JP5667002B2 - Computer input device and portable computer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for improving the operability of a pointing device, and more particularly to a technique for improving the operability of a pointing device including a pointing stick and a touch pad.

  In addition to a keyboard as an input device, a computer is equipped with a pointing device for realizing a GUI. There is a mouse with a left button, a wheel, and a right button as a typical pointing device. A mouse can move a mouse pointer (hereinafter simply referred to as a pointer) displayed on a display by moving a main body independent of a computer on a desk.

  Click the left mouse button once or twice in succession to select the object pointed to by the pointer, run a program associated with the object, or open a file or folder associated with the object Can do. You can also move the selected file by pressing the left button and moving the pointer while the pointer is selecting an object, and then releasing the left button at the destination. An operation called drop can be performed.

  By clicking the right button of the mouse once, an operable pop-up menu prepared in relation to the position of the pointer can be displayed. In addition, when the right button is pressed and the pointer selects a predetermined object, the pointer is moved to the destination, and then the right button is released at the destination. -An up menu can be displayed. The wheel is located between the left and right buttons on the mouse body and is used to scroll and enlarge the screen. In a notebook type portable computer (hereinafter referred to as a notebook PC) in which a space for attaching a pointing device is limited, specific hardware is mounted to realize a mouse function.

  Some notebook PCs implement a pointing stick and mechanical button pair as a pointing device. The pointing stick is called a track point (TrackPoint is a registered trademark), a stick point, or a track stick by a computer manufacturer. The pointing stick is placed between the keys on the keyboard and moves the pointer in the direction in which the force is applied.

  The mechanical buttons used in combination with the pointing stick are composed of a left button, a center button, and a right button corresponding to the left button, wheel, and right button of the mouse, respectively. Arranged on the user side). The center button scrolls or enlarges the screen by operating simultaneously with the pointing stick. A mechanical button provided on the notebook PC so as to correspond to each button or wheel of the mouse is hereinafter referred to as a mouse button.

  Another type of notebook PC implements a touchpad and two mouse button sets as a pointing device. The touch pad moves the pointer according to the trajectory of the finger tracing the surface, and the two mouse buttons are arranged on the front side of the touch pad and operate corresponding to the left button and right button of the mouse. The pointing stick can be operated without releasing your finger from the home position of the keyboard, and the touchpad has unique features such as handwriting input and gesture input. Some have two pointing devices, stick and touchpad.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a notebook PC equipped with two types of pointing devices, a pointing stick and a touch pad. The notebook PC is mounted with a pointing stick, a mouse button for a pointing stick, a touch pad, and a mouse button for a touch pad. Therefore, the area of the touch pad is restricted to arrange two types of mouse buttons.

  Synaptics, Inc. of the United States, as shown in Patent Document 4 and Non-Patent Document 1, has a product name of Click Pad (registered trademark) that realizes a button-less design by embedding the function of a mouse button in a touch pad. A touchpad is being developed. In Click Pad (registered trademark), one mechanical switch is incorporated in the touch pad, and an area corresponding to a mouse button is defined on the surface of the touch pad. Then, the mouse button click operation is emulated by the combination of the coordinates of the pressed position detected by the touch sensor when the user presses any defined area and the operation signal of the mechanical switch.

  The area defined on the surface of the touch pad in order to emulate the click operation of the mouse button in this way is hereinafter referred to as a pseudo button area or simply a pseudo button. Click Pad (registered trademark) has an advantage in that the area of the touch sensor can be expanded and the operability of the touch pad can be improved by removing the conventional mouse button. In Patent Document 2, in order to make it easier to recognize the moving direction and moving distance of a finger operating the touch pad as the touch of the finger, a predetermined interval is formed in a line in the horizontal and vertical directions intersecting the surface of the touch pad substantially at right angles. The invention in which a plurality of concave portions or convex portions is formed is disclosed. Patent Document 3 discloses an invention in which a corrugated braking member is provided along a scroll region provided on a touch pad in order to give an operational feeling to a user.

