keyboard
"" So far. For other uses, see Keyboard (disambiguation) .
A computer keyboard (English: ) is a typewriter- style device [1] that consists of a combination of buttons and electronic switching systems of different keyboard technologies . The main function is to input data , and may be used in the computer system to operate other machines or equipment. In the 1970s, teletypewriters and keyboards replaced the technology of punched cards and punched tapes as the main input and operation methods for computers. After the 1980s, the mouse was added . In general use, the keyboard is used to input text, and can input words, numbers and symbols in application software including word processing, web browser or social media.
Dell SK-8115 Keyboard
ASUS K55 Laptop Chisel Design Keyboard
Computer keyboards used in Taiwan
Computer keyboards for public use in Hong Kong Municipal Building
According to the number of keys on the keyboard, the keyboard can be divided into 101 keys, 104 keys and 87 keys and other types . 104 has more Windows special keys than 101, including two Win function keys and a menu [2] . The keyboard is also known as the Windows 95 keyboard. Each key of a computer keyboard usually has a character engraved or printed in the form of engraving or printing . Each time the key is pressed, the symbol corresponding to the character is usually input , but some symbols may need to be pressed simultaneously or sequentially. Enter [3] by pressing several different keys in sequence . Although most keys are used to enter letters , numbers , or symbols, some keys and key combinations are used to execute computer system commands, such as function keys , Fn keys , and the Ctrl+Alt+Del combination in Microsoft Windows systems Keys [4] [5] . In modern computer technology, the characters or commands output by the keys are usually determined by the software , and the information sent from the keyboard to the computer is only the code of which key or keys are pressed on the keyboard [6] , and different input methods may also will define different output symbols when the same key is pressed.
history
In 1714, Henry Mill patented a machine in England that resembled a typewriter [7] , so prototypes of similar keyboards may have been around at least in the 18th century. In 1868, the American Christopher Latham Shoals, known as the "father of the typewriter" , invented the first typewriter in the United States and obtained a patent [8] [9] [10] [11 ] , and later he invented the QWERTY keyboard [12] , which is used by most computer keyboards today.
Although the typewriter can be determined to be the ancestor of all devices that use "keys" to input text, the computer keyboard is a motor data input and communication device, and its technology is largely derived from teletypewriters and key punches (Keypunch ) , Computer keyboards also inherit the layout of the aforementioned devices. In the 1870s, teletypewriter-like equipment was used in the stock market . This type of equipment typed and transmitted text data through keyboards and telegraph wires to stock ticker machines, which were then immediately traded. Copy and display on the ticket tape (ticker tape) [13] . Herman Hollis developed the first key-punching device: the Tabulation Machine, and by the 1930s, these devices quickly evolved into text and numeric input keys similar to ordinary typewriters [ 14 ] .
For most of the 20th century, the keyboard on the teletypewriter played an important role in peer-to-peer communication, and the keyboard on the key punch machine played a role in data entry and storage. Later, the keyboard began to be incorporated into the design of the computer. The electronic numerical integration computer combined the key input device and the paper-based output device, and the binary automatic computer (BINAC) also used the keyboard to input data to the magnetic tape. in [15] .
In the era of personal computers , the keyboard has always been the most integrated computer peripheral device until the mouse began to be used as a consumer computer device in the 1980s. At that time, the pure text computer interface was replaced by a relatively rich graphical interface [16] . However, the keyboard is still the core of human-computer interaction . Even smart phones , tablet computers and other electronic devices with touch screens use virtualized keyboards as the main input method.
104-key QWERTY keyboard commonly used in computers
design
A multimedia function keyboard
There are many ways to arrange the keyboard. The reason there are different keyboard arrangements is because different people speak different languages and need the easiest way for them to use the keyboard.
