TWI699798B - Optical keyswitch - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical keyswitch includes a keycap, a supporting mechanism disposed under the keycap to support the keycap to move upward and downward, the supporting mechanism having a second frame and a first frame pivotally connected to an inner side of the second frame, the second frame having a protrusion extending toward a direction away from the keycap, and a switch module including a circuit board, an emitter, and a receiver. The emitter and the receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board and located outside a vertical projection of the first frame. The emitter emits an optical signal to the receiver. When the keycap is not pressed, the receiver receives the optical signal of a first intensity. When the keycap is pressed, the protrusion moves along with the keycap, and the protrusion changes the optical signal received by the receiver to be a second intensity different from the first intensity, so the switch module is triggered to generate a triggering signal.

Description

Optical switch button

The present invention generally relates to an optical switch button. Specifically, the present invention relates to an optical switch button that activates the switch by pressing the keycap to change the receiving state of the optical signal.

Membrane switch keys and mechanical keys are commonly used key types 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, a membrane switch button uses a membrane circuit layer as a switch element for signal generation. When the membrane circuit layer is triggered by pressing the keycap, the upper circuit layer deforms so that the switch contacts of the upper circuit layer contact the corresponding switch contacts of the lower circuit layer. Then, the membrane switch is turned on to generate a signal. However, the thin film circuit layer is easily damaged after frequent use or improper force, and is difficult to repair. When the user presses the keycap to trigger the thin film circuit layer, it lacks a clear feedback of the difference, resulting in a poor pressing feel and cannot satisfy the use. The operator’s sense of manipulation.

The mechanical key is a switch element that uses the conduction of the metal sheet and the metal contact as a signal generation. However, metal sheets and metal contacts are prone to wear due to impact, which affects the service life of the keys. Water vapor may also cause corrosion of the metal sheets or metal contacts, resulting in poor conduction and affecting the stability of the keys. Furthermore, the conventional mechanical keys are generally not suitable for use in portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers, which require high thinning due to their complicated structure and large volume.

One object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch button, which utilizes a switch module composed of a light transmitter and a light receiver, and changes the receiving state of the optical signal with the pressing stroke through the components in the button, providing fast and accurate triggering Features.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch key, which integrates the key structure of the optical switch in a low space, which is suitable for application in portable electronic devices.

In one embodiment, the optical switch button of the present invention includes a key cap, a support mechanism and a switch module, wherein the support mechanism is arranged under the key cap to support the key cap to move up/down, and the support mechanism includes a first bracket and a second bracket , The first bracket is pivotally connected to the inner side of the second bracket to form a scissor-type supporting mechanism. The second bracket has a protruding part that extends from the second bracket away from the keycap; the switch module includes a circuit board and a light emitting The optical transmitter and the optical receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board and located outside the vertical projection area of the first bracket. The optical transmitter emits optical signals corresponding to the optical receiver. When the key cap is not pressed, the optical receiver The received light signal is the first intensity; when the key cap is pressed, the key cap 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, so The trigger switch module generates a trigger signal.

In one embodiment, the second bracket has opposite side edges of the keycap end and the side of the bottom plate end. The side edge of the keycap end is closer to the keycap than the side edge of the bottom plate end. The protrusion is arranged on the side of the keycap end, and the light emitter corresponds The light receiver emits light signals along a linear light path, and the linear light path is substantially parallel to the extending direction of the side edge of the key cap.

In another embodiment, the optical switch button of the present invention includes a keycap, a supporting mechanism, and a switch module. The supporting mechanism is arranged under the keycap to support the up/down movement of the keycap. The supporting mechanism includes a first bracket and a second bracket. The brackets, the first bracket and the second bracket are respectively located on opposite sides of the keycap to form a pivoting butterfly-wing support mechanism. One of the first bracket and the second bracket has a protrusion that faces away from the key The direction of the cap extends and protrudes; the switch module 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. The light transmitter corresponds to the light receiver and emits light signals along a straight optical path. The light path does not intersect the pivot axis. When the key cap is not pressed, the light signal received by the light receiver is the first intensity; when the key cap is pressed, the key cap drives the protrusion to move, so that the protrusion changes the light receiver receiving The received light signal has a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity, and the switch module is triggered to generate a trigger signal.

