U.S. patent application number 15/175053 was filed with the patent office on 2017-08-24 for keyswitch and keyboard with distance detecting function.
The applicant listed for this patent is PixArt Imaging Inc.. Invention is credited to Yen-Min Chang, Shih-Wei Kuo, Tsung-Fa Wang, Feng-Cheng Yang.
Application Number | 20170244409 15/175053 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59581164 |
Filed Date | 2017-08-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170244409 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; Tsung-Fa ; et
al. |
August 24, 2017 |
KEYSWITCH AND KEYBOARD WITH DISTANCE DETECTING FUNCTION
Abstract
A keyboard with a distance detecting function includes a
plurality of keyswitches, and each keyswitch includes a keycap, a
base, a supporting component, a recovering component and a distance
detecting unit. The base has a guide slot structure. The supporting
component has a first end connecting to the keycap, and a second
end movably assembled with the guide slot structure. The recovering
component is disposed between the supporting component and the
guide slot structure. The distance detecting unit is detachably
disposed on the base, and adapted to detect a movement of the
keycap relative to the base for determining whether the keyswitch
is actuated.
Inventors: |
Wang; Tsung-Fa; (Hsin-Chu
City, TW) ; Chang; Yen-Min; (Hsin-Chu City, TW)
; Yang; Feng-Cheng; (Hsin-Chu City, TW) ; Kuo;
Shih-Wei; (Hsin-Chu City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
PixArt Imaging Inc. |
Hsin-Chu City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
59581164 |
Appl. No.: |
15/175053 |
Filed: |
June 7, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H03K 2217/9655 20130101;
H03K 17/9647 20130101; H03K 17/941 20130101; H03K 17/975 20130101;
H03K 17/9629 20130101; H03K 17/968 20130101; H01H 13/14 20130101;
H03K 17/9622 20130101; H03K 17/9631 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H03K 17/96 20060101
H03K017/96; H01H 13/14 20060101 H01H013/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 24, 2016 |
TW |
105105392 |
Claims
1. A keyswitch with a distance detecting function, the keyswitch
comprising: a keycap; a base whereon a guide slot structure is
disposed; a supporting component, having a first end and a second
end opposite to each other, the first end being connected to the
keycap and the second end being movably assembled with the guide
slot structure; a recovering component disposed between the
supporting component and the guide slot structure; and a distance
detecting unit detachably disposed on the base and adapted to
detect a movement of the keycap relative to the base for
determining whether the keyswitch is actuated.
2. The keyswitch of claim 1, wherein the distance detecting unit is
an optical detecting component, the optical detecting component
detects a characteristic pattern on a working surface, and
determines the movement of the keycap relative to the base
according to a motion of the characteristic pattern, a deformation
of the characteristic pattern or a reflective intensity variation
of the working surface.
3. The keyswitch of claim 2, wherein the optical detecting
component receives an environmental intensity variation outside the
keycap via a light guiding component, so as to determine whether an
external object is located above the keycap.
4. The keyswitch of claim 2, wherein the working surface is formed
on a bottom surface of the supporting component, the distance
detecting unit is disposed inside the guide slot structure, and a
detecting surface of the distance detecting unit faces toward the
bottom surface.
5. The keyswitch of claim 2, wherein the supporting component
further has a stretching portion, the working surface is formed on
the stretching portion, and a detecting surface of the distance
detecting unit faces toward the stretching portion.
6. The keyswitch of claim 2, wherein the supporting component
further has a pushing portion, the keyswitch further comprises a
resilient component disposed on the base and detachably contacting
against the pushing portion, a resilient recovering force of the
resilient component is applied to the supporting component via the
pushing portion.
7. The keyswitch of claim 6, wherein the working surface is formed
on the resilient component, and a detecting surface of the distance
detecting unit faces toward the resilient component.
8. The keyswitch of claim 1, further comprising: a light
penetrating structure disposed on the base; and a light emitting
unit aligning with the light penetrating structure, light generated
by the light emitting unit being transmitted out of the base via
the light penetrating structure.
9. The keyswitch of claim 1, wherein the supporting component is
made of light guiding material, the keyswitch further comprises a
light emitting unit aligning with the supporting component, and
light generated by the light emitting unit is transmitted out of
the keycap via the supporting component.
10. The keyswitch of claim 9, wherein the light emitting unit is
disposed on the base or the second end of the supporting
component.
