Miniaturized 4-key computer keyboard operated by one hand
US6952173B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 28, 2002 |
| Grant date | Oct 4, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 16, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03M11/08
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A miniaturized single-hand keyboard for computers, PDAs, cellular phones and other portable electronic devices. The keyboard has only four keys, each operated by one finger. Characters are generated by depressing a single key or a combination of two keys in a ‘composite keystroke’. A composite keystroke is performed by depressing a combination of two keys in a predefined order and then releasing them in a predefined order. In the normal mode, three simple keystrokes and 24 possible composite keystrokes are used to generate each of the 26 alphabetic characters and a space. One of the four simple keystrokes (optionally followed by another simple keystroke) is used to enter one of five other modes (Shift, Numeric, Language, Alternate and Control), which support generating uppercase, numeric, language specific and special characters and cursor control and editing control codes.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.