WO2005065034A2

WO2005065034A2 - System and method for improving typing skills

Info

Publication number: WO2005065034A2
Application number: PCT/IL2005/000019
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dikla Hasson; Gavriel Maymon
Original assignee: Dikla Hasson; Gavriel Maymon
Priority date: 2004-01-05
Filing date: 2005-01-05
Publication date: 2005-07-21
Also published as: WO2005065034A3

Abstract

System and method for an enhanced keyboard device for improving the typing skills includes a keyboard (10,20) which does not only respond to a pressure applied to its keys (when the key is pressed down), but also senses when the keys are merely touched. Whenever a key is touched, the letter it represents is displayed on the screen through a virtual keyboard (11,21) or separately giving the users an indication as for which key they are about to press. In every other manner the device is identical to a standard keyboard. The aim of the present invention is to make use of time in which users need to use the keyboard for other purposes in order to improve their typing skills.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EASIER TYPING

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of facilitating the typing learning

process; more precisely, the present invention relates to an enhancement of the

standard keyboard that aids the typing learning process.

The use of standard keyboard for inputting alphanumeric data into a computer

is most common, yet the layout of the keys for most languages has to be learned

and practiced before it can be used in a relatively quick and easy manner.

Most common methods for facilitating the typing learning process use typing

teaching techniques which demand specific training to improve the trainee's

familiarity with the position of letters on the keyboard, hand-eye coordination and

speed of typing. Efficient as it is, this method demands investing time and energy

for learning and training for this end and does not make use of the time in which

the person may be using the keyboard for other purposes. For users who do not type fluently, having to look for the position of the letters

on the keyboard is the main time consuming operation as they input a text into

the computer. This activity makes the users remove their gaze from the computer

screen on to the keyboard, search for the key and then look back to the screen to

make sure that the correct result was achieved. This manner of typing also

makes the users move their hands away from the keyboard to make it visible in

its entirety. Both actions - the turning of the gaze away from the screen and

removing the hands from the keyboard - perpetuate bad typing habits which

prolong the typing learning process.

Methods for dealing with this problem include different manners of marking

the keys so that they may be identified by touch without the need for a visual

conformation. Such a method is described, for example, in US Patent Application

No. 20030142079. This is a keyboard in which keys may be identified according

to touch sensitive attributes, such as texture, elevation, material or temperature,

so that the user would not have to look at the keys in order to find a letter. While this method may be extremely useful for aiding people with disabilities, others

might find they have to learn two sets of coding, a visual and a sensory one, to

benefit from it.

A different patent, British Patent no. GB2384106, discloses an apparatus

which includes a computer keyboard with at least one camera mounted on which

capture the position of the typist's fingers in relation to the keys and displays this

information on the computer display. The apparatus allows the user to see the

position of their fingers in a heads up manner without having to look down at the

keyboard for the purpose of learning and improving touch typing skills. This

solution has several shortcomings. First, the image of the fingers on the

keyboard does not differentiate between a finger which is placed above a key

and one which touches it. Second, this image does not capture the keyboard in

its entirety, since the hands on top of the keyboard are in the camera's line of

sight. In order to find a key users then have to move their hands away from the keyboard, a movement which, as mentioned above, is counterproductive to the

learning procedure. And finely, this is a costly solution.

There is therefore a need for a system which may aid establishing correct

typing habits and that will facilitate the typing learning process in a simple and

intuitive manner.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is a system for improving user typing skills implemented within

computerized typing device which includes a processor unit, a display device

and keyboard. The system is comprised of at least one sensor located on a

single key of the keyboard for identified touched keys and a software module

which receives sensors output signal and provides the user with indications of

the respective touched keys.

The system also includes a graphical module for displaying a virtual image of the

touched keys or a graphical module for displaying a virtual keyboard on which the graphical indication of the touched keys appear. The graphical indication

may include one of the following: blinking, color changes, highlight or magnitude

of the letter. The sensors may be touch sensitive sensors, heat sensitive sensors

or movement sensitive sensors.

