TWI794066B - Illuminated keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

An illuminated keyboard includes a base plate, a plurality of keyswitches, a light-guiding plate and a light-adjusting device. A specified keyswitch of the keyswitches closes to a base plate edge of the base plate. The specified keyswitch includes a keycap having a translucent region and a skirt. The translucent region has a specified region adjacent to the skirt and the base plate edge. An outer side face of the light-guiding plate closes to the base plate edge. The light-adjusting device is disposed between the base plate and the light-guiding plate. A light enters the light-guiding plate, and is guided by the light-guiding plate to be emitted from a top face and the outer side face of the light-guiding plate. The light emitted from the top face of the light-guiding plate passes illuminates the translucent region. The light emitted from the outer side face of the light-guiding plate passes through the light-adjusting device and then illuminates the specified region of the translucent region.

Description

illuminated keyboard

The present invention relates to a luminous keyboard, and especially relates to the better uniformity of the light-transmitting area on the keycap of the key arranged at the edge.

Most of the backlit keyboards on the market use a light guide plate to allow light to shine on each key. On the key near the edge of the keyboard, for example, the key with the light-transmitting symbol "Tab" on the keycap, the "T" in the symbol "Tab" is too bright due to light leakage from the outer edge of the lower light guide plate.

Therefore, one technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a luminous keyboard. According to the light-emitting keyboard of the present invention, the light-transmitting area on the keycap of the key arranged at its edge has better uniformity.

The luminous keyboard according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a base plate, a light guide plate, at least 26 keys and a light-adjusting element. The base plate has a base plate edge. The light guide plate has peripheral sides. The area of the bottom plate is slightly larger than the area of the light guide plate. The light guide plate is superimposed on the base plate, and the outer edge side is close to the edge of the base plate. At least 26 keys are arranged above the base plate and can move up and down relative to the base plate. A specific key among the keys is near the edge of the bottom plate. Certain keys include keycaps. The keycap has a light-transmitting area and a keycap edge. The light-transmitting area has a specific area. Specific areas are located near the edge of the keycap and the edge of the chassis. The dimming element is placed between the bottom plate and the light guide plate. The light enters into the light guide plate and is guided by the light guide plate to emit a first part of light from the top surface and a second part of light from the side of the outer edge. The first part of light emitted from the top surface of the light guide plate illuminates the light-transmitting area. The second part of light emitted from the outer edge of the light guide plate passes through the dimming element and illuminates a specific area.

The luminous keyboard according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a bottom plate, a keycap, a light guide plate and a light adjustment element. The bottom plate has a bottom plate edge and a hollow area. The hollow area of the bottom plate is adjacent to the edge of the bottom plate. The hollowed-out area of the base plate has an inner sidewall proximate to an edge of the base plate. The keycap has a light-transmitting area. The keycap is located above the hollowed-out area of the base plate and moves between an unpressed position and a pressed position relative to the base plate. The light guide plate has a top surface, a back surface and an outer edge side. The outer side of the light guide plate is located below the hollow area of the bottom plate and is close to the inner wall of the hollow area close to the edge of the bottom plate. The dimming element is placed between the bottom plate and the light guide plate. The dimming element includes a transparent substrate and a dimming layer. The transparent substrate has an upper surface and a lower surface. The light adjusting layer is partially formed on the upper surface or the lower surface of the transparent substrate. The light is injected into the light guide plate, and the light is guided by the light guide plate and emitted from the top surface and the side of the outer edge. The light emitted from the top surface of the light guide plate passes through the hollow area of the bottom plate and then irradiates the light-transmitting area of the keycap. The light emitted from the side of the outer edge of the light guide plate sequentially passes through the light-adjusting layer and the hollow area of the bottom plate to irradiate the light-transmitting area of the keycap.

