on the lower plate.

FIG8 is a bottom-view three-dimensional schematic diagram of the lower plate and the upper cover after the upper cover in FIG7 slides.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 8 .

FIG. 10 is a top-view exploded schematic diagram of a key cap according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a bottom-view exploded perspective view of the key cap of FIG. 10 .

FIG. 12 is a bottom-view three-dimensional schematic diagram of the upper cover of FIG. 11 placed on the lower plate.

FIG. 13 is a bottom-view three-dimensional schematic diagram of the lower plate and the upper cover after the upper cover in FIG. 12 slides.

10: Keycaps

12: Lower the board

122: Extension

123: Hook section

124: Chute

14: Upper cover

142: Storage tank

D1: Horizontal direction

Claims (15)

A key cap comprises: a lower plate having two extensions respectively arranged on opposite sides of the lower plate and extending towards two ends in a horizontal direction; and an upper cover arranged to be detachably assembled on the lower plate, wherein the upper cover has two receiving grooves respectively arranged on opposite inner sides of the upper cover and corresponding to the two extensions, and each of the receiving grooves is arranged to receive at least a portion of the corresponding extension. A key cap as described in claim 1, wherein after the upper cover is assembled on the lower plate, the upper cover contacts an upper surface of the lower plate. A key cap as described in claim 1, wherein the lower plate has four connecting parts arranged on a lower surface of the lower plate, and the four connecting parts are arranged to respectively connect four parts of a scissor-type connecting element. A key cap as described in claim 1, wherein a Shore hardness of the upper cover is less than a Shore hardness of the lower plate. A key cap as described in claim 4, wherein the Shore hardness of the top cover is between about 50 and about 70. A key cap as described in claim 4, wherein the top cover comprises silicone. As described in claim 1, the two receiving grooves are two limiting grooves, and the overlapping distance between the extension portion and the corresponding limiting groove in the horizontal direction is between about 0.1 mm and about 0.2 mm. A key cap as described in claim 1, wherein at least one of the two extension portions has an upper slope and/or a lower slope at an end away from the lower plate. As described in claim 1, the key cap, wherein the end of at least one of the two extensions away from the lower plate has a lower slope, and the receiving groove corresponding to at least one of the two extensions has an abutting inclined wall arranged to face the lower slope. A key cap as described in claim 1, wherein the top cover further has two adjacent walls respectively located below the two receiving grooves and respectively adjacent to the two receiving grooves. A key cap as described in claim 10, wherein the end of at least one of the two extensions away from the lower plate has an upper slope, and the adjacent wall of the receiving groove adjacent to the at least one of the two extensions corresponding to the receiving groove has a lower slope away from the receiving groove, and the lower slope and the upper slope complement each other. A key cap as described in claim 1, wherein the two receiving grooves are two open grooves, each of which has an open end and a closed end. A key cap as described in claim 12, wherein an upper surface of the lower plate has an anti-slip recess, and a lower surface of the upper cover has an anti-slip protrusion corresponding to the anti-slip recess. A key cap as described in claim 12, wherein the upper cover has a locking portion disposed on an inner side other than the two opposite inner sides of the upper cover, and the locking portion is disposed to lock with a side other than the two opposite sides of the lower plate. A key cap as described in claim 12, wherein a length of the lower plate in another horizontal direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction is smaller than a length of an inner top surface of the upper cover in the other horizontal direction.

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