JP2006031493A - Virtual keyboard system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform key input without a physical key and to improve operability and mounting facility. <P>SOLUTION: A light emitting part for emitting different signals is mounted to each finger of a user, a light emitted from the light emitting part is converted into voltage in proportion to illuminance of the light, and a move direction and moving distance of the finger are calculated by way of a light receiving part with a function to analyze an emitted light signal. Thus, key detection is performed and the key is displayed to the display. Also, by having a keyboard image and a finger image to be displayed to a part of the display, the user can confirm the current key input position, a move direction of the key, and a moving distance of the key. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device of an information processing device such as a computer or a word processor, and more particularly to a virtual keyboard device that realizes key input without having a physical key and a system mainly including a key input control method.

  Conventionally, in an input device of an information processing apparatus such as a computer or a word processor, a physical keyboard with a two-dimensional key arrangement is generally used. However, as the information processing apparatus itself becomes portable and small, the occupied capacity and weight of the physical keyboard have become the bottleneck for making portable and small.

  In order to solve the above problem, a virtual keyboard device that realizes key input without having a physical key has been proposed. For example, as in the virtual keyboard device and the key input control method disclosed in Patent Document 1, a fingertip position input glove is attached to the user's fingertip, and the fingertip position is detected. A method of detecting the reflection of a signal from a finger without putting anything on the fingertip of a user has been proposed.

JP 9-54646 A JP 2000-66818 A

  However, since these methods do not have a physical keyboard, the problems of portability and miniaturization have been greatly solved, but there are problems in the operability and ease of mounting of the virtual keyboard.

  For example, in the method according to Patent Document 1, since the position of the fingertip is obtained by three-dimensional coordinates and the movement of the fingertip position is detected by the change, the hardware becomes complicated and implementation is not easy. Further, the method according to Patent Document 2 has a problem in operability because there is no event indicating the completion of key input, and the number of operation mistakes of the user may be increased.

  A main object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a system for realizing key input without having a physical key and improving operability and ease of mounting.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, an input device of an information processing apparatus such as a computer or a word processor is worn on each finger of a user, each finger emits a different signal, and the finger is turned on after the power is turned on. Emits light as long as it is not in contact with the desk, etc., and stops the light emission when in contact with the desk, etc., and converts the light emitted from each light emitting section into a voltage proportional to the illuminance of the light, Calculates the finger movement direction and distance, and sets the initial key input position and key detection based on the light receiving unit with the function to analyze the emitted light signal and the voltage value information obtained for each light receiving unit. Control unit to perform and the key value required to advance the process of the control unit by 8 in each direction (up, down, right, left, upper right, lower right, upper left, lower left) "Finger position table" expressing the current finger position and each light emitting unit A voltage value proportional to the illuminance of the light received for each light receiving unit, an “activation information table” that expresses the distance between the light receiving unit having the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) and the display, and a moving finger “Activation information table (temporary)” that expresses the distance between the display and the voltage value proportional to the illuminance of the light received by the light emitting unit for each light receiving unit and the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) The storage unit is held and a display control unit that displays the detected key code on the display.

  According to the present invention, key input can be realized without having a physical key, and operability and ease of mounting can be improved.

  The present invention provides a light emitting unit that emits light from a user's finger, a light receiving unit that receives light emitted from the user's finger and converts it to a voltage proportional to the illuminance of the light, and detects a key from the obtained voltage And a control unit for transmitting display information, a storage unit for storing various tables for performing key detection, and a display unit for displaying keys.

  The light emitting unit is attached to each finger of the user, and the light emitted from each finger has a function of emitting different signals. Further, since the light is always emitted after the power is turned on unless the finger is in contact with the desk or the like, the light emission is stopped when the finger is in contact with the desk or the like. As a result, the user can designate a key input event.

  The light receiving unit has a function of converting the light emitted from the light emitting unit into a voltage proportional to the illuminance of the light. It also has a function of analyzing a signal emitted from the light emitting unit. Thereby, it is possible to know which finger of the user is moving.

