Keyboard device and detection assembly

Abstract

The invention is suitable for the technical field of optical axis keyboards, and provides a keyboard device and detection assemblys.The keyboard device comprises n detection assemblies which are arranged in series according to a preset arrangement rule; the (i + 1) th detection assembly detects the pressing depth data of the (i + 1) th key when receiving the ith communication data sent by the ith detection assembly corresponding to the ith key, and the ith communication data comprises the pressing depth data of the first key to the ith key; adding the (i + 1) th key pressing depth data into the ith communication data to obtain the (i + 1) th communication data; the nth detection component sends the generated nth communication data to the processor; the processor receives the nth communication data and executes a response action according to at least one of the first to nth key pressing depth data in the nth communication data. The function of the keyboard device and the complexity of the circuit design are optimized in this way.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of optical axis keyboards, and in particular, relates to a keyboard device and a detection component. Background Art

[0002] The optical axis keyboard uses infrared optical sensing technology to achieve the conduction and disconnection of the keys. There is no mechanical contact in this process, eliminating the contact jitter and wear problems in traditional mechanical keyboards. It has extremely high response speed and long service life, bringing users a higher usage experience.

[0003] If current optical axis keyboards want to achieve advanced functions, such as key pressing depth detection or diversification of backlight effects, they often need to add components such as Hall elements and / or backlight controllers, and design multi-layer circuit boards and wiring, which makes the circuit complexity of the optical axis keyboard and the circuit design difficulty too great.

[0004] Therefore, how to reduce the circuit complexity and circuit design difficulty of the optical axis keyboard on the basis of realizing the advanced functions of the optical axis keyboard has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a keyboard device and a detection component, which can solve the problems of complex circuits and difficult circuit design caused by the optical axis keyboard realizing advanced functions.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a keyboard device, the keyboard device comprising a processor, n keys and n detection components, the n detection components respectively correspond to the n keys and are respectively located under the corresponding keys, and the n detection components are arranged in series according to a preset arrangement rule;

[0007] The i+1th detection component is used for detecting the i+1th key pressing depth data corresponding to the i+1th key when receiving the i-th communication data sent by the i-th detection component corresponding to the i-th key, wherein 1≤i<n and i is an integer, the i-th communication data includes the i+1th to n-th control instructions corresponding to the control of the i+1th to n-th detection components and the 1st to i-th key pressing depth data detected by the 1st to i-th detection components respectively; the i+1th detection component is used for adding the i+1th key pressing depth data to the i-th communication data to obtain the i+1th communication data; the n-th detection component is used for sending the obtained n-th communication data to the processor; and,

[0008] The processor is configured to receive an nth communication number.

[0009] In some embodiments, each detection component includes a light transmitter and a light receiver, and the i+1th detection component is used to control the light transmitter of the i+1th detection component to emit invisible light based on the i+1th control instruction in the i+1th communication data; and the light receiver of the i+1th detection component is used to sense the reflected part of the invisible light so that the i+1th detection component generates the i+1th key pressing depth data.

[0010] In some embodiments, the first detection component is used to, upon receiving initial communication data sent by the processor, detect the first key pressing depth data corresponding to the first key according to the first control instruction corresponding to controlling the first detection component in the initial communication data, the initial communication data including n control instructions corresponding to controlling the n detection components respectively; and, the first detection component is used to add the first key pressing depth data to the initial communication data to obtain the first communication data.

[0011] In some embodiments, the i+1th detection component is used to delete the i+1th control instruction corresponding to controlling the i+1th detection component in the i-th communication data to obtain the i+1th communication data; and the 1st detection component is used to delete the 1st control instruction corresponding to controlling the 1st detection component in the initial communication data to obtain the 1st communication data.

[0012] In some embodiments, the keyboard device further includes n backlight components, the n backlight components respectively correspond to the n keys and are respectively located under the corresponding keys, and are electrically connected to the detection components under the corresponding keys; the control instructions include backlight instructions, and the backlight instructions are used to control the backlight components;

[0013] The i+1th detection component is used to determine the driving current of the backlight component under the i+1th key based on the backlight instruction in the i+1th control instruction; and drive the backlight component under the i+1th key to emit visible light according to the driving current; or, the first detection component is used to determine the driving current of the backlight component under the first key based on the backlight instruction in the first control instruction; and drive the backlight component under the first key to emit visible light according to the driving current.

[0014] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a detection component, which is applied to the keyboard device in any embodiment of the first aspect, including:

[0015] An integrated circuit for executing the steps performed by the detection component in the keyboard device according to any one of claims 1 to 6;

[0016] a light emitter for emitting invisible light in response to control of the integrated circuit; and

[0017] The optical receiver is used to sense the reflected part of the invisible light so that the integrated circuit generates key pressing depth data corresponding to the detection component.

[0018] In some embodiments, the integrated circuit, the optical transmitter, and the optical receiver are sequentially arranged along the length direction of the detection component.

[0019] In some embodiments, an optical isolation structure is disposed between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver.

[0020] In some embodiments, the optical isolation structure is a straight-line retaining wall structure or a T-shaped retaining wall structure.

