JPS63317817A - Keyboard control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable an operator to know his/her desired keys without looking at a keyboard each time by displaying the information on a screen for a key in case the operator pushes this key with faint force on the keyboard. CONSTITUTION:An operator pushes lightly a key and a 1st switch 31 works together with a 2nd switch 37 kept inactive. Under such conditions, a key code having its most significant bit set at '0' is outputted from a key code production part 35. in such a case, the information designating a prescribed color is written into the corresponding key position of an icon display screen buffer 18. Thus the color of an area corresponding to the pushed key is changed to a blue color, for example, in a keyboard icon 2 displayed on a display screen 1 as shown in a diagram. Thus the operator can know his/her pushed keys without looking at a keyboard each time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Summary) The present invention configures a key matrix with a plurality of keys having two contact points that come into contact with different stroke amounts when pressed, and the keyboard is arranged so that the first stage of each key is The keyboard is configured so that only the key is identified when pressed, and the information is notified along with the key code when the second stage is pressed.
By displaying the pressed key on the display screen without performing normal key processing when pressing a step, and performing normal key processing when pressing the second step, the position of the finger on the keyboard can be changed. can be recognized on the screen, improving the operability of keyboard input.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a keyboard control method for a display device.

Display devices with input devices such as keyboards are
Since the computer serves as an intermediary between the operator and the computer, ease of use for the operator is important. Ease of use means that the operation method is easy to understand, input can be done quickly, and users do not get tired even after using it for a long time. In particular, with the spread of computers, many people use display devices, so there is a need for display devices that are easy to use not only for experienced operators but also for beginners.

Among display devices, the keyboard is the main human-powered device, and the operability of the keyboard for the operator is an important point in determining the quality of the display device.

[Prior art] Conventional keys have only two states, ON and OFF.
When an operator presses a certain key, a signal corresponding to each key is output from the keyboard, and a process corresponding to the key is performed based on this signal.

In a conventional display device using a keyboard having such a configuration, it is necessary to look at the keyboard and the display screen alternately when operating the keyboard. A skilled operator can operate the keyboard without looking much at the keyboard by so-called blind touch. However, different keyboards have different key placements,
It was impossible to operate the device without looking at the keyboard, as keys unique to the device were added. Even more so, for beginners, they had to look at the keyboard as they typed keys, and then check each key on the screen as they operated.

In addition, the only way to check whether the key you are about to press is the correct one is to look at the keyboard or actually press the key.

This is because the keyboard can only transmit key information to the display in binary values of 0N10FF, and it is not possible to try pressing the keys.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Such inconvenience in conventional key operations leads to an increase in input errors and an increase in input time, causing operator fatigue.

In order to solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a keyboard control method that can be operated without looking at the keyboard.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention configures a keyboard by arranging a plurality of keys that can input data with two-step depressing strokes, and when the first step of the above-mentioned key is pressed from the keyboard, key identification information is obtained. , and when pressed in the second step, final information is added to the above identification information. 0 On the display screen, when pressed in the first step, information that can identify the pressed key is displayed, and in the second step When pressed, the process corresponding to that key is executed.

[For production]

The operator presses the keys on the keyboard weakly (first stage)
When a key is pressed, information that can identify the key is displayed on the screen, so it can be determined on the display screen whether or not the key that the user is trying to press is actually pressed. Therefore, there is no need to look at the keyboard every time, which reduces the burden on the operator.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the main part of a keyboard according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which 31 is a first switch for each key on the keyboard, and 37 is a second switch. The first switches of each key are arranged in a matrix, forming a key matrix 32. Reference numeral 33 indicates a scanning section for scanning the key matrix 32, and reference numeral 34 indicates a detection section for detecting activated switches in the key matrix 32.

Now, when the illustrated first switch 31 is closed, the key code creation section 35 operates based on a signal indicating the position of the line detected by the detection section 34 and a signal indicating the scanning position of the scanning section 33 at that time. Outputs the key code corresponding to the key. This key code is sent via the interface unit 36 and the like to a microprocessor (MPU) n (see FIG. 2, which will be described later) that controls the display device.

At this time, if the key press stroke amount is small and the second switch 37 is in an inactive state, no confirmation signal is added. In this case, the output of the key code generation unit 35 has the most significant bit set to 0', for example. On the other hand, when the key top is strongly pressed to increase the stroke amount, the second switch 37 closes and a confirmation signal is additionally output. For example, the key code generation unit 35 outputs the most significant bit of the key code as "1".

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the main part of an embodiment of the present invention, in which the pressed state of a key is visually displayed using the keyboard configured as described above.

Data is written from the MPU II to the screen buffer 17 and the icon display screen buffer 18 via the address bus 24 and data bus 25, and the stored data is read out under the control of the CRT controller (CRTC) 19. , the read data is transferred to the CRT 23 via the register 20, character generator 21, and parallel/serial converter 22.
It is now possible to display.

When the keyboard 15 shown in FIG. 1 is operated, I10
Operation information is input via the control board 14, and the process corresponding to the pressed key is executed according to the programs set in the program ROM 12 and program RAM 13.

If the operator lightly presses the key and the first switch 31 described above is activated but the second switch 37 is not activated, the key code generator 35 generates a key whose most significant bit is "0". The code will be output. In this case, information specifying, for example, a predetermined color is written into the corresponding key position of the icon display screen buffer 18. As a result, the color of the part of the keyboard icon 2 displayed on the display screen 1 shown in FIG. 3 that corresponds to the pressed key changes (for example, to blue), so the operator can You can know which key you pressed from the display,
- You can recognize the keys you are operating without looking at the keyboard 15.

If the currently operated key is correct, the operator presses the key further to confirm the key selection. As a result, the second switch 37 is activated, and the confirmation information is added to the identification information output from the key code generation section 35, so that the highest order of the key code becomes "1".

In response to this, the MPU II executes the process corresponding to the pressed key and rewrites the color designation information at the corresponding key position in the icon display screen buffer 18. Therefore, the display color of the 8-key part of the keyboard icon 2 changes (for example, to red).

As described above, in this embodiment, when the operator weakly presses a key, the corresponding key position in the keyboard icon 2 on the display screen 1 is colored with a specified color, and the operator presses the key he/she operated. You can recognize it just by looking at the screen. If it is confirmed on the screen that there is no error in the key selection, the key selection can be confirmed by pressing the key more forcefully.

If the operated key is not the desired key, you can search for the desired key by moving your finger while pressing down on other keys weakly.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a key having two switches used in this embodiment. When the key top 41 is pressed down, the contacts of the first switch 31 are first brought into contact, and when the key top 41 is pressed down, the contacts of the first switch 31 are brought into contact. The contacts of the second switch 37 come into contact.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the operator can easily recognize the positional relationship between his/her fingers and the keys by looking only at the screen, and can confirm the keys before inputting them. It can reduce the number of incorrect key presses and greatly relieve you from the troublesome task of looking at the screen and keys alternately. As a result, input can be performed quickly and operator fatigue can be reduced.

It can also be used effectively by beginners to practice key operations.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the keyboard configuration of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the display device configuration of the above embodiment, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the icon display screen of the above embodiment, and FIG. 4 is the above FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of a key used in an example. 1 is a display screen, 2 is a keyboard icon, 11 is a microprocessor, 15 is a keyboard, 17 is a screen buffer, 18 is a screen buffer for icon display, 23 is a CRT,
31 is a first switch, 35 is a key code creation section, 37
indicates the second switch. This invention-forceFJnokeyfu・-kiJ! Been Figure 1 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] The first one operates by detecting a predetermined amount of key press stroke.
A plurality of keys are arranged, each having a switch (31) and a second switch (37) that is activated by detecting a stroke larger than a predetermined amount of the key, and when the key is pressed, the first switch (37) is activated. 31) is activated, the identification information of the pressed key is output, and when the second switch (37) is activated, confirmation information indicating that the selection of the pressed key is confirmed is added to the identification information and output. In a display device equipped with a keyboard (15) configured as shown in FIG. ) displays information that allows the pressed key to be recognized, and when confirmation information is additionally output based on the operation of the second switch (37), the process corresponding to the pressed key is executed. Features a keyboard control method.