Flexible Keyboard Support Plates for Thin Portable Device Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to enhance the structural integrity and assembly of a keyboard for portable electronic devices, which becomes thinner and lighter, making it difficult to achieve a secure fixation without increasing the device's width or thickness, especially with the addition of a numeric keypad and the presence of thick components like hard disks.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard design featuring a flexible circuit board, a flexible frame, and two separate support plates that can be bent to form an angle, allowing the flanges of the first support plate to slide into trenches on the device, providing increased flexibility in assembly and secure fixation without occupying excessive space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If the keyboard support plate thickness is reduced to make the device thinner, then the device thickness is reduced, but the keyboard strength and fixation reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard support structure is divided into multiple components: a flexible support plate, ambient hooks, and locking screws. The support plate is segmented into regions with different thicknesses (thinner in the middle, thicker at edges) to optimize both flexibility and strength. This segmentation allows the keyboard to maintain adequate strength with reduced overall thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixation mechanism transitions from relying solely on vertical support plate thickness to utilizing horizontal ambient hooks that extend laterally. The hooks engage with slots in the housing, providing fixation strength in a different dimensional direction (horizontal rather than vertical), thereby reducing the need for thick support plates.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the keyboard width is increased to accommodate numeric keypad, then the keyboard functionality is improved, but the device width increases
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard uses a flexible support plate that can bend and adapt to the device housing contours. This flexibility allows the keyboard to maximize its usable area within the available width constraints, accommodating the numeric keypad without requiring additional device width by efficiently utilizing the flexible membrane structure.
3Reliability
If the locking screw is positioned over thick components like hard disk, then the keyboard fixation is improved, but the device thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ambient hooks serve multiple functions: they provide primary fixation by engaging with housing slots, and they also serve as positioning elements during assembly. This multi-functionality reduces the reliance on locking screws positioned over thick components, allowing for more flexible screw placement that doesn't increase device thickness.
4Reliability
If the hook sliding distance is increased to improve keyboard fixation, then the keyboard reliability is improved, but the device width increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support plate uses composite construction with varying thickness regions - thinner in the center for flexibility and thicker at the edges for structural integrity and hook engagement. This composite structure provides adequate fixation reliability with minimal sliding distance, as the thicker edge regions provide stronger engagement points for the ambient hooks.
Data Source
AI summary
A keyboard applicable to a portable electronic device includes a flexible circuit board, a plurality of keys, a flexible frame, a first support plate, and a second support plate. The flexible circuit board has a first and a second surface. The plurality of keys is disposed on the first surface. The flexible frame is disposed on the first surface and has a plurality of through holes for keys to pass through. The first support plate is disposed on the second surface, and a part of the periphery of the first support plate is connected to the flexible frame. The second support plate is disposed on the second surface and adjacent to the first support plate, and a part of the periphery of the second support plate is connected to the flexible frame. Additionally, also provided is a method for assembling a keyboard and a portable electronic device.