CN111739752A

CN111739752A - Keyboard and its key and regulating mechanism

Info

Publication number: CN111739752A
Application number: CN202010463736.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 江治湘; 杨宸; 谢育群; 周柏岳
Original assignee: Huaian Darfon Electronics Co ltd; Darfon Electronics Suzhou Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huaian Darfon Electronics Co ltd; Darfon Electronics Suzhou Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-27
Filing date: 2020-05-27
Publication date: 2020-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2040-05-27
Also published as: CN111739752B; CN116031095A

Abstract

The invention provides a keyboard and keys and an adjusting mechanism thereof, wherein the keyboard comprises an upper cover with a plurality of first key openings, an adjusting mechanism arranged below the upper cover and a plurality of keys, the adjusting mechanism comprises an adjusting frame and a plurality of adjusting parts, the adjusting frame comprises a plurality of frame strips defining a plurality of second key openings so as to respectively correspond to the plurality of first key openings, and each adjusting part is adjacent to the corresponding second key opening; each key comprises a hand feeling elastic piece, and each key is positioned in the first key opening and the second key opening, so that the adjusting part corresponds to the hand feeling elastic piece of the corresponding key; the adjusting frame can move relative to the upper cover, and the hand feeling elastic pieces are driven by the adjusting parts to move locally so as to provide different pressing hand feelings. The key adjusting mechanism of the invention has an opening design capable of partially accommodating the keys, and the adjusting mechanism (or the adjusting piece) can be arranged at the side edge of the keys, thereby reducing the required arrangement space of the adjusting mechanism in the thickness direction and effectively minimizing the thickness of the keyboard or the keys.

Description

Keyboard and its key and regulating mechanism

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a keyboard, and more particularly to a keyboard with adjustable pressing feel and a key and an adjusting mechanism thereof.

Background

The keys of the conventional keyboard generally provide only one pressing feeling, so that the user must select a keyboard with a proper pressing feeling from a plurality of keyboards with different pressing feelings according to the personal pressing habit. However, when the user is in different operation states (such as typing, playing games, etc.), different pressing handfeels are usually desired, so that the keyboard with only one pressing handfeel cannot meet the requirements of the user, and the user must additionally purchase the keyboard with different pressing handfeels, which causes additional cost and storage problems of idle keyboards.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a keyboard and keys and an adjusting mechanism thereof, which can provide various pressing handfeels for a user to select so as to meet the operation requirements of the user. The keyboard provided by the invention integrates the adjusting mechanism in a thickness minimization mode, thereby improving the thinning of the keyboard.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a keyboard comprising:

an upper cover having a plurality of first key openings;

the adjusting mechanism is arranged below the upper cover and comprises an adjusting frame and a plurality of adjusting parts, the adjusting frame comprises a plurality of frame strips, the plurality of frame strips define a plurality of second key openings, the plurality of second key openings respectively correspond to the plurality of first key openings, and each adjusting part is adjacent to the corresponding second key opening; and

a plurality of keys, each key comprises a hand feeling elastic piece, each key is positioned in the corresponding first key opening and the second key opening, so that the adjusting part corresponds to the hand feeling elastic piece of the corresponding key,

the adjusting frame can move relative to the upper cover, so that each adjusting part drives the corresponding hand feeling elastic piece to move locally, and the pressing hand feeling provided by the key is further changed.

As an optional technical solution, the key includes:

a keycap; and

the restoring mechanism is arranged below the keycap and provides restoring force to enable the keycap to restore to the position before pressing after pressing; the restoring mechanism comprises a shell and a restoring unit, the restoring unit and the hand feeling elastic piece are arranged in the shell, the upper part of the shell protrudes out of the first key opening, and at least part of the lower part of the shell is positioned in the second key opening.

As an optional technical solution, the key further includes:

an elastic body disposed below the housing; and

a switch layer disposed below the elastic body,

when the keycap is pressed, the elastic body deforms to trigger the switch layer to generate a trigger signal.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting device further comprises a bottom plate, wherein the bottom plate is disposed below the adjusting mechanism, and the adjusting frame is movably positioned on the upper cover or the bottom plate.

As an optional technical solution, the keyboard further includes a positioning block disposed between the upper cover and the adjustment frame or between the bottom plate and the adjustment frame, wherein the adjustment frame has a positioning hole, and the positioning block is sleeved in the positioning hole.

As an optional technical solution, the housing includes:

a lower shell supported by the upper cover to penetrate through the first key opening and the second key opening;

an upper housing combined with the lower housing to form an accommodating space, the upper housing having a through hole; and

a movable shaft movably coupled to the upper housing to protrude from the through hole, the movable shaft having an actuating portion,

the restoring unit provides restoring force to drive the actuating part to move towards the direction far away from the lower shell, and when the adjusting frame moves relative to the upper cover, the adjusting part locally changes the position of the hand feeling elastic piece relative to the actuating part.

As an optional technical solution, the elastic hand feeling component includes a positioning portion and an extension arm, the extension arm extends corresponding to the actuating portion, and the positioning portion is positioned on the lower housing.

As an optional technical solution, each of the adjusting portions extends from the corresponding frame strip toward the second key opening and bends to protrude from the adjusting frame so as to extend into the lower casing corresponding to the extending arm.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting portion has a first inclined surface, and when the adjusting frame moves relative to the upper cover, the extending arm moves along the first inclined surface to change a horizontal distance and a vertical distance between the extending arm and the actuating portion; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the adjusting part is provided with a first inclined surface, the lower shell is provided with a second inclined surface, when the adjusting frame moves relative to the upper cover, the extension arm selectively contacts the first inclined surface or the second inclined surface, and the vertical distances between the first inclined surface and the actuating part and the vertical distances between the second inclined surface and the actuating part are different.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting portion extends out from the corresponding frame strip towards the second key opening horizontally to correspond to the positioning portion; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the portions of the frame strips adjacent to the second key openings serve as the adjusting portions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a key, comprising:

a lower housing;

an upper case combined with the lower case;

the movable shaft is movably sleeved on the upper shell relative to the lower shell and is provided with an actuating part;

the restoring unit is arranged between the lower shell and the movable shaft and is used for providing restoring force to enable the movable shaft to move towards the direction far away from the lower shell;

the hand feeling elastic piece is provided with a positioning part and an extension arm, the positioning part is positioned on the lower shell, and the extension arm extends through the moving path of the actuating part; and

an adjusting piece arranged corresponding to the hand feeling elastic piece, the adjusting piece is provided with a plurality of sub frame strips to define an opening, the lower shell is at least partially positioned in the opening,

the adjusting piece can move relative to the lower shell to drive the hand feeling elastic piece to locally move, so that the pressing force required by moving the movable shaft towards the lower shell and driving the actuating part to cross the extension arm is changed.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting member includes an adjusting portion, and the adjusting portion extends from the adjusting member toward the opening and bends to protrude from the adjusting member so as to extend into the lower housing corresponding to the extending arm.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting portion has a first inclined surface, and when the adjusting member moves relative to the lower housing, the extension arm moves along the first inclined surface to change a horizontal distance and a vertical distance between the extension arm and the actuating portion; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the adjusting part is provided with a first inclined surface, the lower shell is provided with a second inclined surface, when the adjusting part moves relative to the lower shell, the extension arm selectively contacts the first inclined surface or the second inclined surface, and the vertical distances between the first inclined surface and the actuating part and the vertical distances between the second inclined surface and the actuating part are different.

As an optional technical solution, one of the plurality of sub-frames includes a ladder structure or a slope structure, and when the adjusting member moves relative to the lower housing, the extension arm selectively contacts different portions of the ladder structure or the slope structure to change a vertical distance between the extension arm and the actuating portion.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting member includes an adjusting portion, and the adjusting portion extends horizontally from the adjusting member toward the opening to correspond to the positioning portion.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjusting mechanism for a keyboard including a plurality of keys to adjust a pressing feel of the plurality of keys, each of the keys having a feel elastic member, the adjusting mechanism including:

the adjusting frame comprises a plurality of frame strips, and the plurality of frame strips define a plurality of key openings to respectively correspond to the plurality of keys; and

and the adjusting parts are respectively adjacent to the plurality of key openings, and each key opening allows at least part of the corresponding key to be accommodated in the key opening, so that each adjusting part corresponds to the hand feeling elastic piece of the corresponding key.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting portion extends from the corresponding frame strip toward the key opening and bends to protrude from the adjusting frame.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting portion has an inclined surface, and when the adjusting frame moves relative to the plurality of keys, the hand feeling elastic member partially moves along the inclined surface.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting portion extends out from the corresponding frame strip towards the key opening; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the portions of the frame strips adjacent to the key openings are used as the adjusting portions.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting mechanism further comprises an operating part, wherein the operating part is bent relative to the adjusting frame.

As an optional technical solution, the adjusting frame further includes a positioning structure, the positioning structure includes a positioning hole and at least one protruding rib, and the protruding rib protrudes toward the positioning hole.

