JPH0954645A - Data terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively switch the input mode of the data terminal device to which a keyboard is connected. SOLUTION: This data terminal device is equipped with the keyboard 11 which has a plurality of keys and a control key which is used for switching between a 1st mode wherein the keys are pressed in combination at the same time and a 2nd mode wherein they are pressed individually and sends out discrimination information on the pressed keys and their combination in specific form, an input mode setting means 13 which sets the mode corresponding to the control key when the discrimination information in discrimination information on the control key, and a keying information generating means 15 which generates the code corresponding to the discrimination information in the mode set by the input mode setting means 13. Then the input mode discriminating means 13 is constituted including a means which decides whether or not a plurality of keys are pressed at the same time based on the form of the discrimination information and switches the mode to the 1st mode when the result is true.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data terminal device for performing various processes on information given from a keyboard.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the field of man-machine interface related to data terminals, in order to secure a work environment and work efficiency adapted to the progress of OA, various keyboards have been practically researched and improved from the viewpoint of ergonomics and others. Is being promoted.

Among such keyboards, the thumb shift keyboard is a combination of keys to which letters are assigned (hereinafter referred to as "letter keys") and left and right thumb shift keys, and permits simultaneous keying. In Japanese input mode, it is possible to enter the Japanese syllabary, voiced marks, semi-voiced marks and punctuation marks at the home position without using the uppermost letter key. Also, by using the uppermost key, you can enter numbers at the home position. Since it is possible and there is no large bias in the number of letter keys assigned to the left and right little fingers, it is widely used by users who perform a large amount of Japanese data entry or for a long time.

In addition, the Nikola keyboard to which the letter keys and the thumb shift key are applied simultaneously makes it possible to improve the working environment and efficiency by narrowing the physical movable range of each finger, so that it is not possible to write in Japanese. Various types of data entry have been put to practical use. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a data terminal device to which a thumb shift keyboard is applied.

In the figure, a thumb shift keyboard 51 is connected to a corresponding input / output terminal of a processor 52, and a display 53, a printer 54 and other peripheral devices are connected to the processor 52. In such a data terminal device, the processor 52 has an input mode register (not shown) set by software,
At the time of start-up, a predetermined mode (it is assumed here that the "Japanese input mode" is set for simplicity) is set in the input mode register.

Regarding the Japanese input mode, actually, there are a hiragana input mode, a katakana input mode, a reduced hiragana input mode, a reduced katakana input mode, etc. And called the Japanese input mode. Also, regarding the above modes,
There are many input modes such as Japanese input mode, English (numeric) input mode, Roman character input mode, etc., but the modes other than Japanese input mode and English (numeric) input mode are not related to the present invention. Therefore, these explanations are omitted here.

On the other hand, in the thumb shift keyboard 51, a processor (not shown) (hereinafter referred to as "KB processor") is mounted, and the KB processor monitors the state of the contact of the key while scanning and is shown in FIG. When recognizing that either the "alphabet" key or the "non-conversion" key has been pressed, a code pre-assigned to the key is generated and notified to the processor 52.

When the processor 52 analyzes the code notified in this way and recognizes that the alphabetic key is depressed, it sets the contents of the mode register to the alphanumeric character input mode (FIG. 7) and, conversely, does not convert it. When it is recognized that a key has been pressed, the Japanese input mode is set (Fig. 7). Also, K
When the B processor recognizes that the letter key is pressed alone, as shown in FIG. 8A, for example, the processor 52 assigns the code assigned to the letter key in advance.
To notify.

Furthermore, the KB processor constantly takes a history of the preceding 200 ms period regarding the state of the contact points of the left and right thumb shift keys in the above-mentioned scanning process,
When it recognizes that any letter key has been pressed, it refers to the contents of its history and monitors the state of these thumb shift keys in the subsequent 200 ms period, thereby displaying either of them as shown in FIG. 8 (b). It is determined whether or not the thumb shift key is pressed simultaneously with the corresponding letter key.

Further, when the result of such discrimination is "true", the KB processor recognizes the code assigned to the letter key in a predetermined order and the thumb shift key pressed at the same time as the letter key. And the code are sent to the processor 52 in series. In the processor 52, when the content of the above-mentioned mode register indicates the Japanese input mode, the code notified in this way from the thumb shift keyboard 51 is fetched and based on the predetermined rule for the Japanese input mode. Analyze. By performing such an analysis, the processor 52 converts the code given by itself into the code of the hiragana (or katakana) corresponding to the code, and sends the letter key and the thumb sent in series as described above. The combination of the code of the shift key is converted into a code of a predetermined character corresponding to the combination.

