US20030056278A1

US20030056278A1 - Structure of finger keyboard

Info

Publication number: US20030056278A1
Application number: US10/035,309
Authority: US
Inventors: Lung Kuo; Henry Kuo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-09-26
Filing date: 2002-01-04
Publication date: 2003-03-27

Abstract

A structure of a finger keyboard comprising a glove, a plurality of keys as well as a receiving electric circuit installed in the glove, the glove is slipped over a palm, by mutual contact or pressing of fingers and keys, signals are generated to get an effect of keyboard inputting. The keys are installed in the glove which is slipped over the palm, merely one hand is good to use the keyboard, the other hand can control other devices such as a mouse, a joystick or another finger keyboard to get an effect of fast and convenient operating. The glove is slipped over a palm, the keyboard can thus be carried on one's person, the hand of the person worn on with the glove does not need to lean on a desk or the like for operation, and an effect of saving space can be obtained.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to a structure of a finger keyboard, and especially to a device having a glove fitting a hand on which a plurality of keys and a receiving electric circuit are provided, with which fingers can press the keys to get an effect of inputting, the device especially suits input devices of a computer, a PDA or other electronic products.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Since products of electronic technology such as typewriters, computers etc. were given birth to—with their ways of inputting being mainly keyboard inputting, it has been highly thought of by modern people to learn how to make their ways of inputting faster and more convenient and to make their input tools more coincident with human body engineering to reduce their volumes for carrying. Thereby, there have been various kinds of keyboards developed.

However, a conventional keyboard structure is comprised mainly of: a fixing board for letter keys, the board is integrally molded with a plurality of sleeves to engage and position the letter keys, both lateral sides of each of the sleeves have a cut groove which has an inner top surface, the bottom of each sleeve has an inner threaded stub; the letter keys being integrally formed together with protruding axles and pushing rods, each protruding axle is provided laterally with two pushing rods which are placed into the cut grooves to be engaged in the inner top surfaces and are positioned here; an elastic film which is a sheet provided thereon with a plurality of protrusions, each protrusion has a recessed rim and has beneath it a protruding point with a round hole therearound, the round hole is slipped over an inner threaded stub on the fixing board, so that the protrusions on the film are aligned respectively with the letter keys, and the protruding axles of the letter keys are exactly located on the recessed rims on the film; elastic slices which are located respectively in conical grooves of the protrusions to abut against points in the conical grooves; electric conducting slices which are provided therearound each with a round hole, each round hole is slipped over an inner threaded stub, so that the elastic slices are positioned to prevent them from dropping; an insulating slice which is provided centrally with a plurality of holes provided therearound each with a round hole, each round hole is slipped over an inner threaded stub, so that each round hole of the insulating slice is aligned with an elastic slice; a base plate provided thereon with an electric circuit provided therearound with a plurality of fixing holes in alignment respectively with the inner threaded stubs, screws are extended through the fixing holes to lock the latter on the inner threaded stubs, so that the fixing board, the elastic film, the elastic slices, the electric conducting slices, the insulating slice and the base plate can be fast assembled integrally. However, they occupy a large space, and thus can not be carried on one's person, and can only get the complete function of the structure in the mode of operating with both hands leaning on a desk, it is thereby not an ideal structure.

An improved conventional keyboard structure is a foldable keyboard, it is a rectangular keyboard provided with keys and an end member surrounding the frame and the bottom plate of the keyboard, it is characterized by that, the keyboard and the end member are separated at the middle of the longitudinal dimension, the separated keyboard and end member are connected with a connecting arm, the end member of the separated portions can be rotated for engaging and closing to freely and foldably connect the keyboard with the end member. The rear side of the bottom plate of the end member is added with a flexible thin sheet which covers the separated surfaces of the keyboard and the end member in their folding state. This structure can reduce the volume of the keyboard for carrying, its way of inputting when in use is same as that of a conventional keyboard though, and it still must be used with both hands leaning on a desk, and is not able to suit a palm computer, it is thereby not an ideal structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of this, the inventor of the present invention developed and provides a finger keyboard after hard study to completely overcome the defects resided in conventional keyboard structures and to provide practicality as well as convenience.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a finger keyboard, wherein, a plurality of keys and a receiving electric circuit are provided on a glove, the function of inputting data can be achieved by pressing the keys with fingers.

The secondary object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a finger keyboard, of which, the glove is worn on a hand of a person, this hand can do the work of inputting, and the other hand of the same person can control other devices, so that multiple devices can be controlled simultaneously.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a finger keyboard, with which, a hand of a person worn on with the glove does not lean on a desk for operation, the glove can be carried on the person to get an effect of saving space.

To achieve the above stated objects, the present invention is provided mainly in a glove with a plurality of keys and a receiving electric circuit, the glove is comprised of a soft inner and a soft outer glove like layers both in the shape of a palm slipping one over the other, the keys and the receiving electric circuit are installed between the inner and outer layers. By pressing the keys with fingers, signals are generated; thereby, the present invention has the effect of inputting data.

The present invention will be apparent in its features and structure after reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof in reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; [0013]
FIG. 2 is an analytical perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention; [0014]
FIG. 3 is a perspective schematic view showing arrangement of English letters on the embodiment of the present invention; [0015]
FIG. 4 is a perspective schematic view showing arrangement of keys on the lateral sides of fingers on the embodiment of the present invention; [0016]
FIG. 5 is a perspective schematic view showing arrangement of number keys on the embodiment of the present invention; [0017]
FIG. 6 is a perspective schematic view showing arrangement of sign keys on the embodiment of the present invention; [0018]
FIG. 7 is a perspective schematic view showing arrangement of keys on a thumb on the embodiment of the present invention; [0019]
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring firstly to FIG. 1, the structure of a finger keyboard of the present invention is comprised mainly of a [0021] glove 10, and a plurality of keys 20 as well as a receiving electric circuit 30 installed in the glove 10. Wherein, the glove 10 is comprised of a soft inner layer 11 and a soft outer layer 12 both in the shape of a palm, the keys 20 and the receiving electric circuit 30 are installed between the inner and outer layers 11, 12. With such softness, fingers can be bent freely. The outer layer 12 is provided on the surface thereof with a plurality of marks 13 in corresponding to the keys 20 for distinguishment, so that locations and functions of the keys 20 can be certain.
The [0022] keys 20 are sensors, they can be pressure sensors, electromagnetic sensors or diaphragm keys; they are provided in the glove 10 and welded or stuck to the receiving electric circuit 30 for inputting signals.
The receiving [0023] electric circuit 30 is an electric circuit board provided in the glove 10. A plurality of key contacting points 31 and an externally connecting socket 32 are provided at suitable positions in the receiving electric circuit 30, thereby, they are welded to the keys 20 for processing and transmitting signals generated by the keys 20, they are also connected to a computer or a PDA etc.
Referring to FIG. 2, the present invention has the [0024] keys 20 welded to the corresponding key contacting points 31 of the receiving electric circuit 30 and then slipped in and fixed on the soft inner layer 11 in a way of sticking, sewing or some other way; lastly, the outer layer 12 is slipped over and fixedly stuck to or sewn on the inner layer 11 to complete the structure of the finger keyboard of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, this embodiment of the present invention is provided on the finger sections, finger tips, finger backs and lateral sides of fingers of the [0025] glove 10 with keys 20, when the locations of the keys 20 are pressed by the tip of a thumb or just are contacted, signals can be generated by the keys 20. The signals are received by the receiving electric circuit 30 for processing; thereby various signals are output by the keys 20, and by providing the externally connecting socket 32 or some other devices, the function of data inputting with the finger keyboard can be achieved.
As to the arrangement of the [0026] keys 20, referring to FIG. 3, for example, arrangement of English letters is done with the letters A, E, I and O being sequentially arranged respectively at the four fingertips other than the thumb; the finger sections below these tips are allocated with the letter keys B, C, D . . . R; the letter keys M, N are allocated at the top of the palm respectively beneath the ring and the little fingers; while the letter keys S, T . . . Z are allocated respectively at the first and the second finger sections on the finger backs of the four fingers, in this way, all the English letters are included.
Referring to FIG. 4, the above stated embodiment of the present invention is also provided on the lateral sides of the fingers with some [0027] keys 20, they are the functional keys such as ESC, Shift, Enter . . . etc. to execute special functions, and switching keys such as Num, “signs” . . . etc. to switch the keys into number keys (as shown in FIG. 5) or sign keys (as shown in FIG. 6) and usually applied signs “°”, “'”, etc. for inputting the usually applied signs.
Referring to FIG. 7, the above stated embodiment of the present invention is set to make the key on the first finger section of the thumb a command key. This means that when the command key touches any [0028] key 20, an output signal is given; a way other than this way such as the situation of inadvertent touching will not be able to generate a signal. Taking the case that the keys 20 are sensors as an example, when the keys 20 are pressed down, if it is not the command key of the thumb to function together with the pressure sensitive switches of the keys 20, no signal can be output. In this way, inadvertent touching of the keys 20 can be effectively avoided, The lateral sides of the fingers and finger sections can be provided with switching keys having special functions, such as to switch the keys into functional keys such as of Chinese phonetic symbols, “ChangJie IME”, Japanese letters etc.
Referring to FIG. 8 showing another embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the structure of the finger keyboard is generally the same as that of the above stated embodiment, the difference is resided in that the back side of the [0029] glove 10 or some other position can be added with a liquid crystal screen 40 of suitable size, and an electric circuit having the function of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) can be provided in the receiving electric circuit 30, thereby, the present invention not only has the function of a keyboard, but also can be a personal digital assistant convenient for input and carrying.
The transmitting mode of the present invention with externally connected devices such as a computer, a PDA etc. is not limited to cable transmitting, wireless transmitting—for example, the infrared transmitting mode or the Blue Tooth Technique etc.—can be taken as well to connect the externally connected devices. [0030]
The present invention is not limited to operating by one hand, both left and right hands can be provided with the structure of the present invention, making the functions of keys on the two hands different, and the two hands can be used to input data simultaneously to speed up inputting; or one hand can be provided with a command key, while the other hand can be provided with a keyboard, and inadvertent touching of the keys can be effectively avoided. [0031]
Accordingly, the present invention has the following advantages: [0032]
1. The present invention has keys provided in a glove, data inputting can be done by contacting or pressing the keys on the palm by the thumb of a hand, the present invention thereby has practicality. [0033]
2. The present invention is provided with the glove in the shape of a palm, the glove can be slipped over the palm, and data inputting can be done by using a hand or both hands, the present invention thereby is practical and convenient. [0034]
3. The present invention is provided with the glove in the shape of a palm, the glove can be slipped over the palm, the present invention occupies a small volume and thereby saves space, and it can be carried on one's person, the present invention thereby is convenient in use. [0035]
In conclusion, the present invention not only gets rid of the defects of the conventional keyboards, but also can get the function of data inputting with one hand, or both hands of a person can be used to control or input, its mode of inputting is fast and convenient; and it can be carried on one's person without occupying a large space, hence the whole structure is practical as well as convenient, and suits various input devices of electronic equipment such as computers, PDAs' etc. [0036]
The present invention has been stated with the above specific embodiments; however, it is not limited to them. It will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various modifications or changes can be made to the elements of the present invention without departing from the spirit and principle of this invention. For example, the present invention can use a game controller or some other inputting device controlled with both hands; all such modifications and changes also fall within the scope of the appended claims and are intended to form part of this invention. [0037]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A structure of a finger keyboard comprising a glove, a plurality of keys as well as a receiving electric circuit, wherein:

said glove is made of soft material, said keys and said receiving electric circuit are installed in said glove, with such soft material, said glove is adapted to bending freely;

said keys are sensors, and are provided in said glove and connected to said receiving electric circuit for inputting signals; and

said receiving electric circuit is an electric circuit board provided in said glove; a plurality of key contacting points are provided at predetermined positions in said receiving electric circuit, and are welded to said keys for processing and transmitting signals generated by said keys.

2. A structure of a finger keyboard as in claim 1, wherein,

said glove is in the shape of a palm.

3. A structure of a finger keyboard as in claim 1, wherein,

said glove is provided with a plurality of glove shaped layers slipping one over another, said keys and said receiving electric circuit are installed between any two of said layers.

4. A structure of a finger keyboard as in claim 1, wherein,

said glove is provided on the surface thereof with a plurality of marks in corresponding to said keys for distinguishment, so that locations and functions of said keys are marked.

5. A structure of a finger keyboard as in claim 1, wherein,

said keys are pressure sensors, electromagnetic sensors or diaphragm keys.

6. A structure of a finger keyboard as in claim 1, wherein,

said receiving electric circuit is provided with an externally connecting socket to connect to a computer, a PDA or the like for getting an effect of inputting data with said finger keyboard.

7. A structure of a finger keyboard as in claim 1, wherein,

said receiving electric circuit is provided with a wireless transmitting device to connect an externally connected devices for getting an effect of inputting data with said finger keyboard.

8. A structure of a finger keyboard as in claim 1, wherein,

said receiving electric circuit is stuck to or sewn in said glove.