Abstract:
The present invention discloses a data entry device to be worn on a person&#39;s wrist, similar to a wrist watch. Dimples are arrayed around the periphery of a digital display on the device. The dimples provide both a locating means for finger placement and a boundary for sensing the shift of a pressure point within, the shift in a preferred direction indicating a selection from a displayed menu to be made by lifting the finger from contact. A novel way of holding the device by its wrist band while fingering the dimples leads to a fluid method of keying functionalities for use as a phone and as an internet-enabled device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to data input devices, and more particularly to a keyboard device worn on the wrist. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The miniaturization of electronic devices has increasingly made them more portable and convenient to carry. Wireless devices, such as cell phones, are now carried in pockets and purses, an accessory item as indispensible as wallets and keys. Smartphones, served by portable operating systems and software “Apps”, have taken over substantial functionality from laptop computers, which had mobilized desk-bound computers in an earlier generation of technology. The ultimate goal of the miniaturization process is to produce a multi-functional device, capable of both voice and data communication, which is as wearable as a watch and as user-friendly as the input device called a mouse. 
     While technological advances have greatly reduced the size of electronic displays, manual data entry still carries demands for finger-sized layouts. Phone keypads reduce the number of keys over the standard QWERTY keyboard, but they inconvenience the user by requiring multiple keystrokes to enter text. Touch screen technology has moved the keyboard onto the display itself, but accuracy with finger control still requires a certain amount of territorial separation. The mechanical keys may be eliminated, but the display area, not the size, is the beneficiary of the displaced space. One method of reducing the input area on the display is to use a stylus to pinpoint the touch zone. Unfortunately, small implements tend to get lost and are almost never at hand when needed. Reducing the keyboard to the size of a wristwatch, without taxing the user with keystroke repetition or auxiliary equipment, requires an innovative approach. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,818 to Olsen teaches placing mechanical keys on the face of a watch. Such positioning, however, leaves little room for displaying information. Chen, in U.S. Patent Application 2006/0077073, places the mechanical keys around the periphery of the watch casing and on shoulders adjacent to the watch face. This arrangement removes the competition for display space. In both instances, however, the minimal separation distance required for accurate finger placement essentially limits the functionality to a phone keypad. Moreover, pushing buttons with one finger is a slow data entry mode, and, with the device bound to one wrist, there is likely to be some awkwardness in the positioning of the hands, not to mention fatigue over an extended session. 
     Operating a QWERTY keyboard on a small scale requires a multi-functional key with selection capability. Such a multi-functional key would eliminate the one-to-one correspondence of keys and functions and result in a reduced keyboard layout. Hirshberg, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,345, discloses a solution by making sliding finger contact on a touch screen in one of several detectable directions. The touch zone, combined the trace direction, indicates a discreet selection when the touch is lifted. Thus, one key, effectively, can facilitate four to six functions. While the number of keys may be reduced, the area of the contact zone for each key, nevertheless, must be of a certain size in order to discriminate directional movement. The discrimination is further complicated by a tendency, when sliding over a smooth surface without tactile boundaries, to encroach into neighboring contact zones. A touch screen on a watch face would be far too small to implement such a technique. 
     There is an unfilled need for QWERTY keyboard functionality on the scale of a wristwatch. Such a device could be the next multi-functional, internet-linked, App-enabled, Smartphone. Such functionality might require, for example, a multiplicity of selection options from a relatively few, narrowly-fenced, touch zones around a watch face periphery. It might also require, to match the convenience and speed of legacy keyboards, a fluidity of keystroke entry from hand positions comfortably arranged for long-term tasking. The instant invention provides novel solutions in both apparatus and is method to meet this need. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a data entry device for wrist deployment. It is a further object to enter data on said device by means of touch interaction with one or more fingers. It is a further object to locate controls on the side surfaces of the device in order to optimize the display of information on the facing surface of the device. It is a further object to provide a means for precisely locating the focal point of a touch zone. It is a further object to provide multiple selections for functionality at each touch control. It is a further object to provide said multiple selections by sensing the movement of a pressure point in a preferred direction within the zone. It is a further object to facilitate bounding the pressure point movements. It is a further object to provide means and method for comfortably holding and manipulating the device. It is a further object to utilize multiple fingers, in a simultaneous or sequential touch mode, to make the data entry a more fluid process. It is a further object to expand the library of functionalities by sequencing touches. 
