Abstract:
An embodiment of the present invention discloses a method and apparatus for arranging alphanumeric characters on an input device according to their similarity to Arabic numerals. These similarities are visibly apparent and recognizable patterns, which makes the arrangement user-friendly and promotes ease of learning and improved retention of alphanumeric key layout. In other embodiments of the present invention, Greek and Russian characters are arranged on an input device in a layout also in accordance with similarity to Arabic numerals. Embodiments of the present invention also disclose an ergonomic input device which implements the layout of characters according to similarity to numerals.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to the arrangement of alphanumeric keys on input devices used for typing, indexing, optical reading, inputting characters from other writing systems, even mathematics and computer programming. This novel arrangement is based on the letters&#39; similarity to the ten Arabic numerals. Using this alphanumeric arrangement, anyone can identify a letter&#39;s location intuitively, without relying heavily on memorization of a letters&#39; location on a keyboard.  
           [0003]    The layout of the keys on a standard keyboard is commonly referred to as QWERTY. The name for the arrangement derives itself from the first six letters on the top row of a standard keyboard found on such devices as a typewriter or computer keyboard. Since its introduction over 100 years ago, QWERTY remains the standard format on nearly every keyboard used throughout the world. QWERTY remains a keyboarding mainstay more because it was one of the first widely distributed keyboard arrangements, rather than possession of a superior layout.  
           [0004]    Perhaps the most well known alternative to QWERTY is the Dvorak layout. Professor August Dvorak sought a letter arrangement on a keyboard that would improve a typist&#39;s speed, accuracy, and ease of use. The resulting Dvorak arrangement was the result of his research and studies into replacing QWERTY with a scientifically devised layout. Based on numerous tests run by Dvorak, himself, he claimed the Dvorak layout superior to the QWERTY. However, despite his claims of increased typing speed, most independent experiments have found little, if any, difference in speed between the two keyboard layouts. The widespread use of QWERTY and the lack of definitive advantages of the Dvorak layout meant that the Dvorak layout never replaced QWERTY, which remains the mainstay of keyboard layouts.  
           [0005]    Another reason QWERTY remains the dominant keyboard layout stems from the difficulty in learning a new keyboard arrangement. After memorizing and familiarizing oneself with the random locations of keys on a QWERTY keyboard, few people desire to do the same for an entirely different system.  
           [0006]    For the foregoing reasons, a new layout of keyboard is necessary. One that improves a typist&#39;s efficiency while at the same time having the added advantage of being relatively easy to learn and use.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    An embodiment of the present invention arranges alphanumeric characters on an input device according to their similarity to Arabic numerals. A numerical based system can help people easily learn the alphabet. Usually, people learn the alphabet by reciting the entire sequence of letters. The list has even been turned into a song to help people learn the alphabet. While learning the sequence of the alphabet allows one to know the letters, it is not the best method for learning the locations of the letters. Since the alphabet is learned as a list, people often recite the whole list to find the location of a specific letter.  
           [0008]    To speed up the process of locating a letter, assigning a number to a letter would be a quicker method for knowing the exact location of a letter. Assigning a numerical system to the alphabet has the advantage of helping people learn the alphabet more easily, locate keys on an input device, and improve typing skills.  
           [0009]    Since the alphabet is a sequence, a number could be assigned to a letter based on its position within the sequence. For example, A is number 1, B is number 2, and Z is number 26. Such a system is easy for locating letters at the beginning or end of the alphabet, but it becomes more difficult when asked what number represents a letter in the middle of the alphabet. Although, the alphabet is not a series of numerical figures, the letters themselves have features that are similar to numerical characters. An improved system assigns numerical values to letters of the alphabet based on visual similarities between them.  
           [0010]    The preferred embodiment of the present invention arranges the alphanumeric characters on an input device in a numerical order, and a systematical visual array, which is easy to learn, remember, and efficient to use. The embodiment of the present invention assigns a numerical value to letters based on a letter&#39;s similarity to a numeral. These similarities are visibly apparent and recognizable patterns, which makes the arrangement user-friendly and promotes ease of learning and improved retention of alphanumeric key layout. The embodiment of the present invention allows people to distinguish any letter&#39;s position by intuition instead of completely relying on memorization of the arrangement of the keys.  
           [0011]    An embodiment of the present invention first assigns a unique number to each of the 26 letters and 10 numerals. The number characters 0-9 look identical to the numbers 0-9 and are consequently assigned those numbers. Next, the 26 letters are separated into groups, with each group comprising a series of letters that appear similar to the Arabic numerals 0-9. For those few characters that do not look like a number, there value is assigned based on the letter&#39;s connection to a number, such as the letter V being assigned the value 5 because it looks like the Roman numeral for five.  
           [0012]    The embodiments of the present invention provide a numbering scheme of letters that is applicable to the alphanumeric keys on a keyboard. Each row of letters on the keyboard is arranged according to the letter groupings. If we arrange the 26 letters in this way: the numbers 0-9 become the top row of alphanumeric keys, DHRMFKGLBP becomes the second, QJZWXVCTSN the third, and OIUEAY are in the fourth row. This arrangement provides a logical arrangement of alphanumeric keys based on the sequence of their numerical equivalents.  
           [0013]    An additional embodiment can take into account the frequency of use for the letters within the letter groups as well as keys for commonly used punctuation marks. In one embodiment, punctuation marks are placed on keys within the rows of letters and eight of the 10 top high frequency alphanumeric characters are allocated to the home row keys on a keyboard.  
           [0014]    In another embodiment, the letters are arranged to take into account the striking finger. This allows a user&#39;s stronger index, middle, and ring fingers to strike the keys of more frequently used letters, leaving the weaker pinkie finger to strike the keys of lesser-used letters. Also, less frequently used keys are not placed in the home row.  
           [0015]    In yet another embodiment of this invention, Roman letters are substituted for the letters of other writing systems. For example, a keyboard input device may organizes Greek letters into groups according to their likeness to the ten Arabic numbers  
           [0016]    In a further embodiment of this invention, Russian letters are substituted for the letters of other writing systems. For example, a keyboard input device may organize Russian letters into groups according to their likeness to the ten Arabic numbers.  
           [0017]    These and other embodiments of the present invention are further made apparent, in the remainder of the present document, to those of ordinary skill in the art.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    In order to more fully describe embodiments of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are not to be considered limitations in the scope of the invention, but are merely illustrative.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 uses the numerical values assigned to letters to indicate the placement of alphanumeric keys on an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of alphanumeric keys according to FIG. 1 as applied to a standard computer keyboard according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 provides another arrangement of alphanumeric keys indicating the location of the keys based on their numerical equivalent according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 depicts the arrangement of alphanumeric keys according to FIG. 3 as applied to a standard computer keyboard according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 depicts another arrangement of an input device by using the traditional order of letters in an ergonomic keyboard according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 depicts another arrangement of an input device for a right-handed person, based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 in reverse sequence.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 depicts another arrangement of an input device derived from FIGS. 5 and 6, according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 illustrates an adjusted input device layout according to an ergonomic placement of the user&#39;s fingers, based on FIGS. 5, 6 and  7  according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 shows the vertical section view of the differing thickness of each key in a column according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 illustrates another layout of an input device containing both Arabic and Greek alphanumeric keys according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 illustrates another layout of an input device containing Russian alphanumeric characters according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0030]    The description above and below and the drawings of the present document focus on one or more currently preferred embodiments of the present invention and also describe some exemplary optional features and/or alternative embodiments. The description and drawings are for the purpose of illustration and not limitation. Those of ordinary skill in the art would recognize variations, modifications, and alternatives. Such variations, modifications, and alternatives are also within the scope of the present invention. Section titles are terse and are for convenience only.  
         [0031]    The present invention is described as an arrangement of the alphanumeric keys found on a keyboard. The invention is applicable to any device employing an alphanumeric keypad for input such as a computer, typewriter, personal digital assistant, and calculator.  
         [0032]    The embodiment of the present invention first assigns a unique number to each of the 26 letters and 10 numerals. The number characters 0-9 look identical to the numbers 0-9 and are consequently assigned those numbers. Next, the 26 letters are separated into groups, with each group comprising a series of letters that appear similar to the Arabic numerals 0-9. For those few characters that do not look like a number, there value is assigned based on the letter&#39;s connection to a number, such as the letter V being assigned the value 5 because it looks like the Roman numeral for five.  
         [0033]    In assigning values to the alphanumeric keys, the numbers 0-9 are assigned a value of 0-9. Next, the alphabet can be broken down into three groupings of letters. In looking at the first group, with the exception of G, the letters DHRMFKGLBP all have a vertical left stroke. This vertical stroke looks similar to a 1 and thus all these letters will be assigned a number from 10-19. The table below indicates the letter, its numerical equivalent, and reasoning for the assignment.  
                                       Letter   Reason for Assignment of Numerical Value   Value                   D   It looks similar to 0.   10       H   It has two vertical strokes which look like two 1s.   11       R   The right hand side of the R looks similar to the rounded   12           side and bottom of a 2.       M   Rotate M 90 clockwise and it looks like 3.   13       F   Rotate the letter 90° counter-clockwise and it looks   14           similar to a 4. Moreover, four is spelled with an F.       K   Rotating the last two strokes 90° counter-clockwise   15           looks like the Roman numeral for the number 5.       G   It has a similar shape to 6.   16       L   By rotating the letter counter-clockwise 180° it looks like 7.   17       B   The right edge of the letter looks like the right edge of the   18           number 8.       P   It looks like a 9 reflected across a vertical axis.   19                  
 
         [0034]    The next group of letters is OIUEAYCTSN. This group, with the exception of Y and N also look similar to the Arabic numbers 0-9. Since this is the second group of letters, this group will begin with 2.  
                                       Letter   Reason for Assignment of Numerical Value   Value                   O   It looks similar to 0.   20       I   It looks similar to 1.   21       U   Rotate U 900 counter-clockwise and its rounded like 2.   22       E   The letter E reflected across a vertical axis like 3.   23       A   Rotate clockwise 45° and remove the bottom portion   24           of the left leg and it looks like 4.       Y   Its upper two strokes make a vee shape like the Roman   25           character 5.       C   The letter has a similar curving shape like 6.   26       T   Remove the right hand side of the top bar and it looks   27           like a 7.       S   It looks similar to 8.   28       N   It is the first letter when writing nine.   29                  
 
         [0035]    The remaining 6 letters QJZWXV are also assigned a numerical value. The third series of letters resemble the numbers 0-5 and are assigned numerical values of 30-35, respectively.  
                                       Letter   Reason for Assignment of Numerical Value   Value                   Q   It looks like 0.   30       J   It looks like 1.   31       Z   It looks like 2.   32       W   If you turn W 90° counter-clockwise, it looks like 3.   33       X   X and 4, both have crossing strokes. Also, it is   34           the Chinese numerical character 4.       V   It looks like the Roman numeral for 5.   35                  
 
         [0036]    In addition to Roman letters and numbers, this assignment system can also be applied to other letters systems. Consequently, another embodiment of this invention allows Roman letters to be substituted for the letters of other writing systems. For example, the invention also covers a keyboard input device that organizes the 24 Greek letters into three groups according to their likeness to the 10 Arabic numbers. Since input devices are often arranged in rows of ten, first separate the Greek letters into groups of ten. The first group of ten letters, ΘψZΣXΛΔT         N looks almost like the 10 Arabic numerals, 0123456789, respectively. The second group of 10 letters is ΦHΠMAKYΓBP. This group of letters is another group of letters and so they are also assigned a two-digit number. The remaining 4 vowels OIΩE are also given a two-digit numerical value number. Based on this grouping, all the letters became a series of sequential numbers as follow: 
         ΘψZΣXΛΔ         N 
         ΦHΠMAKYΓBP 
         OIΩE 
         [0037]    Furthermore, the Roman letters can also be substituted with other letters systems, such as Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and so on. For example, an embodiment of the invention also covers a keyboard input device that organizes the 33 Russian letters into four groups according to their likeness to the ten Arabic numbers. Initially separate the Russian letters into groups of ten. The first group of ten letters                     looks similar to the ten Arabic numerals, 0123456789, respectively. The second and third group of ten letters is                     and                     which also resemble the ten Arabic numeral numbers, and the last 3 letters           resemble the Arabic number 3 as well.  