11. The keyswitch of claim 1, further comprising: a sheltering
component disposed on the base, the supporting component passing
through the sheltering component to assemble with the guide slot
structure; a light guiding component, an end of the light guiding
component inserting into an opening on the sheltering component;
and a light emitting unit aligning with the other end of the light
guiding component, light generated by the light emitting unit being
transmitted out of the sheltering component via the light guiding
component.
12. The keyswitch of claim 1, wherein the distance detecting unit
actuates a control command of the keyswitch according to varying
quantity and/or stop timing of the movement.
13. The keyswitch of claim 1, wherein the distance detecting unit
is a resistance detecting component or a capacitance detecting
component.
14. A keyboard with a distance detecting function, comprising: a
base whereon a plurality of guide slot structures is formed; and a
plurality of keyswitches disposed on the base, each keyswitch
comprising: a keycap; a supporting component, having a first end
and a second end opposite to each other, the first end being
connected to the keycap and the second end being movably assembled
with a corresponding guide slot structure; a recovering component
disposed between the supporting component and the corresponding
guide slot structure; and a distance detecting unit detachably
disposed on the base and adapted to detect a movement of the keycap
relative to the base for determining whether the each keyswitch is
actuated.
15. The keyboard of claim 14, wherein the distance detecting unit
is an optical detecting component, the optical detecting component
detects a characteristic pattern on a working surface, and
determines the movement of the keycap relative to the base
according to a motion of the characteristic pattern, a deformation
of the characteristic pattern or a reflective intensity variation
of the working surface.
16. The keyboard of claim 15, wherein the optical detecting
component receives an environmental intensity variation outside the
keycap via a light guiding component, so as to determine whether an
external object is located above the keycap.
17. The keyboard of claim 15, wherein the working surface is formed
on a bottom surface of the supporting component, the distance
detecting unit is disposed inside the corresponding guide slot
structure, and a detecting surface of the distance detecting unit
faces toward the bottom surface.
18. The keyboard of claim 15, wherein the supporting component
further has a stretching portion, the working surface is formed on
the stretching portion, and a detecting surface of the distance
detecting unit faces toward the stretching portion.
19. The keyboard of claim 15, wherein the supporting component
further has a pushing portion, the each keyswitch further comprises
a resilient component disposed on the base and detachably
contacting against the pushing portion, a resilient recovering
force of the resilient component is applied to the supporting
component via the pushing portion.
20. The keyboard of claim 19, wherein the working surface is formed
on the resilient component, and a detecting surface of the distance
detecting unit faces toward the resilient component.
21. The keyboard of claim 14, wherein the each keyswitch further
comprises: a light penetrating structure disposed on the base; and
a light emitting unit aligning with the light penetrating
structure, light generated by the light emitting unit being
transmitted out of the base via the light penetrating
structure.
22. The keyboard of claim 14, wherein the supporting component is
made of light guiding material, the each keyswitch further
comprises a light emitting unit aligning with the supporting
component, and light generated by the light emitting unit is
transmitted out of the keycap via the supporting component.
23. The keyboard of claim 22, wherein the light emitting unit is
disposed on the base or the second end of the supporting
component.
24. The keyboard of claim 14, wherein the each keyswitch further
comprises: a sheltering component disposed on the base, the
supporting component passing through the sheltering component to
assemble with the corresponding guide slot structure; a light
guiding component, an end of the light guiding component inserting
into an opening on the sheltering component; and a light emitting
unit aligning with the other end of the light guiding component,
light generated by the light emitting unit being transmitted out of
the sheltering component via the light guiding component.
25. The keyboard of claim 14, wherein the distance detecting unit
actuates a control command of the each keyswitch according to
varying quantity and/or stop timing of the movement.
26. The keyboard of claim 14, wherein the distance detecting unit
is a resistance detecting component or a capacitance detecting
component.
