Patent Publication Number: US-2019196551-A1

Title: Portable electronic apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a portable electronic apparatus, and more particularly, to a portable electronic apparatus with interchangeable keyboards. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     With the development of e-sports industry, there are various input modules designed specifically for e-sports such as keyboards and mice. Take gaming-specific e-sports keyboards as an example, compared with the general keyboards used for general document processing or other office applications, the main appeals of e-sports keyboards include nice typing feels when pressing the keys, rapid signal transmissions, the addition of new keys for special functions, and anti-ghost keys and other effects to help the player operate the keyboard more swiftly and conveniently. 
     Presently, game players still use desktop computers and gaming keyboards to play games. To enhance portability, notebook computers specially designed for e-sports are also available on the market. They are equipped with mechanical keyboards to satisfy the player&#39;s typing feeling when playing an e-sports game. However, compared with the keys of the membrane keyboards used in a general notebook computer, the keys of the mechanical keyboards used in a gaming keyboard have longer pressing stroke and therefore require a larger mechanical space for accommodation, which makes the notebook computer bulky and less convenient to carry. Therefore, in view of market requirements, there is still room for improvement for gaming keyboards used in notebook computers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above problems, the main object of the present invention is to provide a portable electronic apparatus which is designed with two keyboards (that is, a first keyboard and a second keyboard), wherein the first keyboard and the second keyboard can be interchangeably disposed in a keyboard containing portion of a base casing of the notebook computer, thereby solving the problem that the gaming keyboard occupies a large mechanical space, which makes the notebook computer bulky and less convenient to carry. 
     To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a portable electronic apparatus comprising a cover casing, a base casing, a first keyboard and a second keyboard. The base casing is pivoted to the cover casing, the base casing comprises a keyboard containing portion and a first connecting portion, wherein the first connecting portion is disposed in the keyboard containing portion. The first keyboard and the second keyboard are disposed in the keyboard containing portion interchangeably, the first keyboard has a second connecting portion, and the second keyboard has a third connecting portion. When the first keyboard is disposed in the keyboard containing portion, the second connecting portion is electrically connected to the first connecting portion, when the second keyboard is disposed in the keyboard containing portion, the third connecting portion is electrically connected to the first connecting portion. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second connecting portion is the same member as the third connecting portion. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first connecting portion, the second connecting portion and the third connecting portion are respectively pogo pin connectors. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first connecting portion has a single pin type spring; the second connecting portion and the third connecting portion each have a metal spring plate. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second connecting portion and the third connecting portion each comprise a power pin, a ground pin, a plurality of data pins, a plurality of input pins, and a detection pin. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the base casing further comprises an eject switch, when a force is applied on the eject switch, the eject switch ejects the first keyboard or the second keyboard from the keyboard containing portion. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first keyboard and the second keyboard each comprise an eject switch, when a force is applied on the eject switch, the eject switch ejects the first keyboard or the second keyboard from the keyboard containing portion. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the portable electronic apparatus further comprises an expansion element. The expansion element comprises a sub keyboard containing portion and a fourth connecting portion, wherein the fourth connecting portion is disposed in the sub keyboard containing portion, and the first keyboard and the second keyboard are disposed in the sub keyboard containing portion interchangeably. When the first keyboard is disposed in the sub keyboard containing portion, and the second connecting portion is electrically connected to the fourth connecting portion. When the second keyboard is disposed in the sub keyboard containing portion, the third connecting portion is electrically connected to the fourth connecting portion. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first connecting portion is the same member as the fourth connecting portion. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first keyboard is a membrane keyboard, and the second keyboard is a gaming mechanical keyboard. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first connecting portion, the second connecting portion and the third connecting portion are consisted of a universal serial bus (USB) and an inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C). 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second keyboard comprises keys having a plurality of lighting units, and the plurality of lighting units can be controlled by the universal serial bus (USB) or the inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C). 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the base casing is provided with a first wireless transmission module, the first keyboard or the second keyboard is provided with a second wireless transmission module. When the second connecting portion or the third connecting portion is electrically connected to the first connecting portion, the second connecting portion or the third connecting portion is used for communicating with the first connecting portion. When the second connecting portion or the third connecting portion is electrically separated from the first connecting portion, the first wireless transmission module is used for communicating with the second wireless transmission module. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first keyboard or the second keyboard is provided with a battery, when the second connection portion or the third connection portion is electrically separated from the first connection portion, the battery is used for providing power to the first keyboard or the second keyboard. 
