TWM480719U - Thin type illuminated keyboard - Google Patents

Description

Thin illuminated keyboard

The present invention relates to a keyboard, and more particularly to a thin keyboard that can emit light.

The conventional keyboard is generally designed to include a base, a control circuit mounted in one of the bases and electrically connected to the host of the computer, and a plurality of buttons mounted on the base for triggering the control circuit. . However, because the keys of the traditional keyboard do not emit light, it is not suitable for use in dimly lit situations, and the traditional keyboard is too bulky and is not convenient to carry around. In addition, in recent years, notebook computers have been designed for thinning, and the convenience of use has been emphasized. Therefore, how to thin the keyboard used in the notebook computer and make the keyboard usable in a dimly lit environment determine the notebook computer. Competitive advantage.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a thin, illuminated keyboard that is thin and emits light.

The light-emitting keyboard of the present invention comprises a light-guiding light-emitting unit having an upwardly facing light-emitting surface, and a light-reflecting plate fixedly attached to the bottom surface of the light guiding unit and capable of reflecting light upwards toward the light guiding unit. , a circuit board unit that is superposed on the light emitting surface of the light guiding unit, a keyboard unit that is superposed on the circuit board unit, and a light emitting unit that can project light to the light guiding unit. The circuit board unit includes a light-transmissive flexible circuit board that is disposed on the light-emitting surface of the light-guiding unit and has a conductive line on the surface printing cloth, and a plurality of flexible circuit boards respectively connected to the conductive circuit and electrically connected to the flexible circuit board. Top elastic switch. The keyboard unit includes a plurality of buttons respectively located above the elastic switches, and the buttons respectively have at least one light transmitting region for allowing light to pass upward.

The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the thickness of the thin illuminated keyboard can be greatly reduced by the laminated structure design of the light guiding unit, the circuit board unit and the keyboard unit, and the keys can be illuminated, and the thin type can be greatly improved. The recognition of illuminated keyboards in dimly lit environments.

3‧‧‧Light guide unit

301‧‧‧Glossy

302‧‧‧ bottom

303‧‧‧Into the glossy surface

304‧‧‧Perforation

31‧‧‧Light guide plate

32‧‧‧First light transmissive layer

33‧‧‧Second light transmissive layer

34‧‧‧Color layer

4‧‧‧Lighting unit

41‧‧‧Lighting parts

5‧‧‧reflector

6‧‧‧Circuit unit

61‧‧‧Soft circuit board

62‧‧‧Flexible switch

7‧‧‧Key unit

71‧‧‧Top pressure soft board

711‧‧‧Top pressure convex

72‧‧‧ button soft board

720‧‧‧ mounting holes

721‧‧‧Top pressure convex

73‧‧‧ button

730‧‧‧Lighting area

Other features and effects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a partial side cross-sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of the present thin-type illuminated keyboard; and FIG. 3 is a partial side cross-sectional view of a third preferred embodiment of the novel thin-type illuminated keyboard Figure.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted in the following In the description, similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a first preferred embodiment of the novel thin-type illuminated keyboard is suitable as a portable keyboard for convenient carrying, and can be installed on a mobile device, such as a tablet computer or a smart phone, and can also be installed. It is on a notebook computer and can be illuminated for use in dimly lit environments.

The thin-type illuminated keyboard comprises a light-transmissive and flexible sheet-shaped light guiding unit 3, a light-emitting unit 4 mounted on the light-guiding unit 3, and a reflector 5 fixedly disposed below the light-guiding unit 3. A circuit board unit 6 fixed above the light guiding unit 3 and a keyboard unit 7 stacked above the circuit board unit 6 are stacked.

It must be noted that the novel thin-type illuminated keyboard is composed of a stack of multi-layered sheet-like members. For convenience of description, the drawings are all enlarged and schematic, so the implementation is not limited to the size shown in the figure, and the overall layered structure The cross sections are substantially the same, so only the partial partial structure is illustrated.

