JP2001350558A - Keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop a keyboard which facilitates touch-typing and fast input of even KANA(Japanese syllbary) input as well as Roman character input by making it possible to use the thumbs and greatly increases the input speed of Japanese. SOLUTION: Keys (2) are arranged at positions (1) where the thumbs are placed naturally when the fingers are placed at the home positions. Then typing is made easy by shifting or not shifting the keys (2), forming or not forming steps, adopting three arrays in three stages, five arrays in two stages, or linear or curved arrays, or fitting the keys on the back or at an upper part (7) of the keyboard. Consequently, the thumbs can effectively be used to directly input Japanese twice as fast as Roman character input. Further, the keyboard is shaped in conformity with the shapes of the hands capable of effectively using the thumbs to produce the same effects.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard which aims to make inputting easier, faster and more convenient.

2. Description of the Related Art (a) Conventionally, when inputting Japanese, almost all Japanese characters are input not in kana but in Roman characters. This is because the use of Roman alphabet input only requires moving the finger up and down three steps on the keyboard, so that the finger can be moved up and down by one step by placing the finger at the home position. Therefore, Roman alphabet input was faster than Kana input, and this was easier. Blind touch and fast input are limited to those in which the keys are arranged in three rows, and this is possible in the case of Roman alphabet input, but not in the case of kana input.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional technology has the following disadvantages. (B) When writing Japanese in Roman alphabet, you must enter an alphabet about twice the number of characters. It was hard and time consuming. (C) If you try to type in kana instead of romaji, you can input directly in Japanese, but you must use four keyboards to enter. When the finger is moved up and down by four steps of the keyboard, the input speed is eventually lower than that of the Roman character input. In addition, it is difficult and time-consuming to move four fingers. Furthermore, blind touch and fast input are limited to those in which keys are arranged in three rows, and in this case, it is difficult. The present invention has been made to solve the above drawbacks.

[Means for Solving the Problem] When a finger is placed at a home position, a key (2) is arranged at a position (1) where a thumb is naturally placed, and all keys necessary for Japanese input are arranged up and down. Fit in the column arrangement. This allows for blind touch and fast input when entering Japanese directly with kana. In addition, the input can be performed twice as fast as the Roman character input. The present invention is a keyboard having the above configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, a key (2) is arranged at a position (1) as shown in FIG. This position (1) is a place where the thumb is naturally placed when a finger is placed at a position generally called a home position.
In other words, this position (1) is located at a position where it is easy to input using the thumb when inputting while taking the home position.

However, it is difficult to strike these keys (2) with the thumb simply by arranging the keys (2) at this position (1). The reason is that it is difficult to hit the key (2) at the position (1) vertically with the thumb at the home position.

When a finger is placed in the home position,
It is natural that when the key (2) in the position (1) is hit with the thumb, the thumb is level with respect to these keys (2).
For this reason, if these keys (2) are hit with the thumb in a horizontal position as described above, another key (2) will be hit at the same time.

Therefore, in order to prevent this, a step (3) is provided to the key (2) at the position (1) as shown in FIGS. In this case, even if this key (2) is hit with the thumb in a horizontal direction, there is no step, so that another key (2) is also hit at the same time.

The keys (2) at the position (1) can be conveniently arranged not only in a straight line as shown in FIG. 2 but also in a fan shape according to the trajectory of the thumb as shown in FIG. It is an application. Also, the key (2) at the position (1) is
It is easy to use it as a whole and it is easy to use, and there is such an application.

[0010] Instead of adding a step (3), FIG.
A shift may be provided in the key arrangement as in 8.9. In this case, even if the key (2) at this position (1) is hit horizontally with the thumb, there is no deviation, so that another key (2) is also hit at the same time. This is also FIG.
One application is to arrange them in a fan shape like They may be arranged straight as shown in FIG. 8, or may be arranged alternately as shown in FIG. Just in the case of Fig. 9, position with thumb (1)
It may be difficult to hit the key (2) in the horizontal direction in this case. In this case, it is supposed that you can not hit it perfectly perfectly even if you arrange it with a large space so that you can hit it horizontally It may be arranged. In addition, there is also an application in which the shift of the key arrangement and the step (3) are used in combination. Alternatively, even if there is no step (3) and no deviation, it may be somewhat inconvenient, but it is possible.

