JPH0297126A - Keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To considerably improve the operability of a keyboard by constituting a keyboard so that a user freely assigns characters to key positions easy to use while having conversations through a display device and these assigned characters are displayed on the surface parts of keys. CONSTITUTION:The surface part of each key 5 is provided with a display part 6 which is constituted to display a maximum of four characters in upper, lower, right, and left parts. When a power switch is made, the standard key arrangement mode is set. When the keyboard will be used with an already assigned option key arrangement, a standard/option arrangement changeover switch 8 is pushed on to switch the standard key arrangement mode to the option key arrangement mode, and characters of the arrangement assigned in past are displayed on respective display elements 7 of a display part 6 of each key 5. When the key arrangement will be changed again in the option key arrangement mode, an arrangement changeover switch 9 is pushed on to set the arrangement change mode, and the user assigns a new key to a key 5 while having conversations through the display picture.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a keyboard that is connected to the main body of a data processing device such as a personal computer, word processor, terminal device, etc., and is connected as an input device for external information, and in particular, it is possible to freely set the arrangement of character keys. This is related to the keyboard.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main parts of a conventional keyboard, and in the figure, l indicates a large number of character keys arranged in parallel along the row and column directions on the surface of the keyboard, and the upper, lower, left, and right portions of the surface Up to four types of characters are fixedly displayed, for example, by engraving or the like. 2 is an alphanumeric conversion key, 3 is a kana character conversion key, and 4 is a shift key.Press this key when in alphanumeric mode to set it to alphanumeric symbol mode, and press this key when in kana mode to set to kana symbol mode. Set. Next, the operation will be explained. When using the keyboard, first select the type of character to be used using the alphanumeric conversion key 2 or the kana character conversion key 3. In other words, alphanumeric conversion key 2 is used to select and use alphanumeric characters from up to four types of characters that are fixedly displayed on each character key 1, and kana character conversion key 3 is used to select and use alphanumeric characters that are fixedly displayed on each character key 1. Used when selecting selected kana characters. Further, when selecting an alphanumeric symbol in the alphanumeric mode and selecting a kana symbol in the kana character mode, the corresponding character is selected by simultaneous operation with the non-lock type shift key 4.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventional keyboards are configured as described above, so
The key arrangement will be fixed to a predetermined arrangement such as the JrS arrangement. As a result, complicated English characters, kana characters, etc. can only be used by using the shift key and the character key, and the characters are fixedly displayed on the surface of the key by engraving etc. Therefore, there was a problem in that the character arrangement and character assignment on the keyboard could not be changed to make it easier to use. This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to freely change the key arrangement on the keyboard, and also to obtain a keyboard that displays the changed characters on the keys. purpose.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The keyboard according to the present invention assigns characters to easy-to-use key positions while interacting through a display device provided in a main body portion to which the keyboard is connected, and Characters are displayed on the surface of each key using a display unit using a display element such as a liquid crystal or a light emitting diode.

[Effect]

