Alps KEU Series

Contents

• Overview
• Specifications
• Models
• References

Overview

KEU is a series of DIN-compliant, PCB-mount elastic contact keyboard switches from Alps. Each self-contained switch contains a conductive rubber dome that sits over a pair of stationary contacts.

The age of the series is not known, and no patents or utility models are known for the switch itself. US patent 4771146 “Keyboard key top mounting structure” covers the type of enter key stabiliser as used in the Zenith Supersport portable computer, and this patent appears to depict a KEU Series switch. This patent was filed in November 1987, but the priority date is 19th August 1985 to Japanese utility model filings.

The oldest confirmed mention of “KEU series” by name is in JEE (Journal of Electronic Engineering) within an article “Spotlighting: Keyboard Switches” from Volume 22, 1985, as a “conductive rubber contact panelless type”. Although there is likely to be a photograph of the switch in this article, Google Books does not allow it to be observed.

Specifications

The specifications below are from the Alps Low-Profile Keyboard Switches sample pack and cover model SKEUAA:

Models

The Alps Low-Profile Keyboard Switches sample pack only shows one model, with a white plunger. The slot in the plunger contains an inner post just as with KFL Series switches, limiting keycap compatibility to keycaps with a slot inside the mounting post. The composition of the switch can be seen in the nIGHTFALL Blog post Toshiba HX-10 64k (MSX) Keyboard PAD Fix. There is another version with a cyan plunger, and this type lacks that central peg in the mount slot. It seems reasonable to assume that the cyan version is also KEU/SKEU Series, but this is not confirmed.

References

• Alps Low-Profile Keyboard Switches sample pack (no date specified)