VARIABLE FORCE KEY

Abstract

A variable force key, comprising a housing, a central shaft, and a magnetic ring, the central shaft extends into the housing, the top end of the center shaft is fixedly provided with a key cap seat, the central shaft can reciprocate in the housing in the vertical direction, the bottom end of the central shaft is fixedly provided with a limit member, the outer wall or inner wall of the bottom end of the limit member is provided with a flange, the magnetic ring sleeves the outer wall of the limit member or is arranged inside the limit member and located at the upper end of the flange. The variable force key further comprises an electromagnet or a hollow coil, which is arranged at the bottom in the housing, and when the central shaft moves downward, the electromagnet or the hollow coil can penetrate inside the limit member.

Claims

1. A variable force key, comprising a housing, a central shaft, and a magnetic ring, wherein the central shaft extends into the housing, a top end of the center shaft is fixedly provided with a key cap seat, a return spring is arranged between a bottom end of the central shaft and an inner bottom surface of the housing, the central shaft is able to reciprocate in the housing in a vertical direction, the bottom end of the central shaft is further fixedly provided with a limit member, an outer wall of a bottom end of the limit member is provided with a flange in a circumferential direction, the magnetic ring is sleeved on an outer wall of the limit member and located at an upper end of the flange, or an inner wall of the bottom end of the limit member is provided with a flange in the circumferential direction, and the magnetic ring is arranged inside the limit member and located at the upper end of the flange, and the magnetic ring is a permanent magnet magnetized along an axial direction of the limit member, wherein the variable force key further comprises an electromagnet or a hollow coil, the electromagnet or the hollow coil is arranged at a bottom in the housing, and when the central shaft is moved downward, the electromagnet or the hollow coil is able to penetrate inside the limit member, and both a magnitude and a direction of current of the electromagnet or the hollow coil are able to be adjusted.

2. The variable force key according to claim 1, wherein a bottom end of the housing is fixedly provided with a control circuit board configured to apply a control current to the electromagnet or the hollow coil, the control circuit board is provided with a trigger component configured to perform triggering control of the control circuit board, and the trigger component generates a trigger signal through a downward movement of the central shaft, the trigger component is connected to an input end of the control circuit board, and a control output end of the control circuit board is connected to the electromagnet or the hollow coil.

3. The variable force key according to claim 2, wherein the bottom end of the housing is provided with a through hole corresponding to the electromagnet or the hollow coil, and the electromagnet or the hollow coil passes through the through hole and is connected to the control circuit board.

4. The variable force key according to claim 1, wherein an inner side surface of the housing is provided with a sliding groove in a vertical direction, the central shaft is provided with a sliding block corresponding to the sliding groove, and the sliding block is slidably connected with the sliding groove.

5. The variable force key according to claim 1, wherein the limit member is a number of arc blocks arranged in a form of a circumferential array.

6. The variable force key according to claim 1, wherein the bottom end of central shaft is provided with a guide post, a bottom end of the housing is provided with a guide sleeve corresponding to the guide post, the guide post is inserted into the guide sleeve, and the return spring is sleeved on a surface of the guide post.

7. The variable force key according to claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a base and an upper cover, wherein an outer side surface of the base is provided with a clamping block, a side surface of the upper cover is provided with a clamping slot corresponding to the clamping block, the clamping block is clamped in the clamping slot, and then the upper cover is fixedly connected to the base.

8. The variable force key according to claim 7, wherein the bottom end of the central shaft is provided with a magnet, and the magnetic ring is magnetically attached to the magnet.

9. The variable force key according to claim 2, wherein the housing comprises a base and an upper cover, wherein an outer side surface of the base is provided with a clamping block, a side surface of the upper cover is provided with a clamping slot corresponding to the clamping block, the clamping block is clamped in the clamping slot, and then the upper cover is fixedly connected to the base.

10. The variable force key according to claim 3, wherein the housing comprises a base and an upper cover, wherein an outer side surface of the base is provided with a clamping block, a side surface of the upper cover is provided with a clamping slot corresponding to the clamping block, the clamping block is clamped in the clamping slot, and then the upper cover is fixedly connected to the base.

11. The variable force key according to claim 4, wherein the housing comprises a base and an upper cover, wherein an outer side surface of the base is provided with a clamping block, a side surface of the upper cover is provided with a clamping slot corresponding to the clamping block, the clamping block is clamped in the clamping slot, and then the upper cover is fixedly connected to the base.

