JP2649139B2 - Keyboard for inputting Roman characters - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard used for inputting Roman characters in a word processor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is important that anyone can easily operate and quickly input a keyboard used for inputting Roman characters in a word processor. The most common keyboard for inputting Roman characters includes a keyboard having a JIS arrangement used as a keyboard for a microcomputer. This keyboard has the drawback that it takes time to get used to because it is not in alphabetical order. Keyboards with keys arranged in alphabetical order are quick to get used to, but have the drawback that it is difficult to operate quickly and enter Roman characters efficiently.

As shown in FIG. 1, a keyboard in which a vowel key 1 and a consonant key 2 are separately arranged has been developed as a keyboard for preventing this problem. In the keyboard of this figure, vowel keys 1 are arranged in the order of "A, I, U, E, O" and consonant keys 2 are arranged as "K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R,
W ”.

[0004]

In the keyboard having the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the keys are arranged in the order of the eye-wire, so that anyone can use the keyboard quickly, and furthermore, the consonant key 2 and the vowel key 1 can be used.
The feature is that the user can alternately operate and to input data efficiently and quickly. By the way, a keyboard for inputting Roman characters used in a word processor needs to be able to input a sentence in which English characters are mixed. This is because there are sentences in which English characters are mixed in Japanese. To achieve this, the keyboard shown in FIG. 1 includes a consonant key 2 and a vowel key 1,
The letters A, B, C,... Are sequentially assigned.
In the keyboard having this structure, when the "SHIFT" key is pressed, the keys arranged in the order of the eye wheels can be switched to the order of ABCD.

However, a keyboard having this structure is
There is a disadvantage that the characters assigned to the keys differ between when inputting Japanese and when inputting English characters. For example, the key assigned to “K” when inputting Japanese Roman characters is “A” when inputting English characters.
Will change to For this reason, there is a disadvantage that it is not possible to efficiently input a sentence in which English characters are mixed by switching between Japanese input and English character input. Further, in the keyboard of this arrangement, for example, the letter "A" is assigned to two keys, so that the number of keys is large, and it is difficult to input efficiently with few keys.

A first object of the present invention has been developed to prevent this problem. An important object of the present invention is to operate a small number of keys to efficiently read a sentence in which alphabets are mixed. Providing a keyboard for inputting Roman characters.

Further, the conventional keyboard shown in FIG.
A "switch" key 5 is provided for switching between upper and lower characters. "Switch" key 5 is used to
It switches from upper to lower and from lower to upper alphabet. For example, to use this keyboard to input "ga" in Roman alphabet input, the "switch" key 5
After pressing, it is necessary to press the consonant key 2 of “Y / G”, and then press the vowel key 1 of “A”. However,
When the "A" key is pressed, it is necessary to switch the English characters input by the "switch" key to the upper row. In the input state of the lower stage, it is necessary to switch the lower stage to the upper stage by pressing the “switch” key 5.

The keyboard of this structure has a drawback that the operation becomes complicated when a muddy sound is directly input in Roman alphabet input. This is because it is necessary to press the "switch" key 5 many times in order to input the sound. For example, to enter the letters "G" and "A", press the "Switch" key before pressing the "Y / G" key, then press the "Y / G" key and enter "G". After that, the "switch" key must be pressed again to return the lower input state to the upper input state. That is, it is necessary to press four keys in the following order. "Switch" key .... This key switches the English characters to be input to the lower row. “Y / G” key: Use this key to input the English letter “G”. "Switch" key .... This key switches the English characters to be input to the upper row. "A" key ... Use this key to enter the English letter "A". As described above, in order to input the voiced sound “ga”, it is necessary to press twice the key of the non-voiced sound “ka”. As a result of detailed analysis of the Japanese sequence, the present inventor has developed a keyboard that has a unique configuration and that can directly input Roman letters and easily input muddy sounds. Accordingly, a second important object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard for inputting Roman characters which can easily input a voiced sound by effectively using a small number of keys.

