TWI545603B - Key and keyboard using the same - Google Patents

Description

Button and keyboard for applying the same

The invention relates to a button and a keyboard for applying the same, and in particular to a button for resetting by using a magnetic force to drive a keycap and a keyboard for applying the same.

Even though touch panels have been widely used on various electronic devices, the keyboard is still one of the indispensable input devices for electronic devices in terms of general usage habits. With the trend of thinning portable electronic devices, the keyboard has also become thinner.

Conventional buttons are often provided with an elastic member such as a rubber dome, which acts as a spring source for the button to reset the keycap when it is not under pressure. The rubber bowl also provides a tactile to let the user know that the button has been actuated. However, the elastic element has a certain volume, and the key thus needs to have a large height to provide sufficient space to accommodate the elastic element. In other words, the conventional button is provided with an elastic member, which limits the structural size of the keyboard, and is disadvantageous for its thin design.

The present invention relates to a key and a keyboard for applying the same, which utilizes a magnetic force as a driving force for resetting a keycap after being pressed.

According to an aspect of the invention, a button is proposed. The button includes a substrate, a keycap, a frame, a first magnetic element, and a second magnetic element. The key cap is located on the substrate and can move up and down between the first position and the second position relative to the substrate. The frame is located on the substrate and surrounds the keycap, wherein the keycap is rotatably coupled to the frame with a point axis. The first magnetic element is located on the frame and is permeable to the keycap. The second magnetic element is located on the substrate and is permeable to the keycap. The adsorption force of the first magnetic element and the key cap is greater than the adsorption force of the second magnetic element and the key cap. When the key cap is not pressed, the first magnetic element adsorbs the key cap to maintain the key cap in the first position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a keyboard is provided. The keyboard includes a substrate, a housing, and a plurality of buttons. The housing is disposed on the substrate. The button is disposed on the housing. One of the buttons includes a keycap, a frame, a first magnetic element, and a second magnetic element. The key cap is located on the substrate and can move up and down between the first position and the second position relative to the substrate. The frame is located on the substrate and surrounds the keycap, wherein the keycap is rotatably coupled to the frame with a point axis. The first magnetic element is located on the frame and is permeable to the keycap. The second magnetic element is located on the substrate and is permeable to the keycap. The adsorption force of the first magnetic element and the key cap is greater than the adsorption force of the second magnetic element and the key cap. When the key cap is not pressed, the first magnetic element adsorbs the key cap to maintain the key cap in the first position.

In order to better understand the above and other aspects of the present invention, The embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are described in detail below:

100‧‧‧ keyboard

110‧‧‧shell

120, 220‧‧‧ button

121, 221‧‧‧ substrate

122, 222‧‧‧ keycap

1221, 2221‧‧ fulcrum

1222, 2222‧‧‧ Connections

1223, 2223‧‧‧ cantilever

123, 223‧‧‧ framework

1231, 2231‧‧‧ side wall

1232, 2232‧‧‧ Extension

124, 224‧‧‧ First magnetic component

125, 225‧‧‧ second magnetic component

126, 226‧‧‧ third magnetic component

127, 227‧‧‧Switching elements

128, 228‧‧‧ bumps

F ₁₂₄ , F ₁₂₅ , F ₂₂₄ , F ₂₂₅ ‧ ‧ force

1 is a schematic diagram of a keyboard in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a cross-sectional view of any two side-by-side buttons in the keyboard of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 2B is a schematic view showing the button of FIG. 2A being pressed.

3A is a cross-sectional view showing two side-by-side buttons according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a schematic view showing a button pressed in FIG. 3A.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which illustrates a schematic diagram of a keyboard 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The keyboard 100 includes a housing 110, a substrate (not shown), and a plurality of buttons 120. The substrate is disposed in the housing 110, and the button 120 is disposed on the housing 110.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a cross-sectional view of any two side-by-side buttons 120 in the keyboard 100 of FIG. 1 is illustrated. The button 120 is composed of a substrate 121, a key cap 122, a frame 123, a first magnetic element 124, and a second magnetic element 125. The key cap 122 is disposed on the substrate 121 for the user to press. The frame 123 surrounds the keycap 122, and the keycap 122 is coupled to the frame 123 and is rotatable along a fulcrum point 1221. The first magnetic element 124 is disposed on the frame 123, and the second magnetic element 125 is disposed on the substrate 121. The first magnetic element 124 and the second magnetic element 125 can attract or adsorb the key cap 122.

It is reminded that each key of the keyboard 100 does not have to have the above The button 120 of the magnetic element can be composed of a plurality of different button combinations, such as a scissor foot button or a mechanical shaft button. If the keys of the keyboard 100 are all the keys 120, the frames 123 of the respective keys 120 can be connected to each other to form the housing 110 of the keyboard 100.

