A self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module

Abstract

The present invention discloses a self-light-guiding sandwich sheet-type luminous key core module, which includes a supporting structure, an insulating layer, a circuit layer, a spacer layer, a light-guiding film, a composite film, an elastic conductive part, an LED lamp and a keycap. A switch is provided on the circuit layer at a position corresponding to the keycap, a first through hole is opened on the spacer layer at a position corresponding to the keycap, the elastic conductive part is arranged at a position corresponding to the first through hole, a conductive sheet is fixedly provided below the light-guiding film at a position corresponding to the elastic conductive part, the conductive sheet is arranged corresponding to the first through hole, a light-guiding point is provided on the light-guiding film at a position corresponding to the keycap, a second through hole is provided on the composite film at a position corresponding to the keycap, the LED lamp is installed on the circuit layer and arranged corresponding to the keycap, a third through hole is opened on the spacer layer at a position corresponding to the LED lamp, a fourth through hole is opened on the light-guiding film at a position corresponding to the LED lamp, the LED lamp is installed in the third through hole and the fourth through hole, and the keycap is arranged above the elastic conductive part.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a key core module, in particular to a self-light-guiding sandwich sheet-type luminous key core module, which is applied to the field of computer accessories. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the keyboard is the most commonly used and most important input device. Through the keyboard, English letters, Chinese characters, numbers, punctuation marks, etc. can be input into the computer, thereby issuing commands to the computer, inputting data, etc. It can be said that since the day the computer was invented, the keyboard has been one of the indispensable peripheral devices of the computer.

[0003] With the continuous development of keyboards, in order to make the keyboard have a better use effect, luminous keyboards (or backlit keyboards) came into being. The keycaps are designed to be a light-transmitting structure, and the light emitted by the backlight module is used to illuminate the keycaps. On the one hand, it is more suitable for night-time input and easy to see the words on the keycaps. On the other hand, it also produces a cooler effect. The luminous keyboard structure in the existing technology is to set a backlight module inside the keyboard. The backlight module emits light to illuminate the keycaps. The backlight module usually includes a light-shielding film, a light-guiding film, a reflective film and an LED. The light-shielding film, the light-guiding film and the reflective film are stacked. The LED is set on the side of the light-guiding film. The light emitted by the LED enters the light-guiding film and is guided through the light-guiding film to each keycap to illuminate the keycaps. The common backlight keyboards currently have inherent disadvantages due to their structural limitations: (1) Due to the limitation of the backlight module, especially the LED in the backlight module, the thickness of the entire backlight module is more than 0.5mm, which affects the thinness of the entire keyboard; (2) It uses a light-guiding film combined with an LED structure to emit light, so its LED needs to be a high-power, high-brightness LED. On the one hand, high-power, high-brightness LED will cause its power consumption to be too high, resulting in high power consumption. On the other hand, high-power, high-brightness LED will generate a lot of heat during use. Since there are only one or a few LEDs, the heat is concentrated, which will cause poor heat dissipation effect and local heating of the keyboard, affecting the customer's user experience. Especially when it is used in a laptop computer, it will also affect the laptop's own heat dissipation effect. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In response to the above-mentioned shortcomings of the luminous keyboard in the prior art that uses a backlight module for illumination, which is relatively thick, has high power consumption and poor heat dissipation, the present invention provides a self-light-guiding sandwich sheet-type luminous key core module, which uses a special luminous key core module and utilizes LEDs corresponding to the keycaps to directly illuminate the keycap area to solve the above problems.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is: a self-light-guiding sandwich sheet-type luminous key core module, the key core module includes a support structure, an insulating layer, a circuit layer, a spacer layer, a light-guiding film, a composite film, an elastic conductive member, an LED lamp and a keycap, the insulating layer is arranged on the support structure, the circuit layer is arranged on the insulating layer, a switch is arranged on the circuit layer at a position corresponding to the keycap, the spacer layer is arranged above the insulating layer, a first through hole is opened on the spacer layer at a position corresponding to the keycap, the elastic conductive member is arranged corresponding to the position of the first through hole, the light-guiding film is arranged above the spacer layer, and the light-guiding film is arranged below the light-guiding film. A conductive sheet should be fixedly provided at the position of the elastic conductive member, the conductive sheet is provided corresponding to the first through hole, a light guide network point is provided on the light guide film corresponding to the position of the keycap, the elastic conductive member is installed on the light guide film, a composite film is provided above the light guide film, a second through hole is provided on the composite film corresponding to the position of the keycap, the LED lamp is installed on the circuit layer and provided corresponding to the keycap, a third through hole is provided on the spacer layer corresponding to the position of the LED lamp, a fourth through hole is provided on the light guide film corresponding to the position of the LED lamp, the LED lamp is installed in the third through hole and the fourth through hole, and the keycap is provided above the elastic conductive member.

