CN110993410A

CN110993410A - Key module and terminal

Info

Publication number: CN110993410A
Application number: CN201911329648.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 胡丰
Original assignee: Huizhou TCL Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huizhou TCL Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-20
Filing date: 2019-12-20
Publication date: 2020-04-10

Abstract

The invention discloses a key module and a terminal. The key module comprises a flexible circuit board, a first key area, a bending area and a second key area, wherein the first key area, the bending area and the second key area are sequentially connected; the touch switch is arranged on the first side of the flexible circuit board; and the reinforcing plate is arranged on the second side of the flexible circuit board, and the first side is back to the second side. The flexible circuit board is integrally designed, so that the production cost of the key module can be reduced.

Description

Key module and terminal

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of electronic equipment, in particular to a key module and a terminal.

Background

With the rapid development of electronic technology and the continuous improvement of the living standard of people, various terminals (such as mobile phones, notebook computers, tablet computers, book readers and the like) have gradually penetrated into the work and life of people, continuously influence the work and life of people, bring much rapidness and convenience to the work and life of people, and become necessary articles in daily work and life of people.

In order to enlarge the visual space of the display screen of the terminal, the key area on the display screen is omitted as much as possible, but in order to facilitate the operation of the terminal by the user, the keys are often arranged on the side of the terminal, namely, the side keys, which usually include a volume key, a power key, a photographing key, and the like. The working principle of the side key is generally as follows: after the side key is stressed, force is transmitted to a dome sheet in the touch switch, so that a central point on the dome sheet is concave, the touch switch and a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) are in a close-fitting state, the central point is concave and contacts with a circuit of the FPC to form a loop, current passes through the loop, and the terminal can work correspondingly.

In the existing terminal, when a plurality of side keys are arranged on the same side of the terminal, some terminals arrange the side keys on the same plane, and some terminals arrange the side keys on different planes. When the side keys need to be arranged on different planes, the flexible circuit boards of the side keys are connected and then installed, but the installation mode leads to the increase of the production cost of the side keys.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a key module and a terminal, which aim to solve the technical problem that in the prior art, a plurality of side keys are arranged on the same side of the terminal and need to be arranged on different planes, and the production cost is high.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a key module, including:

the flexible circuit board comprises a first key area, a bending area and a second key area which are sequentially connected, and the flexible circuit board is positioned on different planes in the first key area and the second key area;

the touch switch is arranged on the first side of the flexible circuit board; and

the stiffening plate is arranged on the second side of the flexible circuit board, and the first side and the second side are back to back.

Optionally, the bending region protrudes from the first key region and the second key region of the flexible circuit board toward the first side direction.

Optionally, the reinforcing plate includes a first sub-reinforcing plate and a second sub-reinforcing plate, the first sub-reinforcing plate is disposed in the first key area of the flexible circuit board, and the second sub-reinforcing plate is disposed in the second key area of the flexible circuit board.

Optionally, the bending area is provided with a first bending portion, a flat plate portion and a second bending portion, which are sequentially connected, the first bending portion and the second bending portion are bent toward the first lateral direction, the first bending portion is connected with the first key area, and the second bending portion is connected with the second key area.

Optionally, the size of the first bending portion and the size of the second bending portion are equal in the extending direction from the first key area to the second key area.

Optionally, the first button area is provided with a first connecting portion, a bending portion and a second connecting portion, which are connected in sequence, the first connecting portion is used for connecting the touch switch and the terminal shell, and the bending portion bypasses the terminal shell and enables the second connecting portion to be located in a cavity of the terminal shell.

Optionally, a plurality of pads are disposed on the second connection portion.

Optionally, two opposite sides of the first sub-reinforcing plate and the second sub-reinforcing plate are both provided with a double-faced adhesive tape.

Optionally, the flexible circuit board is in a flat plate shape in the second key area.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention further provides a terminal, which includes a side key and the key module, wherein the side key is disposed close to the touch switch.

