Dynamically reconfigurable touchpad

1. An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the IHS to:

receive one or more stored configuration parameters for configuring a virtual button on a touchpad;

receive, using the virtual button, training data associated with a first occurrence of a hand gesture from a user, the training data comprising a start phase, a motion phase, and an end phase of the hand gesture;

receive, using the virtual button, a second occurrence of the hand gesture by applying the training data to the operation of proximity sensors disposed under a non-display surface comprising a touchpad of the IHS, the training data applied by comparing the start phase, the motion phase, and the end phase of the training data against the start phase, the motion phase, and the end phase associated with the second occurrence of the hand gesture, the hand gesture being void of any physical contact with the non-display surface;

perform a first application command in response to the second occurrence of the hand gesture over the virtual button;

receive information associated with a keypress event comprising physical contact of the hand of the user on the virtual button; and

perform a second application command in response to the keypress event, the second application command being different than the first application command.

2. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to receive a size configuration parameter comprising a size of an active touchpad area on the touchpad.

3. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to receive a size configuration parameter comprising a size of a virtual notepad area on the touchpad.

4. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to receive a size configuration parameter comprising a size of the virtual button on the touchpad.

5. The IHS of claim 4 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to receive a hovering configuration parameter comprising a hovering sensitivity setting.

6. The IHS of claim 5 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to detect a hovering keystroke above the virtual button.

7. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to detect the hand gesture over the touchpad, at least in part, by fitting proximity data obtained with the proximity sensors to a geometric model of a hand, wherein the hand gesture comprises a hand inclination, finger splaying, or item selection gesture.

8. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the non-display surface of the IHS comprises at least one of: a bezel or a surface opposite a display surface of the IHS.

9. A method, comprising:

configuring a touchpad having proximity sensors disposed under a non-display surface of an Information Handling System (IHS) with a virtual button;

receiving, using the virtual button, training data associated with a first occurrence of a hand gesture from a user, the training data comprising a start phase, a motion phase, and an end phase of the hand gesture;

receiving, using the virtual button, a second occurrence of the hand gesture by applying the training data to the operation of proximity sensors disposed under the non-display surface of the IHS, the training data applied by comparing the start phase, the motion phase, and the end phase of the training data against the start phase, the motion phase, and the end phase associated with the second occurrence of the hand gesture, the hand gesture being void of any physical contact with the non-display surface;

performing a first application command in response to the second occurrence of the hand gesture over the virtual button;

receiving information associated with a keypress event comprising physical contact of the hand of the user on the virtual button; and

performing a second application command in response to the keypress event, the second application command being different than the first application command.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein configuring the touchpad further comprises configuring a size of an active touchpad area on the non-display surface.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein configuring the touchpad further comprises configuring a size of a virtual notepad area on the non-display surface.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein configuring the touchpad further comprises applying a given palm rejection setting to an active touchpad area and a different palm rejection setting to a virtual notepad area.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein configuring the touchpad further comprises enabling gesture recognition over a non-active touchpad area.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein configuring the touchpad further comprises configuring a size of the virtual button on the non-display surface.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein configuring the touchpad further comprises applying a given hovering setting to an active touchpad area and a different hovering setting to the virtual button.

16. A hardware memory device having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a processor of an Information Handling System (IHS), cause the IHS to:

configure a touchpad having proximity sensors disposed under a non-display surface of an Information Handling System (IHS) with a virtual button;

receive, using the virtual button, training data associated with a first occurrence of a hand gesture from a user, the training data comprising a start phase, a motion phase, and an end phase of the hand gesture;

receive, using the virtual button, a second occurrence of the hand gesture by applying the training data to the operation of proximity sensors disposed under the non-display surface of the IHS, the training data applied by comparing the start phase, the motion phase, and the end phase of the training data against the start phase, the motion phase, and the end phase associated with the second occurrence of the hand gesture, the hand gesture being void of any physical contact with the non-display surface;

perform a first application command in response to the second occurrence of the hand gesture over the virtual button;

receive information associated with a keypress event comprising physical contact of the hand of the user on the virtual button; and

perform a second application command in response to the keypress event, the second application command being different than the first application command.

17. The hardware memory device of claim 16 , wherein to modify an active touchpad area, a virtual notepad area, or the virtual button, the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to receive a selected position of the active touchpad area, the virtual notepad area, or the virtual button via the proximity sensors, and to change a current position of the active touchpad area, the virtual notepad area, or the virtual button to match the selected position.

18. The hardware memory device of claim 16 , wherein to modify an active touchpad area, a virtual notepad area, or the virtual button, the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to receive a selected size of the active touchpad area, the virtual notepad area, or the virtual button via the proximity sensors, and to change a current size of the active touchpad area, the virtual notepad area, or the virtual button to match the selected size.

19. The hardware memory device of claim 16 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to modify at least one of: an active touchpad area, the virtual notepad area, or the virtual button by retrieving one or more additional stored configuration parameters associated with an identified user.