1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connecting structure for connecting a base and an appurtenance and, more particularly, to a connecting structure of a keyboard appurtenance. Furthermore, the connecting structure can be applied in a keyboard to connect a keyboard appurtenance and a keyboard base.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A dummy key or a decorating strip (referring to an appurtenance hereinafter) is usually fixed on a base of a keyboard by hot melt adhesive or by hook. Referring to
Referring to
When fixing the appurtenance 13 on the base 11 by hot melt adhesive, there must be an additional manufacturing process due to heat treatment operation. When fixing the appurtenance 23 on the base 21 by hook, an appropriate width of the groove 211 is required. The larger the width of the groove 211 is, the easier the appurtenance 23 can be assembled on the base 21. However, the hook-shaped structure 2331 of the appurtenance 23 will drop out of the groove 211 easily as well. On the other hand, the smaller the width of the groove 211 is, the harder the hook-shaped structure 2331 can be inserted into the groove 211 so as to increase difficulty for assembly.
An objective of the invention is to provide a connecting structure of keyboard appurtenance such that the aforesaid problems can be solved.
According to an embodiment, the connecting structure of keyboard appurtenance of the invention comprises a base, an appurtenance, a first holding portion and a second holding portion. The first holding portion comprises a platform, a first breaking hole formed in the platform and a passage. The first breaking hole has a first opening, and the passage extends from the first opening to a first side of the platform. The second holding portion comprises a pillar and a cover. A first end of the pillar is connected to the cover, and an outer diameter of the cover is greater than a bore diameter of the first breaking hole and an outer diameter of the pillar. The second holding portion is disposed on one of the base and the appurtenance, the first holding portion is disposed on the other one of the base and the appurtenance correspondingly, and the pillar of the second holding portion is contained in the first breaking hole by the passage, such that the appurtenance is connected to the base.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a keyboard equipped with the aforesaid connecting structure of keyboard appurtenance. According to another embodiment, the keyboard of the invention comprises a base, a plurality of keyswitches, an appurtenance, a first holding portion and a second holding portion. The plurality of keyswitches is disposed on the base. The first holding portion comprises a platform, a first breaking hole and a passage. The first breaking hole has a first opening, and the passage extends from the first opening to a first side of the platform. The second holding portion comprises a pillar and a cover. A first end of the pillar is connected to the cover, and an outer diameter of the cover is greater than a bore diameter of the first breaking hole and an outer diameter of the pillar. The second holding portion is disposed on one of the base and the appurtenance, the first holding portion is disposed on the other one of the base and the appurtenance correspondingly, and the pillar of the second holding portion is contained in the first breaking hole by the passage, such that the appurtenance is connected to the base.
In summary, the first holding portion and the second holding portion of the connecting structure of keyboard appurtenance and keyboard of the invention can be disposed on the appurtenance or the base correspondingly. When the appurtenance is going to be connected to the base, the pillar of the second holding portion passes through the passage of the first holding portion so as to be contained in the first breaking hole. Compared to the appurtenance and the base being connected by hot melt adhesive, the connecting structure of the invention can avoid redundant manufacturing processes. Compared to the appurtenance and the base being connected by hook, the connecting structure of the invention can fix the appurtenance and the base more stably and tightly.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
Referring to
The base 31 has a hollow portion 311. The hollow portion 311 is usually formed by cutting out through the base 31 according to a predetermined shape. The first holding portion 35 comprises a platform 351 and a passage 355. A first breaking hole 353 is formed in the platform 351. The first breaking hole 353 has a first opening 3531 (represented by dotted line), and the passage 355 extends from the first opening 3531 to a first side of the platform 351. Furthermore, the passage 355 comprises a first guiding structure 3551 and a second guiding structure 3553 for guiding an object into the passage 355 and the first breaking hole 353. The first guiding structure 3551 is close to the first side of the platform 351 and is located on each of both sides of the passage 355. The second guiding structure 3553 is close to the first opening 3531 and is located on each of both sides of the passage 355 as well. A second side of the platform 355, which is not connected to the passage 355, is bent from the base 31. The second side of the platform 351 is connected to an edge of the hollow portion 311, and the platform 351 is located above the hollow portion 311. Since the platform 351 is connected to the edge of the hollow portion 311, the first holding portion 35 can be connected to the base 31.
The second holding portion 37 comprises a pillar 371 and a cover 373. A first end of the pillar 371 is connected to the cover 373. An outer diameter of the cover 373 is greater than a bore diameter of the first breaking hole 353 and greater than an outer diameter of the pillar 371. A second end of the pillar 371 is connected to the appurtenance 33, such that the second holding portion 37 is connected to the appurtenance 33. In general, a position of the pillar 371 corresponds to a position of the first breaking hole 353.
