JPH103338A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device, with which operation such as position input can be performed without separating fingers from a keyboard, concerning the input device of an information processor. SOLUTION: The input device of the information processor composed of a controller 2 and a display device 1 or the like is provided with hand rest tables 4a and 4b at the positions of palms of hands of an operator at the time of key input in addition to the conventional functions of the keyboard. Then, the motions of palms of the hands are detected by sensors 5a and 5b and corresponding to the push-down information of a right operate key 6 or a left operate key 7 provided at the position of thumb of the operator at the time of key input, position input or special key input is enabled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an input device for inputting information to an information processing device such as a computer or a word processor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an input device used for an information processing apparatus has been mainly used for inputting characters and numerical values by a keyboard. However, due to recent advances in technology, in order to facilitate operation, software often prompts input visually by using a positioning device such as a mouse to guide a display device. For such software, a mouse is a common input device and is widely used.However, when inputting a position with a mouse during key input, it is necessary to temporarily release the hand from the keyboard, and input is smooth. There was a disadvantage that disappeared. In addition, a mouse requires a large area for work, and is difficult to carry because a long cord is used, which is inconvenient, especially for a portable computer. For this reason, various devices have been provided as position input devices that can replace the mouse. For example, the ball is rotated with a finger and the amount of rotation is read with a sensor, or the amount of movement is read with a static sensor or a piezoelectric sensor by tracing a special flat plate with a finger or stick, and converted to an input signal. And the like. Another method is to place a small stick in the center of the keyboard and move the stick with your finger to input position information using a tilt sensor attached to the base of the stick or an angle pressure sensor. Had been.

FIG. 6 shows a conventional position input device using a bar at the center of a keyboard. A bar 11 is provided at the center of the key arrangement of the keyboard, and the key tops of the keys surrounding the bar 11 are cut out in a circle around the bar so that the bar 11 can be moved back and forth and right and left. The operator can input the position information in the same manner as the function of moving the mouse by moving the stick 11, and press the left special key 12 or the right special key 13 arranged at the position of the thumb to change the left operation button of the mouse. It is configured so that a signal similar to the function of pressing the right operation button can be input.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method, the rod cannot be made too large or long due to its structure, and it is necessary to input a desired amount of movement by fine movement of the fingertip. Therefore, there are drawbacks in that it is difficult to input a fine movement and that the body is tired when used. In addition, since the finger must be removed from the basic finger position (home position) of the typing operation, there is a disadvantage that the smoothness of the input is impaired.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an input device capable of performing a position input without changing a finger position at the time of key operation.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an input device according to the present invention comprises a key input unit for inputting characters and numerical values, and a bar-shaped or plate-shaped input device arranged at a position where a palm is located at the time of key input. Move the table and the movement and tilt of the table,
It has a configuration provided with position input means for detecting by an angle sensor or a pressure sensor connected to the hand rest and converting the information into movement amount information.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings based on embodiments. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a typical embodiment of the present invention. The right hand table 4 is connected to an information device provided with the display device 1 and the control device 2 and located on the keyboard 3 as an input device for inputting the information under the palms of both hands at the time of key input.
a, a left-hand placing table 4b is provided. Each hand rest is connected at its base to the right sensor 5a and the left sensor 5b, respectively, to detect the forward, backward, left and right movement of each hand rest by the palm. The right operation key 6 is located at the position corresponding to the position of the thumb during key input.
And the left operation key 7 are provided, and the same input as the right operation button and the left operation button of the mouse is performed. Using the above device, a cursor 8 as shown on the screen of the display device
The method of moving the mouse and performing various other operations will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows a hand when using the above-mentioned device;
The relationship between the key, the hand rest, and the sensor is shown. In standard key input, typing is performed using both hands with the position of the index finger as a reference point (home position 9) as shown in the figure. If the operator wants to input a position in the middle of the key input (to move the cursor), the operator lowers the palm a little in a typing posture, the palm rests on the hand rest 4, and the hand can be released without releasing the key. Make the table movable. The hand rest 4 is connected at the lower part to a sensor 5 fixed to the main body of the input device 3 to enable detection of the movement amount in accordance with the movement of the palm. In this case, the sensor and the input signal converting means are the same as those conventionally used in the conventional fingertip input device described in FIG.
What is necessary is just to use a sensor and an input signal conversion means. When operating the hand rest in this manner, the thumb is the right operation key 6
Alternatively, if the same function as the right button of the mouse is set to the right operation key 6 and the function similar to the left button of the mouse is set to the left operation key 7, for example, the movement of the palm can be performed. The input device has a position input function by a special key operation with the thumb.

