The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 03, 2023
Filed:
Feb. 22, 2022
Applicant:
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Inventors:
Ian A. Guy, Cupertino, CA (US);
Ari P. Miller, San Francisco, CA (US);
Edward J. Cooper, Campbell, CA (US);
Houtan R. Farahani, San Ramon, CA (US);
Kevin M. Robinson, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Assignee:
APPLE INC., Cupertino, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01H 3/12 (2006.01); H01H 13/14 (2006.01); H01H 13/7065 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01H 13/14 (2013.01); H01H 3/125 (2013.01); H01H 13/7065 (2013.01); H01H 2221/036 (2013.01); H01H 2221/058 (2013.01);
Abstract
Key assemblies having a foldable stabilizer are disclosed. The stabilizer can be positioned under a keycap to help guide the keycap and limit rotation or movement when the key is pressed. The stabilizer can have a pointed-star shape with multiple folding axes and can have multiple points of connection or linkage to the keycap or other surrounding components. The stabilizer can unfold or flatten as the keycap is pressed and can fold as the keycap is raised.