Keyboard Backlight Light Guide Panel Uniform Illumination
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Solution Overview
Problem
In portable computing devices, achieving uniform keyboard backlighting in compact designs is challenging due to limited space, often requiring excessive power that reduces battery life and results in non-uniform light distribution.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard backlight assembly comprising a driver board, a rectangular light guide panel, a reflector layer, and a mask to control light emission, which captures and distributes light from discrete light sources to predetermined locations, ensuring even illumination while minimizing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If excessive power is used to produce more light, then illumination intensity is improved, but battery life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
A light guide panel is introduced as an intermediary component between the discrete light sources and the keyboard. The light guide panel captures light from the light sources and distributes it to predetermined locations, achieving uniform illumination across the keyboard while maintaining lower power consumption. This mediator enables efficient light distribution that would otherwise require excessive power from direct lighting.
2Volume of moving object
If compact enclosure design is implemented, then device dimensions are improved, but light distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide panel serves as a mediator that enables uniform light distribution within the compact enclosure. By capturing light from discrete sources and redistributing it to predetermined locations, the light guide panel achieves consistent illumination despite the limited space, resolving the contradiction between compact size and lighting uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide panel is configured with specific optical properties and structures that enable different regions to receive appropriate light distribution. The panel directs light to predetermined locations with controlled intensity, creating locally optimized illumination zones that collectively achieve uniform overall lighting within the compact device.
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 provides uniform keyboard backlighting in compact designs, enhancing user experience while optimizing battery life by efficiently distributing light and reducing power usage.
Implementation Method 1
a rectangular shaped light guide panel configured to capture light from the discrete light sources and distribute the light to predetermined locations
Implementation Method 2
a reflector layer configured to reflect light toward the light guide panel
Data Source
AI summary
The present application describes various embodiments of systems and methods for internal components for portable computing devices relating to keyboard components and keyboard backlighting. In one embodiment, a keyboard module can include a rectangular light guide panel and a driver board including discrete light sources mounted on the driver board where the driver board is disposed along one edge of the light guide panel and light emitted for the discrete light sources is captured by the light guide panel and distributed to predetermined locations.