JPH024030A - Keyboard device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for using a keyboard identifying means even when many kinds of keyboards are connected to the same terminal equipment by dividing the keyboard matrix of a keyboard device into at least two arbitrary blocks and providing a scanner and a sensor to each. CONSTITUTION:Since keyboard matrixes 31 and 32 are separated from one keyboard matrix 3, a key switch is provided singly in a position to cross one scanning line and one sensing line. For such a reason, a push-down signal for the keyboard device to inform the terminal equipment of the push-down position of the key is different between keyboards. Consequently, even when a first keyboard and a second keyboard are connected to the same terminal equipment, the terminal equipment does not need the means to identify the keyboard device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a keyboard device for use in a system in which a plurality of keyboard devices can be replaced with one terminal device 5 or can be connected to the same terminal device.

[Conventional technology]

The keyboard is a JIS standard JIS keyboard with keys arranged in a 50-note layout.

There are many types of keyboards, such as keyboards with layouts other than those described above, and in recent years, these many different types of keyboards have come to be used by connecting them to the same terminal device. In this case, since the key arrangement and the key names displayed on the key switches differ depending on the keyboard used, the key code output from the keyboard to the terminal device differs depending on each keyboard. Therefore, on the terminal device side, all keyboards cannot be processed by the same processing program. Therefore,
There was a keyboard device as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 16326/1983, in which a keyboard and a terminal device were provided with means for identifying the keyboard.

The prior art will be explained using FIG. 2. 27 is a block diagram of the first keyboard, 21 is an identification device for identifying the first keyboard, 22 is a sense device, 23 is a scan device, 24 is a keyboard matrix,
25 is a key switch. Further, 200 is an enlarged view of a key switch, which is located at the intersection of the scan line and the sense line, so that when the key is pressed, the scan line and the sense line are short-circuited. Further, 28 is a block diagram of the second keyboard, 26 is an identification device for identifying the second keyboard, and 29 is a key switch. Keyboards that are the same as the first keyboard are numbered. 20 is the first keyboard, the second
This is a terminal device that can be connected to both keyboards.

For purposes of explanation, each scan line connected to the scanning device is marked with an X. Numbered -Xn. And the sense line connected to the sense device has Y0~
Numbered Yn. It is also assumed that the alphabetic character "AI+" is assigned to the key switch 2-5 of the first keyboard 27, and the number "1" is assigned to the key switch 29 of the second keyboard 28.

At the same time as the power is turned on, the terminal device 2o outputs an identification request signal from the terminal R to the keyboard in order to recognize which type of keyboard is connected.

At that time, the keyboard connected to the terminal device (for example, the first keyboard 27) receives the identification request signal, and the identification device 21 (or 26) creates an identification signal indicating which keyboard is connected. It is output to the terminal device 20 through the terminal.

As an identification device, the first keyboard 27 is provided with an identification device 21, and the second keyboard 28 is provided with a first identification device 21.
An identification device 26 different from the keyboard 27 is provided. The identification devices 21, 26 also generate different identification signals so that the terminal device can recognize which keyboard is connected.

As a result, the terminal device 20 recognizes which keyboard is connected at startup, so that, for example, the first keyboard 27 is connected.

Scan line X as a key code. When the user inputs a key code indicating the intersection of the sense line Y0 and the sense line Y0, it can be recognized that the letter A'' has been pressed.

In addition, when the second keyboard 28 is connected, even if you enter the same key code as the previous keyboard, the alphabetic character 1
1 A It can be recognized that the number "1" was pressed instead of I+.

In this way, in the prior art, many types of keyboards can be connected to one terminal device.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above technology makes it possible to replace the keyboard.
A means for identifying the keyboard is provided.

Therefore, the terminal device to which this keyboard is connected must perform processing to identify which keyboard is connected at startup, and also perform processing appropriate for that keyboard based on the identification results. The problem was that it was a heavy burden.

