CN117674812A - A key component and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of terminal equipment, provides a key assembly and electronic equipment, and can solve the problem that sensitivity in the key assembly in the related technology is relatively poor. The key assembly comprises a circuit board and a key panel arranged on one side of the circuit board; the key panel comprises a key part and a connecting part arranged at the periphery of the key part, a first electrode is arranged at a position corresponding to the key part on the circuit board, a second electrode is arranged on the key part, the second electrode and the first electrode are arranged at intervals to form a key capacitor, and the rigidity of at least one of the second electrode and the key part is larger than that of the connecting part; the connecting part can elastically deform when the key part is pressed, so that the key part moves towards the direction approaching to the circuit board, and the distance between the second electrode and the first electrode is reduced. The method and the device can be used for electronic equipment such as notebook computers and the like.

Description

Key assembly and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of electronic equipment, in particular to a key assembly and electronic equipment.

Background

Electronic devices such as notebook computers are provided with keys, which are important links for people to communicate with the electronic devices. The structure of traditional button subassembly mainly comprises button cap and the elevating system (such as scissors foot mechanism) of setting in button cap below, and this kind of elevating system component of button subassembly is comparatively more, and is bulky, makes whole button subassembly unable frivolous. With the development of technology, the capacitive key has the advantages of simple structure, small thickness and the like, and has wide application prospect. Among them, how to design capacitive keys is an important issue in the industry.

A key assembly in the related art comprises a key panel and a circuit board which are arranged at intervals, wherein the key panel is of a metal flat plate structure, the key panel comprises a key part, a first electrode is arranged at a position corresponding to the key part, and a key capacitor is formed by the key part and the first electrode. When the key part is pressed, the key part bends and deforms towards the direction close to the first electrode, so that the size of the key capacitor is changed, and the detection circuit judges whether the key part is pressed or not by detecting the variation of the key capacitor.

However, the capacitance value of the key capacitor is changed by bending deformation of the key part, and the distance variation of each area of the key part relative to the initial position is uneven, so that the key part needs to be greatly deformed to trigger the key, which is disadvantageous to improving the sensitivity of the key assembly.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a key assembly and electronic equipment, which are used for solving the problem that the sensitivity of the key assembly in the related technology is relatively poor.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a key assembly, including a circuit board, and a key panel disposed on one side of the circuit board; the key panel comprises a key part and a connecting part arranged at the periphery of the key part, a first electrode is arranged at a position corresponding to the key part on the circuit board, a second electrode is arranged on the key part, and the second electrode and the first electrode are arranged at intervals to form a key capacitor; at least one of the second electrode and the key part has a rigidity greater than that of the connecting part, and the connecting part can elastically deform when the key part is pressed, so that the key part moves towards the direction approaching to the circuit board, and the distance between the second electrode and the first electrode is reduced.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, when the button portion receives the pressure like this, the assembly that button portion, second electrode formed just is difficult to take place bending deformation, when the button portion received the pressure, along with the elastic deformation of connecting portion, the assembly that button portion, second electrode formed just can wholly or nearly wholly be synchronous be close to first electrode, like this each regional distance variation relative to initial position on the second electrode just is more even, then when the second electrode is close to first electrode unit distance, the electric capacity value change volume of button electric capacity is bigger, the button portion just needs the shorter stroke of pressing just can make the electric capacity value of button electric capacity reach threshold value like this, thereby be favorable to improving the sensitivity of button subassembly.

In some embodiments, the connecting portion includes a first surface disposed close to the circuit board, and a second surface disposed away from the circuit board, wherein the first surface and the second surface are curved in a first cross section, so that the connecting portion can elastically deform in a direction approaching the circuit board; wherein the first cross section is a plane parallel to the thickness direction of the circuit board and intersects with both the connection portion and the key portion.

By adopting the technical scheme, the structure of the connecting part can be simpler and more reliable, thereby being beneficial to reducing the design and manufacturing difficulty of the connecting part.

In some embodiments, the first surface and the second surface are both curved to the same side of the key panel.

By adopting the technical scheme, the connecting part has good elasticity, and the connecting part is easy to elastically deform when the key part is pressed, so that the pressing of the key part can be smoothly performed.

In some embodiments, the first surface and the second surface are both curved to the outside of the key panel.

By adopting the technical scheme, the connecting part can be prevented from occupying the space between the key panel and the circuit board, so that the layout of components in the space between the key panel and the circuit board can be optimized.

In some embodiments, the first surface is curved to the outside of the key panel and the second surface is curved to the inside of the key panel.

By adopting the technical scheme, the connecting part is prevented from protruding out of the outer surface of the key part, so that the size of the key panel in the thickness direction is reduced, and the overall thickness of the key assembly is reduced.

In some embodiments, in the first section, the connection portion includes a first connection end disposed close to the key portion and a second connection end disposed away from the key portion, and the first connection end is tilted away from the circuit board relative to the second connection end; wherein the first cross section is a plane parallel to the thickness direction of the circuit board and intersects with both the connection portion and the key portion.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, can make connecting portion have better elasticity, the button portion is when receiving the pressure, and connecting portion elastic deformation takes place more easily to make the pressure of button portion go on more smoothly.

In some embodiments, the key panel is provided with an electrode circuit electrically connected to the circuit board, the electrode circuit includes an elastic connection wire disposed on the connection portion, the elastic connection wire is electrically connected to the second electrode, and the elastic connection wire can be elastically deformed along with the connection portion when the key portion is pressed.

By adopting the technical scheme, the elastic connecting wire is prevented from being torn off when the connecting part is elastically deformed, so that the reliability of the key assembly is improved.

In some embodiments, the elastic connection line is arranged in a detour manner along a direction approaching the key part.

By adopting the technical scheme, the elastic connecting wire can have better elasticity, so that the elastic connecting wire can better adapt to the elastic deformation of the connecting part without breaking.

