CN222653844U - Key structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a key structure, which comprises a bottom plate, a key cap and a lifting mechanism, wherein the projection of the key cap on the bottom plate comprises a rectangular part and a protruding part, the protruding part protrudes from the long side of the rectangular part, the key cap is provided with a plurality of bracket connecting parts, the lifting mechanism supports the key cap on the bottom plate in a vertical direction, the projection of the lifting mechanism on the bottom plate is overlapped with the protruding part, the lifting mechanism comprises an inner bracket and an outer bracket, the outer bracket and the inner bracket are pivoted relative to a rotating shaft, the outer bracket is provided with two outer frame parts and a central frame, the central frame is positioned between the two outer frame parts along the rotating shaft, and when the outer bracket and the inner bracket are overlapped, the inner bracket is positioned on the inner side of the outer bracket and spans the central frame, wherein the key cap is connected with the two outer frame parts and the inner bracket through the plurality of bracket connecting parts, the plurality of bracket connecting parts comprise shaft grooves, and the shaft grooves are pivoted with the inner bracket.

Description

Key structure

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to key structures, and particularly to a key structure with a non-rectangular key cap.

Background

In addition to square keys (e.g., numeric keys, alphabetic keys, etc.), keyboards also have long keys (i.e., rectangular keys with unequal adjacent sides, e.g., function keys, white keys, etc.), and keys that are not rectangular (e.g., enter keys). The key caps of the keys are moved up and down relative to the base plate via the lifting mechanisms thereof. When in use, a user may press any position of the key cap, so that the key cap is easy to be stressed unevenly. If the lifting mechanism cannot effectively transmit the pressing force, the keycap is difficult to stably move up and down. This problem is exacerbated for long keys and keys that are not rectangular.

Disclosure of utility model

The utility model provides a key structure, wherein a lifting mechanism of the key structure can provide better support for a key cap, can effectively transmit pressing force and is beneficial to stable up-and-down movement of the key cap.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present utility model further provides a key structure, the key structure comprises a bottom plate, a key cap and a lifting mechanism, wherein the projection of the key cap on the bottom plate comprises a rectangular portion and a protruding portion, the protruding portion protrudes from the long side of the rectangular portion, the key cap has a plurality of bracket connecting portions, the lifting mechanism supports the key cap on the bottom plate in a vertical direction, the projection of the lifting mechanism on the bottom plate overlaps with the protruding portion, the lifting mechanism comprises an inner bracket and an outer bracket, the outer bracket and the inner bracket are pivoted to each other relative to a rotation axis, the outer bracket has two outer frame portions and a central frame, the central frame is located between the two outer frame portions along the rotation axis, and when the outer bracket and the inner bracket overlap, the inner bracket is located inside the outer bracket and spans the central frame, wherein the key cap is connected with the two outer frame portions and the inner bracket via the plurality of bracket connecting portions, and the plurality of bracket connecting portions comprise shaft grooves pivoted to the inner bracket.

Alternatively, the rotation axis is parallel to the long side of the rectangular portion.

As an alternative solution, the projection of the outer bracket on the bottom plate overlaps the protruding portion, and the projection of the inner bracket on the bottom plate is located in the rectangular portion.

As an alternative technical scheme, the projection of the shaft groove on the bottom plate and the protruding part are respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the projection of the rotating shaft on the bottom plate.

As an alternative solution, the outer bracket has an abutment portion, a projection of which on the bottom plate is located in the protruding portion, and the abutment portion contacts the bottom surface of the key cap when the key cap is not pressed.

As an alternative technical scheme, the projection of the key cap on the bottom plate is L-shaped as a whole.

As an alternative technical solution, the inner bracket includes two side frames and a middle bridge, the middle bridge connects the two side frames, the two side frames and the middle bridge are arranged parallel to the rotation axis, and when the outer bracket overlaps the inner bracket, the middle bridge is overlapped on the center frame.

As an alternative solution, the central frame has an opening, the lifting mechanism integrally defines a central space, the central space vertically penetrates through the lifting mechanism, the central space penetrates through the opening, and when the outer bracket and the inner bracket overlap, the central space is located between the middle bridge and the key cap connecting portion of the outer bracket.

As an alternative solution, the central frame has a concave structure, the concave structure is located below the middle bridge, and the middle bridge enters the concave structure when the outer bracket and the inner bracket overlap.

As an alternative technical scheme, the inner bracket is provided with a key cap connecting part, the inner bracket is connected with the key cap through the key cap connecting part, the outer frame part is provided with a bottom plate connecting part, the outer frame part is connected with the bottom plate through the bottom plate connecting part, and the extending width of the key cap connecting part of the inner bracket is larger than 1.5 times of the extending width of the bottom plate connecting part of the outer frame part.

As an alternative technical solution, the outer frame portion has a key cap connecting portion and a bottom plate connecting portion opposite to the key cap connecting portion, the outer frame portion is connected with the key cap via the key cap connecting portion, the outer frame portion is connected with the bottom plate via the bottom plate connecting portion, the key cap connecting portion and the bottom plate connecting portion both extend parallel to the rotation axis, and a ratio of an extension width of the bottom plate connecting portion to an extension width of the key cap connecting portion is between 0.5 and 0.8.

As an alternative technical scheme, the outer frame portion has a key cap connecting portion and a bottom plate connecting portion opposite to the key cap connecting portion, the outer frame portion is connected with the key cap via the key cap connecting portion, the outer frame portion is connected with the bottom plate via the bottom plate connecting portion, the key cap connecting portion and the bottom plate connecting portion are both extended parallel to the rotation axis, and the bottom plate connecting portion is a plastic connecting portion.

As an alternative solution, the projection of the inner bracket on the bottom plate overlaps with the protruding portion, the projection of the outer bracket on the bottom plate is located in the rectangular portion, and the projection of the axial slot on the bottom plate and the protruding portion are located on the same side of the projection of the rotation axis on the bottom plate.

