Patent Application
20090126429
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to input keys, and particularly, to an input key used in an electronic device and a method of making the input key.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a majority of foldable electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, MP3 players and MP4 players, have keyboards configured for users to input information. A keyboard includes a pad and a plurality of input keys positioned on the pad.
Typically, a method of making an input key (hereinafter key) includes the following steps: first, a melted plastic material is injection molded to form a plastic main body having a contact receiving surface, then an ink layer is formed on the contact receiving surface of the main body according to predetermined patterns to represent characters. When the keys are repeatedly struck, the ink layer may fade or become totally obliterated. In addition, problems such as distortion, scratching, and abrasion often occur due to a poor surface hardness of the main body. After the main body is distorted, abraded or scratched, the appearance of the key may not be as pleasant as the original appearance.
To overcome the problems such as distortion, scratching and abrasion of the main body, a main body made of metal is provided.
However, the problems such as distortion, scratching and abrasion of the main body still exist when the main body is made of metal. In addition, when the main body is made of metals, problems such as oxidation and/or fading of main body will be occurred. Furthermore, if the ink layer is formed on the metal main body by printing method, adhesion problems between the ink layer and the main body still occur.
What is needed, therefore, is a new key that can overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings such as scratching, abrasion, oxidation, and fading of the main body, and adhesion problems between the ink layer and the main body.
In one aspect, a key according to a preferred embodiment includes a main body and a glazed layer. The main body has a contact receiving surface. The glazed layer is formed on at least one part of the contact receiving surface. The main body is made of ceramic materials.
In another aspect, a method of making a key according to a preferred embodiment includes the following steps: forming a ceramic main body having a contact receiving surface; and forming a glazed layer on at least one part of the contact receiving surface of the main body.
Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from the following detailed description of various embodiments, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present key. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views, and all the views are schematic.
Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe preferred embodiments of the key, and method of making the same, in details.
Referring to
The glazed layer 13 is selected from the group consisting of a calcareous glaze, a feldspar glaze, a boracic glaze, and any suitable combination thereof. The glazed layer 13 on the main body surface 123 can be configured to be the following predetermined patterns: letters, numbers, symbols, and so on.
The base 11 is configured for connecting the main body 12 to a housing of an electronic device (not shown). Generally, the base 11 is made of plastics or rubber. Thus, the base 11 can absorb unexpected or deliberate shocks to protect the main body 12.
Referring to
It is noted that, the contact receiving surface 123 of the main body 12 can be polished to form high-gloss surface or matte surface. In the illustrated embodiment, the contact receiving surface 123 of the main body 12 is, preferably, matte surface to achieve a good appearance and a good sense of touch.
The key 10 has a deformation protection such as high anti-distortion ability, high anti-scratch ability, and anti-abrasion ability due to the ceramic and glaze have high hardness. Also, the main body 12 is lacunaris because the main body 12 is made of ceramic. When forming the glazed layer 13 on the main body 12 by decal, the glazed layer 13 partially burns into the main body 12. Therefore, the glazed layer 13 is strongly embedded in the main body 12. As a result, the glazed layer 13 cannot be entirely rubbed off easily.
Furthermore, a desired color of the main body 12 can be achieved by varying ingredients of the ceramic material. The color of the main body can be red, yellow, green, blue, black, grey, and semi-transparent. In addition, the color of the main body 12 does not easily decolors, thus the key 10 has a high color preservative.
It can be understood that, the main body 12 also can be formed by dry pressing method or cold isostatic pressing method.
It can be understood that, the glazed layer 13 also can be formed entirely on the contact receiving surface 123, or partially on a side surface of the main body 12, or entirely on the side-surface. In addition, the glazed layer 13 also can be formed by spray glazing method, or printing glazing method.
It can be understood that, the base 11 and the adhesive layer 14 can be eliminated to simplify a configuration of the key 10.
Referring to
Because at least one portion of the base 21 is secured in the latching groove 227 of main body 22, the main body 22 and the base 21 can be fixed together without an adhesive layer. Moreover, because the base 21 is integrally formed with the main body 22 by injection molding, the base 21 with a complicated configuration can be made by injection molding easily.
It can be understood that, in the above mentioned key 10, 20, the contact receiving surface 123, 223 are both designed to be planar to achieve a good sense of touch. The contact receiving surface 223 of main body 22 can also be other shapes, such as a concave surface or a convexity surface. In addition, it can be understood that, to improve an appearance of the key 10, 20, a top plane view of the main body 22, 22 can be any other shapes, such as circular, ellipse, and polygon. The key can be used for other portable electronic devices such as keyboards of computers.
Finally, while various embodiments have been described and illustrated, the invention is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various modifications can be made to the embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200710202544.6 | Nov 2007 | CN | national |
