Patent ID: 8847891

Claim:
A data inputting apparatus, comprising: a plurality of keyswitches, disposed on the data inputting apparatus, the keyswitches respectively having a protruding structure, wherein the protruding structure is a pillar with a triangular cross-section; a first optical module, disposed on a first side of the data inputting apparatus, the first optical module being used for emitting a plurality of first lights along a first direction, the first lights being corresponding to the keyswitches respectively; a first sensing module, disposed on a second side of the inputting apparatus and used for receiving the first lights and generating a first sensing result based on a first receiving state for the first lights, wherein the second side is parallel to the first side, and the first sensing module sends a first non-receiving signal when the first sensing module does not receive the first lights; a processing module, coupled to the first sensing module; and a second sensing module, disposed on a third side of the data inputting apparatus and coupled to the processing module, wherein the third side is perpendicular to the first side and the second side, and the second sensing module sends a second non-receiving signal when the second sensing module does not receive the first lights; wherein, when a first keyswitch of the keyswitches is not pressed, the processing module determines the position of the first keyswitch based on the first sensing result and the second non-receiving signal; when the first keyswitch of the keyswitches is pressed, the triangular cross-section of the first keyswitch reflects at least one of the first lights to be transmitted along a second direction, the second sensing module receives the at least one of the first lights to generate a second sensing result based on a second receiving state for the first lights, and the processing module determines the position of the first keyswitch based on the second sensing result and the first non-receiving signal.