Electronic device

Abstract

An electronic device is provided that enables the construction of a keyboard housing with lightweight, high rigidity and low cost. The electronic device (10) includes a keyboard (26) and a cover member (18) that exposes multiple keycaps (26a) of the keyboard (26) in a pressable manner. The cover member (18) is made of a sheet-like resin material containing glass fiber, and a frame-shaped inclined surface (18c) is formed between the key configuration area (18a) for which the keycaps (26a) are configured and the peripheral area (18b) of the key configuration area (18a), the key configuration area (18a) being lower than the peripheral area (18b). A metal frame member (31) is fixed to the back side of the key configuration area (18a), and the keyboard (26) is mounted on the frame member (31).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an electronic device having a keyboard and a cover component. Background Technology

[0002] The laptop PC connects the keyboard housing and the display housing via a hinge, allowing them to rotate. The laptop PC shown in Patent Document 1 has a keyboard housing formed by combining an upper cover member and a lower cover member, and the main board, battery, keyboard, touchpad, antenna, etc. are housed inside the keyboard housing.

[0003] The upper cover member has key holes that expose multiple keycaps of the keyboard in a pressable manner and rectangular holes that expose the touchpad. The area of ​​the upper cover member for keycap placement is often formed such that the keycap's pressing travel is slightly lower than the surrounding area.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-187471

[0005] The upper cover component is often made of metal materials such as magnesium alloy and aluminum alloy, or resin materials such as polycarbonate and ABS. Metal materials and resin materials each have their own advantages and disadvantages when used in upper cover components.

[0006] Advantages of using conventional metal materials include: high rigidity allows for thin-walled forming and lightweight construction; a premium feel due to the metallic texture; and easier surface treatment. On the other hand, disadvantages include: high cost; the need to use resin materials for the antenna portion as it cannot transmit radio waves; and the need for openings in the capacitive touchpad portion due to the blocked electric field. In particular, when complex shapes are required for studs or other components to align with the keyboard mounting, CNC machining is necessary, further increasing costs.

[0007] Advantages of using conventional resin materials include: low cost; the ability to internally house antennas and capacitive touchpads due to the permeability of radio waves and electric fields; and the ability to handle complex shapes using injection molding. Therefore, it is possible to address issues such as keyboard mounting studs and shapes where the keycap mounting area is slightly lower than the surrounding area at a low cost. On the other hand, disadvantages include: lower rigidity leading to thicker walls and increased weight; poorer texture; and unsuitability for certain surface treatment methods. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide an electronic device that can realize a keyboard housing cover in a lightweight, high-rigidity and low-cost manner.

[0009] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the embodiment of the electronic device according to the present invention is an electronic device having a keyboard and a cover member that exposes a plurality of keycaps of the keyboard in a pressable manner. The cover member is made of a plate-shaped resin material containing filler, and an inclined surface is formed between the key arrangement area for arranging the keycaps and the peripheral area of ​​the key arrangement area. The key arrangement area is lower than the peripheral area. A metal frame member is fixed to the back side of the key arrangement area, and the keyboard is mounted on the frame member.

[0010] According to the above-described method of the present invention, the upper cover of the keyboard housing can be realized in a lightweight, high-rigidity and low-cost manner. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic top view of an electronic device according to one embodiment, viewed from above.

[0012] Figure 2 This is an exploded 3D view of the keyboard casing.

[0013] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional view of the upper cover component.

[0014] Figure 4 This is a side view of the upper cover component and the frame component.

[0015] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates the manufacturing process of the upper cover component. Figure 5 (a) shows the thermoforming process. Figure 5 (b) is a diagram showing the intermediate stage blank obtained through the heat forming process.

[0016] Figure 6 It is a cross-sectional view of an inclined plane.

[0017] Figure 7 This is an enlarged sectional view of the upper cover component that has undergone surface treatment.

[0018] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating the manufacturing process of the keyboard casing.

[0019] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0020] 10...Electronic device; 11...Keyboard housing; 12...Display housing; 18...Upper cover component; 18A...Blank plate; 18B...Intermediate stage blank; 18a...Key configuration range; 18b...Peripheral range; 18c...Inclined surface; 18d...Surface; 20...Lower cover component; 26...Keyboard; 26a...Keycap; 26b...Base plate; 26c...Screw insertion hole; 27...Touchpad; 28...Antenna; 29...Left and right blank areas; 30, 32...Key holes; 31...Frame component; 31a, 31b...Studs; 33...Screws; 34a, 34b...Molds. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the electronic device according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings. However, the invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic top view, taken from above, of the electronic device 10 according to one embodiment. (As shown) Figure 1 As shown, the electronic device 10 in this embodiment is a clamshell laptop PC, and the keyboard housing 11 and the display housing 12 are connected by a hinge 13 to form a structure that allows them to rotate relative to each other. The keyboard housing 11 is a flat box and is adjacent to the display housing 12. Figure 1 This is a perspective view of electronic device 10. An example of electronic device 10 is a notebook PC; however, any electronic device with a keyboard 26 will suffice.