12. The variable force key according to claim 5, wherein the housing comprises a base and an upper cover, wherein an outer side surface of the base is provided with a clamping block, a side surface of the upper cover is provided with a clamping slot corresponding to the clamping block, the clamping block is clamped in the clamping slot, and then the upper cover is fixedly connected to the base.

13. The variable force key according to claim 6, wherein the housing comprises a base and an upper cover, wherein an outer side surface of the base is provided with a clamping block, a side surface of the upper cover is provided with a clamping slot corresponding to the clamping block, the clamping block is clamped in the clamping slot, and then the upper cover is fixedly connected to the base.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 is an overall structural schematic view of embodiment 1 in the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of parts of embodiment 1 in the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a structural schematic view of the base of embodiment 1 in the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 4 is a structural schematic view of the central shaft of embodiment 1 in the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of parts of embodiment 2 in the present disclosure; and

[0028] FIG. 6 is a central shaft structural schematic view of embodiment 2 in the present disclosure.

[0029] Reference Signs: 1—housing; 2—central shaft; 3—magnetic ring; 4—electromagnet; 5—return spring; 6—limit member; 7—control circuit board; 11—through hole; 12—sliding groove; 13—base; 14—upper cover; 15—clamping block; 16—clamping slot; 17—guide sleeve; 21—sliding block; 22—guide post; 23—key cap seat; 41—weld leg; 61—arc block; 62—flange.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiment 1

[0030] Please refer to FIG. 1-FIG. 4, the present disclosure relates to a variable force key, which includes a housing 1, central shaft 2, a magnetic ring 3 and an electromagnet 4, wherein the central shaft 2 extends into the housing 1, the top end of the center shaft 2 is fixedly provided with a key cap seat 23, a return spring 5 is arranged between the bottom end of the central shaft 2 and an inner bottom surface of the housing 1, the central shaft 2 can move back and forth in the housing 1 in the vertical direction, the bottom end of the central shaft 2 is further fixedly provided with a limit member 6, the limit member 6 can be arranged as a hollow cylinder, and the outer wall of the bottom end of the limit member 6 is provided with a flange 62 along the circumferential direction. The magnetic ring 3 is sleeved on the outer wall of the limit member 6 and located at the upper end of the flange 62, and the magnetic ring 3 is a permanent magnet magnetized along the axial direction of the limit member 6, the electromagnet 4 is arranged at the bottom in the housing 1, and when the central shaft 2 moves downward, the electromagnet 4 can penetrate into the inside the limit member 6, and the magnitude and direction of current of the electromagnet 4 can both be adjusted.

[0031] Since the magnetic ring is sleeved or arranged inside the limit member, when the key cap seat is pressed down and moved downward, the electromagnet can penetrate inside the limit member, so that the distance between the electromagnet and the magnetic ring can be overlapped or far away, thereby a variety of variable force control methods can be realized.

[0032] Several control methods are described below.

[0033] (1) In a natural state, the magnetic ring 3 moves down along the limit member 6 due to gravity action and then attaches on the flange 62 at the bottom end of the limit member 6, so that the distance between the magnetic ring 3 and the electromagnet 4 is reduced.

[0034] When a pressure is applied to the key cap seat 23, the central shaft 2 drives the limit member 6 to move downwards. After the electromagnet 4 is forwardly electrified, the electromagnet 4 generates a repulsive force on the magnetic ring 3, causing the magnetic ring 3 to move upward along the limit member 6 and impact the central shaft 2, thereby generating an upward thrust to the central shaft 2. After the electromagnet 4 is reversely electrified, the electromagnet 4 generates a magnetic force on the magnetic ring 3, causing the magnetic ring 3 to move down rapidly and impact the flange 62 of the limit member 6 to produce a tactile feel. Since both thrust and repulsive force are generated by the impact of the magnetic ring 3, the tactile feel is very obvious, which increases the user's sense of experience.

[0035] (2) In the natural state, a small current to the electromagnet 4 is applied to generate a repulsive force on the magnetic ring 3, so that the magnetic ring 3 is kept at the bottom of the central shaft 2. When a pressure is applied to the key cap seat 23, the limit member 6 is moved downwards along with the central shaft 2, and the current of repulsive force for the electromagnet 4 is increased. The electromagnet 4 generates an abruptly altered repulsive force on the magnetic ring 3, causing the magnetic ring 3 to push the central shaft 2 upward to generate a thrust, and then a reverse current is applied to the electromagnet to make the electromagnet 4 and the magnetic ring 3 attract each other, so that the magnetic ring 3 moves down rapidly and impacts the flange 62 to produce a downward tactile feel. Changing the magnitude of the current in each stage can control the force of each stage, to achieve different hand feelings.

