Abstract:
Portable communication devices integrate functions such as radiotelephone capabilities with messaging or personal digital assistant (PDA) functions. A foldable portable communication device to accommodate the space limitations while providing the necessary tool to operate the provided functions comprises of a first housing portion and a second housing portion each having a user inputs, such as a QWERTY keyboard. When the device is open, the portable communication device operates in one mode, such as messaging mode and utilizes both user input devices on each housing. A display for displaying text is located between the first housing portion and the second housing portion. In the closed position, the first housing and second housing are coupled together and user inputs are used for a separate mode in the closed position, such as radiotelephone mode.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to a portable communication device and more specifically to a multi-functioning radiotelephone device, for example integrated with messaging or PDA capabilities.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Portable communication devices are becoming more and more popular as size, weight and functionality improve. Portable communication devices traditionally include such devices as radiotelephones, two-way radios, paging mechanisms, messaging devices, and personal data assistants. Two or more devices are often combined into one portable communication device.  
           [0003]    Two or more devices are often combined into one portable communication device increasing functionality. As portable communication devices combine functions, there is a need to combine features to operate the functions separately without increasing the overall size of the portable communication device. The reduction in size of portable communication devices leads to space limitations for user input devices.  
           [0004]    User input devices need to be integrated in order to facilitate a portable communication device&#39;s multiple functions, for example, a QWERTY keyboard for messaging functions and a standard keypad for radiotelephone functions. QWERTY keyboards include the 26 letters of the alphabet along with punctuation characters such as ; &amp;, and ?. Standard keypads include the numbers 0-9 and the function keys SND, END, CLR. The key selected, by pushing the button corresponding to the input desired, inputs the resultant data into the portable communication device.  
           [0005]    Accordingly, what is needed is a portable communication device with a split user input device, such as a QWERTY keyboard, so the entire keyboard is accessible in an open position to perform one function and can be folded into a closed position in order to reduce the size and perform a separate, second function. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by making reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements, and wherein:  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable communication device in the open position.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portable communication device in the closed position.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a method for closing the portable communication device.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is an alternative method for closing the portable communication device.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is an electrical block diagram of the portable communication device.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a user operating a portable communication device in the open position.  
         [0013]    Although the present invention is illustrated in these figures, the drawings and following description are not be interpreted as limiting the innovation. They are used to describe this invention for the purpose of fully understanding. In certain cases, well-known or conventional details are not included. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    The present invention is a portable communication device such as a radiotelephone integrated with a separate function such as messing or PDA. When the portable communication device is in the open position, a first function is operable. The input keys are split onto two separate housings to increase the number of input keys, for example a QWERTY keyboard, where one portion is on the first housing and another portion is on the second housing. A display is located between the housings in the open position to communicate and display information such as messaging or PDA. The text is displayed in a landscape position while the portable communication device is in the open position The housings can be folded together to accommodate space limitations and size reduction. When the portable communication device is in the closed position, a second function is operable. The input keys are on a housing that is accessible when the portable communication device is in the closed position. The display is located on one end of both housings in the closed position and displays text in the portrait position.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable communication device in the open position. As shown in FIG. 1, a portable communication device  100  according to the present invention includes a first housing portion  102 , a second housing portion  104 , and a display  106 . Display  106  provides information to the user, such as visual feedback of entered characters. The portable communication device  100  includes a microphone  107  and a speaker  109 . Speaker  109  is behind display  106 . The sound is acoustically channeled through the holes in display  106 .  
         [0016]    An antenna supports wireless communication with a base station. The antenna can be internal or external. External antennas are located outside of the radiotelephone housing. They can be fixed or can be retracted from a first position to a second position. Planar Inverted F-Antennas (PIFA) are internal antennas that eliminate the need for external antennas. Either external or internal antennas can be either single band or dual band.  
         [0017]    The first housing portion  102  and second housing portion  104  pivot in order to provide an open and closed position. In the open position, the display  106  is located between the first housing portion  102  and the second housing portion  104 . Although shown as a circular shaped display, those skilled in the art will recognize that any shape display could be used, for example a rectangular shape. In the open position, the display  106  presents information such as text in the landscape position  132 .  
         [0018]    When the portable communication device  100  is in the open position, a first function is operable, such as messaging or PDA. In FIG. 1, the portable communication device  100  is in the open position. It is anticipated that other equally sufficient embodiments of the present invention may include other functions in the open position.  
