TWI662572B - Optical keyswitch - Google Patents

Abstract

Optical switch keys include a keycap, a support mechanism, and a switch module. The support mechanism has a protruding portion and is disposed below the keycap to support the keycap to move up / down. The switch module includes a circuit board, a light transmitter, and a light receiver. The optical transmitter and the optical receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the optical transmitter corresponds to the optical receiver and transmits an optical signal. When the keycap is not pressed, the light signal received by the light receiver is the first intensity; when the keycap is pressed, the keycap drives the protrusion to move, so that the protrusion changes the light signal received by the light receiver to the second intensity, In addition, the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal.

Description

Light switch button

The present invention generally relates to an optical switch button, and in particular, the present invention relates to an optical switch button that presses a keycap to change a light signal receiving state and activates a switch.

Membrane switch keys and mechanical keys are the types of keys commonly used in conventional keyboards. The main difference between the membrane switch button and the mechanical button is the circuit structure that generates the signal. Generally speaking, membrane switch keys use the membrane circuit layer as a signal-generating switching element. When the keycap is pressed to trigger the membrane circuit layer, the upper circuit layer is deformed so that the switch contacts of the upper circuit layer contact the corresponding switch contacts of the lower circuit layer. Point, and the membrane switch is turned on to generate a signal. However, the thin-film circuit layer is easily damaged and difficult to repair under frequent use or improper application of force. When the user presses the keycap to trigger the thin-film circuit layer, there is a lack of sharp segment feedback, which makes the pressing feel poor and cannot satisfy the use. Sense of manipulation.

Mechanical keys are switching elements that use the conduction of metal sheets and metal contacts as signals. However, metal pieces and metal contacts are prone to wear due to impact, which affects the service life of the keys, and also causes the metal pieces or metal contacts to rust due to moisture, which causes poor conduction and affects the stability of the keys. Furthermore, the conventional mechanical keys are generally not suitable for being applied to portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers, because of their complicated structure and large volume.

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch button, which uses a light emitter A switch module composed of a light receiver and a light receiver, and changes the receiving state of the light signal with the pressing stroke through the components in the keys, providing a fast and accurate trigger function.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch button, which integrates the button structure of the optical switch in a low space, so as to be suitable for being applied to a portable electronic device.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch button, which includes an optical switch and a mechanical recovery mechanism, which not only provides the pressing feel of the mechanical button, but also improves the maintenance feasibility.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides an optical switch button including a keycap, a support mechanism, and a switch module, wherein the support mechanism is disposed below the keycap and supports the keycap to move up / down, and the support mechanism has a protruding portion; a switch mold The group includes a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, the light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light transmitter corresponds to the light receiver to transmit a light signal. When the keycap is not pressed, the light receiver receives The light signal is the first intensity; when the keycap is pressed, the keycap drives the protrusion to move, so that the protrusion changes the light signal received by the light receiver to the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch The module generates a trigger signal.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides an optical switch button including a keycap, a support mechanism, a return mechanism, and a switch module, wherein the keycap has a protruding portion; the support mechanism is disposed below the keycap and supports the keycap up / down Move; the return mechanism is set under the keycap to provide the restoring force to return the keycap to the position before pressing. The recovery mechanism includes a casing and an elastic member. The casing has an elastic member accommodation space. The elastic member is accommodated in the space; the switch module includes a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, and the light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light transmitter corresponding to the light receiver emits a light signal, the light transmitter and There is a light amount adjustment space between the light receivers. When the keycap is not pressed, the protruding portion has a first positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space, and the light signal received by the light receiver is the first intensity; when the keycap is pressed, the keycap drives the protruding portion Moving outside the casing makes the protruding portion have a second positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space. The second positional relationship is different from the first positional relationship. The protruding portion changes the light signal received by the light receiver to a second intensity, and the second intensity Different from the first strength, the trigger switch module generates a trigger signal.

In one embodiment, the protruding portion has a hole. The first positional relationship represents that the hole is far from the light amount adjustment space, and the protruding portion at least partially blocks the light signal received by the light receiver. The second positional relationship represents that the hole enters the light amount adjustment space. The hole allows the optical signal to pass, so that the second intensity is greater than the first intensity, so as to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal.

In an embodiment, the first positional relationship represents that the protruding portion is far from the light amount adjustment space, and the protruding portion does not change the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver; the second positional relationship represents that the protruding portion enters the light amount adjustment space, and the protruding portion attenuates light reception. The intensity of the optical signal received by the transmitter is such that the second intensity is smaller than the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal.

In one embodiment, the housing has a vertical movement channel and a side wall, and the side wall is disposed between the vertical movement channel and the elastic member accommodating space to separate the vertical movement channel and the elastic member accommodating space. When the key cap is pressed, the key cap Drive the protruding portion to move downward in the up and down movement channel.

In an embodiment, the circuit board further has an escape space, and the up and down movement channels, the light amount adjustment space and the avoidance space are aligned with each other. When the key cap is pressed, the key cap drives the protruding portion to move downward from the up and down movement channel and pass through The light amount adjustment space enters the avoidance space.

In an embodiment, the casing is formed by combining an upper casing and a lower casing. The lower casing has a substantially U-shaped horizontal cross-section, and the upper casing has a left arm portion and a right arm portion protruding from the lower casing toward each other to form The notch portion is between the left arm portion and the right arm portion, the up and down movement channels are located in the notch portion, and the light transmitter and the light receiver are located below the left arm portion and the right arm portion, respectively.

In one embodiment, the support mechanism is a scissor-type support mechanism, a scissor-type support machine The structure has an inner bracket and an outer bracket. The middle section of the inner bracket and the middle section of the outer bracket are coupled with each other to rotate around the axis of the scissors structure. The restoring mechanism and the switch module are located in the vertical projection area of the inner bracket. On one side, the switch module is located on the second side of the axis of the scissors structure axis, and the first side of the axis and the second side of the axis are opposite sides of the scissors structure axis.

In one embodiment, the light emitter, the light amount adjustment space, and the light receiver are sequentially arranged along a linear light path, which is parallel to the scissors structure axis.

In an embodiment, the casing is formed by combining an upper casing and a lower casing. The lower casing has a deformable portion, and the deformable portion extends from the lower casing toward the upper casing to correspond to the protruding portion when the keycap is pressed. When the protruding portion is driven to move, the protruding portion is pressed against the deformable portion, so that the deformable portion is bent and at least partially blocks the light signal, so that the second intensity is smaller than the first intensity.

In an embodiment, the upper casing has a deformable portion, and the deformable portion extends from the lower casing to correspond to the protruding portion. When the keycap is pressed to move the protruding portion, the protruding portion is pressed against the deformable portion to make the deformable portion The bending further at least partially blocks the light signal, so that the second intensity is smaller than the first intensity.

In one embodiment, the optical switch key of the present invention further includes a bottom plate, wherein the circuit board is disposed above the bottom plate, the protruding portion extends from the lower surface of the keycap toward the bottom plate, and the bottom plate has an extending deformable portion, and the extending deformable portion corresponds to the protruding portion Extending toward the keycap to at least partially block the light signal. When the keycap is pressed to move the protruding portion, the protruding portion presses against the extending deformable portion, deforming the extending deformable portion to avoid the light signal, so that the second intensity is greater than the first intensity.

In an embodiment, the housing has a grating portion, and the grating portion is disposed corresponding to the light transmitter or the light receiver to define a stroke of pressing the keycap to generate the trigger signal.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides an optical switch button, which includes a keycap, a support mechanism, a switch module, and a recovery mechanism, wherein the support mechanism is disposed below the keycap and supports the key. The cap moves up / down; the switch module includes a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, and the light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light transmitter corresponds to the light receiver to emit a light signal; the recovery mechanism is provided on the key Below the cap, to provide a restoring force to return the keycap to the position before pressing. The restoring mechanism includes an elastic member. The elastic member includes a spring and an extended deformed portion. The extended deformable portion extends from one end of the spring toward the keycap. When the keycap is pressed, the keycap is pressed against the extended deformable portion to deform the extended deformable portion and at least partially block the light signal to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides an optical switch button including a bottom plate, a key cap, a support mechanism, a magnetic piece, and a switch module, wherein the bottom plate has a magnetic portion; the key cap is disposed above the bottom plate; and the support mechanism is disposed on the key cap. And the bottom plate is supported by a keycap to move relative to the bottom plate, and the supporting mechanism includes a first bracket and a second bracket, and the first bracket and the second bracket are respectively located on opposite sides of the keycap; the magnetic piece is provided corresponding to the magnetic portion, and the magnetic piece It has a first side and a second side. The first side of the magnetic piece is movably connected to the first bracket, and the second side of the magnetic piece corresponds to the second bracket, so that the magnetic piece is in contact with the magnetic part and generates a magnetic attraction force to support the key. The cap is in an unpressed position; the switch module includes a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, and the light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board and arranged along the connection direction of the first side and the second side of the magnetic part. The optical transmitter transmits an optical signal corresponding to the optical receiver. When the keycap is in the unpressed position, the magnetic part blocks the optical signal; when the keycap is pressed, the second bracket moves with the keycap to drive the magnetic part away from the magnetic part to allow the optical receiver to receive the optical signal, and The trigger switch module generates a trigger signal.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides an optical switch button including a keycap, a support mechanism, an elastic member, and a switch module. The support mechanism is disposed below the keycap and supports the keycap to move up / down. The support mechanism includes a first A bracket and a second bracket; an elastic member is connected between the first bracket and the second bracket; the switch module includes a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, the light transmitter and The optical receiver is electrically connected to the circuit board, and the optical transmitter transmits an optical signal corresponding to the optical receiver. When the keycap is pressed, the first bracket slides horizontally with the keycap relative to the circuit board to at least partially block the light signal, thereby triggering the switch module to generate a trigger signal.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides an optical switch button, which includes a keycap, a support mechanism, an elastic member, a tactile elastic member, and a switch module. The support mechanism is disposed below the keycap and supports the keycap to move up / down. The supporting mechanism includes a first bracket and a second bracket; an elastic member is connected between the first bracket and the second bracket; the touch-sensitive elastic member has a connection portion, a pressing portion and a striking portion, and the connection portion is connected to the first bracket, and The abutting portion corresponds to the first bracket, the striking portion is connected to the abutting portion and is located at an opposite end of the connecting portion; the switch module includes a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, and the light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board. The transmitter transmits an optical signal corresponding to the optical receiver. When the keycap is pressed, the first bracket moves with the keycap to press against the pressing portion, so that the striking portion at least partially blocks the light signal, and then triggers the switch module to generate a trigger signal.

