JPH03147009A - Keyboard device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To hold the number of switches to a minimum and to facilitate the operation of a keyboard by constituting a part of plural key switches provided for an operation surface by means of switches having the functions of switching and display. CONSTITUTION:Two kinds of key switches of mode selection switches 2 and control switches 3, both of which are constituted by normal key switches, and main menu display switches 5 and menu development display switches 6, both of which are constituted by depression key switches with display function are provided for the operation surface of a keyboard mainbody 1. When the switch 2a of 'English character' in the mode selection switches 2 is depressed, the signal is detected in a control circuit 22 and is read in a main control circuit 24. At that time, the main control circuit 24 lighting-control an LED 7 of the mode selection switches 2 and reads English character data from a main storage circuit 20.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a keyboard device connected to, for example, a general-purpose computer, personal computer, office computer, word processor, etc., for inputting various information such as numerical values, characters, symbols, and figures. It is.

[Background Art 1] In recent years, with the advent of word processors and the spread of personal computers, everyone has more opportunities to use this type of device.

Current keyboards that are connected to devices such as word processors and personal computers have multiple key switches with numbers, letters, symbols, etc. printed on the key tops.
They are arranged regularly based on the IS standard, and the user performs the desired information operation by pressing and operating these key switches.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional keyboard described above, one numeric character, several symbols, etc. are usually mixed and printed for one key switch, and various types of information cannot be input. Because there are a large number of key switches to accommodate the large number of key switches, beginners who are unfamiliar with this type of keyboard, such as elementary school students and the elderly, have trouble finding the key switch to press, making it difficult to operate it easily. . In addition, in order to cope with this, it was necessary to write down the arrangement and functions of the key switches and spend a long time getting used to the device.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to minimize the number of key switches necessary so that even beginners such as elementary school students and the elderly can easily operate them. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a keyboard device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the keyboard device according to claim 1 of the present invention is such that at least some of the plurality of key switches arranged on the operation surface are switches having a switching display function. It is characterized by being configured.

Further, the keyboard device according to claim 2 further includes numerical values, characters,
It is characterized by comprising at least one main menu display switch that displays information such as symbols and figures, and a plurality of menu expansion display switches that individually expand and display the contents displayed by the main menu display switch. There is.

[Function] At least some of the plurality of key switches arranged on the operation surface switch and display various information such as numerical values, characters, symbols, and figures.

Further, the main menu display switch displays information such as numerical values, characters, symbols, etc., and the menu expansion display switch expands and displays the display contents of the main menu display switch individually.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a keyboard device according to the present invention, and shows an arrangement of key switches.

The keyboard device according to this embodiment is, for example, a personal computer,
It is connected to a computer, etc., and performs manual input of various information such as numbers, characters, symbols, figures, etc., and a push button switch with a display function that switches and displays numbers, letters, symbols, figures, etc. is used as part of the key switch. It is being

On the operation surface of the keyboard body 1, there are a mode selection switch 2, a control switch 3, which are made up of ordinary key switches, a main menu display switch 5, which is made up of a pushbutton switch 4 with a display function, and a menu expansion display switch 6.
There are two types of key switches:

The mode selection switch 2 is located at the upper right of the operation surface, and here it is a switch that indicates various mode information such as "English character J,""VI value symbol,""Kanacharacter,""Graphcharacter,""Specialcode," and "Word processor." 2 a + 2 b + 2 c
* Consists of 2 d, 2 e e 2 f.

In addition, if the "special code" switch 2e is pressed, the computer connected to the keyboard main body l,
:] The display of the pushbutton switch 4 with display function is controlled to change based on the user's own data including a key code and display pattern supplied from the monitor.

The control switch 3 is arranged at the lower right of the operation surface and is made up of frequently used keys including a cursor movement key 3a.

The main menu display switch 5 is located at the upper left of the operation surface,
All numerical values, characters, symbols, figures, etc. corresponding to the mode of the pressed mode selection switch 2 are expanded and displayed using the three keys 5a, 5b, and 5c as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Up to 18 per switch
It is configured so that individual displays can be performed.