     These objects, and others to become hereinafter apparent, are embodied in a data entry device for wrist deployment comprising, in a first part, a wrist-sized housing having a top surface and four side surfaces forming a periphery there around; in a second part, a digital display on the top surface; in a third part, a wrist-band connected to two opposing side surfaces, the wrist band functioning to removably attach the housing to a person&#39;s wrist; in a fourth part, at least one panel on each of the two remaining, unbanded, side surfaces; in a fifth part, at least two dimples on each panel, each dimple configured to receive the touch of a finger-tip, each dimple enabled with sensor technology to respond to finger-tip pressure toward one of at least two preferred directions in the plane of the panel; and, in a sixth part, a programmable processor coupled with memory resident in the housing, the processor in signal communication with the sensor technology and the digital display and programmed to associate each dimple with a stored menu and each preferred direction with a functionality. With the data entry device configured with these parts, and with the thumb and index fingers of each hand hovering over the unbanded side surfaces, a functionality can be selected by touching at least one of the dimples with one of the hovering fingers to cause a menu to be displayed by the integrated processor on the digital display and thereafter urging the touching finger toward one of the preferred directions as indicated by the menu. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the data entry device further comprises two additional panels on chamfered surfaces with the side panels, the additional panels and one side panel each having three dimples thereon enabled with sensor technology. The nine dimple locations would be mimicked in a grid area of the digital display, wherein each cell of the grid to would display alphabet characters corresponding to available selections from the corresponding dimple. The alphabet characters would be distributed among the cells in rough correspondence to a QWERTY keyboard layout. Another area of the display would show the entries made by the selections of individual characters resulting from directional pressure manipulation at an active dimple before touch is released there from. 
     In an alternate embodiment, a method of entering data comprises, in a first step, providing the data entry device as described above to the wrist of a person to be omnipresent; in a second step, removing the data entry device from the wrist; in a third step, holding the data entry device in a reading position with at least one of the middle, ring or little fingers of each hand gripping the wrist-band from both sides, whereby the index fingers and thumbs can be deployed to hover over the at least one panel; in a fourth step, touching at least one dimple with a thumb or index finger to cause a menu of functionality choices to appear on the display; in a fifth step, selecting one of the choices by urging the touching finger or thumb in one of the preferred directions indicated by the menu; and, in a last step, entering the selection by releasing the touch. 
     In a particular alternate embodiment, the providing step is enhanced with a timer to discriminate simultaneity with respect to two-finger touches. With the index finger and thumb deployed in a clamp-like manner for closing upon two dimples on opposite sides of the device, the range of key-able functionality can be greatly expanded by simultaneous or sequential dual touches. The expansion would enable use of the device for sophisticated applications, such as for Apps, internet browsing, or picture-taking. 
