Keyboard assembly with controllable key legends

Claim 1

In an interactive keyboard and display assembly, the combination of (a) a mounting structure comprising a first rigid sheet of transparent, insulative material, the sheet having front and rear sides, (b) a planar array of transparent switches on said sheet, each switch comprising first, second and third parallel, electrically conductive and transparent layers, the first layer located at the front side of the sheet, the second and third layers located at the rear side of the sheet and being everywhere separated from the first layer by the material of the first sheet, the first layer overlapping the second and third layers, there being space between said second and third layers, said three layers defining an adjacent pair of capacitors forming a touch sensitive switch, (c) rigid sheet means extending at the rear side of the first sheet, (d) alphanumeric display devices carried by the rigid means in relatively closely spaced opposed relation to said respective switches, and characterized in that each device is in registration with multiple of said layers of a single switch and also in registration with and closely adjacent said space between the second and third layers, whereby said devices are visible through said switch layers, said space and the first sheet, and (e) multiple data storage devices, at least one for each display device, mounted on said rigid sheet means.