In one embodiment, the optical switch button of the present invention further includes a magnetic member and a bottom plate, wherein the supporting mechanism is disposed between the cap and the bottom plate, the bottom plate has a magnetic part, and the magnetic part is disposed corresponding to the magnetic part. The magnetic part has a first side and a second On the two sides, 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 contacts the magnetic part and generates a magnetic attraction force to support the keycap at the unpressed position.

In one embodiment, the first bracket has a locking slot, and the magnetic element has a locking shaft, and the locking shaft is rotatably engaged with the locking slot, so that the first side of the magnetic member can be movably connected to the first bracket.

In one embodiment, the second bracket has a supporting portion, and the second side of the magnetic member is located on the supporting portion. When the second bracket moves with the keycap, the supporting portion lifts the second side of the magnetic member upward to move the magnetic member Keep away from the magnetic part.

In one embodiment, the linear light path is substantially parallel to the pivot axis.

In one embodiment, when the keycap is pressed to drive the protrusion to move, the protrusion at least partially blocks the light signal, so that the second intensity is less than the first intensity.

In one embodiment, the protruding portion has a triangular structure, and the two sides of the triangular structure respectively correspond to the light emitter and the light receiver.

Compared with the prior art, the optical switch button of the present invention uses the optical transmitter and the optical receiver as the switching signal, and the projection of the support mechanism in the button changes the receiving state of the optical signal with the pressing stroke to achieve fast and precise pressing Signal conversion is suitable for portable electronic devices.

The present invention provides an optical switch button, which can be applied to any push-type input device (such as a keyboard), or integrated in any suitable electronic device (such as a button of a portable electronic device or a keyboard of a notebook computer) to provide fast And precise trigger function. The structure and operation of the components of the optical switch button of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail later with reference to the drawings.

1A to 4B are schematic diagrams of the first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is an exploded view of the optical switch button of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the optical switch button of FIG. 1A without a keycap. As shown in the figure, in the first embodiment, the optical switch button 1 includes a keycap 10, a supporting mechanism 20, and a switch module 30. The supporting mechanism 20 is arranged under the key cap 10 to support the key cap 10 to move up/down. The support mechanism 20 includes a first support 22 and a second support 24, and the first support 22 is pivotally connected to the inner side of the second support 24 to form a scissor support mechanism. The second bracket 24 has a protrusion 21, and the protrusion 21 extends from the second bracket 22 in a direction away from the keycap 10. The switch module 30 includes a circuit board 32, an optical transmitter 34 and an optical receiver 36. The light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are electrically connected to the circuit board 32 and are located outside the vertical projection area of the first bracket 22, and the light transmitter 34 emits light signals corresponding to the light receiver 36. When the key cap 10 is not pressed, the light signal received by the light receiver 36 is the first intensity; when the key cap 10 is pressed, the key cap 10 drives the protrusion 21 to move, so that the protrusion 21 changes the light received by the light receiver. The signal has a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity, and the switch module 30 is triggered to generate a trigger signal.

In this embodiment, the optical switch button 1 may further include a bottom plate 40 as a structural strength support plate of the optical switch button 1. The supporting mechanism 20 is disposed between the keycap 10 and the bottom plate 40, and the bottom plate 40 preferably has connectors 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 or hole-type connecting members bent and protruding 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, and the use of the bottom plate 40 is avoided.

In addition, the optical switch button 1 may further include a restoring mechanism to provide restoring force after the keycap 10 is pressed. According to the actual application, the recovery mechanism can provide the recovery force by an elastic member (such as an elastic body, a spring, etc.) or a magnetic member (such as a magnet). Furthermore, the optical switch button 1 can also include a backlight light source to form a light-emitting button. For example, the backlight light source can be a light-emitting diode and can be integrated with the circuit board 32 of the switch module 30, but is not limited to this.

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 actual applications, the keycap 10 may be a light-transmitting keycap with a light-transmitting portion, so as to be applied to a light-emitting keyboard. For example, the light-transmitting part may be in the form of characters to indicate commands input by keys.

