Keyboard Key Device Light Guide Plate Homogeneous Illumination
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Backlit keyboards often suffer from uneven character brightness due to concentrated light emission, leading to poor user experience and visual appeal.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard key device design featuring a keycap with a non-light-transmissive main body, light-transmissive primary and secondary character parts, and a substrate unit with a light-emitting component, light guide plate, and light transmission plate, utilizing diffuse reflection and light-condensing holes to achieve homogeneous brightness across characters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If multiple light-emitting elements are disposed to illuminate keycaps, then the keyboard can be used in the dark, but the light rays become excessively concentrated causing uneven character brightness
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide plate incorporates light-condensing holes at specific locations corresponding to secondary character parts, creating localized light concentration zones. This ensures that light is distributed non-uniformly in a controlled manner, with enhanced brightness at secondary character positions while maintaining appropriate brightness at primary character areas, thereby achieving overall brightness uniformity across all characters.
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide plate acts as an intermediary component between the light-emitting elements and the keycap characters. It contains light-condensing holes that redirect and concentrate light rays onto specific character regions, mediating the light distribution to achieve homogeneous brightness across primary and secondary characters without direct illumination from multiple LED elements.
2Illumination intensity
If light rays are concentrated on specific character parts, then those characters become brighter, but other characters become less visually pleasing or difficult to recognize
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide plate incorporates light-condensing holes at specific locations corresponding to secondary character parts, creating localized light concentration zones. This ensures that light is distributed non-uniformly in a controlled manner, with enhanced brightness at secondary character positions while maintaining appropriate brightness at primary character areas, thereby achieving overall brightness uniformity across all characters.
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 ensures uniform illumination of keycap characters, enhancing visual appeal and user experience while maintaining a lightweight and thin keyboard structure.
Implementation Method 1
The first end surface is formed with an uneven internal microstructure for diffuse reflection of light rays
Implementation Method 2
the remainder of the light rays are reflected by the outer reflective layer to propagate into the light guide plate to the microstructure of the first end surface
Data Source
AI summary
A keyboard key device includes a keycap and a substrate unit. The substrate unit includes a light-emitting component, a light guide plate, and a light transmission plate. The light guide plate has first and second end surfaces, and at least one light-condensing hole. The first end surface is formed with an uneven microstructure for diffuse reflection of light rays. The light transmission plate has first and second side surfaces, and an outer reflective layer coated on the second side surface. A portion of light rays emitted from the light-emitting component and into the light transmission plate pass through the outer reflective layer, and the remainder of the light rays are reflected by the outer reflective layer.