27. The keyboard of claim 14, wherein the plurality of keyswitches
utilizes correctional function to simultaneously adjust detective
precision of the distance detecting unit.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a keyswitch and a keyboard,
and more particularly, to a keyswitch and a keyboard with the
distance detecting function.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] A conventional mechanical keyswitch includes a base, a
keycap, a recovering component and an actuating spring. The
recovering component is disposed on the base, the keycap is
installed on the recovering component, and the keycap can be
vertically moved relative to the base via manual pressure. The
actuating spring is disposed by the keycap. The keycap moves
relative to the base to contact the actuating spring while arrives
a specific position, and the actuating spring drives an electronic
switch to output a control command corresponding to the mechanical
keyswitch. The actuating spring further provides a resilient
recovering force to the keycap for hand feeling. However, the
electronic switch of the conventional mechanical keyswitch is
actuated by pressing the keycap to deform the actuating spring, and
deformation of the actuating spring is able to actuate the
electronic switch since a relative movement between the keycap and
the base is greater than a specific distance, so that the
mechanical keyswitch has long operation stroke and large structural
volume and is unsuitable for consumer thin-typed electronic
product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention provides a keyswitch and a keyboard
with the distance detecting function for solving above
drawbacks.
[0006] According to the claimed invention, a keyswitch with a
distance detecting function includes a keycap, a base, a supporting
component, a recovering component and a distance detecting unit. A
guide slot structure is disposed on the base. The supporting
component has a first end and a second end opposite to each other,
the first end is connected to the keycap and the second end is
movably assembled with the guide slot structure. The recovering
component is disposed between the supporting component and the
guide slot structure. The distance detecting unit is detachably
disposed on the base and adapted to detect a movement of the keycap
relative to the base for determining whether the keyswitch is
actuated.
[0007] According to the claimed invention, a keyboard with a
distance detecting function includes a base and a plurality of
keyswitches disposed on the base. A plurality of guide slot
structures is formed on the base. The keyswitch includes a keycap,
a supporting component, a recovering component and a distance
detecting unit. The supporting component has a first end and a
second end opposite to each other, the first end is connected to
the keycap and the second end is movably assembled with the guide
slot structure. The recovering component is disposed between the
supporting component and the guide slot structure. The distance
detecting unit is detachably disposed on the base and adapted to
detect a movement of the keycap relative to the base for
determining whether the keyswitch is actuated.
[0008] The keyswitch and the related keyboard of the present
invention utilize the distance detecting unit having the distance
detecting function to detect the relative movement between the
keycap and the base. The keyswitch is represented as being
accidently hit while vary quantity of the movement is lower than
the threshold, and the keyswitch is represented as being purposely
actuated while the vary quantity of the movement is greater than
the threshold. The present invention can adjust a value of the
threshold to control the detective sensitivity of the distance
detecting function of the keyswitch; for example, the small
threshold means the keyswitch can be actuated by slight touch, and
the large threshold means that the keyswitch is actuated by heavy
pressure. Because the distance detecting unit accurately detects
the relative movement between the keycap and the base, the present
invention further can utilize the distance detecting unit to
analyze the varying quantity and/or stop timing of the foresaid
movement, and determine whether the keyswitch is pressed by
continued touch, transient touch or intermittent touch, so as to
drive the keyswitch to output the control command corresponding to
different touch condition for various hand feeling.
[0009] In addition, the present invention disposes the plurality of
keyswitches on the keyboard, and each of the keyswitches has the
distance detecting function. The detective precision and
sensitivity of the distance detecting function is varied according
to the predetermined threshold (which is utilized to compare with
the movement of the keycap) of the distance detecting unit, so the
user can arbitrarily set the threshold to adjust the detective
precision and sensitivity of the keyswitch, and preferably the
detective precision and sensitivity of the whole keyswitches on the
keyboard are simultaneously adjusted by specific correctional
function before selling. Comparing to the prior art, the present
invention replaces an actuating spring of the conventional
mechanical keyswitch with the distance detecting unit, not only can
optionally adjust the detective precision and sensitivity of the
keyswitch, but also effectively decrease structural volume of the
keyswitch for applying to the consumer thin-typed electronic
product.
[0010] These and other objectives of the present invention will no
doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after
reading the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a keyboard according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 respectively are sectional views of a
keyswitch in different operation modes according to a first
embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 respectively are sectional views of the
keyswitch in different operation modes according to a second
embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the keyswitch in another form
according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 respectively are sectional views of the
keyswitch in different operation modes according to a third
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a
keyboard 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 respectively are sectional views of a keyswitch
12 in different operation modes according to a first embodiment of
the present invention. The keyboard 10 may have a plurality of
keyswitches 12, and each of the keyswitches 12 has distance
detecting function and may be have any specific type according to
design demand. The keyswitch 12 includes a base 14, a keycap 16, a
supporting component 18, a recovering component 20, a distance
detecting unit 22 and a sheltering component 28. The base 14 is a
circuit board disposed inside the keyboard 10. The keycap 16 is an
interface where the user presses; a symbol mark is printed on the
keycap 16 to distinguish the symbol command of the keyswitch 12.