In this embodiment, the support mechanism 20 includes a first support 22 and a second support 24, and the first support 22 is pivotally connected to the inner side of the second support 24 to form a scissor support mechanism. The first bracket 22 and the second bracket 24 are preferably rectangular frames formed by injection molding, and the first bracket 22 and the second 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 first bracket 22 has a pivot protruding outward, and the opposite inner side of the second bracket 24 has a shaft hole corresponding to the pivot, so that the middle section of the first bracket 22 and the middle section of the second bracket 24 are coupled to each other It rotates around the scissors structure axis 26 (for example, the line connecting the two pivots along the Y-axis direction). In addition, both ends of the first bracket 22 and the second bracket 24 are movably connected to the keycap 10 and the bottom plate 40, respectively. For example, the two ends of the first bracket 22 and the second bracket 24 are respectively the side edges of the keycap end adjacent to the keycap 10 (such as 222 and 242) and the side edge of the bottom plate adjacent to the bottom plate 40 (such as 224 and 244). The key cap end side 222 of the first bracket 22 is rotatably connected to the coupling member 12 of the key cap 10, and the bottom plate end side 224 of the first bracket 22 is movably connected to the connecting member 42 of the bottom plate 40. Similarly, the key cap end side 242 of the second bracket 24 can be movably connected to the coupling member 14 of the key cap 10, and the bottom plate end side 244 of the second bracket 24 can be movably connected to the connecting member 44 of the bottom plate 40. Thereby, the supporting mechanism 20 can support the keycap 10 to move up/down relative to the bottom plate 40 smoothly.

The protrusion 21 is disposed on the second bracket 24 and extends and protrudes from the second bracket 24 in a direction away from the keycap 110 (ie, a direction close to the bottom plate 40). For example, the protrusion 21 is preferably provided on the lower side of the keycap end side 242 of the second bracket 24, so that the extension direction of the protrusion 21 (for example, the Z-axis direction) is preferably the same as the keycap end of the second bracket 24 The extending direction of the side 242 (for example, the Y-axis direction) is substantially vertical. The protruding portion 21 may be a bump or a stud with a suitable shape, and is preferably arranged at the middle position of the side 242 of the key cap end. For example, the protrusion 21 may be a rectangular bump or a convex post, but it is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the protrusion 21 may be a triangular protrusion or a protrusion.

According to actual applications, the circuit board 32 can be arranged above or below the bottom plate 40. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the circuit board 32 is disposed under the bottom plate 40, and the bottom plate 40 has an opening 46 to expose the light emitter 34 and the light receiver 36, but not limited to this. In another embodiment (not shown), the circuit board 32 may be disposed above the bottom plate 40, and the circuit board 32 has an opening to allow the connecting members 42 and 44 of the bottom plate 40 to pass through to connect to the supporting mechanism 20. The light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are disposed on the circuit board 32 and electrically connected to the circuit board 32. Specifically, the circuit board 32 preferably has a switch circuit, and the optical transmitter 34 and the optical receiver 36 are electrically connected to the switch circuit of the circuit board 32, so that the optical transmitter 34 can emit optical signals toward the optical receiver 36, and when When the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 36 changes, the trigger switch module 30 generates a trigger signal. For example, the light transmitter 34 can be any transmitter that can emit light signals having a suitable wavelength, and the light signals emitted by the light transmitter 34 can include electromagnetic waves, infrared rays or visible light. The optical receiver 36 is any suitable receiver that can receive the corresponding optical signal.

In this embodiment, the light transmitter 34 corresponds to the light receiver 36 to emit light signals along the linear light path L, and the linear light path L is preferably not intersected with the scissors structure axis 26. Specifically, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are preferably arranged below the key cap end side 242 of the second bracket 24 along the extension direction (for example, the Y-axis direction) of the key cap end side 242 of the second bracket 24 , So that the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are located outside the vertical projection area of the first bracket 22, and the linear light path L does not pass through the scissors structure axis 26. In one embodiment, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are preferably arranged such that the linear light path L is substantially parallel to the extending direction of the side 242 of the keycap end (for example, the Y-axis direction). That is, the light emitting end of the light transmitter 34 and the receiving end of the light receiver 36 preferably face the Y-axis direction, but it is not limited to this. In practical applications, according to the design of the second bracket 24, the light-emitting end of the light emitter 34 and the receiving end of the light receiver 36 can face obliquely along the Y-axis direction, so that there is a gap between the light emitter 34 and the light receiver 36 The linear light path L is slightly offset from the extending direction of the side 242 of the keycap end (for example, the Y-axis direction).

