JPS61143831A - Input device for information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To regard a touch sensor as a keyboard and to input information by touching the touch sensor by displaying an optional keyboard picture on a thin and plane display fitted to the touch sensor. CONSTITUTION:A required keyboard picture selected on the basis of a command from a control board 6 is displayed on the thin and plane display 5 and a touch sensor on a key top position having a required meaning on the keyboard picture is depressed. Consequently, the touch sensor is depressed and the touched position is measured. The measurement data corresponding to the key top on the position are transmitted to a computer body 1 to fulfill the input function of a keyboard. Since the thin and plane display is used, the display screen can be arranged on a horizontal surface without arranging it vertically, so that similar operation to normal key tops can be attained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention uses a thin flat display with a touch sensor attached instead of a conventional mechanical keyboard, thereby allowing a virtually unlimited number of arbitrary keyboards to be used. The present invention relates to an input device for an information processing device that provides the same effects as those provided with a keyboard of different types and arrangements.

[Conventional technology]

Input devices currently widely used in information processing devices are equipped with a keyboard with dozens of mechanical key tops.
By selecting and pressing an appropriate key top from this keyboard, desired information, commands, etc. are input.

In this method, one key top means one symbol, so in order to input various types of data, the key top must be pressed many times.Especially in application programs etc., keyboard operation is difficult. In order to simplify this, it would be necessary to have a large number of keycaps, but in the case of mechanical keyboards, there is a physical limit to increasing the number of keyboards.

As a countermeasure for this, conventional methods have been to cover the keyboard with so-called templates, giving one key top multiple meanings corresponding to each template, but in reality, , it was quite troublesome to create many types of templates and change them each time as needed for input, depending on the content of the input. [Problems to be solved by the invention] The present invention The purpose of this is, as mentioned above, in the case of conventional mechanical keyboards, there is a physical limit to providing too many keycaps, and also by covering the keyboard with many types of templates, it is possible to This solves the problem that it is quite cumbersome to assign multiple meanings to a single key top, and it can be operated as easily as using a keyboard with a relatively simple key top arrangement. It is an object of the present invention to provide an input device for an information processing device, which allows a large number of types of information and commands to be easily inputted arbitrarily and virtually without limit as required.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention includes a thin flat display with a touch sensor attached to the display surface, displays a keyboard image of an arbitrarily selected type and arrangement on the display, and changes the displayed image from the conventional one. We decided to replace it with a mechanical keyboard by using a touch sensor to input data, similar to a keyboard with mechanical key tops.

Conventionally, a touch sensor is attached to a display using a cathode ray tube, and commands displayed on the screen,
There was a system that allowed users to select and input items such as menus. However, in displays using cathode ray tubes,
Because the depth of the display screen is large relative to its size, the display screen is usually arranged so that it lies almost in a vertical plane.Therefore, this type of touch sensor is It was not possible to operate the key tops as easily and freely as in the case of operating the key tops of a mechanical keyboard.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, since a thin flat display is used to display an image corresponding to a keyboard, there is no need to arrange the display screen in a substantially vertical plane, unlike when using a conventional cathode ray tube display. , the display screen can be placed in a substantially horizontal plane. Therefore, the touch sensor attached to the display screen can be operated simply and easily in the same way as when operating the key tops of a normal mechanical keyboard.

Further, according to the present invention, a substantially unlimited number of types of display images corresponding to the keyboard can be displayed using software. The displayed images themselves can also be arranged in a concise manner for ease of use by the user, if necessary.

Furthermore, just like when a touch sensor is attached to a conventional cathode ray tube display, it is of course possible to display a command or menu screen and use the touch sensor to select and input the necessary items. be.

As described above, the device of the present invention is extremely easy to use for the user and can be used in a wide variety of ways.

Furthermore, it can also be used as a general display device and input device in a hand belt computer or the like.

Currently, there are plasma displays, EL displays, liquid crystal display devices, etc. as practical thin flat displays, but if a commercially available touch sensor sheet is used in combination with a reflective liquid crystal display device, it may be difficult to see. When using a liquid crystal display device, it is preferable to use a transmitted light type.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1(a) shows a state in which the present invention is implemented in a personal computer, where 1 is a cathode ray tube display, 2 is a main body of the computer, and 3 is an input device equivalent to a keyboard according to the present invention. FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the display surface of a thin flat display to which a touch sensor of an input device 3 equivalent to a keyboard is attached. A large number of electrodes made of elongated transparent conductive films are arranged vertically and horizontally in parallel on the opposing inner surfaces of these sheets. that can be determined as an element)
, 5 is a thin flat display, 6 is a control board, and 7 is a chassis. FIG. 1(C) is an exploded view of the main parts of the input device 3 equivalent to a keyboard, in which 4 is a touch sensor sheet, 5 is a thin flat display, 6 is a control board, 7 is a chassis, and 8 is a connection between the touch sensor and the control board. 9 is a cable for connecting between the thin flat display and the control board, 10 is a connector to the computer main body, 11 is a cable for connecting between the control board and the computer main body, 12 is a connector from the control board to the touch sensor and the thin flat display , 13 is a code to the computer, 14 is a touch sensor, a thin flat display, a clasp for the control board, and 15 is a top lid.The configuration is as shown in the figure, and the thin flat display 5 is selected by command from the control board 6. When an image of a desired keyboard is displayed and a press operation is performed from above the touch sensor at the key top position having the desired meaning on this keyboard image, the touch sensor is pressed down, measures the touched position, and displays that position. It plays the role of an input device equivalent to a keyboard by sending the data indicated by the key tops located on the computer main body 1 to the computer main body 1.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an input device for an information processing device that is easier to use than a conventional mechanical keyboard and can be used in a wide variety of ways.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1(a) is a diagram showing a state in which the present invention is implemented in a personal computer, FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the display surface of a thin flat display equipped with a touch sensor of an input device 3 equivalent to a keyboard, FIG. 1(C) is an exploded view of essential parts of the input device 3 equivalent to a keyboard. 1-Cathode ray tube display, 2-Computer main body, 3-Keyboard equivalent input device according to the present invention, 4
・-・Touch sensor sheet, 5--Thin flat display, 6--Control board, 7--Chassis, 8--Cable for connection between touch sensor and control board, 9--Thin flat display control Cable for connection between boards, 10-- Connector to computer main body, 11-- Cable for connection between control board and computer main body, 12-- Connector from control board to touch sensor, thin flat display, 13-- To computer code,
14.--Touch sensor, thin flat display, control board clasp, 15.--Top lid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An input device used in an information processing device is equipped with a thin flat display with a touch sensor attached to the display surface, and a keyboard image of an arbitrarily selected type and arrangement is displayed on this display, and the displayed image is replaced with a conventional mechanical key top. An input device for an information processing device, characterized in that a mechanical keyboard is substituted for input by touch sensors similar to an arranged keyboard.