KBK update for Friday, 21st May

Something that I have never given sufficient consideration to, is the origin of rubber dome keyboards. Unsurprisingly, like many other designs, the details remain obscure. However, a variety of information has come to light over time, and the history section on the rubber domes page now contains a number of examples of when various companies introduced rubber dome keyboards, or at least filed patents on them.

The examples listed so far only represent a fraction of the prominent manufacturers across the industry. Brands where no introductory advertisement has yet been collected include Advanced Input Devices, IBM, BTC, Maxi-Switch, Hi-Tek and Key Tronic amongst others.

The information to date suggests that discrete rubber dome switches came about around 1980, and rubber dome over membrane around 1984, but these dates could change hugely as more data comes to light in the months and years to come.

View within the updates for 2021

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