Keyboard module

Abstract

A keyboard module includes a housing, an antenna circuit board, a support base plate, an antenna, and a plurality of key caps. The housing includes a bottom wall and side walls. The antenna circuit board is disposed above the bottom wall. The support base plate is disposed above the antenna circuit board, a gap exists between an edge of the support base plate and the side walls, the support base plate includes a notch recessed in the edge, and the notch faces the side walls. The antenna is disposed in the gap and extends into the notch and is connected to the antenna circuit board. The key caps are disposed above the support base plate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a keyboard module, and more particularly to a keyboard module having an antenna. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, one of the more common antenna types used in wireless keyboards is to mount the antenna on the circuit board. This type of antenna requires a sufficiently large clearance area on the circuit board, and the antenna needs to be surrounded by a large, spaced-apart ground plane for effective radiation.

[0003] However, due to structural design or appearance reasons, most wireless keyboards cannot have a large clearance area on the circuit board. In addition, since wireless keyboards often use a support base plate (iron plate) to strengthen the structure, the internal space of the wireless keyboard is limited, causing the circuit board to overlap with the support base plate (iron plate). In addition, this support base plate is connected to the ground plane on the circuit board, which makes the antenna very close to the ground plane in the vertical direction, resulting in reduced antenna radiation efficiency and radiation pattern shift.

[0004] Another approach is to mount a chip antenna on the circuit board. These chip antennas require less clearance, but their antenna efficiency is lower. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides a keyboard module having an antenna that provides good antenna efficiency.

[0006] A keyboard module of the present invention includes a housing, an antenna circuit board, a support base plate, an antenna, and a plurality of keycaps. The housing includes a bottom wall and side walls. The antenna circuit board is disposed above the bottom wall. The support base plate is disposed above the antenna circuit board, and a gap exists between the edge of the support base plate and the side walls. The support base plate includes a recessed notch in the edge, facing the side walls. The antenna is disposed in the gap and extends into the notch, and is connected to the antenna circuit board. The keycaps are disposed above the support base plate.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna includes a first portion, which is located within the gap and is coplanar with the supporting base plate.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first part of the antenna is a straight segment near the side wall of the housing, and the first part is parallel to the side wall.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna includes a second part that is bent and connected to the first part and a third part that is bent and connected to the second part. The second part extends into a notch, and the third part extends toward the antenna circuit board and is connected to the antenna circuit board.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second part of the antenna is a straight line segment perpendicular to the first part, and the third part of the antenna is a straight line segment perpendicular to the second part.

[0011] In one embodiment of the invention, the distance between the second portion and the supporting base plate around the edge of the recess is between 1 mm and 2 mm.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the first part of the antenna and the edge of the supporting base plate is between 3 mm and 8 mm.

[0013] In one embodiment of the invention, the notch corresponds to the position between two of the keycaps.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the keycaps are arranged in multiple rows, and the projection of the notch onto the plane where the keycaps are located corresponds only to the row closest to the sidewall.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, the keyboard module further includes an insulating bracket disposed on the antenna circuit board and supporting the antenna.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna coupled out of the frequency band, and the length of the antenna is less than or equal to 1 / 4 of the wavelength of the frequency band.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, the sidewall is made of an insulating material.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna circuit board is connected to the supporting base plate.

[0019] Based on the above, it is well known that mounting the entire antenna on a circuit board requires preserving a clearance area for the antenna, which can affect the circuit layout on the circuit board or compromise antenna performance due to insufficient clearance. Compared to this well-known architecture, the keyboard module of this invention utilizes the gap between the edge of the existing support base plate and the side wall of the housing to house the antenna. This gap serves as the antenna clearance area, eliminating the need to occupy space on the antenna circuit board and effectively solving the problem of insufficient clearance. Furthermore, with the antenna positioned within this gap and extending into the recess of the support base plate, the antenna does not overlap with the support base plate vertically, providing excellent performance and a more complete radiation pattern. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a keyboard module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A partial exploded view of the keyboard module.

