JPH03130817A - Key input control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically assign an optional function to a key in an input area, and to improve the operability of an operator by reading an input mode corresponding to a data input area out of a table and defining the function of the key in response to the input mode. CONSTITUTION:An input area-input mode table 10 decides the functions which are attained by keys in the areas 6 - 8 which are presently kept in an input mode. A key function setting table 11 sets the key functions for each input mode. Then an input area identification means 9 identifies a specific input area on a screen. Thus the means 9 identifies an input area corresponding to the key position when a key is actually pushed. Then an input mode to be applied thereafter and its corresponding key function are obtained. As a result, the operability of an operator is improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a key input control method, and particularly to a key input control method suitable for a terminal device connected to a keyboard in which a plurality of functions are defined for the same key. [Prior Art] In conventional key input control systems, automatic key function changes are not possible, such as changing the shift state of a key to a desired shift state, or changing the function of a function key depending on a running program. The applicable keys are limited, and the scope of use is limited. Incidentally, related methods of this type include, for example, the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 63-36424 and 63-228207.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above conventional technology does not take into account the fact that the functions of all the keys on the keyboard are changed for each data input area (hereinafter simply referred to as "input area"), and the keyboard has multiple functions. There is a problem in that the upper position and the number of functions per key are limited, resulting in poor operability for the operator. Furthermore, because the key functions corresponding to the input areas were not clarified, it was not possible to remove unnecessary functions from each input area, and the number of keys on the keyboard was unnecessarily increased. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional technology, and to take advantage of the fact that the input mode is determined by the input area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a key input control method that can automatically allocate arbitrary functions and improve operability for an operator. Another object of the present invention is to provide a key input control method that makes it possible to reduce the number of keys on a keyboard and downsize the keyboard by making it possible to delete unnecessary functions in each input area. There is a particular thing. [Means for Solving the Problems] The above-mentioned object of the present invention is to have a plurality of input modes, define different functions for the same key corresponding to the input modes, and enable the operator to perform the corresponding function by switching the input mode. In a terminal device to which a keyboard configured to select is connected, a table showing the correspondence between input areas and input modes is provided, the input mode corresponding to the input area is read from the table, and the input mode corresponding to the input mode is read. This is achieved by a key input control method characterized by defining the functions of the keys. [Operation] In the key input control method according to the present invention, there is provided a correspondence table between input areas and input modes that determines what function each key implements in the area currently being input, and a table for each input mode. A key function setting table is provided, and
An input area identifying means is provided to identify which input area on the screen is to be input. With these, when a key is actually pressed, the input area corresponding to the key position can be identified, and the input mode used here and the key function corresponding thereto can be realized from there. In other words, the input area on the screen in which the operator is attempting to input is identified by the input area identification means, the input mode is switched from a table that corresponds to the input mode of the input area, and the input mode is changed to each key on the keyboard. Determine whether it has the following functions. Based on this, the key function conversion means selects a key function setting table according to the input mode when a key is pressed, and determines the output of the pressed key based on the key function setting table. Furthermore, by limiting the key functions (character types) used in the input area, it is possible to further reduce the number of keys on the keyboard. [Example J Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a terminal device which is an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device shown in the figure includes a keyboard l,
It is composed of a display 2 and a control device 3. This keyboard 1 has multiple input modes, and different functions are defined for the same key depending on the input mode.
This keyboard is configured so that the operator selects the corresponding function by switching the input mode. In the control device 3, a screen 4. Cursor 5 is the corresponding screen 4
Input area identification means 9. Input area identification means for identifying where the input areas 6 to 8 are defined above. Correspondence table between input area and input mode 10. key function setting table group I+ that defines key functions for each input mode; input mode switching means 12 that selects the key function setting table according to the input mode; A key function conversion means 13 that determines the function of a pressed key using the key function setting table, and a key data processing program 14 that realizes the function of the key.
is provided. The operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained below. In addition, in the following explanation, as shown in FIG.
Input area 6 on screen 4 is the input area for "R kana mode" for Meijin Canilia, input area 7 is for the account number input area and is for "numeric mode", and input area 8 is for the "numerical mode" input area for the amount of money. . When the cursor 5 moves to the input area, the input area identifying means 9 calculates the input area by, for example, referring to a table showing the coordinates of the input area, and calculates the input area by referring to a table 10 corresponding to the input area and the input mode. The input mode (here, "kana mode") obtained from In this state, when a key is pressed, the input mode switching means I2
Key function setting table group]! Select the Kana mode key function setting table from among them, and the key function conversion means 13:
The function of the pressed key is determined from the selected key function setting table, and the information is passed to the key data processing program 14. The key data processing program 14 displays characters, etc. based on the key function information from the key function conversion means 13. For example, when the key 15 on the keyboard l shown in FIG. is in the numeric mode, and the key 15 operates as a numeric keypad rlj. According to the above embodiment, when the cursor is positioned in the input area, the input mode is automatically switched according to the input item in the input area. This has the effect of improving operability since the operator does not need to switch the input mode each time.The above embodiment is shown as an example of the present invention, and the present invention should not be limited to this. For example, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the type of character as the input mode is changed to correspond to the input area, but the font of the input character can be changed to correspond to the input area by the same process Alternatively, it is also possible to change the display color, etc.Furthermore, by further restricting input character types for input areas as described above, unnecessary key functions in each input area can be deleted, and keys on the keyboard can be changed. reduce the number of
It is also possible to downsize the keyboard. [Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, there are multiple input modes, different functions are defined for the same key corresponding to the input mode, and the operator can switch the input mode to select the corresponding input mode. In a terminal device to which a keyboard configured to select a function is connected, a table showing the correspondence between data input areas and input modes is provided, and an input mode corresponding to the data input area is read from the table,
By defining key functions to correspond to the input mode, key input can automatically assign any function to a key depending on the input area, improving operability for the operator. This has the remarkable effect of realizing a control system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of keys on a keyboard. l: keyboard, 2: display, 3: control device 11
, 4: Screen, 5: Cursor, 6-8: Input area, 9:
Input area identification means, IO: Correspondence table between input area and input mode, II: Key function setting table group, 12: Input mode switching means, 13: Key function conversion means 13. 14: Key data processing program, ! 5: Key 2nd Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a terminal device connected to a keyboard that has multiple input modes, different functions are defined for the same key corresponding to the input mode, and the operator selects the corresponding function by switching the input mode. Key input control characterized by providing a table showing the correspondence between data input areas and input modes, reading the input mode corresponding to the data input area from the table, and defining key functions corresponding to the input mode. method.