Abstract:
An electronic device ( 100, 200 ) contains a first joystick mechanism ( 114 ) and a second joystick mechanism ( 112 ), each joystick mechanism ( 112, 114 ) extending outside of substantially opposed outer surfaces ( 403, 414 ) of the electronic device&#39;s casing. When a directional mechanical force is applied to one joystick mechanism ( 112, 114 ), at least one of a plurality of switches ( 410 ) may be engaged. The joystick mechanisms ( 112, 114 ) are electrically coupled, and each mechanism will provide the same functionality. The joystick mechanisms ( 112, 114 ) may be further mechanically coupled, whereby applying a directional mechanical force on one joystick mechanism will move the other joystick mechanism in the opposite direction. Additionally, the joystick mechanisms ( 112, 114  or  1002, 1004 ) may contain a sensor ( 416 ) capacitvely coupled to a conductive end cap ( 404, 405 ) to detect from which side of the electronic device ( 100, 200 ) a joystick mechanism is being moved.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to the field of portable wireless devices and more particularly to a wireless device having a plurality of joysticks. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A large number of personal electronics devices, such as cellular telephones, two-way radios, personal data assistants (PDAs), hand-held gaming devices and portable computers have long used a joystick as a means of entering information from the user. As these devices have become increasingly smaller, it has become more difficult to provide an input mechanism that is sufficiently large enough for a human hand to operate comfortably, while also locating this mechanism in a position to enable optimal interaction with the device. For instance, in some specific form factors, when the user attempts to interact by way of the joystick, the user&#39;s hand actually interferes with the use of the unit&#39;s display module. Additionally, form factors of cellular phones that incorporate a “flip” feature can prevent the user from accessing the joystick while the “flip” is closed. Certain software features of the device, such as overall game experience, are limited by using only the front side of the device for joystick location. 
     In the past, the most desirable feature for a wireless phone was simply the ability to transfer information from one location to another. But today, the complexity of these devices has enabled them to become more than a means for communicating to remote locations; they have become an integral part of society. As such, many people rely on these devices for much more than merely talking. The phones of today are capable of providing computing functions, searching the internet, playing an ever-increasing variety of games, and storing a person&#39;s entire personal and/or business contacts for instant access. 
     As the telecommunication industry continues to decrease the size of these devices while increasing their overall utility, the need to enhance user interaction while providing uninterrupted feedback and unobstructed viewing becomes more pronounced. Therefore a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, disclosed are a method for operating an electronic device and the electronic device containing a first joystick mechanism and a second joystick mechanism, each joystick mechanism extending outside of substantially opposed outer surfaces of the electronic device&#39;s casing. When a moveable directional force is applied to one joystick mechanism, at least one of a plurality of switches may be engaged. 
     The joystick mechanisms are electrically coupled to a controller, and each joystick mechanism will provide the same functionality. However, this functionality will physically mirror the functionality of the other joystick. 
     The pair of joystick mechanisms may be further mechanically coupled, whereby applying a directional mechanical force in one direction on one joystick mechanism will move the other joystick mechanism in the opposite direction. 
     Additionally, the pair of joystick mechanisms may contain a pair of sensors, each sensor capacitively coupled to a conductive end cap of one joystick mechanism and to a frequency detection circuit, to detect from which side of the electronic device a joystick mechanism is being moved. When a user touches a capacitive end cap, the output frequency of the corresponding oscillator shifts, identifying the joystick mechanism that has been touched. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which together with the detailed description below are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to further illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages all in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration containing a front view and a rear view of an exemplary electronic device that incorporates a dual side joystick, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration containing a front view and a rear view of an exemplary electronic device that incorporates a dual side joystick, according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an electrical block diagram of the electronic devices of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an assembly drawing of a cross-sectional area of a dual-side joystick, shown mounted within an electronic device such as that shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the dual-side joystick assembly of  FIG. 4 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is an operational diagram illustrating the exemplary dual-side joystick of  FIG. 4  in operation within an electronic device such as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is an electronic circuit block diagram illustrating an exemplary electrical interface between the dual-side joystick of  FIG. 4  and an electronic device as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is an operational flow diagram illustrating an exemplary operational sequence for an electronic device such as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates exemplary switch configurations for a dual-side joystick in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is an assembly drawing of a cross-sectional area of an alternative dual-side joystick, featuring two mechanically independent joystick mechanisms mounted on opposite sides of a printed circuit board, shown assembled within an electronic device such as that shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting; but rather, to provide an understandable description of the invention. 
