Collection of Tools & Utilities/Collection of Tools and Utilities.iso/keyb/keyclean.zip/KEYCLEAN.TXT

Text File | 1987-12-21 | 10KB | 141 lines

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 []                                                                    []
 []                  HOW TO CLEAN THE IBM PC KEYBOARD                  []
 []                  By David R. Bivens, Richmond, Va.                 []
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   In  the process of owning and operating an IBM PC,  you will,  no  doubt,
find  a point in time that the keyboard causes strange and irritating things
to  happen  to your fond finger strokes.   Nine times out of  ten,  this  is
caused by DIRT!
It is amazing how much trash can be found under the keytops of any keyboard
that has been in use for more than a few weeks.   Human hands carry a  great
deal  of  trash,  including dead skin cells.   In addition,  leaning over  a
keyboard,  as computer people are prone to do, can cause much "head garbage"
to fall into the mechanism.   If you smoke (as I do), you'll find it next to
impossible to keep ashes in the ashtray.
   The symptoms of a keyboard dirt problem are manifold, but the most common
are:  mistyped characters, missing letters (Did I miss the key?), and having
the wrong character appear at the most obnoxious times.
   The fix to most of these problems is to clean the bugger out.  To do this
you  must  remove  the keytops and blow out the  mechanism  with  air.   The
purpose  of this message is to explain the operation of the PC keyboard  and
to  outline the steps necessary to clean it.   I've included some  notes  on
some possible pitfalls that a few folks have run into.
   The PC keyboard is a capacitive device,  that is,  its internal circuitry
detects  each  keystroke by a change in the capacitive potential of  a  wire
matrix the keys are mounted on.   This matrix is contained in the form of  a
circuit  board  that contains small "plates" that connect to a  device  that
monitors  capacitive levels.   Above each of these plates is a "toggle" made
of conductive plastic (like they ship IC's in).   The toggles are  connected
to  a small spring that is held straight and slightly compressed in a  small
cylinder.   The  thing  that  hold the spring compress is  a  small  plunger
attached to the bottom of each key.  When the toggle moves in its holder, it
changes  the capacitive potential of the wire matrix and causes the keyboard
logic circuits to send a scan code to the 8088 bus.
   When you press a key, the plunger moves down in the cylinder, compressing
the spring.  This spring is already holding the toggle away from the matrix.
As  the pressure increases,  the spring becomes "unstable" and bends rapidly
to form a loose "U" shape.   This action is felt (and heard) as the  "break"
of  the  key.   When the key breaks,  the direction of the pressure  on  the
toggle  is  reversed,  causing  it to swing down about 1.5mm closer  to  the
matrix.   This  is detected by the keyboard logic circuitry as a  change  in
capacitive  potential and the appropriate scan code is sent to the 8088 bus,
to be processed.
   When  you  lift your finger from the key,  the spring pops  back  to  its
straight position and lifts the toggle away from the matrix.
   As  you can see,  there is alot of mechanical interaction going on inside
of the lowly keyboard.   What amazes me is that the devices are as  reliable
as they are!
   To clean the keyboard, turn off the PC and place the keyboard in you lap.
Remove  each  key  by  prying  it  STRAIGHT UP  with  a  penknife  of  small
screwdriver  until  it pops off.   Check each key for any  gummy  or  sticky
matter,  placing the dirty keys in a pile to be cleaned with soap and water.
DO  NOT  REMOVE  THE  SPACE BAR!!!   If you do,  youll  find  it  is  almost
impossible  to  replace  properly.   After removing the keys,  take  a  low-
pressure air hose (or hair dryer) and blow a stream of air down into the key
tubes.

The  air  will  remove  quite a bit of loose dirt from  the  inside  of  the
keyboard.  This dirt,  if left in place, will alter the capacitive potential
of the matrix, thus "fooling" the keyboard circuitry into thinking a key has
been pressed when it has not.   A WORD OF WARNING:  Do NOT-NOT-NOT blow into
the key tubes with your mouth!!!  You will blow moisture into the mechanism,
and possibly ruin the keyboard unit ($125.00 spare part).  Nine times out of
ten,  all that is necessary to correct keyboard errors is to clean the keys,
and the rest of this is not required.
   If  you  did not heed my warning about the mouth air,  you will  have  to
remove  the matrix board from the key tube holder and clean it.   THIS IS  A
VERY DELICATE OPERATION!   DO NOT-NOT-NOT ATTEMPT IT UNLESS YOU NEED TO!  To
remove  the key matrix,  turn the keyboard over and remove the two screws on
the  bottom.  Remove the bottom panel from the keyboard and  disconnect  the
Berg connector that holds the keyboard cable to the circuit board inside the
unit.   Place  the keyboard in your lap and remove ALL the keys.   Carefully
turn the unit upside-down,  taking care not to bend the springs.   With  the
keyboard upside-down,  and the PC (printed circuit) board on the right side,
you  will  see several metal "clips" holding the silver matrix board to  the
black key tube holder.   One of these clips (probably on the lower left)  is
bent  over  the silver matrix holder.  Bend this clip away from  the  silver
metal.   Hold  the  two  parts together FIRMLY and slide the  silver  matrix
holder to the right (on mine,  at least).   THIS TAKES ALOT OF PRESSURE!  BE
SURE YOU DON'T ALLOW THE TWO PARTS TO SEPARATE SUDDENLY,  OR YOUR FLOOR WILL
BE LITTERED WITH TOGGLES.   Carefully remove the matrix holder from the tube
holder and place the tube holder in a safe place. Use a clean, slightly damp
rag  to  clean the surface of the matrix board.   DO NOT ALLOW WATER TO  GET
UNDER  THE BOARD!   Allow the unit to dry.   You may perform an  interesting
test  by  reconnecting  the matrix board to the cable  and  powering-up  the
computer.   You may then "type" on the matrix board by touching your fingers
to the dark panels visible under the surface of the board.  Cute, huh?
   You  will need to practice reassembling the space bar spring  before  you
try  to put the unit back together.   To do this,  remove the spacebar tubes
from the tube holder.  Remove the toggle and place it in a safe place.  Note
the wire running the full length of the space bar tube assembly.   This wire
is  the spring that keeps the spacebar from tilting to one side during  use.
When the spacebar is inserted into the tube assembly this wire MUST fit into
the  slots in the "legs" on each end of the spacebar.   Try it a  few  times
before you plan to reassemble the keyboard.
   To  reassemble  the keyboard,  replace the spacebar tube assembly in  the
tube holder.  Install the toggle in its slot.  Insure all other toggles are
correctly positioned.   Hold the tube holder upside down and GENTLY  replace
the  matrix board in its place.   To complete reassembly,  you will need  to
press  the matrix holder down onto the tube holder while sliding the  "ears"
into their correct notches.  THIS TAKE A LARGE AMOUNT OF FORCE!  BE SURE THE
UNIT  DOES  NOT JUMP OUT OF YOU HAND!!!   After replacing the matrix  board,
bend  the holding "ear" into place to secure the mechanism.   Reinstall  the
key unit into the keyboard case and reconnect the cable.  Replace the bottom
cover.   You should now check the unit for proper operation.  This is tricky
without keys, but it can be done.
   To  test the unit,  place the rear edge (nearest the number keys) on  the
table  with  the front edge (nearest the spacebar) in the  air.   This  will
allow the springs to fall backwards and insure against false input  signals.
You may have to shake the keyboard a bit to get the springs to fall.
   Bring the system up and test each ke