The keycap 16 can be made of light penetrating material. The
supporting component 18 has a first end 181 and a second end 182
opposite to each other. The supporting component 18 passes through
the sheltering component 28 to connect the first end 181 with the
keycap 16 and to movably assemble the second end 182 with a
corresponding guide slot structure 24 of the base 14, so that the
keycap 16 can be vertically moved relative to the base 14.
[0017] The recovering component 20 is disposed between the
supporting component 18 and the guide slot structure 24; the
recovering component 20 usually can be, but not limited to, a
compression spring. While an external force applied to the keycap
16 is removed, a resilient recovering force of the recovering
component 20 recovers the keycap 16 to an initial position. The
distance detecting unit 22 is detachably disposed on the base 14,
and the user can replace the distance detecting unit 22 with
different standards according to detective sensitivity's demand of
the keyswitch 12. The distance detecting unit 22 is utilized to
detect a movement of the keycap 16 relative to the base 14; for
example, the keyswitch 12 is actuated while the movement of the
keycap 16 is larger than a threshold, and the keyswitch 12 is
accidently hit but not actuated while the movement of the keycap 16
is smaller than the threshold. Therefore, the detective sensitivity
of the keyswitch 12 can be adjusted by the distance detecting unit
22. In the first embodiment, the distance detecting unit 22 is an
optical detecting component disposed inside the guide slot
structure 24, and a detecting surface 221 of the distance detecting
unit 22 faces toward a bottom surface of the supporting component
18. The bottom surface of the supporting component 18 is defined as
a working surface 25, and a characteristic pattern is formed on the
working surface 25. While the supporting component 18 is moved
inside the guide slot structure 24, the distance detecting unit 22
can determine the movement of the keycap 16 relative to the base 14
according to deformation of the detected characteristic
pattern.
[0018] The distance detecting unit 22 executes the distance
detecting function by optical detection technique in the
above-mentioned embodiment; however, the present invention further
can utilize the resistance detecting component or the capacitance
detecting component to be the distance detecting unit 22. While the
supporting component 18 approaches, the distance detecting unit 22
having resistance detecting function detects whether an electrode
disposed on the bottom surface (such like the working surface 25)
of the supporting component 18 is in conduction for actuation of
the keyswitch 12 while the supporting component 18 approaches, and
the distance detecting unit 22 having capacitance detecting
function determines whether to actuate the keyswitch 12 according
to an induced current resulted by capacitance variation.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the keycap 16 is not pressed by the
external force, the recovering component 20 holds the supporting
component 18 at the initial position (the higher position), the
working surface 25 is distant from the distance detecting unit 22,
and the distance detecting unit 22 acquires a detecting result
about the characteristic pattern with small size. As shown in FIG.
3, the keycap 16 is pressed by the external force to move the
supporting component 18 relative to the base 14 downwardly, the
working surface 25 moves close to the distance detecting unit 22,
and the distance detecting unit 22 acquires the detecting result
about the characteristic pattern with large size. That is, the
distance detecting unit 22 can determine the movement of the keycap
16 relative to the base 14 according to the deformation of the
characteristic pattern. The keyboard 10 may have an independent
processing unit adapted to receive the detecting result of the
whole distance detecting units 22 for analysis, or the distance
detecting unit 22 may have own processing function for detecting
and analyzing the characteristic pattern.
[0020] The keyboard 10 of the present invention can utilize the
optical detecting function to decide whether the keyswitch 12 is
accidently hit or purposely actuated. In addition, the keyswitch 12
may have light emitting function, which controls lighting property
of the light emitting unit according to actuation of the keyswitch
12 and/or user's gesture above the keyboard 10. The supporting
component 18 can be selectively made of light guiding material;
meanwhile, the distance detecting unit 22 not only detects
variation of the characteristic pattern on the working surface 25,
but also receives environmental intensity variation outside the
keycap 16 via the supporting component 18 with light guiding
function. For example, the environmental intensity changed from the
high level to the low level represents that an external object is
located above the keyswitch 12, and the environmental intensity
changed from the low level to the high level represents that the
external object moves away from the keyswitch 12. Moreover, the
keyswitch 12 can include a light guiding component 26, an end of
the light guiding component 26 aligns with the distance detecting
unit 22, and the other end of the light guiding component 26 passes
through the sheltering component 28 to point out the keycap
upwardly. The distance detecting unit 22 can receive the
environmental intensity variation outside the keycap 16 via the
light guiding component 26, to determine position of the external
object relative to the keyswitch 12.
