Keyboard Backlight Module for Uniform Multi-Color Key Illumination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lighting keyboards face issues with luminous uniformity, where main symbols are over-illuminated while corner symbols are too dark, and overall illuminating consistency across keyswitches is poor due to the limited luminous range of mini or micro LEDs.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a backlight module with a light guide panel, a shielding sheet, and a lighting board featuring micro-structure regions and slots to enhance light recycling and output, ensuring better light mixing and color uniformity across keycaps, utilizing a low-power lighting unit like mini or micro LEDs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a low-power single-color or multi-color LED is used to illuminate each keyswitch, then power consumption is reduced and keyboard thickness is decreased, but luminous uniformity deteriorates with main symbols over-illuminated and corner symbols too dark
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide panel is segmented into multiple regions including a first light guide region, a second light guide region, and a third light guide region with different optical properties. This segmentation allows different parts of the panel to control light distribution differently, enabling uniform illumination across the keyswitch while maintaining low power consumption from the LED source.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the light guide panel are designed with different optical characteristics - the first light guide region has a first refractive index, the second region has a second refractive index, and the third region contains light-reflective structures. This local differentiation of optical properties enables precise control over light distribution to achieve uniform illumination without increasing power consumption.
2Length of moving object
If a low-power LED is used to illuminate each keyswitch, then the keyboard can be made thinner, but the overall illuminating consistency across multiple keyswitches deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide panel is divided into distinct functional regions that work together to distribute light uniformly across multiple keyswitches. The first light guide region directs light to specific areas, the second region provides additional light guidance, and the third region with reflective structures bounces light to fill in darker areas, achieving consistent illumination across the entire keyboard while maintaining a thin profile.
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide panel acts as an intermediary between the low-power LED and the keyswitches. It receives light from the LED and redistributes it through its segmented structure with different refractive indices and reflective regions, transforming the point-source light into a uniform area illumination that consistently lights up multiple keyswitches while keeping the overall assembly thin.
3Illumination intensity
If slots are added to the light guide panel to improve light distribution, then light mixing effect is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide panel integrates multiple functions into a single component: it guides light from the LED, reflects light to improve distribution, and creates the necessary light mixing patterns. By combining light guidance, reflection, and mixing functions in one multi-region panel rather than using separate components, the patent enhances light mixing effect while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration increases the amount of light emitted, improves overall illuminating consistency, and achieves optimal chroma and color saturation for each keyswitch, addressing the uneven light mixing and luminous uniformity issues.
Implementation Method 1
a light guide panel, and a lighting board... The light guide panel has a panel hole to accommodate the lighting unit
Implementation Method 2
The lighting board further includes at least one micro-structure region located between the at least one pair of non-intersecting traces... utilize the micro-structure regions specifically arranged on the lighting board to recycle light or assist light output
Implementation Method 3
The shielding sheet has an inner reflective section covering above the lighting unit... The inner reflective section of the shielding sheet is located between the two bulge portions of the two slots
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting keyboard includes a backlight module and at least one keyswitch. The backlight module includes a lighting unit, a light guide panel, and a lighting board for illuminating a keycap of the keyswitch. The light guide panel includes a panel hole to accommodate the lighting unit. The light guide panel further includes plural slots intervally surrounding the lighting unit. The lighting board includes a micro-structure region facing toward the light guide panel. Each of the slots of the light guide panel has a bulge portion protruding to the lighting unit. At two sides of the bulge portion, each of the slots forms two slots walls with an obtuse angle, thereby expanding the transmitting angle for the multi-color lights from the lighting unit and enhancing the light-mixing uniformity while illuminating the keycap.