For such a character, when the thumb shift key located in the same block as the corresponding letter key (logically formed left and right with the substantially central portion of the keyboard arrangement as a boundary) is pressed at the same time. , The letter stamped on the top of the letter key (eg,
When the thumb shift key belonging to the opposite block is pressed at the same time, it becomes a character in which a dakuten is added to the character (for example, “to”) imprinted on the lower part of the top of the letter key.

Further, the conversion process performed by the processor 52 in this manner is hereinafter referred to as "character entry process". Further, the processor 52 sequentially sends the code obtained by such processing to the display 53 to display it on the display screen of the display and also outputs it to the printer 54.

As shown in FIG. 6, on the thumb shift keyboard 51, conversion keys are arranged in the vicinity of the left and right thumb shift keys along with the non-conversion keys. Since it is not related, its explanation is omitted here.

[0014]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the transition from the English (numeric) character input mode to the Japanese input mode is performed by pressing the non-conversion key alone as described above, When the subsequent keyboard operation is performed without performing such an operation, the processor 52 recognizes an alphabetic character or symbol different from the hiragana or katakana that the operator intends to input.

Further, when the letter key and either of the left and right thumb shift keys are simultaneously depressed by the subsequent keyboard operation (FIG. 8 (c)), the processor 52
A code indicating "space" is generated corresponding to the thumb shift key. Therefore, in such a case, even if the character that the operator tried to input is "O", the character actually recognized by the processor 52 is two characters including "J" and "space". became.

Further, in such a case, the unnecessary character "J" displayed on the display screen of the display 53,
It is necessary to move the cursor to the "space" and delete the character prior to starting the desired Japanese input. Therefore, when the operation of the non-conversion key described above is forgotten or is not performed reliably, it is troublesome to take the subsequent measures and the work efficiency is reduced.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a data terminal device in which the input mode can be switched efficiently based on the difference in key operation between the input modes.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention;
It is a principle block diagram of the invention described in FIG.

The invention according to claim 1 includes a plurality of keys,
These keys have a control key for switching between a first mode in which they are simultaneously pressed in any combination and a second mode in which they are independently pressed. A keyboard 11 that sends out the identification information of the key that has been monitored and pressed and the combination thereof in a predetermined format, and the identification information sent by the keyboard 11 is taken in, and the identification information is the identification information of the control key. Of the first mode and the second mode when
The input mode setting means 13 for setting the mode corresponding to the control key and the identification information sent by the keyboard 11 are taken in, and the input mode setting means 1 is used as the identification information.
In the data terminal device provided with the keystroke information generating means 15 for generating the corresponding code under the mode set by 3, the input mode setting means 13 has the keyboard 11
Includes means for analyzing the identification information sent by the device based on the format, determining whether or not a plurality of keys have been pressed simultaneously, and switching the mode to the first mode when the result of the determination is true. Is characterized by.

