US 12,443,296 B2
Touch pad
Akihisa Okuni, Kanagawa (JP); Issei Kurosawa, Kanagawa (JP); and Kazumi Nakaju, Kanagawa (JP)
Assigned to Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Singapore (SG)
Filed by Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Singapore (SG)
Filed on Jul. 2, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/761,553.
Claims priority of application No. 2023-122602 (JP), filed on Jul. 27, 2023.
Prior Publication US 2025/0036218 A1, Jan. 30, 2025
Int. Cl. G06F 3/0354 (2013.01); G06F 3/044 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/03547 (2013.01) [G06F 3/044 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A touch pad on which a pointing operation is performed by a hand, comprising:
a sensor board configured to recognize a touch position by the hand;
an outer frame configured to be fixed to the sensor board;
a cross-shaped inner frame configured to be disposed on an inner side of the outer frame, in which a first end of each of four arm portions are connected and a second end of each of the four arm portions extend toward four corresponding locations of the outer frame; and
a switch configured to be provided between the first ends of the four arm portions and the sensor board, wherein
in each of the four arm portions, a shaft support portion at an intermediate portion of the corresponding arm portion is configured to be capable of being inclined, in a pitch direction of the corresponding arm portion, about a shaft of the corresponding arm portion, where a longitudinal axis of the shaft is disposed orthogonal to an extension direction of the corresponding arm portion,
in each of the four arm portions, the shaft support portion includes a set of shaft support pieces that:
are integrally connected to the intermediate portion of the corresponding arm portion, protrude along the extension direction of the corresponding arm portion, and
are bent in two stages to sandwich the shaft between the corresponding arm portion and the set of shaft support pieces,
the second ends of the four arm portions are displaced in a lifting/lowering direction together with the sensor board, and are supported to be slidable in a front-rear direction and a left-right direction that are parallel to a surface of the sensor board, and
as the sensor board is pushed down in the lifting/lowering direction by the hand,
the four arm portions are displaced relative to the outer frame while the second ends of the four arm portions are pushed down in the lifting/lowering direction,
the four arm portions are inclined with respect to their corresponding shaft support portions in their corresponding pitch directions, and
the first ends of the four arm portions are pushed up in the lifting/lowering direction to perform a pressing operation with respect to the switch.