JPH10171577A - Input device for electronic computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manual input device having simple constitution and high operability and enabling a user to easily memorize operation and efficiently input data by outputting plural different input modes in accordance with the depressing depth of a foot switch and reducing misdepression in a foot input device. SOLUTION: The input device has a keyboard 3 to be a manual input device, a keyboard interface 102 for inputting key information and a processor 108 for reading out inputted key data. The device is also provided with a foot switch interface 101 for converting depth information into a format to be read out by the processor 108 so that the processor 108 can switch the input mode of the keyboard 3 in accordance with the depth information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an input device for an electronic computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a manual input device of a computer uses a keyboard. The keyboard is a device provided with a plurality of switches for pressing with a finger, and is a device for transmitting information indicating which key is pressed to the computer. The computer receives the information transmitted from the keyboard, determines which key is pressed from the information,
Performs processing corresponding to the pressed key.

There are many types of keyboards. Among them, the most common ones are described in "Technical Reference (Hardware) ODG Hardware Interface Technical Description" issued by the PC Open Architecture Promotion Council. A key for switching an input mode such as Japanese input and a key for moving a cursor indicating a character input position are added based on a key arrangement of an English typewriter as described above. When switching the input mode, a plurality of keys are often pressed simultaneously. For example, Windows 9 created by Microsoft Corporation
In MSIME, the Japanese language conversion software for the operating system 5, the “Alt” key and “
By pressing the full-width key at the same time, you can switch between English input and Japanese input. In addition, to switch between multiple input modes, such as kana, kana, half-width kana, full-width alphanumeric, half-width alphanumeric, etc., it is necessary to press multiple keys at the same time for operation. The input efficiency is reduced, the key input time is lengthened, and the usability is poor.

[0004] Therefore, a method of inputting efficiently with this type of keyboard, is determined in advance or by pressing which key advance in which finger, typically Keep the finger in a predetermined position (home position), A blind touch method is used in which a key is entered without looking at the home position.

[0005] However, an operator who inputs data by the blind touch method needs to operate one of the keys using a different finger from the usual one, and the input efficiency is reduced. Also, since the cursor key is separated from the character input key,
When performing the input by the blind touch method, the finger must be released from the home position, and thus an operation of searching for the home position after the completion of the cursor movement is required. Therefore, there are many models which can be used together with an auxiliary input device which can improve operability and shorten data input time.

For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-49735, a foot switch operable with a foot and a specific key code are stored, and a circuit means for assigning the key code to the foot switch is provided. An auxiliary input device comprising circuit means for outputting an assigned key code and a key code based on the keyboard input, wherein the input of the specific key code can be performed by operating the foot switch. I have.

[0007]

However, in the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-49735, a key code given to a frequently used key is replaced with a foot instead of a keyboard input. Although an operable foot switch is provided and has both foot and hand operation functions, there are many different input modes such as kana, kana, half-width kana, full-width alphanumeric, half-width alphanumeric, etc. Input mode requires multiple footswitches for each switch,
Operability due to the complexity of those multiple foot switches,
The reliability of the equipment is not high. Also, it is difficult to remember the operation and the input efficiency decreases due to mistaken steps, etc., the key input time is lengthened, and as a result, it is the same as the conventional keyboard input where it is difficult to press multiple keys at the same time. No.

An object of the present invention is to provide a foot-operated input device which outputs a number of different input modes in accordance with the depth to which a foot switch is depressed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manual input device which can be easily and efficiently input by reducing missteps and the like.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide, in addition to a keyboard, the same information as that transmitted by a keyboard when a specific key or a plurality of specific keys on the keyboard are simultaneously pressed when stepping on the foot. This can be realized by providing a foot switch for transmitting information to the computer, taking in the depression depth of the foot switch into an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and switching the input mode for each depth.

[0010]

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

FIG. 1 shows an electronic computer (personal computer, workstation, etc.) host computer 1
1 shows a configuration diagram of a keyboard 3 and a foot pedal switch as an input device.

First, as in the case of a normal typewriter, when entering characters and numerical values, the main input method is to manually input the keys arranged on the keyboard 3 with the fingers of the hand.

For example, by manually pressing a key with a finger, key information data is transmitted from the key information input 202 to the keyboard interface 102. Then, the key information data is transmitted to the MPU 103 via the key information input 204.

