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AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsMichael Aaron Kaply, Herman Rodriguez, Newton James Smith, Jr.
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A system and method for grouping together multiple keys on a keyboard to form compound keys is presented. An exemplary configuration of compound keys involves grouping function keys “F1” through “F4” together to form one key, grouping function keys “F5” through “F8” to form a second key, and grouping function keys “F9” through “F12” to form a third key. In such an embodiment, actuating any of the keys “F1” through “F4” results in the same input to the operating system or application program. A compound key may be assigned to a response such as “yes”, “enter”, or “cancel”. In another embodiment, a group of keys could be assigned to a particular alphanumeric character. The alphanumeric keys could in this way be grouped into a reduced number of larger alphanumeric compound keys. A separate group of keys (e.g., the numeric keypad) may be used to toggle between different arrangements of these compound keys, so that all characters may be accessed. A representation of the keyboard illustrating the key groupings active at a particular time and the input corresponding to each grouping may be displayed on the computer's display screen. Alternatively, a template laid over the keyboard may be used to indicate the compound key groupings, particularly for applications in which the grouping does not change during the performance of a task.
A computer system, comprising:
A method for using a keyboard, comprising:
A method for using a keyboard, comprising:
A method for processing input to a computer, comprising:
A method for processing input to a computer, comprising:
A storage medium, comprising program instructions adapted to (i) detect two or more key codes generated by actuation of respective keyboard keys upon a keyboard and (ii) map the key codes to a single compound key also upon the keyboard, and further comprising correspondence data used to map the key codes to the corresponding single compound key, wherein the correspondence data relates each key code within a compound key to the compound key command corresponding to the compound key.
A storage medium, comprising program instructions adapted to (i) detect two or more key codes generated by actuation of respective keyboard keys upon a keyboard and (ii) map the key codes to a single compound key command, wherein the compound key command comprises an alphanumeric character or a response to a query, and wherein the compound key command is executable by actuation of one or more of the keyboard keys.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.