Novel luminous keycap and keyboard
By integrating light source components and optical microstructure layers in the keycap, the problem of increasing thickness of existing backlight keyboards is solved, and the light source setting and light source aggregation in the keycap is achieved, reducing thickness and improving the luminous effect.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202420923413.6
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-04-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-17
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-04-29
AI Technical Summary
The existing backlit keyboard has increased the thickness of the keyboard due to the addition of backlit boards on the circuit board, which violates the development trend of lightweight and thinner electronic devices.
Design a new luminescent keycap, integrating light source components and optical microstructure layers, LED lights cooperate with optical microstructure layers to gather light emitted by the light source, making the keycap itself transparent and concentrated, and canceling the traditional backlight board structure , reduce the overall thickness.
It realizes the direct setting of the light source in the keycap, which reduces the overall thickness, and evenly distributes and gathers the light source through the design of the optical microstructure layer, so that the keycap surface characters emit light effects are good, protecting the light source components and preventing looseness.
Smart Images
Figure CN222365511U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of keyboards, and in particular relates to a novel luminous key cap and a keyboard. Background Art
[0002] As an input device of an electronic device, the keyboard has peripheral or integrated settings. With the development and upgrading of products, backlit keyboards are becoming more and more popular in daily use. The current backlit keyboard has a backlight panel added to the circuit board of the keyboard, and the keycaps are printed with translucent characters on the surface and an opaque coating is added to the surface other than the characters, so that the light on the backlight panel is transmitted to the keycaps to realize the illumination of the characters on the keycaps. However, the backlit keyboard of this structure adds a backlight panel to the original multi-layer circuit board and iron plate, which increases the thickness of the keyboard. With the development of lightweight and thin electronic devices, this structure has become an obstacle to reducing the thickness. Utility Model Content
[0003] The utility model aims to provide a novel luminous key cap, which changes the traditional key cap structure and facilitates the development of lightness and thinness.
[0004] Based on this, the utility model provides a new type of luminous keycap, including a keycap, a light source assembly and an optical microstructure layer. The outer periphery of the keycap has an edge extending downward, and the edge forms an inner cavity. A interlayer is also provided in the inner cavity. The light source assembly includes a light source circuit board and an LED lamp arranged on the light source circuit board. The optical microstructure layer is located between the back side of the keycap and the light source circuit board and surrounds the periphery of the LED lamp. A notch is also provided in the inner cavity that penetrates into the interlayer.
[0005] In the novel luminous keycap as described above, the inner cavity is further provided with a sandwich plate, the sandwich plate and the back side of the keycap are spaced apart to form the sandwich layer, and the notch is provided on the sandwich layer.
[0006] In the novel luminous keycap as described above, the sandwich plate is molded in the inner cavity by secondary injection molding.
[0007] In the novel luminous keycap as described above, the sandwich plate is made of opaque material.
[0008] In the novel luminous keycap as described above, the optical microstructure layer is attached to the upper surface of the light source circuit board, and a through hole for the LED light to penetrate is opened on the optical microstructure layer.
[0009] In the novel luminous keycap as described above, the optical microstructure layer includes a base layer and a plurality of protrusions which are arranged on the lower end surface of the base layer and protrude downward.
[0010] In the novel luminous keycap as described above, the optical microstructure layer includes a base layer and a plurality of concave points which are arranged on the lower end surface of the base layer and are concave upwards.
[0011] As described above, a novel luminous keycap, a hook is further provided on the lower side of the sandwich plate.
[0012] In the novel luminous keycap as described above, the hook is integrally formed with the sandwich plate.
[0013] Implementing the embodiments of the utility model has the following beneficial effects:
[0014] The utility model provides a novel luminous keycap, which changes the structure of a traditional keycap, adds an interlayer for assembling a light source component and an optical microstructure layer in the inner cavity of the keycap, which is equivalent to integrating a traditional backlight panel into a single keycap, and through the cooperation of its LED lamp and the optical microstructure layer, gathers the light emitted by the light source on the back of the keycap, so that the keycap itself has the effect of light transmission and focusing, thereby facilitating the direct arrangement of the light source in the keycap, eliminating the traditional structure of arranging the backlight panel under the keycap, and helping to reduce the overall thickness. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments 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 creative work.
[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the key cap;
[0017] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a new type of luminous keycap provided by an embodiment of the utility model;
[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the keycap after installation;
[0019] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A magnified view of part A;
[0020] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an optical microstructure layer;
[0021] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the optical microstructure layer and the light source assembly after installation;
[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the power supply circuit board;
[0023] Figure 8 This is the circuit diagram of the power supply circuit board. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the utility model to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the utility model, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model.
