New Apple keyboard patent - fingerworksesque

[Parak]

Don't think anyone posted this yet (that I've seen).

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/01/24/apple-researching-physical-keyboards-with-motion-control-to-replace-mouse/

Chiclet keys to still be there, apparently :|

[theferenc]

Interesting. You see tech like this in "touchless" touch screens used in the medical field. It's been around for years, but this is the first application I've ever seen or heard of where it is applied to keyboards.

Would be even more awesome if they went back to low profile ALPS switches. As if.

[Findecanor]

I wonder what they consider novel in this patent. Systems using cameras for detecting touch (and multitouch) has been around for years. Is it incorporating it into the keyboard area that is the big deal here?

[theferenc]

I wonder what they consider novel in this patent. Systems using cameras for detecting touch (and multitouch) has been around for years. Is it incorporating it into the keyboard area that is the big deal here?

I would imagine that's all it is. But combining old tech in new and exciting ways was one of the original ideals of the patent system.

Apple claims to have invented a lot of stuff, and they hold a lot of frivolous patents, just like all the other tech companies. But if they pull this off, I would argue this isn't one of them.

Admittedly, it's one of those "duh!" ideas, but that's the thing. Someone there saw it, and no one else did.

I would happily say this is the sort of thing that should be patentable. One of the few, actually. Ideas that are obvious in hindsight, but no one had prior to you. Perfect.

And for the record, I loathe apple something fierce. But this is a neat idea.

[quadibloc]

I will agree that this idea is a legitimate subject of a patent.

Potentially, it could be beneficial. Instead of having to remove one's hands from the keyboard to use the mouse, one just hits the "Mouse" key, and moves one's right hand up, down, or from side to side, right where it is.

"Chiclet" keys, to put a flat surface under the hands, would almost be de rigeur with this kind of setup, though.

Much easier, though, would be to put a nice big trackball below the right-hand Alt key, instead of below the middle of the space bar. Of course, that would mean also having to make a separate left-handed version of the keyboard. The idea being to facilitate, with minimum hand movement, operating a trackball with the palm of the hand, not the thumb.

A simpler way to do that would be to have a trackball with a low profile - where "above" (towards the screen) and "below" the ball, there is little extra space, and the two mouse buttons are directly to the left of the trackball, for the thumb to push. Left-handed operation would involve reversing the directions of trackball motion, not the meaning of the two mouse buttons.

Splitting the keyboard in half, and then putting a trackball between the G and H keys, instead of just having one of those little piezoelectric things, also comes to mind.