As an alternative solution, the projection of the inner bracket on the bottom plate overlaps the protruding portion, the projection of the outer bracket on the bottom plate is located in the rectangular portion, the inner bracket has an abutment portion, and the projection of the abutment portion on the bottom plate is located in the protruding portion, and when the key cap is not pressed, the abutment portion contacts the bottom surface of the key cap.

As an alternative technical scheme, the outer bracket and the inner bracket are plastic brackets.

The utility model provides a key structure, which is characterized in that the position of a bracket connecting part is changed to be arranged in the direction of a structural weak area so as to improve the pressing hand feeling, and meanwhile, an inner bracket and an outer bracket of a lifting mechanism are designed in an overlapped mode, so that the bracket connecting part is as close to the structural weak area as possible, the inner bracket extends towards the structural weak area as far as possible, the pressing hand feeling is further improved, the pressing force is effectively transmitted, and the key cap can stably move up and down.

Drawings

The following describes the embodiments of the present utility model in further detail with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a key structure according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded view of a portion of a key structure according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a key structure according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the key structure according to the first embodiment at another view angle;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a bottom plate of the key structure of the first embodiment, on which a lifting mechanism and a contour projection of a key cap on the bottom plate are shown;

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of an outer bracket of a lifting mechanism of a key structure according to a first embodiment;

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of an inner bracket of a lifting mechanism of a key structure according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the key structure of the first embodiment, the cross-sectional position of which is shown by line X4-X4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a key structure according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a key structure according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the key structure according to the second embodiment at another view angle;

FIG. 12 is a top view of a bottom plate of a key structure according to a second embodiment, on which a lifting mechanism and a contour projection of a key cap on the bottom plate are shown;

Fig. 13 is a schematic view of an outer bracket of a lifting mechanism of a key structure according to a second embodiment;

fig. 14 is a schematic view of an inner bracket of a lifting mechanism of a key structure according to a second embodiment;

Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the key structure of the second embodiment, and the cross-sectional position is shown by line X5-X5 in fig. 9.

Detailed Description

In order to more clearly illustrate the present utility model, the present utility model will be further described with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Like parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals. It is to be understood by persons skilled in the art that the following detailed description is illustrative and not restrictive, and that this utility model is not limited to the details given herein.

Please refer to fig. 1 to 4. According to the key structure 400 of the first embodiment, unlike general rectangular keys (e.g., numeric keys, letter keys, space keys, function keys, etc. of a keyboard), for example, but not limited to, the Enter key of a keyboard may be used. The key structure 400 includes a key cap 410, a bottom plate 420, a lifting mechanism 430, a switch circuit board 440, and an elastic member 450. The key cap 410 is disposed on the bottom plate 420. The lifting mechanism 430 is connected between the key cap 410 and the bottom plate 420, and supports the key cap 410 on the bottom plate 420 in a vertical direction Dv4 (shown by a double-headed arrow in the figure), so that the key cap 410 can move up and down (i.e., parallel to the vertical direction Dv 4) with respect to the bottom plate 420 via the lifting mechanism 430. The switch circuit board 440 is stacked on the bottom plate 420 and below the key cap 410. In practical applications, the switch circuit board 440 may be, but is not limited to, a thin film circuit board (for example, a laminated board structure, in which a switch circuit is formed on an upper substrate and a lower substrate, and an insulating layer is interposed between the upper substrate and the lower substrate), and is shown as a single plate in order to simplify the drawing. The switch circuit board 440 has a switch 4401 (positions shown in the drawing as hatched circles). The elastic member 450 is aligned with the switch 4401 and disposed between the key cap 410 and the switch circuit board 440, and passes through the elevating mechanism 430. In practical applications, the elastic member 450 may be, but is not limited to, a rubber knob. The key cap 410 may be pressed to move toward the bottom plate 420 and press the elastic member 450 to cause the elastic member 450 to trigger the switch 4401.

The lifting mechanism 430 includes an outer support 4301 and an inner support 4302. The outer frame 4301 and the inner frame 4302 are pivotally connected to each other with respect to a rotation shaft 430a (shown by chain lines). The key cap 410 has a plurality of bracket connection portions 4101, 4102, 4103 on a bottom surface 4104 thereof. The key cap 410 is pivotally coupled to the shaft portion 4303 of the inner frame 4302 via a frame coupling portion 4101. In the first embodiment, the bracket connection portion 4101 is implemented by two opposite hooks, and an axial slot 4101a is formed between the two hooks. The shaft portion 4303 is cylindrically shaped and rotatably received in the shaft groove 4101a (e.g., the outer diameter of the shaft portion 4303 is the same as the inner diameter of the shaft groove 4101 a), thereby pivoting the inner bracket 4302 to the bracket connecting portion 4101. Further, the key cap 410 is rotatably and slidably connected to the outer bracket 4301 via bracket connection portions 4102, 4103. The bracket connection 4102, 4103 are both slightly structurally different, but each provides a runner to enable the outer bracket 4301 to be rotatably and slidably connected thereto.

The bottom plate 420 has a plurality of bracket connections 4201, 4202. The bottom plate 420 is rotatably and slidably connected to the inner frame 4302 via the frame connection 4201, and is rotatably and slidably connected to the outer frame 4301 via the frame connection 4202. In addition, the bottom plate 420 further has a plurality of limiting portions 4203, and the limiting portions 4203 are adjacent to the bracket connecting portions 4202. The stopper 4203 prevents the outer bracket 4301 from being separated from the bracket connecting portion 4202. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the bracket connection portions 4201, 4202 are slightly different in structure, but each is provided with a sliding groove so that the outer bracket 4301 and the inner bracket 4302 can be rotatably and slidably connected thereto. Wherein, the range of the slidable provided by the bracket connection portion 4201 (in the horizontal direction Dh4 (shown in the figure by the double-headed arrow) perpendicular to the rotation axis 430a and the vertical direction Dv 4) is larger than the range of the slidable provided by the bracket connection portion 4202. The bracket connecting portion 4202 and the limiting portion 4203 together provide an approximately pivoted connecting structure of the outer bracket 4301, which is helpful for the stability of the movement of the lifting mechanism 430 relative to the bottom plate 420 (including the stability, the lifting mechanism 430 is not easy to shake along the horizontal direction Dh4 relative to the bottom plate 420).