[0022] Figure 3A yes Figure 1 A partial top view of the keyboard module behind the hidden decorative panel.

[0023] Figure 3B yes Figure 1 A partial bottom view of the keyboard module.

[0024] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A partial 3D view of the keyboard module housing, antenna circuit board, antenna, and insulating support.

[0025] Figure 5A yes Figure 1 Partial three-dimensional cross-sectional view of the keyboard module's support base plate, antenna circuit board, antenna, and insulating bracket.

[0026] Figure 5B yes Figure 5A The front view.

[0027] The annotations in the attached figures are explained as follows:

[0028] G: Gap

[0029] D1, D2: Distance

[0030] 100: Keyboard Module

[0031] 105: Casing

[0032] 106: Bottom wall

[0033] 107: Sidewall

[0034] 110: Antenna circuit board

[0035] 112: Hole

[0036] 120: Antenna

[0037] 121: Part One

[0038] 122: Part Two

[0039] 123: Part Three

[0040] 125: Insulating support

[0041] 126: Top-level structure

[0042] 127: Underlying Structure

[0043] 128: Slot

[0044] 130: Support base plate

[0045] 131: Edge

[0046] 132: Notch

[0047] 140: Thin-film circuit board

[0048] 142: Gap

[0049] 150: Decorative panel

[0050] 160: Keycaps Detailed Implementation

[0051] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a keyboard module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 1 The keyboard module 100 in this embodiment is, for example, a wireless keyboard module that can transmit wireless signals and has a special design that can provide good antenna performance, which will be described below. Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An exploded view of a portion of the keyboard module. It should be noted that, to clearly show the antenna-related components, Figure 2 It is Figure 1 The perspective of the explosion after rotating 180 degrees.

[0052] Please see Figure 2 The keyboard module 100 of this embodiment includes a housing 105, an antenna circuit board 110, an antenna 120, a support base plate 130, a thin-film circuit board 140, a decorative plate 150, and multiple keycaps 160. The housing 105 includes a bottom wall 106 and side walls 107. The housing 105 may be made of insulating material, such as plastic, but the type of housing 105 is not limited thereto. The antenna circuit board 110 is disposed above the bottom wall 106. The support base plate 130 is disposed above the antenna circuit board 110.

[0053] In this embodiment, the support base 130 is, for example, a metal plate used to enhance structural strength. In one embodiment, the keyboard module 100 may include a scissor-like linkage structure (not shown), which may be disposed between the support base 130 and the keycaps 160, connecting and guiding the keycaps 160 to rise and fall relative to the support base 130.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown, the support base plate 130 includes a recess 132 recessed into the edge 131, with the recess 132 facing the side wall 107 of the housing 105. In this embodiment, the side wall 107 refers, for example, to the side wall closest to the function keys (front row) of the keyboard module. Therefore, the recess 132 faces the front of the keyboard module 100, that is, the side away from the user.

[0055] A thin-film circuit board 140 is disposed above a supporting base plate 130 and has a notch 142 corresponding to the recess 132. A decorative panel 150 is disposed above the thin-film circuit board 140, and the keycaps 160 are movably disposed above the decorative panel 150. In this embodiment, the recess 132 of the supporting base plate 130 is, for example, a rectangular recess, and the shape of the notch 142 of the thin-film circuit board 140 is, for example, U-shaped, with the opening width of the U-shape greater than the bottom width of the U-shape. Furthermore, the width of the recess 132 of the supporting base plate 130 (e.g., 6.5 mm) is greater than the width of the notch 142 of the thin-film circuit board 140 (e.g., 3.8 mm). Of course, the shape and size of the recess 132 of the supporting base plate 130 and the notch 142 of the thin-film circuit board 140 are not limited thereto. Without affecting the antenna 120 and the button function / travel, the recess 132 of the supporting base plate 130 and the notch 142 of the thin-film circuit board 140 can be of any shape.

