Keyboard Drive Device Cooling Through Shelf-Plate Airflow

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing keyboard devices inefficiently cool down drive devices due to air being sucked from the upper side of the keys, which can become hot from lighting or sunlight, leading to ineffective cooling.

Innovation Solution

A keyboard device design with a fan attached to the upper side of a shelf plate that exhausts air from the housing, featuring an air intake port on the shelf plate to suck in outside air and efficiently cool the drive devices, with strategic placement of air intake ports and fans to enhance cooling efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If air is sucked from the upper side of the keys by the fan, then the key drive mechanism can be cooled, but the cooling efficiency is reduced because the air becomes hot due to lighting or sunlight

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooling efficiency of drive deviceVSAvoidheat from lighting or sunlight

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of sucking air from the upper side of the keys (conventional approach), the patent inverts the air intake location to the lower side of the shelf plate. This inversion allows the fan to draw in cooler ambient air from below rather than hot air from above, directly resolving the cooling efficiency problem caused by sunlight and lighting heating the upper air.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Temperature

If a fan is attached to the shelf plate to exhaust air, then heat can be removed from the housing, but the structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveheat removal from housingVSAvoidstructure of housing and cooling system

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The shelf plate is designed to serve multiple functions: it supports the key drive mechanisms, provides structural framework, and incorporates air intake ports for the cooling system. By integrating the air intake function into the existing shelf plate structure rather than adding separate cooling components, the patent achieves effective heat removal while minimizing structural complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

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 design effectively cools down the drive devices by utilizing airflow to exhaust warm air and suck in cooler air, preventing heat accumulation and minimizing interference with speaker vibrations, while maintaining a sleek appearance and reducing component wear.

Implementation Method 1

a fan that is attached to an upper side of the shelf plate of the housing and exhausts air in the housing to outside

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectForced Convection: Forced Convection

Implementation Method 2

cooling down the drive device with the air sucked from the air intake port by the fan

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectConvection: Convection

Data Source

PatentUS12456444B2Keyboard device and cooling method of drive device

Publication Date: 2025.10.28 ROLAND CORP

AI summary

A keyboard device includes keys, drive devices, a housing, and a fan. The keys are arranged side by side in a scale direction. The drive devices apply, to the keys, a driving force swinging the key. The housing includes a shelf plate supporting the drive devices. The fan is attached to an upper side of the shelf plate of the housing and exhausts air in the housing to outside. The shelf plate includes an air intake port for sucking in air outside the housing by the fan.