It should be noted here that according to actual applications, the circuit board 32 may have an avoidance design to increase the movable space of the protrusion 21, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the circuit board 32 may be provided with an escape groove corresponding to the opening 46 of the bottom plate 40, and the light emitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are disposed on opposite sides of the escape groove. When the keycap 10 is pressed to drive the protrusion 21 downward, the protrusion 21 can extend into the escape groove to increase the movement space in the Z-axis direction.

The operation of the optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to FIGS. 2A to 3B. FIGS. 2A and 3A are cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button at the unpressed position and the trigger position along the X axis, respectively. 2B and 3B are cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button at the unpressed position and the triggered position along the Y axis, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the light transmitter 34 and the light receiver 36 are preferably arranged along a linear light path L in sequence (for example, along the Y axis direction), and the linear light path L is parallel to the scissors structure axis 26. When the keycap 10 is not pressed, the protrusion 21 has a first positional relationship with respect to the linear light path L, and the optical signal received by the optical receiver 36 is the first intensity (for example, the intensity of the unobstructed/attenuated optical signal).

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, when the keycap 10 is pressed, the keycap 10 drives the protrusion 21 to move toward the bottom plate 40, so that the protrusion 21 has a second positional relationship with respect to the linear light path L, and the second position The relationship is different from the first position relationship. The protrusion 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, so as 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 first bracket 22 and the second bracket 24 of the supporting mechanism 20 to rotate relative to the scissors structure axis 26, so that the protrusion 21 moves downward.

In this embodiment, the first positional relationship represents that the protrusion 21 is far away from the linear light path L, and the protrusion 21 does not change the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 36. The second positional relationship represents that the protrusion 21 is located in the linear light path L, and the protrusion 21 attenuates the intensity of the light signal received by the light receiver 36, so that the second intensity is less than the first intensity, and the switch module 30 is triggered to generate the trigger signal . In other words, when the keycap 10 is pressed to drive the protrusion 21 to move, the protrusion 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 keycap 10 is pressed to drive the protrusion 21 to move, the protrusion 21 can completely block the optical signal, so that the optical receiver 36 cannot receive the optical signal (ie, the second intensity is zero). That is, the protrusion 21 preferably has a length that can extend into the linear light path L between the light emitter 34 and the light receiver 36, and has a width that can substantially block the light signal, but is not limited thereto. It should be noted here that by changing the circuit design of the circuit board 32, the switch module 30 can generate a trigger signal according to the change in the amount of light received by the optical receiver 36, or whether the optical receiver 36 receives an optical signal To generate a trigger signal. In addition, by changing the length of the protrusion 21 extending toward the bottom plate 40, the trigger stroke of the optical switch button 1 can be controlled, so that slower triggering or faster triggering can be achieved.

It should be noted here that in the first embodiment, the support mechanism 20 is described as a scissor support mechanism, but it is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the support mechanism can have other configurations, such as a butterfly-wing support mechanism, which can also achieve rapid triggering of the optical switch button.

4A to 7B are schematic diagrams of the second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is an exploded view of the optical switch button of the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of the optical switch button of FIG. 4A without a keycap, and 4C is the top view of FIG. 4B. As shown in the figure, in the second embodiment, the optical switch button 100 includes a keycap 110, a supporting mechanism 120, and a switch module 130. The supporting mechanism 120 is arranged under the key cap 110 to support the key cap 110 to move up/down. The supporting mechanism 120 includes a first bracket 122 and a second bracket 124. The first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124 are respectively located on opposite sides of the keycap 110 to form a butterfly wing type supporting mechanism that rotates around the pivot axis P. One of the first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124 has a protrusion 121, and the protrusion 121 extends and protrudes away from the key cap 110. The switch module 130 includes a circuit board 132, an optical transmitter 134 and an optical receiver 136. The optical transmitter 134 and the optical receiver 136 are electrically connected to the circuit board 132. The light transmitter 134 corresponds to the light receiver 136 to emit light signals along the linear light path L', and the linear light path L'does not intersect the pivot axis P. When the key cap 110 is not pressed, the optical signal received by the optical receiver interface 136 has the first intensity. When the keycap 110 is pressed, the keycap 110 drives the protrusion 121 to move, so that the protrusion 121 changes the light signal received by the light receiver 136 to the second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 30 Generate a trigger signal.