[0009]

The keyboard of the present invention comprises:
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, all the following configurations are provided. (A) The keyboard has A, I, U,
It has five vowel keys 1 for displaying E and O vowels. (B) The keyboard has K, S, T, N,
A consonant key 2 for displaying consonants H, M, Y, R and W is provided. (C) The consonant key 2 is a key for displaying K
, Z for the key that displays S, and D for the key that displays T
, And B on the key for displaying H. (D) The keyboard changes the assignment of the consonant key 2 from non-dullable English letters of K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R, W to dulling English letters of G, Z, D, B. And a consonant switching key 3 for switching to. (E) The keyboard is provided with a voiced sound canceling means 4 for resetting voiced English characters to non-voiced English characters. (F) When the consonant switch key 3 is pressed and the consonant key 2 is pressed, the non-dull sound English character is switched to the dull state, and when the consonant key 2 is pressed, the dull sound canceling means 4 detects this. It is configured to reset the voiced English characters to non-voiced English characters.

[0010] The keyboard of this configuration has a consonant switching key 3.
When the key is pressed, the alphabetic characters to be keyed in are switched from the consonants of K, S, T, H to G, Z, D, B. The consonant switching key 3 switches the assignment of the consonant key 2 between a voiced English character and a non-voiced English character, and uses the same key to input an English character for inputting Japanese and an English character for inputting an English sentence. . Unlike the conventional keyboard, the arrangement of the eyephones is not switched to the arrangement of ABC..., But the assignment of the consonant keys 2 for displaying K, S, T, and H is changed to G, which is an English character equivalent to a muddy sound. , Z, D, and B. Further, in the keyboard of the present invention, when the consonant key 2 is pressed following the consonant switching key 3, this is detected by the dullness canceling means 4, and the consonant switching key 3
The characters in G, Z, D, and B are reset to the characters in K, S, T, and H.

[0011]

When the consonant key 2 is depressed after pressing the consonant switching key 3, one character to be inputted following the consonant switching key 3 is changed to K, S, T, H. Change from consonant characters to G, Z, D and B.
The consonant switching key 3 sets the assignment of the consonant key 2 to K, S,
Change from T, H consonant English characters to G, Z, D, B dull English characters. As described above, the keyboard of the present invention changes the assignment of the consonant key 2 from the non-voiced English character to the voiced English character by pressing the consonant switching key 3 as described above. When you enter
No need to change key assignments. For example, the key "G" for inputting Japanese muddy sounds in Roman characters is the same as the key for inputting English characters "G". Therefore, English characters mixed in Japanese can be input efficiently without changing the key to be operated. Further, the keyboard according to the present invention has a feature that the consonant key 2 is assigned to the English character corresponding to the Japanese voiced sound, so that the English character corresponding to the voiced sound can be intuitively input.

Further, in the keyboard of the present invention, pressing the consonant switching key 3 and assigning the consonant key 2 to the G, Z, D, B alphanumeric characters is performed after the consonant switching key 3. It is specific to the character. After one character input following the consonant switching key 3 is made to be a muddy, the subsequently inputted character becomes a non-durable sound. The voiced sound canceling means 4 switches from voiced English characters to non-voiced sounds. The voiced sound canceling means 4 detects that the consonant switching key 3 has been pressed and thereafter one character for voiced sound has been input, and resets the input state of the voiced sound to the input state of the non-voiced sound. Therefore, in the keyboard of the present invention, for example, in order to input "die", keys may be pressed in the following order. Consonant switching key "T" key "A" key "I" key

The keyboard for inputting in this state can input a voice sound by pressing three keys. For comparison, if you enter Roman characters directly with a conventional keyboard, the following ~
You need to press the keys in the following order. That is, it is necessary to press four keys to input a muddy sound. "Switch" key "N / D" key "Switch" key "A" key "I" key

In Japanese, a muddy is rarely input after a muddy. The present invention effectively utilizes this to simplify the key operation. When one character is input following the consonant switch key 3, the voiced sound canceling means 4 resets the voiced voice character to a non-voiced sound. For this reason, the keyboard of the present invention can input a muddy sound by three key operations.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below exemplify a keyboard for inputting Roman characters for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention does not specify the keyboard as follows.