Referring to the button 120 on the right side of FIG. 2A, the key cap 122 may include a connecting portion 1222 and a cantilever 1223, and the frame 123 may include a sidewall 1231 and an extending portion 1232. The connecting portion 1222 of the key cap 122 is connected to and partially overlaps the side wall 1231 of the frame 123, that is, the frame 123 covers a portion of the key cap 122. The connecting portion 1222 and the side wall 1231 are connected, for example, by providing a rotating shaft or a hook, so that the connecting portion 1222 can be pivoted about the fulcrum 1221 located thereon, and the entire key cap 122 is driven relative to the substrate 121 at a first position and a first Move between the two positions up and down.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the first magnetic element 124 is disposed on the extension 1232 of the frame 123. The second magnetic element 125 is disposed on the substrate 121, and its setting position can be changed as needed, as long as it does not interfere with the actuation of the button 120. Both the first magnetic element 124 and the second magnetic element 125 are capable of attracting or adsorbing the keycap 122. In detail, the first magnetic element 124 provides the keycap 122 with an adsorption force F ₁₂₄ parallel to the direction in which the key cap moves (the button is moved up and down), and the second magnetic element 125 also provides a parallel to the keycap 122. The adsorption force F _{125 of the} key cap moving direction is opposite to the direction of the two forces. When the keycap is not pressed, F ₁₂₄ > F ₁₂₅ allows the keycap 122 to remain in a first position (starting point). Please refer to FIG. 2B at the same time, which shows a schematic diagram of the button 120 being pressed. Since the magnetic force is related to the distance of the active object, when the key cap 122 is pressed downward by an external force (for example, by the finger tapping the button 120), the adsorption force F _{124 of the} first magnetic element 124 to the key cap 122 is weakened, and The adsorption force F _{125 of the} two magnetic members 125 to the key cap 122 is enhanced, so that the sense of paragraph is generated, so that the user feels that the button 120 has been depressed to reach the second position (end point). However, although the reduced F ₁₂₄ F ₁₂₅ and the pressing process is increased, but overall F ₁₂₄ to F ₁₂₅ rival, so when the external force is removed (e.g., a finger pressing the key 120 is removed), from the key cap 122 will The second position (end point) of the 2B map returns to the first position (starting point) shown in FIG. 2A. In one embodiment, when the keycap 122 is in the first position, the keycap 122 and the substrate 121 are parallel to each other.

The first magnetic element 124 and the second magnetic element 125 are, for example, permanent magnets, and the key cap 122 can be made of a material that the magnet can adsorb. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2B, a third magnetic element 126 may be disposed on the connecting portion 1222 of the keycap 122, the magnetic properties of which are opposite to the first and second magnetic elements 124, 125, and thus may be used by the first and second sexual elements 124, 125. Adsorption. In this example, in order to enhance the adsorption effect, the installation positions of the first magnetic element 124, the second magnetic element 125, and the third magnetic element 126 may be made to correspond to each other.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2B, the button 120 may further include a switching element 127 disposed between the substrate 121 and the frame 123 for transmitting signals. The key cap 122 has a bump 128. When the key cap 122 is in the second position, the bump 128 touches the switching element 127 to send a signal. In this example, the bumps 128 are disposed at the cantilever 1223 of the keycap 122, although in other embodiments, the location of the bumps 128 can be freely adjusted as desired.

Please refer to FIG. 3A, which illustrates a cross-sectional view of two side-by-side buttons 220 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between the button 220 and the aforementioned button 120 is that the positions of the first magnetic element 224 and the third magnetic element 226 are different, and the rest will not be repeated.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the first magnetic member 224 is disposed on the side wall 2231 of the frame 223 to provide the keycap 222 with an adsorption force F _{224 that is} perpendicular to the direction in which the key cap moves (to the right). The second magnetic element 225 is disposed on the substrate 221 to provide a downward adsorption force F ₂₂₅ to the keycap 222. When the keycap is not pressed, F ₂₂₄ >F ₂₂₅ , the keycap 222 can be maintained at the first position (starting point); and as shown in FIG. 3B, when the keycap is moved downward by the external force, the F _{224 is} weakened. The F _{225 is} enhanced to produce a sense of paragraph, so that the user can feel that the button 220 is depressed and the key cap reaches the second position (end point). However, F _{224 is always} greater than F ₂₂₅ during the entire pressing process, so when the external force is removed, the keycap 222 returns from the second position (end point) of FIG. 3B to the first position (starting point) shown in FIG. 3A. .

The keycap 222 can be made of a magnet-adsorbable material such that the keycap 222 can be attracted by the first magnetic element 224 and the second magnetic element 225. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3B, a third magnetic element 226 is disposed on the cantilever 2223 of the keycap 222, and its magnetic property is opposite to that of the first and second magnetic elements 224, 225, so that it can be adsorbed by the first and second sexual elements 224, 225. And the keycap 222 is moved. Further, in order to enhance the adsorption effect, the positions at which the first magnetic element 224, the second magnetic element 225, and the third magnetic element 226 are disposed may correspond to each other as shown in FIG. 3B.