Above-mentioned button module and terminal, through the form of being integrated into one piece with the flexible circuit board design, press the key district including the first key district that connects gradually, district and the second of buckling presses the key district, the flexible circuit board that makes through the transition in district of buckling is located different planes at first key district and second key district, thereby realized when the side key with one side of terminal is located different planes, can realize touch switch's installation through a flexible circuit board, need not connect touch switch's independent flexible circuit board separately, the production cost is saved, and the production efficiency is improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a key module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a key module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an assembly view of the key module of the present invention;

fig. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of fig. 3 at a region I defined by a dotted line.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention. The following embodiments and their technical features may be combined with each other without conflict.

The following description of the various embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. The directional terms mentioned in the present invention, such as [ upper ], [ lower ], [ front ], [ rear ], [ left ], [ right ], [ inner ], [ outer ], [ side ], are only referring to the directions of the attached drawings. Accordingly, the directional terms used are used for explanation and understanding of the present invention, and are not used for limiting the present invention. In the drawings, elements having similar structures are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the existing terminal, in order to enlarge the visualization space of the display screen of the terminal, the key area on the display screen is omitted as much as possible, but in order to facilitate the operation of the terminal by the user, the keys are often arranged on the side edge of the terminal, i.e. the side keys usually include a volume key, a power key, a photographing key, and the like. In the existing terminal, when a plurality of side keys are arranged on the same side of the terminal, some terminals arrange the side keys on the same plane, and some terminals arrange the side keys on different planes. When the side keys need to be arranged on different planes, the independent flexible circuit boards of the side keys need to be connected and then installed, for example, welding pads are welded, and meanwhile, the independent flexible circuit boards are also provided with the welding pads which are electrically connected with the circuit board in the terminal, so that the installation mode leads to the increase of the production cost of the side keys.

Therefore, a new installation method of the side key is needed to reduce the installation cost of the side key in different planes.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, a key module 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a flexible circuit board 11, a touch switch 12, and a stiffener 13. The touch switch 12 is disposed on a first side 10a of the flexible circuit board 11, the stiffener 13 is disposed on a second side 10b of the flexible circuit board 11, and the first side 10a is opposite to the second side 10 b. Wherein:

the flexible printed circuit board 11 is a printed circuit board having high reliability and excellent flexibility, which is made of a polyimide or polyester film as a base material. The flexible circuit board prepared from the material has the characteristics of high wiring density, light weight, thin thickness and good bending property, is usually used as a circuit board in an electronic terminal to transmit circuit signals, and is suitable for signal transmission of the touch switch 12 in the embodiment.

The flexible circuit board 11 in this embodiment includes a first key area 111, a bending area 112, and a second key area 113 connected in sequence, and the flexible circuit board 10 is located on different planes in the first key area 111 and the second key area 112. I.e. the first key zone 111 and the second key zone 112 may be in a parallel state, but not in the same plane. In the present embodiment, the flexible circuit board 11 is integrally formed, and the first key area 111, the bending area 112 and the second key area 113 are integrally formed by an integral forming process. Compared with the mode that a plurality of side keys are designed into a plurality of flexible circuit boards which are independently arranged when the side keys are positioned on different planes in the prior art, the production process for connecting the plurality of flexible circuit boards is saved, and therefore time and cost are saved.

The flexible Circuit Board 11 is fixed on the terminal housing, and referring to fig. 3 specifically, the flexible Circuit Board 11 is fixed on a front shell 20 in the terminal housing, and is configured to receive a signal from a key arranged on the key area, and transmit an electrical signal through a Circuit of the flexible Circuit Board 11 and other Circuit boards installed inside the terminal housing, such as a hard Circuit Board PCB (Printed Circuit Board), so as to open corresponding operations of the terminal.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first button region 111 has a first connection portion 1111, a bending portion 1112, and a second connection portion 1113 connected in sequence, and the whole first button region 111 is designed as a three-dimensional space. The first connection portion 1111 is used to connect the touch switch 12 and the frame of the terminal housing, and the bending portion 1112 bypasses the frame of the terminal housing to enable the second connection portion 1113 to be located in the cavity of the terminal housing.