         [0038]    These letters could be placed on a input device by themselves, or make up additional rows on an input device that already contains Roman letters.  
         [0039]    In one embodiment of the present invention, letters H and D are the fifth and sixth letter keys in the top row containing letters. The remaining alphabet characters are allocated to the keyboard sequentially according to their assigned numerical value. The overall arrangement of the letters is an ‘S’ shape configuration based on the numerical value of the letters. FIG. 1. shows the numerical arrangement for the letters on a possible input device. FIG. 2 shows the application of the arrangement of letters based on the order from FIG. 1 for a standard computer keyboard; complete with numeral keys, and secondary keys such as “shift”, a spacebar, and other keys typically found on keyboard input devices.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 3 depicts another embodiment of the present invention where letters H, D, and U are the fifth, sixth, and seventh keys of the upper row letter keys. The remaining letter keys are arranged according to the numerical sequence in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of FIG. 3 being applied to a standard computer keyboard.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 5 discloses yet another embodiment for the layout of a keyboard utilizing the traditional order of letters in an ergonomic arrangement. This embodiment contains an upper and lower two parts. The upper part is in an array of five rows of ten columns. The lower part has five rows. The alphanumeric characters are allocated to the upper part and function keys are allocated to the middle of the lower part. Letters D and H are arranged in the third row in column 1 and column 10 respectively. This row is also called the home row. The remaining 24 letters are separated into eight sequential groups allocated to the three lower rows of the upper part, respectively. These eight groups are: ABC,EFG, IJK, RST, LMN, OPQ, UVW and XYZ, with the vowel, semi-vowel and two high frequency letters T and N in the home row, respectively. FIG. 6 shows a reverse sequential layout of the embodiment of FIG. 5 for a right-handed person.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 7 illustrates yet another embodiment for the layout of a keyboard derived from FIG. 5 by moving four of the punctuation marks from the uppermost row to the position of the pinky finger operated area. In particular, the ‘key is moved from the uppermost row to the third row before D and the—key is moved to the third row next to H. Furthermore, the key is moved from the uppermost row to the fourth key of the same column and the; key is moved from the uppermost key to the fifth key of the same column.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 8 shows an adjusted layout of FIGS. 5, 6 and  7  according to an ergonomic layout adapted to a user&#39;s fingers as another embodiment of the present invention. The columns are rotated both in the left and right direction and keys are positioned upward or downward to suit the user&#39;s finger placement on the keyboard.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 9 illustrates the layout of a vertical section view which shows the differing thickness of each key in the column in an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0045]    The previous embodiments relate to standard keyboards, however, this system of arranging letters is not limited to Roman letters or a standard keyboard. FIG. 10 shows a possible layout of an input device with both Arabic and Greek letters.  
         [0046]    In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the layout of an input device may comprise Russian letters. FIG. 11 shows such an arrangement of Russian letters.  
         [0047]    The previous disclosure and description of the invention provides a detailed description of the embodiment of the present invention. However, these embodiments are illustrative rather than restrictive, indicating that the invention may be present in several alternative embodiments without departing from the essence of the invention. It is especially understood that the inventive aspects relate to the arrangement of the alphanumeric keys and alterations in the design of the input device and arrangement of function keys such as ‘shift’, ‘caps lock’, punctuation, and the like are not limitations on the present invention.  
         [0048]    Throughout the description and drawings, example embodiments are given with reference to specific configurations. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms. Those of ordinary skill in the art would be able to practice such other embodiments without undue experimentation. The scope of the present invention, for the purpose of the present patent document, is not limited merely to the specific example embodiments of the foregoing description, but rather is indicated by the appended claims. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents within the claims are intended to be considered as being embraced within the spirit and scope of the claims.