The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 13, 1998
Filed:
Aug. 09, 1996
Wolfgang Fischer, Boblingen, DE;
Heinz Gnter Horbach, Gechingen, DE;
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A data processing system is provided for emulating keyboard input. In one embodiment, the invention provides a contact sensitive graphical data input-output field for receiving graphical user input and for displaying graphical output. The graphical data input-output field includes multiple contact sensitive data input fields. The embodiment also provides a keyboard overlying the graphical data input-output field. The keyboard includes multiple keys, each of which corresponds to a data input field of the graphical data input-output field. Each key, when pressed by a user, contacts the data input field that corresponds to that key, thereby causing the data processing system to provide an electrical signal of a predetermined value that corresponds to the key pressed by the user. The keyboard further includes a window through which at least a portion of the graphical data input-output field can be viewed when the keyboard is fully overlying the graphical data input-output field, wherein the portion of said graphical data input-output field that can be viewed through the window can display graphical output.