Abstract:
A portable electronic device, including a user-operable input device on a first face of a first housing portion, a display on a first face of a second housing portion, and a digital camera lens, the second housing portion being configured for a pivotal movement in relation to the first housing portion, allowing the user to switch between two operational modes. Preferably, when configured in a first position, the portable electronic device operates in the first mode, idle mode or camera mode. When configured in a second position, the portable electronic device operates in the second mode, keypad mode.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a portable electronic device, particularly, but not exclusively, to a mobile communications device.  
       BACKGROUND ART  
       [0002]     Some form of conventional portable electronic devices, particularly mobile communication devices, have either an extendible or foldable two-part construction which allows the device to be extended or folded open for use, then closed again for storage. These types of construction help to maximize the surface area available for supporting a keypad and a display, while minimizing the size of the device when closed.  
         [0003]     However known mobile phones are not configured to support both left and right-hand users at the same time.  
         [0004]     The present invention provides a portable electronic device of the swivel form. The swivel phone according to our invention is further configured to be used by both right-handed and left-handed users. Furthermore the portable electronic device has a biasing mechanism, which assists the user in folding or unfolding the device.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     It is an aim of the present invention to provide an improvement to the prior art. In particular, the aim is to present an improved portable electronic swivel device that allows the user to operate the device in a smoother semi automatic manner using only one hand, and designed to suit the user being left-handed or right-handed. Another object of the invention is that the mobile terminal is, with respect to its mechanical structure, easy to use, durable and ergonomic.  
         [0006]     According to the present invention there is provided a mobile terminal comprising a first housing portion supporting a user-operable input device on a first face and a second housing portion, the second housing portion being coupled to the first housing portion, and the second housing portion being configured for pivotal movement over the first face of the first housing portion between a first position in which the user-operable input device is concealed and a second position in which the user-operable input device is exposed.  
         [0007]     Generally, the second housing portion substantially covers the first housing portion in the first position and the user-operable input device substantially covers the first face of the first housing portion.  
         [0008]     According to the present invention the user-operable input device may comprise a keypad having a plurality of keys and may further comprise soft keys.  
         [0009]     According to the present invention the second housing portion may have a region for receiving a display on a face relatively far from the first housing portion. Furthermore the display substantially covers the far face of the second housing.  
         [0010]     According to the present invention there is also provided a mobile terminal further comprising an image capturing device.  
         [0011]     According to the present invention there is further provided a mobile terminal having a first housing portion supporting a user-operable input device on a first face and a second housing portion, the second housing portion being coupled to the first housing portion and being configured for clockwise and anticlockwise pivotal movement in relation to the first housing portion.  
         [0012]     The angle between the first housing portion and the second housing portion can be every value from −180 to 180 degrees.  
         [0013]     According to the invention, the mobile terminal is further comprising a processor responsive, when the second housing portion is in the first position, to operate in a first mode, and when the second housing portion is in the second position, to operate in a second mode.  
         [0014]     According to the invention, the mobile terminal is further comprising a biasing mechanism for biasing the second housing portion towards a first position from an interposition between the first and second position and for biasing the second housing portion towards a second position from an interposition between the first and second position. The interposition is generally closest to the first position. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     In order that the invention may be more fully understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a mobile terminal in the first position according to the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a mobile terminal in the second position according to the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3   a  shows the location of the clockwise interposition;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3   b  shows the location of the anticlockwise interposition and  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  shows the biasing module in the form of a swivel hinge in idle.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  shows a representation of the biasing mechanism of the swivel hinge.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]     A preferred embodiment of the mobile terminal  1  of the invention is shown in  FIGS. 1-5 . The mobile terminal  1  is in the form of a mobile communications device having a plurality of functions including, among others, mobile telephony and handheld computing. The mobile terminal  1  may have additional and/or different functions. The mobile terminal  1  may be in the form of another type of portable electronic device, such as a handheld computing device, a radio broadcast receiving device or a content rendering device, such as a digital versatile disk (DVD) player.  
         [0023]     The mobile terminal  1  comprises a first housing portion  2  and a second housing portion  3  being coupled to the first housing portion  2 . The first housing portion comprises a user-operable input device on the first face  4  in the form of a keypad  5  having a plurality of keys  6  further comprising soft keys  7 . However other forms of input device or other keypad configurations may be used. The keypad  5  substantially covers the first face  4  of the first housing portion  2 , although it need not do so.  
         [0024]     The first housing portion  2  also comprises an image capturing device in the form of a camera (not shown) on a face opposed to said first face  4 .  
         [0025]     The second housing portion  3  comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) device  8  located on a face relatively far from the first housing portion  2 . The display device  8  substantially covers the upper face of the second housing portion  3 . The second housing portion  3  further comprises a speaker  9 .  
         [0026]     The second housing portion  3  are configured for pivotal movement over the first face  4  of the first housing portion  2  between a first position in which the keypad  5  is concealed ( FIG. 1 ) and a second position in which the keypad  5  is exposed ( FIG. 2 ). Referring to  FIG. 2 , the mobile terminal  1  is shown with the second housing portion  3  in the second position. In this position, the previously concealed keypad  5  and the first face  4  of the first housing portion  2  are revealed.  
         [0027]     When the second housing portion  3  is in the first position, the mobile terminal  1  is in a relatively compact state for convenient storage, for example in a user&#39;s pocket. The user may want to extend the mobile terminal  1  for convenient access to functions, such as telephony. Therefore, the user pushes the second housing portion  3  over the face  4  of the first housing portion  2  until it reaches an interposition. This action is illustrated in  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b . The interposition is located between the first and the second position. In this embodiment the interposition is closest to the first position, but could be anywhere between the first and second position. When the second housing portion  3  has reached the interposition due to an active push from the user, a biasing mechanism finishes this action and brings the second housing portion  3  in the second position.  
