Interfacing Chord Keypad to FPGA

Five keys plus thumb operated shift/control key

This is a simple chord style keypad that I made up a few years ago.  It is loosely based on the Microwriter - an early UK designed portable keypad / notewriter.

The five main keys are located under the fingertips and thumb of the right hand, plus an additional shift key that can be held down with the thumb.  This combination allows up to 64 key combinations  - which is enough for simple ascii, alphas and numerals.

However, this time the aapplication is not for text entry, but to allow very rapid access to memu items and colour options.

The keypad will interface directly into the Atari joystick port of a Classic Computing Shield that I purchased from Gadget Factory - as part of the Papilio Duo development kit.