One-way visibility keycaps
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorShravan Bharadwaj
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Keyboards and other electronic input devices have a key or keys with glyphs that are invisible to an unaided human eye in a first condition, such as when an underlying display attached to the key is not emitting light. The glyphs are visible through the key or keys when the display emits light. A one-way visibility layer or structure obscures the visibility of the display when viewed from above, but when the display emits light, the light penetrates through the one-way visibility layer, such as by passing through an array of microperforations in the key, and is visible to an onlooker.
Claims20
A keycap, comprising:
- an upper body including a top surface and sidewalls;
- a display positioned under the keycap and including a plurality of light sources, the sidewalls laterally extending around the display;
- and
- a plurality of microperforations defined through the top surface of the upper body and each microperforation of the plurality of microperforations includes a first end and a second end opposite the first end;
- wherein:
- each light source of the plurality of light sources is configured to direct light through the upper body from the first end of a respective microperforation of the plurality of microperforations to the second end of the respective microperforation, wherein all of the light is directed through the plurality of microperforations with none of the light directed through the sidewalls of the keycap;
- and
- the plurality of microperforations is configured to generate a glyph when the light is directed though the plurality of microperforations.
A keyboard, comprising:
- a housing including a top surface, the top surface having a housing surface appearance;
- a keycap positioned in the housing, the keycap including an outer surface and defining an array of perforations, the outer surface having a keycap surface appearance;
- and
- an array of light sources configured to direct light through the keycap via the array of perforations when the keyboard is in an activated configuration;
- wherein:
- when the keyboard is in the activated configuration, the array of perforations generates a glyph appearing to float above the housing and visible through the outer surface of the keycap;
- and
- when the keyboard is in a deactivated configuration, the keycap surface appearance matches the housing surface appearance.
A keyboard, comprising:
- a chassis having a first surface appearance;
- a keycap positioned in the chassis and including an upper body having a bottom surface;
- a display positioned under the keycap and including a plurality of light sources;
- and
- an opaque layer positioned between the upper body and the display and adjacent to the bottom surface of the upper body, the opaque layer defining a plurality of microperforations and having a second surface appearance;
- wherein:
- each light source of the plurality of light sources is configured to direct light through a respective microperforation of the plurality of microperforations;
- the plurality of microperforations is configured to generate a glyph when the light is directed though the plurality of microperforations;
- and
- the first surface appearance of the chassis matches the second surface appearance of the opaque layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.