Keyboard with thumb operated spacebar curser controller
OwnerClem Abrams, Richard A. Dean +2inventors
InventorsClem Abrams, Richard A. Dean, Matin Dinca, Tharold E. Northup
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Abstract
A keyboard with a thumb-controlled curser. In a preferred embodiment a circular aperture about one centimeter in diameter is provided in the spacebar of the keyboard. A keyboard user controls the position of the computer curser by moving a portion of his thumb across the port. A light source illuminates an exposed surface of the user's thumb as it moves across the port. Light patterns reflected from the user's thumb are focused on a sensor. The output from the sensor is transmitted to the computer processor where the thumb movements monitored by the sensor are turned into control signals for controlling the position of the curser on a computer monitor.
Claims10
A keyboard with a thumb operated curser controller comprising:
- A) a spacebar having an aperture, smaller than a typical person's thumb, through at least a portion of the spacebar,
- B) a light source for illuminating the aperture from below the aperture,
- C) a sensor for making digital images of surfaces of user thumbs moving across said aperture at rates of at least 1,500 images per second with resolutions of at least 400 dpi from light reflected from said surfaces,
- D) a lens for focusing the light reflected from said thumbs onto said sensor,
- E) a computer processor programmed to control curser positions of a computer monitor, and
- F) a transmitter for transmitting said thumb images to a computer processor programmed to control curser positions based on changes in the thumb images wherein said user controls positions of said curser by moving his thumb across said aperture in said spacebar.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.