Apple may not use mechanical switches in a future MacBook keyboard at all
Future keyboards could use light to determine how far a key is pressed, a design that could replace the switches in a traditional mechanical keyboard with a system that takes up less space and potentially being capable of more presses than existing versions.
The concept of the keyboard has been around for quite some time, and is a well-used peripheral for computing devices around the world. While there have been some refinements to the item, such as by moving from the mechanical keyboard switch to notebook-style chiclet keyboards, the fundamental concepts of how the keyboard works hasn't really changed.
In practically all physical keyboards, the core idea is that some sort of actuation is performed with a key press, be it within a keyboard switch or a thin membrane-style keyboard. Contacts are connected, sending a specific signal to the host device.
However, Apple suggests physically making a connection within the switch isn't necessary for a keyboard, and proposes the use of light instead. In the patent published by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday titled "Optical Keyboard," Apple suggests just that.
Instead of an electrical connection being made by the physical motion of the keyboard, Apple proposes a system of light emitters and sensors, as well as elements on the underside of the key that can interfere with the passage of light. By pressing the key, the under-key element changes the passage of light, which can be measured and used to determine an input from a particular key.
An example of a key with an opaque undercarriage impeding the progress of light
As well as using opaque elements, the key can be made of a partially transparent material which emits its own light. Again, light sensors could be configured to detect changes in light levels depending on the motion of the key, again registering specific inputs depending on the key that moves.
The key could include a leg structure that buckles, giving users the feel of the actuation of a normal keyboard, as well as giving different levels of tactile feedback based on how much they press down on the keys. A dome could also be used to support the keycap, while the light could be fed into a light pipe that runs underneath it, accomplishing a similar feat while potentially making the key cap replaceable.
For each press, the light sensor detects the changes from a maximum amount of light emitted at the uncompressed position of the keycap to an amount of light associated with the fully-compressed position. It is plausible that a point between the two can be set as the "actuation" point to register the key press, one that could potentially be customized to require lighter or firmer presses, and therefore more key travel.
Under-key domes could have light pipes and translucent elements to emit light.
As light is being fed into the key or into a light pipe, this plausibly could be used as part of a backlight system for a keyboard, eliminating the need for a separate illumination system for that purpose.
Apple files numerous patent applications with the USPTO on a weekly basis, but while the filings indicate areas of interest for the company's research and development efforts, it isn't a guarantee that the ideas will make their way into a future product or service.
The replacement of the keyboard mechanism has been explored before by Apple, such as in the 2016 patent application for "Depressible keys with decoupled electrical and mechanical functionality." In that patent, Apple proposes the use of light emitters and detectors to measure light reflected from the back of the key, enabling it to determine how far it travelled in a press.
At the same time, the patent application proposed decoupling the mechanical and tactile functionality from the press-detection element, using structures capable of elastic deformation, and with the option for users to adjust the feel of key movement on the fly.
Apple has also explored other keyboard concepts, including the use of glass panel keyboards with force detection for each key, touch sensitive keys, and replacing the keyboard section of a MacBook with a touchscreen.
The concept of the keyboard has been around for quite some time, and is a well-used peripheral for computing devices around the world. While there have been some refinements to the item, such as by moving from the mechanical keyboard switch to notebook-style chiclet keyboards, the fundamental concepts of how the keyboard works hasn't really changed.
In practically all physical keyboards, the core idea is that some sort of actuation is performed with a key press, be it within a keyboard switch or a thin membrane-style keyboard. Contacts are connected, sending a specific signal to the host device.
However, Apple suggests physically making a connection within the switch isn't necessary for a keyboard, and proposes the use of light instead. In the patent published by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday titled "Optical Keyboard," Apple suggests just that.
Instead of an electrical connection being made by the physical motion of the keyboard, Apple proposes a system of light emitters and sensors, as well as elements on the underside of the key that can interfere with the passage of light. By pressing the key, the under-key element changes the passage of light, which can be measured and used to determine an input from a particular key.
An example of a key with an opaque undercarriage impeding the progress of light
As well as using opaque elements, the key can be made of a partially transparent material which emits its own light. Again, light sensors could be configured to detect changes in light levels depending on the motion of the key, again registering specific inputs depending on the key that moves.
The key could include a leg structure that buckles, giving users the feel of the actuation of a normal keyboard, as well as giving different levels of tactile feedback based on how much they press down on the keys. A dome could also be used to support the keycap, while the light could be fed into a light pipe that runs underneath it, accomplishing a similar feat while potentially making the key cap replaceable.
