Key structure
By setting against bumps on the bracket limit surface or bottom plate limit surface of the mechanical button, the problem of mechanical buttons being prone to resonance and resonance under sounds with strong ambient energy is solved, and a better user experience is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202311603031.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-11-28
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-30
AI Technical Summary
Mechanical buttons are prone to resonance and resonance when sounds with strong ambient energy exist, affecting the user experience.
By providing abutting bumps on the bracket limiting surface or the base plate limiting surface, the bumps against the opposite limiting surfaces, avoiding relative movement between adjacent components, thereby eliminating or suppressing resonance and resonance.
It effectively avoids the problem of resonance and resonance between the components of the key structure and improves the user experience.
Smart Images
Figure CN120072553A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a key structure, and more particularly to a mechanical key. Background Art
[0002] Mechanical keys are usually composed of multiple components combined. To facilitate assembly, the structural dimensions of each component are designed with assembly tolerances, but this also leaves gaps between the components. These gaps easily cause adjacent components to move relatively. For example, in a keyboard using mechanical keys, if there is a sound with strong enough energy in the environment (for example, in a laptop computer, the speaker adjacent to the keyboard plays sound), there is a chance that multiple keys will resonate, and even produce a resonant sound, which affects the user experience. Summary of the Invention
[0003] The present invention provides a key structure that uses a convex block to abut against a relative limiting surface to prevent adjacent components from moving relatively, so as to solve the foregoing problems.
[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a key structure, which includes a bottom plate, a keycap, a first bracket, a second bracket, and a first abutting convex block. The bottom plate has a first bracket connection portion, and the first bracket connection portion has a first bracket limiting surface and a second bracket limiting surface; the keycap is disposed on the bottom plate; the first bracket connects the bottom plate and the keycap, the first bracket has a first bottom plate connection portion, the first bracket is connected to the bottom plate via the first bottom plate connection portion and the first bracket connection portion, the first bottom plate connection portion has a first bottom plate limiting surface and a second bottom plate limiting surface, the first bottom plate limiting surface faces and is adjacent to the first bracket limiting surface, the second bottom plate limiting surface faces and is adjacent to the second bracket limiting surface, the first bottom plate limiting surface and the second bottom plate limiting surface are located between the first bracket limiting surface and the second bracket limiting surface, or the first bottom plate limiting surface and the second bottom plate limiting surface are located outside the first bracket limiting surface and the second bracket limiting surface; the second bracket connects the bottom plate and the keycap, and the keycap moves up and down relative to the bottom plate via the first bracket and the second bracket; the first abutting convex block is fixedly disposed on one of the first bracket limiting surface and the first bottom plate limiting surface and abuts against the other of the first bottom plate limiting surface and the first bracket limiting surface.
[0005] As an optional technical solution, the first abutting convex block is integrally formed with one of the first bottom plate connection portion and the first bracket connection portion.
[0006] As an optional technical solution, the first abutting convex block is a hemispherical convex portion or a semi-cylindrical convex portion.
[0007] As an alternative technical solution, the key structure further includes a second abutting convex block, which is fixedly arranged on the limiting surface of the second bracket and abuts against the limiting surface of the second bottom plate, or the second abutting convex block is fixedly arranged on the limiting surface of the second bottom plate and abuts against the limiting surface of the second bracket.
[0008] As an alternative technical solution, the key structure further includes a third abutting convex block. The bottom plate has a second bracket connecting portion, the second bracket connecting portion has a third bracket limiting surface and a fourth bracket limiting surface, the second bracket has a second bottom plate connecting portion, the second bracket is connected to the bottom plate through the second bottom plate connecting portion and the second bracket connecting portion, the second bottom plate connecting portion has a third bottom plate limiting surface and a fourth bottom plate limiting surface, the third bottom plate limiting surface faces and is adjacent to the third bracket limiting surface, the fourth bottom plate limiting surface faces and is adjacent to the fourth bracket limiting surface, the third bottom plate limiting surface and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface are located between the third bracket limiting surface and the fourth bracket limiting surface, or the third bottom plate limiting surface and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface are located outside the third bracket limiting surface and the fourth bracket limiting surface. The third abutting convex block is fixedly arranged on one of the third bracket limiting surface and the third bottom plate limiting surface and abuts against the other of the third bottom plate limiting surface and the third bracket limiting surface.
[0009] As an alternative technical solution, the third abutting convex block is integrally formed with one of the second bottom plate connecting portion and the second bracket connecting portion.
