JPH06301461A - Keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To speedily and accurately input key data as many as desired. CONSTITUTION:The depression of keys 1a-1n is detected through switches 2a-2n respectively and when the detected state continues for a specific time or longer, a repeating function for data transmission of the keys is placed in operation. The respective keys 1a-1n are provided with pressure sensors 9a-9n which detect depressing operation forces P to the respective keys and the depressing operation forces are converted into depressing operation force detection signals Sp which have similar variation waveforms; and time intervals ti of timing signals TSi (i=1, 2...) of data transmission by the repeating function become a function of the reciprocals of the levels of the depressing force detection signals Sp.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard connected to an information processing device such as a personal computer, a word processor or a workstation, and more specifically, a switch for detecting that a key has been pressed,
The present invention relates to a keyboard having means for activating a repeat function of data transmission by a pressed key when the detection state continues for a predetermined time or longer after the switch starts the detection operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus having a conventional keyboard of this type.

In the figure, A is a keyboard, and this keyboard A has a plurality of keys 1a to 1n and each key 1
a1n corresponding to switches 2a-2n for detecting that a key has been pressed and a plurality of keys 1a-1n corresponding to the pressing operation of any one or a plurality of keys. A signal input unit 3 that inputs a generated signal into one signal, a signal converter 4 that converts the signal from the signal input unit 3 into data for an information processing device, and a data output unit 5 that transmits and outputs the data. It consists of and. The keyboard A is connected to an information processing apparatus body 7 such as a personal computer body via a cable 6. 8 is a CRT or LC connected to the information processing apparatus main body 7.
A display device such as D.

Next, the operation will be described. Multiple keys 1a
When any one of the keys 1a to 1n is pressed, the corresponding signal and the corresponding switch of the switches 2a to 2n are turned on and a high level signal (switch signal S _S (binary signal)) ( 4A) is output, and this is input to the signal input unit 3. When a plurality of keys are pressed, a signal corresponding to each key and a high level signal from each switch are input. The signal input unit 3 synthesizes the input signals as needed and sends them to the signal converter 4 together with a high level signal indicating a key pressing operation. The signal converter 4 converts the input signal into data for the information processing device and sends it to the data output unit 5. The data output unit 5 sends the data to the information processing device body 7. The information processing device temporarily stores the received data in the memory and displays it on the screen of the display device 8 as necessary. Information processing device body 7
Timing signal TS _i (i = 1, 2,
......) is shown in FIG. 4 (b). The first timing signal T at the rising timing of the high-level signal
S ₁ is output.

When the switch for detecting a key pressing operation starts the detection operation and the detection state continues for a predetermined time T ₀ or more from the time when the high level signal is raised as the switch signal S _S , the signal input section 3, The signal converter 4 and the data output unit 5 repeatedly send the data by the pressed key to the information processing apparatus body 7 at a constant time interval t _C. That is, the timing signals TS ₂ , TS _3, ... For data transmission are output at constant time intervals t _C. This repeat function is stopped when the pressing operation of the key is released, the switch is turned off, and the low level signal is output as the switch signal S _S. In FIG. 4, the data transmission is completed by the timing signal TS _n .

As is well known, the cursor key has a repeat function. In the case of the cursor key, the cursor moves by one step on the screen of the display device 8 by the timing signal TS ₁ and then temporarily stops. The stop time is a predetermined time T ₀ . The predetermined time T ₀ has passed,
When the repeat function works, the timing signals TS ₂ , TS ₃ ...
Is output, the cursor moves continuously on the screen of the display device 8. Then, after the timing signal TS _n is output, the cursor stops moving.

The user presses the cursor key to operate
The cursor key may be continuously pressed until the cursor moves to a desired position on the screen of the display device 8, and the pressing operation to the cursor key may be released when the cursor reaches the desired position.

[0008]

The conventional keyboard is constructed as described above, and the time interval t _C of the timing signals TS ₂ , TS _3, ... After the elapse of the predetermined time T ₀ is constant in any period. It is fixed to. That is, the time interval t _C cannot be changed.
Therefore, it is very difficult for the user to accurately and quickly input the same number of key data as desired.

That is, in the case of inputting a large amount of data of the same key, the shorter the time interval t _C of the timing signal is, the better in order to input the data quickly, but then input exactly the desired number of key data. It's difficult. In other words, it is very difficult to release the pressing operation for the key.

