Clickpad with preloaded contact force for an information handling system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11592912-B1
Application number	US-202117457242-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Dec 1, 2021
Priority date	Dec 1, 2021
Publication date	Feb 28, 2023
Grant date	Feb 28, 2023

Abstract

Clickpad structures may be attached to surfaces of an information handling system using material stacks comprising an elastic material, such as a sponge, which can preload a force on the clickpad surface. The preloaded force reduces a gap between the clickpad switch and contact point, which reduces instability, rattling, and other negative experiences with the clickpad surface experienced by a user. According to an embodiment, an input device for an information handling system includes a clickpad surface having a first side configured to receive user input and a second side opposite the first side; a first coupling stack comprising a first elastic material with a first thickness; and a second coupling stack comprising a second elastic material with a second thickness, wherein each of the coupling stacks is attached to the clickpad surface and a surface of the information handling system by adhesives.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a clickpad surface having a first side configured to receive user input and a second side opposite the first side;
a first coupling stack comprising a first elastic material and a first adhesive, the first adhesive coupled to the second side of the clickpad surface; and
a second coupling stack comprising a second elastic material and a second adhesive, the second adhesive coupled to the second side of the clickpad surface,
wherein the first elastic material has a different thickness than the second elastic material, and
wherein the first coupling stack and the second coupling stack have surface areas smaller than a surface area of the clickpad surface.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the first elastic material is different from a thickness of the second elastic material.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:
a circuit board coupled to the second side of the clickpad surface, wherein the first adhesive of the first coupling stack and the second adhesive of the second coupling stack are coupled to the circuit board; and
a switch trigger coupled to the circuit board.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first coupling stack further comprises a third adhesive for coupling to a metal bracket, and the second coupling stack further comprises a fourth adhesive for coupling to the metal bracket, wherein the thickness of the first elastic material is configured to apply a force to the switch trigger to couple the switch trigger to a clickpad contact.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising:
a bracket, wherein the clickpad surface is attached to the bracket through the third adhesive of the first coupling stack and the fourth adhesive of the second coupling stack;
a palmrest coupled to the bracket; and
a clickpad contact coupled to the bracket.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the first elastic material and the second elastic material conform to the bracket.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the clickpad surface is attached to the bracket such that there is no gap between the clickpad contact and the switch trigger.

8. An information handling system, comprising:
a memory;
a processor coupled to the memory;
an input/output device coupled to the processor, the input/output device comprising:
a clickpad surface having a first side configured to receive user input and a second side opposite the first side;
a first coupling stack comprising a first elastic material and a first adhesive, the first adhesive coupled to the second side of the clickpad surface; and
a second coupling stack comprising a second elastic material and a second adhesive, the second adhesive coupled to the second side of the clickpad surface,
wherein the first elastic material has a different thickness than the second elastic material, and
wherein the first coupling stack and the second coupling stack have surface areas smaller than a surface area of the clickpad surface.

9. The information handling system of claim 8 , wherein a thickness of the first elastic material is different from a thickness of the second elastic material.

10. The information handling system of claim 8 , further comprising:
a circuit board coupled to the second side of the clickpad surface, wherein the first adhesive of the first coupling stack and the second adhesive of the second coupling stack are coupled to the circuit board; and
a switch trigger coupled to the circuit board.

11. The information handling system of claim 10 , wherein the first coupling stack further comprises a third adhesive for coupling to a metal bracket, and the second coupling stack further comprises a fourth adhesive for coupling to the metal bracket, wherein the thickness of the first elastic material is configured to apply a force to the switch trigger to couple the switch trigger to a clickpad contact.

12. The information handling system of claim 10 , further comprising:
a bracket, wherein the clickpad surface is attached to the bracket through the third adhesive of the first coupling stack and the fourth adhesive of the second coupling stack;
a palmrest coupled to the bracket; and
a clickpad contact coupled to the bracket.

13. The information handling system of claim 12 , wherein the first elastic material and the second elastic material conform to the bracket.

14. The information handling system of claim 12 , wherein the clickpad surface is attached to the bracket such that there is no gap between the clickpad contact and the switch trigger.

15. A method of assembling an information handling system, comprising:
assemble a clickpad structure comprising a first material stack comprising a first elastic material;
attach the clickpad structure to a surface over a second material stack by coupling the first material stack to the surface, the second material stack comprising a second elastic material; and
apply a force to the clickpad structure to couple second material stack between the surface and the clickpad structure.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein applying a force to the clickpad structure deforms the clickpad structure to couple the second material stack between the surface and the clickpad structure.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein applying a force to the clickpad structure contacts a switch of the clickpad structure to a contact on the surface.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein after applying a force to the click pad structure, the second material stack exerts a force on the switch of the clickpad structure to decrease a distance between the switch and the contact on the surface.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the second material stack exerts a force to the switch of the clickpad structure to maintain contact between the switch and the contact on the surface in the absence of user input to the clickpad structure.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the force exerted by the second material stack is less than an activation force for triggering the switch of the clickpad structure.

Assignees

• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Wu Jing-Tang
• Yang Shih-Wei
• Ho Chia-Chi
• Tsai Ya-Chen

Classifications

• H01H2215/00

  Tactile feedback · CPC title

• H01H13/85

  characterised by tactile feedback features · CPC title

• G06F3/03547 Primary

  Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface · CPC title

• G06F1/169

  the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes (G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033) · CPC title