Large-Key Keyswitch Assembly for Uniform Pressing Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Keyboards with larger keyswitches, such as the space bar, often experience insufficient restoring force, leading to inconsistent pressing feelings and potential deformation, which results in poor electrical connection and user experience.
Innovation Solution
A keyswitch assembly featuring a base plate with pressing mechanisms and elastic members, where the keycap is covered by these components, and a supporting member is added to increase the keycap's rigidity, ensuring consistent pressing feedback and stable electrical conduction across the surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the keyswitch has a larger pressing area, then the coverage area is increased, but the restoring force becomes insufficient and pressing feeling becomes inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The keycap is divided into a keycap body and a separate first supporting member that is connected to the base plate. This segmentation allows the supporting member to independently provide additional restoring force to the keycap body, thereby compensating for the insufficient restoring force in large-area keyswitches while maintaining the overall pressing area.
2Area of moving object
If the keyswitch has a larger pressing area, then the coverage area is increased, but the pressing feeling consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The first supporting member is positioned at a specific location on the base plate to provide localized support to the keycap body. This local reinforcement ensures that the pressing feeling remains consistent across different pressing positions on the large-area keyswitch, addressing the uniformity issue without reducing the overall pressing area.
3Device complexity
If the keycap supporting force is insufficient, then the structure simplicity is maintained, but the keycap deformation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The first supporting member acts as an intermediary component between the base plate and the keycap body. It provides additional supporting force to prevent keycap deformation at corners and edges without significantly increasing overall structural complexity, as it integrates with the existing keycap and base plate assembly.
4Ease of manufacture
If the keycap rigidity is insufficient, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the electrical connection reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the keycap into a keycap body and a first supporting member, the rigidity can be enhanced through the supporting member's structure and material properties. This segmentation allows for targeted reinforcement of the keycap assembly to ensure reliable electrical connection without requiring the entire keycap to be manufactured from high-rigidity materials, thus balancing manufacturing cost and reliability.
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 solution provides a uniform pressing feeling across the keycap surface and prevents deformation, thereby enhancing the user experience and electrical connection reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of elastic members (15) spaced with intervals are disposed on the base plate (11), and correspond to the plurality of pressing mechanisms (13)
Data Source
AI summary
A keyswitch assembly is provided. The keyswitch assembly includes a base plate, at least one pressing mechanism disposed on the base plate, a plurality of elastic members disposed on the base plate, and a keycap covering the at least one pressing mechanism and the plurality of elastic members. In the embodiments, a plurality of elastic members is disposed at equal intervals to support the keycap. By way of such configuration, the user experiences the same or similar hand feeling when pressing any point of the keycap. There is no difference in the pressing feel due for pressing the middle or two ends of the keycap. Meanwhile, the problem of the poor electrical conduction resulted from the deformation of the keycap may be avoided.