Ergonomic touch pad

• US 6,501,462 B1
• Filed: 07/01/1999
• Issued: 12/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gateway Incorporated (Acer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Gateway Incorporated (Acer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Garner, Jason T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Said, Mansour M.
• Application Number:
  US09/346,373
• Time in Patent Office: 1,279 Days
• Field of Search: 345/169, 345/156, 345/157, 345/168, 345/166, 345/163, 345/173, 341/22, 178/17.C, 178/18.04, 178/18.06, 178/19.01, 178/19.03, 178/18.01, 178/18.02, 178/18.03, 178/18.05, 178/18.07
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0213 Arrangements providing an integrated pointing device in a keyboard, e.g. trackball, mini-joystick for pointing devices integrated in a laptop computer G06F1/169; joysticks G05G9/047; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface

Abstract

An input control device (21, 121, 221) includes a touchpad (25, 125, 225) located near an associated keyboard (23, 123) for use with a computer-related apparatus (120). The touchpad (25, 125, 225) is positioned so that it can be reached by the user'"'"'s thumbs (40) during normal operation of the associated keyboard (23, 123). The location of the touchpad (25, 125, 225) is such that a ridge (39, 139) protruding near the edge of the touchpad (25, 125, 225) is encountered by the user'"'"'s thumbs (40) both when moved inadvertently during normal typing operations and when intentionally moved toward the touchpad (25, 125, 225). In this way, the ridge (39, 139) signals the boundary with the touchpad (25, 125, 225) so that the user can proceed to activate it if desired, or can avoid activating it if not desired.

Claims

1. An input device for a user of a computer, the device comprising:

a chassis;

a set of input controls secured to the chassis;

a touchpad secured to the chassis in operative proximity to the set of input controls, the chassis having a substantially planar region proximate to the touchpad;

at least one finger movable to activate the touchpad when the user'"'"'s hand is positioned on the input controls for normal operation thereof;

a first ergonomic zone defined relative to the input controls and the touchpad and comprising the locus of positions naturally occupied by the one finger during normal operation of the input controls by the user'"'"'s other fingers;

a second ergonomic zone defined relative to the first zone and comprising the locus of points accessible by the one finger when seeking to activate the touchpad during normal operation of the input controls by the user'"'"'s other fingers, the first and second ergonomic zones having partially overlapping boundaries to define an overlap zone, the touchpad having an edge portion extending in the overlap zone;

a ridge protruding from the plane of the planar region of the chassis, the ridge extending proximate to the edge portion of the touchpad, the ridge being sufficiently sized to provide tactile feedback to the user when the ridge is contacted by the one finger, the ridge thereby signaling the edge portion of the touchpad to facilitate desired activation of the touchpad and inhibit inadvertent activation thereof.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the input controls comprise a keypad and the touchpad is rectangular with forward and side edges, the edge portion corresponding to at least one of the forward edge and the side edges.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the input controls are located in the chassis further from the user than the touchpad when the chassis is oriented for use, the touchpad being accessible by the user'"'"'s thumb during normal operation of the input controls.

4. The device of claim 3, further comprising an upper surface defined in the upper edge of the ridge, the upper surface being sufficiently sized to rest the user'"'"'s thumb thereon, and wherein the touchpad is triangular, one corner of the triangle pointing toward the keyboard.

5. An ergonomic device for manipulating a cursor on a display screen of a computer-related apparatus, the device comprising:

a planar touchpad located proximate to a planar region of the keyboard, the touchpad having a first edge located proximate to the user'"'"'s thumbs when the user'"'"'s hands are positioned normally on the keyboard, the first edge defining a boundary between the touchpad and the keyboard;

means responsive to contact against the touchpad for transmitting signals to the computer-related apparatus;

a ridge defined proximate to the first edge of the touchpad and protruding from the plane of the planar region of the keyboard to provide tactile feedback to the user when the ridge is contacted by the user'"'"'s thumbs, the ridge signaling the boundary of the touchpad to facilitate desired activation of the touchpad and inhibit inadvertent activation thereof.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the ridge extends substantially along the first edge of the touchpad.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the touchpad is rectangular and has second and third edges, the first, second and third edges corresponding to the front, left and right sides of the touchpad, respectively.

8. The device of claim 5, wherein the touchpad is in the shape of a triangle.

9. The device of claim 5, wherein the touchpad is secured relative to the keyboard.

10. The device of claim 5, wherein the touchpad lies in substantially the same plane as the keyboard.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the touchpad and the keyboard are integrated into a single unit.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the touchpad is located on the unit so as to be evenly spaced from the user'"'"'s thumbs when the user'"'"'s hands are in the normal position on the keyboard.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the unit containing the touchpad comprises a portion of a portable computer.

14. The device of claim 11, wherein the unit containing the touchpad comprises a keyboard chassis of a personal computer.

15. The device of claim 5, further comprising an upper surface formed at the upper edge of the ridge, the upper surface extending substantially parallel to the plane of the touchpad a sufficient distance to define thumbrests for the user'"'"'s hands.

16. The device of claim 5, wherein the ridge is retractably mounted relative to the touchpad, whereby force exerted on the upper edge of the ridge toward the touchpad causes the upper edge to approach the plane of the touchpad.

17. In a portable computer having a keyboard and a display, in which the keyboard is defined on a user-accessible, substantially planar surface of the computer, the improvement comprising:

a first ergonomic zone on the planar surface and defined by the locus of positions naturally occupied by the user'"'"'s thumbs when the thumbs are at rest and the user'"'"'s other fingers are operating the computer in the normal operating position;

a triangular touchpad extending on the substantially planar surface, the triangular pad having a rear edge corresponding to the base of the triangle and forward edges corresponding to the legs of the triangle;

a second ergonomic zone on the planar surface defined by the locus of positions accessible by the user'"'"'s thumbs when seeking to activate the touchpad with the thumbs during normal operating of the keyboard by the user'"'"'s other fingers, the first and second ergonomic zones having partially overlapping boundaries to define an overlap zone, the forward edges of the touchpad extending in the overlap zone;

a ridge protruding from the substantially planar surface and having a top edge above the plane of the touchpad, the ridge extending in the overlap zone proximate to the forward edges, the ridge being large enough to be detected by the user'"'"'s thumbs when in contact therewith;

the detection of the ridge by the user'"'"'s thumbs inhibiting inadvertent movement of the user'"'"'s thumbs from the first ergonomic zone toward the second ergonomic zone, whereby incidents of unintended activation of the touchpad by the user'"'"'s thumbs are minimized.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the ridge extends substantially along the forward edges.

19. The device of claim 17, further comprising an upper surface formed at the upper edge of the ridge, the upper surface extending substantially parallel to the planar surface a sufficient distance to define thumb rests for the user.

20. The device of claim 17, wherein the ridge is retractably mounted relative to the planar surface, whereby force exerted on the upper edge of the ridge toward the planar surface causes the ridge to be received therein.