JP 2003-308166 A JP 2000-076005 A JP 2003-91361 A International Publication No. 2010/138288

Synaptics, USA [Search June 20, 2011], Internet (URL: http://www.synaptics.com/en/solutions/products/clickpad)

  In recent years, touchpads now support gesture operations that have been performed on a capacitive touch screen that has been mounted on tablet PCs and multi-function mobile phones. As a result, it has come to require as large an area as possible. Notebook PCs that implement a pointing stick and touchpad have so far adopted the ClickPad (registered trademark) and replaced the touchpad mouse button with a pseudo button to expand the area of the touch sensor. It was. Further, it has been studied to further increase the area of the touch sensor by increasing the number of pseudo buttons and removing the mouse button for the pointing stick.

  At this time, it is necessary for the user to accurately recognize the position of the pseudo button and prevent erroneous operation. Since there are only two pseudo buttons for the touchpad, the user rarely makes a mistake in the pressed position. However, since three pseudo buttons for the pointing stick are required, it is difficult to accurately determine the positions of the pseudo buttons arranged in the left-right direction and press the desired pseudo button. Since the surface of the touch pad needs to be flat from the viewpoint of operability, it is not possible to provide a physical feature that can be recognized by tactile sense at the position of the pseudo button.

  As one solution, there is a method of forming a small uneven pattern called a texture on the surface of the pseudo button region. However, this method has a problem that the pointer cannot move unintentionally during the recognition process or spends time for recognition because the difference in the texture cannot be recognized unless the finger is moved. If the texture is rough, the finger cannot smoothly slide on the surface of the touch pad, making it difficult to input a fine gesture. As another solution, there is a method in which the pseudo button region is colored so that it can be visually recognized. However, with the method of visually recognizing, the user's line of sight moves away from the display each time the pseudo button is pressed, and the keyboard and pointing device cannot be operated smoothly, and the advantages of the pointing stick are lost. .

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an input device capable of recognizing a pressed position of a switch corresponding to a mouse button incorporated in a touchpad by touch. A further object of the present invention is to provide an input device capable of recognizing tactile positions of a plurality of pseudo button areas defined on a touch pad by touch. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an input device that does not reduce the area of the touch pad even when the pointing device includes a pointing stick and a touch pad. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pointing device for use with such an input device and a portable computer incorporating such an input device.

  An input device of a computer according to the present invention has a keyboard unit, a touch pad, and a characteristic structure that enables finger positions to be recognized by touch. The touch pad includes a flat portion, a touch sensor that detects a planar position of a finger on the flat portion, and a mechanical switch that operates when the flat portion is pressed. The touch pad generates a mouse signal corresponding to the operation of the mouse button according to the pressed position when any of the pressed positions is pressed and the switch operates. The feature structure is disposed between the keyboard and the flat portion of the touchpad.

  With such a configuration, the user can recognize a plurality of pressed positions on the flat portion corresponding to the mouse button on the basis of the feature structure recognized by tactile sense. The touch pad may incorporate a plurality of mechanical switches corresponding to the pressed position, but it defines a plurality of pseudo button areas in the flat portion, and the touch sensor is used when the mechanical switch operation signal is pressed. The mouse signal can be generated based on the pseudo button area identified from the coordinates detected by the.

  If the input device has a pointing stick, the input device includes a plurality of pseudo button areas including areas corresponding to the left button, the center button, or the right button of the mouse button used in combination with the pointing stick. Can be. Further, the input device may include a plurality of pseudo button areas including areas corresponding to a left button and a right button of a mouse button used in combination with a touch pad.

  The feature structure can be arranged in the vicinity of the pseudo button area corresponding to the center button. If the pseudo button area corresponding to the center button can be recognized, the position of the pseudo button area arranged on the left or right side thereof can be easily recognized. In the touch pad, an inclined portion can be formed at an end portion of the flat portion on the keyboard side. The feature structure can be arranged on the surface or the end of the inclined portion. If the inclined part is configured as a non-recognition area where the touch sensor does not detect coordinates, it is possible to prevent the pointer from moving when the surface of the inclined part is traced with a finger in order to recognize the feature structure with a tactile sense.