Please refer to fig. 5, which is a top view of the bottom plate 420, wherein a projection profile of the lifting mechanism 430 on the bottom plate 420 is shown with a thin solid line, a projection 4105 profile of the keycap 410 on the bottom plate 420 is shown with a chain line, and projections 4109, 4110, 4111 profiles of the bracket connection portions 4101, 4102, 4103 of the keycap 410 on the bottom plate 420 are simply illustrated with chain line blocks. It is added that the aforementioned projection onto the base plate 420 logically refers to the projection of the aforementioned components onto a virtual plane containing the upper surface of the base plate 420. As shown in fig. 5, the projection 4105 of the key cap 410 on the bottom plate 420 is slightly L-shaped, and logically can be regarded as including a rectangular portion 4106 and a protruding portion 4107, and the boundary therebetween is indicated by a dashed line. The rectangular portion 4106 and the protruding portion 4107 are each long rectangles extending parallel to the rotation axis 430a or a projection 430b thereof (shown in the figure as chain lines), and the protruding portion 4107 protrudes from a long side 4108 (parallel to the rotation axis 430 a) of the rectangular portion 4106. The projection of the entire lifting mechanism 430 (including the projection 4304 of the outer support 4301 and the projection 4305 of the inner support 4302) overlaps the protruding portion 4107, wherein the projection 4304 of the outer support 4301 onto the floor 420 overlaps the protruding portion 4107 and the projection 4305 of the inner support 4302 onto the floor 420 is entirely within the rectangular portion 4106. The projections 4109, 4110, 4111 of the bracket connection 4101, 4102, 4103 on the bottom plate 420 are also located within the rectangular portion 4106, and the projection 4109 and the protrusion 4107 of the bracket connection 4101 on the bottom plate 420 are located on both sides of the projection 430b of the rotation axis 430a on the bottom plate 420. In addition, the outer contour of the projection 4304 of the outer bracket 4301 onto the bottom plate 420 is entirely similar to the outer contour of the projection 4105 of the key cap 410 onto the bottom plate 420.

Please refer to fig. 6 and 7, which are schematic diagrams of the outer support 4301 and the inner support 4302, respectively. As shown in fig. 6, the outer bracket 4301 has a substantially mesh shape overall. The outer frame 4301 has two outer frame portions 4306 and one center frame 4307 (each shown in fig. 6 by a broken line frame), and the center frame 4307 is located between the two outer frame portions 4306 along the rotation axis 430 a. The inner support 4302 includes two side frames 4308 and an intermediate bridge 4309, the intermediate bridge 4309 connects the two side frames 4308, and the two side frames 4308 and the intermediate bridge 4309 are aligned parallel to the rotation axis 430 a. The two side frames 4308 are pivotally connected to the inner sides of the two outer frame portions 4306 (see fig. 2) with respect to the rotation shaft 430 a. When the outer support 4301 overlaps the inner support 4302 (see FIG. 5), the inner support 4302 is positioned inside the outer support 4301 and spans the center frame 4307, wherein the intermediate bridge 4309 is stacked on the center frame 4307.

As shown in fig. 6, the outer frame 4306 includes a key cap connection portion 4310 (the structural range of which is indicated by a chain frame) and a bottom plate connection portion 4311 (the structural range of which is indicated by a chain frame) with respect to the key cap connection portion 4310, and both the key cap connection portion 4310 and the bottom plate connection portion 4311 extend parallel to the rotation axis 430 a. The outer frame 4306 is connected to the frame connecting portions 4102 and 4103 of the key caps 410 via the key cap connecting portion 4310, and is connected to the frame connecting portion 4202 of the bottom plate 420 via the bottom plate connecting portion 4311. The key cap connection part 4310 may be regarded as extending parallel to the rotation axis 430a with the same width as the key cap connection part 4310 except for the structure of the key cap connection part 4310 for engaging with the frame connection parts 4102, 4103 of the key cap 410, and the base plate connection part 4311 may be regarded as extending parallel to the rotation axis 430a with the same width as the base plate connection part 4311 except for the structure of the base plate connection part 4311 for engaging with the frame connection part 4202 and the stopper part 4203 of the base plate 420 and the structure of the frame connection part 4101 for avoiding the key cap 410. The extending widths 4312, 4313 (shown in fig. 6; corresponding to the upper and lower outer frame 4306 respectively) of the key cap connection portion 4310 are larger than the extending width 4314 (shown in fig. 6) of the bottom plate connection portion 4311, which is helpful to relatively improve the structural stability of the outer frame 4301 after assembly under the condition of limited overall structural dimensions, and further improve the stability of the outer frame 4301 supporting the key cap 410. For example, when a portion of the key cap 410 corresponding to the key cap connection part 4310 (particularly, a corner of the key cap 410) is pressed, the key cap connection part 4310 may effectively transmit a pressing force in its extending direction (i.e., a direction parallel to the rotation axis 430 a). In practical applications, the ratio of the extension width 4314 of the bottom plate connection part 4311 to the extension width 4312 (or the extension width 4313) of the key cap connection part 4310 may be designed to be between 0.5 and 0.8. In addition, in the key structure 400, the bottom plate 420 is a stationary member, and the connection between the outer support 4301 and the bottom plate 420 (via the bottom plate connection portion 4311) is relatively easy to keep stable, so that in practical applications, the bottom plate connection portion 4311 may be free of metal members (e.g. no elements for strengthening the structure thereof), and similarly, the key cap 410 is a movable member, and the key cap connection portion 4310 of the outer support 4301 may be metal members in practical applications (e.g. the structure strengthening thereof is realized by embedding metal members into plastic injection members), so as to improve the structural stability of the outer support 4301 and the connection stability of the outer support with the key cap 410.

Further, as shown in fig. 7, the inner frame 4302 has a key cap connection portion 4315 (the structural range of which is indicated by a chain wire frame table), and the key cap connection portion 4315 extends parallel to the rotation shaft 430 a. The inner support 4302 is connected to the key cap 410 via a key cap connection 4315 (i.e., rotatably received in the four shaft grooves 4101a via the four shaft portions 4303). Wherein one shaft portion 4303 is provided on one side frame 4308 and two shaft portions 4303 are provided on the intermediate bridge 4309, this configuration contributes to increasing the structural stability of the intermediate bridge 4309 itself and also contributes to the transmission of pressing force of the inner frame 4302 in a direction parallel to the rotation axis 430 a. As for the key cap connection part 4315, the key cap connection part 4315 may be regarded as extending parallel to the rotation shaft 430a with the same width as a whole, except for a structure on the key cap connection part 4315 for cooperation with the bracket connection part 4101 of the key cap 410. Referring to fig. 2, 6 and 7, the inner support 4302 is pivotally connected to the inner side of the outer support 4301, and both the inner support 4302 and the outer support 4301 can be horizontally disposed in terms of structure, so that the structural dimension of the inner support 4302 is limited by the outer support 4301. The key cap connection portion 4315 of the inner frame 4302 and the bottom plate connection portion 4311 of the outer frame 4301 are located on the same side of the rotation axis 430a, so that the extending width 4316 (as indicated in fig. 7) of the key cap connection portion 4315 and the extending width 4314 (as indicated in fig. 6) of the bottom plate connection portion 4311 of the outer frame 4301 can have a competitive relationship. In practical applications, the extending width 4316 of the key cap connection part 4315 is larger than the extending width 4314 of the bottom plate connection part 4311 of the outer bracket 4301, so as to improve the structural stability of the inner bracket 4302 after assembly, and further improve the stability of the inner bracket 4302 for supporting the key cap 410. For example, the extending widths 4316 of the key cap connection parts 4315 are each larger than 1.5 times the extending width 4314 of the bottom plate connection parts 4311 of the outer bracket 4301.

In addition, as shown in fig. 2, 6 and 8, in the first embodiment, in the horizontal direction Dh4, the outer support 4301 has an abutting portion 4317 (located in one of the outer frame portions 4306), and a projection (refer to fig. 5) of the outer support on the bottom plate 420 is located in the protruding portion 4107 (or at least partially in the protruding portion 1107). The abutment 4317 increases the overall volume of the outer frame 4301 (compared to a simple rectangular frame for an outer frame in a typical scissor bracket), contributing to an increase in the structural rigidity of the outer frame 4301. In the first embodiment, the outer support 4301 is designed such that the abutting portion 4317 contacts the bottom surface 4104 (shown in fig. 8) of the key cap 410 when the key cap 410 is not pressed, thereby supporting the key cap 410, and the configuration also helps the lifting mechanism 430 to stably support the key cap 410. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, as shown in fig. 2 to 4 and 6, in the first embodiment, when the outer support 4301 and the inner support 4302 overlap (refer to fig. 5), the inner support 4302 is located inside the outer support 4301 and spans the center frame 4307. Wherein the center frame 4307 has a recessed structure 4318, the recessed structure 4318 is located below the intermediate bridge 4309, and the intermediate bridge 4309 enters the recessed structure 4318. Thereby, both the outer support 4301 and the inner support 4302 can be placed horizontally. For example, after the outer support 4301 is overlapped with the inner support 4302, the overall thickness is not greater than the thickness of the outer support 4301 or the inner support 4302. In addition, the center frame 4307 has an aperture 4319. The lifting mechanism 430 may define a central space 430c (shown in phantom in fig. 2) throughout the lifting mechanism 430, and the central space 430c extends vertically through the lifting mechanism 430 to house the elastic member 450. Central space 430c passes through aperture 4319 and is adjacent to intermediate bridge 4309. When the outer frame 4301 and the inner frame 4302 overlap (or referred to as the horizontal direction Dh 4), the central space 430c is located between the middle bridge 4309 and the key cap connection 4310 of the outer frame 4301.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the outer support 4301 and the inner support 4302 are made of a single material, such as plastic injection molding, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the outer support 4301 or the inner support 4302 may be a composite structure, such as a plastic injection molding with a reinforcement (e.g., a metal piece, in a buried injection molding manner).

In the first embodiment (see fig. 1 to 8), the lifting mechanism 430 of the key structure 400 still maintains the scissor bracket, which can improve the assembly efficiency. The key structure 400 does not use a balance bar (which is commonly used in common long keys, such as a blank key, is shaped like a Chinese U, connects a key cap and a bottom plate, and is used for helping the key cap to stably move up and down), so that impact noise (such as sound generated by impact of the balance bar with other components) can be reduced. The overlapped design of the inner and outer supports 4302, 4301 of the lifting mechanism 430 (e.g., when the outer support 4301 and the inner support 4302 are both disposed horizontally, the inner support 4302 is overlapped on the outer support 4302), thereby increasing the volume of the outer support 4301, further enhancing the structural rigidity, and improving the pressing feeling of the weak region of the structure (e.g., the upper left corner and the lower left corner of the key cap 410 as shown in fig. 5). In addition, in the outer support 4301, the width of the key cap connection portion 4310 is increased (i.e. the extending widths 4312 and 4313 are larger than the extending width 4314 of the bottom plate connection portion 4311), so that the structural rigidity of the key cap connection portion 4310 of the outer support 4301 can be relatively enhanced, and the pressing feeling of the weak region of the structure can be improved. Accordingly, the structural rigidity of the key structure 400 is improved, and the problems of the effective structural weakness region are overcome or effectively suppressed. In addition, the lifting mechanism 430 provides a space (i.e. the central space 430 c) in which the elastic member 450 is disposed, so that the elastic member 450 can be elastically adjusted according to the requirement, for example, the elastic member 450 is located as close to the upper left corner of the key cap 410 as possible, and the pressing feeling is improved. In addition, in the key structure 400, the shaft groove 4101a is pivoted with the inner support 4302, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the inner support 4302 is connected to the support connecting portions 4102 and 4103, the outer support 4301 is connected to the support connecting portion 4101, the abutting portion 4317 of the outer support 4301 is formed on the inner support 4302, and other structures are also modified (for example, the middle bridge 4309 is disposed on the left side of the rotation shaft 430a in view of fig. 5), which is not described herein.