[0025] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, an embodiment of the utility model provides a new type of luminous keycap, including a keycap 1, a light source assembly 3 and an optical microstructure layer 2. The periphery of the keycap 1 has a downwardly extending edge 12, and the edge 12 surrounds an inner cavity 102. The inner cavity 102 is also provided with an interlayer 103. The light source assembly 3 includes a light source circuit board 31 and an LED lamp 32 arranged on the light source circuit board 31. The optical microstructure layer 2 is located between the back side 110 of the keycap 1 and the light source circuit board 31 and surrounds the periphery of the LED lamp 32. The inner cavity 102 is also provided with a notch 104 that penetrates into the interlayer 103. The utility model provides a new type of luminous keycap, which changes the structure of the traditional keycap, adds a sandwich layer for assembling a light source component and an optical microstructure layer in the inner cavity of the keycap, which is equivalent to integrating a traditional backlight panel into a single keycap, and through the cooperation of its LED light and the optical microstructure layer, the light emitted by the light source is gathered on the back of the keycap, so that the keycap itself has the effect of light transmission and light focusing, so that it is convenient to directly set the light source in the keycap, and cancel the traditional structure of setting the backlight panel under the keycap, which is conducive to reducing the overall thickness. In addition, a notch 104 is pre-set to facilitate the conductive connection of the light source circuit board 31.
[0026] In this solution, the inner cavity 102 is further provided with an interlayer plate 19, and the interlayer plate 19 is spaced apart from the back side 110 of the keycap 1 to form the interlayer 103, and the notch 104 is provided on the interlayer 103. After the arrangement is completed, the light source assembly is invisible from the back side of the keycap 1, thereby playing a certain protective role and preventing the light source assembly from loosening during daily use of the keycap.
[0027] In order to facilitate manufacturing and installation, the sandwich plate 19 is molded in the inner cavity 102 by secondary injection molding. That is, after the keycap is molded by the first injection molding, the light source assembly 3 and the optical microstructure layer 2 are installed in the inner cavity 102, and the sandwich plate 19 is molded in the inner cavity 102, which is equivalent to the sandwich plate 19 and the keycap being an integrated structure.
[0028] In this solution, the sandwich plate 19 is made of opaque material. A microstructure light-guiding layer is provided under the keycap 1, which refracts and reflects the light of the LED through the microstructure, so that the light can be evenly distributed on the surface of the keycap to illuminate the characters above the keycap, thereby achieving the purpose of luminous key characters. The sandwich plate 19 below is made of opaque material, which ensures that the light is concentrated and transmitted upward, which is conducive to increasing the bright light effect. The size of the LED in this solution is 0.6*0.3*0.13mm or a lamp of the same type.
[0029] In the embodiment of the utility model, the optical microstructure layer 2 is attached to the upper surface of the light source circuit board 31, and a through hole is provided on the optical microstructure layer 2 for the LED lamp 32 to penetrate. The LED lamp 32 of this solution is equivalent to being inside the optical microstructure layer 2 in the thickness direction, and the light 101 is incident into the optical microstructure layer 2 from the thickness direction, and when encountering the optical microstructure, it is emitted at the optical microstructure to achieve the effect of focusing.
[0030] In this scheme, if Figure 5 As shown, the optical microstructure layer 2 includes a base layer 201 and a plurality of convex points disposed on the lower end surface of the base layer 201 and convex downward. It can also be a plurality of concave points disposed on the lower end surface of the base layer 201 and concave upward. The base layer 201 is a carrier attached to the light source circuit board. In addition to being light-transmissive, it is also convenient to set the optical microstructure. Preferably, in this solution, the base layer 201 can be a light-guiding film.
[0031] Moreover, the optical microstructure is cylindrical or polygonal, and has a simple structure, and is easy to achieve the effect of refraction and focusing.
[0032] Of course, the optical microstructure is a polygon with a pointed tip, such as a triangle or a rhombus, and the above-mentioned effect can also be achieved through a simple structure.
[0033] In addition, in order to achieve the effect of focusing light at multiple locations in the keycap, the plurality of optical microstructures 2 form a plurality of optical microstructure sets distributed at intervals, which is equivalent to the light emitted from the light source in the lamp cavity 101 being transmitted along the inner layer of the keycap and being gathered on the plurality of optical microstructure sets to form a plurality of concentrated light spots, thereby facilitating the realization of a variety of light effects on the surface of the keycap.
