Apple wants to make the keyboards of its various devices more durable and resistant to spills. The tech giant has been granted a patent for an “Electrical Key Support Membrane.”
About the patent
In the patent, Apple notes that liquid flowing around, between, and beneath the keys can cause, of course, can damage internal electronics. Residues from such liquids, such as sugar, may corrode or block electrical contacts, prevent key movement by bonding moving parts, and so on.
Solid contaminants (such as dust, dirt, food crumbs, and the like) may lodge under keys, block electrical contacts, and obstruct key movement. Apple says that these devices can also be undesirably expensive to make and assemble.
The keys on a conventional keyboard are spaced apart to provide key definition. Key definition is a property of a keyboard that describes how easily a user can tell where a key is located by sight or touch. Typically, strong key definition correlates with large gaps or grooves between the keycaps since those gaps or grooves help orient the user’s fingers on the keyboard.
Apple says that, however, spacing apart the keys produces gaps through which liquid and particles can pass into the keyboard. Additionally, due to manufacturing tolerances, keycaps can be slightly misaligned when they each are supported by separate switches, domes and related key mechanisms, thereby leading to an imprecise and noisy visual appearance. Apple says that “there are many challenges and areas for improvements in input devices such as keyboards.” The company’s solution: a membrane-sealed keyboard.
About the patent
Here’s Apple’s summary of the patent: “Keyboards and other input devices are provided with membranes that extend under the keycaps or buttons. The membranes are flexible and can support conductive structures, traces, and electrical switch connections to enable effective key switches, lighting, and fluid-tightness for the keyboard. The flexible membrane is positioned near the keycaps to prevent ingress of fluids and debris into the lower portions of the key assemblies. In some cases, the flexible membrane also provides support for an interstitial layer that extends between keycaps.”
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