deskthority

A/The patent for Cherry MX:

http://www.google.com/patents/US4467160

What's interesting is that the patent—filed in 1983—is clearly for MX white/blue. There is no mention anywhere of sound at all: the click collar is there to provide hysteresis. The 1994 MX brochure downplays aural feedback, preferring to describe switches as having "movement differential" (hysteresis) and they only get as far as "click tactile feel". The patent indicates that the clicky design was there from the outset, but the fact that switch emits noise seems to be completely irrelevant as far as Cherry were concerned.

The wiki has 1987 as the start date for MX white, and no date for blue.

Cherry MX Blue is well known around 1987 onwards, but has anyone sighted blue or clicky white between 1983 (patent filing) and 1987?

If hysteresis was such a big deal, why does it seem that Cherry stuck with linear switches for several years?

The Cherry MX switch pages on the wiki lack keyboard lists, and Category:Keyboards with Cherry MX switches does not differentiate by switch.