Integrated Key Plate with Biasing Mechanism for Input Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional input devices, particularly gaming-grade devices, face challenges in achieving consistent and reliable button press performance due to variability in key plate depression force and actuator activation, leading to issues like pre-travel and pre-load, which affect responsiveness and user experience.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a biasing mechanism, such as a spring, within the input device's housing to pre-load the key plate, ensuring it contacts the actuator by default, reducing the force needed for activation and minimizing variability, with a support assembly to control pre-travel and pre-load conditions, thereby providing a consistent and responsive key press experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a biasing mechanism is integrated with the key plate to provide downward force, then the key plate contacts the actuator by default and activation force is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the biasing mechanism directly into the housing structure, merging the spring assembly with the housing to form a unified component. This integration reduces the number of separate parts and simplifies assembly while maintaining the downward force application to the key plate, thereby reducing activation force without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The housing serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, houses the biasing mechanism, and integrates the key plate assembly. By making the housing multi-functional, the patent avoids adding separate structural components, thus reducing overall device complexity while achieving the desired force application
2Speed
If the key plate is pre-loaded to contact the actuator by default, then responsiveness is improved, but pre-travel and pre-load variability occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a biasing mechanism with adjustable spring force to control the pre-load on the key plate. By carefully selecting and adjusting the spring parameters (stiffness, pre-compression), the system achieves consistent contact force between the key plate and actuator, minimizing variability in pre-travel and pre-load while maintaining rapid responsiveness
3Manufacturing precision
If the key plate is made as a cantilever beam for integration with housing, then manufacturing precision is improved, but force distribution becomes non-uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The key plate is designed as a cantilever beam with non-uniform thickness or material properties in different regions. The local quality varies along the length of the key plate to compensate for the bending moment distribution, ensuring uniform force distribution across the contact area with the actuator while maintaining the integrated manufacturing advantage
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
This solution achieves consistent and reliable button press performance with reduced pre-travel and pre-load, enhancing user experience by eliminating the need for excessive force and ensuring accurate key actuator alignment, resulting in improved gaming-grade performance.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing mechanism (e.g., spring) disposed within the housing and coupled to the bottom portion of the key plate
Data Source
AI summary
An input device can include a chassis, a housing coupled to the chassis and forming a top surface of the input device, a depressible key plate integrated with and forming a part of the housing, a biasing mechanism (e.g., a spring) disposed within the housing and coupled to a bottom portion of the key plate to provide a downward force on the key plate, and a force sensor (e.g., switch) disposed in the chassis and in contact with the bottom portion of the key plate to activate in response to receiving a threshold force by the bottom surface of the key plate. The key plate may depress in response to receiving at least a predetermined depression force on the top surface. In some cases, the downward force provided by the biasing mechanism can be substantially equal to the predetermined depression force.