[0034] Specifically, in this embodiment, the optical microstructure set includes a first optical microstructure set 21 distributed along the periphery of the through hole, a second optical microstructure set 22 located outside the first optical microstructure set 21 and distributed along the periphery of the back side 110, a third optical microstructure set 23, a fourth optical microstructure set 24, a fifth optical microstructure set 25, a sixth optical microstructure set 26, and a seventh optical microstructure set 27.
[0035] In order to improve the lighting effect, the present solution also provides a lamp cavity 101 corresponding to the LED lamp 32 on the back 110 of the keycap 1. The light emitted by the LED lamp can be transmitted inside the keycap through the lamp cavity 101, and the keycap is printed with translucent characters on the surface 111 and an opaque coating is added to the surface other than the characters, so that the light on the backlight board is transmitted to the keycap to achieve the lighting of the characters on the keycap.
[0036] After the keycaps of this solution are connected, Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, the scissor support legs 61 and the elastic body 62 connected by the hook 5 thereon form a keycap module, and a support plate 71 is also provided on the lower side thereof, a conductive circuit board 72 is provided on the upper side of the support plate 71, and a power supply circuit board 73 is provided on the lower side of the support plate 71. The scissor support legs 61 are connected to the support plate 71, and the support plate 71 is generally an iron plate or a steel plate, and the scissor support legs 61 are equivalent to a movable support, and cooperate with the elastic body 62 to form a support structure that is reset after being pressed. Therefore, the scissor support legs 61 support the keycap 1 so that there is a gap between the keycap 1 and the conductive circuit board 72. Moreover, in order to ensure that the light source assembly in the keycap can remain conductive, the support plate 71 and the conductive circuit board 72 have a notch for the contact pin group 4 to be inserted into and contact and connect with the power supply circuit board 73.
[0037] Specifically, in the embodiment of the utility model, the contact pin group 4 includes a positive contact pin and a negative contact pin. Taking the positive contact pin as an example, its specific structure is as follows: the positive contact pin includes a needle sleeve 41, an ejector pin 42 disposed in the needle sleeve 41, and a spring 43. The ejector pin 42 has a top end 421 extending outward to the outside of the needle sleeve 41, and the spring 43 abuts against the end of the needle sleeve 41. Since the contact pin group 4 is connected to the light source circuit board 31, and the light source circuit board 31 itself moves up and down as the key cap 1 is pressed and reset, the cooperation of the spring 43 and the ejector pin 42 can make the light source circuit board 31 move up and down and keep in contact with the power supply circuit board 73 at the lower end through the ejector pin 42 and the spring 43 or the needle sleeve 41.
[0038] Of course, the ejector pin 42 can extend from the upper or lower end of the needle sleeve 41. If it extends from the lower end, the top end 421 of the ejector pin 42 contacts the power supply circuit board 73 below, and the spring is located on the other side. In order to better meet the habits of use and maintain the hand feel, the top end 421 extends from the upper side of the needle sleeve 41 and is connected to the light source circuit board 31. One end of the spring 43 abuts against the ejector pin 42, and the other end abuts against the power supply circuit board 73. It can also be seen from the accompanying drawings that the top end 421 extends a distance from the uppermost end of the needle sleeve 41, which can be understood as the distance that the light source circuit board 31 moves downward.
[0039] The addition of the stylus group 4 will inevitably lead to more resistance when pressing the keycap, and in order to make it more balanced and provide the user with a better feel, the stylus group 4 in this solution is close to the corner of the keycap 1 or the positive and negative stylus are distributed on both sides of the LED lamp 32. The corresponding power supply circuit board 73 only needs to set a group of corresponding positive and negative contact points at the corresponding position of each keycap 1.
[0040] Of course, multiple groups of the stylus groups 4 may be provided, and the multiple groups of the stylus groups 4 may be diagonally arranged or distributed at the four side corners of the keycap 1. The corresponding power supply circuit board 73 also has multiple groups of corresponding positive and negative contact points. Figure 7 As shown, there are multiple groups of positive and negative contact points 731 corresponding to the stylus group 4, so that multiple groups of luminous keycap modules can share a single power supply circuit board 73. In addition, the circuit diagram corresponding to the power supply circuit board 73 is shown in FIG. Figure 8 As shown, after the power supply is input into the power supply circuit board 73, different resistors are configured according to the current requirements of each group of positive and negative contact points 731 to achieve the current limiting effect. In this scheme, one resistor can control multiple groups of positive and negative contact points 731, or one resistor can control one group of positive and negative contact points 731.