[0021] Generally, the keyswitch 12 can detect the environmental
intensity by one of the supporting component 18 made by the light
guiding material and the light guiding component 26, but the
keyswitch 12 further may include the supporting component 18 and
the light guiding component 26 both according to design demand. As
shown in FIG. 1, the keyswitches 12 of the keyboard 10 have the
environmental intensity detecting function; while the user's hand
moves across the keyboard 10, the plurality of keyswitches arranged
as an array can respectively detect the environmental intensity
variation resulted by the user's hand moving across the keyboard
10, which means directions, speed and track of the gesture can be
distinguished to generate the corresponding control command.
[0022] The keyswitch 12 further can include alight guiding
component 30 and a light emitting unit 32. An end of the light
guiding component 30 inserts into an opening 281 on the sheltering
component 28, and the light emitting unit 32 is disposed on the
base 14 to align with the other end of the light guiding component
30. Light generated by the light emitting unit 32 can be
transmitted out of the sheltering component 28 via the light
guiding component 30, and the user can watch the light over the
keyswitch 12. The keyswitch 12 further can include a light
penetrating structure 34 disposed on the base 14 and stretching out
of the sheltering component 28. The light emitting unit 32 aligns
with the light penetrating structure 34, and the light generated by
the light emitting unit 32 is transmitted out of the base 14 via
the light penetrating structure 34, so the user can watch the light
through a gap between the adjacent keyswitches 12. Because of the
above-mentioned gesture detecting function, the present invention
can drive the specific keyswitch 12 to light on (such like reminder
radiation or decorative radiation) according to the gesture's track
moving across the keyboard 10; for instance, the reminder radiation
and/or the decorative radiation can be shined through the keycap 16
of the keyswitch 12, or through the base between the adjacent
keyswitches 12
[0023] In the first embodiment of the present invention, the
distance detecting unit 22 (which means the optical detecting
component) not only detects the characteristic pattern formed on
the working surface 25 of the supporting component 18, but also can
determine the movement of the keycap 16 relative to the base 14
according to the reflective intensity variation of the working
surface 25. For example, the reflective intensity of the working
surface 25 is decreased while the working surface 25 is distant
from the distance detecting unit 22, as shown in FIG. 2; and the
reflective intensity of the working surface 25 is increased while
the working surface 25 moves close to the distance detecting unit
22, as shown in FIG. 3. The distance detecting unit 22 analyzes the
reflective intensity variation of the working surface 25 to acquire
the movement the keycap 16 relative to the base 14, so as to
determine whether the keyswitch 12 is actuated accordingly.
[0024] Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5
respectively are sectional views of the keyswitch 12' in different
operation modes according to a second embodiment of the present
invention. In the second embodiment, elements having the same
numerals as ones of the first embodiment have the same structures
and functions. Difference between the first embodiment and the
second embodiment is that the supporting component 18 includes a
stretching portion 36, and the working surface 25 is formed on the
stretching portion 36. The distance detecting unit 22' of the
keyswitch 12' is located outside the guide slot structure 24, and
the detecting surface 221' of the distance detecting unit 22' faces
toward the working surface 25 of the stretching portion 36. While
the keyswitch 12 is pressed to move the supporting component 18
relative to the guide slot structure 24, the distance detecting
unit 22' detects a motion of the characteristic pattern on the
working surface 25 to acquire the relative movement between the
keycap 12 and the base 14. The light emitting unit 32' of the
keyswitch 12' is disposed inside the guide slot structure 24 of the
base 14. The light emitting unit 32' aligns with the supporting
component 18, and the light generated by the light emitting unit
32' can be transmitted out of the keycap 16 via the supporting
component 18 (which is made of the light guiding material). Please
refer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the keyswitch 12' in
another form according to the second embodiment of the present
invention. The light emitting unit 32' can be selectively disposed
on the second end 182 of the supporting component 18, the light
emitting unit 32' can be moved with the supporting component 18
moving relative to the guide slot structure 24, and the light
generated by the light emitting unit 32' is transmitted out of the
keycap 16 via the supporting component 18 (which is made of the
light guiding material).
