JP4725485B2 - Keyboard display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a keyboard display device and a display method for controlling a display state of a keyboard for performing input on a screen.

  In recent years, a keyboard display device has been proposed in which a keyboard is displayed on the screen, and a cursor is moved on the screen to select and input a character even in a display device such as a television that does not have a keyboard. Yes.

Also, a keyboard display device has been proposed in which the keyboard displayed on the screen is made translucent so that the screen below the keyboard can be visually recognized (see, for example, Patent Document 1 or 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-29913 JP-A-9-73353

  However, in the method of displaying an opaque keyboard on the screen, moving the cursor on it and selecting a key and entering characters, when the keyboard is displayed, the displayed keyboard covers a part of the screen, I cannot view part of the image that is the screen under the keyboard. Therefore, in order to input while looking at the screen, provide a function to show or hide the keyboard, or display the keyboard translucently so that both the keyboard and the screen below can be seen There was a need.

  Further, in the method of providing a function for displaying or hiding the keyboard, an operation for switching is required, and the number of operation steps is increased. Furthermore, the method of making the keyboard translucent has a problem that it is difficult to see the keyboard when performing an input, and the lower screen is difficult to view when no input is performed.

  An object of the present invention is to increase the number of operation steps even when performing keyboard input while viewing the screen, and when the keyboard input is not performed, viewing of the lower screen is not hindered by the displayed keyboard. A keyboard display device and a display method are provided.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a keyboard display device according to the present invention is input with input means for inputting a key input for selecting a key of the software keyboard, and software keyboard generation means for generating a software keyboard. A screen synthesizing unit that synthesizes the video signal and the software keyboard generated by the software keyboard generating unit; and a timer unit that measures a time after a key is input to the input unit. When no key is input, the transparency of the software keyboard is increased.

  According to the keyboard display device and the display method of the present invention, since the keyboard is displayed darkly when performing input on the keyboard, the keyboard does not become difficult to see, and when the input is not performed, the keyboard display becomes thin. The bottom screen does not become difficult to see.

  Further, since the keyboard is not completely hidden while no input is being performed, it is possible to immediately shift to input, and unnecessary operations such as switching the keyboard display are not required.

  Also, since the time until the keyboard becomes transparent is determined according to the input speed of the user, when using a slow-input user, the keyboard does not become too thin and difficult to see, and the user with fast input uses it Since the keyboard is thinned in a short time after the input is completed, viewing of the lower screen is not disturbed by the keyboard.

  As described above, the user can view the screen displayed under the keyboard without being obstructed by the keyboard displayed on the screen.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
The keyboard display device of this embodiment will be described with reference to the configuration diagram shown in FIG. 1, the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, and the display state shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 1, an input unit 101 is an input unit to which a control signal such as a remote control signal is input, and accepts a key input for selecting a keyboard displayed on a screen to be described later. Hereinafter, the keyboard displayed on the screen is referred to as a software keyboard.

  Here, the software keyboard includes, for example, a keyboard image of a personal computer displayed on the screen of the display device and a cursor image displayed on the keyboard displayed on the screen. Characters can be input by moving the cursor based on the input and selecting characters, and is a keyboard displayed on the screen by software.

  Based on the key input input to the input unit 101, the control unit 102 outputs a control signal for causing the software keyboard generation unit 103 (to be described later) to generate a video image of the software keyboard, and to the screen composition unit 104 (to be described later). A control signal is output to control to synthesize a video such as broadcast and web.

  The software keyboard generation unit 103 generates a video signal of the software keyboard and outputs it to the screen composition unit 104 described later.

  The screen synthesizing unit 104 synthesizes the video of the input broadcast, WEB, etc. and the video signal of the software keyboard generated by the software keyboard generating unit 103 and outputs it to the display device 106.

  The timer means 105 measures the time interval of the key input inputted from the input means 101.

  The control means 102 will be described in further detail. If there is no key input from the input means 101, the control means 102 refers to the timer means 105, and if a certain time has elapsed since the last input, operates the screen composition means 104 to increase the transparency of the software keyboard, Wait for input from the input means 101 again. If there is an input from the input means 101, the screen composition means 104 is operated to lower the transparency of the software keyboard, and if there is no input, the screen composition means 104 is operated to gradually increase the transparency of the software keyboard. When the transparency of the software keyboard reaches the maximum, stop increasing the transparency further and wait for input.

  The operation of the keyboard display device described in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, a software keyboard is displayed with opaqueness or low transparency (S201). The display state of the software keyboard at this time is as 302 in FIG. If there is a key input for selecting a software keyboard from the input means 101 (S202), processing corresponding to the key input is performed (S203), and an input from the input means 101 is awaited again (S202).

  If there is no input from the input means 101, the elapsed time from the previous input is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the elapsed time is greater than a predetermined threshold (S204). If the elapsed time is greater than a predetermined threshold (S204), the transparency of the software keyboard is increased (S205). If the elapsed time is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the process returns to waiting for input from the input means 101 again (S202).

