JP2000020217A - Input support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input support device which can improve the input operation efficiency of an operator who is unfamiliar with key operation on a keyboard type input device. SOLUTION: An image corresponding to an operation signal inputted to a computer 1 by the key operation by the operator 9 on the keyboard type input device 3 is displayed by a main display device 2. Thus, the computer 1 outputs a key image signal to a display unit 8 of an auxiliary display device 5 and then key images corresponding to keys 3a of the input device 3 are displayed in the same array as the actual key array. An optical system 7 of the auxiliary display device 5 can guide image display light emitted by the main display device 2 to the eye of the operator 9 by transmitting it and image display light emitted by the display unit 8 to the eye of the operator 9 by changing its optical path.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an apparatus for supporting key operation input of a keyboard type input device connected to a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are many systems which can display an image corresponding to an operation signal input to a computer by a key operation of a keyboard type input device by a main display connected to the computer. Have been.

On the other hand, an operator who is not skilled in the input operation so as to be able to perform the touch type of the keyboard type input device needs to frequently move his or her line of sight between the input device and the display screen, resulting in poor work efficiency. .

An object of the present invention is to provide an input support device that can solve the above-mentioned problem.

[0005]

According to the input support device of the present invention, an image corresponding to an operation signal input to a computer by a key operation of a keyboard input device can be displayed by a main display device connected to the computer. Applied to various systems. The present invention includes an auxiliary display device connected to the computer, the auxiliary display device has a display and an optical system, and the optical system transmits image display light emitted from the main display device. By being able to guide the eyes of the operator of the input device, and provided to be able to guide the eyes of the operator by changing the optical path of the image display light emitted from the display, from the computer to the display,
A key image display signal is output so that a plurality of key images corresponding to a plurality of keys of the input device are displayed in the same arrangement as an actual key arrangement.
According to the configuration of the present invention, an image displayed on the main display device in response to a key operation of the input device, and a plurality of key images corresponding to a plurality of keys of the input device, the same arrangement as the actual key arrangement Thus, the operator can visually recognize the image displayed by the auxiliary display device in a superimposed state. Thereby, the operator can visually recognize the display image and the key image on the main display device at the same time, and can confirm the key arrangement without moving the line of sight to the input device even when the key arrangement is not stored.

[0006] A key operation detecting mechanism for detecting a key operated by an operator among the plurality of keys before the operation signal is generated is connected to the computer, and a key operated by the operator in the key image is displayed. It is preferable that a change signal of the display mode of the key image corresponding to the above can be output from the computer to the display by outputting the key operation detection signal from the key operation detection mechanism. Thus, the display mode of the image corresponding to the key operated by the operator can be changed before the operation signal of the key is input to the computer. Therefore, since the operator can check the key input by himself before inputting the operation signal without moving his / her eyes to the input device, it becomes possible to perform the input operation without taking his / her eyes off the screen of the main display device. .

Preferably, the display and the optical system can be mounted on the operator's head. Accordingly, the position of the key image changes according to the movement of the operator's head, so that the key image can always be visually recognized.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The system shown in FIG. 1 includes a computer 1, a main display device 2 connected to the computer 1, a keyboard-type input device 3 having a plurality of keys 3a,
A pointing device 4 and an auxiliary display device 5 are provided.

When an operation signal output from the input device 3 is input in response to an operation of the key 3a by the operator 9, the computer 1 sends a display signal of an image corresponding to the operation signal to the main display device 2. . Thereby, for example, an image 2a including characters and graphics as shown in FIG. 2 is formed on the screen of the main display device 2, but the content of the image is not particularly limited.

The auxiliary display device 5 includes a holding unit 6, an optical system 7, and a display 8, as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the holding portion 6 is formed in a band shape to be fitted on the outer periphery of the head of the operator 9. This holding part 6
, The display 8 and the optical system 7 can be mounted on the head of the operator 9. The form of the holding section 6 is not limited as long as it can be mounted on the head of the operator 9. For example, the holding section 6 may be in the form of a helmet or a hat, and is limited to the one directly mounted on the head. Instead, it may be worn via a hat or a helmet. In the present invention, the head refers to a portion above the neck including the face. The optical system 7 includes an operator 9
, A transparent substrate 7a curved along the front side of the head, and a reflection surface 7b and a diffraction surface 7c formed on the substrate 7a on the side facing the operator 9. The reflective surface 7
b is disposed between one side of the head of the operator 9 and one eye of the operator 9, and its diffraction surface 7 c is
Placed in front of one eye. The reflection surface 7b can be constituted by a metal reflection film such as aluminum formed on a transparent acrylic plate 107, for example, as shown in FIG. The diffraction surface 7c develops interference fringes by applying a photosensitive material such as a photoresist on the acrylic plate 107 and exposing the photosensitive material by a two-beam interference method using a laser beam of a certain wavelength (for example, 488 nm). And a transmission hologram obtained by performing The reflection surface 7b
The acrylic plate 107 is covered with a protective film 12 such as a silicon oxide film so as to cover the diffraction surface 7c.
The optical system 7 can be obtained by bending 07. The display 8 is disposed on one side of the head of the operator 9,
It is connected to the computer 1 via a cable 8a. The display 8 can be composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display with a backlight, a CRT display, or the like.

