Input apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10409489-B2
Application number	US-201515540358-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2015
Priority date	Jan 16, 2015
Publication date	Sep 10, 2019
Grant date	Sep 10, 2019

Abstract

An input apparatus includes a keyboard module having a plurality of key areas, and having a plurality of sensor devices capable of detecting a pressure of a keying operation for each of the key areas; and a control circuit that adjusts a parameter of a processing relating to the keying operation of the keyboard module on a basis of information relating to a pressure detected by the sensor device for each of the key areas.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An input apparatus, comprising:
a keyboard module that comprises a plurality of key areas and a plurality of sensor devices,
wherein each sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices is configured to detect a pressure of a keying operation for a corresponding key area of the plurality of key areas;
an amplification circuit configured to amplify a signal corresponding to the detected pressure; and
a control circuit configured to:
determine a typing method is one of a touch typing method or a one-finger typing method among a plurality of typing methods, based on the detected pressure of the keying operation; and
adjust a gain of the amplification circuit based on a result of the determination of the typing method.

2. The input apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a keying response device configured to generate, response information, based on the keying operation for each of the plurality of key areas,
wherein the control circuit is further configured to adjust, an intensity of the response information of the keying response device, based on the detected pressure.

3. The input apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the control circuit is further configured to determine the typing method after a booting operation,
the typing method is determined, based on the detected pressure of the keying operation, for at least one key area of the plurality of key areas, and
the at least one key area corresponds to a home position.

4. The input apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to determine the typing method based on a typing speed.

5. The input apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to determine the typing method based on an average value of a plurality of pieces of information associated with the detected pressure.

6. The input apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the control circuit is further configured to determine the typing method based on a difference between first information and second information,
the first information is associated with the detected pressure of the keying operation on a first key area of the plurality of key areas, and
the second information is associated with the detected pressure of the keying operation on a second key area of the plurality of key areas.

7. The input apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the first key area and the second key area are determined as a pair on the keyboard module in advance.

8. The input apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the first key area and the second key area are stroked successively on the keyboard module.

9. The input apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of sensor devices is a mutual capacitance type capacitive sensor configured to detect the pressure, of the keying operation for the corresponding key area of the plurality of key areas, as a change in capacitance.

10. The input apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of sensor devices is a resistive touch sensor configured to detect the pressure, of the keying operation for the corresponding key area of the plurality of key areas, as a change in resistance value.

11. An input apparatus, comprising:
a keyboard module that includes a plurality of key areas and a plurality of sensor devices, wherein each sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices is configured to detect a pressure of a keying operation for a corresponding key area of the plurality of key areas; and
a control circuit configured to:
adjust a parameter of a process, related to the keying operation of the keyboard module, based on information related to the detected pressure of the keying operation;
determine a typing method is at least one of a touch typing method or a one-finger typing method among a plurality of typing methods, based on the information related to the detected pressure; and
adjust a sensitivity, with respect to the keying operation as the parameter, based on a result of the determination of the typing method.

12. An input apparatus, comprising:
a keyboard module that includes a plurality of key areas and a plurality of sensor devices, wherein each sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices is configured to detect a pressure of a keying operation for a corresponding key area of the plurality of key areas; and
a control circuit configured to:
determine a typing method is one of a touch typing method or a one-finger typing method among a plurality of typing methods, based on the detected pressure of the keying operation; and
adjust a sensitivity with respect to the keying operation based on a result of the determination of the typing method.

Assignees

• Sony Corp

Inventors

• Kamata Toshiaki
• Ebihara Munetake
• Wakimoto Hideyoshi
• Fujisawa Akira
• Higuchi Ichirou

Classifications

• G06F3/023

  Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes · CPC title

• G06F3/0202

  Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device · CPC title

• G06F3/0233

  Character input methods · CPC title

• G06F3/0418

  for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment · CPC title

• G06F3/045

  using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact · CPC title