Keyboard Apparatus Rod-Like Flexible Member Multi-Directional Key Movement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing keyboard apparatuses face challenges in allowing key movement in various directions without increasing the size of the device, as thin plates must be either miniaturized to manage load or enlarged to reduce load, leading to inefficiencies in key deformation and acoustic sound passage.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard apparatus utilizing a rod-like flexible member that connects the key to a frame, allowing for bending and deformation in multiple directions while minimizing the influence on the device's size, thereby enabling movement in rolling, yawing, and scale directions without significant vertical displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If thin plates are used to allow key movement in various directions, then key deformation capability is improved, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a thin plate connecting member with specific flexibility characteristics that allows key movement in multiple directions (vertical, lateral, and diagonal) while maintaining a compact form factor. The thin plate is designed with appropriate thickness and material properties to provide necessary flexibility without requiring large dimensions, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device size.
2Volume of moving object
If thin plates are miniaturized to reduce device size, then device size decreases, but load management becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the thin plate connecting member by adjusting critical parameters such as thickness, length, and material composition to achieve the desired balance between size and load capacity. The thin plate is designed with specific dimensional parameters that allow it to withstand key pressing forces while maintaining a miniaturized form, thus resolving the contradiction between device size and load management.
3Force
If thin plates are enlarged to reduce load, then load capacity increases, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes composite material structures or optimized material selection for the thin plate connecting member to achieve high load capacity within a compact size. By selecting materials with high strength-to-weight ratios or using composite constructions, the thin plate can support greater forces without requiring increased dimensions, thus resolving the contradiction between load capacity and device size.
4Manufacturing precision
If rod-like flexible member is used for key turning, then manufacturing precision is improved, but key deformation flexibility may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The rod-like flexible member is designed as a thin-walled or flexible structural element that provides precise turning motion while retaining sufficient flexibility for key deformation. The rod-like structure with optimized wall thickness and material properties enables controlled bending and rotation, achieving both manufacturing precision and deformation flexibility simultaneously.
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 allows for precise key movement and deformation in various directions, reducing the visible impact of manufacturing errors and temporal changes, while maintaining a compact size and minimizing sound attenuation through the use of a rod-like flexible member that acts as both a turning mechanism and a deformation absorber.
Implementation Method 1
a rod-like flexible member arranged between the frame and the key, the key being turned to the frame by bending of the rod-like flexible member
Data Source
AI summary
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a keyboard apparatus includes a key; and a connecting member connecting the key to a frame and including a rod-like flexible member arranged between the frame and the key, the key being turned to the frame by bending of the rod-like flexible member.