[0010] As an alternative technical solution, the third abutting convex block is a hemispherical convex portion or a semi-cylindrical convex portion.
[0011] As an alternative technical solution, the key structure further includes a fourth abutting convex block, which is fixedly arranged on the fourth bracket limiting surface and abuts against the fourth bottom plate limiting surface, or the fourth abutting convex block is fixedly arranged on the fourth bottom plate limiting surface and abuts against the fourth bracket limiting surface.
[0012] As an alternative technical solution, both the first bracket and the second bracket are rectangular frames. The first bracket is pivotally connected to the inside or outside of the second bracket, and the first bottom plate limiting surface and the second bottom plate limiting surface are located at two adjacent frame corners of the first bracket.
[0013] As an alternative technical solution, the first bracket is pivotally connected to the second bracket.
[0014] The present invention provides a key structure. By arranging abutting convex blocks on the bracket limiting surface or the bottom plate limiting surface and using the convex blocks to abut against the opposite limiting surfaces, relative movement between adjacent components is avoided, thereby avoiding resonance and resonance problems between the components of the key structure. Description of the Drawings
[0015] The following further describes in detail the specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a key structure according to an embodiment;
[0017] Figure 2 is Figure 1 an exploded view of the key structure in
[0018] Figure 3 is Figure 1 a partial schematic view of the connection between the first bracket and the bottom plate of the key structure in
[0019] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the first abutting convex block on the first bracket;
[0020] Figure 5 is Figure 1 a partial schematic view of the connection between the second bracket and the bottom plate of the key structure in Specific Embodiments
[0021] To more clearly illustrate the present invention, the following further describes the present invention with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Similar components in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals. Those skilled in the art should understand that the content specifically described below is illustrative rather than restrictive, and should not be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.
[0022] Please refer to Figures 1 to 2 , Figure 1 as shown, it is a schematic diagram of a key structure according to an embodiment, Figure 2 as shown is Figure 1 an exploded view of the key structure in Figures 1 to 2 As shown, a key structure 1 according to an embodiment includes a bottom plate 12, a keycap 14, a lifting mechanism 16, a switch circuit board 18, and an elastic member 20. The keycap 14 is disposed on the bottom plate 12. The lifting mechanism 16 includes a first bracket 162 and a second bracket 164. Both the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 are connected to the bottom plate 12 and the keycap 14. The keycap 14 can move up and down relative to the bottom plate 12 via the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164, that is, move along the vertical direction Dv (indicated by a double-headed arrow in the figure). The switch circuit board 18 (for example, but not limited to being formed by a flexible circuit board) is stacked on the bottom plate 12. The elastic member 20 (for example, but not limited to a rubber round protrusion) is aligned with the switch 182 of the switch circuit board 18 (indicated by a hatched dotted circle in Figure 2It is located in the middle) and is disposed between the keycap 14 and the switch circuit board 18. When the keycap 14 moves towards the bottom plate 12 (e.g., pressed by a user), it can squeeze the elastic member 20 to trigger the switch 182. When the keycap 14 is no longer pressed, the squeezed elastic member 20 will return to its original state and make the keycap 14 return to its original position.
[0023] Among them, the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 are pivotally connected with respect to the pivot axis 16a (shown by a chain line in the figure). The bottom plate 12 has a first bracket connection portion 122 (shown by a dotted line frame in Figure 2 the figure) and a second bracket connection portion 124 (shown by a dotted line frame in Figure 2 the figure). The first bracket 162 has a first bottom plate connection portion 1622, and the first bracket 162 is connected to the bottom plate 12 via the first bottom plate connection portion 1622 and the first bracket connection portion 122. The second bracket 164 has a second bottom plate connection portion 1642, and the second bracket 164 is connected to the bottom plate 12 via the second bottom plate connection portion 1642 and the second bracket connection portion 124. Please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 as shown in Figure 1 the figure for a partial schematic view of the connection between the first bracket 162 of the key structure 1 and the bottom plate 12 in the figure. As Figure 3As shown, in the connection between the first bracket 162 and the bottom plate 12, the first bracket connecting portion 122 has a first bracket limiting surface 1222 and a second bracket limiting surface 1224, and the orientations of the first bracket limiting surface 1222 and the second bracket limiting surface 1224 are different; in this embodiment, both the first bracket limiting surface 1222 and the second bracket limiting surface 1224 are parallel to the pivot axis 16a and face outward. The first bottom plate connecting portion 1622 has a first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and a second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b, and the orientations of the first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b are different; in this embodiment, both the first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b are parallel to the pivot axis 16a and face inward. The first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a faces and is adjacent to the first bracket limiting surface 1222, the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b faces and is adjacent to the second bracket limiting surface 1224, and the first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b are located outside the first bracket limiting surface 1222 and the second bracket limiting surface 1224. Through the mutual limitation between the limiting surfaces on the bottom plate 12 (including the first bracket limiting surface 1222 and the second bracket limiting surface 1224) and the limiting surfaces on the first bracket 162 (including the first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b) in the direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a, the relative position of the first bracket 162 relative to the bottom plate 12 in the direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a is restricted. In practical applications, it is also possible to design such that the first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b are located between the first bracket limiting surface 1222 and the second bracket limiting surface 1224 (the structural configuration can be obtained based on Figure 3 simple changes and will not be elaborated here), and this design can also restrict the relative position of the first bracket 162 relative to the bottom plate 12 in the direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a.
