KR101473465B1 - Keyboard, electronic device using the same and input method - Google Patents

Abstract

The keyboard includes a holography film in which holographic information of the keyboard arrangement is recorded on one surface of the holographic film; A virtual keyboard generated from the holographic film; And a touch panel adjacent to the virtual keyboard, the touch panel being configured to detect information corresponding to a position touched at the top. The keypad has the advantages of versatility, convenience and portability. An electronic device and an input method using the keyboard are also disclosed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard, an electronic device using the same,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a data input device, and more particularly, to a keyboard combined with a touch sensing technique and a holography technique, an electronic device using the keyboard, and an input method.

Nowadays, keyboards are the most common and important input devices of computer equipment. Generally, the keyboard includes a plurality of keys arranged in a specific arrangement, such as a QWERT system. In operation, users can press keys on the keyboard to achieve input. The keyboards include several types of keyboards, such as mechanical keyboards, membrane keyboards, conductive rubber keyboards, and capacitive keyboards. With respect to the operating principles for switching the keys of the keyboards, there are physical contact types and non-contact types.

As is well known, the mechanical keyboard is commonly used in the initial keyboard development phase. The operating principle of the keys of the mechanical keyboard belongs to the physical contact type. Each key has embedded metal parts as contact points. The metal parts usually comprise two separate sectors, namely elastic components and metal contactors arranged at regular intervals facing each other, all of which are made of a metal material such as copper. When the users hit a predetermined key, the two metal parts of the key come into contact with each other, enter a turn-on state, and output a predetermined signal. On the contrary, when the user depresses the key, the two metal parts are separated and enter a turn-off state. While these mechanical keyboards have advantages of simple manufacturing processes and convenient maintenance, they have defects of poor hand feel, loud noise, and rapid wear. Most low-cost mechanical keyboards use copper springs as elastic components. However, the copper spring is easily weakened, resulting in failure of the elasticity. The operating principle of the membrane keyboard and the keys of the conductive rubber keyboard also belongs to the physical contact type. The structure of the keys is similar to that of the mechanical keyboard mentioned above. Each key has two vis-a-vis individual parts made of a metallic material such as a thin copper sheet. The key is turned on when these two parts touch each other. Under such conditions, the thin copper sheet will withstand pressure and wear. After a predetermined period of time, the thin copper sheet may be broken and the entire keyboard may be damaged.

Thus, the capacitive keyboard is provided to solve the above-mentioned problems. The operation principle of the keys of the capacitive keyboard belongs to the non-contact type. Each key includes two separate electrodes. When the user presses a predetermined key, the distance between the two electrodes decreases, so that the electrostatic capacitance of the electrodes changes accordingly. Due to the change in capacitance, an instantaneous current flows through the keyboard. When the instantaneous current is greater than a predetermined value, the capacitive keyboard outputs electric signals. The capacitive keyboard operates by using changes in capacitance due to changes in the distance of the electrodes. As it operates in a non-contact manner, the capacitive keyboard has a very small or even negligible wear rate. The capacitive keyboard has advantages of low noise and easy control, but the manufacturing process becomes relatively more complicated.

The above-mentioned keyboards are often referred to as physical keyboards, which are made up of individual keys and gaps exist between the individual keys. It is difficult to clean the keyboard because dust is caught in the gaps and easily accumulated in the gaps. After a predetermined time, the dust may cause malfunction of the keyboard. Furthermore, it is necessary to mark the symbols (such as letters or characters) on the keys of the physical keyboards with the languages appropriate to the users for each country, which is inconvenient for switching between different languages. In the art, laser engraving is a conventional method of marking symbols on the keys. However, once the letters or characters are gravhed, it is difficult to change. When a mistake is made, the entire keyboard must be refurbished or discarded.

In recent years, a writing pad is another universal input device, and it is more convenient to input information about some users using a writing pad than the above-mentioned keyboards. However, the writing pad can not be operated without a specific stylus. Furthermore, the writing pads are always used with the aforementioned keyboards. In this case, these two separate devices occupy more space in the workspace.

With advances in electronics technology, customers are increasingly seeking the portability, convenience, and versatility of electronic equipment. There is a need for a new input device to overcome the disadvantages of physical keyboards and writing pads. Therefore, an input device for integrating the writing pad and the computer mouse with the keyboard is preferable.

Therefore, the disclosure of the present application is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems and other problems associated with the related art. It is an object of the present disclosure to provide the advantages of multifunctionality, convenience and portability to a keyboard based on touch sensing techniques and holography techniques.

