Mitsumi
 | |
| Type | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| FCC grantee code | CMK, EW4 |
| Website | www.mitsumi.com |
Mitsumi Electric Co. Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer of consumer electronic components. On old products, Mitsumi’s logo contains the kana "ミツミ" (mi·tsu·mi), which can be misread as "SMS"; on later products, an "M" logo was used instead.
Mitsumi has manufactured keyboards with the Mitsumi switches both under its own name and as OEM for many others, including Commodore (Commodore 128D, PC and Amiga keyboards) and Apple. Mitsumi has also manufactured handheld controllers for Nintendo (NES, SNES, GameCube and Wii), Sony Playstation (PS, PS2) and Microsoft XBox.
Products
Mitsumi-made keyboards are by and large "hybrid" and rubber dome types. However, they also produced a small number of mechanical keyboards and modules, chiefly for Apple.
Nomenclature
Mitsumi's 1998 catalogue implies that non-discrete Mitsumi keyboard types and models shared the same identity. For example, the most common "hybrid" type–tactile, using buckling rubber sleeves and a single membrane sheet—is Mitsumi KPQ Type, which covers both the switch technology and the keyboards made using it.
Series and type names take the form of three capital letters, and are partially structured. All those found in keyboards begin with "K". Related keyboard types can share similar type names, such as KKQ and KKR types and KPQ and KPR types, for tactile and linear respectively within each pair.
Metal contact switches appear not to have been included in the 1998 catalogue. The naming of these remains unknown. Discrete switches are referred to as "series", and a single series may have a subdivided name. For example, SOR/SOJ Series is a single series (of non-keyboard pushbutton switches), where R and J denote sub-types. Consequently, the names of the discrete switch series cannot be guessed, as we do not know how they were grouped. It's also not known whether there were corresponding keyboard types with the same or similar names. Based on the existence of KLT-11 switches and keyboards with model numbers beginning KLM (both miniature mechanical) it's likely that the discrete switch part numbers share the same series or type prefix as the keyboard model numbers.
Discrete prefixes discovered so far include:
| Family | Linear | Tactile | Clicky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsumi standard mechanical Type 1 | KAM | N/A | |
| Mitsumi standard mechanical Type 2 | KCT | N/A | |
| Mitsumi simplified | KDM | N/A | |
| Mitsumi miniature mechanical | KLM | KLT |
The suggestion is KxM for either linear or momentary, and KxT for tactile. It seems likely that keycap mount is covered by the part numbers.
See Mitsumi model numbers for a list of raw data.
Gallery
1980s Mitsumi logo
1990s Mitsumi logo
Mitsumi standard mechanical switches