Furthermore, the optical switch button 100 may further include a bottom plate 140. The bottom plate 140 is disposed under the key cap 110, and the supporting mechanism 120 is disposed between the key cap 110 and the bottom plate 140 to support the key cap 110 to move relative to the bottom plate 140. The keycap 110, the bottom plate 140, and the switch module 130 of this embodiment may have similar keycaps 10, the bottom plate 40, and the switch module 30 of the first embodiment. For example, the keycap 110 has coupling elements 112, 114 on the lower surface. The bottom plate 140 has a number of connecting portions 143, 144 and openings 146. The light transmitter 134 and the light receiver 136 are disposed on the circuit board 132 and exposed to the opening 146, etc., so the structural details and connection relationship can refer to the related description of the first embodiment. Description, I will not repeat it here. Furthermore, the optical switch button 100 may further include a magnetic member 160, and the bottom plate 140 has a magnetic portion 142. The magnetic member 160 is disposed corresponding to the magnetic portion 142 so that the magnetic member 160 contacts the magnetic portion 142 and generates a magnetic attraction force to support the key cap 110 at the unpressed position. The following description focuses on the differences between this embodiment and the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the bottom plate 140 may further have a positioning portion 145, and the magnetic portion 142 may be a magnet and be positioned on the bottom plate 140 by the positioning portion 145. The magnetic member 160 may be a member formed of an iron plate, and the magnetic member 160 has a first side 162 and a second side 164. The first side 162 of the magnetic member 160 is movably connected to the first bracket 122, and the second side 164 of the magnetic member 160 corresponds to the second bracket 124, so that the magnetic member 160 contacts the magnetic portion 142 and generates magnetic attraction to support the key cap 110 in the unpressed position (as shown in Figure 2A). Corresponding to the arrangement of the magnetic element 160, the lower surface of the keycap 10 preferably has a groove 116 to increase the movable space of the magnetic element 160 in the Z-axis direction.

In this embodiment, the first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124 of the supporting mechanism 120 are respectively located on opposite sides of the keycap 110 to form a butterfly-wing supporting mechanism that rotates around the pivot axis P. The first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124 are disposed on opposite sides of the keycap 110 along the X-axis direction, and the first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124 each have a side edge of the keycap adjacent to the keycap 110 (for example, 1221, 1241). ) And the side of the bottom plate end (for example, 1223, 1243). For example, along the X-axis direction, the bottom plate end side 1223 of the first bracket 122 is adjacent to the bottom plate end side 1243 of the second bracket 124, and the key cap end side 1221 of the first bracket 122 is away from the key of the second bracket 124 The cap end side 1241. That is, the distance between the key cap end sides 1221 and 1241 of the first support 122 and the second support 124 is greater than the distance between the bottom plate end sides 1223 and 1243 of the first support 122 and the second support 124. The first bracket 122 has coupling portions 122 a and 122 b on the key cap end side 1221 and the bottom plate end side 1223, respectively, so as to movably couple the coupling member 112 of the key cap 110 and the connecting portion 143 of the bottom plate 140. The second bracket 124 has coupling portions 124 a and 124 b on the key cap end side 1241 and the bottom plate end side 1243 respectively to movably couple the coupling member 114 of the key cap 110 and the connecting portion 144 of the bottom plate 140. Thereby, the supporting mechanism 120 can constitute a butterfly-wing supporting mechanism rotating around the pivot axis P to stably support the keycap 110 to move relative to the bottom plate 140.