[0056] Figure 3A yes Figure 1 A partial top view of the keyboard module behind the hidden decorative panel. Figure 3B yes Figure 1 A partial bottom view of the keyboard module. It should be noted that... Figure 3B yes Figure 3A The view is flipped 180 degrees vertically, and in Figure 3B The bottom shell of the casing 105 is hidden inside.

[0057] Please see Figure 3A and Figure 3B The notch 142 of the thin-film circuit board 140 corresponds to the recess 132 of the supporting base plate 130, and both the notch 142 and the recess 132 correspond to the position between two of these keycaps 160. Figure 3A As can be seen, in this embodiment, these keycaps 160 are arranged in multiple rows, and the projection of the notch 132 onto the plane containing these keycaps 160 corresponds only to the row of keycaps 160 closest to the sidewall 107. Furthermore, due to... Figure 3B As can be seen, there is a gap G between the edge 131 of the supporting base plate 130 and the side wall 107, and the antenna 120 is disposed in the gap G and extends into the recess 132 in a bent manner.

[0058] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A partial 3D view of the keyboard module housing, antenna circuit board, antenna, and insulating support. Figure 5A yes Figure 1 Partial three-dimensional cross-sectional view of the keyboard module's support base plate, antenna circuit board, antenna, and insulating bracket. Figure 5B yes Figure 5A The front view.

[0059] Please refer to this together. Figure 3B , Figure 4 , Figure 5A and Figure 5B In this embodiment, the antenna 120 includes a first portion 121, a second portion 122 bent and connected to the first portion 121, and a third portion 123 bent and connected to the second portion 122. Figure 5A The first part 121 of antenna 120 is located in gap G. Figure 3B Inside the housing 105, the first portion 121 of the antenna 120 is a straight segment close to and parallel to the side wall 107. The second portion 122 of the antenna 120 is also a straight segment perpendicular to the first portion 121 and extends into the recess 132 of the supporting base plate 130. The third portion 123 of the antenna 120 is also a straight segment perpendicular to the second portion 122 and extends toward the antenna circuit board 110. That is, with the goal of increasing antenna performance, the first portion 121 is perpendicular to the second portion 122, and the second portion 122 is perpendicular to the third portion 123, so as to increase the distance between the antenna 120 and the supporting base plate 130 and increase the clearance area.

[0060] Of course, in other embodiments, the first part 121 and the second part 122 may not need to be perpendicular, the second part 122 and the third part 123 may not need to be perpendicular, and the first part 121 and the side wall 107 may not need to be parallel. In fact, it will be determined according to the type of antenna and is not limited thereto.

[0061] It should be noted that, in one embodiment, if the size of the notch 132 of the supporting base plate 130 is large enough, the antenna 120 can also be formed by bending an iron piece into the form of a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA).

[0062] In addition, please see Figure 4 The keyboard module 100 further includes an insulating support 125 disposed on the antenna circuit board 110 and used to support the second portion 122 of the antenna 120. Specifically, the insulating support 125 includes a bottom structure 127 and a top structure 126. The bottom structure 127 is disposed on the antenna circuit board 110, and the top structure 126 includes a slot 128. The second portion 122 of the antenna 120 extends into the slot 128 of the top structure 126.

