Patent ID: 6967831
Filing Date: 2005-11-22
Classification: G06F,H01H

Abstract:
1. A foldable keyboard for portable electronic devices comprising: a keyboard body having a plurality of separate touch panels, each touch panel being substantially flat with a top surface and a bottom surface and flexibly hinged to at least one adjacent touch panel and further comprising: a rigid base plate; a lower conductive membrane fixedly disposed on said rigid base plate; a plurality of protrusive spacers fixedly disposed as an array on said lower conductive membrane; an upper conductive membrane fixedly disposed on said plurality of spacers so that said plurality of spacers are interposed between said upper and lower conductive membranes and define a plurality of blocks so that a panel signal is generated when said upper conductive membrane contacts said lower conductive membrane as when so caused by a user exerting a sufficient pressure on said upper conductive membrane; a film disposed on said upper conductive membrane; a plurality of legends formed on said film wherein each of said plurality of legends corresponds respectively to each of said plurality of blocks and are arranged as a standard keyboard; a plurality of printed circuits respectively electrically and structurally linking in a flexible hinged manner pairs of adjacent touch panels in a lateral direction thereby enabling the plurality of touch panels to be folded laterally one on the other to a stacked folded condition and electrically connecting said conductive membranes of said touch panels; and, a circuit member for reversibly docking and electrically connecting said keyboard to a portable electronic device; wherein said keyboard body has the same area as that of a main typing region on a standard-sized computer keyboard when said touch panels are unfolded to an unstacked unfolded condition; wherein the keyboard body in said stacked folded condition is adapted for insertion into a pocket of said user.