JPH03121519A - Key input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve man-machine interface by providing a shock sensor part separately from keys which are normally used and sending an independent signal to a host processor. CONSTITUTION:The part 7 which is different from the normally used keys 2 is provided and a mechanism which transmits an input signal to the host processor 16 as the signal independent of normal key input signals is provided. The host processor 16 when receiving this signal interrupts processing being carried out and displays a guidance corresponding to the processing contents or a command menu for branching to other precessing. Consequently, the guidance matching the state is displayed at an operator's request according to processing contents from an electronic computer to improve the man-machine interface more.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to key input operations for electronic computers, and in particular, improves the man-machine interface to reduce stress on the operator and improve operation efficiency. Concerning providing an environment.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, when a computer executes some kind of processing, it takes a certain amount of time to complete the processing. meanwhile,
The operator is forced to wait in front of a computer.

Also, when entering the process using keys.

Due to the operator's lack of skill, a situation arises in which the operator does not know which key to operate. in this case.

In the former, by displaying the processing contents as guidance, the operator is given visual changes to ensure that the computer is executing the processing normally and to reduce the psychological processing time. ing. Regarding the latter, basic input contents and commands are displayed as part of the display screen, and a help function provides detailed explanations and prompts for key input.

Efforts are being made to improve the man-machine interface.

As a typical example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-216020, the time is measured for each input operation by the operator, and if there is no key input operation for a certain period of time, the operation method may be incorrect due to the operator's lack of proficiency. The computer determined that it was not understood and displayed guidance to encourage the operator to operate.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above-mentioned conventional technology displays predetermined guidance in a predetermined order regardless of the processing content, so in a process that completes in only 1 to 2 seconds,
In cases where a plurality of guidance items are displayed, or conversely, in a process that takes several minutes, the content of the displayed guidance may not change for a long time until the process is completed. Further, by displaying the guidance, the amount of processing to be performed by the computer increases, so the absolute processing time becomes longer than when no guidance is displayed. Therefore, in a process that is performed on a daily basis, it may be desired to finish the process as quickly as possible without displaying guidance.

In this way, improving the man-machine interface by displaying guidance is effective to some extent, but since the timing and content of guidance display depend on the computer side, cases like the above are possible, and it is difficult for operators to However, it could not be said that a good operating environment could be provided.6 The present invention was made with a focus on the above problem, and it simplifies the conventional guidance method from the computer side and displays only the necessary limit. In response to this, it is possible to display guidance based on the operator's operation. This aims to further improve the man-machine interface by displaying guidance appropriate to the situation based on the processing content of the computer at the operator's request.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above purpose, as a method for inputting operator requests such as displaying guidance on the key input device, a separate part from the normally used keys is provided, and the input signals are , a mechanism is provided for transmitting the signal to the host processing device as a signal independent of the normal key input signal. The upper processing device is equipped with a mechanism that, upon receiving the above signal, interrupts the process being executed and displays guidance according to the content of the process, or displays a command menu that branches to another process. .

In addition, since the main purpose is to improve the man-machine interface, the new input means installed in the key input device allows the operator to operate it in a natural way without having to be conscious of operating the keys. It is desirable to have a key input device, because the height of the keys is generally higher than the desk surface.

In order to reduce operator fatigue when operating the keypad, there is a hand rest with a slope in front of the keypad to change the angle of the hand and make it easier for the fingers to operate the keypad. 0 In the present invention.

This hand rest is equipped with an input means, and its structure does not respond when the operator is inputting keys with his or her hand on the hand rest. The key input device can be protected from impact by providing a shock sensor that detects the impact when it is applied and by providing a structure that absorbs the impact.

Furthermore, when a shock is applied to the hand rest, a mechanism is provided that generates a sound or scent to stimulate the operator's sense of hearing and smell, thereby reducing stress.

A typical key input device is a keyboard.

Mouse is raised.

[Operation] When a computer executes a process, after the operator performs an operation to instruct one task, the process content, guidance display, and required time are all dependent on the computer until the operator completes the task. During this time, the only information that the operator can know is the guidance display that is unilaterally output from the computer. There is no problem if this guidance is output as expected by the operator, but in many cases it is not possible to identify the operator, and even the same operator has different expectations depending on the situation, so it is not possible to provide guidance that satisfies everyone. It was difficult to display.

In such a case, the operator will feel stressed.

In this way, operators experience stress to varying degrees when operating electronic computers. At this time, it is considered natural to apply a slight shock to the key input device as a way to relieve stress. When executing this impulse, it is thought that the operator naturally selects a part that is easy to touch with the operator's hand, and where applying a shock will not inadvertently cause input to the process being executed. . The hand rest section can be considered as a part corresponding to this.

The key input device according to the present invention has a **sensor section for impact detection in the hand rest part, and has a structure that absorbs the impact so that other keys do not malfunction due to the impact. Therefore, the operator can input without being conscious of operating the keys.

Further, when an impact is applied to the hand rest, directly stimulating the operator's auditory and olfactory senses by emitting sound or scent is also effective in reducing stress.

Impact signals from the hand rest are transmitted to the upper processing unit independently of other key signals, so instead of being stored in the key input buffer and processed in the order of input like other keys, they are prioritized. It becomes possible to process Furthermore, even if the electronic computer is in a state where it is running out of control or is in a state close to it and is unable to process key inputs, it is possible to return some kind of response to the operator.

In the upper processing unit, the signal from the hand rest section causes the
It determines the process currently being executed, predetermines guidance according to the process content, and displays it. Possible guidance contents include the following: Process currently being executed. In addition to notifying the operator of the number of processed data items, elapsed time, and processing details, if multiple tasks are being processed simultaneously, the priority of the processing currently being focused on is raised to shorten the execution time. It detects an erroneous operation and forcibly interrupts the process. Launching the help function. Business end processing. Other processes such as starting various utilities can be displayed as a command menu, and the operator can select what he or she has in mind.

Due to these things, regardless of the state of the computer,
By performing the natural action of applying an impact to the hand rest, a response is always returned to the operator, and it becomes possible to display the current processing content or to execute another processing requested by the operator.

In this way, by providing a function that reflects the operator's requests according to the situation, the system is much more user-friendly than the conventional one-sided guidance display from a computer.
The machine interface can be improved.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As an embodiment of the present invention, a mouse, which is one of the typical key input devices, will be described below with reference to FIG.

A mouse, which is one of the coordinate input devices, has a ball 4 that rotates when the operator moves the mouse 1.
, a movement amount detection unit 5 for detecting the amount of rotation of the ball 4, that is, the amount of movement of the mouse 1, a key part 2 for performing key input, and a key detection unit 3 for detecting key input. Data from the section 5 and the key detection section 3 are transmitted to the higher-level processing device 1b via the interface section A8.

A hand rest part 10 is provided at the front of the key part 2 so that the key part 2 can be easily pressed down. A shock detecting section 7 is provided at the lower part of the hand rest section 10, and detects when an operator consciously applies a certain amount of shock to the hand rest section 10. The mouse 1 has a joint part 17 so that the hand rest part 10 can easily move due to impact. Additionally, a shock absorbing section 6 is provided to prevent the shock detection section 7 from reacting when the operator normally places his/her hand on the hand rest section 10 and to absorb the shock and prevent malfunctions. . The signal detected by the impact detection section 7 is as follows.

The upper processing unit is connected to the interface unit B9, which is a dedicated interface unit! ! This will be communicated to 16. With the above structure, the mouse 1 can perform normal key input and input.

It becomes possible to transmit the impact signal as an independent signal to the higher-level processing device 16 in addition to the movement amount signal.

Upper processing equipment! ! At 16, data from the interface section A8 is stored in the input buffer 11.

The input buffer 11 is a first-in/first-out buffer, and data is transmitted to the data processing section 13 via the input control section 12. At this time, when the signal from the interface section B9 enters the input control section 12, that is, when an impact is detected, the input control section 12 interrupts the process being executed in the data processing section 13, The data is given priority and transmitted to the data processing unit 13. The data processing unit 13 displays predetermined guidance content on the display unit 14 from the processing at the time when 1 interrupt is issued.
Output to. After the output, the interrupt is canceled and the original process is continued. An example of the display content is shown in FIG. Displays messages to soothe the psychological state of the user. The process content display section 19 is a part that displays the process content being executed at the time, and depending on the process, the number of processes, elapsed time, etc.
By displaying the remaining time, etc., it becomes possible to convey more detailed information to the operator.

The process selection section 20 is used to select a process that is currently being executed when it is desired to execute another process instead of continuing the process as it is, and the content thereof needs to be changed depending on the process content. In FIG. 2, since there is a key input state, the help function is activated. Process with default values set in advance by the program. Return to the previous input item. Terminate the program. The menu is displayed to prompt the operator to input keys. The operator can select a process from among these, allowing quick input.

Furthermore, by making the impact detection section 7 capable of outputting several types of data depending on the intensity of the impact, it is possible to judge the level of stress on the operator, thereby making it possible to display detailed guidance. Become.

The emergency data processing section 15 monitors the input control section 12 and the data processing section 13 when there is an input from the interface section B9. When detecting that the vehicle is running out of control, the emergency data processing section 15 displays predetermined guidance on the display section 14. An example is shown in FIG.

This allows the higher-level processing device to return some kind of response to the operator no matter what the situation is.

From the contents explained above using the examples, according to the present invention,
The operator can check the computer's current process at any time, and in some cases, interrupt it.
This reduces operator stress by allowing other processes to be carried out.

A good man-machine interface can be realized.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, as explained above, the following effects can be obtained.

In electronic computers, key inputs other than in the key input state are invalid or become valid after the process being executed ends, so there are cases where it is unclear whether or not the computer is operating normally. For example, since a response is returned to the operator in any state, it is possible to know the state of the computer. Further, a good man-machine interface can be realized by the guidance content displayed at this time.

Furthermore, since the guidance display can be displayed according to the operator's will, the number of guidance displays that were conventionally displayed on the computer side can be reduced.

This also has the effect of speeding up processing.

By creating a part that can be subjected to shocks, it is more durable than when shocks are applied to input devices that have not conventionally been designed with shock resistance in mind.

The operator can reduce stress by dissipating force when applying an impact. There is an effect like this.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mouse according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a guidance display when an impact is applied during normal processing, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a guidance display when an impact is applied when the system is in an abnormal state. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Mouse, 2... Key part, 3... Input detection section, 4... Ball, 5... Movement amount detection section, 6... Shock absorption section. 7... Impact detection section, 8... Interface section A, 9
...Interface section B, 10...Hand rest section, 11...λ buffer, 12...Input control section, 1
3...Data processing unit, 14...Display unit, 15...
Emergency data processing section, 16... Upper processing device, 17.
...Joint part, 18...Fixed message display part,
19... Processing content display section, 20... Processing selection section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Among computer input devices, in a key input device consisting of a key top section, a hand rest section, and an interface section for transmitting input data to a higher-level processing device, there is a key input device on the hand rest section that is separate from the keys normally used by the operator. A shock sensor section is provided, and this sensor normally does not react when the operator is using it as a hand rest, but detects it when a shock of a certain level or more is intentionally applied. has a structure that can absorb shock,
A key input device characterized in that an interface section is provided with a mechanism for transmitting a signal detected by a shock sensor section to a host processing device as a signal independent of signals from other keys.