The step (3) and the deviation can be applied to the key (2) not located at the position (1).

Description will be given with reference to FIG. Position (1)
The keys (2) are arranged in three columns and three columns, and are provided with a step (3) as shown in FIGS. In this embodiment, the thumb (2) at the position (1) is hit with the thumb by one step up and down, one step at a time, centering on the middle key (2) in the second vertical column and the second horizontal row. It is very easy to hit because you only have to move your thumb at a time. Since there is a step, there is no mistake in pressing the other keys (2) together. At this time, the total number of the key (2) at the position (1) and the key (2) used mainly in the Roman alphabet input is 48, which is a sufficient number for the kana input. . In this case, the movement of the main finger can be performed one step at a time from the center to the top and bottom of all the fingers. However, in one embodiment, the key (2) at the position (1) is three rows vertically and three rows, and the key (2) at the position (1) may be any number of rows and columns. It falls within the scope of the invention.

In the keyboard of FIG. 10, position (1)
It is very easy to hit because you only have to move the key (2) at the top and bottom and left and right one by one with your thumb. That is,
The three keys (2) at the side correspond to the natural position, the closed position, and the open position with respect to the thumb, so that it is very easy to hit. Also, for the vertical row of keys (2) in position (1), the thumb is also in the middle when in the middle position of the home position, the thumb is in the upper case when in the upper position, and the thumb is in the lower position when in the lower position. It is very easy to hit because it corresponds.

Although a space key is not written in FIG. 10, it may be placed at a place (4) as shown in FIG. When the input is not a kana, part or all of the key (2) at the position (1) is changed to a space key, and when the input is a kana, one of the keys (2) at the position (1) is changed to a space key. Is considered as an application. Furthermore, it is conceivable to assign the same key as the uppermost row to the key (2) at the position (1) other than during the kana input. This is sufficient in number, and keys other than the top row can be assigned.

The number of keys mainly used for inputting Roman characters, that is, three keys (2) in the upper and lower rows with the home position at the center, partially removed, is 30. The key (2) at the position (1), which is increased by the key arrangement of FIG.
There are pieces. Therefore, if the above-mentioned 30 keys (2) which are originally easy to hit and the key (2) which is increased by the key arrangement shown in FIG. 10 are added, the number of keys (2) becomes 48 because the number of keys (2) is sufficient. It can be said that there is.

[0016] Furthermore, even if the keys are arranged in five rows and two columns as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, there is no trouble or inconvenience in hitting the key at the position (2) with the thumb. Also, the number of keys within the upper and lower three steps
This is enough to enter Japanese directly with Kana input. Furthermore, in that case, the space key, the enter key, etc. will also be housed in the structure within three steps above and below it.

A description will be given of the number necessary for directly inputting Japanese by kana input. There are 46 Japanese kana.
In addition, voiced / semi-voiced sounds, punctuation and punctuation are required. Pressing the key once will cause the reading point to be pressed again, and the punctuation mark will be pressed once more, and the punctuation mark will be pressed once more. 5 in the case of 2 rows and 5 rows
Since there are 0 keys, it is sufficient in number without such a device. Further, for a small character such as "tsu", for example, a key is depressed twice so that the character becomes a small character. By doing so, it is possible to directly input Japanese using 48 keys.

As shown in FIGS. 10-13, the key (2) at the position (1) is three-row, three-row, two-row, five-row. It is also possible to use a combination of the arrangement and the arrangement on a curve according to the operating range of the thumb. Although no step is shown in the drawings, this is also possible.