In some embodiments, the connection portion is in a ring structure and is disposed around the key portion, the electrode circuit includes a power supply line disposed in a peripheral area of the connection portion, the number of the elastic connection lines is plural, and the plural elastic connection lines are arranged along a circumferential direction of the key portion and are connected in parallel between the power supply line and the second electrode.

By adopting the technical scheme, even if one elastic connecting wire breaks, the normal power supply of the second electrode is not influenced, and thus the working reliability of the key assembly is improved.

In some embodiments, the second electrode is embedded in the key portion, and the elastic connection line is embedded in the connection portion.

By adopting the technical scheme, the elastic connecting wire and the second electrode can be better protected.

In some embodiments, the key panel is provided with a conductive part, the conductive part is electrically connected with the electrode line, and the circuit board is provided with a bonding pad at a position corresponding to the conductive part; the key assembly further comprises a conductive adapter, the conductive adapter is abutted against the conductive portion, and the conductive adapter is welded with the bonding pad.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, can make things convenient for the connection of electrically conductive adaptor and electrically conductive portion to further make things convenient for the dismouting of button panel.

In some embodiments, the connection part is a ring structure and is disposed around the key part, and the key panel is a unitary structure.

By adopting the technical scheme, gaps around the key part are eliminated, and the phenomenon that foreign matters such as external liquid, dust and hair enter into the space between the key part and the circuit board to influence the normal operation of the key assembly is avoided.

In some embodiments, the first electrode is embedded in the first circuit board.

By adopting the technical scheme, the first electrode can be better protected.

In some embodiments, a supporting member is disposed between the circuit board and a region of the key panel located at the periphery of the connection portion, so that the key panel is spaced from the circuit board; the support piece is provided with a limiting part, and at least one part of the limiting part is positioned between the key part and the circuit board so as to limit the pressing stroke of the key part.

By adopting the technical scheme, the connecting part is prevented from being damaged due to overlarge deformation when the pressing force of a user is overlarge.

In some embodiments, the key assembly further includes an elastic member connected between the limiting portion and the key portion to apply a restoring force to the key portion that moves the key portion away from the circuit board.

By adopting the technical scheme, the connecting structure of the elastic component is not required to be arranged on the circuit board, so that the influence on the arrangement of devices on the circuit board is reduced.

In some embodiments, the elastic component is a spring, a first end of the spring is abutted against the key part, a second end of the spring is fixedly embedded into the limit part,

by adopting the technical scheme, the elastic sheet and the key part can be conveniently detached; and the second end of the elastic piece can be reduced from shaking, so that the elastic piece is ensured to stably provide reset force for the key part.

In some embodiments, the second end of the elastic piece is inserted into a mounting groove formed on the limiting portion and abuts against a groove wall of the mounting groove.

Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, can make the shell fragment more convenient and fast with the installation of spacing portion.

In some embodiments, a supporting member is disposed between the circuit board and a region of the key panel located at the periphery of the connection portion, so that the key panel is spaced from the circuit board; the key assembly further comprises an elastic component, the elastic component comprises two spring seats and springs connected between the two spring seats, one spring seat is connected with the key portion, the other spring seat is connected with the circuit board, and the edges of the two ends of at least one spring seat exceed the springs in the radial direction of the springs.

By adopting the technical scheme, the spring is prevented from being damaged due to abnormal collision with the surrounding structures.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, including a key carrier, and a key assembly set in the first aspect, where the key assembly is disposed on the key carrier.

The technical effects obtained by the electronic device are the same as those obtained by the key assembly in the first aspect, and are not described herein.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a key group at a key section in the related art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device in some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the main body of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4a is a top view of an area on the key assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4b is a schematic view of a second shape of a connecting portion according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4c is a schematic view of a third shape of a connecting portion according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view A-A of FIG. 4 a;

fig. 6 is a state diagram of the key part in fig. 5 when pressed;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly according to a second embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a key assembly in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between electrode spacing and the capacitance of a button capacitor;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly according to a third embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a state diagram of the key part in fig. 12 when pressed;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly according to a sixth embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a state diagram of the key section in fig. 15 when pressed;

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly according to an eighth embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 18 is a state diagram of the key section in fig. 17 when pressed;

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of the resilient member of FIG. 17;

fig. 20 is a schematic diagram of wiring around a key section in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 21 is a partial enlarged view of an area where a certain key part in fig. 20 is located;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a key portion routing around the key portion after being pressed;

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view B-B in FIG. 2;

fig. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to other embodiments of the present application.

Detailed Description

In the present embodiments, the terms "first," "second," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 1 is a sectional view of a key assembly in the related art, and a dotted line shows a position when the key part 021 is not pressed. The key assembly in the related art includes a circuit board 01, and a key panel 02 disposed on one side of the circuit board 01, wherein the key panel 02 is of a metal flat plate structure, the key panel 02 includes a key portion 021, a first electrode 031 is disposed on the circuit board 01 at a position corresponding to the key portion 021, and the key portion 021 and the first electrode 031 are disposed at intervals to form a key capacitor.

When the user presses the key part 021, the key part 021 is bent and deformed in a direction approaching to the first electrode 031, the distance between the key part 021 and the first electrode 031 is reduced, the capacitance value of the key capacitor is increased (the capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor is c=epsilon S/d, epsilon is the dielectric constant of the medium between the polar plates, S is the polar plate area, d is the distance between the polar plates, if the distance d between the polar plates is reduced, the capacitance value C is increased), when the variation of the capacitance value of the key capacitor is larger than a set value, the key is triggered, and the detection circuit of the key assembly can sense that the key part 021 is pressed.

