Bracket assembly facilitating key switch replacement
A system may comprise a printed circuit board (PCB) including a top surface, and a bracket including a top surface configured to receive and couple to a key switch and a bottom surface including at least two protrusions that extend normal to the bottom surface of the bracket. The bracket can be configured to mount to the PCB such that the bottom surface of the bracket is coupled to the top surface of the PCB, and the at least two protrusions may each include conductive leads that couple to the top surface of the PCB. The bracket is configured to only cover a portion of a bottom surface of the key switch when coupled to the key switch. An LED can be mounted to the top surface of the PCB, laterally adjacent to the bracket, and under the key switch at a location not covered by the bracket.
1 . A system comprising:
a printed circuit board (PCB) including a top surface;
a bracket body including:
a plurality of sockets configured on a top surface of the bracket body, the plurality of sockets configured to receive, secure, and electrically couple to a plurality of electrical pins of a keyswitch; and
a bottom surface of the bracket body including at least two protrusions of the bracket body that extend normal to the bottom surface of the bracket body,
wherein the bracket body is configured to mount to the PCB such that the bottom surface of the bracket body is coupled to the top surface of the PCB,
wherein the at least two protrusions of the bracket body extend through the PCB when the bracket is mounted to the PCB, and
wherein the at least two protrusions each include conductive leads that electrically couple to the plurality of sockets on the top surface of the PCB.
2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the bracket body is configured to only cover a portion of a bottom surface of the keyswitch when coupled to the key switch.
3 . The system of claim 2 further comprising an LED mounted to the top surface of the PCB, laterally adjacent to the bracket body, and under the keyswitch at a location not covered by the bracket.
4 . The system of claim 1 further comprising a top plate configured to provide structural support for the keyswitch.
5 . The system of claim 4 wherein the top plate is configured to receive clips from the keyswitch that engage with the top plate when the keyswitch is coupled to the bracket body.
6 . The system of claim 1 wherein the PCB includes at least two holes configured to receive the two protrusions from the bracket when the bracket body is coupled to the top surface of the PCB.
7 . The system of claim 6 wherein the top surface of the bracket body includes one or more holes or recesses configured to receive one or more protrusions from the keyswitch.
8 . The system of claim 1 wherein the conductive leads are soldered to the PCB via a solder reflow process.
9 . An apparatus comprising:
a bracket body including:
a top surface of the bracket body including sockets configured to:
receive two or more electrical pins of a keyswitch; and
secure the keyswitch to the bracket body; and
a bottom surface of the bracket body including at least two bracket body protrusions of the bracket body that extend normal to the bottom surface of the bracket,
wherein the bracket body is configured to mount to a printed circuit board (PCB) such that the bottom surface of the bracket body is coupled to a top surface of the PCB,
wherein the at least two protrusions each include conductive leads that are electrically coupled to the sockets and configured to couple to the top surface of the PCB,
wherein the at least two protrusions of the bracket body extend at least partially through the PCB when the bracket is mounted to the PCB,
wherein the conductive leads of the at least two protrusions extend laterally from the bracket body, and
wherein a conductive path is closed when the keyswitch is triggered that leads from the keyswitch to the bracket body and laterally from the bracket body to the top surface of the PCB via the conductive leads.
10 . The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the bracket body is configured to only cover a portion of a bottom surface of the keyswitch when coupled to the keyswitch.