Keyswitch Patents

[bhtooefr]

In working on a design for the t-shirt, I decided to run with the patent drawing idea.

Therefore, I came up with the patents on various types of keyswitches we like on this forum... here goes... (most of us knew the buckling spring patent, I suspect, but...)

Alps leaf spring:
US Patent No. 4,613,737
Low profile pushbutton switch with tactile feedback
Inventor: Akio Nishijima
Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
Filed: 1984-09-04

Alps Bigfoot:
US Patent No. 4,642,433
Pushbutton switch with aural confirmation of operation
Inventor: Taneo Murata
Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
Filed: 1985-07-11

Buckling Spring:
US Patent No. 4,118,611
Buckling spring torsional snap actuator
Inventor: Richard Hunter Harris
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
Filed: 1977-08-30

Cherry MX:
US Patent No. 4,467,160
Low profile switch
Inventors: Gunter Murmann, Guenter Bauer
Assignee: Cherry Electrical Products Corporation
Filed: 1983-07-12

Topre capacitive:
US Patent No. 4,584,444
Keyboard switch
Inventor: Takao Nagashima
Assignee: Topre Corporation
Filed: 1984-09-21

[bhtooefr]

Now, I've got a couple questions... the Alps keyswitch. I believe it's patent 4,186,290, but it might be 4,249,055.

Also, anyone got a German patent number for the Cherry MX? I'm trying to find a patent drawing that is suitable for this shirt, and the US patent doesn't have one. It'll be assigned to Cherry GmbH, is my guess. (Although, both Cherry EPC and Cherry GmbH hold patents here, even though EPC is the US arm of Cherry GmbH - and the MX was invented in Germany.)

Edit: Found it.

[bhtooefr]

Ugh, this is gonna be a triple-post, but... the EPO's search facility is nothing short of excellent. And, the European, German, US, Korean, and Japanese patents all have the same drawings, just restyled for the US patent. The number was DE 32 29 465, FWIW.