Patent Publication Number: US-2007108027-A1

Title: Keyboard

Description:
This invention relates to a keyboard, and in particular such a keyboard suitable for inputting characters to electrical and electronic devices, and for inputting instructions for navigating in or among various pages and/or menus of electrical and electronic devices (i.e. performing such functions as upward, downward, leftward, rightward, page up, page down, forward, and backward), such as computers, lap top computers, personal digital assistants (PDA&#39;s), mobile phones and the like. Such a keyboard may be built-in with the electrical and electronic devices, or may be a separate device connectable to the devices via appropriate interfaces.  
      There are a large number of electronic and electrical devices provided with a keyboard with a number of keys for inputting various characters, e.g. alpha-numeric characters (such as a, b, c, A, B, C, 0, 1, 2, . . . ), symbols (such as %, @, &amp;, . . . ) or characters of various languages (such as Chinese characters, Korean characters or Japanese characters). However, as such devices get smaller and smaller in size, so is the space available for accommodating a keyboard. One way to overcome such a problem is to reduce the size of the keys, but this will increase the chance of errors occurring in operating such a keyboard.  
      Another possible way to overcome such a problem is to reduce the number of keys, yet maintaining the number of instructions/characters which may be issued or transmitted. This means that the number of instructions/characters which may be issued or transmitted by each key has to be increased. However, to enhance the efficiency of input in such a keyboard, the number of instructions/characters which may be issued or transmitted by each key should be limited. For example, a conventional mobile phone usually contains twelve keys, in which the size of the keyboard is not satisfactory.  
      It is thus an objective of the present invention to provide a keyboard in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the public.  
      According to the present invention, there is provided a keyboard including at least a key member and two switches associated with each said key member, wherein said key member includes at least a first, a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth and a sixth contact members, wherein only one of said first and second contact members is movable to activate a respective of said switches at a time, wherein said third and fourth contact members are movable to each activate a respective of said switches in succession in a first order of activation of said switches, and wherein said fifth and sixth contact members are movable to each activate a respective of said switches in succession in a second order of activation of said switches. 
    
    
      Embodiments of the present invention will now be provided, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1A  is a first sectional view of a first exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 1B  is a second sectional view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 1A ;  
       FIG. 1C  is a top view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 1A ;  
       FIG. 1D  is a schematic view showing the position of four of the contact legs of the key and the two switches;  
       FIG. 1E  is a schematic view showing an alternative arrangement of the arrangement of four of the contact legs of the key and the two switches;  
       FIG. 2A  is a first sectional view of a second exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 2B  is a second sectional view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 2A ;  
       FIG. 3A  is a first sectional view of a third exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 3B  is a second sectional view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 3A ;  
       FIG. 4A  is the first sectional view of the first exemplary key arrangement shown in  FIG. 1A  in which the button is at the normal stable position;  
       FIG. 4B  is a partial sectional view of the key arrangement of  FIG. 4A  in which the button is at a depressed position;  
       FIG. 5A  is a first sectional view of a fourth exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 5B  is a second sectional view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 5A ;  
       FIG. 6A  is a first sectional view of a fifth exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 6B  is a second sectional view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 6A ;  
       FIG. 7A  is a first sectional view of a sixth exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 7B  is a second sectional view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 7A ;  
       FIG. 8A  is a first sectional view of a seventh exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 8B  is a second sectional view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 8A ;  
       FIG. 9A  is a first sectional view of an eighth exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention; and  
       FIG. 9B  is a second sectional view of the key arrangement shown in  FIG. 9A . 
    