  The control unit calculates the moving direction and moving distance of the finger based on the voltage value information obtained for each light receiving unit. Specifically, a “finger position table” that holds which key the finger is located on, an “activation information table” that indicates how much each finger is activated in each light receiving unit, and a currently moving finger "Activation information table (temporary)" indicating how much light is activated in each light receiving unit, and the activation information table (temporary) and "activation information table" activation for the finger that is currently moving The values (voltage values) are compared, and the moving direction of the finger is calculated based on the relationship between the maximum active value (maximum voltage value) and the light receiving unit having the value. This calculation calculation is performed at regular intervals.

Next, the movement distance of the finger is obtained. First, the distance between the finger and the display is obtained. It is used that the relationship between the illuminance (E) of light and the distance (r) from the light source to the light receiving surface is as follows. If the light intensity of the light source is I,
E = I / r / r (Equation 1)
Here, the luminous intensity I of the light source means that the luminous intensity of the light source can be ignored when the angle between the light source and the light receiving surface is constant, based on the intensity of light in a certain direction.

  In the present invention, since it is assumed that a plurality of light receiving units are installed, the distance between the finger and the display is selected by selecting a light receiving unit that is as close as possible to the vertical relationship between the light emitted from the finger and the display. The light intensity of the light source can be ignored. In the above case, it means that the illuminance (E) of light is inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r) from the light source to the light receiving surface.

  Further, the voltage value (V) calculated from the light receiving unit is proportional to the illuminance of light, and therefore the following holds.

V = k / r / r (k is a constant) (Equation 2)
Here, k is a constant determined by the element of the light receiving unit. This numerical value needs to be determined in advance by the user before using the present invention.

  Thus, the distance between the finger and the display can be obtained.

Although the movement direction of the finger is obtained as described above, the movement distance of the finger can be calculated from the relationship between the movement direction of the finger and the distance (D) between the finger and the display.
When the finger moves up, down, right, left: The distance of the finger movement = D
When the finger moves to the upper right, lower right, upper left, lower left: movement distance of the finger = (route double) D
As described above, the movement distance of the finger is obtained.

  The finger movement distance obtained here is compared with the distance to advance by one key in the finger movement direction, and the finger position table is updated if the finger movement distance is large.

  The storage unit holds the “finger position table”, “activation information table”, and “activation information table (temporary)” created by the control unit. These tables are read and written by the control unit.

  The display unit displays the key code detected by the control unit on the display. In addition, a keyboard image and left and right hand images are displayed on a part of the display, and by imitating the movement of the user's finger, the user has a function of confirming the finger position.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in an input device of an information processing apparatus such as a computer or a word processor, each finger emits a different signal, and each finger emits a different signal. The light emitting unit emits light as long as it is not in contact with the light, etc., and stops emitting light when it comes into contact with a desk or the like, and the light emitted from each light emitting unit is converted into a voltage proportional to the illuminance of the light and emitted Control that calculates the movement direction and distance of the finger, sets the initial key input position, and detects the key based on the light receiving unit that has the function of analyzing the received light signal and the voltage value information obtained for each light receiving unit And the key value that is required to perform the processing of the control unit and the control unit, and the key value when proceeding one by one in each of the eight directions (up, down, right, left, upper right, lower right, upper left, lower left) "Finger position table" expressing the finger position of each and each light emitting unit A voltage value proportional to the illuminance of the light received for each light receiving unit, an “activation information table” that expresses the distance between the light receiving unit having the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) and the display, and a moving finger “Activation information table (temporary)” that expresses the distance between the display and the voltage value proportional to the illuminance of the light received by the light emitting unit for each light receiving unit and the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) Provided is a virtual keyboard capable of displaying a storage unit to be held and a key code detected by a control unit on a display.

  As a result, key input can be realized without having a physical key, and operability and ease of mounting can be improved.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, an example using infrared rays as light is shown.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a virtual keyboard system that best represents the features of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the timing of light emission and stop of a light emitting unit worn on each finger of a user, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the virtual keyboard device of the invention, FIG. 4 is an example of an initial input position of a key, an example of an “activation table” used when detecting a key, and FIG. 5 is an example of a “finger position table” storing finger position information. FIG. 6 shows an example of an “activation information table (temporary)” used at the time of key detection, and FIG. 7 shows a relation diagram between the finger movement direction, the light receiving unit, and the voltage value proportional to the illuminance of light.

