1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a keyswitch structure, and especially relates to a mechanical keyswitch structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A stroke of a keycap of conventional keyswitches is relatively long, so it is easy to dispose a rubber dome under the keycap so that when the keycap is pressed to move downward, the rubber dome is also deformed and produces resilient force, and when the keycap is released, the resilient force drives the keycap to move upward to its original position. However, with a tendency toward keyboard miniaturization, the stroke of the keycap is required to decrease, so the height of the rubber dome is also required to lower. The service life and the character of resilient force will decay with a height of the rubber dome decreasing. Furthermore, for a keyswitch with a longer length (or called a multiple-width keyswitch), a plurality of links are disposed under the keycap so that the keycap can keep being horizontally moved up and down when a user presses any portion of the keycap, and the user can feel a distinct force feedback (or tactile feedback). However, if the height of the keycap is required to decrease more, the above design may not be accomplished easily due to space constraint.
An objective of the invention is to provide a keyswitch structure that uses a magnetic attraction force in cooperation with supports with lever structure to produce stable movement of the keycap and further distinct and stable tactile feedback when pressing the keycap.
In an embodiment, a keyswitch structure according to the invention includes a base, a keycap, a lift mechanism, and a first magnetic member. The lift mechanism is disposed between the base and the keycap. The keycap is capable of moving up and down in a vertical direction relative to the base through the lift mechanism. The lift mechanism includes a first support. The first support has a first side edge portion, a second side edge portion, and a first magnetic portion. The first side edge portion keeps abutting against the base through a sharp edge. The second side edge portion is opposite to the first side edge portion and movably connected with the keycap. The first magnetic portion extends outward from the first side edge portion. The first magnetic member is disposed on the base corresponding to the first magnetic portion. The first magnetic member and the first magnetic portion produce a magnetic attraction force therebetween. Thereby, when the keycap is pressed by an external force, the first support rotates about the sharp edge relative to the base, so that the first magnetic portion moves away from the first magnetic member and the keycap approaches the base. Therein, the magnetic attraction force decreases as the first magnetic portion moves away from the first magnetic member, which facilitates the keycap approaching the base. When the external force is eliminated, the magnetic attraction force drives the first support to rotate (i.e. reversely rotate) about the sharp edge relative to the base so that the second side edge portion of the first support makes the keycap move away from the base.
In another embodiment, a keyswitch structure according to the invention includes a base, a keycap, a lift mechanism, and a first magnetic member. The lift mechanism is disposed between the base and the keycap. The keycap is capable of moving up and down in a vertical direction relative to the base through the lift mechanism. The lift mechanism includes a first support and a second support. The first support has a first side edge portion, a second side edge portion, and a first magnetic portion. The first side edge portion keeps abutting against the base. The second side edge portion is opposite to the first side edge portion and movably connected to the keycap. The first magnetic portion extends outward from the first side edge portion. The second support is disposed opposite to the first support. The second support has a third side edge portion and a fourth side edge portion. The third side edge portion keeps abutting against the base. The fourth side edge portion is opposite to the third side edge portion and movably connected to the keycap. The first magnetic member is disposed on the base corresponding to the first magnetic portion. The first magnetic member and the first magnetic portion produce a magnetic attraction force therebetween. Thereby, when the keycap is pressed by an external force, the first support rotates about the first side edge portion relative to the base, so that the first magnetic portion moves away from the first magnetic member and the keycap approaches the base. Therein, the magnetic attraction force decreases as the first magnetic portion moves away from the first magnetic member, which facilitates the keycap approaching the base. When the external force is eliminated, the magnetic attraction force drives the first support to rotate (i.e. reversely rotate) about the first side edge portion relative to the base so that the second side edge portion of the first support makes the keycap move away from the base.
In another embodiment, a keyswitch structure according to the invention includes a base, a keycap, a lift mechanism, and a second magnetic member. The lift mechanism is disposed between the base and the keycap. The keycap is capable of moving up and down in a vertical direction relative to the base through the lift mechanism. The lift mechanism includes a first support. The first support has a first side edge portion, a second side edge portion, and a second magnetic portion. The first side edge portion keeps abutting against the base. The second side edge portion is opposite to the first side edge portion and movably connected to the keycap. The second magnetic member is disposed corresponding to the second magnetic portion on the base under the first side edge portion. Therein, the second magnetic portion and the second magnetic member produce a magnetic attraction force therebetween for driving the first side edge portion to abut against the base so that the first support can rotate relative to the base through the first side edge portion stably.