[0006] Furthermore, the support structure is made of steel sheets with a thickness of 0.10 mm to 0.25 mm.

[0007] Furthermore, the insulating layer is fixedly mounted to the supporting structure by an adhesive layer, and the thickness of the insulating layer is 0.02 mm to 0.05 mm.

[0008] Furthermore, the thickness of the spacer layer is 0.02 to 0.07 mm.

[0009] Furthermore, the light-guiding film has a thickness of 0.08 to 0.12 mm.

[0010] Furthermore, the composite film has a thickness of 0.020 to 0.30 mm.

[0011] Furthermore, 1 to 4 LEDs may be provided corresponding to each keycap.

[0012] Furthermore, a scissor foot is installed between the key cap and the elastic conductive member, and the key cap and the scissor foot are respectively installed on the steel sheet.

[0013] Furthermore, a mounting hole is provided on the steel sheet at a position corresponding to the scissor leg, and the scissor leg is inserted into the mounting hole.

[0014] Furthermore, there are four mounting holes, and the openings between two mounting holes are arranged opposite to each other.

[0015] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The present invention provides a self-light-guiding sandwich sheet-type luminous key core module, which uses LEDs corresponding to the keycaps to directly illuminate the keycap area, thereby eliminating the need for a backlight module structure, which can reduce the thickness of the keyboard as a whole, and is more conducive to the lightweight design of the keyboard; on the other hand, LEDs are used to directly illuminate the keycap area, and low-power components can be used for LEDs, which is not only conducive to reducing power consumption as a whole, but also reduces its own heat generation. At the same time, since the LEDs adopt a decentralized design, they are more conducive to heat dissipation, especially when used in laptops, and the keyboard can also assist in dissipating the heat generated by the laptop itself (mainly the CPU). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the partial three-dimensional exploded structure of a single keycap of a self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module provided by the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a single keycap of a self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module provided by the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a partial top view of a single keycap of a self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module provided by the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 The present invention provides a schematic diagram of the partial steel sheet structure of a single keycap of a self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module.

[0020] Reference numerals: 1-Steel sheet, 2-Adhesive layer, 3-Insulating layer, 4-Circuit layer, 5-Spacer layer, 6-Light guide film, 7-Composite film, 8-Scissor leg, 9-Keycap, 10-Mounting hole, 11-Elastic conductive member, 12-LED lamp, 13-Switch, 14-Conductive sheet, 15-First through hole, 16-Second through hole, 17-Third through hole, 18-Fourth through hole, 19-Protrusion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and effect of the present invention clearer and more specific, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0022] See also Figure 1-4The present invention provides a self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module, wherein the key core module includes a support structure, an insulating layer 3, a circuit layer 4, a spacer layer 5, a light guide film 6, a composite film 7, an elastic conductive member 11, an LED lamp 12 and a key cap 9. The insulating layer 3 is arranged on the support structure, the circuit layer 4 is arranged on the insulating layer 3, a switch 13 is arranged on the circuit layer 4 at a position corresponding to the key cap 9, the spacer layer 5 is arranged above the insulating layer 3, a first through hole 15 is opened on the spacer layer 5 at a position corresponding to the key cap 9, the elastic conductive member 11 is arranged at a position corresponding to the first through hole 15, the light guide film 6 is arranged above the spacer layer 5, a conductive sheet 14 is fixedly arranged below the light guide film 6 at a position corresponding to the elastic conductive member 11, the conductive sheet 14 is arranged corresponding to the first through hole 15, and a light guide mesh is arranged on the light guide film 6 at a position corresponding to the key cap 9. Dots (the light-guiding dots can be generated by conventional methods such as coating, silk-screen printing, dot printing, UV glue or embossing), which can make the light emitted by the LED lamp 12 shine into the light-guiding film 6 and then be emitted from the light-guiding dots, thereby illuminating the keycap 9. The elastic conductive member 11 is installed on the light-guiding film 6, and a composite film 7 is arranged above the light-guiding film 6 (because it has both reflective and shading functions, it is defined as a composite film), a second through hole 16 is arranged at the position of the composite film 7 corresponding to the keycap 9, the LED lamp 12 is installed on the circuit layer 4, and is arranged corresponding to the keycap 9, a third through hole 17 is opened on the spacer layer 5 corresponding to the position of the LED lamp 12, a fourth through hole 18 is opened on the light-guiding film 6 corresponding to the position of the LED lamp 12, the LED lamp 12 is installed in the third through hole 17 and the fourth through hole 18, and the keycap 9 is arranged above the elastic conductive member 11. In this embodiment, the conductive sheet 14 is formed on the light-guiding film 6 by coating using silver paste dots. In this embodiment, the elastic conductive member 11 is a spring, which can also be called a RubberDome or a pot sheet. In specific implementation, a rubber or silicone key can also be used, which mainly plays the role of elastic support and increasing the feel. In this embodiment, the insulating layer 3 is made of polyimide insulating material and is used to attach and fix the circuit layer 4. In specific implementation, the insulating layer 3 and the circuit layer 4 can also adopt an FPC structure or other circuit board structures in the prior art. The insulating layer 3 can also be made of other insulating materials that can be adapted to attach the circuit layer 4. The thickness of the insulating layer 3 is 0.02mm to 0.05mm, which is sufficient to meet the adhesion requirements of the circuit layer 4. In this embodiment, the circuit layer 4 is a copper foil circuit, which is attached to the insulating layer 3 and can be formed by conventional circuit board processing techniques such as etching, silk screen printing, or pasting. The circuit structure of the circuit layer 4 adopts a conventional keyboard circuit and a conventional LED lamp drive circuit structure, which is not limited in the present invention. A switch 13, i.e., a keyboard key switch, is provided on the circuit layer 4 at the position corresponding to the keycap. The switch 13 has the same structure as a conventional keyboard.

[0023] In this embodiment, the support structure is constructed of a steel sheet 1 with a thickness of 0.10mm to 0.25mm. This satisfies strength requirements without making the structure too thick. When the present invention is used in a scissor-foot keyboard, the steel sheet 1 is further provided with mounting structures, such as mounting holes and hooks, for attaching the scissor feet and keycaps. This mounting structure is identical to that of a conventional keyboard and will not be further described here.

[0024] In this embodiment, the insulating layer 3 is fixed to the support structure using an adhesive layer 2. The thickness of the insulating layer 3 is 0.02 mm to 0.05 mm. The adhesive layer 2 is preferably a thermosetting adhesive for ease of processing. In practice, materials such as self-adhesive adhesive can also be used. The thickness of the adhesive layer 2 is negligible and only needs to meet the bonding requirements. Alternatively, during production and processing, the adhesive layer 2 can be omitted and other fixing structures can be used to fix the insulating layer 3 to the steel sheet 1. Alternatively, the insulating layer 3 can be directly placed on the steel sheet 1.

[0025] In this embodiment, the thickness of the spacer layer 5 is 0.02-0.07 mm. The spacer layer 5 is made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material, preferably 0.05 mm, and mainly plays an insulating role. In specific implementation, it can also be made of other materials with insulating properties.

[0026] In this embodiment, the thickness of the light guide film 6 is 0.08-0.12 mm. The light guide film 6 is made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material, preferably 0.10 mm. In specific implementation, it can also be made of other materials.

[0027] In this embodiment, the thickness of the composite film 7 is 0.020 to 0.30 mm. Preferably, it is 0.025 mm. In specific implementation, it can also be made of other materials. The lower layer of the composite film 7 is provided with white ink for light reflection, which can reflect the upward light emitted by the LED lamp 12 back into the light-guiding film 6 to enhance its brightness. The upper layer of the composite film 7 is provided with black ink for light shielding to prevent light from passing through other areas except the keycap 9 position, which would affect the overall performance of the keyboard. In this embodiment, the white ink and black ink are provided on the composite film 7 by printing. In specific implementation, other methods can also be used, such as spraying, silk screen printing, etc. No ink is provided on the composite film 7 corresponding to the keycap 9 position, so that the light in the light-guiding film 6 can be emitted from this position to illuminate the keyboard keys. In specific implementation, the composite film 7 can also be a white film with black ink printed on the top layer, or a black film with white ink printed on the bottom layer, with through holes opened at the position corresponding to the keycap 9 position to allow light to pass through.

[0028] In this embodiment, 1 to 4 LEDs can be provided for each keycap 9. Common keys are typically provided with one or two LEDs 12. Larger and longer keys, such as "Enter," "Shift," and "Space," are typically provided with two to four LEDs 12 to meet their lighting needs. More LEDs can be provided for each keycap based on actual needs. LEDs may not be provided under keycaps that do not require lighting.

