Composite Balance Link for Keyboard Actuation Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The trend of making laptops smaller has resulted in shorter keyboard heights and larger key pressing distances, leading to key tilting issues, which can reduce keyboard sensitivity, and existing stabilization mechanisms often result in overly tight or loose connections causing noise and insensitivity.
Innovation Solution
A composite balance link structure comprising a top lever and two side levers, where the top lever and side levers have a plastic portion and metal parts, providing a stronger connection between the keycap and base plate to prevent tilting and ensure accurate actuation, while minimizing noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a stabilization mechanism is added to prevent key tilting, then key sensitivity is improved, but connection tightness becomes excessive causing noise and insensitivity
Solution Approach 1:
The balance link is constructed as a composite structure with a metal core providing strength and rigidity, and a plastic coating layer providing smooth surface interaction. This composite design enables the stabilizer to maintain proper connection tightness without excessive friction, preventing noise while ensuring reliable key actuation and sensitivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the surface properties of the balance link by applying a plastic coating, which changes the friction characteristics and contact parameters between the stabilizer and keycap/base plate. This parameter adjustment optimizes the connection tightness to avoid both overly tight connections (causing noise) and overly loose connections (causing insensitivity)
2Strength
If the balance link is made stronger to prevent tilting, then key stability is improved, but connection smoothness deteriorates causing excessive tightness
Solution Approach 1:
The balance link combines metal material for the core structure to provide necessary strength and rigidity, while the plastic coating on the surface provides smooth interaction characteristics. This composite approach simultaneously achieves both strength enhancement and operational smoothness, resolving the contradiction between preventing tilting and maintaining connection fluidity
3Volume of moving object
If laptop size is reduced, then portability is improved, but keyboard height is reduced causing key tilting
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic-coated balance link provides smooth surface interaction that reduces friction during key actuation. This enables the stabilizer mechanism to function effectively in the reduced keyboard height space, maintaining key parallelism and preventing tilting even in compact laptop designs with limited vertical clearance
Data Source
AI summary
A key assembly including a base plate, a keycap, and at least one balance link. The balance link is disposed between the base plate and the keycap, the balance link having a top lever and two side levers, wherein the two side levers being connected to the top lever at both ends thereof, two ends of the two side levers away from the top lever being connected to the base plate, the top lever being connected to the keycap. The top lever and/or the two side levers include a plastic portion, the parts of the top lever and the two side levers other that the plastic portion being made of metal such that the balance link is a composite structure. The balance link contacts at least one of the keycap and the base plate via the plastic portion.