Compared with the prior art, the keyswitch structure according to the invention uses the magnetic attraction force as a driving force for returning the keycap to its original position without a rubber dome and a link bar, so a disposition space for the keyswitch structure can be reduced and the keyswitch structure can be compact, which is conducive to a reduction of the height of the keyswitch structure. Furthermore, in the keyswitch structure according to the invention, the support uses its sharp edge to abut against the base and rotates about the sharp edge, so the support can stably and precisely rotate relative to the base and a rotation friction is reduced, which provides a user distinct and stable tactile feedback when pressing the keycap. In addition, when the keyswitch structure according to the invention is applied to a keyswitch with a longer length (or called a multiple-width keyswitch), the keycap of keyswitch structure has a longer length, and the first side edge portion and the second side edge portion of the first support are also longer. In principle, the constraint effect by the magnetic attraction force between the first magnetic member and the first magnetic portion on the first side edge portion (i.e. driving the first side edge portion to keep abutting against the base) weakens with a distance to the first magnetic member (or the first magnetic portion) increasing, but the whole first side edge portion still can keep abutting against the base by the magnetic attraction force between the second magnetic member and the second magnetic portion, so that the first support (especially the two end portions) will not be deformed or bent. Thereby, no matter which portion of the keycap an external force is applied to, the keycap makes the first support rotate about the first side edge portion relative to the base through the second side edge portion, so that the magnetic portion moves away from the magnetic member and the keycap approaches the base steadily.
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.
Please refer to
Further, in the embodiment, the base 10 includes a bottom plate 102, a membrane circuit board 104, and an abutting plate 106. The first magnetic member 16 and the second magnetic members 18 are disposed on the bottom plate 102. The membrane circuit board 104 is disposed on the bottom plate 102 and has two switches 104a and 104b (represented by hatched circles). The abutting plate 106 is stacked on the membrane circuit board 104 for the lift mechanism 14 to abut against. The abutting plate 106 also increases the abutting area of the lift mechanism 14 and the base 10, which is conducive to avoidance of the lift mechanism 14 structurally interfering with the first magnetic member 16 and the second magnetic members 18 when in operation.
The lift mechanism 14 includes a first support 142 and a second support 144. The first support 142 and the second support 144 are oppositely disposed on the base 10. The first support 142 has a first side edge portion 1422, a second side edge portion 1424, and a first magnetic portion 1426. The first side edge portion 1422 has a sharp edge 1422a and keeps abutting against the abutting plate 106 of the base 10 through the sharp edge 1422a. The second side edge portion 1424 is opposite to the first side edge portion 1422 and movably connected to a bottom surface 12a of the keycap 12. The first magnetic portion 1426 extends outward from the first side edge portion 1422, i.e. extending in a direction opposite to the second side edge portion 1424. The second support 144 has a third side edge portion 1442, a fourth side edge portion 1444, and an abutting portion 1446. The third side edge portion 1442 keeps abutting against the abutting plate 106 of the base 10. The fourth side edge portion 1444 is opposite to the third side edge portion 1442 and movably connected to the bottom surface 12a of the keycap 12. The abutting portion 1446 extends outward from the third side edge portion 1442, i.e. extending in a direction opposite to the fourth side edge portion 1444. The abutting portion 1446 is located between the first magnetic portion 1426 and the base 10 and used for abutting against the first support 142. Furthermore, it is added that the movable connections of the keycap 12 with the second side edge portion 1424 and the fourth side edge portion 1444 are not limited to a case that the second side edge portion 1424 and the fourth side edge portion 1444 are structurally engaged with the keycap 12. In practice, any connection that makes the keycap 12 move up and down as the lift mechanism 14 moves when the keyswitch structure 1 acts (e.g. a user presses the keycap 12) is practicable. In the embodiment, the keycap 12 is not provided with any specific structure for engaging with the lift mechanism 14, but directly placed on the lift mechanism 14. The second side edge portion 1424 and the fourth side edge portion 1444 individual contact the bottom surface 12a of the keycap 12. When the keycap 12 moves up and down relative to the base 10 through the lift mechanism 14, the second side edge portion 1424 and the fourth side edge portion 1444 slide on the bottom surface 12a.
The first magnetic member 16 is disposed on the bottom plate 102 of the base 10 corresponding to the first magnetic portion 1426, i.e. between the first support 142 and the second support 144. The first magnetic member 16 and the first magnetic portion 1426 produce the magnetic attraction force F1 therebetween (indicated by a solid line segment with an arrow in
In addition, based on
The second magnetic members 18 are oppositely disposed on the bottom plate 102 of the base 10 relative to the first magnetic member 16. The second magnetic members 18 are located between the first support 142 and the second support 144 under the first side edge portion 1422 and the third side edge portion 1442; that is, projections of the second magnetic members 18 in the vertical direction D1 overlap projections of the first support 142 and the second support 144 in the vertical direction D1. The first support 142 has two second magnetic portions 1428 (of which the positions are indicated by dashed circles in
It is added that the first magnetic member 16 and the second magnetic members 18 are arranged in the horizontal direction D2. The first magnetic member 16 is located substantially at the middle of the two second magnetic members 18. The first magnetic portion 1426 is located at a middle portion of the first side edge portion 1422. The abutting portion 1446 is located at a middle portion of the third side edge portion 1442. The symmetric disposition is conducive to the balance of the first support 142 and the second support 144 when sustaining force, and to the movement stability of the lift mechanism 14. Furthermore, the second magnetic members 18 are also conducive to the sharp edges 1422a and 1442a abutting against the abutting plate 106. The second magnetic members 18 are also located between the first support 142 and the second support 144, which is conducive to the first support 142 and the second support 144 approaching each other. Therefore, as a whole, the lift mechanism 14 is structurally stable in the keyswitch structure 1. Therein, the first support 142 and the second support 144 can stably and reliably rotate about the sharp edges 1422a and 1442a respectively relative to the base 10 (or the abutting plate 106), so that the keyswitch structure 1 provides the user stable and reliable tactile feedback.