Compared with the prior art, the keyboard and the keys and the adjusting mechanism thereof can locally move the hand feeling elastic piece by the adjusting mechanism so as to provide different pressing hand feelings. Furthermore, the keyboard and the keys and the adjusting mechanism thereof of the invention enable the adjusting mechanism to have an opening design which can at least partially accommodate the keys, and the adjusting mechanism (or the adjusting piece) can be arranged at the side edge of the keys, thereby reducing the required arrangement space of the adjusting mechanism in the thickness direction, effectively minimizing the thickness of the keyboard or the keys and enhancing the feasibility of thinning.

Drawings

Fig. 1A and 1B are a partially exploded schematic view and a partially cross-sectional schematic view of a keyboard according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2A and 2B are exploded schematic views of embodiments of a restoring mechanism applicable to keys of the keyboard of fig. 1A from different viewing angles.

Fig. 2C is a schematic view of the lower housing of fig. 2A from another perspective.

Fig. 3A to 3C are an exploded view, an assembled view, and a partial cross-sectional view of an adjusting mechanism positioned on an upper cover according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3D is an enlarged schematic view of the positioning block of fig. 3A.

Fig. 3E is a schematic view of the adjustment mechanism of fig. 3A.

Fig. 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the key of fig. 1A having a first pressing feel.

Fig. 4B and 4C are bottom and partial sectional views showing the relative positions of the adjustment mechanism and the upper cover when the button is in the state of fig. 4A.

Fig. 5A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the key of fig. 1A with a second pressing feel.

Fig. 5B and 5C are bottom and partial sectional views showing relative positions of the adjustment mechanism and the upper cover when the key is in the state of fig. 5A.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an adjustment mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a key of a keyboard with a first pressing feel using the adjustment mechanism of fig. 6.

Fig. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the key of fig. 7A without a lower housing.

Fig. 8A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a key of a keyboard with a second pressing feel using the adjustment mechanism of fig. 6.

Fig. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the key of fig. 8A without a lower housing.

Fig. 9A and 9B are an exploded view and an assembled view of an adjusting mechanism positioned on the upper cover according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 9C is a schematic view of the adjustment mechanism of fig. 9A.

Fig. 10 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a keyboard having a first feel of pressing employing the design of fig. 9A.

Fig. 11 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a keyboard having a second feel of pressure employing the design of fig. 9A.

Fig. 12A and 12B are exploded schematic views of a key and a top view without an upper housing according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12C is a partial cut-out view of the key of FIG. 12A without the upper housing.

Fig. 13 is a schematic view showing a modification of the adjuster of fig. 12A.

Fig. 14 is a schematic view showing another modification of the adjuster of fig. 12A.

Fig. 15 is a schematic view showing a modification of the adjuster of fig. 14.

Fig. 16 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of a lower case and an adjustment mechanism of a keyboard to which the keys of fig. 12A are applied.

Fig. 17 is a diagram showing a variation of the keyboard of fig. 1A.

Fig. 18 is a schematic view of a modification of the adjustment mechanism of fig. 6.

Fig. 19 is a schematic view of another modification of the adjustment mechanism.

Detailed Description

In order to further understand the objects, structures, features and functions of the present invention, the following embodiments are described in detail.

Fig. 1A and 1B are a partially exploded schematic view and a partially cross-sectional schematic view of a keyboard according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 1A and 1B, in one embodiment, the keyboard 1 includes an upper cover 10, an adjusting mechanism 20, and a plurality of keys 30. The upper cover 10 has a plurality of first key openings 110. The adjusting mechanism 20 is disposed below the upper cover 10, and the adjusting mechanism 20 includes an adjusting frame 210 and a plurality of adjusting portions 220. The adjusting frame 210 includes a plurality of frame strips 215 (shown in fig. 3E), the plurality of frame strips 215 define a plurality of second key openings 212, the plurality of second key openings 212 respectively correspond to the plurality of first key openings 110, and each adjusting portion 220 is adjacent to the corresponding second key opening 212. Each key 30 includes a hand feeling elastic member 310, and each key 30 is located in the corresponding first key opening 110 and the second key opening 212, so that the adjusting portion 220 corresponds to the hand feeling elastic member 310 of the corresponding key 30. The adjusting frame 210 can move relative to the top cover 10 to drive the hand feeling elastic member 310 to move partially by each adjusting portion 220, thereby changing the pressing hand feeling provided by the key 30.

Specifically, the keyboard 1 of the present invention can be a stand-alone device or integrated into an electronic device as an external or internal input device. In this embodiment, the keyboard 1 includes nine keys (e.g., the key 30) and is arranged in a 3 × 3 array, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the keyboard may include at least one key, and the number of keys and the arrangement of the keys included in the keyboard are not limited by the embodiments, for example, the keyboard may be in the form of a single key or a QWERTY keyboard.

It should be noted that, in the keyboard 1 of the present invention, the keys may have any key structure (such as the

keys

30, 30A, 30B, 30C, etc.) including a hand feeling elastic member, and are not limited to the embodiments shown. The key 30 includes a key cap 320 (shown in fig. 1A and 1B) and a return mechanism 301. The restoring mechanism 301 is disposed under the key cap 320 to provide a restoring force, so that the key cap 320 is restored to a position before being pressed after being pressed. In addition, the key can further comprise a switch unit for generating a trigger signal. According to practical application, the key can also optionally comprise a light source unit for generating light to form a luminous key.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2A and 2B, fig. 2A and 2B are exploded schematic views of an embodiment of a restoring mechanism 301 applicable to a key (e.g., key 30) of the keyboard 1 of fig. 1A from different viewing angles. The restoring mechanism 301 includes a housing 302 and a restoring unit 360. The restoring unit 360 and the elastic handle 310 are disposed in the housing 302, an upper portion of the housing 302 protrudes from the first key opening 110, and a lower portion of the housing 302 is at least partially disposed in the second key opening 212. Specifically, the housing 302 includes a lower housing 330, an upper housing 340, and a movable shaft 350. The lower housing 330 is preferably supported by the upper cover 10 to be disposed through the first key opening 110 and the second key opening 212. The upper housing 340 is combined with the lower housing 330 to form the accommodating space 336, and the upper housing 340 has a through hole 342. The movable shaft 350 is movably combined with the upper case 340 to protrude from the through hole 342, and the movable shaft 350 has an actuating portion 352. The elastic hand feeling element 310 and the restoring unit 360 are disposed in the accommodating space 336, and the restoring unit 360 is disposed between the lower housing 330 and the movable shaft 350. The restoring unit 360 provides restoring force to drive the movable shaft 350 and the actuating portion 352 thereon to move in a direction away from the lower housing 330, and when the adjusting frame 210 moves relative to the upper cover 10, the adjusting portion 220 changes the position of the elastic hand feeling element 310 relative to the actuating portion 352.

Specifically, the lower housing 330 is preferably a base extending along the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis directions, and the upper housing 340 is a cover corresponding to the lower housing 330. The lower housing 330 is preferably combined with the upper housing 340 to form the housing 302 having the accommodating space 336 therein for accommodating, for example, the restoring unit 360 and the elastic handle 310. For example, the lower housing 330 may have a fastening portion 332, and the upper housing 340 has a fastening hole portion 344, such that the lower housing 330 and the upper housing 340 are fastened to each other along the Z-axis direction by the fastening portion 332 and the fastening hole portion 344. In addition, the lower housing 330 preferably has a support portion 334 for supporting the upper cover 10. Specifically, the lower housing 330 preferably has two bearing portions 334. The two bearing portions 334 are disposed on two opposite sides of the upper portion of the lower housing 330 along the Y-axis direction, such that the bearing portions 334 may be wing portions of the lower housing 330 extending outward in the Y-axis direction. As shown in fig. 1B, when the housing 302 is disposed in the first key opening 110 of the upper cover 10, the supporting portion 334 of the lower housing 330 supports the portion of the upper cover 10 surrounding the first key opening 110, and the upper housing 340 protrudes from the upper cover 10 and is coupled to the key cap 320 via the movable shaft 350.

The through hole 342 of the upper housing 340 preferably corresponds to the shape of the top of the movable shaft 350, such that the movable shaft 350 can be movably disposed through the through hole 342 of the upper housing 340 from below the upper housing 340, and the top of the movable shaft 350 protrudes out of the through hole 342. The movable shaft 350 preferably has an actuating portion 352, an actuating portion 354, a limiting portion 356 and an engaging portion 358. For example, the movable shaft 350 is preferably a cylindrical cap, the actuating portion 352 and the stopper portion 356 are preferably disposed along a lower periphery of the cylindrical cap, the actuating portion 354 is preferably protruded from a lower end of the cylindrical cap, and the engaging portion 358 is preferably disposed at a top of the movable shaft 350.

Specifically, the actuating portion 352 includes a downwardly extending protrusion having a lower contact surface 3521, an upper contact surface 3522 and a vertex 3523, wherein the vertex 3523 is located between the lower contact surface 3521 and the upper contact surface 3522. For example, the protrusion can be an angular block, such that the lower interference surface 3521 and the upper interference surface 3522 preferably extend obliquely toward each other and connect to the vertex 3523, i.e., the vertex 3523 protrudes outward (e.g., in the Y-axis direction) relative to the lower interference surface 3521 and the upper interference surface 3522. The actuating portion 354 is disposed corresponding to the switch unit, and the actuating portion 354 is preferably a cylinder protruding downward from the center of the bottom of the cylindrical cap for triggering the switch unit to generate a triggering signal. The stopper 356 is preferably a cylinder protruding radially from both sides of the movable shaft 350 such that the distance between the two ends of the cylinder is greater than the diameter of the through hole 342 of the upper housing 340, thereby preventing the movable shaft 350 from being separated from the upper housing 340 when moving relative to the lower housing 330. The joint portion 358 may be, for example, a cross-shaped engaging column formed on the top of the movable shaft 350 for engaging with the key cap 320, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the engaging portion 358 may have other forms (e.g., engaging holes) for engaging with the key cap 320.

The arrangement of the components in the lower housing 330 will be described in detail later with reference to fig. 1B and fig. 2A to 2C. In this embodiment, the restoring unit 360 is preferably a spring, and the lower housing 330 has a positioning seat 331, so that the restoring unit 360 can be positioned at the positioning seat 331. For example, the positioning seat 331 is an annular cylinder extending and protruding from the bottom of the lower housing 330 toward the upper housing 340, such that one end of the spring (i.e., the restoring unit 360) can be sleeved outside the positioning seat 331, and the actuating portion 354 of the movable shaft 350 is inserted into the through hole 3312 surrounded by the annular cylinder, such that the other end of the spring abuts against the bottom of the movable shaft 350, such that the top of the movable shaft 350 protrudes from the through hole 342 of the upper housing 340, and the spring (i.e., the restoring unit 360) is disposed between the lower housing 330 and the movable shaft 350. Thus, when the key cap 320 is pressed to move the movable shaft 350 toward the lower housing 330, the movable shaft 350 compresses the spring, and when the pressing force is released, the spring provides an elastic restoring force to make the movable shaft 350 drive the key cap 320 to move to a position before pressing in a direction away from the lower housing 330.

In this embodiment, the elastic handle 310 includes a positioning portion 312 and an extension arm 314. The extension arm 314 extends corresponding to the actuating portion 352, and the positioning portion 312 is positioned on the lower housing 330. In particular, the feel spring 310 may be implemented as a torsion spring. The positioning portion 312 and the extension arm 314 extend from opposite ends of the torsion spring, and an included angle is formed between the extending direction of the positioning portion 312 and the extending direction of the extension arm 314, and the included angle is preferably not greater than 120 degrees. For example, the positioning portion 312 and the extending arm 314 are rods extending from two opposite ends of the torsion spring body 316, and an included angle between the extending directions of the two rods is preferably not greater than 120 degrees.

As shown in fig. 2C, the lower housing 330 has a positioning hole 303 for inserting the positioning portion 312 to position the elastic hand feeling member 310, corresponding to the elastic hand feeling member 310. Furthermore, the lower housing 330 further has an opening 333 at a side thereof for the adjusting part 220 of the adjusting mechanism 20 to extend into the lower housing 330. For example, the opening 333 is preferably a partially hollowed-out notch from the middle-lower section of the sidewall 335 adjacent to the positioning hole 303 toward the bottom of the lower housing 330, and the opening 333 is communicated with the accommodating space 336. When the upper portion of the lower housing 330 is supported by the first key opening 110 of the upper cover 10 through the supporting portion 334, the lower portion (or the bottom portion) of the lower housing 330 is at least partially located in the second key opening 212 of the adjusting frame 210, so that the position of the adjusting portion 220 corresponds to the opening portion 333. Therefore, the adjusting frame 210 is located at the side of the lower housing 330 (or the lower portion of the lower housing 330 is at least partially surrounded by the adjusting frame 210), so that the projection range of the adjusting frame 210 along the X-axis direction and/or the Y-axis direction at least partially falls on the sidewall (e.g., 335) of the lower housing 330 (i.e., the adjusting frame 210 and the sidewall of the lower housing 330 at least partially overlap), thereby reducing the space required by the adjusting frame 210 in the Z-axis direction (or the key thickness direction), effectively improving the possibility of thinning the key, or increasing the installation space of other components of the key, so as to enhance the feasibility of adjusting the hand feel of various key structures.

Furthermore, the lower housing 330 preferably further has a receiving area 338 for disposing the torsion spring body 316 of the elastic hand feeling member 310. For example, the accommodating area 338 may be a space partitioned by a plurality of wall areas of the lower housing 330 to limit the moving range of the elastic hand feeling member 310. When the adjusting portion 220 drives the elastic hand-feeling member 310 to partially move (for example, when the positioning portion 312 or the extension arm 314 is driven to move), the torsion spring body 316 can be confined in the accommodating area 338, so that the elastic hand-feeling member 310 generates different deformations. When the elastic hand feeling member 310 is disposed on the lower housing 330, the positioning portion 312 is inserted into the positioning hole 303, the torsion spring body 316 is positioned in the accommodating area 338, and the extension arm 314 extends toward the lower portion of the movable shaft 350 and selectively passes through the moving path of the actuating portion 352 of the movable shaft 350. That is, the positioning portion 312 is inserted into the positioning hole 303 substantially along the Z-axis direction, and the extension arm 314 extends substantially along the X-axis direction to selectively pass through the moving path of the actuating portion 352. Furthermore, the lower housing 330 may further have a striking portion 304 for the extension arm 314 to strike to generate sound. For example, the striking part 304 may be a convex wall protruding from the bottom of the lower housing 330 toward the upper housing 340, and the wall surface of the convex wall facing the extension arm 314 is a striking surface.

As shown in fig. 1B, in one embodiment, the key 30 further includes an elastic body 370 and a switch layer 380 as a switch unit. The elastomer 370 is disposed under the housing 302, and the switch layer 380 is disposed under the elastomer 370. When the key cap 320 is pressed, the elastic body 370 is deformed to trigger the switch layer 380 to generate a trigger signal. Specifically, the elastic body 370 is disposed below the through hole 3312 of the positioning seat 331 of the lower housing 330, i.e., below the through hole 3312 surrounded by the annular cylinder, corresponding to the actuating portion 354 of the movable shaft 350. The switching layer 380 may be implemented as a thin film switching layer having a multi-layer structure. When the key cap 320 is pressed, the actuating portion 354 moves downward along the through hole 3312 and presses against the elastic body 370, so that the elastic body 370 is deformed, and the switch layer 380 is triggered to generate a trigger signal. Furthermore, the key 30 may optionally include a plate 385. The plate 385 is preferably disposed under the switch layer 380 to serve as a support for the keys 30, but not limited thereto. For example, the board 385 may be a base plate or a circuit board, and the switch layer 380 may be disposed above or below the board 385 according to practical applications.

It should be noted that the key 30 is described by taking the elastic body 370 and the switch layer 380 as the switch unit, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the key may be selectively activated by other types of switch components in response to the movement of the movable shaft. For example, in another embodiment, the key may include a light emitter and a light receiver electrically connected to the circuit board as a switch unit (i.e., an optical axis switch), such that when the key moves toward the lower housing via the movable shaft, the amount of light received by the light receiver from the light emitter is changed to generate the trigger signal. In yet another embodiment, the key may include an electrode module electrically connected to the circuit board as a switch unit (i.e., a mechanical switch), so that when the key moves toward the lower housing via the movable shaft, the conductive state (e.g., conductive or non-conductive) of the electrode module is changed to generate the trigger signal.

Referring to fig. 1A and 1B again, the upper cover 10 is preferably an upper housing of the keyboard 1, and can be combined with the lower housing 11 of the keyboard 1, so as to form a receiving space 336 between the lower housing 11 and the upper cover 10 for receiving a part of the components of the key 30, and expose the key cap 320 of the key 30 outside the upper cover 10 for the user to operate, but not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the top cover 10 may be a plate inside the keyboard, and the keyboard may further include an upper housing to enhance the appearance. The upper cover 10 preferably has a first key opening 110 corresponding to the number of keys. For example, in this embodiment, nine through holes penetrating the top cover 10 are formed as the first key openings 110 corresponding to the number of the keys 30, and each of the first key openings 110 preferably has the size of the corresponding key (e.g., the corresponding key 30). For example, the first key opening 110 preferably corresponds to the size of the lower housing 330, such that when the key 30 is disposed in the first key opening 110, the supporting portion 334 of the lower housing 330 can support the surface of the upper cover 10 around the first key opening 110, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the key may be positioned in the first key opening 110 by other positioning mechanisms relative to the upper cover 10 according to practical applications.