[0021] In some embodiments, the signal port of the detection component includes a power port, a data output port, a clock output port, a ground port, a data input port, a backlight drive output port, and a clock input port;

[0022] The power port is arranged at a corner of the detection component, and the data output port, the clock output port and the ground port are arranged at the same side edge of the power port, and are arranged along the same side edge in the order of the power port, the data output port, the clock output port and the ground port;

[0023] The backlight driving output port, the data input port and the clock input port are arranged at the opposite side edge relative to the same side edge, and are arranged along the opposite side edge in the order of the backlight driving output port, the data input port and the clock input port.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the embodiments of the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0025] The n detection components in the keyboard device correspond to n keys respectively and are respectively located below the corresponding keys, and are arranged in series according to the preset arrangement rules, which can simplify the connection between the detection components in the keyboard device. The i-th communication data received by the i+1-th detection component includes the i+1-th to n-th control instructions corresponding to the control of the i+1-th to n-th detection components and the 1-th to i-th key pressing depth data detected by the 1-th to i-th detection components, so that the corresponding function can be executed in response to the i+1-th control instruction, and after the i+1-th detection component receives the i-th communication data, the i+1-th detection component will detect the pressing depth of the i+1-th key corresponding to itself, and obtain the i+1-th communication data including the i+1-th key pressing depth data. By analogy, the control instruction response of the n detection components and the concentration of the n-key pressing depth data are realized through the circulation of communication data between different detection components, and the processor can receive the n-key pressing depth data at one time and execute the response action based on at least one of them. In this way, the processor can achieve different responses based on the pressing depth of different keys while connecting to the detection components as little as possible, thereby enriching the functions of the keyboard device while avoiding the design of connections between the processor and each detection component, or adding additional processors and designing connections, thereby reducing the complexity of the circuits in the keyboard device and the circuit design. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a keyboard device in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of initial communication data to nth communication data in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of another keyboard device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4a It is a structural schematic diagram of a content schematic diagram detection component of a control instruction in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 4b is a signal diagram of key pressing depth data in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 5It is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a detection component in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the port structure of a detection component in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of a circuit layout in which detection components corresponding to three buttons are arranged in series in an example of an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a detection component in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Fig. 9 It is a top view of a layout structure of a detection component in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Fig.10 It is a side view of a layout structure of a detection component in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure after n detection components in a keyboard device in an embodiment of the present application are arranged in series according to a preset arrangement rule. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0040] An infrared light-emitting diode (Infrared LED) and a photodetector (PD, also known as a light receiver) are generally installed under each key of an optical axis keyboard to sense changes in light interruption or reflection. Generally, when a key is pressed, the light will be blocked or changed, thereby triggering the keyboard's input signal. However, this sensing method using Infrared LED and Photo Detector can only detect whether a key is pressed based on changes in light obstruction or reflection, but cannot accurately determine the depth of the key being pressed. Therefore, when the optical axis keyboard is required to implement advanced functions such as executing subsequent responses based on the depth of the key being pressed, more complex sensing technology is required.

[0041] Therefore, in order to sense the depth of key press, a magnetic Hall sensor is often integrated directly below the key and a magnetic material is added to the bottom of the keycap, so that the depth of press can be detected by analyzing the change in the magnetic field sensed by the magnetic Hall sensor when the key is pressed. However, this method requires the addition of sensors and magnetic materials other than photodetectors, which will increase the cost of the keycaps and is easily interfered by metal objects in the environment, resulting in a high misjudgment rate. It is also necessary to design complex wiring between additional sensors and the processor in the optical axis keyboard, and often a multi-layer circuit board structure is required to detect the depth of press, which greatly increases the complexity of the circuits and circuit designs in the optical axis keyboard.

[0042] In addition, in order to achieve diversified backlight effects in optical axis keyboards, a visible multi-color light source will be integrated under the keycap of each key, and an additional controller will be integrated in the optical axis keyboard to control the visible multi-color light source. In this way, it is necessary to design the connection between each key and complex routing, which will not only increase the noise interference source, causing the circuit board to move to multi-layer boards to increase manufacturing costs, but also increase the complexity of the circuit and circuit design in the axis keyboard.

[0043] Based on the above problems, the present application proposes a keyboard device and a detection component, which detects the key pressing depth data through the detection component, and sets n detection components to be arranged in series so that the detection components can communicate with each other through simple connections. The detection component is also set to integrate the key pressing depth data detected by itself into the previous communication data received, so that the main controller (processor) of the keyboard device can receive the pressing depth of n keys at a time to execute subsequent responses. It not only realizes the advanced function of pressing depth detection so that the processor executes subsequent responses based on at least one key pressing depth data, but also does not require the processor to be connected to each detection component, greatly reducing the complexity of the circuit and circuit design. In addition, the detection component can also directly drive the visible light source to emit visible light based on the backlight instruction in the received communication data, and the diversification of the backlight effect can be achieved without adding an additional controller, further reducing the complexity of the circuit and circuit design of the keyboard device, such as the optical axis keyboard.

