Portable computer keyboard

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As depicted in FIG.
1, the portable computer keyboard 10 of the present invention has an external appearance very similar to that of a conventional computer keyboard.
The device includes an outer shell 20 or casing, a standard computer keypad 30 and a standard keyboard connector cable 40 and plug 45 to attach the device to a computer system.
The external appearance of the device, however, differs from that of a conventional keyboard in several respects.
The device includes the unique features of a power switch 50, in order to turn the device on or off while operating unattached to a computer system.
The device preferably includes a specific "dump" or "transmit" key 60 designated to initiate the automatic transfer of data, such as text stored by the device, to an attached computer system via the keyboard connector cable 40.
Preferably, the device will also include a jack 70 to receive a standard AC/DC adapter, as well as a compartment (not shown) to hold and connect a set of on-board batteries to power the unit during stand-alone operation.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the device also includes a small display 80, such as a 4-line, 40-column LCD display panel disposed on the front surface of the shell 20.
The display 80 allows a user to conveniently view and edit information entered and stored in the memory buffers of the device when operated in remote mode, unattached to a computer system.
The display 80 also serves to prompt the user during operation of the, device, particularly when initiating or terminating a data transfer session with an attached computer.
As shown in FIG.
2, the portable computer keyboard device 10 of the present invention may be attached to a computer system 100 by simply inserting the keyboard connector cable plug 45 into the keyboard input receptable 110 of the computer 100.
As will be described in greater detail later, of the three distinct modes of operation of the device of the present invention, two modes--conventional keyboard operation and data transfer--requires connection of the device to a host computer, while one mode--stand-alone operation--may be performed while the device is unattached to a computer