Protective Cover With Flexible Fabric Keyboard and Magnetic Holder
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern tablet computers face challenges with virtual or physical keyboards that are difficult to manipulate, often due to bulkiness, poor tactile feedback, and inadequate color contrast and abrasion resistance on keycaps, making them less user-friendly for extensive typing.
Innovation Solution
A protective cover with a flexible fabric keyboard that integrates molded keycaps made from polyurethane (PU) or other materials, providing a comfortable typing experience while maintaining structural integrity, along with a magnetic holder system that secures the cover in various configurations, ensuring the keyboard is securely attached to the device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a physical keyboard is added to a tablet computer, then typing capability is improved, but portability and form factor are worsened due to bulkiness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the keyboard with the protective cover to form a single integrated unit. The keyboard is embedded within the cover structure, allowing the protective cover and keyboard to function as one component rather than separate items. This merging eliminates the need to carry both a standalone keyboard and a protective cover, thereby improving portability while maintaining typing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible material for the protective cover that can be folded or bent to accommodate the keyboard structure. This flexibility allows the cover to maintain a compact form when not in use while still providing a stable surface for the keyboard during typing operations, thus resolving the contradiction between portability and typing functionality.
2Volume of moving object
If a flexible keyboard is used to improve portability, then form factor is improved, but tactile feedback deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes composite materials for the keyboard construction, combining flexible substrates with rigid or semi-rigid keycap materials. This composite approach allows the keyboard to maintain flexibility for portability while the keycaps provide sufficient tactile feedback for comfortable typing. The layered structure enables both form factor reduction and operational quality maintenance.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional keycap materials are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but color contrast and abrasion resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials to the keycaps, combining a base material with a coating or overlay that provides enhanced color contrast and abrasion resistance. This composite approach maintains relative manufacturing simplicity while significantly improving the durability and visual quality of the keycaps, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability.
4Stability of the object's composition
If magnets are added to secure the cover in various configurations, then stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs magnets that automatically engage and disengage based on the relative positions of the cover and device. The magnetic system requires no manual operation or external control - it self-regulates to maintain stable configurations when the cover is positioned correctly and automatically releases when opened. This self-service approach provides stability improvement while minimizing the increase in operational complexity.
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 enhances typing comfort and security by providing a flexible yet durable keyboard with improved tactile feedback and secure attachment options, addressing the limitations of existing tablet keyboards.
Implementation Method 1
The protective cover can further include a plurality of magnets coupled to the housing and configured to secure the housing in one or more of the closed, open, and active configurations. The top holder and media mode magnets can be configured to provide a magnetic force operable to increase a retention strength of the closed position. The first holder and second holder detaching magnets can be configured to provide a magnetic force operable to increase a retention strength of magnetic bond between the holder and the housing.
Data Source
AI summary
In certain embodiments, a protective cover for an input device includes a housing having an outer portion and an inner portion, with the inner portion including a first end and a second end, and a plurality of keys disposed in an area at the first end of the inner portion of the housing. A holder can be configured to receive and secure an input device with at least a portion of the holder coupled to the second end of the inner portion of the housing. The housing can be configurable in a plurality of positions including a closed configuration, an open configuration, a first active configuration, and a second active configuration. The protective cover can further include a plurality of magnets coupled to the housing and configured to secure the housing in one or more of the closed, open, and active configurations.