The most common keyboard is the QWERTY keyboard from the mechanical typewriter era or similar designs. At that time, the keys of the typewriter were installed on the rocker, and the frequently used keys could not be placed too close to prevent the rocker from colliding with each other and getting stuck. The QWERTY keyboard and its brothers followed the design of the typewriter keyboard, which was also adopted by the electronic keyboard later. Due to the limitation of technical conditions at that time, this keyboard design had little consideration in terms of ergonomics. With the development of modern electronics, these limitations no longer exist. There are also many new keyboard designs, such as the Dvorak keyboard, but they are not widely used.
The number of keys on the keyboard was originally 101 as standard, 104 for Windows keyboards, 79 for Apple keyboards, and later developed to 130 or more. More and more function keys are added to the keyboard, such as opening a web browser or mail client . In the late 1990s, the United States once sold a kind of "Internet keyboard", which set the function keys as predefined Internet shortcut keys, and pressing these shortcut keys can open the browser and enter the designated website .
connection method
There are many ways to connect a keyboard to a computer. These include standard DIN connectors , commonly found on motherboards prior to the 80486, which were later replaced by PS/2 connectors . Now the more widely used is the USB connector. Early Macs used the Apple Computer Bus (ADB) as the keyboard connector.
new design
A standard keyboard is relatively large in size because all the keys must be sized for fingers to type easily. There are also some ideas for reducing the size of the keyboard, such as the Chord keyboard, which reduces the number of keys by pressing a group of keys simultaneously to represent a character. The GKOS keyboard is used on wireless devices. There are also some game joysticks , which can enter data and characters, and are also a variation of the keyboard.
A new type of keyboard is called a virtual laser projection keyboard. The image of the keyboard is projected on a surface. The projector's sensor determines which key is "pressed", and then converts the corresponding signal to the computer or PDA device .
standard
In principle, computer keyboards follow the ISO/IEC 9995 standard.
key distinction
The main body of the keyboard used by the computer is similar to that of an English typewriter keyboard. From the appearance point of view, the computer keyboard is divided into four areas: typing key area, function key area, editing key area and number key area.
typing keypad
- Number keys: (10 Arabic numerals).
- English letter keys : (26 English letters).
- Shift key : On both sides of the middle part of the keyboard, there is a shift key. When there are two symbols on the key, first press and hold the shift key to display the symbol above the key.
- Symbol keys: Represents addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation in mathematical symbols.
- Space key : The longest key on the keyboard. A blank character appears with each click.
- Abdication key : delete the character on the left of the cursor, and move all the following characters forward.
- Case conversion key : convert the case of English letters. (The light on the upper right of the keyboard will turn on and off)
- Line feed key : Also known as the input key, the input command or data is sent to the computer for processing.
- Control keys : cooperate with other keys to produce control functions. If you press and hold it first, then press it to copy files or folders.
- Shift key : A type of control key that can change the original function of the key.
function keypad
There are 12 function keys on the keyboard, which are located above the keyboard. According to different software features, frequently used keys or commands can be set on the function keys.
numeric keypad
The number keypad on the right side of the keyboard has the functions of number keys and editing keys.
- Number lock key : used to switch the function of number keys and edit keys.
- Insert key : switch key for insert and replace input modes.
- Delete key : delete the word at the cursor, and the word on the right will be filled up automatically.
- Line feed key : It has the same function as the line feed key in the typing keypad.
edit keypad
An editing keypad is arranged in the middle of the keypad for typing and the numeric keypad for editing, which is specially used for editing. There are direction keys, insert key, delete key, homing key, end key, previous page key, next page key and so on.
- Arrow keys: There are four keys, which can move the cursor up, down, left, and right.
- Insert key: Insert key.
- Delete key: delete key.
- Homing key: The cursor jumps to the first position of the column, making writing faster.
- End key: Move the cursor to the right of the last word in the column.
- Escape key: ESC key, used to escape from the currently executed function, or to cancel the input.
- Page Up Key: Up key to turn the screen up one page.
- Next page key: Down key to turn the screen down one page.
number of keys
- 104 keys: The most common full key version.
- 107 key: Move the editing keypad to the next row, END is pasted to ↑, and three function keys are added to the top row.