However, as shown in fig. 1, after the key portion 021 is pressed, the distance variation of each area of the key portion 021 with respect to the initial position is uneven, that is, the distance variation of the central area of the key portion 021 is large, and the distance variation of the edge area of the key portion 021 is small, so that when the key portion 021 is close to the first electrode 031 by a unit distance (for example, 1 mm) (that is, when the key portion 021 is bent towards the direction close to the first electrode 031 by a unit distance), the variation of the capacitance of the key capacitor is small, so that when the key portion 021 is pressed, a large deformation (that is, the distance variation of the central area of the key portion 021 needs to be set) is required, which is unfavorable for the improvement of the sensitivity of the key assembly. The sensitivity of the key assembly is related to the pressing stroke of the key portion 021 when the key is triggered, the smaller the pressing stroke of the key portion 021 is, the higher the sensitivity of the key assembly is, the larger the pressing stroke of the key portion 021 is, and the lower the sensitivity of the key assembly is.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a key assembly and an electronic device, where the electronic device in the embodiments of the present application may be an electronic device with keys, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a computer keyboard, and a home appliance.

The specific structure of the key assembly of the electronic device in the present application will be described below by taking a notebook computer and a computer keyboard as examples, and other electronic devices may be specifically set with reference to the structure of the key assembly in the embodiments of the notebook computer and the computer keyboard, which will not be described in detail herein.

As shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present application. In this embodiment, the electronic device is a notebook computer, and the notebook computer includes a display screen 200 and a host body 100. The display screen 200 is rotatably connected to the main body 100 such that the display screen 200 and the main body 100 can be switched between a folded state and an unfolded state (the state shown in fig. 2).

In the open state, the display surface of the display screen 200 forms a certain angle with the host body 100, such as 90 °, 120 °; in the folded state, the display surface of the display screen 200 is stacked with the host body 100, that is, the display surface of the display screen 200 is parallel or approximately parallel (e.g., within 5 °) to the host body 100.

The display 200 and the host body 100 may be hinged by a hinge shaft, or may be hinged by a hinge structure, which is not particularly limited herein.

In some embodiments, the display screen 200 is detachably connected with the host body 100. By the design, when the notebook computer is used, the display screen 200 can be placed on the host computer body 100, and after the use is finished, the display screen 200 can be separated from the host computer body 100, so that the notebook computer is more convenient to carry and use.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the main body 100 in fig. 2. The host body 100 includes a housing 300 and a key carrier 400, the housing 300 includes a housing top wall 310, a housing bottom wall 320, and a housing side wall 330 connected between the housing top wall 310 and the housing bottom wall 320, the housing top wall 310 is provided with a mounting opening 311, and the key carrier 400 is disposed in the housing 300 and opposite to the mounting opening 311.

The main body 100 further includes a key assembly 500, the key assembly 500 is disposed on the key carrier 400, and an appearance surface of the key assembly 500 (i.e. a surface on which the key portion 21 is disposed) is exposed from the housing 300 through the mounting opening 311, so that a user can input information such as text into the notebook computer through the key assembly 500.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the key carrier 400 includes a carrier bottom wall 410 and a carrier side wall 420 disposed at an edge of the carrier bottom wall 410, the carrier side wall 420 is connected to an edge of the mounting opening 311, the carrier bottom wall 410 is disposed opposite to the mounting opening 311, the carrier bottom wall 410 and the carrier side wall 420 enclose an accommodating space 430, and the key assembly 500 is disposed in the accommodating space 430. By such design, the bearing bottom wall 410 and the bearing side wall 420 can play a role in positioning the key assembly 500, so that the key assembly 500 can be conveniently installed without additional positioning structures.

The bearing side wall 420 and the housing top wall 310 may be integrally formed or may be separately designed, which is not limited herein. The bottom wall 410 and the side wall 420 may be integrally formed, or may be connected together by bonding, clamping, screwing, or the like, which is not particularly limited herein.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, a key limiting portion 440 is provided at an edge of the mounting opening 311, and the key limiting portion 440 is located outside the key assembly 500. By such design, the key limiting part 440 can play a role of stopping the key assembly 500, and can prevent the key assembly 500 from being out of the accommodating space 430, so that the key assembly 500 can be stably installed in the accommodating space 430.

As shown in fig. 3, the key limiting portion 440 and the housing top wall 310 are integrally formed, but not limited thereto, and the key limiting portion 440 and the housing top wall 310 may be separately formed and then connected together by a fastener.

As shown in fig. 3, one key stopper 440 may be provided, and the key stopper 440 is a stopper frame provided around the key assembly 500. In addition, a plurality of key limiting portions 440 may be provided, and the plurality of key limiting portions 440 may be provided at intervals along the circumferential direction of the mounting opening 311. When the key limiting portion 440 is provided in plurality, the key limiting portion 440 may be a limiting flange, a limiting post, a limiting ball, a limiting buckle, etc., which is not limited herein.

The key carrier 400 may have a plate-like structure in addition to the structure shown in fig. 3, and the edge of the key carrier 400 is connected to the top wall 310 of the housing by a fastener, so as to press the key assembly 500 against the key limiting portion 440, thereby fixing the key assembly 500.

As shown in fig. 4a, 5 and 6, fig. 4a is a top view of a certain area on the key assembly 500 in fig. 3, fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view A-A of fig. 4a, and fig. 6 is a state diagram of the key part 21 in fig. 5 when pressed. The key assembly 500 includes a circuit board 1 and a key panel 2 disposed on one side of the circuit board 1.

The key panel 2 includes a key portion 21 and a connection portion 22 disposed at the periphery of the key portion 21, the circuit board 1 is provided with a first electrode 31 at a position corresponding to the key portion 21, the key portion 21 is provided with a second electrode 32, and the second electrode 32 and the first electrode 31 are disposed at intervals to form a key capacitor.

