Keyboard Key Structure With Hook-Slot Assembly for Easy Demolding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mechanical keyboards face challenges in assembly complexity, high production costs, and limited design freedom due to complex upper casing structures made of plastics, leading to demolding difficulties and reduced yield.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard key structure design featuring see-through slots in the upper casing that facilitate easy demolding during injection molding, allowing for a simpler assembly and reduced design constraints, enabling a more flexible appearance and increased production yield.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the assembly structure between the upper casing and the lower casing is complex, then the mechanical strength and stability are improved, but the demolding difficulty increases and design freedom is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The connection structure is segmented into discrete hooks on the lower casing and corresponding slots on the upper casing. This segmentation allows each component to be molded independently with simple geometries, facilitating easy demolding while maintaining structural integrity through the distributed hook-slot connections.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating complex interlocking features that require sophisticated demolding techniques, the patent inverts the approach by using simple hook shapes that naturally detach. The hooks are designed to engage with slots during assembly but can be easily removed by pulling, reversing the typical complex-locking paradigm.
2Reliability
If the assembly structure between the upper casing and the lower casing is complex, then the connection reliability is improved, but the production cost increases and yield decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is divided into multiple discrete hook-slot pairs distributed around the casing perimeter. This segmentation provides redundancy - if one connection point fails, others maintain the assembly - thereby improving reliability while keeping each individual connection simple for high-yield manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple connection functions are merged into a single integrated hook-slot system. The hooks simultaneously provide mechanical support, positional alignment, and connection reliability, eliminating the need for separate fasteners or complex assembly steps that would reduce productivity.
3Ease of manufacture
If the upper casing design is restricted, then the manufacturing complexity is reduced, but the appearance design freedom is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The upper casing is designed as a separate, independently moldable component with a simple open-top structure. This segmentation from the lower casing allows each part to be optimized for its specific function - the upper casing for aesthetic versatility and the lower casing for structural integrity - while maintaining easy manufacturing through simple geometries.
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 allows for easier production with reduced costs and improved yield while providing freedom in appearance design, enhancing the overall efficiency and flexibility of mechanical keyboard manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
a spring, which is contained in the cavity and elastically supported between the lower casing and the press shaft
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to a keyboard key structure. The keyboard key structure (10) comprises a lower casing (1), an upper casing (2), a press shaft (3) and a spring (4); the lower casing (1) comprises a base (11) and two hooks (12) extending upward from the base (11); the upper casing (2) comprises a top wall (21), an annular peripheral wall (22) around the periphery of the top wall (21), and a through opening (23) from the top wall (21), and is further provided with two see-through slots (24) arranged on both sides of the through opening (23) and the hooks (12) are buckled in the see-through slots (24) so that the lower casing (1) and the upper casing (2) are assembled vertically to form an internal cavity; the press shaft (3) is contained in the cavity, and the top of the press shaft (3) passes through the through opening (23); and the spring (4) is contained in the cavity and elastically supported between the lower casing (1) and the press shaft (3). In this way, the keyboard key structure has the advantages of freedom of appearance design of the upper casing, saving of finished products and improvement of yield.