         [0019]    The first housing portion  102  has a first front side  108 , first backside  110 , first edge  112 , second edge  116 , and third edge  114 . The second housing portion  104  has a second front side  120 , second backside  122 , fourth edge  124 , fifth edge  126 , and sixth edge  128 . In the open position, the first edge  112  is collinear with the fourth edge  124  and the second edge  116  is collinear with the fifth edge  126 .  
         [0020]    The first front side  108  has a first input device  118 , or keypad, and the second front side  120  has a second input device  130 , or keypad. For example, the first front side  108  is a first portion of a QWERTY keyboard and the second front side  120  is a second portion of a QWERTY keyboard so that in the open position, a full QWERTY keyboard is accessible on the portable communication device  100 . A QWERTY keyboard comprises of the alphabetical letters A-Z, numerals 0-9, and various symbol keys such as #, *, “, and ?. Input keys are selected by pushing the button corresponding to the letter or number desired. The key selected inputs the resultant data into the portable communication device  100 .  
         [0021]    It is known to one of ordinary skill in the art that the first input device  118  and the second input device  130  could be a scratch pad or touch screen. Scratch pads can be used to input data into a portable communication device by writing the corresponding character with a marker, pointer, stylus, finger or hard object. Touch screens display images that can also be selected by a marker, pointer, stylus, finger or hard object, which results in the corresponding image input as data.  
         [0022]    When the portable communication device  100  pivots into the closed position, a second function is operable, such as radiotelephone mode. The radiotelephone mode is operable in the closed position of the portable communication device  100 . It is anticipated that other equally sufficient embodiments of the present invention may include other functions in the closed position.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portable communication device in the closed position. As shown in FIG. 2, when the portable communication device  100  is pivotally flipped into the closed position, a numeric keypad  121  is visible to use in conjunction with the radiotelephone mode. The numeric keypad  121  can be on the first housing portion  102  or the second housing portion  104 , which is described in further detail below.  
         [0024]    In the closed position, the second housing portion  104  substantially covers the first housing portion  102 , such that the first edge  112  and fifth edge  124  are adjacent, the second edge  116  and fourth edge  126  are adjacent, and the third edge  114  and sixth edge  128  are adjacent.  
         [0025]    When the portable communication device is in the closed position, the display  106  is located substantially above the first housing portion  102  and the second housing portion  104 . In the closed position, the display  106  presents information such as text in the landscape position  134 . Display  106  includes speaker  109 . Speaker  109  is behind display  106 . The sound is acoustically channeled through the holes located in display  106 . Speakers include dynamic speakers that increase the number of tones that can be acoustically channeled. The second housing portion  104  includes a microphone  107 . Microphones include high sensitivity microphones that minimize distortion.  
         [0026]    Microphone  107  and speaker  109  are located on portable communication device  100  so that they are utilized in the closed position. Portable communication device  100  operates as a radiotelephone in the closed position. The user holds portable communication device  100  so that speaker  100  is located at the top while microphone  107  is located at the bottom.  
         [0027]    The second housing portion  104  also has a cut out opening  136  at the end opposite the sixth edge  128 . This cut out opening  136  accommodates the shape of the display  106  while coupling the first housing portion  102  to the second housing portion  104  into the closed position. Therefore, the display  106  is visible to the user in both the opened and closed positions.  
         [0028]    The cut out opening  136  is circular since the display  106  circular. Although shown as a circular shaped display, those skilled in the art will recognize that any shape display could be used, for example a rectangular shape.  
         [0029]    The display  106  is integrated into the first housing portion  102 . It is obvious to one skilled in the art that the display  106  can be integrated with the second housing portion  104 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 3 is a method for closing the portable communication device. FIG. 4 is an alternative method for closing the portable communication device. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the first housing portion  102  and second housing portion  104  are moveable coupled to provide a closed position.  
         [0031]    A pivotal configuration as shown in FIG. 3, the second housing portion  104  movable couples to the first housing portion  102  by pivotally rotating around the display  106  to obtain the closed position from the open position. The first housing portion  104  and the second housing portion  102  pivotally rotate in the same plane to achieve the closed position. It is obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the second housing portion  104  could moveable couple to the first housing portion  102 .  
         [0032]    In order to rotate, the second housing portion  104  has a tongue  125  and the first housing portion  102  has a groove  123 . The tongue  125  is a protrusion on the cut out opening  136  of the second housing portion  104 . The groove  123  is a recess along the display  106  with a locking feature such as a notch at the ends of the groove  123 . The tongue  125  slides in the groove  123  along the display  106 . The second housing portion  104  rotates around the display  106 . Once the tongue  125  reaches a notch at the end of the groove  123 , the tongue  125  is locked into place to align the second housing portion  104  with the first housing portion  102 . One of ordinary skill in the art would know of other means for pivot rotation, for example, a swivel mechanism.  
