TWM527149U - Keyswitch structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A keyswitch structure includes a keycap having a connection portion, a rigid printed circuit board (PCB) having an receiving space, at least one coupling unit integrated with the rigid PCB and protruding toward the keycap, a microswitch disposed under the keycap and partially received in the receiving space, the microswitch electrically connected to the rigid PCB, and a support unit coupling the connection portion and the coupling unit to support the keycap moving related to the rigid PCB to trigger the microswitch.

Description

Button structure

This creation is generally related to a button structure. Specifically, the present invention relates to a button structure that enhances the pressing feel and eliminates the bottom plate.

Conventional keyboard structures typically use a thin film circuit layer as a signal generating switching element. Generally, the thin film circuit layer is composed of an upper circuit layer, a lower circuit layer, and a spacer layer separating the upper and lower circuit layers, wherein the upper and lower circuit layers have corresponding plurality of switch contacts as trigger circuits of the plurality of keys. . When the keycap triggers the thin film circuit layer, the upper circuit layer is deformed such that the switch contacts of the upper circuit layer contact the corresponding switch contacts of the lower circuit layer, thereby turning on the membrane switch to generate a signal. However, the thin film circuit layer is easily damaged by frequent use or improper application, and is difficult to repair. When the trigger circuit corresponding to a certain button in the thin film circuit layer is damaged, the corresponding trigger circuit cannot be repaired for the individual keys, and the thin film circuit layer of the entire keyboard must be replaced, so that the maintenance cost is high. Moreover, when the user presses the keycap to trigger the thin film circuit layer, there is a lack of sharp step feedback, resulting in a poor hand feeling, and the user's manipulation feeling cannot be satisfied in the operation of the game.

In addition, the thin film circuit layer is a soft material and cannot be used as a structural support and mechanical coupling element. Therefore, the conventional keyboard structure usually needs to add a bottom plate with higher hardness, which makes the overall structure more complicated and relatively difficult to assemble.

Therefore, how to improve the pressing feel of the button structure and eliminate the use of the bottom plate is one of the key points of research and development.

One of the aims of the present invention is to provide a button structure that utilizes a micro switch to enhance the user's pressing feel and enhance the feasibility of individual button repairs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a button structure that uses a hard printed circuit board to provide an electrical path layout of a button structure, and also serves as a support plate for a button structure, without adding an additional backplane, thereby effectively reducing the number of components of the button structure and Simplify the assembly process.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a button structure that integrates light-emitting elements and/or electronic components on a circuit board to optimize the functionality and layout of the keys.

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a button structure including a key cap, a hard circuit board, at least one coupling member, a micro switch, and a support unit, wherein the key cap has at least one connecting portion; the hard circuit board has a receiving space; a coupling member is disposed on the rigid circuit board and protrudes toward the keycap; the micro-opening relationship is located under the keycap and is partially received in the receiving space, and the micro-opening relationship electrically connects the hard circuit board; the supporting unit is coupled to the at least one connecting portion and at least A coupling member supports the keycap to move relative to the rigid circuit board to trigger the microswitch.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a button structure including a key cap, a hard circuit board, at least one coupling member, and a micro switch, wherein the key cap has at least one coupling portion; the hard circuit board has a receiving space; Located under the keycap and partially accommodated in the accommodating space, the micro-opening relationship electrically connects the hard circuit board; at least one coupling member is disposed on the hard circuit board and protrudes toward the key cap, and at least one coupling member is movably coupled to the at least one The coupling portion moves the support key cap relative to the rigid circuit board to trigger the micro switch.

In one embodiment, the button structure of the present invention further includes a light emitting component, wherein the light emitting component is electrically connected to the hard circuit board to be located between the hard circuit board and the keycap.

In one embodiment, the key structure of the present invention further includes electronic components, wherein the electronic components are electrically connected to the hard circuit board. The electronic component can be selected from the group consisting of a micro control unit, a resistor, a capacitor, and an inductor.

In one embodiment, the rigid circuit board has at least one through hole, and at least one coupling member is correspondingly fixed to the at least one through hole.

In one embodiment, the at least one coupling member is made of plastic and is fixed to the at least one through hole by heat fusion.

In one embodiment, at least one of the coupling members is soldered to the rigid circuit board.