The hand rest 4 may be arranged on only one side of the right hand or the left hand, or may be arranged on both sides as in the above example. However, if they are arranged on the left and right and used for inputting position information, it is necessary to set so that one of the signals is preferentially input.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a modification of the hand placing table. The hand rest is not limited to the shape shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, it may be a simple rod-shaped object. As shown in FIG. 3, for convenience of carrying, the sensor frame 51 can be rotated around the rotation shaft 52 provided in the sensor frame 51 in the direction of the arrow so that it can be stored, or the hand rest can be removed from the sensor unit. It may be.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the hand rest is shaped like a plate-shaped hand rest 42. If the space of the keyboard permits, a better effect may be obtained, for example, such a plate shape can prevent malfunction due to accidentally touching a projection.

Also, as shown in FIG. 4, there is a method of connecting the push-down pressure sensor 10 in addition to the angle sensor 52 connected to the hand rest, and setting the function of the operation button of the mouse to this. This means that during normal operation, the movement information is input by moving the angle sensor 52 with the palm of the hand,
When a pressing force of a certain degree or more is applied from the palm by the setting of the pressing-down pressure sensor, the pressing-down pressure sensor operates to perform the same position input operation as the input by the right operation key 6 or the left operation key 7 described above.

FIG. 5 shows the appearance of the input device when the system shown in FIG. 4 is adopted. FIG. 5 shows an example in which both the right-hand placing plate 42a and the left-hand placing plate 42b are used. However, as in the above-described embodiment, only one of them may be used. In addition, the combination of the angle sensor and the pressure sensor described above,
Not only in the case of a plate-shaped hand rest, but also in the case of a hand rest of any shape.

As a special application example of the present invention, FIG.
Alternatively, by having a structure substantially similar to that of FIG. 5 and using only a pressing-down pressure sensor without using an angle sensor, the right-hand placing table 42a or the left-hand placing table 42
It is also possible to use b as a function key of the keyboard. If a frequently used function key, for example, a key used for switching kana-kanji characters, is pressed down and wired to the pressure sensor in parallel with a conventional key switch, the operator can easily input the function key during input.

[0015]

As is apparent from the above embodiment, according to the present invention, when inputting information to the information processing apparatus, the operator does not release his / her finger or finger from the keyboard, but simply lowers the palm of his hand. It is possible to input information and to input special keys and function keys, so that an easy and high-speed input operation can be performed.

In the present invention, the hand rest portion is
If installed in a portable computer or word processor with a structure that can be stored or removed, or made into a flat plate, it becomes an input device suitable for carrying and easy input of position information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment in which input to a computer is performed using the input device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an operator's hand when using the input device of FIG. 1;
It is a figure which shows the relationship between a key, a hand rest, and a sensor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a modification of the hand placing table of the input device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an embodiment of a modification of a hand rest and a sensor of the input device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an appearance of the input device when the method of FIG. 4 is adopted.

FIG. 6 shows a conventional position input device using a bar at the center of a keyboard.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 display device 2 control device (computer) 3 input device 4a, 4b hand rest 5a, 5b sensor 6 right operation key 7 left operation key 8 cursor

Claims (4)

[Claims] A keyboard for performing key input;
A hand rest provided at the position of the palm of the operator's hand at the time of key input, a sensor connected to the hand rest to detect the inclination and movement of the hand rest, input contents of the keyboard, and moved by the palm An input device, comprising: signal conversion means for converting an amount of tilt and movement of a hand-held table into an input signal to an information processing device. 2. An operation key is arranged at a position of a thumb at the time of key input, and a position input is performed by a combination of a change in input information of the sensor and an input information of depression of the operation key. Input device as described. 3. The sensor is provided with two functions of pressure detection and angle detection, and the direction and amount of movement are input by the tilt angle of the hand table and the position is input by the pressure. The input device according to 1, 4. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor has a function of detecting a pressing-down pressure, and an input based on the pressing-down pressure of the hand-held base is used as an input of a function key of a keyboard.