Patent Publication Number: US-2007102271-A1

Title: Switch having hot-key switching buttons and indicator means

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to computer switches and more particularly, to a switch, which has switching buttons for switching respective hot-keys and hot-key indicator lights for indicating the operation status of the switching buttons so that the user knows the status of each hot-key that has been using.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Commercial computer switches (such as KRM Switch, Video Switch, etc.) have switching buttons on the face panel for switching specific functions of the computer. Further, a computer user may use the keyboard of the computer to give a hot-key command. Further, various computer operation systems (Microsoft&#39;s Window 200, Window XP, Unix, Linux, Apple&#39;s MAC OS, etc.) and software systems (TELCOM, PC Anywhere, drawing software) are commercially available. In order to prevent a conflict between a hot-key command of the switch and a particular function key (for example, Ctrl+Alt, Ctrl+Shift, etc.) of the operation system or software system of the computer, multiple sets of hot-key commands (for example, &lt;Ctrl&gt;&lt;Ctrl&gt;, &lt;Caps Lock&gt;&lt;Caps Lock&gt;, Ctrl+Alt, etc.) may be provided for setting by the user.  
      However, the user may forget what hot-key has been set or is in operation, and may have to make several trials to make sure of the operating hot-key command through the OSD (On-Screen Display). This condition will cause a big inconvenience when the system allows multiple users or the system does not have an OSD.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a switch, which has switching buttons for switching respective hot-keys and hot-key indicator lights for indicating the operation status of the switching buttons so that the user knows the status of each hot-key that has been using.  
      It is another object of the present invention to provide a switch, which allows the user to set hot-keys through the keyboard of the computer as well as through the respective switching buttons of the switch that correspond to respective hot-key indicator lights on the face panel of the switch.  
      It is still another object of the present invention to provide a switch, which allows the user to control the operation of the switching buttons and hot-key indicator lights to set hot-keys by means of an infrared/radio remote controller.  
      According to one embodiment of the present invention, the switch comprises a housing, the housing defining a receiving chamber; a printed circuit board mounted in the receiving chamber inside the housing, the printed circuit board having a control circuit; a face panel mounted on one side of the housing, the face panel having at least one first hole and at least one second hole; at least one switching button respectively mounted in the at least one first hole of the face panel and electrically coupled to the control circuit of the printed circuit board for switching a respective hot-key; and at least one hot-key indicator light respectively mounted in the at least one second hole of the face panel and electrically coupled to the control circuit of the printed circuit board for indicating the operation status of the at least one switching button respectively. Further, the control circuit of the printed circuit board has a wireless receiving circuit that can be an infrared receiving circuit or radio receiving circuit.  
      According to another embodiment of the present invention, the switch comprises a housing, the housing defining a receiving chamber; a printed circuit board mounted in the receiving chamber inside the housing, the printed circuit board having a control circuit; a face panel mounted on one side of the housing, the face panel having at least one hole; at least one switching button respectively mounted in the at least one hole of the face panel and electrically coupled to the control circuit of the printed circuit board for switching a respective hot-key; and display means mounted in the face panel and electrically coupled to the control circuit of the printed circuit board for indicating the operation status of the at least one switching button respectively. Further, the control circuit of the printed circuit board has a wireless receiving circuit that can be an infrared receiving circuit or radio receiving circuit. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing showing a switch according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing showing an alternate form of the switch according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing showing another alternate form of the switch according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing still another alternate form of the switch according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing showing still another alternate form of the switch according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , a switch in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a housing  10 , a printed circuit board (not shown), a face panel  30 , at least one switching button  40 , and at least one hot-key indicator light  50 . According to this embodiment, the switch comprises a plurality of switching buttons  40  and a plurality of hot-key indicator lights  50 .  
      The housing  10  defines a front open side (not shown) and a receiving chamber  11  for accommodating the printed circuit board, the face panel  30 , the switching buttons  40  and the hot-key indicator lights  50 .  
      The printed circuit board is accommodated in the receiving chamber  11  inside the housing  10 , having a control circuit (not shown) that controls the operation of the switching buttons  40  and the hot-key indicator lights  50 .  
      The face panel  30  is mounted in the front open side of the housing  10  and firmly secured to the housing  10 , having a plurality of first holes  31  and a plurality of second holes  32 .  
      The switching buttons  40  are respectively mounted in the first holes  31  of the face panel  30  and electrically coupled to the control circuit of the printed circuit board inside the housing  10  for allowing the user to switch hot-keys or their combinations, for example, &lt;Ctrl&gt;&lt;Ctrl&gt;, &lt;Caps Lock&gt;&lt;Caps Lock&gt;, Ctrl+Alt, etc.  