Further, the light-emitting keyboard according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes a reflective sheet. The reflection sheet includes a main body and an edge extending outward from the main body. The main part of the reflection sheet is arranged on the back of the light guide plate. The edge of the reflective sheet is partially adhered to the base plate and the edge of the base plate adjacent to the base plate of the light adjustment element. The light emitted from the outer edge of the light guide plate is reflected by the reflection sheet and then directed to the light adjustment layer.

Different from the prior art, according to the luminous keyboard of the present invention, the light emitted from the outer edge side of the light guide plate will first pass through the dimming layer, and then irradiate the specific area of the light-transmitting area of the keycap, so that the specific area will not have Too bright problem.

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

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2. FIG. 1 schematically shows the appearance of a light-emitting keyboard 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a specific key 10a of the luminous keyboard 1 in FIG. 1 along line A-A.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the light-emitting keyboard 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a base plate 11 , a light guide plate 13 , at least 26 keys 10 and a light-adjusting element 14 .

The base plate 11 has a base plate edge 112 . The light guide plate 13 has a top surface 130 , a back surface 132 and an outer edge side 134 . The light guide plate 13 is superimposed on the base plate 11 . In particular, the area of the bottom plate 11 is slightly larger than that of the light guide plate 13 , that is, the area of the bottom plate 11 is larger than that of the light guide plate 13 and similar to that of the light guide plate 13 . It should be noted that the base plate 11 has a hollow area 110 .

At least 26 buttons 10 are arranged above the base plate 11 and can move up and down relative to the base plate 11 . A specific key 10 a among the keys 10 is close to the bottom edge 112 of the bottom plate 11 . A particular key 10a includes a keycap 12 . The keycap 12 has a light-transmitting area 120 and a keycap edge 122 . The key caps 12 of the keys 10 have a light-transmitting area 120 . Each light-transmitting area 120 presents a specific pattern, and the specific pattern represents one of characters, numbers, symbols, and function keys.

The light-transmitting area 120 of the key cap 12 of a specific key 10 a has a specific area 1202 . A specific area 1202 of the light-transmitting area 120 of the key 10 a is close to the keycap edge 122 and the bottom plate edge 112 , and is also close to the outer edge side 134 of the light guide plate 13 . Other areas of the light-transmitting area 120 of the key 10 a are away from the edge 122 of the keycap. Taking the symbol "Tab" as an example, the symbol "T" is a specific area 1202, and the symbol "ab" is other areas. As shown in FIG. 1 , the luminous keyboard 1 according to the present invention itself defines a longitudinal direction L and a transverse direction T perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L. It should be noted that, here, the bottom edge 112 of the bottom plate 11 may be a longer bottom edge 112 , that is, the bottom edge 112 parallel to the transverse direction T. As shown in FIG. The bottom edge 112 of the bottom plate 11 can also be a shorter bottom edge 112 , that is, the bottom edge 112 parallel to the longitudinal direction L. As shown in FIG.

The dimming element 14 is disposed between the base plate 11 and the light guide plate 13 . The dimming element 14 includes a transparent substrate 140 and a dimming layer 142 . The transparent substrate 140 has an upper surface 1400 and a lower surface 1402 . The dimming layer 142 can be partially formed on the upper surface 1400 or the lower surface 1402 of the transparent substrate 140 . For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2 , the dimming layer 142 is partially formed on the lower surface 1402 of the transparent substrate 140 .

The luminous keyboard 1 according to the present invention also includes a luminous element (not shown in the figure). The light emitting element is used for emitting light. The light-emitting element is arranged so that the emitted light enters the light guide plate 13 and is guided by the light guide plate 13 to emerge from the top surface 130 of the light guide plate 13 as a first part of light R1 and from the outer edge side 134 of the light guide plate 13 to form a first part of light R1. The second part of light R2. The first part of the light R1 emitted from the top surface 130 of the light guide plate 13 irradiates the light-transmitting area 120 of the keycap 12 of the specific key 10a. The second part of the light R2 emitted from the outer edge side 134 of the light guide plate 13 passes through the dimming element 14 and then illuminates the specific area 1202 of the light-transmitting area 120 of the keycap 12 of the specific key 10a, so that the specific area 1202 does not There will be problems with overbrightness.