The first connection portion 1111 is shaped as a flat plate and includes a key installation portion and a transition portion, the key installation portion is used for installing the touch switch 12, and the transition portion is used for transition from the key portion to the bending region 112. The key mounting portion is provided with a mounting hole 1114, and the mounting hole 1114 is used for being connected with the touch switch 12. Specifically, two of the mounting holes 1114 are disposed at two opposite ends of the key mounting portion, so that the touch switch 12 can be more stably mounted on the flexible circuit board 11. In an embodiment of the present invention, the touch switch 12 is detachably connected to the flexible circuit board 11, so as to facilitate replacement when the touch switch 12 fails.

It can be understood that two touch switches 12 are disposed on the first button region 111 and disposed at two ends of the button mounting portion of the first connection portion 1111. Each touch switch 12 receives the stress from the side key, transmits the stress to the flexible circuit board 11, and enables the flexible circuit board 11 to generate a corresponding electric signal, such as an increase key or a decrease key of a volume key, a power key or a page turning key, and the like, so that a mainboard electrically connected with the flexible circuit board 11 sends out a corresponding working instruction, and the terminal displays a corresponding working result.

Furthermore, a first fastening hole 1115 is disposed on the key mounting portion of the first connection portion 1111 for fastening the flexible circuit board 10 to the front housing 20, and a protruding frame 21 facing the rear housing is disposed on the front housing 20. The first connection portion 1111 of the first key region 111 abuts against the outer side of the frame 21 of the front case 20. In one embodiment of the present invention, two first fastening holes 1115 are provided and are disposed near the direction of the front case 20 where the display screen is mounted.

Specifically, the two first locking holes 1115 are disposed between the mounting holes 1114 at the two ends of the key mounting portion. Preferably, the distance between each first clip hole 1115 and the mounting hole 1114 is equal, and the distance between two first clip holes 1115 is greater than the distance between the first clip holes 1115 and the mounting hole 1114. In other embodiments, the setting can be performed according to actual needs.

The two first fastening holes 1115 are fastened in the front housing 20, and two fastening blocks 22 are correspondingly disposed on the front housing 20, so that the two first fastening holes 1115 are fastened in the two fastening blocks 22, the two fastening blocks 22 protrude toward the rear housing, and the two fastening blocks 22 are disposed outside the frame 21. In this embodiment, the two first fastening holes 1115 are square, so that the two fastening blocks 22 are correspondingly square. In other embodiments, other shapes of the first clip hole 1115 and the clip 22 may be provided, such as an oval shape, a polygonal shape, etc.

Further, a second locking hole 1116 is formed in the key mounting portion of the first connection portion 1111 for locking the flexible circuit board 10 to the terminal housing more firmly. Specifically, the second engaging hole 1116 is adapted to engage with the rear case of the housing. In this embodiment, two second fastening holes 1116 are provided, and the two second fastening holes 1116 are disposed near one side of the rear housing. In one embodiment, two second fastening holes 1116 are located between two first fastening holes 1115, and in other embodiments, two second fastening holes 1116 may be disposed on two sides of two first fastening holes 1115, i.e., each second fastening hole 1116 is sandwiched between each mounting hole 1114 and each first fastening hole 1115.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the second card hole 1116 is formed of two portions, a semicircular portion disposed in a direction close to the display screen mounted on the front case 20 and a rectangular portion disposed in a direction close to the rear case. In other embodiments, the second card hole 1116 may be designed in other shapes.

The transition portion of the first connection portion 1111 is used for making the first key region 111 transition to the bending region 112. The flexible circuit board 11 is flat at the transition portion, and is tightly attached to the frame 21 of the front case 20 when being installed, and the height of the transition portion is smaller than that of the key installation portion. In other embodiments, the setting of other heights of the transition portion can be performed according to actual conditions and specific requirements.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned bending portion 1112 is disposed on the flexible circuit board 11 between the two second fastening holes 1116, and by designing the bending portion 1112, the second connecting portion 1113 is located in the cavity of the front housing 20 after the flexible circuit board 10 bypasses the frame 21 of the front housing 20, so that the second connecting portion 1113 is electrically connected to other electrical lines disposed in the cavity of the front housing 20. It is understood that the frame 21 is perpendicular to other portions of the front housing 20, and the second connection portion 1113 is disposed in the cavity of the front housing 20 and closely attached to other flat regions of the front housing 20, so that the second connection portion 1113 is substantially perpendicular to the first connection portion 1111.