When assembling the base 31 and the appurtenance 33, first of all, the pillar 371 of the second holding portion 37 is inserted into the passage 355 from a gap between the platform 351 and the hollow portion 311 through the first guiding structure 3551. For the sake of getting the pillar 371 passed easily, a maximum width between opposite guiding structures 3551 is greater than the outer diameter of the pillar 371. After being inserted into the passage 355, the pillar 371 proceeds along the passage 355 toward the first opening 3531, and passes through the first opening 3531 so as to be inserted into the first breaking hole 353. In this embodiment, a width of the passage 355 is getting narrower and narrower along the passage 355 from the first side of the platform 351 to the first opening 5531, as shown in
It should be noticed that the hollow portion 311 can be replaced by a recess in practical application. Furthermore, as long as there is enough space between the base 31 and the platform 351 for containing parts of the pillar 371 and the cover 373, the invention can be implemented without the hollow portion or the recess. Referring to
The difference between the connecting structure 4 in
As mentioned above, the second side of the first holding portion 35, 45 of the connecting structure 3, 4 of keyboard appurtenance is connected to an edge of the hollow portion 311 and the recess 5411. In practical application, the structure of the platform 351, 451 is not limited to the structure shown in
The base 51 has a hollow portion 511 and a surface 513. The first holding portion 55 comprises a platform 551, a first breaking hole 553, a passage 555 and a second breaking hole 557. The first breaking hole 553 is formed in the platform 551. The first breaking hole 553 has a first opening 5531 (represented by dotted line), the second breaking hole 557 has a second opening 5571 (represented by dotted line), and the passage 555 extends from the first opening 5531 to the second opening 5571. The platform 551 is connected to an edge of the hollow portion 511, and the platform 551 is located above the hollow portion 511. The second holding portion 57 comprises a pillar 571 and a cover 573. A first end of the pillar 571 is connected to the cover 573 for covering the pillar 571, and a second end of the pillar 571 is connected to the appurtenance 53. Accordingly, the second holding portion 57 can be connected to the appurtenance 53. In general, a position of the pillar 571 corresponds to a position of the first breaking hole 553.
When assembling the base 51 and the appurtenance 53, first of all, the cover 573 of the second holding portion 57 and a part of the pillar 571 pass through the second breaking hole 557. For the sake of getting the pillar 571 passed easily, a bore diameter of the second breaking hole 557 is greater than an outer diameter of the cover 573. After being inserted into the second breaking hole 557, the pillar 571 proceeds along the passage 555 toward the first opening 5531, and passes through the first opening 5531 so as to be inserted into the first breaking hole 553. Similar to those mentioned above, a width of the passage 555 is getting narrower and narrower along the passage 555 from the second opening 5571 to the first opening 5531, as shown in
It should be noticed that the base 51 can be achieved without the hollow portion 511, and a periphery of the platform 551 can be connected to the surface 513 as long as there is enough space between the platform 551 and the surface 513 for containing the cover 573 of the second holding portion 57. Furthermore, a guiding structure can be formed at a position close to the first opening 5531 and the second opening 5571.
In practical application, the first holding portions 35, 45, 55 are not limited to be connected to the bases 31, 41, 51. The first holding portions 35, 45, 55 can be connected to the appurtenances 33, 43, 53, and the second holding portions 37, 45, 55 can be connected to the bases 31, 41, 51. Referring to
A side of the platform 651 of the first holding portion 65 is connected to a side of the appurtenance 63, such that the first holding portion 65 is connected to the appurtenance 63. Another end of the pillar 671 of the second holding portion 67 is connected to the base 61. The appurtenance 63 can be fixed on the base 61 by the first holding portion 65 and the second holding portion 67. When assembling the appurtenance 63 and the base 61, the pillar 671 of the second holding portion 67 is located in the passage 655 and proceeds along the passage 655 to be inserted into the first breaking hole 653. As mentioned above, the outer diameter of the pillar 671 is smaller than a minimum width of the passage 655. Accordingly, the pillar 671 inserted into the first breaking hole 653 will not drop out easily.
Certainly, the platform 651 of the connecting structure 6 of keyboard appurtenance in
The second holding portion 77 comprises a pillar 771 and a cover 773. A first end of the pillar 771 is connected to the cover 773 for covering the pillar 771, and a second end of the pillar 771 is connected to the base 71. In general, a position of the pillar 771 corresponds to a position of the first breaking hole 753. When assembling the base 71 and the appurtenance 73, since the containing space (not shown) is formed between the platform 751 and the inner surface 731 of the appurtenance 73, the cover 773 of the second holding portion 77 can be contained in the containing space. The pillar 771 can pass through the second breaking hole 757, proceed along the passage 755 toward the first opening 7531, and then be inserted into the first breaking hole 753 through the first opening 7531, such that the base 71 is connected to the appurtenance 73. It should be noticed that a relationship among an outer diameter of the cover 773, an outer diameter of the pillar 771, a minimum width of the passage 755, a bore diameter of the first breaking hole 753 and a bore diameter of the second breaking hole 757 in
In practical application, the appurtenances 31, 41, 51, 61, 71 can be a dummy key or decorating strip on the keyboard. Another objective of the invention is to provide a keyboard equipped with the aforesaid connecting structure of keyboard appurtenance. Referring to
The base 81 has a plurality of fixing structures (not shown), which can be connected to the plurality of keyswitches 82 disposed on the base 81. Furthermore, the base 81 has a hollow portion 811 whose structure is identical to the hollow portion 311 in
In practical application, the structures of the base 81, the appurtenance 33, the first holding portion 35 and the second holding portion 37 of the keyboard 8 are not limited to those in
In summary, the first holding portion and the second holding portion of the connecting structure of keyboard appurtenance and keyboard of the invention can be disposed on the appurtenance or the base correspondingly. When the appurtenance is going to be connected to the base, the pillar of the second holding portion passes through the passage of the first holding portion so as to be contained in the first breaking hole. Compared to the appurtenance and the base being connected by hot melt adhesive, the connecting structure of the invention can avoid redundant manufacturing processes. Compared to the appurtenance and the base being connected by hook, the connecting structure of the invention can fix the appurtenance and the base more stably and tightly.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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98210056 U | Jun 2009 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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7828489 | Hargreaves et al. | Nov 2010 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20100309027 A1 | Dec 2010 | US |