Description
| Author: Guido Kopping | |
| Keyboards on the road to the future | |
| In today's world, the operation of devices and systems requires increasingly adapted operating and input concepts due to applications that are becoming more and more complex. User-friendly operation without much explanation is desired. | |
| A very good example of intuitive, simple operation is the IPhone (*or smartphone from an American manufacturer) from Apple. Although not entirely new in terms of operating concept, this is an extremely innovative way of making the device as easy to use as possible. What is new about this is that this technology is used completely in a cell phone, thus setting an entire industry on a new path. Despite this, certainly groundbreaking product innovation in the direction of touchscreen and especially multi-touch operation, one will very often not be able to get around conventional data input via keyboard or keys when using devices. For one thing, some of the required inputs are much easier and faster to enter using a conventional keyboard, and for another, touchscreens do not provide the tactile feedback the operator is accustomed to when pressing a key. The most important point, however, is that in some use cases there are no displays. Operation using a touchscreen is out of the question here because the additional implementation of a touchscreen solution requires significantly more technical effort and thus incurs additional costs. | |
| Flat, flatter, foil | |
| In industrial use, the devices usually have to contend with very harsh environmental influences. The external influences such as dust, various liquids, for example chemicals or cleaning agents, heat, cold, operation with gloves etc. must be withstood by the devices. The decision which keyboard is right for the specific application depends on very many parameters. If the keys are too small, the user may not be able to work with gloves. He needs more time to operate the equipment, which can greatly affect the efficiency of the process. Cleaning of the device also plays a major role. Membrane switches are very broadly positioned here: They offer both in dirty industry and in sterile medical technology a way to perform data input in harsh or sterile environments with high quality standards. The foils commonly used today have a high resistance to dirt or aggressive cleaners and can even be coated with antibacterial agents. The membrane keypads normally do not add more than 1.0 mm to 1.5 mm and can be easily integrated in confined areas due to their flat design. | |
| Since the films are produced using the screen printing process, the initialization costs of such a product are significantly lower than for other techniques in which costly tools have to be manufactured. Changes in design and layout can also be implemented relatively inexpensively in the course of a project. The design can be adapted to the CI of the respective company without much effort, logo printing and lettering included. | |
| Snap discs or crackers | |
| Foil or flat input keyboards are multi-layered foil arrangements. They usually consist of polyester or polycarbonate foils, which are bonded together to form a unit by means of adhesive foils and spacers. Depending on requirements, various elements for tactile feedback (snap domes or polydome technology) or LED ́s can also be integrated into these superstructures. Depending on the requirements, the superstructures differ as follows. The simplest type is the flat design without tactile feedback (Fig.1). | |
| If tactile feedback is required, this is achieved by integrating metallic domes, so-called snap domes (Fig.2). Here, a clicker is integrated for tactile feedback, which allows the operator to feel when the key has been pressed. The snap disc also serves to bridge the contact. The clickers are available in different variants. In addition to geometric properties such as size and stroke, the actuating force can also be set very precisely. The service life of such clicker frog keyboards today extends up to six million switching cycles | |
| One touch more keyboard | |
| Although the touchscreen is becoming increasingly important in everyday life, it is impossible to imagine classic manufacturing processes without the traditional keyboard. In many cases, data input via the conventional keyboard is much easier and faster to master. Users who work with gloves also find it difficult to enter data via touch sensors on touchscreens. They also lack the familiar tactile feedback when pressing a key. An acoustic signal does not reach the user in a noisy factory floor or with headphones. | |
| The classic input device is also attractive from an economic point of view: the very low-cost production of membrane keyboards compared to the new technologies, is an interesting alternative for companies with low budgets. Industries with small and medium quantities, such as plant and machine manufacturers, rely on this technology for cost reasons, among other things, as do companies in the medical and food industries that require special hygiene properties or cleaning options. |
Downloads
GeBE_Fachartikel_Folientastaturen_2011.pdf ↓
Fachartikel zum Thema Folientastaturen
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