     The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term plurality, as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term another, as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms including and/or having, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term coupled, as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. 
     While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a front view and a rear view of an exemplary electronic device  100 . The exemplary electronic device  100  comprises any device  100  with a display screen  102  including, for example, a wireless telephone, radio, PDA, computer, electronic organizer, pager, or other messaging device, an electronic game machine, and an electronic timepiece. An exemplary electronic device  100  includes a dual-side joystick  104 , having a front side joystick mechanism  114  and a rear side joystick mechanism  112 , which provides the user with access to the joystick  104  from either the front side or the rear side of the wireless device  100 . Please note that the terms “electronic device”, “phone”, “cell phone”, “radio”, and “wireless device”, may be used interchangeably throughout this document in reference to an exemplary electronic device. The wireless device  100  may also include a keypad  108  and other physical buttons  106 ,  107  that are part of a user input interface. The keypad  108  may be protected from accidental button presses by the use of a “flip” feature  110  (hereinafter a “flip”). The user may open or close the flip  110  depending upon the desired use. Because the size of the phone  100  varies, on particularly small units, some flips  110  may also include an audio transducer to provide closer access to the user&#39;s mouth. It should be noted here that in some instances, when the flip  110  is in the closed position, access to the front side  114  of the dual-side joystick  104  may be prevented. The closed flip  110  may prevent accidental activation of the front side joystick mechanism  114  when the flip  110  is designed to cover the joystick  104 . 
     Additionally, a recessed area  118  around the front side joystick mechanism  114  may also help to prevent accidental activation when the phone is laid face down. A recessed area  116  around the rear side joystick mechanism  112  may not only prevent accidental activation, but also provides an ergonomically pleasing fit for the user&#39;s finger while operating the rear side joystick mechanism  112 . Support “feet” (not shown) located on the rear side of the electronic device  100  may also protect the rear side joystick mechanism  112  from unintentional engagement when the electronic device  100  is resting on its back. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a front view and a rear view of an alternative electronic device design  200 . In this embodiment, the dual-side joystick  110  is located at the top of the device  200 , above the display screen  102 . Notice in this embodiment, when the flip  110  is in the closed position, a user may still access the front side  114  of the joystick  104 , however, since the joystick  104  is above the display screen  102 , the user&#39;s hand will typically obstruct the viewing area of the display screen  102 . By using the rear side  112  of the joystick  104 , the user may still interact with the electronic device  200  without obscuring the display screen  102 . Again, as in the prior embodiment, a recessed area  202  around the front side joystick mechanism  114  helps prevent accidental activation. Another recessed area  204  around the rear side joystick mechanism  112  serves the same function. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , it can be seen that the exemplary electronic devices  100 ,  200  include a controller  302 , communicatively coupled with a user input interface  307 . The user input interface  307  includes, in this example, a dual-side joystick  104  having a front side joystick mechanism  112  and a rear side joystick mechanism  114 , physical buttons  106 ,  107 , that are part of a keypad  108 , and an audio transducer  306  such as in a microphone (not shown) to receive and convert audio signals to electronic audio signals for processing in the electronic device  100 ,  200 , in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The electronic device  100 ,  200 , according to the present example, also comprises a memory  310 , a non-volatile (program) memory  311  containing at least one application program  317  and a database  319 , and a power source interface  315 . 
