Apple hairpin spring
| Switch type | Clicky |
|---|---|
| Sense method | Metal contacts |
| Switch mount | PCB mount |
| Patents | US4525613 (1984) |
Apple hairpin spring is a low-profile, clicky spring designed and patented by Apple.
Description[edit | edit source]
Terminals on either side of the switch are connected together when a flat, spiral spring is deflected downwards by the slider. A hairpin spring across the top of the switch provides the tactility and click sound. The patent provides a force curve, of unknown accuracy.
The case is fairly flat, and the switch is intended to be mounted directly onto the PCB. The slider is cruciform, of unknown dimensions. alps.tw's illustration shows white and yellow sliders; no reason for the yellow slider is known.
The manufacturer of the switch is not known. In Apple keyboards, the switch typically has a recessed Apple logo on the top, but the switch has also been found in a Rhino Robots Keyboard Emulator, PCB date 1989, with the Apple logo replaced with a hand-carved "G"; it looks like the switch OEM has altered the moulds by hand and run a fresh batch of switches, while Apple still retained the patent on the switch.<ref name="gh-Rhino" />
Keyboards[edit | edit source]
- Apple IIc (Apple branded)<ref name="PCW" /> (first couple of years of production)<ref name="DT-IIc" />
- Rhino Robots Keyboard Emulator ("G" branded)<ref name="gh-Rhino" />
Gallery[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
<references> <ref name="PCW">(Wayback Machine) PC World — Anatomy of an Icon: Inside the Apple IIc (image 13) Archived 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2015-07-23.</ref> <ref name="DT-IIc">Deskthority — Convert Apple IIc to usb (post 12)</ref> <ref name="gh-Rhino">Geekhack — Rhino Robotics - Keyboard Emulator (non-MX) Dated 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2015-07-23.</ref> </references>