  1 is a light emitting unit, 2 is an infrared ray emitted from the light emitting unit, 3 is a light receiving unit that receives the infrared ray 2 emitted from the light emitting unit 1, 4 is a display for displaying a key input result and a keyboard image 5, 5 is a keyboard image, 6 is a finger image, 7 is a user's finger, and 7-1, 7-2, and 7-3 are finger movements. 8 is a control unit, 9 is a storage unit, 10 is a display unit, 11 is a voltage value converted from the illuminance of light by the light receiving unit 3, 12 is moving finger information, and 13 is an infrared ray indicating whether the infrared ray is in an effective state. The valid bit, 14 is various table information, 15 is the distance between the moving finger and the display, 16 is the key code, 17 is the moving direction of the finger, and 18 is the moving distance of the finger.

  In FIG. 1, the virtual keyboard system receives a light emitting unit 1 that emits infrared light 2 from a user's finger 7, receives infrared light 2 issued from a user's finger 7, and has a voltage value 11 proportional to the illuminance of the infrared light 2. A light receiving unit 3 for conversion, a control unit 8 for detecting a key from the obtained voltage value 11 and transmitting display information, a storage unit 9 for storing various tables for performing key detection, and a display unit 10 for displaying the key. Is done.

  First, an initial position for key input by the user is set. In order to set the initial position where the user performs key input, the light receiving unit 3 stores the illuminance of the infrared rays 2 emitted from each finger 7. Specifically, the light-emitting unit 1 attached to each finger 7 (only one is shown in the figure) is always infrared unless the finger 7 is in contact with the desk or the like after the power is turned on as shown in FIG. 2 emits light and has a function of stopping the emission of infrared rays 2 when it comes in contact with a desk or the like. For example, when the finger 7 moves from the key “Q” to the key “Z”, the finger 7 is gradually moved in the direction of the key “Z” while the finger 7 is not in contact with the desk or the like (7-1) ( 7-2) When the finger 7 comes in contact with the desk or the like (7-3), the emission of the infrared ray 2 is stopped, and the light receiving unit 3 recognizes that the key is pressed. At that time, the illuminance of the infrared rays 2 of the finger 7 is determined. By performing this operation for all the fingers 7, the initial position where the user inputs a key is determined. The illuminance of the infrared ray 2 is converted into a voltage value 11 proportional to the illuminance of the infrared ray 2 by the light receiving unit 3.

  Next, when the user moves a finger 7, the light receiving unit 3 converts the illuminance of the infrared ray 2 into a voltage value 11 and analyzes the infrared ray 2 signal emitted from the finger 7. The control unit 8 uses the various table information 14 including the voltage value of the finger 7 before movement and the various table information 14 including the voltage value of the finger after movement stored in the storage unit 9 to move the finger 7. 17. The movement distance 18 is calculated.

  Finally, the finger image 6 displayed on the keyboard image 5 on the display 4 is moved. When the user's finger 7 comes into contact with the desk or the like, the key is confirmed and key input is performed.

  In FIG. 3, first, the light receiving unit 3 is composed of n pieces (n is an integer). The larger the value of n, the higher the accuracy of the moving direction and moving distance of the finger 7, so a larger value is desirable. At least 10 or more are desirable. Here, n is 10. The light receiving unit 3 converts the illuminance of the ten infrared rays 2 into a voltage value 11, analyzes the moving finger information 12, and transmits it to the control unit 8. Further, when the user's finger 7 comes into contact with the desk or the like, the infrared valid bit 13 is invalidated.