[0041] In this solution, in order to facilitate manufacturing, the hook 5 and the sandwich plate 19 are integrally formed.
[0042] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing the novel luminous keycap, comprising the following steps:
[0043] A. Injection mold a single keycap 1, and stick the optical microstructure layer 2 to the upper surface of the light source circuit board 31; the light source circuit board and the optical microstructure layer 2 are a component, so it is convenient to stick the optical microstructure layer 2 to the light source circuit board first, at this time, a bonding layer 301 is formed between the optical microstructure layer 2 and the light source circuit board, and then this assembly is injection molded into the keycap to become an integrated component with the keycap.
[0044] B. Installing the light source circuit board 31 with the optical microstructure layer 2 into the inner cavity of the keycap 1;
[0045] C. Form the sandwich board 19 in the inner cavity through the two-color injection molding process, so that the light source circuit board 31 is located in the sandwich, and leave a notch corresponding to the positive and negative connection positions of the light source circuit board 31 on the sandwich board 19, and form a hook 5 on the lower side of the sandwich board 19. Make the light-emitting component and the keycap become a whole, and the contact point position of the key light source circuit board needs to be avoided to provide power. Elastic conductors such as probes, POGOP IN, springs, etc. are welded on the positive and negative connection positions of the light source circuit board 31. Each group of pads can be connected to one resistor or multiple groups of pads can be connected to one resistor. The role of the resistor is to limit the current of the pad.
[0046] The utility model also provides a keyboard, comprising a keyboard body, on which the above-mentioned novel luminous key cap is arranged.
[0047] The utility model provides a novel luminous keycap, which changes the structure of a traditional keycap, adds an interlayer for assembling a light source component and an optical microstructure layer in the inner cavity of the keycap, which is equivalent to integrating a traditional backlight panel into a single keycap, and through the cooperation of its LED lamp and the optical microstructure layer, gathers the light emitted by the light source on the back of the keycap, so that the keycap itself has the effect of light transmission and focusing, thereby facilitating the direct arrangement of the light source in the keycap, eliminating the traditional structure of arranging the backlight panel under the keycap, and helping to reduce the overall thickness.
[0048] It should be understood that the terms "first", "second", etc. are used in the present invention to describe various information, but such information should not be limited to these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the "first" information may also be referred to as the "second" information, and similarly, the "second" information may also be referred to as the "first" information. In addition, the terms "center", "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.
[0049] The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that a person skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention. These improvements and modifications are also considered to be within the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A new type of luminous keycap, characterized in that: The invention comprises a key cap (1), a light source assembly (3) and an optical microstructure layer (2); the outer periphery of the key cap (1) has an edge (12) extending downward, the edge (12) encloses an inner cavity (102), an inner cavity (102) is further provided with an interlayer (103), the light source assembly (3) comprises a light source circuit board (31) and an LED lamp (32) arranged on the light source circuit board (31), the optical microstructure layer (2) is located between the back side (110) of the key cap (1) and the light source circuit board (31) and surrounds the outer periphery of the LED lamp (32), and a notch (104) penetrating into the interlayer (103) is further provided in the inner cavity (102).
2. A novel luminous keycap according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner cavity (102) is also provided with an interlayer plate (19), the interlayer plate (19) and the back surface (110) of the key cap (1) are spaced apart to form the interlayer (103), and the notch (104) is provided on the interlayer (103).
3. A novel luminous keycap according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sandwich plate (19) is molded in the inner cavity (102) by secondary injection molding.
4. A novel luminous keycap according to claim 3, characterized in that: The sandwich plate (19) is made of opaque material.
5. The novel luminous keycap according to claim 1, characterized in that: The optical microstructure layer (2) is attached to the upper surface of the light source circuit board (31), and a through hole is provided on the optical microstructure layer (2) for the LED lamp (32) to penetrate.
6. A novel luminous keycap according to claim 5, characterized in that: The optical microstructure layer (2) comprises a base layer (201) and a plurality of protrusions arranged on the lower end surface of the base layer (201) and protruding downward.
7. The novel luminous keycap according to claim 5, characterized in that: The optical microstructure layer (2) comprises a base layer (201) and a plurality of concave points which are arranged on the lower end surface of the base layer (201) and are concave upwards.
8. The novel luminous keycap according to claim 3, characterized in that: A hook (5) is also provided on the lower side of the sandwich plate (19).
9. The novel luminous keycap according to claim 8, characterized in that: The hook (5) and the sandwich plate (19) are integrally formed.
10. A keyboard, characterized in that: The invention comprises a keyboard body, on which is arranged a novel luminous key cap as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.