Information processing apparatus

• US 20040160413A1
• Filed: 02/06/2004
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ando, Tetsuji, Tamai, Hiroki, Sakemoto, Mikio, Agata, Kenichi, Otake, Naohiko, Miyashita, Hisaya
• Application Number:
  US10/772,262
• Publication Number:
  US 20040160413A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033

Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes a display, a pointing device for moving a pointer appearing on the display in a desired direction, and a plurality of cursor keys for moving a cursor appearing on the display in predetermined directions, the cursor keys being arranged near the pointing device.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a display;

a pointing device for moving a pointer appearing on the display in a desired direction; and

a plurality of cursor keys for moving a cursor appearing on the display in predetermined directions, the cursor keys being arranged near the pointing device.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cursor keys are arranged along the periphery of the pointing device such that the pointing device is at the center of the cursor keys.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit having a display housing on which the display is provided;

a main unit provided with a keyboard having a plurality of operation keys; and

a hinge unit which connects the display unit and the main unit such that the display unit can pivot to open and close the keyboard,

wherein the hinge unit includes a hinge barrel and hinge pins disposed in the hinge barrel, and

wherein the pointing device and the cursor keys are positioned near one end of the information processing apparatus along the axis of the hinge pins in an area between the display unit and the keyboard.

4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a confirmation button for confirming a selected or input item, the confirmation button being positioned near the pointing device or the cursor keys.