[0044] The keyboard device of the present application is described in detail below. Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a keyboard device in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the keyboard device includes a processor 110 and n keys ( Figure 1 In the figure, the number of detection components ( Figure 1 denoted by detection component 1 to detection component n), the n detection components correspond to n keys respectively and are each located under the corresponding key, and the n detection components are arranged in series according to a preset arrangement rule.

[0045] The i+1th detection component is used for detecting the i+1th key pressing depth data corresponding to the i+1th key when receiving the i-th communication data sent by the i-th detection component corresponding to the i-th key, wherein 1≤i<n and i is an integer, the i-th communication data includes the i+1th to n-th control instructions corresponding to the control of the i+1th to n-th detection components and the 1st to i-th key pressing depth data detected by the 1st to i-th detection components respectively; the i+1th detection component is used for adding the i+1th key pressing depth data to the i-th communication data to obtain the i+1th communication data; the n-th detection component is used for sending the obtained n-th communication data to the processor; and,

[0046] The processor is used to receive the nth communication data and execute a response action according to at least one of the first to nth key pressing depth data in the nth communication data.

[0047] The keyboard device can be a keyboard that can use light to check the pressing depth. In the embodiment of the present application, the keyboard device is an optical axis keyboard as an example. The processor 110 is a main control chip in the keyboard device, for example, a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip.

[0048] In one example, each detection component includes, for example, a light transmitter and a light receiver (PD) detection component, and the data structure of the received communication data may be as follows: Figure 2 As shown, a group of 12 bits of feedback data represents a key press depth data, a group of 40 bits of data represents a control instruction, and the arrangement order of the control instructions in each communication data and the arrangement order of the key press depth data can be arranged in the order from the 1st to the nth detection components. Taking the i-th communication data as an example, the order of the 1st to the i-th key press depth data is, from left to right, the 1st key press depth data (12 bits of feedback data from the 1st optical receiver (PD)), the 2nd key press depth data (12 bits of feedback data from the 2nd PD)... the i-th key press depth data (12 bits of feedback data from the i-th PD). Similarly, the order of the i+1th to the n-th control instructions is, from left to right, the i+1th control instruction (i+1th 40 bits of data)... the n-th control instruction (nth 40 bits of data). At this time, the i+1th detection component can add the i+1th key pressing depth data to the i-th key pressing depth data in the i-th communication data (that is, add it to the end of the i-th communication data) to obtain the i+1th communication data.

[0049] It should be noted that if Figure 1 As shown, the processor 110 is electrically connected to the first detection component and the nth detection component of the n detection components arranged in series, respectively, so as to realize the data path between the processor and the detection components, avoid the separate connection between each detection component and the processor, and greatly reduce the complexity of the circuit and circuit design.

[0050] On this basis, in order to realize the sequential flow of communication data between the processor and n detection components, so as to realize the detection of key pressing depth and the operation of advanced functions of the keyboard device, the first detection component connected to the processor is used to detect the first key pressing depth data corresponding to the first key according to the first control instruction corresponding to the control of the first detection component in the initial communication data when receiving the initial communication data sent by the processor, and the initial communication data includes n control instructions corresponding to the control of n detection components respectively; and the first detection component is used to add the first key pressing depth data to the initial communication data to obtain the first communication data. In this way, the initial communication data is processed into the first communication data, which facilitates the transmission of subsequent communication data between the detection components, so as to realize the transmission of communication data one by one between the n detection components arranged in series, thereby obtaining the nth communication data, so that the processor receives multiple pressing depths at a time, thereby reducing the connection between the processor and the detection component, and optimizing the circuit design difficulty of the keyboard device.

[0051] It can be understood that the response action performed by the processor may include displaying the character indicated by the pressed key on the display screen, executing the function corresponding to the pressing depth of at least one key, determining whether there is a response to the pressing depth of the key, or determining at least one of the backlight of at least one key.

[0052] For example, among the n keys, there are key Y, key L and key Ctrl, and in the nth communication data, there is key Y with a key pressing depth data of 0.4 millimeters (mm), and key L and key Ctrl have a key pressing depth data of 1 mm. The processor determines that the key pressing depth data of key Y is less than 0.5 mm and does not respond to key Y. It determines that the key pressing depth data of key L and key Ctrl are greater than 0.5 mm, and these two keys are pressed and the pressing depth is deeper, and determines that the response action is to change the backlight mode of the keyboard device. It is understandable that the response action can be set based on the function to be implemented by the keyboard device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific restrictions.

[0053] In one implementation, in order to achieve timely response of the keyboard device, the processor 110 has high-speed processing and parallel computing capabilities, and each detection component also has functions such as instant data transmission based on a high-speed clock signal and key pressing depth data detection.