The manner in which the second electrode 32 is spaced from the first electrode 31 is not the only manner, and in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, the support 4 is disposed between the circuit board 1 and the area of the key panel 2 located at the periphery of the connection portion 22, so that the key panel 2 is spaced from the circuit board 1, and thus the key portion 21 is spaced from the circuit board 1, and thus the second electrode 32 is spaced from the first electrode 31.

As shown in fig. 5, the key panel 2 may be bonded to the support member 4 through the adhesive layer 5, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the key panel 2 may be connected to the support member 4 by means of a snap-in connection, a plug-in connection, a screw-in connection, or the like, and may be specifically determined according to the actual situation.

In other embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly 500 according to a second embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the circuit board 1 is provided with a groove 11 at a position corresponding to the key portion 21, and the first electrode 31 is disposed on the bottom wall of the groove 11 to realize that the second electrode 32 is disposed at a distance from the first electrode 31.

The arrangement of the first electrode 31 on the circuit board 1 is not unique, and in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, the first electrode 31 is embedded in the circuit board 1, so that the outer circuit board 1 can better protect the first electrode 31, and the arrangement can avoid that the first electrode 31 occupies the space outside the circuit board 1 additionally, so that the key assembly 500 is more compact in structure. In other embodiments, the first electrode 31 may also be disposed on a side surface of the circuit board 1 near the key portion 21.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, the first electrode wire 33 electrically connected to the first electrode 31 is embedded in the circuit board 1, so that the first electrode wire 33 can be better protected from short-circuiting the first electrode wire 33.

The arrangement of the second electrode 32 on the key portion 21 is also not unique, and in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, the second electrode 32 is embedded in the key portion 21, so that the outer key portion 21 can better protect the second electrode 32, and the arrangement can avoid that the second electrode 32 occupies the space outside the key portion 21, so that the key assembly 500 is more compact. In other embodiments, the second electrode 32 may also be disposed on a side surface of the key portion 21 near the circuit board 1.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the rigidity of the second electrode 32 is greater than that of the connection portion 22, and the connection portion 22 is capable of being elastically deformed when the key portion 21 is pressed, so that the key portion 21 moves in a direction approaching the circuit board 1 to reduce the distance between the second electrode 32 and the first electrode 31.

Wherein the second electrode 32 is made of an electrically conductive material, in some embodiments, the second electrode 32 is made of a metal or metal alloy, such as copper or copper alloy; in other embodiments, the second electrode 32 is made of a non-metallic material that is plated with a metal layer, such as copper on glass.

In addition to setting the rigidity of the second electrode 32 to be greater than the rigidity of the connecting portion 22, the rigidity of the key portion 21 may be set to be greater than the rigidity of the connecting portion 22, and the rigidity of the second electrode 32 and the key portion 21 may be set to be greater than the rigidity of the connecting portion 22 at the same time, so that the combination of the second electrode 32 and the key portion 21 is not easily deformed.

The principle of the key assembly 500 is as follows: as shown in fig. 5 to 8, fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a key assembly 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between electrode spacing and the capacitance of the key capacitors. The key capacitor (shown as a reference numeral a) is connected with a sensor 6, and the sensor 6 is used for detecting the capacitance value of the key capacitor; as shown in fig. 5 and 8, when the key part 21 is not pressed, the distance between the second electrode 32 and the first electrode 31 is b, and the capacitance value of the key capacitor is C1; as shown in fig. 6, 8 and 9, when the key section 21 is pressed, the distance between the second electrode 32 and the first electrode 31 gradually decreases, the capacitance value of the key capacitance gradually increases, and when the capacitance value of the key capacitance is greater than the threshold value C3, the output terminal (indicated by reference symbol O) of the sensor 6 outputs a high level signal, at which time the key section 21 is considered to be pressed.

Where a is the distance between the second electrode 32 and the first electrode 31 when the key portion 21 reaches the maximum pressing stroke, C2 is the capacitance value of the key capacitance when the key portion 21 reaches the maximum pressing stroke, and C is the pressing stroke required for the key portion 21 to reach the threshold value C3. The size of C3 is between C1 and C2, and the sensitivity of the key assembly 500 can be adjusted by setting the size of the threshold value C3, the smaller the value of C3, the shorter the pressing stroke required by the key portion 21, the more sensitive the key assembly 500, otherwise, the larger the pressing stroke required by the key portion 21, so that the capacitance value of the key capacitor exceeds the threshold value C3.

According to the pressing assembly in the embodiment of the application, the rigidity of at least one of the key portion 21 and the second electrode 32 is set to be greater than the rigidity of the connecting portion 22, that is, the capability of the combination formed by the key portion 21 and the second electrode 32 to resist elastic deformation is stronger, when the key portion 21 is pressed, the combination formed by the key portion 21 and the second electrode 32 can be integrally or approximately integrally synchronously close to the first electrode 31 along with the elastic deformation of the connecting portion 22, so that the distance variation of each area on the second electrode 32 relative to the initial position is relatively uniform, and when the second electrode 32 is close to the first electrode 31 by a unit distance (such as 1 mm), the capacitance value variation of the key capacitor is relatively large, so that the capacitance value of the key capacitor can reach the threshold value C3 by the shorter pressing stroke of the key portion 21, thereby being beneficial to improving the sensitivity of the key assembly 500.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, the connection portion 22 includes a first surface 221 disposed close to the circuit board 1, and a second surface 222 disposed away from the circuit board 1, where the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 are curved in a first section, so that the connection portion 22 can elastically deform in a direction approaching the circuit board 1. Wherein the first cross section (such as the A-A cross section in fig. 4 a) is parallel to the thickness direction of the circuit board 1 and intersects both the connection portion 22 and the key portion 21.

It should be noted that: the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 are curved in the first cross section, specifically, the form of the connecting portion 22 when in a natural state (i.e., the state in which the key portion 21 is not pressed). The first surface 221 and the second surface 222 may be curved surfaces, paraboloids, or a combination of curved surfaces and flat surfaces, which is not particularly limited herein.

