geekhack
geekhack Community => Ergonomics => Topic started by: Darkshado on Sat, 27 February 2016, 21:00:34
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Tinkered with KLE earlier today and made this: http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/d7b444968998bd764b61
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That looks really cool. I have messed with KLE's rotation tools before but never to this degree. Nice work.
I like how each column has its own optimal angle. Do any existing ergo boards do this?
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I like how each column has its own optimal angle. Do any existing ergo boards do this?
Well yeah, the esrille
(http://xahlee.info/kbd/i3/Esrille_New_Keyboard_2014-03-19_25021.jpg)
The keyboardio also do this but to a lesser degree
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Esrille:
(http://www.esrille.com/keyboard/qwerty.png)
I like how each column has its own optimal angle. Do any existing ergo boards do this?
This was an idea from the Japanese TRON project:
(http://xahlee.info/kbd/i3/TRON_Keyboard_Unit_TK1-s1900x1039.jpg)
It relies on having smaller-than-US-standard keys though.
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A different angle for each column looks like a waste of space for no good reason to me.
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A different angle for each column looks like a waste of space for no good reason to me.
Again, the keys are smaller than the standard US/international size. So there’s not really much “wasted” space. If you took the same size keys and packed them tightly together in a grid or standard row-stagger arrangement they would be too close for accurate typing. This key size only really works when the keys are placed to track the natural direction of finger movement.
You could probably get a roughly comparable effect by using key tops which had the standard left–right spacing, but closer-than-standard front–back spacing, and then putting them in an Ergodox-style column stagger.
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OK, I did not know that Estrille has smaller keys. But still, that would mean that the bottom rows (zxcvb) are probably too cramped to accurate typing. While top row (qwert) is fine for accurate typing and especially the number row (12345) is again wrong for accurate typing.
And there is no column stagger for pinkie columns.
But I quite agree that it is useful to have keys which have bigger left-right spacing compared to front-back spacing.
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But still, that would mean that the bottom rows (zxcvb) are probably too cramped to accurate typing.
In practice, this doesn’t happen. That is, if you have columns which roughly follow the natural direction of fingers flexing/extending, it doesn’t end up cramped. Likewise, I think every column-staggered keyboard should have extra space between keys at the number row.
Probably depends somewhat on hand size though.