Magnetic Push-Button Structure for Sealed Tactile Input
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices with physical push-buttons suffer from poor sealing performance, leading to potential damage from liquids and corrosive substances, while pressure-sensitive push-buttons degrade user experience due to poor tactile feedback.
Innovation Solution
A push-button structure incorporating a first magnetic component in a blind hole and an elastic component that changes form under external action, generating a magnetic signal to trigger device functions without the need for a through hole, enhancing sealing and corrosion resistance while maintaining user experience similar to physical push-buttons.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a physical push-button with through hole is provided in the electronic device, then the tactile feedback and user experience are improved, but the sealing performance deteriorates leading to potential damage from liquids and corrosive substances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical push-button system (requiring through holes and physical switches) with a magnetic field-based sensing system. The first magnetic component and second magnetic component interact through the middle frame without physical contact or through holes, eliminating the mechanical structure that compromises sealing while maintaining push-button functionality through magnetic field detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The middle frame serves as an intermediary that allows magnetic field penetration while maintaining physical sealing. The magnetic field can pass through the middle frame material to enable interaction between the first and second magnetic components, while the middle frame itself maintains the sealed structure preventing liquid and corrosive substance ingress.
2Ease of operation
If a physical push-button with through hole is provided in the electronic device, then the push-button functionality is achieved, but the corrosion resistance deteriorates due to liquid ingress through the through hole
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the mechanical through-hole structure by using magnetic field interaction. The push-button functionality is achieved through magnetic field sensing rather than mechanical switch actuation, removing the pathway for liquid and corrosive substance ingress while preserving the essential push-button operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the through-hole structure from the device design. By eliminating the through hole that connects the external environment to the internal components, the design prevents liquid and corrosive substance ingress pathways while maintaining push-button functionality through the magnetic field-based system.
3Reliability
If a pressure-sensitive push-button is provided in the electronic device, then the sealing performance is improved, but the user experience deteriorates due to poor tactile feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the pressure-sensitive push-button system with a magnetic field-based sensing system. The elastic component's deformation under pressure is converted into magnetic field distance changes, which are detected by the second magnetic component. This substitution maintains the tactile feedback mechanism while preserving sealing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the elastic component's partial deformation (not full compression) to generate sufficient magnetic field distance changes for reliable detection. The elastic component deforms partially under user pressure, creating measurable magnetic field variations that provide tactile feedback while maintaining the sealed structure.
4Device complexity
If a through hole is configured in the middle frame for physical push-button mounting, then the push-button structure is simplified, but the probability of short circuit and damage to functional elements increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the through-hole structure from the middle frame. By eliminating this opening, the design prevents liquid and corrosive substance ingress that could cause short circuits and damage to functional elements, while the magnetic field-based system maintains push-button functionality without requiring through holes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical push-button structure requiring through-hole mounting with a magnetic field-based system. The first magnetic component can be positioned without requiring external through-hole access, simplifying the overall structure while eliminating the short circuit risk associated with through-hole configurations.
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
This solution reduces the risk of short circuits and damage from liquids, improves sealing and corrosion resistance, and ensures a similar tactile experience to physical push-buttons, enhancing user experience and device reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a first magnetic component disposed in a blind hole formed in an outer surface of a mounting body; a second magnetic component disposed on an inner surface of the mounting body... a distance between the first magnetic component and the second magnetic component can change, and a magnetic field intensity sensed by the second magnetic component can be changed
Implementation Method 2
an elastic component having a first form without an external action and a second form under an external action
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided are a push-button structure (100) and an electronic device. The push-button structure includes: a mounting body (110), an outer surface of which being at least partially recessed inward to form a blind hole (at numeral 120); a first magnetic component (120), disposed in the blind hole; a second magnetic component (130), disposed on an inner surface of the mounting body and distributed symmetrically with the first magnetic component on an opposite side of the mounting body; and an elastic component (140), disposed in the blind hole and having a first form without an external action and a second form under an external action.