RU2401462C2 - Software-hardware complex for keyboard typing training - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: information technologies.

SUBSTANCE: complex contains keyboard with keys provided with light-emitting diodes, audio player, display and processor. The complex also includes media with program recorded on it. Processor controls the complex by means of this program. Software-hardware complex makes possible to employ during training three main types of human sensations - vision, hearing and tactile.

EFFECT: speed-up of training process and improving stability of acquired knowledge.

3 cl, 6 dwg

Description

The proposed invention relates to a software and hardware complex for teaching a user typing skills on a keyboard.

In the modern world, it is impossible to imagine areas of human activity in which information technology and computer technology would not be used. This allows you to greatly simplify the work of man. In particular, modern text editors provide tremendous opportunities for drafting contracts, reports, writing articles and other printed documents and editing them. At the same time, many novice users are faced with the problem of using the main device for inputting information into a personal computer - the keyboard. This is due to the location of the symbol keys, letters of the alphabet and numbers on the keyboard block: the adaptation of a novice user takes a long time. In addition, often novice users do not use all ten fingers to print, limited to two or four, which reduces print speed and increases fatigue.

In the prior art, to solve this problem, there are software keyboard simulators (for example, RU No. 2266556, class G06F 3/023, 2005). These programs allow you to quickly learn the keyboard. At the same time, software keyboard simulators do not use all human sensory organs to teach keyboard skills.

Disclosure of the invention.

In the framework of the present invention, a software and hardware complex for teaching a user to type on a keyboard is provided, comprising:

a keyboard in which each key contains an LED;

sound reproducing means for reproducing sound;

a sound card for controlling the sound reproduction means;

a display for displaying data;

graphics card to control the display;

a processor that controls the video card, sound card, and keyboard;

a storage medium containing a keyboard simulator program, wherein the keyboard simulator program contains instructions executed by the processor, by which the processor controls the video card, sound card, and keyboard in such a way that

when starting the hardware-software complex in the first mode, the symbol sequence is displayed, and one of the symbols is highlighted in contrasting color with respect to the color of the remaining symbols; sound reproducing means acoustically reproduces a character or group of characters; the LED on the keyboard key corresponding to the highlighted symbol lights up; in this case, when the user presses the key with the LED on, the display shows a different sequence symbol in contrast, the LED on the pressed key goes out and lights up on the key corresponding to the other highlighted and displayed symbol, and the previous highlighted symbol is displayed on the display with the color of the remaining symbols; if the user presses a key other than the key with the LED on, the sound reproducing tool reproduces the sound signal, and when the firmware is launched in the second mode, the symbol sequence is displayed; sound reproducing means acoustically reproduces the entire sequence of characters; on the keyboard key corresponding to the first character of the sequence, the LED lights up, and if the user presses the key with the LED on, the LED on this key goes out and the LED on the key corresponding to the next character of the sequence lights up; in case of pressing a key other than the key with the LED on, the sound reproducing means reproduces a sound signal.

By default, the hardware-software complex is designed in such a way that some of the keyboard keys, in addition to the LEDs, are equipped with a side for dividing the keyboard into zones for different fingers. These sides carry out the function of auxiliary control of the direction of movement of the fingers along the indicated zones of the keys.

In another embodiment, the hardware-software complex can be made in such a way that the keys equipped with a side are installed with the possibility of replacement with keys with an LED, but without a side.

A brief description of the drawings.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a hardware-software complex;

Figure 2 - diagram of the keyboard in the hardware complex;

Figa - diagram of a button with a side on the right side;

Fig.3b is a diagram of a button with a side on the left side.

Figa - algorithm of the hardware-software complex in the "spell" mode.

Figb - the algorithm of the hardware-software complex in the "by syllables", "by words", "by sentences" or "text" modes.

The implementation of the invention.

User training is as follows. The display shows a sequence of characters. In this case, the character that must be entered by the user from the keyboard is highlighted in contrasting color. Highlighting a specific character on the display with a contrasting color allows you to use the visual channel of human perception in the learning process. Simultaneously with the selection of a symbol, a sound signal corresponding to this symbol is played (if the symbol is a letter, then the sound of this letter is played, if the symbol is a number, then this number, if the symbol is special, the name of this symbol is played), which is used during training auditory canal of perception. And also simultaneously with the sound reproduction of the symbol on the keyboard key corresponding to the selected symbol, the LED lights up. The user needs to enter the selected character from the keyboard in the minimum amount of time. If the wrong key is pressed, a warning signal is emitted (in particular, a sharp sound), after which the character that the user must enter is again acoustically reproduced. If the correct key is pressed, the next sequence symbol is highlighted on the display and the process repeats. So, by sequentially pressing the keys corresponding to the selected characters, the user must type the entire sequence in a minimum amount of time.

Above was described one of the modes of operation of the complex, in which training is carried out "spell", i.e. Acoustically, the sequence is reproduced for each letter separately. At the same time, the hardware-software complex has the modes of reproduction of the sequence “according to syllables”, “according to words”, “according to sentences”. In this case, more than one character is acoustically reproduced, i.e. depending on the mode, the text is reproduced by syllables, by words or by sentences. While the display shows in contrasting color only the character to be entered. In the “text” operating mode, the entire sequence of characters is displayed, all the text is acoustically reproduced without stopping, however, only the letter that needs to be pressed to continue entering text is highlighted in contrasting color.

A feature of the proposed complex is the presence on the keyboard keys of the sides, through which zones of keys for specific fingers are formed. The presence of sides helps initially correctly position the fingers on the keyboard and press each key with the “right” finger. Thus, the proposed hardware-software complex allows you to use simultaneously three main types of human perception - visual, tactile and auditory, which speeds up the learning process and makes the acquired skills more stable.

The hardware-software complex is a personal computer, the circuit of which is shown in figure 1. The computer consists of a display 9, a keyboard 8, sound reproduction means (speakers 10) and a system unit 11. The system unit 11 includes a set of system logic 2, RAM 3, magnetic disk 4, optical drive 5, sound card 7, video card 6, and processor 1. Processor 1 is connected through a set of system logic 2 to all devices in the system unit - video card 6, sound card 7, magnetic disk 4, - as well as Viatura 8. The set of system logic 2 serves as an interface that ensures the joint operation of all components of the system unit 11 and the keyboard 8 and through which the processor 1 controls all the blocks. The sound card 7 provides processing of audio data and transmits them for reproduction to the acoustic speakers 10. The video card 6 processes the image data and transmits them to the display 9 for display. The processor 1 controls the operation of the keyboard 8, video card 6 and sound card 7 using the keyboard simulator program. The program necessary for the functioning of the complex can be recorded on an optical disk and read from it by an optical drive 5 during the operation of the complex. Also, the program can be recorded on a magnetic disk 4, in RAM 3 or other media. During the operation of the complex, the processor 1 accesses the medium on which the program is recorded, through a set of system logic 2 and through the commands of the program, operates all the blocks of the complex to carry out user training. The processor will be described in detail below.