[0025] Please refer to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8
respectively are sectional views of the keyswitch 12'' in different
operation modes according to a third embodiment of the present
invention. In the third embodiment, elements having the same
numerals as ones of the above-mentioned embodiments have the same
structures and functions. Difference between the third embodiment
and the above-mentioned embodiments is that the keyswitch 12''
further includes a resilient component 38 disposed on the base 14
and adjacent by the supporting component 18, and a pushing portion
40 of the supporting component 18 detachably contacts against the
resilient component 38. The working surface 25 is formed on the
resilient component 38, the detecting surface 221'' of the distance
detecting unit 22'' faces toward the working surface 25 of the
resilient component 38, and the motion of the characteristic
pattern on the working surface 25 can be detected accordingly while
the resilient component 38 is resiliently deformed. As shown in
FIG. 7, while the keycap 16 is not pressed by the external force,
the pushing portion 40 may not directly touch the resilient
component 38, or may contact against the resilient component 38 but
the resilient component 38 has no giant deformation; as shown in
FIG. 8, while the keycap 16 is pressed by the external force, the
keycap 16 and the supporting component 18 simultaneously move
downward, the pushing portion 40 presses the resilient component 38
to generate a resilient recovering force, position of the working
surface 25 is varied and the distance detecting unit 22'' can
detect the movement of the keycap 16 relative to the base 14
according to the motion of the characteristic pattern on the
working surface 25. During deformation of the resilient component
38, the resilient recovering force of the resilient component 38 is
applied to the supporting component 18 via the pushing portion 40,
and the user can experience force feedback while pressing the
keyswitch 12.
[0026] The light emitting unit 32' of the keyswitch 12'' can be
disposed on the base 14 or the second end 182 of the supporting
component 18, and the light generated by the light emitting unit
32' is transmitted out of the keycap 16 via the supporting
component 18 made of light guiding material. Furthermore, the
keyswitch 12' of the second embodiment and the keyswitch 12'' of
the third embodiment may selectively have the light guiding
component 26, the light guiding component 30 and/or the light
penetrating structure 34 mentioned in the first embodiment for
transmitting the light generated by the light emitting unit 32' out
of the keycap 16 or the base 14.
[0027] In conclusion, the keyswitch and the related keyboard of the
present invention utilize the distance detecting unit having the
distance detecting function to detect the relative movement between
the keycap and the base. The keyswitch is represented as being
accidently hit while vary quantity of the movement is lower than
the threshold, and the keyswitch is represented as being purposely
actuated while the vary quantity of the movement is greater than
the threshold. The present invention can adjust a value of the
threshold to control the detective sensitivity of the distance
detecting function of the keyswitch; for example, the small
threshold means the keyswitch can be actuated by slight touch, and
the large threshold means that the keyswitch is actuated by heavy
pressure. Because the distance detecting unit accurately detects
the relative movement between the keycap and the base, the present
invention further can utilize the distance detecting unit to
analyze the varying quantity and/or stop timing of the foresaid
movement, and determine whether the keyswitch is pressed by
continued touch, transient touch or intermittent touch, so as to
drive the keyswitch to output the control command corresponding to
different touch condition for various hand feeling.
[0028] It should be mentioned that the present invention disposes
the plurality of keyswitches on the keyboard, and each of the
keyswitches has the distance detecting function. The detective
precision and sensitivity of the distance detecting function is
varied according to the predetermined threshold (which is utilized
to compare with the movement of the keycap) of the distance
detecting unit, so the user can arbitrarily set the threshold to
adjust the detective precision and sensitivity of the keyswitch,
and preferably the detective precision and sensitivity of the whole
keyswitches on the keyboard are simultaneously adjusted by specific
correctional function before selling. Comparing to the prior art,
the present invention replaces an actuating spring of the
conventional mechanical keyswitch with the distance detecting unit,
not only can optionally adjust the detective precision and
sensitivity of the keyswitch, but also effectively decrease
structural volume of the keyswitch for applying to the consumer
thin-typed electronic product.
[0029] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous
modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made
while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the
above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes
and bounds of the appended claims.
* * * * *