Full travel, sealed, fully backlighted keyboard

A keyboard comprising:

• a housing having a top surface and a lower surface;
• a board having electrical circuitry including contact lands on a face and being secured to said lower surface of said housing;
• a removable panel having a plurality of keys, each of said keys having a stop limiting upward travel of said keys, light translucent regions in an upper surface and a hollow interior, said panel being removably mounted to said top surface of said housing;
• a light translucent, unitary, seamless, continuous water impermeable membrane disposed between said board and all of said keys of said panel, said membrane having a main body;
• a gasket formed integrally with said body of said membrane and extending around a perimeter of said membrane, said gasket being received by a correspondingly formed channel in said lower surface of said housing to provide a liquid tight seal between said board and said panel;
• a plurality of flexible domes formed integrally with said membrane, said domes, said main body of said membrane and said gasket forming a continuous, seamless, unitary, water impermeable barrier between said board and said panel, one of said domes being associated with each of said keys, each of said domes comprising:
• an upper support portion upon which a lower edge of an associated key rests, said support portion being urged upwardly against said lower edge of said key;
• a first web interconnecting said support portion with said main body of said membrane;
• at least one projection extending downwardly from said support portion toward said board, said projection having an electrically conductive surface formed on a side thereof facing an associated contact land on said board;
• a second web interconnecting said projection and said support portion, depression of said associated key causing deformation of said first web until said projection contacts said associated contact land, further depression of said associated key producing deformation of said second web;
• and
• a stop formed on a lower surface of said support portion for limiting travel of said support portion toward said board;
• and
• a light source associated with each of said keys and being mounted on said board, said light source emitting light which passes through an associated dome and through said hollow portion of said associated key and said upper surface of said associated key.

A keyboard adapted to be fixedly secured in a housing, comprising:

• a removable panel having a plurality of keys including a plurality of first keys and at least one second key, said first and second keys having an upper surface having a light translucent region;
• a board having electrical circuitry, including contact lands;
• a translucent membrane disposed between all of said keys on said panel and said board and forming a liquid tight seal between said panel and said board, said membrane comprising:
• a main body,
• a plurality of flexible, resilient domes formed integrally with said main body, one dome being associated with each of said keys, and
• a gasket formed integrally with said main body and extending around a perimeter of said membrane, said gasket configured to be received by a correspondingly formed channel in said. housing in such a manner as to provide a liquid-tight seal between said membrane and the housing,
• wherein said main body, said gasket and said domes form a continuous, seamless, unitary membrane adapted to operate with the housing to form a water-impermeable barrier between said board and said panel;
• a plurality of first illumination sources disposed on said board, each associated with a particular one of said first and second keys of said board, light from said first illumination source passing through said associated domes on said membrane and through said upper surface of said associated first key;
• at least one second illumination source, each associated with one of said at least one second key, said one or more second illumination sources being disposed on a same side of said membrane as said board;
• a display on said upper surface of said at least one associated second key;
• a light pipe, disposed within said interior of said at least one second key, for conducting light emitted from said associated second source of illumination to said display on said upper surface of said at least one second key;
• and
• an electrically conductive surface associated with each of said domes and disposed on a side of said membrane facing said board, wherein depression of a key on said keyboard causes deformation of an associated dome to urge said electrically conductive surface of said associated dome into contact with an associated one of said lands on said board.