For each press, the light sensor detects the changes from a maximum amount of light emitted at the uncompressed position of the keycap to an amount of light associated with the fully-compressed position. It is plausible that a point between the two can be set as the "actuation" point to register the key press, one that could potentially be customized to require lighter or firmer presses, and therefore more key travel.
Under-key domes could have light pipes and translucent elements to emit light.
As light is being fed into the key or into a light pipe, this plausibly could be used as part of a backlight system for a keyboard, eliminating the need for a separate illumination system for that purpose.
Apple files numerous patent applications with the USPTO on a weekly basis, but while the filings indicate areas of interest for the company's research and development efforts, it isn't a guarantee that the ideas will make their way into a future product or service.
The replacement of the keyboard mechanism has been explored before by Apple, such as in the 2016 patent application for "Depressible keys with decoupled electrical and mechanical functionality." In that patent, Apple proposes the use of light emitters and detectors to measure light reflected from the back of the key, enabling it to determine how far it travelled in a press.
At the same time, the patent application proposed decoupling the mechanical and tactile functionality from the press-detection element, using structures capable of elastic deformation, and with the option for users to adjust the feel of key movement on the fly.
Apple has also explored other keyboard concepts, including the use of glass panel keyboards with force detection for each key, touch sensitive keys, and replacing the keyboard section of a MacBook with a touchscreen.
Comments
seems to me that HP and other PC giants don’t have these keyboard issues....
*falls from chair*
All that talk about the 16" MBP going back to scissor keys… since when has Apple ever gone backward on anything? Maybe they'll re-introduce SCSI ports on the new Mac Pro while they're at it. No, whatever sort of key mechanism the next Apple laptop has, it won't be "the old one."
The iPhone 7 haptic-feedback home button and the Macbook haptic trackpad button have been resounding successes. Nobody wants a purely haptic keyboard; an approach like this is very best-of-both-worlds. I just fear that patents like this are usually filed years before actual devices make it to market, so we'll have to file this one away in the "someday/who-knows" bin.
Headline is clickbait. The patent is using switches, it is what causes the buckling action, the feel of a keyboard. It is just replacing the mechanism for detecting a key press with a laser or light system instead of electrical contacts.
And then I remember all the rage over voice dictation. Write a document by using your voice! I was in fact required to use a Dictaphone by an employer in the very late 1990s...and I just couldn't do it. I have to see the words, so hardwired was my training and learning. I never took a typing class, something generally only offered to girls (and yes, I use that word specifically because of the time period involved, and the intended vocational skill that was intended) so I am self taught, and have used it exclusively for my entire adult life. To me, a keyboard is perhaps the most personal computing device in my life. I can adapt pretty quickly, but others are quite picky (perhaps the understatement of the day...)
Nice article by AI.
I'm guessing that the HomePod would be able to make a call without violating the strictest rules, since the current is running continuously, as far as I know. But HomePods aren't portable. I'm also guessing that a touch screen (or "Hey Siri") on an iPhone (or Apple Watch) would also qualify as being work-free.
However don't be so sure of last my conclusions. The orientation sensors inside an iPhone use microscopic mechanical/moving parts. As does the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) in any smartphone. Yes, there's an actual physical motor that controls moving parts. If an electrical circuit is created by the OIS system, that would be a violation of strict Sabbath rules. Or if there's a circuit being created by the moving parts in the orientation chips in a smartphone, that would also violate the rules. I've tried googling how these orientation sensors work, but was unable to find much information as their internal mechanisms are considered trade secrets. So I'm unsure if they close an electrical circuit. The motor in the OIS might create such a circuit, but I had trouble finding that out too.
But in relation to this article, I would expect that this new keyboard technology would be Sabbath-friendly. However I'm not sure if there are other moving parts in a laptop. Most laptops probably contain fans which are physical devices activated by the closing of a circuit. And don't forget the Apple TV 4K and Time Capsule and Airport Extreme which also have fans.
Nobody I know in my creative circles have any issues either. 90% of the complaining I see about this online is from Marco Arment, who started whining about this keyboard from day one, before the "failures," and as far as I know has never had the issue.
And yet Apple has a repair program, so somebody must have problems. Weird I don't see this in the real world.
I do wonder how this could be any more impervious to dust than current tech.