Processor Keyboard System with Integrated Display Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer keyboards lack efficient mechanisms to identify and facilitate repetitive tasks, track progress across multiple views and applications, and optimize user interaction in enterprise systems, leading to user confusion and inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
A processor keyboard system with display panels and a keypad that extends user interaction beyond the monitor, providing visual representations, hard and soft keys for navigating guided procedures, requesting field help, and storing favorite actions and values, allowing for context-sensitive and non-context-sensitive value access, and facilitating navigation through transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users navigate between multiple views and applications in enterprise systems, then they can access different functions and data, but user confusion increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard provides visual feedback through display panels integrated into key clusters, showing contextual information, navigation status, and system state without requiring users to switch between multiple display screens. This feedback mechanism reduces confusion and maintains productivity by keeping relevant information accessible at the point of interaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The keyboard acts as an intermediary device between the user and the enterprise system, providing specialized key clusters with contextual functions that mediate complex navigation tasks. The keyboard translates user intent into system actions through programmed key sequences and contextual command sets, reducing the cognitive load of navigating between multiple views and applications.
2Productivity
If traditional keyboards are used for repetitive tasks, then basic data entry can be performed, but efficiency decreases and physical stress increases
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard stores frequently used data values, field configurations, and transaction parameters in memory associated with specific key clusters. Users can access pre-configured data sets and repetitive task sequences by simple key presses, eliminating the need to manually re-enter the same information multiple times and reducing both time loss and physical stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The keyboard integrates multiple functions into unified key clusters that can serve different purposes based on context. Each key cluster can function as data input, navigation control, command execution, or information display, allowing users to perform diverse tasks including repetitive data entry, navigation, and system control from a single device without switching between multiple tools or interfaces.
3Loss of information
If more display information is provided on the monitor, then users have more context available, but screen space is insufficient and navigation becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard integrates display panels into the physical structure of key clusters, creating a third dimension for information presentation. Instead of competing for two-dimensional screen real estate, contextual information is displayed on the keyboard surface itself, allowing users to access reference data, field hints, and navigation status without cluttering the main display or increasing navigation complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided in which a processor executes an application program such as an enterprise resources planning application. A primary display displays at least one user interface screen from that application program. A keyboard associated with the processor and the primary display screen is provided having a plurality of data entry keys, and at least one secondary display. The one or more secondary displays may be a part of the keyboard itself or an extension of the keyboard. The one or more secondary displays may be display screen(s) and/or input panel(s). The input panel(s) includes at least one data entry key which effects an action recognized by the processor when activated.