As shown in fig. 6, when the key portion 21 is pressed, the key portion 21 generates a tensile force on the connection portion 22, and the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 of the connection portion 22 are straightened by the tensile force, so that the connection portion 22 is elastically deformed, and the key portion 21 moves in a direction approaching the circuit board 1.

By arranging the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 of the connecting portion 22 in a curved shape, the connecting portion 22 has elasticity, so that the structure of the connecting portion 22 is simpler and more reliable, thereby being beneficial to reducing the design and manufacturing difficulty of the connecting portion 22.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5 and fig. 7, the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 are both curved toward the same side of the key panel 2, that is, the connecting portion 22 is arched toward one side of the key panel 2 to form an arch structure, so that the connecting portion 22 has good elasticity, and when the key portion 21 is pressed, the connecting portion 22 is relatively easy to elastically deform, so that the pressing of the key portion 21 can be smoothly performed.

The bending directions of the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 are not unique, and in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5 and 7, both the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 are bent to the outside of the key panel 2. By such design, the space between the key panel 2 and the circuit board 1 can be prevented from being occupied by the connection portion 22, so that the layout of the components in the space between the key panel 2 and the circuit board 1 can be optimized.

In other embodiments, as shown in fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly 500 according to a third embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, both the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 are curved inward of the key panel 2.

It should be noted that: the outside of the key panel 2 refers to the side of the key panel 2 away from the circuit board 1, and the inside of the key panel 2 refers to the side of the key panel 2 close to the circuit board 1.

The first surface 221 and the second surface 222 may be curved to the same side of the key panel 2, or may be curved to different sides of the key panel 2, as shown in fig. 11, and fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly 500 according to a fourth embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the first surface 221 is curved to the outside of the key panel 2, and the second surface 222 is curved to the inside of the key panel 2. By such a design, the thickness of the connection portion 22 (the dimension of the connection portion 22 in the thickness direction of the circuit board 1) can be made smaller, and the connection portion 22 having a smaller thickness can obtain better elasticity, and when the key portion 21 is pressed, the connection portion 22 is relatively easy to elastically deform, so that the pressing of the key portion 21 can be smoothly performed.

Meanwhile, since the second surface 222 is curved toward the inner side of the key panel 2, the connection portion 22 is prevented from protruding from the outer surface of the key portion 21 (i.e., the surface of the key portion 21 away from the circuit board 1), which is advantageous for reducing the size of the key panel 2 in the thickness direction, and thus for reducing the overall thickness of the key assembly 500.

To better illustrate that the second surface 222 of the connecting portion 22 is curved toward the inner side of the key panel 2 so that the thickness of the key assembly 500 is smaller, the key assembly 500 shown in fig. 5 is compared with the key assembly 500 shown in fig. 11: as shown in fig. 5, the height H1 of the supporting member 4 is 1.2mm, the thickness H2 of the adhesive layer 5 is 0.1mm, the thickness H3 of the key panel 2 is 0.6mm, the height H4 of the connecting portion 22 protruding from the outer surface of the key portion 21 is 0.3mm, and the thickness h=the thickness +2.2mm of the circuit board 1 of the entire key assembly 500; as shown in fig. 11, in the case where the thickness of the circuit board 1, the height H1 of the supporting member 4, the thickness H2 of the adhesive layer 5, and the thickness H3 of the key panel 2 are the same, since the connection portion 22 does not protrude from the outer surface of the key portion 21, the thickness H of the entire key assembly 500=the thickness of the circuit board 1+1.9mm, the key assembly 500 in fig. 11 is reduced by 0.3mm from the thickness of the key assembly 500 in fig. 5, that is, the height of the connection portion 22 protruding from the outer surface of the key portion 21 is reduced.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 12 and 13, fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly 500 in a fifth embodiment of the present application, and fig. 13 is a state diagram of the key portion 21 in fig. 12 when pressed. In this embodiment, in the first section, the connection portion 22 includes a first connection end 223 disposed close to the key portion 21, and a second connection end 224 disposed away from the key portion 21, and the first connection end 223 is tilted relative to the second connection end 224 in a direction away from the circuit board 1. By providing the connecting portion 22 with the structure in which the first connecting end 223 is tilted, the connecting portion 22 can have better elasticity, and when the key portion 21 is pressed, the connecting portion 22 is easier to elastically deform, so that the pressing of the key portion 21 can be performed more smoothly.

It should be noted that: the first connection end 223 is tilted relative to the second connection end 224 in a direction away from the circuit board 1, specifically, the connection portion 22 is in a natural state (i.e., a state in which the key portion 21 is not pressed). The first connection end 223 may be directly connected to the key part 21 (as shown in fig. 12), or may be connected to the key part 21 through an intermediate member, which is not particularly limited herein.

For the connection portion 22 with the first connection end 223 tilted, the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 of the connection portion 22 may be bent toward different sides of the key panel 2, for example, as shown in fig. 12, the first surface 221 is bent toward the outer side of the key panel 2, and the second surface 222 is bent toward the inner side of the key panel 2. In addition, the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 of the connecting portion 22 may be curved toward the same side of the key panel 2, as shown in fig. 14, fig. 14 is a schematic structural view of a key assembly 500 in a sixth embodiment of the present application, in which both the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 are curved toward the outside of the key panel 2. Of course, the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 may not be curved in the first cross section, and for example, the first surface 221 and the second surface 222 may be provided in an inclined structure, in addition to the above-described structure.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4a and 5, the connection portion 22 is a ring-shaped structure and is disposed around the key portion 21, and the key panel 2 is a unitary structure. Because the key panel 2 is of an integral structure, gaps around the key portion 21 are eliminated, and foreign matters such as external liquid, dust and hair are prevented from entering into the space between the key portion 21 and the circuit board 1 to affect the normal operation of the key assembly 500, so that the reliability of the operation of the key assembly 500 is improved.

