TWI768921B - Keyswitch device - Google Patents

Abstract

A keyswitch device includes a cap, a board, first and second elastic bodies, and a membrane disposed on the board and spaced from a flange bottom surface of the cap at a pressing distance. The first elastic body is disposed between a center section of the cap and the membrane and deforms to trigger a first switch of the membrane when the center section is pressed. The second elastic body is disposed between a side section of the cap and the membrane. When the cap is not pressed, the second elastic body is spaced from the cap at a vertical distance. When the cap presses the second elastic body at a triggering distance, the second elastic body deforms to trigger a second switch of the membrane. A ratio of a sum of the vertical distance and the triggering distance to the pressing distance is between 0.6 and 0.95.

Description

key device

The present invention relates to a key device, in particular to a key device in which elastic bodies are respectively arranged at the positions of the middle pressing section and the side pressing section corresponding to the keycap.

As far as the current usage habits of personal computers are concerned, the keyboard is one of the indispensable input devices for inputting characters, symbols or numbers. Not only that, for example, consumer electronic products that are in contact with daily life or large-scale processing equipment used in the industry, all need to have a key structure as an input device to operate the above-mentioned electronic products and processing equipment.

The distance of up and down movement of traditional keys is long, so it is easy to set an elastic body (such as a bowl-shaped rubber body) under the key cap, so that when the key cap is pressed down, the elastic body is also compressed downward to generate elastic force , and when the keycap is released, the elastic force generated by the elastic body drives the keycap to move up to return to its original position. However, for longer keys (also known as multiple keys such as Space, Enter, Caps Lock, Shift, etc.), the keycaps usually have larger The aspect ratio makes the overall rigidity of the keycap weaker. Therefore, when the corners of the keycaps of such keys are pressed, the keycaps usually undergo local deformation (for example, upward deflection deformation occurs in the middle of the keycaps), so that the elastic body disposed under the middle of the keycaps cannot be reliably pressed and deformed. The problem of delay or even failure of the button pressing trigger is caused, which will easily make the user feel that the pressing trigger is not sensitive enough and inconsistent.

Therefore, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a key device in which elastic bodies are respectively disposed at the positions corresponding to the middle pressing section and the side pressing section of the keycap, so as to solve the above problems.

According to an embodiment, the key device of the present invention includes a key cap, a bottom plate, a thin film electric The circuit board, a first elastic body, and a second elastic body. The keycap has a middle pressing section and at least one side pressing section. The bottom plate is arranged opposite to the key cap. The thin film circuit board is disposed on the bottom plate and is separated from a bottom surface of a cap edge of the keycap by a pressing stroke. The position of the segment has a second trigger switch. The first elastic body is disposed between the middle pressing section and the thin film circuit board, so that when the middle pressing section is pressed, the first elastic body is flexed and deformed to trigger the first trigger switch. The second elastic body is disposed between the at least one side pressing section and the thin film circuit board and has an abutting top surface and a triggering bottom surface. When the keycap is not pressed, the abutting top surface is separated from a pressing bottom surface of the keycap by a vertical distance. When the pressing bottom surface contacts the abutting top surface and continues to press down for a triggering stroke, the second elastic body is flexed and deformed, so that the triggering bottom surface presses against and triggers the second trigger switch. The ratio of the vertical distance and the triggering stroke divided by the pressing stroke is between 0.6 and 0.95.

According to another embodiment, the key device of the present invention includes a key cap, a bottom plate, a thin film circuit board, a first elastic body, and a second elastic body. The keycap has a middle pressing section and at least one side pressing section. The bottom plate is arranged opposite to the key cap. The thin film circuit board is disposed on the bottom plate, and the thin film circuit board has a first trigger switch at a position corresponding to the middle pressing section and a second trigger switch at a position corresponding to the at least one side pressing section. The first elastic body is disposed between the middle pressing section and the thin film circuit board, so as to provide a The first elastic restoring force is applied to the keycap. The second elastic body is disposed between the at least one side pressing section and the thin film circuit board to be pressed at the at least one side pressing section, so that the second elastic body is flexed and deformed to trigger the second triggering When switching, a second elastic restoring force is provided to the keycap. The height of the second elastic body is smaller than the height of the first elastic body, and the ratio of the second elastic restoring force to the first elastic restoring force is not greater than 0.3.

