Keyboard Input Unit With Direction-Conversion Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing keyboards are limited in the ways users can provide input, with auxiliary input units requiring specific hardware and fixed placements, leading to bulky designs and lack of user customization.
Innovation Solution
A user input unit with a housing that can be attached to a keyboard base, featuring a first movable element movable in a first direction and a second movable element movable in a different direction, connected by a transmission to convert movements into the first direction, allowing for versatile input methods like rotation, sliding, or tilting without modifying the base.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If auxiliary input units (rotating knobs, binary switches, trackpads) are added to keyboards, then input versatility is improved, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the keyboard base universal by enabling it to work with both traditional depressible keys and alternative input units (rotating knobs, sliders, joysticks) through a common sensor interface. The base includes sensors that can detect multiple types of movements (depression, rotation, sliding) without requiring type-specific hardware, allowing a single base to support diverse input methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a transmission mechanism as an intermediary between the alternative input unit and the sensor. This transmission converts movements in different directions (rotation, sliding) into linear displacement that the sensor can detect, bridging the gap between diverse input methods and the standardized sensor interface.
2Adaptability or versatility
If auxiliary input units are integrated into the keyboard base, then input functionality is improved, but the base size and bulk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard base is designed as a universal platform that can accommodate both traditional keys and alternative input units without requiring separate dedicated hardware for each type. This universal design prevents the need to increase base size to accommodate specialized auxiliary units, as the same sensor infrastructure serves multiple input methods.
3Ease of operation
If traditional sensors are used to detect key depression, then measurement simplicity is maintained, but input method flexibility is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters that sensors detect by equipping alternative input units with transmissions that convert various movements (rotation, sliding, tilting) into linear displacement. This allows existing linear displacement sensors to detect multiple types of input movements without modification, maintaining sensor simplicity while expanding input flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission acts as an intermediary that translates diverse input movements into a standardized form (linear displacement) that traditional sensors can detect. This mediator enables existing sensors to work with new input methods without requiring sensor modification or replacement.
4Adaptability or versatility
If alternative input units are made detachable and interchangeable, then user customization is improved, but connection reliability may decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the keyboard into interchangeable components: the base, alternative input units, and their connections. This segmentation enables users to customize by attaching different input units to different positions on the base, while standardized connection interfaces maintain reliability through consistent mechanical and electrical coupling designs.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a user input unit comprising a housing configured to be attached to a base of a user input device, such as a keyboard. The input unit also has a first movable element coupled to the housing, the first movable element being movable along a first direction and user operable second movable element coupled to the housing, the second movable element being movable along a second direction, the second direction being different from the first direction. Further a transmission configured to transfer movement of the second movable element along the second direction into movement of the first movable element along the first direction is provided. The invention also relates to a user input device, such as a keyboard, comprising a base, such a user input unit, and a sensor configured to sense a movement or a position of the first movable element along the first direction.