Overlay keyboard for touch screen devices

• US 8,558,796 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2010
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Headwater Partners II LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Original Assignee: Headwater Partners II LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Inventors: Giancarlo, Charles H., Raleigh, Gregory G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Chanh
• Assistant Examiner(s): RABINDRANATH, ROY P
• Application Number:
  US12/800,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20100302168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,258 Days
• Field of Search: 345/168, 345/169, 345/173, 345/178
• US Class Current: 345/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means

Abstract

Keyboard systems and methods are provided herein. In one embodiment, an overlay keyboard for touch screen devices includes a physical keyboard that can be mounted onto a touch screen device (e.g., a corded touch screen device or a touch screen mobile device) that provides a virtual keyboard (e.g., a software displayed touch screen), in which the physical keyboard can be overlaid onto the virtual keyboard of the touch screen device. When no key of the physical keyboard is pressed down, the physical keyboard does not trigger the touch screen of the touch screen device. When a key of the physical keyboard is pressed down, the physical keyboard touches the touch screen on a corresponding key of the virtual keyboard on the touch screen device, thereby causing the touch screen to detect that the corresponding key of the virtual keyboard has been pressed.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a physical keyboard overlay configured for being removably attached to a touch screen display of a touch screen of a handheld limited-display device,

wherein the touch screen display supports visual display of a limited-size virtual keyboard having a plurality of virtual keys,

wherein the physical keyboard overlay comprises a plurality of physical keys, wherein one or more physical keys of the plurality of physical keys directly correspond to one or more corresponding virtual keys,

wherein the physical keyboard overlay comprises at least a first physical key that is positioned over a corresponding first virtual key by a first alignment offset, such that the first physical key does not directly overlay the corresponding first virtual key, when the physical keyboard overlay is removably attached to the handheld limited-display device; and

at least a first actuator in a diagonal operational relationship with both the first physical key and the corresponding first virtual key, wherein the first actuator engages the first virtual key, in response to user interaction with the first physical key.

2. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the handheld limited-display device is selected from one or more of the following:

a touch screen phone, a touch screen laptop, a touch screen notebook, a touch screen entertainment/gaming device, a touch screen music/video device, and a touch screen eBook device.

3. The system recited in claim 2, wherein the touch screen phone is a touch screen mobile phone.

4. The system recited in claim 2, wherein the touch screen phone is a corded touch screen phone.

5. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising a mount mechanism, wherein the mount mechanism is coupled to the physical keyboard overlay for providing a fixed physical keyboard overlay for the handheld limited-display device, wherein the mount mechanism is integrated with a device cover.

6. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the physical keyboard overlay further includes a plurality of conductive probe tips.

7. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising a mount mechanism, wherein the mount mechanism is coupled to the physical keyboard overlay for providing a fixed physical keyboard overlay for the handheld limited-display device, wherein the mount mechanism includes one or more of the following:

a device cover, a slip-on mechanism, a flip-on mechanism, and a lock mechanism.

8. The system recited in claim 1, wherein a size of one or more of the plurality of physical keys of the physical keyboard overlay is larger than one or more corresponding virtual keys of the limited-size virtual keyboard.

9. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a processor configured to;

arrange one or more of plurality of virtual keys of the limited-size virtual keyboard based on an arrangement of the plurality of physical keys of the physical keyboard overlay.

10. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the physical keyboard overlay comprises a plurality of actuators, wherein one of the plurality of actuators triggers a virtual key upon triggering of a corresponding physical key.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the plurality of actuators is angled from the physical keys to the virtual keys.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of physical keys of the physical keyboard overlay are more spread out than the virtual keys of the limited-size virtual keyboard.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of physical keys of the physical keyboard overlay are at least one of horizontally or vertically more spread out than the virtual keys of the limited-size virtual keyboard.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a stopping mechanism, wherein the stopping mechanism provides a user with tactile feedback when a physical key has been sufficiently depressed.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the stopping mechanism provides a clicking sensation when the physical key has been sufficiently depressed.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the physical keyboard overlay comprises a plurality of actuators, wherein one of the plurality of actuators triggers a virtual key upon triggering of a corresponding physical key, wherein an end of at least one of the plurality of actuators that physically contacts the corresponding virtual key comprises an angled shape.

17. A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising instructions for:

displaying a virtual keyboard on the touch screen of the device so that at least a subset of a plurality of physical keys of a physical keyboard overlaid on the virtual keyboard correspond to a plurality of virtual keys of the virtual keyboard, and where actuation of each of the subset of physical keys of the physical keyboard would trigger a corresponding virtual key of the virtual keyboard, wherein the physical keyboard is configured for being removably attached to the touch screen of a handheld limited-display device, wherein the touch screen supports visual display of a limited-size virtual keyboard having a plurality of virtual keys, wherein the physical keyboard overlay comprises a plurality of physical keys, wherein one or more physical keys of the plurality of physical keys directly correspond to one or more corresponding virtual keys, wherein the physical keyboard comprises at least a first physical key that is positioned over a corresponding first virtual key by a first alignment offset, such that the first physical key does not directly overlay the corresponding first virtual key, when the physical keyboard overlay is removably attached to the handheld limited-display device, and wherein at least a first actuator in a diagonal operational relationship with both the first physical key and the corresponding first virtual key, wherein the first actuator engages the first virtual key, in response to user interaction with the first physical key.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the hand held limited-display device is selected from one or more of the following:

a touch screen phone, a touch screen laptop, a touch screen notebook, a touch screen entertainment/gaming device, a touch screen music/video device, and a touch screen eBook device.

19. The computer program product recited in claim 18, wherein the touch screen phone is a touch screen mobile phone.

20. The computer program product recited in claim 18, wherein the touch screen phone comprises a corded touch screen phone.

21. A system, comprising:

a physical keyboard overlay configured for being removably attached to a touch screen display of a touch screen of a handheld limited-display device, wherein the touch screen display supports visual display of a limited-size virtual keyboard having a plurality of virtual keys,

wherein the physical keyboard overlay comprises a plurality of physical keys, wherein one or more physical keys of the plurality of physical keys directly correspond to one or more corresponding virtual keys,

wherein the physical keyboard overlay comprises at least a first physical key that is positioned over a corresponding first virtual key by a first alignment offset, such that the first physical key does not directly overlay the corresponding first virtual key, when the physical keyboard overlay is removably attached to the handheld limited-display device,

wherein at least a first actuator in a diagonal operational relationship with both the first physical key and the corresponding first virtual key, wherein the first actuator engages the first virtual key, in response to user interaction with the first physical key, and

wherein a physical key of a row of the plurality of physical keys of the physical keyboard is aligned in a same direction as a plurality of other physical keys of the row.