The system may also include an audio module for producing sounds which give

indication for the touched keys. The sound may be the consonant of the letter the

key stands for or the name of the letter. The audio module may be implemented

within the keyboard.

A method for improving user typing skills implemented within computerized

typing device which includes a processor unit, a display device and keyboard

with sensors. The method comprising the steps of receiving sensors output

signal, identifying at least one touched key of the keyboard by a sensor located

on a single key, and providing the user with indications of the respective touched

keys. The method also includes the step of displaying a virtual image and/or

sounding an audio indication of the touched keys. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further features and advantages of the invention will become more clearly understood in the light of the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein-

Figure 1 illustrates the keyboard and the screen image of the keyboard as the W

key is touched according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates the keyboard and the screen image of the keyboard as the W

and L keys are touched according to the first embodiment;

Figure 3 illustrate the screen image of the keyboard according to the second

embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 illustrates the screen image of the keyboard according to the third

embodiment;

Figure 5 illustrates the keyboard and the screen image of the keyboard as the W

key is touched according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a system and a method for an enhanced keyboard

device which improve the typing skills. It is a keyboard which does not only

respond to a pressure applied to its keys (when the key is pressed down), but

also senses when the keys are merely touched. In every other manner the device

is identical to a standard keyboard. The aim of the present invention is to make

use of the time in which users need to use the keyboard for other purposes in

order to improve their typing skills. The software application of the present

invention therefore operates while other software applications are running,

without interfering with their operation. If, for instance, users want to write a letter,

they may improve their typing skills while operating a word processing

application.

According to the first embodiment, whenever the system identifies that the

user has touched a keyboard key, a virtual keyboard appears onscreen and the

touched key is marked, as illustrated in Figure 1. As the user touches, for example, the W key on the device 10, a virtual keyboard appears onscreen 11

and the position of the W key is marked on it. The same is true when the user

touches more then one key, as illustrated in figure 2. In this example the user

touches keys W and L on the device 20, and these keys are marked on the

virtual keyboard 21 onscreen.

This invention only adds functionality to the standard keyboard; it does not

interfere with its normal operation. If the user presses the keys of the keyboard

the computer operates normally and the virtual keyboard may be programmed by

the users to disappear.

Being sensitive to the user's touch enables the system to aid users, who are

not well acquainted with the position of the keys and find it difficult to type,

improve their typing skills. Instead of having to look away from the screen in

order to search for the desired key on the keyboard, the user may touch any key

or keys and then see onscreen where these keys are positioned and what is their

relative position to the desired keys. This also enables the users to verify that the key they are about to press is the correct key and to avoid possible mistaken

keystrokes.

Figure 1 and 2 illustrate the first embodiment of the invention whereas the

virtual keyboard is a full alphanumeric keyboard. The second and third

embodiments of the invention are illustrated in figures 3 and 4. In these

embodiments the virtual keyboard onscreen is not a full alphanumeric one, but

only a partial one. These embodiments are aimed to decrease the size of the

virtual keyboard onscreen so that it hides a minimal portion of the screen. In the

embodiment illustrated in Figure 3 the virtual keyboard 30 does not include the

numeric keypad. This embodiment is useful for times in which the user is typing

using mainly the alphabetic keys. The embodiment illustrated in figure 4 shows

only the numeric keypad 40 onscreen for applications in which only the numeric

keypad is needed.

The preferred embodiments of the invention are comprised of an enhanced

keyboard device and a software application. The keyboard device includes all the functionality of a standard keyboard but also incorporates touch sensors on the

keys. The software application controls the appearance of the virtual keyboard on

the screen and the marking of keys according to input received from the touch

sensors on the keyboard device. The touch sensors indicate whether the user is

touching a key or keys at any given time. Having sensed that keys are touched

the system initiates the display of the virtual keyboard onscreen and marks the

relevant keys on it.

