Silicone key capable of advancing electrical connection

Abstract

A silicone key capable of advancing an electrical connection, comprising a supporting portion (21), an elastic connecting portion (22), and a pressing portion (23) which are connected in sequence. An axial inner side of the pressing portion (23) is provided with a columnar trigger portion (231). The axial distance between an axial end portion of the trigger portion (231) and an axial lower surface of the supporting portion (21) is b, the distance between an axial upper surface of the supporting portion (21) and the axial lower surface of the supporting portion (21) is h, and b<h. The pressing portion (23) is axially provided with a bowl-shaped recess (232) extending to the trigger portion (231). In the silicone key, an electrical connection distance is adjusted, such that the trigger portion (231) is closer to a thin-film circuit switch, thereby avoiding oversensitivity caused by conventional methods in which trigger force applied to a thin-film circuit switch is reduced. Moreover, the arrangement of the bowl-shaped recess (232) can overcome the problem of large deformation force caused by the simple extension of the length of the trigger portion (231), so that an electrical connection point FP is advanced, thereby improving the electrical conduction efficiency, namely the electrical conduction sensitivity and speed, during pressing, and improving the conductive performance of pressing on a corner, so as to increase the key responsiveness.

Description

A silicone button with early conduction Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of keyboards, and in particular to a silicone keypad with early conduction. Background Art

[0002] As shown in FIG1 , a conventional membrane keyboard for a laptop computer mainly includes a keycap 30, an X-shaped bracket 40 arranged below the keycap 30, and a silicone key 20. The X-shaped bracket 40 is used to fix and stabilize the keycap 30, and is matched with a layer of membrane circuit switch 10 arranged at the bottom.

[0003] Referring to FIG. 2 , the conventional silicone keypad 20 of the membrane keyboard is shaped like an inverted bowl and primarily comprises a support portion 21, an elastic connection portion 22, and a pressing portion 23. The pressing portion 23 has a raised triggering portion 231 axially inwardly thereon. The support portion 21 at the bowl's mouth is mounted on the membrane circuit switch 10 for support, while the pressing portion 23 at the bowl's bottom is configured to contact the keycap 30. When the keycap 30 is pressed, the axially outer end of the pressing portion 23 of the silicone keypad 20 first contacts the keycap 30 and is driven axially downward by the keycap 30. Subsequently, the triggering portion 231 at the axially inner end of the pressing portion 23 applies pressure to the membrane circuit switch 10, driving the electrode contact points 11 within the membrane circuit switch 10 into contact and achieving conduction. After the press is released, the elastic connection portion 22 of the silicone keypad 20 resets, causing the pressing portion 23 to reset and the keycap 30 to reset.

[0004] Since the silicone keypad 20 of the prior art is integrally injection-molded using silicone material, when the silicone keypad 20 is pressed, the trigger portion 231 at the axially inner end of the pressing portion 23 applies pressure to the inner membrane circuit switch 10, driving the electrode contact points 11 within the membrane circuit switch 10 to contact each other and achieve conduction. The conduction point FP generally falls after F2 shown in FIG3 . This is because the trigger portion 231 at the axially inner end of the pressing portion 23 is too far from the surface of the membrane circuit switch 10 (wherein the distance between the axial end of the trigger portion 231 and the surface of the membrane circuit switch 10 is a, and the distance between the axial upper surface of the support portion 21 and the surface of the membrane circuit switch 10 is h, and a>h). Therefore, a long pressing distance is required for the trigger portion 231 to impact the membrane circuit switch 10. The longer the pressing distance, the greater the deformation of the silicone keypad 20. Excessive deformation of the silicone keypad 20 can cause delayed conduction or even prevent conduction. In particular, poor corner conduction is more likely to occur when testing corner conduction performance.

[0005] In order to solve the above problem and improve the conductivity, a conventional method is to reduce the triggering force of the membrane circuit switch 10. However, if the conductivity is improved by simply reducing the triggering force of the membrane circuit switch 10, it is easy to cause oversensitivity.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a silicone keypad with early conduction, comprising a supporting portion, an elastic connecting portion, and a pressing portion connected in sequence. The pressing portion has a columnar trigger portion on the axial inner side. The axial distance b between the axial end of the trigger portion and the axial lower surface of the supporting portion is the same as the distance h between the axial upper surface of the supporting portion and the axial lower surface of the supporting portion, and b < h.

[0008] The pressing portion is axially provided with a bowl-shaped groove extending to the trigger portion.

[0009] The supporting portion, elastic connecting portion, pressing portion and triggering portion are integrally formed of silicone material.

[0010] Wherein, the support portion is further provided with an exhaust groove which penetrates inside and outside.

[0011] The present invention also provides a keyboard structure, including a membrane circuit switch, a silicone key attached to the upper surface of the membrane circuit switch, a keycap arranged on the upper end surface of the silicone key, and an X-shaped bracket arranged under the keycap; wherein, the silicone key is a silicone key with early conduction of the above structure.

