JPH037969B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to keyswitches used in computer keyboards, and more particularly to multipurpose keyswitches for controlling a cursor on a display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A computer operator typically interacts with a computer through input devices such as a keyboard and output devices such as a CRT. Computer operators often need to enter commands from a keyboard to move a cursor on a CRT.
Since the cursor must be able to be moved to any desired position on the CRT, a means for moving the cursor both horizontally and vertically is required.

One conventional cursor movement technique is to provide special function keys that are used solely for cursor movement. Four such keys are required to move the cursor up, down, left and right. The disadvantage of this approach is that the hand must be moved from the home position each time a special function key is operated.
Another disadvantage of this method is that the size of the keyboard increases to accommodate these four keys.

Another conventional cursor movement method uses the existing alphanumeric keys to move the cursor to 4
It is used as a cursor control key to move in the direction. In this case, an additional key such as a control key must be pressed simultaneously with the cursor control key in order to distinguish the cursor movement action of the cursor control key from its normal character input action. Although this technique overcomes the drawbacks of having special function keys, it has been found that the technique takes a long time to learn due to confusion in the correspondence between cursor control keys and cursor movement directions. . Still other cursor movement techniques use a separate graphical interaction device such as a mouse, data tablet, or joystick. The disadvantage of this approach is that it requires extra keyboard space for the joystick and extra desk space for peripherals such as data tablets and mice. Furthermore, the operator must move his hands from the keyboard to the device, which requires more force to operate the device.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a key switch that is easy to operate and allows cursor movement control without moving the user's hand from the home position.

(Means for Solving Problems) The present invention enables any key switch for inputting characters or symbols on a keyboard to be horizontally swingable, and is provided with a sensor for detecting movement in the front, back, left, and right directions, and , it is also used to control the movement of a cursor on the display means.

(Operation) A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-purpose key switch for controlling cursor movement on a CRT. That is, this key switch can be used for both cursor control and character input. The key switch of the present invention is a standard key switch with vertical displacement detection capability for character input, with horizontal displacement detection capability added.

The multipurpose key switch of the present invention includes a key cap, a reference structure, and a sensor. The reference structure refers to the part of a standard key switch that moves vertically during character input. In a standard key switch, the key cap and reference structure are integrated for vertical movement as one unit. However, the keycap may be moved further laterally relative to the reference structure for cursor control. A sensor is attached to the key cap to detect displacement of the key cap relative to the reference structure. The forward and backward movement of the keycap in the horizontal plane corresponds to the up and down movement of the cursor on the CRT. The left and right movement of the keycap in the horizontal plane corresponds to the left and right movement of the cursor. Vertical movement of the keycap and reference structure corresponds to the input of characters.

Embodiment In a first embodiment of the invention, a key cap is swingably attached to a reference structure, and the key cap is movable in a horizontal direction. A sensor, such as a strain gauge, is connected between the key cap and the reference structure to detect horizontal movement of the key cap.
One or more sensors are provided to detect forward and backward movement of the key cap, and one or more sensors are provided to detect left and right movement of the key cap.

A second embodiment of the invention has a support shaft attached at its upper end to the key cap and at its lower end to a reference structure. The support shaft is flexible enough to flex and allow horizontal movement of the key cap. A sensor, such as a strain gauge, is attached to the support shaft to react to the bending of the shaft. The longitudinal and lateral movements of the key cap are each detected by one or more sensors.

The output signal of the sensor is an analog signal indicating the direction and magnitude of the lateral force on the key cap. The computer central processing unit (CPU) analyzes the digital conversion value of the sensor output and moves the cursor on the CRT.

The multi-purpose key switch of the present invention can be used as one of the home keys since it can control a cursor and input characters. This allows the operator to control the cursor without moving his or her hand from the home position. Since the direction of cursor movement is the same as that of the keycap, cursor control with this multi-purpose key switch is easy to learn. Also, because minute muscle movements are used to move the keycaps, more precise and faster cursor control than conventional devices is possible.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the invention. The key switch includes a key cap 12 and a reference structure 14.
has. The reference structure 14 includes a key cap 1 which serves as a standard key switch for inputting characters.
2 has a lower part 16 swingably attached to a reference structure 14. This allows key cap 1
The upper part of 2 can move in a horizontal plane defined by horizontal directions 18, 20, 22, 24. Operating the keycap in the forward direction moves the cursor upward, and operating the keycap in the backward direction 20 moves the cursor downward. Similarly, operating the keycap to the left moves the cursor to the left, and operating the keycap to the right moves the cursor to the right. key cap 12
Then, by operating the reference structure 14 vertically downward, a character (in the illustrated example, the character "F") is input. Input of characters can be accomplished by various commonly used switch closing methods.

Movement of the key cap 12 is detected by several sensors as a displacement of the lower part 16 relative to the reference structure 14. Both surfaces of the lower part 16 and the reference structure form a plane parallel to the horizontal plane. sensor 26,
28 detects the movement of the key cap in the front and back direction. One end of the sensor 26 is connected to the lower part 1 of the key cap.
6 and the other end is attached to the opposite part of the reference structure 14. One end of the sensor 28 is attached to this side of the lower part 16 and the other end is attached to the reference structure 14.
is attached to the opposite part of the The sensors 26 and 28 are
An output is generated depending on the size of the spacing between the lower part 16 and the reference structure 14. Key cap is forward 18
When moved, sensor 26 detects that the spacing is narrower than before, and sensor 28 detects that the spacing is wider. Key cap is rearward 20
When moved, sensor 26 detects that the spacing is wider than before, and sensor 28 detects that the spacing is narrower. In this manner, the longitudinal displacement of the lower portion 16 relative to the reference structure is detected by the sensors 26 and 28. sensors 26 and 28
outputs an analog signal proportional to the magnitude of the force applied to the key cap in the longitudinal direction. These signals are sent to the signal conversion circuit via signal lines 30 and 32.

Similarly, sensors 34 and 36 detect left and right movement of the key cap. One end of the sensor 34 is attached to the lower left side of the key cap, and the other end is attached to the opposite portion of the reference structure 14. One end of the sensor 36 is attached to the right side of the lower part 14, and the other end is attached to the opposite part of the reference structure. Sensors 34 and 36 are located at the bottom 1
6 and generates an output depending on the size of the spacing between the reference structures. When the key cap is moved to the left 22, sensor 34 detects that the spacing is narrower than before, and sensor 36 detects that the spacing is wider. Conversely, when the key cap is moved to the right 24, the sensor 34 detects that the spacing is wider than before, and the sensor detects that the spacing is narrower. Sensors 34 and 36 generate analog signals that are proportional to the amount of lateral force on the key cap. These signals are on signal line 3
0,40 to the signal conversion circuit.

Sensors 26, 28, 34, 36 are preferably strain gauges in the first embodiment shown. However, other sensors capable of detecting movement of the key cap may be used. Other sensors that may be used include pressure sensors or other force sensing elements that can detect movement of the key cap.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention. This embodiment has a key cap 50 and a reference structure 52 similar to the first embodiment. It further includes a support shaft 54 for coupling the key cap 50 to the reference structure 52. The lower end of the shaft 54 is attached to a reference structure and the upper end is attached to the underside of the key cap. The shaft 54 is horizontally 56,5
It has sufficient flexibility to allow the key cap to move in the horizontal plane defined by 8, 60, and 62. Movement of the key cap is detected by sensors 64, 66 attached to the shaft 54. Sensor 64, 6
6 is electrically connected to the signal conversion circuit via signal lines 68 and 70. Sensors 64, 66 are preferably strain gauges and are responsive to bending of shaft 54. Sensor 64 detects bending of shaft 54 caused by movement of the keycap in the longitudinal direction 56, 58. Similarly, sensor 66
detects the bending of the shaft caused by the movement of the key cap in the left and right directions 60, 62. The cross-sectional shape of the shaft 54 is preferably a rectangle with each side facing in each horizontal direction. In order to increase detection sensitivity, a strain gauge may also be provided on the opposite side of the shaft from the sensors 64, 66.

FIG. 3 shows a control system block diagram for use with the key switch of the present invention. Electrical signals from key switch sensor 80 correspond to movement of the key cap. When using strain gauges as sensing elements, these electrical signals are analog voltages whose magnitude is proportional to the lateral force on the key cap. After these signals are converted into digital signals by the signal converter 82,
It is input to the CPU 84. One function of CPU 84 is to control CRT 86 according to the system program.

The CPU positions the cursor on the CRT according to the signal generated by the key switch sensor.
At this time, the CPU operates according to the system program. The system program can employ any method for moving the cursor. For example, if the cursor were to be moved either horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally, the system program could select the highest signal from the key switch sensor and ignore the other signals. Another approach to cursor movement is to vary the speed of cursor movement in response to not only the direction but also the magnitude of the force on the keycap. In other methods, the cursor is moved not only horizontally and vertically, but also diagonally at 45 degrees. In this case, the system program specifies diagonal movement of the cursor when one horizontal signal and one vertical signal have substantially the same magnitude. Additionally, by modifying the system program, several different cursor movement techniques can be used, all using the same sensor signals.

To use the keyswitch of the present invention for cursor movement, it is desirable to first close the other keyswitches on the keyboard. At this time, the system program monitors the output of the keyboard and detects the closing of the other key switch, and then moves the cursor in accordance with the output signal from the key switch sensor.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

(Effects) The multi-purpose key switch according to the present invention allows character input as well as cursor control, so it can be used as one of the home keys. This allows the operator to control the cursor without moving his or her hand from the home position. Since the direction of cursor movement is the same as that of the keycap, cursor control with this multi-purpose key switch is easy to learn. Additionally, since minute muscle movements are used to move the keycaps, cursor movement operations can be performed more accurately and quickly than with conventional devices. Furthermore, no extra keyboard or desk space is required, making the device more compact.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the key switch of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the key switch of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a control for use with the key switch of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the system. In the figure, 12, 50 are key caps, 14, 52
is the standard structure, 16 is the lower part of the key cap, 26,
28, 34, 36, 64, 66 are sensors, and 54 is a support shaft.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An arbitrary key switch for inputting characters or symbols on a keyboard is made horizontally swingable, and a sensor is provided to detect movement in the front, back, left, and right directions, and the key switch is used to control the movement of a cursor on a display means. A multi-purpose key switch characterized in that it can be used easily.