  The feature structure can also be formed on a palm rest located between the keyboard and the touchpad. Since the touchpad is limited in thickness, the feature structure is easier to form on the palm rest than the touchpad. The characteristic structure can be further configured as a recess or a combination of a recess and a protrusion, or a rod-like protrusion that is long in the left-right direction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an input device capable of recognizing a pressing position of a switch corresponding to a mouse button incorporated in a touch pad by touch. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an input device capable of recognizing the pressed positions of a plurality of pseudo button areas defined on the touchpad by touch. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an input device that does not reduce the area of the touch pad even when the pointing device includes a pointing stick and a touch pad. Further, according to the present invention, a pointing device used for such an input device and a portable computer incorporating such an input device can be provided.

It is a perspective view which shows the external shape of the notebook PC which mounted the pseudo | simulated button type touchpad. 2 is a plan view of a system housing 13. FIG. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a touch pad 100. FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view of notebook PC10 with which touchpad 100 was mounted. 6 is a plan view showing an example in which a notch 155 is provided at an end of an inclined portion 103. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the other method of providing a processus | protrusion in a palm rest.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of a notebook PC on which a pseudo button touchpad (hereinafter referred to as a touchpad) according to the present embodiment is mounted. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the system housing 13. The notebook PC 10 includes a display housing 11 and a system housing 13 that are hinged so as to be opened and closed. The display housing 11 houses the display 15. The system housing 13 accommodates system devices such as a processor, main memory, and hard disk drive inside, and a keyboard unit 19 is mounted on the top surface. The hard disk drive stores a device driver that processes a mouse signal generated by the pointing stick 53 and the touch pad 100.

  The keyboard unit 19 includes a plurality of keys including a space key 51, and a pointing stick 53 disposed between the G key, the H key, and the B key. The pointing stick 53 converts a change in resistance value when a force is applied to a strain sensor that detects the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction into a signal and sends the signal to the system. The system displays or moves the pointer on the display 15 based on the signal received from the pointing stick 53. The system recognizes the pointer displayed on the display 15 and the coordinates of the object, and performs processing according to the object and mouse signal indicated when a predetermined mouse signal is generated at the position indicated by the pointer.

  The key arrangement of the keyboard unit 19 and the number of keys are not particularly limited in the present invention. A palm rest 17 on which a palm is placed when operating the keyboard is provided on the front side of the keyboard unit 19. The palm rest 17 is formed flat as a whole, but includes an inclined portion 17 a that is lowered toward the keyboard unit 19 between the palm rest 17 and the keyboard unit 19. The inclined portion 17a has a role of ensuring a range of movement of the thumb when operating the keys so that the bottom row of keys arranged on the front side of the keyboard unit 19 can be smoothly operated without pressing the thumb when pressing with the thumb. Fulfill.

  A touch pad 100 is disposed on the front side of the space key 51. The touchpad 100 is located approximately in the center of the keyboard to prevent accidental movement of the pointer by accidentally touching the user's hand while operating the keyboard with both hands in the home position. It is arranged in front of the space key 51. The periphery of the touch pad 100 is surrounded by palm rests 17 and 17a. The touch pad 100 includes a flat portion 101 and an inclined portion 103 that can be accessed by the user. The flat part 101 constitutes a recognition area where the touch sensor detects the approach or contact of the finger, and the inclined part 103 constitutes a non-recognition area where the approach or contact of the finger is not detected. The surface of the flat part 101 exists on substantially the same plane as the flat surface of the palm rest 17. The surface of the inclined portion 103 exists on substantially the same plane as the flat surface of the inclined portion 17a of the palm rest.

  3A is a plan view of the touch pad 100, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3A. The touch pad 100 has a single mechanical switch 125 provided with a mechanical contact on a base plate 121. On the base plate 121, a leaf spring 123, a movable plate 127, and a capacitive touch sensor 129 are arranged in this order, and these are surrounded by a plate bezel 135. In the present invention, the principle that the touch sensor 129 detects the finger is not limited to the capacitive type, and may be a resistive film type or an electromagnetic induction type.

  A cover plate 131 is disposed on the plate bezel 135, and the surface of the cover plate 131 constitutes a flat portion 101 or an inclined portion 103. The cover plate 131 is made of ABS resin. When the flat portion 101 is pressed with a finger, the touch sensor 129 and the movable plate 127 sink against the elasticity of the leaf spring 123, and the mechanical switch 125 operates to close the contact. When the finger is released, the leaf spring 123 returns to its original state due to the elasticity of the leaf spring 123. At this time, the leaf spring 123 can give the user a click feeling similar to a conventional mouse button. The plate bezel 135 allows the movement of the touch sensor 129 and the movable plate 127 accompanying a click operation on the touch pad 100 within a certain range.