The connecting portion 22 may be a circular ring structure (as shown in fig. 4 a) or a polygonal ring structure, for example, as shown in fig. 4b, and the connecting portion 22 is a square ring structure; as further shown in fig. 4c, the connecting portion 22 has a regular hexagonal ring structure. The connection portion 22 may be designed as a strip structure, in addition to the annular structure, and the number of the connection portions 22 may be plural, and the plural connection portions 22 may be arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the key portion 21. The key panel 2 may be made of an elastic material, such as rubber, silica gel, etc., and is not particularly limited herein.

The number of the key parts 21 may be one or plural (as shown in fig. 4 a), and may be determined according to the design.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 14, the supporting member 4 is provided with a limiting portion 41, and a part (or all of course) of the limiting portion 41 is located between the key portion 21 and the circuit board 1, so as to limit the pressing stroke of the key portion 21. By providing the stopper 41 to limit the pressing stroke of the key portion 21, it is possible to prevent the connecting portion 22 from being damaged due to an excessive deformation amount when the pressing force of the user is excessive. Meanwhile, the limiting part 41 is arranged on the supporting piece 4, so that an installation structure of the limiting part 41 is not required to be additionally arranged on the circuit board 1.

The limiting portion 41 and the supporting member 4 may be an integral structure (as shown in fig. 14), or may be a separate design, which is not limited herein; the shape of the stopper 41 may be columnar, block-shaped, spherical, or the like, and is not particularly limited herein.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 14, the key assembly 500 further includes an elastic member 7, where the elastic member 7 is connected between the limiting portion 41 and the key portion 21, so as to apply a restoring force to the key portion 21, which can move the key portion 21 away from the circuit board 1. By the design, the key part 21 can be subjected to elastic force generated by elastic deformation of the connecting part 22 after being pressed, and also can be subjected to reset force of the elastic component 7, so that the reset force of the key part 21 is relatively large, smooth reset of the key part 21 after being pressed can be ensured, and a user has obvious resistance feel in the process of pressing the key part 21 due to the relatively large reset force, so that the user has better pressing hand feeling. Meanwhile, the elastic component 7 is connected between the limiting part 41 and the key part 21, so that a connecting structure of the elastic component 7 is not required to be arranged on the circuit board 1, and the influence on device arrangement on the circuit board 1 is reduced.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 14, the elastic component 7 is a spring, a first end of the spring abuts against the key portion 21, and a second end of the spring is fixedly embedded in the limiting portion 41. The first end of the elastic sheet is abutted against the key part 21, so that the elastic sheet and the key part 21 can be conveniently detached, and the key panel 2 can be conveniently detached. The second end of the spring is fixedly embedded in the limiting portion 41, so that the shaking of the second end of the spring can be reduced, and the spring is ensured to stably provide a reset force to the key portion 21.

As shown in fig. 14, the stopper 41 includes an end wall 411 disposed opposite to the key panel 2, and a side wall 412 extending from an edge of the end wall 411 toward the circuit board 1. The second end of the spring may be fixedly inserted into the limiting portion 41 by the end wall 411 (as shown in fig. 14), or may be fixedly inserted into the limiting portion 41 by the side wall 412, which is not particularly limited herein.

As shown in fig. 15 and 16, fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a key assembly 500 according to a seventh embodiment of the present application, and fig. 16 is a state diagram of the key portion 21 in fig. 15 when pressed. In this embodiment, the second end of the spring plate is inserted into the mounting groove 413 formed in the limiting portion 41 and abuts against the groove wall of the mounting groove 413. By means of the design, the installation of the elastic piece and the limiting portion 41 can be completed only by inserting the elastic piece into the installation groove 413, and accordingly the installation of the elastic piece and the limiting portion 41 is more convenient and rapid.

The mounting groove 413 may be formed in the end wall 411 of the limiting portion 41, or may be formed in the side wall 412 of the limiting portion 41 (as shown in fig. 15), and is not particularly limited herein. When the mounting groove 413 is formed on the side wall 412, as shown in fig. 15, the mounting groove 413 may be formed near the circuit board 1, so that the mounting groove 413 penetrates through the limiting portion 41 to be near a side surface of the circuit board 1.

The number of the elastic members 7 may be one or two, and as shown in fig. 15, the two elastic members 7 are located on both sides of the center line of the key portion 21 in the first cross section. By the design, the stress of the key part 21 can be balanced, and the movement of the key part 21 during resetting is stable.

The elastic member 7 may be connected between the circuit board 1 and the key portion 21 in addition to between the limiting portion 41 and the key portion 21, as shown in fig. 17, 18 and 19, in which fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of the key assembly 500 according to the eighth embodiment of the present application, fig. 18 is a state diagram of the key portion 21 in fig. 17 when pressed, and fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of the elastic member 7 in fig. 17. In this embodiment, the elastic member 7 includes two spring seats 71, and a spring 72 connected between the two spring seats 71, one spring seat 71 is connected to the key portion 21, the other spring seat 71 is connected to the circuit board 1, and both end edges of each spring seat 71 are beyond the spring 72 in the radial direction X of the spring 72. Of course, the edges of the spring seat 71 may extend beyond the spring 72.

Since the edges of the two ends of the spring seat 71 are beyond the spring 72, the spring seat 71 plays a role of protecting the spring 72, so that a certain distance is reserved between the spring 72 and surrounding structures (such as the supporting piece 4 or the limiting part 41), and the spring 72 and the surrounding structures are prevented from being damaged due to abnormal collision.