In one embodiment, the micro switch has a side wall and at least one pin, wherein at least one of the pins extends horizontally from the middle of the side wall and then is bent downward to electrically connect the hard circuit board.

In an embodiment, when the key cap triggers the micro switch according to the pressure to move toward the hard circuit board, the hard circuit board can withstand the pressing force transmitted by the micro switch, and is free from downward bending deformation.

In an embodiment, the rigid circuit board has a switch hole as a receiving space.

10‧‧‧Key structure

110, 110a, 110b‧‧‧ couplings

112, 118, 119‧‧‧ couplings

120‧‧‧Key Cap

122, 122a, 122b‧‧‧ Connections

124, 126‧‧‧ coupling department

130‧‧‧hard circuit board

132‧‧‧ accommodation space

134‧‧‧ hole

140‧‧‧Micro Switch

140a‧‧‧ side wall

142‧‧‧Trigger

142a‧‧‧ bumps

144‧‧‧Switch Department

146‧‧‧ feet

150‧‧‧Support unit

152‧‧‧First bracket

154‧‧‧second bracket

160‧‧‧Lighting elements

170‧‧‧Electronic components

250‧‧‧Support unit

252‧‧‧First bracket

254‧‧‧second bracket

350‧‧‧Support unit

352‧‧‧First bracket

354‧‧‧second bracket

1A and 1B are respectively an exploded view and a cross-sectional view of a button structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS. 2A to 2C are schematic views showing an embodiment in which an artificial coupling member and a rigid circuit board are connected in different manners; 3 to 6 are schematic diagrams of key structures of different embodiments of the present invention.

The present invention provides a button structure that can be applied to any push-type input device, such as a keyboard, to enhance the pressing feel, eliminate the use of the bottom plate, and improve maintenance feasibility. The structure and operation of each component of the key structure of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B , in one embodiment, the button structure 10 includes a key cap 120 , a hard circuit board 130 , a micro switch 140 , a support unit 150 , and at least one coupling member 110 . The key cap 120 has at least one connecting portion (for example, 122a, 122b); the hard circuit board 130 has a receiving space 132; at least one coupling member (for example, 110a, 110b) is disposed on the hard circuit board 130 and protrudes toward the key cap 120; the micro switch The 140 is located under the keycap 120 and partially received in the accommodating space 132. The micro switch 140 is electrically connected to the hard circuit board 130. The supporting unit 150 is coupled to the at least one connecting portion 122a, 122b and the at least one coupling member 110a, 110b. The support keycap 120 is moved relative to the rigid circuit board 130 to trigger the micro switch 140. In addition, the button structure 10 may further include a light-emitting element 160 and/or an electronic component 170 that projects light toward the keycap 120 (described in detail later). It should be noted that although only a single button structure 10 is used in the embodiment, when a plurality of button structures 10 are combined into a keyboard, some components of each button structure 10 can be integrated into a single component to reduce manufacturing cost and The cost of assembly costs.

Specifically, the key cap 120 is movably disposed above the hard circuit board 130 with respect to the hard circuit board 130, and the key cap 120 is provided at its bottom surface with the connecting portions 122a, 122b of the supporting unit 150. The support unit 150 is disposed between the key cap 120 and the hard circuit board 130 and coupled to the key cap 120 and the hard circuit board 130 respectively to support the movement of the key cap 120 relative to the hard circuit board 130. In this embodiment, the support unit 150 includes a first bracket 152 and a second bracket 154, wherein the first bracket 152 The second bracket 154 is rotatably pivoted to form a scissor support unit, but is not limited thereto. Specifically, the two ends of the first bracket 152 are rotatably and movably connected to the connecting portion 122a of the bottom surface of the keycap 120 and the coupling member 110a disposed on the hard circuit board 130, and the two ends of the second bracket 154 are respectively The connecting portion 122b of the bottom surface of the key cap 120 and the coupling member 116b disposed on the rigid circuit board 130 are movably and rotatably connected; in addition, the first bracket 152 and the same end of the scissor supporting unit 150 at the same end (for example, the right end) The two brackets 154 are respectively connected to the keycap 120 and the bottom plate 110, and the first bracket 152 and the second bracket 154 of the other end (for example, the left end) are respectively connected to the bottom plate 110 and the keycap 120.

