ENCODING AND DECODING ADAPTIVE INPUT DEVICE INPUTS

• US 20100271315A1
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bathiche, Steven
• Application Number:
  US12/431,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20100271315A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0238 Programmable keyboards key guide holders G06F3/0224
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/83 characterised by legends, e.g. Braille, liquid crystal displays, light emitting or optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2219/012 programmable
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2219/016 programmable

Abstract

Systems and methods for encoding and decoding adaptive device inputs are provided. The system may include a computing device coupled to an adaptive input device having a mechanical key set including a plurality of mechanically depressible keys, each key including a touch display. The computing device may comprise code stored in mass storage for implementing via a processor, a touch display application program interface configured to receive encoded input device data including one or more of mechanical key-down input data and touch input data, decode the encoded input device data to identify one or more of a key command corresponding to the mechanical key-down input data and a touch command corresponding to touch input data from one or more keys, and send one or more messages to an adaptive input device application based on the identified key command and/or touch commands.

Claims

1. A computing device coupled to an adaptive input device having a mechanical key set including a plurality of mechanically depressible keys, each key including a touch display, the computing device comprising code stored in mass storage for implementing via a processor:

a touch display application program interface configured to receive encoded input device data including one or more of mechanical key-down input data and touch input data, decode the encoded input device data to identify one or more of a key command corresponding to the mechanical key-down input data and a touch command corresponding to touch input data from one or more keys, and send one or more messages to an adaptive input device application based on the identified key command and/or touch commands.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the touch display application program interface is configured to send a display output to the input device for display on the touch display.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the adaptive input device application is coupled to an application program via an interprocess communication mechanism.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein touch display application program interface receives the encoded input device data from a bus driver configured to provide support for one or more transport protocols.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the touch display application program interface decodes the input device input via a look-up table.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the mechanical key-down input data includes data corresponding to a key-down input region on a touch display pixel map and touch input data includes data corresponding to a touch input region on the touch display pixel map.

7. The computing device of claim 6 wherein a range of coordinate values are assigned to a key-down input region on the touch display pixel map.

8. An adaptive input device for use with an associated computing device, the adaptive input device comprising:

a mechanical key set including a plurality of spatially fragmented mechanically depressible keys, each key including a touch display;

an image source configured to display graphical content on the touch displays;

a touch sensor coupled keys and/or the touch displays, the touch sensor configured to detect touch inputs on the keys and/or mechanical key-down inputs of the keys; and

an encoder module executed by a processing unit to receive input data including key-down input data corresponding to the mechanical key-down inputs and/or touch input data corresponding to the touch inputs and encode the input data according to a predefined touch input schema and send the encoded input device data to the associated computing device.

9. The adaptive input device of claim 8 wherein the image source is an optical waveguide coupled to a light source.

10. The adaptive input device of claim 8 wherein the touch sensor is one or more of an optical sensor and a capacitive touch sensor.

11. The adaptive input device of claim 8 further comprising one or more mechanical sensors coupled to one or more keys, the mechanical sensor configured to detect a mechanical key-down input.

12. A method for operating a computing device including a processor and mass storage, the computing device being coupled to an adaptive input device including a mechanical key set having a plurality of mechanically depressible keys, each key including a touch display, the method comprising:

receiving encoded input device data from the adaptive input device, the encoded input device data including touch input data and mechanical key-down input data;

decoding the encoded input device data via a touch display application program interface; and

sending corresponding messages to an adaptive input device application based on the decoded input data, the messages including one or more of a touch command and a key command.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein decoding includes identifying the encoded input device data corresponding to the touch commands and the input device data corresponding to the key commands.

14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising sending the key commands and/or the touch commands to an application program from the adaptive input device application.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the primary application program and the adaptive input device application are coupled via an interprocess communication mechanism.

16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising sending a display output from the adaptive input device application to the input device based on an operating state of the computing device.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the display output is sent through an access control module configured to verify access rights of an application program to display on the adaptive input device.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein the encoded input data is receive through a bus driver configured to receive the encoded input data via a transport protocol.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein the encoded input data is spatially encoded according to a pixel map.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the pixel map is associated with two or more touch displays.