The computer 1 sends a key image display signal to the display 8 in response to an operation signal from the input device 3. The display 8 displays a plurality of key images corresponding to the plurality of keys 3a of the input device 3 in the same arrangement as the actual key arrangement, based on the key image display signal. The display 8
Emits the image display light L of the key image forward as indicated by the dashed line in FIG.

The optical system 7 can guide the image display light emitted from the main display device 2 to the eyes of an operator by transmitting the image display light, and changes the optical path of the image display light emitted from the display device 8. Thus, it is possible to guide one eye of the operator 9. That is, the image display light emitted from the main display device 2 is guided to one eye of the operator 9 by transmitting through the diffraction surface 7c, and the image display light L emitted from the display 8 is After being reflected by the reflection surface 7b, the light is diffracted by the diffraction surface 7c to be guided to one eye of the operator 9.

A key operation detecting mechanism for detecting the key 3a operated by the operator 9 among the plurality of keys 3a of the input device 3 before generating the operation signal is connected to the computer 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a normally open first key switch 31a and a normally open second key switch 32a are arranged inside each key 3a. A first switch actuation piece 31b opposed to the first key switch 31a at an interval δ1 on the inner surface of each key 3a;
2a opposing the second switch actuating piece 3 with an interval δ2
2b is attached via compression springs 31c and 32c, respectively. The distance δ1 between the first key switch 31a and the first switch operating piece 31b is made smaller than the distance δ2 between the second key switch 32a and the second switch operating piece 32b.
Each key 3a is supported by the body of the input device 3 via a return spring (not shown) so as to be able to stroke. By pressing each key 3a, first, the first key switch 31a is pressed by the first switch operating piece 31b to turn on, and then the second key switch 32a is pressed by the second switch operating piece 32b to turn on. It is assumed. The key operation detection signal is sent to the computer 1 by the ON operation of the first key switch 31a. The operation signal is sent to the computer 1 by the ON operation of the second key switch 32a.

The computer 1 receives the key operation detection signal output from the key operation detection mechanism and receives the key 3 operated by the operator 9 in the key image.
a change signal of the display mode of the key image corresponding to a
Output to Thereby, as shown in FIG. 6, the image 2a displayed by the main display device 2 in response to the key operation of the input device 3, and the key displayed by the auxiliary display device 5 in the same arrangement as the actual arrangement of the keys 3a. The operator 9 can visually recognize the image 5a in a superimposed state. Further, only the key image 5a "corresponding to the key 3a" operated by the operator 9 in the key image 5a is displayed by, for example, hatching as shown in the figure or displayed in a color different from other key images. Then, the display mode is changed before the operation signal is input to the computer 1.

According to the above configuration, the operator 9 can visually recognize the display image 2a and the key image 5a on the main display device 2 at the same time, so that even if the key arrangement is not stored, the operator 9 does not move the line of sight to the input device 3. You can check the key layout. Further, the operator 9 can confirm the key input by himself before inputting the operation signal from the input device 3 to the computer 1 without moving his / her eyes to the input device 3, so that the operator 9 removes his / her eyes from the screen of the main display device 2. The input operation can be performed without the need. The auxiliary display device 5 is provided by an operator 9
Can be mounted on the head, the position of the key image 5a changes according to the movement of the head of the operator 9, and the key image can be always visually recognized.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the configuration of the auxiliary display device is not limited to the above embodiment, and may guide the image display light from the display to both eyes of the operator, and the display of the image display light from the display by the half mirror. The optical path may be changed and the image display light from the main display device may be transmitted. As the key operation detection mechanism, a sensor that outputs a key operation detection signal when the finger of the operator 9 touches each key 3a may be attached.

[0017]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an input support device which can improve the input work efficiency of an operator who is not skilled in key operation of a keyboard type input device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a system using an input support device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display image on the main display device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an auxiliary display device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing an auxiliary display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration explanatory view of a key operation detection mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing display images by the main display device and the auxiliary display device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computer 2 Main display device 3 Input device 3a key 5 Auxiliary display device 7 Optical system 8 Display 9 Operator

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An auxiliary display connected to a computer in a system capable of displaying an image corresponding to an operation signal input to the computer by a key operation of a keyboard type input device by a main display connected to the computer. The auxiliary display device has a display and an optical system, and a plurality of key images corresponding to a plurality of keys of the input device are displayed from the computer on the display in the same arrangement as the actual key arrangement. As a result, a key image display signal can be output, and the optical system can guide the eyes of the operator of the input device by transmitting image display light emitted from the main display device, and An input support device, which is provided so as to be able to be guided by an operator by changing an optical path of image display light emitted from a display device. 2. A key operation detecting mechanism for detecting a key operated by an operator among the plurality of keys before generating the operation signal is connected to the computer, and operated by the operator in the key image. 2. A change signal of a display mode of a key image corresponding to the key is output from the computer to a display by outputting a key operation detection signal from the key operation detection mechanism.
2. The input support device according to 1. 3. The input support device according to claim 1, wherein the display and the optical system can be mounted on an operator's head.