The hard circuit board 130 is preferably a printed circuit board having a line layout to electrically connect the micro switch 140. In this embodiment, the hardness of the rigid circuit board 130 is preferably such that when the key cap 120 triggers the micro switch 140 according to the pressing force toward the hard circuit board 130, the hard circuit board 130 can withstand the pressing force transmitted by the micro switch 140, and the essence It is free from downward bending deformation, thereby reducing the chance of damage of the conventional thin film circuit layer due to the trigger deformation, and also making the rigid circuit board 130 serve as a bottom plate for supporting the overall structure, so as to avoid the plastic bottom plate used in the conventional button structure or Metal base plate.

In this embodiment, the rigid circuit board 130 preferably has a switch hole as the receiving space 132, that is, the hard circuit board 130 can be formed into a receiving space 132 by machining, and the size of the receiving space 132 and The shape preferably corresponds to the micro switch 140 such that the micro switch 140 can be embedded in the receiving space 132 of the rigid circuit board 130. In other words, the aperture size of the accommodating space 132 preferably matches the outer diameter of the micro switch 140 such that when the lower portion of the micro switch 140 is embedded in the accommodating space 132, the outer wall of the micro switch 140 (for example, the side wall 140a) is coupled to the accommodating space 132. The inner walls are substantially attached to enhance the positioning of the microswitch 140, but are not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the receiving space 132 may be slightly larger than the micro switch 140 such that when the micro switch 140 is partially received in the receiving space 132, between the outer wall of the micro switch 140 (eg, the side wall 140a) and the inner wall of the receiving space 132 With a gap. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the through hole or the blind hole type switch hole is used as the receiving space 132. However, in other embodiments, the receiving space 132 may be the surface space of the hard circuit board 130.

In this embodiment, the hard circuit board 130 preferably has a circuit design for electrically connecting the light emitting unit 160 and the electronic component 170, respectively, so that the hard circuit board 130 not only provides an electrical path for signal conduction of the micro switch 140, but also provides a driving light unit. 160 and the electrical path of the electronic component 170. Specifically, the light-emitting element 160 and the electronic component 170 are preferably disposed on the upper surface of the rigid circuit board 130 to be located between the hard circuit board 130 and the keycap 120. The light-emitting element 160 is electrically connected to the hard circuit board 130 and exposed on the upper surface of the circuit board 130, so that the light-emitting element 160 can project light toward the keycap 120, so that the key structure 10 becomes a light-emitting button. In this embodiment, the light emitting element 160 can be implemented as a light emitting diode. The electronic component 170 is electrically connected to the hard circuit board 130 and is also exposed on the upper surface of the circuit board 130. The electronic component 170 can be a button structure 10 or various electronic components required for the operation of the keyboard device, such as a micro control unit, a resistor, a capacitor, Inductors, etc., but are not limited to this.

The microswitch 140 can be any suitable mechanical switch constructed from shrapnel, relatively movable terminals. The micro switch 140 includes a triggering portion 142 and a switch portion 144, wherein the triggering portion 142 is movable relative to the switch portion 144 when receiving the pressing force to trigger the micro switch 140 to generate a signal, and is movable relative to the switch portion 144 when the pressing force is released. To revert to the untriggered position. That is, when the triggering portion 142 is moved by the pressing force, the elastic piece is deformed to drive the terminal to move relative to each other to generate a trigger signal; after the pressing force is released, the triggering portion 142 is returned by the recovery force of the elastic piece to move the terminal relatively far away. The position before pressing. Furthermore, the micro switch 140 has a side wall 140a and at least one pin 146, wherein at least one of the pins 146 extends horizontally from the middle of the side wall 140a of the switch portion 144, and then is bent downward to electrically connect the hard circuit board. 130. In this embodiment, after the at least one pin 146 is bent downward to electrically connect the hard circuit board 130, the lower end portion of the pin 146 can protrude from the hard type. The circuit board 130 is embedded in the hard circuit board 130.