The menu expansion display switch 6 is arranged at the lower left of the operation surface, and the display contents of the pressed main menu display switch 5 are expanded and displayed one by one by a plurality of display switches 6a as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Here, the number of display switches 6a corresponds to the maximum number of displays of one main menu display switch 5, that is, 18 display switches 6a.

Here, the configuration of the push button switch 4 with a display function, which is applied to the main menu display switch 5 and the menu development display switch 6 to switch and display various information, will be explained based on FIG. 4.

The pushbutton switch 4 with display function includes a switch main body 8, a light source 9. Liquid crystal display section 10, driver circuit board 1
1. The device includes a case 12, a case holder 13, and a cap 14.

The switch body 8 is provided with a plurality of terminals 15 at the bottom, and these terminals 15 are connected to the switch, the light source 9, the liquid crystal display section lO, and the driver circuit board 1'ff1l in the switch body 8.
It is used for the power supply and signal line to the

An LED is used as the light source 9, and each LED 9a arranged facing the frame member I6 is fixedly connected to the driver circuit board 11, and each LED 9a is connected to the driver circuit board 11 by supplying power from the terminal 15.
The light emitted from a is diffused by a diffuser plate 17 and is surface-emitted toward the liquid crystal display section 10 side.

The liquid crystal display unit IO is connected to the driver circuit board 11 via the connector 18, and the display is controlled by the driver circuit board 11.The content displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 10 is selected by selecting the display content. The display is changed by pressing the switch. That is, in this embodiment, when the main menu display switch 5 is pressed, the corresponding mode is displayed by pressing the mode selection switch 2, and when the menu expansion display switch 6 is pressed, the main menu is displayed when the main menu display switch 5 is pressed. One of the display contents displayed on the display switch 5 is expanded and displayed.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a specific internal circuit configuration of the keyboard device.

This keyboard device includes a keyboard operation section 1 consisting of a plurality of key switches 2.3 and a pushbutton switch 4 with a display function connected via a connector 19, a main memory circuit 2.
0, display unit control circuit 21, keyboard display control circuit 22, auxiliary memory circuit 23. Main control circuit 24
It is made up of.

The main storage circuit 20 is composed of a ROM, and stores programs for driving each circuit, data for each key switch, and data for display.

The keyboard display control circuit 22 detects the state of each key switch, controls the lighting/extinguishing of the LED 7 in the mode selection switch 2, and further controls the light emission drive of the light source 9 of the pushbutton switch with display function 4. are doing.

The main control circuit 24 reads display data corresponding to the key data from the main memory circuit 20 or the auxiliary memory circuit 23 based on the data indicating the state of the key switch stored in the keyboard display control circuit 22, and displays the display data in the display unit control circuit 21. is written in. Further, the main control circuit 24 outputs data corresponding to press information of each switch to an external device 25 such as a personal computer or a computer.

The display control circuit 21 outputs display data written from the main memory circuit 20 to the pushbutton switch 4 with display function.

The auxiliary memory circuit 23 includes a RAM 23a and an E"PROM2.
RAM 23 a is used as an expansion area of the main memory circuit 20 . Also, E”
The PROM23b is a variable area where the user can set and store their own display patterns, and when the "special code J2e" of the mode selection switch 2 is pressed, the data stored in the PROM23b is transferred to the main control circuit. 24, and each key switch is controlled based on this data. As a result, by setting and storing a unique display pattern in the E'' PROM 23b, the user can configure a dedicated keyboard device suitable for the user.

Next, the operation of the keyboard device having the above-described configuration will be described, taking as an example a case where "rR" is selected and displayed from "English characters".

First, when the "English character" switch 2a in the mode selection switch 2 is pressed, a signal caused by the depression of the switch 2a is detected by the keyboard display control circuit 22, and the result is read out to the main control circuit 24 as depression information. At this time, the main control circuit 24 controls the lighting of the LED 7 of the mode selection switch 2 based on the pressed information, and also reads out the alphabetic character data corresponding to the pressed mode selection switch 2 from the main memory circuit 20. The displayed data is written to the display control circuit 21, and the display control circuit 21 outputs the written data to the three main menu display switches 5 to expand and display the alphabetic character data. Then, when looking at the content displayed on the main menu display switch 5 and pressing the left main menu display switch 5a on which rRJ is displayed, this press information is detected by the keyboard display control circuit 22, and the content is The data is read out to the main control circuit 24.