[0029] In this embodiment, a scissor leg 8 is installed between the keycap 9 and the elastic conductive member 11, and the keycap 9 and scissor leg 8 are respectively installed on the steel sheet 1. Pressing the keycap 9 squeezes the scissor leg 8 through the keycap 9. Continuing to press down presses the elastic conductive member 11, causing the elastic conductive member 11 to deform. The elastic conductive member 11 presses down on the composite film 7 and the light guide film 6. The composite film 7 and the light guide film 6 move downward together with the conductive sheet 14. Through the first through hole 15 in the spacer layer 5, the conductive sheet 14 contacts the switch 13, turning it on to achieve the key press effect. When the keycap 9 is released, the scissor leg 8 and the elastic conductive member 11 rebound, and the conductive sheet 14 disengages from the switch 13, turning it off.

[0030] In this embodiment, the stability of the scissor leg 8 is ensured. A mounting hole 10 is provided on the steel sheet 1 at a position corresponding to the scissor leg 8, and the scissor leg 8 is inserted into the mounting hole 10. The scissor leg 8 is inserted into the mounting hole 10, so that during the rebound process, the scissor leg 8 is partially connected to the steel sheet 1, thereby increasing the stability of the single key. The edge of the mounting hole 10 is provided with an upward protrusion 19, so that the protrusion 19 of the mounting hole 10 supports the scissor leg 8, further increasing the stability of the single key when in use.

[0031] In this embodiment, when installed, there are four mounting holes 10, two mounting holes 10 on the same horizontal line form a group, and the openings between the two mounting holes 10 are set relative or oppositely, so that the scissor legs 8 are engaged in a group of mounting holes 10, increasing its fastening type and preventing the scissor legs 8 from falling off.

[0032] It should be understood that the application of the present invention is not limited to the above examples. For those skilled in the art, improvements or changes can be made based on the above description. All these improvements and changes should fall within the scope of protection of the claims attached to the present invention.

Claims

1. A self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module, characterized in that: The key core module comprises a support structure, an insulating layer (3), a circuit layer (4), a spacer layer (5), a light guide film (6), a composite film (7), an elastic conductive member (11), an LED lamp (12) and a key cap (9), wherein the insulating layer (3) is arranged on the support structure, the circuit layer (4) is arranged on the insulating layer (3), a switch (13) is arranged on the circuit layer (4) at a position corresponding to the key cap (9), the spacer layer (5) is arranged above the insulating layer (3), a first through hole (15) is opened on the spacer layer (5) at a position corresponding to the key cap (9), the elastic conductive member (11) is arranged at a position corresponding to the first through hole (15), the light guide film (6) is arranged above the spacer layer (5), and a conductive sheet (14) is fixedly arranged below the light guide film (6) at a position corresponding to the elastic conductive member (11). The conductive sheet (14) is provided corresponding to the first through hole (15), a light guide point is provided on the light guide film (6) at a position corresponding to the key cap (9), the elastic conductive member (11) is installed on the light guide film (6), a composite film (7) is provided above the light guide film (6), a second through hole (16) is provided on the composite film (7) at a position corresponding to the key cap (9), the LED lamp (12) is installed on the circuit layer (4) and provided corresponding to the key cap (9), a third through hole (17) is provided on the spacer layer (5) at a position corresponding to the LED lamp (12), a fourth through hole (18) is provided on the light guide film (6) at a position corresponding to the LED lamp (12), the LED lamp (12) is installed in the third through hole (17) and the fourth through hole (18), and the key cap (9) is provided above the elastic conductive member (11); The supporting structure is made of steel sheets (1); A scissor foot (8) is installed between the key cap (9) and the elastic conductive member (11); A mounting hole (10) is provided on the steel sheet (1) at a position corresponding to the scissor foot (8), and the scissor foot (8) is inserted into the mounting hole (10); There are four mounting holes (10), and the openings between two mounting holes (10) are arranged opposite to or opposite to each other; an upward protrusion (19) is provided on the edge of the mounting hole (10), and the protrusion (19) is used to support the scissor foot (8); The conductive sheet (14) is formed on the light guide film (6) by coating using silver paste dots; The lower layer of the composite film (7) is provided with white ink, and the upper layer of the composite film (7) is provided with black ink; The thickness of the spacer layer (5) is 0.02-0.07 mm; The thickness of the light guide film (6) is 0.08-0.12 mm; The composite film (7) has a thickness of 0.020-0.30 mm.

2. The self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the steel sheet (1) is 0.10 mm to 0.25 mm.

3. The self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The insulating layer (3) is fixedly mounted together with the supporting structure using the adhesive layer (2), and the thickness of the insulating layer (3) is 0.02 mm to 0.05 mm.

4. The self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module according to claim 1, characterized in that: 1 to 4 LEDs can be provided at each keycap (9).

5. The self-light-guiding sandwich-type luminous key core module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The key cap (9) and the scissor legs (8) are respectively mounted on the steel sheet (1).

Images