In this embodiment, the cross section of the bending portion 1112 is arched, the top of the arch is located right above the frame 21 of the front housing 20, and a gap is left between the bending portion 1112 and the frame 21, so as to facilitate routing of the flexible circuit board 11. The curved portion 1112 spans the frame 21 and is connected to the second connecting portion 1113. Of course, in other embodiments, the bending portion 1112 may be designed in other shapes, such as an oval shape, and the top of the oval shape is higher than the frame 21 to facilitate the routing of the flexible circuit board 11, which is not limited herein.

The second connecting portion 1113 is flat and is tightly attached to the front housing 20. The second connecting portion 1113 is provided with a plurality of pads 11131 for soldering with other circuit components disposed in the cavity of the housing, such as an LCD lamp and an electrical circuit of a PCB. In this embodiment, the second connection portion 1113 is provided with four pads 11131, the four pads 11131 are arranged in a linear array, and the distances between the pads 11131 are equal. In other embodiments, the pad 11131 may be designed in other ways according to practical situations and specific needs. Further, the pad 11131 in the present embodiment is square, and in other embodiments, the pad 11131 may be designed to be circular, drop-shaped, and the like, which is not limited herein.

In addition, in order to fix the second connecting portion 1113 in the front case 20, a threaded hole is further formed in the second connecting portion 1113, so that the second connecting portion 1113 is mounted on the front case 20 through a bolt and is detachably mounted, and when the flexible circuit board 11 fails, the flexible circuit board 11 is conveniently replaced. In this embodiment, two opposite ends of the second connecting portion 1113 are respectively provided with a threaded hole, and the four pads 11131 are sandwiched by the two threaded holes. Of course, in other embodiments, the second connecting portion 1113 can be fastened to the front housing 20 by adhering a double-sided adhesive, a back adhesive or other adhesives, so as to reduce the number of bolts used and the weight of the whole machine. The specific installation mode can be designed according to actual conditions or needs, and is not limited herein.

In order to adapt to the installation of the whole machine and the structural design of the front shell 20 and the rear shell, a gap is arranged at the place where the bending part 1112 and the second connecting part 1113 are connected, so that the installation between the front shell 20 and the rear shell is convenient.

The bending area 112 in this embodiment is connected to the transition portion of the first key area 111, and the height of the bending area 112 is equal to the height of the transition portion of the first key area 111. In an embodiment of the present invention, the bending region 1112 protrudes from the first key region 111 and the second key region 112 of the flexible circuit board 11 toward the first side 10a, so that the flexible circuit board 11 is not coplanar in the first key region 111 and the second key region 112, that is, the design of different planes of the side keys of the integrally formed flexible circuit board 10 can be realized. It can be understood that after the bending area 112 is provided, the end of the bending area 112 far away from the first key area 111 is far away from the frame 21 of the front casing 20 relative to the first key area 111, so that the flexible circuit board 11 connected to the end of the bending area 112 is located on a different plane from the first key area 111 in the second key area 113, and the second key area 113 protrudes away from the frame 21 of the front casing 20.

Of course, in other embodiments of the present invention, according to practical situations and specific requirements, the bending region 112 may be designed to protrude from the first key region 111 and the second key region 113 toward the second side 10b, i.e. to bend toward the cavity close to the front housing 20, which is not limited herein. Further, when the bending region 112 is designed to bend toward the second side 10b, the bending region may only include one portion, and only one bending plate is used, so that the flexible circuit board 11 is not coplanar with the second key region 113 and the first key region 111.

The inflection zone 112 in this embodiment includes three portions: the first bending portion 1121, the flat portion 1122 and the second bending portion 1123 are sequentially connected, the first bending portion 1121 and the second bending portion 1123 are bent toward the first side 10a, the first bending portion 1121 is connected to the first key region 111, and the second bending portion 1123 is connected to the second key region 113.

In an embodiment of the invention, for convenience of manufacturing, the size of the first bending portion 1121 and the size of the second bending portion 1123 are equal in the extending direction from the first key region 111 to the second key region 113, so that the mold setup is simpler and more convenient during manufacturing. Further, the size of the first bending portion 1121, the size of the flat plate portion 1122, and the size of the second bending portion 1123 can be designed to be equal in the extending direction from the first key region 111 to the second key region 113, so that the mold can be more easily installed during the production.

Of course, in other embodiments, the size of the first bending portion 1121, the size of the flat plate portion 1122, and the size of the second bending portion 1123 may be designed to be different in the extending direction from the first key region 111 to the second key region 113, as long as the flexible circuit board 11 is not coplanar with the first key region 111 and the second key region 113.

It can be understood that, because the flexible circuit board has a flexible property that is easily deformed, in order to increase the support for the bending area 112, the frame 21 of the front housing 20 is relatively designed, and a support platform is correspondingly disposed on the frame 21, and the support platform protrudes toward the outer side of the front housing 20, so that the support platform of the frame 21 is supported on the second side 10b of the bending area 112.

The flexible circuit board 11 is in a flat shape in the second key area 113 and directly abuts against the frame 21. For current design, when a plurality of side keys need not the coplanar, need to connect at least two independent flexible circuit boards, and all be equipped with the connection pad on the independent flexible circuit board separately yet to be connected with other components and parts circuits of terminal housing cavity electricity. However, the flexible circuit board 11 in this embodiment is designed to be flat in the second key area 113, and corresponding control can be achieved only by designing the pad 11131 on the first key area 111 to be electrically connected to other device circuits in the cavity of the housing, so that a connection process between a plurality of flexible circuit boards is avoided, and a pad design on the second key area 113 is also avoided, thereby achieving an effect of saving process, time, and cost.

Further, the flexible circuit board 11 may also have a mounting hole in the second key area 113, so as to facilitate the mounting of the touch switch 12 disposed on the second key area 113. Of course, in other embodiments, the touch switch 12 can also be mounted on the second button region 113 by a back adhesive, a double-sided adhesive, or other adhesive.

The main part of the touch switch 12 is a dome sheet. The snap dome is a metal elastic sheet and is mainly applied to components such as a membrane switch, a dome contact switch, a PCB (printed circuit board), an FPC (flexible printed circuit) board and the like. The switch has the advantages of stable contact, strong conductivity, stable resilience and good hand feeling, and also has good conductivity, and can play a good role in starting and controlling the switch between an operator and a product. And secondly, the snap dome has stable resilience (can return automatically after being pressed down), and can bring comfortable touch feeling to an operator. Moreover, the snap dome has an ultra-long service life of up to 100 ten thousand contact pressures, and provides the most practical quality support for the main product. Therefore, the touch switch 12 is suitable for being used as a main component of the touch switch in the present embodiment, and is used for receiving the force from the side key to bring a comfortable touch feeling to the user.

The working principle of the metal dome sheet is as follows: the dome sheet arranged on the film key is positioned at a conductive part (mostly above a golden finger on a circuit board) on a PCB or an FPC board, when the dome sheet is pressed, namely the dome sheet is pressed by a side key, the central point of the dome sheet is concave, and the dome sheet contacts with a circuit on the PCB or the FPC board, so that a loop is formed, current passes through the loop, and the whole terminal can perform corresponding work. The general conventional metal dome sheet is divided into the following parts according to different shapes: circular metal shrapnel, cross metal shrapnel, triangle metal shrapnel and ellipse metal shrapnel. The diameter is from 3mm to 20mm, and the force is from 100g to 600 grams of force. When the terminal is used specifically, the metal dome sheets with different shapes can be selected according to different terminals.

In addition, metal dome sheets can be classified according to surface plating treatment: gold plating, nickel plating, silver plating, bright surface, and the like. The nickel, silver or gold electroplating is carried out on the single-side surface (generally the concave surface of the dome sheet and the contact surface) of the dome sheet of the stainless steel, so that the effects of shielding interference, reducing impedance and increasing contact current of a product are achieved, and the purpose of improving the sensitivity of functional matching of the key and the product is achieved.