     As this is not intended to be an exhaustive recitation, other embodiments may be learned from practicing the invention or may otherwise become apparent to those skilled in the art. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood through the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the data entry device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the hand and finger positions for holding the data entry device; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of the data entry device showing a data entry screen; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view of the data entry device showing a sub-menu for the selection “qwer”; 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of the data entry device showing a function menu; 
         FIG. 6  is a system diagram of the data entry device; 
         FIG. 7  is a process diagram showing a method of entering data on the data entry device; and 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram showing logic sequences in selecting functions and data. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     For the purposes of definition, the term “functionality”, as used herein, may be taken to mean either an item chosen for data entry or a scripted action programmed to be performed by the system. The term “selection”, as used herein, will be taken to mean the indication of a menu choice through the manipulation of contact in a zone of touch sensitivity. The term “enter”, as used herein, will be taken to mean an order to execute the selection, either by entry into a data field or by initiating an action, through the withdrawal of intimate contact from the zone. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a data entry device  1  for wrist deployment comprises a housing  2 . The housing  2  has a top surface  3  and four side surfaces  4  forming a periphery around the top surface  3 . A wrist band  21  is connected to housing  2  at two opposite side surfaces  4 . The wrist band  21  provides a means to removably carry the data entry device  1  on a persons&#39; wrist, and thus makes the device omnipresent in much the same manner as a wrist watch. The remaining two side surfaces  4  are unbanded side surfaces  5  which flank the top surface  3 . A digital display  7  occupies the top surface  3 . The wrist band  21  is an integral part of a means for holding  20  the data entry device  1 . The unbanded side surfaces  5  are an integral part of a means for entering data  10  into the data entry device  1 . The digital display  7  is an integral part of a means for handling information  30  in the data entry device  1 . 
     The means for entering data  10  comprises at least one panel  11  on at least one of the side surfaces  5 . Each panel  11  comprises at least two dimples  12 . The at least two dimples  12  reflects an operational symmetry of two hands, as will be discussed hereinafter. The panel  11  may be a flat surface, but preferably is a curvilinear surface. Such a surface provides additional spacing for the dimples  12 . The dimples  12  are debossments, as opposed to embossments, in the surface of the panel  11 . Each dimple  12  is bounded by a dimple edge  13 , which can be square or polygonal but which is preferably circular in shape. The circumference of the dimple edge  13  is such that a finger or thumb of a person&#39;s hand can find a tactile registration to the dimple  12 . In a preferred embodiment, the dimple diameter is approximately 0.200 of an inch. Additional panels  11  can be added by creating more side surfaces  5 . One way to do this is to chamfer the edge between the side surfaces and the top surface to create a chamfer surface  6 . In a preferred embodiment, two more panels  11 , positioned on chamfer surfaces  6  in flanking positions to the digital display  7 , are added to the at least one side surface panel  11 . Each of the three panels  11  are provided with three dimples each, bringing the total to nine dimples. The configuration of nine dimples reflects correspondence with a QWERTY keyboard, as will be discussed hereinafter. 
     The means for entering data  10  cooperates with the digital display  7  and the means for handing information  30 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , the means for handling information  30  is comprised of a programmable processor  31  located in the housing  2 . The programmable processor  31  is coupled with memory  32 . The programmable processor  31  is in signal communication with the digital display  7 . The processor is also in signal communication with sensor technology  34  located at the site of each dimple  12 . In the preferred embodiment, a timer  33 , in signal communication with the processor  31 , is included in the housing configuration. The sensor technology  34  is sensitive to the application of finger pressure in and around the dimple site. The zone of sensitivity can be divided into sectors  35  which define preferred directions  14  and the boundaries thereof. In the preferred embodiment, there are four sectors  35  arrayed orthogonally. The four sectors  35  are arbitrarily named, for purposes of discussion herein, North, South, East and West. When the dimple  12  is initially touched, a locus point is registered by the sensor technology  34 . When the finger is urged in a North, South, East or West direction, the sensor technology  34  detects a directional path leading from the locus toward one or another of the “compass” directions. Each dimple  12 , because of its configuration as a recess, provides a seat for the touching finger. The finger, more or less, is held in place by the seat, the dimple edge  13  providing a boundary to prevent the finger from sliding into a neighboring sector  35 . The planes of adjacent panels  11 , intersecting at the chamfer angle, also prevent inadvertent sector contact. Thus, the novel configuration of the dimple  12 , not to mention the angular separation of the panels, improves upon prior art touch zones. The prior art, unlike the case with dimple  12 , is deficient the means to fence-in directional movements. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the digital display  7 , in a home state prior to a touch event, displays an entry part  17  and a grid part  18 . The grid part  18  displays a menu  15  of choices arranged in cells  19 . The cells  19  are positioned to correspond with the positions of the dimples  12 . For example, the top left cell  19  corresponds to the dimple  12  located on the top panel  11  in the left position. In the preferred embodiment, there are 9 cells  19  in three rows corresponding to the three panels  11 . The 26 letters of the alphabet can be distributed among the cells and rows to roughly correspond to the standard QWERTY keyboard. Since most keyboard users are familiar with this layout, locating a particular alpha character of interest is facilitated in this way. For the purpose of discussion herein, the top left dimple will be referred to as number 1, and the set of dimples will correspond by number labels 1-9 with the grid positions in left to right and top to bottom order. When the number 1 dimple  12 , for example, is touched, a sub-menu  16  will appear in the grid part  18 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The sub-menu  16  will show the characters in the corresponding cell in a spatial relationship indicating the preferred directions  14 . The preferred directions  14  may also be indicated by arrows pointing outward from a center corresponding to the locus of the touch event. In the preferred embodiment, there are up to four preferred directions  14  corresponding to North, South, East and West. When the number 1 dimple is touched, for example, the letter characters “q”, “w”, “e” and “r” are displayed in the West, East, North and South directions, respectively. When the touch is urged toward the North direction, the letter “e” is changed in response to confirm its selection. The response can be a change in color, a bolding, or simply an enlargement of the character, as shown in  FIG. 4 . When the touch is withdrawn from the number 1 dimple, the selected character is entered in the entry part  17  of the display. A cursor  36  indicates the position for entry of the selected character. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the means for holding  20  involves both hands of the user. The data entry device  1  is removed from the wrist and oriented for viewing the digital display  7 , typically with the wrist band  21  extending left and right. The wrist band  21  is held in both hands by holding fingers  23 . By definition, the holding fingers  23  are the middle, ring and little fingers of the hand. The wrist band  21  may be of a clasp type wherein the band separates into two parts, or may be of a bracelet type. Either type configures a closed or open loop into which the holding fingers, in opposite postures, can be curled to support the data entry device  1  in a readable position. A hand hold  22  configured in this manner leaves working fingers  24  available to initiate touches on the dimples  12 . By definition, the working fingers  24  are the thumb and index finger of each hand. The working fingers  24  are placed by the grip of the holding fingers  23  in a position to hover over the panels  11 . The bi-lateral pairs of working fingers  24  can also operate in cooperative gestures, like a clamp or “pincher”, to touch two, or even more, dimples in an event. The hand hold  22  is a natural position for the hands, with the wrists relaxed, and the working fingers  24  suspended for easy articulation. This novel posture for the hands not only makes up to four fingers available for the efficient and dexterous manipulation of the data entry device  1 , the posture can be maintained without fatigue or discomfort for long periods during extended data entry sessions. 
     The working fingers  24  preferably operate either singly or doubly. While other operational modes are possible, with up to four fingers at a time in a single event, the one or two touch mode offers an ample multiplicity of functionality with a minimum of operational complexity. Two touches at a time can be either simultaneous or sequential, as determinable by the timer  33  and a programmed preferred delay  37  (not shown). In the preferred embodiment, the preferred delay  37  is 1-2 seconds, and this can be adjustable for speed and sensitivity purposes. In the preferred embodiment, the two adjacent panels  11  are oriented to the thumb side. Users accustomed to texting will find thumb entry to be more natural, so the preponderance of dimples is allocated to thumb entry. A typical two-touch maneuver might be with the index finger of one hand touching dimple numbers 1-3 and the corresponding thumb, in a pincher action, ranging over numbers 4-9. The number of pincher touches is 18 for nine dimples. The number of permutations of two-finger touches taken in sequence is 72. The number of both simultaneous and sequential touches possible is 108. When combined with the 9 single touches offering up to 36 selections, a large library is functionalities can be accessed with either one or two touches. 
