KEYBOARD FOR HAND HELD COMPUTING DEVICE

• US 20090174994A1
• Filed: 01/07/2009
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.), OQO Incorporated (Audiotone Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Merz, Nicholas
• Granted Patent: US 8,403,576 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/679.90
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1624 with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device

Abstract

The keyboard assembly is suitable for use as a keyboard of a hand held computing device. The assembly has a base layer of a printed circuit board and includes a carrier layer having snap domes set out in an array aligned with keys of a keypad layer. An electroluminescent layer generates light in areas aligned with the keys to backlight the keys. An actuator layer having projections is aligned with the keys and snap domes. Pressing a key causes a snap dome to be deformed, closing a switch for the key and providing a snap action press and release feedback for the user.

Claims

1. A keyboard assembly for a hand held computing device including keys, comprising:

a base layer of a printed circuit board, a carrier layer having snap domes set out in an array aligned with the keys of the keyboard assembly;

an electroluminescent layer that generates light in the areas aligned with the keys of the keyboard assembly to backlight the keys of the keyboard assembly;

an actuator layer having projections aligned with the keys of the keyboard assembly

a key pad layer stacked on top of the actuator layer and having individual key portions corresponding to the keys of the keyboard assembly and aligned with the projections of the actuator layer and snap domes; and

a cover plate having openings through which the key portions of the key pad layer extend.

2. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cover layer is adhered to the key pad layer through a rectangular shaped adhesive layer.

3. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, wherein the actuator layer is adhered to the electroluminescent layer through a rectangular shaped adhesive layer.

4. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, further including an electrically conductive part, wherein the cover layer is a metal cover layer and is electrically contacted by the electrically conductive part to enable grounding of the metal cover layer to a housing in which the keyboard assembly is installed.

5. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, wherein a top face of the keys are coated with a finish coat except in areas of the key which provide indicia that are in stencil format.

6. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, wherein the printed circuit of the base layer includes an array of switches aligned with the snap domes, including outer and inner concentric contacts such that for each combination of snap dome and switch, edges of the snap dome engage the outer circular contact of the switch in the non-deformed position of the snap dome and an inner portion of the snap dome contacts the inner contact of the switch to close the switch when the snap dome is deformed as a result of receiving a pressing force that is passed through a projection of the actuator layer on the snap dome when a key is pressed by a user.

7. The keyboard assembly according to claim 6, wherein after pressing the inner portion of the snap dome into contact with the inner contact, the snap dome generates a snap motion in the opposite direction of the force resulting in the deformation of the snap dome to return the snap dome into the undeformed position to provide tactile feedback for the key to the user when the key is pressed.

8. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, further including a flex connector connected to the printed circuit board for connecting the keyboard assembly to an the I/O controller of a hand held computer.

9. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, wherein the printed circuit board further has power/controller devices for operation of the keyboard assembly and for providing power to the electroluminescent layer.

10. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, wherein the key pad layer has cut-out lines extending about part of the periphery of each key portion and along one of the corners of each key portion.

11. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, wherein the actuator layer is translucent for passing the light generated by the electroluminescent layer to the keypad layer

12. The keyboard assembly according to claim 1, wherein the actuator layer and keypad layer are made of silicon and are translucent for passing the light from the electroluminescent layer to the top surface of the keys for backlighting the keys.

13. A keyboard assembly for a hand held computing device, comprising

a first array including a QWERTY keyboard arrangement of keys;

a second array of keys including numbers combined with functions in an array adjacent one side of the first array of keys;

a track stick opening between said first and second arrays of keys;

a backspace/delete key and enter/insert key positioned respectively above and below said track stick opening;

a left click mouse key and right click mouse key adjacent another side of the first array of keys;

zoom keys respectively providing enlargement and reduction of a display adjacent the first array of keys;

a control key and an alternate key provided in the first array of keys along a bottom row of the first array of keys;

a space bar provided in the first array of keys along the bottom row of the first array of keys; and

top and bottom portion indicia on a top surface of each key wherein one of the top and bottom portion indicia represents a primary input that is provided by the keyboard assembly when the key is pressed and the other of the top and bottom portion indicia represents a secondary input that is provided by the keyboard assembly when the key is pressed in combination with an alternate function key, wherein the top and bottom indicia are in stencil format.

14. The keyboard assembly according to claim 13, wherein the top face of the right and left click mouse keys and zoom keys are flat.

15. The keyboard assembly according to claim 14, wherein the top face of the other keys have a contour in which the key is curved toward a top edge, crests at the top face and curves toward a bottom edge of the key.