[0036] (3) The electromagnet 4 is designed in a pancake shape, and the magnetic ring can move, along with the central shaft 2, from the top of the electromagnet 4 to the bottom of the electromagnet 4. By default, a reverse current is applied to the electromagnet 4 to make the electromagnet 4 and the magnetic ring 2 generate a repulsive force. When a pressure is applied to the key cap seat 23, the central shaft 2 drives the magnetic ring 3 to move downwards. When the magnetic ring 3 is close to electromagnet 4, the upward thrust is increased, until the center of magnetic ring 3 coincides with the center of electromagnet 4, the repulsive force disappears. When the central shaft 2 pushes the magnetic ring 3 to continue to move downwards, the magnetic ring 3 is driven by the downward repulsive force of the electromagnet 4, and then the magnetic ring 3 is moved downward rapidly to produce a tactile feel. The control method and control circuit in this way are relatively simple.

[0037] Since the magnetic permeability of the iron core of the electromagnet 4 is much greater than that of air, the magnetic permeability of air is about 1, and the magnetic permeability of the iron core used in the electromagnet can reach several thousand, and the size of the magnetic field generated by the coil of the electromagnet is proportional to the magnetic permeability of the coil magnetic field loop, so that a large magnetic force can be generated under the action of a small current, and the energy conversion rate is very high, thus, the repulsive force and attraction force acting on the magnet are also increased, which can effectively generate upward thrust and downward tension, and greatly improve the user's tactile feel intensity.

[0038] When the central shaft 2 moves down, it will transmit a trigger signal to the control circuit board 7 through the trigger component, so that the control circuit board 7 applies a forward or reverse control current to the electromagnet 4, so that the electromagnet 4 generates a magnetic force or a repulsive force on the magnetic ring 3.

[0039] In this embodiment, the bottom end of the housing 1 is provided with a through hole 11 corresponding to the electromagnet 4, and the electromagnet 4 passes the through hole 11 and is connected to the control circuit board 7.

[0040] By designing a through hole 11 at the bottom end of the housing 1, the electromagnet 4 can directly pass through the through hole 11, which is convenient for welding the weld leg 41 of the electromagnet 4 with the control circuit board 7. Compared with the conventional butt joint manner of designing the spring piece and the weld leg 41 on the housing 1, the connection method of this embodiment is more convenient and firmer.

[0041] In this embodiment, the inner side surface of the housing 1 is provided with a sliding groove 12 along the vertical direction, the central shaft 2 is provided with a sliding block 21 corresponding to the sliding groove 12, and the sliding block 21 is slidably connected with the sliding groove 12.

[0042] The sliding fit of the sliding block 21 and the sliding groove 12 provides a guiding effect for the movement of the central shaft 2, and makes the movement of the central shaft 2 more stable and accurate.

[0043] In this embodiment, the limit member 6 is a plurality of arc blocks 61 arranged in a form of a circumferential array.

[0044] The limit member 6 is formed by a plurality of arc blocks 61 arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, which can save the material of the limit member 6 and also reduce the weight of the key cap seat 23.

[0045] In this embodiment, the bottom end of the central shaft 2 is provided with a guide post 22, the bottom end of the housing 1 is provided with a guide sleeve 17 corresponding to the guide post 22, the guide post 22 is inserted into the guide sleeve 17, and the return spring 5 is sleeved on the surface of the guide post 22.

[0046] The guide post 22 moves along the guide sleeve 17, then it is ensured that the elastic action of the return spring 5 is in the vertical direction, so that the restoration of the central shaft 2 is stable and accurate.

[0047] In this embodiment, the housing 1 includes a base 13 and an upper cover 14, the outer side surface of the base 13 is provided with a clamping block 15, and the side surface of the upper cover 14 is provided with a clamping slot 16 corresponding to the clamping block 15, the upper cover 14 is fixedly connected to the base 13 by the clamping block 15 being clamped in the clamping slot 16.

[0048] The detachable connection between the upper cover 14 and the base 13 is realized by the clamping between the clamping block 15 and the clamping slot 16, which is convenient for the parts to be repaired and replaced.

