JP2584118B2 - Keyboard input device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard input device, and more particularly, to a keyboard input device in which a pointing device is attached to a keyboard and both are integrated.

[Prior Art] In a graphic display device or the like, a pointing device such as a mouse or a track hole and a keyboard are generally connected to a computer main body via individual cables. Since a dedicated space for installing the device is required, there is a drawback that an occupied area of the entire graphic display device is increased.

Therefore, a keyboard input device in which a pointing device is incorporated in a keyboard and the both are integrated is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 1 (1999) -1990.
No. 185714. This one is
A pseudo signal is generated based on the instruction signal output from the pointing device, and the pseudo signal is output to the computer main body as an output signal from the cursor key. The keyboard and the pointing device are connected via a common cable. It can be connected to the computer itself.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

According to the conventional integrated keyboard input device described above,
Although there is an advantage that the area occupied by the keyboard input device can be reduced, if the computer body to which the keyboard input device is connected does not have an application in the graphics mode, the pointing device is at most similar to the cursor key. However, there is a problem that a pointing device is wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly practical keyboard input device capable of realizing a multi-functional pointing device.

[Means for solving the problem]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a keyboard input device in which a keyboard and a pointing device are integrated, a mode switching unit that changes an output signal from the pointing device to an arbitrary key code signal, Storage means for storing the changed key code signal, wherein the key code signal stored in the storage means is output as a key code when the pointing device is operated. Is what you do.

(Operation)

The user can change an output signal from, for example, a cancel key provided on the pointing device as a key code signal of an arbitrary key, for example, a return key provided on the keyboard in advance by mode switching means. Therefore, in the text mode, the user can output the same key code signal as operating the return key of the keyboard by operating the cancel key of the pointing device.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a keyboard input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
Indicates the pointing devices collectively.

Various keys such as a character input key, a cursor key, and a function key are arranged on a top surface of the keyboard 1, and a mode switching switch 3 is arranged at an upper left corner. Further, a pointing device 2 is arranged on the near side of the top surface of the keyboard 1, and the keyboard 1 and the pointing device 2 are integrated.

The pointing device 2 outputs a X-axis signal by sliding in the horizontal direction in the figure, and is rotatably held on the slider 4, and outputs a Y-axis signal by rotating in the vertical direction in the figure. And a select key 6 arranged on both sides of the slider 4 and the cylinder 5 and outputting a select signal by tapping, and a cancel key 7 arranged on both sides of the select key 6 and outputting a cancel signal by tapping. The slider, cylinder 5, select key 6 and cancel key 7 are exposed so that they can be operated from outside.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the above-mentioned keyboard input device, in which 8 is a CPU, 9 is a ROM, and 10 is a ROM.
Denotes a RAM, and 11 denotes a computer body.

As shown in FIG. 2, an output signal from each key of the keyboard 1 is taken into the CPU 8, and the CPU 8 sends a key code signal corresponding to the pressed key to the computer main body 11 based on a table stored in the ROM 9. Output. Output signals from the slider 4, the cylinder 5, the select key 6 and the cancel key 7 of the pointing device 2 are also transmitted to the CPU 8.
The CPU 8 receives an X-axis signal, a Y-axis signal, and a Y-axis signal based on predetermined arithmetic processing and a table stored in the ROM 9, respectively.
Select signal and cancel signal are sent to the computer
Output to 11. Further, the CPU 8 captures the keys of the keyboard 1 and the output signals of the pointing device 2 and the mode switching switch 3 and performs predetermined arithmetic processing on the signals to output the signals from the select key 6 and the cancel key 7 to the keyboard 1. The key code signal of an arbitrary key is changed, and the changed key code is stored in the RAM 10.

Next, a specific example of a mode changing method of the pointing device 2 by the mode switching switch 3 described above will be described.

First, when the computer main body 11 is in the graphic mode, if the "G key" among the character input keys is pressed while pressing the mode switching switch 3, the output signals of the mode switching switch 3 and the "G key" are sent to the CPU 8. The CPU 8 gives the pointing device 2 a pointing function in the graphics mode based on these two signals. Therefore, in the graphic mode, X is controlled by operating the slider 4 and the cylinder 5.
The axis signal and the Y-axis signal are output to the computer main body 11, and the select signal and the cancel signal are output to the computer main body 11 by pressing the select key 6 and the cancel key 7, respectively.

On the other hand, when the computer main body 11 is in the text mode,
When, for example, the "T key" among the character input keys is pressed while pressing the mode switching switch 3, the output signals of the mode switching switch 3 and the "T key" are taken into the CPU 8, and the CPU 8 outputs The same function as a cursor key is given to the slider 4 and the cylinder 5 of the pointing device 2. When the select key 6 and an arbitrary key, for example, a "space key" are pressed while the mode switching switch 3 is pressed, these output signals are
The CPU 8 changes the output signal of the select key 6 to a key code signal of a “space key”, and the changed key code is stored in the RAM 10. further,
When the user presses the cancel key 7 and an arbitrary key, for example, a "return key" while pressing the mode switching switch 3,
These output signals are captured by the CPU 8, and the CPU 8 changes the output signal of the cancel key 7 to a key code signal of a "return key", and the changed key code is stored in the RAM 1
0 is stored. Therefore, in the text mode, the key code signal of the cursor key is output to the computer main body 11 by operating the slider 4 and the cylinder 5, and the "space key" is respectively operated by pressing the select key 6 and the cancel key 7. And a key code signal corresponding to "cancel key" are output to the computer main body 11.

As described above, in the above embodiment, not only the pointing device 2 can be applied to both the graphic mode and the text mode by the mode switching switch 3 attached to the keyboard 1, but also in the text mode, Since the select key 6 and the cancel key 7 of the pointing device 2 can have the same function as any frequently used key, a functional and efficient input operation can be performed.

Further, the keyboard input device is formed by integrating the keyboard 1 and the pointing device 2, and the keyboard input device and the computer main body 11 can be connected via a common signal cable. The occupied area can be reduced.

It is needless to say that the keys in which the select key 6 and the cancel key 7 are changed in the text mode are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and these can be appropriately selected according to the user's request.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the slider 4 and the cylinder 5 are used as the function of outputting the X-axis signal and the Y-axis signal of the pointing device 2 has been described. However, instead of this function, a ball represented by a mouse is used. Can also be used.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since a pointing device integrated with a keyboard can have the same function as an arbitrary key, a multi-functional and highly practical keyboard input device is provided. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a keyboard input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the keyboard input device. 1 ... keyboard, 2 ... pointing device, 3
...... Mode switching switch, 4 ... Slider, 5 ...
Cylinder, 6 ... Select key, 7 ... Cancel key, 8 ... CPU, 9 ... ROM, 10 ... RAM, 11 ... Computer body.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A keyboard input device in which a keyboard and a pointing device are integrated, a mode switching means for changing an output signal from the pointing device to an arbitrary key code signal, and the changed key code signal. And a storage means for storing a key code signal stored in the storage means, wherein the key code signal stored in the storage means is output as a key code when the pointing device is operated.