  The control unit 8 performs initial key input position setting, key detection, and tracking of the finger 7 on the display 4. The initial key input position is set by storing the voltage value 11 obtained for each light receiving unit 3 in the “activation information table” shown in FIG. 4 for each light emitting unit 1. The “activation information table” is composed of the light emitting unit 1, the light receiving unit 3, the voltage value 11, and the distance 15 from the display, and the voltage for each light receiving unit 3 for each light emitting unit 1 when setting the initial key input position. The value 11 is stored. For the light receiving unit 3 having the highest voltage value 11 (maximum active value) in each light emitting unit 1, the distance 15 to the display is obtained using (Equation 2) described above.

  Further, the key position of each finger 7 at the initial key input position is held in the “finger position table” shown in FIG. The “finger position table” is preset with keys after moving one key in each of the eight directions (up, down, right, left, upper right, lower right, upper left, lower left) for each key. Used for detection. The current position of the finger 7 is set in the corresponding key row, and the finger position is updated when the infrared valid bit 13 becomes invalid.

  In the key detection, when the user's finger 7 moves, the infrared light 2 is emitted from the user's finger 7, and the voltage value 11 obtained from each light receiving unit 3 is shown in “activation information table (temporary)” shown in FIG. To store. The “activation information table (temporary)” has almost the same configuration as the “activation information table”, but the “activation information table (temporary)” stores only the information of the light emitting unit of the user's moving finger. This is different from the “activation information table”. Key detection is performed at regular intervals.

  According to the “activation information table” and “activation information table (temporary)”, the light receiving unit 3 having the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) of the finger 7 before movement, the distance 15 from the display, and the finger 7 after movement. The distance 15 between the light receiving unit 3 having the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) and the display is obtained, and the movement direction 16 and the movement distance 17 of the finger 7 are thereby calculated.

  For example, if the “activation information table” and the “activation information table (temporary)” are respectively FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, from No. 5 in FIG. The light receiving unit 3 having a value) is R4, the maximum active value (maximum voltage value) is 3.9 V, and the distance from the display 4 is 47 mm. On the other hand, from No. 14 in FIG. 4, the light receiving unit 3 having the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) before the movement of the moving finger E1 is R3, the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) before the movement is 3.5 V, It can be seen that the distance from the display 4 before moving is 55 mm. As shown in FIG. 7, the movement of the finger 7 corresponds to the movement of the light receiving unit 3 having the maximum activation value (maximum voltage value) of the finger when moving in the X-axis direction, that is, in the left-right direction of the keyboard. This corresponds to the maximum active value (maximum voltage value) of the finger 7 when moving in the direction, that is, in the vertical direction of the keyboard. Therefore, in the case of FIGS. 4 and 6, it can be determined that the moving finger has moved from R3 to R4 from 3.5 to 3.9 V, that is, in the upper right direction.

  Here, the moving direction of the moving finger is eight directions (up, down, right, left, upper right, lower right) depending on the relationship between the voltage value of the light receiving unit before moving and the voltage value of the light receiving unit after moving. , Upper left, lower left) can be identified.

  R_current (t) for a light receiving unit on the finger before movement, R_current (t + 1) for the light receiving unit after movement, R_r (t + 1) for the light receiving unit right next to the light receiving unit after movement, If the light receiving part on the left side of the light receiving part is R_l (t + 1), the moving direction of the finger can be expressed as follows.

Top: V (R_current (t)) and V (R_current (t + 1)) are both the maximum active value (maximum voltage value), and V (R_current (t + 1))> V (R_current (t)) When,
Bottom: V (R_current (t)) and V (R_current (t + 1)) are both the maximum active value (maximum voltage value), and V (R_current (t + 1)) <V (R_current (t)) When,
Right: V (R_current (t)) and V (R_r (t + 1)) are both maximum active values (maximum voltage values) and | V (R_r (t + 1))-V (R_current (t) ) | <= α,
Left: V (R_current (t)) and V (R_l (t + 1)) are both maximum active values (maximum voltage values) and | V (R_l (t + 1))-V (R_current (t) ) | <= α,
Upper right: Both V (R_current (t)) and V (R_r (t + 1)) are maximum active values (maximum voltage values), and V (R_r (t + 1))-V (R_current (t)) > When α
Lower right: V (R_current (t)) and V (R_r (t + 1)) are both the maximum active value (maximum voltage value) and V (R_current (t))-V (R_r (t + 1) )> α,
Upper left: Both V (R_current (t)) and V (R_l (t + 1)) are maximum active values (maximum voltage values), and V (R_l (t + 1))-V (R_current (t)) > When α
Lower left: V (R_current (t)) and V (R_l (t + 1)) are both maximum active values (maximum voltage values), and V (R_current (t))-V (R_l (t + 1)) > When α
Here, α is a constant for determining whether to move left and right or up and down. It is necessary to determine an optimum value for this numerical value before using the present invention.