     The electronic device  100 ,  200 , according to an embodiment, comprises a wireless communication device  100 ,  200 , such as a cellular phone, a portable radio, a PDA equipped with a wireless modem, or other such type of wireless device. The wireless communication device  100 ,  200 , transmits and receives signals for enabling a wireless communication such as for a cellular telephone, in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, when the wireless communication device  100 ,  200 , is in a “receive” mode, the controller  302  controls a radio frequency (RF) transmit/receive switch  314  that couples an RF signal from an antenna  316  through the RF transmit/receive (TX/RX) switch  314  to an RF receiver  304 , in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The RF receiver  304  receives, converts, and demodulates the RF signal, and then provides a baseband signal to an audio output module  303  and a transducer  305 , such as a speaker, to output received audio from the speaker  305 . In this way, for example, received audio can be provided to a user of the wireless device  100 ,  200 . A receive operational sequence is normally under control of the controller  302  operating in accordance with computer instructions stored in the program memory  311 , in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     In a “transmit” mode, the controller  302 , for example responding to a detection of a user input (such as a user pressing a button or switch on the keypad  108 ), controls the audio circuits and couples electronic audio signals from the audio transducer  306  of a microphone interface to transmitter circuits  312 . The controller  302  also controls the transmitter circuits  312  and the RF transmit/receive switch  314  to turn ON the transmitter function of the electronic device  100 ,  200 . The electronic audio signals are thereby modulated onto an RF signal and coupled to the antenna  316  through the RF TX/RX switch  314  to transmit a modulated RF signal into a wireless communication system (not shown). This transmit operation enables the user of the device  100 ,  200  to transmit, for example, audio communication into the wireless communication system in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The controller  302  operates the RF transmitter  312 , RF receiver  304 , the RF TX/RX switch  314 , and the associated audio circuits (not shown), according to computer instructions stored in the program memory  311 . 
     The controller  302  is communicatively coupled to the user input interface  307  for receiving user input from a user of the electronic device  100 ,  200 . It is important to note that the user input interface  307 , in one exemplary embodiment, may comprise a display screen  102  with touch-screen features or “soft buttons” as also known in the art. The controller  302  is also communicatively coupled to the display screen  102  (such as a display screen of a liquid crystal display module) for displaying information to the user of the device  100 . The display screen  102  may therefore serve both as a user input device (to receive user input from a user) and as a user output device to display information to the user. The user input interface  307  couples data signals to the controller  302  based on the keys  108  or buttons  106 ,  107  pressed by the user, and/or the movement of the front joystick mechanism  114  or rear joystick mechanism  112 . The controller  302  is responsive to the user input data signals thereby causing functions and features under control of the controller  302  to operate in the device  100 ,  200 . The structure and function associated with the dual-side joystick  104  will be discussed in more detail below. 
     The present invention, according to an embodiment of an electronic device  100 ,  200 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , advantageously overcomes problems with the prior art by providing a joystick  104  that is accessible from either the front side (via the front side joystick mechanism  114 ) or rear the side (via the rear side joystick mechanism  112 ) of the electronic device  100 ,  200 .  FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate an assembly view and an exploded view, respectively, of an embodiment of a dual-side joystick  104 . The dual-side joystick  104  allows a pair of joystick mechanisms  112 ,  114 , protruding through opposite sides of the electronic device  100 ,  200 , to function as a single joystick  104 . Both of the joystick mechanisms  112 , 114  are electrically coupled to the controller  302 . 
     One embodiment of the dual-side joystick assembly  104  consists of a front joystick mechanism  114  and a rear joystick mechanism  112 , mechanically coupled by way of a common shaft  408  which extends through both sides of substantially opposed outer surfaces (i.e. front  402  and rear  414  casings or housings) of the electronic device  100 ,  200 . Each joystick mechanism  112 ,  114 , contains an end cap  404 ,  405 , and is supported between each end cap  404 ,  405 , and a printed circuit board (PCB)  412  by a rubber grommet  406 ,  418  on each side of the PCB  412 . The shaft  408  extends from the front end cap  404 , through a hole  906  (see  FIG. 9 ) in the PCB  412 , to the rear end cap  405 . A user applies a directional force upon an end cap  404 ,  405  to move and activate the joystick  104 . The shaft  408  connecting the joystick mechanisms  112 ,  114  includes a collar  420  which is located slightly above a circuit supporting substrate, such as a PCB  412 , when the electronic device  100 ,  200 , is assembled. The collar  420  is large enough in diameter to engage switches  410  (such as popple switches) mounted in a pattern around the center hole  906  (see  FIG. 9 ) on the PCB  412 , through which the shaft  408  extends. The shaft is also encircled by a capacitive sensor  416  for determining from which side of the electronic device  100 ,  200 , the user is activating the joystick  104 . This aspect will be discussed in more detail later. The front rubber grommet  406  has a cut-out large enough so that the collar  420  may move freely. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , when a user applies a movable directional force upon an end cap  404 ,  405  the shaft  408  will pivot, causing the collar  420  to engage and activate at least one switch  410 . Notice, if the user moves and is activating the front joystick mechanism  114  the switch  410  activated by the collar  420  will correspond, in its physical location, to the direction in which the user is pressing (i.e. when the user presses the joystick up, the “up” direction is selected). However, if the user is activating the rear joystick mechanism  112 , the switch  410  activated will actually indicate the opposite of the direction in which the user is pressing the joystick  104 . (i.e. when the user presses the joystick up, the “down” direction is selected, as well as when the user presses the joystick right, the “left” direction is selected). In order to compensate for this discrepancy, it is necessary to be able to determine from which side of the electronic device  100 ,  200  the user is operating the joystick  104 . This may be accomplished by a pair of electronic sensing circuits  700  such as that shown in  FIG. 7 . The capacitive sensor  416  around the common shaft  408  is electrically coupled to the conductive front end cap  404  on the front joystick mechanism  114 . A separate second capacitive sensor  416 ′ is electrically coupled to the other conductive end cap  405  on the rear joystick mechanism  112 . The frequency of operation is set using the capacitance of the sensor  416 , C  702 , and R  704  by means which would be obvious to those skilled in the art. The capacitance of the sensor  416  varies when the user places a finger on a conductive end cap  404 ,  405 . The oscillator  700  will output a frequency which can be measured using techniques well-known to those skilled in the art. The value of the output frequency indicates whether the user is touching that particular conductive end cap  404 ,  405 . If the system detects that the joystick  104  is used from both sides, then the front side is the default side. 
