Touchpad Balance Bar Thickness Reduction for Battery Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touchpad assemblies in electronic devices face interference issues with batteries due to the balance bar's thickness, leading to increased overall device thickness and hindering lightweight and thin design goals.
Innovation Solution
A touchpad assembly design featuring a balance bar with a reduced end portion thickness, allowing it to be compressed without increasing the distance between the baseplate and support, thereby avoiding interference with the battery and enabling a thinner profile.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the distance between the baseplate and support is increased to avoid interference between the balance bar and battery, then the interference risk is reduced, but the overall thickness of the touchpad assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The balance bar is designed with non-uniform thickness along its length, featuring a thicker main body portion for structural strength and a thinner end portion to minimize interference with the battery. This local variation in geometry allows the bar to fulfill its balancing function while avoiding collision with adjacent components.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of increasing the vertical distance between the baseplate and support to avoid interference, the patent resolves the conflict by modifying the balance bar's geometry in the horizontal plane, specifically reducing the thickness of the end portion. This dimensional approach allows components to be positioned closer together without interference.
2Length of moving object
If the balance bar thickness is reduced at the end portion to avoid battery interference, then the overall thickness is reduced, but the structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The balance bar employs variable thickness design where the main body portion maintains sufficient thickness for structural strength and load-bearing, while only the end portion is thinned to avoid battery interference. This localized geometry change ensures that strength is preserved where needed while minimizing interference elsewhere.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a touchpad assembly (1). Also provided is an electronic device (100), such as a notebook computer. The touchpad assembly (1) includes a baseplate (11), a support (12), and a balance bar (13), where the baseplate (11) includes a first plate body (111) and a second plate body (112), the first plate body (111) is higher than the second plate body (112) in a thickness direction (H) of the touchpad assembly (1), and the first plate body (111) is configured to match a battery (3) of the electronic device (100); the support (12) is disposed on a side of the baseplate (11); the balance bar (13) is supported between the support (12) and the baseplate (11), and is capable of rotating around a set fulcrum of the baseplate (11); and the balance bar (13) includes a main body portion (131) and supporting portions (132), at least part of the supporting portion (132) is located on the first plate body (111), and in the thickness direction (H) of the touchpad assembly (1), an end of the supporting portion (132) away from the main body portion (131) does not exceed a bottom surface of the first plate body (111). The electronic device (100) includes a display terminal (20) and a system terminal (10), where the system terminal (10) includes a battery (3), a keyboard (2), and the touchpad assembly (1); and the battery (3) is installed below the touchpad assembly (1). An entire thickness of the touchpad assembly (1) and the battery (3) that are assembled is reduced by reducing a thickness of an end portion of the balance bar (13) through compression.