Appeal No. 2002-1041 Application 08/866,402 BACKGROUND The invention relates to a system, method, and computer instructions on a computer usable medium for visually indicating that a key on a display screen has been selected. Although the invention is disclosed in connection with a touch screen display, only one claim requires this feature. When a key is selected, the size of the key on the screen enlarges or "splats" and the appearance changes to indicate a depressed key, e.g., by decreasing the size of the bevels of the key graphic. Claim 20 is reproduced below. 20. In a system having a processor, a display for producing a visual representation of a plurality of keys, a position sensing subsystem for providing signals indicating that an area on the display has been selected by an operator and a memory for storing programming instructions for controlling the operation of the system, an apparatus for providing improved visual feedback to the operator that an area in the visual representation has been selected, said apparatus comprising: (a) a circuit responsive to signals provided by said the position sensing subsystem to provide an key-identifying signal indicating that a particular key in the visual representation of said plurality of keys has been selected by the operator; and (b) display control logic responsive to the key-identifying signal to alter the visual representation of the selected key by enlarging said the visual representation and by changing said visual representation to have the appearance of a depressed key, said altered visual representation providing visual confirmation of the key selection. The examiner relies on the following references: Greanias et al. (Greanias) 4,686,332 August 11, 1987 Volk et al. (Volk) 5,687,331 November 11, 1997 - 2 -Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007