On the contrary, in order to accurately input the desired number of key data, the longer the time interval t _C of the timing signal, the better, but in that case, quick input cannot be performed.

Usually, the user judges the start timing and the end timing of the data input to the information processing apparatus main body 7 by operating the keyboard A while looking at the screen of the display device 8. Even with a conventional keyboard, it was easy to determine the timing of starting input. But,
Since the repeat time interval t _C is generally set to be quite short, it is actually difficult to determine the timing when the data input should be ended.

Therefore, the number of input key data is likely to be incorrect, and the key operation for correction must be performed each time. In particular, such a situation was likely to occur when operating the cursor keys. For example, if you operate the right cursor key to move the cursor to the right on the screen to determine the cursor position, you can continue to operate the key while checking the cursor movement on the screen, but the cursor movement speed Is faster than the user can perceive and control it, and is likely to release the cursor movement keystrokes at the wrong location.

Then, once the key input is released, it is necessary to reconfirm the cursor position on the screen and operate the cursor key again to correct the position. This is a big time loss. Operation errors in such repeat operations (especially cursor continuous movement operations) often occur frequently, and this imposes a heavy mental burden on the user. On the other hand, if the repeat time interval t _C is set to be long, even if the number of key operations is reduced,
It takes too long time to complete the required operation, which is not a practical solution.

The present invention was devised in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in a state where it is possible to cope with a change in the number of repeats, it is always possible to accurately and accurately repeat data input by continuous pressing of keys. The purpose is to be able to do it.

[0015]

A first keyboard according to the present invention includes a switch for detecting that a key has been pressed and a detection state for a predetermined time or more after the switch starts a detection operation. When a keyboard is equipped with a means for activating the repeat function of data transmission by a key being pressed, a pressure sensor for detecting the pressing force for the key and a pressing sensor for detecting the pressing force by the pressure sensor are used. And a means for controlling the timing of data transmission in the repeat function so that the time interval is shortened as the pushing force is increased.

The second keyboard according to the present invention includes a switch for detecting that a key has been pressed,
A keyboard having means for activating a repeat function of data transmission by a pressed key when the detected state continues for a predetermined time or more after the switch starts the detecting operation, An operation depth sensor for detecting the depth, and a means for controlling the timing of data transmission in the repeat function according to the push operation depth by the operation depth sensor so that the time interval becomes shorter as the push operation depth increases. It is characterized by having.

[0017]

According to the first keyboard, when a key is pressed hard, the pressing force detected by the pressure sensor increases, the time interval of data transmission timing decreases, and the number of key data inputs per unit time increases. Become. On the contrary, if the pressing operation on the key is weakened, the pressing operation force detected by the pressure sensor becomes small, the time interval of the data transmission timing becomes short, and the number of key data inputs per unit time becomes small.

According to the second keyboard, when the key is pushed deeply, the pushing depth detected by the manipulation depth sensor becomes large and the time interval of data transmission timing becomes short, so that the key per unit time is reduced. The number of data inputs increases. On the contrary, when the pressing operation depth for the key is made shallow, the pressing operation depth detected by the operation depth sensor becomes small, the time interval of data transmission timing becomes short, and the number of key data inputs per unit time becomes small.

In any case, since the user can arbitrarily adjust the pressing force or the pressing depth with respect to the keys, it is possible to freely control the number of key data to be input per unit time.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Example 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus including a keyboard according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, A is a keyboard, and this keyboard A is provided to correspond to a plurality of keys 1a to 1n and each of the keys 1a to 1n, and detects that a key has been pressed. The switch 2a to 2n, which outputs a low level signal as the switch signal S _S when it is not pressed and is output a high level signal when the switch is pressed, and any one of a plurality of keys 1a to 1n or A signal input unit 3 for inputting signals generated in response to pressing of a plurality of keys into a single signal; a signal converter 4 for converting the signal from the signal input unit 3 into data for an information processing device; Data output unit 5 for transmitting and outputting the data
Further, pressure sensors 9a to 9n for detecting the pushing operation force for each of the keys 1a to 1n are provided.

The keyboard A is connected to an information processing apparatus body 7 such as a personal computer body via a cable 6. Reference numeral 8 is a display device such as a CRT or LCD connected to the information processing device body 7.