Furthermore, there was a problem in that there was no consideration given to replacing the keyboard during use, and the user would have to start up the keyboard again.

Furthermore, there is a problem in that many types of keyboards cannot be connected to one terminal device and used at the same time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard device that allows many types of keyboards to be replaced and used simultaneously even during use without identifying the connected keyboard.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above object is achieved by dividing the keyboard matrix of the keyboard device into at least two arbitrary blocks and implementing a scanning device and a sensing device in each block to realize a plurality of separate keyboard devices.

[Operation] In the present invention, the keyboard matrix of one keyboard device is divided into a plurality of blocks, and each divided block is used as one keyboard device, so that the position where one scan line and one sense line intersect There is only one key switch. As a result, the codes output from each keyboard device that indicate the key switch position are all different.

Therefore, it is possible to use a plurality of keyboard devices with one terminal device without having a means for identifying the keyboard devices.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a keyboard device that is an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a scan device, 2 is a sense device, 3
are the most characteristic keyboard keys of the present invention, 31 is the keyboard matrix of the keyboard, and 32 is the keyboard matrix of the second keyboard. Also,
In FIG. 1(b), the keyboard matrix 3 of FIG. 1(a) is divided into arbitrary blocks, a part of the divided blocks is used as a keyboard matrix 31, and the scanning device 1 is attached to the keyboard matrix 1 to the keyboard matrix 31. It is equipped with a sense device 2 and is integrated into one keyboard device, which will be referred to as a first keyboard hereinafter. Similarly, in FIG. 1(c), the other part of the divided block is used as a keyboard matrix 32, and this keyboard matrix 32 is equipped with a scanning device 1 and a sense device 2 to form one keyboard device. This will be referred to as the second keyboard from now on.

Ma.

Figure 33 is an enlarged view of the keyboard matrix. Key switches 41, 42, 43, and 44 are placed at the intersections of the scan lines and sense lines in the keyboard matrix so that when a key is pressed, the scan lines and sense lines are short-circuited. It has become.

In this way, the keyboard matrix 31 of the keyboard in FIG. 1 and the keyboard matrix 32 of the second keyboard
is separated from one keyboard matrix, so there is only one key switch at the intersection of one scan line and one sense line. for example,
Scanline X. And Sense Line Y. The key switch at the intersection of is present on the first keyboard but not on the second keyboard. Therefore, scan line X. and Senseline Y. The press signal that means that the key switch at the intersection of is pressed is the first
output from the first keyboard, but not from the second keyboard.

Therefore, the press signal output from the keyboard device to the terminal device to notify the terminal device of the press position of a key differs depending on the keyboard. Therefore, even when a first keyboard and a second keyboard are connected to the same terminal device, the terminal device does not need to identify which keyboard device is connected at startup, and there is no need to identify which keyboard device is connected. is not necessary.

FIG. 3 shows a terminal device using the keyboard device of the embodiment described above, and the operation of the embodiment described above will be explained.

Reference numeral 61 is a block diagram of the first keyboard, in which the keyboard matrix 31 used in the previous embodiment is used as the keyboard matrix. Furthermore, scanning device 1
is composed of a counter circuit 64 and a decoder circuit 66, and the sense device 2 uses a multiplexer circuit 67. and.

Reference numeral 62 is a block diagram of the second keyboard, in which the keyboard matrix 32 used in the previous embodiment is used as the keyboard matrix. Furthermore, scanning device 1
Like the first keyboard 61, the sense device 2 includes a counter circuit 68, a decoder circuit 69, and a multiplexer circuit 70. Further, 63 is the first
, is a terminal device to which a second keyboard 61, 62 can be connected, and includes a counter circuit 71 synchronized with the counter circuit 64 and the counter circuit 68, and a clock generating means 72.
It is composed of an MPU65.

The clock generating means 72 generates a clock signal for the counter circuit 71 to count, and outputs it to the first and second keyboards through the terminal C. The first and second keyboards each input the clock signal to a built-in counter circuit 64, 68, and the counter circuit 64, 68 counts the clock signal.