Other embodiments of the present invention incorporate other methods for

sensing where the users' fingers at, without using touch sensors. The keyboard

may, for instance, be sensitive to a slight stroke on the keys. The slight stroke is

differentiated from the full stroke and produces similar results to those of

touching a key which has a touch sensor. Alternatively, other types of sensors

such as heat sensors, pressure sensors and movement sensors may be used

instead of the touch sensors. Additionally, users may control the size, shape and other visual attributes of

the virtual keyboard. Users can, for instance, adjust the virtual keyboard to be

partially transparent, emphasize certain segments of the keyboard, eliminate the

seldom used keys from the virtual keyboard and the like. Users may also design

the manner in which the touched keys are distinguished from the rest of the keys.

A key may be marked, for instance, by increasing its size, changing its color,

blinking, or any combination thereof.

An additional embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in figure 5. In

this embodiment only the keys which are touched 50 are displayed on screen 52,

next to the cursor 51. The onscreen display of the keys 52 is in a conspicuous

manner (e.g. blinking, enlarged, different color, bold underlined etc), and may be

adjusted by the users so that they may easily identify the letters. This

embodiment allows users to see which keys are touched by them without having

to have the full keyboard on screen at the time. In all the above described embodiments, an audio signal may be sounded

when a key is touched. The audio signal may appear in addition to the graphic

representation on screen or instead of it, and may be turned on, and off at any

point in time. The audio signal may be a pronunciation of the name of the letter,

or of the vowel or consonant it stands for. The sounds of the letters and their

names may be configured to different languages. If more then one key is

touched, their sounds are played sequentially.

The voice pronouncing the sounds may be adjusted to different frequencies,

speeds, volume and voice types (e.g. a male's voice, a female's voice, a child's

voice). Users may also replace the audio files to suit their needs. Users may

record themselves pronouncing the letters, create an individual audio file for each

letter and attach it to the correct key. Alternatively, users may download

adequate audio files from the internet and link them to the different keys.

The audio features may be implemented using the computer's audio abilities

or by integrating audio means into the keyboard's hardware itself. In the latter case, loudspeakers and a voice generating chip are integral parts of the

keyboard, and updating the voices and their connection to the different keys is

performed by updating the keyboard's internal memory chip.

The program may be activated and deactivated by a pre-selected key, a

combination of keys or by a designated key on the keyboard. Keys may also be

programmed to change the configuration of the software application. For

instance, two keys (e.g. F1, F2) may be programmed to adjust the volume level

of the audio pronunciation of the letters, and other keys (e.g. F3, F4) may be

programmed to adjust the size of the marked letter or of the virtual keyboard as a

whole.

While the above description contains many specifiecs, these should not be

construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as

exemplifications of the preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art will

envision other possible variations that are within its scope. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated,

but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system for improving user typing skills implemented within computerized typing device which includes a processor unit, a display device and keyboard, said system comprised of:

- at least one sensor located on a single key of the keyboard for identified touched keys;

- a software module which receives sensors output signal and provides the user with indications of the respective touched keys.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a graphical module for displaying a virtual image of the touched keys.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a graphical module for displaying a virtual keyboard on which appear the graphical indication of the touched keys.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the graphical indication is include one of the following: blink, color, highlight or magnitude of the letter,

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a audio module for producing sounds which indicate of the touched keys.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the sound is a pronunciation of the name of the letter of the pressed key.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the sound is consonant it stands for.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensors are touch sensitive sensors.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensors are heat sensitive sensors.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensors are movement sensitive sensors.

11. The system of claim 5 wherein the audio module is implemented within the keyboard.

12. A method for improving user typing skills implemented within computerized typing device which includes a processor unit, a display device and keyboard with sensors, said method comprising the steps of :

- receiving sensors output signal;

- identifying at least one touched key of the keyboard by a sensor located on a single key;

- providing the user with indications of the respective touched keys.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of displaying a virtual image of the touched keys.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of displaying a virtual keyboard on which appear the graphical indication of the touched keys.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the graphical indication include one of the following: blink, color, highlight or magnitude of the letter.

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of producing sounds which indicate of the touched keys.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the sound is a pronunciation of the name of the letter of the pressed key.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the sound is consonant it stands for.