Keyboard and electronic equipment
By designing a highly thinned hook structure in the keyboard keys, the problem of difficult to reduce the weight and thickness of the existing keyboard is solved, and the keyboard is lightweight and thinned design needs are achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202420438917.9
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-03-06
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-02
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-03-06
AI Technical Summary
The material of the support plate in existing keyboards is usually stainless steel, which leads to a larger keyboard weight; when using aluminum alloy to reduce weight, the strength is insufficient, and the need to increase the plate thickness leads to a larger keyboard thickness, which is difficult to meet the lightweight and thinning design needs.
A keyboard is designed in which the keys include a support plate and a balance rod. The support plate is thinned in height through the hook structure. The top wall and side wall of the hook are designed to reduce the height of the hook through a specific structural design, thereby reducing the overall thickness of the keyboard.
By reducing the height of the hook, the keyboard is reduced in thickness to meet the thinning needs. At the same time, since the thickness of the support part does not decrease, the problem of insufficient support strength brought by lightweight materials is solved, and the keyboard is lightweight needs are met.
Smart Images
Figure CN222826267U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application relates to the field of terminal technology, and in particular to a keyboard and an electronic device. Background Art
[0002] In recent years, the demand for mobile office has been increasing, and laptops have become popular due to their portable and thin design. As the core part of a laptop, the weight and thickness of the keyboard need to be further reduced to meet the requirements of lightweight and thin design of laptops.
[0003] However, the material of the support plate in the current keyboard is usually stainless steel, and the density of stainless steel is high, resulting in a heavy keyboard, which is not conducive to the lightweighting of the laptop. In order to reduce the weight, a lighter aluminum alloy can also be used to make the support plate, but the strength of the aluminum alloy is relatively weaker than that of stainless steel, so the thickness of the support plate needs to be increased to meet the support strength requirements, resulting in a thick keyboard, which is not conducive to the thinning of the laptop. Utility Model Content
[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a keyboard and an electronic device. The present application is introduced from multiple aspects below, and the implementation methods and beneficial effects of the following multiple aspects can be referenced to each other.
[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a keyboard. The keyboard includes a key, and the key includes a support plate and a balance bar. The support plate includes a supporting portion and a hook disposed on the supporting portion, the hook protrudes relative to the supporting portion along the thickness direction of the keyboard, the hook includes a top wall and at least two side walls, the top wall includes at least one middle portion and at least two connecting portions, the two ends of the middle portion are respectively connected to one end of the side wall through the connecting portion, thereby forming a slot, the other end of the side wall is connected to the supporting portion, and the top surface of the middle portion and the top surface of the connecting portion are coplanar. The end of the balance bar is inserted into the slot and fits with the middle portion. Along the thickness direction of the keyboard, the size of the supporting portion is a first size, the size of the middle portion is a second size, and the second size is smaller than the first size.
[0006] According to the embodiment of the present application, since the top surface of the middle part of the top wall and the top surface of the connecting part are coplanar, and the size of the middle part is smaller than the size of the supporting part along the thickness direction of the keyboard. Therefore, in a possible implementation, along the thickness direction of the keyboard, the size of the middle part can be equal to the size of the connecting part, that is, the thickness of the top wall is equal everywhere, which is the second size. In this way, the height of the hook can be smaller, thereby making the thickness of the keyboard smaller, thereby meeting the thinning requirement.
[0007] Alternatively, in another possible implementation, along the thickness direction of the keyboard, the size of the middle part can also be smaller than the size of the connecting part, that is, the bottom surface of the middle part is closer to the top surface of the top wall than the bottom surface of the connecting part, or the bottom surface of the middle part is farther away from the top surface of the supporting part than the bottom surface of the connecting part. In this way, when the end of the balance bar is inserted into the card slot, it can share part of the thickness space with the connecting part, so that the height of the card hook can be reduced, making the thickness of the keyboard smaller, thereby meeting the demand for thinning the keyboard.
[0008] At the same time, the thickness of the supporting part does not need to be reduced, thereby solving the problem of insufficient supporting strength caused by lightweight materials and meeting the lightweight requirements of the keyboard.
[0009] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the supporting portion and the hook are an integrated structure.
[0010] That is to say, the supporting part and the hook are integrally formed, which can effectively reduce the number of parts, thereby improving assembly efficiency and reducing production costs.
[0011] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the material of the supporting portion and the material of the hook are aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or titanium alloy, so as to meet the weight reduction requirement.
[0012] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the supporting portion and the hook are fixedly connected by one of the following methods: gluing, welding, riveting or threaded connection.
[0013] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the hook is made of stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy or carbon fiber sheet material, and the supporting portion is made of aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or titanium alloy.
[0014] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first size is greater than 0.15 mm and less than or equal to 0.6 mm, for example, 0.16 mm, 0.17 mm, 0.18 mm, 0.19 mm, etc.
[0015] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the second size is greater than or equal to 0.15 mm, for example, 0.15 mm, 0.16 mm, 0.17 mm, 0.18 mm, etc.
[0016] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the hook is an L-shaped structure or a Z-shaped structure.
[0017] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the hook includes three side walls, the top wall includes two alternately connected middle parts and three connecting parts, the three connecting parts are further connected to the three side walls, so as to form two slots. The two slots may correspond to the ends of the two balancing poles, that is, the ends of the same side of the two balancing poles share one hook, so as to effectively save the number of parts.
[0018] A second aspect of the present application provides an electronic device, which includes the keyboard in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.
[0019] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the second aspect mentioned above can be referred to the description of the first aspect mentioned above and will not be elaborated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] Figure 1A A schematic diagram of the structure of a laptop computer in some embodiments of the present application is shown;
[0021] Figure 1B A schematic diagram of the structure of a tablet computer in some embodiments of the present application is shown;
[0022] Figure 2A A stereogram showing a key in a compressed state in some technical solutions is shown, and the key cap is not shown;
[0023] Figure 2B An exploded view of a key in a compressed state in some technical solutions is shown.
[0024] Figure 2C Shows some technical solutions in the key structure along the Figure 2A Sectional view of the NN section;
[0025] Figure 3A A three-dimensional diagram of a key in a compressed state in an embodiment of the present application is shown, and a key cap is not shown;
[0026] Figure 3B An exploded view of a key in a compressed state in an embodiment of the present application is shown.
[0027] Figure 3C The structure of the key in the embodiment of the present application is shown along the Figure 3A Cross-sectional view of the middle MM section;
[0028] Figure 4 The figure shows the thinning process of the hook in one embodiment of the present application;
[0029] Figure 5A The first step of thinning the hook in another embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0030] Figure 5BThe second thinning process of the hook in another embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0031] Fig. 6A according to Figure 5A and Figure 5B An exemplary structure 1 of the thinned hook is shown;
[0032] Figure 6B according to Figure 5A and Figure 5B The second exemplary structure of the thinned hook is shown;
[0033] Fig. 7A The first exemplary arrangement of the split supporting portion and the hook in the embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0034] Figure 7B A second exemplary arrangement of the split supporting portion and the hook in the embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0035] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the implementation methods of the present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0036] The present application provides a keyboard, which may be a keyboard used in a common office desktop computer, a keyboard on a portable notebook computer, or a small keyboard adapted for a tablet personal computer or a mobile phone, or a key keyboard on a calculator, a remote control, or a game controller.
[0037] The following describes several application scenarios of keyboards in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0038] Figure 1A FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a laptop computer 1 in some embodiments of the present application. Figure 1A The laptop computer 1 may include a host part 01, a display part 02 and a hinge 03. The host part 01 and the display part 02 are rotatably connected via the hinge 03, so that the display part 02 can rotate relative to the host part 01 around the rotation axis L1, thereby enabling the laptop computer 1 to switch between a closed state and an unfolded state at will.
[0039] The host part 01 includes a keyboard 10, a touchpad 11 and a host body 12. The keyboard 10 and the touchpad 11 are respectively arranged on the host body 12. The keyboard 10 is used to input characters and control commands. The touchpad 11 is used to control the movement and click of the cursor.
[0040] The display part 02 includes a screen 13. The screen 13 is used to display information such as images and videos, and can also integrate a touch function. The screen 13 can be a flexible display screen or a rigid display screen. It can be understood that the screen 13 here can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display screen or a quantum dot light emitting diode (QLED) display screen, etc., and this application does not limit this.
[0041] When the notebook computer 1 is in a closed state, the angle between the main body part 01 and the display part 02 can be close to 0°, that is, the main body part 01 and the display part 02 are stacked. When the notebook computer 1 is in an unfolded state, the angle between the main body part 01 and the display part 02 can be close to 90° to 150°, that is, the main body part 01 and the display part 02 are far away from each other, so that the operation area of the main body part 01 (for example, Figure 1A In the example shown, the host part 01 (where the keyboard 10 and the touchpad 11 are located) and the display area of the display part 02 (for example, the area where the screen 13 is located) can be simultaneously oriented toward the user for use by the user.
[0042] Figure 1B FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a tablet computer 2 in some embodiments of the present application. Figure 1B The tablet computer 2 includes a keyboard 10 and a main body 04. The keyboard 10 and the main body 04 are connected in communication. When a user taps the keyboard 10, the main body 04 can be controlled, for example, the main body 04 displays text, pictures, etc.
[0043] For ease of description, the following will be Figure 1A In the example shown, the keyboard 10 of the notebook computer 1 is taken as an example for explanation.
[0044] Continue to refer Figure 1A The keyboard 10 includes a plurality of keys 14 arranged in rows and columns, and the structures of different keys 14 are substantially the same. In some implementations, the key 14 may be a butterfly key, a scissor-foot key, or a key in another form, which is not specifically limited in the present application. In order to clearly characterize the structure of the keyboard 10, the following will take a single key 14 as the entry point, and take the key 14 as a scissor-foot key as an example to describe the specific structure of the keyboard 10.
[0045] For the convenience of subsequent description, before describing the specific structure of the keyboard 10, this application first combines Figure 1ADefine the X direction, Y direction and Z direction. The X direction is the length direction of the keyboard 10, for example, the X direction is parallel to the rotation axis L1; the Y direction is the width direction of the keyboard 10, for example, the Y direction is distributed in the plane where the keyboard 10 is located, and the Y direction is perpendicular to the rotation axis L1; the Z direction is the thickness direction of the keyboard 10, which can also be called the height direction of the keyboard 10.
[0046] It can be understood that the mutual parallelism in the present application is not absolute parallelism, and the approximate parallelism caused by processing errors and assembly errors (for example, the angle between the two structural features is 0.1°) is also within the scope of the mutual parallelism in the present application. The mutual perpendicularity in the present application is not absolute perpendicularity, and the approximate perpendicularity caused by processing errors and assembly errors (for example, the angle between the two structural features is 89.9°) is also within the scope of the mutual perpendicularity in the present application. The limitations of mutual parallelism and mutual perpendicularity will not be repeated in the following text.
[0047] In addition, it should be noted that the directional terms such as "up", "down", "left", "right", "front", "back", "top" and "bottom" in this document refer to the orientation of the laptop computer 1 in normal use (for example, in normal use, the main unit 01 is located at the bottom of the laptop computer 1), and do not indicate or imply that the referred component must have a specific orientation, which may change accordingly according to actual use and should not be understood as a limitation on this application.
[0048] Figure 2A and Figure 2B The exemplary structures of the buttons 14 in some technical solutions are shown. Figure 2A It is a three-dimensional diagram of the key 14 in a compressed state, and the key cap 101 is not shown. Figure 2B It is an exploded view of the button 14 in a compressed state.
[0049] refer to Figure 2A and Figure 2B The key 14 includes a support plate 100 ′, a key cap 101 , a scissor foot structure 102 , a balance bar 103 , a function conduction circuit board 104 (or “membrane”) and a backlight module 105 arranged on the support plate 100 ′.
[0050] Specifically, along the Z-axis direction, the keycap 101 and the support plate 100' are arranged opposite to each other, and the scissor foot structure 102 is located between the keycap 101 and the support plate 100'. One end of the scissor foot structure 102 is connected to the support plate 100', and the other end is connected to the keycap 101, for example, by a buckle connection, wherein the scissor foot structure 102 may include an outer shear 102a and an inner shear 102b.
[0051] The balance bar 103 is disposed around the outer periphery of the scissor leg structure 102, and its end 103a is connected to the support plate 100'. Specifically, the support plate 100' includes a support portion 110 and a hook 120' disposed on the support portion 110. The hook 120' includes a top wall 120a' and at least two side walls 120b'. Figure 2A and Figure 2B The three side walls 120b' are taken as examples. Two adjacent side walls 120b' are respectively connected to the top wall 120a', thereby forming a slot 130. The end 103a of the balance bar 103 is inserted into the slot 130. The balance bar 103 is also connected to the keycap 101. Exemplarily, a water drop hole buckle (not shown) may be provided on the surface of the keycap 101 facing the balance bar 103, and the water drop hole buckle can clamp the balance bar 103 on the keycap 101. By providing the balance bar 103, when a certain position on the keycap 101 is subjected to force, the entire keycap 101 can drop as a whole without tilting up at one end, thereby avoiding the problem of uneven force on the keys 14 (such as large-sized keys such as the shift key, the enter key, and the space key) when in use.
[0052] The function conduction circuit board 104 is arranged on the surface of the support plate 100' facing the balance bar 103, and is used to realize the input function corresponding to the key 14. It can be understood that the function conduction circuit board 104 is provided with a through hole to realize the connection between the key cap 101 and the balance bar 103. The backlight module 105 is arranged on the surface of the support plate 100' facing away from the balance bar 103, and is used to provide light effects for the characters.
[0053] When the button 14 is pressed to a compressed state (for example, Figure 2A and Figure 2B As shown), the distance between the support plate 100' and the key cap 101 is the smallest, the orthographic projection of the scissor foot structure 102 in the YZ plane is an "I" shape, and the contacts in the function conduction circuit board 104 that were originally in an open circuit state are turned on, thereby realizing the input function corresponding to the key 14.
[0054] As mentioned above, in some technical solutions, the material of the support plate 100' can be stainless steel, which can ensure that the support plate 100' has a certain strength. When the material of the support plate 100' is stainless steel, the thickness of the support plate 100' is about 0.15 mm, which can meet the support strength requirements, and the overall thickness of the keyboard 10 is relatively small. However, the density of stainless steel is relatively high, so the weight of the support plate 100' is relatively heavy, and it is the heaviest part of the keyboard 10, accounting for about 35% of the weight of the entire keyboard 10. Ultimately, it is difficult for the keyboard 10 and the laptop computer 1 to meet the lightweight requirements.
[0055] Therefore, in other technical solutions, aluminum alloy is used as the material for making the support plate 100'. It is worth noting that although aluminum alloy is light in weight and can reduce the weight of the keyboard 10, since the strength of aluminum alloy is weaker than that of stainless steel, the thickness of the support plate 100' needs to be increased (for example, increased to 0.3 mm) to ensure the support strength, which makes it difficult to maintain the overall thickness of the key 14 at a relatively thin level, and ultimately makes it difficult for the keyboard 10 and the notebook computer 1 to meet the demand for thinning.
[0056] In order to more intuitively understand the effect of the increase in the thickness of the support plate 100 ′ on the thickness of the key 14 , the specific components of the thickness of the key 14 in the above solution are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0057] Figure 2C The structure of some keys 14 in some technical solutions is shown along the Figure 2A The metal support plate 100' in the key 14 is made of aluminum alloy, and for the sake of easy observation, the structure of the support plate 100' being blocked by the balance bar 103 is shown by dotted lines, and the key cap 101 is also shown.
[0058] In order to facilitate the subsequent description, Figure 2C The following definitions are made for each size of key 14:
[0059] Top surface thickness A of the keycap 101: the dimension of the top surface portion 101a of the keycap 101 along the Z direction. The top surface portion 101a of the keycap 101 extends along the XY plane, and its outer surface is the pressing surface of the keycap 101 that bears pressure.
[0060] Safety gap B between the keycap 101 and the hook 120' of the support plate 100': the distance between the top surface 101a of the keycap 101 and the two opposite surfaces of the hook 120' of the support plate 100' when the key 14 is in a compressed state. In this way, it can be ensured that when the key 14 is pressed, the keycap 101 and the hook 120' of the support plate 100' will not collide and produce abnormal sounds.
[0061] The thickness D of the support plate 100' refers to the distance between two opposite plate surfaces in the support plate 100'. In the above scheme, the thickness of the support plate 100' is equal everywhere, that is, the thickness of each component in the support plate 100' is D. For example, the distance between the two opposite surfaces along the Z direction in the support portion 110 is D; the distance between the two opposite surfaces along the Z direction in the top wall 120a' of the hook 120' is D; the distance between the two opposite surfaces along the X direction in the side wall 120b' of the hook 120' is D.
[0062] The height C' of the hook 120' of the support plate 100' is the distance between the top surface F1 of the top wall 120a' of the hook 120' and the top surface 111 of the supporting portion 110. The top surface of each component refers to the surface of the component facing the positive Z direction, which will not be described in detail below.
[0063] To facilitate understanding of the structure of the height C' of the hook 120' of the support plate 100', FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C The specific structure of the top wall 120a' of the hook 120' is introduced. FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C , the top wall 120a' of the hook 120' includes two middle parts S1' and three connecting parts S2'. The two middle parts S1' and the three connecting parts S2' are alternately arranged and connected along the Y direction, and the three connecting parts S2' are respectively connected to the three side walls 120b', so as to surround the slot 130. When the end 103a of the balance bar 103 is inserted into the slot 130, the bottom surface F3' of the middle part S1' can fit with the end 103a of the balance bar 103. Among them, the bottom surface of each component is the surface of the component opposite to its top surface along the Z direction, which will not be described in detail below.
[0064] To ensure that the end 103a of the balance bar 103 can be normally installed in the slot 130 of the hook 120' and will not collide with the supporting portion 110, the distance D3' between the bottom surface F3' of the middle portion S1' and the top surface 111 of the supporting portion 110 needs to be equal to the sum of the diameter d of the balance bar 103 and the safety gap G between the balance bar 103 and the top surface 111 of the supporting portion 110, that is, D3'=d+G.
[0065] The height C' of the hook 120' of the support plate 100' includes: the thickness of the top wall 120a' of the hook 120' (for example, the distance D between the two surfaces opposite to each other in the Z direction in the top wall 120a'), and the distance D3' between the bottom surface F3' of the middle part S1' and the top surface 111 of the supporting part 110, therefore, C'=D+D3'=D+d+G.
[0066] The thickness D1 of the supporting portion 110 of the support plate 100 ′ is the dimension of the supporting portion 110 along the Z direction, for example, the distance D between two opposite surfaces of the supporting portion 110 along the Z direction, that is, D1=D.
[0067] Thickness E of the backlight module 105: the dimension of the backlight module 105 along the Z direction.
[0068] The travel of the button 14 is the distance that the button 14 moves along the Z direction when it is pressed to the compressed state.
[0069] Table 1 exemplarily shows the thickness details of the key 14 in the above technical solution. The material of the support plate 100' is a high-strength aluminum alloy. In addition, to ensure the support strength of the support plate 100', the plate thickness D of the support plate 100' is set to 0.3 mm.
[0070] Table 1
[0071]
[0072] Refer to Table 1 and combine FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C When calculating the thickness H' of the key 14, the thickness D of the support plate 100' is calculated twice, once as C'=D+d+G, and the other time as D1=D. Therefore, the increase in the thickness D of the support plate 100' has a double effect on the thickness H' of the key 14, which makes it difficult to maintain the thickness H' of the key 14 at a relatively thin level, and ultimately makes it difficult for the keyboard 10 and the notebook computer 1 to meet the requirements of thinning.
[0073] In view of this, the embodiment of the present application performs a local thinning process on the support plate, so that at least the local thickness of the top wall of the hook is smaller than the thickness of the supporting part (that is, the thickness of the support plate is not equal everywhere), so as to reduce the height of the hook of the support plate, thereby reducing the thickness of the key. At the same time, the thickness of the supporting part can be set to be thick enough to ensure the supporting strength, thereby solving the problem of insufficient strength caused by lightweight materials.
[0074] The following describes a specific embodiment of the key 14 in the keyboard 10 provided by the present application. As described above, in the embodiment of the present application, the key 14 may include a support plate 100 and a key cap 101, a scissor foot structure 102, a balance bar 103, a functional conductive circuit board 104, and a backlight module 105, etc., which are arranged on the support plate 100. Among them, the position structure and function of the key cap 101, the scissor foot structure 102, the balance bar 103, the functional conductive circuit board 104, and the backlight module 105 can refer to the above description, and will not be repeated here. The following will focus on the structure of the support plate 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application.
[0075] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C The exemplary structure of the button 14 in the embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 3A It is a three-dimensional diagram of the key 14 in a compressed state, and the key cap 101 is not shown. Figure 3B It is an exploded view of the button 14 in a compressed state. Figure 3C The key 14 is shown along the Figure 3A A cross-sectional view of the MM section in FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the MM section in FIG. 1 . For the convenience of observation, the structure of the support plate 100 being blocked by the balance bar 103 is shown by dotted lines, and the key cap 101 is also shown.
[0076] refer to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3CThe support plate 100 includes a supporting portion 110 and a hook 120 . The supporting portion 110 is used to play a supporting role; the hook 120 is used to achieve the connection between the support plate 100 and the balance bar 103 .
[0077] Specifically, the supporting portion 110 is in a plate-like shape as a whole and extends along the XY plane. That is, the supporting portion 110 may be parallel to the XY plane. Alternatively, while extending along the XY plane, the supporting portion 110 may bulge slightly in the positive Z direction or may be recessed slightly in the negative Z direction.
[0078] The hook 120 of the support plate 100 is disposed on the supporting portion 110 and protrudes in a direction away from the supporting portion 110. The hook 120 includes a top wall 120a and at least two side walls 120b. The top wall 120a includes at least one middle portion S1 and at least two connecting portions S2. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C Three side walls 120b, two middle parts S1 and three connecting parts S2 are taken as examples. Among them, the two middle parts S1 and the three connecting parts S2 are alternately arranged and connected. The hook 120 also includes three side walls 120b, and the three side walls 120b are respectively connected to the three connecting parts S2, thereby forming two slots 130 with the top wall 120a. The other end of the side wall 120b is connected to the supporting portion 110. In addition, the top surface of the middle part S1 of the top wall 120a and the top surface of the connecting part S2 are coplanar, or, it can also be understood that the top surface of the middle part S1 and the top surface of the connecting part S2 are connected to form the top surface F1 of the top wall 120a (for example, Figure 3B The top surface F1 is a plane, and illustratively, the top surface F1 may be parallel to the XY plane.
[0079] The end 103a of the balance bar 103 is inserted into the slot 130, thereby achieving connection with the support plate 100. When the end 103a of the balance bar 103 is inserted into the slot 130, the top wall 120a of the hook 120 is located at the side of the end 103a of the balance bar 103 that is away from the supporting portion 110, and the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a can be in contact with the end 103a of the balance bar 103. Along the Y direction, the two adjacent side walls 120b are located at opposite sides of the end 103a of the balance bar 103.
[0080] The thickness of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a is the second dimension D2. The second dimension D2 is less than the thickness D1 of the supporting portion 110 (as an example of the first dimension). The thickness of each portion of the top wall 120a (e.g., the middle portion S1, the connecting portion S2) is the dimension of each portion along the Z direction, which will not be described in detail below.
[0081] Since the top surface of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a and the top surface of the connecting portion S2 are connected together to form the top surface F1 of the top wall 120a, the top surface F1 is a plane, and the thickness of the middle portion S1 is relatively smaller than the thickness of the supporting portion 110. In an operative solution, the thickness of the middle portion S1 can be equal to the thickness of the connecting portion S2, that is, the thickness of the top wall 120a is equal everywhere, which is the second dimension D2. In this way, the height C of the hook 120 is equal to D2+d+G, and therefore, compared with the height C'=D+d+G of the hook 120' in the example shown in FIG. 2, the height C of the hook 120 is smaller.
[0082] Alternatively, in another feasible solution, the thickness of the middle portion S1 is smaller than the thickness of the connecting portion S2, that is, the bottom surface F2 of the top wall 120a is a stepped surface, and the bottom surface F3 of the middle portion S1 is closer to the top surface F1 than the bottom surface F4 of the connecting portion S2, or in other words, the bottom surface F3 of the middle portion S1 is farther away from the top surface 111 of the supporting portion 110 than the bottom surface F4 of the connecting portion S2. In this way, when the end portion 103a of the balance bar 103 is inserted into the card slot 130, it can share part of the thickness space with the connecting portion S2, so that the height C of the hook 120 can be reduced while meeting the installation requirements of the balance bar 103.
[0083] In summary, by reducing the thickness of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a, the height C of the hook 120 can be made smaller than the height C' of the hook 120' in the example shown in FIG. 2. Therefore, the thickness H of the key 14 provided in the present application is H=A+B+C+D1+E+L, which is smaller than the height C' of the hook 120' in the example shown in FIG. Figure 2C The thickness H'=A+B+C'+D1+E+L of the key 14 in the example shown is smaller, thereby meeting the thinning requirements of the keyboard 10 and the laptop computer 1. At the same time, in the present application, the thickness D1 of the supporting portion 110 does not need to be reduced, thereby alleviating the problem of insufficient supporting strength caused by lightweight materials and meeting the lightweight requirements of the keyboard 10 and the laptop computer 1.