The light guiding unit 3 has an upward light emitting surface 301, a downward facing bottom surface 302, and at least one light incident surface 303 that penetrates the light emitting surface 301 and the bottom surface 302 up and down and defines a through hole 304. The light guiding unit 3 includes a light guiding plate 31 made of a light guiding material, a first light transmissive layer 32 printed on the top surface of the light guiding plate 31 and defining the light emitting surface 301, and a printed connection a second light transmissive layer 33 of the bottom surface 302 of the bottom surface of the light plate 31, and a plurality of light transmissive color developing layers 34 connected to the light emitting surface 301, the through holes 304 are vertically penetrated through the first light transmitting layer The refractive layer 32, the light guide plate 31 and the second light transmissive layer 33.

In the preferred embodiment, the first light-transmissive layer 32 and the first The two light-transmitting refractive layers 33 are all made of a material having a refractive index lower than that of the light guide plate 31. The light guide plate 31 is made of a resin having a refractive index of 1.45, and the second light-transmissive layer 33 and the first Both of the light-transmitting refractive layers 33 are made of a transparent ink having a refractive index of 1.2.

The color-developing layer 34 is printed on the light-emitting surface 301 by using a light-transmissive ink mixed with a pigment. The color of the color-developing layer 34 can be the same, and ink of different colors can be used to make the upward projection. The light to the board unit 6 has a different color, so that the resulting thin illuminated keyboard produces rich color light. Since the color-developing layers 34 of the present embodiment can be bonded to the first light-transmissive layer 32 by printing, the color of the color-developing layers 34 can be easily changed in the present embodiment to generate different color lights. However, in practice, it is not necessary to provide such coloring layers 34.

The light-emitting unit 4 includes at least one light-emitting member 41 embedded in the through-hole 304 and capable of emitting light toward the light-incident surface 303. In this embodiment, the illuminating member 41 is an edge-lit LED. The reflector 5 is configured to shield the light-emitting unit 4 from the through-hole 304 and is fixed to the bottom surface 302 of the second light-transmissive layer 33 to prevent light from penetrating downward and to reflect the light upward to the second light. The refractive layer 33.

The circuit board unit 6 includes a flexible circuit board 61 that is permeable to the light-emitting surface 301 and the color-developing layer 34, and a plurality of flexible switches 62 that are spaced apart from the top surface of the flexible circuit board 61. The top surface of the flexible circuit board 61 is provided with conductive lines (not shown). The elastic switches 62 are electrically connected to the conductive lines and are respectively located above the color-developing layers 34, and are respectively elastically pressed and deformed. Electrically connected to the conductive line underneath Bit. Since the elastic switches 62 of the circuit board unit 6 are conventional members and are of various types, they will not be described in detail.

The keyboard unit 7 includes a topping soft board 71 which is superposed on the flexible circuit board 61 and allows light to pass upward, and is made of an opaque material and is superposed on the top pressing soft board 71. The button soft board 72 and a plurality of buttons 73 embedded in the button soft board 72 are inserted.

A pressing protrusion 711 is formed on the bottom surface of the pressing soft plate 71 at a distance from the bottom surface of the elastic switch 62. The pressing soft plate 7 can be elastically pressed downward to make the pressing pressure. The convex portion 711 presses the respective elastic switches 62 downwardly to drive the elastic switch 62 to deform and electrically connect the conductive lines.

The button flexible board 72 has a plurality of mounting holes 720 extending vertically above and above the color developing layers 34. The buttons 73 are vertically and movably inserted into the mounting holes 720 and are folded over the same. The top surface of the pressing soft board 71 can be pressed and moved downward relative to the button soft board 72, and the respective pressing protrusions 711 are elastically pushed up and down, and the elastic pressing switch 711 is pushed to push the lower elastic switch. 62, by which the conductive circuit of the flexible circuit board 61 is turned on to generate a control signal. Each button 73 has at least one light transmissive area 730 that allows light to pass upward. The light transmissive area 730 can be in the form of an English symbol, a phonetic symbol, a number, or other common symbols on a keyboard.

In this embodiment, by thinning the thickness of the light-transmitting region 730 of the buttons 73, the light-transmitting region 730 can transmit light and be brighter relative to the periphery to improve the recognition rate. However, in practice, the light-transmissive regions 730 may be directly hollowed out so that the light directly passes upward.