    
      As shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  1 C, a first exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention is shown and generally designated as  100 . The key arrangement includes a key  102  with a button  104  and a body  106  which are movable relative to each other. Towards a lower end of the body  106  are provided two centrally hollow contact legs  108   a ,  108   b.    
      A substrate  110  (e.g. a printed circuit board) is positioned below the key  102 , and on which are provided two switches (e.g. membrane switches) SW 1 , SW 2 , which may be activated (e.g. by being pressed) to issue signals representing a number of different characters.  
      A narrow protrusion  112  is provided between the legs  108   a ,  108   b . By way of such an arrangement, the key  102  may be swivelled in the direction of the arrow A, about the axis X-X, so that the leg  108   a  abuts and activates the switch SW 1  to issue signals representing a first character. The key  102  may also be swivelled in the direction of the arrow B, about the axis X-X, so that the leg  108   b  abuts and activates the switch SW 2  to issue signal representing a second character. The narrow protrusion  112  will prevent the two legs  108   a ,  108   b  from abutting and activating switches SW 1  and SW 2  simultaneously.  
      The button  104  has an outer button  104   a  and an inner button  104   b  which are connected with each other via a hook arrangement  114  which allows the outer button  104   a  and inner button  104   b  to move simultaneously along a path parallel to the axis Z-Z shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , and at the same time allows the inner button  104   b  to swivel relative to the outer button  104   a  about the axis Z-Z, which is perpendicular to the axis X-X.  
      At a lower end of the inner button  104   b  are provided with two diametrically opposed extensions  116 , each being received within a respective trough  118  on an inner surface of the body  106 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1A  (of which only one trough  118  is shown), the trough  118  extends from an upper part of the inner surface of the body  106  to a lower part thereof through around 90°.  
      When the button  104  is depressed by a force acting in the direction of the arrow C, and against the upward biasing force of springs  120 ,  122 , while both the inner and outer buttons  104   a ,  104   b  will descend into the interior of the body  106 , only the inner button  104   b  will exhibit a rotational movement, as confined by the engagement between the extensions  116  and troughs  118 . During such a downward movement of the button  104 , a bottom surface of the inner button  104   b  acts on a free end of a pin  124  to simultaneously bring down a central pin  126  and two contact legs  128   a ,  128   b.    
      As the central pin  126  is smaller than the diameter of a hole  130  in the substrate  110 , if sufficiently depressed, the pin  126  can be partly received within the hole  130 , thus allowing the legs  128   a ,  128   b  to abut and activate switches SW 1  and SW 2  simultaneously to issue signals representing a third character.  
      Once the downward pressing force in the direction of the arrow C is removed, the button  104  (including outer button  104   a  and  104   b ) will return to the normal stable position (as shown in  FIG. 1A ) by the upward biasing force of the springs  120 ,  122 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 1B , towards the lower end of the body  106  are provided with two pairs of contact legs  132   a ,  132   b ,  134   a ,  134   b , whose positions relative to the switches SW 1 , SW 2  are shown in  FIG. 1D . By way of such an arrangement, the key  102  may be swivelled in the direction of the arrow D, about the axis Y-Y, so that the leg  132   a  abuts and activates the switch SW 1  first, to be followed by the leg  132   b  abutting and activating the switch SW 2  in quick succession within a predetermined period of time, e.g. 0.1 second, to issue signals representing a fourth character. The key  102  may also be swivelled in the direction of the arrow E, about the axis Y-Y, so that the leg  134   b  abuts and activates the switch SW 2  first, to be followed by the leg  134   a  abutting and activating the switch SW 1  in quick succession within a pre-determined period of time, e.g. 0.1 second, to issue signals representing a fifth character. The axis Y-Y is perpendicular to both the axes X-X and Z-Z. If either movement in the D or E directions is required, the protrusion  112  may be wider to act as a support, in order to keep the body of the key stable and in balance.  
      By way of such an arrangement, signals representing a total of nine different characters, commands, or instructions may be transmitted for input into an electrical or electronic device installed with a keyboard according to the present invention, as shown in Table 1 below. For ease of reference, the following symbols are used in the following Table 1:  
                       TABLE 1                               Exemplary Characters,       Sequence of Movement   Sequence of Switches   Commands or Instructions       of the Key   Activated   Inputted                  X+   SW1   A/Rightward/P, Q, R/ . . .       X−   SW2   B/Leftward/G, H, I, / . . .       Y+   SW1 followed by SW2 within a   C/Upward/A, B, C,/ . . .           pre-determined period of time       Y−   SW2 followed by SW1 within a   D/Downward/V, W, X/ . . .           pre-determined period of time       Z   SW1 and SW2 simultaneously   E/OK/M, N, O, / . . .       Z + X+   (SW1 and SW2   F/Backward/J, K, L/ . . .           simultaneously) followed by           SW1       Z + X−   (SW1 and SW2   G/Forward/S, T, U/ . . .           simultaneously) followed by           SW2       Z + Y+   (SW1 and SW2   H/Page Up/D, E, F/ . . .           simultaneously) followed by           SW1, and subsequently by           SW2 within a pre-determined           period of time       Z + Y−   (SW1 and SW2 simultaneously)   I/Page Down/Y, Z/ . . .           followed by SW2, and           subsequently by SW1 within a           pre-determined period of time                 X+ movement of the key 102 in the direction of the arrow A            X− movement of the key 102 in the direction of the arrow B            Y+ movement of the key 102 in the direction of the arrow D            Y− movement of the key 102 in the direction of the arrow E            Z movement of the key 102 in the direction of the arrow C             
 