[0084] Table 2 exemplarily shows the thickness details of the key 14 in some embodiments of the present application. The material of the support plate 100 is a high-strength aluminum alloy. In addition, to ensure the support strength of the support plate 100, the thickness of the supporting portion 110 of the support plate 100: the first dimension D1 is set to 0.3 mm; to reduce the thickness H of the key 14, the thickness of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a: the second dimension D2 is set to 0.15 mm.
[0085] Table 2
[0086]
[0087] Refer to Table 2 and combine FIG. 3A to FIG. 3CAfter the thickness of the middle portion S1 of the hook 120 is reduced to the second size D20.15 mm, the height C of the hook 120 of the support plate 100 can be reduced to 1 mm, and the thickness H of the button 14 can be reduced to 3.55 mm. FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C For the key 14 including the high-strength aluminum alloy support plate 100 ′ shown, the thickness H of the key 14 provided in the embodiment of the present application can be reduced by 0.15 mm.
[0088] In other embodiments, the material of the support plate 100 may also be conventional aluminum alloy. The thickness D1 of the supporting portion 110 of the support plate 100 may also be set to 0.4 mm to ensure the supporting strength. Compared with other keys 14 including conventional aluminum alloy support plates 100', the thickness H of the keys 14 provided in the embodiment of the present application may be reduced by 0.25 mm.
[0089] In some embodiments of the present application, the number of hooks 120 can be multiple to improve the stability of the connection between the balance bar 103 and the support plate 100. Figure 3B As shown, the number of hooks 120 can be two, and the two hooks 120 can be arranged at intervals along the X direction. It can also be understood that one hook 120 is arranged on the left and the other hook 120 is arranged on the right. The two hooks 120 correspond to the two ends 103a of the balance bar 103 one by one. Each end 103a of the balance bar 103 can be inserted into the slot 130 surrounded by the corresponding hook 120.
[0090] To make the description concise, the structure of the hook 120 and the installation method of the hook 120 with the balance pole 103 will be introduced below by taking the hook 120 arranged on the left as an example. The structure of the hook arranged at other positions and the installation method of the hook 120 arranged on the left and the installation method of the hook 120 with the balance pole 103 are substantially the same. It is only necessary to change the installation orientation accordingly, and no further description will be given.
[0091] Continue reading Figure 3B In some embodiments of the present application, the number of the balance bars 103 can be multiple, for example, two, three, four, etc. By providing multiple balance bars 103, the uniformity of the force applied to the key 14 can be further improved, thereby avoiding the problem of the key 14 being unbalanced.
[0092] For example, there are two balancing poles 103. The hook 120 disposed on the left side includes two slots 130. The two slots 130 correspond to the left side ends 103a of the two balancing poles 103. The left side end 103a of each balancing pole 103 is inserted into the corresponding slot 130. In other words, the left side ends 103a of the two balancing poles 103 share one hook 120, thereby saving the number of parts.
[0093] In the following specific embodiments, the hook 120 including two slots 130 is taken as an example to introduce several thinning schemes of the hook 120. In other embodiments, the hook 120 may also include more or fewer slots 130. For example, the hook 120 may include more middle parts S1, connecting parts S2, and side walls 120b to enclose more slots 130. For another example, the hook 120 may also include a middle part S1, a connecting part S2 and two side walls 120b to enclose a slot 130, and the present application does not impose specific restrictions on this. It can be understood that the thinning scheme of the hook 120 including more or fewer slots 130 is substantially the same as the thinning scheme of the hook 120 including two slots 130, and will not be repeated one by one.
[0094] In some feasible solutions, the top surface of the top wall 120a of the hook 120 is thinned so that the thickness of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a is smaller than the thickness D1 of the supporting portion 110, for example, reaching the second size D2, thereby achieving a thinning effect.
[0095] Figure 4 FIG. 1 shows a thinning process of the hook 120 - 1 in one embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 First, the original plate is punched to obtain the prefabricated support plate 100-1. At this time, the plate thickness of the prefabricated support plate 100-1 is equal everywhere. For example, the thickness of the supporting portion 110, the thickness of the middle portion S1-1 of the top wall 120a-1, and the thickness of the connecting portion S2-1 are all the first size D1.
[0096] Furthermore, the distance D3 between the bottom surface F3-1 of the middle portion S1-1 of the top wall 120a-1 and the top surface 111 of the support portion 110 is equal to the sum of the balance bar diameter d and the safety gap G between the balance bar (not shown) and the support portion 110. Therefore, the height C-1 of the hook 120-1 is greater than the height C of the final formed hook 120. Specifically, C-1=D1+D3, and C=D2+d+G, D1>D2, D3=d+G, and thus C-1>C.
[0097] After the prefabricated support plate 100-1 is obtained, the top surface F1-1 ( Figure 4 The material in the Z direction is flattened to transfer to the X direction and the Y direction until the thickness of the top wall 120a-1 is reduced to the second size D2 and the height C-1 of the hook 120-1 is reduced to the height C. Figure 3B The support plate 100 in the example shown. Figure 3B, at this time, the bottom surface of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a and the bottom surfaces of the two connecting portions S2 are connected to form the bottom surface F2 of the top wall 120a, and the bottom surface F2 is a plane. For example, the bottom surface F2 can be parallel to the XY plane. The distance between the bottom surface F2 and the top surface F1 is the second dimension D2. In other words, the thickness of each position in the top wall 120a is equal everywhere. For example, the thickness of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a and the thickness of the connecting portion S2 are both the second dimension D2.