According to another embodiment, the key device of the present invention includes a key cap, a bottom plate, a thin film circuit board, a first elastic body, and a second elastic body. The keycap has a middle pressing section and Press the segment on at least one side. The bottom plate is arranged opposite to the key cap. The thin film circuit board is disposed on the bottom plate, and the thin film circuit board has a first trigger switch at a position corresponding to the middle pressing section and a second trigger switch at a position corresponding to the at least one side pressing section. The first elastic body is disposed between the middle pressing section and the thin film circuit board, so that when the middle pressing section is pressed, the first elastic body is flexed and deformed to trigger the first trigger switch. The second elastic body is disposed between the at least one side pressing section and the thin film circuit board and has an annular base, a bridging structure, and a middle column, and the bridging structure extends upward from the annular base and is connected to the The middle column is used to support the middle column to be suspended relative to the second trigger switch for a vertical distance, and the vertical distance is not greater than 0.2 mm. When the at least one side pressing section is pressed, the bridging structure is flexed and deformed downward, so that the middle cylinder moves downward and presses and triggers the second trigger switch.

According to another embodiment, the key device of the present invention includes a key cap, a bottom plate, a thin film circuit board, a first elastic body, and a second elastic body. The keycap has a middle pressing section and at least one side pressing section. The bottom plate is arranged opposite to the key cap. The thin film circuit board is disposed on the bottom plate, and the thin film circuit board has a first trigger switch at a position corresponding to the middle pressing section and a second trigger switch at a position corresponding to the at least one side pressing section. The first elastic body is disposed between the middle pressing section and the thin film circuit board, so that when the middle pressing section is pressed, the first elastic body is flexed and deformed to trigger the first trigger switch. The second elastic body is disposed between the at least one side pressing section and the thin film circuit board and has an annular base, a bridging structure, and a middle column, and the bridging structure extends upward from the annular base and is connected to the The middle column is used to support the middle column to be suspended relative to the second trigger switch. The middle column has a crater structure and extends downward to form a trigger column. The thickness of the trigger column is equal to the height of the second elastic body. The ratio is not greater than 0.5.

To sum up, by disposing the first elastic body and the second elastic body at the positions corresponding to the middle pressing section and the side pressing section of the keycap, no matter whether the user presses the middle pressing section of the keycap or the is to press the side pressing section, the present invention can trigger the first trigger through the first elastic body The switch or the second elastic body triggers the second trigger switch to reliably complete the pressing and triggering operation of the key device, and through the ratio design of the above-mentioned vertical distance to the triggering stroke and the pressing stroke, it can provide a relatively consistent pressing and triggering feel of the triggering time. In this way, the present invention can effectively solve the problem that the multiple keys mentioned in the prior art are likely to cause delay or even failure of the key press trigger when the corners of the key cap are pressed, so that the user can feel that the press trigger is sensitive and relatively Consistent pressing feel.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention can be further understood from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

10: Button device

12: Keycaps

14: Bottom plate

16: Thin film circuit board

18: First Elastomer

20: Second Elastomer

22: Middle pressing section

24: Side pressing section

26: Bottom of the brim

28: The first trigger switch

30: Second trigger switch

32: Abutting the top surface

34: Trigger the bottom surface

36: Press the bottom surface

38: Ring base

40: Bridge structure

42: Intermediate cylinder

44: Crater Structure

46: Trigger Column

T: press stroke

D1, D3: vertical distance

D2: Trigger stroke

H1, H2: height

F1: First elastic restoring force

F2: Second elastic restoring force

TH: thickness

f1: elastic restoring force

f2: set trigger force

FIG. 1 is a partial exploded schematic diagram of a key device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view of the button device of FIG. 1 after assembly along the section line A-A.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another part of the button device of FIG. 1 after assembly along the section line A-A.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the elastic restoring force and the pressing stroke of the first elastic body and the second elastic body in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the elastic restoring force and the pressing stroke of the second elastic body in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view of the key device of FIG. 2 when the keycap is pressed down during the pressing stroke.

Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a partial exploded schematic diagram of a key device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is the key device 10 of FIG. A partial cross-sectional schematic view along the section line A-A after assembly. FIG. 3 is another partial cross-sectional schematic view along the section line A-A after the key device 10 of FIG. 1 is assembled. As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3, the key device 10 can be applied to a common keyboard (such as a notebook computer keyboard or a foldable keyboard device) and preferably has longer keys For keyboard keys with a length (such as multiple keys, but not limited to this), the key device 10 includes a key cap 12, a bottom plate 14, a thin film circuit board 16, a first elastic body 18, and a second Elastomer 20. The keycap 12 has a middle pressing section 22 and at least one side pressing section 24 (two are shown in the first figure, but not limited to this, the following is only for the side pressing section located on the right side of the keycap 12 The triggering design of the segment 24 will be described in detail. As for the relevant description of the side pressing segment 24 located on the left side, it can be deduced by analogy, which will not be repeated here). The bottom plate 14 is disposed opposite to the keycap 12 . The thin film circuit board 16 is disposed on the bottom plate 14 and is separated from a cap edge bottom surface 26 of the keycap 12 by a pressing stroke T (that is, the maximum stroke that can be allowed to be pressed by the user), wherein the thin film circuit board 16 corresponds to the middle pressing section 22 The position has a first trigger switch 28 and the position corresponding to the side pressing section 24 has a second trigger switch 30 . The first elastic body 18 (preferably a rubber dome, but not limited thereto, it can also be other elastic members capable of providing a return elastic force to the keycap 12, such as a spring, etc.) abuts against the between the middle pressing section 22 and the thin film circuit board 16, whereby the first elastic body 18 can provide elastic force for the keycap 12 to automatically return, and can produce flexural deformation when the middle pressing section 22 is pressed The first trigger switch 28 is triggered to execute the corresponding input function.