The keyboard shown in FIG. 14-21 will be described. In the conventional keyboard as shown in FIGS. 1, 6, 10.11.11.13, when the key (2) at the position (1) is pressed, the movement of the thumb in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. It was. On the other hand, in the keyboard shown in FIG. 14-21, the key (2) at the position (1) is arranged in accordance with the vertical movement of the thumb as shown in FIG. At this time, the appropriate position for pressing the key (2) is the position (7) above the keyboard. The key (2) at this position (7) may include a key (2) below the surface of another keyboard for ease of pressing with the thumb.
Each of the figures represents a different pattern of keys (2) located at a position (7) above the keyboard near this position (1). That is, the key (2) is arranged in three rows and three rows /
It is a drawing showing a pattern of a combination of two rows and five rows, with rows / without gaps / without gaps, linearly arranged / arranged on a curve that matches the operating range of the thumb.

As shown in FIG. 24, the key (2) is arranged at the position (8) on the back of the keyboard, and the key is hit with the thumb. Of course, place it where it is easy to press with your thumb. If FIG. 27 is the front surface of this keyboard, the back surface is as shown in FIGS. 28-32. In this arrangement, the key (2) at the position (8) is arranged so as to be easily pressed with the thumb. Specifically, the key (2) which was at the position (1) until now
Is also applied to the back. In addition, as shown in the drawing, a combination in which the keys (2) are arranged in three rows, three rows, two rows, and five rows, with a row, without a row, with a shift, without a shift, in a straight line, and on a curve that matches the operating range of the thumb. There is a pattern.

The drawings 33 and 34 will be described. This is also a keyboard with a key (2) on the back. This is an application of the structure shown in FIGS. A key (2) is provided at a position (9) above the keyboard when the keyboard is viewed from the back. This key (2) is also arranged to correspond to the vertical movement of the thumb. The key (2) at this position (9) may have a key (2) below the surface of the keyboard viewed from the back for ease of pushing with the thumb. The key (2) located at the position (9) above the keyboard viewed from behind has various patterns. In other words, there is a combination pattern in which the keys (2) are arranged in three rows / three rows / two rows / five rows, with / without steps, with / without shift, linearly arranged, or arranged on a curve that matches the operating range of the thumb. I do.

A description will be given of the drawings 36 and 37. Insert the key (2) at the position (1) into the depression (1) as shown in FIG.
0). By doing so, drawing 37
The thumb can be struck vertically with respect to the key (2) without having to thumb horizontally as shown in FIG. Of course, there is a combination pattern in which the keys (2) are arranged in three rows / three rows / two rows / five rows With / without gap With / without gap Linearly / Arranged on a curve that matches the operating range of the thumb I do.

The drawing 35 will be described. Arrange the key (2) at the position (8) on the back of the keyboard and hit it with your thumb. Of course, place it where it is easy to press with your thumb. In particular, the depression (10) facilitates pushing. Of course, there is a combination pattern in which the keys (2) are arranged in three rows / three rows / two rows / five rows With / without gap With / without gap Linearly / Arranged on a curve that matches the operating range of the thumb I do.

The drawings 25 and 26 will be described. Instead of laying the keyboard horizontally as shown in FIG. 26, the keyboard is placed diagonally as shown in FIG. Pressing the back key (2) with the thumb is much easier. If there is another method that can form a space where the thumb can be effectively used, it becomes easier to use. This can be applied to any of the above-described keys placed on the back of the keyboard (2). Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to all keyboards having the key (2) as a surface.

The drawings 38, 39, and 40 will be described. A key (13) is placed on the upper surface (11) and a bar (12) is provided therebelow to facilitate use with the keyboard (14).
Put. At this time, the keyboard (14) is attached to both lower sides of the normal keyboard by half each. Of course, combining the halves into one is like a normal keyboard. The key (13) on the upper surface (11) does not play the same role as the key (2) which was previously in position (1),
It is mainly hit with the thumb. The keyboard (14) is designed to be easy to hit with fingers other than the thumb. The upper surface (11) is slanted so that it is easy to hit the key (13) with the thumb, and the key (13) also has three rows and three rows / two rows and five rows.
Displacement / No displacement Stepped / No step Linearly arranged /
There are combinations of patterns that are arranged on a curve that matches the operating range of the thumb. Also rod-shaped (12)
Is attached so that the user can easily use it by putting his / her hand on it. [Effects of the Invention] By using the present invention, input using the keyboard can be performed quickly and easily. Especially when inputting Japanese, it can be input at twice the speed of conventional Roman alphabet input, and it is very convenient because you can directly enter what you think in Japanese without having to replace it with Roman alphabet in your head It is. This is because the keys required for Japanese input are arranged in three steps or less so that you can perform high-speed input with blind touch even when directly inputting Japanese with kana.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a key (2) located at a position (1) in FIG.
It is the figure which took out only the group of the right side, and was seen from the front.