[0054] In the embodiment of the present application, n detection components in the keyboard device correspond to n keys respectively and are respectively located below the corresponding keys, and are arranged in series according to the preset arrangement rules, which can simplify the connection between the detection components in the keyboard device. The i-th communication data received by the i+1th detection component includes the i+1th to n-th control instructions corresponding to the control of the i+1th to n-th detection components and the 1st to i-th key pressing depth data detected by the 1st to i-th detection components, so that the corresponding function can be executed in response to the i+1th control instruction, and after the i+1th detection component receives the i-th communication data, the i+1th detection component will detect the pressing depth of the i+1th key corresponding to itself, and obtain the i+1th communication data including the i+1th key pressing depth data. By analogy, the control instruction response of n detection components and the concentration of n key pressing depth data are realized through the circulation of communication data between different detection components, and the processor can receive n key pressing depth data at one time, and execute a response action based on at least one of them. In this way, the processor can achieve different responses based on the pressing depth of different keys while connecting to the detection components as little as possible, thereby enriching the functions of the keyboard device while avoiding the design of connections between the processor and each detection component, or adding additional processors and designing connections, thereby reducing the complexity of the circuits in the keyboard device and the circuit design.

[0055] Figure 3 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another keyboard device in an embodiment of the present application. Each detection component includes a light emitter and a light receiver (PD); the i+1th detection component is used to control the light emitter of the i+1th detection component to emit invisible light based on the i+1th control instruction in the i+1th communication data; and the light receiver of the i+1th detection component is used to sense the reflected part of the invisible light, so that the i+1th detection component generates the i+1th key pressing depth data.

[0056] The light transmitter may be an infrared light emitting diode, and the light receiver may be a light receiving diode. The control instruction includes a light emitting instruction for controlling the transmitter, for example, Figure 4a As shown, the 8-bit IR instruction is a light-emitting instruction, which can indicate the duty cycle of the pulse current of the light emitter. When the i+1th detection component receives the i-th communication data, it can calculate the duty cycle of the current output by the detection component to the light emitter based on the light-emitting instruction in the i+1th control instruction, determine the current corresponding to the high level in the duty cycle as the preset maximum output current, and determine the current corresponding to the low level as the preset minimum output current, thereby obtaining the driving current of the light emitter, and then drive the light emitter of the i+1th detection component to emit invisible light according to the driving current.

[0057] When the i+1th key is pressed with different forces or not pressed, the parameters such as the reflection direction and intensity of the invisible light under the i+1th key will change, causing the light receiver in the i+1th detection component to generate different analog signals after sensing the reflected part of the invisible light, and feed the model information back to the i+1th detection component. The i+1th detection component can infer the pressing depth of the i+1th key based on the change of the analog signal to obtain the pressing depth data of the i+1th key.

[0058] In one implementation, the key press depth data may be indicated by a data encoding signal of a preset length, for example, Figure 4b The 12-bit distance counting signal shown is also a digitally encoded signal.

[0059] In the above technical solution, each detection component can drive its own light emitter to emit invisible light based on the received communication data to detect the key pressing depth data of its corresponding key. It not only realizes the control of the light emitters in the detection components arranged in series, but also realizes the detection of the pressing depth of the key corresponding to the detection component without adding sensors other than the light receiver, thereby optimizing the function of the keyboard device and reducing the manufacturing cost of the key.

[0060] In one implementation, the i+1th detection component is used to delete the i+1th control instruction corresponding to controlling the i+1th detection component in the i-th communication data to obtain the i+1th communication data; and the 1st detection component is used to delete the 1st control instruction corresponding to controlling the 1st detection component in the initial communication data to obtain the 1st communication data.

[0061] Combination Figure 2 as well as Figure 4a to Figure 4b , the initial communication data only includes the 1st to nth groups of 40 bits of data (control instructions), the 1st communication data generated by the 1st detection component includes the 2nd to nth groups of 40 bits of data (2nd to nth control instructions) and the 12 bits of return data of the 1st group of PD (the 1st key press depth data), and so on. The i+1th communication data generated by the i+1th detection component includes the i+2th to nth 40 bits of data and the 1st to i+1th key press depth data.

[0062] In this technical solution, the detection component will delete the control instructions corresponding to itself in the received communication data while adding the key pressing depth data to the received communication data, which can reduce the number of control instructions in the communication data and save the space of the communication data. It can also make the subsequent n-th communication data only include the pressing depths of n keys, so that the processor can directly obtain each pressing depth from the n-th communication data, avoiding the processor from performing other data processing operations on the n-th communication data, speeding up the response speed of the keyboard device and improving the user experience.

[0063] Continue to refer Figure 3 In some embodiments, the keyboard device further includes n backlight components, the n backlight components respectively correspond to the n keys and are respectively located under the corresponding keys, and are electrically connected to the detection components under the corresponding keys; the control instructions include backlight instructions, and the backlight instructions are used to control the backlight components;

[0064] The i+1th detection component is used to determine the driving current of the backlight component under the i+1th key based on the backlight instruction in the i+1th control instruction; and drive the backlight component under the i+1th key to emit visible light according to the driving current; or, the first detection component is used to determine the driving current of the backlight component under the first key based on the backlight instruction in the first control instruction; and drive the backlight component under the first key to emit visible light according to the driving current.

