I’m tired of having to clean my keyboard routinely so as to limit the amount of dust, grime and germs that builds up there.
Today’s invention is a computer key the back face of which acts as a piston. Each time the key is depressed, it descends into a smooth walled well and drives air before it so as to clean the well out. The keys each have a small central hole which is covered by the finger when pressing but which admits clean air from the top face when the finger is removed.
All keys have wells and these are adjacent, so that no gaps lie between them. Gradually, crud from the keyboard migrates across the keyboard and off onto one’s lap (or the floor).
Little used keys might result in the need for an occasional on-screen reminder to pump these clean. There might even be a keyboard sequence developed for optimal transfer of dirt from the middle of the typing area to a collection pad at the edge.