FIG. 3 shows a key (2) located at a position (1) in FIG.
It is the figure which took out only the group of the right side, and was seen from the front. However, this is an embodiment in which the keys (2) are arranged in a fan shape.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2-3 cut along AB and viewed from the side.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2-3 cut along AB and viewed from the side. However, this is an embodiment in which the key (2) at the position (1) is arranged diagonally.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a place where a space key is placed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the key (2) at the position (1), in which only the right group is taken out of the key (2) with a shift; However, this is an embodiment in which the keys (2) are arranged in a fan shape.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a key (2) at a position (1) in which a key (2) is shifted and only the right group is taken out. However, this is an embodiment in which the key (2) is arranged straight.

FIG. 9 is a view of the key (2) located at the position (1), which is shifted from the key (2), showing only the right group and viewed from the front. However, this is an embodiment in which the keys (2) are alternately arranged.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the key (2) at the position (1) with three steps arranged vertically and three rows horizontally.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a key (2) located at a position (1) in which the keys (2) are arranged on a curve in accordance with the movement of the thumb by providing steps in three rows and three rows and three rows and three columns.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a key (2) at a position (1) with two steps vertically and five rows and a step.

FIG. 13 is a front view of a key (2) located at a position (1) having two vertical rows and five horizontal rows to provide a step, and a key (2) arranged on a curve in accordance with the movement of the thumb;

FIG. 14 is a front view of the key (2) located at the position (1) arranged vertically (three rows and three rows) with a step, and arranged above the keyboard (7).

FIG. 15 shows that the keys (2) at the position (1) are arranged in three rows and three columns to form a step, and the keys (2) are arranged above the keyboard (7) on a curve corresponding to the movement of the thumb. Front view of things

FIG. 16 is a front view 0 of the key (2) located at the position (1) arranged vertically (2 rows and 5 rows) and provided with a step, and arranged above the keyboard (7).

FIG. 17 shows that the keys (2) at the position (1) are arranged vertically in two rows and five rows to provide a step, and the keys (2) are arranged above the keyboard (7) on a curve corresponding to the movement of the thumb. Front view of things

FIG. 18

FIG. 21 corresponds to the keyboard in FIGS. 14 to 17 with the step (3) removed from the key (2) above (7) the keyboard.

22. FIG. 1, 6.7.8.9.10, 11, 1
2 and 13 show the movement of the thumb when the key (2) at the position (1) is pressed on the keyboard.

FIG. 23 illustrates the movement of the thumb when pressing the key (2) above (7) the keyboard at position (1) on the keyboard of FIGS. 14-21.

Fig. 24-

FIG. 26 shows the positional relationship between the hand and the keyboard when the key (2) on the back of the keyboard in FIGS. 27-35 is pressed.

FIG. 27 shows the key arrangement on the front surface of the key (2) arranged at the position (8) on the back of the keyboard.

Fig. 28-

FIG. 32 shows the back surface of the keyboard in which the key (2) is arranged at the back position (8). Fig. 28 shows the key (2) on the back side with three steps vertically and three rows and a step. Fig. 29 shows the key (2) on the back side with three steps and three rows and a step. FIG. 30 shows the key (2) arranged on the back side in two vertical rows and five columns and a step difference. FIG. 31 shows the key (2) arranged on the rear side in two vertical rows. Steps are provided in five rows, and keys (2) are arranged on a curve corresponding to the movement of the thumb. FIG.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a key (2) arranged on a curved line corresponding to the movement of the thumb without any steps, with the keys (2) on the back side arranged in two rows and five rows. Other patterns without steps can be considered, but here are shown as representative examples.

