Patent Publication Number: US-2011069440-A1

Title: Electronic device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 98131995, filed on Sep. 22, 2009. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of specification. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electronic device. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic device is convenient for using. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     When an electronic device (for example, a notebook computer) is used in the night or at a dark place, a user probably cannot identify keys on a keyboard module due to a dim external environment, which may lead to inconvenience of inputting or to input wrong instructions. 
     Though, the notebook computer has a display screen, and the display screen can provide a modicum of brightness during displaying, the brightness provided by the display screen is not enough to illuminate the whole keyboard, so that the problems that the user inputs incorrect characters or inputs wrong instructions is still inevitable, which may cause a great inconvenience for the user. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an electronic device convenient for using. 
     The present invention provides an electronic device including a keyboard module and a light source module disposed on the keyboard module, wherein a plurality of light sources of the light source module protrudes out of a surface of the keyboard module to illuminate the keyboard module. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the light sources are light-emitting diodes (LEDs). 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the keyboard module has a casing, and the casing has the surface. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the light source module includes an assembly part connected to the casing and the light sources, wherein the light sources are disposed on the assembly part. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, a cross section of the assembly part has a “Γ” shape, and the assembly part is rotatable relative to the casing, so that the light sources are higher than the surface of the casing. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, a cross section of the assembly part has a round shape or a cross section of a part of the assembly part has an arc shape, two ends of the assembly part are pivotally connected to the casing, a part of the round shape or the arc shape protrudes out of the surface of the casing, and the light sources are located at the round shape of the arc shape protruding out of the casing. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the assembly part is a column, and an axial direction of the column is parallel to a normal direction of the casing. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device further includes a display pivotally connected to the keyboard module, wherein the display is capable of being opened or closed relatively to the keyboard module. Moreover, the display has an accommodating slot disposed correspondingly to the assembly part, and when the display is closed relatively to the keyboard module, the accommodating slot is used to accommodate the assembly part. 
     According to the above descriptions, the electronic device of the present invention has a light source module located higher than the surface of the keyboard module for illuminating the keyboard module, so that the user can clearly identify the keys on the keyboard module, and therefore the electronic device is convenient for using. 
     In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, several exemplary embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device of  FIG. 1  along an A-A′ line. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a situation that a light source module of  FIG. 2  is accommodated in a casing. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a light source module of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of a light source module. 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the electronic device  100  includes a keyboard module  110  and a light source module  120  disposed on the keyboard module  110 , wherein a plurality of light sources  122  of the light source module  120  protrudes out of a surface  112   a  of the keyboard module  110  to illuminate the keyboard module  110 . 
     According to the above description, the keyboard module  110  has a casing  112 , and the casing  112  has the surface  112   a.  The light source module  120  includes an assembly part  124  connected to the casing  112  and the light sources  122 , wherein the light sources  122  are disposed on the assembly part  124 . In the present embodiment, the light sources  122  are, for example, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and in other embodiments, the light sources  122  can also be small lamps, organic LEDs or other types of light sources according to an actual design requirement. 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the electronic device of  FIG. 1  along an A-A′ line, and  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a situation that the light source module of  FIG. 2  is accommodated in the casing. Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , a cross section of the assembly part  124  has a “Γ” shape. When the user uses the electronic device  100  in an environment bright enough without using the light source module  120 , the light source module  120  can be accommodated in the casing  112 , and the assembly part  124  may have a color same to that of the surface  112   a  of the casing  112 , so that the light source module  120  accommodated in the casing  112  and the casing  112  are integral in appearance. When the user uses the electronic device  100  in a relatively dim environment, and the light source module  120  is used, the user can rotate the assembly part  124  relatively to the casing  112 , so that the light sources  122  can be higher than the surface  112   a  of the casing  112  and illuminate a plurality of keys  114  on the keyboard module  110 . Therefore, the user can clearly identify each of the keys  114 , and then the electronic device  100  is convenient to the user for using. 
     Though in the present embodiment, the cross section of the assembly part  124  has the “Γ” shape, those with ordinary skill in the art can change the shape of the assembly part according to actual demands. For example, the cross section of the assembly part  124  can also be an “L” shape. 
     Moreover, the electronic device  100  can further includes a display  130 , and the display  130  is pivotally connected to the keyboard module  110 , so that the display  130  can be opened or closed relatively to the keyboard module  110 . 
     Second Embodiment 
     An electronic device of the present embodiment is approximately the same to the electronic device of the first embodiment, and the same or alike reference numerals refer to the same or alike elements. Only differences there between are described below. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a light source module of  FIG. 4 . Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , a cross section of an assembly part  224  of the present embodiment has a round shape, and two ends of the assembly part  224  are pivotally connected to a casing  212 , and the assembly part  224  can be rotated relatively to the casing  212  via an axle (not shown), wherein a part of the round shape protrudes out of a surface  212   a  of the casing  212 . Light sources  222  are disposed on the assembly part  224 . The user can adjust an angle of the light sources  222  relative to the surface  212   a  of the casing  212  by rotating the assembly part  224  relatively to the casing  212 , so as to adjust the light sources  222  to a most suitable usage position. 
     Moreover, a display  230  of the electronic device  200  further has a accommodating slot  232  disposed correspondingly to the assembly part  224 . When the display  230  is closed relatively to the keyboard module  210 , the accommodating slot  232  can accommodate the assembly part  224  protruding out of the surface  212   a  of the casing  212 . 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of the light source module. Referring to  FIG. 6 , in such embodiment, a cross section of a part of an assembly part  224 ′ of a light source module  200 ′ can be arc-shaped. 
     Third Embodiment 
     An electronic device of the present embodiment is approximately the same to the electronic devices of the first and the second embodiments, and the same or alike reference numerals refer to the same or alike elements. Only differences there between are described below. 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an assembly part  324  is a column, and an axial direction S of the column is parallel to a normal direction of a casing  312 . Moreover, an accommodating slot  332  of a display  330  of the electronic device  300  can accommodate the assembly part  324  when the display  330  is closed relatively to a keyboard module  310 . 
     When the user uses the electronic device  300  in a dim environment, the light sources  322  illuminate the keyboard module  310 , so that the user can identify letters on a plurality of keys  314  of the keyboard module  310 . Moreover, the assembly part  324  can be turned to the left or right along an axle (not shown), so that an angle between the light sources  322  and the surface  312   a  of the casing  312  of the keyboard module  310  is adjusted. 
     In the present embodiment, the accommodating slot  332  is disposed at the display  330  for accommodating the assembly part  324 . In the other embodiments, the accommodating slot  332  is not disposed at the display  330 , and when the display  330  is closed relatively to the keyboard module  310 , the assembly part  324  is pressed by the display  330  and is recessed into the casing  312 . 
     In summary, the electronic device of the present invention has the light source module that can illuminate the keyboard module, so that the user can use the electronic device in a dim environment. Therefore, the electronic device is convenient for using. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.