TWI632489B - Word key, module with the word key, and keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

A word key comprising a fixed unit, a bridge and a keycap. The fixing unit includes a base and a sliding seat disposed to the base. The slip seat is slidable relative to the base. The bridge includes two frames that are pivoted and swingable. The bottoms of the frames are respectively pivoted at the base and the sliding seat. The keycap is placed on top of the bridge. The glide mount can be operated to change between a working state and an unfolded state relative to the base. In this working state, the bottoms of the frames are driven away from each other, and the keycap can be operated to move between a pressing position and a non-pressing position. In the unfolded state, the bottoms of the frames are brought closer to each other to urge the bridge to push the keycap away from the base to facilitate cleaning of the cleaning device into the bottom of the keycap.

Description

Word key, module with the word key, and keyboard

The present invention relates to a key, and more particularly to a word key for a keyboard.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a conventional word key 1 for a keyboard includes a base 11, a keycap 12, a bridge 13, and an elastic member 14. The base 11 includes two spaced apart pivot portions 111. The keycap 12 is spaced from the base 11. The bridge 13 includes two frames 131 that are pivoted and swingable from each other. Each frame 131 has a pivot post 132 and a pivot 133 on opposite sides of the top and bottom, respectively. Each pivot post 132 is pivoted at the bottom of the keycap 12. Each pivot 133 is pivotally disposed at each of the pivoting portions 111. The elastic member 14 is placed on the base 11 and located in the bridge 13 and abuts against the keycap 12 to provide a resilient biasing force to urge the keycap 12 away from the base 11. The keycap 12 can be pressed by a user and moved between a pressed position and a non-pressed position. 2(B), in the pressed position, the user presses the keycap 12 to urge the keycap 12 to move toward the base 11, and simultaneously compress the elastic member 14. Referring to FIG. 2(A), when the user does not apply force to the keycap 12, the elastic biasing force provided by the elastic member 14 at this time will drive the keycap 12 to be displaced away from the base 11, and Revert to the unpressed position.

The dust is easily accumulated in the range covered by the keycap 12, but since the distance between the keycap 12 and the base 11 is small, the general cleaning article cannot be deeply cleaned therein, and the cleaning is very difficult.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a word key that is convenient for cleaning.

Thus, the word key of the present invention comprises a fixed unit, a bridge, a keycap, and an elastic member.

The fixing unit includes a base and a sliding seat disposed to the base. The base has a first pivoting portion. The sliding seat is slidable relative to the base along a first direction and has a second pivoting portion. The second pivoting portion is spaced apart from the first pivoting portion along the first direction.

The bridge includes a first frame and a second frame that are pivoted and swingable from each other. The first frame has a first pivot pivotally pivoted to the first pivot. The second frame has a second pivot pivotally pivoted to the second pivot.

The keycap is placed on top of the bridge.

The elastic member is disposed in the fixing unit and located in the bridge, and can abut against the keycap to provide a resilient biasing force to drive the keycap away from the fixing unit.

The glide mount can be operated to change between a working state and an unfolded state relative to the base. In the working state, the second pivoting portion is away from the first pivoting portion, and the keycap can be operated to move between a pressing position and a non-pressing position. In the unfolded state, the second pivoting portion is adjacent to the first pivoting portion and drives the second pivoting shaft to be adjacent to the first pivoting shaft to urge the bridge to push the keycap away from the base.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a word key module that is easy to clean.

Thus, the word key module of the present invention includes a plurality of word keys as described above, and a control button.

The pedestals are combined with each other to form a substrate. The sliding seats are combined with each other to form a slip plate.

The control button is coupled to the sliding plate and can be controlled to move the sliding plate relative to the substrate to change the sliding seat between the working state and the deployed state.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a keyboard that is easy to clean.

Thus, the keyboard of the present invention comprises two word key modules as described above.