Please also refer to
When the external force is eliminated (e.g. the user moves his finger away from the keycap 12), the first support 142 and the second support 144 are substantially under only the effect of the magnetic attraction forces F1, F2 and F3. Based on the structural design of the embodiment, a moment to the first support 142 produced by the magnetic attraction force F1 is larger, even much larger than a sum of a moment to the first support 142 produced by the magnetic attraction force F2 and a moment indirectly to the first support 142 produced by the magnetic attraction force F3, so the magnetic attraction force F2 still can drive the first support 142 to rotate about the sharp edge 1422a relative to the abutting plate 106 of the base 10. Similarly, during a moving up of the keycap 12, the whole lift mechanism 14 makes the keycap 12 vertically move away from the base 10 steadily.
It is added that in the embodiment, the keyswitch structure 1 is substantially a multiple-width keyswitch. The first support 142 and the second support 144 extend in the horizontal direction D2, so the keycap 12 can be wholly supported by the support 142 and the second support 144. Under the effect by the second magnetic members 18, the first support 142 and the second support 144 can rotate simultaneously in the horizontal direction D2, so the keycap 12 can steadily move up and down relative to the base 10, and the keycap 12 will not obviously tilt when pressed by the user. The first support 142 and the second support 144 respectively have a protrusion 142a and 144a. When the keycap 12 is pressed down, the protrusions 142a and 144a can trigger the switches 104a and 104b respectively, as shown by
Furthermore, in the embodiment, the base 10 includes two positioning structures 108a and 108b. The first support 142 includes a positioning structure 1430 adjacent to the first magnetic portion 1426 corresponding to the positioning structure 108a. The second support 144 includes a positioning structure 1450 adjacent to the abutting portion 1446 according to the positioning structure 108b. The positioning structures 108a and 180b of the base 10 are engaged with the positioning structures 1430 and 1450 of the first support 142 and the second support 144 respectively, so that the relative position of the first magnetic portion 1426 and the first magnetic member 16 and the relative position of the abutting portion 1446 and the first magnetic portion 1426 can be maintained, so that the interaction between the first magnetic portion 1426, the first magnetic member 16, and the abutting portion 1446 can work normally. In the embodiment, each of the positioning structures 108a and 180b is a pair of protrusions, and each of the positioning structures 1430 and 1450 is a pair of through holes for the protrusions to pass through for the positioning effect of the first magnetic portion 1426 and the abutting portion 1446 relative to the base 10.
In addition, in the embodiment, the base 10 includes two horizontal constraining structures 110a and 110b. The first support 142 includes a constrained structure 1432 corresponding to the horizontal constraining structure 110a. The constrained structure 1432 is farther from the first magnetic portion 1426 relatively, at least being closer to the two ends of the first support 142 in the horizontal direction D2 than the second magnetic portion 1428 (corresponding to the second magnetic member 18). The second support 144 includes a constrained structure 1452 corresponding to the horizontal constraining structure 110b. The constrained structure 1452 is farther from the abutting portion 1446 relatively, at least being closer to the two ends of the first support 142 in the horizontal direction D2 than the magnetic portion 1448 (corresponding to the second magnetic member 18). The horizontal constraining structures 110a and 110b constrain the constrained structures 1432 and 1452 respectively so that the movements of the first support 142 and the second support 144 in the horizontal direction D2 are limited. In the embodiment, each of the constrained structures 1432 and 1452 includes two protrusions protruding from the first side edge portion 1422a and the third side edge portion 1442a respectively. The first magnetic portion 1426 and the abutting portion 1446 are constrained between the two protrusions of the constrained structures 1432 and 1452 respectively. Each of the horizontal constraining structures 110a and 110b includes two blocking parts correspondingly. The two protrusions are located between the two blocking parts correspondingly. The two blocking parts block the two protrusions in the horizontal direction D2 so that the movements of the first support 142 and the second support 144 in the horizontal direction D2 is limited.
In addition, please also refer to
Please refer to
In the above embodiments, the first side edge portion 1422 of the first support 142 abuts against the base 10 through the sharp edge 1422a. The third side edge portion 1442 of the second support 144 abuts against the base 10 through the sharp edge 1442a. Therein, the sharp edges 1422a and 1442a are disposed at the first side edge portion 1422 and the third side edge portion 1442, but the invention is not limited thereto. Please refer to
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. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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103128867 A | Aug 2014 | TW | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20160055989 A1 | Feb 2016 | US |