The adjustment mechanism 20 may have different forms depending on the corresponding adjusted portion of the feel spring 310 (e.g., the positioning portion 312 or the extension arm 314). As shown in fig. 3E, in one embodiment, the adjusting frame 210 of the adjusting mechanism 20 is formed by a plurality of frame bars 215 connected to each other along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, preferably, so as to define the second key openings 212 (e.g., 9) with the number corresponding to the number of keys. In other words, the adjusting frame 210 can be regarded as a plate having a plurality of through holes formed therethrough, such that the plurality of through holes serve as a plurality of second key openings 212, and the plate portion surrounding the plurality of through holes is regarded as a plurality of frame strips 215 connected to each other, such that the adjusting frame 210 has a screen form. From another perspective, the adjusting mechanism 20 can be regarded as a single component formed by connecting and integrating a plurality of adjusting members 201 (shown by the dashed line frame in fig. 3E) corresponding to a plurality of buttons 30, and each adjusting member 201 includes a plurality of sub-frame strips 217 enclosing an opening (i.e., a second button opening 212) corresponding to the button 30, so that each adjusting member 201 has a frame shape. That is, when the plurality of keys 30 are integrated into the keyboard 1, the plurality of sub-frames 217 of each adjusting member 201 are connected to each other to form a plurality of frame strips 215, so as to form the adjusting frame 210. When the adjusting mechanism 20 is positioned relative to the upper cover 10, the first key openings 110 of the upper cover 10 respectively correspond to the second key openings 212 of the adjusting mechanism 20, that is, the projection ranges of the corresponding first key openings 110 and the second key openings 212 in the direction of the through opening (for example, the Z-axis direction) at least partially overlap, so that the upper portion of the housing 302 of the key 30 can protrude from the first key openings 110, and the lower portion of the housing 302 is at least partially accommodated in the second key openings 212.

In this embodiment, the adjusting portion 220 is an adjusting rod extending from the corresponding frame strip 215 (or the sub-frame strip 217) toward the second key opening 212 and bending to protrude from the adjusting frame 210, and the adjusting portion 220 preferably extends into the lower housing 330 to correspond to the extending arm 314 of the elastic hand feeling component 310. For example, when the lower portion (or the bottom portion) of the lower housing 330 is inserted into the corresponding second key opening 212 of the adjusting frame 210, the opening portion 333 of the lower housing 330 corresponds to the adjusting portion 220, so that the adjusting portion 220 extends into the accommodating space 336 of the lower housing 330, and the adjusting frame 210 is located at the side of the lower housing 330 and close to the bottom surface of the gap of the opening portion 333 (i.e. close to the middle section of the side wall 335).

In one embodiment, the adjusting portion 220 includes a horizontal section 222 extending from the frame strip 215 toward the second key opening 212 along the X-axis direction, and an upright section 224 bent upward from the end of the horizontal section 222 along the Z-axis direction. When the lower portion (or bottom portion) of the lower housing 330 is inserted into the corresponding second key opening 212 of the adjusting frame 210, the horizontal section 222 of the adjusting portion 220 preferably has a length enough to extend into the opening 333 from the side of the lower housing 330 to the accommodating space 336 of the lower housing 330, so as to correspond to the extension arm 314 of the elastic handfeel element 310, and the vertical section 224 of the adjusting portion 220 has a length exceeding the height of the extension arm 314 in the Z-axis direction. In one embodiment, the adjusting portion 220 preferably has a notch portion 226, and the notch portion 226 is preferably recessed inward from the wall of the upright portion 224 facing the extension arm 314 to correspond to the long axis direction of the extension arm 314. For example, the recess portion 226 may be an L-shaped recess, that is, the top of the upright section 224 has a stepped top surface, so that the extension arm 314 straddles the recess portion 226 of the adjustment portion 220, thereby enhancing the linkage positioning between the adjustment portion 220 and the extension arm 314, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the adjusting portion 220 may not have the notch portion 226, and the wall surface of the upright portion 224 abuts against the extension arm 314.

Further, the adjustment mechanism 20 is preferably movably positioned on the cover 10. Fig. 3A to 3C are an exploded view, an assembled view and a partial cross-sectional view of an adjusting mechanism 20 positioned on the upper cover 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 3A to 3C, the keyboard 1 further includes a positioning block 50 and a bolt 60. The positioning block 50 is disposed between the upper cover 10 and the adjusting frame 210, and the bolt 60 is used to lock the positioning block 50 on the upper cover 10. As shown in fig. 3D, the positioning block 50 is a block having a shape similar to an H, and the positioning block 50 has a structure defining a key hole 530 and a passage 540. The bolt hole 530 is for the bolt 60 to pass through, and the adjusting frame 210 can be partially disposed in the channel 540. The positioning block 50 includes a lower block portion 510 and an upper block portion 520. The key hole 530 is a through hole penetrating the upper block 520 and the lower block 510, and the channel 540 is formed at a side of the positioning block 50 and between the upper block 520 and the lower block 510. Specifically, the lower block 510 is connected to the lower end of the upper block 520 and protrudes from the side of the upper block 520 to form a wing. In this embodiment, the lower block portion 510 extends along the X-axis direction and extends outward from both sides of the upper block portion 520 along the Y-axis direction to protrude from the upper block portion 520. The upper block portion 520 is partially retracted relative to the lower block portion 510 on opposite sides in the X-axis direction to form a channel 540. In other words, the channel 540 is a sandwiched space formed by the side portions of the upper block portion 520 and the lower block portion 510 in the direction parallel to the Y axis.

Corresponding to the positioning block 50, the adjusting frame 210 of the adjusting mechanism 20 further has a positioning structure 219, the positioning structure 219 includes a positioning hole 214 and at least one protruding rib 218, the protruding rib 218 protrudes toward the positioning hole 214, and the positioning block 50 is disposed in the positioning hole 214. As shown in fig. 3A and 3E, the positioning structure 219 is preferably located at a side of the adjusting frame 210 and connected to at least one of the plurality of frame strips 215, so that the positioning structure 219 and the plurality of frame strips 215 form the adjusting frame 210 in an integrated manner, that is, the positioning structure 219 can be regarded as a portion of the adjusting frame 210 extending from the frame strips 215. The positioning hole 214 preferably has a through hole similar to an H-shape corresponding to the shape of the positioning block 50. The positioning hole 214 extends in the Y-axis direction, and the hole widths of both end portions of the positioning hole 214 in the X-axis direction are larger than the hole width of the middle portion, so that the portion of the adjustment frame 210 corresponding to the middle portion of the positioning hole 214 forms the rib 218. That is, the two ribs 218 are disposed on opposite sides of the middle portion of the positioning hole 214 along the X-axis direction. When the positioning block 50 is sleeved in the positioning hole 214 of the adjusting frame 210, the rib 218 is clamped in the channel 540 by the lower block portion 510 and the upper block portion 520. For example, the rib 218 partially overlaps the lower block 510 and the upper block 520 along the Y-axis direction, thereby restricting the displacement of the adjustment frame 210 in the Z-axis direction and the X-axis direction and allowing the adjustment frame 210 to move relative to the positioning block 50 in the Y-axis direction. Furthermore, the top cover 10 may have screw holes 130 at the bottom to correspond to the bolt holes 530 of the positioning block 50. When the adjusting mechanism 20 is positioned on the top lid 10, the positioning block 50 is sleeved on the threaded post 130 through the bolt hole 530, and further locked with the threaded hole of the threaded post 130 through the bolt 60, so that the adjusting frame 210 is movably positioned on the top lid 10 relative to the top lid 10 by the clamping of the positioning block 50.

It should be noted that although the adjusting mechanism 20 is shown to be positioned on the upper cover 10 by three positioning structures 219 and three positioning blocks 50, the number and positions of the positioning blocks 50 are not limited to the embodiment shown. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the adjusting mechanism 20 and the cover 10 may be movably positioned by any suitable positioning mechanism (e.g., a hook/slot).

As shown in fig. 3A and 3E, the adjustment mechanism 20 further includes an operation unit 216. The operation portion 216 extends from the adjusting frame 210 and bends toward the upper cover 10 for the user to control the displacement of the adjusting mechanism 20. Specifically, the bending direction of the operation portion 216 is the same as the bending direction of the adjustment portion 220 (for example, bending toward the upper cover 10 in the Z-axis direction). The upper cover 10 further has an opening 120 provided corresponding to the operating portion 216 to allow the operating portion 216 to extend through the opening 120 to protrude from the upper cover 10. In one embodiment, the keyboard 1 further includes an operation button 40. The operation button 40 is sleeved on the operation portion 216 to enhance the operation feeling of the user and the aesthetic appearance of the keyboard. For example, the operation knob 40 has a slot 410 at the bottom to allow the operation portion 216 to be inserted into the slot 410, so that the operation knob 40 is sleeved on the operation portion 216.

The following description will be made with reference to the drawings, in which the operation of the keyboard 1 of the present invention for adjusting the pressing feeling of the keys 30 by the adjusting mechanism 20 is described. Fig. 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the key 30 of fig. 1A with a first pressing feel. Fig. 4B and 4C are a bottom view and a partial sectional view showing the relative positions of the adjustment mechanism 20 and the upper cover 10 when the keys are in the state of fig. 4A. As shown in fig. 1A and 4A, when the adjustment mechanism 20 is located at the first position (e.g., the position of the operation button 40 of the keyboard 1 facing the side a) in the Y-axis direction, the extending arm 314 is located at the first position in the Y-axis direction relative to the moving path of the operation portion 352. As shown in fig. 4B and 4C, when the adjustment frame 210 is located at the first position, the distance between the left edge of the left positioning hole 214 and the center of the bolt hole 530 of the positioning block 50 is d1, and the distance between the right edge of the right positioning hole 214 and the center of the bolt hole 530 of the positioning block 50 is d 2. In this embodiment, when the adjusting frame 210 is located at the first position in the Y-axis direction, the extending arm 314 preferably passes through a moving path of the actuating portion 352 when moving downward (i.e. the moving path is parallel to the Z-axis direction), and the pressing force required by the movable shaft 350 moving toward the lower housing 330 and driving the actuating portion 352 to pass over the extending arm 314 is the first pressing force. In other words, when the adjusting frame 210 is located at the first position in the Y-axis direction, the extending arm 314 is preferably located in the moving path of the actuating portion 352, so that the actuating portion 352 interferes with the extending arm 314 when moving downward to provide the first pressing feeling of the first pressing force. Specifically, when the adjustment frame 210 is at the first position in the Y-axis direction and applies the first pressing force to the key cap 320, the key cap 320 drives the movable shaft 350 to move toward the lower housing 330, and the actuating portion 352 presses against the extension arm 314, so that the extension arm 314 first moves downward and slides to the vertex 3523 along the lower contact surface 3521, and then moves upward after passing over the vertex 3523, so as to provide the first pressing feeling. It is noted that when the extension arm 314 reaches the vertex 3523, the extension arm 314 has a first sound producing distance from the impact surface of the lower shell 330 or the upper shell 340, and the extension arm 314 strikes the impact surface to produce a first sound. In this embodiment, the striking surface may be a wall surface of the upper housing 340 or the lower housing 330 corresponding to the extension arm 314, such as the striking surface of the striking portion 304 of the lower housing 330.

Fig. 5A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the key 30 of fig. 1A with a second pressing feel. Fig. 5B and 5C are bottom and partial sectional views showing the relative positions of the adjustment mechanism 20 and the upper cover 10 when the keys are in the state of fig. 5A. As shown in fig. 1A and 5A, when the adjustment mechanism 20 moves to the second position along the Y-axis direction, the extension arm 314 is located at the second position along the Y-axis direction relative to the moving path of the actuating portion 352. As shown in fig. 5B and 5C, when the adjustment frame 210 is located at the second position, the distance between the left edge of the left positioning hole 214 and the center of the bolt hole 530 of the positioning block 50 is d1 ', and the distance between the right edge of the right positioning hole 214 and the center of the bolt hole 530 of the positioning block 50 is d 2', wherein d1 'is smaller than d1, d 2' is larger than d2, and the difference between d1 and d1 '(or d2 and d 2') is the distance of the adjustment frame 210 moving toward the B side. In other words, the adjusting frame 210 moves toward the side B along the Y-axis direction, so that the adjusting portion 220 drives the extension arm 314 to move toward the outer side of the lower housing 330, and the relative position of the moving path of the extension arm 314 and the actuating portion 352 in the Y-axis direction is changed, thereby changing the pressing hand feeling provided by the movable shaft 350 moving toward the lower housing 330 and driving the actuating portion 352 to cross the extension arm 314. For example, according to the moving distance of the adjusting frame 210 toward the B side, when the adjusting portion 220 is located at the second position in the Y-axis direction, the relative positions of the extending arm 314 and the actuating portion 352 may be selectively in the following states: (1) the extension arm 314 is closer to the vertex 3523 of the actuating portion 352, and the moving path of the actuating portion 352 when moving downward is taken as a moving path, that is, the adjusting portion 220 moves toward the outside of the lower housing 330 along the Y-axis direction to push the extension arm 314 outward, so that the pre-pressure between the extension arm 314 and the positioning portion 312 is increased, and the movable shaft 350 moves toward the lower housing 330 and drives the actuating portion 352 to cross the pressing force (i.e., the second pressing force) provided by the extension arm 314, which is different from the first pressing force, and the second sounding distance is smaller than the first sounding distance, so that the second sound generated when the impact portion 304 is struck by the extension arm 314; (2) when the extension arm 314 is substantially located at the position corresponding to the vertex 3523 of the actuating portion 352 relative to the moving path, the pre-compression generated by the deformation between the positioning portion 312 and the extension arm 314 is too large, the moving shaft 350 cannot press down the torsion spring, and further push the extension arm 314 out from the side edge, so that a pause and contusion hand feeling is generated, and the actuating portion 352 does not press down the extension arm 314, so that the extension arm 314 only laterally displaces, and cannot press down to bounce and knock the striking portion 304, so that no sound is generated; (3) when the extension arm 314 is shifted out of the moving path of the operating portion 352, the operating portion 352 moves downward without interfering with the extension arm 314, thereby providing a silent linear feel. In other words, according to the moving distance of the adjusting frame 210 toward the side B, the adjusting portion 220 drives the extending arm 314 to move along the Y-axis direction, so as to provide a pressing feel different from that shown in fig. 4A, such as different pressing forces, or jerking feel, or linear feel. For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 5A, when the adjusting portion 220 is located at the second position in the Y-axis direction, the extension arm 314 of the key 30 is shifted to the outside of the moving path of the actuating portion 352, so that the actuating portion 352 does not interfere with the extension arm 314 when moving downward, and a silent linear feeling is provided.

It should be noted that, although the above embodiment has been described by taking the operation knob 40 as an example to move the adjustment mechanism 20 from the first position to the B side along the Y-axis direction to the second position, the invention is not limited thereto. The user can also move the adjusting mechanism 20 from the second position to the A side to the first position along the Y-axis direction by controlling the operation button 40, so as to change the pressing feeling of the key 30. In addition, although two positions (e.g., the first position and the second position) are illustrated, the adjusting mechanism 20 can be movably positioned at more than two positions to provide more than two pressing hand feelings for users to choose.

In another embodiment, by changing the design of the adjusting portion 220 and the lower housing 330, the keys can provide different pressing handfeel. Fig. 6 is a schematic view of an adjusting mechanism 20A according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the difference between the

adjustment mechanisms

20A and 20 is that the adjustment portion 220A of the adjustment mechanism 20A has a first slope 228. Specifically, as shown in fig. 6, the first inclined surface 228 is preferably provided at an upper portion of the upright section 224 of the adjusting portion 220. The first inclined surface 228 is disposed corresponding to the extension arm 314 to be inclined downward toward the extension arm 314. When the adjusting frame 210 moves relative to the upper cover 10, the extension arm 314 can move along the first inclined surface 228 to change the horizontal distance and the vertical distance between the extension arm 314 and the actuating portion 352.

Referring to fig. 7A and 7B, an embodiment of a key 30A to which the adjustment mechanism 20A of fig. 6 is applied will be described. The differences between the

keys

30A and 30 are emphasized, and the details of the remaining components of the key 30A can refer to the related descriptions of the key 30, which are not repeated herein. Fig. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the key 30A with a first pressing feel, and fig. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the key 30A without the lower housing 330 of fig. 7A. As shown in fig. 7A and 7B, in this embodiment, the lower housing 330 may further have a second inclined surface 337, when the adjusting frame 210 moves relative to the upper cover 10, the extending arm 314 selectively contacts the first inclined surface 228 or the second inclined surface 337, and vertical distances between the first inclined surface 228 and the second inclined surface 337 and the actuating portion 352 are different. For example, the second inclined surface 337 of the lower case 330 may be a protruding surface that is inclined upward from a sidewall of the lower case 330 toward the accommodating space 336, or may be an inclined surface at the top of a cylinder that is disposed in the accommodating space 336 and protrudes upward from the bottom. The second inclined surface 337 of the lower housing 330 preferably has the same inclination as the first inclined surface 228 of the adjusting portion 220, and the first inclined surface 228 is preferably located higher than the second inclined surface 337 in the Z-axis direction, i.e., the first inclined surface 228 is closer to the actuating portion 352 than the second inclined surface 337. Thus, when the adjusting mechanism 20A moves along the Y-axis direction through the adjusting frame 210, the extension arm 314 can selectively contact the first inclined surface 228 or the second inclined surface 337 to change the relative distance between the extension arm 314 and the actuating portion 352 in the Z-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

Referring to the drawings, the operation of the keyboard of the present invention for adjusting the pressing feel of the keys 30A by the adjusting mechanism 20A will be described. Fig. 7A and 7B are schematic cross-sectional views of the key 30A with/without the lower housing 330 having the first pressing feel. As shown in fig. 7A and 7B, when the adjusting mechanism 20A is located at the first position (e.g., the position where the operation button 40 of the keyboard moves toward the side a) in the Y-axis direction, the adjusting portion 220 is farther away from the extension arm 314 than the second inclined surface 337 of the lower housing 330 (i.e., closer to the center of the accommodating space 336), so that the extension arm 314 contacts the second inclined surface 337 of the lower housing 330. In other words, the extension arm 314 is located at a first position in the Y-axis direction (i.e. has a first horizontal distance from the vertex 3523 of the operating portion 352 in the Y-axis direction) relative to the moving path of the operating portion 352, and has a first vertical distance from the operating portion 352 in the Z-axis direction. In this embodiment, when the adjusting frame 210 is located at the first position in the Y-axis direction, the extending arm 314 preferably passes through a moving path of the actuating portion 352 when moving downward, and the pressing force required by the movable shaft 350 moving toward the lower housing 330 and driving the actuating portion 352 to move over the extending arm 314 is the first pressing force. In other words, when the adjusting frame 210 is located at the first position in the Y-axis direction, the extending arm 314 is preferably located in the moving path of the actuating portion 352, so that the actuating portion 352 will interfere with the extending arm 314 when moving downward to provide the first pressing feeling. Specifically, when the adjustment frame 210 is at the first position in the Y-axis direction and applies the first pressing force to the key cap 320, the key cap 320 drives the movable shaft 350 to move toward the lower housing 330 by the first vertical distance, and then the actuating portion 352 presses the extension arm 314, so that the extension arm 314 moves downward along the second inclined surface 337 of the lower housing 330 and slides to the vertex 3523 along the lower contact surface 3521, and moves upward after passing the vertex 3523, thereby providing the first pressing feeling. It is noted that when the extension arm 314 reaches the vertex 3523, the extension arm 314 has a first sound producing distance from the impact surface of the lower shell 330 or the upper shell 340, and the extension arm 314 strikes the impact surface to produce a first sound. In this embodiment, the striking surface may be a wall surface of the upper housing 340 or the lower housing 330 corresponding to the extension arm 314, such as the striking surface of the striking portion 304 of the lower housing 330.

