Patent ID: 6654004
Filing Date: 2003-11-25
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A system comprising a display, a keyboard, and a processor coupling said display and said keyboard, said keyboard including a matrix of actuable touch sensitive keys and a manually operable pointing device sited among and within predetermined ones of said keys, said pointing device coupling to said processor for controlling the movement of a display cursor and the selection of function as depicted on the display, said system further comprising:a manually grippable lever including a post attached at one end; a mechanism coupling said post end of said lever to the pointing device for forming a unitary control structure, said coupled lever and pointing device being concurrently movable in several degree of freedom; and circuits responsive to kinematics of the coupled lever and pointing device for communicating indicia thereof to the processor; wherein the pointing device comprises a pointing device post having a lower portion connected to said force transducer and an upper portion adapted for engagement with a removable-user end cap, the lever including, at its lower end, a post adapted to connect to the upper portion of the pointing device post when the cap is removed.