JPH01161418A - Keyboard device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify operation by moving a device body on a setting face to switch the input function of an input key. CONSTITUTION:Signals from detecting rolls 7, 8 pressed against a ball 3 are inputted to a rotational angle detecting means 9 and a rotational direction detecting means 10. The detecting means 9, 10 respectively detect the rotational angle and rotational direction of the ball 3 from respective rotational variables of respective rolls 7, 8 and input respective outputs to a deformation measuring means 11. The means 11 outputs deformation values of the device body 1 in the x and y directions as digital values based on the detecting information inputted from the means 9, 10. The deformation values are read out at a proper timing under control based upon a CPU 12. Since the moving state of the device body 1 on the setting face is detected by the ball 3 and the input functions of the input keys 2 are switched in accordance with the moving state, many keys can be depressed only by one finger.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a keyboard device, and particularly to a keyboard device for inputting information using a plurality of key switches.

[Prior Art] Keyboards having various key arrangements have been used as VC devices for inputting information in various electronic devices, musical instruments, and the like. Known keyboard layouts include the JIS layout and numeric keypad layout for keyboards for inputting characters, numbers, and the like. Furthermore, the traditional keyboard arrangement of black and white keys arranged in semitones is widely used on keyboards for musical instruments.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] In particular, in a full keyboard that handles characters, it is necessary to provide input functions that exceed the number of fingers of one person. A method of switching input functions using, for example, has been known for a long time. Therefore, with this type of keyboard, it is difficult to learn how to input data, and there is a high possibility of mistouching.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention uses a plurality of input keys each having a plurality of input functions, and detects the movement state of the device main body on the installation surface. A configuration is adopted in which a control means is provided for switching between a plurality of input functions of the input key in accordance with the output of the detection means.

[Function] According to the above configuration, the input functions of the input keys can be switched by moving the main body of the device on the installation surface, thereby eliminating the need to operate many keys with one finger.

[Example] “Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a keyboard employing the present invention. The keyboard device shown in FIG. 1 has two rows of five input keys arranged on the side surface of the device body 1, and two rows of input keys on the right side surface. Since the mechanical structure of these input keys and the structure of the detection circuit are well known, detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

In this embodiment, a rotatable pole 3 is further housed inside the main body 1 of the apparatus. The pole 3 is designed to be able to freely rotate in all directions by moving the device body 1 made of metal or rubber on its installation surface. The moving state of the input key 1 on the installation surface is detected, and the input function of the input key 2 is switched to a plurality of input functions according to the moving state.

The functions of the input key 2 that can be switched are shown in FIG. 2. The input key 2 is designed to be operated by each digit of the left hand, and keys 21 to 31 are assigned to the thumb to little finger. Keys 20-24, 26-30 are on the main body of the device shown in Figure 1.
The keys 25 and 31 are on the top side of the main body 1 of the device.

Each key is assigned four input functions. For example, the keys 21 are "1", "7", "A", r
It has four character input functions: JJ. The input functions of each of these keys are determined by dividing the JIS layout keyboard into four groups, 1st to 4th, as shown in Figure 3, and assigning an array of 12 keys in each group to each input key 20 to 31. It was decided to allocate it to

In the example of the key 20, four characters are assigned: "l" in the first group, "7" in the second group, "A" in the third group, and rJJ in the fourth group. 1st
-Each input function of the fourth group is displayed on the upper surface of the key top of each input key 20-31 at the upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right positions, respectively.

FIG. 4 shows a structure for detecting the amount of rotation of Bonyl 3. The X and 7 directions in FIG. 4 correspond to the left-right and front-back directions of the keyboard in FIG. 1, respectively. Paul 3's X
The rotation amount components in the direction and the y direction are respectively detected by a detection roller 7.8 pressed against the pole 3.

An encoder, a slit plate, etc. (not shown) are connected to the detection roller 7.8, and by detecting the amount of rotation of the detection roller 7 using a photocoupler or the like, the x and y of the pole 3 can be determined.
The amount of rotation component in the direction can be detected. This can be considered as a moving direction component on the installation surface of each of the rotary placement/mounting device main bodies 1. That is, with this configuration, it is possible to detect one direction of movement and the amount of movement of the main body l of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the internal circuit of the keyboard of FIG. 1. The detection roller 7.8 pressed against the pole 3 is input to the rotation angle detection means 9 and the rotation direction detection means 10. The detection means 9 and 1O detect the rotation angle and rotation direction of the pole 3 from the respective rotation amounts of the detection lenses 7 and β, and the output thereof is inputted to the displacement measurement means 11.

The displacement measuring means 11 outputs the displacement of the apparatus main body l in the x and y directions as digital values based on the detection information input from the detecting means 9 and lo. The displacement amount is read out at appropriate timing under the control of the CPU 12.

