Key with balance rods and keyboard

Abstract

A key with balance rods and a keyboard are provided. The key includes a base plate. A sensing component is disposed on the base plate. An intermediate plate is disposed on the sensing component. The intermediate plate has a key hole and a receiving chamber which penetrate upper and lower surfaces of the intermediate plate. A keying portion is disposed on the base plate. Balance rods are disposed between a lower surface of the keying portion and a lower surface of the intermediate plate or base plate. Two balance rods run in the direction of X-axis or the direction of Y-axis, whereas one balance rod runs in the other direction and between the two balance rods. The three balance rods neither cross nor overlap. The key with balance rods and the keyboard have a comfortable feel and are applicable to laptops with thin keyboards, tablets, and smartphone keyboards.

Claims

1. A key with balance rods, comprising: a base plate; a sensing component optionally disposed on the base plate; an intermediate plate optionally disposed above the sensing component and having a key hole penetrating upper and lower surfaces of the intermediate plate; an elastomer disposed in the key hole of the intermediate plate; a keying portion movably disposed in the key hole of the intermediate plate and abutting against the elastomer; and at least two balance rods disposed below the keying portion and each having a segment movably disposed at the keying portion, wherein one of the at least two balance rods has another segment connected to the intermediate plate, and another one of the at least two balance rods has another segment disposed at the intermediate plate or the base plate, with the at least two balance rods neither crossing nor overlapping.

2. The key with balance rods according to claim 1, wherein the elastomer is disposed on the sensing component or on a lower surface of the keying portion.

3. The key with balance rods according to claim 1, wherein the balance rods are movably connected to the keying portion, and the balance rods are movably connected to the intermediate plate or the base plate.

4. The key with balance rods according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate plate has a receiving chamber penetrating an upper surface and a lower surface of the intermediate plate, with a magnetic component disposed in the receiving chamber of the intermediate plate, a magnetized iron plate having an arm and a hand, the arm being disposed in the key hole of the intermediate plate, the arm having an end fixedly connected to a lower surface of the keying portion, the arm having another end extending to reach the magnetic component disposed in the receiving chamber of the intermediate plate and connect to the hand, the arm being made of a plastic material or a metallic material, and the hand being a magnetically permeable iron plate, wherein the magnetic component and the hand of the magnetized iron plate are attracted, and thereby attached, to each other whenever the arm is not pressed down under any external force.

5. The key with balance rods according to claim 1, wherein an arm of a magnetized iron plate has a through hole penetrating upper and lower surfaces of the arm.

6. The key with balance rods according to claim 1, further comprising a light guide plate disposed below the intermediate plate or below the sensing component.

7. The key with balance rods according to claim 1, wherein the keying portion is made of a soft material, a rigid material, or a combination thereof.

8. The key with balance rods according to claim 1, further comprising an upper cover which is disposed on the intermediate plate and has a through hole corresponding in position to the key hole.

9. A keyboard with balance rods, comprising the key with balance rods according to claim 1.

10. The keyboard with balance rods according to claim 9, wherein the base plate is integrally formed.

11. The keyboard with balance rods according to claim 9, wherein the sensing component is integrally formed.

12. The keyboard with balance rods according to claim 9, wherein the intermediate plate is integrally formed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) To render the contents of the present disclosure comprehensible, the present disclosure is illustrated by specific embodiments and accompanying drawings and described below. The accompanying drawings are described briefly below.

(2) FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a magnetic key with balance rods according to embodiment 1;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of how to connect the balance rods to a keying portion according to embodiment 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic view which shows positions of the balance rods relative to each other according to embodiment 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a magnetic key with balance rods according to embodiment 2 preferably;

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a keying portion region of a magnetic keyboard according to embodiment 3;

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic view of balance rods for a standard 1X key of the magnetic keyboard according to embodiment 3;

(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic view of balance rods for special key of the magnetic keyboard according to embodiment 3;

(9) FIG. 8 is a schematic view of balance rods for a special keyan Enter key of the magnetic keyboard according to embodiment 3;

(10) FIG. 9 is a schematic view of balance rods for a space bar of the magnetic keyboard according to embodiment 3; and

(11) FIG. 10 is a schematic view of balance rods for an F function key of the magnetic keyboard according to embodiment 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(12) To render the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clear and comprehensible, the present disclosure is illustrated by specific embodiments and accompanying drawings and described below.

