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:
May. 02, 2000
Filed:
Dec. 28, 1998
Shih-Hung Chao, Pan-Chiao, TW;
Acer Peripherals Inc., Taoyuan, TW;
Abstract
The present invention provides a keyboard comprising a cover plate, a base plate, a metal support, and a thin layer membrane. The cover plate comprises a plurality of supporting structures with a plurality of key caps installed on top and is movable in an up-down vertical direction. The thin layer membrane installed below the cover plate comprises a plurality of switches with each switch underlying a key cap for detecting the operation of the plurality of key caps. The metal support installed under the thin layer membrane strengthens the structure of the keyboard. The base plate is installed under the metal support and comprises a plurality of protruding columns of varying heights to accommodate different metal supports of varying thickness. By supporting the metal support of a specific thickness, the protruding columns of corresponding height help to maintain the thin layer membrane at the specified height between the cover plate and the base plate.