The word keys in each word key module are arranged along the second direction. The word key modules are adjacent to each other along the first direction. The word key modules are operated independently through respective control buttons.

The effect of the present invention is that when the sliding seat is operated to the unfolded state, the bridge pushes the keycap away from the base to expose a space sufficient for the cleaning appliance to enter the cleaning space for convenient cleaning.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, a first embodiment of the word key 20 of the present invention includes a fixed unit 3, a bridge 4, a keycap 5, and an elastic member 6.

The fixing unit 3 includes a base 31 and a sliding seat 32 slidable relative to the base 31 along a first direction I. The base 31 has a first pivoting portion 311. The first pivoting portion 311 has two first spaced slots 312, and each of the first pivoting slots 312 is formed by a first hook 313 and a first blocking block 314. The first pivot slots 312 are spaced apart along a second direction II that is perpendicular to the first direction I. The pedestal 31 further has two hollowed out regions 315 which are respectively formed on opposite sides of the first pivoting portion 311 at intervals along the second direction II.

The sliding seat 32 is disposed to the base 31 and has a second pivoting portion 321 . The second pivoting portion 321 is spaced apart from the first pivoting portion 311 along the first direction I, and has two second pivoting grooves 322 spaced apart, and each of the second pivoting grooves 322 is spaced apart. A second hook 323 and a second stop 324 are configured to cooperate. The second pivoting grooves 322 are spaced apart along the second direction II. The second hooks 323 and the second stops 324 on each side respectively protrude from the corresponding hollowed out area 315. It should be noted that the sliding seat 32 is directly stacked below the base 31. However, the sliding seat 32 can also be disposed indirectly on the base 31, such as: sandwiching another between the two. For the thin plate or other object, only the sliding seat 32 can move relative to the base 31, whether directly or indirectly disposed on the base 31, there is no limitation, and the end view depends on the need, therefore, the arrangement of the present invention, Covers both direct and indirect settings.

The bridge 4 includes a first frame 41 and a second frame 42 that are pivoted and swingable from each other. The central portion of the first frame 41 is pivoted to a central portion of the second frame 42. The first frame 41 has a first pivot 411 and a first pivot 412 on opposite sides of the bottom. The first pivot 411 extends along the second direction II, and the opposite ends of the first pivoting portion 311 are pivotally respectively pivoted to the first pivoting grooves 312 of the first pivoting portion 311.

The second frame 42 has a second pivot 421 and a second pivot 422 on opposite sides of the bottom. The second pivot 421 extends along the second direction II, and the opposite ends of the second pivot 421 are pivotally respectively pivotally disposed on the second pivoting grooves 322 of the second pivoting portion 321 . In this embodiment, the central portion of the second pivot post 422 is cut off, and only the opposite ends for pivotal connection are retained. This configuration can also be used for the first pivot 411, the second pivot 421, The first pivot post 412, as desired, is not limited to the disclosure of the present invention.

The keycap 5 includes a keycap body 51, a keycap pivoting portion 52 and two guiding grooves 53 formed on the bottom surface of the keycap body 51 and spaced apart along the first direction I. The keycap pivoting portion 52 has two jaws 521 spaced along the second direction II. The jaws 521 respectively pivot the opposite ends of the first pivot post 412 therein. The channels 53 are spaced along the second direction II and extend along the first direction I. The guide grooves 53 are slidably disposed in the opposite ends of the second pivot post 422, respectively.