The CPU 12 controls the detection operation according to a program described below stored in the ROM 12a. A key matrix 20' for detecting key operations on the input keys 2 is connected to the CPU 12.

Next, the operation in the above configuration will be explained.

FIG. 6 shows a control program when the CPU 12 operates. The program shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the ROM 12a.

In step Sll of FIG. 6, registers a and b for determining the moving direction of the key date body are reset to 0.

In step S12, the displacement measuring means 11 is controlled to input the amount of displacement of the device main body 1 via the amount of rotation of the pole 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the amount of displacement in the X and y directions input at this time is positive in the right direction with respect to the X axis, and in the downward direction with respect to the X axis, that is, in the direction closer to the operator.

In step S13, it is determined whether the displacement amounts input in step S12 are both O. In this state, the device body 1
is not moving, the result is true, and in that case, the process moves to step S21.

If step S13 is negative, the absolute values of the displacement amounts in the x and y directions are determined in step S14. If the amount of displacement in the X-axis direction is large in this determination of the absolute value, it is determined that the main body is moving in the lateral direction and the process moves to step S15, and if the X component is larger, it is determined that the movement is in the front-back direction and step 518 Move to.

In step S15, it is further determined whether the X component is negative. If the apparatus main body 1 is moving to the left, this step is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 316, and if the X component is positive, it is determined that the apparatus body 1 is moving to the right and the process proceeds to step S17. In step S18, it is similarly determined whether the X component is positive or negative, and if the X component is negative, it is determined that the movement is in the y direction and the process proceeds to step S19, and if the X component is positive, it is determined that the movement is backward. The process moves to step S20.

In steps 516 and 17, register a is set to O1■.
Set to . Further, in step S19.20, each register b is set to 0.1.

In step S21, the output information of the key matrix 20' is detected, and in step S22, it is determined whether or not the key force was present by determining the input information. If there is no key human power, the process returns to step S12.

If there is key power, the process moves to step S23, and the key number of input key 2 is stored in register C.

In step S24, character information is output to an information processing device such as a computer system connected to the keyboard based on the contents of registers a-C, and the process returns to step S12.

At this time, the contents of registers a and b are used to select one of the four groups of keys shown in FIG. Register a identifies the left key group or right key group in Figure 3, and register b identifies the front or back (top and bottom).
Identify directional key groups. When register a is O or 1, the first and third groups on the left side or the second and fourth groups on the right side are selected, respectively. Similarly, when register b is 0.1, the first . The second group or the third and fourth groups in the backward direction are selected.

The contents of registers a and b are maintained until the next time the keyboard is moved and the contents are rewritten, so by determining the contents of registers a and b, one of the first to fourth groups can be selected. can. For example, when the operator moves the device body l to the left and forward (the order of movement does not matter), register a becomes O and register b becomes O, so the first group is selected. If the key 26 in FIG. 2 is pressed in this state, the first group of character information Q will be output.

As described above, by operating the input keys 2 while moving the device main body l in the front, back, left, and right directions, you can achieve the same input function as a full keyboard as shown in Figure 3 by handling at most 12 keys with one hand. According to this embodiment, the operation of shifting one key to four groups can be easily performed by moving the keyboard body.
Furthermore, the number of keys assigned to one finger is reduced, and the amount of finger movement is reduced, which has the effect of reducing fatigue.

In the above, the same input functions as a full keyboard have been realized using 12 keys, but by performing similar control on a full keyboard, more input functions can be given to the keyboard.

Further, in the above description, the direction of movement of the main body is detected by the amount of rotation of the pole, similar to the mouse, but it goes without saying that the direction of movement of the main body may be detected by any means.

Although the keyboard of the character human power bag 4 has been exemplified above, the same technique can be applied to the keyboard of a musical instrument, etc. FIG. 7 shows a keyboard used by connecting to an organ, a synthesizer, etc.

The only difference from the keyboard shown in FIG. 1 is the key arrangement of the input keys 2, and the other configurations are exactly the same as described above.

The key arrangement of the input keys 2 is as shown in FIG. That is, the input key 2 is composed of seven keys numbered 21 to 27.

The even numbered keys 22.24.26 are the odd numbered keys 21.2.
It is arranged in front of the four keys 3, 25, and 27, and in a position between adjacent odd-numbered keys.

Also in this embodiment, the pole 3 provided on the device main body l
The input function of each key 21 to 27 is changed by detecting the moving direction of the key. Keys 21 to 27 each have C-
Seven pitch input functions from B (C to C) are set.

With this function alone, it is only possible to input a pitch of one octave in C major, but in this embodiment, depending on the direction in which the main body 1 of the apparatus is moved, it is possible to raise or lower the pitch by a semitone or in units of one octave. As shown in FIG. 8, when the device body l is moved forward, the pitch specified by the key being pressed is raised by a semitone, and when moved backward, it is lowered by a semitone. Furthermore, when moving to the right, the pitch is raised by one octave, and when moving to the left, the pitch is lowered by one octave.