The complex includes an X-LITE 8 keyboard. The keyboard layout is shown in Figure 2. It is a classic 102-key keyboard with QWERTY and YTsUKEN layout. The difference between this keyboard is the presence in each key of the LED controlled by the keyboard controller. The LED is controlled by a driver installed in the operating system, which allows the processor to give commands to the keyboard controller to turn on or off a particular LED. The LED allows the user to quickly find the desired key on the keyboard, which speeds up the process of learning and remembering the location of the keys on the keyboard. In addition to LEDs, some keys are equipped with sides. Using the sides allows you to differentiate zones on the keyboard for each of the fingers, so from the very beginning of training the user correctly places his fingers on the keyboard and uses the right finger to press each key. In this case, “muscle memory” is actively included in the work, which helps to accelerate the development of the necessary skills for quick and accurate movement of fingers. A column of keys equipped with sides forms a kind of groove along which a specific finger moves (index, middle, ring). At the same time, the side limits the working area of the finger and does not allow the finger to press the keys of another zone, i.e. zones of the other finger. Figure 3a shows a principal view of a button with a side. In this embodiment, the side is located on the right lateral edge of the key, when viewed from above. These keys are used to distinguish between the areas of action of the fingers of the left hand. Figure 3b shows a key whose rim is located on the left side of the key when viewed from above. Keys of this type are used to distinguish between the zones of the fingers of the right hand. The sides on the right side are equipped with the keys of the first three columns of alphabetic keys, counting from the left edge of the keyboard, and the sides on the right side are equipped with the keys of 8-10 columns of alphabetic keys, also counting from the left edge of the keyboard. In particular, keys on the right side in the QWERTY layout are equipped with keys 2, Q, A, Z, 3, W, S, X, 4, E, D, C; on the left - keys 9, I, К, <, 0, О, L,>, -, Р,;, /. The height of the sides in different versions of the keyboard can vary from 0.5 to 2.5 cm, depending on who will be trained on the simulator - a child, teenager or adult. This is due to the fact that people of different ages have different thicknesses of the fingers and for an adult, the rim may be too low to prevent the finger from slipping to the adjacent area. For a child, too high a side can cause inconvenience, because there is the possibility of pressure on the side of the brush.

The keyboard has the ability to change keys. Keys with sides and LEDs can only be replaced with keys with LEDs. The possibility of such a replacement will be useful for experienced users who want to test their printing skills without auxiliary elements. It is also possible to change keys with sides of one height to keys with sides of another height.

Figure 4a presents the algorithm of the hardware-software complex in the "spell" mode. After the operating system is loaded (in particular, the Windows or Linux families), the processor, after calling the keyboard simulator program, starts executing the commands of this program by accessing the media (optical disk, magnetic disk or RAM) on which it is located. At step 40, the processor, based on the instructions (commands) of the keyboard simulator program, controls the video card so that it, in turn, gives the appropriate commands to the display to output elements of the graphical interface of the keyboard simulator program. The interface consists of many drop-down menus that allow the user to customize the keyboard simulator program, the field on which the text and other elements are displayed. In particular, the settings menu options can be the choice of the operating mode, the difficulty level of the lesson, the sound volume settings, font style settings, the choice of text that will be displayed during training, and others. When starting the training lesson directly at step 41, the processor, executing the instructions of the keyboard simulator program, instructs the video card to display a sequence of text characters on the display. The text sequence can be selected by the user or by the program itself based on the selected lesson. For example, the sentence “Frost and the sun is a wonderful day!” Could be such a sequence. In the output sequence, the first character is highlighted in contrasting color with respect to the remaining characters of the sequence (step 42). Simultaneously with the selection of the symbol, the processor sends a command to the keyboard controller (step 43). Based on the received processor command, the keyboard controller supplies voltage to the LED of the key corresponding to the symbol highlighted in contrasting color on the display. When voltage is applied to the LED, it lights up and thereby gives the user the opportunity, using his visual perception channel, to find the desired character on the keyboard in the minimum amount of time. Simultaneously with the LED on the corresponding key being turned on, the processor, on the basis of the keyboard simulator program commands, sends a control command through the system logic to the sound card to reproduce the sound of the selected character (step 44). A sound card based on a processor command sends a signal to the sound of the selected character to the speakers connected to it. After the user presses a key, the keyboard controller sends a scan code of this key to the memory. Based on the scanned code, the processor determines whether the correct key (i.e., the one highlighted on the display) is pressed or not (step 45)? If the correct key is pressed, the processor determines whether the selected character was the last in the sequence (step 46). If so, then the simulator will end (step 49). If not, the processor instructs the keyboard controller to turn off the LED of the pressed key (step 47) and proceeds to the next character of the sequence. After that, the process returns to step 42, where the next character is highlighted, and the previous one is displayed in ordinary (not contrasting) color, and all steps are repeated starting from this step 42.

If the wrong key is pressed, the processor sends a command to the sound adapter, which in turn sends a command to the sound reproducing device to reproduce a sharp sound signal (step 48). The sound adapter in turn sends a signal to the speakers to play this sharp sound. This beep informs the user that an invalid key has been pressed. After the speakers have reproduced a sharp sound signal, the process returns to step 44, in which the processor again issues a command to the sound card to repeat the sound of the selected character, and the processor repeats from step 44.

The figure 4b presents the algorithm of the hardware and software complex in one of the modes "by syllables", "by words", "by sentences" or "text". Work stages 501 and 502 are similar to steps 40 and 41 of the algorithm of the complex in the "spell" mode. Then, the processor, based on the commands of the keyboard simulator program, submits a control command through the system logic to the sound card to reproduce the first syllable, or word, or sentence, or text (step 503). A sound card based on a processor command sends a signal to the speakers connected to it to soundly reproduce the first syllable, or a word, or a sentence, or the entire text. At the same time, steps 504, 505, 506 are carried out, similar to steps 42, 43, 45, respectively. If the correct key is pressed as a result of step 505, the processor determines whether the selected character was the last in a syllable, word, sentence, or text (step 507 ) If so, then the processor determines whether the processed syllable, or word, or sentence was the last in the sequence (step 509)? If so, the operation of the complex is completed (step 510). If the hardware-software complex operates in the “text” mode, when the process proceeds to step 509, a subsequent transition to the completion step 510 is automatically performed. If at step 509 the processor determined that the syllable, or word, or sentence is not the last, then the processor submits to the controller keyboard command to turn off the LED of the pressed key and proceeds to the next syllable, or word, or sentence sequence (step 511). After that, the process returns to step 503, in which the next syllable, or word, or sentence is acoustically reproduced, and all steps are repeated starting from this step 503.

If at step 507 the processor determined that the symbol of the processed syllable, or word, or sentence, or text was not the last in this syllable, or word, or sentence, or text, then the processor instructs the keyboard controller to turn off the LED of the pressed key and proceeds to the next character of the syllable, or word, or sentence of the sequence (step 508). After that, the process proceeds to step 504 and is repeated from it.

If the wrong key is pressed at step 506, the processor sends a command to the sound adapter to play a sharp sound signal (step 512 is similar to step 48). After that, the process returns to step 506.

The hardware and software complex allows you to display either alphabetic, only digital or only symbolic sequence, or a combined sequence containing all three - letters, symbols and numbers. Training can be conducted for Russian, English and German layouts.

Claims (3)

1. A hardware-software complex for training a user to type on a keyboard, comprising a keyboard for which each key contains an LED; sound reproducing means for reproducing sound; a sound card for controlling the sound reproduction means; a display for displaying data; graphics card to control the display; a processor that controls the video card, sound card, and keyboard; an information medium containing a keyboard simulator program, wherein the keyboard simulator program contains instructions executed by the processor, by which the processor controls the video card, sound card, and keyboard in such a way that a symbol sequence is displayed on the display when the firmware is launched, one of characters highlighted in contrasting color with respect to the color of the remaining characters; sound reproducing means acoustically reproduces a character or group of characters; the LED on the keyboard key corresponding to the highlighted symbol lights up; in this case, when the user presses the key with the LED on, the display shows a different sequence symbol in contrast, the LED on the pressed key goes out and lights up on the key corresponding to the other symbol highlighted and displayed on the display , and the previous highlighted character is displayed on the display with the color of the remaining characters; if the user presses a key other than the key with the LED on, the sound reproducer reproduces an audio signal. 2. The software and hardware complex according to claim 1, in which part of the keyboard keys in addition to the LEDs is equipped with a side for dividing the keyboard into zones for different fingers. 3. The hardware-software complex according to claim 2, in which the keyboard is designed so that the keys equipped with a side are installed with the possibility of replacing the keys with an LED, but without a side.

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