  On the surface of the flat portion 101, pseudo button areas 105 to 113 are defined. Coordinates are defined in the pseudo button areas 105 to 113 as areas where the touch sensor 129 recognizes the contact or approach of the finger on the cover plate 131 and cannot be visually recognized. The switch 125 operates even when any place on the flat portion 101 including the pseudo button areas 105 to 113 is pressed. When the finger presses any one of the pseudo button areas 105 to 113, the coordinates of the position where the device driver is pressed are calculated, and it is determined which pseudo button area is the area touched by the finger for pressing.

  When the surface of the flat portion 101 is lightly traced with a finger to move the pointer or make a gesture input, the leaf spring 123 supports the movable plate 127 and the touch sensor 129, so that the mechanical switch 125 operates. However, when any place on the flat portion 101 is pressed with a little strong force, the contact of the switch 125 is closed, and the device driver recognizes that the switch signal is generated together with the pressed position. Therefore, the touch pad 100 specifies the pseudo button areas 105 to 113 recognized when the operation signal of the mechanical switch 125 is detected, and thereby outputs a signal similar to the mouse signal output when the mouse button is pressed. Can be sent to the system. The pseudo button areas 105 to 113 are different from the method of emulating the operation of the mouse button depending on the number of taps on the touch panel 100 in that the mouse button is emulated in cooperation with the mechanical switch 125.

  The pseudo button areas 105 to 109 are intended to be used together with the pointer moving function of the pointing stick 53, and correspond to the left button, the center button, and the right button of the mouse button respectively mounted on the conventional notebook PC. However, while operating the pointing stick 53, it is free to press down the pseudo button areas 111 and 113 so that an input corresponding to a mouse button can be performed. The pseudo button areas 105 to 109 need to be pressed with the thumb of the same hand while operating the pointing stick 53 with the index finger.

  Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 on the farthest side (keyboard unit side) of the touch pad 100 and to place the touch pad 100 at a predetermined distance from the space key 51 to the near side. If the touch pad 100 is too close to the space key 51, it is difficult to operate the space key 51 with the thumb lying on the touch pad when the space key 51 is pressed. If the positions of the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 are too far from the space key 51, it is difficult to operate the pointing stick 53 and the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 with the same index finger and thumb at the same time. In the present embodiment, in order to satisfy such a requirement, the length of the slope of the inclined portion 103 is about 3 mm, and from the boundary between the inclined portion 103 and the flat portion 101 to the end on the near side of the space key 51. Is about 12 millimeters long.

  The pseudo button areas 111 and 113 are intended to be used together with the pointer moving function of the touch pad 100, and correspond to the left button and the right button of the mouse button mounted on the conventional notebook PC, respectively. However, while operating the touch pad 100, it is possible to press the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 so that an input corresponding to a mouse button can be performed. The pseudo button area 111 may be the flat portion 101 excluding the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 and 113, and the ratio of the area between the pseudo button area 111 and the pseudo button area 113 may be changed to reduce erroneous operations. The pseudo button areas 111 and 113 are arranged on the most front side of the touch pad 100 so that a click operation can be performed while moving the pointer by tracing the surface of the flat portion 101 with a finger with an index finger.

  Five hemispherical protrusions 151 are arranged at equal intervals at a position corresponding to the pseudo button area 107 of the inclined portion 103 or a position close to the pseudo button area 107. The protrusion 151 is an example of a physical feature structure for identifying the positions of the three pseudo button areas 105 to 109 by identifying with a finger touch from the flat surface of the inclined portion 103. The protrusion 151 can be formed on the flat surface of the inclined surface 103 by being integrally formed with the cover plate 131, or manufactured by a separate member and attached with an adhesive. The protrusion 151 is disposed between the space key 51 and the flat portion 101. Accordingly, the thumb naturally touches the protrusion 151 in the state where the index finger of both hands is placed at the home position of the F key and the J key or the pointing stick 53 is operated with the index finger, so that the user can Its presence can always be recognized under normal operating conditions.

