Computer keyboard key device made from a rigid printed circuit board
US6388219B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 19, 2001 |
| Grant date | May 14, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 19, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H2239/01
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A key device for a computer keyboard has a rigid printed circuit board, a flexible printed circuit board, and a key structure. The rigid printed circuit board has two adjacent but unconnected conductive ends electrically connected to two wires respectively. The flexible printed circuit board, fixed over the rigid printed circuit board, has a conductive segment installed above the two conductive ends, and an isolation layer installed around the conductive segment to form a gap between the conductive segment and the two conductive ends. The key structure is moveably fixed on the flexible printed circuit board in an up and down manner. When the key structure is pushed downward, the bottom of the key structure will touch the conductive segment of the flexible printed circuit board, and the conductive segment will touch the two conductive ends of the rigid printed circuit board to electrically connect the two conductive ends and the two wires.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.