Fig. 8A and 8B are schematic cross-sectional views of the key 30A with/without the lower housing 330 having the second pressing feel. As shown in fig. 8A and 8B, when the adjustment mechanism 20A moves to the second position (for example, the position where the operation knob 40 of the keyboard moves toward the B side) along the Y-axis direction, the extension arm 314 is made to contact the first inclined surface 228 of the adjustment portion 220. In other words, the extension arm 314 is located at a second position in the Y-axis direction (i.e. has a second horizontal distance from the vertex 3523 of the operating portion 352 in the Y-axis direction) relative to the moving path of the operating portion 352, and has a second vertical distance from the operating portion 352 in the Z-axis direction. In this embodiment, since the first inclined surface 228 of the adjusting portion 220 is higher than the second inclined surface 337 of the lower housing 330, the second vertical distance is smaller than the first vertical distance, and the second horizontal distance may be smaller than or equal to the first horizontal distance. In other words, when the adjusting portion 220 is located at the second position (i.e. the position where the extending arm 314 contacts the first inclined surface 228) in the Y-axis direction, the stroke point generating the pressing feel is earlier than that at the first position, i.e. the user feels the pressing feel feedback earlier.

Further, according to the distance of the adjustment frame 210 moving along the Y-axis direction, different pressing force hand, jerky hand, or linear hand may be provided. Specifically, in the embodiment of fig. 7A, although the lower housing 330 is illustrated to have the second inclined surface 337, in other embodiments, the lower housing 330 may not have the second inclined surface 337, and only the first inclined surface 228 of the adjusting portion 220 contacts the extension arm 314, so that the extension arm 314 moves along the first inclined surface 228 along with the movement of the adjusting frame 210, thereby changing the horizontal distance (e.g., the Y-axis direction) and the vertical distance (e.g., the Z-axis direction) between the extension arm 314 and the actuating portion 352. For example, similar to the embodiment of fig. 5A, when the extension arm 314 contacts the first inclined surface 228, the extension arm 314 may selectively contact different positions (i.e. different heights) of the first inclined surface 228 and the relative positions of the extension arm 314 and the operating portion 352 in the Y-axis direction may be selectively in the above states according to the moving distance of the adjusting frame 210 toward the B side. In other words, when the extension arm 314 contacts the first inclined surface 228, the key 30A can provide different pressing handfeel of the trigger stroke according to the moving distance of the adjustment frame 210 toward the side B, and the pressing handfeel can include different pressing handfeel, jerk handfeel, or linear handfeel, for example, as described above.

In the above example, the adjusting

mechanism

20, 20A adjusts the extending arm 314 of the elastic hand feeling member 310 by the adjusting portion 220 to change the pressing hand feeling, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, by changing the design of the adjusting portion, the adjusting mechanism can adjust the positioning portion 312 of the elastic hand feeling member 310 by the adjusting portion to change the pressing hand feeling. Fig. 9A and 9B are an exploded view and an assembled view of an adjusting mechanism 20B positioned on the upper cover 10 according to another embodiment of the invention, and fig. 9C is a schematic view of the adjusting mechanism 20B of fig. 9A. As shown in fig. 9A to 9C, in this embodiment, the adjusting portion 230 extends from the adjusting frame 210 to the edge of the second key opening 212 and horizontally toward the second key opening 212, so as to correspond to the positioning portion 312. Specifically, the adjusting portion 230 is preferably a convex pillar extending horizontally from the corresponding frame strip 215 (or the sub-frame strip 217) toward the second key opening 212 along the X-axis direction, and the length of the adjusting portion 230 is preferably enough to extend into the opening portion 333 from the side of the lower housing 330 to correspond to the positioning portion 312 of the elastic hand feeling element 310. In an embodiment, the adjusting portion 230 preferably has a notch portion 225, and the notch portion 225 is preferably disposed on an end surface of the adjusting portion 230 along the Z-axis direction to correspond to the long axis direction of the positioning portion 312, so as to further enhance the linkage positioning between the adjusting portion 230 and the positioning portion 312, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the adjusting portion 230 may not have the notch portion 225, but abut against the positioning portion 312 by the end surface.

In this embodiment, the positioning hole 303 of the lower housing 330 is preferably a long narrow hole opened along the X-axis direction to allow the positioning portion 312 of the elastic handle 310 to displace in the positioning hole 303 along the X-axis direction. Further, in this embodiment, in correspondence to the positioning hole 303 being displaced in the X-axis direction, the positioning hole 214 of the adjustment frame 210 is preferably a through hole like an H extending in the X-axis direction, so that the hole width of the positioning hole 214 in the Y-axis direction is larger at both end portions in the X-axis direction than at the middle portion, so that the portion of the adjustment frame 210 corresponding to the middle portion of the positioning hole 214 forms the rib 218 extending in the X-axis direction. In this embodiment, the positioning block 50 may have the same structure as that of fig. 3A, but arranged in a different direction. For example, the positioning block 50 of fig. 9A is the positioning block 50 of fig. 3A rotated 90 degrees to correspond to the positioning hole 214 and the rib 218 extending along the X-axis direction. In other words, the extending directions of the positioning hole 214, the rib 218 and the adjusting part 230 are substantially parallel to the X-axis direction, so that the adjusting mechanism 20B is movably positioned in the upper cover 10 in the X-axis direction by the positioning block 50.

In the embodiment of fig. 9A to 11, the adjusting portion 230 extends horizontally from the corresponding frame strip 215 toward the second key opening 212, and the fastening portion 332 extends from the side of the lower housing 330 into the positioning portion 312 corresponding to the elastic handfeel element 310, but not limited thereto. In another embodiment (not shown), the design of the positioning portion 312 of the elastic handfeel member can be changed, so that the positioning portion 312 extends out of the lower housing 330 from the side edge to correspond to the frame strip 215, and thus, the single frame strip 215 or the adjacent frame strips 215 can be used as an adjusting portion for driving the movement of the positioning portion 312, and the adjusting portion 230 is not additionally provided.

The following description will be made with reference to the drawings, in which the operation of the keyboard 1B of the present invention for adjusting the pressing feeling of the keys 30B by the adjusting mechanism 20B is described. Fig. 10 and 11 are schematic cross-sectional views of the keys 30B of the keyboard 1B having a first pressing feel and a second pressing feel, respectively, wherein the lower housing 330 is not shown in the left-side key 30B for convenience of illustration. As shown in fig. 10, when the elastic hand piece 310 is disposed on the lower housing 330, the torsion spring body is located in the accommodating area 338, the positioning portion 312 is inserted downward into the positioning hole 303 and at least partially abuts against the adjusting portion 230 (e.g., at least partially inserted into the notch portion 225), and the extension arm 314 extends below the actuating portion 352. In this embodiment, the adjusting frame 210 can move toward the extending direction (e.g., the X-axis direction) of the extending arm 314 to change the deformation of the elastic handling element 310, so as to change the pre-pressure of the elastic handling element 310. As shown in fig. 11, when the adjusting frame 210 moves along the X-axis direction, the adjusting portion 230 drives the positioning portion 312 to move along the X-axis direction in the positioning hole 303, so that the positions of the positioning portion 312 and the extension arm 314 relative to the torsion spring body are changed (i.e. different deformations are generated), i.e. the pre-compression of the torsion spring is changed (e.g. increased), and further the actuation relationship between the actuation portion 352 and the feel elastic member 310 can be changed, so as to provide different pressing feels, such as pressing feel, jerking feel, and linear feel with different pressing forces.

For example, as shown in fig. 10, the adjusting portion 230 abuts against the positioning portion 312 and is located at a first position in the X-axis direction (i.e. a position where the distance from the opening 333 into which the adjusting portion 230 extends is relatively small), the elastic hand feeling member 310 has a first deformation, so that the pressing force required by the movable shaft 350 moving toward the lower housing 330 and driving the actuating portion 352 to cross the extending arm 314 is a first pressing force. As shown in fig. 11, the adjusting frame 210 moves along the X-axis direction (e.g., moves downward to the right in fig. 1A), the adjusting portion 230 abuts against the positioning portion 312 and is located at a second position in the X-axis direction (i.e., a position where the adjusting portion 230 extends from the opening 333 for a larger distance), and the elastic hand feeling element 310 has a second deformation, so that a second pressing hand feeling is generated when the movable shaft 350 moves toward the lower housing 330 and drives the actuating portion 352 to cross over the extension arm 314. In other words, the second position of the adjusting portion 230 may be closer to the actuating portion 352 than the first position, and the adjusting portion 230 moves toward the inner side of the lower housing 330 to push the positioning portion 312 inward, so that the preload of the elastic hand feeling element 310 is increased.

Specifically, when the adjusting part 230 moves to different distances toward the actuating part 352 along the X-axis direction, the second deformation of the feel elastic member 310 can be selectively set to be in a state that (1) the torsion spring has different pre-pressures to provide different pressing feels with different pressing forces and generate different amounts of sound; (2) when the pre-compression of the torsion spring reaches a certain degree, the force of the torsion spring is too large, the actuating part 352 cannot press down the torsion spring, and the extension arm 314 is pushed out from the side edge, so that a silent pause feeling is generated; (3) when the adjusting part 230 moves along the X-axis direction by a distance as large as the elastic hand feeling member 310 deforms and shifts, the extension arm 314 is located outside the moving path of the operating part 352, thereby providing a silent linear feeling. According to practical applications, more than two pressing hand feelings can be selectively provided by controlling the moving distance of the adjusting frame 210 in the X-axis direction.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the size of the second key opening 212 of the adjusting frame 210 substantially corresponds to the size of the lower housing 330, such that the lower portion of the lower housing 330 at least partially extends into the second key opening 212, for example, but not limited thereto, a sub-frame strip of the adjusting member of each key surrounds the outer side of the lower housing 330. Fig. 12A and 12B are exploded schematic views of a key 30C and a top view of a non-upper case 340 according to another embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 12A and 12B, in this embodiment, each component (e.g., the upper casing 340, the lower casing 330, the movable shaft 350, etc.) of the key 30C has a structure similar to that of the embodiment of fig. 3A, and the details of the structure and the connection relationship thereof can refer to the above description, and are not repeated herein. The following description focuses on the differences between the

keys

30C and 30.

Specifically, in the above embodiment, the elastic member as the restoring unit 360 is a separate member from the feel elastic member 310. In this embodiment, the spring as the restoring unit and the feel elastic member may be integrated into a single member formed integrally. As shown in fig. 12A, the spring type restoring unit and the feel elastic member can be integrated into a composite elastic member 360A. In this embodiment, the composite elastic member 360A includes a spring body 363, a positioning portion 362 and an extension arm 364. The spring body 363 is similar to the restoring unit 360 of the embodiment of fig. 3A in the form of a spring for providing restoring force to move the movable shaft 350 away from the lower housing 330. The positioning portion 362 is connected to the spring body 363 and the extension arm 364, the positioning portion 362 is positioned in the positioning hole 303 of the lower housing 330, and the extension arm 364 extends corresponding to the actuating portion 352. Specifically, the positioning portion 362 and the extension arm 364 are preferably formed by bending a rod extending from one end (e.g., the lower end) of the spring body 363, and the positioning portion 362 and the extension arm 364 serve as a hand feeling elastic member of the key 30C.

As shown in fig. 12A, the key 30C includes a light emitter 392 and a light receiver 394 electrically connected to a circuit board 391 as a switch unit 390. For example, the light emitter 392 and the light receiver 394 are disposed at two opposite sides below the actuating portion 354 along the X-axis direction, so that when the key cap 320 is pressed to drive the movable shaft 350 to move toward the lower housing 330, the key 30 can change the amount of light received by the light receiver 394 from the light emitter 392 through the actuating portion 354 to generate the trigger signal. Furthermore, according to practical applications, the lower housing 330 can be positioned on the circuit board below by a positioning mechanism (such as a locking hole/a protruding column), so that the lower housing 330 may or may not have the above-mentioned bearing portion 334.

In this embodiment, the adjusting element 211 includes a plurality of sub-frame strips 217, and the second key opening 212 surrounded by the sub-frame strips 217 only allows a portion of the lower housing 330 to extend into, so that the adjusting element 211 of each key 30C partially surrounds the outer side of the lower housing 330 and partially extends into the lower housing 330 as the adjusting portion 220 for driving the hand feeling elastic element to partially deform. For a single key 30C, the adjusting portion 220 may be a partial frame body (e.g., the sub-frame strip 217) of the adjusting member 211, and for an entire keyboard (e.g., the keyboard 1C shown in fig. 16), the sub-frame strips 217 of the adjusting member 211 of the plurality of keys 30C are connected and integrated with each other to form a plurality of frame strips 215 to define a plurality of second key openings 212 of the adjusting mechanism 20C, so that each adjusting portion 220 may be regarded as the frame strip 215 (or the sub-frame strip 217) of the adjusting mechanism 20C adjacent to the second key openings 212. In this embodiment, the lower housing 330 preferably has a channel 339, and the channel 339 is recessed downward from the upper surface of the lower housing 330 to allow a portion of the adjusting element 211 (or the sub-frame 211) to enter the accommodating space 336 through the channel 339 to correspond to the extension arm 364. For example, the channel 339 is opened on top of two opposite sidewalls of the lower housing 330 along the Y-axis direction, such that one of the frame strips of the adjusting element 211 extending along the Y-axis direction enters the accommodating space 336 through the channel 339 and passes below the extension arm 364. Therefore, the upper part of the lower housing 330 is partially located in the second key opening 212, so as to reduce the space required by the adjusting frame 210 (or the adjusting member) in the thickness direction of the key (for example, the Z-axis direction), and improve the thinning of the key.

The operation of the key 30C to adjust the feel of pressing is described with reference to fig. 12C, in which fig. 12C is a partially hollowed-out schematic view of the key 30C of fig. 12A without the upper shell 340. As shown in fig. 12C, the adjusting member 211 is partially inserted into the channel 339 of the lower housing 330 such that the frame (e.g., the sub-frame strip 217) passing under the extension arm 364 serves as the adjusting member 220. In other words, the adjusting portion 220 is a sub-frame 217 in which the adjusting element 211 is partially sandwiched between the upper casing 340 and the lower casing 330. By controlling the adjusting member 211 to move in the channel 339 in a direction approaching or departing from the upper housing 340, the extension arm 364 is deformed to change the position of the extension arm 364 on the moving path of the parallel actuating portion 352, so as to change the stroke of the button 30C providing the pressing feeling. In other words, the adjusting member 211 is controlled to move in the Z-axis direction to change the vertical distance between the extension arm 364 and the actuating portion 352 along the Z-axis direction, so as to provide different pressing hand feeling.

Fig. 13 is a schematic view showing a modification of the adjuster 211 of fig. 12A. As shown in fig. 13, the adjusting member 211 may have a groove 213 on the sub-frame 217 corresponding to the extension arm 364 for the extension arm 364 to straddle the groove 213. Specifically, the extending direction of the groove 213 is substantially parallel to the extending direction of the extending arm 364, and preferably crosses the sub-frame strip 217 along the X-axis direction to enhance the linkage positioning of the adjusting portion 220 and the extending arm 364.

Fig. 14 is a schematic view showing another variation of the adjustment member 211 of fig. 12A. While the adjusting member 211 of fig. 12A is a closed frame, in the embodiment shown in fig. 14, the adjusting member 211A may be an open frame. Specifically, in this embodiment, the plurality of sub-frame strips 217 are connected to form an n-shape, and the second key openings 212 are defined as open openings. The adjusting member 211A only partially surrounds the side of the lower housing 330, such that one end of the adjusting member 211A (e.g., the end of one of the sub-frame strips 217) extends into the lower housing 330 and corresponds to the extension arm 314 to serve as the adjusting portion 220. The lower housing 330 may be formed with only one channel 339 corresponding to the open frame of the adjusting member 211A.

In the embodiment of fig. 12C, 13 and 14, the button 30C controls the adjusting element 211/211a to move in the Z-axis direction to change the vertical distance between the extension arm 364/314 and the actuating portion 352 along the Z-axis direction to provide the pressing feeling with different strokes (i.e., the moving direction of the adjusting element is the same as the moving direction of the extension arm), but not limited thereto. Fig. 15 is a schematic view showing a modification of the adjuster of fig. 14. As shown in fig. 15, the end of the adjusting part 211B (e.g., the end of one of the sub-frame strips 217) as the adjusting part 240 preferably has a ladder-like structure arranged along the Y-axis direction. Specifically, the vertical distance between the adjusting part 240 and the actuating part 352 varies in the Y-axis direction, and for example, the vertical distance increases as the distance approaches the outer side of the lower case 330. Therefore, the adjusting part 211B can be controlled to move in the Y-axis direction to change the contact position between the adjusting part 240 and the extension arm 314, and further change the vertical distance between the extension arm 314 and the actuating part 352 along the Z-axis direction to provide different pressing handfeel. In other words, in this embodiment, the moving direction of the adjusting element 211B is different from the moving direction of the extension arm 314, and is preferably substantially orthogonal. In another embodiment, the ladder structure of fig. 15 can be changed into a slope structure, and the adjusting member 211B can be controlled to move in the Y-axis direction to change the contact position between the slope structure and the extension arm 314, and further change the vertical distance between the extension arm 314 and the actuating portion 352 along the Z-axis direction to provide different pressing hand feeling.

Fig. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a lower housing 330 and an adjusting mechanism 20C of a keyboard 1C to which the keys 30C of fig. 12A are applied. As shown in fig. 16, the plurality of adjusting elements 211 are integrated into a single adjusting mechanism 20C, and the lower housing 330 of each key 30C is partially located in the opening (i.e., the second key opening 212) surrounded by the plurality of sub-frames 217 of the corresponding adjusting element 211, so that the adjusting element 211 extends into the sub-frame 217 of the lower housing 330 as an adjusting portion for driving the extension arm to move.

In addition, in the embodiment of fig. 1A, the operation portion 216 of the adjustment mechanism 20 passes through the opening 120 of the upper cover 10, so that the operation knob 40 is located on the surface of the upper cover 10, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the position and design of the operation portion 216 can be changed, so that the user can control the movement of the adjusting mechanism 20 from the side or the bottom of the keyboard 1. In another embodiment, as shown in fig. 17, the operation portion 216 of the adjustment mechanism 20 protrudes from the side of the keyboard 1, so that the user can control the movement of the adjustment mechanism 20 from the side of the keyboard 1.

Furthermore, in the embodiment of fig. 1A to 11, the adjusting mechanism is located on the upper cover, but not limited thereto. In yet another embodiment, as shown in fig. 18, the adjusting mechanism 20D can be positioned on other parts (e.g., the bottom plate) of the keyboard by changing the design of the operating portion 216 and the positioning structure 219 of the adjusting mechanism 20D. For example, a bottom plate is preferably disposed below the adjusting mechanism 20D, and the bottom plate may be, for example, the lower housing 11, the supporting plate or a circuit board (e.g., the plate 385 of fig. 1B) shown in fig. 1A, and the bottom plate may have a design similar to the screw hole posts 130 and the openings 120 of the upper cover 10. In this embodiment, the bending direction of the operation portion 216 is opposite to the bending direction of the adjustment portion 220A. Thus, the positioning structure 219 of the adjusting mechanism 20D can position the adjusting frame 210 downward on the bottom plate by the positioning block 50 and the bolt 60, and the operating portion 216 of the adjusting mechanism 20D can be exposed from the bottom of the keyboard (e.g., exposed from the lower housing 11) for operation by the user.

Fig. 19 is a schematic view of another modification of the adjustment mechanism 20E. As shown in fig. 19, the adjusting mechanism 20E includes a single adjusting frame 210 formed by integrating a plurality of (e.g., nine) adjusting members 211, and the positioning structure 219 is bent upward relative to the adjusting frame 210. The plurality of sub-frame bars 217 of each adjusting member 211 are connected to form a plurality of frame bars 215 of the adjusting frame 210 to define a plurality of key openings (e.g., second key openings 212), and portions of the plurality of frame bars 215 adjacent to the plurality of key openings 212 (e.g., the sub-frame bars 217) serve as a plurality of adjusting portions. In this embodiment, the positioning structure 219 is bent upward relative to the adjusting frame 210, and may also be bent downward according to practical applications, such that the positioning hole 214 extends along the Z-axis direction, the hole widths of the two end portions of the positioning hole 214 along the Z-axis direction are larger than the hole width of the middle portion of the positioning hole 214 and have a form similar to an H-shaped through hole, and the portion of the adjusting frame 210 corresponding to the middle portion of the positioning hole 214 forms a rib 218 extending along the Z-axis direction and protruding toward the positioning hole 214 along the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction. When the positioning block 50 is sleeved in the positioning hole 214 of the adjusting frame 210, the rib 218 is clamped in the channel 540 by the lower block portion 510 and the upper block portion 520. For example, the rib 218 partially overlaps the lower block 510 and the upper block 520 along the Z-axis direction, thereby restricting the displacement of the adjustment frame 210 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction and allowing the adjustment frame 210 to move relative to the positioning block 50 in the Z-axis direction. Similar to the foregoing embodiment, the adjusting mechanism 20 can be positioned on the corresponding component of the keyboard by the positioning block 50 and the bolt 60, so that the adjusting frame 210 can move along the Z-axis direction relative to the upper cover 10 by the clamping of the positioning block 50, thereby locally driving the hand feeling elastic member to move, so as to change the pressing hand feeling provided by the key, for example, change the stroke point of the pressing hand feeling.

In the above embodiments of the keyboard, although the embodiment is described by taking an example in which each key has a corresponding adjusting portion, the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the adjusting portion corresponding to the hand feeling elastic member may be selectively disposed at the selected key position, so that some of the keys (e.g. W, A, S, D keys of the keyboard) have the function of adjusting the pressing hand feeling, and the rest of the keys do not have the function of adjusting the pressing hand feeling, so as to meet the operation requirements of users in different situations (e.g. playing games). When only part of the keys of the keyboard need to have the hand feeling adjusting function, the positioning design shown in fig. 18 is preferably adopted, so that the adjusting frame can have the configuration corresponding to the keys and the operating part can be exposed from the lower part of the keyboard adjacent to the keys, thereby reducing the appearance design consideration when the operating part is exposed out of the upper cover. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned keyboard embodiment, each key preferably has the same hand feeling elastic member, so that all keys provide substantially the same pressing hand feeling, but not limited thereto. According to practical application, some keys in the keyboard can have different hand feeling elastic pieces to provide different pressing hand feelings.

The present invention has been described in relation to the above embodiments, which are only exemplary of the implementation of the present invention. It should be noted that the disclosed embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention. Rather, it is intended that all such modifications and variations be included within the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A keyboard, comprising:

an upper cover having a plurality of first key openings;

2. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the keys comprise:

a keycap; and

3. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein the keys further comprise:

an elastic body disposed below the housing; and

a switch layer disposed below the elastic body,

4. The keyboard of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a base plate, wherein the base plate is disposed below the adjustment mechanism, and the adjustment frame is movably positioned on the top cover or the base plate.

5. The keyboard of claim 4, further comprising a positioning block disposed between the top cover and the adjustment frame or between the bottom plate and the adjustment frame, wherein the adjustment frame has a positioning hole, and the positioning block is disposed in the positioning hole.

6. A keyboard according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the housing comprises:

7. The keyboard as claimed in claim 6, wherein the elastic touch member comprises a positioning portion and an extension arm, the extension arm extends corresponding to the actuating portion, and the positioning portion is positioned on the lower casing.

8. The keyboard according to claim 7, wherein each of the adjustment portions extends from the corresponding frame strip toward the second key opening and bends to protrude from the adjustment frame so as to extend into the lower housing corresponding to the extension arm.

9. The keyboard of claim 8, wherein the adjustment portion has a first inclined surface, and when the adjustment frame moves relative to the top cover, the extension arm moves along the first inclined surface to change a horizontal distance and a vertical distance between the extension arm and the actuation portion; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

10. The keyboard according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting portion extends horizontally from the corresponding frame strip toward the second key opening to correspond to the positioning portion; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

11. A key, comprising:

a lower housing;

an upper case combined with the lower case;

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the adjustment member includes an adjustment portion extending from the adjustment member toward the opening and bending to protrude from the adjustment member to extend into the lower housing corresponding to the extension arm.

13. The key of claim 12, wherein the adjusting portion has a first inclined surface, and when the adjusting member moves relative to the lower housing, the extension arm moves along the first inclined surface to change a horizontal distance and a vertical distance between the extension arm and the actuating portion; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

14. The key of claim 11, wherein one of the plurality of sub-frames includes a stepped structure or a sloped structure, and the extension arm selectively contacts different portions of the stepped structure or the sloped structure to change a vertical distance between the extension arm and the actuating portion when the adjusting member moves relative to the lower housing.

15. The key of claim 13, wherein the adjustment member includes an adjustment portion extending horizontally from the adjustment member toward the opening to correspond to the positioning portion.

16. An adjusting mechanism for a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys to adjust the pressing hand feeling of the keys, each key having a hand feeling elastic member, comprising:

17. The adjusting mechanism of claim 16, wherein the adjusting portion extends from the corresponding frame strip toward the key opening and is bent to protrude from the adjusting frame.

18. The adjusting mechanism of claim 17, wherein the adjusting portion has an inclined surface, and the elastic member partially moves along the inclined surface when the adjusting frame moves relative to the plurality of keys.

19. The adjusting mechanism of claim 16, wherein the adjusting portion extends horizontally from the corresponding frame strip toward the key opening; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

20. The adjustment mechanism of claim 17, further comprising an operating portion, wherein the operating portion is bent with respect to the adjustment frame.

21. The adjusting mechanism of claim 17, wherein the adjusting frame further comprises a positioning structure, the positioning structure comprising a positioning hole and at least one rib, the rib protruding toward the positioning hole.