In this embodiment, a plurality of touch switches 12 are provided. Specifically, three touch switches 12 are provided, two touch switches 12 are provided in the first key area 111, and one touch switch 12 is provided in the second key area 113. In one embodiment, two touch switches 12 disposed in the first button area 111 can be used for volume control of the terminal, and one touch switch 12 disposed in the second button area 113 can be used for power control of the terminal. Of course, in other embodiments of the present invention, the touch switch may be configured according to actual situations and specific requirements, and the touch switch may further include other side keys corresponding to a mute key, a return key, a home key, and the like in the side keys, which is not limited herein.

The reinforcing plate 13 is disposed on the second side 10b of the flexible circuit board 11, wherein the first side 10a and the second side 10b are opposite sides, the first side 10a is a side away from the housing, and the second side 10b is a side close to the housing.

The reinforcing plate is also called a reinforcing plate, a supporting plate, a reinforcing plate and a reinforcing rib. The stiffening plate is widely used in the flexible circuit board in the electronic terminal, and the stiffening plate mainly solves the flexibility of the flexible circuit board, improves the strength of the flexible circuit board and facilitates the integral assembly of the electronic terminal. In the present embodiment, the reinforcing plate 13 is a supporting plate made of stainless steel, and in other embodiments, other materials may be selected.

Through setting up stiffening plate 13, attached between the frame 21 of flexible circuit board 11 and preceding shell 20, stiffening plate 13 not only can play the arbitrary usefulness of electrically conductive and response, still is favorable to being connected of flexible circuit board 11 and the mainboard of locating in the casing, can also improve flexible circuit board 11's intensity, the mechanical strength of reinforcement flexible circuit board 11.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the reinforcing plate 13 includes a first sub-reinforcing plate 131 and a second sub-reinforcing plate 132, the first sub-reinforcing plate 131 is disposed in the first key area 111 of the flexible circuit board 11, and the second sub-reinforcing plate 132 is disposed in the second key area 113 of the flexible circuit board 11.

As can be seen from the above, the first key section 111 has the first connection portion 1111, the bending portion 1112 and the second connection portion 1113, and when the first key section is mounted, the first sub reinforcing plate 131 is closely attached to the first connection portion 1111, so that the first connection portion 1111 is tightly attached to the bezel 21 of the front case 20. That is, the bent portion 1112 bypasses not only the terminal housing but also the first sub reinforcing plate 131. It can be understood that the shape of the first sub-reinforcing plate 131 is matched with the shape of the first connection portion 1111 and the bending portion 1112, that is, two first notches 1311 are formed on the first sub-reinforcing plate 131 to correspond to the two first locking holes 1115 disposed on the first connection portion 1111, and a second notch 1312 is formed between the two first notches 1311 to correspond to the two second locking holes 1116 and the bending portion 1112 disposed on the first connection portion 1111.

In this embodiment, when the first sub-reinforcing plate 131 is mounted on the bezel 21 of the front case 20, the first connection portion 1111 of the first key section 111 is fastened to the bezel 21 of the front case 20 by providing the first double-sided adhesive 14 on each of the opposite sides of the first sub-reinforcing plate 131. The two opposite sides of the first sub-reinforcing plate 131 refer to a side close to the first connection portion 1111 of the first key region 111 and a side close to the frame 21 of the front casing 20. In other embodiments, the first sub reinforcing plate 131 may be fixed between the flexible circuit board 11 and the frame 21 of the front case 20 by laser welding; or the first sub-reinforcing plate 131 is fixed between the first connection portion 1111 of the flexible circuit board 11 and the frame 21 of the front case 20 by applying the adhesive on both opposite sides of the first sub-reinforcing plate 131, so that the installation weight of the first sub-reinforcing plate 131 is reduced, and the weight of the entire device is reduced.

As can be seen from the above, the flexible circuit board 11 has a flat plate shape in the second key section 113, and it can be understood that the second sub-reinforcing plate 132 has a flat plate shape in conformity with the shape of the second key section 113.

