Deployable Keyboard Tray Mechanism for Compact Footprint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable communication devices face challenges in minimizing their footprint while providing an easily deployable keyboard that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional, with existing solutions often compromising on usability and appearance.
Innovation Solution
A housing design that includes a tray system allowing the keyboard and bottom surface to move from a non-deployed, nested configuration to a deployed, planar configuration, where the keyboard becomes flush with the device's front surface, enhancing usability and aesthetics, and a mechanism using guide slots and tracks to facilitate this movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the keyboard is disposed on a lower plane than the display to minimize device footprint, then the device size is reduced, but the keyboard deployment complexity and usability are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard is designed to be dynamically reconfigurable, transitioning between a stowed configuration where it lies flat against the display to minimize footprint, and a deployed configuration where it pivots to form a stable typing surface. This dynamic transformation allows the device to adapt its form factor based on usage needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The keyboard is divided into multiple segments or sections that can pivot independently relative to each other and the display. This segmentation allows for a compact folded state while enabling a larger, more usable typing surface when deployed, resolving the contradiction between small footprint and ease of operation.
2Volume of moving object
If the keyboard segments pivot in a planar fashion to be stored parallel to the display as a stack, then the footprint is minimized, but the deployment mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard segments are designed to nest within each other when folded, similar to nested dolls. Each keyboard segment can be stored within the space occupied by the display or other segments, creating a compact stacked configuration that minimizes volume while reducing the complexity of the deployment mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If the keyboard is made easily deployable, then usability is improved, but the aesthetic appearance may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard segments are pre-positioned and pre-aligned in a way that allows for smooth, predictable deployment motion. The hinge mechanisms and guide structures are designed to ensure that the keyboard unfolds in a controlled manner that maintains a clean, aesthetic appearance during and after deployment, rather than creating awkward angles or exposed mechanical components.
Data Source
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AI summary
A housing has a front surface and a back surface. A keyboard and a corresponding bottom surface move between a non-deployed configuration and a deployed configuration. A tray slides in and out of the housing along one or more slots that are formed internal to the housing. This tray can include an internal surface having a first side that contacts the keyboard and an opposing second side that contacts the aforementioned bottom surface when the latter components are non-deployed. When moving to the deployed configuration the keyboard and bottom surface first move substantially parallel to the housing and then move substantially perpendicular to the housing. Projections on these components can interact with corresponding tracks formed in the housing to direct at the least this perpendicular movement.