Button Structure with Embedded Graphic and Transparent Wrap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional button structures lack a three-dimensional effect and suffer from printed markings easily wearing off due to frequent user pressure, necessitating improved durability and aesthetics.
Innovation Solution
A button structure featuring a base, a graphic piece protruding from the base, and a transparent piece wrapping both, formed using a double injection process and over-molding, with materials having distinct heat resistance temperatures to enhance bonding and prevent wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional injection process is used to form a prism-shaped button with printed markings, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the button lacks three-dimensional effect and the printed markings easily wear off after frequent pressing
Solution Approach 1:
The button is divided into multiple segments: a base layer, a graphic piece layer, and a transparent protective layer. Each layer serves a specific function - the base provides structural support, the graphic piece provides visual information with three-dimensional effect, and the transparent layer protects the graphic from wear while maintaining visibility. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by distributing functionality across layers rather than relying on a single printed surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The button structure employs a nested configuration where the graphic piece is embedded within the transparent protective layer, which in turn is embedded within the base structure. This nested arrangement allows the graphic to be protected by the transparent layer while maintaining the overall button integrity, thus preventing marking wear-off while achieving three-dimensional effect.
2Ease of manufacture
If printed text or graphs are applied directly to the contact pressure surface, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the markings drop off easily after frequent user pressure
Solution Approach 1:
Different layers of the button have different material properties tailored to their specific functions. The base layer uses a material suitable for structural support, the graphic piece uses a material that can be precisely formed with markings, and the transparent layer uses a material optimized for wear resistance and optical clarity. This local differentiation of material qualities allows each layer to excel at its specific function, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and marking durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The button is constructed as a composite structure combining multiple materials with different properties - the base material, the graphic piece material, and the transparent protective material. This composite approach allows the graphic markings to be embedded within a protective matrix rather than applied as a surface coating, preventing them from wearing off during use while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through integrated molding processes.
3Reliability
If a transparent piece wrapping the graphic piece is added to protect it, then the marking durability is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process merges multiple operations into integrated molding steps. The base and graphic piece are formed together in a first molding operation, and the transparent protective layer is formed in an over-molding operation that combines protection and structural integration. This merging of functions into unified manufacturing steps reduces the number of separate processes, tooling requirements, and assembly operations, thereby controlling manufacturing cost while achieving marking protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The graphic piece is pre-formed with its markings integrated into the structure before the transparent protective layer is applied. This preliminary formation of the graphic element with its markings embedded ensures that the markings are not subject to wear from subsequent handling or assembly processes. The transparent layer is then molded over this pre-formed graphic, providing protection without requiring post-assembly marking application that would be more costly and less durable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a durable button structure with a three-dimensional effect and enhanced contact pressure feel, reducing operational costs and preventing marking wear-off, suitable for applications like game controllers and other electronic devices.
Implementation Method 1
forming a base and a graphic piece by means of a double injection process
Implementation Method 2
wrapping the base and the graphic piece up in a transparent piece by means of an over-molding process
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a button structure and a manufacturing method thereof. The button structure includes a base made from a first material, a graphic piece made from a second material, and a transparent piece made from a third material, where the graphic piece is integrally formed with the base and protrudes out beyond an upper surface of the base, the transparent piece wraps the base and the graphic piece, and a heat resistance temperature of the first material and a heat resistance temperature of the second material are both higher than a heat resistance temperature of the third material. In addition, the present invention further provides a game controller using the button structure.