         [0028]     The second housing portion  3  can swivel from the first position to the second position following a clockwise or anti-clockwise path. The second housing portion  3  may be returned to the first position by inversing the steps. The angle between the swiveling second housing portion  3  and the first housing portion  2  may be every value between −180 and 180 degrees, given that the angle between the first housing portion  2  and the second housing portion  3  when in the first position is 0 degrees.  
         [0029]     Referring to  FIG. 4 a  swivel hinge  10  is provided. The swivel part  12  of the hinge  10  is locked into a recess (not shown) in the second housing portion  3 , while the stationary part  11  of the hinge  10  is fastened to the first housing portion  2  of the mobile terminal  1 . The swivel hinge  10  shown in  FIG. 4  is in idle (0 degree).  
         [0030]     The swivel part  12  is configured to rotate 180 degrees in two opposite directions from idle. However the swivel part  12  may not rotate 360 degrees. There is also provided two interpositions between 0 and 180 degrees, and between 0 and −180 degrees, respectively. Each interposition is configured to be close to idle. Preferably the interpositions are configured to be in the interval of 10 to 45 degrees, and −10 to −45 degrees respectively from idle.  
         [0031]     The stationary part  11  of the swivel hinge  10  also comprises a biasing mechanism  30  ( FIG. 5 ). The biasing mechanism is configured to rotate the swivel part  11  from one interposition to 180 degrees and from another interposition to −180 degrees. When the angle between the stationary part  11  and the swivel part  12  of the hinge  10  is 180 or −180 degrees, the swivel part  12  may rotate back to idle by inversing the steps. The biasing mechanism further assists the swivel part  12  to return to idle after the return is initiated by the user.  
         [0032]     In  FIG. 5  the biasing mechanism of the swivel hinge  10  is shown. A semi automatic guiding mechanism  30  is provided in the swivel part  12  of the swivel hinge  10 , and a pin  23  is provided in the stationary part  11  of the swivel hinge  10 . The pin  23  is set to engage with the guiding mechanism.  
         [0033]     According to another embodiment of the present invention, the guiding mechanism may be provided in the stationary part  11  of the swivel hinge  10 , while the pin  23  is provided in the swivel part  12  of the swivel hinge  10 .  
         [0034]     The guiding mechanism  30  comprises three recesses  21  and two independent top hills  22  which function to form the interpositions. The recesses  21  are substantially of the same depth. Each recess  21  represents a stable state of swivel. When the pin  23  is located in the recess  21  labeled “0 degrees”, the swivel hinge  10  will be in idle and the mobile terminal will be in the first position according to the invention ( FIG. 1 ). When the pin  23  is located in the recess  21  labeled “180 degrees” or the recess  21  labeled “−180 degrees” the mobile terminal will be in the second position according to the invention ( FIG. 2 ).  
         [0035]     According to another embodiment of the present invention, a fourth recess labeled “90 degrees” may be provided between the two recesses  21  labeled “180 degrees” and “0 degrees”. Accordingly a fifth recess labeled “−90 degrees” may be provided between the two recesses  21  labeled “0 degrees” and “−180 degrees”. This would result in having a third position of the mobile terminal  1 , where the first housing portion  2  forms an angle of 90 degrees with the second housing portion  3 .  
         [0036]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the length of the slope of a recess  21  determines how close the interposition at top hills  22  is from idle (0 degrees) and thereby determines how far the user should swivel the housing part  3  manually before the biasing mechanism takes over and terminates the action automatically without any further assistance from the user. According to the present invention, the slope of the recesses  21  may be different from one recess to another in one embodiment as well as they might be equal in another embodiment. According to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , the two recesses  21  labeled “180 degrees” and “−180 degrees” have slopes of equal lengths, while the slope of the recess labeled “0 degrees” has a different length.  
         [0037]     The pin  23  is continuously pressed against the guiding mechanism of the swivel part  12  by a spring mechanism (not shown). To change the position of the mobile terminal  1  from the first position to the second position according to the invention, the user manually rotates the second housing portion  3  including the guiding mechanism of the swivel part  12 , making the pin  23  move from the recess  21  labeled “0 degrees” towards one of the two top hills  22 , depending on whether the user chooses a clockwise or anticlockwise rotation. Once the pin  23  has reached the top hill  22 , the pin  23  is forced towards the corresponding recess  21  by the force applied by the spring mechanism that continuously presses the pin  23  against the guiding mechanism. Thus the second housing portion  3  will swivel into the second position according to the invention without any further assistance from the user. Similar steps are applied to change the position of the mobile terminal  1  from the second position to the first position according to the invention. With the invention the user merely needs to actively move the second housing portion  3  until it reaches one of the two interpositions (when the peak of the pin  23  reaches the peak of the top hills  22 . After that, such as when opening the mobile terminal from the position shown in  FIG. 1  to the position shown in  FIG. 2 , the spring biased pin  23  and the shapes of the guide mechanism  30  and the pin  23  will automatically move the two parts  11 ,  12  relative to each other to laterially flip the second housing portion  3  to its final position ( FIG. 2 ) relative to the first housing portion  2 .  
         [0038]     The mobile terminal  1  comprises a processor  32 . The processor  32  is responsive, when the second housing portion is in the first position, to operate in a first mode, and when the second housing portion is in the second position, to operate in a second mode. The first mode could comprise, for example, generating a ring tone for an incoming call. The second mode could comprise generating a three way calling or call waiting tone for an incoming call.  
         [0039]     Obviously the above described embodiments are presented by way of example only, and do not restrict the invention. For example, most of the mechanical parts can be moved from one part of the telephone to another without changing the scope of protection.