Guide member for gesture pad

Abstract

To solve the problem that stable cursor operation cannot be performed because a gesture pad is sometimes traced with a finger floating in the air during tracing of the gesture pad mounted on an edge of a keyboard frame with the finger.SOLUTION: A guide member guides operation of a gesture pad provided at an edge of a keyboard to have a prescribed length in a horizontal direction. The guide member is a guide member of the gesture pad comprising a contact part brought into contact with a base member located on a lower side of the gesture pad to have approximately the same height as the base member, a recessed part recessed from a top edge of the contact part toward an operator of the gesture pad, and stopper parts provided on both sides of the recessed part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a guide for facilitating gesture operations of a keyboard with a gesture pad function.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, input devices for personal computers are composed of a keyboard and a mouse. Among them, the mouse has a displacement sensor at the bottom, moves on the desktop within a movable area, and displays the displacement information on the screen as the position information of a pointer or a cursor.

[0003] Also, Patent Document 1 below discloses that by tracing a pad with an edge touch sensor mounted on the edge of a keyboard frame, it is possible to perform mouse operations with gestures without leaving the hand from the keyboard.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The problem to be solved is that when tracing a gesture pad mounted on the edge of a keyboard frame with a finger, the finger may be in a floating state in the air, so that stable cursor operation cannot be performed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A guide member having a predetermined length in the horizontal direction for guiding the operation of a gesture pad provided at the edge of a keyboard, the guide member contacting a base member located below the gesture pad, and having a contact portion at substantially the same height as the base member, a recess portion recessed from the upper end of the contact portion toward the gesture pad operator side, and stopper portions provided on both sides of the recess portion. A guide member for a gesture pad, characterized in that it is configured as described above.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] The guide member for the gesture pad of the present invention has the advantage that by placing it in front of a keyboard equipped with a gesture pad, when performing a gesture operation, the finger can be placed on the guide member and slid, so that the gesture pad can be traced stably.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] The guide member of the gesture pad according to the present invention is directly disposed on the surface of the gesture pad and optimizes the sliding of the user's finger on the gesture pad. While optimizing the operation feeling when the user operates the gesture pad, this guide member has a specific shape and size that conforms to the surface of the gesture pad. Thereby, the operator can perform gesture operations quickly and accurately on the gesture pad. Further, in order to enable the user to smoothly operate the gesture pad, this guide has an appropriate shape and structure that adheres to the surface of the gesture pad. Thereby, the user can freely move the guide in accordance with the movement of the finger, and it becomes possible to minimize the friction between the finger and the gesture pad.

[0010] The guide member of the gesture pad of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The keyboard 1 of the present invention is composed of a keyboard main body 2 and a base member 3 located below the keyboard main body 2. And, on the vertical wall surface 2a (hereinafter referred to as the edge) on the operator side of the keyboard main body 2, a pad 4 as a gesture pad with a built-in touch sensor is provided. By operating this pad 4 with a finger, it is used as a substitute for the conventional mouse operation.

[0011] On the vertical wall surface 3a on the operator side of the base member 3, a guide member 5 made of wood and having substantially the same length as the base member 3 is disposed so as to be in contact. This guide member 5 is composed of a contact portion 5a that contacts the vertical wall surface 3a of the base member 3, a concave portion 5b on the upper surface on which the operator's finger is placed, and stopper portions 5c, 5c provided on both sides of the guide member 5.

[0012] The guide member 5 has substantially the same height as the base member 3, and the recessed portion 5b of the base member 5 is configured to be recessed gently toward the operator side from the upper end of the base member 5. Then, the finger of the operator is placed on the recessed portion 5b to operate the pad 4. Note that rising portions are formed on both sides of the recessed portion 5b to prevent the operator's finger from moving too much, and these rising portions function as stopper portions 5c, 5c.

[0013] In the above-described embodiment, the cross-section of the recessed portion 5b of the guide member 5 is concave, but it may be L-shaped in cross-section as in the modification shown in FIG. 4. That is, the rising portion on the operator side of the guide member 5 may be eliminated and the rising portion may be provided only on the keyboard side. In that case, the stopper portions 5c, 5c on both sides are left. In short, the recessed portion in the present invention only needs to be recessed toward the operator side from at least the upper end of the contact portion 5a.

[0014] Note that it is also possible to arrange and use a palm rest for reducing wrist fatigue on the operator side of the guide member 5 arranged on the front side of the keyboard. Further, in this case, the guide member 5 and the palm rest 10 may be integrally formed (see FIG. 5).

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0015] 1 Keyboard 2 Keyboard main body 3 Base member 4 Pad 5 Guide member 6 Right hand 7 Left hand 8 Right thumb 9 Left thumb 10 Palm rest

Claims

1. A guide member having a predetermined length in the lateral direction for guiding the operation of a gesture pad provided at an edge of a keyboard, the guide member being in contact with a base member located below the gesture pad, and having a contact portion at substantially the same height as the base member, a recess portion recessed from the upper end of the contact portion toward the gesture pad operator side, and stopper portions provided on both sides of the recess portion. A guide member for a gesture pad, characterized in that it is configured as such.

2. The guide member for a gesture pad according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide member is connected to one end of a palm rest for reducing fatigue of the wrist during operation of the keyboard.

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