Patent ID: 7940254

Claim:
In a data entry interface comprising a keyboard having a plurality of keys arranged in a plurality of rows, a navigation mechanism structured below a bottom row of the plurality of rows, the navigation mechanism comprising: a scroll wheel rotatable about an axis, having a wheel surface, a portion of the wheel surface exposed at the data entry interface and a portion of the wheel surface hidden beneath the data entry interface at all times, the wheel surface configured to move in a first direction and a second direction, each direction having a corresponding movement in the same direction on a screen of a computing system; a first selection button and a second selection button, each on opposite sides of the scroll wheel, the first selection button when depressed configured to select an object on the screen of the computing system and the second selection button when depressed configured to display a menu on the screen of the computing system; and a third selection button and a fourth selection button, each on opposite sides of the first and the second selection buttons, the third and fourth buttons a part of the navigation mechanism and not a part of the keyboard keys arranged in a plurality of rows, the third selection button when depressed initiating a first predefined function on the screen of the computing system and the fourth selection button when depressed initiating a second predefined function on the screen of the computing system.