阅读说明：本技术 键盘结构及其制作方法 (Keyboard structure and manufacturing method thereof ) 是由 吴明翰 杨哲玮 陈宜玮 张贤灿 徐振轩 于 2018-08-31 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种键盘结构及其制作方法,键盘结构包括：底板、软性保护盖及框架。其中,底板具有多个按键,按键分别具有键帽。软性保护盖设置于底板的上方并覆盖设置于底板上的按键。框架设置于软性保护盖之上,具有第一表面、相对的第二表面及贯穿第一表面及第二表面的多个开口,开口对应于中空凸出结构,且第二表面具有环设于各开口周延的凹部。软性保护盖的中空凸出结构部分穿过框架的开口而显露于框架外,中空凸出结构的弹性缓冲部则位于框架的凹部而为框架所覆盖。(The invention provides a keyboard structure and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the keyboard structure comprises: a bottom plate, a soft protective cover and a frame. Wherein, the bottom plate has a plurality of buttons, and the button has the key cap respectively. The soft protective cover is arranged above the bottom plate and covers the keys arranged on the bottom plate. The frame is arranged on the soft protective cover and is provided with a first surface, an opposite second surface and a plurality of openings penetrating through the first surface and the second surface, the openings correspond to the hollow convex structures, and the second surface is provided with a concave part annularly arranged on the periphery of each opening. The hollow convex structure part of the soft protective cover passes through the opening of the frame and is exposed outside the frame, and the elastic buffer part of the hollow convex structure is positioned in the concave part of the frame and is covered by the frame.)

1. A keyboard structure comprising:

the bottom plate is provided with a plurality of keys, and each key is provided with a keycap;

a soft protective cover disposed above the base plate, comprising:

a sheet-like body for being combined on the base plate; and

a plurality of hollow bulge structures formed on the sheet main body and used for covering the plurality of keys, wherein the plurality of hollow bulge structures are respectively provided with a top part and a side wall part connected with the top part, and the side wall part is provided with an elastic buffer part; and

a frame, arranged on the soft protective cover, having a first surface, an opposite second surface and a plurality of openings penetrating the first surface and the second surface, wherein the plurality of openings correspond to the plurality of hollow protruding structures, and the second surface has a concave part annularly arranged on the circumference of each opening;

the second surface is used for being combined on the sheet main body, so that each hollow protruding structure part passes through each opening and is exposed outside the frame, and the elastic buffer part is positioned in the concave part and covered by the frame.

2. The keyboard structure of claim 1, wherein the flexible protective cover further comprises a plurality of top covers, each top cover being embedded in a lower surface of the top portion and configured to engage with the keycap.

3. The keyboard structure of claim 2, wherein the plurality of caps are made of: plastic, stainless steel, tungsten steel, aluminum, or tinplate.

4. The keyboard structure of claim 2, wherein a glue layer is formed between each of the caps and the keycap, the glue layer being used to adhere each of the caps and the keycap.

5. The keyboard structure of claim 1, wherein the soft protective cover is made of: rubber or silicone.

6. The keyboard structure of claim 1, wherein the base plate comprises a support plate and a thin film circuit board disposed on the support plate.

7. The keyboard structure of claim 6, wherein each of the keys has a supporting member for connecting the keycap and the supporting plate.

8. A manufacturing method of a keyboard structure comprises the following steps:

(a) providing a flexible protective cover, the flexible protective cover comprising: a sheet-like body; a plurality of hollow bulge structures formed on the sheet main body, each hollow bulge structure having a top part and a side wall part connected with the top part, the side wall part having an elastic buffer part, the bottom surface of the top part having an embedded top cover;

(b) providing a bottom plate, wherein the bottom plate comprises a plurality of keys, and each key is provided with a keycap;

(c) arranging the soft protective cover above the bottom plate to enable the plurality of hollow protruding structures to cover the plurality of keys and combine the top cover with the keycap;

(d) providing a frame having a first surface, an opposite second surface and a plurality of openings passing through the first surface and the second surface, wherein the plurality of openings correspond to the plurality of hollow protruding structures, and the second surface has a recess surrounding the openings; and

(d) the frame is arranged on the soft protective cover, so that the hollow protruding structure parts penetrate through the openings and are exposed outside the frame, and the elastic buffer part is positioned in the concave part and covered by the frame.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the step (c), a glue layer is formed between the top cover and the key cap to adhere the top cover and the key cap.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the step (d), the second surface is bonded to the sheet-like body.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a keyboard structure, and more particularly, to a keyboard structure with a flexible protective cover.