  After increasing the transparency (S205), the process waits for an input from the input means 101 again (S206). If there is an input from the input means 101, the transparency of the software keyboard is returned to the initial state (S207), the key processing is performed (S203), and the process waits for input from the input means 101 (S202).

  When there is no input from the input means 101 (S206), the transparency of the software keyboard is gradually increased (S208). And while there is no input from the input means 101, the flow which raises the transparency of a software keyboard is continued until transparency becomes the maximum (S209, S206, S208). When the transparency reaches the maximum, the transparency is not increased any more and the input from the input means 101 is waited (S210). At this time, the display state of the software keyboard is as indicated by reference numeral 605 in FIG. 3, and the background image 604 is visible through the translucent software keyboard. If there is an input, the transparency of the software keyboard is returned to the initial state (S207), key processing is performed (S203), and the process waits for input from the input means 101 again (S202).

  According to such a configuration, the transparency of the software keyboard is increased if the opaque or low transparency software keyboard is displayed and the user does not perform key input by the input means for a predetermined time. Also, if the key input is performed by the input means when the transparency increases, the transparency of the software keyboard returns to the initial state.

  As described above, when the user does not input the key for a predetermined time, in other words, when the user does not input the key with the software keyboard and there is little need to display the software keyboard on the screen, the transparency of the software keyboard is increased. You can view the screen displayed under the software keyboard. Also, since the software keyboard is not completely transparent, the user can always recognize that there is a software keyboard.

  When the user inputs a key from the input means, the transparency of the software keyboard returns to the initial setting. Therefore, when the user inputs a key through the input means, the software keyboard is automatically converted to the initial state of the opaque state or the state of low transparency without taking the step of returning the transparency to the initial state. Easy key entry.

  The keyboard display device according to the present invention is not limited as long as it can display images. For example, in addition to plasma televisions, liquid crystal televisions, CRT televisions, etc., personal computer monitors and mobile phone liquid crystals can display images. It can be applied to any video display device.

  In this embodiment, the keyboard of the personal computer displayed on the screen of the display device and the cursor image displayed on the keyboard displayed on the screen are used as the software keyboard. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, any character may be used as long as it can be input on the screen by selecting a partial area of the image displayed on the screen. Therefore, the displayed image may not be a keyboard-like image but may be a simple lattice-like one such as an EPG. Also, the means for selecting the area is not limited to the cursor, and for example, the area to be selected may be colored.

  In the present embodiment, the transparency of the software keyboard is not greater than a predetermined value, but may be completely transparent. In this case, since the software keyboard can be made completely transparent when the user does not use the software keyboard, the user can view the screen displayed under the software keyboard without being interrupted by the software keyboard.

(Embodiment 2)
The keyboard display device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the configuration diagram of FIG. 4, the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the graph shown in FIG. 6, and the display state diagram shown in FIG.

  The keyboard display device shown in FIG. 1 is different from the keyboard display device shown in FIG. 4 in that counter means 407 for counting the number of key inputs is further provided.

  FIG. 6 is a graph with the horizontal axis representing the time elapsed since the last input and the vertical axis representing the transparency of the software keyboard. The transparency is 0, completely opaque, and 1 is transparent. α0 is the initial value of the transparency of the software keyboard and is 0 or a value close to 0, and the software keyboard is displayed with an opaque or low transparency. The display state of the software keyboard at this time is as 302 in FIG. t0 represents the time until the display of the software keyboard starts to be thinned. t1 represents the time until the transparency of the software keyboard becomes maximum, α1 represents the transparency when the transparency is maximized, and α0 <α1 <1.

  Next, the operation of the keyboard display device in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the keyboard display device according to the present embodiment, first, the software keyboard is displayed with the transparency α0, and t0 is set to several seconds and t1 is set to t0 + several seconds (S501). The relationship among α0, α1, t0, and t1 at this time is shown in FIG. Next, the control unit 402 obtains the time from the timer unit 405, holds this time as T1, and initializes the number N of input characters stored in the counter unit 406 to 0 (S502). Here, the number N of input characters is the number of characters selected and input by the input means 101 and the software keyboard displayed on the screen.

  Next, a key input from the input means 101 is waited (S503), and if there is an input from the input means 101, a process corresponding to the input is performed (S504), and a time T2 when the input from the input means 101 is input is determined by a timer. Obtained from the means 405 and recorded, the number N of input characters is increased by 1 (S505), and the input from the input means 101 is again waited (S503). At this time, T2 holds the time when the input from the input means 101 was last performed. If there is no input from the input means 101, the time when no input is made is obtained from this T2 and the current time, and if it is less than t0, the input from the input means 101 is again waited (S503). If t0 or more (S506), the transparency of the software keyboard is increased by the screen composition means 404 (S507). The value for increasing the transparency is obtained by (α1-α0) / (t1-t0) per unit time.

