JPH05265917A - Computer device and keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily set a system environment even at the time of using a different device by initializing a device based on the system environment information. CONSTITUTION:When the power source of a computer device is turned on at first, or when a system reset is operated, the control of the initialization is transferred to a BIOS and ROM. Next, before the initialization of each device is operated by the BIOS ROM, the input of a user ID is operated by a user keyboard 13. Afterwards, the system environment corresponding to the user ID is read from a battery backup RAM. Then, each device is initialized by the BIOS ROM based on read device information. At that time, even when the device which is not described in the information is physically connected, the initialization of the device is not operated, and a CPU 11 recognizes that the device is not connected. Then, the load of a driver after a device setting or the like is operated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer device and a keyboard, and more particularly to an improved method of setting a system environment at the time of booting the computer device and an improved keyboard for electronic equipment such as a computer device and a word processing device. The present invention relates to a user-friendly computer device or the like that facilitates the operation of electronic devices by doing so.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional computer apparatus, one system can provide only one type of environment set in advance, and the connection device information is stored in a memory such as a CMOS RAM and loaded. The driver etc. to be executed is registered in the file.

Further, the size of the key top of the conventional keyboard is peculiar to the keyboard, and the size of each key top is fixed to one, which is not variable.

Further, in the conventional keyboard, the pressure when the key switch is pushed down is constant by the spring or the like. That is, the pressing pressure of the key switch of the keyboard is peculiar to the keyboard.

[0005]

In recent years, the types of devices connected to computer devices have increased, and the device environment required by each user and the driver to be loaded differ. Since the current OS has a limited memory space,
I want to use memory effectively without loading unnecessary drivers and applications.

However, in the conventional example, when the device to be connected is changed, the CMOS RAM is set again,
Moreover, there is a drawback that the file must be rewritten to change the driver to be loaded.

Further, in the conventional keyboard, the shapes of the key tops arranged on the keyboard are uniformly determined, and the keyboard included in the laptop computer is small and the key top itself is small. The space between is narrowing. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult for the user to press down the target key.

Further, the conventional keyboard has a drawback that the pressure when the key is pressed cannot be changed because the pressure when the key is pressed is set by the spring. For this reason, depending on the user, pressing down of the key is heavy and difficult to use, or too light and uncomfortable.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a computer device as well as an accessory to such an electronic device, especially a keyboard, which is system-wise or structurally user-friendly for easy operation. Especially. The specific purpose will be described below.

An object of the present invention is to provide a computer device which can easily set a system environment even when different devices are used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard which facilitates pressing down of a specific key.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard capable of changing the key pressing force.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a computer device main body, a device connected to the computer device main body, and first memory means for registering system environment information. And a reading means for reading the system environment, and a second memory means for initializing the device based on the system environment information read by the reading means.

The present invention employs a keyboard characterized by having keys whose size of the key top can be changed.

The present invention adopts a keyboard having an air pressure adjusting means for adjusting the air pressure in the keyboard.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a typical computer device to which the present invention can be applied. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a computer apparatus main body, and a hard disk drive (H
DD) 5, floppy disk drive (FDD) 6,
The IC card 7 is included. Further, a display 2 for displaying information processed by a computer device is provided on the upper part thereof, and a keyboard 3 as an input means for data and the like is connected to the front part thereof. In addition, a magneto-optical disk drive (MOD) that is a mass storage device
8. A printer 4 for printing information processed by a computer device and an image input device (scanner) 9 for capturing an image into a computer are connected.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of devices connected to the computer apparatus main body in the perspective view of FIG. 2, a CPU 11 includes a display 12 which is a data input / output device, a keyboard 13, a printer 14, a scanner 15, and a data storage device 3.
5 inch FDD16, 5.25 inch FDD17, HD
It controls D18, MOD19, and IC card 20.

FIG. 3 is a BIOS R showing the contents of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting a user system environment (device, OS, application, etc.) by the OM. In this flowchart, first, when the power of the computer device is turned on or the system is reset, the initialization control is transferred to the BIOS ROM (S1). Next, before the BIOS ROM initializes each device, the user is prompted to input the user ID using the keyboard 13 (S2). Then, the system environment information corresponding to the user ID is read from the battery backup RAM (CMOS RAM or the like) (S
3). Note that there is information as shown in FIG. 4 as an example of the information. Next, based on the read device information, the BIOS
Each device is initialized by the ROM (S4).
At this time, even if a device not listed in that information is physically connected, it will not be initialized.
From the CPU 11, it is regarded as not connected.
Next, the driver is loaded after setting the device. At this time, based on the information read in step S3,
The OS is booted and the application is loaded. As described above, the setting is completed based on the system environment information read in step S3 (S6).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the user's system environment information read in step S3.
According to the user environment information 1, the display device CRT, the keyboard of the input device, and the HDD and FDD devices as the storage device are connected to the computer main body. After that, MS-DOS 5.0 is booted as the OS, and the network driver is installed. Finally,
The application Windows 3.0 is started. Up to this point, this is done automatically and then the user is given control. According to the user environment information 2, the display device CRT and the keyboard of the input device,
HDDs, FDDs, and MODs are connected as storage devices, and a scanner for inputting image data and a printer for printing data are connected. After that, UNIX is booted as the OS and the control is given to the user. Further, as the registration of environment information, writing to the CMOS RAM can be performed by a utility or the like.

