computer science

Key Tronic

Key Tronic is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Key Tronic rather than just read about it. In short: Key Tronic Corporation (branded Keytronic) is a technology company founded in 1969 by Lewis G. Zirkle.

Key takeaways

Key Tronic belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Key Tronic to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Key Tronic from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Key Tronic Corporation (branded Keytronic) is a technology company founded in 1969 by Lewis G. Zirkle. Its core products initially included keyboards, mice and other input devices. Key Tronic currently specializes in PCBA and full product assembly. The company is among the ten largest contract manufacturers providing electronic manufacturing services in the US. 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.

Keyboards After the introduction of the IBM PC, Keytronic began manufacturing keyboards compatible with those computer system units. 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 began producing keyboards with capacitive-based switches. These keyboards had 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).

Natural Keyboard

The first generation of Microsoft ergonomic keyboards was designed by the Microswitch division of Honeywell, which was acquired by Key Tronic in early 1994. Over 3 million units had been sold by February 1998, when its successor, the Natural Keyboard Elite, was introduced. In 1997, Key Tronic landed the contract for the second generation. It introduced three new keys purposed for Microsoft's Windows 95: 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.

ErgoForce Keytronic's "ErgoForce" technology includes different keys having 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.

Corporate information The company, which has been described as a contract manufacturer, was founded in 1969, went public in 1983, and has an estimated 3,500 employees.

References

External links

Official website Circuitsassembly.com: "Key Tronic named the CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY EMS Company of the Year in 2009" Deprecated link archived 2013-08-21 at archive.today

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Key Tronic

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Key Tronic claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Key Tronic before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Key Tronic ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Key Tronic

In research: Key Tronic appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Key Tronic in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Key Tronic is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1980s initial public offerings, Companies based in Spokane, Washington, Companies listed on the Nasdaq, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Key Tronic outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Key Tronic in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Key Tronic means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Key Tronic out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Key Tronic in simple terms?

Key Tronic Corporation (branded Keytronic) is a technology company founded in 1969 by Lewis G. Zirkle.

Why does Key Tronic matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Key Tronic?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Key Tronic.