The elastic member 6 is disposed in the fixing unit 3 and located in the bridge 4, and can be biased against the keycap 5 to provide a resilient biasing force to drive the keycap 5 away from the fixing unit 3. The elastic member 6 can be placed on a flexible circuit board 7, and then the film is attached to the base 31. The flexible circuit board 7 can adhere to and fix the elastic member 6 and shield the lower mechanism, and has a plurality of hollow slots 71. The hollow slots 71 allow the first pivoting portion 311 and the second pivoting portion 321 to pass through. And pivotally connected to the first pivot 411 and the second pivot 421, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the present invention cooperates with the base 31 and the sliding seat 32 to allow the key cap 5 of the key 20 to be pulled up to a position that is not possible in the past to facilitate cleaning. (not shown) goes deep into the area covered by the keycap 5 to be cleaned. The manner of operation is to control the slip seat 32 to change between the active state and the deployed state relative to the base 31. In the working state, the second pivoting portion 321 is away from the first pivoting portion 311, and the keycap 5 can be pressed by the user in this state. In the unfolded state, the sliding seat 32 is slid along the first direction I, so that the second pivoting portion 321 is adjacent to the first pivoting portion 311, and the second pivot 421 is brought close to the first The pivot 411, at this time, the second pivot post 422 will slide in the guide grooves 53 to allow the bridge 4 to continue to be pinched, thereby pushing the key cap 5 away from the base 31. Thus, a sufficient space is exposed between the keycap 5 and the base 31 to facilitate cleaning of the cleaning appliance.

Referring to FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B), in the above-described working state, the keycap 5 can be pressed by the user to move between a pressing position and a non-pressing position. At the pressing position, the user presses the keycap 5 to urge the keycap 5 to move toward the fixing unit 3, and simultaneously compresses the elastic member 6. When the user does not apply force to the keycap 5, the elastic biasing force provided by the elastic member 6 at this time will drive the keycap 5 to move away from the fixed unit 3 and return to the unpressed position. Thus, in this working state, the user can tap the keycap 5 to output a corresponding signal.

Referring to Fig. 6(B) and Fig. 6(C), the sliding seat 32 is operated to move to the unfolded state, i.e., as shown in Fig. 6(C), at which time cleaning can be performed. It is worth mentioning that there is a preferred position between the keycap 5 and the base 31. In the unfolded state, the shortest distance of the keycap body 51 from the base 31 is a first distance D1. In the non-pressing position, the shortest distance of the keycap body 51 from the base 31 is a second. Distance D2. Preferably, the first distance D1 is 2.5 times or more of the second distance D2. More preferably, the first distance D1 is 3.5 times or more of the second distance D2, and more preferably, the keycap 5 distance The distance of the base 31 is between 5 mm and 7 mm.

Thus, when the sliding seat 32 is operated to the unfolded state, the bridge 4 pushes the keycap 5 away from the base 31, and a sufficient space is exposed between the keycap 5 and the base 31. It is convenient for cleaning appliances to be cleaned.

It is worth mentioning that when the touch of the keycap 5 is not correct, or when it is necessary to check the internal condition of the key, the mechanism can be exposed to the unfolded state to expose the mechanism under the keycap 5. Elevate relevant personnel to carry out inspections or carry out related operations.

Referring to FIG. 7, a second embodiment of the word key module 2 of the present invention includes a plurality of word keys 20 of the first embodiment, and two control buttons 21.

The word keys 20 are arranged along the second direction II, and the bases 31 are combined with each other to form a substrate 310, which are combined with each other to form a sliding plate 320. In the second embodiment, the substrate 310 is formed with the first pivoting portion 311 at each predetermined position by using a metal plate, and the sliding plate 320 is also in the corresponding position by using another metal plate. The second pivoting portions 321 are formed separately.

It is worth mentioning that the word keys 20 do not have to be arranged along the second direction II, but can be adjusted according to actual needs. For example, when the word key module 2 of the present invention is to be assembled into a keyboard, the word keys 20 may be arranged for a specific area, such as corresponding to the direction keys, or matrix corresponding to the digital disk. The arrangement of the types, or the arrangement of the word keys 20 only for the arrangement of the F1 to F12 keys.

The control buttons 21 are disposed on opposite sides of the sliding plate 320, and the control buttons 21 are moved along the first direction I to drive the sliding plate 320 to move along the first direction I. The sliding seats 32 are changed relative to the bases 31 between the operational state and the deployed state. The operation mode is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and details are not described herein.