Please refer to fig. 9 to 11. According to the key structure 500 of the second embodiment, unlike general rectangular keys (e.g., numeric keys, letter keys, space keys, function keys, etc. of a keyboard), for example, but not limited to, the Enter key of a keyboard may be used. The key structure 500 includes a key cap 510, a bottom plate 520, a lifting mechanism 530, a switch circuit board 540, and an elastic member 550. The key cap 510 is disposed on the bottom plate 520. The elevating mechanism 530 is connected between the key cap 510 and the bottom plate 520, and supports the key cap 510 on the bottom plate 520 in a vertical direction Dv5 (shown by a double-headed arrow in the figure), so that the key cap 510 can move up and down (i.e., parallel to the vertical direction Dv 5) with respect to the bottom plate 520 via the elevating mechanism 530. The switch circuit board 540 is stacked on the bottom plate 520 and under the key cap 510. In practical applications, the switch circuit board 540 may be, but is not limited to, a thin film circuit board (for example, a laminated board structure, in which a switch circuit is formed on an upper substrate and a lower substrate, and an insulating layer is interposed between the upper substrate and the lower substrate), and is shown as a single plate in order to simplify the drawing. The switch circuit board 540 has a switch 5401 (positions shown in the figure as hatched circles). The pair Ji Kaiguan of elastic members 550 and 5401 are disposed between the key cap 510 and the switch circuit board 540, and pass through the lifting mechanism 530. In practical applications, the elastic member 550 may be, but is not limited to, a rubber knob. The key cap 510 may be pressed to move toward the bottom plate 520 and press the elastic member 550 such that the elastic member 550 activates the switch 5401.

The elevating mechanism 530 includes an outer bracket 5301 and an inner bracket 5302. The outer bracket 5301 and the inner bracket 5302 are pivotally connected to each other with respect to the rotation shaft 530a (shown by a chain line). The key cap 510 has a plurality of bracket connection portions 5101, 5102, 5103 on a bottom surface 5104 thereof. The key cap 510 is pivotally connected to the shaft portion 5303 of the inner bracket 5302 via the bracket connecting portion 5101. In the second embodiment, the bracket connecting portion 5101 is implemented by two opposite hooks, and a shaft groove 5101a is formed between the two hooks. The shaft portion 5303 is cylindrically shaped and rotatably received in the shaft groove 5101a (e.g., the outer diameter of the shaft portion 5303 is the same as the inner diameter of the shaft groove 5101 a), thereby pivoting the inner bracket 5302 to the bracket connecting portion 5101. Further, the key cap 510 is rotatably and slidably connected to the outer bracket 5301 via the bracket connection portions 5102, 5103. The bracket connection 5102, 5103 are slightly different in structure, but each provides a sliding slot to allow the outer bracket 5301 to be rotatably and slidably connected thereto.

The bottom plate 520 has a plurality of bracket connection portions 5201, 5202. The bottom plate 520 is rotatably and slidably connected to the inner bracket 5302 via the bracket connecting portion 5201, and is rotatably and slidably connected to the outer bracket 5301 via the bracket connecting portion 5202. In addition, the bottom plate 520 further has a plurality of limiting portions 5203, and the limiting portions 5203 are adjacent to the bracket connecting portions 5202. The stopper 5203 prevents the outer bracket 5301 from being separated from the bracket connecting portion 5202. In addition, in the second embodiment, the bracket connecting portions 5201, 5202 are slightly different in structure, but each of them is provided with a sliding groove so that the outer bracket 5301 and the inner bracket 5302 can be rotatably and slidably connected thereto. Wherein, the range of slidable movement provided by the bracket connecting portion 5201 (in a horizontal direction Dh5 (shown in the figure with a double arrow) perpendicular to the rotation axis 530a and the vertical direction Dv 5) is larger than that provided by the bracket connecting portion 5202. The bracket connecting portion 5202 and the limiting portion 5203 can cooperate to provide an approximately pivotally connecting structure of the outer bracket 5301, which is helpful for stability of the movement of the lifting mechanism 530 relative to the bottom plate 520 (including being stationary, the lifting mechanism 530 is not easy to shake along the horizontal direction Dh5 relative to the bottom plate 520).