FIG. 2 is a principle block diagram of the invention described in claims 2 to 4. The invention according to claim 2 is a control key provided for switching between a plurality of keys and a first mode in which these keys are simultaneously pressed in any combination and a second mode in which they are independently pressed. And a keyboard 21 for monitoring the pressing of these keys and transmitting serially the identification information of the pressed keys in sequence.
Input mode setting means 23 for taking in the identification information sent by the control means and setting the mode corresponding to the control key among the first mode and the second mode when the identification information is the identification information of the control key. When the interval of the identification information sent by the keyboard 21 along the time axis is measured and is less than a predetermined threshold value, the simultaneous keying of two keys corresponding to both ends of the interval is identified. Means 25 and input mode setting means 23
Under the mode set by
5, a keystroke information generating means 27 for generating a code corresponding to the identification information corresponding to both ends of the interval when the simultaneous keystrokes are identified, and a keystroke information generating means 27 for generating a code respectively corresponding to these identification information. In the terminal device, the input mode setting means 23 is characterized by including means for setting the mode to the first mode when the simultaneous keystroke identification means 25 identifies the simultaneous keystrokes.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the data terminal device according to the first or second aspect, the first mode is an input mode of hiragana or katakana and the second mode is alphabetic or English. The keyboard is characterized in that the keyboard is provided with a shift key that can be pressed at the same time as the letter key in the first mode of the input mode of either numeric characters or English symbols.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data terminal device according to the first to third aspects, the input mode identification means is a factor for setting the first mode in the keystroke information generation means. It is characterized in that it includes means for making the identification information corresponding to a keystroke a code generation target. In the data terminal device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the keyboard 11 sends the identification information of the pressed one of the plurality of keys in a predetermined format based on the keystroke mode of the pressed key. The keystroke information generating means 15 generates a code corresponding to the identification information sent by the keyboard 11 under the mode set by the input mode setting means 13. The input mode setting means 13 determines whether or not the identification information sent by the keyboard 11 is the identification information of the control key. When the result of the determination is true, any one of the plurality of keys is pressed simultaneously. The first mode and the second mode that is independently pressed are set to the mode corresponding to the control key. Further, the input mode setting means 13 determines whether or not any one of the plurality of keys is simultaneously pressed in parallel with the above-mentioned determination based on the above-described format, and when the result of the determination is true, , Switch the mode to the first mode.

That is, in the second mode in which each key is pressed independently, a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed while the operation of the control key to be pressed to switch to the first mode is omitted. In this case, the simultaneous pressing is recognized in the same manner as the operation of the control key and the switching to the first mode is surely performed, so that the efficiency of information input via the keyboard 11 is improved.

In the data terminal device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the keyboard 21 does not identify the simultaneous pressing of a plurality of keys performed by the keyboard 11 constituting the invention of the first aspect, and the identification thereof. Is a keystroke form identification means 25.
Is performed based on the magnitude relationship between the interval along the time axis of the identification information sent by the keyboard 21 and a predetermined threshold value. However, the input mode identification means 23 and the keystroke information generation means 27 are based on the result of such identification and the above-mentioned identification information, and the input mode setting means 13 and the keystroke information generation means constituting the invention according to claim 1. In the same manner as 15, the input mode is set and switched, and the code is generated.

That is, since it is determined whether or not a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed by the keystroke form identifying means 25 which is separate from the keyboard 21, the versatility of the keyboard 21 is ensured and the keyboard 21 according to claim 1 is provided. Similar to the described invention, the switching from the second mode to the first mode is realized without operating the control key. In the data terminal device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the first mode is an input mode of hiragana or katakana, and the second mode is an input mode of any of alphabetic characters, alphanumeric characters and alphabetic symbols, Furthermore, a thumb shift keyboard with a thumb shift key which can be pressed simultaneously with the letter key in its first mode is applied as the keyboard.

Therefore, since the invention according to claim 1 or 2 is applied to the data terminal device which adopts the thumb shift keyboard for inputting Japanese and alphabets, the information through the thumb shift keyboard is applied. The efficiency of inputting is improved. In the data terminal device according to the invention described in claim 4, claims 1 to 3 are provided.
Since the keystroke information generating means that configures the input mode identification means sets the identification information indicating the simultaneous keystroke that is a factor for setting the first mode as a code generation target, it is input immediately after shifting to the first mode. When the desired character is obtained under the simultaneous keying, the operation of re-inputting the character in accordance with the operation of the control key can be omitted, and the data terminal device according to claim 1 to claim 3. Compared with this, operability is further enhanced.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The hardware configuration of the embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 to 4 is the same as that shown in FIG. 5, and therefore the description thereof is omitted here.

Regarding the correspondence between this embodiment and the block diagrams shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thumb shift keyboard 51 corresponds to the keyboards 11 and 21, and the processor 52 is the input mode setting means 13 and 23 and keystrokes. It corresponds to the information generation means 15 and 27 and the keystroke form identification means 25.
FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of an embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 to 4.

In the figure, the same processes as those shown in FIG. 7 are designated by the same circles, and the description thereof is omitted here. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 to 4. Below, FIG.
~ The operation of the embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 and 3 will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 8.

Processor 52 in Japanese input mode
Since the processing performed by is the same as the conventional example, the description thereof is omitted here. Further, the processing performed by the KB processor incorporated in the thumb shift keyboard 51 is the same as the conventional example in both the Japanese input mode and the English (numerical) character input mode, and therefore the description thereof is omitted here.