Further, in this specification, in order to make it easy to understand the claims, the numbers corresponding to the members shown in the embodiments are referred to as "claims", "actions", and "actions". In the column of "Means for solving the problem". However, the members shown in the claims are
It is by no means specific to the members of the embodiment.

The keyboard for inputting Roman characters shown in FIG.
4 × 6 keys are arranged vertically and horizontally. In the third row from the top,
Five vowel keys 1 are arranged. The vowel key 1 displays vowels "A, I, U, E, O" on the surface in order from the left. Consonant key 2 on the top row of keys and the second row of keyboards
Are arranged. The consonant keys 2 are arranged in the order of “K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R, W” except for the rightmost column.

The consonant key 2 is such that the K key has G,
The key of S is Z, the key of T is D and the key of H is B. In addition, P is added to the N key, and the "M, Y, R, W" keys that are not used
“C, J, L, V, F” are described in this order. In addition, "X, Q" is also described in the key of "E and O" which is the vowel key 1.

Further, a consonant switching key 3 for switching the assignment of the consonant keys 2 from non-voiced English characters to voiced English characters is arranged at the second row from the left at the bottom. Consonant switching key 3
Switches the assignment of the consonant key 2 from non-dakuon English characters to dakuon English characters, and switches to the state of inputting the characters described in the lower row of each key. For example, when the "K" key is pressed after pressing the consonant switching key 3, "G" is input, and when the "M" key is pressed, "C" is input.

The consonant switching key 3 converts one character that is subsequently input into English characters that are also written below the key. However, only one character input after the consonant switching key 3 can be input by pressing the consonant switching key 3. After one character input following the consonant switching key 3 is set as the lower English character, the characters input thereafter are the English characters displayed on the upper line of the key. The keyboard is provided with a voiced sound canceling means 4 in order to switch from voiced English characters to non-voiced voices, that is, to switch the lower English character input to the upper English character input.

The dullness canceling means 4 is a consonant switching key 3
Is pressed, and then the detection of the input of one English character displayed in the lower row corresponding to the voiced sound is detected, and the lower English character input is input in the upper English character, that is, the input state for the voiced sound. Is reset to the input state for non-voice sound. The muddy canceling means 4 is a microcomputer built in the keyboard. The microcomputer resets the voiced English characters to non-voiced English characters in the flowchart of FIG.

[Step N1] The microcomputer determines whether or not a key has been pressed.

When the [Step N2] key is pressed, the microcomputer determines whether the consonant switching key 3 has been pressed. When the consonant switching key 3 is pressed, the process proceeds to the next step.

[Step N3] If the pressed key is not the consonant switching key 3, it is determined whether it is a character key.

[Step N4] If the key is a character key, the character displayed at the top of the key is output. If it is not a character key, a process corresponding to the pressed key is performed. For example, if the key is a shift key, processing such as switching a lowercase letter to an uppercase letter is performed.

[Step N5] If the pressed key is the consonant switching key 3, the microcomputer switches the key to the lower-side letter.

[Steps N6 and N7] Consonant switching key 3
Then, when a key is pressed, the character described below the key is output.

[Step N8] After outputting one character,
The microcomputer switches the key assignment from the state of the lower-level character to the upper-level display character. That is, the character is switched from the voiced English character to the non-voiced sound, and the process loops to step N1.

Further, the keyboard shown in FIG. 2 is provided with the following keys at the bottom and the right part. “DL, back” “*, kanji” “・, decision” “↑,
↓ ”“ →, ← ”“), ゜ ”“ (, ゛ ”
"Note,-"

These keys perform the following operations.
When a key indicating “゜” or “゛” is pressed, the character which is already displayed is converted from non-voiced sound to voiced sound or semi-voiced sound by the key pressed before this key.