The main control circuit 24 controls the main memory circuit 2 based on this press information.
The data corresponding to the menu displayed on the main menu display switch 5 that was pressed from 0 is read out and output to the 18 menu development display switches 6, and then output to one switch 6a.
Expand and display the menus one by one. At this time,
For the switch 6a for which no data is displayed, the power supply to the light source 9 is interrupted and the light is turned off under the control of the keyboard display control circuit 22, and the display surface becomes dark (this makes it possible to prevent erroneous operation). Also,
By having a light-off function, blinking operation is also possible. In this state, when the menu expansion display switch 6a on which rRJ is displayed is pressed, this press information is detected by the keyboard display control circuit 22 and the main control circuit 2
4, and this data is further output to an external device 25, such as a combiator, to display a display corresponding to the pressed switch.

Here, when changing the mode, by pressing the appropriate switch from among the mode selection switches 2, the mode information of the mode selection switch 2 is expanded and displayed on the display screen of the three main menu display switches 5. be done.

Furthermore, in the keyboard device of the above-described embodiment, when inputting information for each mode manually, when the mode selection switch 2 of the desired mode is pressed, the mode information is displayed as a heading on the three main menu display switches 5. Expanded display,
Furthermore, when any of the main menu display switches 5 is pressed, the menu of the pressed switch 5 is expanded and displayed in even more detail on the display surface of the 18 menu expansion display switches 6, so that elementary school students and elderly people who are not familiar with keyboards can use the menu. Even when used by a person, it does not take time to find the key switch to press (it can be operated easily).

In addition, because some of the multiple key switches arranged on the operating surface of the keyboard are pushbutton switches with a display function, the number of key switches is reduced compared to conventional keyboards. be able to.

By the way, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the push button switch 4 with a display function is provided with a backlit liquid crystal display section using an LED as a light source. You may also use it.

In addition, a switch that displays a menu of numbers, characters, symbols, etc. (main menu display switch 5) and a switch that expands and displays the display contents of this switch (menu expansion display switch 6) have display functions. Although the switch is applied, other key switches may also be configured with switches having this type of display function.For example, "English characters".

"Numeric symbols", "Kana characters", "Graph characters".

It may also be applied to a switch that selects a mode such as "special code" or "word processor".

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the menus expanded and displayed on the menu expansion display switch 6 are arranged regularly to make it easy for the user to operate, but they do not necessarily need to be displayed regularly, making it easy for the user to operate. The display pattern is stored in advance in the main memory circuit 20 and the auxiliary memory circuit 23.
You can also save the settings.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the keyboard device according to the present invention has the following effects:
At least some of the multiple key switches arranged on the operation surface are switches that have a switching display function, so the number of key switches can be kept to a minimum compared to conventional keyboards. It can be configured as follows.

In addition, all information for each menu, such as numbers, alphabetic characters, and symbols, is displayed as a heading on the main menu display switch, and this menu information is further expanded and displayed in multiple sections using the menu expansion display switch. Therefore, even elementary school students and elderly people who are not familiar with keyboards can easily operate the keyboard without having to spend time searching for the key switch to press.

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the keyboard device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views showing other display states, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the keyboard according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a push button switch with a display function that is applied to the device to switch and display various information. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the specific internal circuit configuration of the device. 2...Mode selection switch, 4...Push button switch with display function, 5...Main menu display switch. 6... Menu expansion display switch.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A keyboard device characterized in that at least some of the plurality of key switches arranged on the operation surface are switches having a switching display function. (2) At least one main menu display switch that displays information such as numerical values, characters, symbols, figures, etc., and a plurality of menu expansion display switches that individually expand and display the display contents of the main menu display switch. A keyboard device comprising: