Keyboard plate structure and plate riveting method thereof

Abstract

A keyboard base structure is detachably mounted on the support base of an electronic device and is used to support a plurality of keys. The keyboard base structure includes a keyboard base and positioning posts. The keyboard base has riveting holes corresponding to the positions of the plurality of keys, and the edges of the riveting holes extend downwards to form a truncated conical hole wall structure. The positioning post has a column body and a hollow end, the hollow end extending axially from the column body, the diameter of the hollow end being smaller than the diameter of the column body. When the hollow end passes through the riveting hole and is deformed against the truncated conical hole wall structure under pressure, the hollow end and the column body together clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure, thus fixing the positioning post to the riveting hole.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a keyboard base plate structure and a base plate riveting method thereof, particularly to a keyboard base plate structure and a base plate riveting method thereof with a hollow end of a pressure positioning post for clamping the truncated conical hole wall structure of a riveting hole. [Previous Technology]

[0002] In terms of current personal computer usage habits, the keyboard is an indispensable input device used to input text, symbols, or numbers. Moreover, all consumer electronic devices encountered in daily life or large-scale processing equipment used in industry need to have key structures as input devices to operate the aforementioned electronic devices and processing equipment.

[0003] Generally, the keyboard assembly method of electronic devices (such as laptops) usually uses screws to fasten the keyboard base, which carries the keys, to the support base of the electronic device. For example, it can be installed on the support base by using studs riveted to the bottom of the keyboard base and fastening them with screws, thereby completing the assembly between the keyboard and the electronic device. In the prior art, the stud design used requires first forming a protruding riveting hole platform on the keyboard base for subsequent stud riveting. For example, as shown in Figure 1, before riveting the stud 1 to the keyboard base 2, the keyboard base 2 must be placed on a stamping machine, and a stamping head is used to stamp the keyboard base 2 to form a protruding riveting hole platform 3 that is roughly trapezoidal in shape. Then, a riveting fixture is used to rivet the stud 1 to the protruding riveting hole platform 3, thereby completing the riveting process of fixing the stud 1 to the keyboard base 2.

[0004] However, since the forming process of the above-mentioned protruding riveting hole platform 3 will form a riveting hole structure with a large diameter (about 4 mm), it will occupy too much base plate space, thus causing many restrictions on the number of studs and the installation position of the keyboard base plate. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] Therefore, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a keyboard base plate structure and a base plate riveting method thereof with the hollow end of the pressure positioning column for clamping the truncated conical hole wall structure of the riveting hole, so as to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] According to one embodiment, the keyboard base structure of the present invention is detachably mounted on a support base of an electronic device and is used to support a plurality of keys. The keyboard base structure includes a keyboard base and a positioning post. The keyboard base has at least one riveting hole corresponding to the position of the plurality of keys. The edge of the riveting hole extends downward to form a tapered section of a conical hole wall structure. The positioning post has a column and a hollow end. The hollow end extends axially from the column and has a diameter smaller than that of the column. When the hollow end passes through the riveting hole and is deformed by pressure against the conical hole wall structure, the hollow end and the column together clamp the conical hole wall structure, thereby fixing the positioning post to the riveting hole.

[0007] According to another embodiment, the base plate riveting method of the present invention is applicable to riveting a positioning post to a keyboard base plate, the keyboard base plate being used to support a plurality of keys and being detachably mounted to a support base of an electronic device via the positioning post. The base plate riveting method includes providing the keyboard base plate, the keyboard base plate having at least one riveting hole corresponding to the position of the plurality of keys, the edge of the riveting hole extending downward to obliquely taper to form a truncated conical hole wall structure. The base plate riveting method further includes providing the positioning post, the positioning post having a column body and a hollow end, the hollow end extending axially from the column body, the diameter of the hollow end being smaller than the diameter of the column body. The base plate riveting method further includes passing the hollow end through the riveting hole and applying pressure to the hollow end using a riveting jig, so that the hollow end is deformed against the truncated conical hole wall structure under pressure and clamps the truncated conical hole wall structure together with the column body, thereby fixing the positioning post to the riveting hole.

[0008] In summary, compared with the prior art of riveting studs to a protruding riveting hole platform with a large riveting hole structure (approximately 4 mm in diameter), the present invention adopts a riveting design that uses the hollow end of the positioning post to clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure of the riveting hole to achieve the effect of reducing the riveting hole diameter (for example, it can be reduced to 2.8 mm, but is not limited to this). In this way, the present invention can effectively solve the problem mentioned in the prior art that the protruding riveting hole platform of the riveting hole occupies too much base plate space, thereby greatly improving the flexibility of the positioning post configuration of the keyboard base plate structure, and reducing the riveting height of the positioning post, which is beneficial to the thin and light design of electronic devices and keyboards.

