Patent Application
20100012474
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure having symbols printed thereon and a method for implementing the same, and more particularly, to a structure and a method that facilitate increasing the abrasion resistance of the symbols printed on the surface of the keycap so as to prevent the symbols from detaching from the surface of the keycap and to prolong the lifetime of the keyboard.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the popularity of computer, users not only pursue better computer efficiency but also pay more attention to the function and design of computer accessories such as mouse and keyboard. As computer has become an indispensable device in nearly every aspect of modern life from telecommunication, commerce, editing to graphics design, much effort has been done to improve the performance of the keyboard, one of the most important input devices for computer.
As a keyboard has limited space for the installation of keycaps, the surface of each keycap is usually printed with one to four symbols, allowing the user to shift between various input methods. Generally, a protective layer is formed over the symbols printed on the surface of the keycap to increase the abrasion resistance of the symbols, but such a protection is inadequate. If the printed symbols become worn and unrecognizable due to excessive use, the user will not be able to use the keyboard properly and have to replace it with a new one.
It is environmental unfriendly and wasteful that a keyboard is discarded simply because the symbols on the keycap become worn. Thus, more work remains to be done to improve the abovementioned disadvantages of the conventional keyboard.
The object of the present invention is to provide a structure having symbols printed thereon and a method for implementing the same; wherein the structure is a keyboard; and wherein a plurality of symbols are printed on the surface of a keycap of a keyboard via screen printing, and then a first protective layer having a plurality of reticulate dots is formed over the plurality of symbols on the surface of the keycap via transfer printing. The structure and method of the present invention may reduce the complexity of the manufacturing process, lower the costs, increase the yield of the product, and improve the abrasion resistance of the symbols on the surface of the keycap so as to prevent the symbols from detaching from the surface of the keycap. Furthermore, the first protective layer having a plurality of reticulate dots of the present invention may also prolong the lifetime of the conventional keyboard.
To achieve the aforementioned objects of the present invention, there is provided a structure having symbols printed thereon, the structure being a keyboard. The keyboard comprises: at least one keycap; at least one symbol printed on the surface of the keycap; and at least one first protective layer having a plurality of reticulate dots, the first protective layer being formed over the symbol printed on the surface of the keycap.
Preferably a second protective layer is further provided between the symbol and the first protective layer.
Preferably the reticulate dots are granular protrusions.
In addition, in order to achieve the aforementioned objects of the present invention, there is provided a method for printing symbols on a keyboard comprising a plurality of keycaps. The method includes the steps of: printing a plurality of symbols on the surface of a corresponding keycap of the keyboard; and forming a first protective layer having a plurality of reticulate dots over the plurality of symbols printed on the surface of the keycap of the keyboard.
Preferably the plurality of symbols are printed on the surface of the keycap of the keyboard via screen printing.
Preferably the first protective layer is formed over the plurality of symbols on the surface of the keycap of the keyboard via transfer printing.
Preferably the reticulate dots are granular protrusions.
A method for printing symbols on a keyboard comprising a plurality of keycaps includes the steps of: printing a plurality of symbols on the surface of a corresponding keycap of the keyboard; forming a first protective layer having a plurality of reticulate dots over the plurality of symbols on the surface of the keycap of the keyboard; and forming a second protective layer between the plurality of symbols and the first protective layer.
Preferably the plurality of symbols are printed on the surface of the keycap of the keyboard via screen printing.
Preferably the first protective layer is formed by means of transfer printing.
Preferably the second protective layer is formed by means of screen printing.
Preferably the reticulate dots are granular protrusions.
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
(denoting human) in the Tsang-Jye Input Method, the Chinese radical
(denoting mouth) in the Da-Yi Input Method, and the phonetic symbol
in the Phonetic Input Method, respectively, and the first protective layer 3 having a plurality of reticulate dots is formed over the symbols 21-24 on the surface of the keycap 2. As the reticulate dots can improve the abrasion resistance of the first protective layer 3, the first protective layer 3 can effectively prevent the symbols 21-24 from detaching from the surface of the keycap 2.
The first and second protective layers 3 and 4 are configured to increase the abrasion resistance of the symbols 21-24 on the surface of the keycap 2, thereby to prevent the symbols 21-24 from detaching from the surface of the keycap 2 and to prolong the lifetime of the keyboard 1.
In step 101, a plurality of symbols 21-24 are printed on the surface of the keycap 2 of the keyboard 1 via screen printing.
In step 102, a first protective layer 3 having a plurality of reticulate dots is formed over the plurality of symbols 21-24 on the surface of the keycap 2 of the keyboard 1 via transfer printing.
In step 201, a plurality of symbols 21-24 are printed on the surface of the keycap 2 of the keyboard 1 via screen printing.
In step 202, a second protective layer 4 is formed over the plurality of symbols 21-24 on the surface of the keycap 2 of the keyboard 1 via screen printing.
In step 203, a first protective layer 3 having a plurality of reticulate dots is formed on the second protective layer 4 via transfer printing.
The first protective layer 3 having a plurality of reticulate dots is proved to be highly abrasion resistant after the structure having symbols printed thereon of the present invention underwent the falling carborundum test. A plurality of granular protrusions/reticulate dots are formed on the surface of the first protective layer after the first protective layer printed over the symbols has dried such that the first protective layer having a plurality of reticulate dots can prevent the symbols from detaching from the surface of the keycap. Therefore, the structure having symbols printed thereon and the method for implementing the same of the present invention can facilitate reducing the manufacturing process, lowering the costs, increasing the yield of the product, and improving the abrasion resistance of the symbols on the surface of the keycap so as to prevent the symbols from detaching from the surface of the keycap and to prolong the lifetime of the keyboard.
While this invention has been described by way of examples and in terms of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited hereto, and that various changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims. Please refer to the claims for the coverage of the rights of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97127096 | Jul 2008 | TW | national |