[0049] In this embodiment, the bottom end of the central shaft 2 is provided with a magnet, and the magnetic ring 3 is magnetically attached to the magnet. In the natural state, the magnetic ring 3 is held at the bottom of the central shaft 2 due to the magnet attraction force at the bottom of the central shaft 2, when a pressure is applied to the key cap seat 23, central shaft 2 drives the limit member 7 to move downward, after the electromagnet 4 is forwardly electrified, the electromagnet 4 generates a repulsive force on the magnetic ring 3, so that the magnetic ring 3 pushes the central shaft 2 upward to generate a thrust, and then a reverse current is applied to the electromagnet 4 to make the magnetic ring 3 and the electromagnet 4 attract each other, so that the magnetic ring 3 moves down rapidly and impacts the flange 62 to produce a downward tactile feel.

Embodiment 2

[0050] Please refer to FIG. 5 -FIG. 6, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present disclosure also provides a variable force key, which includes a housing 1, a central shaft 2, a magnetic ring 3 and an electromagnet 4, wherein the central shaft 2 extends into the housing 1, the top end of the center shaft 2 is fixedly provided with a key cap seat 23, a return spring 5 is arranged between the bottom end of the central shaft 2 and an inner bottom surface of the housing 1, the central shaft 2 can move back and forth in the housing 1 in the vertical direction, the bottom end of the central shaft 2 is further fixedly provided with a limit member 6, the limit member 6 can be arranged as a hollow cylinder, and the inner wall of the bottom end of the limit member 6 is provided with a flange 62 along the circumferential direction. The magnetic ring 3 is arranged inside the limit member 6 and located at the upper end of the flange 62, and the magnetic ring 3 is a permanent magnet magnetized along the axial direction of the limit member 6, the electromagnet 4 is arranged at the bottom in the housing 1, and when the central shaft 2 moves downward, the electromagnet 4 can penetrate inside the limit member 6, and the magnitude and direction of current of the electromagnet 4 can both be adjusted.

[0051] The variable force keys described above are merely exemplary, and the above embodiments may be modified without departing from the present disclosure. Next, a modified embodiment will be described below. For the sake of brevity, the same parts in the modified embodiment as in the preceding Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 will not be redundantly described.

[0052] In some embodiments, a hollow coil may be used to replace the electromagnet 4 described in the preceding Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2. In other words, the variable force key provided in the present disclosure may not include the electromagnet 4 described in the preceding, but alternatively include a hollow coil. Similar to the electromagnet 4, the hollow coil can generate a magnetic field when being energized, thus the hollow coil may be provided in a manner completely the same as that of providing the electromagnet 4 in the preceding Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, and the variable force key including the hollow coil can be controlled in a method completely the same as the three control methods specifically described in the preceding Embodiment 1.

[0053] It should be noted that the relative magnetic permeability μs of the hollow coil is 1, and the relative magnetic permeability of the iron core used by the electromagnet may reach several thousand, therefore, it can be determined, according to the following formula 1, that the inductance value of the hollow coil in the present embodiment is far smaller than that of the electromagnet.

L=(k*μ0*μs*N.sup.2*S)/l   (formula 1)

[0054] In the above, L is the inductance value; μ0 is magnetic permeability in vacuum, 4π*10.sup.−7; μs is the relative magnetic permeability of a magnetic core inside the coil; N.sup.2 is square of coil turns; S is cross sectional area of the coil, in unit of square meter; l is length of the coil, in unit of meter; and k is a coefficient, depending upon a ratio of radius R to length l of the coil.

[0055] Besides, it further may be determined, according to the following formula 2, that charging and discharging time of an inductor increases along with the increase of the inductance value.

τ=L/R   (formula 2)

[0056] In the above, τ is charging and discharging time of the inductor; L is the inductance value; and R is the radius of the coil.

[0057] As the present embodiment adopts the hollow coil with a relatively small inductance value, after energization, the hollow coil can be charged in a short period of time to reach a current maximum value, and thus when a pressure is applied to the key cap seat 23 to turn on the hollow coil, the hollow coil can generate an instantaneous repulsive force to the magnetic ring 3 in a short period of time. Therefore, the response is extremely fast after the user presses the key, and the user does not feel any hysteresis of hand feeling at all, thereby increasing the user experience.

[0058] The above embodiments are only a description of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Without departing from the design spirit of the present disclosure, various modifications and changes made by those ordinarily skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present disclosure, should fall within the protection scope determined by the claims of the present disclosure.