[0065] The backlight assembly is composed of at least one visible light source. The embodiment of the present application takes the backlight assembly composed of a red visible light source, a green visible light source and a blue visible light source as an example. Adaptively, the backlight instruction includes a red light instruction, a green light instruction and a blue light instruction. The i+1th detection component determines the current duty cycle corresponding to each visible light source in the backlight assembly based on the backlight instruction in the i+1th control instruction, and then outputs the driving current corresponding to each visible light source based on the determined current duty cycle, thereby driving the backlight assembly connected to the i+1th detection component to emit visible light. The same is true for the first detection component, which will not be repeated here. In this technical solution, each detection component can control the corresponding backlight assembly to emit visible light based on the corresponding backlight instruction in the communication data, thereby realizing the advanced function of backlight control without adding an additional processor, saving the production cost of the keyboard, and avoiding the connection between the processor of the keyboard itself and the additional processor or the backlight assembly, reducing the complexity of the circuit and circuit design in the keyboard device.

[0066] For example, continue to refer to Figure 4a, taking the backlight component as a red green blue light emitting diode (RGB LED) as an example, the control instruction includes a 24-bit backlight instruction, which includes an 8-bit red light instruction (i.e. Figure 4a R in), an 8-bit green light instruction (i.e. Figure 4a G in) and an 8-bit Blu-ray instruction (i.e. Figure 4a In B), the red light instruction indicates the driving current of the red visible light source in the RGB LED, the green light instruction indicates the driving current of the green visible light source in the RGB LED, and the blue light instruction indicates the driving current of the blue visible light source in the RGB LED. The i+1th detection component or the first detection component can control the corresponding backlight component to emit visible light based on the backlight instruction in the corresponding control instruction in the communication data.

[0067] In some embodiments, in order to adapt the backlight effect of the keyboard device to more application scenarios, the control instruction also includes a current intensity instruction and a duty cycle instruction, the current intensity instruction is used to indicate the upper limit of the driving current corresponding to the backlight component, and the duty cycle instruction is used to fine-tune the driving current corresponding to the backlight component. The i+1th detection component is used to determine the driving current of the i+1th backlight component according to the current intensity instruction, the backlight instruction and the duty cycle instruction in the i+1th control instruction; or, the first detection component is used to determine the driving current of the first backlight component according to the current intensity instruction, the backlight instruction and the duty cycle instruction in the first control instruction.

[0068] The i+1th detection component can calculate an output current based on the current intensity instruction, and the output current is the upper limit of the driving current corresponding to the i+1th backlight component. Then, a duty cycle is calculated based on the backlight instruction, and the current corresponding to the high level in the duty cycle is determined as the calculated output current, and the current corresponding to the low level is determined as the pre-set minimum output current to obtain the initial driving current. The calculated duty cycle is adjusted based on the duty cycle instruction, and the appearance time of the high level and the low level in the initial driving current within a cycle can be changed based on the adjusted duty cycle, thereby obtaining the fine-tuned driving current. The same is true for the first detection component, which will not be repeated here. A more refined adjustment of the driving current of the backlight component is achieved through the current intensity instruction and the duty cycle instruction, so that the backlight effect of the keyboard device can be adapted to more application scenarios.

[0069] Continue to refer Figure 4a, the 4-bit current intensity command (Flag) can define 16 different current intensity levels, and the 4-bit duty cycle command (DIM) can further refine the duty cycle determined by each 8-bit command in the backlight command. For example, the maximum output current corresponding to the i+1 detection component is preset to be 30 milliamperes (mA), and the minimum output current is 5 milliamperes (mA). The current intensity command in the control command corresponding to the i+1 detection component is 1000 (decimal 8), the duty cycle command is also 1000 (decimal 8), and the red light command is 10000000 (decimal 128), assuming that the period is 1 millisecond (ms).

[0070] The output current calculated by the i+1th detection component based on the current intensity instruction is 8 / (2 4 -1)×30mA=16mA; the duty cycle corresponding to the red light command is 128 / (2 8 -1)×100%=50%, the duty cycle of the red light command corresponding to the adjustment of the i+1th detection component based on the duty cycle command is 8 / (2 4 -1)×100%≈53.33%, the pulse width is 0.5333ms, the high level duration in one cycle is 0.5333ms instead of 0.5ms. In one cycle, the driving current of the backlight component will last for 0.5333ms and be 16mA, and the remaining time is 5mA.

[0071] The detection components in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a detection component provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the detection component is applicable to the keyboard device in any of the above embodiments. Figure 5 The detection component shown includes:

[0072] An integrated circuit (IC, also called IC circuit) for executing the steps executed by the detection component in the keyboard device in any of the above embodiments;

[0073] a light emitter for emitting invisible light in response to control of the integrated circuit; and

[0074] The optical receiver is used to sense the reflected part of the invisible light so that the integrated circuit generates key pressing depth data corresponding to the detection component.

[0075] The process of the integrated circuit generating the key pressing depth data corresponding to the detection component can refer to the process of the i+1th detection component generating the i+1th key pressing depth data in the above embodiment, which will not be described in detail here. The integrated circuit can be a chip with data processing function.