In an embodiment, the optical switch key of the present invention further includes a light source, wherein the keycap has a light transmitting portion, and the light source is electrically connected to the circuit board to provide light to be emitted toward the light transmitting portion.

Compared with the conventional technology, the optical switch key of the present invention uses a light transmitter and a light receiver as switching signals, and any appropriate part of the key changes the receiving state of the optical signal with the pressing stroke to achieve a fast and accurate pressing signal. Conversion, and can be applied to a variety of button architectures for portable electronic devices. Furthermore, the optical switch button of the present invention may have a grating structure to avoid interference of external light to improve operation accuracy, and control the trigger position when pressed to reduce the trigger point error. In addition, the optical switch button of the present invention bears the recovery mechanism on the circuit board (or bottom plate), and can be easily replaced to improve the feasibility of maintenance.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 100 ‧‧‧ optical switch buttons

10, 10 ’, 10” ‧‧‧ keycaps

12, 14‧‧‧ coupling

16‧‧‧Transmission Department

111, 111 ’, 115‧‧‧ protrusions

1111‧‧‧ oblique face

1112‧‧‧Plane Department

115a‧‧‧hole

20, 20’‧‧‧ support mechanism

21‧‧‧ protrusion

212‧‧‧Horizontal

214‧‧‧Vertical

22‧‧‧Inner stent

221‧‧‧ Pivot

222‧‧‧Keycap end

224‧‧‧ bottom plate end

24‧‧‧ Outer bracket

241‧‧‧shaft hole

242‧‧‧Keycap end

244‧‧‧ bottom plate end

26‧‧‧Scissor structure axis

262‧‧‧ first side of axis

264‧‧‧ second side of the axis

30‧‧‧Switch Module

32‧‧‧Circuit Board

322‧‧‧ opening

324‧‧‧Avoiding Space

34‧‧‧light transmitter

36‧‧‧ Optical Receiver

40‧‧‧ floor

42, 44‧‧‧ connecting pieces

46‧‧‧Guide

50, 50 ’, 50”, 50 '' '‧‧‧ Reply agency

52‧‧‧shell

52a‧‧‧Up and down movement channel

52b‧‧‧light volume adjustment space

521‧‧‧accommodation space

522, 522 ’, 522” ‧‧‧ upper case

524、524’‧‧‧ Lower case

5242‧‧‧ Lower engaging section

5243‧‧‧ Positioning hole

5244‧‧‧Socket

5245‧‧‧Deformable

5245a‧‧‧ Upright

5245b‧‧‧Horizontal

5246‧‧‧Guide

5248, 5249‧‧‧bearing department

526, 526 ’, 526” ‧‧‧ upper casing

5261‧‧‧through hole

5262‧‧‧ Upper engaging section

5263‧‧‧Notch

5264‧‧‧Left arm

5265‧‧‧Right arm

5266‧‧‧ sidewall

5266a‧‧‧Slot

5266b‧‧‧Slot

5267‧‧‧Grating Department

5267a‧‧‧Grating gap

5268‧‧‧notch

5269‧‧‧Deformable

528‧‧‧Activity Department

5282‧‧‧Positioning space

5283‧‧‧ opening

5284‧‧‧Positioning post

5285‧‧‧Limiting Department

5286‧‧‧Action

54、54’‧‧‧Elastic piece

542‧‧‧Spring

544‧‧‧Extended deformable part

544a‧‧‧bend section

56‧‧‧Tactile feedback

562‧‧‧ positioning end

564‧‧‧ acting side

60‧‧‧ backlight

110‧‧‧Keycap

112, 114‧‧‧ Couplings

116‧‧‧Groove

120‧‧‧ support mechanism

122‧‧‧First bracket

122a, 122b‧‧‧Coupling Department

1222‧‧‧Card Slot

124‧‧‧Second bracket

124a, 124b‧‧‧Coupling Department

1242‧‧‧ support

130‧‧‧Switch Module

132‧‧‧Circuit Board

134‧‧‧light transmitter

136‧‧‧light receiver

140‧‧‧ floor

142‧‧‧Magnetic Section

143, 144‧‧‧ Connection

146‧‧‧Positioning Department

150‧‧‧ Reply agency

151‧‧‧accommodation space

152‧‧‧upper shell

1521‧‧‧through hole

1522‧‧‧ Upper Engagement Section

1523‧‧‧Notch

1524‧‧‧Left arm

1525‧‧‧ Right Arm

1526‧‧‧ sidewall

1527‧‧‧Grating Department

1527a‧‧‧Grating gap

1528‧‧‧notch

154‧‧‧Activity Department

1541‧‧‧Limiting Department

1542‧‧‧ positioning space

1543‧‧‧Positioning post

1544‧‧‧Action

1544a‧‧‧ bevel

156‧‧‧Lower case

1562‧‧‧ Lower engaging section

1564‧‧‧Socket

1566‧‧‧Guide

1568‧‧‧bearing department

160‧‧‧magnetic parts

162‧‧‧first side

1622 ‧ ‧ card shaft

164‧‧‧Second side

210‧‧‧Keycap

220‧‧‧ support

222‧‧‧First bracket

224‧‧‧Second bracket

230‧‧‧ Switch Module

232‧‧‧Circuit Board

234‧‧‧light transmitter

236‧‧‧ Optical Receiver

240‧‧‧ floor

250‧‧‧ Elastic Parts

270‧‧‧touch elastic

272‧‧‧Connection Department

274‧‧‧Pressing Department

276‧‧‧Percussion Department

FIG. 1A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C is a top view of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 1D is an exploded view of the supporting mechanism of FIG. 1A from different perspectives.

FIG. 1E is an exploded view of the recovery mechanism of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1F is a combined view of the reply mechanism of FIG. 1A from another perspective.

FIG. 1G and FIG. 1H are an exploded view and a combination view of the bottom view of the recovery mechanism of FIG. 1A.

2A, 3A and 4A are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycaps of the optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention along the X axis at the unpressed position, the triggered position, and the lowest position, respectively.

2B, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 4B are cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention along the Y-axis at the unpressed position, the triggered position, and the lowest position, respectively.

5A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 5A.

Fig. 5C is a top view of Fig. 5B.

6A, FIG. 7A and FIG. 8A are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycaps of the optical switch button according to the second embodiment of the present invention along the X axis at the unpressed position, the triggered position, and the lowest position.

6B, FIG. 7B and FIG. 8B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button according to the second embodiment of the present invention along the Y axis at the unpressed position, the triggered position, and the lowest position, respectively.

FIG. 9A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 9A.

Fig. 9C is a top view of Fig. 9B.

FIG. 9D is an exploded view of the recovery mechanism of FIG. 9A.

10A and FIG. 11A are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button along an X axis at a non-pressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

10B and FIG. 11B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button along the Y axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively, according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 12A.

Fig. 12C is a top view of Fig. 12B.

FIG. 12D is an exploded view of the return mechanism of FIG. 12A.

13A and FIG. 14A are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button along the X axis at a non-pressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

13B and FIG. 14B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button along the Y axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively, according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

15A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 15A.

Fig. 15C is a top view of Fig. 15B.

16A and 17A are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button along the X axis at a non-pressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16B and FIG. 17B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button along the Y axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively, according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

18A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 18A.

Fig. 18C is a top view of Fig. 18B.

FIG. 18D is an exploded view of the return mechanism of FIG. 18A.

FIG. 18E is an exploded view of the recovery mechanism of FIG. 18A from different perspectives.

FIG. 19A and FIG. 20A are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention along the X axis at a non-pressed position and a triggered position, respectively.

19B and FIG. 20B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycaps of the optical switch button along the Y axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively, according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

21A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

21B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 21A.

Fig. 21C is a top view of Fig. 21B.

21D and 21E are exploded views of the recovery mechanism of FIG. 21A from different perspectives.

22A, 23A and 24A are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention along the X axis at the unpressed position, the triggered position, and the lowest position.

22B, FIG. 23B and FIG. 24B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention along the Y axis at the unpressed position, the triggered position, and the lowest position, respectively.

25A and FIG. 26A are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention along an X axis at a non-pressed position and a triggered position, respectively.

25B and FIG. 26B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention along the Y axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively.

FIG. 27 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a keycap of an optical switch button according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention along a Y axis at a non-pressed position.

FIG. 28A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 28A.

Fig. 28C is a top view of Fig. 28B.

29 and 30 are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button along the X axis at a non-pressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

31A and 31B are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button in an unpressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

32A and 32B are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button in an unpressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

The invention provides an optical switch button, which can be applied to any push-type input device (such as a keyboard) or integrated into any suitable electronic device (such as a key of a portable electronic device or a keyboard of a notebook computer) to provide fast It also has accurate trigger function, and is suitable for a variety of key structure designs, and enhances the maintenance feasibility. Hereinafter, the structure and operation of each element of the optical switch button according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1A to 4B are schematic views of a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is an exploded view of an optical switch button of the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a combined perspective view of a keyless cap of FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is a diagram Top view of 1B. As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the optical switch button 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a keycap 10, a support mechanism 20, and a switch module 30. The support mechanism 20 is disposed below the keycap 10 and supports the keycap 10 to move up / down. The support mechanism 20 includes a protruding portion 21. The switch module 30 includes a circuit board 32, a light transmitter 34 and a light receiver 36. The light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are electrically connected to the circuit board 32, and the light transmitter 34 transmits a light signal corresponding to the light receiver 36. When the keycap 10 is not pressed, the light signal received by the light receiver 36 is the first intensity; when the keycap 10 is pressed, the keycap 10 drives the projection. The output portion 21 is moved, so that the protruding portion 21 changes the light signal received by the light receiver 36 to a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal. In addition, the optical switch button 1 may further include a bottom plate 40, a recovery mechanism 50, a backlight light source 60, and the like (described in detail later).

Specifically, the keycap 10 may be, for example, an injection-molded rectangular keycap, and the lower surface of the keycap 10 has coupling members 12 and 14 that are coupled to the support mechanism 20. The coupling member 12 may be a coupling structure having a shaft hole, and the coupling member 14 may be a coupling structure having a sliding groove. Furthermore, according to practical applications, the keycap 10 may be a light-transmitting keycap having a light-transmitting portion 16 to be applied to a light-emitting keyboard. For example, the light-transmitting portion 16 may be in the form of a character to indicate a key input instruction.

The bottom plate 40 can be used as a structural strength support plate of the optical switch button 1 and has connecting members 42 and 44 connected to the supporting mechanism 20. In one embodiment, the bottom plate 40 is preferably formed by stamping a metal plate. The connecting members 42 and 44 are preferably hook-type connecting members that are bent and protruded from the surface of the bottom plate 40 toward the keycap 10. It should be noted here that, when the circuit board 32 has sufficient structural strength, the connecting members 42 and 44 can be selectively disposed on the circuit board 32, thereby eliminating the use of the bottom plate 40.