Then, the counter circuit 71 always keeps this count value M
The counter circuits 64 and 68 output a part of this count value to the decoder circuit 66 or 69.
The other part is output to multiplexer circuit 67 or 7φ. Then, the decoder circuits 66 and 69 connect the output terminals (XO to Xzs) to the scan lines (Ya to Y
1. ), decodes the input counter value, and sequentially outputs "L" voltage to one output terminal and 11 HII level voltage to the other output terminals as shown in Table 1 below.

and input terminals of multiplexer circuits 67 and 70 (
Yφ~Y5) are connected to the sense lines (Y0~ys), and as shown in Table 2 below, any one of the terminals Y0~Y5 is selected according to the counter value, Outputs the voltage level applied to the selected terminal. Therefore, when the count value is from φ to 15, check the pressed state of the 16 key switches on the sense line Yφ,
From 16 to 31, the pressed state of the key switch of sense line Y1 is sequentially checked. When the count reaches φ~95, the pressed states of all keys have been checked. This output level signal is then sent to the terminal device through the terminal W.

Table 1 Now, the key switches of the first keyboard 61 are scan line X and sense line Y. If only the key at the intersection is pressed and the intersection is short-circuited, the counter 64 outputs the count value "0" to the multiplexer circuit 67, and further outputs the count value "'φ" to the decoder circuit 66.
Only when the counter circuit is outputting φ (the counter circuit is counting φ), an “L” level signal (hereinafter referred to as a push signal) is sent from the terminal W of the first keyboard 61. However, as mentioned above, the second keyboard 62 has scan line X. And Sense Line Y. Because there is no key switch at the intersection.

Press signals are never output from two keyboards at the same timing.

Further, when the terminal device 63 inputs a push signal from the terminal W, it stops the clock signal being generated by the clock generating means 72, and the MPU 65 at this time
Read the count value output by. And counter 7
1 is a counter 64 built into the first and second keyboards.
, 68, so MPU6
5 is the scan line X of the first keyboard based on this count value. And Sense Line Y. It can be recognized that the key switch at the intersection of is pressed. Then, the clock generation means 72 resumes outputting the clock signal.

In this way, the first keyboard 61 and the second keyboard 6
Since the second key matrices 31 and 32 were originally separated from one key matrix, press signals are not output from the two keyboards simultaneously when one counter value is reached. Therefore, in the present invention, not only can two types of keyboards be connected to one terminal device, but also two types of keyboards can be connected and used at the same time. Furthermore, for example, the final count value (9 in this example)
5), the counter circuits 71, 64, 6
By sending a signal to clear 8, it is possible to replace the keyboard with a different one during use.

Further, in this embodiment, one keyboard matrix is divided, and the divided key matrix is equipped with a scanning device and a sensing device, and according to the two keyboard devices,
In the present invention, by dividing one keyboard matrix into a large number of blocks, it is possible to create any number of keyboard devices, including three or four. Further, the number of scan lines connected to the scan device and the number of sense lines connected to the sense device may be arbitrary, and the size of the keyboard matrix is not limited.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 1 and 4. In FIG. 1, 33 is.

As mentioned above, it is an enlarged view of the keyboard matrix. Key switches 41, 42, 43, and 44 are assigned to the intersections of the scan line and the sense line. Then, it is possible to recognize that the key switch has been pressed using the above-described procedure. However, when three key switches are pressed, the following problem, generally called an image phenomenon, occurs. for example,
Assume that three keys, key switches 41, 42, and 43, are pressed. At this time, each pressed key switch can be recognized as having been pressed by the means described above. However, the "L" level voltage applied to the scan line X is transmitted to the sense line Y4 by the key switch 43, and the voltage transmitted to the sense line Y4 is transmitted to the scan line X14 by the key switch 41. Also scan line X14
The voltage transmitted to the sense line Y is transmitted to the sense line Y by the key switch 42. In this way, scan line
5 is transmitted to the sense line Y5. Therefore, it is determined that the key switch 44 has been pressed even though it has not been pressed. This is called the image phenomenon.

As a countermeasure against such an image phenomenon, it is common to use a diode. However, there are many problems, such as being expensive, requiring space for the diode, and requiring a large number of parts. Therefore, in this embodiment, when three keys are operated at the same time and the three key switches are turned on at the same time, the state in which the three key switches are turned on at the same time is when a key is input at high speed, especially when a key that has a meaning is used in conjunction with other keys such as the shift key. We focused on the fact that this often occurs when the keyboard is pressed, and divided the keyboard matrix as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4(b) and Figure 4(Q)
As in the previous embodiment, the keyboard matrix of the keyboard device shown in FIG. This is what I did.

Hereinafter, the keyboard device shown in FIG. 4(b) will be referred to as the keyboard shown in FIG. 1, and the keyboard device shown in FIG. 4(c) will be referred to as a second keyboard. Keyboard matrix 53 of the second keyboard
Keys (such as the shift key) that have meaning when used in conjunction with other keys are placed on the top of the screen. As you can see from the layout of the keys in this keyboard matrix, keys that have meaning when used in conjunction with other keys have the same scan line (Xa=X
x.

XZ) and sense lines (Y4, Y5) are assigned keys of a first keyboard that are physically and electrically separated. Therefore, the key used in conjunction with other keys (
Since the keys of the key matrix 53 are separated from other keys, the image phenomenon does not occur even if any other two keys are pressed at the same time.

In this way, by assigning and dividing the keys of other keyboards to the same scan line and the same sense line as the keys used in combination with other keys, the above-mentioned image phenomenon can be prevented without using any diodes. This eliminates the need for a diode, which has the effect of being inexpensive, eliminating the need for a diode layout space, and reducing the number of parts.

Further, in this embodiment, one keyboard matrix is divided into two keyboard devices, but the number of divisions is arbitrary, and any number of keyboard devices can be formed. Furthermore, even if each of a plurality of keyboards has a key that is used in combination with another key, the image phenomenon can be prevented using the same method.

In one embodiment, there are 16 scan lines.

Although the keyboard matrix with six sense lines has been described, the size of the keyboard matrix is not limited.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, even if many types of keyboards are connected to the same terminal device, there is no need to provide a means for identifying the connected keyboards, so the terminal device side does not need to perform processing to identify the keyboard at startup. A good advantage is that the same processing program can be used for all keyboards.

Furthermore, since no process is performed to identify the keyboard at startup, even if the keyboard is replaced with a different type of keyboard during use, it will not malfunction, improving reliability and usability.

It is also possible to connect many types of keyboards to the same terminal device and manually input keys at the same time.

Furthermore, for example, in a keyboard with 8 scan lines, 4 sense lines, and 32 keys as a key matrix, there are 2 keys that have meaning when used in conjunction with other keys.
If there are 16 diodes, 16 diodes would be required to prevent the image phenomenon, but according to the present invention, the image phenomenon can be prevented without using diodes by using a method of dividing the keyboard matrix. Therefore, it is inexpensive and requires no space for arranging the diode. This also has the effect of reducing the number of parts.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
A block diagram of the prior art, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a terminal device using an embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment. 1...Scanning device. 2...Sense device, 3...Keyboard matrix. 31... Keyboard matrix of the first keyboard,
32...Keyboard matrix of second keyboard,
33... Enlarged view of the keyboard matrix. depression

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a keyboard matrix consisting of a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of sense lines intersecting the scan lines, and key switches arranged at the intersections of the scan lines and the sense lines, the key switches are arranged in a plurality of groups so as not to overlap with each other. Each group is equipped with a scanning device that sequentially applies voltage to the scan lines, and a sensing device that recognizes the press of a key by short-circuiting the scan line and the sense line at the intersection when the key is pressed. A keyboard device comprising a plurality of keyboard devices.