Keyboard Apparatus Asymmetric Pivot Mass Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Keyboard apparatuses with pivotally moving keys face challenges in maintaining balanced touch feeling between white and black keys, achieving compact size, and enhancing mold strength during injection molding.
Innovation Solution
The design includes pivotal motion supports for white and black keys with driven mass bodies positioned at the same longitudinal location, with the black key's support located further back, allowing for equal pivotal motion ranges and reduced mold thin-wall portions, thereby balancing touch feeling and compactness while increasing mold strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the driven part of the mass body for each black key is located forward of that of the mass body for each white key to secure appropriate key depression stroke, then the key depression stroke of black key is improved, but the length of the mass body for black key becomes longer, reducing the space for arranging mass bodies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by positioning the pivotal motion supports for black keys at a different longitudinal location than those for white keys. Specifically, the pivotal motion supports for black keys are located rearward of those for white keys, creating an asymmetric arrangement that allows the driven parts to be at the same longitudinal location while maintaining different lever arms for appropriate key depression stroke and compact space utilization.
2Device complexity
If ribs are provided for keys adjacent to each other at the same longitudinal location to maintain compact size, then the device complexity is reduced, but the thickness of mold projections must be reduced, weakening the mold strength
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by introducing asymmetric positioning of pivotal motion supports in the longitudinal direction. By locating pivotal motion supports for black keys rearward of those for white keys, the design eliminates the need for thin-wall mold projections between adjacent ribs, thereby maintaining mold strength while keeping the device compact.
3Ease of operation
If the key pivot of black key is located rearward of that of white key to balance touch feeling, then the touch feeling balance is improved, but the distance between driven part and pivot for black key increases, requiring longer mass body
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensional change by shifting the pivotal motion supports from the same longitudinal location to different longitudinal locations. This spatial reconfiguration in the longitudinal dimension allows the driven parts to be positioned at the same location while creating different lever arm lengths through the longitudinal offset of pivots, thus achieving both compactness and appropriate key depression stroke.
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 configuration maintains balanced touch feeling between white and black keys, ensures uniform key depression strokes, and reduces the number of thin-wall mold portions, enhancing the mold's strength and allowing for a more compact keyboard design.
Implementation Method 1
mass bodies are mounted on a key frame or the like in a manner pivotally movable about respective pivotal motion supports, each for applying an appropriate inertial force to the associated key when the key is depressed
Implementation Method 2
the driving part of the associated key drives the driven part of the associated mass body, in accordance with pivotal motion of the key
Data Source
AI summary
A keyboard apparatus having a construction which can maintain an excellent balance in touch feeling between white keys and black keys and can be made compact in size in the longitudinal direction. The driven part of each of mass bodies associated with respective white keys and the driven part of each of mass bodies associated with respective black keys are at the same longitudinal location, and at the same time the distance between the driven part of each black key-associated mass body and a pivotal motion support associated therewith is longer than the distance between the driven part of each white key-associated mass body and a pivotal motion support associated therewith.