The spring seat 71 may be plate-shaped (as shown in fig. 19) or block-shaped, and is not particularly limited herein. When the spring seat 71 is plate-shaped, the spring seat 71 may be a square plate or a circular plate, and is not particularly limited herein. The key portion 21 may be in contact with the adjacent spring seat 71 or may be bonded to each other, and is not particularly limited herein; the circuit board 1 may be engaged with, adhered to, soldered to, or the like, the adjacent spring seat 71, and is not particularly limited herein.

In this embodiment, if the elastic force generated by the elastic deformation of the connection portion 22 is relatively large, the elastic member 7 may not be provided, and the key portion 21 may be returned under the elastic force generated by the connection portion 22 itself after being pressed.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 20, 21 and 22, fig. 20 is a schematic diagram of wiring around the key portion 21 in the embodiment of the present application, fig. 21 is a partial enlarged view of an area where a certain key portion 21 in fig. 20 is located, and fig. 22 is a schematic diagram of wiring around the key portion 21 after the key portion 21 is pressed. The electrode circuit 8 electrically connected to the circuit board 1 is disposed on the key panel 2, the electrode circuit 8 includes an elastic connection wire 81 disposed on the connection portion 22, the elastic connection wire 81 is electrically connected to the second electrode 32, and the elastic connection wire 81 can be elastically deformed along with the connection portion 22 when the key portion 21 is pressed.

Through designing the elastic connecting wire 81 into the structure that can take place elastic deformation, the form of elastic connecting wire 81 can be adjusted through elastic deformation to the elastic deformation of connecting portion 22 when adapting to button portion 21 receives the pressure better, avoid elastic connecting wire 81 to be pulled apart when connecting portion 22 takes place elastic deformation, thereby be favorable to improving the reliability of this button subassembly 500 work.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 18, the elastic connection line 81 is embedded in the connection portion 22, so designed that the connection portion 22 on the outer side can better protect the elastic connection line 81 from short-circuiting when the elastic connection line 81 contacts with the surrounding conductive structure.

The manner in which the second electrode 32 and the elastic connection line 81 are embedded in the key panel 2 is not unique, in some embodiments, the key panel 2 includes an upper panel layer and a lower panel layer, the second electrode 32 and the electrode circuit 8 are disposed at corresponding positions of the lower panel layer, and then the upper panel layer and the lower panel layer are integrally formed by hot pressing, so that the second electrode 32 and the whole electrode circuit 8 are embedded in the key panel 2.

Of course, the key panel 2 may be injection molded, specifically, the second electrode 32 and the electrode circuit 8 are placed at a preset position of a mold cavity of the key panel 2, then the material of the key panel 2 is injected into the mold cavity, and after the material in the mold cavity is cooled, the mold cavity is opened to obtain the key panel 2 with the second electrode 32 and the electrode circuit 8 embedded therein.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 21, the elastic connection line 81 is provided to detour in a direction approaching the key section 21. By arranging the elastic connecting wire 81 in a detour manner, the elastic connecting wire 81 can have better elasticity, and the telescopic length range of the elastic connecting wire 81 is larger, so that the elastic connecting wire 81 can be better adapted to the elastic deformation of the connecting part 22 without breaking.

The flexible connection line 81 may be in a wave shape, such as one or more of sine wave, square wave, triangle wave, etc.

Naturally, the elastic connection line 81 may be provided in a spiral shape in addition to the detour of the elastic connection line 81, so that the elastic connection line 81 may have excellent elasticity.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 20 and 21, the electrode line 8 includes a power supply line 82 provided at a peripheral region of the connection portion 22, the number of the elastic connection lines 81 is plural, and the plurality of the elastic connection lines 81 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the key portion 21 and connected in parallel between the power supply line 82 and the second electrode 32. By providing a plurality of elastic connection lines 81 connected in parallel, even if one of the elastic connection lines 81 breaks, normal power supply of the second electrode 32 is not affected, thereby improving the operational reliability of the key assembly 500.

As an example, as shown in fig. 21 and 22, the number of the elastic connection lines 81 is 7, and the 7 elastic connection lines 81 are uniformly arranged in the circumferential direction of the key portion 21. The uniform arrangement here means that the intervals between the adjacent two elastic connection lines 81 are equal.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 23, fig. 23 is a B-B cross-sectional view of fig. 2. The key panel 2 is provided with a conductive part 23, the conductive part 23 is electrically connected with the electrode circuit 8, the circuit board 1 is provided with a bonding pad 12 at a position corresponding to the conductive part 23, the key assembly 500 further comprises a conductive adapter 91, the conductive adapter 91 is abutted to the conductive part 23, and the conductive adapter 91 is welded with the bonding pad 12. By abutting the conductive adaptor 91 against the conductive portion 23, connection between the conductive adaptor 91 and the conductive portion 23 is facilitated, and thus disassembly and assembly of the key panel 2 are further facilitated.

As shown in fig. 23, the conductive adaptor 91 may be a conductive spring, but is not limited thereto, and the conductive adaptor 91 may be a conductive column, a conductive torch, a conductive block, a conductive ring, or the like, which is not particularly limited herein. When the number of the key parts 21 is plural, the key panel 2 is provided with a plurality of conductive parts 23, and each conductive part 23 is electrically connected with the corresponding second electrode 32 through the electrode circuit 8; the circuit board 1 is provided with a plurality of pads 12, and each pad 12 is abutted against a corresponding conductive portion 23 through a conductive adaptor 91.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 23, the conductive portion 23 is disposed at the edge of the key panel 2, so that after the conductive adaptor 91 abuts against the conductive portion 23, the conductive adaptor 91 is also located at the edge of the key panel 2, so that interference between the conductive adaptor 91 and the supporting member 4 and other structures can be avoided.

The conductive portion 23 may be plate-shaped, block-shaped, columnar, or the like, and is not particularly limited herein.

As shown in fig. 24, fig. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to other embodiments of the present application, in which the electronic device is a computer keyboard, and the computer keyboard includes a key carrier 400 and a key assembly 500, and the structure of the key assembly 500 may be specifically referred to the above structure arrangement and will not be repeated herein.