Furthermore, the magnetic member 160 corresponding to the magnetic portion 142 is disposed between the bottom plate 140 and the key cap 110 and is positioned on the first bracket 122. Specifically, the first bracket 122 has a locking slot 1222, and the magnetic member has a locking shaft 1622, and the locking shaft 1622 is rotatably engaged with the locking slot 1222, so that the first side 162 of the magnetic member 160 can be movably (for example, rotated) Connect 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. For example, when the keycap 110 is pressed and the second bracket 124 moves along with the keycap 110, the supporting portion 1242 lifts the second side 164 of the magnetic element 160 upward, so that the magnetic element 160 moves away from the magnetic portion 142.

In this embodiment, the pivot P may be a virtual connection between the second bracket 124 and the coupling portions 124b on opposite sides. The protrusion 121 may be disposed on the side of the keycap of at least one of the first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124, that is, an end adjacent to the keycap 110 and away from the bottom plate 140 (for example, the side 1221, 1241 of the keycap). In this embodiment, the protrusion 121 may be disposed on the keycap end side 1221 of the first bracket 122 and the keycap end side 1241 of the second bracket 124, and extend from the corresponding keycap end side toward the bottom plate 140. Correspondingly, the switch module 130 may have two groups of light emitters 134 and light receivers 136 that are electrically connected to the circuit board 132, and one group of light emitters 134 and light receivers 136 are along the side of the keycap end of the first bracket 122 The side 1221 is arranged to correspond to the protrusion 121 of the first bracket 122, and the light emitter 134 and the light receiver 136 in the other group are arranged along the side edge 1241 of the key cap end of the second bracket 124 to correspond to the second bracket 124的projection 121. For example, the light emitters 134 and light receivers 136 of each group are arranged along the Y-axis direction, and are preferably located below the key cap end side 1221 of the first bracket 122 or the key cap end side 1241 of the second bracket 124 , And the light path between the light transmitter 134 and the light receiver 136 is substantially parallel to the Y-axis linear light path L', that is, the connection line between the light transmitter 134 and the light receiver 136 is the light of the optical signal path. In this embodiment, the linear light path L'does not cross the pivot axis P in other embodiments. For example, the linear light path L'is preferably substantially parallel to the pivot axis P. It should be noted here that the shape or number of the openings 146 of the bottom plate 140 can be changed to allow the two sets of light emitters 134 and light receivers 136 on the circuit board 132 to be exposed from the opening 146 or protrude from the bottom plate 140.

Similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, the protruding portion 121 can be a bump or a stud with a suitable shape, and is preferably disposed at the middle position of the side edges 1221 and 1241 of the keycap end. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the protrusion 121 provided on the second bracket 124 may be a triangular bump, and the two sides 121a, 121b of the triangular bump correspond to the light emitter 134 and the light receiver, respectively 136. Specifically, referring to FIG. 6B at the same time, the two side surfaces 121a, 121b extend downward from the side edges 1221, 1241 of the keycap end to be connected to the ridge line 121c of the triangular bump (that is, the protruding portion 121 is closest to the portion of the bottom plate 140 or the protruding portion 121 The lowest point), so that the two sides 121a and 121b face the light emitter 134 and the light receiver 136, respectively. For example, the two side surfaces 121a and 121b are arranged along the Y-axis direction, so that the normal lines N1 and N2 of the two side surfaces 121a and 121b are respectively located on both sides of the ridge 121c and face the light emitter 134 and the light receiver 136, but not Limit this. For example, the protrusion 121 provided on the first bracket 122 may be a conical protrusion with the top end facing downward, and in other embodiments, the protrusion 121 may also be a rectangular protrusion or a protrusion.