  Therefore, the user can naturally recognize and operate the positions of the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 accurately without taking his eyes off the display 15 while operating the keyboard. The inclined portion 103 is preferably a non-recognition region because the thumb is often touched during normal keyboard operation, but the present invention does not exclude the inclined portion 103 from being a recognition region. When the inclined portion 103 is used as a non-recognition region, the touch pad 100 can be easily manufactured.

  The number of protrusions 151 need not be limited to five, but a plurality of protrusions 151 are more easily recognized by touch. Further, if the protrusion 151 is provided between the pseudo button area 107 corresponding to the central mouse button and the space key 51 and the position of the thumb is recognized, any of the three pseudo button areas 105 to 109 can be used as a reference. Although it is easy to specify the position, the position of the protrusion 151 in the left-right direction (a direction perpendicular to the front and back direction) is not limited thereto. For example, the protrusion 151 may be disposed in the vicinity of the positions of the pseudo button areas 105 and 109.

  The protrusion 151 is a feature structure for identifying the position of a finger by tactile sense. The shape of the feature structure need not be limited to a protrusion as long as it is a shape that can be distinguished by a tactile sense from a region other than the flat surface of the inclined portion 103 or the position where the feature structure is arranged. For example, a depression may be provided on the flat surface of the inclined portion 103, a protrusion may be provided in the depression, or a protrusion such as a wall in which the five protrusions 151 are continuous with each other. Alternatively, rough wrinkles could not be formed on the flat portion 101 that is the recognition region, but rough wrinkles can also be formed on the inclined portion 103 that is the non-recognition region. Moreover, you may provide a characteristic structure as structures other than a linear structure in the edge part of the inclination part 103 which has a linear outline. Further, the characteristic structure may be formed in the palm rest 17 a disposed between the space key 51 and the touch pad 100.

  FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the notebook PC 10 on which the touch pad 100 is mounted. 4A shows an example in which a protrusion 151 for recognizing the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 is formed on the inclined portion 103 of the cover plate 131 corresponding to FIG. 3A. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 151 is arranged so that the top of the protrusion 151 is positioned below the plane including the flat portion 101 so that the protrusion 151 does not hinder smooth finger movement on the flat portion 101. . Further, the surface of the inclined portion 103 of the touch pad 100 and the surface of the inclined portion 17a of the palm rest are formed on substantially the same surface, so that the thumb can be smoothly moved from the space key 51 to the touch pad 100. Yes.

  FIG. 4B shows an example in which the protrusion 153 is formed on the flat surface of the palm rest 17a. Also in this case, the top of the protrusion 151 is located below the plane including the flat portion 101. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example in which a cutout portion 155 is provided at the end portion 104 of the inclined portion 103 on the keyboard unit 19 side. The shape of the characteristic structure in this example is limited to the example shown in FIG. 5 as long as the position of the thumb can be recognized by tactilely identifying the end 156 of the notch 155 from the straight end 104. It is not something. The notch 155 can also be provided at the end of the palm rest 17a on the touch pad 100 side.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another method of providing a protrusion on the palm rest. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 6 is different from the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 in that the touch pad 200 does not have the inclined portion 103 provided in the touch pad 100 and a movable palm rest 17b is used instead of the fixed palm rest 17a. The protrusion 161 as a characteristic structure is provided on the inclined surface of the palm rest 17b. The palm rest 17b is provided with elasticity against the rotational movement by the coil spring 163, and is stopped at a position where the surface of the tip end portion 18 is substantially on the same plane as the surface of the flat portion 18. If the thumb is lightly placed on the palm rest 17b during normal keyboard operation, the palm rest 17b does not rotate due to the elasticity of the coil spring 163, so that the protrusion 161 is recognized by the tactile sense of the thumb placed on the palm rest 17b. Can do.

  As a normal operation method, when the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 are pressed in the direction of the arrow B with the thumb laid down, the front end 18 of the palm rest 17b is simultaneously pressed in the direction of the arrow C. At that time, since the tip end portion 18 sinks downward against the elasticity of the coil spring 163, the pseudo button regions 105 to 109 can be easily pressed. When the finger is released from the pseudo button areas 105 to 109, the posture of the palm rest 17b is restored to the original by the elasticity of the coil spring 163. The touch pad 200 is easier to manufacture than the touch pad 100 because it is not necessary to form the inclined portion 103.

