CN102403152A - Keyboard and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a keyboard and a manufacturing method thereof. The plurality of keys are arranged on the bottom plate, at least one of the plurality of keys comprises a keycap and a lifting support device, the keycap comprises a keycap main body, a metal layer and a transparent adhesive layer, the metal layer is adhered on the keycap main body through the transparent adhesive layer and is provided with a pattern, and the lifting support device is arranged between the keycap and the bottom plate and used for enabling the keycap to move up and down relative to the bottom plate. The invention not only can utilize the metal layer to generate better metal luster than the conventional mirror ink, but also can improve the problem that the prior art can influence the color of the whole metal layer when using non-transparent adhesive (such as white glue and the like) by utilizing the transparent characteristic of the transparent cementing layer so that the body or the background of the pattern on the metal layer can present the color consistent with the main body of the keycap, thereby improving the appearance integral feeling of the keycap.

Description

Keyboard and manufacturing method thereof

technical field

The present invention relates to a keyboard and its manufacturing method, in particular to a keyboard in which a metal layer is glued to a keycap main body by using a transparent adhesive layer and its manufacturing method.

Background technique

As far as current personal computer usage habits are concerned, the keyboard is one of the indispensable input devices for inputting characters, symbols or numbers. Not only that, but all consumer electronic products in daily life or large-scale processing equipment used in the industry need to be equipped with a key structure as an input device to operate the above-mentioned electronic products and processing equipment.

Generally speaking, the keycaps on the keyboard are mostly made of plastic materials through an injection molding process. Then, ink is printed on the keycap to form characters or symbols that can be recognized by users. If you want to make the words or symbols on the keycaps produce a mirror reflection effect, at present, you need to print mirror ink on the keycaps. However, because the reflective effect of mirror ink is not as good as that of metal materials, it is not very practical. If it is desired to use metal materials to manufacture keycaps, the manufacturing process will become more complicated due to the need to form an engaging structure under the keycaps, which is not conducive to mass production.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a keyboard and a method for manufacturing the keyboard in which the metal layer is glued to the keycap body by using a transparent glue layer, so as to solve the above-mentioned problems.

According to one embodiment, the present invention provides a keyboard, comprising: a base plate and a plurality of keys, the plurality of keys are arranged on the base plate, at least one of the plurality of keys comprises: a keycap and a lifting support device, the key The cap includes a keycap main body, a metal layer and a transparent glue layer, the metal layer is glued on the keycap main body through the transparent glue layer and has a pattern, and the lifting support device is arranged between the keycap and the bottom plate for making The keycap moves up and down relative to the bottom plate.

Preferably, the keycap further includes: a protective layer covering the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap main body.

Preferably, the protective layer is coated on the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap main body by ultraviolet curing.

Preferably, the pattern is formed on the metal layer by laser engraving.

Preferably, the pattern is a solid pattern or a hollow pattern.

Preferably, the keycap main body has a first chute and a first card slot, the bottom plate has a second chute and a second card slot, and the lifting support device includes: a first support member and a second support member, the first The supporting member has a first sliding part and a first pivot part, the first sliding part is slidably arranged in the first slide groove, and the first pivot part is rotatably pivotally connected in the second slot; The second supporting member is pivotally connected to the first supporting member, the second supporting member has a second sliding part and a second pivoting part, the second sliding part is slidably arranged in the second slide groove, and the first supporting part The two pivoting parts are rotatably pivoted in the first slot.

The present invention also provides a keyboard manufacturing method, which includes: providing a keyboard, the keyboard includes a base plate and a plurality of keys, the plurality of keys are arranged on the base plate, at least one of the plurality of keys includes a keycap main body; The transparent adhesive layer glues the metal layer on the keycap main body; and forms a pattern on the metal layer.

Preferably, the step of forming the pattern on the metal layer includes: forming a solid pattern or a hollow pattern on the metal layer by laser engraving.

Preferably, a protective layer is formed to cover the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap main body.

Preferably, the step of forming the protective layer covering the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap body includes: forming the protective layer covering the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap by ultraviolet curing. on the cap body.

In summary, the present invention performs thermal transfer process on the keycap to form the metal layer on the main body of the keycap through the gluing of the transparent adhesive layer, so as to produce a good metallic luster on the keycap, and at the same time achieve the replacement The prior art uses mirror ink printing method or the method of directly using metal material to produce the purpose of the complicated manufacturing process. In this way, the present invention can not only use the metal layer to produce a better metallic luster than the conventional mirror ink, but also, by virtue of the transparent properties of the transparent adhesive layer, the body or background of the pattern on the metal layer will appear to be consistent with the keycap The color of the main body is consistent, so as to improve the problem of affecting the overall color of the metal layer when using opaque glue (such as white glue, etc.) in the previous technology, so as to improve the overall appearance of the keycap.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention can be further understood through the following embodiments and accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the flowchart of the keyboard manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process in conjunction with FIG. 1;

3 is a schematic diagram of a keyboard according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the key in FIG. 3 along line X-X.

Detailed ways

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2A to 2E . FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a keyboard manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A to 2E are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process in conjunction with FIG. 1 . For convenience of description, FIG. 2A is presented as a perspective view, while FIGS. 2B to 2E are presented as cross-sectional views supplemented with top views and only show a single keycap.

First, step S10 is executed to provide the keyboard 1, as shown in FIG. 2A. In this embodiment, the keyboard 1 includes a base plate 10 and a plurality of keys 12, wherein the keys 12 are disposed on the base plate 10, and the keys 12 include a key cap 14, which includes a key cap body 16, a metal layer 18, and a transparent adhesive layer 20, and a protective layer 22 . In the following, a single keycap 14 will be used for illustration in conjunction with FIG. 2 . As for the other keycaps 14 with the same design, it can be deduced by analogy, and will not be repeated here. A cross-sectional view and a top view of the keycap body 16 are shown in FIG. 2B .

Next, step S12 is performed, as shown in FIG. 2C. In this embodiment, the metal layer 18 (which is a metal film) can be glued on the keycap main body 16 by using a transparent adhesive layer 20. In the process, the metal layer 18 and the transparent adhesive layer 20 can be used together to form a thermal transfer film, and then the above step S12 is performed with the thermal transfer film.

Next, step S14 is executed to form a pattern 24 on the metal layer 18 , as shown in FIG. 2D . In practical applications, a laser can be used to perform a laser engraving process on the metal layer 18 to form a pattern 24 on the metal layer 18, and a part of the keycap body 16 can be exposed through the pattern 24, wherein the pattern 24 is available to the user. The recognized characters or symbols can optionally be a solid pattern (as shown in FIG. 2D ) or a hollow pattern, depending on the actual application. In this way, the metal layer 20 that has not been engraved during the laser engraving process can produce a good metallic luster on the keycap 14 , thereby improving the appearance and texture of the key 12 .

In addition, since the metal layer 18 is formed on the keycap main body 16 by bonding the transparent adhesive layer 20, after using a laser engraving process to carve off part of the metal layer 18 to form the pattern 24 on the metal layer 18, Due to the transparent properties of the transparent adhesive layer 20, the background of the pattern 24 will appear in the same color as the keycap main body 16, so as to improve the overall presentation of the metal layer 18 when opaque adhesives (such as white glue, etc.) are used in the prior art. The problem of the color of the keycap 14 is improved, thereby improving the overall appearance of the keycap 14. For example, if the metal layer 20 is a silver metal film and the pattern 24 is a hollow pattern, then through the above design, the keycap 14 can form the pattern 24 with the same color as the keycap body 16 and the background of the pattern 24 has a silver metallic luster On the other hand, if the metal layer 20 is a silver metal film and the pattern 24 is a solid pattern (such as

2D ), through the above design, the keycap 14 can form a keycap in which the pattern 24 has silver metallic luster and the background of the pattern 24 is the same color as the keycap body 16 .

Finally, step S16 is executed to form a protection layer 22 on the metal layer 18 , the transparent adhesive layer 20 , and the keycap main body 16 , as shown in FIG. 2E . In this embodiment, the protective layer 22 is preferably formed on the metal layer 18, the transparent adhesive layer 20, and the keycap body 16 by ultraviolet curing, so as to prevent the pattern 24 of the metal layer 18 from being worn out under long-term use. .

In practical applications, the above step S12 to step S16 can be performed once for the keycap 14 of the keyboard 1 in FIG. 2A to adopt the above design. In this way, the keyboard manufacturing process of the present invention can be completed.

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a schematic diagram of a keyboard 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3 , the keyboard 3 includes a bottom plate 30 and a plurality of keys 32 . The button 32 is disposed on the bottom plate 30 for the user to press to execute the function that the user wants to input.

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which is a cross-sectional view of the button 32 in FIG. 3 along line X-X. As shown in FIG. 4 , the button 32 includes a keycap 34 , a lifting support device 36 , a circuit board 38 and an elastic member 40 . The keycap 34 includes a keycap body 340 , a metal layer 341 , a transparent adhesive layer 342 , and a protective layer 343 . Both the lifting support device 36 and the elastic member 40 are disposed between the keycap body 340 and the bottom plate 30 , and the circuit board 38 is disposed on the bottom plate 30 . In practical applications, the circuit board 38 has a switch 380 corresponding to the button module 32 , such as a membrane switch or other trigger switches. The elastic member 40 can be a rubber washer (rubberdome), but not limited thereto. The elastic member 40 serves as a source of elastic force required for the keycap 34 to move up and down relative to the bottom plate 30 . When the keycap 34 is pressed, the elastic member 40 will trigger the switch 380 on the circuit board 38 to execute the function desired by the user.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the keycap body 340 has a first chute 3400 and a first slot 3402 , the bottom plate 30 has a second chute 300 and a second slot 302 , and the lifting support device 36 includes a first support 360 and a second slot 360 . Two supports 362 . The first support member 360 has a first sliding portion 3600 and a first pivot portion 3602 . The second support member 362 has a second sliding portion 3620 and a second pivot portion 3622 . The first supporting member 360 is pivotally connected to the second supporting member 362 . The first sliding part 3600 is slidably disposed in the corresponding first sliding slot 3400 , and the first pivoting part 3602 is rotatably pivoted in the corresponding second locking slot 302 . The second sliding part 3620 is slidably disposed in the corresponding second sliding slot 300 , and the second pivoting part 3622 is rotatably pivoted in the corresponding first engaging slot 3402 . Thereby, when the keycap 34 is pressed, the keycap 34 will move vertically toward the bottom plate 30 along with the lifting support device 36 .

The metal layer 341 is formed on the keycap main body 340 via thermal transfer printing of the transparent adhesive layer 342, the pattern 344 is formed on the metal layer 342, and the protective layer 343 is formed on the metal layer 342 to prevent the pattern 344 from being worn out under long-term use, The pattern 344 is a character or symbol recognizable by the user, and is optionally a solid pattern or a hollow pattern (shown as a hollow pattern in FIG. 4 ), depending on the actual application. In this way, the metal layer 342 that has not been engraved during the laser engraving process can produce a good metallic luster on the keycap 34 , thereby improving the appearance and texture of the key 32 . In addition, as mentioned above, due to the transparent properties of the transparent adhesive layer 342, the body of the pattern 344 will present the same color as the keycap main body 340, so as to improve the influence of the prior art when using opaque glue (such as white glue, etc.). The overall color of the metal layer 342 improves the overall appearance of the keycap 34 .

It should be noted that the keyboard 3 can be manufactured using the manufacturing method shown in FIG. 1 . In other words, the metal layer 342 , the pattern 344 and the protective layer 343 can be formed on the keycap body 340 by using steps S12 , S14 and S16 in FIG. 1 . The relevant manufacturing principles are as described above and will not be repeated here.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention is to carry out thermal transfer process on the keycap to form the metal layer on the keycap main body through the gluing of the transparent adhesive layer, so as to produce a good metallic luster on the keycap, and at the same time To achieve the purpose of replacing the complex process produced by the prior art using mirror ink printing or directly using metal materials to manufacture keycaps. In this way, the present invention can not only use the metal layer to produce a better metallic luster than the conventional mirror ink, but also, by virtue of the transparent properties of the transparent adhesive layer, the body or background of the pattern on the metal layer will appear to be consistent with the keycap The color of the main body is consistent, so as to improve the problem of affecting the overall color of the metal layer when using opaque glue (such as white glue, etc.) in the previous technology, so as to improve the overall appearance of the keycap.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A keyboard, characterized in that the keyboard comprises: base plate; and A plurality of buttons are arranged on the base plate, at least one of the plurality of buttons includes: A keycap comprising a keycap body, a metal layer and a transparent glue layer, the metal layer is glued to the keycap body via the transparent glue layer and has a pattern; and The lifting supporting device is arranged between the keycap and the bottom plate, and is used to move the keycap up and down relative to the bottom plate. 2 . The keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein the keycap further comprises: a protective layer covering the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap main body. 3 . 3 . The keyboard according to claim 2 , wherein the protective layer is coated on the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap main body by ultraviolet curing. 4 . 4. The keyboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pattern is formed on the metal layer by laser engraving. 5. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the pattern is a solid pattern or a hollow pattern. 6. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the keycap body has a first sliding slot and a first locking slot, the bottom plate has a second sliding slot and a second locking slot, and the lifting support device comprises: The first supporting part has a first sliding part and a first pivot part, the first sliding part is slidably arranged in the first sliding slot, and the first pivot part is rotatably pivotally connected to the second card in the slot; and The second supporting member is pivotally connected with the first supporting member, the second supporting member has a second sliding part and a second pivoting part, the second sliding part is slidably arranged in the second slide groove, the first supporting part The two pivoting parts are rotatably pivoted in the first slot. 7. A keyboard manufacturing method, characterized in that, comprising: A keyboard is provided, the keyboard includes a base plate and a plurality of keys, the plurality of keys are arranged on the base plate, at least one of the plurality of keys includes a keycap body; the metal layer is glued to the keycap body with a transparent glue layer; and A pattern is formed on the metal layer. 8. The keyboard manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein the step of forming the pattern on the metal layer comprises: forming a solid pattern or a hollow pattern on the metal layer by laser engraving. 9 . The keyboard manufacturing method according to claim 7 , further comprising: forming a protective layer to cover the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap main body. 10. The keyboard manufacturing method according to claim 9, wherein the step of forming the protective layer to cover the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap body comprises: forming the protective layer by ultraviolet curing coated on the metal layer, the transparent adhesive layer and the keycap main body.

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