KEYBOARD AND TOUCHPAD COMBINATION

• US 20100321298A1
• Filed: 06/17/2009
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sunrex Technology Company Limited (Best Elite Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: Sunrex Technology Company Limited (Best Elite Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: Liu, Yung-Lung, TSAI, HUO-LU
• Application Number:
  US12/486,412
• Publication Number:
  US 20100321298A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/168
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface

Abstract

A keyboard and touchpad combination for a computer in one embodiment includes a hollow frame; a touchpad fitted in frame; a character membrane comprising printed characters; a rubber keyboard comprising raised top keys and guide stems each extending downward from the key; a brace board for positioning the rubber keyboard and comprising holes for loosely receiving the keys; a membrane circuit board comprising dome switches each corresponding to the guide stem thereabove, each dome switch including a conductive contact on a top of its inner surface, and pairs of conductive lines, each pair of the conductive lines being directly below the conductive contact; and a bottom plate. The keyboard and touchpad combination can be operated as a keyboard or a touchpad.

Claims

1. A keyboard and touchpad combination for a computer comprising:

a frame having a rectangular hollow;

a touchpad made of transparent plastic and shaped to fit snugly in the hollow, the touchpad comprising a circuitry and being a capacitive touchpad;

a rectangular character membrane comprising a plurality of characters printed thereon;

a rectangular rubber keyboard formed by injection molding a rubber material, the rubber keyboard being adhered to a bottom of the character membrane and comprising a plurality of raised keys on a top surface, and a plurality of guide stems each extending from a bottom of the key wherein the character membrane is disposed on the rubber keyboard and the touchpad is disposed on the character membrane;

a brace board made of hard plastic for positioning the rubber keyboard and comprising a plurality of spaced holes for receiving the keys so that each of the guide stems is adapted to elastically travel to and forth along the hole, and a plurality of support posts;

a membrane circuit board with the support posts disposed thereon, the membrane circuit board comprising a circuitry electrically connected to the circuitry of the touchpad, a plurality of dome switches each corresponding to the guide stem thereabove, each of the dome switches including a conductive contact on a top of its inner surface, and a plurality of pairs of conductive lines, each pair of the conductive lines being directly below the conductive contact; and

a bottom plate for supporting the frame, the touchpad, the character membrane, the rubber keyboard, the brace board, and the membrane circuit board,

whereby pressing the touchpad above one of the keys will depress corresponding portions of the touchpad, the character membrane, and the rubber keyboard, cause the guide stem of the key to travel downward to depress and elastically deform the dome switch therebelow, and connect the conductive contact of the dome switch to the conductive lines so that a scanning signal representing the depressed key is generated by the membrane circuit board, the scanning signal is sent to the computer for processing, and a character corresponding to the depressed key is displayed on a screen of the computer;

or

whereby moving a finger on the touchpad will generate an electric signal representing a relative motion of the finger on the touchpad, send the electric signal from the touchpad to the computer via the membrane circuit board for processing, and a relative motion of a cursor is shown on the screen of the computer.

2. The keyboard and touchpad combination of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) disposed on the membrane circuit board and electrically connected thereto, and wherein both the rubber keyboard and the character membrane are made of transparent plastic material.

3. A keyboard and touchpad combination for a computer comprising:

a frame having a rectangular hollow;

a touchpad made of transparent plastic and shaped to fit snugly in the hollow, the touchpad comprising a circuitry and being a capacitive touchpad;

a rectangular rubber keyboard formed by injection molding a rubber material, the rubber keyboard comprising a plurality of flat keys on a top surface, each of the keys having a character printed thereon, and a plurality of guide stems each extending from a bottom of the key, each of the guide stems having a conductive contact on a bottom wherein the touchpad is disposed on the rubber keyboard;

a brace board integrally formed with the rubber keyboard for positioning the rubber keyboard and comprising a plurality of spaced holes for receiving the keys so that each of the guide stems is adapted to elastically travel to and forth along the hole, and a plurality of support posts;

a membrane circuit board with the support posts disposed thereon and comprising a circuitry electrically connected to the circuitry of the touchpad, and a plurality of pairs of conductive lines, each pair of the conductive lines being directly below the conductive contact; and

a bottom plate for supporting the frame, the touchpad, the rubber keyboard, the brace board, and the membrane circuit board,

whereby pressing the touchpad above one of the keys will depress corresponding portions of the touchpad and the rubber keyboard, cause the guide stem of the key to travel downward to connect the conductive contact of the guide stem to the conductive lines so that a scanning signal representing the depressed key is generated by the membrane circuit board, the scanning signal is sent to the computer for processing, and a character corresponding to the depressed key is displayed on a screen of the computer;

or

whereby moving a finger on the touchpad will generate an electric signal representing a relative motion of the finger on the touchpad, send the electric signal from the touchpad to the computer via the membrane circuit board for processing, and a relative motion of a cursor is shown on the screen of the computer.

4. The keyboard and touchpad combination of claim 3, further comprising a plurality of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) disposed on the membrane circuit board and electrically connected thereto, and wherein the rubber keyboard is made of transparent plastic material.

5. A keyboard and touchpad combination for a computer comprising:

a frame having a rectangular hollow;

a touchpad made of transparent plastic and shaped to fit snugly in the hollow, the touchpad comprising a circuitry and being a capacitive touchpad;

a rectangular rubber keyboard formed by injection molding a rubber material, the rubber keyboard comprising a plurality of flat keys on a top surface, each of the keys having a character printed thereon, and a plurality of guide stems each extending from a bottom of the key, each of the guide stems having a conductive contact on a bottom wherein the touchpad is disposed on the rubber keyboard;

a brace board made of hard plastic for positioning the rubber keyboard and comprising a plurality of spaced holes for receiving the keys so that each of the guide stems is adapted to elastically travel to and forth along the hole, and a plurality of support posts;

a membrane circuit board with the support posts disposed thereon, the membrane circuit board comprising a circuitry electrically connected to the circuitry of the touchpad, and a plurality of pairs of conductive lines, each pair of the conductive lines being directly below the conductive contact; and

a bottom plate for supporting the frame, the touchpad, the rubber keyboard, the brace board, and the membrane circuit board,

whereby pressing the touchpad above one of the keys will depress corresponding portions of the touchpad and the rubber keyboard, cause the guide stem of the key to travel downward to connect the conductive contact of the guide stem to the conductive lines so that a scanning signal representing the depressed key is generated by the membrane circuit board, the scanning signal is sent to the computer for processing, and a character corresponding to the depressed key is displayed on a screen of the computer;

or

whereby moving a finger on the touchpad will generate an electric signal representing a relative motion of the finger on the touchpad, send the electric signal from the touchpad to the computer via the membrane circuit board for processing, and a relative motion of a cursor is shown on the screen of the computer.

6. The keyboard and touchpad combination of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) disposed on the membrane circuit board and electrically connected thereto, and wherein the rubber keyboard is made of transparent plastic material.