As for the design of the second elastic body 20 , as can be seen from FIG. 2 , the second elastic body 20 is disposed between the side pressing section 24 and the film circuit board 16 and has an abutting top surface 32 and a trigger bottom surface 34, wherein the second elastic body 20 can preferably have an annular base 38, a bridge structure 40, and a middle column 42 (but not limited thereto), and the bridge structure 40 can extend upward from the annular base 38 to connect To the middle column 42 , to support the middle column 42 to be suspended relative to the second trigger switch 30 , the middle column 42 may have abutting top surface 32 and trigger bottom surface 34 . In more detail, in this embodiment, when the keycap 12 is not pressed, the abutting top surface 32 is separated from one of the pressing bottom surfaces 36 of the keycap 12 by a vertical distance D1, and when the keycap 12 is pressed by the vertical distance D1 When the pressing bottom surface 36 contacts the abutting top surface 32 and continues to press down for a triggering stroke D2, the second elastic body 20 can be flexed and deformed, so that the triggering bottom surface 34 presses and triggers the second trigger switch 30 to execute the corresponding input function, wherein the ratio of the sum of the vertical distance D1 and the triggering stroke D2 divided by the pressing stroke T can preferably be between 0.6 and 0.95, so as to avoid the situation that the second trigger switch 30 is triggered too early or too late, and also That is to say, through the above design, the button device 10 can press the side pressing section 24 by the user to pass the second elastic When the sex body 20 triggers the second trigger switch 30 , it provides a relatively consistent pressing trigger feel when the user presses the middle pressing section 22 (at this time, the keycap 12 can trigger the first trigger switch 28 via the first elastic body 18 ).

To sum up, through the design of disposing the first elastic body 18 and the second elastic body 20 at the positions corresponding to the middle pressing section 22 and the side pressing section 24 of the keycap 12 , whether the user is pressing the keycap 12 In the middle pressing section 22 or pressing the side pressing section 24, the present invention can be reliably accomplished by the first elastic body 18 triggering the first trigger switch 28 or the second elastic body 20 triggering the second trigger switch 30 The pressing trigger operation of the button device 10 can provide a relatively consistent pressing trigger feel with a relatively consistent trigger time through the ratio design of the above-mentioned vertical distance D1, trigger stroke D2 and pressing stroke T. In this way, the present invention can effectively solve the problem of the prior art. The multiple keys mentioned in the above are likely to cause a delay or even failure of the key press trigger when the corner of the key cap is pressed, so that the user can feel the sensitive and relatively consistent pressing feel of the pressing trigger.

It is worth mentioning that, in order to avoid the elastic restoring force provided by the additionally disposed second elastic body 20 from affecting the overall pressing feel of the button device 10 , the present invention can adopt a method that limits the elastic restoring force of the second elastic body 20 . Design, for example, please refer to Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4, Figure 4 shows the elastic restoring force and pressing force of the first elastic body 18 and the second elastic body 20 in Figure 2 Diagram of itinerary. It can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 4 that the height H2 of the second elastic body 20 can be preferably smaller than the height H1 of the first elastic body 18, and when the keycap 12 is pressed by the vertical distance D1 and the pressing stroke D2 is continued to be pressed down At this time, the first elastic body 18 can provide a first elastic restoring force F1 to the keycap 12, and the second elastic body 20 can provide a second elastic restoring force F2 to the keycap 12. In this embodiment, The ratio of the second elastic restoring force F2 to the first elastic restoring force F1 may not be greater than 0.3. Further, the second elastic restoring force F2 may preferably be less than 20 gf (but not limited to this), so as to avoid increasing or The effect of affecting the overall pressing feel of the key device 10 is affected.

