Keyboard for an electronic writeboard and method

• US 6,741,267 B1
• Filed: 10/30/1998
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Smart Technologies ULC (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Smart Technologies Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Leperen, Taco Van
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh, Duc Q
• Application Number:
  US09/182,475
• Time in Patent Office: 2,034 Days
• Field of Search: 345/168, 345/173, 345/172, 345/810, 345/828, 345/831, 345/840, 345/773, 345/156, 345/771, 345/772
• US Class Current: 715/773
• 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

An electronic writeboard for communicating with a computer including applications software and running an active application comprises a touch sensitive panel on which the screen image output of the computer is displayed. The touch sensitive panel is responsive to user contact and generates events. A keyboard window is displayed on the touch sensitive panel and includes a keyboard having a plurality of user selectable keys. A driver receives the events and senses user contact on the touch sensitive panel within the keyboard window and generates messages in response thereto. A controller executing a keyboard application receives the messages. The keyboard application processes the messages to provide data to the active application running on the computer corresponding to keys of the keyboard contacted by the user.

Claims

1. An electronic writeboard for communicating with a computer running on a windows type operating platform, said computer including applications software and running an active application having input focus comprising:

a touch sensitive panel on which screen image output of said computer is displayed, said touch sensitive panel being responsive to user contact and generating events;

a keyboard window displayed on said touch sensitive panel and including a keyboard having a plurality of user selectable keys;

a driver receiving events generated by said touch sensitive panel, said driver sensing user contact on said touch sensitive panel within said keyboard window and generating messages in response to user selection of keys of said keyboard; and

a controller executing a keyboard application and receiving said messages, said keyboard application processing said messages to provide data directly to the active application running on said computer corresponding to keys of said keyboard contacted by said user to bypass the computer operating system and thereby avoid input focus shifting to said keyboard application in response to user contacts on said touch sensitive panel within said keyboard window.

2. An electronic writeboard as defined in claim 1 wherein said driver passes events generated as a result of user contact on said touch sensitive panel outside of said keyboard window directly to said computer for processing.

3. An electronic writeboard as defined in claim 2 wherein during initialization, said controller registers with said driver and provides a keyboard window handle establishing the location of said keyboard window on said touch sensitive panel and a set of message identifiers to allow said driver to communicate with said keyboard application.

4. An electronic writeboard as defined in claim 3 wherein said driver uses said message identifiers to generate a message to said keyboard application in response to a mouse down event resulting from user contact on said touch sensitive panel within said keyboard window, said driver setting a flag so that subsequent mouse events result in the generation of messages to said keyboard application until a mouse up event is detected.

5. An electronic writeboard as defined in claim 1 wherein said keyboard application signals said computer to switch input focus automatically to another application if input focus is given to said keyboard application.

12. An electronic writeboard as defined in claim 5 wherein input focus is switched automatically to the next application in the Windows®

task list.

6. An interactive display system comprising:

an electronic writeboard;

a computer running on a windows based operating platform connected to said electronic writeboard, said computer including applications software and running an active application having input focus, and

a projector coupled to said computer and projecting screen image output of said computer onto said electronic writeboard, wherein said electronic writeboard includes;

a touch sensitive panel on which the screen image output of said computer is displayed, said touch sensitive panel being responsive to user contact and generating events;

a keyboard window displayed on said touch sensitive panel and including a keyboard having a plurality of user selectable keys;

a driver receiving events generated by said touch sensitive panel, said driver sensing user contact on said touch sensitive panel within said keyboard window and generating messages in response to user selection of keys of said keyboard; and

a controller executing a keyboard application and receiving said messages, said keyboard application processing said messages to provide data directly to the active application running on said computer corresponding to keys of said keyboard contacted by said user to bypass the computer operating system and thereby avoid input focus shifting to said keyboard application in response to user contacts on said touch sensitive panel within said keyboard window.

7. An interactive display system as defined in claim 6 wherein said driver passes events generated as a result of user contact on said touch sensitive panel outside of said keyboard window directly to said computer for processing.

8. An interactive display system as defined in claim 7 wherein during initialization, said controller registers with said driver and provides a keyboard window handle establishing the location of said keyboard window on said touch sensitive panel and a set of message identifiers to allow said driver to communicate with said keyboard application.

9. An interactive display system as defined in claim 8 wherein said driver uses said message identifiers to generate a message to said keyboard application in response to a mouse down event resulting from user contact on said touch sensitive panel within said keyboard window, said driver setting a flag so that subsequent mouse events result in the generation of messages to said keyboard application until a mouse up event is detected.

10. An interactive display system as defined in claim 6 wherein said keyboard application signals said computer to switch input focus automatically to another application if input focus is given to said keyboard application.

13. An interactive display system as defined in claim 10 wherein input focus is switched automatically to the next application in the Windows®

task list.

