Abstract: Typewriter keyboards for English and German are disclosed that assign vowels and consonants to keys on both sides of the keyboard to maximize the number of successive keystrokes by the same hand and to minimize the number of successive keystrokes by the same finger. Three high frequency vowels and two high frequency consonants are assigned to home keys that lie directly under the fingers of the left hand. Three high frequency consonants, a high frequency vowel, and the space are assigned to home keys that lie directly under the fingers of the right hand. A single elevated case shift key is located on the left hand end of the lower letter key row. The elevated stroking surface of the carriage return key is located at the right hand ends of the lower letter key row and the home key row. Steeply inclined key tops slope down toward neighboring home keys to guide fingers to the proper home position and to facilitate actuating non-home keys.

Abstract: Orthogonal ten-finger keyboards are disclosed for typewriters, computer terminals, and other devices processing alphanumeric information that maximize entry rates and stroking accuracy--and minimize finger motions and the time needed to master the keyboard. The invention employs a plurarity of vertically oriented keys adjacent to horizontal home keys. The invention places five high frequency consonants on home keys under the fingers of the right hand; the space and four high frequency vowels on home keys under the fingers of the left hand; and ten medium frequency characters on adjacent vertical keys. Two-key chords executed by fingers of the same hand generate common two-character sequences belonging to the keys stroked. The keyboard is split into rotated halves containing curved key rows and slanted key tops of variable height to follow the architecture of the hand. The invention discloses optimum orthogonal keyboards for English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, and Dutch.