[0024] In addition, in this embodiment, the sum of the gap 1622c between the first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and the first bracket limiting surface 1222 and the gap 1622d between the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b and the second bracket limiting surface 1224 is greater than zero, which is helpful for the assembly of the first bracket 162 (the first bottom plate connecting portion 1622 thereof) and the bottom plate 12 (the first bracket connecting portion 122 thereof). Generally speaking, the aforementioned non-zero sum of gaps (i.e., the sum of gaps 1622c and 1622d) enables the first bracket 162 to move relative to the bottom plate 12 parallel to the pivot axis 16a. If there is a sound with strong enough energy in the environment (for example, in a laptop computer, the speaker near the keyboard plays a sound), there is a chance that the lifting mechanism 16 (together with the keycap 14) will resonate and even produce a resonating sound. In this embodiment, the key structure 1 further includes a first abutting convex block 22 and a second abutting convex block 24. The first abutting convex block 22 is fixedly arranged on the first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and abuts against the first bracket limiting surface 1222, and the second abutting convex block 24 is fixedly arranged on the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b and abuts against the second bracket limiting surface 1224. This structural configuration can fix the relative positions of the first bracket 162 and the bottom plate 12 in the direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a, so that the influence of gaps 1622c and 1622d (i.e., the problem of possible resonance and resonance) can be eliminated or significantly suppressed, improving the user experience. In addition, in practical applications, either the first abutting convex block 22 or the second abutting convex block 24 can be provided. For example, only the first abutting convex block 22 is provided, and the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b and the second bracket limiting surface 1224 directly abut against each other; this structural configuration can still fix the relative positions of the first bracket 162 and the bottom plate 12 in the direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a.
[0025] In this embodiment, the bottom plate 12 is made of a metal plate, and the first bracket 162 is made of engineering plastic, such as by injection molding. The first abutting convex block 22 and the second abutting convex block 24 are integrally formed with the first bracket 162, but this is not limited in practical applications. For example, the first abutting convex block 22 and the second abutting convex block 24 are fixed to the first bracket 162 in the manner of separately manufactured components. Or, in practical applications, the first abutting convex block 22 can also be fixedly arranged on the first bracket limiting surface 1222 and abut against the first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a; the second abutting convex block 24 can also be fixedly arranged on the second bracket limiting surface 1224 and abut against the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b. This structural configuration can also fix the relative positions of the first bracket 162 and the bottom plate 12 in the direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a, thereby eliminating or significantly suppressing the influence of gaps 1622c and 1622d. Similarly, in practical applications, the first abutting convex block 22 and the second abutting convex block 24 can also be integrally formed with the bottom plate 12 (such as by stamping), or fixed to the bottom plate 12 in the manner of separately manufactured components.
[0026] In this embodiment, the first abutting bump 22 is a semi-cylindrical convex portion, and its structure itself has a chamfer structure, which helps the assembly of the first bottom plate connecting portion 1622 and the first bracket connecting portion 122. Alternatively, in practical applications, please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 The figure shows a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the first abutting bump on the first bracket. As shown in Figure 4 , the first abutting bump 22 can also be a hemispherical convex portion 22' or other protruding structures (such as conical). The same applies to the second abutting bump 24 and will not be elaborated here. In addition, after the first bracket 162 is assembled to the bottom plate 12, the first abutting bump 22 will be slightly deformed, which helps the first abutting bump 22 to keep abutting against the first bracket limiting surface 1222. The same applies to the second abutting bump 24 and will not be elaborated here.