The feature of this embodiment resides in the following processing performed by the processor 52. In the alphanumeric input mode, the processor 52 determines whether or not an alphabetic key has been pressed and, in addition to determining whether or not an alphabetic key has been pressed, a code indicating that "the letter key and either of the left and right thumb shift keys have been simultaneously depressed". It is determined whether the row is given from the thumb shift keyboard 51 (FIG. 3 (a)). The processor 52 repeats the above two determinations when the result of the determination is “false”, but sets the Japanese input mode in the mode register when the determination result is “true” (FIG. 3 (b)).

Therefore, in the alphanumeric input mode, when the non-conversion key is omitted (or forgotten) and the letter key and the thumb shift key are pressed at the same time (FIG. 4), The process of shifting to the Japanese input mode is performed in the same manner as when the non-conversion key is pressed. In the thumb shift keyboard shown in FIG. 6, the number of letter keys subject to such simultaneous keying is "44".
Therefore, the 22 characters engraved on the upper row of the key tops of these letter keys are subject to the above-mentioned processing,
Occupies half of the characters input at the beginning of Japanese input mode.

As described above, according to this embodiment, English (number)
In the character input mode, when simultaneous keystrokes should be made in the Japanese input mode, the switching to the Japanese input mode is surely performed, so that operability is enhanced. Hereinafter, the operation of the embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 2 and 3 will be described.

The difference between the present embodiment and the embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claim 1 lies in the functional division of the thumb shift keyboard 51 and the processor 52, as shown below. In the thumb shift keyboard 51, the KB processor monitors the state of each contact of the keyboard, and every time it detects a closed contact, it notifies the processor 52 of the code corresponding to that contact in chronological order, and the letter key and the thumb shift key. There is no distinction about simultaneous keystrokes with.

On the other hand, the processor 52 fetches the sequence of codes thus notified in chronological order (see FIG. 3).
(A)), and the intervals between adjacent codes on the time axis are sequentially measured (FIG. 3 (B)). The processor 52 compares the interval thus measured with a predetermined threshold value (here, 200 ms for simplification), and when the former is less than the latter, adjacent codes are passed through the interval. Recognize that the row of was obtained by simultaneous keying (FIG. 3 (C)).

Further, the processor 52 determines whether or not the sequence of codes thus recognized is a combination of a letter key and a thumb shift key, and if the result of the determination is "true", The combination of the corresponding codes is unified into a predetermined permutation (FIG. 3 (D)), and the same mode switching process as that of the embodiment corresponding to the invention according to claim 1 (FIG. 3, (a), (b)) and the character entry process (the description is omitted here since it is the same as the conventional example).

Regarding the processing to be executed by the processor 52 when the result of the above-mentioned judgment is "false", for example, it may be regarded as an illegal key operation and the corresponding code may be discarded. When it is adapted to a specific application system or front-end processor 52 to execute, it may be a target of processing based on the application system or front-end processor.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the processor 52 determines the simultaneous key-pressing, and switches the mode from the alphanumeric input mode to the Japanese input mode.
And the same operation as the embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claim 3. Therefore, in this embodiment, the adaptability to the variety of operations of the thumb shift keyboard 51 is ensured, as compared with the embodiments corresponding to the inventions described in claims 1 and 3, and in the same manner as that embodiment. Operability is enhanced.

In the above-described embodiment, no description is given of the processing performed by the processor 52 for measuring the interval between adjacent codes on the time axis and the configuration and operation of the hardware controlled under the processing. Although it is not, for example, the value of the clock that gives the absolute time while reading the value of the counter that counts at a fixed cycle every time a code is given to acquire the interval with the preceding code and restart that counter Many known techniques can be applied, such as reading and storing each time a code is given, and calculating the interval by taking the difference from the similarly stored value for the preceding code. Therefore, these explanations are omitted here.