Thus, the operation of the manipulation buttons 21 allows all of the keycaps 5 (see FIG. 5) in the key module 2 to be moved up to reveal a space sufficient for the cleaning appliance to be cleaned.

Referring to FIG. 8, a third embodiment of the word key module 2 of the present invention is substantially the same as the second embodiment except that the second switching device 22 is further included. The switching devices 22 are respectively disposed on the connecting manipulation buttons 21, and are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the sliding plate 320. Each of the switching devices 22 has a guiding block 221 disposed on one side of the sliding plate 320, a slider 222 contacting the guiding block 221, and an elastic body 223. The guiding block 221 has a guiding slope 224. The slider 222 is disposed on the operating button and has an abutting surface 225 that is in contact with the guiding surface 224.

In use, the manipulation buttons 21 are simultaneously operated to respectively drive the switching devices 22 to operate. When the operating buttons are pressed along the second direction II, the sliders 222 are pushed toward the sliding plate 320, and the abutting surfaces 225 are respectively slipped on the guiding surfaces 224. The guiding block 221 is driven to be displaced in the first direction I, and the sliding plate 320 is moved to move in the first direction I. When the control buttons 21 are released, the elastic bodies 223 push against the guiding blocks 221 to drive them back to the original position, returning to the working state.

Thus, by pressing the manipulation buttons 21, the sliding plate 320 can be driven to change between the working state and the deployed state.

Referring to Figure 9, a fourth embodiment of the word key module 2 of the present invention is substantially the same as the third embodiment except for the configuration of the switching devices 22.

Each of the adapters 22 has a clamping member 226 disposed on one side of the sliding plate 320, a groove 227 formed in the sliding plate 320 and corresponding to the clamping member 226, an elastic body 223 and a driving device. Pie. 220. The clip 226 has a hook portion 228 that can be secured to the groove 227 and a braking portion 228. The braking portion 229 extends from the end of the hook portion 228 and has an obtuse angle with the hook portion 228. The braking portion 229 is in contact with the control button 21. The elastic body 223 is disposed on the clamping member 226 to constantly provide a resilient biasing force to urge the hook portion 228 toward the groove 227. The driving member 220 is disposed on the sliding plate 320 to constantly provide a driving force to drive the sliding plate 320 to be displaced along the first direction I. In this embodiment, the elastic body 223 is a compression spring, and the driving member 220 is a tension spring.

When the manipulation button 21 is not pressed, the hook portion 228 is locked in the groove 227, and the slip plate 320 is maintained in the operating state. When the control button 21 is pressed, the hook portion 228 will leave the groove 227 (as shown by a chain line in FIG. 9), and the driving member 220 will pull the sliding plate 320 along the first The direction I is displaced to reach the unfolded state. When returning to the working state, as long as the keycaps 5 (see FIG. 5) located in the unfolded state are pressed, the sliding plate 320 is forced to move toward the working state, and when returning to the working state, The card member 226 is pushed by the elastic body 223, and the hook portion 228 is locked to the groove 227, thereby fixing the sliding plate 320 to be unaffected by the driving member 220. The effect returns to the expanded state.

Thus, by pressing the control button 21 and the key caps 5, the sliding plate 320 can be driven to change between the working state and the deployed state.

Referring to FIG. 10, a fifth embodiment of the keyboard 9 of the present invention comprises two word key modules 2 as described in the second embodiment, and a housing 91 for housing the word key modules 2.

The word keys 20 in each of the word key modules 2 are arranged along the second direction II and are divided into three courses spaced along the first direction I. Therefore, each of the sliding plates 320 has three phases. A row that is spaced and corresponds to the word keys 20. The rows of the word key modules 2 are interlaced with each other such that any one of the rows in the one-key module 2 is along the one of the first direction I and the other of the other word key modules 2 Adjacent. The substrates 310 are connected to form a single unit. A keyboard (not shown) can be mounted in the keyboard 9 to cause the keycaps 5 to be triggered to emit corresponding signals when in the pressed position.