In addition, the triggering portion 142 preferably has a bump 142a at the top end thereof, so that when the micro switch 140 is disposed under the key cap 120, the bottom surface of the key cap 120 can be contacted by the bump 142a. When the pressing force is applied to the keycap 120 to move the keycap 120 toward the hard circuit board 130, the bottom surface of the keycap 120 will press the triggering portion 142 of the micro switch 140, and the triggering portion 142 will move toward the switch portion 144 to generate a trigger signal. When the pressing force is released, the triggering portion 142 is automatically reset to move away from the switch portion 144 (ie, upward), and the key cap 120 is moved away from the rigid circuit board 130 by the support of the supporting unit 150 and the driving of the triggering portion 142. The direction moves back to the unpressed position.

It should be noted that the coupling member can be disposed on the rigid circuit board by adhesion, clamping, soldering, locking, heat treatment, etc., so that the rigid circuit board and the coupling member have an integrated structure, and the rigid circuit board can be borrowed. The coupling is coupled to the support unit or the keycap. Different embodiments of the coupling member 110 integrated into the rigid circuit board 130 are exemplified later with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A , the rigid circuit board 130 has at least one through hole 134 , and at least one coupling member 110 is correspondingly disposed through the at least one through hole 134 . In particular, the rigid circuit board 130 can be formed with perforations 134 at a location corresponding to the support unit 150 by machining. The coupling member 110 can be a metal hook, and the lower portion of the hook is inserted into the through hole 134 and fixed to the rigid circuit board 130 by adhesive or snapping, but not limited thereto. The coupling member 110 can be a metal or plastic hook with a thread at the lower portion, and the inner wall of the through hole 134 can have a corresponding thread so that the lower portion of the hook can be locked to the rigid circuit board 130 by screwing engagement. Perforation 134.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, the coupling member 110 is made of plastic and is fixed to the through hole 134 by hot melt. Specifically, the lower portion of the coupling member 110 is inserted into the through hole 134 and partially protrudes from the lower surface of the rigid circuit board 130, and then the protruding portion is made by a hot melt method. The portion is melt-deformed to become the anchor portion 112 to fix the coupling member 110 to the rigid circuit board 130. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2C, the rigid circuit board 130 may not have the through holes 134. The coupling member 110 is made of metal, and the coupling member 110 is directly soldered to the surface of the hard circuit board 130 by using the solder 114. .

It should be noted that the button structure of the present invention may have different supporting units or connecting mechanisms, so the coupling members disposed on the rigid circuit board may have different forms according to design requirements. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the support unit 250 includes a first bracket 252 and a second bracket 254, wherein the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 are rotatably coupled to the keycap 120 and movably The hard circuit board 130 is connected to support the movement of the keycap 120 relative to the hard circuit board 130. For example, the upper ends of the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 are respectively rotatably connected to the connecting portion 122 of the bottom surface of the keycap 120, and the lower ends of the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 are respectively movably connected to the hard circuit. The hook-type coupling 110 of the board 130. When the keycap 120 is moved toward the direction close to the hard circuit board 130, the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 are slid on the hard circuit board 130 in a direction away from each other to support the keycap 120 to smoothly move downward. When the keycap 120 moves away from the hard circuit board 130, the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 are slid on the rigid circuit board 130 in a direction approaching each other to support the keycap 120 to stably move upward. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , the supporting unit 350 includes a first bracket 352 and a second bracket 354 , wherein the first bracket 352 and the second bracket 354 are rotatably connected to the connecting portion 122 of the key cap 120 . The shaft hole coupling 112 of the rigid circuit board 130 supports the vertical and horizontal displacement of the keycap 120 relative to the rigid circuit board 130. It should be noted that the first bracket 252 (or 352) and the second bracket 254 (or 354) may respectively be a frame type link structure, wherein the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 (or the first bracket 352 and the The two brackets 354) preferably have the same structure to reduce the manufacturing cost, but are not limited thereto.

Furthermore, there may be other connection mechanisms between the keycap 120 and the rigid circuit board 130 to support the movement of the keycap 120 relative to the rigid circuit board 130. That is, the coupling member disposed on the rigid circuit board may have a different form to be coupled to the coupling portion of the keycap to support the movement of the keycap 120 relative to the rigid circuit board 130 to trigger the microswitch 140. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom surface of the key cap 120 may be provided with a coupling portion 124 having a sliding slot, and the coupling member 118 disposed on the rigid circuit board 130 is a coupling member having a convex rail, wherein the convex portion is convex. The rail system is inserted into the chute such that the coupling portion 124 is movably coupled to the coupling member 118. When the keycap 120 moves relative to the hard circuit board 130, the convex rail of the coupling member 118 moves relative to the sliding groove of the coupling portion 124 to support the keycap 120 to stably move. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the bottom surface of the key cap 120 may be provided with a coupling portion 126 having a sloped surface, and the coupling member 119 disposed on the rigid circuit board 130 has a coupling member corresponding to the inclined surface. When the keycap 120 moves relative to the hard circuit board 130, the slope of the coupling portion 126 relatively moves along the slope of the coupling member 119, so that the key cap 120 simultaneously generates vertical displacement and horizontal displacement with respect to the hard circuit board 130.

It should be noted that in the above embodiments of FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, other components of the button structure (for example, the micro switch 140) are configured and function similarly to the components of the button structure 10, and may also be selectively disposed. For the structure and connection relationship of the components, reference may be made to the related description of the embodiment of FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, and details are not described herein again.

Compared with the prior art, the button structure of the present invention can enhance the user's pressing feeling by the setting of the micro switch, and the micro-motion relationship is integrated into the hard circuit board that provides the required electric path, and the feasibility of the individual button maintenance can be improved. And convenience. Moreover, the button structure of the present invention is further integrated with the key circuit board by the coupling member, so that the circuit board further has the function of coupling the key cap or the supporting unit, and no additional bottom plate is needed, thereby effectively reducing the number of components of the key structure. And simplify the assembly process. In addition, the key structure of the present invention integrates the light-emitting element and/or the electronic component into the electricity The road board can further enhance the function of the button structure and optimize the layout design of the button structure.

This creation has been described by the above embodiments, however, the above embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments specifically described herein may exemplify other modifications of the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention also covers such modifications and is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

10‧‧‧Key structure

110a, 110b‧‧‧ coupling

120‧‧‧Key Cap

122a, 122b‧‧‧ Connections

130‧‧‧hard circuit board

132‧‧‧ accommodation space

140‧‧‧Micro Switch

140a‧‧‧ side wall

142‧‧‧Trigger

142a‧‧‧ bumps

144‧‧‧Switch Department

146‧‧‧ feet

150‧‧‧Support unit

152‧‧‧First bracket

154‧‧‧second bracket

160‧‧‧Lighting elements

170‧‧‧Electronic components

Claims (11)

A key structure comprising: a keycap having at least one connecting portion; a rigid circuit board having a receiving space; at least one coupling member disposed on the rigid circuit board and protruding toward the keycap; a micro switch The hard cover is electrically connected to the hard circuit board, and the support unit is coupled to the at least one connecting portion and the at least one coupling member to support the key. The cap moves relative to the rigid circuit board to trigger the microswitch. A key structure comprising: a keycap having at least one coupling portion; a rigid circuit board having a receiving space; a micro switch disposed under the keycap and partially received in the receiving space, the micro-motion relationship Electrically connecting the rigid circuit board; and at least one coupling member disposed on the rigid circuit board and protruding toward the keycap, the at least one coupling member movably coupling the at least one coupling portion to support the keycap relative to The hard circuit board is moved to trigger the micro switch. The button structure of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a light-emitting component, wherein the light-emitting component is electrically connected to the rigid circuit board to be located between the rigid circuit board and the keycap. The button structure of claim 1 or 2, further comprising an electronic component, wherein the electronic component is electrically connected to the rigid circuit board. The key structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the electronic component is selected from the group consisting of a micro control unit and a resistor A group of capacitors, capacitors, and inductors. The key structure of claim 1 or 2, wherein the rigid circuit board has at least one through hole, and the at least one coupling member is correspondingly fixed to the at least one through hole. The button structure of claim 6, wherein the at least one coupling member is made of plastic and is fixed to the at least one through hole by heat fusion. The button structure of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one coupling member is soldered to the rigid circuit board. The button structure of claim 1 or 2, wherein the micro switch has a side wall and at least one pin, the at least one leg extends horizontally from the middle of the side wall, and then is bent downward to be electrically Connect the hard board. The key structure of claim 1 or 2, wherein the hard circuit board can withstand the pressing force transmitted by the micro switch when the key cap triggers the micro switch according to a pressing force toward the hard circuit board, substantially Free from bending deformation. The key structure of claim 1 or 2, wherein the hard circuit board has a switch hole as the accommodation space.