[0023] The display housing 12 has a display device 21 occupying most of its front area and electronic devices such as cameras 22 located on the upper edge, while the back is covered by a cover 23.

[0024] The keyboard housing 11 is box-shaped by an upper cover member 18 and a lower cover member 20. The upper cover member 18 has a generally flat upper surface, and the lower cover member 20 forms the bottom and sides. The sides may also be separate parts from the lower cover member 20. The upper cover member 18 and the lower cover member 20 are connected by means of interlocking based on anti-recessed joints, adhesive tape, screws, or magnets.

[0025] For ease of explanation, using the keyboard housing 11 as a reference, the side with the keyboard 26 is designated as the top, and the side with the lower cover member 20 is designated as the bottom. Furthermore, the direction along the left and right short sides of the keyboard housing 11 is designated as the front-back direction, the side with the keyboard 26 is designated as the Y1 side, and the side with the touchpad 27 is designated as the Y2 side. The long side direction of the keyboard housing 11 is designated as the horizontal direction.

[0026] The keyboard housing 11 is essentially the main housing, housing a main board 24, a battery 25, a keyboard 26, a touchpad 27, and a pair of left and right antennas 28. The main board 24 contains a CPU (Central Processing Unit), memory, etc., and performs overall control of the electronic device 10. The main board 24 occupies approximately half of the Y1 side. The battery 25 is adjacent to the main board 24 and occupies approximately half of the Y2 side. The antennas 28 are L-shaped along the corners of the Y2 side and are positioned separately on the left and right sides, enabling radio wave transmission and reception via the upper cover member 18. The keyboard 26 occupies approximately half of the Y1 side and is located within an area roughly overlapping with the main board 24.

[0027] The main substrate 24, battery 25, touchpad 27, and antenna 28 of the keyboard housing 11 shown above are disposed inside the housing. The touchpad 27 is, for example, fixed to the back of the upper cover member 18. Alternatively, a frame or similar marking may be provided in the area of ​​the upper cover member 18 where the touchpad 27 is disposed.

[0028] The touchpad 27 is located on the Y2 side adjacent to the keyboard 26. The touchpad 27 is situated approximately in the center of the keyboard housing 11, with left and right blank areas 29 that can be used as palm rests. The lateral width of the touchpad 27 is about half or slightly less than half the width of the keyboard housing 11. The touchpad 27 is capacitive, capable of detecting the position of a user's fingers via the upper cover member 18. Therefore, the upper cover member 18 does not require holes to expose the touchpad 27, creating a seamless and unified appearance by forming a continuous surface with the left and right blank areas 29. The touchpad 27 essentially lacks a mechanical button mechanism, but can respond by generating haptic feedback or clicking sounds, for example. Alternatively, depending on the specifications, holes may be provided on the upper cover member 18 to expose the touchpad 27.

[0029] The keyboard 26 has multiple keycaps 26a arranged in a row and a base plate 26b (see reference). Figure 4 The base plate 26b includes a diaphragm, etc. Multiple screw holes 26c for mounting are provided on the base plate 26b. Alternatively, the keyboard 26 may include a backlight module, etc. The keycaps 26a are exposed upwards in a manner that allows them to be pressed through multiple key holes 30 formed in the upper cover member 18. The key holes 30 are arranged in a grid pattern with height differences corresponding to the arrangement of the keycaps 26a; however, depending on the specifications, multiple keycaps 26a may be exposed in a single rectangular hole. Alternatively, when a speaker is provided on the keyboard housing 11, holes for the speaker to pass through may be provided on the upper cover member 18. Essentially one keycap 26a is exposed at each key hole 30, but for smaller keys such as cursor keys and function keys, multiple keys may be exposed at each key hole 30.