Next, the operation will be described. The user presses any one of the plurality of keys 1a to 1n with a desired pressing force P (see FIG. 2B). How much pressing force P is used depends on the number of key data inputs desired to be input, as will be described later. The signal generated corresponding to the pressed key and the corresponding switch of the switches 2a to 2n are turned on and a high level signal is output as the switch signal S _S (binary signal) as shown in FIG. In addition, the corresponding pressure sensor among the pressure sensors 9a to 9n outputs a push operation force detection signal having a voltage proportional to the push operation force P (see FIG. 2B) to the key to the signal input unit 3
Output to. When multiple keys is pushed, pushing operation force detection signal S _P by the signal and the high-level signal and the pressure sensor by the switches that occur in response to each key is input. The signal input unit 3 synthesizes the input signals as necessary and sends them to the signal converter 4 together with a high level signal indicating a key pressing operation and a pressing force detection signal S _P. The signal converter 4 converts the input signal into data for the information processing device and sends it to the data output unit 5. In this data, as shown in (c) of FIG. 2, the push operation force detection signal S whose fluctuation waveform is similar to the push operation force P is shown.
Contains _P. The data output unit 5 sends the data to the information processing device body 7. The information processing device temporarily stores the received data in the memory and displays it on the screen of the display device 8.

A timing signal TS _i (i = 1, 2 ...) For sending data to the information processing apparatus main body 7 is shown in FIG.
Is shown in. The first timing signal TS ₁ is output at the timing when the switch signal S _S rises to the high level.

When the switch for detecting the key pressing operation starts the detecting operation and the detection state continues for a predetermined time T ₀ or more from the time when the high level signal is raised as the switch signal S _S , the signal input section 3, the signal Converter 4,
The data output unit 5 repeatedly sends the data by the pressed key to the information processing apparatus body 7. That is, the timing signals TS ₂ , TS _3, ... For data transmission are output. That is, the repeat function comes to work.

[0027] In this repeat function, each adjacent timing signals _{TS 2, TS 3, TS 4} ...... TS n time intervals _{t 2, t 3, t 4} ...... t n is press operation force detection signal S _P level It is a function of the reciprocal of. The level of the push operation force detection signal S _P is proportional to the push operation force P.

In the case of the timing chart shown in FIG. 2, since the number of data to be input is relatively large, the user gives the pushing force P up to the maximum value P _MAX (flat portion). The pushing operation force P is initially zero, and linearly increases from there toward the maximum value P _MAX . Along with this, the push operation force detection signal S _P also changes from zero to the maximum value S _P-MAX.
Linearly increasing toward, reaching the maximum value S _P-MAX and continuing in that state for a certain period of time.

In the period T ₁ in which the push operation force detection signal S _P linearly increases from zero toward the maximum value S _P-MAX , the time interval t _i of the timing signal TS _i for data transmission is: It is shortened as a function of the reciprocal of the level of the push operation force detection signal S _P. That is, as the pushing force P gradually increases, the timing signal TS _i
The time interval t _{i of} is gradually shortened, the speed of repeated data input is gradually increased, and the number of key data inputs per unit time is also gradually increased. The user confirms the fast data input state on the screen of the display device 8. Since the number of key data inputs has not reached the desired number yet, the pushing operation force P is given up to the maximum value P _MAX .

[0030] and, since that press operation force P is still the key number of data input also reached the maximum value P _MAX does not reach the number of hope is confirmed on the screen of the display device 8, of the maximum value P _MAX state Is continuing. Pushing force detection signal S
Period T _{2 in which P} is held flat with the maximum value S _P-MAX
, The time interval t _i of the timing signal TS _i becomes the minimum value t _MIN , and the minimum value t _MIN is kept constant. That is, since the pushing force P is strong and has the maximum value P _MAX , the time interval becomes the minimum value t _MIN , the number of key data inputs per unit time is the maximum, and the repeated data input speed is also the maximum. Become.

With the passage of time, the number of input key data increases and approaches the desired number of input key data. This is confirmed on the screen of the display device 8. Therefore, the user weakens the push operation force P for the key currently being pushed. That is, the period T _{3 of} FIG. 2 is entered. The push operation force P is weakened gradually from a maximum value P _MAX, the level of the pushing operation force detection signal S _P also decreases gradually, the time interval t _i of the timing signal TS _i along with this
Is gradually increased from the minimum value t _MIN (value in the period T ₂ ). As a result, the number of key data inputs per unit time gradually decreases, and the repetitive data input speed gradually decreases. This is also confirmed by the user on the screen of the display device 8.