Embodiment 1

(13) FIG. 1 illustrates how balance rods are applicable to a standard 1X key of a magnetic keyboard in this embodiment. The key comprises a base plate 1, a sensing component 2, an elastomer 3, an intermediate plate 4, a magnetic component 5, an upper cover 6, a magnetized iron plate 7, a keying portion 8, a first balance rod 10, and a second balance rod 9.

(14) The sensing component 2 has a thin-film circuit. The sensing component 2 is disposed on the base plate 1. The sensing component 2 further has a through hole 21 which penetrates upper and lower surfaces of the sensing component 2. The through hole 21 corresponds in position to the second balance rod 9 and the first balance rod 10.

(15) The elastomer 3 is disposed on the sensing component 2 and has a bump 31 disposed in a key hole 41 of the intermediate plate 4. The height or structure of the elastomer 3 is adjustable, so as to adjust the feel of the key.

(16) The intermediate plate 4 has upper and lower surfaces. The intermediate plate 4 is above the sensing component 2. The intermediate plate 4 has the key hole 41 and a receiving chamber 42 which penetrate the upper surface and the lower surface of the intermediate plate 4. The receiving chamber 42 is disposed at an edge of the key hole 41. The intermediate plate 4 is made of a plastic and formed by injection molding. A balance rod connection mechanism 43 is disposed on the lower surface of the intermediate plate 4.

(17) In this embodiment, the magnetic component 5 is disposed in the receiving chamber 42 of the intermediate plate 4. Optionally, the upper cover 6, which is made of PET film, adheres to the upper surface of the intermediate plate 4 to further prevent the magnetic component 5 from loosening or detaching, thereby allowing the magnetic component 5 to fit inside the surroundings of the magnetic key.

(18) The magnetized iron plate 7 comprises an arm 71 and a hand 72. The arm 71 is disposed in the key hole 41 of the intermediate plate 4 and firmly connected to the lower surface of the keying portion 8. The hand 72 is disposed between the lower surface of the magnetic component 5 and the base plate 1. The arm 71 extends to reach the bottom of the keying portion 8 so as to connect to the hand 72, thereby allowing the hand 72 to be disposed below the magnetic component 5. The hand 72 and the magnetic component 5 are attracted, and thereby attached, to each other whenever the arm 71 is not subjected to any external force.

(19) The keying portion 8 is disposed on the magnetized iron plate 7 and firmly connected to the arm 71 of the magnetized iron plate 7. In this embodiment, the keying portion 8 is made of a plastic. A balance rod connection mechanism 81 is disposed on the lower surface of the keying portion 8, as shown in FIG. 2.

(20) Referring to FIG. 2, the second balance rod 9 is in the number of two, whereas the first balance rod 10 is in the number of one. The second balance rods 9 and the first balance rod 10 are disposed on the lower surface of the keying portion 8. Segments of the first and second balance rods 10, 9 are each movably connected to the connection mechanism 81 on the lower surface of the keying portion 8. The other segments of the first and second balance rods 10, 9 are each movably connected to the balance rod connection mechanism 43 of the intermediate plate 4. Optionally, a segment of at least one of the second balance rods 9, which is movably connected to the keying portion 8, is disposed on the inward side of the keying portion 8, whereas the other segment of the second balance rod 9, which is movably connected to the intermediate plate 4, is disposed on the outward side of the keying portion 8.

(21) Relative positions of the three balance rods 9, 10 of FIG. 2 are shown in FIG. 3. The two second balance rods 9 run in the direction of X-axis, whereas the first balance rod 10 runs in the direction of Y-axis. The three balance rods 9, 10 neither cross nor overlap.

(22) This embodiment not only illustrates how the balance rods are applied to a standard 1X key of the magnetic keyboard, but also shows that the balance rods are each connected between the keying portion and the intermediate plate in variable ways.

Embodiment 2

(23) In this embodiment, a magnetic key with balance rods comprises a base plate 1, a sensing component 2, an elastomer 3, an intermediate plate 4, a magnetic component 5, an upper cover 6, a magnetized iron plate 7, a keying portion 8, a balance rod 9, and a balance rod 10.

(24) This embodiment improves and supplements embodiment 1, as shown in FIG. 4.