[0030] A frame-shaped inclined surface 18c is formed between the key configuration area 18a for arranging the keycap 26a and its peripheral area 18b in the upper cover member 18. The key configuration area 18a is a tray shape that is slightly lower than the peripheral area 18b. The height difference between the key configuration area 18a and the peripheral area 18b is about 1mm to 2mm, and the depth is not deep. The key configuration area 18a is slightly lower than the peripheral area 18b, thereby ensuring a moderate pressing stroke for the keycaps, and that the keycap 26a does not touch the display device 21 when the display housing 12 and the keyboard housing 11 are stacked. In this embodiment, the key configuration area 18a is a rectangle with rounded corners, but it can also be other shapes depending on the specifications. For example, the cursor key portion can protrude slightly towards the Y2 side.

[0031] A certain width is ensured between the outermost keyhole 30 and the inclined surface 18c. In the upper cover member 18, the surface and back surface of the area other than the inclined surface 18c are basically planar. A notch 18e for the hinge 13 to be configured is formed on the edge of the upper cover member 18 on the Y1 side.

[0032] The upper cover component 18 is made of a resin material containing FR4 (Flame Retardant Type 4) epoxy resin and glass fiber (filler) such as GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic). The surface 18d of the upper cover component 18 is molded with UV (ultraviolet) cured resin, resulting in high hardness and excellent wear resistance. Furthermore, the UV-cured resin achieves a premium appearance through the molding process's texture (a glass-like surface gloss or matte finish) and anti-fingerprint properties (a non-sticky surface while maintaining texture). This molding process provides a tactile feel comparable to high-cost excimer UV coatings. The glass fiber-containing resin material has good decorative properties and is suitable for UV-cured resin surface treatment.

[0033] Figure 2 This is an exploded perspective view of the keyboard casing 11. Figure 2 The main substrate 24, battery 25, etc. are omitted. Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional view of the upper cover component 18. Figure 4 This is a side view of the upper cover component 18 and the frame component 31.

[0034] Similar to the surface, on the back side of the upper cover member 18, there is also an inclined surface 18c between the key configuration range 18a and the peripheral range 18b, with the key configuration range 18a being a slightly convex shape relative to the peripheral range 18b. However, the back side of the key configuration range 18a is machined to be slightly thinner than the peripheral range 18b (see reference). Figure 6The protrusion is small. The thickness of the upper cover component 18 in the peripheral area 18b is about 0.4mm to 0.5mm, which is relatively thin and lightweight, but it has moderately high strength due to the inclusion of glass fiber and a high Young's modulus for bending.

[0035] A frame member 31 is fixed to the key configuration area 18a using adhesive or double-sided tape. The frame member 31 is made of a metal material such as aluminum alloy and has sufficient rigidity as a fixing part of the keyboard 26. The frame member 31 is the same size as the key configuration area 18a and has key holes 32 with the same shape and arrangement as the key holes 30. A stud 31a is formed on the back of the frame member 31 at a position corresponding to the screw insertion hole 26c, and the keyboard 26 can be fixed by screwing in the screws 33. Multiple screws 33 are present, but... Figure 4 Several are shown representatively. Larger studs 31b are formed on the left and right Y1 side ends of the frame member 31. The studs 31b are used for fixing the upper cover member 18 to other components. The frame member 31 is generally flat, but has multiple studs 31a, two studs 31b, etc., resulting in a slightly complex shape. The frame member 31 can be formed into this shape, for example, by die casting or stamping.

[0036] When viewed from directly above, the frame member 31 overlaps with the grid shape of the key configuration range 18a, making it almost invisible and thus maintaining a unified appearance. However, the upper surface of the frame member 31 is slightly visible from an obliquely upward view, and therefore is painted in a color approximately the same as the surface 18d of the upper cover member 18. The lower surface of the frame member 31 is a blank-colored silver.

[0037] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates the manufacturing process of the upper cover component 18. Figure 5 (a) shows the thermoforming process. Figure 5 (b) is a diagram showing the intermediate stage blank 18B obtained through the thermoforming process. Figure 6 This is a sectional view of inclined plane 18c. Figure 7 This is an enlarged sectional view of the surface-treated upper cover component 18. Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating the manufacturing method of the keyboard housing 11. In the following description, [the following text refers to...] Figure 8 The step numbers are marked with parentheses. Figure 5 Prior to the treatment in (a), the resin preform 18A containing glass fiber undergoes a first surface treatment (S1). Figure 7 As shown, the surface treatment here involves ink-based decorative printing 35b on the filler-reinforced resin material 35a, followed by UV-cured resin molding 35c. The filler-reinforced resin material 35a corresponds to the blank plate 18A.