[0076] In some embodiments, the detection components are configured with signal ports to facilitate the connection between the detection components and the connection between the first detection component and the nth detection component. Figure 6 As shown, the signal port of the detection component includes a power port ( Figure 6 VDD port and VPP port in the data output port ( Figure 6 D_out port in), clock output port ( Figure 6 C_out port in), ground port ( Figure 6 GND port in), data input port ( Figure 6 D_in port in), backlight drive output port ( Figure 6 R port, G port and B port) and clock input port ( Figure 6 C_in port in );

[0077] The power port is arranged at a corner of the detection component, and the data output port, the clock output port and the ground port are arranged at the same side edge of the power port, and are arranged along the same side edge in the order of the power port, the data output port, the clock output port and the ground port;

[0078] The backlight driving output port, the data input port and the clock input port are arranged at the opposite side edge relative to the same side edge, and are arranged along the opposite side edge in the order of the backlight driving output port, the data input port and the clock input port.

[0079] Among them, taking the i+1th detection component as an example, the power port and the ground port are used to connect to the power supply to power the detection component, the data input port is used to receive the i-th communication data sent by the i-th detection component, and the data output port is used to send the i+1th communication data to the i+2th detection component corresponding to the i+2th key; the backlight drive output port is used to drive the backlight component corresponding to the i+1th key to emit visible light; the clock input port is used to receive the high-speed clock signal sent by the i-th detection component; the clock output port is used to send a high-speed clock signal to the i+2th detection component.

[0080] It can be understood that the data input port and clock port of the first detection component are respectively used to receive the initial communication data and the high-speed clock signal from the processor, the data output port is used to send the first communication data to the second detection component corresponding to the second key, and the clock output port is used to send a high-speed clock signal to the second detection component.

[0081] In some embodiments, the side where the data output port of the i-th detection component is located can be placed on the side where the data input port of the i+1-th detection component is located, the clock output port of the i-th detection component is connected to the clock input port of the i+1-th detection component, and the data output port of the i-th detection component is connected to the data input port of the i+1-th detection component. The power ports of the n detection components are connected to the same power supply, and the ground ports of the n detection components are connected to the same ground. The data input port and clock input port of the first detection component and the data output port and clock output port of the n-th detection component are all connected to the processor.

[0082] Specific examples include Figure 7 As shown, taking 3 buttons as an example, after connecting the 3 detection components in series, the VDD ports of the 3 detection components are also connected to the power signal port ( Figure 7 The VDD signal port in the middle circle), the GND port is connected to the ground signal port ( Figure 7 The circular GND signal port in the middle). Connect the data input port of the first detection component and the data output port of the third detection component to the data signal port ( Figure 7 The clock input port of the first detection component and the clock output port of the third detection component are connected to the clock signal port ( Figure 7 In this way, when the detection component is used in a keyboard device through the clock input port and the clock output port, it can realize the high-speed return of the key pressing depth data of n keys with a high-speed clock so that the processor can timely execute the response action based on the different key pressing depths of different keys. The series connection between the detection components can also avoid the separate connection between each detection component and the processor, save the wiring amount and reduce the complexity of circuit design.

[0083] In some embodiments, Figure 8 As shown, the integrated circuit of the detection component includes a data processing subcomponent 410, a digital-to-analog conversion subcomponent 420, a driving subcomponent 430, and a clock line subcomponent 440. The transmitter of the detection component is connected to the driving subcomponent 430, and the optical receiver is connected to the digital-to-analog conversion subcomponent 420. The driving subcomponent 430 is a subcomponent that integrates multi-channel driving, which can drive the backlight component to emit visible light and drive the light emitter to emit invisible light.

[0084] Taking the i+1th detection component as an example, the data processing subcomponent 410 is used to receive the i-th communication data sent by the i-th detection component corresponding to the i-th key, send the i+1th control instruction corresponding to controlling the i+1th detection component in the i+1th communication data to the digital-to-analog conversion subcomponent 420, and add the i+1th key pressing depth data sent by the digital-to-analog conversion subcomponent 420 to the i-th communication data to obtain the i+1th communication data; based on the backlight instruction in the i+1th control instruction, determine the driving current of the backlight component under the i+1th key;

[0085] The digital-to-analog conversion subcomponent 420 is used to detect the i+1th key pressing depth data corresponding to the i+1th key based on the i+1th control instruction, and send the i+1th key pressing depth data to the data processing subcomponent 410;

[0086] The driving subassembly 430 is used to drive the backlight assembly under the (i+1)th key to emit visible light according to the driving current;

[0087] The clock line subcomponent 440 is used to send the high-speed clock signal received from the i-th detection component to the data processing subcomponent 410, so that the data processing subcomponent 410 can execute the steps involved in any of the above embodiments at high speed. In this way, the detection component can realize the compression depth detection and the transmission of communication data at high speed, and realize the timely feedback of the compression depth. It can be understood that for the first detection component, the clock line subcomponent 440 is used to receive the high-speed clock signal sent by the processor, and send the high-speed clock signal to the data processing subcomponent 410 and the clock line subcomponent of the second detection component.

[0088] It can be understood that for the nth detection component, the data processing subcomponent 410 can send the nth communication data to the processor, and the processor is used to receive the nth communication data and perform a response action based on at least one of the 1st to nth key pressing depth data in the nth communication data.

