Rotatable Keyboard Hinge Assembly for Adjustable Display Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current computing systems with display and keyboard housings lack flexibility in orientation and ergonomic support, limiting user interaction and usability across different tasks and environments.
Innovation Solution
A system featuring a display housing with a rotatable keyboard housing and hinge assembly that allows the keyboard portion to form non-planar angles with the stand portion, enabling adjustable and repositionable support for the display housing at various angles, including laptop, slate, and viewing modes, with magnetic attraction and frictional mechanisms for stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the keyboard housing is fixed in a single orientation, then the device structure is simple, but the ergonomic support and usability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard housing is transformed from a fixed structure to a dynamic one through the hinge assembly, allowing it to rotate and adjust to multiple orientations (laptop mode, tablet mode, presentation mode). This dynamic capability enables the device to adapt to different ergonomic requirements without requiring multiple separate devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge assembly serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a rotational joint for orientation adjustment, a structural connector between keyboard and display housings, and an ergonomic support mechanism. This multi-functionality achieves orientation flexibility without proportionally increasing device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the keyboard and display housings are permanently attached, then the device is more stable, but the form factor is less compact and detachable
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into separate keyboard housing and display housing components that can be detached and reattached. The hinge assembly provides a standardized interface for these segments to connect, enabling compact storage when separated while maintaining stability when connected through the robust hinge mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If the display housing is supported at fixed angles only, then the manufacturing is simpler, but the ergonomic interactions are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The display housing support transitions from fixed angular positions to continuous adjustable angles through the hinge assembly. Users can dynamically adjust the display to any angle within the rotational range, enabling optimal ergonomic interactions for different tasks such as typing, viewing, or presentation modes.
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 system provides enhanced ergonomic interactions by allowing multiple orientations and stable support, improving usability across different tasks and environments, while maintaining a compact and detachable form factor.
Implementation Method 1
a hinge assembly that rotatably couples the keyboard portion and the stand portion
Implementation Method 2
magnetic attraction and frictional mechanisms for stability
Implementation Method 3
magnetic attraction and frictional mechanisms for stability
Data Source
AI summary
A system can include a display housing that includes a display on a display side, and an opposing, back side; a keyboard housing that includes a keyboard portion that includes a keyboard, a stand portion, and a hinge assembly that rotatably couples the keyboard portion and the stand portion; a stand portion and back side contact orientation, where the stand portion forms a non-planar angle with the keyboard portion and contacts the back side of the display housing to support the display housing at the non-planar angle with the keyboard portion; and a keyboard portion and back side contact orientation, where the keyboard portion is non-planar with the stand portion and contacts the back side of the display housing to support the display housing at one of two different angles.