Patent Publication Number: US-2013234939-A1

Title: Keyboard Having a Key-In Area Integrated with a Touch Sensor Device and a Method Thereof

Description:
(a) TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is related to a keyboard having a key-in area integrated with a touch sensor device and a method thereof, in particular, to a keyboard having a touch sensor device integrated with keys of the keyboard such that the keyboard includes the operational functions of a keyboard and a pointing device. 
     (b) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Currently, keyboards and pointing devices, including such as mice or pointing devices, are the main input devices used for communications with computer equipment by most users and among which, the keyboards are mainly provided for users to input characters whereas the pointing devices are provided for users to control the cursor in various applications and software to have different pointing operations including such as pointer movement, selection and drag. 
     As there are more and more computer equipments, including such as notebook computers, Tablet PCs and intelligent mobile phones, are equipped with a HDMI connection interface such that the video and audio signals of the computer equipment can be transmitted to an externally connected larger screens in such as a conference or living rooms via the HDMI interface, which also allows such large screens to be used as computer monitors. 
     However, currently, most users are still being limited to the use of existing wireless keyboards or mice for characters inputs or pointer controls during the computer operations, which is, in fact, not suitable to such applications and environments as they pose difficulties in the practical operations. Although there have been some wireless keyboards integrated with touch sensor devices or track-ball devices external to the key-in areas of the keyboards introduced to the market, they are still of a design that is bulky in size, difficult for controls and operations thereof and is inconvenient to storage or carrying. 
     There is certainly a need to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks associated with the current keyboards and pointing devices as well as their operations and controls such that users are able to conveniently and promptly operate such devices and their functions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks associated the known arts, a primary objective of the present invention is to integrate a pointing device into a keyboard such that an user can conveniently and promptly operate or control the functions of the keyboard and the pointing device at the same time and such that it can be adapted for different keyboards of various sizes and is suitable to all kinds of different application environments. 
     To achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention provides a method of integrating a key-in area of a keyboard with a touch sensor device, comprising the steps of providing at least one touch sensor device at a key location within said key-in area of a keyboard main body; and electrically connecting said touch sensor device to said keyboard main body to transmit a signal via said keyboard main body. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a keyboard having a key-in area integrated with a touch sensor device, comprising a keyboard main body, a plurality of keys and at least one touch sensor device; and wherein the at least one touch sensor device is provided within the key-in area of the keyboard main body. 
     A thin-film circuit module and a device circuit module are provided at an internal of the keyboard main body; and wherein the thin-film circuit module is electrically connected to the device circuit module. The plurality of keys, are provided within the key-in area of the keyboard main body and on top of the thin-film circuit module such that a downward press exerted by an external force on each one of the keys touches a matrix circuitry of the thin-film circuit module to correspondingly generate a key signal sent to the device circuit module. 
     The touch sensor device comprises a plastic housing and a touch signal detector and is provided within the key-in area of the keyboard main body; and wherein the touch signal detector is electrically connected to the thin-film circuit module or the device circuit module. 
     The design and structural configuration of the present invention allow users to conveniently and promptly operate or control the keyboard and the pointing device including their independent functions as well as their combined functions at the same time. 
     In addition, the device circuit module further comprises a keyboard control circuit and a connection interface for connecting with computer equipment; and wherein the connection interface can be a wired or wireless connection interface. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an illustration showing locations of the modules of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the touch sensor device of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the touch sensor device of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  to  FIG. 9  are illustrations showing different locations for the configuration of the touch sensor device of preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In accordance with the accompanied drawings disclosed,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention;  FIG. 2  is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  FIG. 3  is an illustration showing locations of the modules of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the touch sensor device of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the touch sensor device of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  FIG. 6  to  FIG. 9  are illustrations showing different locations for the configuration of the touch sensor device of preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the present invention provides a method of integrating a key-in area of a keyboard with a touch sensor device, comprising a keyboard main body  10 , a plurality of keys  20  and a touch sensor device  30 . Said method comprises the steps of providing at least one touch sensor device at a key location within the key-in area of a keyboard main body; and electrically connecting the touch sensor device to the keyboard main body to transmit a signal via the keyboard main body. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the keyboard main body  10  further comprises a thin-film circuit module  11  and a device circuit module  2 , and the thin-film circuit module  11  is electrically connected to the device circuit module  12 . In addition, the thin-film circuit module  11  comprises a key matrix circuitry and a control circuitry for keyboard. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , the plurality of keys  20  of the keyboard main body  10  are provided within the key-in area thereof and are provided on top of the thin-film circuit module  11  such that a downward press exerted by an external force on each one of the keys  20  touches a matrix circuitry of the thin-film circuit module  11  such that the thin-film circuit module  11  correspondingly generates a key signal to be sent to the device circuit module  12 . The device circuit module  12  further comprises a wired or wireless connection interface to electrically connect to and communicate with computer equipment. 
     As shown in  4  and  FIG. 5 , the touch sensor device  30  comprises a plastic housing  31 , a touch signal detecting zone  32 , a touch signal detector  33  and a connector  34 . The touch sensor device  30  is provided at any one of the locations of the keys  20  within the key-in area of the keyboard main body  10  and is provided on top of the thin-film circuit module  11 . The touch signal detector  33  of the touch sensor device  30  is received within the plastic housing  31  to capture the signal from the touch signal detecting zone  32  generated by an user and is electrically connected to the device circuit module  12  via the connector  34 . 
     In view of the above descriptions along with the accompanied drawings, the present invention advantageously integrates the touch sensor device  30  into the key-in area of the keyboard main body  10  such that the overall size of the keyboard is not increased while the touch sensor device  30  can be designed and arranged to be at any location in the key-in area in order to satisfy the needs and operation usages of different users. As an illustrative example shown by  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 7 , the touch sensor device  30  can be provided or arranged at a lower right corner location and a right center location of the key-in area such that it is adapted for the operations of right-handed users. In addition, as another illustrative example shown by  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 8 , the touch sensor device  30  can be provided or arranged at a lower left corner location or a location left of the space-key such that it is adapted for the operations of left-handed users. Furthermore, still as another illustrative example shown by  FIG. 9 , the touch sensor device  30  can be designed and provided at a center location of the space-key in the key-in area such that it is adapted for the operations of most common users. Accordingly, it shall be understood that for the present invention, the touch sensor device  30  can be provided and arranged at different locations depending upon the design needs and requirements of various applications and usages. 
     In comparison to the known keyboards, the present invention provides a keyboard having both the functions of keyboard inputs and pointer controls integrated altogether as one, such that users can easily and conveniently use or operate the independent functions of the keyboard and the pointer as well as the combined functions thereof, and such that the efficiency of the operation and control of the device are advantageously enhanced and are more suited to practical usages with a greater portability.