JPH07210286A - Keymask method for keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To invalidate the function of an optional key on a keyboard and also to attain the invalidity/validity switching of the function by masking the information on the keyboard function as long as the invalidity of this function is instructed. CONSTITUTION:It is checked whether the key information generated from a keyboard 1 is equal to the key information on the key function whose invalidity is instructed in the tables 4a and 4b provided on a main body device 2 for each operation of the keyboard 1. If checked so, the key information is masked. In other words, the identification information on the key function to be generated for the pushed key or the key information on the key codes, etc., is masked by the invalidity instruction information set on both tables 4a and 4b. Thus only the key information corresponding to the valid key functions are available in a processing system. Therefore an optional key function can easily invalidated on the keyboard 1 and furthermore the invalidity/validity switching is also simplified.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mask method for arbitrarily masking a key function assigned to each key of a keyboard.

In many systems, the functions of some of the keys are not used at all on the keyboard due to the business in operation, and rather the careless operation of such keys may result in erroneous processing. there were. The present invention is
It is intended to provide a key mask method for surely disabling functions of unnecessary keys on a keyboard.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a method of invalidating the function of a specific key on a keyboard, a hard method of covering a key with a cap so as to prevent the key from being pressed has been generally used. FIG. 5 shows an example thereof.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 21 is a keyboard panel, 22 is a switch body, 23 is a key top, and 24 is a cap. In a normal state in which the cap 24 is not attached, the key top 23 coupled to the switch body 22 moves up and down in response to a pressing operation to turn the switch body 22 on and off. But key top 2
When the cap 24 is attached to the switch 3, the lower edge of the key top 23 is in contact with the upper surface of the panel 21, so that even if the cap 24 is pushed down, the key top 23 is not transmitted to the switch body 22. Do not work. Therefore, by attaching a cap to the key top of an arbitrary key which is not desired to function, the function of the key can be surely invalidated.

However, according to this conventional method, it is possible to prevent the key from being pressed and to reliably disable the function of the key. On the other hand, when it is desired to switch the invalidation / validation of the key function at any time, It takes time to put on and take off,
There is an inconvenience that mistakes are likely to occur, and when multiple functions are assigned to one key and it is arbitrarily selected by upper shift or extended shift, only some functions of the key are invalidated, Even if you want to keep the function of
There was a problem that all functions were disabled at the same time.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the function of any key on the keyboard can be easily disabled, and the disable / enable can be easily switched, and a plurality of functions can be provided for one key. It is an object of the present invention to provide a key mask method for a keyboard, which can selectively disable / enable any of the functions when the key is assigned.

[0007]

According to the present invention, all the keys on the keyboard can be pressed by hardware, but key information such as key function identification information or key code generated for the pressed key is used. It is masked by the invalidation instruction information set in the table, and only the key information corresponding to the valid key function can be used in the processing system. The table can be created according to the type of the keyboard designated by the operator or the connected keyboard or the type of work.

FIG. 1 illustrates the principle of the present invention shown in an exemplary manner. In the example of FIG. 1, two types of tables are used, one for masking and one for not performing masking. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a keyboard to be masked, which generates key information for identifying a key function such as a key code of a pressed key.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a main body device, which carries out mask processing of unnecessary key functions according to the present invention. 3 is CRT, L
It is a display such as a CD.

Reference numeral 4a is a system standard table having no invalid key function setting. 4b is a table in which an invalid key function is set. A table switching unit 5 switches the table to be used to either one of 4a and 4b according to an instruction.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a mask processing section for masking key information for identifying a key function such as a key code generated from the keyboard 1 when the keyboard 1 is operated according to the table 4a or 4b. Converts the key information of the existing key function to invalid information.

Reference numeral 7 is a business processing unit for processing data according to the masked key information. The table switching unit 5 manages each of the tables 4 a and 4 b, selects one corresponding table based on the instruction in the environment setting at the start of system operation, and passes it to the mask processing unit 6. Based on the passed table, the mask processing unit 6 refers to the table for each key information input from the keyboard 1 thereafter, converts the key information instructed to be invalid into invalid information and passes it to the business processing unit 7. .

