Keyboard technology
There are many types of keyboards, usually differentiated by the switch technology employed in their operation. Since there are so many switches needed (usually about 80-110) and because they have to be highly reliable, this usually defines the keyboard. The choice of switch technology affects key response (the positive feedback that a key has been pressed) and travel (the distance needed to push the key to enter a character reliably). Newer models use hybrids of various technologies to achieve greater cost savings.
Types
Membrane keyboard
Membrane keyboards are usually flat. They are most often found on appliances like microwave ovens or photocopiers. A common design consists of three layers. The top layer (and the one the user touches) has the labels printed on its front and conductive stripes printed on the back. Under this it has a spacer layer, which holds the front and back layer apart so that they do not normally make electrical contact. The back layer has conductive stripes printed perpendicularly to those of the front layer. When placed together, the stripes form a grid. When the user pushes down at a particular position, his finger pushes the front layer down through the spacer layer to close a circuit at one of the intersections of the grid. This indicates to the computer or keyboard control processor that a particular button has been pressed.
Generally, membrane keyboards do not have much of a "feel", so many machines which use them issue a beep or flash a light when the key is pressed. They are often used in harsh environments where water or leak proofing is desirable. Although used in the early days of the personal computer (on the ZX80, ZX81 and Atari 400), they have been supplanted by the more tactile dome and mechanical switch keyboards. However, membrane keyboards with interchangeable key layouts, such as the IntelliKeys and Discover:board are still commonly used by people with physical, visual, or cognitive disabilities as well as people who require assistive technology to access a computer.
Dome-switch keyboard
Dome-switch keyboards are kind of a hybrid of membrane and mechanical keyboards. They bring two circuit board traces together under a rubber "dome" or bubble. The inside of the top of the bubble is coated in graphite. When a key is pressed, it collapses the dome, which connects the two circuit traces and completes the connection to enter the character. The pattern on the PC board is often gold-plated.
This is a common switch technology used in mass market keyboards today. It is considered very quiet, but purists tend to find it "mushy" because the collapsing dome does not provide as much positive response as a hard closing switch. These are also a good choice for office or consumer environments because they are generally fairly quiet. This switch technology also happens to be most commonly used in handheld controllers, such as those used with home video game consoles. Dome-switch keyboards are also called direct-switch keyboards.
See also: Chiclet keyboard
Scissor-switch keyboard
A special case of the computer keyboard dome-switch is the scissor-switch. The keys are attached to the keyboard via two plastic pieces that interlock in a "scissor"-like fashion, and snap to the keyboard and the key. It still uses rubber domes, but a special plastic 'scissors' mechanism links the keycap to a plunger that depresses the rubber dome with a much shorter travel than the typical rubber dome keyboard. Typically scissors switch keyboards also employ 3-layer membranes as the electrical component of the switch. These stabilizing scissor-like devices extend the lifespan of the membrane to as much as 10 million keystrokes.[citation needed] They also usually have a shorter total key travel distance (2 mm instead of 3.5 - 4 mm for standard dome-switch keyswitches). This type of keyswitch is often found on the built-in keyboards on laptops and keyboards marketed as 'low-profile'. These keyboards are generally quiet and the keys require little force to press.
Scissor-switch keyboards are typically slightly more expensive and have a 'bouncier' feel to them[citation needed], as the keys have scissor mechanisms to help them 'spring back' after you depress the keyswitch. They are harder to clean (due to the limited movement of the keys and their multiple attachment points) but also less likely to get debris in them as the gaps between the keys are often less (as there is no need for extra room to allow for the 'wiggle' in the key as you would find on a membrane keyboard).[1]
Capacitive keyboard
In this type of keyboard, pressing the key changes the capacitance of a pattern of capacitor pads. Unlike "dome switch" keyboards, the pattern consists of two D-shaped capacitor pads for each switch, printed on a printed circuit board (PC board) and covered by a thin, insulating film of soldermask which plays the role of a dielectric. The mechanism of capacitive switches is very simple, compared to mechanical ones. Its movable part is ended with a flat foam element (of dimensions near to a tablet of Aspirin) finished with aluminium foil below. The opposite side of the switch is a PC board with the capacitor pads.
