Alps KNB Series
Contents
Overview
KNB is a series of linear membrane keyboards from Alps. Each key uses a plate-mounted actuator that accepts standard Alps keycaps. The actuator can be seen in an Alps Low-Profile Keyboard Switches sample pack of unknown date, but as there are multiple designs of these actuators, it is not possible to know which design applies here. These keyboards are also extremely poorly documented, and no identification is known for any of the discovered variations.
Specifications
The specifications below are from the Alps Low-Profile Keyboard Switches sample pack and cover model KFNBBA:
| Operating force | Uncertain |
|---|---|
| Total travel force | 90 gf |
| Preload | ca. 15 gf |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm |
| Lifetime | 3 million cycles |
| Contact resistance | 400 Ω maximum |
Alps give the operating force as 90 gf, but from the force curve presented, this figure is the total travel force. The pretravel distance is not listed, but as this is a spring over membrane type, the pretravel should be somewhere around half the total travel.
References
- Alps Low-Profile Keyboard Switches sample pack (no date specified)