         [0033]    In the closed position, the second input device  130  of the second housing portion  104  is visible and lies below the display  106 . The second input device  130  includes input keys for use in two different modes. Input keys are used to operate the portable communication device  100  in the open position, such as messing or PDA. The input keys are also used to operate the portable communication device  100  in the closed position, for example radiotelephone mode. For example, the second input device  130  includes a numeric keypad  121  and a first portion of a QWERTY keyboard. Therefore, the numeric keypad  121  is accessible for the radiotelephone mode in the closed position and the QWERTY keyboard is accessible for the messaging or PDA mode in the open position. The numeric keypad  121  contains individual keys numbered 0-9 along with function keys such as send (SND), end (END), recall (RCL), and store (STO) for radiotelephone mode operation.  
         [0034]    A clamshell configuration as shown in FIG. 4, the second housing portion  104  movable couples to the first housing portion  102  by pivotally flipping over the display  106  to obtain the closed position from the open position. It is obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the first housing portion  102  could pivotally flip to the second housing portion  104 .  
         [0035]    In order to rotate, a hinge  135  couples the first housing portion  102  to the second housing portion  104  that extends across the entire portable communication device  100 . The second housing portion  104  rotates over the display  106 . A follower is secured in the first housing portion  102  and a cam is secured in the second housing portion  104 . The cam rotates with the second housing portion  104  as it is moved between the open and closed position. One of ordinary skill in the art would know of other means for pivot rotation, for example a pair of hinges.  
         [0036]    In the closed position, the second backside  122  of the second housing portion  104  is visible and lies below the display  106 . A numeric keypad  121  and microphone  107  to use in conjunction with the radiotelephone mode is on the second backside  122  of the second housing portion  104  integrated opposite the second input device  130 . Therefore, in the closed position a numeric keypad  121  is accessible in the radiotelephone mode. The numeric keypad  121  contains individual keys numbered 0-9 along with function keys such as send (SND), end (END), recall (RCL), and store (STO) for radiotelephone mode operation.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 5 is an electrical block diagram illustrating a circuit  200  positioned within in portable communication device  100 . Circuit  200  includes a controller  202 , which may be a microprocessor, a micro-controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a programmable logic unit, or a combination of such components. Controller  202  can include volatile memory  204 , which may for example be random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile memory  206 , which may be implemented using Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), Flash Read Only Memory (ROM), Electronically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), or the like. Controller  202 , or Central Processing Unit (CPU), selectively controls the operation of portable communication device  100  including radiotelephone mode and messaging or PDA mode.  
         [0038]    Controller  202  is connected to the first input device  118  and the second input device  130  to receive user inputs. Controller  202  is also connected to speaker  109  that outputs audio and a microphone  107  that inputs audio. Controller  202  drives display  106  that is used to show information to the user.  
         [0039]    The display  106  shows text in the portrait position  134  when the portable communication device  100  is in the radiotelephone mode, or closed position. The display  106  shows text in the landscape position  132  when the portable communication device  100  is in the messaging or PDA mode, or open position. A switch  224  within the portable communication device  100  is activated when the second housing portion  104  is coupled with the first housing portion  102 . When the switch  224  is activated, the controller  202  communicates to the display  106  so the text is displayed in the portrait position  134 . When the portable communication device  100  is in the open position, the switch  224  is not activated and the controller  202  communicates to the display  106  so the text is displayed in the landscape position  132 .  
         [0040]    Antenna  226 , a radio frequency (RF) input, is connected between the transmitter  212  and receiver  214  of the transceiver  216 . The transmitter  212  transmits data from the controller  202  and the receiver  214  receives data and relays the information to the controller  202 . Ringer  218 , indicator  220 , and vibrator  222  are alerts for the user and are coupled to controller  202 .  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a user operating a portable communication device  100  in the open position. When the portable communication device is in the open position, the user supports the first housing portion  102  and uses the first input device  118  with the left hand. The user supports the second housing portion  104  and uses the second input device  130  with the right hand. Therefore, the user can access a full QWERTY keyboard if the first input device  118  is a first portion of a QWERTY keyboard and a second input device  130  is a second portion of a QWERTY keyboard.  
         [0042]    While this invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiment, it is obvious that modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.