Patent Publication Number: US-2007116263-A1

Title: Portable communication apparatus and method for using the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 94122478, filed on Jul. 1, 2005. All disclosure of the Taiwan application is incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of Invention  
      The present invention relates to a portable communication apparatus and a method for using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a character input method by using at least one key and one arrow key to transmit at least one character to an editorial table as a character input operation for decreasing the number of the keys and saving space consumption.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      The current message transmission speed is faster than ever even for the communication transmission. The distance between the individuals is not limited to the space because of the high development of the portable phone market. Even apart from each other for a long distance, the transmitter can transmit intentions and ideas to the receiver through a phone call.  
      Moreover, because the portable phones are frequently used, people not only orally communicate with each other through the portable phones but also transmit intentions and ideas through the short messages. Therefore, whether the text input method is handy or not becomes one of the key points for the user to select a proper portable phone.  
      As for the conventional portable phone, as shown in  FIG. 1  which shows a main structure of the conventional portable phone, the input method for the conventional portable phone comprises steps of inputting a character using input keypads  12  after choosing the function menu within the phone main body  11  and then displaying the content of the input characters  14  through the screen  13 . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 2  which schematically shows the input keypad of the conventional portable phone, the input keypad  12  further comprises twelve operation keys and each operation key includes at least three characters. When the user inputs the characters, the user needs to repeatedly press the same key to choose a proper character. Therefore, it takes the user a lot of time to repeatedly press the keys of the input keypad  12  for a text and it wastes a lot of phone space for configuring the input keypad  12  as well. Hence, not only the input keypad  12  wastes a lot of space of the portable phone but also the character input method is time-consuming and is not convenient for the user.  FIG. 3  is a flow chart showing the character input method for the conventional portable phone. The method is started at S 31  and then a function menu in the portable phone is opened at S 32 . Thereafter, at S 33 , one of the options in the function menu is selected and the character input is performed. In S 34 , the character input is accomplished by selecting one input key in the portable phone for inputting a character in the function menu (S 35 ). However, the message the user wants to transmit need to be done by repeatedly pressing the input keypads to reach the right characters for being input. It takes the user a lot of time to input a character for finishing the character input operation (S 36 ). Finally, in S 37 , the character input operation is terminated and the function menu is closed.  
      According to the disadvantages of the character input for the conventional portable phone, the present invention provides a portable communication apparatus and a method for inputting characters by using at least one key and one arrow key to transmit at least one character to an editorial table as a character input operation for saving space consumption of the portable phone and increasing the user input speed.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, at least one objective of the present invention is to provide a portable communication apparatus capable of saving space of the portable communication apparatus for disposing keys.  
      At least another objective of the present invention is to provide a character input method for a portable communication apparatus capable of increasing the character input speed.  
      To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a portable communication apparatus. The portable communication apparatus comprises a communication main body, a keypad, an arrow keypad and a display screen. The keypad has at least one key disposed on the communication main body and the arrow keypad has keys disposed on the communication main body. Various characters are represented respectively by combinations of the at least one key of the keypad with the keys of the arrow keypad. Furthermore, the display screen is disposed on the communication main body.  
      According to one embodiment of the present invention, the characters include letters of an alphabet characters.  
      According to one embodiment of the present invention, the arrow keypad comprises a central key and four arrow keys.  
      According to one embodiment of the present invention, the arrow keys are directed in different directions.  
      The present invention further provides a character input method for a portable communication apparatus, wherein the portable communication apparatus has a keypad and an arrow keypad thereon. The method comprises steps of depressing the at least one key of the keypad and depressing one of the keys of the arrow keypad to select and input one of the items as a character into an editorial table of the portable communication apparatus.  
      According to one embodiment of the present invention, the character can be a letter of an alphabet character.  
      According to one embodiment of the present invention, various characters are represented respectively by combinations of the at least one key of the keypad with the keys of the arrow keypad.  
