Character input keyboard

• US 7,205,982 B1
• Filed: 12/24/1999
• Issued: 04/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hajime Kurosawa, Kazuto Takei
• Original Assignee: Hajime Kurosawa, Kazuto Takei
• Inventors: Kurosawa, Hajime, Takei, Kazuto
• Primary Examiner(s): Shankar; Vijay
• Application Number:
  US09/926,766
• Time in Patent Office: 2,671 Days
• Field of Search: 345168-173, 341 21- 26, 400472-489
• US Class Current: 345/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards

Abstract

A character input keyboard (20; 20A) of a typewriter style for an electronic information processing apparatus having high frequency in ENTER operation is provided at the right and the left thumbs'"'"' home positions for finger operation in front and the center of an operator with a pair of front keys (21, 22) which can be depressed directly by the respective thumb rested thereon as the right and the left thumbs'"'"' home positions, one of the centrally juxtaposed right and left front keys (21, 22) being allocated to a front ENTER/RETURN key and the other to a SPACE key as a normal state of the keyboard, whereby direct enter/return operation by either of thumbs rested thereon as thumbs'"'"' home positions is physically possible.

Claims

1. A character input keyboard, comprising a key layout corresponding to a 101/104 English keyboard or a 106/109 Japanese keyboard adapted to include:

a lowermost key array having a pair of left and right keys centrally juxtaposed in respective home positions for left and right thumbs of a user, one of said left and right keys being an ENTER/RETURN key and the other one of said left and right keys being a SPACE key, said respective home positions for the left and right thumbs being horizontally aligned with each other in said lowermost key array;

a middle character key array having an extreme right key being a BACKSPACE key; and

an uppermost numerical/symbol character key array having an extreme right key being a DELETE key,

said ENTER/RETURN key, said SPACE key, said BACKSPACE key, and said DELETE key being a normal state of said keyboard without any key reassignment.

2. A character input keyboard according to claim 1, wherein said left key of said lowermost key array is said ENTER/RETURN key, and said right key of said lowermost key array is said SPACE key.

3. A character input keyboard according to claim 1, wherein in the key array groups, from the uppermost key array to the lowermost key array, concerned with only character keys including a SPACE key.