Also as shown in FIG. 2 , the button 10 further includes a lifting mechanism 15 disposed between the bottom plate 11 and the keycap 12 . The lifting mechanism 15 restricts the movement of the keycap 12 between the unpressed position and the pressed position. Also as shown in FIG. 2 , the button 10 also includes a membrane switch circuit 16 and an elastic actuating element 17 . The structures, functions and configurations of the membrane switch circuit 16 and the elastic actuating element 17 are known in the art, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that, in the example shown in FIG. 2 , the membrane switch circuit 16 is disposed on the base plate 11 . The membrane switch circuit 16 can also be disposed between the base plate 11 and the dimming element 14 .

Also as shown in FIG. 2 , the bottom plate 11 also has a hollow area 110 . The hollow area 110 of the bottom plate 11 is adjacent to the edge 112 of the bottom plate, and is located below the keycap 12 of the specific key 10a. The hollow area 110 of the bottom plate 11 has an inner sidewall 1102 close to the edge 112 of the bottom plate. The outer edge side 134 of the light guide plate 13 is located below the hollow area 110 of the bottom plate 11 and is close to the inner wall 1102 of the hollow area 110 close to the edge 112 of the bottom plate.

The light enters into the light guide plate 13 and is guided by the light guide plate 13 to emit a first part of light R1 from the top surface 130 and a second part of light R2 from the outer edge side 134 . The first part of light R1 emitted from the top surface 130 of the light guide plate 13 passes through the hollow area 110 of the bottom plate 11 and then illuminates the light-transmitting area 120 of the keycap 12 of a specific key 10a. The second part of the light R2 emitted from the outer edge side 134 of the light guide plate 13 sequentially passes through the light-adjusting layer 142 and the hollow area 110 of the bottom plate 11, and then illuminates a specific part of the light-transmitting area 120 of the keycap 12 of the specific key 10a. Area 1202.

In a specific embodiment, the light-adjusting layer 142 may be formed of light-colored light-transmitting ink (eg, white ink).

Further, as also shown in FIG. 2 , the light-emitting keyboard 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes a reflective sheet 18 . The reflection sheet 18 includes a main body 182 and an edge 184 extending outward from the main body 182 . The main body 182 of the reflective sheet 18 is disposed on the back surface 132 of the light guide plate 13 . The edge portion 184 of the reflection sheet 18 is partially attached to the base plate 11 and the edge 112 of the base plate 14 adjacent to the base plate 11 . The second part of the light R2 emitted from the outer edge side surface 134 of the light guide plate 13 is reflected by the edge portion 184 of the reflective sheet 18 , and then enters the light-adjusting layer 142 .

From the above detailed description of the present invention, it can be clearly understood that the luminous keyboard according to the present invention emits light from the outer edge of the light guide plate first through the light-adjusting layer, and then illuminates a specific area of the light-transmitting area of the keycap. Moreover, the specific area will not be too bright by the dimming layer.

Through the above detailed description of the preferred embodiments, it is hoped that the characteristics and spirit of the present invention can be described more clearly, and the aspect of the present invention is not limited by the preferred embodiments disclosed above. On the contrary, the purpose is to cover various changes and equivalent arrangements within the scope of the patent application for the present invention. Therefore, the aspect of the scope of the patent application for the present invention should be interpreted in the broadest way based on the above description, so as to cover all possible changes and equivalent arrangements.

1: Illuminated keyboard 10: Button 10a: Specific keys 11: Bottom plate 110: hollow area 1102: inner wall 112: Bottom plate edge 12: Keycap 120: Translucent area 1202: specific area 122: keycap edge 13: Light guide plate 130: top surface 132: back 134: Outer edge side 14: Dimming element 140: transparent substrate 1400: upper surface 1402: lower surface 142: Dimming layer 15: Lifting mechanism 16: Membrane switch circuit 17: Elastic actuation element 18: reflector 182: Main body 184: Edge L: longitudinal direction T: Horizontal direction R1: the first part of the light R2: The second part of the light

Fig. 1 is an appearance view of a luminous keyboard according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the specific key in Fig. 1 along line A-A.