  The tracking of the finger 7 on the display 4 is performed by converting the moving direction 16 and the moving distance 17 of the moving finger obtained above to a size proportional to the size of the keyboard image 5 displayed on a part of the display 4. The finger image 6 is moved by moving the finger 7.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a key detection algorithm performed by the control unit 8 of the present invention.
Step S01 shows a process of storing the voltage value 11 for each light emitting unit 1 in the light emitting unit 1 (E_x) in the “activation information table (temporary)” (T_activation (temp)) as shown in FIG. .

Step S02 shows a process of calculating a distance (D_x (new)) between the light receiving unit 3 (R_x (new)) having the current maximum voltage value at E_x and the display 15 thereof. Step S03 shows a process of storing D_x (new) in T_activation (temp). In step S04, R_x (new) and D_x (new) on T_activation (temp) and R_x (old) and D_x (old) on the “activation information table” (T_activation) as shown in FIG. The process of calculating the movement distance 18 (D_x) is shown. Step S05 shows a process of calculating a distance (r_x) for advancing by one in the movement direction from the current position based on the movement direction 17 obtained in step S04.
Step S06 indicates a process of updating the position of the finger 7 to the “finger position table” (T_finger) when D_x> r (step S07), and otherwise performing nothing. Step S08 shows a process of moving the finger 7 on the keyboard image 5. The above steps are repeated for a certain period until the infrared valid bit 13 becomes invalid.

  Step S09 shows processing for updating T_activation (temp) to T_activation when the infrared valid bit 13 becomes invalid (step S10). Step S11 shows processing for reading the position on T_finger. Thus, the key pressed by the user is confirmed.

It is the schematic of the virtual keyboard of the Example of this invention. It is a figure showing the timing of light emission of the light emission part with which it mounts | wears with a user's each finger | toe, and a stop. It is a block diagram of the virtual keyboard device of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the "activation table" used at the time of key input initial position and key detection. It is a figure explaining the "finger position table" which stores finger position information. It is a figure explaining the "activation information table (temporary)" used at the time of key detection. It is a related figure with the voltage value proportional to a finger moving direction, a light-receiving part, and the illumination intensity of light. It is a flowchart of the key detection algorithm of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Light-emitting part, 2 ... Light, 3 ... Light-receiving part, 4 ... Display, 5 ... Keyboard image,
6 ... finger image, 7 ... finger, 7-1 ... finger movement 1, 7-2 ... finger movement 2,
7-3 ... finger movement 3, 8 ... control unit, 9 ... storage unit, 10 ... display unit,
11 ... Voltage value, 12 ... Moving finger information, 13 ... Infrared valid bit,
14 ... Various table information, 15 ... Distance to display, 16 ... Key code,
17 ... finger movement direction, 18 ... finger movement distance

Claims (1)

An input device for an information processing device such as a computer or a word processor,
A light-emitting unit that is attached to each finger of the user, each finger emits a different signal, and stops emitting light when touching a desk or the like,
A plurality of light receiving parts having a function of analyzing light emission signals by converting light from each light emitting part into a voltage proportional to illuminance;
A control unit that calculates the moving direction and moving distance of the finger based on the voltage value information obtained for each light receiving unit, sets the key input initial position, and detects the key;
A virtual keyboard finger position information necessary for performing the processing of the control unit, a storage unit that holds a light emission signal of each received light as control information,
A display control unit for displaying the detected key code on the display;
A virtual keyboard system comprising:

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