1A to 1D, FIG. 1D is an exploded view of the supporting mechanism of FIG. 1A from different perspectives. As shown in the figure, the supporting mechanism 20 preferably includes an inner bracket 22 and an outer bracket 24, and the inner bracket 22 is pivotally connected to the inner side of the outer bracket 24 to form a scissors-type supporting mechanism. The inner bracket 22 and the outer bracket 24 are preferably, for example, injection-molded rectangular frames, and the inner bracket 22 and the outer bracket 24 can be rotatably connected by, for example, a pivot and a shaft hole mechanism. For example, the opposite side of the middle section of the inner bracket 22 has a pivot shaft 221 protruding outward, and the opposite inner side of the outer bracket 24 has a shaft hole 241 corresponding to the pivot shaft 221, so that the middle section of the inner bracket 22 and the middle section of the outer bracket 24 are coupled to each other. Rotate around the scissors structure axis 26 (that is, the line connecting the two pivots 221). In addition, two ends of the inner bracket 22 and the outer bracket 24 are movably connected to the keycap 10 and the bottom plate 40, respectively. For example, the keycap end 222 of the inner bracket 22 is rotatably connected to the coupling member of the keycap 10 12, and the bottom plate end 224 of the inner bracket 22 is movably connected to the connecting member 42 of the bottom plate 40. Similarly, the keycap end 242 of the outer bracket 24 is movably connected to the coupling member 14 of the keycap 10, and the bottom end 244 of the outer bracket 24 is movably connected to the connection member 44 of the bottom plate 40. Thereby, the supporting mechanism 20 can smoothly support the keycap 10 to move up / down relative to the bottom plate 40.

The protruding portion 21 is provided on the inner bracket 22 and protrudes from the inner bracket 22 toward an inner side of the inner bracket 22. For example, the protruding portion 21 is preferably disposed inside the keycap end 222 of the inner bracket 22. The protruding portion 21 is preferably an L-shaped convex pillar, which includes a horizontal portion 212 extending horizontally from the inner bracket 22 toward the center of the frame, and a vertical portion 214 extending downward from the extending end of the horizontal portion 212.

The circuit board 32 is preferably disposed on the bottom plate 40, and the circuit board 32 has an opening 322 to allow the connecting members 42 and 44 of the bottom plate 40 to pass through to connect the supporting mechanism 20. The light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are disposed on the circuit board 32 and are electrically connected to the circuit board 32. Specifically, the circuit board 32 preferably has a switching circuit, and the optical transmitter 34 and the optical receiver 36 are electrically connected to the switching circuit of the circuit board 32 so that the optical transmitter 34 can transmit an optical signal toward the optical receiver 36, and when When the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 36 changes, the trigger switch module 30 generates a trigger signal. For example, the light transmitter 34 may be any transmitter capable of emitting a light signal having a suitable wavelength, and the light signal emitted by the light transmitter 34 may include electromagnetic waves, infrared rays, or visible light. The optical receiver 36 is any suitable receiver capable of receiving a corresponding optical signal. The circuit board 32 preferably has an escape space 324 to allow the protrusion 21 to pass through. For example, the avoidance space 324 may be an avoidance slot opened on the circuit board 32, and the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are disposed on opposite sides of the avoidance slot to be between the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36. A light amount adjustment space 52b is formed (shown in FIG. 2A).

In addition, corresponding to the arrangement of the backlight light source 60, the circuit board 32 preferably has a light source circuit for driving the backlight light source 60. The backlight light source 60 may be disposed on the circuit board 32 and electrically connected to the circuit board 32 The light source circuit is provided to emit light toward the light transmitting portion 16 of the keycap 10. In one embodiment, the backlight light source 60 is preferably a light emitting diode, and the wavelength of the light emitted by the backlight light source 60 is preferably different from the wavelength of the optical signal emitted by the light emitter 34 to reduce interference, but not limited to this. The backlight light source 60 is preferably disposed on the opposite side of the light emitter 34 and the light receiver 36, and is preferably located in a vertical projection area of the inner bracket 22 on the bottom plate 40. For example, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are preferably disposed corresponding to the keycap end 222 adjacent to the inner bracket 22 and the backlight light source 60 is disposed corresponding to the bottom end 224 of the inner bracket 22 correspondingly.

Referring to FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C and FIG. 1E to FIG. 1H, in one embodiment, the recovery mechanism 50 is disposed below the keycap 10 to provide a restoring force, so that the keycap 10 can be returned to the position before pressing after being pressed. Specifically, the recovery mechanism 50 is disposed between the keycap 10 and the bottom plate 40 (or the circuit board 32), and includes a housing 52 and an elastic member 54. The housing 52 has an elastic member accommodation space 521, and the elastic member 54 is disposed in the elastic member accommodation space 521. In this embodiment, the elastic member 54 is preferably a spring to provide a mechanical pressing operation feel. The casing 52 is formed by combining the upper casing 522 and the lower casing 524 to form an elastic member accommodation space 521. The upper casing 522 includes an upper casing portion 526 and a movable portion 528, and the movable portion 528 is movably sleeved on the upper casing portion 526 relative to the upper casing portion 526. Specifically, the upper case portion 526 includes a through hole 5261 and an upper engaging portion 5262. The movable portion 528 is movably inserted into the through hole 5261 from the bottom to the top to position the elastic member 54 and serves as an actuating member when the keycap 10 is pressed. The lower casing 524 has a lower engaging portion 5242 for engaging with the upper engaging portion 5262, so that the upper casing 522 is connected to the lower casing 524. In an embodiment, the upper engaging portion 5262 is preferably a slot formed on opposite sides of the upper housing portion 526, and the lower engaging portion 5242 is a hook corresponding to the slot, but it is not limited thereto. According to the actual application, the upper engaging portion 5262 may be a hook formed in the upper housing portion 526, and the lower engaging portion 5242 is a card slot corresponding to the hook.

Specifically, the upper case portion 526 is preferably a rectangular cover having a cutout portion 5263. structure. The upper engaging portion 5262 is preferably provided on both sides of the notch portion 5263, so that a left arm portion 5264 is formed between the left upper engaging portion 5262 and the notch portion 5263, and a right upper engaging portion 5262 and the notch portion 5263 are formed. Right arm 5265. When the recovery mechanism 50 is disposed on the circuit board 32, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are preferably covered by the housing 52 to achieve dustproofness and reduce external light interference. For example, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are respectively located on opposite sides of the cutout portion 5263 and are covered by the upper case portion 526. In one embodiment, the lower case 524 preferably has a substantially U-shaped horizontal cross section. The left arm portion 5264 and the right arm portion 5265 of the upper case 526 protrude toward each other from the both sides of the U-shaped horizontal section toward the center of the U-shaped horizontal section. The left arm portion 5264 and the right of the upper case 526 The vertical projection of the arm portion 5265 is beyond the vertical projection range of the lower case 524) to form a notch portion 5263 between the left arm portion 5264 and the right arm portion 5265. As shown in FIG. 1H, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are preferably located below the left arm portion 5264 and the right arm portion 5265, respectively, and the dustproof effect can be achieved, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, by changing the design of the lower case 524, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 may also be located below the two sides of the U-shaped horizontal section of the lower case 524 and covered by the lower case 524. Furthermore, the upper housing portion 526 has a side wall 5266, the side wall 5266 is adjacent to the cutout portion 5263, and the elastic accommodation space 521 and the cutout portion 5263 are separated by the side wall 5266, so that when the keycap 10 is pressed, the protruding portion 21 is substantially in the housing 52 to move outside. That is, when the keycap 10 is pressed, the protruding portion 21 preferably moves outside the elastic member accommodation space 521 surrounded by the upper case 522 and the lower case 524.

In an embodiment, the movable portion 528 is preferably sleeve-shaped, so as to form a positioning space 5282 and an axially extending positioning post 5284 below the movable portion 528. The movable portion 528 further includes a limiting portion 5285 and an acting portion 5286 on the opposite side of the sleeve. The limiting portion 5285 is used to limit the displacement of the movable portion 528 relative to the upper housing portion 526. The acting portion 5286 and the tactile feedback 56 Cooperate to provide tactile feedback (detailed later). In an embodiment, the limiting portion 5285 is a hook protruding radially outward from the movable portion 528, The action portion 5286 is an inclined surface that slopes outward from top to bottom. The movable portion 528 further has a convex point 5287, and the convex point 5287 is preferably disposed at the center of the top of the sleeve as a contact point with the keycap 10.

The lower casing 524 further has a socket portion 5244 for positioning the elastic member 54. In one embodiment, the socket portion 5244 protrudes from the surface of the lower housing 524 corresponding to the movable portion 528 toward the upper housing 522, and has a guide groove 5246 extending downward along the socket portion 5244. When the recovery mechanism 50 is assembled, the spring-type elastic member 54 is sleeved on the outside of the socket portion 5244 of the lower case 524, and the positioning post 5284 of the movable portion 528 extends into the guide groove 5246, so that the top of the elastic member 54 is correspondingly received in The positioning space 5282 is located, and the lower end of the elastic member 54 is positioned between the movable portion 528 and the socket portion 5244. Next, the upper engaging portion 5262 of the upper housing portion 526 corresponds to the lower engaging portion 5242 of the lower housing 524, so that the top of the movable portion 528 penetrates from the through hole 5261, and passes through the socket portion 5244 and the positioning post. 5284 positions the elastic member 54 between the movable portion 528 and the lower case 524. When the keycap 10 is pressed, the movable portion 528 can move downward relative to the upper housing portion 526 along the guide groove 5246 to compress the elastic member 54. When the keycap 10 is released, the elastic member 54 provides elastic force, so that the movable portion 528 drives the keycap 10 to move upward relative to the upper housing portion 526 and is positioned at a position before pressing by the limiting portion 5285.

In one embodiment, the lower casing 524 further has abutment portions 5248 and 5249, and the recovery mechanism 50 is positioned on the circuit board 32 by the abutment portions 5248 and 5249. Specifically, the abutment portions 5248 and 5249 are preferably disposed on opposite sides of the lower case 524, so that the abutment portion 5248 abuts on the circuit board 32 adjacent to the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36, and the bearing The abutting portion 5249 abuts the circuit board 32 near the backlight light source 60. In an embodiment, the abutment portion 5248 may be a pair of abutment arm portions extending downward from the lower housing 524, and corresponding to the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are located below the left arm portion 5264 and the right arm portion 5265, respectively. The abutment portion 5249 may be a pair of abutment recesses protruding downward from the lower case 524. For example, the abutment portion 5249 may extend and protrude from the lower case 524 in a horizontal direction, but faces from the bottom of the lower case 524 The pair of abutting recessed blocks is recessed, so that the upper housing portion 526 is formed with a notch 5268 corresponding to the abutting portion 5249, and the setting position of the backlight light source 60 preferably corresponds to the notch 5268. In this way, the light emitted by the backlight light source 60 is blocked by the recovery mechanism 50 without changing the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 36 to prevent the switch module 30 from generating a trigger signal by mistake.

In one embodiment, the response mechanism 50 further includes a tactile feedback component 56 for providing tactile feedback during pressing. For example, the tactile feedback 56 may be implemented as a torsion spring, and one end of the torsion spring is used as the positioning end 562, and the other end of the torsion spring is used as the active end 564. The lower casing 524 correspondingly has a positioning hole 5243. When the tactile feedback component 56 is disposed on the lower casing 524, the positioning end 562 is coupled to the positioning hole 5243, and the active end 564 corresponds to the active portion 5286 of the movable portion 528. In this embodiment, the extending direction of the active end 564 is preferably perpendicular to the scissors structure axis 26 (ie, the rotation axis formed by the pivotal connection of the two arms of the scissors structure). When the keycap 10 is pressed, the action portion 5286 moves relative to the action end 564 of the torsion spring as the keycap 10 moves downward, so that the action end 564 (1) first slides on the bottom inclined surface of the action portion 5286 for use. The user ’s finger first feels a large resistance. (2) The active end 564 is detached from the active portion 5286 (specifically, it can be crossed over the bottom slope of the active portion 5286). The user ’s finger feels the resistance is greatly reduced, thus providing the user with a sense of step difference in pressing. , And the active end 564 hits the upper housing portion 526 to generate a sound. When the keycap 10 is released, the elastic member 54 provides a restoring force to cause the keycap 10 to move upward, and the action portion 5286 moves upward. 5286) and return to its original position.

Furthermore, referring to FIG. 1C, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 of the recovery mechanism 50 and the switch module 30 are preferably located in a vertical projection area of the inner bracket 522 on the bottom plate 40. Specifically, the recovery mechanism 50 is substantially located on the first axis side 262 of the scissors structure axis 26, and the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are located on the second axis side 264 of the scissors structure axis 26, and the first side 262 of the axis and the shaft The second side of the line 264 is the opposite side of the scissors structure axis 26. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the recovery mechanism 50 is substantially located on the first side 262 of the axis of the scissors structure axis 26, which refers to the center of the movable portion 528 or the center axis of the elastic member 54 (for example, the position of the bump 5287) is located at The first axis side 262 is preferably adjacent to the scissors structure axis 26, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, the housing 52 preferably has a grating portion 5267, which is disposed corresponding to the light transmitter 34 or the light receiver 36 to define a stroke for pressing the keycap 10 to generate a trigger signal. That is, the grating portion 5267 may be a gate grid structure having a grating gap 5267a, and is preferably disposed between the light emitter 34 and the light receiver 36 and adjacent to the light emitter 34 or the light receiver 36. The grating portion 5267 can control the trigger position of the pressing by controlling the size and corresponding position of the grating gap 5267a, thereby reducing the trigger error. For example, the trigger error that may occur when pressing is about the thickness of the light emitter 34 or light receiver 36, which can be reduced by correspondingly controlling the size of the grating slot 5267a to be smaller than the thickness of the light emitter 34 or light receiver 36, thereby reducing Trigger error. In an embodiment, the grating portion 5267 of the casing 52 is disposed on the left arm portion 5264 of the upper casing portion 526 and is adjacent to the light emitter 34, but is not limited thereto. According to the actual application, with the design of the circuit board 32, the positions of the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are interchangeable, so that the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are located below the right arm portion 5265 and the left arm portion 5264, respectively. Further, the grating portion 5267 is adjacent to the light receiver 36, so that the optical signal is less susceptible to external light interference at the receiving end, and the possibility of false triggering is more effectively reduced.

The operation of the optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2A to 4B, wherein FIG. 2A, FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4A are respectively the keycaps of the optical switch buttons along the X axis at the unpressed position, the triggered position, and A schematic cross-sectional view of the lowest position, and FIG. 2B, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 4B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button along the Y axis at the unpressed position, the trigger position, and the lowest position, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the housing 52 has an up-and-down movement channel 52a, and a side wall 5266 is provided for up-and-down movement. Between the moving passage 52a and the elastic member accommodating space 521, the upper and lower movement passages 52a and the elastic member accommodating space 521 are separated. In other words, the up-and-down movement channel 52 a is located in the cutout portion 5263 of the housing 52. In this embodiment, the light emitter 34, the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the light receiver 36 are preferably arranged along a straight light path in sequence (for example, a straight line along the X-axis direction), and the straight light path is parallel to the scissors structure axis 26. When the keycap 10 is not pressed, the protruding portion 21 has a first positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the optical signal received by the light receiver 36 is a first intensity (for example, an unblocked / attenuated optical signal intensity).

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, when the keycap 10 is pressed, the keycap 10 drives the protruding portion 21 to move outside the housing 52, so that the protruding portion 21 has a second positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the second position The relationship is different from the first position relationship. The protruding portion 21 changes the light signal received by the light receiver 36 to a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal. In other words, when the keycap 10 is pressed, the keycap 10 drives the inner bracket 22 of the support mechanism 20 to slide horizontally on the bottom plate 40 so that the protruding portion 21 moves downward in the up and down movement channel 52a.

In this embodiment, the first positional relationship represents that the protruding portion 21 is far from the light amount adjustment space 52 b. The protruding portion 21 does not change the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 36. The second positional relationship represents that the protruding portion 21 enters the light amount adjustment space 52b. The protruding portion 21 attenuates the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 36, so that the second intensity is smaller than the first intensity, so as to trigger the switch module 30 to generate the trigger signal. . In other words, when the protruding portion 21 is moved by pressing the keycap 10, the protruding portion 21 at least partially blocks the light signal, so that the second intensity is less than the first intensity, and the switch module 30 generates a trigger signal. In one embodiment, when the protruding portion 21 is moved by pressing the keycap 10, the protruding portion 21 can completely block the light signal, so that the light receiver 36 cannot receive the light signal (that is, the second intensity is zero). That is, the protrusion 21 The horizontal portion 212 preferably has a length that can extend into the notch portion 5263, and the vertical portion 214 preferably has a length and a width that can substantially block the light signal, but is not limited thereto. It should be noted here that the circuit design of the circuit board 32 can be changed so that the switch module 30 can generate a trigger signal according to the change in the amount of light received by the optical receiver 36, and also can determine whether the optical signal is received by the optical receiver 36. To generate a trigger signal.

As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the up-and-down movement channel 52a, the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the avoidance space 324 are preferably in direct communication with each other, so that when the keycap 10 is pressed, the keycap 10 drives the protruding portion 21 from the up-and-down movement channel 52a. Moving downwards, the self-triggering position continues to move downward through the light amount adjustment space 52b and into the avoidance space 324, which not only can achieve a quick trigger, but also can increase the pressing stroke and increase the operating feel. It should be noted here that according to the actual application, the bottom plate 40 may also have an avoidance design corresponding to the avoidance space 324. For example, the bottom plate 40 may be recessed at a position corresponding to the avoidance space 324 to form a concave portion or an opening, so that when the keycap 10 is pressed, the keycap 10 drives the protruding portion 21 to move downward from the up and down movement channel 52a. The trigger position continues to move downward through the light amount adjustment space 52b, and after entering the avoidance space 324, it can further enter the recess or opening of the bottom plate 40 further.

5A to 8B are schematic diagrams of a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 5A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 5A. Fig. 5C is a top view of Fig. 5B. As shown in the figure, in the second embodiment, the optical switch 2 of the present invention includes a keycap 10 ', a support mechanism 20', a switch module 30, and a return mechanism 50. The keycap 10 'has a protruding portion 111. The supporting mechanism 20 'is disposed below the keycap 10' and supports the keycap 10 'to move up / down. The restoring mechanism 50 is disposed below the keycap 10 'to provide a restoring force to return the keycap 10' to a position before being pressed after being pressed. The recovery mechanism 50 includes a housing 52 and an elastic member 54. The housing 52 has an elastic member accommodating space 521, and the elastic member 54 is disposed in the elastic member accommodating space 521. Switch module 30 packs Including the circuit board 32, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are electrically connected to the circuit board 32, and the light transmitter 34 transmits a light signal corresponding to the light receiver 36, and the light transmitter 34 and light The receivers 36 have a light amount adjustment space 52b. When the keycap 10 'is not pressed, the protruding portion 111 has a first positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the light signal received by the light receiver 36 has a first intensity. When the keycap 10 'is pressed, the keycap 10' drives the protruding portion 111 to move outside the housing 52, so that the protruding portion 111 has a second positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the second positional relationship is different from the first positional relationship The protruding portion 111 changes the light signal received by the light receiver 36 to a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal.

The optical switch button 2 of FIG. 5A is different from the optical switch button 1 of FIG. 1A in that the supporting mechanism 20 does not have a protruding portion 21, but the protruding portion 111 is provided on the lower surface of the keycap 10 '. In this embodiment, the protruding portion 111 is preferably a blocking piece extending downward from the lower surface of the keycap 10 ', and the protruding portion 111 is correspondingly located above the notch portion 5263 of the return mechanism 50. For details of the remaining components of the optical switch button 2 (such as the switch module 30, the return mechanism 50, the bottom plate 40, the backlight source 60, etc.) and the key cap 10 'and the rest of the support mechanism 20', the structural details and connection relationships can refer to the first embodiment The related description of the light switch button 1 is not repeated here.

