Apple patents the keyboard with dynamically changing key functions

Apple may be preparing to reinvent the keyboard.

In a patent application approved on Tuesday, just under the registration deadline of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for 2020, Apple describes a keyboard whose keys would adapt to the task at hand.

The standard alphanumeric layout, for example, can be transformed into a task-specific screen where keys can be used to perform functions. Audio recording enthusiasts can convert their keys into triggers that adjust volume, speed and various special effects. Photo editing programs can assign tools to individual keys and combinations of multiple keys.

The patent indicates that the modifiable key functions would be indicated by “dynamic labels”. These labels, according to a summary posted by patentlyapple.com this week, “can be generated using dynamically reconfigurable labels displaying components like organic LED screens with pixel arrays, electrophoretic screens with pixel arrays or other arrays of pixels. “

Currently, users can insert silicon diagrams on their keyboards, indicating specialized software functions using key combinations. But some complain that the mats generate an unnatural sensation when typing, that they must press the keys harder and that they cannot type so fast with the covers.

The dynamic keys proposed by Apple will provide visual and possibly tactile feedback without detracting from the normal typing experience.

The dynamic keys can be used not only with various work tasks, but also with games. Customizable keyboards would instantly adjust to the properties required for each game.

Another practical application would be to allow users to switch the keyboard languages ​​from English to, for example, Chinese or Hebrew.

The keys, according to patentlyapple.com, can be composed of glass, ceramic, polymer or sapphire.

The patent was registered under the label of strange formulation: “Electronic devices with keys with bundles of coherent fibers.”

Apple files hundreds of patents each year, many of which have never seen the light of day in practice.

Apple has focused its attention on keyboards several times over the years. Its introduction in 2015 of “butterfly” keys on MacBooks, which abandoned the scissor-like structure used a long time below each key, was greeted with a lack of enthusiasm. Users complained that the keys crashed, some generated multiple unintended presses and others did not even respond. Apple continued to use the keyboard until 2019, despite the large number of consumer complaints.

A creative user known for writing a song daily for more than a decade wrote a parody song of the keyboard problem in 2017, entitled “I’m pressing the space bar and nothing is happening”.

A lawsuit was filed against Apple in May 2019 and Apple, after an apology to affected users, started a free repair program for all MacBook users.

In November, Apple received a patent to bring Force Touch to the MacBook Touch Bar. Force Touch uses sensors to analyze click pressure and determine which finger is being used. The keyboard performs different functions depending on the finger used and the pressure applied. It employs a Taptic Engine to provide physical feedback to the user through vibrations.

The patent was also issued this year for an Apple keyboard that connects to a magnetically portable device.

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