Lead-Free Keyboard Weight with Buckling Sleeve for Crack-Free Key Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional keyboard weights made of lead face issues with rapid expansion causing cracks around the embedding hole, leading to manufacturing inefficiencies and the need for alternative materials that can be easily attached to keys without compromising structural integrity.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard weight design featuring a columnar weight main body and a cylindrical hollow member with a thin portion along the circumference, allowing for buckling and deformation upon attachment, ensuring secure fixation to the key using a caulking machine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the weight is driven by a hammer with relatively large force, then the attachment speed is improved, but cracks occur around the embedding hole due to rapid expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow member is pre-formed with a thin portion at specific locations before attachment. This preliminary structural preparation allows the material to deform in a controlled manner during attachment, preventing unexpected crack propagation while maintaining high attachment speed
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow member has non-uniform wall thickness with thin portions strategically positioned. This local variation in quality allows targeted deformation at specific areas during attachment, concentrating the expansion effect where intended while protecting other areas from crack formation
2Reliability
If the weight is driven little by little with relatively small force, then cracks are suppressed, but the attachment time increases and manufacturing efficiency is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The thin portions are pre-formed in the hollow member to create predetermined deformation paths. This allows the attachment process to proceed quickly with controlled force, as the material is already prepared to deform along the intended path rather than requiring gradual forcing
Solution Approach 2:
The wall thickness parameter is varied within the hollow member to create thin portions. This parameter change enables the material to require less force to deform at specific locations, allowing faster attachment while maintaining structural integrity through controlled deformation
3Weight of moving object
If lead is used as keyboard weight, then high specific gravity and low cost are achieved, but harmful substance exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The material composition is changed from lead to alternative materials such as steel, iron, or copper. This parameter change maintains the high specific gravity requirement for proper keyboard weight while eliminating the harmful substance exposure associated with lead
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow member can be constructed from composite materials or alternative metals that provide the necessary weight characteristics without using lead. This allows achievement of high specific gravity while avoiding harmful substance exposure
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 enables easy manufacturing and secure attachment of alternative materials to keys, preventing cracks and improving manufacturing efficiency while eliminating the use of lead.
Implementation Method 1
the hollow member is configured such that when the keyboard weight is attached to the key, the hollow member is pressed from both sides in the length direction, whereby buckling occurs starting from the thin portion
Implementation Method 2
the hollow member is provided with a thin portion that extends along an entire circumferential direction, has a predetermined width in a length direction, and has a predetermined thickness smaller than a thickness of the other portion of the hollow member
Data Source
AI summary
A keyboard weight includes: a weight main body that is made of a material other than lead and is formed in a columnar shape having a predetermined diameter and a predetermined length; and a hollow member that is made of a material other than lead, is formed in a cylindrical shape having an inner diameter allowing the weight main body to be inserted into the hollow member, an outer diameter allowing the hollow member to be inserted into the embedding hole, and a predetermined length, and is inserted into the embedding hole in a state where the weight main body is inserted inside when the keyboard weight is attached to the key. The hollow member is provided with a thin portion that extends along an entire circumferential direction, has a predetermined width in a length direction, and has a thickness smaller than a thickness of the other portion of the hollow member. The hollow member is configured such that when the keyboard weight is attached to the key, the hollow member is pressed from both sides in the length direction, whereby buckling occurs starting from the thin portion.