In addition, the present invention can adopt a design in which the second elastic body 20 provides a linear elastic restoring force before contacting the second trigger switch 30. For example, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, and FIG. 5 is the first 2 The relationship between the elastic restoring force of the second elastic body 20 and the pressing stroke is shown in the figure. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the bridge structure 40 of the second elastic body 20 can be an annular stepped structure (but not limited to This limitation, it can also adopt other bridge structure design, such as annular inclined surface structure) and extend upward from the annular base 38 to the middle column 42, so as to support the middle column 42 to be suspended relative to the second trigger switch 30 by a vertical distance D3, The vertical distance D3 is preferably not greater than 0.2 mm (eg, 0.1 mm, but not limited thereto) to ensure that the bridge structure 40 will not collapse before the second elastic body 20 contacts the second trigger switch 30 (buckle), that is to say, the second elastic body 20 can provide a linear elastic restoring force to the keycap 12 before it is pressed into contact with the second trigger switch 30 without creating a sense of segment, thereby effectively improving the key device 10 Keycap pressing feel. In addition, the present invention can also adopt a design that limits the thickness of the cylinder of the second elastic body 20 to achieve the above effect. For example, as can be seen from FIG. 2 , the middle cylinder 42 can have a crater structure 44 and extend downward. A trigger column 46 is formed, and the ratio of a thickness TH of the trigger column 46 to the height H2 of the second elastic body 20 can preferably be equal to 0.5 (but not limited to this, it can also adopt a design less than 0.5, such as 0.4) , in order to limit the vertical distance D3 that the middle column 42 is suspended relative to the second trigger switch 30 within the range that the bridge structure 40 does not collapse before the second elastic body 20 contacts the second trigger switch 30 , Therefore, it is ensured that the second elastic body 20 can provide a linear elastic restoring force to the keycap 12 before being pressed into contact with the second trigger switch 30 , so that the effect of improving the pressing feel of the keycap of the key device 10 can also be achieved.

In practical applications, the present invention can further adopt a design that limits the elastic restoring force provided by the intermediate cylinder 42 after the bridge structure 40 collapses, so that the intermediate cylinder 42 can reliably trigger the second trigger switch 30. For example, please refer to Fig. 2, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the key device 10 of Fig. 2 when the key cap 12 is pressed down by the pressing stroke T. As can be seen from Fig. 2, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the bridge structure 40 will cause structural buckling and collapse when the keycap 12 is pressed down from the position in Fig. 2 by the pressing stroke T (as shown in Fig. 6). , so that the elastic restoring force of the middle cylinder 42 is reduced and can only provide an elastic restoring force f1 (as shown in FIG. 5 ). Therefore, in order to ensure that the second trigger switch 30 can still be triggered by the middle cylinder 42 , here In the embodiment, the middle column 42 is formed after the bridging structure 40 is collapsed under compression and buckling. The generated elastic restoring force f1 may preferably be greater than a set trigger force f2 that triggers one of the second trigger switches 30 (eg, 10 gf, but not limited thereto), so as to prevent the key device 10 from pressing the key cap 12 when the user presses the key cap 12 . A trigger failure occurs.

It should be noted that the design of the ratio of the vertical distance to the trigger stroke and the pressing stroke, the design of the ratio of the elastic restoring force, the design of the vertical distance of the suspended column, and the design of the ratio of the thickness of the column are all configurations that can be implemented at least one, that is to say. , through the design of disposing the first elastic body and the second elastic body at the positions of the middle pressing section and the side pressing section of the corresponding keycap respectively, and at least one of the above designs can be applied to the key device In the above, the present invention can effectively solve the problems mentioned in the prior art that multiple keys are easily triggered by the keycap when the corners of the keycap are pressed, causing delay or even failure of the keypress triggering, as well as the influence of the pressing hand. As for which design or combination to use , which depends on the actual application of the key device, and is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

10: Button device

12: Keycaps

14: Bottom plate

16: Thin film circuit board

20: Second Elastomer

24: Side pressing section

26: Bottom of the brim

30: Second trigger switch

32: Abutting the top surface

34: Trigger the bottom surface

36: Press the bottom surface

38: Ring base

40: Bridge structure

42: Intermediate cylinder

44: Crater Structure

46: Trigger Column

T: press stroke

D1, D3: vertical distance

D2: Trigger stroke

H2: height

TH: thickness

Claims (9)