1: Illuminated keyboard

10a: Specific keys

11: Bottom plate

110: hollow area

1102: inner wall

112: Bottom plate edge

12: Keycap

120: Translucent area

1202: specific area

122: keycap edge

13: Light guide plate

130: top surface

132: back

134: Outer edge side

14: Dimming element

140: transparent substrate

1400: upper surface

1402: lower surface

142: Dimming layer

15: Lifting mechanism

16: Membrane switch circuit

17: Elastic actuation element

18: reflector

182: Main body

184: Edge

R1: the first part of the light

R2: The second part of the light

Claims (6)

A luminous keyboard, comprising: a base plate with a base plate edge; a plurality of keys arranged on the base plate, the keys move between an unpressed position and a pressed position relative to the base plate, wherein among the keys A specific key is close to the edge of the bottom plate, the specific key includes a key cap, the key cap has a light-transmitting area and a key cap edge, the light-transmitting area has a specific area, and the specific area is close to the key cap an edge and the edge of the bottom plate; a light guide plate having a top surface and an outer edge side; and a dimming element placed between the bottom plate and the light guide plate and comprising a transparent substrate and a dimming layer, The light-adjusting layer is arranged on one of the upper surface or the lower surface of the transparent base material; one of the light rays enters the light guide plate, and the light is guided by the light guide plate and emitted from the top surface into a first part of light and from The side of the outer edge emits a second portion of light, the first portion of light emitted from the top surface illuminates the light-transmitting area, and the second portion of light emitted from the side of the outer edge passes through the light-adjusting layer Irradiate that specific area. The luminous keyboard according to claim 1, further comprising: a reflective sheet, including a main body and an edge extending outward from the main body, the main body is arranged on a back side of the light guide plate, and the edge The part is partially attached to the base plate and the dimming element is adjacent to the edge of the base plate , wherein the second part of the light emitted from the side of the outer edge is reflected by the reflective sheet and then directed to the dimming element. The light-emitting keyboard according to claim 2, wherein the light-adjusting layer is formed of a light-colored light-transmitting ink. A luminous keyboard, comprising: a base plate with a base plate edge; a light guide plate with a top surface and an outer edge side, wherein the area of the base plate is larger than the area of the light guide plate and similar to the area of the light guide plate, the light guide plate The light board is superimposed on the base plate, and the outer edge side is close to the edge of the base plate; at least 26 keys are arranged above the base plate and can move up and down relative to the base plate, and one of the specific keys is close to the base plate. The edge of the bottom plate, the specific key includes a key cap, the key cap has a light-transmitting area and a key cap edge, the light-transmitting area has a specific area, and the specific area is close to the edge of the key cap and the edge of the bottom plate ; A dimming element is placed between the bottom plate and the light guide plate, and includes a transparent substrate and a dimming layer, and the dimming layer is arranged on one of the upper surface or the lower surface of the transparent substrate; wherein A light enters the light guide plate, and the light is guided by the light guide plate to emit a first part of light from the top surface and a second part of light from the outer edge side, and the second part of light emitted from the top surface A part of the light irradiates the light-transmitting area, and the second part of the light emitted from the side of the outer edge passes through the light-adjusting layer and then irradiates the specific area. The luminous keyboard as described in claim 4, further comprising: A reflection sheet, including a main body and an edge extending outward from the main body, the main body is arranged on a back side of the light guide plate, and the edge is partially bonded to the bottom plate and the light adjustment The element is adjacent to the edge of the bottom plate, wherein the second part of the light emitted from the side of the outer edge is reflected by the reflective sheet and then directed to the dimming element. The light-emitting keyboard according to claim 4, wherein the light-adjusting layer is formed of a light-colored light-transmitting ink.

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