     An exemplary flow diagram for operating the dual-side joystick  104  is shown in  FIG. 8 . A directional mechanical force is applied to a joystick mechanism  112 ,  114  at step  802 . This mechanical force is transferred to an electrical input through a switch  410 , at step  804 . Next, at step  805 , the electronic device  100 ,  200  detects from which side of the device the user is activating the dual-side joystick  104 . At step  806 , the electrical input is mapped to an appropriate corresponding software function and the associated software function is performed, at step  808 . 
     Note that step  805  may be optional in software. Although it may be desirable for some users to have the movement of the rear joystick mechanism  402  mapped to coordinate with the directional force applied, since people think differently, some may prefer to keep the inverted logic. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates patterns for arranging tactile switches  410  on the PCB  412 . In arrangement  902 , the switches  410  may be mounted at 90° intervals around a center hole  906  in the PCB  412 . The alternative arrangement  904  uses six actual switches  410 , arranged to allow more precision. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention using two separate joystick mechanisms  1002 ,  1004 . Each joystick mechanism  1002 ,  1004  mechanically operates independently of the other joystick mechanism, and contains a shaft  1016  with a collar  1020  on one end and an end cap  1014  on the opposite end. It is clear that both joystick mechanisms  1002 ,  1004 , are electrically coupled to the controller  302 . The collar  1020  is large enough in diameter to engage a pattern of switches  410  mounted on one side of the PCB  1012 . Each joystick mechanism  1002 ,  1004 , is encapsulated by a rubber grommet  1018 , mounted between an outer casing  403 ,  414 , of the device  100 ,  200 , and the PCB  1012 . One mechanism  1002  is sandwiched between the front casing  403  and the PCB  912 , while the other mechanism  1004  is between the rear casing  414  and the PCB  912 . Because each mechanism  1002 ,  1004 , acts independently, there is no need in this configuration to determine from which side of the device  100 ,  200 , the user is activating the joystick. Each switch  410  may be mapped to an independent function, or the function of each switch  410  may be electrically duplicated by the switches  410  located on the opposite side of the PCB  1012 . 
     The use of a dual-side joystick is a significant advantage of the present invention over the prior art. It provides a new and novel utility and natural ease of use of the device  100 ,  200  to a user. The user is able to activate the dual-side joystick  104  from whichever position feels most comfortable to the user, without obstructing other features, such as the viewing of a display screen. This dual-side joystick feature will be especially desirable by users of electronic devices  100 ,  200 , that are becoming smaller and smaller, such as cellular phones. To meet consumer demands for portability and miniaturization, and consequently, it has been necessary for such devices  100 ,  200 , to locate a single-sided joystick in unusual, unnatural, or awkward locations. Due to its desirability by consumers, this feature will significantly enhance the commercial viability of any such electronic device  100 ,  200 . 
     Although specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, those having ordinary skill in the art will understand that changes can be made to the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is not to be restricted, therefore, to the specific embodiments. 
     Furthermore, it is intended that the appended claims cover any and all such applications, modifications, and embodiments within the scope of the present invention.