The business processing unit 7 ignores invalid information and processes only valid key information.

[0014]

In the method of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the keyboard 1
Whether the function of each of the above keys is valid or invalid is softly determined by the tables 4a and 4b provided in the main body device 2, and the setting of valid or invalid for each key and the change of the setting are made only by switching the table. It can be done quickly and easily. Also, by setting a table and issuing a switching instruction according to the type of keyboard, the skill level of the operator, the type of work, etc., it is possible to easily provide a keyboard having an appropriate key function according to the processing environment. .

[0015]

2 is a block diagram of an embodiment in which the method of the present invention is applied to a keyboard of a terminal device. In the figure, 8
Is a keyboard, 9 is a terminal device, 10 is a display, 1
1 is a printer, 12 is a mask setting program, 13 is a disk device, 14a is a standard (without mask) code conversion table, 14b is a mask processing code conversion table,
Reference numeral 15 is a keyboard operation status switching program, 16 is a keyboard input interface, and 17 is a keyboard operation status display / print program.

In this embodiment, the code conversion table 14
Reference numerals a and 14b are used by the keyboard input interface 16 to convert the key code input from the keyboard 8 into a hexadecimal (HEX) internal code used in the processing of the system. The key code and the internal code are provided for each key function. It is a table with paired entries.

The standard code conversion table 14a is registered in the keyboard input interface when the terminal device is powered on. When creating the code conversion table, the mask setting program 12 is started by inputting the mask setting command. When the mask setting command is input, the type of keyboard to be used and the type of key to be masked are specified as parameters. Mask setting program 12
Manages the standard code conversion table of various keyboards, compares the keyboard type specified by the parameter of the mask setting command with the type of the connected keyboard, and if they match, uses the standard type of that keyboard type. The code conversion table 14a is selected, and the hexadecimal internal code corresponding to the key function whose mask is designated in the standard code conversion table 14a is set as an invalid value X as the internal code.
The mask processing code conversion table 14b corrected to "000" is created and registered in the disk device 13 as shown. If there are multiple types of keyboards 8 to be connected, a code conversion table 14b is created for each type and registered in the disk device 13. The code conversion tables 14a and 14b are selected by inputting a table switching command and starting the keyboard operation state switching program 15 at the start of operation of the system. When the table switching command is input, the standard or mask is designated by the parameter.

The activated keyboard operation state switching program 15 takes out the mask processing code conversion table 14b from the disk device 13 and registers it in the keyboard input interface 16 (the standard code conversion table 14a is turned on when the terminal device is powered on). Whether the code conversion table to be used for the keyboard input interface 16 is 14a or 14b depending on whether the parameter of the table switching command specifies standard or mask. Give instructions.

The keyboard input interface 16 subsequently converts each key code input from the keyboard 8 into an internal code according to the instructed code conversion table. The type information of the keyboard 8 is acquired by inquiring the keyboard input interface 16. When the keyboard 8 is connected to the terminal device 9,
The keyboard input interface 16 is notified of the type information.

When it is desired to know information such as the current operating state of the keyboard is the standard state or the mask state, a keyboard operating state display command is input and the keyboard operating state display / print program 17 is activated. This program displays information such as the key function currently masked, the type of the keyboard currently connected, and the operating state of the keyboard on the screen of the display 10 or by the printer 11. Thereby, the operating state of the keyboard 8 can be confirmed at any time when necessary.

The operation of each program in the embodiment of FIG. 2 described above is shown in the flow charts of FIGS. FIG. 3A is a flow of the mask setting program, in which the type of keyboard being connected is checked, and if the type matches the instructed type, the key code system of the keyboard of that type is converted to the internal code system. Then, a mask processing code conversion table for associating the key code of the key function for which the mask is instructed with the invalid internal code X'000 'is created, and the operation of registering the file in the disk is performed.

