Keyboard Mouse Simulation via Switch Matrix Coordinates
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Solution Overview
Problem
The placement of a touchpad on laptops is inefficient due to its large size and the risk of accidental pointer movement when not in use, which complicates the miniaturization of laptop designs and user experience.
Innovation Solution
A method and input device that simulates mouse movement using a keyboard by detecting key events, transforming switch locations into coordinates, calculating displacements, and transmitting movement data to the operating system to control the pointer's movement on the screen, allowing the keyboard to function as a mouse without a touchpad.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a touchpad is added to provide mouse functionality, then pointer control capability is improved, but device area and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard is designed to perform multiple functions: traditional text input and mouse pointer control. By integrating mouse simulation functionality into the keyboard, the device eliminates the need for a separate touchpad while maintaining both typing and pointer control capabilities, thereby reducing overall device area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the keyboard and mouse functions into a single input device. The keyboard controller processes both character input and mouse movement simulation signals, merging two previously separate input mechanisms into one unified device that reduces the total area required on the laptop.
2Area of stationary object
If a touchpad is placed under the keyboard to save space, then device area is reduced, but accidental pointer movement occurs during keyboard use
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard controller acts as an intermediary that distinguishes between intentional keyboard input and accidental touches. It processes key press events through software logic that calculates mouse movement based on deliberate key sequences, filtering out accidental touches that do not follow the intended input pattern, thereby maintaining pointer control accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts its response based on the context of key presses. By calculating mouse movement from sequences of deliberate key events and ignoring isolated accidental touches, the system adapts its behavior to distinguish between intentional user input and accidental contact, maintaining reliability while saving space.
3Device complexity
If the keyboard simulates mouse movement, then device complexity is reduced, but input precision for mouse control may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameters of mouse control precision by adjusting the sensitivity and movement distance based on the key position and press sequence. Different key regions produce different mouse movement vectors, allowing the system to maintain adequate precision for navigation while using the simplified keyboard interface, balancing reduced complexity with acceptable control precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for simulating a mouse with a keyboard in a computer system includes detecting whether a key event occurs in a switch matrix of the keyboard of the computer system, determining whether the key event is related to a specific control key when the key event is detected, transforming a location of a switch in which the key event occurs into a pair of coordinates when the key event is not related to the specific control key and is a key-pressed event, calculating a pair of displacements between the latest two pairs of coordinates to obtain a movement data, and transmitting the movement data to a mouse driver of the computer system so that an operating system of the computer system is capable of receiving the movement data by the mouse driver, for controlling movement of a pointer shown on a screen of the computer system.