Solid-State Keyboard Piezoelectric Haptic Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional keyboards and touchpads with mechanical components are prone to wear and require thicker designs, which limits their portability and increases the risk of mechanical failures, while also not providing a seamless user experience for haptic feedback.
Innovation Solution
A solid-state keyboard and touchpad system utilizing piezoelectric elements integrated into a single sheet cover, eliminating the need for mechanical switches and providing haptic feedback through local deformation of the key or touchpad area, allowing for a thinner, more robust, and customizable design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If mechanical switches and components are used in keyboards and touchpads, then structural strength and tactile feedback are achieved, but device thickness increases and mechanical wear occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical switch components with piezoelectric elements that generate electrical signals in response to mechanical stress, eliminating the need for traditional mechanical switches while maintaining input functionality. This substitution reduces device thickness by removing multiple mechanical layers while preserving structural integrity through the flexible circuit board design.
2Ease of operation
If mechanical components are used in keyboards and touchpads, then tactile feedback is provided, but mechanical wear and failure risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces wear-prone mechanical components with solid-state piezoelectric elements that have no moving parts, eliminating mechanical wear and failure risks. The piezoelectric elements maintain tactile feedback capability by generating electrical signals in response to finger pressure, providing reliable operation without the degradation associated with mechanical wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters from mechanical movement to electrical field response. The piezoelectric elements detect finger pressure through changes in electrical properties rather than mechanical movement, providing tactile feedback through electrical signal generation rather than mechanical action, thereby improving reliability while maintaining ease of operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate components are used for keyboard and touchpad, then functional versatility is achieved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the keyboard and touchpad into a single integrated flexible circuit board structure, reducing device complexity while maintaining functional versatility. The piezoelectric elements are distributed across the flexible circuit board to provide both keyboard key detection and touchpad gesture recognition capabilities within a unified component architecture, simplifying manufacturing and assembly.
4Ease of manufacture
If traditional keyboard structures are used, then key differentiation is achieved, but uniform appearance and seamless design are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the piezoelectric element distribution and characteristics at specific locations on the flexible circuit board to provide key differentiation, while maintaining a uniform overall appearance. The piezoelectric elements can be configured with different sensitivities, sizes, or arrangements in different regions to identify specific keys or touchpad zones, achieving both functional identification and aesthetic uniformity.
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 results in a thinner, more portable, and durable input device that offers consistent haptic feedback without mechanical parts, enhancing user experience and reducing maintenance needs.
Implementation Method 1
A piezoelectric element may be disposed between the contact foil and the support layer to generate an electrical charge in response to mechanical stress
Implementation Method 2
The controller may send an electrical signal to the piezoelectric element to cause the piezoelectric element to provide haptic feedback at the key or touchpad location
Data Source
AI summary
A coversheet layer of an information handling system, comprising a coversheet having a key location of a haptic keyboard and a haptic touchpad area on a C-cover for the information handling system including a magnet or ferromagnetic insert in the coversheet for alignment to a top replaceable overlay layer magnetically attachable to the coversheet, a support layer, a contact foil placed between the coversheet and support layer, a piezoelectric element placed between the contact foil and support layer to receive an applied mechanical stress at the key location or touchpad actuation location of the coversheet and generate an electric actuation signal and a controller of the information handling system operatively coupled to the contact foil to receive the electric actuation signal and send an electrical haptic response signal to the piezoelectric element to cause the piezoelectric element to generate haptic feedback.