When the novel low-profile illuminated keyboard is assembled, the light-emitting unit 4 and the flexible circuit board 61 are electrically connected by a flexible printed circuit board (not shown), or a signal line (not shown), or a signal terminal (not shown). And guiding the power source for driving the light-emitting unit 4 to emit light, and guiding the electrical signal generated by the flexible circuit board 61 being triggered to be turned on.

When the thin-type illuminated keyboard is used, the light generated by the light-emitting unit 4 is uniformly reflected upwardly toward the circuit board unit 6 and the keyboard unit 7 through the guiding of the light guiding unit 3 and the reflection of the light reflecting plate 5. The light-transmitting regions 730 of the buttons 73 are permeable upwards, and the light passing through the color-developing layers 34 respectively presents a specific color, so that the light-transmitting regions 730 of the buttons 73 respectively display a specific color. It helps the user to clearly and clearly distinguish the individual buttons 73, and is convenient to use in a dim environment of low light source.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is different from the first preferred embodiment in that the light guiding unit 3 and the lighting unit 4 are structurally designed. For convenience of description, only the differences between the preferred embodiment and the first preferred embodiment will be described below.

In this embodiment, the light guiding unit 3 includes only a light guide plate 31, and the light guiding plate 31 defines the light emitting surface 301 and the bottom surface 302, and has a side surface thereof and laterally facing the light emitting unit 4. Light into the surface 303. The light-emitting member 41 of the light-emitting unit 4 is fixedly attached to the top surface of the light-reflecting plate 5 and adjacent to the light-incident surface 303 of the light-guide plate 31, and can emit light toward the light-incident surface 303. The circuit board unit 6 is directly attached to the light emitting surface 301 of the light guide plate 31.

Through the above structural design, it can be further thinned and thinned The thickness of the illuminating keyboard can also be designed by the light-emitting unit 4, the light-guiding plate 31 and the light-transmitting area 730 of the buttons 73 of the keyboard unit 7, so that the thin-type illuminating keyboard can be illuminated and easily recognized. In the implementation, the coloring layers may be printed and formed on the top surface of the light guide plate 31 to cause the buttons 73 to display light of different colors.

As shown in FIG. 3, the third preferred embodiment of the present thin-type illuminated keyboard differs from the second preferred embodiment only in the structural design of the keyboard unit 7.

In the embodiment, the keyboard unit 7 includes a button soft board 72 stacked on the top of the circuit board unit 6, and a plurality of buttons 73 protruding from the top surface of the button soft board 72. The button soft plate 72 has a plurality of pressing protrusions 721 protruding downwardly against the elastic switches 62. The buttons 73 are respectively located above the pressing protrusions 721 and can be respectively driven to be driven. The pressing protrusions 721 push the elastic switch 62 upward.

The structural components of the thin-type illuminated keyboard 72 can be further simplified by directly protruding the pressing protrusions 721 and the structural design of the buttons 73 integrally formed on the button soft board 72. This helps to reduce manufacturing costs while making the resulting thin illuminated keyboard thinner.

In summary, the thickness of the thin-type illuminated keyboard can be greatly reduced and the weight of the thin-type illuminated keyboard can be greatly reduced by the design of the laminated structure of the light guide unit 3, the circuit board unit 6, and the keyboard unit 7. Flexible deformation for retracting, more convenient to carry, and further through the light unit 4, and the light guiding unit 3, the circuit board unit 6 and the keyboard The light guiding and light transmitting structure design of the element 7 enables the light-emitting area 730 of the button 73 to be marked to emit light, which can greatly improve the recognition of the thin-type illuminated keyboard in a dim environment, and can cooperate with the light guiding unit 3 The chromogenic layer 34 is designed to make the buttons 73 exhibit different color lights, and the use of the thin illuminating keyboard is very convenient and practical, and is an innovative thin illuminating keyboard design.

However, the above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, that is, the simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the present patent application and the contents of the patent specification, All remain within the scope of this new patent.