(25) The intermediate plate 4 in embodiment 1 has only one receiving chamber 42. By contrast, the intermediate plate 4 in embodiment 2 has two receiving chambers 42.

(26) Only one magnetic component 5 is provided in embodiment 1. By contrast, two magnetic components 5 are provided in embodiment 2.

(27) Embodiment 1 requires two balance rods 9 and one balance rod 10, that is, three balance rods in total. By contrast, embodiment 2 requires one balance rod 9 and one balance rod 10, that is, two balance rods in total.

(28) In embodiment 1, the arm 71 of the magnetized iron plate 7 has no through hole but one hand 72. By contrast, in embodiment 2, the arm 71 of the magnetized iron plate 7 not only has a through hole which penetrates its upper and lower surfaces, but also has two hands 72.

Embodiment 3

(29) In this embodiment, a magnetic keyboard with balance rods comprises a plurality of magnetic keys each having balance rods according to any one of embodiments 1, 2. Each magnetic key of the magnetic keyboard with balance rods comprises a base plate, a sensing component, an elastomer, an intermediate plate, a magnetic component, an upper cover, a magnetized iron plate, a keying portion, balance rods, and a light guide plate.

(30) The base plate is an integrally-formed integrated base plate. The sensing component is an integrally-formed integrated sensing component. The intermediate plate is an integrally-formed integrated intermediate plate. The light guide plate is an integrally-formed integrated light guide plate. The upper cover is an integrally-formed integrated upper cover.

(31) The magnetic keyboard comprises an F function key 1, standard 1X keys 2, special keys 3, and a space bar 4, as shown in FIG. 5.

(32) Each standard 1X key 2 has two balance rods 9 running in the direction of X-axis of the keying portion and one balance rod 10 running in the direction of Y-axis of the keying portion, that is, three balance rods in total. The three balance rods neither cross nor overlap, as shown in FIG. 6.

(33) The special keys 3 include SHIFT key, CapsLock key, Tab key, Backspace key and the like. Each special key 3 has two balance rods 9 running in the direction of X-axis of the keying portion and two balance rods 10 running in the direction of Y-axis of the keying portion, that is, four balance rods in total. The four balance rods neither cross nor overlap, as shown in FIG. 7.

(34) An Enter key 3, one of the special keys 3, has three balance rods 9 running in the direction of X-axis of the keying portion and four balance rods 10 running in the direction of Y-axis of the keying portion, that is, seven balance rods in total. The seven balance rods neither cross nor overlap, as shown in FIG. 8.

(35) The space bar 4 of the magnetic keyboard has two balance rods 9 running in the direction of X-axis of the keying portion and four balance rods 10 running in the direction of Y-axis of the keying portion, that is, six balance rods in total. The six balance rods neither cross nor overlap, as shown in FIG. 9.

(36) The flat or narrow F function key 1 and UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT keys of the magnetic keyboard have one balance rod 10 running in a flat direction of the keying portion, that is, one balance rod in total, as shown in FIG. 10.

(37) The upper end of each balance rod is movably connected to the keying portion.

(38) The lower end of each balance rod is movably connected to the intermediate plate or the base plate.

(39) The balance rods are made of conventional stainless steel wires preferably of a diameter of 0.4-1.0 mm.

(40) Preferably, the keying portion is made of a soft material, a rigid material, or a combination thereof and thus can be made very thin.

(41) Preferably, the keying portion and an arm of the magnetized iron plate are integrated.

(42) Preferably, the keying portion is made of a transparent material to facilitate light penetration.

(43) Preferably, a balance rod structure is disposed on the lower surface of the keying portion.

(44) Preferably, a balance rod structure is disposed on the lower surface in the vicinity of the key hole of the intermediate plate.

(45) Preferably, a balance rod is disposed between the keying portion and the lower surface of the intermediate plate.

(46) The present disclosure is described above with specific examples solely with a view to rendering the present disclosure comprehensible rather than restricting the present disclosure. Persons skilled in the art can draw inferences and make variations or changes to the present disclosure in accordance with the spirit thereof.

(47) The aforesaid specific embodiments illustrate the objectives, technical features and advantages of the present disclosure. It is worth noting that the above detailed description is merely about specific embodiments of the present disclosure but is not intended to be restrictive of the present disclosure. All amendments, equivalent changes, and improvements made in the specific embodiments of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall fall within the claimed scope of the present disclosure.