[0027] Please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 5 , Figure 5 The figure shows a partial schematic diagram of the connection between the second bracket 164 of the button structure 1 in Figure 1 and the bottom plate 12. As shown in Figure 5 , in the connection between the second bracket 164 and the bottom plate 12, the second bracket connecting portion 124 has a third bracket limiting surface 1242 and a fourth bracket limiting surface 1244, and the orientations of the third bracket limiting surface 1242 and the fourth bracket limiting surface 1244 are different; in this embodiment, both the third bracket limiting surface 1242 and the fourth bracket limiting surface 1244 are parallel to the pivot axis 16a and face inward. The second bottom plate connecting portion 1642 has a third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and a fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b, and the orientations of the third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b are different; in this embodiment, both the third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b are parallel to the pivot axis 16a and face outward. The third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a faces and is adjacent to the third bracket limiting surface 1242, the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b faces and is adjacent to the fourth bracket limiting surface 1244, and the third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b are located between the third bracket limiting surface 1242 and the fourth bracket limiting surface 1244. Similarly, through the mutual limitation between the limiting surfaces on the bottom plate 12 (including the third bracket limiting surface 1242 and the fourth bracket limiting surface 1244) and the limiting surfaces on the second bracket 164 (including the third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b) in the direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a, the relative position of the second bracket 164 relative to the bottom plate 12 in the direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a is restricted. In addition, in practical applications, it can also be designed such that the third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b are located outside the third bracket limiting surface 1242 and the fourth bracket limiting surface 1244 (the structural configuration can be based on Figure 4obtained by simple changes and will not be described in detail here), this design can also restrict the relative position of the second bracket 164 relative to the bottom plate 12 in a direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a.
[0028] In addition, similar to the connection between the first bracket 162 and the bottom plate 12, in this embodiment, the sum of the gap 1642c between the third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and the third bracket limiting surface 1242 and the gap 1642d between the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b and the fourth bracket limiting surface 1244 is greater than zero, which helps with the assembly of the second bracket 164 (the second bottom plate connecting portion 1642) and the bottom plate 12 (the second bracket connecting portion 124). Similarly, the button structure 1 further includes a third abutting protrusion 26 and a fourth abutting protrusion 28. The third abutting protrusion 26 is fixedly disposed on the third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and abuts against the third bracket limiting surface 1242, and the fourth abutting protrusion 28 is fixedly disposed on the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b and abuts against the fourth bracket limiting surface 1244. This structural configuration can fix the relative position of the second bracket 164 and the bottom plate 12 in a direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a, so as to eliminate or greatly suppress the influence of the gaps 1642c and 1642d (that is, the problems of resonance and resonance that may be caused by the gaps 1642c and 1642d). In addition, for other descriptions of the structures, settings, etc. of the third abutting protrusion 26 and the fourth abutting protrusion 28, the relevant descriptions of the first abutting protrusion 22 and the second abutting protrusion 24 in the previous text can be directly referred to and will not be described in detail here.
[0029] In addition, as Figure 2 shown, in this embodiment, the second bracket 164 is pivotally connected to the inner side of the first bracket 162, so the relative positions of the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 themselves in a direction parallel to the pivot axis 16a are also restricted by each other. Therefore, logically, the relative position of the first bracket 162 relative to the bottom plate 12 in the direction of the pivot axis 16a is also restricted by the second bracket 164; similarly, the relative position of the second bracket 164 relative to the bottom plate 12 in the direction of the pivot axis 16a is also restricted by the first bracket 162. In addition, in this embodiment, both the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 are rectangular frames, and the first bracket 162 is pivotally connected to the outer side of the second bracket 164. The first bottom plate limiting surface 1622a and the second bottom plate limiting surface 1622b are located at two adjacent frame corners of the first bracket 162, and the third bottom plate limiting surface 1642a and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface 1642b are located at two adjacent frame corners of the second bracket 164.
[0030] In addition, in this embodiment, the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 that are pivotally connected to each other are taken as examples for illustration. The first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 can each maintain their positions relative to the bottom plate 12 through the corresponding abutting bumps 22, 24, 26, 28. Therefore, in practical applications, the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 are not limited to the structure configuration of directly interlocking with each other. For example, the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 are separated, and their positions relative to the bottom plate 12 can still be maintained through the corresponding abutting bumps 22, 24, 26, 28. In this structure configuration, the first bracket 162 and the second bracket 164 can be indirectly interlocked with each other through other components. In addition, in the lifting mechanism 16 of this embodiment, the outer bracket is named the first bracket 162, and the inner bracket is named the second bracket 164. Logically, the inner bracket can also be named the first bracket, and the outer bracket can be named the second bracket, which will not be elaborated here.