The data input speed is sufficiently low immediately before the number of key data inputs reaches the desired number,
The user releases the pressing operation on the key when it is confirmed that the number of actually input key data exactly matches the desired number. The data entry speed is slow enough to make this confirmation easy. When the pushing force P becomes zero, the switch attached to the key is turned off, and when the low level signal is output as the switch signal S _S , the key data input, that is, the repeat function is stopped, and the desired number of keys are pressed. Data can be entered accurately and quickly overall.

In FIG. 2, the data input is completed by the timing signal TS _n .

When the desired number of key data inputs is not as large as in the above case and is relatively small, the user weakens the push operation force P for the keys. Accordingly, the level of the push operation force detection signal S _P does not become too high, the time interval t _i of the timing signal TS _i for data input becomes longer, and the data input speed becomes slow from the beginning. Therefore, the number of key data inputs can be easily adjusted to the desired number. Even if the data input speed is slow, it does not take much time because the number of key data inputs is small.

As described above, the user can arbitrarily adjust the push operation force P to the key according to the number of key data inputs, so that the data input speed can be freely controlled and the desired number of keys can be input. Data can be entered accurately and quickly.

Example 2. Next, a keyboard according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Instead of the pressure sensors 9a-9n in the first embodiment, each key 1a-
An operation depth sensor for detecting each push operation depth is provided corresponding to 1n. As the operation depth sensor, a differential transformer (one in which a key rod is a magnetic core and a primary coil and a secondary coil are placed around the core) and a potentiometer can be used.

The level of the push operation depth detection signal corresponding to the push operation force detection signal in the first embodiment is variable according to the push operation depth of the key by the operation depth sensor. That is, the larger the push operation depth, the higher the level of the push operation depth detection signal, and accordingly the time interval t _i of the timing signal TS _i for data transmission becomes shorter. The other structure is similar to that of the first embodiment.

The operation is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. The "push operation force" is read as "push operation depth", and the "push operation force detection signal" is the "push operation depth detection signal". Should be read as

[0039]

As described above, according to the first or second keyboard of the present invention, when the repeat function is operated, the data transmission timing is adjusted by adjusting the push operation force or the push operation depth with respect to the key. The time interval, that is, the number of key data inputs per unit time can be freely controlled by the user's intention. Therefore, when the amount of data to be input is small, the push operation force can be weakened or the push operation depth can be made shallower to input data relatively slowly, so that the desired number of key data can be input accurately. . In this case, since the number of input data is small, the operation is completed in a short time even if the data is input slowly. If there is a large amount of data to be input, first increase the push operation force or increase the push operation depth to increase the data input speed, and then increase the push operation force at the stage where the desired key data input number is reached. If you weaken or make the push operation shallow to slow down the data input speed and make it easier to visually check, then finally stop key input, the desired number of key data as a whole can be quickly and accurately You can enter.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus including a keyboard according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the repeat function in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus including a keyboard according to a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart used for explaining the operation of the repeat function of the conventional keyboard.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Keyboard 1a-1n ... Key 2a-2n ... Switch 3 ... Signal input section 4 ... Signal converter 5 ... Data output section 6 ... Cable 7 ... Information processing apparatus main body 8 ... display device 9A～9n ... pressure sensor S _S ... switch signal P ... pushing operation force S _P ... press operation force detection signal TS _i ... timing signal

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A switch for detecting that a key is pressed, and a repeat of data transmission by the key being pressed when the detection state continues for a predetermined time or longer after the switch starts the detection operation. A keyboard having means for activating a function, wherein a pressure sensor that detects a pressing operation force on the key and a timing of data transmission in the repeat function according to the detected pressing operation force by the pressure sensor, the pressing operation force is A keyboard having means for controlling such that the larger the time, the shorter the time interval. 2. A switch for detecting that a key has been pressed, and a repeat of data transmission by the key being pressed when the detection state continues for a predetermined time or longer after the switch starts the detection operation. A keyboard having means for activating a function, wherein an operation depth sensor for detecting a pressing operation depth with respect to the key and a timing of data transmission in the repeat function according to the pressing operation depth by the operation depth sensor are set. A keyboard having means for controlling such that the time interval becomes shorter as the depth of the pressing operation becomes larger.