Background

In the modern society, the use of electronic devices has become an indispensable part of life, such as food, clothes, live, walk, breed and music, and each of them is related to electronic devices. In general, consumer electronic devices are configured with a keyboard structure.

Since the electronic device is inseparable from people's life, when the user uses the electronic device, the user may be careless and may splash the beverage or water onto the surface of the electronic device, so that the beverage or water may infiltrate into the electronic device from the gap between the key and the housing, thereby causing the damage of the electronic device. In addition, dust in the air may enter from the gap between the key and the housing, which may affect the operation of the electronic device.

In order to prevent moisture or dust from entering into the electronic device, an input device having a flexible protective cover for covering the key structure to prevent foreign matters from penetrating into the key structure is proposed in the prior art, for example, taiwan patent publication No. TWI 559176. However, the elastic buffer structure of the soft protection cover includes: the connecting part or the sheet main body is exposed on the interface of the key operation, and the elastic buffer structure of the soft protective cover is easy to break or damage under the state that the keyboard is frequently pressed, so that the soft protective cover loses the waterproof and dustproof effects, and the keyboard covered by the soft protective cover loses good pressing hand feeling. In addition, because the material of soft visor is usually different with the material of key cap for soft visor is difficult to laminate mutually with the key cap surface completely, and when soft visor and key cap surface laminating were incomplete, also can influence pressing of keyboard and feel.

Therefore, how to provide a keyboard structure that can avoid the damage of the elastic buffer structure of the soft protective cover and improve the adhesion between the soft protective cover and the keys of the keyboard structure is the technical subject to be solved by the present invention.

Disclosure of Invention

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a keyboard structure capable of preventing the elastic buffer structure of the flexible protective cover from being damaged, and simultaneously improving the adhesion between the flexible protective cover and the keys.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a keyboard structure, comprising: a bottom plate, a soft protective cover and a frame. The bottom plate is provided with a plurality of keys, and the keys are respectively provided with keycaps; the soft protective cover is arranged above the bottom plate and comprises: a sheet-like body and a plurality of hollow projection structures. The sheet main body is combined on the bottom plate; and a plurality of hollow bulge structures formed on the sheet main body and used for covering the keys, wherein the hollow bulge structures are respectively provided with a top part and a connected side wall part, and the side wall parts are provided with elastic buffer parts; the frame is arranged on the soft protective cover and is provided with a first surface, an opposite second surface and a plurality of openings penetrating through the first surface and the second surface, the openings correspond to the hollow convex structures, and the second surface is provided with a concave part annularly arranged on the periphery of each opening; the second surface is used for being combined on the sheet main body, so that the hollow protruding structure parts penetrate through the openings and are exposed outside the frame, and the elastic buffer part is positioned in the concave part and covered by the frame.

In the above preferred embodiment, the flexible protective cover further comprises a plurality of top covers, each top cover being embedded in the lower surface of the top and used for combining with the keycap.

In the above preferred embodiment, the material of the top cover is: plastic, stainless steel, tungsten steel, aluminum, or tinplate.

In the above preferred embodiment, a glue layer is formed between each top cover and the key cap, and the glue layer is used for bonding each top cover and the key cap.

In the above preferred embodiment, the soft protection cover is made of: rubber or silicone.

In the above preferred embodiment, the bottom plate includes a supporting plate and a thin film circuit board disposed on the supporting plate.

In the above preferred embodiment, each key has a supporting component for connecting the keycap and the supporting board.

The invention also provides a manufacturing method of the keyboard structure, which comprises the following steps:

(a) providing a flexible protective cover, the flexible protective cover comprising: a sheet-like body; a plurality of hollow projection structures formed on the sheet-like body, each hollow projection structure having a top portion and a connected side wall portion, the side wall portion having an elastic buffer portion, and a lower surface of the top portion having an embedded top cover;

(b) providing a bottom plate, wherein the bottom plate comprises a plurality of keys, and each key is provided with a keycap;

(c) arranging the soft protective cover above the bottom plate to enable the hollow protruding structure to cover the key, and combining the top cover with the key cap;

(d) providing a frame, wherein the frame is provided with a first surface, an opposite second surface and a plurality of openings penetrating through the first surface and the second surface, the openings correspond to the hollow convex structures, and the second surface is provided with a concave part annularly arranged on the periphery of each opening; and

(d) the frame is arranged on the soft protective cover, so that the hollow protruding structure parts penetrate through the openings and are exposed outside the frame, and the elastic buffer parts are positioned in the concave parts and are covered by the frame.

