Patent application already filed
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple patent application that describes the keyboard caps for MacBook keyboards and Apple desktops. According to the inventors, the caps can be transparent or translucent, and texture can be formed around the perimeter of the cap. Allegedly, transparent or translucent caps will provide excellent illumination for work at any time of the day.
Apple invented transparent keycaps
The application said that the caps can be made of glass, transparent ceramics, sapphire, transparent polymers, and other materials. The strength and durability of these materials will ensure long service life. Keycaps made of these materials can be thin because even a thin layer has high strength. The surface of the caps can be polished. Transparency or translucency allows you to transmit, reflect, or diffuse light. The backlight will make it possible to change the color of the keys. Ribs around the perimeter of the cap will help to visually and tactfully distinguish the keys located nearby. The symbols on the cap may be made of another material less transparent than the base material. This will increase the visibility of characters in bright ambient lighting.
Application No. 20200211795 was filed in the second quarter of 2019.
