New York Renovator

Have you ever wondered what your computer keyboard looks like inside? I have. Today I decided to open it up and check it out.

It all started when I saw Apple’s new Aluminum Ultra-Thin keyboard. Oh, it’s a beautiful looking thing. I like flat keyboards. Because I sit at a computer all day, I’m quite fussy about my keyboard (and mouse). The Apple is a little beyond my price range ($80 at BestBuy, $50 from Apple) and I’m not sure how it would function with a PC, so I am waiting for a Windows thin keyboard. I’d read that you can take your own keyboard apart and make your own flat one. I don’t necessarily want a flat shell, I want flat keys– that’s why I like the Apple so much– the keys are shaped like Scrabble tiles, only thinner. It’s very nice to use.

Well, all this dwelling on keyboards brought out the screwdriver and camera. We took apart a very old HP keyboard that went to our Windows ME we got almost ten years ago now. My, how time flies!

Inside the plastic shell are three layers of plastic. Two of the layers are very thin sheets. The top protective layer rests on top of the key matrix, which has small gold dots and lines. The electronc pulses course through the lines and dots. They are activated when you press down the keys.

Behind all this is a thicker layer of rubbery plastic with small plastic pads. The pads are directly correlated to the keys above and the gold dots on the key matrix. This kind of HP keyboard is a rubber dome switch kind. It resembles bubble wrap, in a way, but the plastic is more rubbery and the little domes are firmer. When you press on a key while typing, a small mechanism pushes these little rubber domes down. It works as a plunger to touch the point on the key matrix layer. Your computer registers it all as letters, numbers, and symbols. Pretty amazing, huh?

Some geeks have used only the key matrix as their keyboard. They keep the circuitry intact (I dismantled mine, so that I could see it all in pieces). Then they plug in their flat keyboard and press the gold dots with their fingertips.

I can’t see how a homemade flat keyboard would be very comfortable. I don’t mind the shell, it’s the shape and size of the actual keys that matter to me. But after this, my curiosity was sated! Cool, huh?