The operation of the embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claim 4 will be described below. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 to 3 lies in the following processing performed by the processor 52. When the processor 52 recognizes that a string of symbols indicating "simultaneous keystrokes with the letter key and either of the left and right thumb shift keys" is given in the English (numeric) character input mode, the mode register receives Japanese characters. The word input mode is set (FIG. 3 (b)), and the character string is targeted for character entry processing.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when simultaneous keystrokes are performed in the English (numeric) character input mode, the transition to the Japanese input mode and the input of hiragana or katakana are performed in parallel. Therefore, the operability is further enhanced as compared with the embodiments corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 to 3. In each of the embodiments described above, the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is applied to the process of shifting from the English (numeric) character input mode to the Japanese input mode in the data terminal to which the thumb shift keyboard is connected. However, these inventions are not limited to such a thumb shift keyboard, and for example, a data terminal to which the Nikola keyboard described in the conventional example is applied,
The same applies regardless of the input mode as long as it is a transition from the input mode in which simultaneous keystrokes are not performed to the input mode in which simultaneous keystrokes are performed.

[0042]

As described above, in the invention described in claim 1, switching from the second mode to the first mode can be performed in the first mode in response to simultaneous pressing of a plurality of keys. As a result, the efficiency of inputting information via the keyboard is increased. In the invention according to claim 2,
Since the determination of whether or not a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed is performed by the keystroke form identification means that is separate from the keyboard,
Switching from the second mode to the first mode is realized by omitting the operation of the control key in the same manner as the invention described in claim 1, while ensuring the versatility of the keyboard.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the data terminal device adopting the thumb shift keyboard for inputting Japanese and alphabets is used as the data terminal device.
The invention described in (1) is applied, and the efficiency of inputting information via the thumb shift keyboard is increased. In the invention described in claim 4, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, when a character to be input immediately after the transition from the second mode to the first mode is obtained under simultaneous keying. Has
By omitting the operation of the control key and performing the simultaneous keying, it becomes possible to perform the mode switching and the information input in parallel.

Therefore, in the information terminal device to which these inventions are applied, work efficiency and environment can be improved, and the number of keystrokes can be reduced to improve reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a principle block diagram of the invention according to claims 2 to 4;

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of an embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 to 4.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of an embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 to 4.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a data terminal device to which a thumb shift keyboard is applied.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a key arrangement of a thumb shift keyboard.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 21 keyboard 13, 23 input mode setting means 15, 27 keystroke information generating means 25 keystroke form identifying means 51 thumb shift keyboard 52 processor 53 display 54 printer

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of keys, and a control key provided for switching between a first mode in which these keys are simultaneously pressed in any combination and a second mode in which they are independently pressed. A keyboard for monitoring the pressing and keystroke forms of these keys and sending out the identification information of the pressed key and its combination in a predetermined format, and the identification information sent by the keyboard, When the identification information is the identification information of the control key, an input mode setting means for setting a mode corresponding to the control key in the first mode and the second mode, and sent by the keyboard A keystroke information generating means for fetching the identification information and generating a code corresponding to the identification information under the mode set by the input mode setting means. In the terminal device, the input mode setting means analyzes the identification information sent by the keyboard based on the format to determine whether or not a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed, and the result of the determination is true. A data terminal device comprising means for switching the mode to the first mode at a certain time. 2. A plurality of keys and a control key provided for switching between a first mode in which these keys are simultaneously pressed in any combination and a second mode in which they are independently pressed. A keyboard for monitoring the pressing of these keys and sending serially the identification information of the pressed keys in series; and the identification information sent by the keyboard, which is the identification information of the control key. The input mode setting means for setting the mode corresponding to the control key among the first mode and the second mode, and the interval along the time axis of the identification information sent by the keyboard. A keystroke mode identifying means for identifying simultaneous keystrokes of two keys corresponding to both ends of the interval when the measured value is less than a predetermined threshold value; and the input mode setting. Under the mode set by the setting means, when the simultaneous keystrokes are identified by the keystroke form identification means, a combination of identification information corresponding to both ends of the interval is used, and in other cases, these identification information are used. In a data terminal device comprising keystroke information generating means for generating respectively corresponding codes, the input mode setting means, when the simultaneous keystroke is identified by the keystroke form identifying means, sets the mode to the first mode. A data terminal device, characterized in that it includes means for setting the mode. 3. The data terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the first mode is a hiragana or katakana input mode, and the second mode is an alphabetic character, an alphanumeric character, or an alphabetic symbol. The data terminal device, which is in the input mode, and in which the keyboard is provided with a shift key that can be pressed simultaneously with the letter key in the first mode. 4. The data terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the keying information generation means includes identification information corresponding to simultaneous keying, which is a factor for the input mode identification means to set the first mode. A data terminal device comprising means for generating a code.