      The hot-key indicator lights  50  are respectively mounted in the second holes  32  of the face panel  30  and electrically coupled to the control circuit of the printed circuit board inside the housing  10  for indicating the status of the switching buttons  40  subject to the control of the control circuit of the printed circuit board. The number of the hot-key indicator lights  50  corresponds to the number of the switching buttons  40 . Preferably, the hot-key indicator lights  50  are respectively formed of a LED (Light Emitting Diode).  
      By means of the indication of the hot-key indicator lights  50  on the face panel  30 , the user knows the operation status of the hot-keys. For example, when the &lt;Ctrl&gt;&lt;Ctrl&gt; hot-key indicator light  50  is turned on, the user knows that the hot-key &lt;Ctrl&gt;&lt;Ctrl&gt; has been using and will not input or define the same hot-key. Therefore, the invention eliminates the problem of forgetting the set multiple hot-keys or being unable to know the accurate hot-key due to change of the setting (by the user or another person).  
       FIG. 2  shows an alternate form of the switch according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the switching buttons  40  are respectively arranged at one side near the respective hot-key indicator lights  50  to save the space of the face panel  10  for other purposes.  
       FIG. 3  shows another alternate form of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the switch is controllable by a remote controller  70 , i.e., the control circuit of the switch comprises a wireless receiving circuit (not shown) adapted to receive wireless signals from the remote controller  70  for controlling the operation of the switching buttons  40  and the hot-key indicator lights  50 . The remote controller  70  has hot-key operating buttons  71 . According to this embodiment, the wireless receiving circuit can be an infrared receiving circuit or RF receiving circuit.  
       FIG. 4  shows still another alternate form of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the switching buttons  40  are arranged into sets for the switching of different hot-keys. For example, when the first and second switching buttons  40  are simultaneously pressed, the corresponding hot key &lt;Ctrl&gt; &lt;Ctrl&gt; is switched on, and the corresponding &lt;Ctrl&gt;&lt;Ctrl&gt; hot-key indicator light  50  is turned on; when the third and fourth switching buttons  40  are simultaneously pressed, the corresponding hot key &lt;Caps Lock&gt;&lt;Caps Lock&gt; is switched on, and the corresponding &lt;Caps Lock&gt;&lt;Caps Lock&gt; hot-key indicator light  50  is turned on.  
       FIG. 5  shows still another alternate form of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the switch comprises a housing  10 , a printed circuit board (not shown), a face panel  30 , a plurality of switching buttons  40 , and a display  60 .  
      The housing  10  defines a front open side (not shown) and a receiving chamber  11  for accommodating the printed circuit board, the face panel  30 , and the switching buttons  40 .  
      The printed circuit board is accommodated in the receiving chamber  11  inside the housing  10 , having a control circuit (not shown) that controls the operation of the switching buttons  40  and the display  60 .  
      The face panel  30  is mounted in the front open side of the housing  10  and firmly secured to the housing  10 , having a plurality of holes  33 .  
      The switching buttons  40  are respectively mounted in the holes  33  of the face panel  30  and electrically coupled to the control circuit of the printed circuit board inside the housing  10  for allowing the user to switch hot-keys or their combinations, for example, &lt;Ctrl&gt;&lt;Ctrl&gt;, &lt;Caps Lock&gt;&lt;Caps Lock&gt;, Ctrl+Alt, etc.  
      The display  60  is, for example, a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that is controlled by the control circuit of the printed circuit board to display a hot-key sign  61 , for example, the hot-key sign Ctrl+Ctrl corresponding to one of the switching buttons  40  that is pressed by the user.  
      Therefore, by means of the indication of the displayed hot-key sign  61  on the display  60 , the user knows the operation status of the respective hot-key. For example, when the hot-key sign  61  of &lt;Ctrl&gt;&lt;Ctrl&gt; is displayed on the display  60 , the user knows that the hot-key&lt;Ctrl&gt;&lt;Ctrl&gt; has been using. Therefore, this embodiment eliminates the problem of forgetting the set multiple hot-keys or being unable to know the accurate hot-key due to change of the setting (by the user or another person). Further, the features of the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4  may be combined to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 .  
      As indicated above, the switch has switching buttons on the face panel for switching respective hot-keys and indicator means for showing the operation status of the set hot-keys. Therefore, the user knows the set hot-keys and their operation status.  
      A prototype of switch has been constructed with the features of  FIGS. 1-5 . The switch functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.  
      Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.