FIG. 3B is a flow of the keyboard operation state switching program, in which the mask conversion code conversion table is passed to the keyboard input interface, and the keyboard operation state based on the instruction from the user is sent to the keyboard input interface. Perform the instructed action.

FIG. 3C is a flow chart of the keyboard input interface. The standard code conversion table passed when the power of the terminal device is turned on and the mask processing code conversion table passed from the keyboard operation state switching program. , Select the corresponding one of the code conversion tables according to whether the instructed keyboard operation status is the mask status or the standard status, and then perform the code conversion using the code conversion table for each key code input from the keyboard. To do. At this time, if the mask state is instructed, the mask processing code conversion table is used, and when the key code to be masked is input, it is converted into an invalid internal code. Then, the internal code of the conversion result is written in a predetermined input buffer area of the memory.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the keyboard operation status display / print program. First, the keyboard type currently connected is inquired to the keyboard input interface, and the result is displayed or printed according to the user's instruction. Next, the current keyboard operation status is inquired to the keyboard input interface, and the result is displayed or printed according to the user's instruction. At this time, if the code conversion table is already registered in the keyboard input interface, the mask information set in the registered code conversion table is displayed or printed according to the user's instruction, while the code conversion table is changed to the keyboard. If it is not registered in the input interface, that is, if the keyboard operation state switching command is not executed, the latest mask information based on the code conversion table registered in the disc is displayed or printed according to the instruction from the user.

In the above embodiment, a pair of standard and mask processing code conversion tables are provided for one keyboard type, and either one is selectively used. It is also possible to provide a plurality of arbitrary code conversion tables and use them alternatively with the standard code conversion table according to the user's instruction or the processing environment.

Further, instead of alternatively configuring the standard code conversion table and the mask processing code conversion table with the same size, the mask processing code conversion table includes code conversion for the key code of the key function to be masked. If only data is set and there is a key code input, the code conversion table for mask processing is used first to perform code conversion, and only the key codes that could not be converted by the code conversion table for mask processing are standard code conversion tables. You may make it perform the code conversion by.

In the code conversion table, the input side is a key code of a code system such as 7 bits or 8 bits, the output side is an internal code such as 8 bits or 16 bits, and the input side is a code with a fixed number of bits. It can be of a special information format that has no system.

When the input key code is processed as it is without conversion, the code conversion table is not necessary. Instead, a table for detecting only the key code to be masked is provided, and the detected key code is provided. Should be invalidated.

Further, it is also possible to provide the above-mentioned tables for a plurality of different keyboard types and selectively use them according to the type of keyboard used.

[0030]

According to the present invention, the function of an arbitrary key on the keyboard, particularly, when a plurality of functions are assigned to one key, it is possible to easily set the mask for the arbitrary function among them. In addition, since it is possible to easily and reliably switch between the mask-less and mask-equipped modes, operability is improved compared to the conventional method of covering the key top with a cap.
The reliability can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of each program related to mask processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a keyboard operation status display / print program in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a key mask method using a conventional cap.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 keyboard 2 main unit 3 display 4a standard code conversion table without mask 4b mask conversion code conversion table 5 table switching unit 6 mask processing unit 7 business processing unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A processing system comprising a keyboard having a plurality of keys having different functions and a main body device having a processing function, and a table for instructing the main body device of the key functions of the keyboard to be invalidated. To check whether the key information generated from the keyboard each time the keyboard key is operated is the key information of the key function instructed to be invalid in the table,
A key mask method for a keyboard, characterized in that the key information is masked when it is instructed to be invalid. 2. The table according to claim 1, wherein the table is 1
A key mask method for a keyboard, characterized in that when a plurality of functions are assigned to one key in a selectable manner, the specified one of the plurality of key functions is disabled. 3. The table according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the table is a code conversion table for converting a key code generated by a keyboard into an internal code of a processing system, and a key code of a key function instructed to be invalidated. A key mask method for a keyboard, characterized by performing mask processing by converting to an invalid internal code. 4. The key mask method for a keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the mask information set in the currently connected keyboard is displayed or printed according to an instruction.