Notebook computer

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a notebook computer.

2. Description of Related Art

Nowadays, notebook computers are used widely. The benefit of the notebook computers is that they are portable. However, in dark environments, a user may not be able to see the keyboard to operate the notebook computer unless the keyboard is backlighted. But many of these backlit keyboards are expensive and consumes a lot of power. Therefore there is room for improvement in the art.

Many aspects of the present embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, all the views are schematic, and like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic, isometric view of a first embodiment of a notebook computer.

FIG. 2 is a schematic, isometric view of a second embodiment of a notebook computer.

FIG. 3 is a partial circuit diagram of both notebook computers of FIGS. 1 and 2 .

The disclosure, including the accompanying drawings, is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a first embodiment of a notebook computer 100 includes a keyboard 10 and a display 20 pivotably mounted to the keyboard 10 . In general, the keyboard 10 is connected to the display 20 through a hinge 30 . The keyboard 10 , the display 20 , and the hinge 30 fall within well-known technologies, and are therefore not described here.

A strip-shaped light source 40 is arranged in the middle of the rear end 12 of the keyboard 10 , near the hinge 30 . Referring to FIG. 2 , in a second embodiment of a notebook computer 100 , the strip-shaped light source 40 is arranged in the middle of the bottom end 22 of the display 20 , near the hinge 30 . The light sources 40 of the first and second embodiments both can increase the illumination of the keyboard 10 . In other embodiments, the notebook computer 100 may include two light sources 40 respectively arranged in the middle of the rear end 12 of the keyboard 10 and the middle of the bottom end 22 of the display 20 . In one embodiment, the light source 40 is a light-emitting diode (LED).

Referring to FIG. 3 , the notebook computer 100 of both of the first and second embodiments further include a light source control circuit 50 used to control the light source 40 . The control circuit 50 includes a manual switch K, four resistors R 1 -R 4 , and three npn transistors Q 1 -Q 3 . In other embodiments, the three npn transistors Q 1 -Q 3 can be changed to other kinds of electronic switches, such as field-effect transistors. The manual switch K can be arranged on any place of the notebook computer 100 , such as on the keyboard 10 .

A first terminal of the resistor R 1 is connected to a working voltage terminal 3 D 3 V of the notebook computer 100 . The working voltage terminal 3 D 3 V supplies a working voltage, such as 3.3 volts (V), when the notebook computer 100 is in a working state. However, the working voltage terminal 3 D 3 V does not supply the working voltage when the notebook computer 100 is in a sleep state. The second terminal of the resistor R 1 is connected to the base of the transistor Q 1 . The emitter of the transistor Q 1 is grounded. The collector of the transistor Q 1 is connected to the cathode of the light source 40 through the manual switch K. The collector of the transistor Q 1 is also connected to the collector of the transistor Q 3 . The anode of the light source 40 is connected to the standby voltage terminal 5 V_DUAL of the notebook computer 100 through the resistor R 3 . The standby voltage terminal 5 V_DUAL supplies a standby voltage, such as 5V, when the notebook computer 100 is in both the working state and the sleep state. A first terminal of the resistor R 2 is connected to a sleep signal terminal S 3 _sleep# of the notebook computer 100 . The sleep signal terminal S 3 _sleep# supplies a high voltage signal, such as 5V, when the notebook computer 100 is in the working state. The sleep signal terminal S 3 _sleep# supplies a square wave signal when the notebook computer 100 is in the sleep state. A second terminal of the resistor R 2 is connected to a base of the transistor Q 2 . The emitter of the transistor Q 2 is grounded. The collector of the transistor Q 2 is connected to the standby voltage terminal 5 V_DUAL through the resistor R 4 . The emitter of the transistor Q 3 is grounded. The base of the transistor Q 3 is connected to the collector of the transistor Q 2 .

In use, if the notebook computer is in a working state and the manual switch K is turned on, the working voltage terminal 3 D 3 V and the standby voltage terminal 5 V_DUAL both supply voltages, therefore, the transistor Q 1 is always turned on, while the light source 40 is turned on. At this time, the light source 40 indicates that the notebook computer 100 is in a working state, and illuminates the keyboard 10 to help the operators to use the keyboard 10 conveniently. A user also can manually turn off the manual switch K to turn off the light source 40 according to requirements.

If the notebook computer is in the sleep state, the working voltage terminal 3 D 3 V does not supply voltage, therefore the transistor Q 1 is always turned off. The sleep signal terminal S 3 _sleep# supplies a square wave signal. When the square wave signal is in a high voltage state, the transistor Q 2 is turned on, and the transistor Q 3 is turned off, therefore the light source 40 is turned off. When the square wave signal is in a low voltage state, the transistor Q 2 is turned off, and the transistor Q 3 is turned on, the light source 40 is turned on. Therefore, the light source 40 is working in an intermittent blinking state, which is used to indicate that the notebook computer 100 is in a sleep state.

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the embodiments to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.