A key device, comprising: a key cap, which has a middle pressing section and at least one side pressing section; a bottom plate, which is arranged opposite to the key cap; a thin film circuit board, which is arranged on the bottom plate and The film circuit board has a first trigger switch at the position corresponding to the middle pressing section and a second trigger switch at the position corresponding to the at least one side pressing section ; a first elastic body, which is arranged between the middle pressing section and the thin film circuit board, so as to generate flexural deformation when the middle pressing section is pressed to trigger the first trigger switch; and a second elastic body body, which is arranged between the at least one side pressing section and the thin film circuit board and has an abutting top surface and a triggering bottom surface; wherein, when the keycap is not pressed, the abutting top surface and the A pressing bottom surface of the keycap is separated from a vertical distance; when the pressing bottom surface contacts the abutting top surface and continues to press down for a triggering stroke, the second elastic body is flexed and deformed, so that the triggering bottom surface presses against the second elastic body to trigger the second elastic body Trigger switch; the ratio of the vertical distance and the trigger stroke divided by the pressing stroke is between 0.6 and 0.95. The button device of claim 1, wherein the second elastic body has an annular base, a bridging structure, and a middle column, and the bridging structure extends upward from the annular base to connect to the middle column to support the middle The cylinder is suspended relative to the second trigger switch, and the middle cylinder has the abutting top surface and the triggering bottom surface. A key device, comprising: a key cap having a middle pressing section and at least one side pressing section; a bottom plate, which is disposed opposite to the keycap; a thin film circuit board, which is disposed on the bottom plate, the thin film circuit board has a first trigger switch at a position corresponding to the middle pressing section and corresponding to the at least one side pressing section There is a second trigger switch at the position of the segment; a first elastic body is arranged between the middle pressing section and the thin film circuit board, so that the middle pressing section is pressed, so that the first elastic body is flexed When deformed to trigger the first trigger switch, a first elastic restoring force is provided to the keycap; and a second elastic body is arranged between the at least one side pressing section and the thin film circuit board to At least one side of the pressing section is pressed, so that when the second elastic body is flexed and deformed to trigger the second trigger switch, a second elastic restoring force is provided to the keycap; wherein, the height of the second elastic body is less than The height of the first elastic body, and the ratio of the second elastic restoring force to the first elastic restoring force is not greater than 0.3. The button device of claim 3, wherein the second elastic body has an annular base, a bridging structure, and a middle column, and the bridging structure extends upward from the annular base to connect to the middle column to support the middle The cylinder is suspended relative to the second trigger switch. A key device, comprising: a key cap, which has a middle pressing section and at least one side pressing section; a bottom plate, which is arranged opposite to the key cap; a thin film circuit board, which is arranged on the bottom plate, The thin film circuit board has a first trigger switch at a position corresponding to the middle pressing section and a second trigger switch at a position corresponding to the at least one side pressing section; a first elastic body disposed in the middle pressing section between the segment and the thin film circuit board, so that the The first trigger switch is triggered by deflection and deformation when the intermediate pressing section is pressed; and a second elastic body is disposed between the at least one side pressing section and the thin film circuit board and has an annular base, a bridging structure, and a middle column, the bridging structure extends upward from the annular base to connect to the middle column to support the middle column to hang relative to the second trigger switch for a vertical distance, the vertical distance is not more than 0.2mm wherein, when the at least one side pressing section is pressed, the bridging structure produces downward deflection deformation, so that the middle cylinder moves downward and presses and triggers the second trigger switch. The button device of claim 5, wherein when the pressing bottom surface contacts the abutting top surface and continues to press down the vertical distance, the bridging structure flexes and deforms and provides a linear elastic restoring force. A key device, comprising: a key cap, which has a middle pressing section and at least one side pressing section; a bottom plate, which is arranged opposite to the key cap; a thin film circuit board, which is arranged on the bottom plate, The thin film circuit board has a first trigger switch at a position corresponding to the middle pressing section and a second trigger switch at a position corresponding to the at least one side pressing section; a first elastic body disposed in the middle pressing section Between the segment and the thin film circuit board, when the middle pressing segment is pressed, the first trigger switch is triggered by flexural deformation; and a second elastic body is arranged between the at least one side pressing segment and the There is an annular base, a bridge structure, and a middle column between the thin film circuit boards. The bridge structure extends upward from the annular base and is connected to the middle column to support the middle column relative to the second trigger switch. Suspended, the middle column has a crater structure and extends downward to form a trigger column, the The ratio of the thickness of the trigger column to the height of the second elastic body is not greater than 0.5. The button device according to claim 2, 4, 5 or 7, wherein the bridge structure is an annular stepped structure or an annular inclined surface structure. The button device as claimed in claim 2, 4, 5 or 7, wherein the elastic restoring force of the intermediate cylinder after the bridge structure is collapsed under compression and buckling is greater than a set trigger force that triggers the second trigger switch.

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