     As described above, the portable electronic apparatus according to the present invention comprises the first keyboard and the second keyboard, and the base casing of the portable electronic apparatus comprises the keyboard containing portion and the first connecting portion, for the first keyboard and the second keyboard to be disposed in the keyboard containing portion interchangeable to perform different functions respectively, thereby allowing the portable electronic apparatus to provide various types of keyboard inputs, and to be applied to different purposes. For example, when the first keyboard is disposed in the keyboard containing portion, the second connecting portion of the first keyboard is electrically connected to the first connecting portion so that the user can use the first keyboard to perform document processing; when the second keyboard is disposed in the keyboard containing portion, the third connecting portion of the second keyboard is electrically connected to the first connecting portion, so that the user can use the second keyboard to play e-sports games. Furthermore, by exchanging the first keyboard and the second keyboard according to different purposes, the portable electronic apparatus can be convenient to store and easy to carry. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a portable electronic apparatus of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A and 2B  illustrate block diagrams of the portable electronic apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a schematic diagram of the operation of the first keyboard shown in  FIG. 1  being separated from the base casing; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a schematic diagram of the operation of replacing the first keyboard shown in  FIG. 3  with the second keyboard; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a schematic diagram of the second keyboard shown in  FIG. 4  being placed in the base casing; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the portable electronic apparatus of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  illustrate schematic diagrams of an embodiment of an expansion element of the portable electronic apparatus of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     For better understanding of the technical features of the present invention, preferred embodiments are described below. Please refer to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  at the same time, wherein  FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a portable electronic apparatus of the present invention;  FIG. 2A and 2B  illustrate block diagrams of the portable electronic apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 2A  illustrates a state in which a first keyboard  30  is disposed in a keyboard containing portion  21 , and  FIG. 2B  illustrates a state in which the second keyboard  40  is disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 . The portable electronic apparatus  1  of this embodiment comprises a cover casing  10 , a base casing  20 , a first keyboard  30 , and a second keyboard  40 . The portable electronic apparatus  1  of this embodiment is a notebook computer, and has the cover casing  10  and the base casing  20 , wherein the base casing  20  is pivotally connected to the cover casing  10 , that is, the cover casing  10  and the base casing  20  are pivotally connected to each other, thereby allowing the cover casing  10  to be opened or closed with respect to the base casing  20 . In this embodiment, the cover casing  10  is a display screen, and the base casing  20  is a base for accommodating a keyboard (such as the first keyboard  30  and the second keyboard  40  of the present embodiment) and main electronic components. 
     The base casing  20  comprises a keyboard containing portion  21 . In this embodiment, the keyboard containing portion  21  may be a recess for the first keyboard  30  and the second keyboard  40  to be disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21  interchangeably. The first keyboard  30  of this embodiment uses a membrane keyboard as an example, and the second keyboard  40  uses a gaming mechanical keyboard as an example. When the user is using the portable electronic apparatus  1  for document processing, the first keyboard  30  may be disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 , and when the user is playing an e-sports game, the first keyboard  30  is replaced with the second keyboard  40 , that is, the second keyboard  40  is disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 , and the first keyboard  30  and the second keyboard  40  are exchanged according to different purposes. The present invention can have any number of keyboards, that is, the portable electronic apparatus  1  can have not only the first keyboard  30  and the second keyboard  40 , but also other types of keyboards. The manufacturers of notebook computers or keyboards can design other types of dedicated keyboards for users to replace and use according to different purposes and requirements. 
     Specifically, the base casing  20  comprises a first connecting portion  22  disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 . In addition, the first keyboard  30  has a second connecting portion  31 , and the second keyboard  40  has a third connecting portion  41 . In this embodiment, the first connecting portion  22  is located on a surface of the keyboard containing portion  21 , correspondingly, the second connecting portion  31  is located on the bottom surface of the first keyboard  30 , and the third connecting portion  41  is also located on the bottom surface of the second keyboard  40  (the third connecting portion  41  is shown in  FIG. 5 , the second connecting portion  31  has the same configuration as that of the third connecting portion  41 ). 
