Method and system for using a keyboard overlay with a touch-sensitive display screen

• US 20030235452A1
• Filed: 06/21/2002
• Published: 12/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kraus, Mark Gerard, Nguyen, Vu Xuan, Shetter, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 6,776,546 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 400/472
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 5/102 Keyboard overlays
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0224 Key guide holders
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0238 Programmable keyboards key guide holders G06F3/0224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

Disclosed is a “keyboard overlay” that sits on top of a touch-sensitive display screen of a computing device. After aligning the overlay on the display screen, the user types on the overlay. When the user presses a key on the overlay, the pressure is transmitted to the display screen below. That pressure is registered by the display screen as a touch. The keyboard overlay is formed to provide tactile finger-position feedback so that a user can keep his fingers oriented properly over the keyboard. The overlay may be opaque with keycap information displayed in the key areas. The overlay may be transparent, allowing a user to see a virtual keyboard painted on the display screen below. The computing device can detect the presence and type of an overlay. Applications may respond differently to different types of overlays. Different applications may be invoked depending upon the type of overlay detected.

Claims

1. A keyboard overlay for use with a touch-sensitive display screen of a computing system, the keyboard overlay comprising:

a keyboard overlay body;

a plurality of key areas connected to the keyboard overlay body, at least some of the key areas comprising a key top surface and a key bottom surface, the key top surface comprising a finger-position indicator, the key bottom surface comprising a display actuator for contacting a touch-sensitive display screen; and

an alignment mechanism for aligning the keyboard overlay with a touch-sensitive display screen.

2. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein the keyboard overlay body, at least some of the key areas, and the alignment mechanism comprise a single piece of material.

3. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein the keyboard overlay body and at least some of the key areas comprise a sheet of a material selected from the group consisting of:

thermo-formed plastic, molded silicon rubber, neoprene, a pliable plastic-based compound, and a pliable rubber-based compound.

4. The keyboard overlay of claim 3 wherein at least some of the display actuators comprise an element selected from the group consisting of:

a bump in the sheet of material and a piece of a material harder than the sheet of material and attached to the sheet of material.

5. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein the keyboard overlay body comprises a rigid frame.

6. The keyboard overlay of claim 5 wherein the rigid frame comprises, at least in part, the alignment mechanism.

7. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein at least some of the key areas are essentially transparent.

8. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein at least some of the key areas comprise keycap indicators.

9. The keyboard overlay of claim 8 wherein at least some of the key areas are arranged on the keyboard overlay in a form selected from the group consisting of:

a “

QWERTY”

keyboard and a Dvorak keyboard.

10. The keyboard overlay of claim 8 wherein at least some of the key areas are arranged in the form of a number-entry pad.

11. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein at least some of the finger-position indicators comprise an element selected from the group consisting of:

a ridge surrounding a key area, a depression in a key top surface, and a bump in a key top surface.

12. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein at least some key areas in a home row comprise finger-position indicators distinct from key areas not in the home row.

13. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein the keyboard overlay body comprises at least one peripheral edge and wherein the alignment mechanism comprises at least one peripheral edge of the keyboard overlay body.

14. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 wherein at least some of the key areas further comprise a tactile feedback input indicator.

15. The keyboard overlay of claim 14 wherein the tactile feedback input indicator comprises a crush zone of the key area.

16. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 further comprising non-key areas between at least some adjacent pairs of key areas, the non-key areas serving to tactilely distinguish one key area from another.

17. The keyboard overlay of claim 1 further comprising a connector for removably connecting the keyboard overlay to a computing system.

18. The keyboard overlay of claim 17 wherein the connector comprises, at least in part, the alignment mechanism.

19. The keyboard overlay of claim 17 further comprising a keyboard overlay type identifier, for identifying a type of the keyboard overlay to a computing system.

20. The keyboard overlay of claim 19 wherein the connector comprises, at least in part, the keyboard overlay type identifier.

21. The keyboard overlay of claim 19 wherein the keyboard overlay type identifier comprises a component selected from the set consisting of:

a passive electronic component, an active electronic component, a resistor, a wire jumper, and an electronic chip.

22. A computing system adapted for use with a keyboard overlay, the computing system comprising:

a touch-sensitive display screen; and

a connector for removably connecting a keyboard overlay to the computing system.

23. The computing system of claim 22 wherein the connector comprises, at least in part, an alignment mechanism for aligning a keyboard overlay with the touch-sensitive display screen.

24. The computing system of claim 22 further comprising a storage space for a keyboard overlay when not in use.

25. The computing system of claim 22 further comprising a keyboard overlay detector for detecting a presence or absence of a keyboard overlay.

26. The computing system of claim 23 wherein the connector comprises, at least in part, the keyboard overlay detector.

27. The computing system of claim 25 further comprising a utility program for communicating with the keyboard overlay detector and for alerting applications to a presence or absence of a keyboard overlay.

28. The computing system of claim 25 wherein the keyboard overlay detector is adapted for reading a type identifier of a keyboard overlay.