Here, for example, when it is desired to switch the input mode such as kana, kana, alphanumeric, etc., the foot-operated pedal foot switch 2 is depressed, and the data of the foot switch depth information input 1 is transmitted to the foot switch interface 101. Is done. Then, the key information data and the foot switch depth information 203 are transmitted to the MPU 103.

Therefore, the input mode such as kana, kana, and alphanumeric can be switched with the depth of one foot pedal switch without releasing the finger from the home position, and the usability can be improved.

Next, a description will be given based on FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing mode switching based on the foot switch depression depth. First, the foot switch depressing depth; D, and the depressing depth Dk of each.
A comparison circuit is provided in the foot switch interface 101 so that the mode can be switched between kana, kana, and alphanumeric by comparing the magnitudes of f, Dk on, DA off, and DA on.

FIG. 3 shows an input mode switching state transition. For example, when it is desired to switch the input mode from the kana state 1001 to the kana state 1002, the initial state (minimum) is the depth of depression of the foot switch; D, and if D is smaller than Dkon, the kana mode state is set to standby 2001. , D
Is larger than Dkon, and when D is between Dkoff and Dkon, the mode is switched to the kana mode state.
3). In this way, the threshold level is determined by each switching mode, and the input mode such as kana, kana, and alphanumeric can be switched by the depth of one foot-operated pedal foot switch according to the depth of the foot switch depressed, improving the usability. I can measure.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the input mode switching.

First, key information data is inputted from the keyboard 3 (S1), the key input is made, and the foot switch depression depth; D is taken in S2. Next, it is determined whether the current input mode is Kana, Kana, or alphanumeric (S3). For example, if the current input mode is Kana, the comparison between D and Dkoff in S5 is performed. Here, when switching the input mode from kana to kana, D and Dkoff are compared, and if the foot switch depression depth; D is smaller than Dkoff, the input mode is switched to kana S8. Then, an input of key information data is received in S11.

FIG. 5 shows, as an application example, an input device of a hardware portion of the computer host computer 1 which includes a kana, kana, alphanumeric switch foot pedal switch and a half-width / full-width switch foot pedal switch. FIG. According to this figure, a number of input modes such as kana, kana, half-width kana, full-width alphanumeric and half-width alphanumeric can be switched with the depth of the two foot pedals, further improving the usability.

[0022]

According to the present invention, it is not necessary to press a plurality of keys at the same time or to press a key away from the home position at the time of input mode switching, and it is possible to switch with only one foot pedal pedal switch. It is easy to remember in operation, and can input more efficiently than reduction of mistakes in steps.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer with a foot pedal.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram based on a stepping depth of a foot switch.

FIG. 3 is an input mode switching state transition diagram.

FIG. 4 is an input mode switching flowchart.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a configuration of a computer with a foot pedal.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Computer main body with a foot-operated pedal, 2 ... Foot-operated pedal type foot switch, 3 ... Keyboard, 4 ... CRT display, 101 ... Foot switch interface,
102: keyboard interface, 103: MPU
(Micro Processing Unit), 104: CRT display interface, 201: Foot switch depth information input 1, 202 ... Keyboard information input 1, 203 ... Foot switch depth information input 2, 204 ... Keyboard information input 2, 205 ... CRT display Data output 1, 206 ... CRT
Display data output 2, 501 ... (Kana) (Kana) (alphanumeric)
Switch pedal foot switch, 502 ... (Kana) (Kana) (alphanumeric) Switch input 1, 503 ... (Half size) (Full size)
Selectable pedal foot switch, 504 ... (half-width) (full-width)
Switching input 1, 1001 ... Kana mode state, 1002 ...
Kana mode state, 1003 ... alphanumeric mode state, 2001
... Kana mode state standby, 2002 ... Kana → kana mode state conversion, 2003 ... Kana mode state standby, 2004 ... Kana → alphanumeric mode state conversion, 2005 ... alphanumeric mode state standby, 2006 ... alphanumeric → kana mode state conversion, 2007 ...
Kana → Kana mode state conversion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An input device of a computer having a keyboard as a manual input device, a keyboard interface for inputting key information, and a processor for reading the input key data, outputs different signals depending on the depth of depression. An input device for a computer, comprising a foot switch and a foot switch interface for converting depth information into a format that can be read by a processor, wherein the processor can switch an input mode of a keyboard in accordance with the depth information.