[0009] The advantages and spirit of the present invention can be further understood from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

Implementation Method

[0011] The following description, accompanied by illustrations, illustrates the technical content of the present invention through specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different embodiments. Various details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In particular, the structural design and connection relationship of various components in the drawings (such as the structural presentation and proportional size of the keyboard base plate / rivet hole / positioning post, the structural design of the riveting fixture, etc.) are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the actual implementation of the present invention.

[0012] Please refer to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a partially exploded schematic diagram of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the positioning post 16 in Figure 2 riveted to the keyboard base plate 14. In order to clearly show the keyboard mounting design of the electronic device 10, in the drawings of the present invention, other components of the electronic device 10 besides the keys 13 (such as the device housing, motherboard, screen, etc., the relevant descriptions of which are common in the prior art and will not be repeated here) only show the support base 11 used to support the keyboard base plate structure 12. The electronic device 10 is preferably a notebook computer, but is not limited thereto, and can also be other electronic products with an embedded keyboard (such as tablet computers, etc.) so that the user can press to perform the functions that the user wants to input. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the keyboard base structure 12 is detachably mounted on the support base 11 of the electronic device 10 and is used to support a plurality of keys 13 for users to perform input operations by pressing. The keyboard base structure 12 includes a keyboard base 14 and positioning posts 16. The keyboard base 14 has at least one riveting hole 18 at the position of the plurality of keys 13 (only one is shown in Figure 2, but it is not limited thereto; the number and position of the riveting holes depend on the keyboard assembly requirements of the electronic device 10). The edge E of the riveting hole 18 extends downward to form a truncated conical hole wall structure 19, which is used for subsequent riveting of the positioning posts 16. More specifically, in this embodiment, the truncated conical hole wall structure 19 of the present invention may adopt a hole wall annular forming design (as shown in Figure 4(a)), but is not limited thereto. For example, in another embodiment, as shown in Figure 4(b), the truncated conical hole wall structure 19' may be discontinuously formed along the peripheral direction E of the riveting hole 18, or, as shown in Figure 4(c), the truncated conical hole wall structure 19" may be serrated along the peripheral direction E of the riveting hole 18, thereby increasing the riveting torque between the riveting hole 18 and the positioning post 16. As for which hole wall structure design is adopted, it depends on the actual manufacturing requirements of the keyboard base plate structure of the present invention.

[0013] In this embodiment, the positioning post 16 is preferably a stud that is fixed to the bearing base 11 by means of screw locking and has a post body 20 and a hollow end 22. The hollow end 22 can be formed by extending axially from the post body 20 and can preferably be formed continuously in a ring shape along the periphery of the post body 20 (but not limited thereto, it can also be designed with the hollow end 22 discontinuously formed along the periphery of the post body 20 or in a sawtooth shape). The diameter of the hollow end 22 is smaller than the diameter of the post body 20. The number of positioning posts 16 can be determined according to the number of riveting holes 18, so that the positioning posts 16 can be riveted into the corresponding riveting holes 18 to complete the subsequent keyboard base assembly operation.

[0014] The following is a detailed description of the positioning post riveting method for the keyboard base plate structure. Please refer to Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 5, and Figure 6. Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of the base plate riveting method proposed according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of applying pressure to the positioning post 16 using a riveting fixture 4. The base plate riveting method of the present invention includes the following steps.

[0015] Step S50: Provide keyboard base plate 14 and positioning post 16;

[0016] Step S52: Pass the hollow end 22 of the positioning post 16 through the riveting hole 18 of the keyboard base plate 14;

[0017] Step S54: Use the riveting fixture 4 to apply pressure to the hollow end 22 so that it can be clamped together with the column 20 of the positioning post 16 to hold the truncated conical hole wall structure 19 of the riveting hole 18.

[0018] First, as shown in step S50, a keyboard base plate 14 with a riveting hole 18 can be provided, and the positioning post 16 (e.g., housed in the receiving platform 5 of the riveting fixture 4 shown in Figure 6, but not limited thereto) housed in the riveting fixture 4 can be aligned with the riveting hole 18; next, as described in step S52, the hollow end 22 of the positioning post 16 can be passed through the riveting hole 18 of the keyboard base plate 14 to complete the positioning step before stud riveting (as shown in Figure 6); finally, in step S54, it is possible to make Pressure is applied to the hollow end 22, which has been aligned and inserted, using a riveting jig 4 (e.g., using the punch head 6 of the riveting jig 4 shown in Figure 6). This causes the hollow end 22 to deform against the truncated conical hole wall structure 19 and clamp it together with the column 20, thus fixing the positioning post 16 to the riveting hole 18 (as shown in Figure 3). This allows the keyboard base structure 12 to be detachably mounted on the support base 11 of the electronic device 10 via screw fastening, thereby completing the keyboard assembly operation of the electronic device 10. In practical applications, as shown in Figure 3, after completing the riveting process of pressing the hollow end 22 to clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure 19 together with the column 20, the end of the hollow end 22 can be better flush with the upper surface of the keyboard base 14 (but not limited to this), thereby improving the flatness of the riveting structure of the keyboard base structure 12 and reducing the overall space occupied by the keyboard base structure 12.

[0019] In summary, compared with the prior art of riveting studs to a protruding riveting hole platform with a large riveting hole structure (approximately 4 mm in diameter), the present invention adopts a riveting design that uses the hollow end of the positioning post to clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure of the riveting hole to achieve the effect of reducing the riveting hole diameter (for example, it can be reduced to 2.8 mm, but is not limited to this). In this way, the present invention can effectively solve the problem mentioned in the prior art that the protruding riveting hole platform of the riveting hole occupies too much base plate space, thereby greatly improving the flexibility of the positioning post configuration of the keyboard base plate structure, and reducing the riveting height of the positioning post, which is beneficial to the thin and light design of electronic devices and keyboards.

[0020] It is worth mentioning that the assembly design of fixing the positioning post to the bearing base in this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned stud locking design. It can also adopt a structural snap-fit ​​design. For example, please refer to Figure 7 and Figure 8. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the keyboard base structure 100 proposed according to another embodiment of this invention. Figure 8 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of the bearing base 11 having a snap-fit ​​hole 106 that can snap with the positioning post 102. In this embodiment, the components with the same number as those mentioned in the above embodiments represent those with the same or similar structure and function, which will not be repeated here. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the keyboard base structure 100 is detachably mounted on the support base 11 of the electronic device 10 and includes a keyboard base 14 and a positioning post 102. The positioning post 102 may have a column body 20, a hollow end 22, and a T-shaped head 104. The support base 11 has a locking hole 106 at the position corresponding to the positioning post 102. The locking hole 106 may have a through-hole area 108, a tapered area 110, and a locking hole area 112. The through-hole area 108 can be connected to the locking hole area 112 via the tapered area 110. Thus, after the T-shaped head 104 passes through the through-hole area 108 with a larger diameter, the column body 20 can be locked in the locking hole area 112 with a smaller diameter through the tapered area 110, so that the keyboard base 14 is fixed to the support base 11. Furthermore, in practical applications, the support base 11 may have protrusions 111 formed on both sides of the corresponding tapered area 110 to abut against the interference T-shaped head 104, so that the positioning post 102 can be more securely engaged in the engagement hole area 112.

[0021] It should be noted that, in addition to the above-mentioned engagement design of the T-shaped head of the interference positioning post with a protrusion, the present invention may also adopt an engagement design as shown in Figure 9(a) where the bearing base 11 has an arc-shaped elastic slot 114 formed near the engagement hole area 112 to surround the engagement hole area 112 and the tapered area 110, or an engagement design as shown in Figure 9(b) where the bearing base 11 has a straight elastic slot 116 formed on both sides of the corresponding tapered area 110, thereby improving the elasticity of the hole area structure of the tapered area 110 so that the positioning post 102 can engage in the engagement hole area 112 more effortlessly. The choice of engagement design depends on the actual manufacturing requirements of the present invention. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the claims of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0010] Figure 1 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a stud riveted to a keyboard base plate according to prior art. Figure 2 is a partially exploded simplified view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a positioning post riveted to a keyboard base plate according to Figure 2. Figure 4 is a simplified top view of a truncated conical hole wall structure according to different embodiments of the present invention. Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a base plate riveting method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of applying pressure to the positioning post using a press-fitting fixture. Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a keyboard base plate structure according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 is a partially enlarged schematic view of a bearing base having an engagement hole that can engage with the positioning post. Figure 9 is a simplified top view of an engagement hole according to different embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A keyboard base structure, detachably mounted on a support base of an electronic device and used to support a plurality of keys, the keyboard base structure comprising: a keyboard base having at least one riveting hole corresponding to the position of the plurality of keys, the edge of the riveting hole extending downward to obliquely taper to form a conical hole wall structure; and a positioning post having a column body and a hollow end, the hollow end extending axially from the column body, the diameter of the hollow end being smaller than the diameter of the column body, wherein when the hollow end passes through the riveting hole and is compressed and deformed against the conical hole wall structure, the hollow end and the column body together clamp the conical hole wall structure. The conical hole wall structure allows the positioning post to be fixed to the riveting hole. The positioning post also has a T-shaped head. The supporting base has a locking hole corresponding to the position of the positioning post. The locking hole has a through-hole area, a tapered area, and a locking hole area. The through-hole area is connected to the locking hole area through the tapered area. When the T-shaped head passes through the through-hole area, the post passes through the tapered area to lock into the locking hole area, thereby fixing the keyboard base plate to the supporting base.

2. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 1, wherein the truncated conical hole wall structure is discontinuously formed or serrated along the periphery of the riveting hole.

3. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 1, wherein the hollow end is discontinuously formed or serrated along the periphery of the column.

4. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 1, wherein the support base has a protrusion formed on each side of the tapering area to abut against the T-shaped head, so that the positioning post engages in the engagement hole area.

5. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 1, wherein the support base has a linear elastic slot formed on each side of the tapering area.

6. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 1, wherein the support base has an arc-shaped elastic slot formed near the engagement hole area to surround the engagement hole area and the tapered area.

7. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 1, wherein one end of the hollow end is pressed at the hollow end to clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure together with the column, and is flush with the upper surface of the keyboard base.

8. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 1, wherein the positioning post is a stud that is fixed to the support base by means of screws.

9. A base plate riveting method, applicable to riveting a positioning post to a keyboard base plate, the keyboard base plate being used to support a plurality of keys and detachably mounted to a support base of an electronic device via the positioning post, the base plate riveting method comprising: providing the keyboard base plate, the keyboard base plate having at least one riveting hole corresponding to the position of the plurality of keys, the edge of the riveting hole extending downward to obliquely taper to form a truncated conical hole wall structure; providing the positioning post, the positioning post having a column body and a hollow end, the hollow end extending axially from the column body, the diameter of the hollow end being smaller than the diameter of the column body; passing the hollow end through the riveting hole; and applying pressure to the hollow end using a riveting jig, so that the hollow end is deformed against the truncated conical hole wall structure under pressure and clamps the truncated conical hole wall structure together with the column body, thereby fixing the positioning post to the riveting hole.

10. The base plate riveting method as described in claim 9, wherein the truncated conical hole wall structure is discontinuously formed or serrated along the periphery of the riveting hole.

11. The base plate riveting method as described in claim 9, wherein the hollow end is discontinuously formed or serrated along the periphery of the column.

12. The base plate riveting method as described in claim 9, wherein one end of the hollow end is pressed at the hollow end to clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure together with the column, and is flush with the upper surface of the keyboard base plate.

13. The base plate riveting method as described in claim 9, wherein the positioning post is a stud.

14. A keyboard base structure detachably mounted on a support base of an electronic device and used to support a plurality of keys, the keyboard base structure comprising: a keyboard base having at least one riveting hole formed corresponding to the position of the plurality of keys, the edge of the riveting hole extending downward to obliquely taper to form a truncated conical hole wall structure; and a positioning post having a column and a hollow end, the hollow end extending axially from the column, the diameter of the hollow end being smaller than the diameter of the column, wherein when the hollow end passes through the riveting hole and is compressed and deformed toward the truncated conical hole wall structure, the hollow end and the column together clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure, such that the positioning post is fixed to the riveting hole, wherein one end of the hollow end, when compressed at the hollow end to clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure together with the column, is flush with the upper surface of the keyboard base.

15. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 14, wherein the truncated conical hole wall structure is discontinuously formed or serrated along the periphery of the riveting hole.

16. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 14, wherein the hollow end is discontinuously formed or serrated along the periphery of the column.

17. A keyboard base structure detachably mounted on a support base of an electronic device and used to support a plurality of keys, the keyboard base structure comprising: a keyboard base having at least one riveting hole corresponding to the position of the plurality of keys, the edge of the riveting hole extending downward to obliquely taper to form a truncated conical hole wall structure; and a positioning post having a column and a hollow end, the hollow end extending axially from the column, the diameter of the hollow end being smaller than the diameter of the column, wherein when the hollow end passes through the riveting hole and is deformed against the truncated conical hole wall structure under pressure, the hollow end and the column together clamp the truncated conical hole wall structure, such that the positioning post is fixed to the riveting hole, wherein the positioning post is a stud fixed to the support base by means of screw locking.

18. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 17, wherein the truncated conical hole wall structure is discontinuously formed or serrated along the periphery of the riveting hole.

19. The keyboard base structure as described in claim 17, wherein the hollow end is discontinuously formed or serrated along the periphery of the column.

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