FIG. 33 shows the key arrangement on the front surface of the keyboard in which the key (2) is arranged at the position (8) on the back of the keyboard. This corresponds to the following FIG.

FIG. 34 is a view in which the key (2) is arranged at a position (9) above the keyboard when viewed from the back, as viewed from the back; There are also 5 rows 2 rows 3 rows 3 rows
Stepless linear arrangement There is a pattern such as arrangement on a curve, but this is shown as a typical example.

FIG. 35 shows a state in which a key (2) is arranged at a position (8) on the back surface of the keyboard.
0)

FIG. 36: Key (2) at position (1) on the keyboard
Keyboard. At this time, the key (2) has a depression (10). This allows the thumb (2) to be struck vertically with the thumb.

FIG. 37 shows the relationship between the hand and the keyboard when hitting a keyboard having a depression (10) as shown in FIG.

FIG. 38 is a view of the keyboard described in [0025] as viewed from directly above.

FIG. 39 is a side view of the keyboard described in [0025].

FIG. 40 shows the relationship between the keyboard and the hands described in [0025].

[Explanation of symbols] 1 Position where the thumb is naturally placed at home position 2 Key 3 Step 4 Space key placement candidate 5 Show hand 6 Show keyboard 7 Key position above keyboard 8 Key behind keyboard 9 Position of the key above the keyboard when the keyboard is viewed from the back 10 Indentation 11 Upper surface of the keyboard, put the key to be pressed with your thumb on it 12 Bar-shaped object 13 Key to be pressed with the thumb 14 Normal keyboard Half-length

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A conventional key is divided into left and right. A keyboard below which the key (2) is arranged at a position (1) within the movable range of the thumb when the finger is placed at the home position, and the key at that position is easy to hit with the thumb. 2. The conventional key arrangement is divided into left and right. Then, the key (2) is moved to a position (1) which is within the movable range of the thumb when the finger is placed at the home position.
Place. A step (3) is attached to the key (2). This step should be sufficient to prevent the key (2) in the lower step from being pressed together when the key (2) in this position (1) is pressed with the thumb. . Such a keyboard. Or, key (2) is recessed (10)
Keyboard inside 3. The conventional key arrangement is divided into left and right. Then, the key (2) is moved to a position (1) which is within the movable range of the thumb when the finger is placed at the home position.
Place. The key is shifted to the key (2). This shift of the key position is to prevent the key (2) at the position (1) from being pressed together with the other keys (2) in the vicinity when the thumb is pressed. Such a keyboard. Or a keyboard with the key (2) in the recess (10) 4. The conventional key arrangement is divided into left and right. Then, the key (2) is arranged at a position (7) within the movable range of the thumb when the finger is placed at the home position and above the keyboard. A keyboard whose keys are easy to hit with your thumb. At this time, this key (2) is a keyboard that gives a step or shift. Also, a keyboard with this key (2) arranged without steps 5. The conventional key arrangement is divided into left and right. At this time, the key (2) is arranged at the position (8) behind the keyboard, which is within the movable range of the thumb when the finger is placed at the home position. A keyboard in which the keys (2) are provided with steps or shifts as defined in claims 2, 3. Also this key (2)
A keyboard with no steps. The keyboard according to claim 4, wherein the key (2) is arranged at a position (9) above the keyboard when the keyboard is turned upside down. Or, a keyboard with key (2) in recess (10). A keyboard where the keys at that position are easy to hit with your thumb. 6. A half of a conventional keyboard is prepared. The keyboard (14) divided in half is set up vertically. A sheet-like object (11) is placed thereon, and a key (13) to be pressed with a thumb is arranged thereon. Bar-shaped object (12) under the sheet-shaped object to make it easier to use the whole
Keyboard. And a combination of claims 1 to 6