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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Kamen Rider Blade on Fri, 06 June 2014, 13:19:13

Title: Maglev Keyboard coming to notebooks
Post by: Kamen Rider Blade on Fri, 06 June 2014, 13:19:13
http://www.cnet.com/news/darfons-super-thin-maglev-keyboard-will-make-notebooks-even-slimmer/

Hopefully, this technology will make a comeback in general
Title: Re: Maglev Keyboard coming to notebooks
Post by: UnlikeAny on Fri, 06 June 2014, 13:36:20
This is great. If laptops gets thicker, people will have more space to take a good keyboard with them.
Title: Re: Maglev Keyboard coming to notebooks
Post by: E TwentyNine on Fri, 06 June 2014, 14:07:44
"Darfon says it is also able to tweak the resistance electronically, so the keys will have various degrees of pressure depending on the preferences of their customers."

Here's the patent: http://www.google.com/patents/US20130249658

If the pressure is adjustable wouldn't that imply an electromagnetic assembly?  Wonder what kind of power usage that entails.
Title: Re: Maglev Keyboard coming to notebooks
Post by: Greeeg on Sat, 14 June 2014, 23:02:50
Probably less than you would think. From the looks of the patent, the switch is held in its neutral position by a permanent magnet.
There is another magnet in the frame of the switch which I assume when you press the keytop would induce an electric field in a PCB/coil below.
Some smart electronics could drive power back to increase/reduce the force you feel while pressing.

So there is no power being used when you aren't actually pressing on a key.
Title: Re: Maglev Keyboard coming to notebooks
Post by: islisis on Tue, 17 June 2014, 15:50:30
with fast enough electronics, this could make a very versatile tactile switch! first in a laptop :D
Title: Re: Maglev Keyboard coming to notebooks
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 17 June 2014, 15:53:07
if it's expensive, I'll try and find a dead one a year after it comes out.
Title: Re: Maglev Keyboard coming to notebooks
Post by: dorkvader on Tue, 17 June 2014, 17:52:52
if it's expensive, I'll try and find a dead one a year after it comes out.
you can try to get the replacement keyboard part through the normal channels.
Title: Re: Maglev Keyboard coming to notebooks
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 17 June 2014, 18:04:17
But that's a simple, easy thing to do.

Why would I want that?