Next, regarding the improvement of the keyboard, FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a system configuration including the keyboard of the present invention. The computer main body 21 processes the data information input from the keyboard 23 and outputs the result to the display device 22.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the keyboard of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the keyboard 23 includes a key 24,
25 and 26. 7 and 8 are a perspective view and a side view of the keyboard of the present invention, respectively. As is apparent from these figures, the key 25, for example, comprises sliding or telescoping parts 25a, 25b, 25c. The sliding keytop has a minimum lateral width when closed and a maximum lateral width when opened. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which the dimensions of the key top are changed from those in FIG. As is apparent from FIG. 9, in the state of this figure, the central key 25 is maximally opened, while the keys 24 and 26 on both sides thereof are closed and minimized.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a keyboard according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 35 indicates an air pressure adjusting switch inside the keyboard, which is a switch for increasing the air pressure, and reference numeral 36 indicates another air pressure adjusting switch inside the keyboard, which is a switch for lowering the air pressure.
Reference numeral 34 indicates a key.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the key switch mechanism of the keyboard of the present invention. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 37 indicates a sealed space in the keyboard, which space is adjacent to the key 34. By changing the air pressure in the closed space 37, the strength (key stalk) of the key by the user changes. The air pressure in the closed space 37 can be changed by the air pressure adjusting switches 35 and 36 in the keyboard. When the air pressure adjusting switch 35 of the keyboard is pushed down, the air pressure adjusting plate 38 in the keyboard rises and the air pressure can be increased by narrowing the sealed space 37. On the contrary, the air pressure adjusting plate 38 of the keyboard is lowered to widen the sealed space 37, so that the air pressure can be lowered.

[0024]

As described above, by registering the system environment information for each user in the battery backup RAM and performing the processing of the BIOS ROM based on the information, one computer device can be used for different users. A system environment (hardware such as device and OS, driver, software such as application) is obtained.

Further, since the key top is made slidable and expandable, the user can change the size of the key top, increasing the width of the most frequently used key and reducing the width of the least frequently used key. can do.

Further, since the pressure inside the keyboard can be changed, it can be adjusted to a pressure that is easy for the user to use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a typical computer device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of devices connected to the perspective view of FIG. 1 centering on a computer apparatus main body.

FIG. 3 is a BIOS ROM showing the contents of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting a user system environment (device, OS, application, etc.) according to FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of system environment information of a user read in step S3 described above.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a system configuration including a keyboard of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a keyboard of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the key top of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the key top of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which the dimensions of the key top are changed from those in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a keyboard according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the key switch mechanism of the keyboard of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Computer Main Unit 2 Display 3 Keyboard 4 Printer 5 FDD 6 HDD 7 IC Card 8 MOD 9 Scanner 12 Display 13 Keyboard 14 Printer 15 Scanner 16 FDD 17 FDD 18 HDD 19 MOD 20 IC Card 23 Keyboard 24, 25, 26 Key 35, 36 Switch 37 Space 38 Air Pressure Adjustment Plate

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 23, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 4]

[Figure 5]

[Figure 7]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 6]

[Figure 8]

[Figure 9]

[Figure 10]

FIG. 11

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A computer main body, a device connected to the computer main body, a first memory means for registering system environment information, a reading means for reading the system environment, and a read means for reading the system environment. And a second memory means for initializing the device based on the system environment information. 2. The computer device according to claim 1, wherein the first memory means is a battery backup RAM and the second memory means is a BIOS ROM. 3. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reading means has a user ID input means, and the device is selected based on the user ID input by the user ID input means to initialize the device. A computer device characterized by the above. 4. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the OS, the driver, and the application are loaded after the device is initialized. 5. A keyboard having keys capable of changing the size of a key top. 6. The keyboard according to claim 5, wherein the key top is configured to slide. 7. A keyboard having air pressure adjusting means for adjusting air pressure on the keyboard. 8. The keyboard according to claim 7, further comprising a switch for operating the air pressure adjusting means. 9. The keyboard according to claim 7, wherein the air pressure adjusting means has an air pressure adjusting plate for adjusting a width of a sealed space in the keyboard.