Chord keyboard system using one chord to select a group from among several groups and another chord to select a character from the selected group

摘要

A computer input system implementing a chord keyboard, with particular structuring of the encoding scheme for the chord keyboard, and a method of visual feedback of the operation of the keyboard presented in that structured form. The available characters are divided into groups, and a stroke of a chord either selects an active row or selects a character from the active row. A display provides the status of the keyboard system, including what actions the user has taken, and indicates what characters will be input depending on the user's subsequent actions. When a chord is pressed, this display shows the character that will be input if this chord were to be released, and the user has the opportunity to change the chord selected without inputting an undesired character. One characteristic of the particular structure is the separation of sets of 10 characters into subgroups of 4, 3, 2, and 1 characters, these subgroups being accessed with chords of 1, 2, 3, and 4 fingers respectively.