The key carrier 400 is a shell structure with a keyboard opening 450 at one side, the key carrier 400 includes a carrier bottom wall 410 opposite to the keyboard opening 450, and a carrier side wall 420 disposed at an edge of the carrier bottom wall 410, the key assembly 500 is disposed in the key carrier 400, and the key portion 21 on the key assembly 500 is exposed through the keyboard opening 450, so that a user can input information such as text to a computer through the key assembly 500.

The bottom wall 410 and the side wall 420 may be integrally formed, or may be connected together by bonding, clamping, screwing, or the like, which is not particularly limited herein.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 24, a key limiting portion 440 is further disposed at the keyboard opening 450, and the key limiting portion 440 is located outside the key assembly 500. The key limiting portion 440 can act as a stop for the key assembly 500, and prevent the key assembly 500 from escaping from the key carrier 400, so that the key assembly 500 can be stably installed in the key carrier 400.

In the description of the present specification, a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present application, and are not limiting thereof; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions.

Claims (18)

1. The key assembly is characterized by comprising a circuit board and a key panel arranged on one side of the circuit board;

the key panel comprises a key part and a connecting part arranged at the periphery of the key part, a first electrode is arranged at a position corresponding to the key part on the circuit board, a second electrode is arranged on the key part, and the second electrode and the first electrode are arranged at intervals to form a key capacitor;

at least one of the second electrode and the key part has a rigidity greater than that of the connecting part, and the connecting part can elastically deform when the key part is pressed, so that the key part moves towards the direction approaching to the circuit board, and the distance between the second electrode and the first electrode is reduced.

2. The key assembly of claim 1, wherein the key assembly comprises a plurality of keys,

the connecting part comprises a first surface close to the circuit board and a second surface far away from the circuit board, wherein the first surface and the second surface are both curved in a first section, so that the connecting part can elastically deform in a direction close to the circuit board; wherein the first cross section is a plane parallel to the thickness direction of the circuit board and intersects with both the connection portion and the key portion.

3. The key assembly of claim 2, wherein the key assembly comprises a plurality of keys,

the first surface and the second surface are both bent towards the same side of the key panel.

4. The key assembly of claim 3, wherein,

the first surface and the second surface are both bent to the outer side of the key panel.

5. The key assembly of claim 2, wherein the key assembly comprises a plurality of keys,

the first surface is curved to an outside of the key panel, and the second surface is curved to an inside of the key panel.

6. The key assembly according to any one of claim 1 to 5, wherein,

in the first section, the connecting part comprises a first connecting end which is close to the key part and a second connecting end which is far away from the key part, and the first connecting end is tilted relative to the second connecting end in a direction far away from the circuit board; wherein the first cross section is a plane parallel to the thickness direction of the circuit board and intersects with both the connection portion and the key portion.

7. The key assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein,

the key panel is provided with an electrode circuit electrically connected with the circuit board, the electrode circuit comprises an elastic connecting wire arranged on the connecting portion, the elastic connecting wire is electrically connected with the second electrode, and the elastic connecting wire can elastically deform along with the connecting portion when the key portion is pressed.

8. The key assembly of claim 7, wherein the key assembly comprises a plurality of keys,

the elastic connecting line is arranged in a roundabout way along the direction close to the key part.

9. The key assembly according to claim 7 or 8, wherein,

the connecting portion is of an annular structure and surrounds the key portion, the electrode circuit comprises power supply lines arranged in the peripheral area of the connecting portion, the number of the elastic connecting lines is multiple, and the elastic connecting lines are distributed along the circumference of the key portion and connected in parallel between the power supply lines and the second electrode.

10. The key assembly according to any one of the claims 7 to 9, wherein,

the second electrode is embedded in the key part, and the elastic connecting wire is embedded in the connecting part.

11. The key assembly according to any one of the claims 7 to 10, wherein,

the key panel is provided with a conductive part, the conductive part is electrically connected with the electrode circuit, and the circuit board is provided with a bonding pad at a position corresponding to the conductive part; the key assembly further comprises a conductive adapter, the conductive adapter is abutted against the conductive portion, and the conductive adapter is welded with the bonding pad.

12. The key assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein,

the connecting part is of an annular structure and surrounds the key part, and the key panel is of an integrated structure.

13. The key assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 12, wherein,

the first electrode is embedded in the first circuit board.

14. The key assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein,

a supporting piece is arranged between the circuit board and the area, which is positioned at the periphery of the connecting part, of the key panel so that the key panel and the circuit board are arranged at intervals;

the support piece is provided with a limiting part, and at least one part of the limiting part is positioned between the key part and the circuit board so as to limit the pressing stroke of the key part.

15. The key assembly of claim 14, further comprising an elastic member connected between the limit portion and the key portion to apply a restoring force to the key portion that moves the key portion away from the circuit board.

16. The key assembly of claim 15, wherein the key assembly comprises a plurality of keys,

The elastic component is a spring plate; the first end of the elastic sheet is abutted against the key part, and the second end of the elastic sheet is fixedly embedded into the limit part; or the second end of the elastic sheet is inserted into the mounting groove formed in the limiting part and is abutted against the groove wall of the mounting groove.

17. The key assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein,

a supporting piece is arranged between the circuit board and the area, which is positioned at the periphery of the connecting part, of the key panel so that the key panel and the circuit board are arranged at intervals;

the key assembly further comprises an elastic component, the elastic component comprises two spring seats and springs connected between the two spring seats, one spring seat is connected with the key portion, the other spring seat is connected with the circuit board, and the edges of the two ends of at least one spring seat exceed the springs in the radial direction of the springs.

18. An electronic device comprising a key carrier and a key assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 17, said key assembly being arranged on said key carrier.