Referring to fig. 12, which is a top view of the bottom plate 520, wherein a projection outline of the lifting mechanism 530 on the bottom plate 520 is shown by a thin solid line, a projection 5105 outline of the key cap 510 on the bottom plate 520 is shown by a chain line, and projection 5109, 5110, 5111 outlines of the bracket connection portions 5101, 5102, 5103 of the key cap 510 on the bottom plate 520 are simply shown by chain line blocks. It is added that the aforementioned projection onto the base 520 logically refers to the projection of the aforementioned components onto a virtual plane containing the upper surface of the base 520. As shown in fig. 12, the projection 5105 of the key cap 510 on the bottom plate 520 is slightly L-shaped, and logically can be considered as including a rectangular portion 5106 and a protruding portion 5107, and the boundary therebetween is indicated by a dotted line. Both the rectangular portion 5106 and the protruding portion 5107 are long rectangles extending parallel to the rotation axis 530a or projection 530b thereof (shown in the figure as chain lines), and the protruding portion 5107 protrudes from a long side 5108 (parallel to the rotation axis 530 a) of the rectangular portion 5106. The projection of the entire lift mechanism 530 (including the projection 5304 of the outer bracket 5301 and the projection 5305 of the inner bracket 5302) overlaps the projection 5107, wherein the projection 5305 of the inner bracket 5302 onto the base plate 520 overlaps the projection 5107, and the projection 5304 of the outer bracket 5301 onto the base plate 520 is entirely within the rectangular portion 5106. The projections 5109, 5110, 5111 of the bracket connection portions 5101, 5102, 5103 on the bottom plate 520 are also located in the rectangular portion 5106, the projection 5109 of the bracket connection portion 5101 on the bottom plate 520 and the projection 5107 are located on the same side of the projection 530b of the rotation shaft 530a on the bottom plate 520, wherein (in view of fig. 12), the two projections 5109 (corresponding to the pivoted bracket connection portions 5101) are closest to the projection 5109, 5110, 5111 of the other bracket connection portions 5101, 5102, 5103 with respect to the projection 5107, so that when the portion of the key cap 510 corresponding to the projection 5107 is pressed, the inner bracket 5302 can provide stable support of the key cap 510 and can stably and effectively receive the pressing force of the key cap 510 through the pivoting of at least one bracket connection portion 5101 adjacent thereto, thereby effectively transmitting the pressing force and facilitating the up-down movement of the key cap 510. In addition, the outer contour of projection 5304 of outer bracket 5301 on bottom plate 520 is entirely similar to the outer contour of projection 5105 of keycap 510 on bottom plate 520.

Please refer to fig. 13 and 14, which are schematic diagrams of the outer support 5301 and the inner support 5302, respectively. As shown in fig. 13, the outer bracket 5301 has a substantially mesh shape overall. The outer holder 5301 includes two outer frame portions 5306 and one center frame 5307 (each shown in fig. 13 by a dashed frame), and the center frame 5307 is located between the two outer frame portions 5306 along the rotation axis 530 a. The inner support 5302 includes two side frames 5308 and an intermediate bridge 5309, the intermediate bridge 5309 connects the two side frames 5308, and the two side frames 5308 and the intermediate bridge 5309 are aligned parallel to the rotation axis 530 a. The two side frames 5308 are pivotally connected to the inner sides of the two outer frame portions 5306 with respect to the rotation shaft 530a, respectively (see fig. 9). When the outer bracket 5301 and the inner bracket 5302 overlap (refer to fig. 12), the inner bracket 5302 is stacked on a structure of one side of the outer bracket 5301 relative to the rotation axis 530a (which is a portion where the outer bracket 5301 is connected to the bottom plate 520), wherein the side frame 5308 is partially stacked on the outer frame 5306, and the middle bridge 5309 is stacked on the center frame 5307.

As shown in fig. 13, the outer frame portion 5306 includes a key cap connection portion 5310 (the structural range of which is indicated by a chain line frame table) and a bottom plate connection portion 5311 (the structural range of which is indicated by a chain line frame table) with respect to the key cap connection portion 5310, each extending parallel to the rotation axis 530 a. The outer frame portion 5306 is connected to the bracket connection portions 5102 and 5103 of the key cap 510 via the key cap connection portion 5310, and is connected to the bracket connection portion 5202 of the bottom plate 520 via the bottom plate connection portion 5311. The key cap connection portion 5310 may be regarded as extending parallel to the rotation axis 530a with the same width as the key cap connection portion 5310 except for the structure of the key cap connection portion 5310 for engaging with the frame connection portions 5102 and 5103 of the key cap 510, and the base plate connection portion 5311 may be regarded as extending parallel to the rotation axis 530a with the same width as the base plate connection portion 5311 except for the structure of the base plate connection portion 5311 for engaging with the frame connection portion 5202 and the stopper portion 5203 of the base plate 520 and the structure of the frame connection portion 5101 for avoiding the key cap 510. The extended width 5312 (as indicated in fig. 13) of the key cap connection portion 5310 is greater than the extended width 5313 (as indicated in fig. 13) of the base plate connection portion 5311, which is helpful for relatively improving the structural stability of the outer bracket 5301 after assembly under the condition that the overall structural dimension is limited, and further improving the stability of the outer bracket 5301 supporting the key cap 510. For example, when a portion of the key cap 510 corresponding to the key cap connection portion 5310 (particularly, a corner of the key cap 510) is pressed, the key cap connection portion 5310 can effectively transmit a pressing force in its extending direction (i.e., a direction parallel to the rotation axis 530 a). In practical applications, the ratio of the extension width 5313 of the bottom plate connection portion 5311 to the extension width 5312 of the key cap connection portion 5310 may be designed to be between 0.5 and 0.8. In addition, in the key structure 500, the bottom plate 520 is a stationary member, and the connection between the outer support 5301 and the bottom plate 520 (via the bottom plate connection portion 5311) is relatively easy to keep stable, so that in practical applications, the bottom plate connection portion 5311 may be free of metal members (e.g. no elements for strengthening the structure thereof), and similarly, the key cap 510 is a movable member, and the key cap connection portion 5310 of the outer support 5301 may be metal members in practical applications (e.g. the structure strengthening thereof is realized by embedding metal members into plastic injection members), so as to improve the structural stability of the outer support 5301 and the connection stability of the outer support 5310 with the key cap 510.