Referring to Figures 11 and 12, the word key modules 2 are independently operated through respective control buttons 21. When one of the control buttons 21 is operated, the key caps 5 in the corresponding word key module 2 are lifted, and the key caps 5 in the other word key module 2 are caused to have a height difference. At this time, the cleaning tool can use the gap created by the drop to clean the bottom of the keycaps 5. After the cleaning is completed, the control button 21 can be returned to the original position, and another control button 21 is operated to raise the key caps 5 of the corresponding other word key module 2, and the cleaning operation is continued.

In this way, the user can completely clean all the bottoms of the key caps 5 in the keyboard 9 to achieve a convenient cleaning effect.

Referring to Figure 13, there is shown another preferred embodiment of the fifth embodiment in which the keyboard 9 is used in a notebook computer. The casing 91 is directly formed as a base of a notebook computer, and the remaining members are disposed in the casing 91, and the manipulation buttons 21 are exposed outside the casing 91. Thus, the notebook computer is equipped with the easy-to-clean keyboard of the present invention for easy cleaning and maintenance.

In summary, the word key 20 of the present invention allows the user to easily push the keycap 5 away from the base 31 to expose a space sufficient for the cleaning tool to be easily cleaned, so that the object of the present invention can be achieved.

However, the above is only the embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the invention is not limited thereto, and all the equivalent equivalent changes and modifications according to the scope of the patent application and the patent specification of the present invention are still The scope of the invention is covered.

1‧‧‧ word key
11‧‧‧Base
111‧‧‧Pivot Department
12‧‧‧Key Cap
13‧‧‧ Bridge
131‧‧‧Frame
132‧‧‧ pivot
133‧‧‧ pivot
14‧‧‧Flexible parts
2‧‧‧ word key module
20‧‧‧ word key
21‧‧‧Control button
22‧‧‧Transfer device
221‧‧‧guide block
222‧‧‧ Slider
223‧‧‧ Elastomers
224‧‧‧ guiding slope
225‧‧‧ by face
226‧‧‧Card parts
227‧‧‧ trench
228‧‧‧K hook section
229‧‧‧ Brake
220‧‧‧ drive parts
3‧‧‧Fixed unit
31‧‧‧ Pedestal
310‧‧‧Substrate
311‧‧‧First Pivot
312‧‧‧First pivot slot
313‧‧‧First card hook
314‧‧‧First stop
315‧‧‧ hollow area
32‧‧‧Slip seat
320‧‧‧Slide board
321‧‧‧Second Pivot
322‧‧‧Second pivot slot
323‧‧‧Second card
324‧‧‧second stop
4‧‧‧ Bridge
41‧‧‧ first frame
411‧‧‧First pivot
412‧‧‧First pivot
42‧‧‧ second framework
421‧‧‧Second pivot
422‧‧‧ second pivot
5‧‧‧Key Cap
51‧‧‧Key Cap Body
52‧‧‧Key Cap Pivoting Department
521‧‧‧ Guide slot
53‧‧‧ 夹口
6‧‧‧Flexible parts
7‧‧‧Soft circuit board
71‧‧‧ empty slots
8‧‧‧Note Computer
9‧‧‧ keyboard
91‧‧‧Shell
D1‧‧‧First distance
D2‧‧‧Second distance
I‧‧‧First direction
II‧‧‧Second direction