[0089] For the first detection component, the data processing sub-component 410 can receive the initial communication data sent by the processor, send the first control instruction corresponding to the first detection component in the initial communication data to the digital-to-analog conversion sub-component 420, and add the first key pressing depth data sent by the digital-to-analog conversion sub-component 420 to the initial communication data to obtain the first communication data; the digital-to-analog conversion sub-component 420 can detect the first key pressing depth data corresponding to the first key based on the first control instruction, and send the first key pressing depth data to the data processing sub-component 410.

[0090] In some embodiments, the data processing subcomponent 410 is further used to determine the driving current of the backlight assembly under the i+1th key based on the backlight instruction in the i+1th control instruction; the driving subcomponent 430 is used to drive the backlight assembly under the i+1th key to emit visible light according to the driving current. For the first detection component, the data processing subcomponent 410 is further used to determine the driving current of the backlight assembly under the first key based on the backlight instruction in the first control instruction; the driving subcomponent 430 is used to drive the backlight assembly under the first key to emit visible light according to the driving current.

[0091] In some embodiments, in order to improve the reliability of the detection of the pressing depth, a light emitter with a Field of Illumination (FOI) smaller than a preset angle (for example, 30 degrees or self-set) is used. Limiting the FOI of the light emitter can better focus the light, ensuring that the light receiver can accurately detect the intensity changes of the received invisible light, thereby accurately detecting the pressing depth of the key. In addition, limiting the FOI of the light emitter can also limit the divergence angle of the invisible light and reduce the interference of the ambient light on the pressing depth detection, thereby improving the performance of the keyboard device using the detection component under different lighting conditions. It can also reduce unnecessary light scattering in the light emitter, which can improve the service life and stability of the light emitter in the detection component.

[0092] In some embodiments, Fig. 9 as well as Fig.10 The schematic diagram of the layout structure of the detection component shown in the figure shows the integrated circuit, the optical transmitter ( Fig. 9 IR) and optical receiver ( Fig. 9 The detection components are arranged in sequence along the length direction.

[0093] In some embodiments, in order to ensure the response speed of the keyboard device, the distance between the center of the light receiver in the detection component and the center of the light emitter does not exceed a preset threshold, for example, 1 mm. The specific preset threshold is set by the user and is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application. Limiting the distance between the light emitter and the light receiver within the preset threshold can minimize the attenuation of the light emitted by the light emitter during the propagation process and reduce the time required for light propagation, ensuring that the light receiver can quickly receive the light signal, thereby improving the response speed of the key and ensuring a smoother user experience. In addition, limiting the distance between the light emitter and the light receiver within a smaller range also helps to compactly arrange the light emitter and the light receiver in the detection component and reduce its impact on other components.

[0094] In some embodiments, in order to further improve the reliability of the detection component in detecting the key press depth data, an optical isolation structure may be provided between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver of the detection component to avoid lateral crosstalk (light) between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver in the detection component. In some embodiments, the optical isolation structure may be Fig.10 The I-shaped retaining wall structure shown in the left figure can also be Fig.10 The specific shape of the T-shaped retaining wall structure shown in the right figure can also be set by oneself and is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0095] In some embodiments, in combination Figure 7 The schematic diagram of the circuit structure after n detection components in the keyboard device are arranged in series according to the preset arrangement rules can be shown as follows: Fig.11 As shown, the i+1th detection component is taken as an example. The i+1th detection component can use the clock line subcomponent to pass the clock input port ( Fig.11 The CKI port in the ith detection component receives the high-speed clock ( Fig.11 CKLi in the , and sends a high-speed clock (CKLi+1 in this case) to the i+2th detection component through the clock output port (CKO port); uses the data subcomponent to receive the i-th communication data (i.e. Fig.11 DAIi in the detection component, and sends the i+1th communication data (DAIi+1) to the data input port (DAI port) of the i+2th detection component at high speed through the data output port (DAO port).

[0096] The i+1th detection component uses the driving sub-component to output the driving current corresponding to each visible light source in the backlight component through the backlight driving output port (Out R port, Out G port and Out B port) to drive the backlight component to emit visible light (in this example, the red visible light source corresponds to Out R port, the green visible light source corresponds to Out G port, and the blue visible light source corresponds to Out B port). Inside the detection component, the driving sub-component also drives the light emitter to emit invisible light by outputting the pulse current of the light emitter (Out IR); the digital-to-analog conversion sub-component receives the analog signal (Out PD) sent by the optical receiver after sensing the reflected part of the invisible light at high speed to determine the key pressing depth data.

[0097] The first detection component in the n detection groups receives the initial communication data sent by the processor based on a similar process ( Fig.11 The first detection component sends the first communication data (DAI1) to the second detection component based on the DAI0 and high-speed clock (CKL0) in the processor. The nth detection component sends the nth communication data (DAIn) to the processor based on a similar process.

[0098] In some embodiments, multiple receiving channels are integrated into the data processing subcomponent. The i-th detection component can use its own data processing subcomponent to divide the i-th communication data into multiple parts and send them to the i+1-th detection component through multiple receiving channels. Similarly, the n-th detection component can divide the n-th communication data into multiple parts and send them to the processor through multiple receiving channels, thereby increasing the transmission rate of communication data and realizing the timely return of multiple key pressing depth data.