Further, as shown in fig. 14, the inner holder 5302 has a key cap connecting portion 5314 (the structural range of which is illustrated by a chain frame), and the key cap connecting portion 5314 extends parallel to the rotation shaft 530 a. The inner holder 5302 is connected to the key cap 510 via a key cap connecting portion 5315 (i.e., rotatably received in the four shaft grooves 5101a via the four shaft portions 5303). Wherein one shaft portion 5303 is disposed on one side frame 5308, and two shaft portions 5303 are disposed on the middle bridge 5309, this configuration helps to increase the structural stability of the middle bridge 5309 itself, and also helps the inner bracket 5302 to transmit the pressing force in the direction parallel to the rotation axis 530 a. For the key cap connection portion 5314, the key cap connection portion 5314 as a whole may be regarded as extending parallel to the rotation axis 530a with the same width, except for a structure on the key cap connection portion 5314 for cooperation with the bracket connection portion 5101 of the key cap 510.

In addition, as shown in fig. 9, 14 and 15, in the second embodiment, in the horizontal direction Dh5, the inner bracket 5302 has an abutment 5315, and a projection (refer to fig. 12) of the abutment 5315 on the bottom plate 520 is located in the protruding portion 5107 (or at least partially located in the protruding portion 5107). The abutment portion 5315 increases the overall volume of the inner bracket 5302 (compared to a typical scissors bracket in which the inner bracket is a simple rectangular frame and is entirely located inside the outer bracket), which helps to improve the structural rigidity of the inner bracket 5302. In the second embodiment, the inner support 5302 is designed such that the abutting portion 5315 contacts the bottom surface 5104 (as shown in fig. 15) of the key cap 510 when the key cap 510 is not pressed, so as to support the key cap 510, and the structure is also helpful for the lifting mechanism 530 to stably support the key cap 510. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, as shown in fig. 9 to 11 and 13, in the second embodiment, when the outer support 5301 and the inner support 5302 overlap (refer to fig. 12), the inner support 5302 is partially overlapped on the outer support 5301. The outer bracket 5301 has a concave structure 5316 formed on one side of the outer bracket 5301 opposite to the rotation axis 530a and simultaneously distributed on the two outer frames 5306 and the central frame 5307, and correspondingly, the inner bracket 5302 also has a concave structure 5317 formed on one side of the inner bracket 5302 opposite to the rotation axis 530a and simultaneously distributed on the two side frames 5308 and the middle bridge 5309. The recessed structure 5316 of the outer bracket 5301 mates with the recessed structure 5317 of the inner bracket 5302 such that when the outer bracket 5301 overlaps with the inner bracket 5302, the outer bracket 5301 and the inner bracket 5302 are engaged with each other through the recessed structure 5316 and the recessed structure 5317, wherein the intermediate bridge 5309 enters the recessed structure 5316 of the outer bracket 5301. Thus, the outer support 5301 and the inner support 5302 can be placed horizontally. For example, after the outer bracket 5301 is overlapped with the inner bracket 5302, the overall thickness is not greater than the thickness of the outer bracket 5301 or the inner bracket 5302. In addition, the center frame 5307 has an aperture 5318. The lifting mechanism 530 may define a central space 530c (shown in phantom in fig. 9) throughout the lifting mechanism 530, and the central space 530c extends vertically through the lifting mechanism 530 to accommodate the resilient member 550. Central space 530c passes through aperture 5318 and is adjacent to intermediate bridge 5309. Wherein, when the outer bracket 5301 and the inner bracket 5302 overlap (or referred to as the horizontal direction Dh 5), the central space 530c is located between the middle bridge 5309 and the keycap connection 5310 of the outer bracket 5301.

In addition, in the second embodiment, the outer bracket 5301 and the inner bracket 5302 are made of a single material, such as plastic injection, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the outer support 5301 or the inner support 5302 may be a composite structure, such as a plastic injection molding with a reinforcement (e.g., a metal piece, for example, by injection molding).

In the second embodiment (see fig. 9 to 15), the lifting mechanism 530 of the key structure 500 still maintains the scissor bracket, which can improve the assembly efficiency. The key structure 500 does not use a balance bar (which is commonly used in common long keys, such as a blank key, is shaped like a Chinese U, connects a key cap and a bottom plate, and is used for helping the key cap to stably move up and down), so that impact noise (such as sound generated by impact of the balance bar with other components) can be reduced. By utilizing the characteristic that the driving performance of the bracket connecting portion 5101 (realized by two opposite hooks, a shaft groove 5101a is formed between the two hooks to provide rotational connection) (i.e. the stability of the linkage of the bracket connecting portion 5101 and the inner bracket 5302) is better than that of the bracket connecting portions 5102 and 5103 (realized by a chute structure and simultaneously providing rotational and sliding connection) (i.e. the stability of the linkage of the bracket connecting portions 5102 and 5103 and the outer bracket 5301), that is, the bracket connecting portion 5101 for pivoting has more structural limitations than the bracket connecting portions 5102 and 5103 for sliding/rotating, thereby being beneficial to transmission, the stability of the pivoting structure is higher, and the stability of the pivoting structure is also higher by changing the structure of the bracket connecting portion 5101 and the bracket connecting portion 5102, 5103 are positioned such that the leg connection portion 5101 for pivoting is placed in the direction of the structural weakness (e.g., the upper left corner of the key cap 510 in fig. 12), which can enhance the pressing feel. an inner bracket 5302 of the elevating mechanism 530, The outer bracket 5301 is designed in an overlapping manner (for example, when the outer bracket 5301 and the inner bracket 5302 are both disposed horizontally, the inner bracket 5302 may be stacked on the outer bracket 5302), so that the pivotally-connected bracket connecting portion 5101 is as close to the structurally weak area as possible (for example, the upper left corner of the keycap 510 in fig. 12), and generally, the inner bracket is located entirely inside the outer bracket, and the inner bracket is further away from the protruding portion. Therefore, the structural rigidity of the key structure 500 is improved, and the problems existing in the effective structural weakness area are overcome or effectively suppressed. In addition, the overlapped design of the inner support 5302 and the outer support 5301 of the lifting mechanism 530 can increase the volume of the outer support 5301, thereby enhancing the structural rigidity and enhancing the pressing feeling of the weak region (e.g. the upper left corner and the lower left corner of the keycap 510 in fig. 12). In addition, the lifting mechanism 530 provides a space (i.e. the central space 530 c) in which the elastic member 550 is disposed, so that the elastic member 550 can be elastically adjusted according to the requirement, for example, the elastic member 550 is located as close to the upper left corner of the keycap 510 as possible, and the pressing feeling is improved. In addition, in the key structure 500, the shaft groove 5101a is pivoted with the inner bracket 5302, but the present utility model is not limited thereto. For example, the inner bracket 5302 is connected to the bracket connecting portions 5102 and 5103, the outer bracket 5301 is connected to the bracket connecting portion 5101, the abutting portion 5317 of the outer bracket 5301 is formed on the inner bracket 5302, and other structures are also modified (for example, the middle bridge 5309 is disposed on the left side of the rotation shaft 530a from the perspective of fig. 12), which is not described herein.