6A to 7B show the operation of the optical switch button 100 of the second embodiment, in which FIGS. 6A and 7A are cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button in the unpressed position and the trigger position along the X axis direction, respectively, and FIG. 6B And FIG. 7B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the keycap of the optical switch button in the unpressed position and the triggered position along the Y-axis direction, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the keycap 110 is not pressed, the magnetic member 160 contacts the magnetic portion 142 and generates a magnetic attraction force, so that the second side 164 of the magnetic member 160 contacts the supporting portion 1242 of the second bracket 124 and is located Low position, and the side edges 1221 and 1241 of the keycap ends of the first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124 are far away from the bottom plate 140. Thereby, the protrusions 121 located on the side edges 1221 and 1241 of the keycap are preferably located above the linear light path L'of the corresponding light emitter 134 and the light receiver 136, without substantially changing the intensity of the light signal. That is, the first intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiver 136 is relatively strong.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, when the key cap 110 is pressed, the second bracket 124 rotates about the pivot axis P along with the downward movement of the key cap 110, so that the supporting portion 1242 lifts the second side 164 of the magnetic member 160 upward The part is accommodated in the groove 116 so that the second side 164 of the magnetic member 160 moves away from the magnetic portion 142 and is located at a high position, and the side edges 1221 and 1241 of the keycap ends of the first bracket 122 and the second bracket 124 face the bottom Move in the direction of 140. The protruding portions 121 of the side edges 1221 and 1241 of the keycap end move down the keycap 110 to enter the optical path of the optical signal (for example, the linear optical path L') to change the optical signal received by the corresponding optical receiver 136 to The second intensity is different from the first intensity to trigger the switch module 130 to generate a trigger signal. In other words, when the keycap 110 is pressed, the protrusion 121 of the support mechanism 120 moves downward to at least partially block the light signal, so that the second intensity is less than the first intensity, and the switch module 130 is triggered to generate the trigger signal.

It should be noted here that although two sets of light emitters 134 and light receivers 136 are shown in this embodiment, it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the protruding portion 121 may only be disposed on the first bracket 122 or the second bracket 124, and the switch module 130 may only have a set of light emitters 134 and light receivers 136 to correspond to the first bracket 122 or the protrusion 121 on the key end of the second bracket 124. Furthermore, by changing the length of the protrusion 121 extending toward the bottom plate 140, the trigger stroke of the optical switch button can be controlled, so that slower triggering or faster triggering can be achieved.

It should be noted that in the foregoing embodiment, although the second intensity is smaller than the first intensity to trigger the switch modules 30 and 130 to generate the trigger signal, it is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the circuit design of the protrusions 21, 121 and the switch modules 30, 131 can be changed according to actual applications, so that the second intensity is greater than the first intensity to trigger the switch modules 30, 131 to generate a trigger signal . For example, the protrusions 21, 121 may have a hole design, and when the keycaps 10, 110 are not pressed, the protrusions 21, 121 at least partially block the optical signals received by the light receivers 36, 136. When the keycaps 10, 110 are pressed, the keycaps 10, 110 drive the protrusions 21, 121 to move downward, so that the holes of the protrusions 21, 121 are located in the light path to allow the light signal to pass through, making the second intensity greater than the first Intensity, the trigger switch module 30, 130 generates 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 not for limitation. Those skilled in the art should know that without departing from the spirit of the present invention, the embodiments specifically described herein may have other modifications to the illustrated embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the present invention also covers such modifications and is only limited by the scope of the attached patent application.

1 Optical switch button 10 Key cap 12, 14 Coupling member 20 Support mechanism 21 Projection 22 First bracket 222 Key cap end side 224 Base plate end side 24 Second bracket 242 Key cap end side 244 Base plate end side 26 Scissor structure axis 30 switch module 32 circuit board 34 light transmitter 36 light receiver 40 bottom plate 42, 44 connection piece 46 opening 100 light switch button 110 key cap 112, 114 coupling piece 116 groove 120 support mechanism 121 protrusion 121a , 121b side 121c ridge line 122 first bracket 1221 keycap end side 1222 slot 122a, 122b coupling portion 1223 bottom plate end side 124 second bracket 1241 keycap end side 1242 support portion 124a, 124b coupling portion 1243 The bottom side 130 switch module 132 circuit board 134 light transmitter 136 light receiver 140 bottom plate 142 magnetic part 143, 144 connecting part 145 positioning part 146 opening 160 magnetic part 162 first side 1622 clamping shaft 164 second side L, L'Straight light path N1, N2 normal P pivot

Fig. 1A is an exploded view of the optical switch button according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1B is a schematic diagram of the optical switch button of Fig. 1A without a keycap. 2A and 3A are respectively cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button in the unpressed position and the triggered position along the X-axis direction of the first embodiment of the present invention. 2B and 3B are respectively cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button in the unpressed position and the trigger position along the Y axis direction of the first embodiment of the present invention. 4A is an exploded view of the optical switch button of the second embodiment of the present invention. 4B is a schematic diagram of the optical switch button of FIG. 4A without a keycap. Figure 4C is a top view of Figure 4B. 5A and 5B are bottom views of the supporting mechanism and the magnetic element of the second embodiment of the present invention from different viewing angles. 6A and FIG. 7A are respectively cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button in the non-pressed position and the trigger position along the X-axis direction of the second embodiment of the present invention. 6B and 7B are respectively cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the keycap of the optical switch button in the unpressed position and the trigger position along the Y-axis direction of the first embodiment of the present invention.

