KR20030007925A - An alphabet character input device - Google Patents

Abstract

An alphabetic character input device is described which includes a plurality of consonant keys and vowel keys, the consonant keys being divided into a plurality of alphabetical groups, each group being separated alphabetically next to one vowel.

Description

Alphabet character input device {AN ALPHABET CHARACTER INPUT DEVICE}

Commonly used QWERTY-array keyboards emerged during the mechanical typewriter era, to avoid pressing keys together and to reduce typing speed to prevent jamming of the striker-levers. Designed.

These QWERTY-array keyboards have some inherent problems. First, learning it is difficult, requiring months or weeks for training and practice. As a result, many keyboard users did not learn to type efficiently, but kept looking down at the keyboard to type. This is the second problem that leads to an uncomfortable posture that causes fatigue, sprains and pain in the neck and shoulders. Third, more importantly, because the keyboard is not user friendly, it gives up some potential groups of users and slows the growth and accessibility of computer use and technology.

Another problem with conventional keyboards and mechanical typewriters is the typical rectangular keyboard design. It was designed for the machine rather than the hand. Arranging the keys in a horizontal straight line causes the wrists to be twisted obliquely, leading to sprains and recurrent motility diseases such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Despite advances in the use of electronic keyboards, QWERTY and rectangular designs are still widely used by inertia rather than discernment. Relatively unsuccessful lean attempts to improve this situation include the following.

a. Angled "Microsoft" keyboards, and various ergonomically separated keyboards, having the aforementioned difficulties associated with maintaining the QWERTY key arrangement.

b. Dvorak keyboard with QWERTY key layout replaced with a frequency-sensitive layout. Although slightly improved over the QWERTY array, the Dvorak key array is still not intuitive and requires relearning and a lot of memorization.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new alphabetic character input device which solves at least one problem of the prior art and can provide a useful choice to the public.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to alphabetic character input devices, and in particular, but not exclusively, to keyboards or keypads used in computers, electronic typewriters, word processors, digital assistants, personal organizers, and the like.

1 is a plan view of a keyboard according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a screen of a palmtop-style organizer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a plurality of consonant keys and vowel keys, the consonant keys being divided into a plurality of alphabetical groups, each group being alphabetically separated next to one vowel. An input device is provided.

The keys of each group are preferably in separate rows. The vowel keys are grouped together in alphabetical order, and the spacing between vowel keys at at least one end of the group is preferably greater than the gap in the middle of the group. At least one vowel key at one end of the group may be larger than the keys in the middle of the group. The vowel keys may be placed in a suggested suggested position of rest of the typing fingers of the user's one hand.

The space key, return key, and three consonant keys are preferably placed in the proposed resting position of the typing fingers of the user's one hand.

Each consonant group is distinguishable from others by sight or touch, and the vowels in front of the group may be discernible in the same way as the group. The groups can be color coded.

The keys are preferably divided into two spaced apart areas, the keys of each area being substantially arranged in several rows, the rows being angled with respect to each other. The rows of each region may form a V shape and the angle may be adjustable. The consonant keys may be divided alphabetically among the regions, and the vowel keys may be provided in one of the regions.

Preferably, a plurality of additional keys may be provided which are distinguishable from the alphabetic keys by tactile and / or visual. The surface on which the finger of one of the additional keys and the alphabet keys touches can be convex and the rest concave. The additional keys may include function keys.

At least some of the alphabetic keys are preferably arranged in a rectangular grid.

Preferably, at least one anchor key of the alphabetic keys is defined, the anchor key being in the proposed resting position of one typing finger of one hand of the user, wherein the anchor key is in touch Can be identified. The anchor key may be recessed or formed into a protrusion.

The geometric arrangement of the alphabetic keys may be substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

The device includes a keyboard or a touch-sensitive screen, and the keys can be provided as an image on the screen.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an alphabetic character input device comprising a plurality of alphabetic keys and a plurality of additional keys, wherein the alphabetic keys are distinguishable from the additional keys by visual or tactile sense.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an alphabetic character input device comprising a plurality of alphabetic keys, wherein five of the alphabetic keys are disposed at a proposed rest position of the typing fingers of a user's hand. .

Preferably, the spacing between the five keys is greater than between the thumb and adjacent keys, and / or between the middle key between the thumb and adjacent keys, wherein the thumb and pinky keys At least one may be larger than the remaining ones of the five keys.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of alphabetic keys, wherein at least one of the alphabetic keys is larger than the remaining keys.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a keyboard according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The keyboard is arranged in two regions in a V-shaped configuration so that the natural position of the hand is adapted to the typing position. The angle α between the two regions is about 125 degrees. The angle of V can be set to this angle, or a seam can be provided so that the angle can be changed according to the user's preference. The left hand region, generally labeled 10, includes the keys for five vowels A, E, I, O, U, and consonants up to B-H. The right hand region, generally labeled 20, contains the keys for the remaining J to Z consonants. Consonant keys are divided into groups 11, 12, 21, 22, 23 in alphabetical order. The consonant groups 11, 12, 21, 22, 23 are arranged in separate rows, so that each group 11, 12, 21, 22, 23 is separated alphabetically next to one vowel. The vowels are arranged in the keys 31-35 of another group 30 arranged in an arcuate fashion. The keys of the vowel group 30 are arranged in the order A, E, I, O, U, and are positioned so that the fingers of the left hand naturally descend over the consonant keys. To help with this, the vowel keys A (key 31) and U (key 32), where the thumb and little finger are located, are made larger and more spaced apart from the remaining vowel keys 33-35. An arcuate group 36, similar to the vowel group 30, is formed between frequently used consonant keys R, S, T, space key 37, and return key 38. Like the group 30, the space key 37 and the return key 38 of the group 36 are larger than the intermediate consonant keys R, S, T.

To help visually identify the consonant group by the user, the keys of each group have different colors along with the front vowels of that group. For example, the vowel key A 31 and the consonant keys B, C, and D (group 11) may be red. The vowel key E 33 and the consonant keys F, G, and H (group 12) may be light blue. Vowel key I 34 and the consonant keys J, K, L, M, N (group 21) may be dark blue, and vowel key O 35 and the consonant keys P, Q, R, S, T (group 22) ) May be gray and the vowel key U 32 and the consonant keys V, W, X, Y, Z (group 23) may be green. Alternatively, instead of color coding, it may have a different texture, for example a projection pattern.

Alphabetical consonant character arrangements combined with visual / tactile grouping of character groups allow intuitive understanding of keyboard layout. The user only needs to know the alphabet learned by memorization from an early age to recall the relative positions of the keys. Thus, the user may find it easier to learn to type without having to keep looking down at the keyboard, which may allow the user to sit upright with the gaze on the screen, alleviating head and shoulder strain.

The remaining keys of the keyboard may be arranged in any desired form, but function keys such as F1 to F12 are distinguished from alphanumeric / symbol keys by distinction in the form of the surface on which the upper finger touches, in this embodiment This distinction can be achieved by making the remaining keys convex and making the top surface of the function key concave.

The keyboard is provided with a number of anchor keys, where the anchor keys are placed in the suggested rest position of the middle finger of the user's one hand. In this case, the anchor keys are the letters I and S and the number 5 for the numeric keypad 40. These keys are recessed or provided with projections 50, 51, 52 to be identifiable by tactile touch.

All alphabetic keys on the keyboard are arranged in rows and columns that are not zigzag like conventional keyboards, allowing the user to move at right angles between the keys.

Keys that perform locking functions such as caps lock 60, scroll lock 61, and num lock 62 are indicated by indicators 63, 64, 65).

Preferably, the vertical intersection of the keys is contoured to adapt to the extent of the finger in the usual typing position, and a detachable wrist rest can be attached to the bottom edge of the keyboard.

Most keyboards use a pair of flexible sheets that are joined when a key is pressed, making an electrical contact between the electrical connection to one sheet and the electrical connection to the other sheet, where: This electrical connection identifies the key pressed. In the above embodiment, since the order of the keys has been changed for the keyboard which can replace the current keyboard, it is necessary to map the position of the keys of the above-described embodiment with the positions of the keys of the conventional keyboard. This can be done, for example, by pressing each individual key by a hard wired circuit that receives input from the above-described embodiments and provides the output expected in a conventional keyboard or software provided in a computer to which the keyboard is connected. The electrical connection to be made can be physically performed by designing a pattern of electrical connection for each sheet so that it corresponds to a conventional keyboard.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 2, which represents, for example, a screen of a palm computer. This screen senses touch using an array of keys presented on the screen. The keys are selected by touching the screen with a pen. In a manner similar to the embodiment of Figure 1, the consonants are divided into a number of groups 100-104, each separated by vowels A, E, I, O, and U. The vowels are provided in a separate group 105 arranged so that all the letters of the alphabet are arranged in five rows, each row beginning with one vowel, and the consonants following the vowel are inserted.

The above-described embodiments should not be construed as limiting. For example, although the embodiment of FIG. 2 illustrates a touch screen character input device, it may be a hard keyboard or a cursor-active keyboard attached to the device. In addition, although the embodiment of Fig. 1 shows a keyboard for use with a computer, it may or may not be V-shaped and may be equally included in a computer (such as a laptop), a word processor or a typewriter.

Claims (33)

A plurality of consonant keys and vowel keys, Here, the consonant keys are divided into a plurality of alphabetical groups, and each group is divided alphabetically next to one vowel. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 1, The keys of each group consist of separate rows Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The vowel keys are grouped together Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 3, The vowel keys are in alphabetical order Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The spacing between vowel keys at at least one end of the group is greater than the spacing in the middle of the group Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, At least one vowel key at one end of the group is greater than the keys in the middle of the group Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The vowel keys are placed in the suggested rest position of the typing fingers of the user's one hand. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The space key, the return key, and the three consonant keys are placed in the suggested rest position of the typing fingers of the user's one hand. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, Each consonant group is distinguishable from others by sight or touch Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 9, The vowel in front of the group is identifiable in the same way as the group Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 9 or 10, The groups are color coded Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, The keys are divided into two spaced apart areas Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 12, The keys of each area are arranged in substantially rows, the rows being angled with respect to each other. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 13, The rows of each region form a V shape. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to claim 13 or 14, The angle is adjustable Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, The consonant keys are alphabetically divided between the areas. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, The vowel keys are provided in the one area Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, Multiple additional keys distinguishable from the alphabetic keys by tactile and / or visual Alphabet character input device further comprising. The method of claim 18, The surface on which the finger of one of the additional keys and the alphabetic keys touches is convex and the rest is concave Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 19, The additional keys include function keys Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, At least some of the alphabetic keys are arranged in a rectangular grid Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, At least one anchor key of the alphabetic keys is defined, the anchor key being in a suggested rest position of one typing finger of a user's hand, wherein the anchor key is identifiable by tactile sense Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 22, The anchor key is recessed or formed into a projection Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, The geometric arrangement of the alphabetic keys is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, The geometric arrangement of the alphabetic keys is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 25, The device includes a keyboard Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 25, The device includes a touch-sensitive screen, the keys being provided as an image on the screen. Alphabetic Character Input Device. Includes a plurality of alphabetic keys and a plurality of additional keys, Here, the alphabetic keys are distinguishable from the additional keys by visual or tactile sense. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 28, The surface on which one of the alphabetic keys and the additional keys touches is convex, and the rest is concave. Alphabetic Character Input Device. Contains a number of alphabetic keys, Here, five of the alphabetic keys are placed in the suggested rest position of the typing fingers of the user's one hand. Alphabetic Character Input Device. The method of claim 30, The spacing between the five keys is greater than between the thumb and adjacent keys, and / or between the middle key between the pinky and adjacent keys. Alphabetic Character Input Device. 32. The method of claim 30 or 31, At least one of the thumb and pinky keys is larger than the remaining keys of the five keys Alphabetic Character Input Device. Contains a number of alphabetic keys, Wherein at least one of the alphabetic keys is larger than the remaining keys Alphabetic Character Input Device.