[0098] Alternatively, in other alternative implementations, the top surface F1-1 may be processed by removing material, so that the thickness of the top wall 120a-1 is reduced to the second size D2, and the height C-1 of the hook 120-1 is reduced to the height C, and finally Figure 3B The support plate 100 shown in FIG. 1 may be processed on the top surface F1 - 1 by, for example, laser engraving, etching, CNC (computer numerical control machine tools) processing, or the like.
[0099] In some other feasible solutions, the bottom surface of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a may be processed so that the thickness of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a reaches the second size D2, thereby achieving a thinning effect.
[0100] Figure 5A and Figure 5B The figure shows the thinning process of the hook 120 - 1 in another embodiment of the present application. Figure 5A and Figure 5B The prefabricated support plate 100-1 shown is similar to the above Figure 4 The difference of the prefabricated support plate 100-1 shown is that the distance D3 between the bottom surface F3-1 of the middle portion S1-1 of the top wall 120a-1 and the top surface 111 of the support portion 110 is different, so the height C-1 of the hook 120-1 is different. Specifically, C-1=D1+D3, C=D2+d+G, and D1>D2, D3=d+G+D2-D1<d+G, so C-1=C.
[0101] besides, Figure 5A The structure of the prefabricated support plate 100-1 is similar to the above Figure 4 The structure and forming method of the prefabricated support plate 100-1 are substantially the same, and the details can be referred to above. Figure 4 And the related description will not be repeated here.
[0102] After the prefabricated support plate 100-1 is obtained, the bottom surface F3-1 ( Figure 5AThe thickness of the middle portion S1 is reduced to a second size D2, and the distance D3 between the bottom surface F3-1 of the middle portion S1 and the top surface 111 of the supporting portion 110 is increased to d+G. Fig. 6A and Figure 6B The support plate 100 is shown. Fig. 6A and Figure 6B , at this time, the bottom surface F3 of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a and the bottom surfaces F4 of the two connecting portions S2 are not on the same plane, and the bottom surface F3 of the middle portion S1 is concave compared to the bottom surfaces F4 of the two connecting portions S2. In other words, the thickness of each position in the top wall 120a is not equal. For example, the thickness of the middle portion S1 of the top wall 120a is the second size D2, and the thickness of the connecting portion S2 is the first size D1.
[0103] The processing method for the bottom surface F3-1 of the middle portion S-1 is substantially the same as the processing method for the top surface F1-1. For details, please refer to the above Figure 4 And the related descriptions are not repeated here.
[0104] In the above scheme, only the bottom surface F3-1 of the middle part S1-1 of the top wall 120a-1 needs to be processed to achieve the purpose of thinning. The area to be processed is small, which can effectively reduce the difficulty of molding. For example, thinning can be achieved by flattening the bottom surface F3-1 of the middle part S1-1. The flattening area is small, so that less material is transferred along the X direction and the Y direction, and the dimensional fluctuation range in the X direction and the Y direction can be better controlled. For another example, thinning can be achieved by laser engraving the bottom surface F3-1 of the middle part S1-1. The laser engraving area is small and the processing time is relatively short, thereby improving the processing efficiency, reducing the processing difficulty, and facilitating mass production. It can be understood that in the above scheme, the supporting part 110 and the hook 120 are an integrated structure, that is, the supporting part 110 and the hook 120 are integrally formed. This can effectively reduce the number of parts, thereby improving assembly efficiency and reducing production costs.
[0105] In some embodiments of the present application, when the supporting portion 110 and the hook 120 are an integrated structure, the material of the supporting portion 110 and the hook 120 can be a lightweight material such as aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or titanium alloy.
[0106] In some other feasible solutions, the supporting part 110 and the hook 120 may also be a split structure. In this way, the supporting part 110 can be made of a light material with a thicker plate thickness, so as to achieve the effect of weight reduction while ensuring the support strength. The hook 120 can be made of a material with a thinner plate thickness, so as to achieve the effect of thinning.
[0107] Specifically, Fig. 7A and Figure 7B 1 shows several exemplary arrangements of the split supporting portion 110 and the hook 120 in the embodiments of the present application. Fig. 7A In some embodiments of the present application, the hook 120 may be an L-shaped structure, that is, the orthographic projection of the hook 120 on the XZ plane is L-shaped. Specifically, the top wall 120a of the hook 120 extends along the X direction, and the side wall 120b extends along the Z direction. The supporting portion 110 includes a mounting end 112 extending along the Z direction. The top wall 120a and the side wall 120b of the hook 120 fit with the mounting end 112 and are fixedly connected.
[0108] refer to Figure 7B In some other embodiments of the present application, the hook 120 may also be a Z-shaped structure. That is, the orthographic projection of the hook 120 on the XZ plane is a Z-shape. Specifically, the top wall 120a of the hook 120 extends in the X direction. The side wall 120b is an L-shaped structure, and the two extended edges extend in the X direction and the Z direction respectively, wherein the extended edge of the side wall 120b extending in the X direction is in contact with the top surface 111 of the supporting portion 110 and is fixedly connected.
