Key switch and keyboard

Abstract

The utility model provides a key switch and a keyboard, and belongs to the technical field of electronic equipment. In order to solve the problem that the cross section of the pressing part of the central spindle in the prior art is set to be quadrilateral, when the pressing position is at the angular position of the keycap, the acting force is conducted to the angular position of the pressing part, so that the central spindle and the stroke column rub to form jamming, the cross section of the pressing part is set to be octagonal; the clamping feeling caused by the pressing angle position can be effectively relieved, and the use experience is improved.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of electronic equipment, and in particular relates to a key switch and a keyboard. [Background technology]

[0002] The keyboard is a common electronic device input tool. There are several key switches on the keyboard. Pressing the key switches generates induction signals. The key switches generally include a housing, a travel component and a signal component. The travel component includes a key cap, a shaft core and a travel column. The key cap is connected to the shaft core to drive the shaft core to move linearly. The movement of the shaft core triggers the signal component to generate an induction signal.

[0003] In the related art, the cross-section of the pressing portion of the shaft core is set to a quadrilateral. When the pressing position is at the angular position of the keycap, the force is transmitted to the angular position of the pressing portion. Since the distance between the angle and the center is far, the keycap will be lever-tilted toward the angular position, causing the shaft core to tilt as well. The tilted shaft core rubs against the stroke column to form resistance, resulting in a sticky feeling, which greatly reduces the user experience.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a key switch and a keyboard to solve the problems mentioned in the above background technology. [Utility Model Content]

[0005] In view of the problem that pressing the keycap at an angle will cause a sticking feeling when pressing the keycap with a curved pressing surface in the prior art, the utility model sets the cross-section of the pressing portion to an octagon, which can effectively alleviate the sticking feeling caused by pressing the keycap at an angle and improve the user experience.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution of the utility model is:

[0007] The present application provides a key switch, comprising:

[0008] case;

[0009] A stroke assembly housed in a shell comprises an axis core, a keycap connected to the axis core for driving the axis core to move, and an elastic member for driving the axis core to reset, the axis core comprising a pressing portion and a limiting portion, the pressing portion passing through the shell to be exposed, the limiting portion being limited within the shell, the keycap being mounted on the exposed end of the pressing portion, the cross-sectional shape of the pressing portion being a regular octagon, comprising four regular sides and four oblique sides, wherein the regular sides respectively correspond to the positions of the four sides of the keycap, and the oblique sides correspond to the positions of the four corners of the keycap.

[0010] As an improvement, the shell includes a cover and a base that cooperates with the cover to form a receiving space, the cover is provided with an opening, and the pressing portion passes through the opening and is exposed to the shell.

[0011] As an improvement, a side of the keycap away from the travel assembly is a pressing surface, and the pressing surface is a curved surface with four corners raised.

[0012] As an improvement, a stroke column is provided on the base, and the stroke column extends along the stroke direction of the stroke component. A stroke channel with a top opening is provided inside the stroke column. The shaft core also includes a lead portion connected to the pressing portion. The lead portion is inserted from the top opening of the stroke channel and can reciprocate linearly in the stroke channel. The stroke channel serves as a stroke space of the lead portion. The elastic member is sleeved on the periphery of the stroke column and clamped between the base and the pressing portion.

[0013] As an improvement, a slide groove is provided on the base, and a slider portion matching the slide groove is also provided on the outer wall of the shaft core, and the slider portion can reciprocate linearly in the slide groove.

[0014] As an improvement, the shaft core further comprises a pad block portion, which is arranged on the top wall of the limiting portion, and is used to maintain a gap between the limiting portion and the surface cover when the limiting portion rebounds.

[0015] As an improvement, the sliding block portion is arranged on the side where the straight edge is located, and the pad block portion is arranged on the side where the oblique edge is located.

[0016] As an improvement, the invention further comprises a lighting component, wherein the lighting component comprises a lamp bead and a light-distributing portion, wherein the light-distributing portion is arranged on the outer wall of the shell, and a side of the shell facing away from the axis core is an inclined surface, and the inclined surface is inclined toward the key cap direction, and the inclined surface protrudes to form a protrusion, and a plurality of the protrusions are distributed in a rectangular array along the inclined surface to form a micro lens array, and the lamp bead is located directly below the light-distributing portion, and an optical path channel is arranged between the lamp bead and the light-distributing portion, and the light emitted by the lamp bead is emitted into the bottom of the light-distributing portion through the optical path channel, passes through the light-distributing portion, and then is emitted through the inclined surface and scattered toward the key cap direction, so as to illuminate the backlight font on the key cap; the protrusion is shaped as a prism.

[0017] As an improvement, it also includes a PCB board arranged under the base, the travel column is partially accommodated in the accommodating space, and partially passes through the base to be exposed, and an avoidance hole is arranged on the PCB board at a position corresponding to the exposed part of the travel column; the lamp bead, spring and pin are all electrically connected to the PCB board.

[0018] The present application also provides a keyboard, comprising a plurality of the above-mentioned key switches.

[0019] The beneficial effect of the utility model is that the pressing portion 211 is designed as a regular octagonal structure. When the pressing position is at the angular position of the keycap 22, the force is transmitted to the position of the hypotenuse 2112 of the pressing portion 211. Compared with the traditional angle, the hypotenuse 2112 is shorter than the center, which can reduce the length of the torque, thereby controlling the inclination of the shaft core 21 and reducing the friction between the shaft core 21 and the stroke column 121, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the sticking feeling.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram showing a key switch provided in the first embodiment;

[0021] Figure 2 express Figure 1 The exploded structural diagram of the key switch shown;

[0022] Figure 3 express Figure 2 A top view of the shaft core shown;

[0023] Figure 4 express Figure 1 The cross-sectional view of the key switch shown along line AA;

[0024] Figure 5 express Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the key switch shown along line BB;

[0025] Figure 6 express Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the key switch shown along line CC;

[0026] Figure 7 express Figure 6 Magnified view of region D shown;

[0027] Figure 8 express Figure 2 The three-dimensional structure diagram of the shaft core shown;

[0028] Fig. 9 express Figure 2 The three-dimensional structure diagram of the shrapnel shown;

[0029] Fig.10 A schematic diagram showing the coordination of the shaft core, the spring piece and the contact pin;

[0030] Fig.11 A schematic diagram showing the structure of the keyboard provided in Example 2. [Specific implementation method]

[0031] 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 part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0032] Example 1

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1-Figure 10 This embodiment provides a push switch 1, including a housing 10, a travel component 20 encapsulated in the housing 10, a lighting component 30 and a signal component 40.

[0034] The housing 10 includes a cover 11 , a base 12 that cooperates with the cover 11 to form a receiving space 14 , and a middle frame 13 sleeved around the base 12 . The cover 11 is sandwiched between the base 12 and the middle frame 13 .

[0035] In this embodiment, the cover 11 and the base 12 are detachably connected, specifically, a snap connection is selected, the outer surface of the base 12 is protruded to form a snap block, the cover 11 is provided with a buckle at a position corresponding to the snap block, and the buckle is correspondingly buckled on the snap block to achieve the connection between the cover 11 and the base 12. In other ways, the cover 11 and the base 12 can also be directly fixed, for example, by gluing or ultrasonic welding.

[0036] The surface cover 11 is provided with an opening 110 , and the travel assembly 20 passes through the opening 110 .

[0037] The base 12 is provided with a stroke column 121, which extends along the stroke direction of the stroke assembly 20, and the stroke column 121 is provided with a stroke channel 1211 with a top opening. The upper half of the stroke column 121 is accommodated in the accommodation space 14, and the lower half passes through the accommodation space 14 and is exposed outside the base 12. The PCB board 50 is provided with an avoidance hole 51 corresponding to the exposed part of the stroke column 121. The stroke column 121 can extend to the bottom of the PCB through the avoidance hole 51, which can make full use of the thickness space and the bottom space of the PCB board 50 and extend the length of the stroke channel 1211.

[0038] The stroke assembly 20 is a human-machine interaction device that receives the pressing driving force of the user to generate a reciprocating linear stroke. The stroke assembly 20 includes a shaft core 21, a key cap 22 connected to the shaft core 21 for driving the shaft core 21 to move, and an elastic member 23 for driving the shaft core 21 to return to its original position.

[0039] The shaft core 21 includes a pressing portion 211, a limiting portion 212 and a lead portion 213. The pressing portion 211 passes through the face cover 11 and is exposed outside. The limiting portion 212 is limited by the face cover 11 in the accommodating space 14. The lead portion 213 is fixed to the pressing portion 211. The lead portion 213 is inserted from the top opening of the stroke channel 1211 and can reciprocate linearly in the stroke channel 1211. The stroke channel 1211 serves as a stroke space of the lead portion 213. Through the cooperation between the lead portion 213 and the stroke column 121, the movement of the shaft core 21 can be guided and limited, so that the movement direction of the shaft core 21 is always the axial direction of the stroke column 121.

[0040] In order to further improve the movement stability of the shaft core 121, a slide groove 122 is also provided on the base 12, and the outer wall of the shaft core 21 is also provided with a slider portion 214 matching the slide groove 122. The slider portion 214 can reciprocate linearly in the slide groove 122, and the matching structure of the slider portion 214 and the slide groove 122 can also provide guiding and limiting effects for the movement of the shaft core 21.

[0041] The cross-sectional shape of the pressing portion 211 is a regular octagon, including four main sides 2111 and four oblique sides 2112 , wherein the main sides 2111 correspond to the four sides of the key cap 22 , and the oblique sides 2112 correspond to the four corners of the key cap 22 .

[0042] Furthermore, the shaft core 21 further includes a cushion block 215, which is arranged on the top wall of the limiting portion 212. The cushion block 215 is used to maintain a gap between the limiting portion 212 and the surface cover 11 when the shaft core 21 rebounds. The slider 214 is slidably connected to the slide groove 122. In order to reduce the friction of sliding, it is necessary to encapsulate lubricating oil in the receiving space 14. During the rebound of the shaft core 21, the slider 214 moves upward along the slide groove 122, and will carry part of the lubricating oil upward and diffuse to the slider 214 and the top of the limiting portion 212. When the limiting portion 212 abuts against the surface cover 11, the lubricating oil will overflow outward through the opening 110 on the surface cover 11, causing leakage of the lubricating oil, affecting the stability of lubrication. The setting of the cushion block portion 215 ensures that after the shaft core 21 rebounds, the limiting portion 212 and the surface cover 11 maintain a distance and do not directly contact each other. The lubricating oil on the top of the limiting portion 212 cannot overflow through the opening 110 on the surface cover 11. During use, it will flow back into the oil storage tank, avoiding the loss of lubricating oil.

[0043] The slider portion 214 is arranged on the side where the straight edge 2111 is located, and the cushion portion 215 is arranged on the side where the oblique edge 2112 is located, so that the cushion portion 215 and the slider portion 214 maintain a large distance, and the slider portion 214 and the surface cover 11 located above it are in a suspended state, completely blocking the path for the lubricating oil to move upward, which can further limit the lubricating oil from overflowing through the opening 110 on the surface cover 11.

[0044] In addition, since the bevel 2112 is inclined, the area of ​​the limiting portion 212 corresponding to the bevel 2112 is just in an empty state, providing space for the installation of the pad portion 215. A pad portion 215 can be arranged at each position of the bevel 2112 to ensure the contact stability between the limiting portion 212 and the cover 11.

[0045] The pressing portion 211 passes through the opening 110 and is exposed to the housing 10. The key cap 22 is mounted on the exposed end of the pressing portion 211 and is used as a pressing position for the user. The side of the key cap 22 away from the pressing portion 211 is a pressing surface 1220, and the pressing surface 1220 is a curved surface with four corners raised. Optionally, the four corners of the pressing surface can also be flush with the middle part, and the function of pressing the shaft core can be achieved without raising it. The middle frame 13 serves as a baffle at the end of the stroke of the key 22. When the key 22 is pressed into place, it touches the middle frame 13.

[0046] In the conventional technology, the cross-sectional shape of the pressing portion 211 is a quadrilateral. When the pressing position is at the angular position of the keycap 22, the force is transmitted to the angular position of the pressing portion 211. Since the distance between the angle and the center is relatively far, the keycap 22 will be lever-type tilted toward the angular position, driving the shaft core 21 to tilt as well. The tilted shaft core 21 and the travel column 121 rub against each other to form resistance, resulting in a sense of sticking. Therefore, the present application designs the pressing portion 211 to be a regular octagonal structure. When the pressing position is at the angular position of the keycap 22, the force is transmitted to the position of the hypotenuse 2112 of the pressing portion 211. Compared with the traditional angle, the hypotenuse 2112 shortens the distance from the center, which can reduce the length of the torque, thereby controlling the degree of inclination of the shaft core 21, reducing the friction between the shaft core 21 and the travel column 121, and achieving the purpose of reducing the sense of sticking.

[0047] The elastic member 23 is sleeved on the periphery of the travel column 121 and sandwiched between the base 12 and the pressing portion 211, and is used to drive the shaft core 21 to reset. When the shaft core 21 moves downward under the action of the driving force, the elastic member 23 is compressed; after the driving force disappears, the elastic member 23 resets and drives the shaft core 21 to reset upward.

[0048] In this embodiment, the elastic member 23 is selected as a spring. In order to increase the installation stability of the elastic member 23, a first limiting structure can also be set on the periphery of the guide portion, and the first limiting structure and the guide portion 213 are spaced apart to form a first clamping groove, so as to clamp the top of the elastic member 23; a second limiting structure is set on the periphery of the stroke column 121, and the second limiting structure and the forming column 121 are spaced apart to form a second clamping groove, so as to clamp the bottom of the elastic member 23.

[0049] The lighting assembly 30 includes a lamp bead 31 and a light-distributing portion 32 . The light-distributing portion 32 is disposed on an outer wall of the housing 10 . Specifically, the light-distributing portion 32 is disposed on an outer wall of the cover 11 .

[0050] The side of the light-distributing portion 32 facing away from the housing 10 is an inclined surface 320 , which is inclined toward the keycap 22 . A protrusion 321 is protruded from the inclined surface 320 , and a plurality of protrusions 321 are distributed in a rectangular array along the inclined surface 320 to form a micro lens array.

[0051] The lamp bead 31 is located directly below the light-distributing portion 32, and an optical path channel is provided between the lamp bead 31 and the light-distributing portion 32. The light emitted by the lamp bead 31 enters the bottom of the light-distributing portion 32 through the optical path channel, passes through the light-distributing portion 32, and then is emitted through the inclined surface 320, and is scattered toward the keycap 22, so as to illuminate the backlight font on the keyboard 22. Since the lamp bead 31 is a point light source, the light emitted by it covers a small local area, and for keys with longer backlight fonts, it is impossible to ensure that the backlight font is fully illuminated. The present application utilizes the principle of microlens and adopts a highly light-transmitting material (such as epoxy resin or acrylate) to make the light-distributing portion 32, so that the light emitted by the lamp bead 31 is scattered toward the keycap 22, thereby increasing the coverage area of ​​the light, and ensuring that the backlight font in the key with longer backlight font can still be fully illuminated. It can be understood that in order to ensure the rectilinear propagation of light, there is no obstruction in the optical path channel.

[0052] The protrusion 321 is in the shape of a prism with multiple inclined surfaces, which can refract light in different directions and increase the coverage area of ​​the light.

[0053] The signal component 40 includes a spring sheet 41 and a contact pin 42 . The spring sheet 41 is provided with a moving contact 410 , and the contact pin 42 is provided with a static contact 420 . The shaft core 21 drives the moving contact 410 and the static contact 420 to contact each other to generate an induction signal.

[0054] The elastic sheet 41 includes a first support leg 411 and a first elastic arm 412 and a second elastic arm 413 integrally formed with the first support leg 411 . The first elastic arm 412 and the second elastic arm 413 are arranged side by side and at intervals.

[0055] Specifically, the first elastic arm 412 is a U-shaped curved structure as a whole, including a first connecting portion 4121, a first contact portion 4122 spaced apart from the first connecting portion 4121, and a first curved portion 4123 connecting the first connecting portion 4121 and the first contact portion 4122, and the moving contact 410 is arranged on the first contact portion 4122. The first contact portion 4122 also protrudes a first arched portion 4124 in the direction close to the shaft core 21. There are two first arched portions 4124, which are distributed on opposite sides of the moving contact 410. The shaft core 21 is provided with a first contact block 216 at a position corresponding to the first arched portion 4124. In an initial state, the first contact block 216 squeezes the first arched portion 4124, causing the first elastic arm 412 to bend and deform as a whole. After pressing the key cap 22, the shaft core 21 is driven to move downward, causing the first contact block 216 to separate from the first arched portion 4124. The first elastic arm 412 is reset under the action of elasticity, causing the moving contact 410 to contact the static contact 420 to generate a key sensing signal. The shaft core 21 is reset under the drive of the elastic member 23, causing the first contact block 216 to return to its initial position, and the moving contact 410 is separated from the static contact 420 again.

[0056] The first contact blocks 216 and the first arched portions 4124 are disposed in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0057] The second elastic arm 413 is a U-shaped curved structure as a whole, including a second connecting portion 4131, a second contacting portion 4132 spaced apart from the second connecting portion 4131, and a second curved portion 4133 connecting the second connecting portion 4131 and the second contacting portion 4132. The second contacting portion 4132 also protrudes toward the direction close to the shaft core 21 to form a second arched portion 4134. The shaft core 21 is provided with a second contact block 217 at a position corresponding to the second arched portion 4134. In the initial state, the second contact block 217 presses the second arched portion 4134, so that the second elastic arm 413 is bent and deformed as a whole. After pressing the key cap 22, the shaft core 21 is driven to move downward, so that the second contact block 217 is separated from the second arched portion 4134. The second elastic arm 413 rebounds and hits the inner wall of the housing 10 under the elastic action, generating a key press sound. The shaft core 21 is driven by the elastic member 23 to return to its original position, so that the second contact block 217 returns to its initial position and squeezes the second arched portion 4134 again.

[0058] The first elastic arm 412 and the second elastic arm 413 are integrated in a spring sheet and can be integrally processed and formed, thereby reducing the production cost of the spring sheet. In addition, by adopting an integrated approach, pressing the shaft core 21 once can trigger the key signal and the key sound respectively.

[0059] Preferably, the first contact block 216 is a wedge-shaped block, and the cross-sectional area gradually increases from the top to the bottom, so that the first arched portion 4124 can move slowly along the wedge-shaped surface of the first contact block 216, avoiding the first elastic arm 412 from quickly disengaging and causing the first elastic arm 412 to rebound and hit the inner wall of the shell 10 to form impact noise, ensuring that only the impact sound generated by the second elastic arm 413 is the key pressing sound.

[0060] Furthermore, the first arched portion 4124 is flush with the second arched portion 4134, and the bottom of the second contact block 217 is located above the bottom of the first contact block 216, so that the signal triggering of the key switch is earlier than the key sound triggering, and the key sound can be used to represent the smooth triggering of the key switch, which is beneficial to blind operation when using the keyboard.

[0061] It should be noted that the lamp bead 31 is packaged on the PCB 50, and the spring 41 and the contact pin 42 are electrically connected to the PCB board 50. The connection between the lamp bead 31, the spring 41 and the contact pin 42 and the PCB board 50 can adopt conventional technology in the field, which will not be elaborated in this embodiment.

[0062] In summary, the beneficial effects of this application are:

[0063] (1) The pressing portion 211 is designed to be a regular octagonal structure. When the pressing position is at the corner position of the keycap 22, the force is transmitted to the position of the bevel 2112 of the pressing portion 211. Compared with the traditional corner, the bevel 2112 is shorter than the center, which can reduce the length of the moment, thereby controlling the inclination of the shaft core 21 and reducing the friction between the shaft core 21 and the travel column 121, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the sticking feeling;

[0064] (2) The two spring arms for key sound and signal triggering are integrated into one spring piece. Pressing the shaft core 21 once can trigger the key signal and key sound respectively. In addition, the one-piece molding method can also control the production cost of the spring piece.

[0065] Example 2

[0066] See also Fig.11 This embodiment provides a keyboard 2, including several key switches 1 in embodiment 1.

[0067] The keyboard 1 is used in conjunction with an electronic device as an input tool for the electronic device. When in use, pressing the key switch 1 generates a sensing signal corresponding to the key switch 1 .

[0068] The above is only an implementation method of the present invention. It should be pointed out that a person skilled in the art can make improvements without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention, but these improvements are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A key switch, characterized in that: include: case; A stroke assembly housed in a shell comprises an axis core, a keycap connected to the axis core for driving the axis core to move, and an elastic member for driving the axis core to reset, the axis core comprising a pressing portion and a limiting portion, the pressing portion passing through the shell to be exposed, the limiting portion being limited within the shell, the keycap being mounted on the exposed end of the pressing portion, the cross-sectional shape of the pressing portion being a regular octagon, comprising four regular sides and four oblique sides, wherein the regular sides respectively correspond to the positions of the four sides of the keycap, and the oblique sides correspond to the positions of the four corners of the keycap.

2. The key switch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell comprises a surface cover and a base which cooperates with the surface cover to form a receiving space. The surface cover is provided with an opening, and the pressing part passes through the opening and is exposed to the shell.

3. The key switch according to claim 1, characterized in that: A side of the key cap away from the travel component is a pressing surface, and the pressing surface is a curved surface with four corners raised.

4. The key switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: A stroke column is provided on the base, and the stroke column extends along the stroke direction of the stroke component. A stroke channel with a top opening is provided inside the stroke column. The shaft core also includes a lead portion connected to the pressing portion. The lead portion is inserted from the top opening of the stroke channel and can reciprocate linearly in the stroke channel. The stroke channel serves as a stroke space of the lead portion. The elastic member is sleeved on the periphery of the stroke column and clamped between the base and the pressing portion.

5. The key switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: The base is provided with a slide groove, and the outer wall of the shaft core is also provided with a slider portion matching the slide groove, and the slider portion can reciprocate linearly in the slide groove.

6. The key switch according to claim 5, characterized in that: The shaft core further comprises a cushion block portion, which is arranged on the top wall of the limiting portion and is used to maintain a gap between the limiting portion and the surface cover when the limiting portion rebounds.

7. The key switch according to claim 6, characterized in that: The sliding block portion is arranged on the side where the positive side is located, and the pad block portion is arranged on the side where the oblique side is located.

8. The key switch according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a lighting component, which includes a lamp bead and a light-distributing portion. The light-distributing portion is arranged on the outer wall of the shell, and the side of the shell facing away from the axis core is an inclined surface, which is inclined toward the keycap direction. The inclined surface protrudes to form a protrusion, and a plurality of the protrusions are distributed in a rectangular array along the inclined surface to form a microlens array. The lamp bead is located directly below the light-distributing portion, and an optical path channel is arranged between the lamp bead and the light-distributing portion. The light emitted by the lamp bead is emitted into the bottom of the light-distributing portion through the optical path channel, passes through the light-distributing portion, and then is emitted through the inclined surface and scattered toward the keycap direction, so as to illuminate the backlight font on the keycap; the protrusion is in the shape of a prism.

9. The key switch according to claim 8, characterized in that: It also includes a PCB board arranged below the base, wherein the travel column is partially accommodated in the accommodation space and partially passes through the base to be exposed, and an avoidance hole is arranged on the PCB board at a position corresponding to the exposed part of the travel column; the lamp bead, spring and pin are all electrically connected to the PCB board.

10. A keyboard, characterized in that: The invention comprises the key switches described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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