The control circuit shown in FIG. 9 is used.

Key matrix 20, CPU 12 and ROM in FIG.
Reference numeral 12a is exactly the same as the member with the same reference numeral in FIG. 5, and the detection circuit 17 is a detection means for detecting the displacement direction that is exactly the same as that constituted by each member shown by reference numerals 7 to 12 in FIG. Further, in this embodiment, a sound generator 16 is connected to the CPU 12. sound generator 16
is constructed using various types of integrated circuits that are generally commercially available. The sound generator 16 is built into the device main body 1 or built into a separate device.

FIG. 1θ shows the control procedure of the CPU 12 in the above configuration.

In step 531, the frequency values shown in the figure are stored in the frequency registers F(1) to F(7), which determine the oscillation frequency of the sound generator 16. For example, the register F(1), which determines the pitch of C, stores 282Hz. The value of
Also, 440H is stored in register F(6) that determines the pitch of A.
The frequency value of z is stored. At the same time, registers & and b for determining the displacement direction are reset in the same manner as in the flowchart described above.

Steps S32 to S34, S35. Since S38 is the same as steps 512 to 315 and Msts in FIG.
Explanation will be omitted. When each of the four moving directions of left, right, front, and back is detected by the determination in step S25.328, registers a and b are operated in steps S36, S37, S39, and S40.

In step 336, the contents of register a are subtracted by 1, and in step 537, they are added. In step S39, the contents of register b are incremented by 1, and in step S40, they are subtracted.

In steps 541-543, similar to the flowchart described above, the process of detecting the key force and inputting the key number into the register C when there is the key force is performed.

In step 544, the sound generator 16 is finally
As shown in the figure, determine the frequency of the pitch to be generated.
The generated frequency F is set in register F(i) to the first power of 2 indicating octave information and 2 indicating semitone intervals.
It is determined by multiplying by the 712th power. These t,
For example, when key 21 is operated, register F(1), which determines the fundamental frequency, is selected, and the movement of the keyboard body to the right is If register a increases by 1, the pitch will rise by l octave. Furthermore, when the main body l of the apparatus moves forward, the pitch increases by a semitone.

In step S45, the sound generator 16 is driven at the frequency F determined in step 544 to generate a sound of a pitch corresponding to the human power of the key.

According to the above configuration, the contents of the register are maintained until they are rewritten next time, so by moving the keyboard body back and forth, it is possible to control the pitch that is continuously generated in semitone units or l octave units. . Therefore, it is possible to operate a musical instrument with a wide range of sounds using only seven keys. This embodiment also has the advantage that the number of keys that the fingers are responsible for is small, and that performance can be easily performed with easy operations.

Although the example above has been shown in which sounds are generated in real time based on human input from the keys, the present invention can also be used as a device for inputting performance information to a sequencer or other device.

Two examples have been shown above, but the exemplified key layout,
It goes without saying that the grouping of keys and the correspondence with the movement direction of the keyboard body for selecting the input function are arbitrary and are not limited to the above embodiments.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, there are provided a plurality of input keys each having a plurality of input functions, a means for detecting the movement state of the apparatus main body on the installation surface, and the detecting means. Since the configuration includes a control means for switching the plurality of input functions of the input keys according to the output of the input key, the input functions of the input keys can be switched by moving the main body of the device on the installation surface. This eliminates the need to operate many keys with one finger, which simplifies the operation of the device, and has the excellent effect of reducing the size and weight of the entire device by reducing the number of input keys.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a keyboard device adopting the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the keyboard arrangement of FIG. 1, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the input function of the keyboard, Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the movement amount detection means of the pole in Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control system of the keyboard in Fig. 1. 6 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the CPU in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 and subsequent figures show different embodiments.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the keyboard, Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the input function of the keyboard, Fig. 9 is a block diagram of the keyboard control system, and Fig. 1O shows the control procedure of the CPU in Fig. 9. It is a flowchart figure. 1...Device body 2...Input key 3...
Pole 7.8...Detection roller 9...Rotation angle detection means 10...Rotation direction detection means 11...Displacement measurement means 12...CPU 16...
・Sound generator 17...Detection circuit 20...Key matrix 2 Rokuryoku , s゛' (□-1-Image 7 of Fake Procurement) Ghee η Shirochou and Ichiiri's Illustrated Offering Noh [Cow 11 Bronoff M of Suspiciousness Figure 9

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of input keys each having a plurality of input functions, a means for detecting a movement state of the device main body on the installation surface, and a control means for switching the plurality of input functions of the input keys according to the output of the detection means. A keyboard device characterized by: