Abstract:
A keyboard includes a holographic film having a holographic information of a keyboard arrangement recorded on a surface thereof; a virtual keyboard generated from the holographic film; and a touch panel adjoining the holographic film, configured to detect an information corresponding to a position being touched thereon. The keyboard is of the advantage of multi-function, convenience and portability. An electronic device using the keyboard and an input method are also disclosed.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Republic of China (Taiwan) Application No. 099123232, filed on Jul. 15, 2010. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates to a keyboard combining touch sensing technology and holographic technology, an electronic device using the keyboard, and an input method. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Nowadays, keyboards are the most important and popular input devices of computer equipments. There are many kinds of keyboards, such as mechanical keyboards, membrane keyboards, conductive rubber keyboards, and capacitive keyboards. These keyboards are usually called physical keyboards, which are made up of separate keys with gaps between them. It is difficult to clean the keyboards, since the dust fall into the gaps and accumulate in the gaps easily. After some time, the dust may lead to failure in the work of keyboard. In addition, they have the defects of poor hand feeling, large noise, and rapid wearing, and with the capacitive keyboard, its manufacturing process is relatively more complicated. Furthermore, it is required to mark symbols (such as letters or characters) on the keys of the physical keyboards in different languages for users from different countries, which would lead to inconvenience in switching among different languages. For example, in this industry, laser engraving is a conventional method of marking symbols on the keys. However, once the letters or characters are engraved, it&#39;s hard to make alteration. Furthermore, when a mistake has been made, the whole keyboard has to be redone or scrapped. 
     In recent years, writing pad becomes another popular input device and it is more convenient using writing pad to input information for some users than aforementioned keyboards. However, it cannot work without a specific stylus. Furthermore, sometimes, the writing pad is always used together with aforementioned keyboards. In this case, these two separate devices will take more space in the workplace. 
     Thus, there is a need of a new input device to overcome the shortcomings of physical keyboards and writing pads and that which integrates the keyboard with a writing pad and a computer mouse. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure addresses the above problems. The object of the present disclosure is to provide a keyboard based on a touch sensing technology and a holography technology with the advantages of multi-function, convenience and portability. 
     The present disclosure relates, in one embodiment, to a keyboard. The keyboard includes a holographic film having a holographic information of a keyboard arrangement recorded on a surface thereof; a virtual keyboard generated from the holographic film; and a touch panel adjoining the virtual keyboard. The touch panel is configured to generate a touch signal corresponding to a position being touched on the touch panel through the virtual keyboard. 
     The present disclosure relates, in another embodiment, to an electronic device. The electronic device includes a host, a keyboard, and a transmission device. The keyboard includes a holographic film having holographic information of a keyboard arrangement recorded on a surface thereof; a virtual keyboard generated from the holographic film; and a touch panel adjoining the virtual keyboard. The touch panel is configured to generate a touch signal corresponding to a position being touched on the touch panel through the virtual keyboard; and the transmission device is configured to transmit the touch signal to the host. 
     The present disclosure relates, in another embodiment, to a method of data input. The method comprises: generating a virtual keyboard from a holographic film positioned on a surface of a touch panel; detecting position information corresponding to a position being touched on the touch panel through the virtual keyboard, and generating and outputting a touch signal corresponding to a key of the virtual keyboard based on the position information. 
     The keyboard according to the present disclosure combines the multiplex-holography technology with the touch panel. The light beams are projected on the holographic film, such that the virtual keyboard emerges above the holographic film and is close to the touch panel. When users touch the touch panel through the virtual keyboard, the touch panel detects the touching or the gesture at the corresponding position. Therefore, the keyboard can provide striking input, handwriting input, and mouse in put (simulate a mouse). The keyboard can serve as a replacement of a writing tablet and/or a mouse. 
     Symbols of the keyboard arrangement in different language are recorded on holographic film by multiplex-holography technology instead of the conventional laser engraving, such that errors during the engraving can be avoided and, the reproduction of the holographic film is easy, quick, accurate, and of low cost. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead is being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Skilled persons in the art will understand that the drawings, described below, are for illustration purposes only and do not limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a keyboard in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2A  is a sectional view of the keyboard of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2B  is a sectional view of the keyboard of  FIG. 1  in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3A  is an enlarged view of a first embodiment of a detachable structure of the keyboard of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged view of a second embodiment of a detachable structure of the keyboard of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a first embodiment of an electronic device using the keyboard of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a second embodiment of an electronic device using the keyboard of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an embodiment of an input method according to the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged view of the holographic film and the touch panel of the keyboard of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation to the figures of the accompanying drawings. The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only, and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of a keyboard  10  according to the present disclosure is based on a multiplex-holography technology. Keyboard  10  includes a virtual keyboard  20  projected above an upper surface  11 . Users can touch keyboard  10  through the virtual keyboard  20 . The keyboard  10  can sense gesture inputs, such as a single touch action or successive touch actions, and can generate signals corresponding to these gesture inputs and output the signals. Thus, the keyboard  10  can provide a striking input as well as handwriting input, as well as mouse input. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2A , the keyboard  10  further includes a holographic film  30  having holographic information in a keyboard arrangement, a touch panel  40  for detecting touch signals, and light source  50  for projecting light beams. The holographic film  30  is shaped as substantially a plane and is attached to the upper surface of the touch panel  40 . 
     The holographic film  30  is made of transparent insulation materials, such as glass, emulsion, photonic crystal, or plastic. The holographic film  30  is formed by photographing using a transmission holography technology. During the process of photographing, light beams emitted from a laser source are separated into signal beams and reference beams by a spectroscope. The signal beams and the reference beams are projected on the same side of the holographic film according to the transmission holography technology. After being diffracted and interfered, light waves of the keyboard arrangement carrying the amplitude and phase information of key arrangement and symbols are recorded in the holographic film. 
     The light source  50  is located under the holographic film  30 . The light source  50  project light beams through the touch panel  40  and onto the holographic film  30 . The holographic film  30  and the light beams cooperatively generate the virtual keyboard  20 . After reconstructing the amplitude and phase information of key arrangement and symbols recorded on the holographic film  30 , the virtual keyboard  20  will emerge above the holographic film  30  vividly. Users can touch the touch panel  40  according to the keyboard arrangement of the virtual keyboard  20  for striking input or gesture input. The size, shape, and relative position of the virtual keyboard  20  match that of the holographic film  30 . 
     The touch panel  40  is positioned close to the virtual keyboard  20 , for detecting a position being touched on the touch panel  40  and generating touch signals correspondingly. Thus, the size, shape, and relative position of the virtual keyboard  20  matches that of the touch panel  40 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2B , in an alternative embodiment, the holographic film  30  is disposed under the touch panel  40 , and the light source  50  is located under the holographic film  30 . The light beams from the light source  50  project onto the holographic film  30  and then generate the virtual keyboard  20  above the touch panel  40 . The keyboard  10  in  FIG. 2B  is of the same working principles with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2A . 
     When the keyboard  10  serves as an independent device, it may further include a frame  60  to support the components mentioned above. The frame  60  includes a base plate  61  and a plurality of sidewalls  62  extending substantially perpendicular to edges of the base plate  61 . The base plate  61  and the sidewalls  62  corporately define a groove  63  having an open end and a closed end. The touch panel  40  is mounted on the frame  60  positioned at the open end of the groove  63 , and the light source  50  are positioned at the closed end of the groove  63 . 
     One can attach the holographic film  30  to the touch panel  40  in different ways. One is to use an adhesive material, such as optical clear adhesive (OCA), to bond the holographic film  30  to the touch panel  40  directly. The other one is to use a mechanical structure, such as a detachable structure, to assemble the holographic film  30  to the touch panel  40 . It should be noted that, the aforementioned methods could be used together in keyboard  10 , if necessary. 