  Next, the input time per character (T2-T1) / N is obtained from T1, T2, N, and the time to start increasing the transparency of the software keyboard based on this value, the time until the maximum transparency is reached. Update t1. The values of t0 and t1 are determined by determining coefficients k0 and k1, and t0 = k0 * (T2−T1) / N and t1 = t0 + k1 * (T2−T1) / N. Thereby, the time until the transparency of the software keyboard starts to be raised can be adjusted according to the input speed of the user (S508). When the input speed of the user is faster than assumed at the time of initial setting, t0 and t1 are shortened, and the gradient of the change in transparency is increased as shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, the control unit 402 waits for an input from the input unit 101 again (S509), and if there is no input from the input unit 101, increases the transparency of the software keyboard as in S507 (S512). While there is no input from the input means 101, the flow for increasing the transparency of the software keyboard is continued until the transparency reaches the maximum value α1 (S513, S509, S512). If there is an input from the input means 101 during this time, the transparency of the software keyboard is returned to the initial state (S510), key input processing is performed (S511), the time is again acquired from the timer means 405, and this time is set to T1. And the same operation is repeated from the process of setting the value of the counter means 406 to 0 (S502).

  When the transparency reaches the maximum (S513), the process for increasing the transparency is not performed any more, and the control unit 402 waits for a key input from the input unit 101 (S514). At this time, the display state of the software keyboard is as indicated by 305 in FIG. 3, and the background image 304 is visible through the semi-transparent software keyboard.

  When there is a key input from the input means 101, the transparency of the software keyboard is lowered to α0 by the screen composition means 404 (S510), input processing is performed (S511), the time is again obtained from the timer means 405, and this time is obtained. The process is repeated from the process of holding T1 and setting the value of the counter means 406 to 0 (S502).

  According to such a configuration, the time until the software keyboard becomes transparent is determined according to the input speed of the user, and when a slow-input user uses the keyboard, the keyboard does not quickly become thin and difficult to see. When using, the keyboard will become thin after a short time.

  For this reason, when a slow-input user uses a software keyboard, it takes longer for the transparency of the software keyboard to increase, so the software keyboard approaches transparency while the user is entering the key, making it difficult to see the software keyboard. Without having to enter the key. On the other hand, when a user with a fast input uses a software keyboard, the transparency of the software keyboard increases as soon as the input of the keys on the software keyboard is completed. You can watch the screen displayed under the keyboard.

  The keyboard display device according to the present invention is not limited as long as it can display images. For example, in addition to plasma televisions, liquid crystal televisions, CRT televisions, etc., personal computer monitors and mobile phone liquid crystals can display images. It can be applied to any video display device.

  In this embodiment, the keyboard of the personal computer displayed on the screen of the display device and the cursor image displayed on the keyboard displayed on the screen are used as the software keyboard. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, any character may be used as long as it can be input on the screen by selecting a partial area of the image displayed on the screen. Therefore, the displayed image may not be a keyboard-like image but may be a simple lattice-like one such as an EPG. Also, the means for selecting the area is not limited to the cursor, and for example, the area to be selected may be colored.

  In this embodiment, the transparency of the software keyboard is not greater than a predetermined value, but it may be completely transparent (that is, transparency 1). In this case, since the software keyboard can be made completely transparent when the user does not use the software keyboard, the user can view the screen displayed under the software keyboard without being interrupted by the software keyboard.

  A device such as a television that does not have a keyboard can be used in a device that displays a software keyboard on a screen and inputs characters by operating with a remote controller or the like.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the keyboard display apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the keyboard display apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the display state of the keyboard displayed on the screen in this invention The block diagram which shows the structure of the keyboard display apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the keyboard display apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. The graph for demonstrating the change of the transparency of the keyboard displayed on the screen in this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Input means 102 Control means 103 Software keyboard generation means 104 Screen composition means 105 Timer means 301 Screen 302 Keyboard displayed with low transparency 303 Background screen 304 Screen 305 Keyboard displayed with high transparency 306 Background screen 401 Input Means 402 Control means 403 Software keyboard generation means 404 Screen composition means 405 Timer means 406 Counter means

Claims (1)

Software keyboard generating means for generating a video signal of a software keyboard which is a keyboard displayed on the screen;
And the screen synthesizing means for synthesizing the video signal of the software keyboard generated by the video signal and the software keyboard generating means is input,
And input means for receiving a key input for selecting the key of the software keyboard,
Timer means for measuring time intervals of key inputs inputted from the input means;
Counter means for detecting the speed of the user's key input based on the output of the timer means;
When there is an input from the input means, the transparency is returned to the initial value, and when there is no input from the input means, the greater the speed of the key input detected by the counter means, the greater the input from the input means. Control means for reducing the time from the last time to the time to start increasing the transparency of the software keyboard, and reducing the time until the transparency becomes maximum from the initial value;
A keyboard display device.

Images