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Intuitive Korean Input Device for Seniors

Noah Kim

Saint Paul Preparatory Seoul

04/11/2021

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Contents

  1. Why this project?
  2. Process
    1. requirements
    2. design process
      1. embedded design
      2. software design
      3. mechanical design
    3. designing of device
      • components used
    4. manufacturing process
  3. Resultant Product
  4. Future of the Product

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Why this project?

Some people have a hard time using normal keyboards because they are small, heavy and unintuitive.

  • All mechanical keyboards have a 19.05mm keyboard.
  • QWERTY layout is unintuitive
  • Lightest conventional switches take 45 grams to actuate

I saw an opportunity to design an improved input device catered towards those people.

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Process-requirements

Intuitive UI

Easy to Press

Hard to make typos

Backspace Function

Macros for common phrases

Ergonomic

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Process-coming up with an intuitive UI.

  • keypresses must have some sort of relation to the actual shape of the characters.
    • Most Korean characters could be simplified to fit a 3x3 grid.
      • created a simple layout that has a 3x3 grid, along with an enter, space, shift, backspace, and function.
        • used a tool called Keyboard Layout Editor to design this.

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What is KLE?

  • KLE, also known as Keyboard Layout Editor, is a tool designed for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts
  • It is a tool to design how keys are laid out on a keyboard.

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The intuitive UI-mechanical design

  • keys 1-9 is the 3x3 square that is used to input the shape of the characters.
  • Shift key is a sticky key
    • does not have to be held down
  • space key doubles as a layer key
    • when held down, squares 1-9 become macros
    • Shift-space is a backspace.

The enter key sends the shape that was input to the computer.

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The intuitive UI-embedded design

  • Keyboard matrix with 3 columns and 5 rows, plotted by kbfirmware
  • Schematics created in KiCad
  • Schematics converted to PCB in KiCad

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The Intuitive UI-Software Design

  • Korean is made of 12 basic vowels and 14 basic consonants.
  • These 26 characters can mostly be expressed via a 3x3 grid.
  • software determines which keys have been �pressed and sends the appropriate character.
    • based on QMK, an open source project.

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The Intuitive UI-Mechanical design

  • Used TinkerCad to create 2 case files.
    • Screwless one-piece case
      • Can be printed in one go
      • More sturdy compared to the sandwich case because of the simple, one-piece structure
      • Open bottom
      • No additional parts needed
    • 2-piece sandwich case
      • 4 standoffs and 8 screws required
      • Can be laser cut
      • Lighter; may require rubber bumpons to be usable

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Candidate 1: screwless one-piece case

Dimensions: 20mm * 167mm * 120mm

Parts: 1

Heavier than candidate 2

Possibly more expensive

Sturdier than candidate 2

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Candidate 2: 2-piece sandwich case

Dimensions: 167mm * 120mm

Height: depends on standoffs used

Lighter than Candidate 1: may require bumpons

Less sturdier than candidate 1

Can be laser cut: possibly cheaper

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Manufacturing process

  • PCB manufacturing outsourced to samplepcb