Inventor · Portland, OR, US

Patrick J. Franz

25Patents
16h-index
15Co-inventors
78Inventor score

Filing activity: Apr 18, 1986 → Aug 14, 2020

Most-cited inventions

PatentTitleAreaCited byStatus
US4680577A Multipurpose cursor control keyswitch Physics 193 Expired
US5189403A Integrated keyboard and pointing device system with automatic mode change Electricity 179 Expired
US5889507A Miniature isometric joystick Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies 130 Expired
US5541622A Miniature isometric joystick Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies 100 Expired
US5499041A Keyboard integrated pointing device Electricity 76 Expired
US5231386A Keyswitch-integrated pointing assembly Electricity 56 Expired
US6040821A Cursor tracking Electricity 46 Expired
US5252971A Data acquisition in a multi-function keyboard system which corrects for preloading of force sensors Electricity 36 Expired
US6004064A Retrofittable quick release mechanism Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies 28 Expired
US5583303A Transducer array Electricity 27 Expired
US5124689A Integrated keyboard and pointing device system Electricity 25 Expired
US5701142A Pointing stick with tripod actuator for cursor control in a computer keyboard Electricity 23 Expired
US5407285A Pointing stick in a computer keyboard for cursor control Electricity 23 Expired
USD358382S Keycap for pointing and typing operations General 21 Expired
US5568987A Pointing stick in a computer keyboard for cursor control Electricity 19 Expired
US5431064A Transducer array Electricity 16 Expired
US5245321A Integrated keyboard system with typing and pointing modes of operation Electricity 14 Expired
USD360630S Keycap assembly with pointing stick for a computer keyboard General 8 Expired
US6107996A Integrated keyboard and pointing device system with automatic mode change Electricity 7 Expired
US11460490B2 Photovoltaic system monitoring and analysis Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies 6 Active
USD358385S Keycap assembly with corner integrated pointing stick for typing and pointing operations in a computer keyboard General 6 Expired
USD360200S Computer keyboard spacebar with intergrated pointing stick for typing and pointing operations General 3 Expired
US5578765A Transducer array Electricity 3 Expired
USD360412S Combined pointing stick and surrounding keycap for use in a computer keyboard General 3 Expired
USD359956S Key cap assembly with extended sidewall integrated pointing stick for typing and pointing operations in a computer keyboard General 2 Expired

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Inventor disambiguation is heuristic; counts are objective bibliographic measures.