     The detachable structure mentioned above can be designed to fix the holographic film  30  to the touch panel  40 , using, for example, snap-fitted connection or bolted connection. Referring to  FIG. 3A , a snap-fitted structure  71  is mounted on frame  60  to connect to one end of the holographic film  30  and the touch panel  40 . Another snap-fitted structure (not shown) is mounted on the frame  60  to connect to the other end of the holographic film  30  and the touch panel  40 . It is symmetrically designed. The snap-fitted structure  71  includes a sliding snap  73  and an elastic element  72 . It is easy to change the keyboard  10  from one language to another by simply sliding the sliding snap  73  and replacing current holographic film  30  with a new one required. Referring to  FIG. 3B , a bolted structure  74  is mounted on the frame  60  to connect to one end of the holographic film  30  and the touch panel  40 . Another bolted structure (not shown) is mounted on the frame  60  to connect to the other end of the holographic film  30  and the touch panel  40 . It is also symmetrically designed. The bolted structure  74  includes a bolt  76  and a nut  75  engaging with the bolt  76  on an upper end thereof. A bottom end of the bolt  76  is fixed. It is easy to change the keyboard  10  from one language to another by simply removing the nut  75  and replacing current holographic film  30  with a new one required. 
     The touch panel  40  could be a transparent capacitive touch panel, or a resistive touch panel, or an infrared sensing touch panel, or an electromagnetic sensing touch panel, or an acoustic wave sensing touch panel. 
     The light source  50  can project the light beams onto the holographic film  30  through the touch panel  40 . The touch panel  40  includes a sensing layer  41  (as shown in  FIG. 7 ) made of transparent conductive material. The virtual keys on the virtual keyboard  20  according to the keyboard arrangement correspond to a plurality of sensing units of the sensing layer  41 . The sensing layer in the touch panel  40  detects the contact position being touched on the keyboard  10 . 
     The light source  50  emitting single color light may be used, such as the Light-Emitting Diodes (LED), Laser Diodes (LD). The keyboard  10  may further include an expender (not shown) disposed in front of the light source  50  for diffusing the light beams. The expender makes the light beams cover the whole surface of the holographic film  30 . The quantity and arrangement of the light source  50  are designed based on practical requirements in terms of providing even and sufficient light beams. 
     The keyboard  10  can be used in electronic devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, and cell phones. Referring to  FIG. 4 , a first embodiment of an electronic device includes a host  90 , the keyboard  10 , and a transmission device  80  for transmitting signals to host  90 . In this embodiment, the electronic device is a desktop computer. The transmission device  80  is a transmission wire, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) wire or an RS-232 wire. It is to be understood that the transmission device  80  may also use wireless transmission technologies, such as Wireless Fidelity technology (WIFI), Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID), Infrared technology (IR), or Bluetooth technology. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a second embodiment of the electronic device  100  includes the keyboard  10  integrated into a host. In this embodiment, the electronic device  100  is a laptop. The keyboard  10  in  FIG. 5  used in the laptop  100  is of the same working principle and structure with the first applied embodiment in  FIG. 4  described before. 
     Furthermore, the keyboard  10  can be integrated into a tabletop or a wall to be adapted to different circumstances. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , an embodiment of an input method using the keyboard is illustrated. 
     In step S 101 , a virtual keyboard is generated from the holographic film positioned on an upper or lower surface of a touch panel. 
     In step S 102 , position information corresponding to a position being touched on the touch panel, through the virtual keyboard, is detected. 
     In step S 103 , a touch signal corresponding to a key of the virtual keyboard is generated and outputted based on the position information. 
     When using the keyboard  10 , the first thing is to record both the arrangement and the symbols in required language into the holographic film  30 . When the light, source  50  is powered on, the users can see the virtual keyboard  20  emerging above the holographic film  30 . The arrangement, and the characters of the virtual keyboard  20  are the same as that recorded in the holographic film  30  before. The size and shape of the virtual keyboard  20 . The holographic film  30  is touched by the users at the corresponding symbols and positions on the virtual keyboard  20 . The touch panel  40  detects the position being touched or the gesture made to find out the touch information, to provide striking input, handwriting input and mouse input accordingly. 
     While certain embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitations.