Illuminant keyboard and manufacturing method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9847193-B2
Application number	US-201514979502-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 27, 2015
Priority date	Dec 26, 2014
Publication date	Dec 19, 2017
Grant date	Dec 19, 2017

Abstract

An illuminant keyboard and a method thereof are provided. A plurality of protruding walls substantially parallel to each other are disposed on one of an upper surface of the transparent plate, a lower surface of the transparent plate and an upper surface of the planar light source. The protruding walls may be either I-shaped, L-shaped, U-shaped or square-shaped. When the protruding walls are made of an opaque material, the protruding walls can effectively reduce the intensity of the halo light surrounding a transparent keycap. When the protruding walls are made of a transparent material with a designated color, the halo light surrounding the keycap will be modulated with the designated color.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An illuminant keyboard, comprising:
a base plate;
a light source capable of emitting a first light and a second light;
a transparent keycap disposed above the base plate and a space formed therebetween, wherein a first light traveling gap towards an area surrounding the transparent keycap is formed within the space, the first light substantially proceeding towards the transparent keycap, and the second light substantially proceeding towards the first light traveling gap;
a transparent plate disposed between the light source and the transparent keycap and comprising a transparent region allowing the first light and the second light to pass through, wherein the transparent region is located beneath the transparent keycap and the transparent region comprises a first boundary; and
a plurality of protruding walls disposed within the transparent region, wherein each of the protruding walls comprises a first wall, the first walls are substantially parallel to each other and neighboring to the first boundary, two of the protruding walls most neighboring to each other are separated with an interval to form a second light traveling gap;
wherein the intensity of the second light will be reduced by the first walls when the second light proceeds from the light source towards the first light traveling gap;
and the first light reaches the transparent keycap through the second light traveling gap without intersecting the first walls.

2. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein each of the protruding walls is protruded from an upper surface or a lower surface of the transparent plate.

3. A method for manufacturing the illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein the method comprises following steps:
coating a UV adhesive layer on the transparent plate; and
sequentially performing a rubbing treatment and a curing treatment on the UV adhesive to form the protruding walls on the transparent plate.

4. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein the light source is a planar light source.

5. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 4 , wherein the planar light source further comprises a transparent prism located in the second light traveling gap between the protruding walls neighboring to each other for changing a direction of the light passing through the transparent prism to substantially proceed towards a keycap pattern of the transparent keycap.

6. A method for manufacturing the illuminant keyboard according to claim 4 , wherein the method comprises following steps:
coating a UV adhesive layer on the planar light source; and
sequentially performing a rubbing treatment and a curing treatment on the UV adhesive to form the protruding walls on the planar light source.

7. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , further comprising a keyboard frame comprising a receiving hole in which the transparent keycap can move, wherein the transparent keycap and the keyboard frame are separated by a movable gap, and part of the second light proceeding towards the first light traveling gap will pass through the movable gap and exit to outside.

8. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding walls comprise a first color, such that the second light passing through the protruding walls will be modulated with the first color.

9. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 8 , wherein the protruding walls are made of a UV adhesive.

10. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein a height of each of the protruding walls is between 10-50 μm.

11. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein the interval between the protruding walls neighboring to each other is between 10-50 μm.

12. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding walls neighboring to each other comprise opposite side slopes, such that a width of cross-section shrinks upwards.

13. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein each of the protruding walls further comprises a second wall whose extending direction is substantially perpendicular to that of the first wall, the first wall comprises a first end point at which the first wall intersects the second wall, and design of the first wall intersecting the second wall makes each of the protruding walls L-shaped.

14. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 13 , wherein each of the protruding walls further comprises a third wall whose extending direction is substantially perpendicular to that of the first wall, the first wall comprises a second end point at which the third wall intersects the first wall, and design of the first wall intersecting the second wall and the third wall respectively makes each of the protruding walls U-shaped.

15. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 13 , wherein each of the protruding walls further comprises a third wall and a fourth wall; an extending direction of the third wall is substantially perpendicular to that of the first wall, an extending direction of the fourth wall is substantially parallel to that of the first wall, the first wall comprises a second end point at which the third wall intersects the first wall; two ends of the fourth wall comprise a third end point and a fourth end point at which the fourth wall intersects the second wall and the third wall respectively, and design of the first wall and the fourth wall respectively intersect the second wall and the third wall makes each of the protruding walls square-shaped.

16. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 15 , wherein the protruding walls are arranged as a concentric structure taking a central position of the transparent region as a center.

17. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein the illuminant keyboard comprises a first side, the transparent keycap comprises a keycap pattern, a user can view the keycap pattern from a correct angle when the user operates the illuminant keyboard from the first side, and the first boundary is located between a central position and the first side of the transparent region.

18. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein the first walls all are parallel to the first boundary.

19. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein each of the protruding walls can completely reduce an intensity of the second light, that is, each of the protruding walls can block the second light and prevent it from reaching the first light traveling gap.

20. The illuminant keyboard according to claim 1 , wherein a surface of the transparent plate other than the transparent region comprises a light-shielding layer.

Assignees

• Darfon Electronics Corp

Inventors

• Liu Hsin-Hung
• Liao Pen-Hui

Classifications

• H01H2219/064

  Optical isolation of switch sites · CPC title

• G06F3/0202

  Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device · CPC title

• H01H2219/044

  Edge lighting of layer · CPC title

• H01H2219/0622

  only an illuminated ring around keys · CPC title

• H01H2219/058

  Optical grid, collimator or microlouver · CPC title