Composite Hinge Assembly for Stable Multi-Angle Tablet Positioning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current tablet computer accessories, such as two-in-one tablets with keypads, face a trade-off between design complexity, cost, weight, and user experience, as they either increase product weight and cost or provide limited angle adjustment, affecting interaction efficiency and aesthetics.
Innovation Solution
A multi-functional keypad with a composite hinge assembly featuring a clamping portion and rotating shaft, incorporating a damping layer made of elastic material, allows the tablet computer to be stably positioned at any desired angle, offsetting pressing force with gravity, while maintaining a simple structure and low manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a complex design is used to provide multi-angle support, then the positioning stability is improved, but the product weight and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the damping layer from rigid to elastic, allowing it to deform and press against the keypad body. This elastic deformation enables multi-angle positioning without requiring complex mechanical structures, thus maintaining low weight while achieving reliable positioning stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite structure combining the damping layer (elastic material) with the rigid clamping portion and keypad body. This composite approach allows the damping layer to provide flexible positioning while the rigid components maintain structural integrity, achieving both stability and simplicity.
2Reliability
If a complex design is used to provide multi-angle support, then the positioning stability is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent simplifies manufacturing by changing the damping layer to an elastic material that can be molded in various shapes. This allows the clamping portion to be manufactured as a single integrated component with built-in multi-angle positioning capability, reducing assembly steps and manufacturing cost while maintaining positioning stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the positioning function from complex mechanical mechanisms and transfers it to the elastic deformation characteristic of the damping layer. This extraction simplifies the overall structure and reduces manufacturing complexity while achieving the same positioning stability.
3Weight of moving object
If a simple support keypad is used, then the product weight is reduced, but the angle adjustment capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the elastic parameter of the damping layer to enable continuous angle adjustment. The damping layer can deform to different extents depending on the opening angle, allowing the tablet to be stably positioned at any angle within the range, not just fixed angles, thus improving adaptability without increasing weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the positioning mechanism dynamic by allowing the damping layer to continuously adjust its deformation state according to the opening angle. This dynamic adaptation enables the simple structure to provide versatile angle adjustment capability, overcoming the limitation of fixed-angle supports.
4Reliability
If the damping layer is pressed to a larger extent, then the positioning stability is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making only the damping layer elastic while keeping other components rigid and simple. The cam surface provides a simple geometric guide, and the elastic damping layer locally absorbs the complexity of deformation, achieving positioning stability without overall structural complexity.
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 enables stable and adjustable positioning of tablet computers at various angles, enhancing user experience and operational reliability with a cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing design, without significantly increasing weight or volume.
Implementation Method 1
an outer surface of the clamping portion being a damping layer made of an elastic material; as the clamping portion is rotated about the rotating shaft portion relative to the keypad body, the damping layer is pressed and comes into elastic contact with the keypad body
Implementation Method 2
the pressing force is offset by the turning force generated by the gravity of the tablet computer to achieve a stable positioning
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The present disclosure discloses a composite hinge assembly, comprising a clamping portion and a rotating shaft portion fixed relative to the clamping portion and extending out of the two ends of the clamping portion. An inner surface of the clamping portion defining a slot, and an outer surface of the clamping portion is a damping layer made of an elastic material. The present disclosure also discloses a tablet computer kit and a multi-functional keypad thereof. By designing a composite hinge assembly and applying it to a multi-functional keypad, the present disclosure makes it possible that after the tablet computer is mounted on the multi-functional keypad, the rotating shaft can be stably fixed at any desired angles through the use of a damping layer made of an elastic material on the surface of the composite hinge assembly. Such a design is simple in structure, has a low manufacturing cost, and improves the appearance and operational reliability of the multi-functional keypad.