Appliance Design - August 2008 - (Page 27)

SWITCHES Cutaway photoillustration showing display embedded into top of key switch. A mobile phone could use display keys to access special features. many of the well-known consumer electronics brands. The partnership provides United Keys with immediate, established, highquality, high-volume production capacity, allowing the company to market its technology to potential high-volume customers, something a small start-up company can’t usually attempt. If some OEM wants a million of these things, Foxconn and United Keys can make it happen. Another aspect that supports costeffective implementation is that the customizable features are achieved through software, as opposed to customizing the display-key itself. Like any other display device, the display on top of a key switch or pushbutton can display anything the OEM customer wants to feed it, dependent only on size restrictions. (The smaller the key, the smaller the display, the less information that can be conveyed.) Given that the technology employs standard input devices, the OEM designer has the same options available as when choosing any other key switch or pushbutton in terms of actuation force, switch travel, sealing, www.applianceDESIGN.com and so on. The product designer has the same flexibility with display options – monochrome or full-color LCD, OLED, or whatever other display technology becomes available. And the display key could show anything an ordinary display would, from icons to images, and eventually even animation. (The display is covered by a durable, transparent cap that is designed to stand up to even the most vigorous use experienced by a game console.) The United Keys technology can drive as many mini displays as specified by the OEM customer. For example, all of the keys on a standard computer keyboard could be enabled with displays if desired. This would allow the same physical keyboard component to display different characters for different languages, or would allow the same keyboard to display the common QWERTY layout or the alternative Dvorak layout, depending on a user’s preference. The display keys could also be programmed to work in concert as segments applianceDESIGN August 2008 27 http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - August 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Plastics Switches Noise & Vibration Control Joining New Products Design Marts Association Report: CEA Advertiser’s Index

Appliance Design - August 2008

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