[0031] In summary, the present invention provides a key structure. By providing abutting bumps on the limiting surface of the bracket or the limiting surface of the bottom plate, and using the bumps to abut against the relative limiting surface, relative movement between adjacent components can be avoided, thereby avoiding the problems of resonance and sympathetic vibration between the components of the key structure.
[0032] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, rather than limitations on the implementation manners of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other different forms of changes or variations can be made based on the above description. It is impossible to list all the implementation manners here. Any obvious changes or variations derived from the technical solutions of the present invention still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A key structure, characterized in that, the key structure includes: a bottom plate having a first bracket connection portion with a first bracket limiting surface and a second bracket limiting surface; a keycap disposed on the bottom plate; a first bracket connecting the bottom plate and the keycap, the first bracket having a first bottom plate connection portion, the first bracket being connected to the bottom plate via the first bottom plate connection portion and the first bracket connection portion, the first bottom plate connection portion having a first bottom plate limiting surface and a second bottom plate limiting surface, the first bottom plate limiting surface facing and adjacent to the first bracket limiting surface, the second bottom plate limiting surface facing and adjacent to the second bracket limiting surface, the first bottom plate limiting surface and the second bottom plate limiting surface being located between the first bracket limiting surface and the second bracket limiting surface, or the first bottom plate limiting surface and the second bottom plate limiting surface being located outside the first bracket limiting surface and the second bracket limiting surface; a second bracket connecting the bottom plate and the keycap, the keycap moving up and down relative to the bottom plate via the first bracket and the second bracket; and a first abutting convex block fixedly disposed on one of the first bracket limiting surface and the first bottom plate limiting surface and abutting against the other of the first bottom plate limiting surface and the first bracket limiting surface.
2. The key structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first abutting convex block is integrally formed with one of the first bottom plate connection portion and the first bracket connection portion.
3. The key structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first abutting convex block is a hemispherical convex portion or a semi-cylindrical convex portion.
4. The key structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, the key structure further includes a second abutting convex block fixedly disposed on the second bracket limiting surface and abutting against the second bottom plate limiting surface, or the second abutting convex block fixedly disposed on the second bottom plate limiting surface and abutting against the second bracket limiting surface.
5. The key structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, the key structure further includes a third abutting convex block. Wherein, the bottom plate has a second bracket connection portion with a third bracket limiting surface and a fourth bracket limiting surface, the second bracket has a second bottom plate connection portion, the second bracket being connected to the bottom plate via the second bottom plate connection portion and the second bracket connection portion, the second bottom plate connection portion having a third bottom plate limiting surface and a fourth bottom plate limiting surface, the third bottom plate limiting surface facing and adjacent to the third bracket limiting surface, the fourth bottom plate limiting surface facing and adjacent to the fourth bracket limiting surface, the third bottom plate limiting surface and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface being located between the third bracket limiting surface and the fourth bracket limiting surface, or the third bottom plate limiting surface and the fourth bottom plate limiting surface being located outside the third bracket limiting surface and the fourth bracket limiting surface, the third abutting convex block fixedly disposed on one of the third bracket limiting surface and the third bottom plate limiting surface and abutting against the other of the third bottom plate limiting surface and the third bracket limiting surface.
6. The key structure according to claim 5, characterized in that, the third abutting convex block is integrally formed with one of the second bottom plate connection portion and the second bracket connection portion.
7. The key structure according to claim 5, wherein, the third abutting convex block is a hemispherical convex portion or a semi-cylindrical convex portion.
8. The key structure according to claim 5, wherein, the key structure further includes a fourth abutting convex block, the fourth abutting convex block is fixedly arranged on the limiting surface of the fourth bracket and abuts against the limiting surface of the fourth base plate, or the fourth abutting convex block is fixedly arranged on the limiting surface of the fourth base plate and abuts against the limiting surface of the fourth bracket.
9. The key structure according to claim 1, wherein, both the first bracket and the second bracket are rectangular frames, the first bracket is pivotally connected to the inner side or the outer side of the second bracket, and the first base plate limiting surface and the second base plate limiting surface are located at two adjacent frame corners of the first bracket.
10. The key structure according to claim 1, wherein, the first bracket is pivotally connected to the second bracket.