Keyboard Hammer Arc Interface for Low-Resistance Key Depression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing keyboard technologies experience increased rotational resistance and poor key depression feel due to lubricant flow and sliding resistance issues between hammers and keys, leading to an unsatisfactory playing experience.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard device with a recessed receiving part and a protruding arc-shaped surface on both the hammer and key, allowing the key to rotate about a center, reducing lubricant displacement and sliding resistance, and maintaining a consistent feel during key depression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a shaft hole is rotatably engaged with a shaft in a hammer, then the key can swing freely, but the lubricant flows down from the opening and increases rotational resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by forming an arc surface on the lower surface of the protrusion that contacts the bottom surface of the shaft hole. This curved surface guides the protrusion to rotate about a center of a circle including the arc surface during key depression, preventing the protrusion from sliding back and forth and thereby preventing lubricant displacement. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining low rotational resistance while enabling free key movement.
2Reliability
If a protrusion is slidably engaged with a receiving part, then the lubricant can be held by the receiving part, but the protrusion slides back and forth and pushes the lubricant aside, increasing sliding resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the sliding engagement into a rotational engagement by forming an arc surface on the protrusion that contacts the bottom surface of the shaft hole. This curvature causes the protrusion to rotate about a center of a circle including the arc surface when the key is depressed, eliminating the back-and-forth sliding motion that pushes lubricant aside. The result is both lubricant retention and consistently low resistance during operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A keyboard device includes a support member, a plurality of keys swingably supported by the support member and arranged side by side in a scale direction, and a hammer interlocked with swinging of each key. The hammer includes a receiving part recessed downward. Each key includes a protrusion protruding downward and inserted into the receiving part. An arc surface is formed on at least one of a bottom surface of the receiving part and a lower surface of the protrusion. When each key swings, the protrusion rotates about a center of a circle including the arc surface.