  So far, the embodiment of the present invention has been described taking the pseudo-button touchpad 100 as an example. However, the present invention is such that the pressed position corresponding to the mouse button cannot be recognized by the tactile sense of the finger on the surface of the touchpad. The present invention can also be applied to other types of touch pads. For example, the present invention can be applied to a touch pad in which five membrane switches are incorporated in correspondence with five mouse buttons. Then, the pressing position of the switch corresponding to the mouse button used in combination with the pointing stick can be specified by the feature structure arranged in the vicinity of the pressing position.

  The feature structure for recognizing the pseudo button areas 105 to 109 corresponding to the mouse buttons used in combination with the pointing stick 53 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is a mouse used in combination with the touchpad 100. It can also be applied to the pseudo button areas 111 and 113 corresponding to buttons. In this case, a characteristic structure can be formed by providing an inclined portion that becomes a non-recognition region at the front end of the touch pad 100.

  Although the present invention has been described with the specific embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and is known so far as long as the effects of the present invention are achieved. It goes without saying that any configuration can be adopted.

17 ... Palm rest 17a, 17b ... Palm rest slope part 19 ... Keyboard unit 51 ... Space key 53 ... Pointing stick 100 ... Pseudo button type touch pad 101 ... Flat part 103 ... Touch pad slope part 105-109 ... Pointing Pseudo button areas 111, 113 used in combination with sticks ... Pseudo button areas 125 used in combination with touch pads 125 ... Switches 129 ... Touch sensors 151, 153, 161 ... Protrusions 155 ... Notches

Claims (12)

A computer input device,
A keyboard unit;
With a pointing stick,
A flat part; a touch sensor that detects a planar position of a finger on the flat part; and a mechanical switch that operates when the flat part is pressed; and the pointing stick on the flat part Three pseudo button areas corresponding to the left button, the center button, and the right button of the mouse button used as a set are defined, and when the switch is operated, the operation signal of the switch and the touch sensor are detected. A touchpad that generates a mouse signal based on the pseudo button region identified from coordinates;
An input device having a characteristic structure arranged near the pseudo button region corresponding to the center button between the keyboard unit and the flat portion and enabling finger position recognition by tactile sense. The input device according to claim 1 , wherein the three pseudo button areas are arranged so as to be arranged in a horizontal direction at a position closest to the keyboard unit of the flat portion. The input device according to claim 1 , wherein the flat portion includes two pseudo button areas corresponding to a left button and a right button of a mouse button used in combination with the touch pad.   The input device according to claim 1, wherein the touch pad includes an inclined portion formed at an end portion of the flat portion on the keyboard unit side, and the characteristic structure is disposed on a surface of the inclined portion. The input device according to claim 1 , wherein the touch pad has an inclined portion formed at an end portion of the flat portion on the keyboard unit side, and the characteristic structure is disposed at an end portion of the inclined portion. The input device according to claim 4 , wherein the inclined portion is a non-recognition region where the touch sensor does not detect a finger coordinate. The input device according to claim 1 , wherein the characteristic structure is disposed on a palm rest disposed between the keyboard unit and the touch pad. A keyboard unit containing multiple keys;
A pointing stick disposed between the plurality of keys;
A flat portion in which three pseudo button areas corresponding to the left button, the center button, and the right button of the mouse button used in combination with the pointing stick are defined, and any one of the pseudo button areas is pressed. A touch pad that generates a mouse signal based on the pseudo button region identified from the operation signal of the switch and the coordinates of the flat part when the switch is operated,
A palm rest arranged around the touchpad;
A portable computer having a characteristic structure arranged in the vicinity of the pseudo button area corresponding to the center button for recognizing a finger position by tactile sense. 9. The portable computer according to claim 8 , wherein two pseudo button areas corresponding to a left button and a right button of a mouse button used in combination with the touch pad are further defined in the touch pad. The portable computer according to claim 8 , wherein the characteristic structure is formed on an inclined surface that descends from the flat portion toward the keyboard unit. The portable computer according to claim 10 , wherein the inclined surface is formed at an end of the touch pad. The portable computer according to claim 10 , wherein the inclined surface is formed on the palm rest.

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