The "DL, return" key is a backspace and delete key. The state of the backspace key and the state of the delete key can be switched by the shift key. The key of “*, kanji” is a key for switching the input mode and inputting *. The switching is performed by a shift key, similarly to the above-mentioned keys. The "., Decision" key is a return key and a key for inputting "." It can be switched with the shift key.
The keys “↑, ↓” and “→, ←” are keys for moving the cursor up, down, left, and right. Switching is performed with a shift key.

[0032]

The keyboard for inputting Roman characters according to the present invention has the following features.
It has the following excellent features. You can easily and easily input Japanese with a mixture of English characters, without any doubt, with high efficiency. That is, the keyboard of the present invention writes consonant keys displaying K, S, T, H with G, Z, D, B mud sound alphabet letters in order, and K, S,
This is because the English characters T and H and the English characters G, Z, D and B can be switched and input using the consonant switching key.
The English characters corresponding to G, Z, D, and B mud sounds are K, S,
It is an English character corresponding to the sound of T and H. Therefore,
From the K, S, T, and H keys, the positions of the G, Z, D, and B keys can be very easily and definitely recognized. In particular, the keyboard of the present invention presses a consonant switching key,
Since the consonant key assignment is switched from English letters of K, S, T and H to English letters of G, Z, D and B,
There is no need to change the key assignment from the arrangement of the AIWAO to the arrangement of ABC... When inputting Japanese characters in Roman characters and when inputting English characters directly. Keys can be input in the same way when inputting Japanese characters in Roman characters and when inputting English characters directly. For this reason, the feature that the number of keys is reduced and the Japanese with mixed English can be input efficiently is realized. By the way, the keyboard of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 can input all English characters and Roman characters with only 15 keys. This not only makes it easier to get used to input operations, but also realizes the advantage of mass production of keyboards at low cost. Therefore, the keyboard of the present invention realizes a feature that the key arrangement can be input without fail as a very effective and natural arrangement for the Japanese subconscious.

Further, in the keyboard of the present invention, when the consonant key is pressed after the consonant switching key is pressed, the non-dakuon English character is switched to the dakuon English character, and when the consonant key is pressed after the consonant switching key, this key is pressed. This is detected by the voiced sound canceling means, and the voiced English characters are reset to non-voiced English characters. For this reason, when a non-dakuon is input following a dakuon, there is no need for a special operation of switching the dakuon alphabet to the non-dakuon alphabet, and there is a feature that the non-dakuon can be efficiently input following the dakuon. When voiced sounds are continuously input, the keyboard of the present invention cannot input efficiently. However, in Japanese, there is almost no dakuon followed by dakuon. According to the present invention, an input unique to Japanese that has discontinuous voiced sounds is effectively used by effectively switching between voiced voices and non-voiced voices. In addition, the consonant switching key switches between voiced sound and non-voiced sound, so that it is possible to use a small number of keys, to efficiently use Japanese, and to have the feature that anyone can easily input Roman characters.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a conventional keyboard.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a keyboard for inputting Roman characters according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process in which a voiced sound canceling unit provided in the keyboard of FIG. 2 switches a voiced sound to a non-voiced sound;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: vowel key 2: consonant key 3: consonant switching key 4: voiced sound canceling means 5: switching key

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A keyboard configured to be used for both Roman character input and English character input, having all of the following configurations. (A) The keyboard has A, I, U,
It has five vowel keys (1) on which vowels of E and O are displayed. (B) The keyboard has K, S, T, N,
Consonant keys displaying H, M, Y, R, W consonants
(2) is provided. (C) The consonant key (2) is a key for displaying K
, Z for the key that displays S, and D for the key that displays T
, And B on the key for displaying H. (D) The keyboard assigns the consonant key (2) from non-dungeon alphabetic characters of K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R, W to G, Z, D, B Equipped with a consonant switching key (3) for switching to English characters. (E) The keyboard includes a voiced sound canceling means (4) for resetting the voiced English characters to non-voiced English characters. (F) When the consonant switching key (3) is pressed and the consonant key (2) is pressed, the non-dakuon English character is switched to the dakuon state, and when the consonant key (2) is pressed, this is canceled. Four)
Is detected, and the voiced alphabet is reset to the non-voiced alphabet.