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the embodiments of the present invention, wherein: FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional word key for a keyboard; FIG. 2(A) is a a side view showing the word key in a non-pressing position; FIG. 2(B) is a side view showing the word key in a pressing position; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a first embodiment of the word key of the present invention 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the first embodiment in an operational state; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the first embodiment in an unfolded state; and FIG. 6(A) is a side view showing the word key In this working state, and in a pressing position; FIG. 6(B) is a side view illustrating the word key in the working state and in a non-pressing position; FIG. 6(C) is a side view illustrating the word Figure 7 is an exploded view showing a second embodiment of the word key module of the present invention; Figure 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a transfer of a third embodiment of the word key module of the present invention Figure 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the word key module of the present invention Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a fifth embodiment of the keyboard of the present invention; Figure 11 is a side view showing the fifth embodiment in the working state; Figure 12 is a side view showing the The one-word key module of the fifth embodiment is in the unfolded state; and FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the fifth embodiment applied to the notebook computer.

Claims (10)

A word key includes: a fixing unit, comprising a base and a sliding seat disposed to the base, the base having a first pivoting portion, the sliding seat being capable of opposing the first direction The base slides and has a second pivoting portion spaced along the first direction from the first pivoting portion; a bridge including a first frame pivoted and swingable And a second frame having a first pivot pivotally pivotally disposed on the first pivoting portion, the second frame having a pivotally pivotable portion of the second pivoting portion a second pivot; a keycap disposed on the top of the bridge; an elastic member disposed in the fixing unit and located in the bridge, and capable of abutting against the keycap, providing a resilient biasing force to drive the keycap away from the a fixed unit; and the sliding seat can be operated to change between a working state and an unfolded state relative to the base, and in the working state, the second pivoting portion is away from the first pivoting portion, the key The cap can be operated to move between a pressed position and a non-pressed position, and in the pressed position, the key Moving toward the fixing unit and simultaneously compressing the elastic member, in the non-pressing position, the elastic member provides an elastic force to urge the keycap to be displaced away from the fixing unit, and in the unfolded state, the sliding seat edge Sliding in the first direction, the second pivoting portion is adjacent to the first pivoting portion, and drives the second pivoting shaft to be adjacent to the first pivoting shaft to urge the bridge to push the keycap away from the base. The word key of claim 1, wherein the first pivoting portion has two first pivoting slots, and the first pivoting slots are respectively pivoted at opposite ends of the first pivoting shaft. The second pivoting portion has two second pivoting grooves spaced apart, and the second pivoting grooves are respectively pivoted at opposite ends of the second pivoting shaft. The word key of claim 2, wherein each of the first pivot slots is formed by a first hook and a first stop, and each of the second pivot slots is separated by a first one. The second hook and the second block are matched to each other. The word key of claim 1, wherein the key cap comprises a keycap pivoting portion and two guiding grooves formed on the bottom surface and spaced apart from each other, the first frame further having a pivoting portion of the keycap The first pivot post further has a second pivot post, and opposite ends of the second pivot post are slidably disposed on the guide slots. The word key of claim 1, wherein the key cap has a key cap body, and when the unfolded state is defined, the shortest distance of the key cap body from the base is a first distance, and in the non-pressing position The shortest distance of the keycap body from the base is a second distance, wherein the first distance is more than 2.5 times the second distance. The word key of claim 1, wherein the keycap is between 5 mm and 7 mm from the base in the unfolded state. A word key module comprising: a plurality of word keys as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bases are combined with each other to form a substrate, and the sliding seats are combined with each other to form a sliding plate; and a control button, and The slip plate connection can be controlled to move the slip plate relative to the substrate to change the slip seat between the active state and the deployed state. The word key module of claim 7, wherein the manipulation button is disposed on the sliding plate, and the manipulation button is moved along the first direction to drive the sliding plate to move along the first direction. The word key module of claim 7, wherein the control button is connected to the sliding plate through an adjusting device, and pressing the control button can drive the switching device to operate, and drive the sliding plate along the Move in the first direction. A keyboard that includes: The word key module of claim 7, wherein the word keys in each word key module are arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the word key modules along the first One direction is adjacent to each other, and the word key modules are independently operated through respective control buttons.