Keytronic | |
Company type | Public |
| |
Industry | Computer peripherals |
Founded | 1969 |
Headquarters | Spokane Valley, Washington, U.S. |
Key people | Craig Gates (CEO) |
Products | Keyboards |
Revenue | US$588 million (2023) |
Number of employees | 5,447 (2023) |
Website | keytronic |
Footnotes /references [1] |
Key Tronic Corporation (branded Keytronic) is a technology company founded in 1969 by Lewis G. Zirkle. [2] [3] Its core products initially included keyboards, mice and other input devices. KeyTronic currently specializes in PCBA and full product assembly. The company is among the ten largest contract manufacturers providing electronic manufacturing services in the US. [4] The company offers full product design or assembly of a wide variety of household goods and electronic products such as keyboards, printed circuit board assembly, plastic molding, thermometers, toilet bowl cleaners, satellite tracking systems, etc.
After the introduction of the IBM PC, Keytronic began manufacturing keyboards compatible with those computer system units. [5]
Most of their keyboards are based on the 8048 microcontroller to communicate to the computer. Their early keyboards used an Intel 8048 MCU. However, as the company evolved, they began to use their own 8048-based and 83C51KB-based MCUs.
In 1978, Keytronic Corporation introduced keyboards with capacitive-based switches, one of the first keyboard technologies to not use self-contained switches.[ citation needed ] There was simply a sponge pad with a conductive-coated Mylar plastic sheet on the switch plunger, and two half-moon trace patterns on the printed circuit board below. As the key was depressed, the capacitance between the plunger pad and the patterns on the PCB below changed, which was detected by integrated circuits (IC). These keyboards were claimed to have the same reliability as the other "solid-state switch" keyboards such as inductive and Hall-Effect, but competitive with direct-contact keyboards.
Microsoft ergonomic keyboards, starting from 1994, were originally designed for Microsoft by Ziba Design [7] with assistance and manufacturing by Key Tronic. [8] The Microswitch division of Honeywell, which was responsible for that company's keyboards and was acquired by Key Tronic in early 1994, is also credited with design input. [9]
This keyboard also introduced three new keys purposed for Microsoft's upcoming operating system: two Windows logo keys (⊞ Win) between the Ctrl and Alt keys on each side, and a ≣ Menu key between the right Windows and Ctrl keys. [10]
Although it was not the first ergonomic keyboard, it was the first widely available sub-$100 offering. [10] The Natural Keyboard sold over 600,000 per month at its peak. [7] Over 3 million units had been sold by February 1998, when its successor, the Natural Keyboard Elite, was introduced. [11]
Like the original Natural Keyboard, the Elite was manufactured by Key Tronic, who also assisted in its development. [8]
Among modern keyboard enthusiasts, Keytronic is known mostly for its "ErgoForce" technology, [12] where different keys have rubber domes with different stiffness. The alphabetic keys intended to be struck with the little finger need only 35 grams of force to actuate, while other alphabetic keys need 45 grams. Other keys can be as stiff as 80 grams. [13]
The company, which has been described as a contract manufacturer, was founded in 1969, [3] went public in 1983, [14] and has an estimated 5,000 employees. [15]
During 2016–2017, statements and press releases about Cemtrex's proposed acquisition of Keytronic have been released. [16]
The keyboard for IBM PC-compatible computers is standardized. However, during the more than 30 years of PC architecture being frequently updated, many keyboard layout variations have been developed.
The technology of computer keyboards includes many elements. Many different keyboard technologies have been developed for consumer demands and optimized for industrial applications. The standard full-size (100%) computer alphanumeric keyboard typically uses 101 to 105 keys; keyboards integrated in laptop computers are typically less comprehensive.
Scroll Lock is a lock key on most IBM-compatible computer keyboards. Depending on the operating system, it may be used for different purposes, and applications may assign functions to the key or change their behavior depending on its toggling state. The key is not frequently used, and therefore some reduced or specialized keyboards lack Scroll Lock altogether.
A graphics tablet is a computer input device that enables a user to hand draw or paint images, animations and graphics, with a special pen-like stylus, similar to the way a person draws pictures with a pencil and paper by hand.
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The Windows key is a keyboard key which was originally introduced on Microsoft's Natural Keyboard in 1994. Windows 95 used it to bring up the start menu and it then became a standard key on PC keyboards. Ctrl+Esc performs the same function, in case the keyboard lacks this key.
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PCD Maltron Ltd, trading as Maltron, is a manufacturer of ergonomic special-needs keyboards. It was founded by South African-born inventor Lillian Malt and manufacturer Stephen Hobday. Maltron specialises in making keyboards for the prevention and etiological treatment of repetitive strain injury.
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An ergonomic keyboard is a computer keyboard designed with ergonomic considerations to minimize muscle strain, fatigue, and other problems.
On personal computers with numeric keypads that use Microsoft operating systems, such as Windows, many characters that do not have a dedicated key combination on the keyboard may nevertheless be entered using the Alt code. This is done by pressing and holding the Alt key, then typing a number on the keyboard's numeric keypad that identifies the character and then releasing Alt.
A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards have been the main input method for computers since the 1970s, supplemented by the computer mouse since the 1980s.
Dvorak is a keyboard layout for English patented in 1936 by August Dvorak and his brother-in-law, William Dealey, as a faster and more ergonomic alternative to the QWERTY layout. Dvorak proponents claim that it requires less finger motion and as a result reduces errors, increases typing speed, reduces repetitive strain injuries, or is simply more comfortable than QWERTY.
A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key-meaning associations (respectively) of a computer keyboard, mobile phone, or other computer-controlled typographic keyboard.
The Neo layout is an optimized German keyboard layout developed in 2004 by the Neo Users Group, supporting nearly all Latin-based alphabets, including the International Phonetic Alphabet, the Vietnamese language, and some Cyrillic alphabets.
Topre Corporation is a Japanese engineering company that manufactures stamped parts for automobiles, refrigeration units for trucks, air conditioners, and various other electronic and electro-mechanical equipment. It was founded in 1935 as Tokyo Press Kogyo Co. Ltd., in Kōtō, Tokyo.
...the Microsoft Corporation will begin shipping a keyboard on Tuesday with a suggested retail price of $99.