The operation of the optical switch button 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6A to 8B. Among them, FIG. 6A, FIG. 7A, and FIG. 6B, FIG. 7B, and FIG. 8B are cross-sectional views of the keycaps of the optical switch button at the unpressed position, the trigger position, and the lowest position along the Y axis, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the housing 52 has an up-and-down movement channel 52 a, and a side wall 5266 is disposed between the up-and-down movement channel 52 a and the elastic member accommodating space 521 to separate the up and down movement channel 52 a and the elastic member accommodating space 521. In other words, the up-and-down movement channel 52 a is located in the cutout portion 5263 of the housing 52. herein In the embodiment, the light emitter 34, the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the light receiver 36 are preferably arranged along a straight light path in sequence (for example, a straight line along the X-axis direction), and the straight light path is parallel to the scissors structure axis 26. When the keycap 10 'is not pressed, the protruding portion 111 is far from the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the protruding portion 111 does not change the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 36.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, when the keycap 10 ′ is pressed, the protruding portion 111 moves downward with the keycap 10 in the up-and-down movement channel 52 a and then enters the light amount adjustment space 52 b to at least partially block the light signal, so that The second intensity is less than the first intensity, which causes the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal. By changing the extension length and width of the protruding portion 111, the protruding portion 111 can completely block the optical signal or only partially block the optical signal, so that the switch module 30 can generate a trigger signal according to the change in the amount of light received by the light receiver 36. The trigger signal may also be generated according to whether the optical receiver 36 receives the optical signal.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the up-and-down movement channel 52a, the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the avoidance space 324 are preferably in direct communication with each other, so that when the keycap 10 'is pressed, the keycap 10' drives the protrusion 111 to move up and down The channel 52a moves downward, and the self-triggering position continues to move downward through the light amount adjustment space 52b and enters the avoidance space 324, which can not only achieve rapid triggering, but also improve the pressing stroke and increase the operating feel.

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the optical switch button 1 or 2 directly generates the trigger signal by changing the receiving state of the optical receiver 36 to the optical signal through the protrusion 21 or 111, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the trigger signal can be generated by changing the receiving state of the optical receiver 36 to the optical signal by using the protruding portion in cooperation with the change design of other components.

FIG. 9A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 9A. Fig. 9C is a top view of Fig. 9B. Figure 9D is a graph An exploded view of the 9A response mechanism. As shown in the figure, in the third embodiment, the optical switch button 3 includes a keycap 10 ", a support mechanism 20 ', a switch module 30, a bottom plate 40, and a return mechanism 50', of which the support mechanism 20 'and the switch module 30 For structural details and connection relationships of the base plate 40, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of the first and second embodiments, which will not be repeated here. Only the differences from the foregoing embodiments will be emphasized hereafter.

Specifically, the keycap 10 "has a protruding portion 111 'extending downward from the lower surface of the keycap 10". In one embodiment, the end of the protruding portion 111 'is preferably a wedge-shaped end having an inclined surface portion 1111 and a flat portion 1112. The difference between the restoring mechanism 50 'and the restoring mechanism 50 of the first embodiment is that the upper case 522' has a deformable portion 5269 that extends from the upper case 522 'to correspond to the protruding portion 111'. Specifically, the deformable portion 5269 is a protruding portion extending from the upper case portion 526 'toward the cutout portion 5263. In other words, the deformable portion 5269 is an L-shaped elastic arm extending horizontally from the upper end of the side wall 5266 toward the notch portion 5263, so that the deformable portion 5269 is located between the left arm portion 5264 and the right arm portion 5265 of the upper case portion 526 '. It should be noted here that the remaining structural details of the replying mechanism 50 'can refer to the relevant description of the replying mechanism 50 of the first embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

The operation of the optical switch button 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 10A to 11B. FIG. 10A and FIG. 11A are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button along the X axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively. 10B and FIG. 11B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button along the Y axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, when the keycap 10 "is in the unpressed position, the protruding portion 111 'of the keycap 10" is correspondingly located above the deformable portion 5269, and the horizontal portion 1112 of the protruding portion 111' is preferably parallel On the surface of the deformable portion 5269, and the inclined surface portion 1111 is inclined upward from the horizontal portion 1112 toward the side wall 5266, so that the vertical projection of the inclined surface portion 1111 on the deformable portion 5269 overlaps the deformable portion 5269. The protruding portion 111 'and the deformable portion 5269 are far from the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 36 is not changed.

As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, when the keycap 10 ″ is pressed to move the protruding portion 111 ′, the protruding portion 111 ′ is pressed against the deformable portion 5269 to bend the deformable portion 5269 and at least partially block the optical signal, so that The second strength is smaller than the first strength. Specifically, when the keycap 10 "is pressed, the protruding portion 111 'is pressed against the deformable portion 5269 along the inclined surface portion 1112 as the keycap 10" moves downward, thereby deforming The portion 5269 is elastically deformed downward, and the light signal is blocked by the protruding portion 111 'and the deformable portion 5269 (or only by the deformable portion 5269), thereby causing the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal. It should be noted here that this implementation For example, the extending length of the protruding portion 111 ′ is shorter than the protruding portion 111 of the keycap 10 ′, which can reduce the possibility of generating a water wave-like appearance at the corresponding upper surface of the protruding portion when the keycap is injection-molded, and effectively improve the appearance of the keycap.

FIGS. 12A to 14B are schematic diagrams of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 12A. Fig. 12C is a top view of Fig. 12B. FIG. 12D is an exploded view of the return mechanism of FIG. 12A. As shown in the figure, in the fourth embodiment, the optical switch button 4 includes a keycap 10 ", a support mechanism 20 ', a switch module 30, a bottom plate 40, and a recovery mechanism 50", wherein the keycap 10 "and the support mechanism 20' For structural details and connection relationships of the switch module 30 and the bottom plate 40, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of the first to third embodiments, which will not be repeated here. Only the differences from the foregoing embodiments will be emphasized.

Specifically, the difference between the return mechanism 50 "and the return mechanism 50 of the first embodiment is that the lower case 524 'has a deformable portion 5245, and the deformable portion 5245 extends from the lower case 524' toward the upper case 522", To correspond to the protruding portion 111 '. The deformable portion 5245 includes an upright portion 5245a extending from the lower case 524 'toward the upper case 522 "and a horizontal portion 5245b extending horizontally from the end of the upright portion 5245a above the notch portion 5263, so that the deformable portion 5245 has an L shape. Corresponding to the setting of the deformable portion 5245, the upper housing portion 526 "is preferably provided with a groove corresponding to the upright portion 5245a on the side wall 5266. Road 5266a to allow the upright 5245a to pass. Thereby, the deformable portion 5245 can be located between the left arm portion 5264 and the right arm portion 5265 of the upper housing portion 526 ", and the upright portion 5245a is located in the channel 5266a of the side wall 5266 to form a partition elastic member with the side wall 5266. The partition wall of the installation space 521 and the up-and-down movement channel 52a (and the light amount adjustment space 52b). Please note that the remaining structural details of the return mechanism 50 "can be referred to the relevant description of the return mechanism 50 in the first embodiment, and will not be repeated here. To repeat.

The operation of the optical switch button 4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 13A to 14B, wherein FIGS. 13A and 14A are cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button along the X axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively. 13B and FIG. 14B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycaps of the optical switch buttons at the unpressed position and the triggered position along the Y axis, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, when the keycap 10 "is in the unpressed position, the protruding portion 111 'of the keycap 10" is correspondingly located above the deformable portion 5245, and the horizontal portion 1112 of the protruding portion 111' is preferably parallel The horizontal portion 5245b of the deformable portion 5245, and the inclined surface portion 1111 is inclined upward from the horizontal portion 1112 toward the side wall 5266, so that the vertical projection of the inclined surface portion 1111 on the deformable portion 5245 overlaps the deformable portion 5245. The protruding portion 111 'and the deformable portion 5245 are far from the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 36 is not changed.

As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, when the keycap 10 "is pressed to move the protruding portion 111 ', the protruding portion 111' is pressed against the deformable portion 5245 to bend the deformable portion 5245 and at least partially block the optical signal, so that The second strength is smaller than the first strength. Specifically, when the keycap 10 "is pressed, the protruding portion 111 'is pressed against the horizontal portion 5245b of the deformable portion 5245 along the inclined surface portion 1111 as the keycap 10" moves downward. The horizontal portion 5245b is elastically deformed downward, and the light signal is blocked by the protruding portion 111 'and the deformable portion 5245 (or only by the deformable portion 5245), so that the switch module 30 generates a trigger signal.

15A to 17B are schematic diagrams of a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15A is an exploded view of an optical switch button of the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 15A. Fig. 15C is a top view of Fig. 15B. As shown in the figure, in the fifth embodiment, the optical switch button 5 includes a keycap 10 ', a support mechanism 20', a switch module 30, a bottom plate 40 ', and a return mechanism 50, wherein the keycap 10' and the support mechanism 20 ' For structural details and connection relationships of the switch module 30 and the return mechanism 50, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of the first to fourth embodiments, and details are not described herein again. In the following, only the differences from the foregoing embodiments will be explained.

Specifically, the protruding portion 111 extends from the lower surface of the keycap 10 'toward the bottom plate 40', and the bottom plate 40 'has an extending deformable portion 46. The extending deformable portion 46 extends toward the keycap 10 'corresponding to the protruding portion 111 to at least partially block the optical signal. In this embodiment, the up and down movement channel 52a is preferably staggered with the light amount adjustment space 52b in the moving direction of the protruding portion 111, so that the protrusion 111 does not enter the light amount adjustment space 52b when the up and down movement channel 52a moves, and thus does not affect the light. The intensity of the optical signal received by the receiver 36. The extending deformable portion 46 includes an L-shaped elastic arm bent upward from the surface of the bottom plate 40 ', and the extending deformable portion 46 is preferably located between the left arm portion 5264 and the right arm portion 5265, and the extending deformable portion 46 is along the Y axis. The direction extends from the light amount adjustment space 52b to the up-and-down movement passage 52a.

The operation of the optical switch button 5 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 16A to 17B, wherein FIG. 16A and FIG. 17A are cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button along the X axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively. 16B and FIG. 17B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycaps of the optical switch buttons at the unpressed position and the triggered position along the Y axis, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, when the keycap 10 ′ is in the unpressed position, the extending deformable portion 46 extends into the light amount adjustment space 52 b corresponding to the protruding portion 111 toward the keycap 10 ′ to at least partially block the light signal, and extends The distal end of the deformable portion 46 projects into the up-and-down movement channel 52 a to correspond to the protruding portion 111. The projection 111 of the keycap 10 'is correspondingly located in the extension The deformable portion 46 extends above the end of the deformable portion 46, and the protruding portion 111 is preferably disposed adjacent to the side wall 5266, so that the protruding portion 111 does not affect the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 36.

As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, when the keycap 10 'is pressed to move the protruding portion 111, the protruding portion 111 is pressed against the extended deformable portion 46, and the extended deformable portion 46 is deformed to avoid the light signal, so that the second intensity is greater than The first strength causes the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal. Specifically, when the keycap 10 ′ is pressed, the protruding portion 111 is pressed against the end of the extended deformable portion 46 in the up-and-down movement channel 52 a as the keycap 10 ′ moves downward, thereby making the extended deformable portion 46 extend. It deforms downward and exits the light amount adjustment space 52b, so that the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver 36 becomes larger, so as to trigger the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal.

18A to 18E are schematic diagrams of a sixth embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 18A is an exploded view of an optical switch button of the sixth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 18B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button of FIG. 18A without a keycap. 18C is a top view of FIG. 18B, and FIG. 18D is an exploded view of the return mechanism of FIG. 18A. As shown in the figure, in the sixth embodiment, the optical switch button 6 includes a keycap 10, a support mechanism 20 ', a switch module 30, and a return mechanism 50' ''. The support mechanism 20 'is disposed below the keycap 10 and supports the keycap 10 to move up / down. The switch module 30 includes a circuit board 32, a light transmitter 34 and a light receiver 36. The light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are electrically connected to the circuit board 32, and the light transmitter 34 transmits a light signal corresponding to the light receiver 36. The restoring mechanism 50 ′ ″ is disposed below the keycap 10 to provide a restoring force, so that the keycap 10 returns to a position before being pressed after being pressed. The restoring mechanism 51 includes an elastic member 54 '. The elastic member 54' includes a spring 542 and an extended deformable portion 544. The extended deformable portion 544 extends from one end of the spring 542 toward the keycap 10. When the keycap 10 is pressed, the keycap 10 is pressed against the extended deformable portion 544 to deform the extended deformable portion 544 and at least partially block the light signal to trigger the switch module 30 to generate the trigger signal.

It should be noted here that, for the keycap 10, the support mechanism 20 ', the switch module 30, and the bottom plate 40 of this embodiment, reference may be made to the related descriptions of the foregoing first to fifth embodiments, and details are not described herein again. In the following, only the differences between the replying mechanism 50 '' 'and the aforementioned replying mechanism 50 will be emphasized. In this embodiment, the spring 542 is disposed in the elastic member accommodating space 521 of the housing 52 "and the extended deformable portion 544 protrudes outside the elastic member accommodating space 521. Specifically, the upper housing portion 526 '' ' Preferably, a channel 5266b corresponding to the extending deformable portion 544 is provided on the side wall 5266 to allow the extending deformable portion 544 to pass through and be exposed outside the housing 52 '' '. The extending deformable portion 544 preferably has a keycap 10 Pressed bending section 544a. Furthermore, corresponding to the extending deformable portion 544, the movable portion 528 'is provided with an opening 5283 on the side wall of the sleeve. When the movable portion 528' moves up and down, the extending deformable portion 544 is attached to the opening 5283. In other words, the opening 5283 of the movable portion 528 ', the channel 5266b and the notch portion 5263 of the upper housing portion 526' '' are preferably aligned and communicated without interfering with the movement and extension of the movable portion 528 'and being deformable. The deformation of the part 544. In addition, for the details of the rest of the restoring mechanism 50 '' ', please refer to the related description of the foregoing embodiment.

The operation of the optical switch button 6 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to FIGS. 19A to 20B. FIG. 19A and FIG. 20A are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention along the X axis at a non-pressed position and a triggered position, respectively. 19B and FIG. 20B are schematic cross-sectional views of the keycaps of the optical switch button along the Y axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively, according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, when the keycap 10 is in the unpressed position, the keycap 10 does not contact the extended deformable portion 544, and the extended deformable portion 544 does not enter the light amount adjustment space 521. Therefore, the optical receiver 36 can receive the optical signal substantially completely.

As shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, when the keycap 10 is pressed, the keycap 10 moves downward to press against the extended deformable portion 544 (for example, against the bent section 5244a), so that the extended deformable portion 544 is deformed into the amount of light. Adjust the space 52b to at least partially block the light signal, so that the light receiver 36 receives The intensity of the optical signal is attenuated to trigger the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal.

21A to 24B are schematic diagrams of an optical switch button according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. 21A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. 21B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 21A. Fig. 21C is a top view of Fig. 21B. 21D and 21E are exploded views of the recovery mechanism of FIG. 21A from different perspectives. As shown in the figure, in the seventh embodiment, the optical switch button 7 includes a keycap 10, a support mechanism 20, a switch module 30, a bottom plate 40, and a recovery mechanism 150. In this embodiment, for structural details and connection relationships of the keycap 10, the support mechanism 20, the switch module 30, and the bottom plate 40, reference may be made to the related description of the foregoing embodiment. In the following, only the explanation of the differences of the reply mechanism 150 will be focused. As shown in the figure, the return mechanism 150 includes an upper case portion 152, a movable portion 154, a lower case 156, an elastic member 54, and a tactile feedback member 56. Similar to the previous embodiment, the upper housing portion 152 has a through hole 1521, an upper engaging portion 1522, a notch portion 1523, a left arm portion 1524, a right arm portion 1525, a side wall 1526, a grating portion 1527, and a notch 1528, and it has Structures and functions similar to the foregoing embodiments are described below only for differences. In this embodiment, the grating portion 1527 is disposed adjacent to the receiving end of the light receiver 36. By adjusting the position and size of the grating slot 1527a, it is possible to more effectively avoid external light interference and reduce trigger errors, but it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments (not shown), according to the actual application, the design of the lower case 156 may be changed, so that the grating portion 1527 is disposed on the lower case 156. The movable portion 154 is preferably in the form of a sleeve, and has a limiting portion 1541 protruding outward on opposite sides of the sleeve (such as the opposite side along the X axis) to restrict and guide the movable portion 154 relative to the upper case. Displacement of the portion 152. The movable portion 154 has a positioning space 1542 and a positioning post 1543 below the sleeve, so as to position the elastic member 54 and the relative position of the movable portion 154 and the lower casing 156. The limiting portion 1541, the positioning space 1542, and the positioning post 1543 of the movable portion 154 have structures and functions similar to those of the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described herein again. In this embodiment, the movable portion 154 further has an action portion 1544 on the side away from the notch portion 1523 in the Y-axis direction. In one implementation For example, the acting portion 1544 is a protrusion protruding outward from the lower end of the sleeve, and preferably has an inclined surface 1544a inclined upward from downward to outward to facilitate the relative movement of the acting end 564 of the tactile feedback member 56 and the acting portion 1544. In addition, the movable portion 154 forms an arc-shaped top surface on the top surface of the sleeve, so that the arc-shaped top surface is in contact with the keycap 10 without providing the above-mentioned bumps.

In this embodiment, the corresponding action portion 1544 of the tactile feedback member 56 is disposed on one side away from the notch portion 1523, and the extending direction of the action end 564 of the tactile feedback member 56 is preferably parallel to the limiting portions on opposite sides of the sleeve. The connection line of 1541 (for example, parallel to the X axis) enables the action portion 1544 to have the aforementioned tactile feedback effect when pressing the keycap 10, and the tactile feedback such as the difference in pressing section and the tapping sound is generated. Similar to the previous embodiment, the lower casing 156 has a lower engaging portion 1562, so as to engage with the upper engaging portion 1522 so that the upper casing portion 152 and the lower casing 156 are combined to form a casing having an elastic member accommodation space 151. . In addition, the lower casing 156 has a socket portion 1564 for the elastic member 54 to be sleeved, and a positioning post 1543 protruding into the guide groove 1566. The lower case 156 further has a positioning hole 1563 for positioning the positioning end 562 of the tactile feedback member 56. Similarly, the return mechanism 150 can be positioned on the circuit board 32 by the abutment portion 1568 of the lower case 156. In this way, when the recovery mechanism 150 is damaged and needs to be replaced, after the keycap 10 is removed, the recovery mechanism 150 can be extracted and updated, which effectively improves the convenience and speed of maintenance. That is, the lower engaging portion 1562, the positioning hole 1563, the socket portion 1564, the positioning hole 1563, and the bearing portion 1568 of the lower case 156 have a structure and function similar to corresponding elements of the lower case 254 of the recovery mechanism 50. I will not repeat them here.

Operations of the optical switch button 7 of the seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 22A to 24B. 22A, 23A and 24A are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention along the X axis at the unpressed position, the triggered position, and the lowest position. 22B, FIG. 23B, and FIG. 24B are respectively the keycaps of the optical switch buttons according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention along the Y-axis without being pressed. Schematic sectional view of the pressure position, trigger position and lowest position.

As shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, when the keycap 10 is not pressed, the protruding portion 21 is located above the notch portion 1523 and does not block the light transmitter 34 from emitting a light signal toward the light receiver 36 along a linear light path, so that the light receiver 36 can receive light signals. In other words, the protruding portion 21 is located in the up-and-down movement channel 52a and does not enter the light amount adjustment space 52b without affecting the travel (or transmission) of the optical signal, and the active end 564 of the tactile feedback 56 is located below the active portion 1544.

As shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B, when the keycap 10 is pressed to drive the protruding portion 21 to move, the protruding portion 21 moves toward the notch portion 1523 to at least partially block the optical signal, so that the light receiver 36 receives the attenuation of the optical signal intensity and triggers The switch module 30 generates a trigger signal. In other words, the protruding portion 21 is located in the up-and-down moving channel 52a and moves downward into the light amount adjustment space 52b, and at least partially blocks the travel (or transmission) of the light signal to quickly trigger the switch module 30 to generate a trigger signal, and the tactile feedback 56 The active end 564 moves from below the acting portion 1544 over the bump apex of the acting portion 1544 along the inclined surface 1544a to reach above the acting portion 1544.

As shown in FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B, the avoidance groove of the circuit board 32 communicates with the notch portion 1523. After reaching the trigger position, the keycap 10 drives the protruding portion 21 to continue to move downward through the notch portion 1523 from the trigger position and enter the avoidance groove. In other words, the protruding portion 21 continues to move downward from the light amount adjustment space 52b into the wall allowance space 324, which not only triggers quickly, but also improves the pressing stroke and increases the operation feeling.

25A to FIG. 26B are schematic diagrams of an optical switch button according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 25A and FIG. 26A are respectively a keycap of the optical switch button according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention at an unpressed position and a trigger position along the X axis; 25B and FIG. 26B are sectional views of the keycap of the optical switch button according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention along the Y-axis at the unpressed position and the triggered position, respectively. In the eighth embodiment, the optical switch button 8 is similar to the optical switch button 2 of the second embodiment. The structure differs in the design of the protruding portion of the keycap 10 '. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B, the protruding portion 115 extending downward of the keycap 10 ′ has a hole 115 a, and the protruding portion 115 at least partially blocks the light signal to attenuate the light received by the light receiver 36. Signal. That is, when the keycap 10 'is not pressed, the protruding portion 115 has a first positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space 52b, and the light signal received by the light receiver 36 has a first intensity. The first positional relationship indicates that the hole 115 a is far from the light amount adjustment space 52 b, and the protruding portion 115 at least partially blocks the optical signal received by the light receiver 36.

As shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B, when the keycap 10 'is pressed, the keycap 10' drives the protruding portion 115 to move outside the housing 10, so that the protruding portion 115 has a second positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space 52b. The two positional relationship is different from the first positional relationship. The protruding portion 115 changes the light signal received by the light receiver 36 to a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal. The second positional relationship represents that the hole 115a enters the light amount adjustment space 52b. The hole 115a allows the light signal to pass through, so that the second intensity is greater than the first intensity, so as to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal.

FIG. 27 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a keycap of an optical switch button according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention along a Y axis at a non-pressed position. In the ninth embodiment, the optical switch button 9 is different only in that the return mechanism 50 further has a latching portion 724, so that the return mechanism 50 is positioned on the circuit board 32 by the latching portion 724. Specifically, in an embodiment, the buckling portions 724 are preferably disposed on opposite sides of the upper housing portion 526, such as the first axis side 262 and the second axis side 264. When the return mechanism 50 needs to be replaced, the return mechanism 50 can be removed from the circuit board 32 by simply pressing the latch portions 724 toward each other at the same time.

28A to 30 are schematic diagrams of an optical switch button according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 28A is an exploded view of an optical switch button according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 28B is a combined perspective view of the optical switch button without keycap of FIG. 28A. Fig. 28C is a top view of Fig. 28B. As shown in In the tenth embodiment, the optical switch button 100 includes a keycap 110, a support mechanism 120, a switch module 130, a bottom plate 140, and a magnetic member 160. The bottom plate 140 includes a magnetic portion 142. The keycap 110 is disposed above the bottom plate 140. The supporting mechanism 120 is disposed between the keycap 110 and the bottom plate 140 to support the keycap 110 to move relative to the bottom plate 140. The supporting mechanism 120 includes a first bracket 122 and a second bracket 124, and the first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124 are located on opposite sides of the keycap 110, respectively. The magnetic member 160 is provided corresponding to the magnetic portion 142, and the magnetic member 160 has a first side 162 and a second side 164. The first side 162 of the magnetic piece 160 is movably connected to the first bracket 122, and the second side 164 of the magnetic piece 160 corresponds to the second bracket 124, so that the magnetic piece 160 contacts the magnetic portion 142 and generates magnetic attraction to support the keycap 110 in the unpressed position. The switch module 130 includes a circuit board 132, a light transmitter 134 and a light receiver 136. The light transmitter 134 and the light receiver 136 are electrically connected to the circuit board 132 and are disposed along a connection direction (for example, the X-axis direction) of the first side 162 and the second side 164 of the magnetic member 160. The light transmitter 134 transmits a light signal corresponding to the light receiver 136. When the keycap 110 is in the unpressed position, the magnetic member 160 blocks the light signal. When the keycap 110 is pressed, the second bracket 124 moves with the keycap 110 to The magnetic part 160 is driven to move away from the magnetic part 142 to allow the light receiver 36 to receive the optical signal, and then the switch module 30 is triggered to generate a trigger signal.

Specifically, the lower surface of the keycap 110 has coupling members 112 and 114 and a groove 116. The bottom plate 140 may be a metal stamped part and has a plurality of connection portions 143 and 144 and a positioning portion 145. The magnetic portion 142 may be a magnet and is combined with the bottom plate 140 by the positioning portion 145. The circuit board 132 is disposed below the bottom plate 140, and the bottom plate 140 may have an opening 146 to allow the light transmitter 134 and the light receiver 136 on the circuit board 132 to protrude from the bottom plate 140 through the opening 146; the light transmitter 134 and light The height of the receiver 136 is higher than that of the magnetic portion 142, so that at least part of the light transmitter 134 and the light receiver 136 extend beyond the top surface of the magnetic portion 142, so that part of the optical signal can travel straight from the light transmitter 134 to the light receiver 136.

The coupling portions 122a, 122b at both ends of the first bracket 122 are movably coupled to the keys, respectively. The coupling member 112 of the cap 110 and the connection portion 143 of the bottom plate 140, and the coupling portions 124 a and 124 b at both ends of the second bracket 124 are movably coupled to the coupling member 114 of the key cap 110 and the connection portion 144 of the bottom plate 140, respectively. Thereby, the supporting mechanism 120 can stably support the keycap 110 to move relative to the bottom plate 140.

The magnetic piece 160 is disposed between the bottom plate 140 and the keycap 110 corresponding to the magnetic portion 142 and is positioned on the first bracket 122. Specifically, the first bracket 122 has a clamping slot 1222, and the magnetic member has a clamping shaft 1622, and the clamping shaft 1622 rotatably engages the clamping slot 1222, so that the first side 162 of the magnetic member 160 can move (eg, rotate). Connected to the first bracket 122. The second bracket 124 has a supporting portion 1242, and the second side 164 of the magnetic member 160 is located on the supporting portion 1242, so that the second bracket 124 can drive the magnetic member 160 to rotate when the keycap 110 rotates.

The operation of the optical switch button 100 according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to FIGS. 29 to 30. 29 and 30 are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button along the X axis at a non-pressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 29, when the keycap 110 is in the unpressed position, the magnetic piece 160 contacts the magnetic portion 142 and generates a magnetic attraction force, so that the second side 164 of the magnetic piece 160 contacts the support portion 1242 of the second bracket 124 and is located at a low level. Position to block the optical signal, so that the optical receiver 136 cannot receive the optical signal.

As shown in FIG. 30, when the keycap 110 is pressed, the second bracket 124 rotates with the downward movement of the keycap 110, so that the support portion 1242 lifts up the second side 164 of the magnetic member 160 and is partially accommodated in the groove. 116, so that the magnetic piece 160 is moved away from the magnetic portion 142 and is located at a high position where the optical path of the optical signal is opened, so that the optical receiver 136 can receive the optical signal, and then the switch module 130 is triggered to generate a trigger signal.

31A and 31B are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button in an unpressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the eleventh embodiment In the optical switch, the key includes a keycap 210, a support mechanism 220, a switch module 230, an elastic member 250, a touch-sensitive elastic member 270, and a bottom plate 240. The support mechanism 220 is disposed below the keycap 210 and supports the keycap 210 to move up / down. The supporting mechanism 220 includes a first bracket 222 and a second bracket 224. The elastic member 250 is connected between the first bracket 222 and the second bracket 224. The tactile elastic member 270 includes a connection portion 272, a pressing portion 274, and a striking portion 276. The connecting portion 272 is connected to the first bracket 222, the pressing portion 274 corresponds to the first bracket 222, and the striking portion 276 is connected to the pressing portion 274 and is located at an opposite end of the connecting portion 272. The switch module 230 includes a circuit board 232, a light transmitter 234 and a light receiver 236. The light transmitter 234 and the light receiver 236 are electrically connected to the circuit board 232. The light transmitter 234 transmits a light signal corresponding to the light receiver 236, and the circuit board 232 is disposed on the base plate 240.

For example, the first bracket 222 and the second bracket 224 can be pivoted to each other so that the support mechanism 220 forms a scissors-type support mechanism. The elastic member 250 may be implemented as a coil spring, and both ends of the spring may be respectively positioned at the bottom end of the first bracket 222 and the second bracket 224 by means of snapping, buckling, etc., so that the elastic member 250 may follow the first The relative movement of the bracket 222 and the second bracket 224 is elastically deformed, thereby providing a restoring force to return the keycap 210 to the position before pressing. The connecting portion 272 of the tactile elastic member 270 is rotatably connected to the first bracket 222, so that the striking portion 276 can rotate as the first bracket 222 and the second bracket 224 move.

As shown in FIG. 31A, when the keycap 210 is in the unpressed position, the elastic member 250 brings the bottom ends of the first bracket 222 and the second bracket 224 relatively close to each other so that the keycap 210 is maintained in the unpressed position and the light emitter 234 and the light receiver 236 are arranged along the connection direction of the elastic member 250 connecting the first bracket 222 and the second bracket 224, and the striking portion 276 of the tactile elastic member 270 is located above the light path of the light transmitter 234 and the light receiver 236.

As shown in FIG. 31B, when the keycap 210 is pressed, the first bracket 222 follows the keycap 210 Move downward to press against the pressing portion 274 of the tactile elastic member 270 and stretch the elastic element 250, so that the striking portion 276 rotates downward to strike the circuit board 232 (or the bottom plate 240) and at least partially block the light signal, thereby triggering The switch module 230 generates a trigger signal.

32A and 32B are schematic cross-sectional views of a keycap of an optical switch button in an unpressed position and a triggered position, respectively, according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention. In the twelfth embodiment, the optical switch keys include a keycap 210, a support mechanism 220, an elastic member 250, and a switch module 230. For structural details and connection relationships of the keycap 210, the support mechanism 220, and the elastic member 250, refer to the related description in FIG. 31A. The difference between the optical switch button of this embodiment and the eleventh embodiment lies in the setting positions of the light transmitter 234 and the light receiver 236. As shown in FIG. 32A, in this embodiment, the light transmitter 234 and the light receiver 236 are respectively disposed on opposite sides of a connection direction of the elastic member 250 connecting the first bracket 222 and the second bracket 224. As shown in FIG. 32B, when the keycap 210 is pressed, the first bracket 222 slides horizontally with the keycap 210 relative to the circuit board 232 (or the bottom plate 240) to at least partially block the light signal, and then trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal. . In other words, in this embodiment, the light transmitter 234 and the light receiver 236 are disposed on opposite sides of the moving path of the first bracket 222, so that the light path of the optical signal intersects with the moving path of the first bracket 222. Therefore, when the key holder 210 is pressed to drive the first bracket 222 to move relatively, the first bracket 222 moves to the light path and attenuates the light signal to trigger the switch module 230 to generate a trigger signal.

The present invention has been described by the above-mentioned embodiments, but the above-mentioned embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments specifically described herein may have other modifications to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention also covers such modifications and is limited only by the scope of the appended patent applications.