[0038] like Figure 5 As shown in (a), in the thermoforming process (S2), the blank plate 18A, which has undergone the above-mentioned surface treatment, is pressed and heated using two molds 34a and 34b. The blank plate 18A is cheaper than a metal plate of equivalent strength, and even cheaper than a metal plate with partially installed radio-transmitting resin. One mold 34a forms a concave portion 34aa corresponding to the key configuration range 18a and the inclined surface 18c around it, and the other mold 34b forms a convex upper portion 34ba corresponding to the concave portion 34aa. The blank plate 18A is hard and not easily formed into complex shapes by injection molding, but the inclined surface 18c is a relatively simple shape with a small height difference. Therefore, the degree of processing is small, and thus, it is possible to form a blank plate 18A using this process. Figure 5 (b) intermediate stage billet 18B. Additionally... Figure 5 The example shown in (a) is the case where the blank plate 18A is a thermoplastic material. In the case where the blank plate 18A is a thermosetting material, it is better to heat the material moderately to make it fluid, and then fill the heated mold with the material and let it solidify.

[0039] In the intermediate stage, the blank 18B is machined by CNC (Computer Numerical Control) (S3) to form keyholes 30, and the periphery, including the notch 18e, is further cut to a specified size to obtain the upper cover component 18 (see reference). Figure 3 ).

[0040] In addition, such as Figure 6 As shown, for the key configuration area 18a, which is convex on the back, the upper cover member 18 can be made thinner by cutting off the portion indicated by the imaginary line (reference numeral 18aa). The edge of the upper cover member 18 can also be chamfered appropriately. This CNC machining is not performed on the entire surface of the intermediate stage blank 18B, but only on the periphery of the notch 18e, the key configuration area 18a, and the keyhole 30, thus suppressing the increase in machining time and the resulting cost.

[0041] Subsequently, the upper cover component 18 undergoes final surface treatment (S4). For example... Figure 7 As shown, as the final surface treatment, and as a further outer layer relative to the decorative printing 35b, physical vapor deposition 35d is used for printing anti-fingerprint functionality. Regarding the thickness of each layer, for example, the filler-reinforced resin material 35a is 0.8 mm, the decorative printing 35b consists of 6 layers and is 50 μm thick, the molding process 35c is 10 μm thick, and the physical vapor deposition 35d is 20 nm thick. The final anti-fingerprint function is achieved by the outermost physical vapor deposition 35d.

[0042] Furthermore, a frame member 31 is fixed to the back side of the key configuration area 18a (S5), and a keyboard 26 is mounted on the frame 31 (S6). A touchpad 27 and an antenna 28 are mounted at predetermined positions in the peripheral area 18b (S7). The touchpad 27 and antenna 28 are mounted, for example, by adhesive, double-sided tape, screws, etc. The main substrate 24 is pre-mounted on the lower cover member 20, and the upper cover member 18 and the lower cover member are combined to obtain the keyboard housing 11 (S8).

[0043] As described above, the upper cover member 18 of the electronic device 10 according to this embodiment is made of a sheet-like resin material containing glass fibers, which is thinner, lighter, and more rigid than resin materials that do not contain glass fibers. Furthermore, compared to metal sheets, the total cost, including blank and processing costs, can be achieved at a lower cost. The upper cover member 18, containing glass fibers, can also be shaped after decoration. In existing processes, decoration suitable for three-dimensional objects is required, and decoration methods are limited to painting and texturing. However, by performing decoration in the planar shape stage before shaping, decorations such as printing and printing + UV resin coating can be achieved on planar shapes. In particular, printing + UV resin coating is inexpensive, high-quality, and can be expected to achieve high yield rates, excellent decorative properties, and a high-quality feel. The upper cover member 18 has radio wave and electric field transmittance and a low dielectric constant, allowing the touch panel 27 and antenna 28 to be arranged on the back side without providing notches or holes, improving the appearance design and further reducing processing time.

[0044] To strengthen the filler included in the upper cover component 18, it is not limited to glass fiber, but can also be carbon fiber, etc.

[0045] This invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is self-evident that it can be freely modified without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising a keyboard and a cover member that exposes a plurality of keycaps of the keyboard in a pressable manner, characterized in that, The cover member is made of a plate-shaped resin material containing filler, and an inclined surface is formed between the key configuration area for the keycap and the peripheral area of ​​the key configuration area, wherein the key configuration area is lower than the peripheral area. A metal frame member is fixed to the back side of the key configuration range. The keyboard is mounted on the frame member.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inclined surface is formed by hot working a plate-shaped blank.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, An electrostatic capacitive touch panel is provided on the back of the peripheral area of ​​the cover component.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The surface of the cover component is molded with UV-cured resin.

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