Keyboard Instrument Key Base with Localized Thick Portion for Wood Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional keyboard instruments face challenges in molding key bases with thin core blocks for attachments, leading to issues with adhesive bonding and moldability, especially when trying to attach wood members to both broad and narrow portions of the key base, which can result in poor quality and difficulty in injection molding.
Innovation Solution
The keyboard instrument design includes a key base with a top surface support portion that has alternating thick and thin portions along its length, allowing for a larger contact area with attachments, improving adhesive bonding and moldability by providing a better surface area for attachment and reducing the risk of warping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a thin core block is used in the key base for attaching wood members, then the key base can be made lighter and more responsive, but the adhesive bonding becomes unreliable and the moldability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The key base features a thick portion with thickness of 3mm or more located at the position where the attachment is to be attached. This local thickening provides sufficient contact area for reliable adhesive bonding while the rest of the key base maintains a thin profile for lightness and responsiveness. The attachment is specifically positioned on the thick portion to ensure proper bonding.
2Weight of moving object
If a thin core block is used in the key base, then the key base can be made more responsive, but sink marks occur during injection molding
Solution Approach 1:
The key base is designed with a localized thick portion (3mm or more) at the attachment position, while other areas remain thin. This local thickening prevents sink marks during injection molding at the attachment area without compromising the overall lightness and responsiveness of the key base. The thick portion provides sufficient material volume for proper mold filling and cooling.
3Reliability
If the contact area between attachment and key base is increased, then adhesive bonding improves, but the key base becomes more complex to mold
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire key base thick to increase contact area, the invention locally thickens only the specific portion (3mm or more) where the attachment is positioned. This provides sufficient contact area for strong adhesive bonding while keeping the rest of the key base thin and easy to mold. The attachment is specifically positioned on this thick portion to maximize bonding effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
A keyboard instrument includes a key including a key base including a top surface and a top surface support portion provided as to be suspended perpendicularly from a lower surface of the top surface, and an attachment configured to be disposed on a side surface of the top surface support portion. The top surface support portion includes a thick portion of a first thickness which is a thickness defined in a key alignment direction and a thin portion of a second thickness which is thinner than the first thickness in different positions along a longitudinal direction of the key base. A contact area with the attachment at the thick portion is larger than a contact area of the thin portion with the attachment.