[0063] Depend on Figure 5A and Figure 5BAs can be seen, the first portion 121 and the second portion 122 of the antenna 120 are coplanar to reduce bending on different planes, thus avoiding the degradation of antenna performance caused by bending on different planes. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first portion 121 and the second portion 122 of the antenna 120 are coplanar with the supporting base plate 130. This design is beneficial for horizontal polarization, but the first portion 121 and the second portion 122 may not be coplanar with the supporting base plate 130. Additionally, an insulating bracket 125 (e.g., a plastic part) is used to support the antenna 120, and the first portion 121 and the second portion 122 of the antenna 120 may be coplanar with the top surface of the top layer structure 126. Furthermore, the third portion 123, after passing through the insulating bracket 125, extends towards the antenna circuit board 110 and passes through the hole 112 of the antenna circuit board 110, thus connecting to the antenna circuit board 110. In this embodiment, the third portion 123 of the antenna 120 is connected to the wall of the antenna circuit board 110 next to the hole 112, and is electrically connected to the antenna circuit board 110. In other embodiments, the antenna 120 may be bent again after passing through the antenna circuit board 110 and connected to the lower surface of the antenna circuit board 110. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the antenna 120 may not pass through the antenna circuit board 110 and may be directly connected to the upper surface of the antenna circuit board 110.

[0064] Please return Figure 3B In this embodiment, the distance D1 between the first portion 121 of the antenna 120 and the edge 131 of the supporting base plate 130 is between 3 mm and 8 mm, which is sufficient to avoid interference from the supporting base plate 130 on the first portion 121 of the antenna 120, and to prevent the radiation pattern and efficiency of the antenna 120 from being reduced due to being too close to the metal supporting base plate 130, thereby improving the performance of the antenna 120. Of course, the actual value of the distance D1 may vary depending on the limitations of the appearance design or the mechanical design, and is not limited thereto.

[0065] In one embodiment, the distance D1 between the first portion 121 of the antenna 120 and the edge 131 of the supporting base plate 130 is 3 mm. Preferably, the distance D1 between the first portion 121 of the antenna 120 and the edge 131 of the supporting base plate 130 is greater than 5 mm.

[0066] Furthermore, the distance D2 between the second portion 122 of the antenna 120 and the support base plate 130 around the edge 131 of the recess 132 is between 1 mm and 2 mm, for example, 1.5 mm, which is sufficient to avoid interference from the support base plate 130 to the second portion 122 of the antenna 120 and reduce interference from the support base plate 130 to the radiation pattern of the antenna 120.

[0067] It is worth mentioning that, in this embodiment, the projection of the notch 132 of the support base plate 130 onto the plane containing these keycaps 160 corresponds only to the row of keycaps 160 closest to the sidewall 107. That is, the antenna 120 will only extend between two of the keycaps 160 in this row closest to the sidewall 107. This design avoids the situation where the metal inside the keyboard module 100 affects the performance of the antenna 120 when it crosses too many rows of keycaps 160.

[0068] In this embodiment, the antenna 120 couples out a frequency band, and the length of the first portion 121 of the antenna 120 is less than or equal to 1 / 4 of the wavelength of the frequency band. In this embodiment, this frequency band is, for example, WiFi 2.4 GHz, and the length of the antenna 120 is approximately between 30 mm and 31.5 mm. The antenna 120 is exemplified by a monopole antenna; in other embodiments, the antenna 120 may also be a PIFA antenna, but the frequency band, length, and form of the antenna 120 are not limited thereto.

[0069] In this embodiment, the keyboard module 100 utilizes the gap G between the edge 131 of the existing support base plate 130 and the side wall 107 of the housing 105 to house the antenna 120. This gap G serves as the clearance area for the antenna 120, without occupying space on the antenna circuit board 110. This effectively solves the problem of insufficient clearance area on the antenna circuit board 110, and may even eliminate the need for a clearance area on the antenna circuit board 110, thus reducing its size. This avoids affecting antenna performance due to insufficient clearance area and also reduces the impact on the circuit layout on the circuit board.

[0070] Furthermore, since the first part 121 of the antenna 120 is disposed in the gap G, the second part 122 of the antenna 120 extends into the recess 132 of the supporting base plate 130, and the third part 123 of the antenna 120 extends directly vertically downward, that is, after the second part 122 extends into the recess 132, the third part 123 extends towards the antenna circuit board 110, and the antenna 120 does not overlap with the supporting base plate 130 in the vertical direction. In other words, the supporting base plate 130 will not block the antenna 120 in the vertical direction, thus avoiding affecting the antenna efficiency and allowing the antenna 120 to have a more complete radiation pattern.

[0071] Furthermore, the antenna circuit board 110 is connected to the support base plate 130, thus the ground planes of the antenna circuit board 110 and the support base plate 130 are conductive. The antenna circuit board 110 uses the support base plate 130 as a large ground plane, which can avoid the antenna 120 field pattern from generating high side lobes and nulls due to insufficient ground plane in the antenna circuit board 110, thus affecting the performance of the antenna 120.

[0072] Furthermore, since the sidewall 107 located on the front side of the antenna 120 can be made of a material that has a lower impact on the field pattern of the antenna 120, such as plastic, and the support base plate 130 located on the rear side of the antenna 120 is made of a material such as a metal plate, the support base plate 130 serves as a large ground plane, which can concentrate the field pattern of the antenna 120 forward (away from the user), thereby increasing the radiation efficiency.

[0073] Well-known chip antennas have an efficiency of only 30% to 40%, while the antenna 120 in this embodiment has an antenna efficiency of over 50%. Specifically, according to simulations, the antenna efficiency can reach 78.8%, and the antenna 120 has a gain of 2.98dB, demonstrating excellent performance.

[0074] In summary, the keyboard module of the present invention has a gap between the edge of the supporting base plate and the side wall of the housing. The supporting base plate includes a recessed notch on the edge, facing the side wall. The antenna is disposed in the gap and extends into the notch in a bent manner, and is connected to the antenna circuit board. That is, the keyboard module of the present invention utilizes the existing gap between the edge of the supporting base plate and the side wall of the housing to house the antenna. This gap serves as the antenna clearance area without occupying space on the antenna circuit board, effectively solving the problem of insufficient clearance area. In addition, the antenna is disposed in this gap and extends into the notch of the supporting base plate in a bent manner, so that the antenna does not overlap with the supporting base plate in the vertical direction, thus providing good performance and having a more complete radiation pattern.

[0075] Although the technical content of the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications and refinements made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention should be included within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A keyboard module, characterized in that, include: The shell includes the bottom wall and side walls; An antenna circuit board is disposed above the bottom wall; A support base plate is disposed above the antenna circuit board. There is a gap between the edge of the support base plate and the side wall. The support base plate includes a recess recessed into the edge, and the recess faces the side wall. An antenna is disposed in the gap and extends into the recess, and is connected to the antenna circuit board; as well as Multiple keycaps are positioned above the supporting base plate; The antenna includes a first part, which is located within the gap and is coplanar with the supporting base plate. The antenna further includes a second portion bent and connected to the first portion and a third portion bent and connected to the second portion, the second portion extending into the notch and the third portion extending toward and connected to the antenna circuit board.

2. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first portion of the antenna is a straight segment near the side wall of the housing, and the first portion is parallel to the side wall.

3. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second part of the antenna is a straight line segment perpendicular to the first part, and the third part of the antenna is a straight line segment perpendicular to the second part.

4. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The distance between the second part and the supporting base plate at the edge surrounding the notch is between 1 mm and 2 mm.

5. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The distance between the first portion of the antenna and the edge of the supporting base plate is between 3 mm and 8 mm.

6. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The notch corresponds to the position between two of the plurality of keycaps.

7. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multiple keycaps are arranged in multiple rows, and the projection of the notch onto the plane where the multiple keycaps are located corresponds only to the row closest to the sidewall.

8. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes an insulating bracket disposed on the antenna circuit board and supporting the antenna.

9. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The antenna couples out a frequency band, and the length of the antenna is less than or equal to 1 / 4 of the wavelength of the frequency band.

10. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sidewall is made of an insulating material.

11. The keyboard module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The antenna circuit board is connected to the supporting base plate.

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