      It can be seen that after the button  104  is brought to the lower position so that the legs  128   a ,  128   b  act on the switches SW 1 , SW 2  simultaneously, the key  102  may be further manipulated to activate the switches SW 1 , SW 2  to transmit signals representing from a sixth to a ninth character.  
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  show a second exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention, generally designated as  200 . A key  202  of this arrangement is very similar to the key  102  of the arrangement  100  discussed above. The main difference is that the lower portion of a body  206  of the key  202  is generally of a cylindrical shape, such that the outer surface of the lower portion of the body  206  will abut and slide on the upper surface of a substrate  210  during swivelling movement of the key  202  about the axis Y 2 -Y 2  as shown in  FIG. 2A .  
      Turning to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , a third exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention is shown and generally designated as  300 . A main difference between this arrangement  300  and the two arrangements  100 ,  200  discussed above is that a key  302  includes two legs  308   a ,  308   b  inner of the two switches SW 1 , SW 2 . It can be seen that in the position as shown in  FIG. 3A , neither of the legs  308   a ,  308   b  abuts or activates the two switches SW 1 , SW 2 .  
      When the key  302  is slid in the direction indicated by the arrow H relative to the switches SW 1 , SW 2 , the leg  308   a  will abut and activate the switch SW 1 , whereas when the key  302  is slid in the direction indicated by the arrow G relative to the switches SW 1 , SW 2 , the leg  308   b  will abut and activate the switch SW 2 . Because of the distance between the legs  308   a ,  308   b , they cannot abut and activate the two switches SW 1 , SW 2  simultaneously.  
       FIG. 4A  is essentially the same as  FIG. 1A , in which the button  104  is at the normal stable position, whereas  FIG. 4B  is a partial sectional view of the key arrangement  100  in which the button  104  is at a depressed position, when it descends into the interior of the body  106 . It can be seen that when the button  104  is depressed from the position as shown in  FIG. 4A  to that in  FIG. 4B , the inner button  104   b  has swivelled by around 90°. A vertical trough  140  is provided on an inner surface of the body  106  for receiving a free end of an extension (not shown) of the outer button  104   a , so as to prevent swivelling movement of the outer button  104   a  during its movement.  
      Turning now to  FIGS. 5A and 5B , which show a fourth exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention, and generally designated as  500 . A main difference between this key arrangement  500  with the key arrangements  100 ,  200 ,  300  discussed above is that shoulders  502  of a body  506  of a key  504  of the key arrangement  500  are exposed to the outside environment. In particular, in this arrangement  500 , the upper surfaces of the shoulders  502  are generally co-planar with an upper surface  506  of the electronic or electrical device, or the housing of the key.  
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  show a fifth exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention, and generally designated as  600 . This arrangement  600  is very similar to the arrangement  100  shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  1 D. In the arrangement  100 , two opposite pins  150  are each received within a recess  152  on opposite sides of the body  106  for swivelling movement of the key  102  about the axis Y-Y On the other hand, in the key arrangement  600 , a body  606  of the key  602  is provided with two opposite pins  604 , each being received within a respective recess  608  of part of the electronic or electrical device, or the housing of the key, for swivelling movement about an axis passing through the pins  604 .  
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  show a sixth exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention, and generally designated as  700 . This arrangement  700  is very similar to the arrangement  100  shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  1 D, except that below an inner button  704   b  of a button  704  of a key  702  are two pins  224 , for simultaneous movement with the inner button  704   b.    
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  show a seventh exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention, and generally designated as  800 . This arrangement  800  can be said to be a revised version of the key arrangement  200 . A first difference is that the pivotal axis of swivelling of the key  802  relative to the substrate  810  is raised to above an upper surface  812  of the electrical or electronic device. A second difference is that the width of the body  806  of the key  802  is generally uniform along its whole length.  
       FIGS. 9A and 9B  show an eighth exemplary key arrangement forming part of a keyboard according to the present invention, and generally designated as  900 , which can be said to be a variation of the key arrangement  300  shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . In the arrangement  300 , the legs  308   a ,  308   b  are inner of the two switches SW 1 , SW 2 . On the other hand, in the arrangement  900 , legs  908   a ,  908   b  of a key  902  are outer of the two switches SW 1 , SW 2 . It can be seen that in the position as shown in  FIG. 9A , neither of the legs  908   a ,  908   b  abuts or activates the two switches SW 1 , SW 2 .  
      When the key  902  is slid in the direction indicated by the arrow L relative to the switches SW 1 , SW 2 , the leg  908   b  will abut and activate the switch SW 2 , whereas when the key  902  is slid in the direction indicated by the arrow K relative to the switches SW 1 , SW 2 , the leg  908   a  will abut and activate the switch SW 1 . Because of the distance between the legs  908   a ,  908   b , they cannot abut and activate the two switches SW 1 , SW 2  simultaneously.  
      Similarly, when the key  902  is slid in the direction indicated by the arrow M relative to the switches SW 1 , SW 2 , legs  932   a ,  932   b  respectively acts on the switches SW 1  and SW 2  in succession. When the key  902  is slid in the direction indicated by the arrow N relative to the switches SW 1 , SW 2 , legs  934   a ,  934   b  respectively acts on the switches SW 2  and SW 1  in succession.  
      It should be understood that the above only illustrates examples whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that various modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.  
      It should also be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any appropriate sub-combinations.