     When the first keyboard  30  is disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 , the second connecting portion  31  is electrically connected to the first connecting portion  22 . The first connecting portion  22  is electrically connected to the second connecting portion  31  to transmit the sensing signal or trigger signal received by the first keyboard  30  to the processing unit  51  of the portable electronic apparatus  1 , as shown in  FIG. 2A . In addition, when the second keyboard  40  is disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 , the third connecting portion  41  is electrically connected to the first connecting portion  22  to transmit the sensing signal or trigger signal received by the second keyboard  40  to the processing unit  51  of the portable electronic apparatus  1 , as shown in  FIG. 2B . 
     In this embodiment, the first keyboard  30  comprises a keyboard controller  32 , which is electrically connected to the second connecting portion  31 . The portable electronic apparatus  1  further comprises the processing unit  51  disposed in the base casing  20  and electrically connected to the first connecting portion  22 . The keyboard controller  32  is provided for determining whether a key  34  of the first keyboard  30  is pressed and processing the data input from the pressed key  34  to output a signal. In this embodiment, the second connecting portion  31  and the first connecting portion  22  are used for transmitting the output signal to the processing unit  51 . The processing unit  51  determines and executes an instruction or an execution mode corresponding to the output signal (for example, the processing unit  51  determines which one of the first keyboard  30  and the second keyboard  40  is in use). In this embodiment, the processing unit  51  can be a central processing unit of the portable electronic apparatus  1  or a processing circuit with other special functions, in other words, the processing unit  51  of this embodiment can be any processing circuit with computing capability. 
     Preferably, the portable electronic apparatus  1  further comprises a first wireless transmission module  52  disposed in the base casing  20  and electrically connected to the processing unit  51 . The first keyboard  30  further comprises a second wireless transmission module  33  electrically connected to the keyboard controller  32 . When the second connecting portion  31  is electrically connected to the first connecting portion  22 , the second connecting portion  31  is used for communicating with the first connecting portion  22 ; when the second connecting portion  31  is electrically separated from the first connecting portion  22 , the first wireless transmission module  52  and the second wireless transmission module  33  can be coupled to each other for data/signal transmission. 
     It is also noted that, as shown in  FIG. 2B , the second keyboard  40  of this embodiment also comprises a keyboard controller  42  and a second wireless transmission module  43 , wherein the keyboard controller  42  and the second wireless transmission module  43  are electrically connected to each other, and the keyboard controller  42  is electrically connected to the third connecting portion  41 , so that the second keyboard can be wired or wirelessly connected to the processing unit  51  for data/signal transmission. Similarly, when the third connecting portion  41  is electrically separated from the first connecting portion  22 , the first wireless transmission module  52  and the second wireless transmission module  43  can be coupled to each other for data/signal transmission. 
     In other embodiments, the first connecting portion  22  can be located at other positions in the keyboard containing portion  21  as long as the position corresponds to those of the second connecting portion  31  and the third connecting portion  41 . For example, the first connecting portion  22  can be disposed on the inner side wall of the keyboard containing portion  21 , and the second connecting portion  31  is correspondingly disposed on the side wall of the first keyboard  30 . Similarly, the third connecting portion  41  is correspondingly disposed on the side wall of the second keyboard  40 . When the first keyboard  30  or the second keyboard  40  is disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 , the second connecting portion  31  or the third connecting portion  41  can be electrically connected to the first connecting portion  22  for data/signal transmission. 
     In this embodiment, the second connecting portion  31  is the same member as the third connecting portion  41 , and the first connecting portion  22  and the second connecting portion  31  are a set of male and female connectors, the first connecting portion  22  and the third connecting portion  41  are also a set of male and female connectors. Specifically, the first connecting portion  22  can be a connector plug; correspondingly, the second connecting portion  31  and the third connecting portion  41  are connector sockets. The first connecting portion  22 , the second connecting portion  31  and the third connecting portion  41  can be connectors consisted of universal serial bus (USB), inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C), serial peripheral interface (SPI), universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) or any specific pins, or any other connector devices. In this embodiment, the first connecting portion  22 , the second connecting portion  31  and the third connecting portion  41  can be pogo pin connectors consisted of USB and I 2 C interfaces. In addition, the first connecting portion  22  has a single pin type spring (such as pogo pin), the second connecting portion  31  and third connecting portion  41  have metal spring plates, wherein the single pin type spring and metal spring plates are electrically connected for signal transmission, and the universal serial bus (USB) and inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C) are used for controlling the first keyboard  30  or the second keyboard  40 . 
     For example, gaming keyboard (second keyboard  40 ) generally has a lighting unit  45  corresponding to each key, and the gaming keyboard can use the universal serial bus (USB) and inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C) to control the lighting unit, as shown in  FIG. 2B . For example, the pogo pin connector can be consisted of GND, USB D+, USB D−, I 2 C INT, I 2 C Data, I 2 C Clock, Detect, VCC and other pins. Among them, the power pin VCC and the ground pin GND can be used for power connection; the data pin USB D+, USB D− can be used for data transmission and controlling the lighting unit  45 ; the input pin I 2 C INT can be used for waking up the portable electronic apparatus  1  when the key  44  (Or the key  34 ) is pressed; the input pins I 2 C Data, I 2 C Clock can be used for initialization setting; and the detection pin Detect can be used to detect the connection with the first keyboard  30  or the second keyboard  40 . 
     Preferably, the first keyboard  30  comprises a battery  36  for providing power. When the second connecting portion  31  is electrically connected to the first connecting portion  22 , the detecting pin Detect detects the connection with the first keyboard  30 , the base casing  20  provides power to the first keyboard  30 , and the second connecting portion  31  is used for communicating with the first connecting portion  22 . When the second connecting portion  31  is electrically separated from the first connecting portion  22 , the first keyboard  30  is now powered by the battery  36 , and automatically switches to the state of the first wireless transmission module  52  and the second wireless transmission module  33  coupled to each other to provide data/signal transmission, so that the first keyboard  30  can be used separately from the base casing  20 . The second keyboard  40  can have the same configuration as described above, which will not be described here for the sake of brevity. 
     Preferably, the base casing  20  can comprise a fixing structure (not shown in figure), which can be, for example but not limited to, a snap fastener, a clamping rod, or a slot, for fixing the first keyboard  30  or the second keyboard  40  in the keyboard containing portion  21 . The first keyboard  30  and the second keyboard  40  can be designed according to the type and configuration of the fixing structure. For example, if the fixing structure is a snap fastener or a clamping rod, then a slot or a recess can be provided in the first keyboard  30  and the second keyboard  40  for holding the snap fastener or the clamping rod. 
     Preferably, the base casing  20  further comprises an eject switch  23  connected to the fixing structure. When a force is applied on the eject switch  23 , for example, the user presses the eject switch  23 , the eject switch  23  is released (loosed) from the fixing structure to eject the first keyboard  30  or the second keyboard  40  from the keyboard containing portion  21 , as shown in  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  illustrates a schematic diagram of the operation of the first keyboard shown in  FIG. 1  being separated from the base casing. In addition, the eject switch  23  can have a connecting rod protruding from the keyboard containing portion  21 , when the user presses the eject switch  23 , the connecting rod is pressed against the first keyboard  30  or the second keyboard  40  to help disengage the first keyboard  30  or the second keyboard  40  from the keyboard containing portion  21 . In  FIG. 3 , the first keyboard  30  is used as an example. After the first keyboard  30  is removed, the third connecting portion  41  of the second keyboard  40  can be disposed with respect to the first connecting portion  22  of the keyboard containing portion  21 , as shown in  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  illustrates a schematic diagram of the operation of replacing the first keyboard shown in  FIG. 3  with the second keyboard. Then, the second keyboard  40  is disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21  to be the keyboard in use, as shown in  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  illustrates a schematic diagram of the second keyboard shown in  FIG. 4  being placed in the base casing. 
     In other embodiments, the eject switch can be disposed at the first keyboard or the second keyboard, or any other suitable positions. Please refer to  FIG. 6 , which illustrates a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the portable electronic apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, the first keyboard  30   a  comprises an eject switch  35   a , which can comprise a connecting rod projecting from the bottom surface of the first keyboard  30   a . When the user presses the eject switch  35   a  to apply a force on the eject switch  35   a , the connecting rod is pushed by the eject switch  35   a  to be pressed against the base casing  20   a , thereby separating the first keyboard  30   a  from the keyboard containing portion  21   a . Similarly, the second keyboard  40  can comprise an eject switch  47   a  (please refer to  FIG. 7B ), and the setting position and operation of the eject switch  47   a  may refer to those of the first keyboard  30   a  and the eject switch  35   a  and will not be described here. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  at the same time.  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  illustrate schematic diagrams of an embodiment of an expansion element of the portable electronic apparatus of the present invention. Preferably, the portable electronic apparatus  1   a  of this embodiment further comprises an expansion element  60   a , which is an external keyboard socket and can be wired or wirelessly connected to the processing unit (such as the processing unit  51  shown in  FIG. 2A and 2B ) of the portable electronic apparatus  1   a . In addition, the expansion element  60   a  comprises a sub keyboard containing portion  61   a  and a fourth connecting portion  62   a , wherein the fourth connecting portion  62   a  is located in the sub keyboard containing portion  61   a . The sub keyboard containing portion  61   a  is the same member as the keyboard containing portion  21   a , both are provided for disposing the first keyboard  30   a  or the second keyboard  40   a . In  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B , the second keyboard  40   a  is used as an example. The third connecting portion  41   a  of this embodiment is located on the bottom surface of the second keyboard  40   a , and the fourth connecting portion  62   a  is located on a surface of the sub keyboard containing portion  61   a.    
     In addition, the fourth connecting portion fourth  62   a  is the same member as the first connecting portion  22  (refer to the first connecting portion  22  shown in  FIG. 1 ), that is, it can be a pogo pin connector to be connected to the third connecting portion  41   b  of the metal spring plate. When the second keyboard  40   a  is disposed in the sub keyboard containing portion  61   a , the third connecting portion  41   a  is electrically connected to the fourth connecting portion  62   a , and the expansion element  60   a  is formed as an external keyboard, which acts as an external e-sports gaming keyboard to facilitate better operation experience for the user in playing e-sports games. 
     In  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B , the second keyboard  40   a  is used as an example. Similarly, the first keyboard  30   a  can be disposed in the sub keyboard containing portion  61   a  interchangeably. When the first keyboard  30   a  is disposed in the sub keyboard containing portion  61   a , the second connecting portion of the first keyboard  30   a  is connected to the fourth connecting portion  62   a , so that the expansion element  60   a  is formed as an external keyboard to facilitate user input. 
     When the first keyboard  30  is disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 , the second connecting portion  31  is electrically connected to the first connecting portion  22 . The first connecting portion  22  is electrically connected to the second connecting portion  31  to transmit the sensing signal or trigger signal received by the first keyboard  30  to the processing unit  51  of the portable electronic apparatus  1 , as shown in  FIG. 2A . In addition, when the second keyboard  40  is disposed in the keyboard containing portion  21 , the third connecting portion  41  is electrically connected to the first connecting portion  22  to transmit the sensing signal or trigger signal received by the second keyboard  40  to the processing unit  51  of the portable electronic apparatus  1 , as shown in  FIG. 2B . 
     As described above, the portable electronic apparatus of the present invention comprises the first keyboard and the second keyboard, and the base casing of the portable electronic apparatus comprises the keyboard containing portion and the first connecting portion for the first keyboard and the second keyboard to be disposed in the keyboard containing portion interchangeable to perform different functions respectively, thereby allowing the portable electronic apparatus to provide various types of keyboard inputs, and to be applicable to different purposes. For example, when the first keyboard is disposed in the keyboard containing portion, the second connecting portion of the first keyboard is electrically connected to the first connecting portion so that the user can use the first keyboard to perform document processing; when the second keyboard is disposed in the keyboard containing portion, the third connecting portion of the second keyboard is electrically connected to the first connecting portion, so that the user can use the second keyboard to play e-sports games. Furthermore, by exchanging the first keyboard and the second keyboard according to different purposes, the portable electronic apparatus can be convenient to store and easy to carry. 
     From the foregoing description, regardless of the objects, the techniques, the effects or the skill aspects and developments, the present invention is distinctive with respect to known skills. Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications are variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.