Described herein are thin keyboard and thin keyboard overlay, as well as novel key assembly for uses on keyboards and keyswitches. The key assembly includes a top plate, a movable keycap, a support plate and flexible rods embedded in the support plate acting as springs. The underside of the movable keycap has at least one or several tapered protrusions which are located above the flexible rods. A vertical downward force on the movable keycap will enable the protrusion to flex the rods horizontally, thus creating a spring like mechanism that will return the movable keycap to its original position once the vertical force is removed.

Keyboards, input devices, and related systems include key mechanisms with keycaps and actuators that provide adjustable feedback in response to user input. The actuators are controllable to provide variable tactile force or audible feedback that is dependent upon the user input. Encoders are able to transduce a location or relative position of a keycap as it is being pressed over time, and a signal is provided to actuators to cause them to provide feedback corresponding to the position of the keycap as it moves. The feedback can change the feel or sound of the keycap based on the keycap positions, time of operation, velocity, user identity, and other factors. Thus, the feel or sound of a keyboard or related input device can be adjusted electronically for efficient testing and increased user customization and feedback modes.

A middle illuminated button switch is provided, including a printed circuit board (PCB), a base and, a cover. A guide core is arranged between the base and the cover, a through hole is arranged at the bottom of the base and under the guide core. A light guide groove is provided at the lower end surface of the guide core, A light-emitting element is arranged on the upper end of the PCB, and the light-emitting element is inserted into the base from the through hole and embedded in the light guide groove. Since the light-emitting element is embedded in the base from the bottom to the top, and the light is emitted to the outside from the middle through the guide core, so as to realize the light-emitting effect in the middle of the button. The present disclosure can realize the middle of the button switch to emit light with good luminous effect.

A touchpad module includes a circuit board and a switch assembly. The switch element includes a conductive element and a metal dome. The conductive element is capable of providing buffering efficacy. The conductive element is arranged between the circuit board and the metal dome. When the metal dome is subjected to deformation, the metal dome does not collide with the circuit board to generate the click sound directly. Consequently, the comfort of operating the touchpad module is enhanced. The present invention further provides a computing device with the touchpad module.

The present invention relates to an elastomeric keypad (1) having at least one key (3) comprising an elastomeric dome (41) defining a chamber (42) and provided inside with an activating means (43), an activation means (44) cooperating with said activation means (44), and at least one compensating channel (48) opening at said chamber (42) to enable for a flow of fluid from said chamber (42), while said elastomeric dome (41) collapses, and to said chamber (42), while said elastomeric dome (41) releases. In order to suppress the sound intensity of the pushup event, at least one of said compensating channels (48) comprises at least one valve arrangement (5) generating fluid restrictions while the fluid returns to said chamber (42). Preferably said valve arrangement (5) has a form of a Tesla Valve.

A lever switch which is capable of preventing loud operating noise from being generated during stepwise operation of an operating lever. The lever switch has a case, a click feeling generator placed inside the case, and a switch moving body placed inside the case and rotated with respect to the case by operating the operating lever. The click feeling generator has trough portions that abut against a convex portion of the switch moving body. Click feelings are given by the convex portion of the switch moving body sequentially abutting against the trough portions in response to stepwise operations of the operating lever. The convex portion of the switch moving body is urged toward the click feeling generator. The click feeling generator and the case are placed away from each other with a space left between them in a direction in which the first case is urged.

A method may include accessing audio data, obtaining tactile audio data associated with the audio data, and, while reproducing the audio data, reproducing a tactile audio response according to the tactile audio data in a manner personalized to a user. The tactile audio data may be reproduced via an electroactive transducer to transfer the tactile audio response to a body of a user. Another method may include obtaining audio data, parsing the audio data to identify an audio component that includes an audio layer or an audio source, and identifying an audio attribute of the audio component. The method may also include selecting the audio component to accompany a tactile audio response, generating tactile audio data that describes the tactile audio response for the selected audio component, and coordinating the tactile audio data of the selected audio component with the audio data of the selected audio component.

A method may include accessing audio data, obtaining tactile audio data associated with the audio data, and, while reproducing the audio data, reproducing a tactile audio response according to the tactile audio data in a manner personalized to a user. The tactile audio data may be reproduced via an electroactive transducer to transfer the tactile audio response to a body of a user. Another method may include obtaining audio data, parsing the audio data to identify an audio component that includes an audio layer or an audio source, and identifying an audio attribute of the audio component. The method may also include selecting the audio component to accompany a tactile audio response, generating tactile audio data that describes the tactile audio response for the selected audio component, and coordinating the tactile audio data of the selected audio component with the audio data of the selected audio component.

A rotary electronic component includes a base member, a shaft attached to the base member so as to be rotatable around an axis, and a regulating member that regulates a rotation angle of the shaft. The shaft includes a flange section including a projecting sections and recessed sections alternately disposed in a circumferential direction. The regulating member includes a contact member in contact with the projecting sections and the recessed sections of the flange section of the shaft, and a biasing member that biases the contact member radially inwardly toward the shaft.

An adjustable keyboard includes a driving element, a first plate, a second plate and a plurality of keys. The second plate is disposed between the first plate and the keys, wherein the second plate has a plurality of key openings and the keys are respectively aligned with the key openings. The driving element is configured to drive the first plate to move, and thus a plurality of first guide portions on the first plate respectively push a plurality of second guide portions on the second plate so as to move the second plate and adjust the distance between each of the keys and the corresponding key opening.