The keyboard of this invention allows characters to be freely assigned to each key, so by setting the key arrangement to be easy for each user to use and displaying the set characters on the keys, the operability of the keys is greatly improved. It will improve.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1st
In the figure, reference numeral 5 indicates a number of character keys arranged in parallel along the row and column directions on the surface of the keyboard, and each key 5
A display section 6 configured to display up to four characters at the top, bottom, left and right is provided on the surface of the screen. As shown in FIG. 2, this display section 6 has a maximum of four matrix display elements 7 having an nXn dot configuration using display means such as light emitting diodes and liquid crystals, arranged in the upper, lower, left and right parts, and can be displayed as desired. It is possible to display up to 4 characters. Reference numeral 8 denotes a standard/optional key layout mode changeover switch that switches between the standard key layout (JIS layout, etc.) mode and the option key layout mode based on option settings.Each time the button is pressed, the switch switches between the standard key layout mode and the option key layout mode. It is designed to be switched. Reference numeral 9 denotes an arrangement change switch, which is used to change the keyboard arrangement in the option key arrangement mode. Next, the operation will be explained. When the power switch (not shown) is turned on, the standard key layout mode is set.
Each display element 7 of the display section 6 provided on the surface of each key 5 has three characters according to the standard key arrangement, as shown in FIG.
are displayed. Next, when using the option key arrangement that has already been assigned, the standard/option key arrangement changeover switch 8 is pressed on. When the standard/option key layout changeover switch 8 is pressed on, the standard key layout mode is switched to the option key layout mode. In the optional key arrangement mode, each display element 7 of the display section 6 provided on the surface of each key 5 has a pattern that has been previously assigned to the surface of the upper leftmost key on the keyboard, for example, as shown in FIG. The completed array is displayed as text. Next, a case will be described in which the keyboard layout is changed again in the option key layout mode. First, when changing the option key arrangement, the user presses the arrangement change switch 9 to set the arrangement change mode, and then assigns new keys to each key 5 while interacting through the display screen. Hereinafter, this change in the key layout will be specifically explained using FIGS. 5(a) to 5(C). First, when changing the arrangement, the arrangement change mode is set by pushing the arrangement change switch 9 in the option key arrangement mode. When the array change mode is set, the display screen using a CRT etc.
A character arrangement change screen shown in FIG. 5(a) is displayed. Next, the user moves the cursor to the part corresponding to the key position to which the user wants to newly assign the request character (A in this case) displayed on the left side of the guidance on the character arrangement change screen. and press the return key. In this way, when the position of the requested character is determined, the display screen changes as shown in Fig. 5(b), a part of the designated key is displayed with a flicker, and guidance is displayed regarding the assignment on the designated key. is changed to specify the position. Then, when you select a number from 1 to 4 indicating the character display area on the character key using the numeric keypad on the left side of the guidance display, the number indicating this selection area will be displayed on the right side of the guidance display. Ru. If you press the return key after confirming the number indicating this selection area, the screen display will change as shown in Figure 5 (C), the request character will be displayed at the specified position, and the next guidance display will be displayed. The assignment to the riffnis I character is changed to the specified one. Thereafter, by repeating the same operation, it becomes possible to assign characters to the desired character keys. When the character assignment is completed, the layout change mode is terminated by pressing the layout change switch 9 again. Part 6
Return to normal mode where characters are displayed. Therefore, the user can freely change the key arrangement to suit his or her needs, thereby increasing the speed of key operations and reducing touch errors. In the above embodiment, when the power is turned on, characters are displayed in a standard arrangement on each key, but it goes without saying that characters may be displayed in an optional arrangement. do not have. In addition, while only the case where the display section is constructed by arranging four matrix display elements above the character keys has been described, the display section is constructed by covering the entire surface of the character keys with one 7 matrix display element. However, a plurality of characters may be displayed within this - number of matrix display elements.

【Effect of the invention】

As explained above, according to the present invention, characters can be freely assigned to convenient key positions while interacting through a display device, and the assigned characters can be displayed on the surface of the keys. Therefore, the operability of the keyboard is improved and mistouches are reduced, which has the effect of speeding up key operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of essential parts of a keyboard according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a display section provided on the surface of character keys in the keyboard shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the display state of the display section provided on the surface of the keyboard, FIGS. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main parts of a conventional keyboard. 5 is a character key, 6 is a display section, 7 is a matrix display element,
8 is the standard/optional key layout mode selector switch, 9
is an array change switch. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. ■! 1 7: Matritufus topsoil rumor (Shi

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a keyboard connected to the main body of a data processing device such as a personal computer, word processor, terminal device, etc. and used for inputting character information, a display section capable of displaying a plurality of characters is provided on the surface of each character key, A keyboard characterized in that characters assigned to each of the character keys are displayed on the display section, so that characters can be freely assigned to each of the keys.