11. In an electronic writeboard having a touch sensitive panel on which an on-screen keyboard is displayed within a window, where user contact on said touch sensitive panel results in the generation of mouse events conveyed to a computer running on a windows based operating system for processing, a method of inhibiting input focus from being switched from an active application executed by said computer to said on-screen keyboard when said on-screen keyboard is touched, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting user contact on said touch sensitive panel;

forwarding events generated in response to contact on said touch sensitive panel outside of said on-screen keyboard window directly to said operating system for processing; and

processing events generated in response to contact on said touch sensitive panel within said on-screen keyboard window and forwarding said processed events directly to said active application thereby to bypass said Windows®

-based operating system and inhibit a shift in input focus from said active application to said on-screen keyboard.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of automatically shifting input focus to another application if input focus is given to said on-screen keyboard.

15. An on-screen keyboard application for execution by a processor running an active application having input focus in a windows based operating environment comprising:

first program code installable in the processor and causing the processor to display on a touch sensitive display screen within a window, a keyboard having a plurality of user selectable keys;

second program code installable in the processor and causing the processor to sense contact on the touch sensitive display screen within the keyboard window and generating events corresponding to keys contacted by a user; and

third program code installable in the processor and causing the processor to process the events and send data to the active application being run by the processor without shifting input focus to the on-screen keyboard application as result of contacts on said touch sensitive display within said keyboard window.

16. An on-screen keyboard application as defined in claim 15 wherein said second program code sends events generated in response to contact on the touch sensitive display outside of the keyboard window to said processor without said events being processed by said third program code.

17. An on-screen keyboard application as defined in claim 16 further comprising fourth program code installable in the processor and causing the computer to shift automatically input focus to another application if input focus is given to said on-screen keyboard application.

18. In a computer running on a windows type platform having code responsible for the automatic activation and deactivation of an application in response to mouse events and executing an active application having input focus, a method of inputting data to the active application via a touch sensitive on-screen application displayed within a window while inhibiting input focus from being switched to said on-screen application as result of contacts within said window, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting user contact on said on-screen application within said window and generating events corresponding to said user contact; and

conveying data directly to the active application corresponding to the events thereby to bypass said code.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of shifting input focus automatically to another application if input focus is given to said on-screen application.

20. Apparatus for controlling the display of images projected through a projector and generated by a computer running application programs on a windows operating system, said apparatus comprising:

a large screen display uncoupled from the projector, which displays the computer-generated image, and which outputs a location signal corresponding to a location on the large-screen display where contact is made;

software running as an interrupt routine on the Windows®

operating system of the computer, the interrupt routine generating a mouse event in response to said location signal, the software additionally causing the application program to modify the computer-generated image in response to the mouse event; and

on-screen keyboard application software executed by said computer and causing the computer to display as part of the computer-generated image an on-screen keyboard within a window, said on-screen keyboard application detecting and processing mouse commands generated as a result of user contact on said large-screen display within said window and conveying data to an active application program run by said computer while bypassing the Windows®

operating system.

21. Apparatus according to claim 20 wherein said on-screen keyboard application software causes said computer to shift automatically input focus to another application if input focus is given to said on-screen keyboard application software.

22. Apparatus according to claim 21 wherein said on-screen keyboard has a QWERTY layout.

23. Apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said large-screen display comprises a touch sensitive screen.

24. Apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising the image projector which comprises:

an LCD projector coupled to the computer; and

an overhead projector adjacent said LCD projector.

25. A method for controlling the display of images projected through a projector and generated by a computer running application programs on a windows operating system, comprising the steps of:

displaying the computer-generated image on a large-screen display uncoupled from the projector, the computer-generated image in part including an on-screen keyboard within a keyboard window;

outputting a location signal corresponding to a location on the large-screen display where contact is made;

running an interrupt routine on the Windows®

operating system of the computer, the interrupt routine generating a mouse event in response to said location signal; and

causing the application program to modify the computer-generated image in response to the mouse event, the computer-generated image being modified at the location on the large-screen display corresponding to the location where contact is made, wherein mouse events generated in response to contacts made on the large-screen display within the keyboard window are processed via a private communication mechanism so that data corresponding to the mouse events is sent to the active application program being run by the computer without being routed through the Windows®

operating system.

26. A storage medium storing computer code for controlling the display of images projected through a projector and generated by a computer running application programs on a windows operating system, the stored computer code causing the computer to perform the steps of:

generating display signals for displaying a computer-generated image on a large-screen display uncoupled from the projector;

in response to receiving a location signal corresponding to a location on the large-screen display where a contact is made, running interrupt routine on the Windows®

operating system of the computer, the interrupt routine generating a mouse event in response to said location signal; and

causing an application program running on the computer to modify the computer-generated image in response to the mouse event, the computer-generated image modified at the location on the large-screen display corresponding to the location contact is made, wherein mouse events generated in response to contacts made on the large-screen display within the keyboard window are processed via a private communications mechanism so that data corresponding to the mouse events is sent to the active application program being run by the computer without being routed through the Windows®

operating system.