In this embodiment, when the second sub-reinforcing plate 132 is mounted on the frame 21 of the front case 20, the second key section 113 is fastened to the frame 21 of the front case 20 by providing a second double-sided adhesive 15 on each of the opposite sides of the second sub-reinforcing plate 132. Wherein, the two opposite sides of the second sub-reinforcing plate 132 refer to a side close to the second key region 113 and a side close to the frame 21 of the front shell 20. In other embodiments, the second sub reinforcing plate 132 may be laser-welded to fix the flexible circuit board 11 to the frame 21 of the front shell 20; or the second sub-reinforcing plate 132 is fixed to the second key region 113 and the frame 21 of the front housing 20 by applying the back adhesive on the two opposite sides of the second sub-reinforcing plate 132, so that the installation weight of the second sub-reinforcing plate 132 is reduced, and the weight of the whole machine is reduced.

The key module 10 is implemented according to the following principle: the side key of the terminal is pressed by a user, the side key approaches the touch switch 12 and transmits force to the touch switch 12, so that the salient points on the touch switch 12 contact the flexible circuit board 12, the circuit on the flexible circuit board 12 forms a loop, and the mainboard control terminal electrically connected with the flexible circuit board 12 generates corresponding feedback.

Above-mentioned button module 10, through the form of designing flexible circuit board 11 as integrated into one piece, including the first button district 111 that connects gradually, buckle district 112 and second button district 113, flexible circuit board 11 that makes through the transition in buckle district 112 is at first button district 111 and second button district 113 coplane not, thereby when the side key that has realized the same side at terminal is coplanar, can realize touch switch 12's installation through a flexible circuit board 11, need not connect touch switch 12's independent flexible circuit board separately, and the production cost is saved, and the production efficiency is improved.

In other embodiments of the present invention, a terminal is further provided, where the terminal includes a side key and the key module 10, and the side key is disposed near the touch switch 12 of the key module 10.

The terminal includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a book reader, and the like. Side keys include, but are not limited to, volume keys, power keys, etc. When the side key is pressed by a user, the side key approaches the touch switch 12 and transmits force to the touch switch 12, so that the bumps on the touch switch 12 contact the flexible circuit board 11 in the key module 10, a circuit on the flexible circuit board 11 forms a loop, and a corresponding feedback is formed on a mainboard control terminal electrically connected with the flexible circuit board 11.

Above-mentioned terminal, flexible circuit board 11 in the button module 10 through with the side key designs into integrated into one piece's form, including the first button district 111 that connects gradually, bending zone 112 and second button district 113, flexible circuit board 11 that makes through the transition of bending zone 112 is at first button district 111 and second button district 113 coplanar, thereby when the side key that has realized the same side at terminal is in different planes, can realize touch switch 12's installation through a flexible circuit board 11, need not connect touch switch 12's independent flexible circuit board separately, and the production cost is saved, and the production efficiency is improved.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, which falls within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A key module, comprising:

2. The key module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bending region protrudes from the first key region and the second key region of the flexible printed circuit board toward the first side.

3. The key module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stiffener includes a first sub-stiffener and a second sub-stiffener, the first sub-stiffener is disposed in the first key area of the flexible printed circuit board, and the second sub-stiffener is disposed in the second key area of the flexible printed circuit board.

4. The key module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bending region has a first bending portion, a flat portion and a second bending portion connected in sequence, the first bending portion and the second bending portion are bent toward the first side direction, the first bending portion is connected to the first key region, and the second bending portion is connected to the second key region.

5. The key module according to claim 4, wherein the first bending portion and the second bending portion have the same size in an extending direction from the first key region to the second key region.

6. The key module according to claim 1, wherein the first key area has a first connecting portion, a bending portion and a second connecting portion, which are sequentially connected to each other, the first connecting portion is used for connecting the touch switch and the terminal housing, and the bending portion bypasses the terminal housing and enables the second connecting portion to be located in a cavity of the terminal housing.

7. The key module of claim 6, wherein the second connecting portion has a plurality of pads thereon.

8. The key module of claim 3, wherein the first sub-stiffener and the second sub-stiffener are provided with double-sided adhesive on opposite sides.

9. The key module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible printed circuit board is shaped as a flat plate in the second key area.

10. A terminal, comprising a side key, characterized by further comprising the key module according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the side key is disposed adjacent to the touch switch.