Smart key cap with transceiver
AssigneeLogitech Europe S.A.
InventorsFrédéric Alexis Guillaume de Goumoëns, Jan Stoeckli, Jean-Claude Dunant
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Abstract
A keyboard system comprises a housing and a key structure having a key body and key cap. The key body includes a transceiver circuit. The key cap includes a key cap transceiver and a memory structure storing a key cap ID data and/or a key function data corresponding to a key function. The transceiver circuit can poll the key cap memory via the key cap transceiver and retrieve the key cap ID data and/or the key function data. The keyboard system can determine a mapping of a location of the key cap on the keyboard by polling it and can generate and transmit a control signal to a host computing device communicatively coupled to the keyboard system based to the key cap ID and/or the key function data.
Claims20
A keyboard system comprising:
- a housing;
- a key structure disposed in the housing, the key structure including:
- a key body including a transceiver circuit;
- and
- a key cap configured to be non-destructively coupled to and decoupled from the key body, wherein the key cap includes and contains:
- a transceiver circuit;
- and
- a memory structure storing:
- a key cap identification (ID) data;
- and
- a key function data corresponding to a key function,
- wherein the transceiver circuit is configured to poll the key cap memory structure via the transceiver circuit when the key cap is coupled to the key body and retrieve the key cap ID data and the key function data, and
- wherein the keyboard system is configured to:
- determine a location of the key cap on the keyboard based on the polling of the key cap;
- and
- generate and transmit a control signal to a host computing device communicatively coupled to the keyboard system, the control signal corresponding to the key cap ID data and key function data.
A key cap for a key structure of an input device, the key cap comprising and containing:
- a transceiver circuit;
- and
- a memory structure operable to store:
- a key cap identification (ID) data;
- and
- a key function data corresponding to a key function,
- wherein the key cap is configured to be coupled to a key body,
- wherein the key cap is operable to communicate with a transceiver circuit in the key body via the transceiver circuit,
- wherein the key cap is configured to transmit the key cap ID data and key function data to the transceiver circuit via the transceiver circuit, and
- wherein the key cap is operable to instantiate the key function in a host computing device coupled to the input device when the key cap is depressed.
A method of operating a keyboard, the method comprising:
- detecting, by one or more processors, an activation of a key on the keyboard;
- reading, by the one or more processors, a memory element stored and contained by a key cap of the key, the memory element operable to store key data including:
- a key cap identification (ID) data;
- and
- a key function data corresponding to a key function;
- and
- generating a control signal operable to cause a host computing device communicatively coupled to the keyboard to perform a function based on the key cap ID data and key function data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.