Wonderful World of Patents

[dw_junon]

Finally, I've got together most of the more interesting patents I've found browsing Google Patents.  The great thing is that once you have a starting block (which initially in my case was The Harris Patent), you can jump straight to references of prior art in the patent you're looking at, and any following patents which reference that patent itself.  In so doing I've found it possible to keep going for quite a while...  So, here are some patents.

ALPS "Push button switch" - this warrants further investigation.  I just haven't got to looking into ALPS stuff that seriously yet...

AT&T "Quiet key switch" - non-IBM development of Harris/Coleman buckling spring.  I haven't come across it for real myself, but have you?

HP "keyboards with few keys designating hundreds of functions" - pretty scary IMHO.

HP "switch assembly having sensory feedback" - with "adjustable touch control to the user"!!

IBM "Magnetically snap actuated contact keyboard apparatus" - An interesting alternative to buckling springs; could it have been implemented?

IBM "Membrane keyboard switch mounting" - one of the co-inventors, Gostomski, was a co-author of the IBM Research Journal piece on this.

IBM "Low profile tactile keyswitch" - scissors with spring... seem to recall reading about this on geekhack; in early ThinkPads?

Keytronic "Computer keyboard with adjustable force keystroke feature using air pressure"!! - Just "Wow".

Olivetti "Keyboard having low profile modular keys" - M24 - This is such a nifty system; I must try to take some good photos and document this, unless someone has a good reference...

Wang "modularly expandable desktop keyboard" - One answer to the number pad debate.  Too bad it probably never saw production.


And now for some design patents!

Design patents are the greatest, because there isn't the intimidating extraordinarily complicated text "insert right index finger 52 into vacant nostril 7a.", almost the entire content is the line drawings.

DEC LK201 - an iconic and enduring terminal keyboard.

Original IBM 3270 [type 3277] terminal keyboard

Original 5250 [type 5251] terminal monster keyboard (5251 terminal with a System/34 at the Corestore (scroll down!))

104 key terminal keyboard [old 122 without number pad, eg. IBM P/N 1397033]

Second generation PCjr keyboard

PC/XT 83 key keyboard

PC/AT 84 key keyboard

PC/AT Enhanced 101 Keyboard eg. IBM P/N 1390131

6094-020 "LPFK" Lighted Program Function Keyboard (see Michael Brutman's page)

Model M4-1

Model M15

IBM 3290 :)

Northgate Omnikey Ultra

Wang 724

[Chloe]

ALPS "Push button switch" - this warrants further investigation.  I just haven't got to looking into ALPS stuff that seriously yet...

Thanks for finding this. The switching mechanism looks simplified, I'm not sure what type. This patent also references 4760225; Fig. 6 looks like an early type of ALPS switch seen here:
http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hisao/image/hx10d.htm

[fkeidjn]

I don't think scissor spring switches were brought into reality, well at least not on the internet, though I'd really love to see one in real life (can someone say Filco?)