MR Fluid Scroll Wheel Haptics for Low Acoustic Mouse Input
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Solution Overview
Problem
Peripheral devices in information handling systems generate undesired acoustic noise and are prone to damage from excessive torsional forces, particularly due to mechanical interactions and cable interfaces.
Innovation Solution
Implementing fluid reservoirs, magnets, and MR fluid chambers in keyboards and mice to dampen acoustic noise, and using rubber sleeves and flexible circuit boards to protect cable connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If mechanical spring type keys are used to provide tactile feedback, then key responsiveness is improved, but audible noise is generated due to metallic spring interactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical spring interactions with magnetic fields. Magnets provide the biasing force and tactile feedback without physical contact between moving parts, eliminating the metallic spring noise while maintaining key responsiveness and tactile feel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces magnets as an intermediary between the key cap and the keyboard base. The magnetic field acts as a mediator to provide both the upward bias force and tactile feedback, replacing direct mechanical spring contact and thereby eliminating noise generation.
2Ease of operation
If empty space is provided under keys to allow key movement, then key operation is improved, but acoustic echo is amplified through partial empty volumetric air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces acoustic dampening material as an intermediary substance filling the empty space under the keys. This material allows keys to move freely while simultaneously absorbing acoustic energy and preventing echo amplification through the previously empty volumetric air spaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the space under keys from empty air volume to acoustic dampening material. This material has acoustic absorption properties that prevent echo while maintaining the necessary space for key movement and operational freedom.
3Volume of moving object
If cable ports are made small and low profile to reduce device size, then portability is improved, but strain on cable and port increases causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies strain relief features and flexible cable management solutions before the cable connection point. These features absorb and distribute mechanical strain beforehand, preventing excessive force from reaching the small low-profile port and reducing the risk of damage while maintaining device compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible cable management elements and strain relief structures that can bend and absorb mechanical stress. These flexible components protect the rigid small port from strain while allowing the device to maintain a compact form factor.
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
Reduces acoustic noise by up to 12 dB and minimizes the risk of peripheral device damage by absorbing excessive forces, maintaining a quiet and functional operating environment.
Implementation Method 1
The scroll wheel may have a MR fluid captured in a chamber with spaced blades so that rotation of the scroll wheel near a magnet stiffens the MR fluid to generate resistance at the blades and mimic scroll wheel clicks
Implementation Method 2
A rubber sleeve made of rubberized material fits around the port and couples to the peripheral chassis to keep the port aligned with a chassis opening that accepts the cable
Data Source
AI summary
An information handling system peripheral mouse accepts scroll inputs at a scroll wheel extending from the upper surface of the mouse. The scroll wheel rotates about an axis and has a chamber inside a the wheel that is filled with MR fluid having particles that interact with a magnetic field so that the viscosity of the fluid varies based upon the presence of a magnetic field. A sliding magnet carrier moves magnets relative to the scroll wheel to adjust the MR fluid viscosity and the amount of haptic feedback created at blades within the chamber that resist the passage of the MR fluid.