Patent Publication Number: US-2002006815-A1

Title: Foldable keyboard for mobile communications device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] Mobile telephones and similar communication devices are rapidly expanding in use and function. Such devices will soon provide Internet access, personal information management, facsimile, messaging, in addition to telephone communication. To accomplish this there is a need to provide keyboards compatible with the more complex applications to which the mobile device will be adapted. Full function keyboards, such as the standard QWERTY typing array of keys and buttons, are difficult to provide while maintaining the compact size required in the mobile device. Such devices on the market today are cumbersome and often require a separate belt pouch for carrying the mobile device on the person of the user. In addition it is necessary to coordinate on screen displays for adaptation to the variety of functions.  
       [0002] It is a purpose of this invention to provide a simple and inexpensive means of providing a full function keyboard to accommodate the burgeoning applications to which a mobile communication device is adapted.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003] A personal hand held computer appliance is provided with a compact full function keyboard that allows the user to place the unit in the palm of his or her hands and operate the keys on the keyboard with the thumbs. To accomplish this the appliance is constructed as a flat generally rectangular unit having a top operational surface. A display screen is centrally positioned in the operational surface to divide the surface into a left and right panel. The left and right panels are used to accommodate the keyboard. Each panel is constructed with an array of keys, which, in the case of a standard Qwerty style keyboard, are arranged on either side of the screen to provide a full keyboard. The keyboard is accordingly split into two substantially equal arrays displaced on either side of the screen. The size of the appliance is sufficient to allow convenient spacing of the keys while maintaining accessibility for operation by the thumbs of the user. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
     [0004] The invention is described in more detail below with reference to the attached drawing in which:  
     [0005]FIG. 1 is a top view of the communications device of this invention in the closed position;  
     [0006]FIG. 2 is a top view of the communications device of this invention in the open position;  
     [0007]FIG. 3 a  is a side view of the communications device of this invention in the closed position;  
     [0008]FIG. 3 b  is a schematic illustration of the display orientation in the closed position;  
     [0009]FIG. 3 c  is a schematic illustration of the display orientation in the open position;  
     [0010]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control system of a communication device as it applies to this invention;  
     [0011]FIG. 5 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of this invention;  
     [0012]FIG. 6 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of this invention; and  
     [0013]FIG. 7 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 6. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0014] A mobile communication device is provided with a full function keyboard. For the purpose of illustration, this invention will be described with reference to a mobile telephone, but is applicable to other devices such as pagers, game units and the like. As shown in FIG. 3 a , a mobile telephone  1  is constructed having a body  2 . The body  2  encloses a screen  3  which provides a display  4  for communicating pertinent information to the user in response to actions by the user. The mobile telephone  1  is constructed having two panels  5  and  6  which are mounted on the body  2 . In FIG. 3, panel  5  is shown fixed to body  2  as a separated component, but it could also be constructed integrally with body  2 . Panel  6  is rotatable on the body  2  about an axis x-x as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.  
     [0015] In a first position, referred to as the closed position, panel  6  is rotated into overlapping alignment with panel  5 , as shown in FIG. 3 a . Rotating panel  6  has two opposing flat faces  7  and  8 . Face  7  is the inner face when panel  6  is in the closed position and face  8  is the outer face in the closed position. In the preferred embodiment, face  8  contains a standard telephone keypad  9  for use when the mobile phone  1  is operating strictly in the communication mode. In the closed position, the device operates as a standard operating mobile telephone with the display  4  of screen  3  oriented in alignment with keypad  9 .  
     [0016] To provide the full function keyboard of the preferred embodiment of this invention, the key and button array  12 , used for the particular application, is divided in half and arranged on left and right keyboard portions  10  and  11 . To facilitate operation of the keyboard, it is designed for thumb actuation by both hands. This makes it convenient to hold the small device in both hands and operate the keyboard portions  10  and  11  accurately and efficiently.  
     [0017] As shown best in FIG. 3 a , the left hand keyboard portion  10  is constructed on face  7  of rotating panel  6  on the opposite side of telephone keypad  9 . The right hand keyboard portion  11  is constructed on upper face  13  of panel  5 . A back cover is assembled on the face  14  of panel  5 . To insure a compact engagement of panels  5  and  6  in the closed position, the portions of key array  12  on the opposing panel faces  7  and  13  are offset to avoid interference in the closed position.  
     [0018] To operate the keyboard array  12 , panel  6  is rotated approximately 180° to the open position to form a substantially flat unit having right and left keyboard portions separated by screen  3  as shown in FIG. 2. By holding the left and right hand portions in either hand, the keyboard, thus extended, can be conveniently operated using thumbs. In the open position, outer face  8  of panel  6  is oriented away from the user.  
     [0019] The display  4  of screen  3  is controlled for orientation in two positions depending on the mode of use. In the closed position, the display  4  is oriented in alignment with the keypad  9 , while in the open position the display  4  is aligned with the function key array  12 . As shown in FIGS. 3 b  and  3   c , display orientation is rotated 90° between the mobile telephone mode in which panel  6  is in the closed position to the full function mode when panel  6  is in the open position. This is accomplished by providing a panel position indicator  15  which signals control unit  16  when the panel  6  is opened or closed. Control unit  16  may be a microprocessor, display driver or other means including hardware or software. This could be automatic or by a manual button operated by the user. The control unit  16  will signal the display control  17  to orient the position of the display as needed. In addition, in the open position, keypad  9  will be locked in an inoperative mode by telephone keypad lock  18 .  
     [0020] In the alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 5, instead of a keyboard, a game controller keypad is provided. The game keyboard consists of action buttons  19  and motion pad  20  constructed in panels  5  and  6  respectively. The telephone keypad  9  is constructed in the reverse side of panel  6 , as described above. As a further alternative, the device could be designed without a communication capability and used as a game unit only.  
     [0021] In this manner, a simple and compact keyboard is provided in operative association with a mobile communications device. It should be noted that other key arrays can be used such as the French AZERTY or the German QWERTZ(U). The device would also be useful as a microprocessor based game unit driven by game software or firmware.  
     [0022] Alternative Embodiment  
     [0023] The keyboard array described above is also useful without necessarily associating it with a mobile communications device. For use as a computer device such as a personal information manager and the like, the full function Qwerty style keyboard provides convenient access for small devices and overcomes the awkwardness of similar devices in the prior art.  
     [0024] In this embodiment, a device  30  is formed of a thin planar oriented enclosure  31  which contains a processor and other components suitable for the purpose for which the device is designed. The enclosure  31  is formed by the cooperation of a top plate  32  which provides the operating surface of the device and a back cover  33  which defines the remaining bottom and side walls of the enclosure. A display screen  34  is mounted in the top plate  32  in a centrally located position. A standard Qwerty keyboard is divided into left and right portions  35  and  36 , as shown in FIG. 6 and  7 . The portions  35  and  36  are positioned on either side of the display screen  34  on the top plate  32 . Each portion contains an array of keys  37  positioned in the familiar arrangement. Other types of keyboards can be used which are adapted to the particular purpose or application of the device  30 . By holding the left and right hand portions in either hand, the keyboard can be conveniently operated using thumbs. The full function keyboard arranged as described herein provides a convenient and efficient utility for all of the keys without significant interference.