Patterned conductive traces in molded elastomere substrate

Abstract

Touch sensitive mechanical keyboards and processes for routing the drive and sense lines of the touch sensitive keyboard using patterned dome-switches are provided. The keyboard can include one or more mechanical keys having a touch sensor located within or beneath a keycap. The keyboard can further include a dome-switch beneath each keycap to detect a depression of the corresponding key. The dome-switch can be formed from an elastic (or malleable) material and can include patterned conductive traces within the elastic material. The patterned conductive traces can be used to route stimulation signals and sense signals to and from the touch sensor. In some examples, a first end of the patterned conductive traces can be coupled to the drive and sense lines of the touch sensor and a second end of the patterned conductive traces can be coupled to a flexible circuit or PCB.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.