[0012] Through the above technical solution, the silicone key with an extended length trigger part provided by the present invention adjusts the conduction distance b, so that the trigger part is closer to the membrane circuit switch to shorten the conduction distance b compared with the prior art, thereby avoiding the over-sensitivity caused by the conventional method of reducing the trigger force of the membrane circuit switch; and the bowl-shaped groove is set to overcome the problem of large deformation force caused by simply extending the length of the trigger part, and the force generated when the trigger part contacts the membrane circuit switch is the force of the side wall of the trigger part and the force exerted by the trigger part on the bowl-shaped groove. When the force exerted by the side wall of the trigger part is less than the force exerted by the trigger part on the bowl-shaped groove, the conduction point FP will be advanced, thereby improving the conductive efficiency, that is, the conductive agility when pressing, and the conductive performance of pressing the corners is also improved, making the key response more agile; in addition, because the hollow trigger part is relatively long and has good deformation performance, the feel will be better when pressed without affecting the Click. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments or the prior art.

[0014] FIG1 is a schematic axial cross-sectional view of a keyboard structure of the prior art;

[0015] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an axial cross-sectional structure of the conventional silicone keypad shown in FIG1 ;

[0016] FIG3 is a schematic diagram showing the corresponding pressing force and travel of the conventional silicone keypad structure shown in FIG1 ;

[0017] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of an axial cross-sectional structure of a silicone key disclosed in the present invention;

[0018] FIG5 is a schematic axial cross-sectional view of a keyboard structure having a silicone key having the structure shown in FIG4 ;

[0019] FIG6 is a schematic diagram showing the corresponding pressing force and travel of the silicone key structure shown in FIG4 .

[0020] The numbers in the figure indicate: 10. Membrane circuit switch; 11. Electrode contact point; 20. Silicone button; 21. Support part; 22. Elastic connection part; 23. Pressing part; 231. Trigger part; 232. Bowl-shaped groove; 30. Keycap; 40. X-shaped bracket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the advantages and features of the present invention can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby making a clearer and more precise definition of the protection scope of the present invention.

[0022] Example 1:

[0023] 4 , this embodiment 1 provides a silicone keypad with early conduction, comprising a support portion 21, an elastic connecting portion 22, and a pressing portion 23 integrally formed of silicone material. The pressing portion 23 has a columnar trigger portion 231 on its axially inner side, and the support portion 21 is further provided with an exhaust groove extending through the inner and outer sides.

[0024] The axial distance between the axial end of the trigger portion 231 and the axial lower surface of the support portion 21 is b, the distance between the axial upper surface of the support portion 21 and the axial lower surface of the support portion 21 is h, and b<h;

[0025] The pressing portion 23 defines an axial bowl-shaped groove 232 extending to the trigger portion 231 .

[0026] Example 2:

[0027] 5 , this embodiment 2 provides a keyboard structure, including a membrane circuit switch 10 , a silicone key 20 attached to the upper surface of the membrane circuit switch 10 , a keycap 30 disposed on the upper end surface of the silicone key 20 , and an X-shaped bracket 40 disposed below the keycap 30 ;

[0028] The silicone key 20 is a silicone key with early conduction in Example 1.

[0029] This second embodiment utilizes a silicone keypad 20 with an extended trigger portion 231. By adjusting the conduction distance b, the trigger portion 231 is brought closer to the membrane circuit switch 10, thereby reducing the conduction distance and avoiding the oversensitivity caused by conventionally reducing the trigger force of the membrane circuit switch 10. Furthermore, the bowl-shaped recess overcomes the problem of large deformation forces caused by simply extending the length of the trigger portion 231. When the trigger portion 231 contacts the membrane circuit switch 10, the force generated is a combination of the force exerted by the sidewalls of the trigger portion 231 and the force exerted by the trigger portion 231 on the bowl-shaped recess 232. When the downward force exerted by the sidewalls of the trigger portion 231 is less than the force exerted by the trigger portion 231 on the bowl-shaped recess 232, the conduction point FP is generated before F2 shown in FIG. 6 , thereby improving the conduction efficiency, i.e., the conductivity sensitivity when pressed. The conductivity performance is also improved when pressed on corners, resulting in a more responsive keystroke. Furthermore, because the hollow trigger portion 231 is relatively long and has good deformability, the tactile feel is enhanced without affecting the click effect.

[0030] The above description of the disclosed embodiments is intended to enable one skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to the above embodiments will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be construed in the widest possible manner consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A silicone keypad with early conduction, comprising a supporting portion (21), an elastic connecting portion (22) and a pressing portion (23) connected in sequence, wherein the pressing portion (23) has a columnar trigger portion (231) on the axial inner side thereof, characterized in that: The axial distance between the axial end of the trigger portion (231) and the axial lower surface of the support portion (21) is b, and the distance between the axial upper surface of the support portion (21) and the axial lower surface of the support portion (21) is h, and b<h; The pressing portion (23) is axially provided with a bowl-shaped groove (232) extending to the trigger portion (231).

2. The silicone keypad with early conduction according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support portion (21), the elastic connection portion (22), the pressing portion (23) and the trigger portion (231) are integrally formed using a silicone material.

3. The silicone keypad with early conduction according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support portion (21) is also provided with an exhaust groove that penetrates inside and outside.

4. A keyboard structure, comprising a membrane circuit switch (10), a silicone key (20) attached to the upper surface of the membrane circuit switch (10), a key cap (30) arranged on the upper end surface of the silicone key (20), and an X-shaped bracket (40) arranged below the key cap (30); Features: The silicone key (20) is a silicone key with early turn-on as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

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