1 Optical switch button 10 Key cap 12, 14 Coupling member 20 Support mechanism 21 Projection 22 First bracket 222 Key cap end side 224 Base plate end side 24 Second bracket 242 Key cap end side 244 Base plate end side 26 Scissors structure axis 30 switch module 32 circuit board 34 light transmitter 36 light receiver 40 bottom plate 42, 44 connection piece 46 opening L straight light path

Claims (9)

An optical switch button, comprising: a key cap; a supporting mechanism arranged under the key cap to support the key cap to move up/down, the supporting mechanism comprising a first bracket and a second bracket, the first bracket Is pivotally connected to the inner side of the second bracket to form a scissor-type support mechanism, the second bracket has a protrusion that extends from the second bracket in a direction away from the keycap; and a switch module, It 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 are located outside the vertical projection area of the first bracket, and the light transmitter corresponds to the light receiver Transmit a light signal, wherein when the key cap is not pressed, the light signal received by the light receiver is a first intensity; when the key cap is pressed, the key cap drives the protrusion to move, so that the protrusion Changing 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 1, wherein the second bracket has a key cap end side and a bottom plate end side opposite to each other, and the key cap end side is closer to the key cap than the bottom plate end side. The protruding part is arranged on the side edge of the key cap end, the light emitter corresponding to the light receiver emits the optical signal along a straight light path, and the straight light path is substantially parallel to the extending direction of the side edge of the key cap end. An optical switch button, comprising: a key cap; a supporting mechanism arranged at and below the key cap to support the key cap to move up/down, the supporting mechanism comprising a first bracket and a second bracket, the first The bracket and the second bracket are respectively located on the opposite side of the keycap On both sides, a butterfly-wing support mechanism that rotates around a pivot is formed, one of the first bracket and the second bracket has a protruding portion, and the protruding portion extends and protrudes in a direction away from the keycap; and a The switch module includes a circuit board, a light emitter, and a light receiver. The light emitter and the light receiver are electrically connected to the circuit board. The light emitter corresponds to the light receiver and emits a light along a linear optical path. Signal, and the linear light path does not intersect with the pivot, wherein when the keycap is not pressed, the light signal received by the light receiver has a first intensity; when the keycap is pressed, the keycap drives The protrusion moves, so that the protrusion changes the light signal received by the light receiver to a second intensity, and the second intensity is different from the first intensity, so as to trigger the switch module to generate a trigger signal. The optical switch button according to claim 3, further comprising a bottom plate and a magnetic part, wherein the supporting mechanism is arranged between the key cap and the bottom plate, the bottom plate has a magnetic part, and the magnetic part is arranged corresponding to the magnetic part , The magnetic member has a first side and a 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 The magnetic member contacts the magnetic part and generates a magnetic attraction force to support the key cap at an unpressed position. The optical switch button according to claim 3, wherein the first bracket has a card slot, and the magnetic member has a card shaft, and the card shaft rotatably engages with the card slot, so that the second bracket of the magnetic member One side is movably connected to the first bracket. The optical switch key according to claim 4, wherein the second bracket has a supporting portion, the second side of the magnetic member is located on the supporting portion, and when the second bracket moves with the key cap, the supporting The second side of the magnetic part is lifted upward by the part to move the magnetic part away from the magnetic part. The optical switch button according to claim 3, wherein the linear light path is substantially parallel to the pivot axis. The optical switch button according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the keycap is pressed to drive the protrusion to move, the protrusion at least partially blocks the light signal, so that the second intensity is less than the first intensity. The optical switch button according to claim 3, wherein the protrusion is a triangular bump, and two sides of the triangular bump respectively correspond to the light emitter and the light receiver.

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