In the above preferred embodiment, in the step (c), a glue layer is formed between the top cover and the keycap to adhere the top cover and the keycap.

In the above preferred embodiment, wherein in the step (d), the second surface is bonded to the sheet-like body.

According to the technical scheme, the invention has the advantages and positive effects that:

the keyboard structure provided by the invention can utilize the frame to cover the elastic buffer part of the soft protective cover, thereby avoiding the elastic buffer part from being broken or damaged due to frequent pressing, and on the other hand, the top cover of the hollow convex structure embedded in the soft protective cover is combined with the keycap, thereby improving the fit degree of the soft protective cover and the key.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the keyboard structure of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the keyboard structure of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing a keyboard structure according to the present invention.

The reference numbers are as follows:

g colloid layer

1 keyboard structure

10 base plate

101 supporting plate

102 thin film circuit board

11 push button

111 key cap

112 support assembly

20 soft protective cover

21 sheet-like body

22 hollow convex structure

221 Top part

222 side wall part

2221 elastic buffer part

23 Top cover

30 frame

301 first surface

302 second surface

3021 concave part

31 opening

Detailed Description

The advantages and features of the present invention and methods of accomplishing the same will be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

First, please refer to fig. 1 and 2, fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a keyboard structure according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the keyboard structure of the present invention. In fig. 1, the keyboard structure 1 of the present invention sequentially includes, from bottom to top: a base plate 10, a flexible protection cover 20 and a frame 30. A plurality of keys 11 are arranged on the bottom plate 10, and each key 11 is provided with a keycap 111; the flexible protective cover 20 has a sheet main body 21 and a plurality of hollow protruding structures 22 formed on the sheet main body 21, the hollow protruding structures 22 are disposed corresponding to the positions and the number of the keys 11, and each hollow protruding structure 22 has an elastic buffering portion 2221 arranged in a ring shape, so that the hollow protruding structure 22 has a better deformation distance when being bent and deformed. The frame 30 has a first surface 301, an opposite second surface 302, and a plurality of openings 31 penetrating the first surface 301 and the second surface 302, and the openings 31 are disposed corresponding to the positions and the number of the hollow protrusion structures 22. The second surface 302 of the frame 30 has a recess 3021 circumferentially formed around each opening 31, and the recess 3021 corresponds to the position of the elastic buffering portion 2221 of the hollow protrusion structure 22. In the embodiment, the flexible protection cover 20 can be made of a material having elasticity and capable of bending and deforming, such as rubber or silicone rubber, so that when a user presses the key 11 through the flexible protection cover 20, the user has better touch feeling and pressing hand feeling.

Referring to fig. 2, in fig. 2, the bottom plate 10 includes: a support plate 101 and a thin film circuit board 102 disposed on the support plate 101. The thin film circuit board 120 has key switches (not shown) corresponding to the keys 11 and is used for outputting corresponding key signals, and the supporting plate 101 is used for supporting the entire keyboard structure 1. The key 11 includes: a key cap 111 and a supporting member 112, wherein one end of the supporting member 112 is pivotally connected to the key cap 111, and the other end is pivotally connected to the supporting plate 101, so that the supporting member 112 drives and guides the key cap 111 to move down and up relative to the base plate 10. Although the present invention only proposes the embodiment of the supporting component 112 as the scissors structure, in practical applications, other supporting components with similar functions, such as a V-shaped, a-shaped or two parallel connecting rod structures, can be substituted, and the present invention is not limited to the proposed embodiment.