- 108 keys: There are no three LEDs on the number area , but four function keys.
- 101 keys: Compared with the 104-key version, there are 3 function keys and 1 menu key less, and the Fn key is added. This form often appears in 15-inch notebook computers with numeric keypads .
- 87-key: 104-key version without number block
Classification
Entries: Keyboard technology and keyboard layouts
- Classification according to switch (switch) design
- Mechanical
Each button has an independent mechanical contact switch (switch), which uses a cylindrical spring to provide the resilience of the button, and uses a metal contact to control the triggering of the button.
- Thin film (Membrane)
There is a whole double-layer adhesive film in the keyboard, through which the resilience of the key is provided, and the triggering of the key is controlled by the contact between the carbon center of the key and the circuit when the film is pressed. The cost of this keyboard is very low, and most keyboards on the market are membrane keyboards.
- Conductive Rubber
- Non-contact capacitance type (Capacitives)
- Classification according to keycap printing method
- No engraving
- ink printing
- laser printing
- Two-color molding
- sublimation printing
type
- Alphanumeric keyboard, typing keyboard with letters and numbers.
- Technical classification: typewriter keyboard, computer keyboard
- Switch classification: membrane keyboard, mechanical keyboard, conductive rubber keyboard, electrostatic keyboard
- Keyboard layout : QWERTY , AZERTY , QWERTZ , Dvorak , MALT
- Famous products: IBM PC keyboard, Optimus keyboard
QWERTY keyboard
Entry: QWERTY keyboard
The reason for standardizing the keyboard to the current "QWERTY" keyboard key layout is that the keyboard of the typewriter was arranged in alphabetical order at the beginning, and the typewriter is a mechanical typing machine, so if the typing speed is too fast, some The combination of keys is very prone to card key problems. It was Christopher Latham Sholes who solved this problem when he invented the QWERTY keyboard layout, where he placed the most commonly used letters in opposite directions to slow down typing as much as possible The keystroke speed can be adjusted to avoid stuck keys. Christopher Larson Shoals patented this design in 1868, and the first commercial typewriter with this layout was successfully marketed in 1873.
However, in actual use, people found that the QWERTY keyboard key layout is very inefficient. For example: people are right-handed generally, but use the keyboard of QWERTY result, but make left hand bear 57% workload. The two little fingers and the left ring finger are weak fingers, but they have to be used frequently. The row of letters, which only accounts for about 30% of the entire typing work, is placed in the middle column of the keyboard. Therefore, in order to type a word, people often need to move their fingers up and down.
In 1888, a public typing competition was held across the United States. A court stenographer named Magalin performed blind typing according to a clear division of fingering. The speed was very fast, and the error was only three out of ten thousand, which surprised everyone present. According to records, the bonus that Magarin received at that time was 500 U.S. dollars. Since then, many people have followed this typing method. Touch typing technology has become popular in the field of professional typing, and schools for training typists have also begun to appear in the United States.
non-english keyboard
In addition to the need to separate the more commonly used keys when typing in English, typewriters in other languages also need to do this, and the keys commonly used in each language are different, such as French:
| e | t | i | n | s | a | r | o | l | u | d | c | It is |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14% | 9% | 8.2% | 7.9% | 7.5% | 7.3% | 6.5% | 6.4% | 5.7% | 5.2% | 4.6% | 3.5% | 2.7% |
[17] So there is the AZERTY keyboard (for French users) and the QWERTZ keyboard (for German users) and so on. In addition, the Japanese keyboard will add buttons for switching Japanese input methods. A keyboard with this function will have four more buttons in addition to the standard 104 keys.
DVORAK-style keyboard
Entry: Dvorak keyboard
Due to the widespread use of the above-mentioned touch typing technology, the typing speed of a typewriter can basically meet the needs of daily work. However, a Washingtonian named Dvorak invented a new keyboard arrangement in 1934. The keyboard of this design enables the left and right hands to tap the keyboard alternately, which can shorten the training period by half and increase the average typing speed by about 1/3.