In summary, the present utility model provides a key structure, in which the position of the support connecting portion is changed to be located in the direction of the structural weak area, so as to improve the pressing feeling, and meanwhile, the inner support and the outer support of the lifting mechanism are designed to overlap, so that the support connecting portion is as close to the structural weak area as possible, and the inner support extends toward the structural weak area as far as possible, so as to further improve the pressing feeling, effectively transmit the pressing force, and facilitate the stable up-down movement of the key cap.

It should be understood that the foregoing examples of the present utility model are provided merely for clearly illustrating the present utility model and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present utility model, and that various other changes and modifications may be made therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present utility model as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. A key structure is characterized in that, the key structure comprises:

A bottom plate;

A key cap having a projection on the bottom plate, the projection including a rectangular portion and a projection projecting from a long side of the rectangular portion, the key cap having a plurality of bracket connections, and

The lifting mechanism supports the keycap on the bottom plate in a vertical direction, the projection of the lifting mechanism on the bottom plate is overlapped with the protruding part, and the lifting mechanism comprises:

Inner support, and

The outer support and the inner support are pivoted with each other relative to a rotating shaft, the outer support is provided with two outer frame parts and a central frame, the central frame is positioned between the two outer frame parts along the rotating shaft, when the outer support and the inner support are overlapped, the inner support is positioned on the inner side of the outer support and spans across the central frame, wherein the key cap is connected with the two outer frame parts and the inner support of the outer support through a plurality of support connecting parts, the plurality of support connecting parts comprise shaft grooves, and the shaft grooves are pivoted with the inner support.

2. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the axis of rotation is parallel to the long side of the rectangular portion.

3. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the projection of the outer support on the bottom plate overlaps the protruding portion, and the projection of the inner support on the bottom plate is located in the rectangular portion.

4. The key structure of claim 3, wherein the projection of the shaft groove on the bottom plate and the projection are respectively located at two opposite sides of the projection of the rotation shaft on the bottom plate.

5. The key structure of claim 3, wherein the outer frame has an abutment portion, a projection of the abutment portion on the bottom plate being located in the protruding portion, the abutment portion contacting a bottom surface of the key cap when the key cap is not pressed.

6. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the projection of the key cap on the base plate is generally L-shaped.

7. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the inner frame comprises two side frames and a middle bridge connecting the two side frames, the two side frames and the middle bridge being arranged parallel to the rotation axis, and the middle bridge being superposed on the center frame when the outer frame and the inner frame overlap.

8. The key structure of claim 7, wherein the central frame has an opening, the lifting mechanism defines a central space vertically extending through the lifting mechanism, the central space extends through the opening, and the central space is located between the intermediate bridge and the key cap connection portion of the outer frame when the outer frame and the inner frame overlap.

9. The key structure of claim 7, wherein the central frame has a recessed structure below the intermediate bridge, and the intermediate bridge enters the recessed structure when the outer frame overlaps the inner frame.

10. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the inner frame has a key cap connection portion, the inner frame is connected to the key cap via the key cap connection portion, the outer frame has a base plate connection portion, the outer frame is connected to the base plate via the base plate connection portion, and an extension width of the key cap connection portion of the inner frame is greater than 1.5 times an extension width of the base plate connection portion of the outer frame.

11. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the outer frame portion has a key cap connection portion and a bottom plate connection portion opposite to the key cap connection portion, the outer frame portion is connected to the key cap via the key cap connection portion, the outer frame portion is connected to the bottom plate via the bottom plate connection portion, the key cap connection portion and the bottom plate connection portion each extend parallel to the rotation axis, and a ratio of an extension width of the bottom plate connection portion to an extension width of the key cap connection portion is between 0.5 and 0.8.

12. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the outer frame has a key cap connecting portion and a bottom plate connecting portion opposite to the key cap connecting portion, the outer frame is connected to the key cap via the key cap connecting portion, the outer frame is connected to the bottom plate via the bottom plate connecting portion, the key cap connecting portion and the bottom plate connecting portion are both extended parallel to the rotation axis, and the bottom plate connecting portion is a plastic connecting portion.

13. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the projection of the inner support on the bottom plate overlaps the projection, the projection of the outer support on the bottom plate is located in the rectangular portion, and the projection of the axial slot on the bottom plate is located on the same side of the projection of the rotation axis on the bottom plate as the projection of the projection.

14. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the projection of the inner support on the bottom plate overlaps the protruding portion, the projection of the outer support on the bottom plate is located in the rectangular portion, the inner support has an abutment portion, the projection of the abutment portion on the bottom plate is located in the protruding portion, and the abutment portion contacts the bottom surface of the key cap when the key cap is not pressed.

15. The key structure of claim 1, wherein the outer frame and the inner frame are plastic frames.