The flexible protection cover 20 is disposed above the base plate 10, and the sheet main body 21 of the flexible protection cover 20 can be bonded to the film circuit board 102 of the base plate 10. The hollow protrusion structure 22 is used to cover the key 11, and the hollow protrusion structure 22 has a top 221 and a sidewall 222 connected to the top 221, respectively, the sidewall 22 is connected to the sheet main body 21, and the joint of the sidewall 22 and the sheet main body 21 has a bent elastic buffer 2221. On the other hand, the hollow protrusion structures 22 of the flexible protective cover 20 respectively have a top cover 23, and the top cover 23 is manufactured by an Insert Molding (Insert Molding) injection process, so that the top cover 23 can be embedded into the lower surface of the top portion 221, and the material of the top cover 23 may be: plastic, stainless steel, tungsten steel, aluminum, or tinplate, etc. In the present embodiment, a colloid layer G can be disposed between the top cover 23 and the key cap 111, for example: the glue layer G may be disposed on all or a portion of the surface of the top cover 23 or the key cap 111, so as to bond the top cover 23 and the key cap 111 by using the glue layer G, and further, concave-convex lines (not shown in the figure) may be formed on the surface of the top cover 23 or the key cap 111, respectively, so as to improve the bonding force of the glue layer G, and the glue layer G may be water glue, sheet glue or other adhesives for bonding. Therefore, the hollow protrusion structure 22 of the flexible protection cover 20 can be completely combined with the key cap 111 via the top cover 23, so that a user can have a better pressing feel when pressing the key 11 through the flexible protection cover 20. Although the present invention only provides the embodiment of bonding the top cover 23 and the key cap 111 by the glue layer G, the top cover 23 and the key cap 111 may be combined in a snap-fit manner in practical applications, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment provided in the present invention.

The frame 30 is disposed on the flexible protective cover 20, and each hollow protruding structure 22 partially passes through the opening 31 of the frame 30 and can be exposed outside the frame 30, and then, the second surface 302 of the frame 30 can be bonded to the sheet main body 21 by thermal fusion or by screw fastening, and the elastic buffering portion 2221 is maintained in the concave portion 3021, so that the elastic buffering portion 2221 can be covered by the frame 30, and thus, when a user presses the keyboard structure 1, the user cannot touch the elastic buffering portion 2221 of the flexible protective cover 20, and the probability of breaking or damaging the elastic buffering portion 2221 can be reduced. In addition, the present invention can also change the visual effect of the keyboard structure 1 by forming the frame 30 with different colors or patterns.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 3 together, fig. 3 is a flowchart of a manufacturing method of the keyboard structure of the present invention. First, a soft protection cap 20 is provided, the soft protection cap 20 includes: the sheet-shaped body 21 and the hollow projection structures 22, the hollow projection structures 22 are formed on the sheet-shaped body 21, each hollow projection structure 22 has a top 221 and a connected side wall 222, and the side wall 222 has an elastic buffer 2221; the lower surface of the top part 221 has a top cover 23 (shown in fig. 3 (i)) fitted into the top part 221.

Next, a base plate 10 is provided, the base plate 10 includes a plurality of keys 11, each key 11 has a key cap 111 and a supporting member 112 connecting the key cap 111 and the base plate 10. Subsequently, the flexible protective cover 20 is disposed on the bottom plate 10, such that the hollow protruding structure 22 covers the key 11, and a glue layer G can be disposed between the top cover 23 and the key cap 111 to adhere the top cover 23 and the key cap 111 (as shown in (ii) of fig. 3).

Next, a frame 30 is provided, wherein the frame 30 has a first surface 301, an opposite second surface 302, and a plurality of openings 31 penetrating through the first surface 301 and the second surface 302. The openings 31 correspond to the hollow protrusion 22, and the second surface 302 of the frame 30 has a recess 3021 circumferentially around each opening 31. Finally, the frame 30 is disposed on the soft protective cover 20, such that the hollow protruding structures 22 partially pass through the openings 31 and are exposed outside the frame 30, and the second surface 302 of the frame 30 can be bonded to the sheet-shaped main body 21 by hot-melt bonding or screw fastening, and the elastic buffering portion 2221 is located in the concave portion 3021 and can be covered by the frame 30 (as shown in fig. 3 (iii)).

Compared with the prior art, the keyboard structure provided by the invention can utilize the frame to cover the elastic buffer part of the soft protective cover, so that the elastic buffer part can be prevented from being broken or damaged due to frequent pressing, and on the other hand, the top cover of the hollow protruding structure embedded in the soft protective cover is combined with the keycap, so that the attaching degree of the soft protective cover and the key can be improved; therefore, the present invention is a creation with great industrial value.

The present invention may be modified in various ways by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the appended claims.