3‧‧‧Light guide unit

301‧‧‧Glossy

302‧‧‧ bottom

303‧‧‧Into the glossy surface

304‧‧‧Perforation

31‧‧‧Light guide plate

32‧‧‧First light transmissive layer

33‧‧‧Second light transmissive layer

34‧‧‧Color layer

4‧‧‧Lighting unit

41‧‧‧Lighting parts

5‧‧‧reflector

6‧‧‧Circuit unit

61‧‧‧Soft circuit board

62‧‧‧Flexible switch

7‧‧‧Key unit

71‧‧‧Top pressure soft board

711‧‧‧Top pressure convex

72‧‧‧ button soft board

720‧‧‧ mounting holes

73‧‧‧ button

730‧‧‧Lighting area

Claims (12)

A thin type of illuminated keyboard comprising: a light transmissive sheet-shaped light guiding unit having an upwardly facing light emitting surface; a reflecting plate fixedly attached to the bottom surface of the light guiding unit and capable of directing light toward the light guiding unit Reflecting; a circuit board unit comprising a light-transmissive flexible circuit board laminated on the light-emitting surface of the light-guiding unit and having a conductive wiring on the surface printing cloth, and a plurality of flexible circuit boards respectively electrically connected to the conductive line a flexible switch on the top surface of the flexible circuit board; a keyboard unit, which is overlapped above the circuit board unit, and includes a plurality of buttons respectively located above the elastic switches, and the buttons respectively have at least one light for penetrating upward a light transmitting area; and a light emitting unit that projects light into the light guiding unit. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 1, wherein the light guiding unit comprises a light guiding plate defining the light emitting surface, and the reflecting plate is fixedly attached to the bottom surface of the light guiding plate. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 2, wherein the light guiding unit further comprises a plurality of light-transmissive color-developing layers printed on the light-emitting surface of the light-guiding plate and located under the keys, respectively, and The color developing layer is blended with pigments of different colors. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 2 or 3, wherein the light-emitting unit comprises at least one side-light-emitting member mounted on the top surface of the reflector and emitting light toward the light guide plate, the side of the light guide plate There is a light incident surface for receiving the light emitted by the illuminating member. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 2 or 3, wherein the bottom surface of the light guide plate is provided with at least one perforation and has a light incident surface defining the perforation, and the light emitting unit comprises at least one mounted in the perforation a light-emitting member that emits light toward the light-incident surface, the light-reflecting plate is shielded from the light-emitting member and is fixedly attached to the bottom surface of the light guide plate. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 1, wherein the light guiding unit comprises a light guide plate, a first light transmissive layer that is printed on the top surface of the light guide plate and defines the light exiting surface, and The printing method is combined with the second light-transmissive refractive layer on the bottom surface of the light guide plate, and the refractive indices of the first light-transmissive refractive layer and the second light-transmissive refractive layer are both smaller than the refractive index of the light guide plate, and the reflective plate is fixed by being fixed And a bottom surface of the second light transmissive layer. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 6, wherein the light guiding unit further comprises a plurality of light-emitting surfaces respectively coupled to the first light-transmissive refractive layer in a printing manner, and are respectively permeable to light under the keys Color developing layers, and the color developing layers are blended with pigments of different colors. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 6 or 7, wherein the light guiding unit has at least one light-incident surface extending through the second light-transmissive refractive layer and the light guide plate and defining a perforation, the light-emitting unit comprising at least one a light-emitting member installed in the through-hole and emitting light toward the light-incident surface, the reflector is shielded from the light-emitting member and fixed to the bottom surface of the second light-transmissive layer. The thin type illuminated keyboard of claim 6 or 7, wherein the hair The light unit comprises at least one light-emitting member mounted on the top surface of the reflector and emitting light toward the light guide plate. The light guide plate has a light-incident surface for receiving light emitted by the light-emitting member. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 1, wherein the keyboard unit further comprises a button soft board spliced above the circuit board unit and opaque, the keys are disposed on the soft board, and the button is The flexible board has a plurality of top pressing protrusions respectively located below the keys and protruding downwardly against the elastic switches. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 10, wherein the keys are connected to the soft board of the button. The thin-type illuminated keyboard of claim 1, wherein the keyboard unit further comprises a light-transmissive top pressure soft board superposed on the circuit board unit, and a stacked above the top pressure soft board a light-pressing button soft board having a plurality of top pressing protrusions respectively abutting against the elastic switches, wherein the keys are respectively insertably mounted on the soft board and stacked In response to the pressure on the soft board.