Claims (32)

An optical switch button includes: a keycap; a support mechanism disposed below the keycap and supporting the keycap to move up / down, the support mechanism having a protruding portion; and a switch module including a circuit board, An optical transmitter and an optical receiver, the optical transmitter and the optical receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the optical transmitter corresponding to the optical receiver emits an optical signal, wherein when the keycap is not pressed, the The optical signal received by the optical receiver is a first intensity; when the keycap is pressed, the keycap moves the protruding portion so that the protruding portion changes the optical signal received by the optical receiver to a second And the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 1, wherein the supporting mechanism includes an inner bracket and an outer bracket, and the inner bracket is pivotally connected to an inner side of the outer bracket to form a scissors-type supporting mechanism, and the protrusion is formed from the inner bracket. It protrudes toward the inside of one of the inner brackets. The optical switch button according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the keycap is pressed to move the protruding portion, the protruding portion at least partially blocks the optical signal so that the second intensity is smaller than the first intensity. The optical switch button according to claim 1, further comprising a restoring mechanism, wherein the restoring mechanism is disposed below the keycap to provide a restoring force to return the keycap to a position before being pressed. The optical switch button according to claim 4, wherein the recovery mechanism includes a casing and an elastic member, the casing has an elastic member accommodation space, the elastic member is disposed in the elastic member accommodation space, and the The casing is composed of an upper casing and a lower casing. When the keycap is pressed, the protruding portion moves outside the casing. An optical switch button includes: a keycap having a protruding portion; a support mechanism provided below the keycap and supporting the keycap to move up / down; a return mechanism provided below the keycap to provide a The restoring force causes the keycap to return to the position before being pressed. The restoring mechanism includes a casing and an elastic member. The casing has an elastic member accommodation space, and the elastic member is disposed in the elastic member accommodation. A space; and a switch module including a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, the light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light transmitter corresponds to the light receiver to emit An optical signal having a light amount adjustment space between the light transmitter and the light receiver, wherein when the keycap is not pressed, the protrusion has a first positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space, the light receiver The received light signal has a first intensity; when the keycap is pressed, the keycap drives the protrusion to move outside the housing, so that the protrusion has a second positional relationship with respect to the light amount adjustment space,该 第 The first The two positional relationship is different from the first positional relationship. The protrusion changes the optical signal received by the optical receiver to a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate. A trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 6, wherein the protruding portion has a hole, and the first positional relationship represents that the hole is far away from the light amount adjustment space, and the protruding portion at least partially blocks the light received by the light receiver. Light signal; the second positional relationship represents that the hole enters the light quantity adjustment space, and the hole allows the light signal to pass so that the second intensity is greater than the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate the trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 6, wherein the first positional relationship represents that the protruding portion is far from the light amount adjustment space, and the protruding portion does not change the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver; the second positional relationship Representing that the protruding portion enters the light amount adjustment space, the protruding portion attenuates the intensity of the optical signal received by the light receiver, so that the second intensity is smaller than the first intensity to trigger the switch module to generate the trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the housing has an up and down movement channel and a side wall, and the side wall is disposed between the up and down movement channel and the elastic member accommodation space to separate the up and down movement channel With the elastic member accommodating space, when the keycap is pressed, the keycap drives the protrusion to move downward in the up and down movement channel. The optical switch button according to claim 9, wherein the circuit board further has an avoidance space, the up and down movement channel, the light amount adjustment space, and the avoidance space are aligned with each other. When the keycap is pressed, the keycap The protruding portion is driven to move downward from the up-and-down movement channel, pass through the light amount adjustment space, and enter the avoidance space. The optical switch button according to claim 9, wherein the casing is formed by combining an upper casing and a lower casing, the lower casing has a substantially U-shaped horizontal section, and the upper casing has a left arm portion and A right arm portion protrudes from the lower case toward each other to form a notch portion between the left arm portion and the right arm portion. The up and down movement channel is located in the notch portion, the light transmitter and the light receiver. Respectively located under the left arm portion and the right arm portion. The optical switch button according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the support mechanism is a scissors-type support mechanism, the scissors-type support mechanism has an inner bracket and an outer bracket, and the middle section of the inner bracket and the middle section of the outer bracket are coupled to each other Rotating around a scissors structure axis, the restoring mechanism, the light transmitter and the light receiver are located in the vertical projection area of the inner bracket. The restoring mechanism is substantially located on the first side of an axis of the scissors structure axis. The light transmitter and the light receiver are located on a second side of an axis of the scissors structure axis, and the first side of the axis and the second side of the axis are opposite sides of the scissors structure axis. The optical switch button according to claim 12, wherein the light emitter, the light amount adjustment space, and the light receiver are sequentially arranged along a straight light path, and the straight light path is parallel to the scissors structure axis. The optical switch button according to claim 6, wherein the casing is formed by combining an upper casing and a lower casing, and the lower casing has a deformable portion, and the deformable portion faces upward from the lower casing. The housing extends to correspond to the protruding portion. When the keycap is pressed to drive the protruding portion to move, the protruding portion is pressed against the deformable portion to bend the deformable portion and at least partially block the optical signal, so that The second intensity is less than the first intensity. The optical switch button according to claim 6, wherein the casing is formed by combining an upper casing and a lower casing, and the upper casing has a deformable portion extending from the upper casing to Corresponding to the protruding portion, when the keycap is pressed to drive the protruding portion to move, the protruding portion is pressed against the deformable portion to bend the deformable portion and at least partially block the optical signal, so that the second strength is less than the First intensity. The optical switch button according to claim 6, further comprising a bottom plate, wherein the circuit board is disposed above the bottom plate, the protruding portion extends from a lower surface of the keycap toward the bottom plate, and the bottom plate has an extending deformable portion The extending deformable portion corresponds to the protruding portion extending toward the keycap to at least partially block the light signal. When the keycap is pressed to drive the protruding portion to move, the protruding portion presses against the extending deformable portion, so that the extension can be extended. The deformed portion deforms to avoid the light signal, so that the second intensity is greater than the first intensity. An optical switch button includes: a keycap; a support mechanism disposed below the keycap and supporting the keycap to move up / down; a switch module including a circuit board, a light transmitter, and a light receiver The light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light transmitter emits an optical signal corresponding to the light receiver; and a recovery mechanism is provided under the keycap to provide a recovery force so that The keycap returns to the position before pressing after being pressed. The restoring mechanism includes an elastic member. The elastic member includes a spring and an extended deformable portion. The extended deformable portion extends from one end of the spring toward the keycap. When the keycap is pressed, the keycap is pressed against the extended deformable portion to deform the extended deformable portion and at least partially block the optical signal to trigger the switch module to generate the trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 17, wherein the recovery mechanism further includes a casing, which is combined by an upper casing and a lower casing to form an elastic member accommodation space, and the spring is disposed on the elastic member. And the extending deformable portion protrudes out of the elastic member accommodating space. The optical switch button according to claim 5, 14 or 18, wherein the upper casing includes an upper casing portion and a movable portion, the upper casing portion has a through hole and an upper engaging portion, and the movable portion may The lower case has a lower engaging portion for engaging with the upper engaging portion, so that the upper casing is connected to the lower casing. The optical switch button according to claim 19, wherein the upper case portion has a notch portion, the light transmitter and the light receiver are located on opposite sides of the notch portion and are covered by the upper case portion, and the An optical signal passes through the notch portion. When the keycap is pressed to drive the protruding portion to move, the protruding portion moves toward the notched portion to at least partially block the optical signal. The optical switch button according to claim 20, wherein the circuit board has a avoidance groove that communicates with the notch portion, and when the protrusion portion at least partially blocks the optical signal, the protrusion portion enters the through the notch portion. Avoidance slots. The optical switch button according to claim 5, 14 or 18, wherein the lower case has a bearing portion, and the restoring mechanism is positioned on the circuit board by the bearing portion. The optical switch button according to claim 19, wherein the upper housing portion further has a buckle portion, and the recovery mechanism is positioned on the circuit board by the buckle portion. An optical switch button includes: a base plate having a magnetic portion; a key cap provided above the base plate; a support mechanism provided between the key cap and the base plate to support the key cap to move relative to the base plate, The supporting mechanism includes a first bracket and a second bracket, and the first bracket and the second bracket are respectively located on opposite sides of the keycap; a magnetic member is provided corresponding to the magnetic part, and the magnetic member has a first One side and one second side, the first side of the magnetic member is movably connected to the first bracket, and the second side of the magnetic member corresponds to the second bracket so that the magnetic member is in contact with the magnetic portion A magnetic attraction force is generated to support the keycap in an unpressed position; and a switch module includes a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, and the light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit And the board is disposed along one of the first side and the second side of the magnetic member, the light transmitter corresponding to the light receiver emits a light signal, and when the keycap is in the unpressed position, the The magnetic part blocks the optical signal; when pressed When the key top, the second bracket as the keycap moves to drive the magnetic portion of the magnetic member is moved away, so as to allow the optical receiver receives the optical signal, which triggers the switch module generates a trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 24, wherein the first bracket has a card slot, and the magnetic member has a card shaft, and the card shaft rotatably engages the card slot, so that the first One side is movably connected to the first bracket. The optical switch button according to claim 24, wherein the second bracket has a support portion, and the second side of the magnetic member is located on the support portion. When the second bracket moves with the keycap, the support The second part lifts up the second side of the magnetic member to move the magnetic member away from the magnetic member. An optical switch button includes: a keycap; a support mechanism provided below the keycap and supporting the keycap to move up / down; the support mechanism includes a first bracket and a second bracket; an elastic member connected Between the first bracket and the second bracket; and a switch module including a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, the light transmitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board, the The light transmitter corresponds to the light receiver and emits a light signal. When the keycap is pressed, the first bracket slides horizontally with the keycap relative to the circuit board to at least partially block the light signal, thereby triggering the switch. The module generates a trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 27, wherein the light transmitter and the light receiver are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the elastic member connected to one of the first bracket and the second bracket in a connection direction. An optical switch button includes: a keycap; a support mechanism provided below the keycap and supporting the keycap to move up / down; the support mechanism includes a first bracket and a second bracket; an elastic member connected Between the first bracket and the second bracket; a tactile elastic member having a connecting portion, a pressing portion and a knocking portion, the connecting portion is connected to the first bracket, and the pressing portion corresponds to the first A bracket, the striking portion is connected to the pressing portion and is located at an opposite end of the connecting portion; and a switch module including a circuit board, a light transmitter and a light receiver, the light transmitter and the light receiver The light transmitter is electrically connected to the circuit board, and the light transmitter emits a light signal corresponding to the light receiver. When the keycap is pressed, the first bracket moves with the keycap to press against the pressing portion, so that the knock The striker at least partially blocks the optical signal, and then triggers the switch module to generate a trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 29, wherein the light transmitter and the light receiver are disposed along a connection direction in which the elastic member connects the first bracket and the second bracket. The optical switch button according to claim 1, 6, 17, 24, 27 or 29, further comprising a backlight source, wherein the keycap has a light transmitting portion, and the backlight source is electrically connected to the circuit board to provide a light direction. The light transmitting portion is emitted. The optical switch button according to claim 5, 6, or 18, wherein the housing has a grating portion, and the grating portion is arranged corresponding to the light transmitter or the light receiver to define that the trigger signal is generated by pressing the keycap. The itinerary.