29. The computing system of claim 28 further comprising a utility program for communicating with the keyboard overlay detector and for alerting applications to a type of a keyboard overlay.

30. The computing system of claim 28 wherein the keyboard overlay detector is adapted for supplying power to an electronic component of a keyboard overlay and for reading a keyboard overlay type identifier from the electronic component.

31. In a computing system comprising a touch-sensitive display screen, a method for using a keyboard overlay to provide input to the computing system, the method comprising:

connecting the keyboard overlay to the computing system;

receiving, by the keyboard overlay, pressure applied by a user of the computing system;

in response to receiving pressure, applying, by the keyboard overlay, pressure to the touch-sensitive display screen; and

decoding, by the computing system, the pressure applied to the touch-sensitive display screen as input to the computing system.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein connecting comprises placing the keyboard overlay onto the touch-sensitive display screen.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein connecting comprises removably connecting a connector on the keyboard overlay to a connector on the computing system.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein connecting further comprises aligning the keyboard overlay onto the touch-sensitive display screen.

35. The method of claim 31 wherein applying pressure to the touch-sensitive display screen comprises:

transmitting pressure applied by a user of the computing system to a display actuator of the keyboard overlay; and

pressing the display actuator against the touch-sensitive display screen.

36. The method of claim 31 further comprising, in response to receiving pressure from a user of the computing system, supplying, by the keyboard overlay, tactile feedback to the user of the computing system.

37. The method of claim 31 further comprising detecting, by the computing system, a presence of the keyboard overlay.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein detecting a presence comprises alerting, by a user of the computing system, the computing system to the presence of the keyboard overlay.

39. The method of claim 37 wherein detecting a presence comprises alerting, by the computing system, an application running on the computing system of the presence of the keyboard overlay.

40. The method of claim 37 wherein detecting a presence comprises initiating, by the computing system, an application to run on the computing system.

41. The method of claim 37 wherein detecting a presence of the keyboard overlay comprises detecting a type of the keyboard overlay.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein detecting a type comprises alerting, by a user of the computing system, the computing system to the type of the keyboard overlay.

43. The method of claim 41 wherein detecting a type comprises alerting, by the computing system, an application running on the computing system of the type of the keyboard overlay.

44. The method of claim 41 wherein detecting a type comprises initiating, by the computing system, an application to run on the computing system.

45. The method of claim 41 wherein detecting a type of the keyboard overlay comprises:

supplying power to an electronic component of the keyboard overlay; and

reading a keyboard overlay type identifier from the electronic component of the keyboard overlay.

46. The method of claim 37 further comprising, in response to detecting a presence of the keyboard overlay, altering, by the computing system, information displayed on the touch-sensitive display screen.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein altering displayed information comprises displaying keycap indicators on the touch-sensitive display screen below the keyboard overlay.

48. The method of claim 47 wherein displaying keycap indicators comprises graphically blending keycap indicators with other information displayed on the touch-sensitive display screen.

49. The method of claim 47 further comprising, in response to decoding the pressure applied to the touch-sensitive display screen as input to the computing system, displaying altered keycap indicators on the touch-sensitive display screen below the keyboard overlay.

50. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for performing a method for using a keyboard overlay to provide input to a computing system, the computing system comprising a touch-sensitive display screen, the method comprising:

connecting the keyboard overlay to the computing system;

receiving, by the keyboard overlay, pressure applied by a user of the computing system;

in response to receiving pressure, applying, by the keyboard overlay, pressure to the touch-sensitive display screen; and

decoding, by the computing system, the pressure applied to the touch-sensitive display screen as input to the computing system.

51. In a computing system comprising a touch-sensitive display screen, a method for an application running on the computing system to respond to input provided to the computing system by a keyboard overlay, the method comprising:

detecting a presence of the keyboard overlay; and

in response to detecting a presence of the keyboard overlay, altering information displayed by the application on the touch-sensitive display screen.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein detecting comprises receiving an alert of the presence of the keyboard overlay from an operating system of the computing system.

53. The method of claim 51 wherein detecting a presence of the keyboard overlay comprises detecting a type of the keyboard overlay.

54. The method of claim 51 wherein altering displayed information comprises displaying keycap indicators on the touch-sensitive display screen below the keyboard overlay.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein displaying keycap indicators comprises graphically blending keycap indicators with other information displayed by the application on the touch-sensitive display screen.

56. The method of claim 54 further comprising, in response to input provided by the keyboard overlay, displaying altered keycap indicators on the touch-sensitive display screen below the keyboard overlay.

57. The method of claim 51 further comprising, in response to input provided by the keyboard overlay, providing audible feedback.

58. The method of claim 51 further comprising, in response to detecting a presence of the keyboard overlay, switching the application to a mode receptive to input provided by the keyboard overlay.

59. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for performing a method for an application running on a computing system to respond to input provided to the computing system by a keyboard overlay, the computing system comprising a touch-sensitive display screen, the method comprising:

detecting a presence of the keyboard overlay; and

in response to detecting a presence of the keyboard overlay, altering information displayed by the application on the touch-sensitive display screen.