[0109] It is understandable that the above Fig. 7A and Figure 7B The shape of the hook 120 is only schematically shown. In other embodiments, the hook 120 may also be in other shapes, such as a C-shape, an I-shape, or other irregular shapes. The present application does not limit this, and any shape of the hook 120 that can fix the balance bar 103 and meet the thinning requirements is within the protection scope of the present application.
[0110] In some embodiments of the present application, when the supporting portion 110 and the hook 120 are split structures, the material of the supporting portion 110 can be an aluminum alloy, a magnesium alloy or a titanium alloy, so as to meet the need for weight reduction. The material of the hook 120 can be stainless steel, a titanium alloy, an aluminum alloy or a carbon fiber sheet. Among them, even if the material of the hook 120 is a heavy material (for example, stainless steel), since the overall volume of the hook 120 is relatively small and the plate thickness is relatively thin, its weight is still relatively light, so that the support plate 100 as a whole can meet the need for weight reduction.
[0111] In some embodiments of the present application, the supporting portion 110 and the hook 120 may be fixedly connected by gluing, welding, riveting or threaded connection (eg, screws, bolts, etc.).
[0112] In some embodiments of the present application, the first dimension D1 (eg, the thickness of the supporting portion 110 ) is greater than 0.15 mm and less than or equal to 0.6 mm, for example, 0.16 mm, 0.17 mm, 0.18 mm, 0.19 mm, etc.
[0113] In some embodiments of the present application, the second dimension D2 is greater than or equal to 0.15 mm, for example, 0.15 mm, 0.16 mm, 0.17 mm, 0.18 mm, etc.
[0114] The above is an explanation of the implementation mode of the present application by specific specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the contents disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present application will be introduced in conjunction with some embodiments, this does not mean that the features of this application are limited to the implementation mode. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the application in conjunction with the implementation mode is to cover other options or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present application. The present application can also be implemented without using these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusion or blurring the focus of the present application, some specific details are omitted in the description. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.
[0115] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "center", "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "outside", "inside", "circumferential", "radial", "axial" and the like 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 application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.
[0116] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "setting", "installation", "connection" and "fitting" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.
[0117] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.
Claims
1. A keyboard, characterized in that: The invention comprises a key (14), wherein the key (14) comprises a support plate (100) and a balance bar (103), wherein: The support plate (100) comprises a supporting portion (110) and a hook (120), wherein the hook (120) is arranged on the supporting portion (110) and protrudes relative to the supporting portion (110) along the thickness direction of the keyboard (10), and the hook (120) comprises a top wall (120a) and at least two side walls (120b), wherein the top wall (120a) comprises at least one middle portion (S1) and at least two connecting portions (S2), wherein the two ends of the middle portion (S1) are respectively connected to one end of one of the side walls (120b) through one of the connecting portions (S2), thereby forming a slot, and the other end of the side wall (120b) is connected to the supporting portion (110), and the top surface of the middle portion (S1) and the top surface of the connecting portion (S2) are coplanar; The end portion (103a) of the balance bar (103) is inserted into the slot (130) and fits with the middle portion (S1) of the top wall (120a); Along the thickness direction of the keyboard (10), the size of the supporting portion (110) is a first size, and the size of the middle portion (S1) of the top wall (120a) is a second size, and the second size is smaller than the first size.
2. The keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that The top surface of the middle part (S1) is connected to the top surface of the connecting part (S2) and constitutes the top surface (F1) of the top wall (120a); the bottom surface (F3) of the middle part (S1) is closer to the top surface (F1) of the top wall (120a) than the bottom surface (F4) of the connecting part (S2).
3. The keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that The top surface of the middle part (S1) is connected to the top surface of the connecting part (S2) and constitutes the top surface (F1) of the top wall (120a); the bottom surface (F3) of any middle part (S1) and the bottom surfaces (F4) of the two connecting parts (S2) connected thereto are coplanarly connected and constitute the bottom surface (F2) of the top wall (120a); the distance between the top surface (F1) of the top wall (120a) and the bottom surface (F2) of the top wall (120a) is the second size.
4. The keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting portion (110) and the hook (120) are an integrated structure.
5. The keyboard according to claim 4, characterized in that: The material of the supporting portion (110) and the material of the hook (120) are aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or titanium alloy.
6. The keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting portion (110) and the hook (120) are fixedly connected by one of the following methods: gluing, welding, riveting or threaded connection.
7. The keyboard according to claim 6, characterized in that: The hook (120) is made of stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy or carbon fiber sheet material, and the supporting portion (110) is made of aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or titanium alloy.
8. The keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first dimension is greater than 0.15 mm and less than or equal to 0.6 mm.
9. The keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second size is greater than or equal to 0.15 mm.
10. The keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hook (120) is an L-shaped structure or a Z-shaped structure.
11. The keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hook (120) comprises three side walls (120b), and the top wall (120a) comprises two middle parts (S1) and three connecting parts (S2) that are alternately connected, and the three connecting parts (S2) are also respectively connected to the three side walls (120b), thereby enclosing two clamping grooves (130).
12. An electronic device, characterized in that: It comprises a keyboard (10) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11.