Patent Application
20090051571
The present invention relates to a keypad, especially to a keypad with leather or cloth.
Along with fast development of modern technology, people have higher requirement for electronic products such as household appliances, digital electronics and communication products. They have not only dazzling appearances but also variety and diversity of functions. For example, sales volume of mobile phones grows dramatically due to progress of communication technology. Thus manufactures face fierce competition and dedicate to develop mobile phones with more advanced functions and novel design so as to attract consumers. The trend for mobile phone design and compact and light-weight. For example, Motorola has rolled out mobile phones named Razr debut in 2004 and it's sold well with sales volume of fifty million. Thus it is learned that appearance is an important consideration for consumers whiling buying mobile phones. Besides function and price, fashion look is an even more important factor.
As to electronics, keypad is essential for operation of electronics. Conventional keypad is made from plastic so that the appearance is bad and sense of touch is poor. This lead to negative effect on users' feelings. Moreover, figures printed on plastic keypad is easy to fall off and it's inconvenient for users.
Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a keypad that is disposed with leather or cloth so as to provide finer touch feelings and prevent the figures thereon from being worn or falling off. Thus the aesthetic appeal of the keypad is increased and users have good feelings about the device after using the device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a keypad that is arranged with at least one supporting frame for preventing buttons with leather or cloth on the keypad from moving along with other buttons that may cause operation errors.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a keypad that is disposed with a lighting device that emits light to the keypad for convenience of users operating the device in the dark.
In order to achieve above objects, a keypad according to the present invention includes a circuit board, a plurality of metal domes, and a button set. The plurality of metal domes is arranged on the circuit board and is electrically connected with the circuit board. The button set consists of a plurality of buttons that respectively correspond to the metal domes. A piece of leather or cloth is disposed on the button set. Moreover, a figure layer having a plurality of figures is arranged on the leather or the cloth while the plurality of figures corresponds to the button set.
In order to prevent the buttons from moving along with other buttons being pressed, a supporting frame with a plurality of holes is disposed on the button set and the holes respectively correspond to each of the buttons. Furthermore, the keypad further includes a lighting device that projects light on the button set so that users can operate the devices conveniently even in a dingy or dark place.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
Refer to
The buttons 161 of the keypad 1 are all convex buttons. The button set 16 includes a plurality of projecting posts 163 that respectively are arranged on the buttons 161, corresponding to the metal domes 14. The projecting posts 163 are integrated with the buttons 161. The button set 16 is made from rubber. Moreover, a figure layer (not shown in the figure) is arranged on the leather 20 (or cloth) on surface of the button set 16. The figure layer having a plurality of figures and each figure corresponds to each button 161. The figures may be numbers or function icons. The above figure layer can be disposed on the leather 20 (or cloth) by laser marking, branding or transfer printing.
In order to prevent the button 161 from moving along with other buttons 161 being pressed, at least one supporting frame 18 having a plurality of holes (not shown in the figure) is disposed on the button set 16. The plurality of holes respectively corresponds to the buttons 161 so that the buttons 161 insert through those holes. The supporting frame 18 locates among those buttons 161 and is disposed between the buttons 161 and the leather (or cloth) 20. The supporting frame 18 supports other buttons 161 when one of the buttons 161 is pressed by users so as to avoid other buttons 161 moving along with the pressed button 161 that lead to operation errors. The supporting frame 18 is made from polycarbonate (PC). Moreover, a fixing frame 10 is used to fix the button set 16. The fixing frame 10 can be a housing of the electronics while the circuit board 12, the plurality of metal domes 14, and the button set 16 are all arranged inside the fixing frame 10.
Refer to
Refer to
The lighting device 5 includes an outer housing 51 and a plurality of light emitting members 53. The fixing frame 10 of the keypad 1 for fixing the button set 16 is arranged inside the outer housing 51. The plurality of light emitting members 53 is disposed on the outer housing 51, surrounding the button set 16, and is electrically coupled to the circuit board 12. A side wall of the outer housing 51 extends to form a circular reflection plane 55 so that light from the light emitting member 53 reflects by the circular reflection plane 55 and projects onto surface of the button set 16 for illuminating the buttons 161. A reflecting piece 57 is arranged on one side of the circular reflection plane 55 as well as one side of the outer housing 51 that corresponds to the button set 16 so as to prevent the side wall of the circular reflection plane 55 as well as the outer housing 51 from absorbing light energy. Thus the light reflective efficiency is improved. In addition, a light homogenizing piece 59 is disposed on the circular reflection plane 55 so as to filter the projected light and thus the light is projected onto the button set 16 evenly.
Refer to
In addition, the keypad 3 of the embodiment in
In summary, a keypad with leather or cloth disposed on the button set according to the present invention provides better sense of touch and prevents the figures thereon from being worn or falling off. Thus the aesthetic appeal of the keypad is increased and users have good feelings about the device after using the device. Moreover, a supporting frame is disposed on the button set so as to prevent the buttons with leather or cloth from moving along with the buttons being pressed. Furthermore, a lighting device is added on the keypad for projecting light onto surface of the keypad so that users can read icons on surface of the keypad clearly.
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, and representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