The disclosure herein relates, in one embodiment, to a keyboard. The keyboard comprising: a holography film in which holographic information of a keyboard layout is recorded on one surface of the holographic film; A virtual keyboard generated from the holographic film; And a touch panel adjacent to the virtual keyboard. The touch panel is configured to generate a touch signal corresponding to a position touched on the touch panel.

The disclosure herein relates, in another embodiment, to an electronic device. The electronic device includes a host; A keyboard, and a transmission device. The keyboard comprising: a holographic film in which holographic information of a keyboard layout is recorded on one surface of the holographic film; A virtual keyboard generated from the holographic film; And a touch panel adjacent to the virtual keyboard. The touch panel is configured to generate a touch signal corresponding to a position touched on the touch panel, and the transmitting apparatus is configured to transmit the touch signal to the host.

The disclosure teaches, in another embodiment, a data input method. The data input method comprising: generating a virtual keyboard from a holographic film positioned on one side of a touch panel; Detecting position information corresponding to a position touched on the touch panel; And generating and outputting a touch signal corresponding to a key of the virtual keyboard based on the position information.

The keyboard according to the present disclosure may be a substitute for a writing tablet or a mouse since it is a combination of the touch panel and a multiplex-holography technique. The virtual keyboard is projected on the holographic film and the light beams are projected onto the holographic film so as to be similar to the touch panel. When the user touches the touch panel, the touch panel detects a touch or a gesture at the corresponding position. Therefore, the keyboard can provide a striking input for inputting data by hitting the keyboard, and a handwriting input for writing characters or drawing pictures directly on the screen.

The symbols of the keyboard layout in different languages are stored on the holographic film by the multiplex-holographic technique instead of the conventional laser, which is to be able to prevent errors during engraving . In addition, the holographic film is easy to reproduce, quick, accurate, and inexpensive.

The components of the accompanying drawings do not have to be drawn to scale, but may be shown more clearly when clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure herein. Moreover, in the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views, all of which are schematic drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram of a keyboard according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2a is a cross-sectional view of the keyboard of Figure 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
2B is a cross-sectional view of the keyboard of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3a is an enlarged view of a first embodiment of a detachable structure of the keyboard of Figure 1;
Figure 3b is an enlarged view of a second embodiment of the detachable structure of the keyboard of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of an electronic device using the keyboard of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of an electronic device using the keyboard of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a flow chart of one embodiment of an input method in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.
7 is an enlarged view of a touch panel and a holographic film of the keyboard of Fig.

The disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references denote similar elements. It should be noted that references to a "one" or "one" embodiment in the present disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and that such references are for at least one embodiment.

Referring to Figure 1, one embodiment of the keyboard 10 in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is by means of a multiplex-holographic technique. The virtual keyboard 20 is projected onto the upper surface 11 of the keyboard 10. [ Users can touch the keyboard 10 through the virtual keyboard 20. [ The keyboard 10 can sense gesture inputs such as a single touch operation or a continuous touch operation, generate signals corresponding to the gesture inputs, and output the signals. Thus, the keyboard 10 may provide a striking input as well as a handwriting input.

2A, the keyboard 10 includes a holography film 30 having holographic information of a keyboard arrangement, a touch panel 40 for detecting touch signals, and light sources 50 for projecting light beams . The holographic film 30 is shaped substantially as a flat surface and attached to the upper surface of the touch panel 40.

The holographic film 30 is made of transparent insulating materials such as glass, emulsion, photonic crystal, or plastic. The holographic film 30 is formed by photographing using a transmissive holographic technique. During the photolithography process, the light beams emitted from the laser source are separated by a spectroscope into signal beams and reference beams. The signal beams and the reference beams are projected on the same side of the holographic film according to the transmissive holography technique. After the diffraction and interference are made, the light waves of the keyboard arrangement that carry the key arrangement and the amplitude and phase information of the symbols are recorded in the holographic film.

The light sources 50 are positioned below the holographic film 30. [ The light sources 50 project light beams onto the holographic film 30 through the touch panel 40. The holographic film 30 and the light beams cooperate to create the virtual keyboard 20. After reconstructing the key arrangement and the amplitude and phase information of the symbols recorded on the holographic film 30, the virtual keyboard 20 vividly shows the appearance on the holographic film 30. [ The user can touch the touch panel 40 according to the keyboard layout of the virtual keyboard 20 for key-in or gesture input. It should be noted that the size, shape, and relative position of the virtual keyboard 20 are preferably coincident with the size, shape, and relative position of the holographic film 30.

