Touch Control Keyboard with Capacitive Sensing and Tactile Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional computer keyboards cannot support touch control operations, requiring users to switch to external touchpads or screens, lacking tactile feedback and convenience for continuous data typing.
Innovation Solution
A touch control keyboard design that generates key signals through both keystroke and touch operations using a combination of conductive keycaps, supporting housings, and circuit boards, allowing for tactile feedback and touch control gestures on a single device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional computer keyboard is used, then keystroke operation is supported, but touch control operation cannot be performed
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard is designed to perform multiple functions: it can detect both traditional keystroke operations (through elastic components and contact points) and touch control operations (through conductive distributions and capacitive sensing). This allows a single device to replace both a keyboard and touchpad, improving versatility and user convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines two previously separate devices (keyboard and touchpad) into one integrated keyboard apparatus. The keycaps incorporate both mechanical switching components for keystrokes and capacitive sensing components for touch gestures, merging the functionality of both devices into a unified interface.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a touch control virtual keyboard is used, then touch control operation is supported, but tactile feedback is lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the advantages of physical keyboards (tactile feedback through keycap depression and elastic component compression) with the advantages of virtual touch keyboards (capacitive touch sensing). The keycaps maintain their physical form factor providing tactile feedback, while incorporating conductive distributions for touch gesture detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The keycaps are designed as composite structures incorporating both mechanical elements (elastic components, contact points) and capacitive sensing elements (conductive distributions). This composite approach allows the same physical structure to provide both tactile feedback and touch control functionality.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a user needs to perform touch control operation during data typing, then the user must move hands to an external touchpad, but this disrupts typing continuity
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard serves as a universal input device that can handle both data typing (through keystrokes) and touch control operations (through capacitive sensing) without requiring the user to switch devices. This maintains hand position and typing continuity, improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
By integrating touchpad functionality directly into the keyboard surface, the patent eliminates the need for users to physically move their hands between devices. Touch gestures can be performed directly on the keyboard surface, maintaining typing flow and improving efficiency.
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
Enables users to type data with tactile feedback and perform touch control operations without needing to move hands from the keyboard, enhancing usability and convenience by integrating both keystroke and touch signal generation into a single apparatus.
Implementation Method 1
The touch key part has a coupling capacitor. Each pair of conductive distributions is correspondingly disposed on the keycap and the supporting housing connected to each other and is electrically connected to a touch key part of the keycap. The first circuit board includes a plurality pairs of conductive wires, and the pairs of conductive wires are electrically connected to the touch key parts by means of the pairs of conductive distributions, to detect the coupling capacitor to generate a first key signal.
Data Source
AI summary
A touch control keyboard includes a plurality of keycaps, a plurality of touch key parts, a plurality pairs of conductive distributions, a first circuit board, and a second circuit board. An upper part of each keycap includes a touch key part having a coupling capacitor. The touch key parts and the pair of conductive distributions and the first circuit board are electrically connected. The first circuit board detects the coupling capacitors of the touch key parts by using the pair of conductive distributions to generate a first key signal. The second circuit board detects keystrokes of the keycaps to generate a second key signal.