      In the present invention, since various characters can be represented by the combinations of the at least one key of the keypad on the portable communication apparatus with the keys of the arrow keypad on the portable communication apparatus, the character input method is simpler than that of the conventional portable phone. That is, the character can be input by simply press one key of the keypad together with one key of the arrow keypad and the user does not need to repeatedly press the same key for choosing only one character. Therefore, the character input speed can be increased. In addition, the space of the portable communication apparatus for disposing the keys can be saved.  
      It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing showing a main structure of a conventional portable phone.  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing showing the input keypad of a conventional portable phone.  
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart showing the character input method of the conventional portable phone.  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing a portable communication apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing showing the editorial table of the portable communication apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing the combinations of keys of the portable communication apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 7  is a correspondence table illustrating the mapping of the combinations of keys of the portable communication apparatus.  
       FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustrating a character input method according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing a portable communication apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the portable communication apparatus comprises a communication main body  41  having at least one keypad  42  and one arrow keypad  43 . The keypad  42  further comprises six keys including an NO1 key labeled  421 , an NO2 key labeled  422 , an NO3 key labeled  423 , an NO4 key labeled  424 , an NO5 key labeled  425  and an NO6 key labeled  426 . Further, the arrow keypad  43  comprises a central key  431  and four arrow keys labeled  432 ,  433 , 434  and  435  respectively. The four arrow keys are directed in four different directions. More specially, the arrow key  432  and the arrow key  434  are directed in opposite directions. Similarly, the arrow key  433  and the arrow key  435  are directed in opposite directions. Preferably, the arrow key  432  is directed in a direction perpendicular to the directions where the arrow keys  433  and  435  are directed. Also, the arrow key  434  is directed in a direction perpendicular to the directions where the arrow keys  433  and  435  are directed. By using the arrow keypad  43  incorporating with the aforementioned six keys, the wanted character can be selected and the character can be, for example, a letter of an alphabet. Furthermore, an editorial table  44  is shown on a display screen  45  of the communication main body  41 . The character input operation can be accomplished by inputting at least one character into the editorial table  44 .  
       FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing showing the editorial table of the portable communication apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the editorial table  44  for editing the input characters further comprises a phone book  51 , a schedule table  52  and a short message table  53 .  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing the combinations of keys of the portable communication apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the arrow keypad  43  comprises five keys including the central key  431  and four arrow keys  432 ,  433 ,  434  and  435 . The input method can be done by using the keypad  42  including the key NO1  421 , the key NO2  422 , the key NO3  423 , the key NO4  424  and the key NO5  425  incorporating with the arrow keypad  43  having five keys for choosing one character so as to perform the character editorial input. Therefore, the user can increase the input speed.  
       FIG. 7  is a correspondence table illustrating the mapping of the combinations of keys of the portable communication apparatus. As shown in  FIG. 7 , by properly combining the keys of the keypad  42  with the central key or the arrow keys of the arrow keypad  43 , the user can easily choose a character for editing the short message. That is, various characters can be represented respectively by the various combinations of the at least one key of the keypad  42  with the keys of the arrow keypad  43 . Taking the alphabet letters as an example, as shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , when the user presses the key NO2  422  together with the arrow key  432 , an alphabet letter “F” is chosen. According to this input method for inputting characters, not only the number of the keys of the keypad  42  can be decreased saving the space of the portable phone but also the user can increase the character input speed. Furthermore, compared with the conventional character input method, the input method provided by the present invention is more convenient.  
       FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustrating a character input method according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 8 , in S 31 , the method is started and then an editorial table (S 81 ) of the communication main body is opened. The editorial table comprises a phone book, a schedule table and a short message table for the editorial operation. Further, by referring to the character to be selected by the user (S 82 ), a corresponding key of the keypad is selected together with one of the keys of the arrow keypad (S 83 ). Thereafter, at least one character is input into the editorial table according to the steps mentioned above (S 84 ). Then, the input operation is rapidly finished(S 85 ). Finally, in S 37 , the character input operation is terminated.  
      It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing descriptions, it is intended that the present invention covers modifications and variations of this invention if they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.