The touch panel 40 is disposed close to the virtual keyboard 20 to detect a position touched on the touch panel 40 and generate touch signals accordingly. Therefore, it is desirable that the size, shape, and relative position of the virtual keyboard 20 closely match the size, shape, and relative position of the touch panel 40.

2B, in an alternative embodiment, the holographic film 30 is disposed under the touch panel 40, and the light source 50 is positioned under the holographic film 30 . The light beams from the light source 50 are projected onto the holographic film 30 and then the virtual keyboard 20 is created on the touch panel 40. The keyboard 10 in FIG. 2B has the same operating principles as the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A.

When the keyboard 10 is used as a stand-alone device, the keyboard 10 may further include a frame 60 for supporting the above-mentioned components. The frame 60 includes a base plate 61 and a plurality of side walls 62 extending substantially perpendicular to the edges of the base plate 61. The base plate 61 and the side walls 62 cooperatively form a groove 63 having an open end and a closed end. The touch panel 40 is mounted on the frame 60 so as to be located on the open end side of the groove 63 and the light sources 50 are located on the closed end side of the groove 63.

There are two methods for attaching the holographic film 30 to the touch panel 40. One method is to directly bond the holographic film 30 to the touch panel 40 using an adhesive material such as Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA). Another method is to assemble the hologram film 30 to the touch panel 40 using a mechanical structure such as a detachable structure. It should be noted that the above-mentioned two methods can be used together with the keyboard 10 if necessary.

The above-mentioned detachable structure may be a snap-fitted connection or a bolted connection for firmly fixing the holographic film 30 to the touch panel 40. 3A, the snap fitting structure 71 is mounted on the frame 60 so as to be connected to the touch panel 40 and one end of the holographic film 30. [ Another snap fit structure (not shown) is mounted on the frame 60 to connect the touch panel 40 and the other end of the holographic film 30. It is designed symmetrically. The snap fit structure 71 includes a sliding snap 73 and an elastic element 72. It is easy to replace the keyboard 10 from one language to another by simply sliding the sliding snaps 73 and replacing the current holography film 30 with the required new holographic film. 3B, a bolt fastening structure 74 is mounted on the frame 60 so as to be connected to one end of the touch panel 40 and the holographic film 30. [ Another bolt fastening structure (not shown) is mounted on the frame 60 so as to be connected to the touch panel 40 and the other end of the holographic film 30. [ This is also designed symmetrically. The bolt fastening structure 74 includes a bolt 76 and a nut 75. The nut 75 is engaged with the bolt 76 at an upper end of the bolt 76. [ The lower end of the bolt 76 is fixed. It is easy to replace the keyboard 10 from one language to another by simply removing the nut 75 and replacing the current holographic film 30 with a new holographic film required.

The touch panel 40 may be a transparent capacitive touch panel or a resistive touch panel or an infrared sensitive touch panel or an electromagnetic sensing touch panel or an acoustic sensitive touch panel. have.

The light sources 50 may project the light beams onto the holographic film 30 through the touch panel 40. The touch panel 40 includes a sensing layer 41 (as shown in FIG. 7) made of a transparent conductive material. The virtual keys on the virtual keyboard 20 according to the keyboard layout correspond to a plurality of sensing units of the sensing layer 41. The sensing layer in the touch panel (40) detects a touch position touched on the keyboard (10).

The light sources 50 may be light-emitting diodes (LED) or laser diodes (LD), all of which emit monochromatic light. The keyboard 10 may further include an expender (not shown) disposed in front of the light source 50 to diffuse the light beams. The expander causes the light beams to be applied to the entire surface of the holographic film (30). The quantity and placement of the light sources 50 are designed based on practical requirements with respect to the provision of uniform and sufficient light beams. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the light source 50 may be omitted.

The keyboard 10 may be used in electronic devices such as desktop computers, laptops, and cellular phones. Referring to FIG. 4, a first embodiment of an electronic device includes a host 90, the keyboard 10, and a transmission device 80 for transmitting signals to the host 90. In this embodiment, the electronic device is a desktop computer. The transmission device 80 is a transmission wire such as a universal serial bus (USB) wire or an RS-232 wire. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the transmission device 80 may also include wireless transmission techniques such as a Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) scheme, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) scheme, an Infrared (IR) scheme, You can use it.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the electronic device 100 includes a keyboard 10 integrated within a host. In this embodiment, the electronic device 100 is a laptop. The keyboard 10 of FIG. 5 used in the laptop 100 has the same working principle and structure as the first embodiment applied in FIG. 4 described above.

Furthermore, the keyboard 10 may be integrated into the tabletop or wall to suit different environments.

Referring to FIG. 6, one embodiment of an input method using the keyboard is illustrated.

In step S101, a virtual keyboard is generated from the holography film located on one side of the touch panel.

In step S102, position information corresponding to a position touched on the touch panel is detected.

In step S103, a touch signal corresponding to a key of the virtual keyboard is generated and output based on the position information.

When using the keyboard 10, the first thing to be done is to embed the symbols and keyboard layouts in the required language in the holographic film 30. When the light source 50 is powered, users may see a virtual keyboard 20 that appears on the holographic film 30. The arrangement and characters of the virtual keyboard 20 are the same as the arrangement and characters previously recorded in the holographic film 30. [ The size and shape of the virtual keyboard 20 are very close to the size and shape of the touch panel 40. The holographic film 30 is touched by users at corresponding symbols and positions on the virtual keyboard 20. [ The touch panel 40 detects a touch position or a gesture formed to detect the touch information, thereby providing a keyboard input and a handwriting input.

Although the embodiments of the disclosure herein have been described fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood that such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (28)

A holographic film in which holographic information of a keyboard layout is recorded on one surface of the holographic film;
A virtual keyboard generated from the holographic film;
A light source positioned on one side of the holographic film, the light source configured to project light beams to cause the holographic film to produce the virtual keyboard;
A touch panel adjacent to the virtual keyboard, the touch panel configured to generate a touch signal corresponding to a position touched at an upper portion; And
Detachable structure;
/ RTI >
Wherein the holographic film is attached to the touch panel via the detachable structure. delete The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the size and position of the virtual keyboard coincide with the size and position of the touch panel. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the touch panel is attached to a surface of a holographic film facing the light source, wherein the light beams emitted from the light source are projected onto the holographic film through the touch panel, And a keyboard is formed on one side of the holographic film away from the light source. The keyboard according to claim 4, wherein the holographic film is bonded to the touch panel. delete The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the detachable structure is a snap-fit connection or a bolted connection. The holographic film of claim 1, wherein the holographic film is attached to a surface of the touch panel facing the light source, wherein light beams emitted from the light source are projected onto the holographic film, Is formed on one side of the touch panel away from the touch panel. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the holographic film is substantially planar. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the holographic film is made of a transparent insulating material. 11. The keyboard according to claim 10, wherein the transparent insulating material is selected from the group consisting of glass, emulsion, photonic crystal and plastic. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein the holographic film is formed by photographing using a transmissive holographic technique. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the light source is a light emitting diode or a laser diode, and the light beams are monochrome beams. The method according to claim 1,
An expender disposed on the light source to diffuse the light beams;
Further comprising a keyboard. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the touch panel comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a resistive touch panel, a capacitive touch panel, an infrared sensitive touch panel, an electromagnetic sensing touch panel, Is selected. The keyboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the touch panel comprises a sensing layer for sensing a touched position. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the touch panel is made of a transparent material. The method according to claim 1,
A frame defining a groove;
Wherein the touch panel is mounted on the frame so as to be located on the open end side of the groove, and the light source is located on the closed end side of the groove. Host;
keyboard; And
A transmission device;
An electronic device comprising:
The keyboard comprises:
A holographic film in which holographic information of a keyboard layout is recorded on one surface of the holographic film;
A virtual keyboard generated from the holographic film;
A light source positioned on one side of the holographic film, the light source configured to project light beams to cause the holographic film to produce the virtual keyboard;
A touch panel adjacent to the virtual keyboard, the touch panel configured to generate a touch signal corresponding to a position touched at an upper portion; And
Detachable structure;
/ RTI >
Wherein the holographic film is attached to the touch panel via the detachable structure. 20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the light beams are monochrome beams. 20. The electronic device according to claim 19, wherein the transmission device is a transmission wire. delete 20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the keyboard is integrated within the host. 20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the electronic device is a laptop or a cellular phone. 20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the keyboard is integrated within the tabletop or wall. As an input method,
Creating a virtual keyboard from a holographic film positioned on one side of the touch panel;
Projecting light beams to cause the holographic film to generate the virtual keyboard;
Detecting position information corresponding to a position touched on the touch panel; And
Generating and outputting a touch signal corresponding to a key of the virtual keyboard based on the position information;
/ RTI >
Wherein the holographic film is attached to the touch panel through a structure that is separable in the creation of the virtual keyboard. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the light beams are monochrome beams in a projection step of the light beams. delete

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