The principle of DVORAK keyboard layout is:
- Try to let the left and right hands alternately hit the keyboard to avoid single-handed double-clicking;
- Shorten the average moving distance of the row of keys as much as possible;
- Arrange the most frequently used letters in the positions of the guide keys.
Windows has built-in support for the "DVORAK" keyboard. Click "Control Panel-Keyboard", enter the "Input Method Regional Settings" option, and then click the "Add" button to set the "Input Method Regional Settings" to "English ( United States)", and find "United States English-DVORAK" in the "Keyboard Layout/Input Method" column, after confirmation, it will become "DVORAK" keyboard.
MALT keyboard
Later, Lillian Malt designed the "MALT" keyboard which is more reasonable and efficient than the "DVORAK" keyboard. Molt changed the original staggered row of keys, making the Backspace and other keys farther from the center of the keyboard easier to reach, and using the thumb more often when typing. But the "MALT" keyboard has not been widely used.
numeric keypad
The numeric keypad is also called the Jiugong keypad , which is convenient for accountants to use and does not require additional program installation.
wireless keyboard
wireless transmission keyboard
wireless transmission
- Infrared transmission, a wireless keyboard using infrared technology, because infrared transceivers are not the basic devices of current smart devices and computers, infrared transmission is rarely used in products.
- Bluetooth transmission, a wireless keyboard using Bluetooth technology.
- 2.4GHz, 5GHz wireless transmission, using 2.4GHz or 5GHz radio waves for transmission, because there is no standard specification, you must plug in the transceiver provided by the manufacturer when using it. It used to be the most popular wireless keyboard transmission technology, but due to the popularity of Bluetooth devices, It is gradually being replaced by Bluetooth transmission.
Wireless computer keyboards are becoming more and more popular these days due to their ease of use. However, the wireless keyboard needs a battery to work, and it also brings security risks, as the wireless transmission is easy to be eavesdropped. [18] In addition, wireless keyboards are not popular with gamers, mainly because they are not as accurate and functional as wired keyboards for gaming purposes.
Apple standard keyboard
Article: Apple Standard Keyboard
The keyboard used by Apple computers is slightly different from that of ordinary PCs. For example, the keyboard of Macintosh computers in the 1980s had an "Apple key" with a logo on it. Later, the 
Apple key was replaced by the " command⌘ " key.
usage
Microsoft On-Screen Keyboard Designed for Users with Limited Mobility
Typically, the keyboard is used to enter text into a text editor , word processor , or other text tool.
Computers today leave the job of interpreting key-value conversions to software. The keyboard defines a corresponding key value for each physical key, and then reports all inputs to the control software, which determines the corresponding output.
Order
The keyboard is also used to enter computer commands. The most famous example of the IBM PC is the Ctrl+Alt+Del combination. In the current version of Microsoft Windows , press these three keys, a dialog box will appear, including the current task, shutdown and other options. In Linux , MS-DOS and early versions of WINDOWS, the command corresponding to the combination of Ctrl+Alt+Del is to restart.
game
The keyboard is one of the primary controls for computer games . Arrow keys or a group of keys redefined as arrow keys (such as WASD four keys) are used to control the movement of game characters. In many games, many keys can be defined according to the player's preferences.
key classification
The keys on a computer keyboard are generally divided into the following categories:
see
13 in the picture of computer accessories is the installation position of the keyboard
| IBM / Windows keyboard (US layout) (IBM PC keyboard) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esc | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | F6 | F7 | F8 | F9 | F10 | F11 | F12 | PrtSc
SysRq |
Scroll Lock |
Pause
Break |
|||||||||
|
|
Insert | Home | PgUp | Num Lock |
/ | * | - | |||||||||||||||||
| Delete | End | PgDn | 7 | 8 | 9 | + | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ | 1 | 2 | 3 | Enter | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ← | ↓ | → | 0 | . | ||||||||||||||||||||