According to the button disclosed in the above embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic force is used as the driving force for the resetting of the key cap by the magnetic element disposed at different positions, and the feeling of pressing the paragraph is generated. Not only can it reduce the height and volume of the button, but also maintain a certain button tapping feel. In addition, since the magnetic force has no problem of elastic fatigue, the above-mentioned disclosed button can greatly extend its life compared to an elastic member such as a rubber bowl.

In summary, although the invention has been disclosed above by way of example, It is not intended to limit the invention. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧ keyboard

120‧‧‧ button

121‧‧‧Substrate

122‧‧‧Key Cap

1221‧‧ fulcrum

1222‧‧‧Connecting Department

1223‧‧‧Cantilever

123‧‧‧Frame

1231‧‧‧ side wall

1232‧‧‧Extension

124‧‧‧First magnetic component

125‧‧‧Second magnetic component

F ₁₂₄ , F ₁₂₅ ‧ ‧ force

Claims (15)

A button includes a substrate; a key cap on the substrate and movable up and down relative to the substrate between a first position and a second position; a frame on the substrate and surrounding the key cap, wherein the button The key cap is rotatably coupled to the frame by a point; a first magnetic component is located on the frame and can be adsorbed to the keycap; a second magnetic component is disposed on the substrate and disposed on the keycap The bottom of the first magnetic element and the keycap have an adsorption force greater than the adsorption force of the second magnetic element and the keycap. When the keycap is not pressed, the first A magnetic element attracts the keycap to maintain the keycap in the first position. The button of claim 1, wherein the key cap comprises a connecting portion and a cantilever, the frame comprises a side wall and an extending portion, and the connecting portion of the key cap is pivotally connected by the pivot point In the extension of the frame, the connecting portion partially overlaps the extending portion. The button of claim 1, further comprising a third magnetic component disposed on the keycap, the first magnetic component being located on the frame relative to the third magnetic component, the second The magnetic component is located on the substrate corresponding to the position of the third magnetic component, and the keycap is coupled to the first by the third magnetic component The magnetic element and the second magnetic element are attracted to each other. The button of claim 3, wherein the third magnetic element is disposed on a side of the keycap near the fulcrum, and an adsorption force direction of the third magnetic element and the first magnetic element is parallel to the key The direction in which the cap moves. The button of claim 3, wherein the third magnetic component is disposed on a side of the keycap away from the fulcrum and opposite to the first magnetic component, and the third magnetic component and the first magnetic component The direction of the adsorption force is perpendicular to the direction of movement of the keycap. The button of claim 1, wherein the first magnetic element and the second magnetic element are permanent magnets, and the key cap is made of a material that the magnet can adsorb. The button of claim 1, wherein the keycap is parallel to the substrate when the keycap is in the first position. The button of claim 1, further comprising a switching element disposed on the substrate, the key cap further having a bump, and when the key cap is in the second position, the bump contacts the Switching element. A keyboard includes: a substrate; and a plurality of buttons disposed on the substrate, wherein one of the buttons comprises: a key cap on the substrate and can be in a first position and a first position relative to the substrate Move up and down between the two positions; a frame on the substrate and surrounding the key cap, wherein the key cap is rotatably coupled to the frame by a point; a first magnetic component is located on the frame and can be attracted to the key cap; a second magnetic component is disposed on the substrate and disposed under the keycap and is mutually permeable to the keycap; wherein, the first magnetic component and the keycap have a greater adsorption force than the second magnetic component and the keycap The adsorption force, when the keycap is not pressed, the first magnetic element adsorbs the keycap to maintain the keycap in the first position. The keyboard of claim 9, wherein the key cap comprises a connecting portion and a cantilever, the frame comprises a side wall and an extending portion, and the connecting portion of the key cap is pivotally connected by the pivot point In the extension of the frame, the connecting portion partially overlaps the extending portion. The keyboard of claim 9, further comprising a third magnetic component disposed on the keycap, the first magnetic component being located on the frame relative to the third magnetic component, the second The magnetic component is located on the substrate corresponding to the position of the third magnetic component, and the keycap is adsorbed by the third magnetic component and the first magnetic component and the second magnetic component. The keyboard of claim 11, wherein the third magnetic element is disposed on a side of the keycap near the fulcrum, and an adsorption force direction of the third magnetic element and the first magnetic element is parallel to the key The direction in which the cap moves. The keyboard of claim 11, wherein the third magnetic element The member is disposed on a side of the key cap away from the fulcrum and opposite to the first magnetic component, and an adsorption force direction of the third magnetic component and the first magnetic component is perpendicular to a moving direction of the keycap. The keyboard of claim 9, wherein the keycap is parallel to the substrate when the keycap is in the first position. The keyboard of claim 9, further comprising a switching element on the substrate, the key cap further having a bump, and when the key cap is in the second position, the bump contacts the Switching element.