Appeal No. 1997-0403
Application 08/174,215
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is a decision on appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from
the final rejection of claims 1-11.
We reverse.
BACKGROUND
The disclosed invention is directed to a method and
apparatus for emulating a mouse pointing device using the
conventional keys of a keyboard. When a special function
key is not active, conventional scan codes are transmitted
in response to actuation of the keys. When the special
function key is active, a keyboard controller interprets
scan code signals from selected keys as mouse movement data.
Claim 4 is reproduced below.
4. A mouse pointer emulating apparatus for
controlling the position of a mouse pointer on a
computer display screen for a computer, operable with a
conventional mouse pointer, said mouse emulating
apparatus comprising:
a keyboard having a plurality of unmodified
keys which activate key switches when depressed,
said keyboard operating in first and second modes;
a keyboard controller coupled to said key
switches, said controller configured to scan said
key switches to determine which of said plurality
of keys are active and to generate scan code data
responsive to keyswitch signals generated by
active keys; and
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