KEYBOARD DEVICE

PURPOSE:To improve the efficiency of the key input operation by displaying the functions of the keys or the characters hidden by the fingers or the back, etc., of an operator' s hand. CONSTITUTION:When the hand of an operator is approached or is brought into contact with a keyboard unit 7 by the operator, an infrared ray from a light emitting device 5 is interrupted and light receiving device 6 stops to detect infrared light. In accordance with this, the light source of each projecting machine 1, 2 is turned on. By each projection machine 1, 2, the characters corresponding to the key switches hidden by the fingers or the back, etc., of the operator's hand are displayed on the fingers and the back of the hand. By this, the operator can perform the key input recognizing all the keys on the keyboard unit 7. Each projecting machine 1, 2 is capable of performing the switch display of a display pattern in accordance with the function state set by a function conversion switch like a shift key converting the function of each key switch.