When a key is pressed, the foil tightly clings to the surface of the PC board, forming a daisy chain of two capacitors between contact pads and itself separated with thin soldermask, and thus "shorting" the contact pads with an easily detectable drop of capacitive reactance between them. Usually this permits a pulse or pulse train to be sensed. The keys do not need to be fully pressed to be fired on, which enables some typists to work faster.
As of 2008 they are a rare find in generic PC keyboards [citation needed]. Only vintage PCs are equipped with this type of keyboard. There are also industrial makes of capacitive keyboards that are inexpensive, and they resist wear, water, foreign objects and dirt.
Mechanical-switch keyboard
Mechanical-switch keyboards use real switches, one under each key. Depending on the construction of the switch, these keyboards have varying responses and travel times. Notable keyboards utilizing this technology are the Apple Extended II, and its modern imitator, the Matias Tactile Pro. These two keyboards use ALPS switches. On PCs, the OmniKey series from Northgate Computers was popular and the line is now carried by Creative Vision Technologies under the Advant brand. Cherry Corporation of Germany also makes mechanical switches used in special purpose and high end keyboards. In India, the TVS Gold mechanical keyboard is very popular despite costing about five times as much as a membrane keyboard.
Buckling-spring keyboard
Many typists prefer buckling-spring keyboards. [2][3] The buckling spring mechanism (U.S. patent 4,118,611) atop the switch is responsible for the tactile and aural response of the keyboard. This mechanism controls a small hammer that strikes a capacitive or membrane switch.[4].
In 1993, two years after spawning Lexmark, IBM transferred its keyboard operations to the daughter company. New Model M keyboards continued to be manufactured for IBM by Lexmark until 1996, when Unicomp purchased the keyboard technology. Unfortunately, the later Lexmark-manufactured Model M keyboards are of inferior quality to the original IBM-manufactured Model M. The plastic used is of lower grade (density) and other features such as a detachable heavy duty keyboard cord were replaced by lower-priced substitutes of lesser quality.
Today, new buckling-spring keyboards are manufactured by Unicomp. Unicomp also repairs old IBM and Lexmark keyboards.
Hall-effect keyboard
Hall effect keyboards use magnets and Hall effect sensors instead of an actual switch. When a key is depressed, it moves a magnet, which is detected by the solid-state sensor. These keyboards are extremely reliable, and are able to accept millions of keystrokes before failing. They are used for ultra-high reliability applications, in locations like nuclear powerplants or aircraft cockpits. They are also sometimes used in industrial environments. These keyboards can be easily made totally waterproof. They also resist large amounts of dust and contaminants. Because a magnet and sensor is required for each key, as well as custom control electronics, they are very expensive.
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MOBBAL™ Technology keyboard
MOBBAL™ Technology represents a new approach to computer keyboard technology, allowing non electric pulse mechanism, which do not require keys to close a circuit or actually touch any part. MOBBAL™ is an Infrared Scanning keyboard technology. A matrix array of Infrared diodes is assorted in the parameter of the keypad. The Infrared beams create the matrix in which a pressed key blocks a combination of 3 beams and the combination of 3 beams blocked correlate to one specific key, ascertaining the pressed key. The 3 beams correlation enables multi key pressed detection and prevention of blind spots or “ghost” keys. While MOBBAL™ Technology keyboards external design can be similar to any desktop or laptop keyboard, the internal structure is very different to the regular keyboard. The key structure is also unique, its cone shaped base is designed to block the beams. The MOBBAL™ Technology keyboards are complete liquid and dust resilience, electromagnetic emanations safe and also - by using solid state components as LEDs they are very rugged and product life expectancy is of over 10 years. MOBBAL™ Technology Keyboards are not similar to laser projection keyboard technology.
Laser keyboard
A laser projection device approximately the size of a computer mouse projects the outline of keyboard keys onto a flat surface, such as a table or desk. This type of keyboard is portable enough to be easily used with PDAs and cellphones, and many models have retractable cords and wireless capabilities. However, sudden or accidental disruption of the laser will register unwanted keystrokes. Also, if the laser malfunctions, the whole unit becomes useless, unlike conventional keyboards which can be used even if a variety of parts (such as the keycaps) are removed. This type of keyboard can be frustrating to use since it is susceptible to errors, even in the course of normal typing, and its complete lack of tactile feedback makes it even less user-friendly than the cheapest membrane keyboards.
Roll-up keyboard
Some keyboards are designed out of flexible materials that can roll up in a moderately tight bundle. Normally the external materials are either silicone or polyurethane. It is important to note that although many manufacturers claim that the keyboards are foldable, they cannot be folded without damaging the membrane that holds the circuitry. Typically they are completely sealed in rubber, making them watertight like membrane keyboards. Like membrane keyboards, they are reported to be very hard to get used to, as there is little tactile feedback.
As of 2005, roll-up keyboards include:
- the CoolMac keyboard [1],
- the Eumax keyboard,
- the VIK ("virtually indestructible keyboard") [2], [3],
- the pocket VIK [4],
- the Flexboard keyboard [5],
- the CoolMIR keyboard [6], and
- the Whitelite FX100 Keyboard [7].
See Roll-away computer.
Debouncing
When pressing a keyboard key, the key "bounces" like a ball against its contacts several times before it settles into firm contact. When released, it bounces some more until it reverts to the uncontacted state. If the computer was watching for each pulse, it would see many keystrokes for what the user thought was just one.
To resolve this problem, the processor in a keyboard (or computer) "debounces" the keystrokes, by aggregating them across time to produce one "confirmed" keystroke that (usually) corresponds to what is typically a solid contact. It could be argued that the dome switch technology outlined above owes its popularity to the ability of the processor to accurately debounce the keystrokes. Early membrane keyboards limited typing speed because they had to do significant debouncing. This was a noticeable problem on the ZX81.
Keycaps
Keycaps are also required for most types of keyboards; while modern keycaps are typically surface-marked, they can also be 2-shot molded, or engraved, or they can be made of transparent material with printed paper inserts.
Other parts of the PC keyboard
The modern PC keyboard also includes a control processor and indicator lights to provide feedback to the user about what state the keyboard is in. Depending on the sophistication of the controller's programming, the keyboard may also offer other special features. The processor is usually a single chip 8048 microcontroller variant. The keyboard switch matrix is wired to its inputs and it processes the incoming keystrokes and sends the results down a serial cable (the keyboard cord) to a receiver in the main computer box. It also controls the illumination of the "caps lock", "num lock" and "scroll lock" lights.
A common test for whether the computer has crashed is pressing the "caps lock" key. The keyboard sends the key code to the keyboard driver running in the main computer; if the main computer is operating, it commands the light to turn on. All the other indicator lights work in a similar way. The keyboard driver also tracks the shift, alt and control state of the keyboard.
Keyboard switch matrix
 | It has been suggested that keyboard matrix (music) be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2008. |
The keyboard switch matrix is often drawn with horizontal wires and vertical wires in a grid which is called a matrix circuit. It has a switch at some or all intersections, much like a multiplexed display. Almost all keyboards have only the switch at each intersection, which causes "ghost keys" and "key jamming" when multiple keys are pressed (see rollover (key) ). Certain, often more expensive keyboards have a diode between each intersection, allowing the keyboard microcontroller to accurately sense any number of simultaneous keys being pressed, without generating erronous ghost keys. [citation needed].
Notes
- ^ http://www.ergocanada.ca/ergo/keyboards/mechanical_vs_membrane_keyswitches.html
- ^ A Passion for the Keys: Particular About What You Type On? Relax -- You're Not Alone. LOOSE WIRE, By JEREMY WAGSTAFF, Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2007
- ^ Dan's Data Review: IBM 42H1292 and 1391401 keyboards, Review date: 15 August 1999, updated 13-Nov-2007]
- ^ Qwerters Clini