     While many schemes for assigning functionalities to touch events are possible, one exemplary scheme  40  will be discussed here below, referring to  FIG. 8 . Exemplary scheme  40  is comprised of decision points and paths leading from decision resolution by the processor  31 , enabled by sensory input from sensor technology  34  and stored data in memory  32 . Each path begins with a touch event and ends with an entry event. Exemplary scheme  40  is comprised of a data entry path  41 , a mode entry path  42  and a function entry path  43 . Data entry path  41  begins with a single dimple touch and leads to the data entry scenario described above, through the display of the sub-menu  16 , a pressure manipulation in a preferred direction  14 , and a command to enter with the release of the touch. For data entry path  41 , the release must occur from a shifted pressure point. If pressure is returned to the locus, the selection is thereby nullified. Mode path  42  begins with a two-dimple touch and leads to the decision that the touch is simultaneous. Typically, this type of touch will be with a pincher manipulation, and the path thereafter proceeds to an analysis of which of 18 pairs is indicated. A data entry mode is assigned to each pair, each mode exhibiting a different menu  15  in the grid part  18  of the digital display  7 . Data entry modes may be, but are not necessarily limited to, upper case alpha, lower case alpha, numerals, and one or more symbol or character sets. After display of the particular menu  15 , mode path  42  proceeds along data entry path  41  by returning to a single touch entry. Function path  43  begins with a two-dimple touch and leads to the decision that the touch is sequential. Function path  43  then proceeds to an analysis of which of 36 pairs is indicated and which of the indicated pair is first in sequence, the field involving 72 permutations in all. A different menu  15  is assigned to each pair of the function path  43 . A typical function menu is shown in  FIG. 5 , which illustrates, by example, functions related to email processing. In cells  1 - 6 , the functionalities are actions which are triggered by touching and releasing the corresponding dimple. The contact will cause recognition of the selection by some visual means, as discussed above, and as shown in cell  1 . In cells  7 - 9 , however, additional data entry is indicated. Touching one of those cells will loop into the data entry path  41 , as indicated by the dotted-line arrow in  FIG. 8 . 
     With function entry path  43 , a single touch to a dimple  12  is more efficient than manipulating directionally though a sub-menu  16 . In the case of data entry, however, because of the multiplicity of selections, it is more efficient to operate through the sub-menus  16  of the data entry path  41  rather than toggling through an extended library of menus  15  in the mode entry path  42 . In like manner, simultaneous touching is quicker than sequential touching and, therefore, data entry is facilitated by implementing the simultaneous protocol for the mode entry path  42 . Each of the beneficial features mentioned herein, including the dimples  12 , the particular configuration of the panels  11 , the hand hold  22 , the organization of the cells  19  into a QWERTY layout, the working fingers  24  and the configuration of the different paths of the exemplary scheme  40 , add to a fluidity of data entry processing unknown and as yet under-achieved in the art of miniature input devices. 
     An alternate embodiment of the present invention comprises a method of entering data  50  by means of wrist deployment, as shown in  FIG. 7 . The method of entering data  50  comprises the steps of:
           51 , providing the data entry device  1  to the wrist of a person for omnipresent use;     52 , removing the data entry device  1  from the wrist;     53 , holding the data entry device in a readable position with at least one of the holding fingers  23  gripping the wrist band  21  from both sides, whereby the working fingers  24  are deployed to hover over the at least one panel  11 ;     54 , touching at least one dimple  12  with a working finger  24  to cause a menu  15 , or a sub-menu  16 , of functionality choices to appear on the display  7 ;     55 , selecting one of the choices by urging the operative working finger  24  in one of the preferred directions  14  indicated by the sub-menu  16 ; and     56 , entering the selection by releasing the touch.       

     In a particular alternate embodiment, the touching step  53  comprises simultaneous or sequential touches by the working fingers  24 . A simultaneous touch toggles between data entry modes including lower case alpha, upper case alpha, number and character. The sequential touch results in a functional menu  15  according to both the position and sequence of the touches. A functionality is thereafter selected and entered through another touch. 
     It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction, to the arrangements of the components and to the method of using set forth in the preceding description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, dimples can be added to the fourth panel for a further expansion of functionalities. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.