[0099] It should be noted that the processor may also divide the initial communication data into multiple parts and send them to the first detection component through multiple receiving channels respectively, so as to realize timely detection of the button pressing depth data and timely control of the backlight effect.

[0100] It should be understood that when used in the present specification and the appended claims, the term "comprising" indicates the presence of described features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0101] It should also be understood that the term “and / or” used in the specification and appended claims refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes these combinations.

[0102] As used in the specification and appended claims of this application, the term "if" can be interpreted as "when" or "uponce" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting", depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase "if it is determined" or "if [described condition or event] is detected" can be interpreted as meaning "uponce it is determined" or "in response to determining" or "uponce [described condition or event] is detected" or "in response to detecting [described condition or event]", depending on the context.

[0103] In addition, in the description of the present application specification and the appended claims, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used to distinguish the descriptions and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0104] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" etc. described in the specification of this application mean that one or more embodiments of the present application include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Therefore, the statements "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0105] The embodiments described above are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, a person skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. Such modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and should all be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A keyboard device, characterized in that: The keyboard device includes a processor, n keys and n detection components, the n detection components respectively correspond to the n keys and are respectively located below the corresponding keys, and the n detection components are arranged in series according to a preset arrangement rule; The i+1th detection component is used for, upon receiving the i-th communication data sent by the i-th detection component corresponding to the i-th key, detecting the i+1th key pressing depth data corresponding to the i+1th key by the i+1th detection component, wherein 1≤i<n and i is an integer, and the i-th communication data includes the i+1th to nth control instructions corresponding to controlling the i+1th to nth detection components respectively and the 1st to ith key pressing depth data detected by the 1st to i-th detection components respectively; The i+1th detection component is used to add the i+1th key pressing depth data to the i-th communication data to obtain the i+1th communication data; the n-th detection component is used to send the obtained n-th communication data to the processor; as well as, The processor is used to receive the nth communication data and perform a response action according to at least one of the first to nth key pressing depth data in the nth communication data.

2. The keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the detection components includes a light transmitter and a light receiver, and the i+1th detection component is used to control the light transmitter of the i+1th detection component to emit invisible light based on the i+1th control instruction in the i-th communication data; and the light receiver of the i+1th detection component is used to sense the reflected part of the invisible light so that the i+1th detection component generates the i+1th key pressing depth data.

3. The keyboard device according to claim 2, wherein: The first detection component is used to, when receiving initial communication data sent by the processor, detect the first key pressing depth data corresponding to the first key according to the first control instruction corresponding to controlling the first detection component in the initial communication data, wherein the initial communication data includes n control instructions corresponding to controlling the n detection components respectively; and the first detection component is used to add the first key pressing depth data to the initial communication data to obtain the first communication data.

4. The keyboard device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The i+1th detection component is used to delete the i+1th control instruction corresponding to controlling the i+1th detection component in the i-th communication data to obtain the i+1th communication data; and the first detection component is used to delete the first control instruction corresponding to controlling the first detection component in the initial communication data to obtain the first communication data.

5. The keyboard device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The keyboard device further includes n backlight components, the n backlight components respectively correspond to the n keys and are respectively located under the corresponding keys, and are electrically connected to the detection components under the corresponding keys; the control instructions include backlight instructions, and the backlight instructions are used to control the backlight components; The i+1th detection component is used to determine the driving current of the backlight assembly under the i+1th key based on the backlight instruction in the i+1th control instruction; and drive the backlight assembly under the i+1th key to emit visible light according to the driving current; or, the first detection component is used to determine the driving current of the backlight assembly under the first key based on the backlight instruction in the first control instruction; and drive the backlight assembly under the first key to emit visible light according to the driving current.

6. A detection component, characterized in that: The keyboard device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 comprises: An integrated circuit for executing the steps executed by the detection component in the keyboard device according to any one of claims 1 to 6; a light emitter for emitting invisible light in response to control of the integrated circuit; and The optical receiver is used to sense the reflected part of the invisible light so that the integrated circuit generates key pressing depth data corresponding to the detection component.

7. The detection component according to claim 6, characterized in that: The integrated circuit, the optical transmitter and the optical receiver are arranged in sequence along the length direction of the detection component.

8. The detection component according to claim 7, characterized in that: An optical isolation structure is arranged between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver.

9. The detection component according to claim 8, characterized in that: The optical isolation structure is a straight-line retaining wall structure or a T-shaped retaining wall structure.

10. The detection assembly according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that: The signal ports of the detection component include a power port, a data output port, a clock output port, a ground port, a data input port, a backlight drive output port and a clock input port; The power port is arranged at a corner of the detection component, and the data output port, the clock output port and the ground port are arranged on the same side edge of the power port, and are arranged along the same side edge in the order of the power port, the data output port, the clock output port and the ground port; The backlight driving output port, the data input port and the clock input port are arranged at an opposite side edge relative to the same side edge, and are arranged along the opposite side edge in the order of the backlight driving output port, the data input port and the clock input port.

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